I gathered clothes to donate at the bin in the back of Dollar General while watching the 2003 Strawberry Shortcake. They did two fairy tales late in the series that weren't plays or dream sequences. "Sleeping Beauty" was the first. Strawberry is the Sleeping Beauty, cursed by Brambleberry Fairy because she thought they forgot to invite her to the christening. She's jealous of how all of the other fairies work together to try to lift the curse, until Prince Huckleberry reminds her that her thorns - both around her house and her heart - are keeping her from seeing the truth or accepting apologies.
Went for a walk after the cartoon ended. I dumped the clothes bag in the bin, and then went in Dollar General for a drink...only to dash back out when I heard a loud argument between a customer who wanted her coupon back and two cashiers who couldn't give it to her. I bought 2 for $5 Gatorade at CVS instead before heading into Newton Lake Park. At least they've finally finished the playground, a green and orange melange of spiral slides and twisty monkey bars. The swing set is now yellow, and the baby swing is basically a baby seat with a restraining bolt on metal links.
I originally planned on going for a longer walk, but it was hot and killer humid, and there were dark clouds rumbling on the horizon. I dodged Canadian geese hogging the road and finally got off at the stone staircase leading up to Clinton Avenue. Rushed home as quickly as I possibly could.
(Thankfully, the clouds didn't finally burst until over an hour after I got in. We had a pretty good thunderstorm going too, with loud pyrotechnics and buckets of water. Even after the thunder finally passed, it would continue showering off and on for the rest of the afternoon.)
Had lunch after I got in while watching Care Bears Family. Cheer is excited about the "Care Bear Town Parade," even buying a fancy new outfit for it...and neglecting to help Bright Heart, Treat Heart, and Champ with their float. She spends her money on a barrette instead of giving the others her share for a new car. When a certain strange car seller (Beastly) turns up with a snazzy pink and purple limo for all the money they have, she thinks she's found the perfect vehicle for them...until it turns out it's a trap by Beastly to destroy the parade and Care Bear Town.
Spent the next few hours dressing the dolls for the 4th of July. Whitney's ready to show her new dance moves in the 4th of July Parade in the AG Dance Dress and tap shoes borrowed from Molly. (The red shoes that go with the dress are coming apart.) Samantha is ship-shape in her Middy Dress and black and white boots. Jessa sports a more laid-back red t-shirt from the original Blue Jean Basics and the shortalls from the Earth Day Outfit. Molly's ready for camp in her Camp Gowanigan uniform and saddle shoes.
Josefina's in her Indigo Skirt and Camisa, while Ariel gets a patriotic peasant shirt Lauren sent a while ago and red satin shorts from Julie's original Skating Outfit. Felicity is light and airy in her white cotton Summer Gown with the wide blue and white sash. Barbara Jean is the only one old enough to pull of a brief pink and blue Terry cloth romper with her own white shoes.
Listened to Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cinderella while I worked. Known as Bad Cinderella when it played Broadway, Cinderella is "bad" because she's a realistically unattractive and spunky young woman in a kingdom that is completely obsessed with appearances. Her friend Sebastian is the prince whose mother insists on him having a ball to find a bride after his brother dies. Cinderella insists on changing herself to attend, but learns a lesson in being yourself when it's her...the dirty, spunky her...that Sebastian really wants.
This is...ok. It plays its parodies of cultures obsessed with conformity and superficial beauty as broadly as possible...which, to be honest, gets kind of annoying. Cinderella is less "bad" than she is "generic misunderstood." Though her "I Know I Have a Heart" isn't bad, Sebastian gets the lion's share of the the decent material, including "Man's Man" and "I Know You." Ok if you love Webber's other work or Cinderella stories like me, but nothing you need to go out of your way for.
Switched to writing after I finished the dolls. The ladies all wake up the next morning to discover massive headaches...and that they all had the same dream. Hilary is more worried about Jeff and what Pavla did to him than she'll admit. Betty wonders about the protective larger man, why she recognized him, and why they were attacked first. Maple's mind is mostly still tied up in ribbons, roses, and cute intellectuals with lovely whiskey eyes, but even she'll admit she was afraid when she couldn't rescue the guy or Betty.
Betty is only slightly surprised to see a kindly old cat-man (Mr. Eldridge) turn up at their door to fetch them for breakfast. They try to question him, but he either dodges them, or doesn't seem to understand. He'll only tell them that they have to figure it out for themselves.
Watched Our Town as I worked. I go further into this poignant musical version of the play where Frank Sinatra introduced the standard "Love and Marriage" at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.
Watched Match Game '73 as I ate dinner. Yes, they jumped back to the beginning again, but this time, they're at some of the most delightful episodes of the first year. Jim Backus made his only appearance and Patti Desuch her first in the first week. "Mama" Cass Elliott became one of only two rock stars to appear on the 70's-80's Match Game in the second.
Finished the night with game shows for the whole family. Families go way back in game shows. The Parents Game from 1972 was a Chuck Barris attempt to recapture that Newywed Game magic. Here, couples who either have children or are expecting them answer questions about how to raise them. Yeah, pretty generic. It wasn't enough to keep it around for more than a year.
The undisputed family game show champ was and remains Family Feud. The episode I have here is from early in Richard Dawon's run, right after he gave up on Match Game. Watching the two groups of families work together to get the answer and some of their funner mishaps can be a lot of fun.
Nowadays, families are more likely to be competing in stunt shows. Family Game Night and The Game of Life are two early game shows on the Hub before it became Discovery Kids. I can see why Family Game Night was the bigger hit of the two. Watching two families playing games based on beloved Habro board games is delightful. The Game of Life asks its questions on a CGI playing field that hasn't dated well. The stunts played at the end are a little to perfunctory, too.
Family Double Dare did far better with stunts in 1990. It's the same Double Dare, with daring and Physical Challenges, but here, we have families playing, rather than just kids. The big prize at the end of the Obstacle Course isn't a trip, but a car. This would be just as popular as it's other spin-offs, and remains just as much fun to watch.
Celebrate the 4th of July with your family in these hilarious showcases of family dynamics and parenting!
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