The Happiest Millionaire also boasts a nice Sherman Brothers score. In this case, however, the problem is the story, about the Biddle family in the mid 1910's and its eccentric patriarch (Fred MacMurray), is way too small and sitcom-ish for an epic musical. The duet "Are We Dancing?" for the young lovers is the best song here. I also like "Valentine Candy" as Biddle's daughter tries to figure out how to respond to boys and "Fortuosity" for Tommy Steele's Irish butler.
Went online to check my schedule, but it must have been too early for it to appear. I finally gave up around 12:30 and headed out to do my grocery shopping. It was a nice day for a ride. Warmer than yesterday, but not too much for the time of year, probably in the upper 40s. It was sunny and breezy, but I could see clouds on the horizon even as I headed down Cuthbert Road to the Westmont Acme.
I didn't really need a whole lot, to be honest. Mainly wanted to restock yogurt. I had a coupon for a dollar off five Chobani cups. Also picked up granola bars (had another online coupon for the Made Good Bars, and some flavors of Kind are on clearance), apples, and bagels for lunch. Despite it being the beginning of the month, they weren't busy. I was able to get in the self-checkout line with no trouble.
Took the long way home across Newton Lake Park. The gorgeous day was reflected in a busy park. I dodged so many people walking their dogs and going out for a stroll, I finally pushed the bike over the hill past the Haddon Township Environmental and Historical Center. The hill is quiet at this time of year, with many animals still hibernating and no leaves to rustle on the bare trees. The grass seemed greener than usual, probably reflecting all the rain and snow we've gotten this winter.
Put on Care Bears Family while eating lunch when I got home. Hugs and Tugs learn about "Caring for Spring" when Gram tells them the story of how Jack (Tugs) and Jill (Hugs) tried to rescue Mother Nature (Gram) from the Witch of Winter (Shreeky). They get a ring that allows them to make three wishes from a not-so-scary ogre (Grumpy), but use up the wishes helping Wee Willie Winkie (Bright Heart), Jack Be Nimble (Champ) and Little Bo Peep (Beastly). They finally learn the importance of helping others when their new friends save them in return.
Moved to Let's Make a Deal while I put the groceries away. Got in just as several people traded up and down to get either a box or money. The Big Dealers were a Scotswoman in a short plaid kilt and a tam and Gumby with his Smurf cousin. Gumby got kitchen appliances, but the Scottish lass literally hit the jackpot - Monty's Piggy Bank was, for once, bursting with money that added up to three times the cash it usually had.
After I finished, I took down the winter decorations and put up what I had for spring and St. Patrick's Day. Yeah, I know spring doesn't start for at least another two weeks. It's going to get into the 60's next week, and even when it drops down from there, it won't be that cold. I think Mother Nature is ready, even if the calendar isn't. I saw the first daffodils of the season in a front yard as I rode to the Acme.
Went online after I put everything away and finally got my schedule. In good news, slightly more hours, four days off, and I'll be in the floral department next Saturday. Trouble is, the reason I got four days off is I work seven and a half hours on Sunday and eight and a half hours on Wednesday! And I'm bagging both days. I'm not looking forward to that at all. I wonder if another bagger went on vacation.
Ran the last disc for WKRP In Cincinnati throughout the afternoon. Venus thinks he's romancing a lovely lady (Tim Reid's real-life wife Daphne Maxwell Reid) during his night show, but then he's arrested for being an accomplice in a jewel robbery. The others try to explain that it's just "Circumstantial Evidence," but it's hard when the woman is an accomplished liar.
The staff learns a lesson in teamwork when there's a "Fire" on the fifth floor and they're all trapped upstairs. Jennifer isn't happy about being stuck in an elevator with Herb at first. While the others figure out a way to rescue them, Herb learns that Jennifer is less of a goddess than he thinks, and Jennifer discovers that Herb is all too aware of his sleazy reputation.
Bailey is excited to do an article about a children's hospital when Les would rather do a series of stories on the vanishing rutabaga. The others are impressed with the article she wrote, enough for Les to read it on the air. To her horror, Bailey's saying "Dear Liar" when it turns out the story is fake and the little boy who is the focus of the article is a composite of the many children she met there.
We flashback to the pilot episode as Andy explains "The Creation of Venus" and why Venus' persona and wardrobe changed so much after the first season. Venus was just an out-of-work teacher from New Orleans when Andy recruited him to convince Mrs. Carlson to use his rock format. Andy was the one who insisted he change his name and wear flashy clothes to impress her.
Les wants "The Impossible Dream" when he claims he's going to New York City to audition for the CBS Evening News. He's also not overly happy when Jennifer tries to hold him a birthday party. He doesn't like birthdays or surprises. There's also his formidable mother, who is supposedly encouraging his dream...or is she?
Arthur's had enough of Herb's big mouth after his fast-talking loses an important client. Jennifer reminds him "To Err Is Human" and actually goes to talk to the client Herb offended, learning how hard Herb's job is in the process.
Everyone at WKRP is thrilled when the Arbitron ratings are out and they learn they're now the number 6 station "Up and Down the Dial." Everyone, that is, but Mrs. Carlson. She never intended WKRP to succeed. She wanted it to be a tax write-off. She finally does what most AM radio stations were doing in the 70's and 80's and insists on changing to an all-news format.
And that's that. On one hand, some of the individual episodes, like "Rumors" and "Les On a Ledge," haven't dated well. Nor have some of the cracks about Venus' race or Les' sexuality. There's still enough funny shows to more than make up for that, including possibly the best Thanksgiving sitcom episode of all time, "Turkeys Away." Others, like Johnny's departure and return in the first season and the series finale, take a surprisingly realistic view of how radio worked in that era. The cast is uniformly splendid, with Loni Anderson as smart bombshell Jennifer, Richard Sanders as sweet but self-important news reporter Les, and Howard Hesseman as sixties burnout Johnny Fever getting many of the most memorable moments.
Sadly, the expensive music rights has mostly kept this offline and away from syndication, but the Shout Factory DVD sets are fairly easy to find. If you're a fan of work-coms or if you're like me and have fond memories of this from its frequent syndication in the 80's and early 90's, you'll want to switch on the dial and be "livin' on the air in Cincinnati" with some of the wackiest folks to ever run a radio station.
Went online mid-way through the episodes. Applied for a job with a staffing service in Cherry Hill, then worked on writing. Bill Cullen is the amiable Guard at the Gate. He won't let them see the Wizard, until Charles the Scarecrow mentions the Good Witch Patti. That gets them in. Bill does give them glasses like his first to cut down on the glare in Televisia City.
Broke for banana-peanut butter pancakes, eggs, and orange slices for dinner at 7 PM while watching Match Game Syndicated. The first episode started off with Brett fussing over Charles wearing a knitted vest and Gene complaining about the pockets on his pants being sewn up. Dick Martin is more nervous about helping the contestant with "__ Edge" in the Head-to-Head.
Sadly, Jimmie Walker hasn't cleared his syndicated episodes yet. The last episode of the Dick Martin week and most of the next week is currently unavailable. We pick up the week after with David Doyle, Marcia Wallace, and in his first episode, Robert Donner. We open with Gene reading a letter from a teenager on a farm who insisted that yes, pigs do live in barns and that these celebrities should know that...and one of them did. Brett grew up on a farm, and likely knew as much about raising hogs as the kid did.
Finished the night and the winter season at Disney Plus with Snowball Express. Johnny Baxter (Dean Jones) is so excited that he has inherited a hotel in Colorado, he quits his accounting job and moves his family there. Turns out the place is a dilapidated wreck that hasn't been run for years, according to local bartender Jesse McCord (Harry Morgan).
Baxter realizes that the lodge sits on a huge tractor of land surrounded by mountains that he considers to be perfect for skiing. He becomes determined to turn the ruined hotel into a ski lodge. His wife Sue (Nancy Olsen) wishes he'd be more careful and crash into fewer things, while local banker Martin Ridgeway (Keenan Wynn) keeps pestering him to sell the hotel. Johnny finally joins a ski mobile race in order to earn the money to pay Ridgeway, but it turns out the land that the lodge is sitting on is far more valuable than he thinks...
One of the many goofy family comedies Disney made in the 70's, this is basically an earlier version of Captain Ron set in a dilapidated ski resort instead of a dilapidated yacht, with a cool older guy playing off the high-strung accountant instead of a cool sailor. Jones always did do well by Disney, and his Johnny is no exception. Nancy joins him for the second time after That Darn Cat as his exasperated wife who wishes her husband's dreams involved more heat and fewer ski lift disasters.
If you're looking for something fun and silly to watch with the kids or have fond memories of when this used to turn up on TV and The Disney Channel a lot during the winter in the 70's and 80's, you'll want to slide down the hill with Johnny and check it out.
(Oh, and the clouds continued to gather all afternoon. They finally burst...around 9 PM, by which time I was long at home and watching Snowball Express.)
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