Headed out to run errands after that. Stopped at Dollar General first. I really liked what TreSemme did for my hair when I tried travel-sized versions in September, and they're also cheaper than the usual Ogx I use. I also picked up Mylanta for the heartburn I'd had since last night and a gift and Christmas card for Amanda. Quickly strolled a few blocks down to Family Dollar, where I finally picked up more underwear. Candy canes were cheaper here than anywhere else except Dollar Tree, and I grabbed something small for Amanda, too.
The other reason I went out was just to enjoy a beautiful late morning. It was chilly, in the upper 40's, but sunny and breezy. It's very fall here now, with many trees having either totally lost their leaves, or pretty close to it. Though a few houses have Thanksgiving banners or inflatable turkeys, most settle for fall wreaths on the doors or the last mums and roses in their gardens. It was also pretty quiet. There were lines at the stores, but most people must have been at work or lunch when I was walking.
Went straight into Tattletales when I got home. It was still the week with Bill and Ann Cullen, Bob and Dorothy Jo Barker, and Days of Our Lives star Patty Weaver and her husband Larry Stewart. Bob and Dorothy Jo did much better the first time around, coming close to winning for a change. Ann and Bill finally won in the last minute. In the second episode, Bob and Dorothy Jo only answered one question right. It was one all the ladies got right, about the movie they'd like to show for their husbands. Classy Larry said Casablanca. Bill admitted that Ann had wanted him to see Cabaret. Dorothy Jo knew darn well how her husband felt about dogs and opted for Benji.
Had lunch while watching The Thanksgiving That Almost Wasn't on YouTube. (Alas, it's no longer on Tubi.) I went further into this cute Hanna-Barbara animated special at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog last year.
Switched to job hunting after the cartoon ended. I'd still like to do something with writing, but if that doesn't pan out, there's data entry, too. I'm not going to be able to get together with Karen this week, but when we do see each other again, I think I'll focus on data entry jobs when I'm with her and do more research on writing and editing jobs on my own.
Worked on writing for a while after that. Harron still tries to hypnotize Cora, but he's not entirely successful. She keeps ducking away. Desperate to marry her before she figures out the truth, he pushes up the date for their wedding. The dressmaker gushes about what a catch he is and how handsome he is, but Cora realizes that "Stephen" isn't much more than a pretty face. She doesn't love him, and knows he can't love anyone but himself.
Broke for dinner at 7, though it was closer to 7:30 before I finally had a cheese and herb omelet and salad for dinner. Buzzr finally returned to Match Game Syndicated tonight, picking up with Bart Braverman, Barbara Rhodes, Bill Anderson, and Joyce Bulifant in early 1980. Gene tossed in a few jokes about the male contestant's considerable mustache in the first episode. (The female contestant was from Lauren's native Pittsfield!) Bill began the second by showing off a photo of his darling baby boy. Joyce is just happy when she actually gets an answer right.
Finished the night after a shower with Thanksgiving-themed game show episodes. Match Game didn't do big dinners, but they did occasionally make turkey jokes. The episode before Thanksgiving in 1977 had Orson Bean discussing his role as Bilbo Baggins in the animated Hobbit that was just about to debut.
Other shows got more into the holiday. Sale of the Century had a gorgeous living room set and a night out for a big dinner with all your friends among their prize packages in 1985. The 1987 High Rollers with Wink Martindale had a turkey-themed prize package "stuffed" with money. Ray Combs led two energetic families through Thanksgiving-themed questions on a syndicated Family Feud episode in 1989. This one actually did culminate in a big turkey dinner for Combs and both families.
Thanksgiving game show episodes go back a long way on TV. I've Got a Secret did a very funny one in 1954 with Garry Moore claiming he was going to serve the rather handsome live turkey at the beginning of the episode for Thanksgiving. The other Thanksgiving secret was much cuter. A first grade class put on an adorable Thanksgiving play for the panelists, including Faye Emerson, Jayne Meadows, Bill Cullen, and Henry Morgan.
To Tell the Truth got a Thanksgiving show in during their last season in 1967. The first round was really sweet. We met three very pretty ladies who all claimed to be the wife of Bud Collyer's son. Bud himself revealed which one was really his daughter-in-law. The second only showed three sets of gorgeous legs that claimed to be "Miss Drumstick." Tom Poston dropped out early, claiming he recognized one set of legs just a little too well...and no wonder. The third set of legs belonged to a certain comedienne who continued to be associated with game shows for the remainder of her very long life, and even married a host...
The Price Is Right has done Thanksgiving episodes pretty much since they started. Their second and last half-hour Thanksgiving episode in 1974 ended with two nifty Thanksgiving showcases depicting ways to celebrate the holiday. At least the Showcase went over better than the rest of the episode; only one contestant won their game.
The wild success of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire in 2000 cut across generational lines. Young kids finally got in on the action during their Thanksgiving episodes that year. A 16-year-old boy and his dad did the best; a younger kid kept getting the questions right, but his dad didn't believe him and called on lifelines instead. Wish Regis hadn't kept questioning the boys about their girlfriends, including the two younger ones who were clearly still in the cooties stage. It got a little annoying after a while.
Run these before your Thanksgiving dinner and get everyone playing along before the big meal! (Look for the original commercials on To Tell the Truth and the ones from its Game Show Network run on The Price Is Right!)
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