Trouble On a Gloomy Day

The day did not begin well. I had a quick breakfast before doing the New Jersey Child Abuse Record Information paperwork. I was still finishing out the last of the paperwork when Healthy Kids texted me again. Since I wasn't quite done, they pushed back the appointment to 4 PM.

That did give me the time to put my laundry downstairs and run to the Acme. For one thing, I wanted to pick up a gift card for Mother's Day. For another, I forgot to pick up the second letter. Turns out the other manager couldn't write it. I asked the floral department manager to write it instead. (And she still hasn't sent it.) Stopped at the Oaklyn Post Office on the way home to send Mom's card. Her birthday card got there late and in bad shape. I wanted to make sure this one got there on time. 

Got the laundry into the dryer, then had lunch while watching Alice's Wonderland Bakery. "Meet the Tweedles" introduces Tweedle Do and Tweedle Don't, who are supposed to help people make important decisions. Alice can't decide if she wants to accept the Queen's offer to become her royal baker, so she lets the Tweedles decide...with chaotic results! It's "A Very Wonderland Wedding" when a daisy and a dandelion who are getting married want Alice to create a cake for them with very unique ingredients! Alice and the kids can't figure out how to blend them, until Alice discovers they don't have to.

Put on PAW Patrol as I made the bed and cleaned up from lunch. The "Pups Pit Crew" helps Alex retrieve the parts for the "super trike" he made from recycled scrap and help him put it back together. "Pups Fight Fire" when Marshall joins a contest for the World's Fastest Firefighter. He's ready and raring to go, but when he has to fight a real fire on the beach, he realizes that being fast isn't what's important. Real firefighters do their job no matter what.

Listened to recently-acquired jazz records while I finally brought the laundry upstairs and put it away, then started the paperwork. The Maxwell Jazz II Sampler is what it says - a collection of jazz performed by then-popular artists. The oldest number on the album Ella Fitzgerald joining Count Basie for "You've Changed." Most of them are from the 60's onward, like Buddy Rich pounding through "Ya Gotta Try" and Oscar Peterson's "Lil' Darlin'."

Wynton Marsalis dominated the jazz scene in the 80's and early 90's with albums like Think of One. This was one of his biggest hits, topping the jazz albums chart. The Thelonious Monk title song is probably the best-known from this one. I also like "My Ideal" and Marsalis' own "The Bell Ringer" and "Later."

I thought I had everything done, but...she rescheduled again for tomorrow. They hadn't gotten the CARI paperwork, and said I hadn't finished the tax work. I thought I did. Turns out I only did the New Jersey and forgot the Federal. At least I was able to do that and not only finish the CARI, but figure out how to add the many places I've lived and when I lived there when they wanted my addresses since 1980! 

(And it's a good thing I spent the rest of the afternoon at home. It was cloudy, damp, and cool for most of the day. It finally rained around the time was talking to Healthy Kids, which made me feel sorry for the kids and their caretakers who would likely be stuck inside. Thankfully, the rain ended not long afterwards and it went back to just being gloomy.)

Put on The Magic Sword to make myself feel better while I did that Federal tax paperwork. A strapping young man (Gary Lockwood) rescues his princess sweetheart from an evil sorcerer (Basil Rathbone) with the help and hindrance of his witch mother (Estelle Woodward). I have to agree with the guys on Mystery Science Theater 3000 that for a Bert I. Gordon production, this wasn't all that bad. Yeah, Lockwood's character was pretty much a jerk, the knights that came back to life didn't have much to do, and the special effects were terrible (the dragons are obvious puppets). Rathbone and Woodward's hilarious performances make the whole thing worth seeing, both the actual film and the MST3K version.

Had dinner while watching Match Game '76. It's too bad there's an episode of this week with Marcia Rodd currently missing (it was supposedly erased by accident when GSN was upgrading the episodes back in the 2000's). Rodd has some funny moments, and Gary Burghoff gets a few digs in at Brett.

Finished the night watching unique game shows with adventure or fantasy themes. Most shows of this nature usually just have a gimmick to make them stand out. The Money Maze from 1975 had couples searching a maze for the bell to ring that would give them a prize. Host Nick Clooney tries to be amiable, but the whole thing comes off as silly.

Whew! from 1979 is silly done right. Two contestants (including a young Julie Brown, later of MTV, in the first episode) place "blocks" on a board of pun-filled questions. The contestants try to answer the questions, make their way up the board, and avoid the blocks. The creative bonus round is "The Gauntlet." The winner makes their way past a row of Hanna-Barbara-designed "villains" while being asked more pun questions. Energetic Tom Kennedy has a great time as host. It's too bad this didn't last a year on CBS, and I don't think Buzzr knew what to do with it, either. This deserved far better than it got from either network.

Pitfall from 1982 had a lot more challenges than its up-and-down set. In this Canadian show, Alex Trebek asked two contestants to predict how the audience would vote on a certain subject. Winner went through a bonus round similar to "The Gauntlet." Here, they're blocked by a series of mechanical elevators. The "pitfall" is the elevators that go down when stepped on. Right answers get them moving again. Not only is this not all that exciting of a game, but the pitfalls were so expensive to set up, the production company went bankrupt. Neither Alex nor the contestants ever got their prizes or money.

The success of American Gladiators in the mid-90's brought out many extreme sports imitations and variations. Knights and Warriors pits two teams against each other and a group of athletes dressed as 80's-early 90's fantasy stereotypes. I'm not a Gladiators fan, but the medieval theme and the warriors' total devotion to playing their roles to the hilt makes this one quite a lot of fun. (Incidentally, if you also enjoyed the show, the full series can currently be found on Tubi.) 

England also got into adventure fantasy shows in the early 90's. The Crystal Maze takes a team of interpret  explorers through four areas. They play three or four games in each area to win a crystal. The more crystals they get, the more time they earn gathering gold paper in the end. If they get enough gold papers, they can win a trip. This is so much fun to watch, no wonder it ran for five series and would be revived in 2016.

Fight warriors, avoid pitfalls, and run the dreaded "Gauntlet" of Hanna-Barbara baddies in these unique adventures! 

The Money Maze Pilot (1975)

Whew! (1979)

Pitfall (1982)

Knights and Warriors (1992)

The Crystal Maze (1994) 

The Password Is Showers

Started off my morning with a quick breakfast and Long Distance Voyager. The Moody Blues' return to their original dreamy progressive rock in their second album to hit number #1 in the US. "Gemini Dream" was the hit; "The Voice" and "Talking Out of Turn" were also popular. I thought "In My World" and "22,000 Days" were lovely and enjoyed the unique "Veteran Cosmic Rocker." 

I didn't trust the weather. It was supposed to storm later. Called Uber, and frankly am glad I did. The driver picking me up didn't even take a minute. He made a wrong turn and somehow ended up going towards West Collingswood, but got turned around in enough time for me to not be late. The driver going home took 4 minutes. At least there was no traffic (or bad weather) in either case.

It didn't finally start raining until around 11 AM...and when it did, it never stormed. We did get an occasional heavy shower, but it was mostly light rain off and on the entire afternoon. The crowds were off and on, too. It was busy when I arrived, but the heavier rain cleared out our customers. It had gotten busy again by the time I was getting ready to go. I spent the entire day pushing carts. Had plenty of help from the Sunday morning bagger and two more in the late morning and afternoon. They took over sweeping the store and putting most of the cold items away. I did gather trash early in the day, but the evening bagger took over that later on. Got in and out with no trouble other than I was damp from the showers.

When I got home, I took a shower, grabbed dinner, and spent the rest of the night on YouTube watching today's game show marathon. Today, Allen Ludden is best-known for hosting the first three versions of Password, including the original 1961-1967 run that my mother loved watching with her grandparents and the 1971-1975 ABC version. The game was enjoyably simple. A celebrity described a word for a contestant and tried to get them to guess the word. The more clues used, the fewer points they got. Winners moved on to the Lightning Round, where they would describe five words in 60 seconds. 

I don't think any host is more associated with the show than Allen. He met Betty White playing on that show; they announced their marriage on an episode that also featured their good friend Jack Paar. Betty would also be on the final color week of the original show with Frank Gifford (best-known nowadays as the husband of Kathie Lee Gifford).

There's a lot less of the 1971-1975 version kicking around. Alas, ABC erased this years ago (supposedly with Family Feud). Brett Somers plays her then-husband Jack Klugman in the episode from 1971 included here...and had her rear handed to her, according to her several years later on Match Game. 

After the success of shows like The Price Is Right changed the rules for game shows, ABC tried to fancy this up with a big celebrity tournament. Only the last episode of Password All-Stars exists today, but it's hilarious enough to make me wish the entire tournament was available. Betty White, Richard Dawson, Bill Bixby, and Hal Linden have a blast playing each other...especially giving rather loud clues for "hallelujah!" We also got to see where Allen got the Tank watch he mentions in the week he and Betty did on Match Game together later in 1975 in the Password '75 series finale - Mark Goodson gave it to him. 

It wasn't until the debut of Password Plus in 1979 that Goodson-Todman finally figured out how to update the game without making it overly complicated. Now, contestants and celebrities guessed five words that lead to a subject. Guessing the subject would win them the round. Winners went on to the Alphabetics round, where they would guess 10 words in alphabetical order. 

Allen hosted most of the first year, but it was clear he was tiring. He took four weeks off during April 1980, when Bill Cullen took over. Bill was sweet and amiable, but really too slow for this show. Not to mention, he was also hosting Chain Reaction at the time. Allen returned until late October, when he finally left for good. He did see some really fun episodes in his first year, including the hilarious week where Betty kept flirting with handsome John Phillip Law. 

Of course, Allen did host other shows. In fact, he was hosting GE College Bowl when he was offered Password. Two teams of college students face off in increasingly difficult questions. This one started on radio in the 50's, but by the time Allen left in 1962 to focus on Password, it had moved to TV. 

My other favorite Allen series is Liar's Club, which I've featured with comedy shows and panel shows a couple of times on this blog. Four comedians or character actors describe a unique antique object. The contestants have to decide which one is telling the truth. This cross between Wordplay and To Tell the Truth made the most out of its hilarious panels and their wacky descriptions. Betty's joined here by Buddy Hackett, Peter Haskall, and show co-creator Larry Hovis. 

Allen also had his share of failures. Win With the Stars was a syndicated revival of the Wink Martindale guess-the-song show What's That Song? Bob Crane and June Lockheart did their best to help guide contestants into singing the correct lyrics to a familiar standard, sort of a proto-Don't Forget the Lyrics, but the show only lasted a year. The overly-complicated connect-the-word game Stumpers! from 1976 didn't get past three months. 

He also hosted several pilots that never made it to air. Of these, my favorite was The Smart Alecks. Three celebrity panelists judge whether someone's invention is worthy of being marketed. It helped that the panelists were Pat Carroll, Don Meredith, and Allen's own discovery David Letterman. Like I said on the chat, between their wisecracks and some unique inventors, this was more of a one-off comedy special than a failed pilot. 

Talking Pictures was almost as funny. Allen led two contestants in trying to remember which secret belongs to which panel member behind a sliding door, in what amounted to a cross between Concentration, I've Got a Secret, and Laugh-In. Great panel for a one-off pilot too, including Carol Burnett, Ann Miller, Angela Cartwright, Peter Lawford, Lorne Greene, and Stubby Kaye. 

Allen was also the original host of The Joker's Wild in its pilot. The main game is pretty much the same as it would be in the actual version, but the bonus round is very different. Contestants spin for prizes rather than money amounts. By the time CBS finally picked this up, Allen had moved to ABC, and they reluctantly turned it over to its creator Jack Barry. 

The password is...class act! Celebrate the life and career of one of the classiest hosts on TV and the man who won the heart of its favorite comedienne for life!

Allen Ludden Grand Finale Marathon

First Harvest of the Season

Got a quick start this morning with breakfast and the Silly Symphony "Elmer Elephant." Elmer is a sweet little fellow with a crush on Tillie Tiger. She appreciates the flowers he brings for her birthday, but the other animal kids make fun of his long nose. His trunk proves to be more useful than they think when it's the only thing that can save Tillie from her burning treehouse!

Made a quick run to Collingswood next for their first farm market of the season. Between the farm market, the holiday weekend, and this being the day of Collingswood's Town-Wide Yard Sale, the farm market was packed elbow-to-elbow. Disappointingly, they didn't really have much in the way of produce. It was mostly leftovers from the winter. I just ended up with some Fuji apples from the orchard booth. Peeked at a few yard sales on the way home, but saw nothing of interest.

Put on Alice's Wonderland Bakery while I put the apples away and got ready for work. Alice and her friends hear a unique voice singing in some part of the garden and try to find it to perform a solo with the flowers. It turns out to be in the last place anyone would look...but it provides the right ingredient for "A Special Blend" that can sing in harmony. Rosa wants the March Hare to help fix her mother's cape after it tears on a windy day. "The Princess and the Hare" incorporate all the things she loves into the design. After it gets caught in the wind again, Alice encourages Rosa to do something different with it. 

Hurried off to work after the cartoon ended. No trouble there. We were busy when I arrived, but by the time I finished, it had only just started picking up again. The weather held, too. It was supposed to have rained later in the day, but we barely had clouds in the evening. It was hot and humid, in the upper 80's, but we never got anything like rain. I even got a free donut and bag of Herr's Mexican Street Corn popcorn with online coupons. (Oh, and I did get both letters for the interview on Monday, too.)

Finished the night back at YouTube with another music-based show. Country singers and country-based stars turned up quite often on Match Game. The most frequently appearing country star was charming "Whisperin'" Bill Anderson, who was a semi-regular in his own right between 1976 and 1982. He was an enjoyable presence and not a bad player who got in on several famous weeks, including the week Jack and Brett were on the same panel after their divorce/separation.

There were other country stars who did fewer weeks on the show. Mel Tillis turned up in 1977 and even got to sing a bit of his best-known hit, "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town." Also on in 1977 was a delightful Minnie Pearl. I wish they'd gotten her from the Grand Ol' Opry again. She was warm, funny, and not a bad player. Connie Stevens recorded a few country albums during her long career. She too started late in '77 and would appear through 1981. Irlene Mandrell was adorable with Fannie Flagg in one of the last weeks of the syndicated run in 1982. Guich Kotch provided eye candy and quite a bit of charm (even though he didn't seem to quite get the  humor) in 1978 and 1979.

Bring your twangy gi-tar and join in the sing along with some of the most beloved country stars of the 70's and 80's!

Match Game Saturday Classics - Country Music Showcase

And here's that review of Fiesta with Esther Williams and Ricardo Montalban from yesterday!

Celebrating Cinco Del Mayo - Fiesta (1947) 

Can't Take My Eyes Off You

Got a late start this morning with breakfast and Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. "Daniel Asks What Friends Like" when it's his job to greet the kids coming in and he needs to find out whether they prefer a high five, a hug, or a wave. Later, he has to explain to Prince Wednesday why he prefers being called "Daniel," not "Danny." Katrina is the waitress at "Miss Elaina's Space Restaurant," but she wants to wear her apron as a cape, and Elaina likes it as an apron.

Watched Supermarket Sweep while making my grocery list. The two women in the first team clearly dominated the game. They got by far the most time in the mini games and made the most in the Big Sweep. But when it came time to do the bonus round, they couldn't find the small bottle of Neet hair remover they were looking for.

Went out to run errands after the episode ended. I was a bit surprised to see teens milling around when I arrived at the Westmont Plaza. They were mainly wearing uniforms, so I assume the catholic high school down the street Paul VI got out early. At least the kids aren't interested in Sprouts. I had no trouble picking up granola bars, coconut milk, and dried apricots. It's going to be too hot to bake this week, so I found vegan chocolate chip cookies on clearance. Found a Cove flavor they didn't have at the Acme (raspberry) and decided to try Reed Soda, since it was on sale.

My next stop went less well. I did pick up two of the newest Tea Shop Mysteries books at the Haddon Township Library, Murder In the Tea Leaves and Peach Tea Smash, and a book by the lady who wrote Wintering, Enchantment, on finding the delight in everyday beauty. They weren't willing to write me a letter of recommendation, though. There was no one still working at the library who remembered when I volunteered there. Bryanna wouldn't, either. They weren't a job, only a non-profit organization. I'm going to have to ask the Acme for a second letter tomorrow.

Did better at the Westmont Acme down the street. Found a very pretty Mother's Day card for my mom. Strawberries, Made Good granola bars, and Choboni yogurt were all on sale with online coupons. Thought I'd try Skyr Yogurt's cold brew coffee flavor on a decent sale as well. Fished an adorable little aqua and pink Squishmallow cow named Ysmaris out of the Easter clearance cart. Her tag says she's an Easter muralist, but her coloring is generic enough for her to be out the entire spring season. Popwell and Jones sodas were also on good sales. 

Took the long way home across Newton Lake Park. It's really beautiful there now. The leaves on the trees get more and more green by the day. Wildflowers wave in the breeze, and I got a glimpse of the new playground equipment that they finally finished across the lake as I rode by. They also put gravel down at the base of the path going over the hill to the Haddon Township Environmental Center. 

Put on Fiesta when I got home while having lunch and putting everything away. I'll go further into this unique Mexican-set vehicle for Esther Williams and Ricardo Montalban tomorrow on my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog for Cinco Del Mayo.

Got my schedule at this point. In good news, I did get next Saturday off as I asked for the Haddon Township Town-Wide Yard Sale (since I did so well with that last year), along with Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday.  Bad news is I work long hours when I am there, including an 8 1/2 hour day on Wednesday. No idea what's going on there. 

I vacuumed and Swiftered during the second half of Fiesta. Continued dusting while watching Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In in honor of Ruth Buzzi, the comedienne who passed away today. She was so associated with the show, she would be one of only four actors to appear in all six seasons (and the others were hosts Dan Rowan and Dick Martin and announcer Gary Owens). I started with the very first episode, featuring guest stars Flip Wilson, Barbara Feldon, and a number from the Strawberry Alarm Clock. Buzzi got to do a hilarious opera spoof with Arte Johnson mid-way through during a "talent show," with them in Wagnerian horned headdresses singing an operatic version of a rock song. Also during the talent show segment, we got to hear Tiny Tim perform his own...unique...version of "On the Good Ship Lollipop." 

Looked up some things online while watching the episode of The Monkees Buzzi appeared in. A few months before Laugh-In began, she played a far more amiable little old lady than frumpy Gladys in the second season episode "A Coffin Too Frequent." The Monkees prove her scheming nephew (George Firth) is a fraud during a goofy seance while dodging his enormous and menacing assistant. 

It had been gorgeous for most of the day, sunny and breezy...but it was also very hot, into the upper 80's. It was too hot for cooking, and I was tired of leftovers. I went down to Crown Chicken and Gyro and bought a chicken gyro and fries for dinner. Ate at home while watching Match Game '76. Bonnie Franklin turned up for the first time in the first episode, which also brought in folksy Bill Anderson. Scoey Mitchilll was happier to finally get an ovation after he got an especially good answer in the second.

Took a shower, then put on Buzzi's episode of The Muppet Show. She was one of the first stars on its very first season, probably because she always seemed like something of a human Muppet anyway. Her big number was "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" as a princess who was really into Sweetums. She also plays a soldier who talks - and talks - after being tortured and did a panel show spoof on whether the human body is obsolete. Kermit has more trouble backstage when Scooter creates a wind-up version of him created by his uncle. After the wind-up Kermit hits on her, Piggy tries slapping him...inadvertently discovering her signature karate chop instead! 

Finished the night back at Tubi with the cut-ups at Laugh-In. Wild and wacky Johnathan Winters was a natural fit for this show in a third season episode that had Arte Johnson's dirty old man flirting with his Maude Frickert, to the dismay of Buzzi's Gladys! Winters also played a cop that had to deal with the infamous Frakas family. Lily Tomilin joins the cast here...and proceeds to talk Dan Rowan's ear off during a segment on travel jokes.

By the fifth season, Tomlin and Buzzi had been joined by Richard Dawson, Alan Sues, Barbara Shawma,  Johnny Brown, and child actor Moosie Drier. With Fannie Flagg and Ann Elder doing blackout gags, this episode almost felt like a warm-up for the new version of Match Game that debuted two years later. Health and exercise advocate Jack LaLane's appearance sparked a round of health and fitness gags and jokes, while Buddy Hackett joined Brown for weight gags. Sally Struthers tosses in commentary on the then-success of her show All In the Family. Buzzi's Gladys dreams of being married to Sigmund Freud, but it's not as sexy as she first believes. 

Travels to the Library

The day did not begin well. I thought that interview with Healthy Kids was tomorrow. Turns out it was today. I had barely enough time to change and eat breakfast before they told me I didn't have everything I needed. Oh, I have the job. They just need more paperwork, including my college transcript and two letters of recommendation. I rescheduled the interview for Monday.

After that, I did the paperwork I could finish now, then called Uber. I have no idea why the Mt. Laurel Library's book sale was so late - it's usually in April - but it is today through Saturday. Fortunately, I had no trouble getting there. The driver going to Mt. Laurel arrived in 7 minutes. The one going home got there in 3. No traffic either way, not even in Cherry Hill.

The Mt. Laurel Library Book Sale was in a slightly bigger room this year, but that still didn't make it more organized or easier to get around all the people looking for bargains. Even when it started to clear out a bit around 1:30, I still had a hard time finding things. I eventually came up with four records, four CDs (two are part of a double set), three books, and a DVD of the 1975 historical action film The Man Who Would Be King. The records are:

Gold - The Best of Sesame Street (2-Disc set)

The Brubeck Laverne Trio - See How It Feels

Remember the Golden Days of Radio Volume 1 and 2

The CDs are: 

The Glenn Miller Orchestra - In the Christmas Mood II (I've had this on cassette for years and have been looking for the CD version.)

The Beatles - Live at the BBC (2-Disc set) 

The Dave Brubeck Quartet - The Dave Brubeck Quartet at Carnegie Hall

 The books are: 

The Tempest by William Shakespeare (My favorite of his plays.)

Six Stunning Sirens by Lynn Cahoon

Murder In an Irish Churchyard by Carlene O'Connor

The driver passed Stacks on 38 in Moorestown on the way to Mt. Laurel. I originally thought of them for lunch, but I got out at almost 2, and they close then. After I got in, I brought everything upstairs, changed into sneakers, and ate at the Legacy Diner in Audubon instead. Had a short stack of "Chunky Monkey" pancakes, which turned out to be pancakes with chocolate chips and huge slices of banana. Very tasty and big as the plate. Good thing I only ordered the short stack. Tried a tasty linzer cookie that was almost as big.

I was really in Audubon to stop at the Acme and ask the head manager to write me a letter of recommendation. Thank goodness he was still in, and he's a nice guy who had no trouble doing so. I told him I'd pick it up when I came on Saturday. Grabbed a Lemon Perfect drink on sale after that and dodged evening rush hour traffic going home.

At least the weather was gorgeous for all the running around. It was perfectly sunny and dry today, in the upper 70's without a cloud in the sky. Dry and breezy, too. You'd never know it's supposed to rain all weekend.

When I got in, I ordered a copy of my college transcript and had dinner while watching Riding High. I go further into this year's Kentucky Derby horse racing musical featuring Bing Crosby and directed by Frank Capra at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Riding High (1950)

Had dinner while watching Press Your Luck, then Match Game '76. Finished the night listening to two of my recent CD finds while working on the Riding High review. Until I saw The Buddy Holly Story, I hadn't realized just how familiar I was with Buddy Holly and his work. I didn't know he originally wrote and sang "Everyday" and "Rave On." Other songs of his I was more familiar with include "That'll Be the Day," "Oh Boy!" and "Peggy Sue."

Dave Brubeck and his jazz combo took their sound out of the colleges and into Carnegie Hall in February 1963 in The Dave Brubeck Quartet at Carnegie Hall. They kick off with an epic "St. Louis Blues" and finish with Brubeck's famous "Take Five," but there's some nice stuff in between as well. I especially enjoyed "For All We Know," "Three to Get Ready," and "It's a Raggy Waltz."

There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow

Began the morning with breakfast and Alice's Wonderland Bakery. "Fergie Suits Up" to fulfill his dream of one day becoming a Card Guard by joining the Card Guard Academy. He trips up the games to protect Rosa at every turn...until Rosa is in real danger, and he's the only one who can save her. "Look Who's Knocking?" The talking Door Knob, who delivers the kids to various places in Wonderland, but never gets to join in the fun. Alice and the others finally realize that they're leaving him out and have a special party just for him.

Headed to work after the cartoon ended. No trouble here. It's the middle of the week and the last day of the month. Not to mention, the weather was stunning, sunny, breezy, cloudless, and warm, into the lower 80's. Even when I had to return cold items, I didn't fall behind on anything. I was in and out with no problems whatsoever.

It was so gorgeous, I went home after work, changed, went briefly online, and went right back out again on the bike. I was originally going to take out money for the rent and to hit the Mt. Laurel Library Book Sale tomorrow, but decided to do it today instead. Got the money at WaWa, along with a soft pretzel and a sweet and tasty mocha mint smoothie.

Spent the rest of the afternoon moving the remaining CDs to the holders I bought at 2nd Avenue Thrift yesterday while watching the episodes I hadn't gotten to yet on the Tomorrowland Walt Disney Treasures set. My favorite episode on the set was Mars and Beyond. Walt and his animators really got creative with the wild designs imagining what life would be like other planets. Love the lady who eventually saves herself from them in a hilarious spoof of typical pulp science fiction. 

The episodes on the second disc were less interesting. The short Eyes In Outer Space goes into details about satellites, what they do, and how they can help us track the weather. Our Friend the Atom features some unique abstract animation and a story involving an uncontrollable genie to show how nuclear energy was considered a viable source of clean fuel in 1957. Having seen the Defunctland episode on the original futuristic city version of EPCOT, I find it hard to be as enthusiastic for the last film Walt Disney would appear on in his lifetime. It sounds more impractical and nearly dystopian than actually viable. 

I wasn't expecting to enjoy the material on this set as much as I did. Mars and Beyond in particular features some of the most imaginative animation Disney ever did. Even if you're like me and you don't think you'll be into the subject matter, give this one a chance. It might surprise you. (It also helps that this is one of the less-expensive Treasures sets online. Copies can be found on eBay for as little as $15 with shipping.)

Had dinner while watching Press Your Luck, and then Match Game '78. Helaine Lembeck of Welcome Back Kotter and Betty White join the fun when a short stagehand gives Gene an old-fashioned microphone, of the kind they used in radio during the 30's and 40's. Gene does try to use it, but it's a bit hard to talk into for a guy who is constantly moving around.

Finished the night at Tubi with The Secret of Moonacre. In the 1870's, Maria Merriweather (Dakota Blue Richards) and her governess Miss Heliotrope (Juliet Stevenson) travel to the crumbling Moonacre Manor to live with Maria's uncle Sir Benjamin Merriweather (Ioan Gruffudd). Her father left her nothing but a book detailing how the Moon Princess (Natascha McElhone) gave her fiance (Gruffudd) pearls that reveal people's true natures. Unfortunately, it revealed him and the head of the near-by clan the de Noirs (Tim Curry) to be greedy and selfish. The Moon Princess hid the pearls and cursed the valley to be plunged into an eternal darkness by the 5,000th moon rise. 

Sir Benjamin continuously tells Maria not to go into the woods around the manor, but she's drawn there anyway. She's twice nearly harmed by bandits, who turn out to be Coeur de Noir (Curry) and his son Robin (Augustus Prew). His beautiful daughter Loveday (McElhone) was once betrothed to Sir Benjamin, but he turned her away when he realized she was a de Noir. 

Sir Benjamin's eccentric chef Marmaduke (Andy Linden tells Maria she's the next Moon Princess. Loveday admits she was the previous one, but couldn't get Sir Benjamin to get past his stubbornness and bring together their families. Maria is now determined to find the pearls, end the curse, and prove to everyone the trouble that greed, anger, and pride can cause. 

This doesn't seem to be terribly well-regarded, but I found it to be attractive and charming. The stiff dialogue and some so-so special effects are set off by the enjoyable story and some decent performances, especially from Dakota Blue Richards as intelligent and strong-willed Maria. Worth checking out if you're a fantasy fan or have late elementary school or pre-teen kids who are. 

Day In the Sunshine

Got a quick start this morning with breakfast and What's New, Scooby Doo? It's "Pompeii and Circumstances" when Mystery Inc's vacation in Italy is disrupted by a spectral gladiator and chariot guarding Pompeii. Worse yet, the long-dormant volcano seems to be belching smoke and ready to blow its top! The kids head to the volcano itself to check it out, while Velma wonders what a garbage scow and a grouchy security guard have to do with it.

Headed out soon as I finished eating. I had a lot to do today, starting with a brief stop at the Acme. I needed to change my weekday availability. Not that they really use me that often on the weekdays anyhow, but I needed to tell them that I really won't be there in the afternoons now. I can still work mornings and weekends. 

My next stop was the Goodwill in Audubon Crossings. I mainly needed to drop off a bag of donations, including the old CD player. (I put the old CD/cassette player on the curb for anyone who wanted it, since the CD part didn't work.) Made some of the best finds in the front I have there in ages. Came up with the book Life Reimagined by Barbara Bradley Hagerty on weathering changes in midlife, five records, and two CDs. The five records were:

Judy Garland - Judy at Carnegie Hall 

Studio cast recording of The Desert Song and Roberta featuring Gordon MacRae and Lucille Norman and the original cast of I Can Get It For You Wholesale with Elliot Gould, Lillian Roth, and in her first major role, Barbra Streisand

Tinkerbell/Peter Pan Records double feature of Thumbelina and The Ugly Duckling

A musical Cinderella made for the Columbia Children's Library of Recorded Books. (The back indicates even more tiles in this series of interest, including one with Curious George and others that feature such beloved kids' stories as Make Way For Ducklings, Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel, and Caps for Sale.)

The two CDs were:

Train - Train

Have Yourself a Looney Tunes Christmas! (I don't know if I'll keep this one. It lacks the "Christmas Chopsticks" with Elmer from the cassette version.)

I wasn't that hungry, so I just had a quick late slice of mushroom pizza and a bottle of Diet Pepsi at Tu Se Bella's before moving down to Lane Bryant. I really needed to replace some of my underwear. It's been a while. (I need to replace the bras too, but those can wait for vacation.) There wasn't much in the way of briefs, so it took me a while to dig out 5 for the 5 for $25 sale. (And ended up getting one more when I found a pair that was $4.99.)

(And at least it was a glorious day for the running around! The weather couldn't have been more perfect. It was breezy, sunny, dry, and in the upper 70's.)

After I got home, I put everything away, then put on Mr. Music. I go further into this Bing Crosby vehicle featuring him as a songwriter who would rather be on the golf course and Nancy Olsen as the collegiate secretary who goads him into working at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Mr. Music

Jessa picked me up around 6. We had dinner at the Pub, a local steakhouse and bar that's been an institution in Pennsauken for over 70 years. The Pub is an enormous, elegant wood-paneled square barn with soft orange rings of lights overhead and heavy wooden furniture. It reminds me so much of a bigger version of the equally dark and dim older bars in Cape May and Wildwood. I felt right at home there. I wasn't the only one, either. Jessa told me this had been one of our Uncle Ken's favorite restaurants, and our cousin Amber had worked as a waitress there for several years before moving to Wisconsin. 

We started things off with iced tea and tasty, crusty bread. Jessa had a gigantic steak and a twice-baked potato. I had baked shrimp and scallops on a square pancake soaked in butter sauce, green beans, and fries. We both enjoyed salads and breads from their salad bar. It was all amazing...and huge. We both took parts of our meals home this time. Even their bathrooms were huge. I played the Ghostbusters pinball machine while waiting for Jessa. 

Our last stop before we went back to Oaklyn was 2nd Avenue Thrift, which is right next door to the Pub. I really did well with thrift shopping today. I've been looking for CD books that cost far less than the $15 to 25 the larger ones usually go for online. Picked up three big ones for $3.99 each and one smaller one for $2.99 at 2nd Avenue thrift, along with three books: 

High Heels and Holidays by Kasey Michaels

The Anybodys by N.E Bode

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland In a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente

And 3 CDs: 

The Moody Blues - Long Distance Traveler

Mariah Carey - #1s

Buddy Holly - The Best of Buddy Holly - The Millennium Collection

Oh, and I heard from Healthy Kids Programs when I was in Lane Bryant. Called them back when I got home. They want to do another virtual interview at 11 AM on Friday morning to go over and complete my paperwork. I'll be starting with them May 12th. 

Dolls and Harts

Began the morning with breakfast and The Adventures of Flash Gordon. "The Monsters of Mongo" include a giant dinosaur-like creature, sea serpents, and trees that reach out and grab victims. Flash, Dale, Zarkov, and King Thun manage to dodge the first, but they're caught by Ming the Merciless' daughter Aura. Ming keeps Dale for himself and wants to make use of Zarkov, but sends Thun and Flash to the mines as slaves. Aura frees them, but they run headlong into the sea serpents and trees before Prince Barin and his men catch them.

I was supposed to have an interview with Healthy Kids Programs, the after-school and summer programs for Collingswood and Oaklyn's elementary schools, at 9:30. I had a hard time figuring out how to get the audio and video working on the first app they wanted to use. I do have an account on Zoom, so I switched to that.

Thankfully, it went very well after that. I explained why I was interested in their program. I may not be a teacher or have worked with kids on a regular basis, but I don't have any problems with them, either.  They only need someone early in the morning or late in the afternoon to help with their before and after school programs, and that would be perfect for my off days at the Acme. I remembered how, in fifth grade, I got so into reading The Lion and the Mouse for my class, the teacher had me repeat the performance for the kindergartners. I spent the rest of the school year helping the teacher out with them, making up stories based after whatever I was into at the time, during what would have been my lunch hour.

(Of course, they partially let me do this to dodge the bullying that had gotten even worse by the late 80's. I would be pulled from Cape May Elementary after that school year and placed in the special ed middle school.)

Went over the Healthy Kids website after I got off with them, then headed to my dental appointment. Got there with five minutes to spare. The waiting room was nearly full to capacity when I arrived. It took almost ten minutes for the dental technician to call me back.

No trouble after that, though. I was just getting a cleaning today. I did admit to the technician that my lower right teeth have been a little sensitive. They chew fine, but I can feel hot and cold with them. She gave me two toothpastes to help with it.

Had lunch at the Westmont Bagel Shop after I got out of my appointment. It was past 12:30, and they were pretty busy, too. I had a tasty avocado, tomato, and mozzarella omelet with fried potatoes (that I didn't finish) and a whole-wheat bagel. Grabbed two more bagels for lunch this week on the way out.

Since Great Clips is right next door to the Bagel Shop, I got my hair cut next. There was only one other person sitting in the salon chairs and no wait. They were able to take me right away. I only got a trim this time, since I went so short last time. It looks cute, but given we're coming up on summer, I kind of wish I'd gotten another inch off.

Went home after that and right into dressing the dolls for May and warmer weather. Samantha's birthday is in May, so she gets to wear her pink striped birthday dress with the frilly pinafore. I bought her new white shoes with pink bows and snaps on eBay a few months ago. Molly's trying on her rainbow striped Tennis Outfit. Josefina is in her lovely Dress and Vest and the gold fringed shawl from her Feast Day Outfit for Cinco Del Mayo next week. Jessa's just in a tye-dye flower print T-shirt and capris. 

Whitney celebrates Memorial Day (or Decoration Day, as it would have been in 1959 when her backstory is set) in Maryellen's red, white, and blue bow-print School Outfit with the blue cardigan and cute red bow-trimmed shoes. Felicity is ready to help me clean the rooms in her green-striped Work Gown. I bought the hand-made pinafore for Samantha to wear in the early 90's, but I never did put it on her that often. It works better as an apron. Kit's ready to get that scoop in her pink, green, and yellow Reporter Outfit with the coral knit cardigan. Ariel gets Julie's current meet outfit with the floral peace sign tank top, yellow crocheted vest, and hip flared floral jeans. Barbara Jean is the queen of Cherry Hill High's prom in her pink fringed dress and stole that were originally a play outfit for Melody.

Listened to The Essential Michael Jackson while I worked. You can't get much more essential than just about every big song Jackson ever had, from his time with the Jackson 5 until his final hit "You Rock My World" from 2001. The majority of Jackson's best-known solo output came out between 1979 and 1991...pretty much the entirety of my childhood. 

Jackson was one of the biggest superstars on the planet for my first ten years of existence. We had his Thriller album and I think Bad on cassette. So many wonderful songs that were such a part of my life then - "Rock With You," "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough," "Billie Jean," "Beat It," "Thriller," "The Way You Make Me Feel," "Man In the Mirror," "Smooth Criminal," "Black or White," "Heal the World," "Will You Be There." Now I'm even more looking forward to the Michael Jackson film musical biography that's at this writing scheduled to open in October. 

I checked my email when I got home...and to my delight and shock, Healthy Kids offered me the job. I figured they'd want someone who has more experience with kids, but I guess I really impressed them. I did have to tell them about my vacation with Lauren (I was able to get all but two days - they were going to need help the last two days with the kids getting out of school), and I'll need to change my availability at work. Even if this is only for the late spring and summer, I'll be making two paychecks, and more to the point, will have something to do this summer besides wander around South Jersey buying records and books.

Put on Hart to Hart while I got the deal with the vacation hashed out. "Max In Love" is delighted with the pretty lady (Madelyn Rue) he's dating...at least until he and the Harts come home from an auction house to find their home empty. Max's new sweetheart is helping a crooked auctioneer (Rene Auberjoinis) and his thugs rip off wealthy homes. After Max gets hurt catching the thieves killing one of their own, the Harts take it on themselves to keep the men from making off with the rest of their things. 

Switched to Match Game '78 during dinner. Avery Schriberer and Barbara Rhodes joined in as Richard admitted that for once, his answer to "Whip __" in the Audience Match wasn't very good. Gene spent the next episode trying to figure out who Dayton Anderson was.

Finished the night after a shower with game shows based around numbers or statistics.  The Audience Match on Match Game deals with statistics and surveys to a degree. The most famous survey-based show, of course, is Family Feud. Richard Dawson asks the survey questions in this 1978 episode from the height of the original run's success.

Most other numbers-based shows didn't get anywhere near the long run of Feud. Alex Trebek's first hosting gig in America was The Wizard of Odds in 1974. "The Wizard" asks questions with three answers based on averages. In the second game, they had to guess which phrase or person didn't match with the others. The contestant with the most correct answers got the chance to choose which prizes to play, under locked or open windows. Winners had their names added to Alex's Wheel of Fortune, which he would spin to give a contestant even more prizes.

On one hand, I'm glad this finally turned up in 2022. Until this episode was uploaded, there was nothing of this online but the opening. On the other hand, I can see why it only made a year. The game play is kind of complicated, and the statistics are a bit dry. Alex, however, is charming out of the gate. No wonder NBC would call him back for this show's much-improved replacement High Rollers. 

While most of Trebek's two versions of High Rollers were wiped by NBC, the Wink Martindale syndicated revival from 1987 is still very much around. I loved watching this show on Channel 17 as a kid. It was fun to watch contestants try to roll the right numbers for those big prize packages!

Play the Percentages was somewhat similar to The Wizard of Odds. In this early episode I have here, two couples try to guess a percentage-based question. Whomever got the closest to the answer would earn the number in the question. The original bonus round had the couple choosing a percentage-based answer to a question. Once again, they get the number in question, but getting 0% would end the round. They kept revising this and revising this during the seven months it was on the air in 1980, eventually dropping the couples in favor of solo players and switching the bonus round to being survey-based, more like Feud. Nothing worked, or frankly, made this show a whole lot more interesting. It was gone by fall 1980.

Nipsey Russell had no more luck with Your Number's Up back at NBC in 1985. Here, after Nipsey gives us his poem for the day, three contestants spin a number wheel and try to earn more diamonds. The contestants would select one of two phrases, while Nipsey read the other half. If a car symbol appeared, they'd have to guess the numbers on a car's license plate. Personally, I thought all the spinning and diamonds got to be a bit much. Bringing in audience members to earn money along with the contestants and doing a home game just made things even more complicated. No wonder this didn't last three months.

The British do much better with numbers in their long-running Countdown. The first half has contestants rearranging letters to make words. During the second half, they solve math problems. Admittedly, it is fun to play along with the first half and see what words you can make from the letters yourself. The second half is a little less exciting...but overall I can see why this has been going since 1982 and is one of the longest-running game shows in England. 

Learn about numbers, odds, and statistics with these rare delights!

The Wizard of Odds (1974)

Family Feud (1978)

Play the Percentages (1980)

Your Number's Up (1985)

High Rollers (1987)

Countdown (1991)

Winds and Matches

Got to sleep in today, then had breakfast while finishing Follies and listening to Unpublished Cole Porter.  Apparently, this Ben Bagley revue is what the LP says, Porter songs that were unknown or hadn't been published in his lifetime. We kick off with Edward Earle  and the rousing "Get Yourself a Girl." Karen Morrow takes the Merman-esque "Kate the Great" and "To Think This Could Happen to Me." Alice Playten is adorable in "After All, I'm Only a Schoolgirl" and joins the rest of the singers for "If You Like Les Belles Poitrines." Carmen Alvarez is hilarious in "Humble Hollywood Executive." 

Calmed things down with George Winston's Ballads and Blues 1972. If the dedication on the bottom of the back cover is any indication, these bluesy instrumentals were inspired by the work of Fats Waller. Lovely slow jazz pieces like "Miles City Train," "New Hope Blues," and the opening medley inspired by sleepy small-town Florida were perfect backdrops to a quiet Sunday afternoon.

I ate lunch, then did something quick that I've been considering. I started a novel-length Remember WENN fantasy fanfiction back in 2015 that would have been even longer and more elaborate than my Crimson Blade story from earlier in the year. My interest in WENN dropped off after I saw Star Wars: The Force Awakens and all the publicity around it. I tried to incorporate myriad Star Wars references into the story, then just gave up on it and wrote a Star Wars fantasy fanfic instead. 

I've been rereading what I wrote for Once Upon a Time In the Land of WENN, and I think I could finish it, or at least get closer. It's going to need heavy re-writes. All of the Star Wars references will be eliminated, two of the characters need their backstories redone, and several characters will be consolidated or only referred to. I wish I could find my notes for it, but I think I dumped them when I moved. I'll have to write new ones.

Headed to work after George Winston ended. Despite the strong wind, it was otherwise too nice of a day to not take the bike, sunny and chillier than it has been. It wasn't bad when I arrived, but it picked up more later in the afternoon as people came in to restock for the week and for kids returning to school. It didn't help that our food stamp card system was down. I had to put back a lot of cold items that people with food stamp cards couldn't buy and fell behind on carts and sweeping during the second half of my shift.

Rushed home after I finished, changed, had dinner, and finished the night with the Sunday Match Game marathon. Character actor Jack Klugman, best known for the sitcom The Odd Couple and the drama Quincy, was in the spotlight in honor of what would have been his birthday today. He's also known in game show circles for having been married to Brett Somers for 17 years. Though he turned up on the pilot and the first week solo, after Brett joined the show as a regular, he'd do three weeks with her. Comedian Stu Gilliam felt like he was joining the military listening to them bicker during the first week. Jack almost walked off during the second week with "Mama" Cass Elliott.

Despite them saying their marriage was just fine, Brett and Jack separated or divorced (no one seems quite sure which) sometime in 1974. They wouldn't appear together again until 1978...and proved why they separated when they argued over an answer to "__ Hall of Fame" on the Audience Match the very first day. The last day, Jack first grabbed Brett for a kiss she wasn't entirely saying no to, then the others finished the episode by holding a mock "wedding" for them.

Jack's last appearance on Match Game was in 1981, late in the syndicated run.  He claimed that he was sitting in for Brett while she was doing a play so he wouldn't have to pay alimony. For some reason, he was always fussing about panelists not getting gifts like the contestants. He got a T-shirt with the Match Game logo on it in 1978 and a jacket in 1981. Jack spent most of that week listening to horse races on the radio to make sure his bets came through. He was so excited after a contestant won $20,000 on his final PM episode, he dashed around the studio, spinning the Star Wheel, running into the audience, and swinging the contestant's pretty fiancee into the air as she hurried to join him.

Given his volatile and well-known relationship with Brett, there would sometimes be references to him even when he wasn't physically present. Everyone, including the contestant, had him as the answer to a question in 1974 that Will Rodgers never met a man he didn't like...but he hadn't met Jack. Charles twice joked about the tiny diamond pendant Jack bought Brett during the syndicated run.

See one of TV's most notorious grouches feud, fuss, and spar with his ex in this wild and wacky marathon!

Match Game Sunday Classics - Jack Klugman On the Panel

The Password Is Matches

Got a quick start this morning with breakfast and "Goofy Gymnastics." This one is what it says on the tin. Goofy buys work out equipment to make himself stronger and get more energy, but he just ends up wearing himself out, destroying his apartment, and annoying the neighbors.

It was cool, cloudy, and humid when I woke up this morning. I decided to not take chances. I've been caught in thunderstorms riding my bike before, and it's not fun. I called Uber. Maybe it's just as well. The driver in the morning arrived in 7 minutes. The one going home only took 3. No traffic either way.

It didn't finally rain until around 10 AM, when I was on my second round of pushing carts. Though not overwhelmingly busy, we were busier than we have been, enough that I had a hard time keeping up with the carts. Taking out the trash and loading the toilet paper holders in the bathrooms put me behind doing the carts. I hadn't even entirely caught up with them by the time I finished.

That weather didn't help. It showered lightly off and on from 10 onwards. It would rain just hard enough to make everything a little wet, then would stop...and twenty or so minutes later, it would start again. Not to mention, most people are probably back from their vacations now and need to restock their kitchens after the spring holidays.

Put on What's New, Scooby Doo? while I changed and got organized at home. "She Sees Sea Monsters By the Seashore" when Daphne catches sight of what looks like a green scaly monster while surfing on a trip to Hawaii. A local boat driver claims the monster is the legendary Motoshondu, who appears to protect his reef. Velma and Fred thinks the reefs and shoreline being mating grounds for turtles has more to do with the creature's appearance.

Watched Donkey Skin next. I go further into this whimsical Jacques Demy fairy tale with an exquisite Catherine Denveuve as the title character at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog. 

Family Fun Saturday - Donkey Skin (Peu d'Ane)

Listened to the original cast album of Follies after a shower. This unique look at two couples whose lives intersect during a reunion of showgirls just as their former theater is about to be torn down has long been my favorite Stephen Sondheim show. It features two of his most gorgeous ballads, "Too Many Mornings" and "Losing My Mind," along with the terrific pastiche showstoppers "Broadway Baby," "Who's That Woman?" "The Story of Lucy and Jessie," and "One More Kiss." Fans have complained about the original cast album not including the full score for years, but it does have some indelible performances, including Gene Nelson's delightfully smarmy "Buddy's Blues" and Yvonne DiCarlo having a blast with "I'm Still Here."

(Incidentally, the rain finally became a full-blown storm around this point. Surprisingly, considering how humid it was, it rained hard and blew harder, but never thundered. I don't think it's rained since then, though it continues to be windy.)

Finished the night on YouTube with today's Match Game marathon. Allen Ludden had hosted Password for over 15 years off and on when he first appeared on the show in 1974. Probably his most infamous solo moment was the time he answered "__ Arthur" in the Audience Match with "President." He also proved to be prophetic when his answer for "Walking __" was "Walking Dead." There was also the time Brett took one of Allen's bad answers and handed it to his wife Betty White in the audience...and then Fannie handed Betty hers as well.

Allen's best-known week is the one he and Betty did together in mid-1975. That week was already wild in general. For one thing, it introduced Dolly Martin, Dick Martin's British former Playboy centerfold comedienne wife. It also brought in Maxine, a lanky contestant who claimed she'd belly dance if she won $5,000. She ended up winning $10,000. The first time, they played classical music. The second, someone played "The Star Spangled Banner," but that didn't stop Brett and Betty from doing their own version of belly dancing! Gene's joking response of "I've had Betty" to Maxine insisting that she hadn't picked Betty yet brought Allen down for a talk.

Alas, the second week Betty and Allen did during the tail-end of the syndicated run, shortly before Allen's death, is currently unavailable...except for its nighttime episode. Jimmie Walker and Jonnelle Allen join in to see Betty and Allen sitting next to each other for the first and only time. They're obviously having a great time, including Allen answering sex to a question, prompting Betty's response "At least he's still thinking about it!"

Allen was mentioned many times, whether Betty appeared or not. There was the time in 1974 when Fannie and Brett turned up in fancy hats and feather boas, claiming to have come from Allen and Betty's wedding. (They were married in 1963.) An older contestant who looked a great deal like Allen turned Brett and Mary Wickes' heads. There were several jokes throughout the run about Betty treating Allen like a dog and what treats she'd give him. Later in 1975 during the week with Bill Macy, there was a question about who would play the Beast to Betty's Beauty.

The Password is...class! See how much of a class act Allen was and why Betty adored him so in these hilarious episodes!

Match Game Saturday Classics - Featuring Allen Ludden On the Panel, References, and Questions

Biking Angels

Started off my morning with breakfast and Alice's Wonderland Bakery. "A Royally Mad Tea Party" goes off the rails quickly when the Queen of Hearts and Dad Hatter end up arguing over croquet. They separate the tea table, but Dad Hatter has the tea cups and jelly jam, and the Queen has the tea and crumpets. Alice and the other kids come up with a plan to show them that they need what the other has. JoJo Dodo has been staying with Fergie and his family while her father was at sea. Fergie hopes that "JoJo's Bye Bye Party" will have a dessert that represents all the fun they had together...but JoJo assumes they're cutting her out.

Took Uber to work again. The bike repair guy wasn't going to be around until the afternoon. Fortunately, there were no problems this time. The morning driver got there in 7 minutes; the afternoon came in less than 3. Neither took longer than five minutes to get me to work, and there was no traffic.

Work remains dead as it has been the entire week. I actually had enough time to do everything they wanted me to do, including cleaning out the bathrooms and gathering the trash. It was a gorgeous day for pushing carts, too, sunny, breezy, and in the lower 80's. 

Got my schedule around noon. In good news, more time off, and Wednesday is the only early day. In bad news, fewer hours than I had even before the last two weeks. I got the hours I have the last two weeks because the head bagger was busy or on vacation.

Did my grocery shopping after work. Restocked oranges (mandarins were on sale), yogurt, soda, and granola bars (Made Good were on sale with an online coupon). Finally found a Coke Zero that literally had my name on it. (Lauren reported getting one with her name on it weeks ago.) The Acme's been pushing lemon-flavored "limited edition" treats. I thought I'd try the lemon tortilla chips. There was a pack of slim sparkling water on a really good sale that might be worth trying, too. 

Went upstairs when I got home to change and put everything away. Watched The Persuaders while I got organized. I never did finish "The Old, the New, and the Deadly" when I watched it last year. Danny becomes the target of a French count (Patrick Troughton) when he mistakes him for having taken a priceless statue. It could save the reputation of the father of the young woman he's blackmailing...if the woman's husband doesn't knock Danny and Britt to heck and gone first!

The guy from the bike shop arrived while I was upstairs. He took the bike with him to his shop after I gave him the spare tire and inner tube. I puttered around on the computer until he returned. To my shock, it cost $67, due to him having to fix spokes on the rim, too. And he wouldn't take cash, only credit card. I assumed he'd want the cash. Since he did do a good job on the bike and was nice about it, I did pay with credit card and gave him a tip.

It was such a nice afternoon, I decided to test the bike and went for a ride in Collingswood. Stopped at Innergroove Records to make up for them not being open on Easter. He was an hour from closing, so I tried to go through everything quickly. I still made some good finds, including one I adored as a ten-year-old:

Tiffany - Hold An Old Friend's Hand (My sisters and I absolutely loved the cassette in the late 80's and early 90's. I listened to it constantly, especially the first song "All This Time.") 

Wynton Marsalis - Think of One

The original 1971 cast of Follies (Yes, I have this on CD...but I've never seen such a pristine record copy. This is my favorite Sondheim show. It was on the dollar shelves, too!)

Ran across a new bakery a block down from Innergroove. Mario's Cookies just opened a few weeks ago. They too were almost closing, so I went with their daily special. The chocolate chip brownie cookie was just that, a chocolate chip cookie with a brownie middle. Oh yummy. So soft and chocolately! 

Actually, the real reason I was in Collingswood was to hit the bank. The records only cost me 10 dollars, the cookie 3. I kept any dollar bills and put the remaining $30 back in the bank. 

Headed straight home after that. Watched Charlie's Angels when I got in. Kris is a "Caged Angel" when she goes on the inside to find out who has been forcing innocent inmates to take part in robberies. One of the women is a huge, hulking brute who, along with the warden and two other women, forces girls with connections to large companies to join their robberies. While Kris deals with their abuse and befriends one of the inmates, the others do research to find out what they're up to.

Switched to Match Game '77 next. This wound up being one of the wilder episodes of the year. Brett gave an answer that was censored. Gene bent over to read the question to a contestant and showed far more of his rear than anyone ever wanted to see to the camera. The whole thing ends with Gene freaking out, trying to get the director to fade to commercial. 

Finished the night at YouTube. Thought I'd check out another different version of Snow White. This one is very obviously a dubbed East German film from 1955. The dwarfs look and sound like the children they are. It's kind of bizarre to hear them sound like the 10-year-olds Snow White assumes them to be. On the other hand, this one largely sticks to the original Grimm's fairy tale. The wicked queen attacks Snow White three times, not just with the apple, and Snow White coughs the apple out instead of being awaken with a kiss. The Queen's death is more in line with the Disney version (though she's struck by lightning here). 

Match Game Productions ran the first All-Star Family Feud special tonight. Four of the most popular shows of 1978 - The Love Boat, Soap, Eight Is Enough, and Three's Company - played each other. Some of this was flat-out hilarious. John Ritter was adorably dorky even on a game show, Bernie Koppel could never seem to spit any answers out, and Susan Richardson made some absolutely hilarious faces when she couldn't come up with an answer. In the end, no one in the late 70's could beat Jack Tripper. Despite John's own obvious nerves on Fast Money, Three's Company won $10,000 for their charity. 

Here's the show, so you can see how all of this went down for yourself! 

Family Feud All-Star Special #1

Strange Spring Magic

Started off the morning with breakfast and PAW Patrol. The "Pups Save a Super Pup" when Rubble is inspired by his hero Apollo to attempt to move a rock slide on his own. The others have to help out when he ends up trapped too...but then he sees Zuma trying to drive his dump truck and realizes what he's really good at. "Pups Save Ryder's Robot" when the robotic dog that usually acts as their aide gets out of control and runs amok in Adventure Bay. Skye keeps an eye out for him, while Rocky does the repairs.

Let the second half of Supermarket Sweep run while making my grocery list. I came in just as the first team won the Big Sweep (and had a really cute stuffed eagle bonus). They didn't do nearly as well with the bonus round, though, getting caught up on the second question.

It was such a stunning afternoon, I grabbed my push cart and walked to the Westmont Plaza. It's not a long walk, only about ten-fifteen minutes or so. The weather was much too beautiful to be taking Uber. It remains just about perfect for late April, sunny, breezy, and in the mid-70's. I was fine in shorts, sandals, and a t-shirt. There were a lot of people doing the same, jogging, walking their dogs or with friends, or pushing their children in carriages.

Target surprisingly wasn't busy when I arrived. I must have just missed the lunch crowd. I did look at what little remained for Easter to see if they had any half-price decorations, but I ended up with a Cherry Chai Latte at Starbucks. Oooh, other than being a bit sweet, that was tasty, nicely cool with cookie and nut bits on the top.

I was mainly there to do my Sprouts shopping. Restocked soda (Zevia and an inexpensive hydrogen-fused sparkling water), dried fruit (sliced mango was on sale), coconut milk, and granola bars. I've wanted to try golden (cane) sugar again for ages; got it from the bulk bins. The bananas have gone soft too quickly. Grabbed red grapes instead, since they were on sale. I wanted another oat-based cereal I could eat cold, now that it's too hot for cooked oatmeal. Most of the commercial cereals, even the organic Sprouts ones, had too much sugar and/or salt. I ended up with their organic blueberry-lemon granola instead. 

Stopped at the pretzel shop on the way home. I wasn't up to much more than a stuffed cheese steak pretzel and two regular ones. Bought those, headed out. 

Ate them for lunch while watching Hooray for Huckle! I was very disappointed with this follow-up to The Busy World of Richard Scarry. Also known as Busytown Mysteries, Huckle and his friends and sister Sally solve mysteries all over town, learning to use deductive reasoning and solve problems. "The Big Apple Mystery" has the kids following the trajectory of a huge wooden apple rolling across town. "The Missing Pickle Car Mystery" introduces Mr. Frumble, as they help him figure out what happened to his iconic pickle car. Gold Bug the reporter relates the goings on.

Honestly, the mysteries themselves are cute, but the animation is terrible. The characters do look like their book counterparts, but they barely have any facial expression or movement. Those "mysteries" seem kind of weird, too. I don't think I'll be continuing it; it might go over better with the target preschool audience as an introduction to mysteries and problem-solving. 

Switched to Les Girls after that. I go further into this unique dance musical featuring Gene Kelly and the finale movie score for Cole Porter at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Cult Flops - Les Girls

When Jessa texted and said she'd be late, I had the time to do a super-short online interview. All they did was flash three questions I had to answer on a camera onscreen. Simple as that. Took me less than eight minutes. I don't know how well I did, and I'm not sure I could get away with all the driving and traveling the job requires, but I did do it. 

Jessa finally picked me up around 6. I've always wanted to try The Cheesecake Factory, but the one time I made it to the Cherry Hill location, the line was prohibitively long. There was no line tonight. We were seated within five minutes. It's a basic burgers-and-dinner restaurant with elegant, colorful floral paintings on the walls and ceiling and shiny wooden panels. Even the bar was lovely. Jessa had chicken Parmesan. I had a turkey burger. Oh, yum! Turkey burgers are usually dry when made by a restaurant, but this one was perfect, juicy and nicely seared. Jessa got three big breaded chicken patties. She let me try part of one, and they really were that good. (She ended up taking the last one home.)

Watched Remember WENN after a shower. Radio station manager Scott Sherwood is "Popping the Question" near the end of the second season when he starts a game show that's fixed in favor of the sponsor's spoiled son. The rest of the staff do their best to teach Scott and the bratty college kid a lesson. Meanwhile, Doug Thompson, the station's sweet lawyer, is waiting (and waiting) for busy Betty Roberts to remember their date.

Finished the night working on the Les Girls review while listening to The Very Best of the Electric Light Orchestra - All Over the World. Today, ELC is probably best-known for their contributions to Xanadu. Along with "All Over the World," we get their slightly slower version of the title song. Much as I love that movie, I prefer some of their better-known singles, like "Strange Magic," "Evil Woman," "Don't Bring Me Down," and "Mr. Blue Sky." 

Somewhere Near Oaklyn

Began the morning with breakfast and What's New, Scooby Doo? It's "Safari, So Goodi" when the gang go on a safari in the African jungle to film the animals there. Trouble is, there might not be any left to film. Animals have been vanishing, and there have been sightings of shape-shifting glowing demons in the area. Daphne wonders what makes a honeymooning couple so lovey-dovey and Fred wants to film all the animals he can find, but Shaggy's more worried that vanishing animals will mean his beloved best friend will disappear, too.

I was going to take my bike to work...but the back tire felt low when I started to roll it out. Sure enough, it was flat. Not only is the back tire harder to fix, but there was no time to replace it before work. I had to call Uber...and of course, the driver didn't show up for 15 minutes. Which meant I was a few minutes late to work.

Thankfully, that was the worst thing that happened the entire morning. We were even less busy than we have been the past few days. In addition to people being on vacation or waiting for their money next week, the weather was too gorgeous for shopping. It was sunny, hot, breezy, and clear, in the upper 70's, without a cloud in the sky. I was able to clean the bathrooms, gather the trash, and do cold returns with plenty of time for the carts, too. No really major problems. I didn't even have trouble getting an Uber going home. They arrived in 5 minutes. 

When I got in, I watched Alice's Wonderland Bakery while changing and having a snack. Princess Rosa laments that she hasn't seen enough of Wonderland to finish her mural depicting the entire land. Alice and the guys take her on a "Roamin' Holiday" to visit Wonderland's more hidden attractions, including the rarely-seen bubble-blowing caterpillar. "The Proof Is In the Pudding" when the Queen of Hearts puts the kids and their entries in a bake-off on trial for having jumbleberries. She overate them once and has now banned them from the court. Alice eventually figures out how to remind her of why she loves them and should give them a second chance.

I asked a friend of mine if she knew of any bike repair shops closer than the ones in Cherry Hill and Deptford. I can change the front tire, but it's harder to do the back one. She recommended Gradient Bike Repair in Audubon, which apparently has been mentioned on an Oaklyn community Facebook board we both frequent. They also have a van filled with supplies that allows them to make house calls. Alas, I wasn't able to get an appointment with them until Friday at 4:10. It'll have to do. I'll just take Uber or walk for the next day and a half. 

I was immensely cheered by the arrival of my last two birthday/Easter presents to myself from eBay. I've had the Beach Boys album Still Crusin' in one form or another since it debuted in 1989. Lauren compared it to the Monkees' album Pool It! from two years earlier (with a better cover), and she's not far off. This was the Beach Boys' attempt to get 80's hip, but frankly, most of the songs are far better than those on Pool It. "Kokomo" was the iconic hit from the movie Cocktail, but my favorites are the catchy title song from Lethal Weapon 2, the adorable "Make It Big" from Troop Beverly Hills, and the romantic fantasy "Somewhere Near Japan." 

Yes, I know this has never been regarded as the Beach Boys' best album. It's so low on new material, the album finishes with "Wouldn't It Be Nice," "California Girls," and "I Get Around," which had all turned up in 80's movies. "In My Car" and "Island Girl" aren't great, and the version of "Wipe Out" with the Fat Boys is almost too cheesy to be true. I have too many fond memories of listening to my cassette constantly in the early 90's to be harsh on this one.

I enjoyed that so much, I put on a far better-regarded Beach Boys album after Still Crusin' ended. Pet Sounds was a game-changer for them and the industry in general. You get everything from classical to jazz to the Boys' group harmonies here. It did well enough in 1966, but ran up against too much strong competition, including the Beatles' Revolver. Nowadays, it's seen by most music critics as one of the greatest rock albums of all time. One of my favorite ballads, "God Only Knows," debuted here, along with the afore-mentioned "Wouldn't It Be Nice" and their iconic version of the folk song "Sloop John B." 

Switched to The Love Boat next. In fact, I went with the second episode of the series. Dale Reilly (John Ritter) is so desperate to be near the girl he's obsessed with, he dresses as a woman in order to share the only available cabin with another woman. Turns out the poor girl (Tovah Feldshuh) was left at the alter by her fiancee. "Oh Dale!" becomes her emotional support while dodging an amorous Captain Steubing. A constantly quarreling couple (Sherman Helmsley and LaWanda Page) rekindle their marriage after they're stuck in an elevator during "The Main Event." A wealthy man thinks his wife (Jacklyn Smith) is having "A Tasteful Affair" and hires a private detective (Dennis Cole) to follow her, but he falls for her instead.

Watched Match Game '77 during dinner. Character actor David Lansburg joined Marcia Wallace and Lee Merriweather this week. Brett came in for some ribbing when "Portland __" came up in the Audience Match and she brought up her home state of Maine.

Finished the night at YouTube checking out something else I remembered well from my childhood. Disney doing stage versions of its shows goes back far further than the Aladdin that's currently on Broadway. In 1981, it produced a lavish version of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs for Radio City Music Hall. The Disney Channel showed this from time to time in the 80's. I think we may even have taped it at one point. There's a few additions to the movie here. Snow White sings "I'm Wishing" with all of the girls in town by the well, her father is alive and kept in the dark by the wicked queen, and we find out where the queen came from and how she came to marry the king. 

In good news, as appropriate for a big Radio City production, there's some awesome sets. I like that well and the multi-level dwarfs' cottage that splits open to reveal the inside. The humans costumes are accurate to the movie, and the animals actually look pretty cute (despite being upright and walking)...but the dwarfs' costumes are downright terrifying. You can see the opening for the eyes on Dopey in particular, and it's really creepy. The dwarfs in the live-action film look like masterworks of CGI compared to those frightening get-ups. 

Yeah, that alone makes this just for those who remember watching it on cable in the 80's like I do or are intrigued by a stage Snow White. Everyone else is fine with the original animated film or seeing the current live-action film in the theater.  

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Live at Radio City Music Hall

Walking Downtown

Got a quick start this morning with breakfast and "Aquamania." Goofy takes his son Junior into the great outdoors to teach him boating. Things get out of hand quickly when Goofy finds himself inadvertently joining a water skiing competition with the help of a very shocked octopus!

It was so late when I finally finished, I called Uber so I could get to work on time. That may not have been a bad idea. The morning driver came in 3 minutes, the afternoon driver in 2. Both took Nicholson Road and the White Horse Pike to dodge electrical wires being repaired on the Black Horse Pike that backed up traffic.

Work was even quieter than yesterday. The weather was gorgeous, sunny, humid, breezy, and in the mid-70's. It was too nice to be shopping. Most people were either doing trash clean-ups for Earth Day, still on vacation, or waiting for their money to come next week. I had no trouble whatsoever.

Put on the first season of Sailor Moon when I got home. Usagi is determined to stick by Rei when she goes out with Mamoru in "Usagi's Panic: Rei's First Date." She even grabs nerdy Umino and uses him as cover. Meanwhile, Ami is more concerned about the kindly old caretaker of a park that's about to be demolished. Seems Nephrite of the Dark Kingdom has gotten hold him and turned his energy, and that of the animals in the park, against anyone who seemingly abuses nature. Sailor Moon and the Guardians learn a lesson in the importance of nature - and what happens when it fights back - when they attack the flowery monster who had possessed him.

Went for a walk after the cartoon ended to celebrate Earth Day and enjoy the weather. I wasn't the only person who thought it was a perfect day to buy a treat from Yummies Palace on West Clinton. The guy near the door picked up his vanilla milkshake a few minutes after I arrived. One little girl got what looked like cherry water ice with worm gummies. The other went with cookie dough ice cream. I had orange cream water ice. Oh yum. Smooth, sweet, and cool on a day that was getting  hotter by the moment. I enjoyed it while sitting on the rock ledge around the war memorial across from the Oaklyn School. Stopped at the little convenience store on the way back and got a Poland Spring Berry sparkling water, which I haven't seen anywhere in ages. 

Put on Mr. Imperium after I got home. I go further into this tepid MGM musical romance with Lana Turner and Enzio Pinza at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Cult Flops - Mr. Imperium

Did chores while the movie was on. Took down the Easter decorations, then did some rearranging. I'd wanted to move the CD player and folders of CDs to the top of the book shelves since I moved here, but the CD player was too tall for the slanted roof. The new one, on the other hand, is the perfect size. I swapped the rag dolls, Beanie Babies, and smaller stuffed animals who were on top of the shelf to the shelf behind my bed, and the CD books and folders to the top of the book shelf. The CDs work where they are, but I'm going to need more room for hardback books. I may move the books that are under the CDs to the shelf behind my bed tomorrow.

Switched to Adam Adamant Lives! during dinner. The murder of a financier leads Adam and Georgina to "The Terribly Happy Embalmers," an undertaker who sells the men coffins, then has them killed for real. It turns out they've all seen the same psychiatrist who specializes in hypnotism. Adam thinks this is absurd, but when the hypnotist reveals a lot more about his past than he ever wanted to let out in public, he goes to the spa himself to find out what they're really up to.

Took a shower, then watched Match Game '77. Orson Bean, Fannie Flagg, and in her first week, Connie Stevens joins in to celebrate Thanksgiving. Orson discusses his role in the animated Hobbit that came out around the same time, while everyone else went with turkey jokes.

Finished the night listening to jazz and R&B records and CDs I've acquired recently. Julie London was one of the most beloved jazz singers of the 50's and 60's. Her throaty voice and distinctive dark touch is well represented in The Best of Julie. It kicks off with her biggest hit, the sensual ballad "Cry Me a River," then moves on to other darker standards like "Hot Toddy," "June In January," "Ain't I Good to You?" and "The Nearness of You."

R&B and soul singer Barry White equally dominated the mid-70's with hits like "I'm Gonna Love You Just a Little Bit More, Baby," "Never, Never Gonna Give Ya Up," "Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe," and "You're the First, the Last, My Everything." The Ultimate Collection also includes his instrumental jazz and disco songs with the Love's Unlimited Orchestra. In fact, my favorite song in the set may be the jazzy "Love's Theme" that provided the backdrop to many a summer's day in my early childhood. 

Falling for Games

Began the morning with breakfast and Alice's Wonderland Bakery. The Queen of Hearts thinks baking an airy family recipe is "Easy Breezy." It turns out to be more breezy than easy when she forgets the syrup that'll seal the wind flakes on, and she, her father, and the kids end up being blown all over the palace! The Queen insists on Alice watching Jabby, their baby Jabberwock, while she and Rosa are out of town for the day. Alice and the boys try to "Walk the Jabberwock," but it's not easy, especially when they discover Jabby can fly and he disappears.

Headed off to work after that. Work was quiet as can be the entire morning. It's the day after a major holiday and the week before the beginning of the month. If people aren't on vacation for Easter break or recovering from yesterday or Passover, they're waiting for next week to do shopping. No really major problems, and I was in and out. 

When I got home, I changed, then went online. Buzzr has been posting remastered copies of Match Game '73, including rare episodes that were in bad shape. I forgot they'd actually dug up and repaired the long-lost  31, 32, and 33. Apparently, they had audio and video issues that even GSN couldn't solve in the 2000's. Thanks to the miracle of modern technology, they look and sound just fine now. In fact, I'm glad they were able to fix them. This would be the only week for comedienne Lucie Arnaz, and it may be comedian Jack Carter's finest hour. He really has some great quips in these shows, especially in 33. Now we can finally see how the entire week went down for ourselves in these rarities! 

(Incidentally, the restoration of these episodes means that Match Game '73 is now available online in its entirety.) 

Episode #31

Episode #32

Episode #33

Took my laundry downstairs to the washer, then went down for a nap. I'm still pretty tired, and I didn't have any other plans today. Went down at 4 PM and didn't get up again until past 6:30.

Put the laundry in the dryer, then took out the recycling and got dinner. Ate while watching Match Game '77. Polly Holiday, still best known as Flo from Alice, made her only appearance on the show in mid-1977. After her microphone died in the first episode, Richard held a mock funeral for it while Gene tried to fix it. Fortunately, as Richard relates, it's back in good health by the next episode.

Finished the night back at YouTube honoring game show host and radio personality Jim Peck, whose birthday was last week, after I brought the laundry upstairs. Peck started out on radio in his native Milwaukee. He was hosting a talk show in Washington DC when producer Ron Greenburg hired him for his new game show Showdown. The pilot from 1974 seen here didn't initially sell the show, but a second pilot did the trick.

Three contestants choose from six subjects on a large board. The difficulty of each subject ranges from 1 to 6, as on a dice. The higher the difficulty, the bigger the score. First contestant to hit a randomly selected "payoff point" would win the pot. After the second pot, the questions were switched. A 90 second speed round eliminated the lowest-scoring contestant. The Final Showdown let the remaining two contestants play to a Payoff Point of 7. The bonus round involved the winner needing to roll "show" and "down" on dice to win $10,000. Any other numbers would be their Payoff Point. Hitting the Payoff Point would net $250 and more time; hitting Showdown gave them $5,000. They'd keep going until they got Showdown or time ran out.

Honestly, this show was complicated but a lot of fun to watch. It's a shame it lasted only 7 months in a game show-saturated market, and only the pilot and the episode seen here exist today. (And it's likely that the only reason this episode exists is because Peck took a tumble going downstairs. He laughs it off and was fine for the rest of the show.)

Hot Seat was almost as entertaining...for all the wrong reasons. This Heatter-Quigley attempt to branch into Chuck Barris territory had a couple trying to guess their spouse's emotional reaction to a question. The spouse in the hot seat would have their responses measured by what amounted to a huge lie detector. If they guess right, they earn cash. They had an option to go on to a bonus round against the other couple and win bigger prizes.

Uh, yeah. You can tell right away why this one didn't work. The entire premise is just plain ludicrous. The couples' answers are so dull, it's impossible to know how that lie detector could judge anything. (According to Wikipedia, the bonus round was a lot more mean-spirited in the pilot. The husband is to decide what prizes they want by his response...including his response to a model in a bikini designed to upset his wife.) Peck is charming, but the show around him is too absurd for words. No wonder ABC didn't want to keep this around. This is the only episode known to exist today. 

Second Chance from 1977 was a lot more fun to watch. This Bob Carruthers precursor to Press Your Luck is basically the same as the more famous 1983 show, with devils on the board instead of Whammys and contestants able to change their answer during the questions portion. Despite being well-remembered by those who saw it in 1977, it couldn't beat The Young and the Restless in the ratings and didn't even last three months. 

After that, Peck stuck to hosting syndicated game shows...and didn't do any better with those. He took over the helm for You Don't Say, Carruthers' Match Game imitation, for its 1978-1979 syndicated run. That only lasted a few months. Later in 1979, he would host the controversial Chuck Barris show 3's a Crowd. Peck asked questions of a man and his wife and secretary to see who knew him better. Uh, yeah. The show barely lasted four and a half months, thanks to the backlash and complaints of sexism surrounding the show. (A short-lived Game Show Network revival would at least have family members or exes instead of the secretary.)

That would be his last show to date that he hosted full-time. Jack Barry groomed him to take over The Joker's Wild, but his partner Dan Enright went with Bill Cullen instead after Barry's sudden death. I like Bill, but I think Enright made a big mistake. Bill Cullen could never keep the show going at the same rapid pace as Barry. Peck does far better in the episode shown here. That would be the last straw for Peck. After Joker's Wild ended in 1986, he retired from hosting and hasn't done a game show since, though he continues to appear on radio in his native Wisconsin. 

Poor Jim Peck never seemed to catch a break with game shows. Check out the best from a charming host who deserved better with these rare and unique episodes!

Showdown Pilot (1974)

The Big Showdown (1975)

Hot Seat (1976)

Second Chance Pilot (1977)

You Don't Say! (1979)

3's a Crowd (1979)

The Joker's Wild (1986) 

Oh, and MGP finished the Wink Martindale-Gene Rayburn week tonight. Wink did get his contestant to the Alphabetics round, but she missed it on one word. At least he did better than Gene Rayburn. This was not Gene's game. He was too slow with words and kept using ones that were way too long for anyone who wasn't a dictionary (or a drunk Match Game panelist) to understand.