Headed out to run errands after the cartoon ended. I know there's a CVS a few blocks away on the edge of Oaklyn and Collingswood, but it didn't have the electric toothbrush heads I needed. The CVS on the corner of the White Horse Pike and King's Highway is so big, it was the Audubon Acme before that moved to its current location. Yes, I did find it there. Thought of getting a drink there too, but decided I'd wait on that.
Since I wasn't far from Haddon Heights, I had lunch there. Most small stores and restaurants in Camden County are closed on Mondays. One of the few that remained open was the Local Links Cafe. They were busy, too, maybe because it was past 12:30 at this point. I had three crispy tacos stuffed with yummy grilled chicken, lettuce, cheese, and tomatoes and "The Clarity," a smoothie made from apples, oats, cinnamon, honey, and milk. I think they overdid the cinnamon, and the oats do make their smoothies grainy. Otherwise, it was tasty, cold, and wet, which is what I wanted after the long ride.
Made a brief stop at John's Friendly Market next. They're the only other place I've seen 20-ounce bottles of Fresca in Camden County besides the Westmont Acme. Got a Cherry Coke Zero and a bag of locally-made ricotta cookies with icing and sprinkles, too. (I had the cookies for dessert later. They were really yummy, super-soft and just sweet enough.)
Spent the next hour riding back towards Audubon, or trying to. I kept getting lost. I thought I crossed King's Highway, but...somehow, I ended up looping back to Haddon Lake Park. I thought following the path through Haddon Lake Park might be a better idea, but I didn't realize how treacherous that path was. The dirt path at one point was mainly dirt and roots running closely along a stream, with the roots forming steep steps. I carefully manipulated my bike over the roots, eventually ending up behind the stage and amphitheater used for children's shows and local concerts in the summer.
It also led me back to King's Highway. This time, I followed the concrete path at Haddon Lake Park until I got further down Audubon. Finally made my way back to Market Street, and then over the train bridge and into Oaklyn. Stopped at WaWa for a much-needed frozen chai. (Sweet, but not too bad.)
At least the weather was perfect for a long bike ride. It was sunny, windy, and probably in the mid-80's. Warmer and slightly more humid than last week, but nowhere near what it's been all summer. No wonder I was far from the only person eating outside at Local Links and I saw tons of families out for walks and kids riding bikes. It was too nice to be doing much of anything else.
Took my laundry downstairs when I got home, then went straight into working on Hilary and the Beasts. Hilary confronts Pavla backstage at the Nixon Theater in Pittsburgh after her last performance of The Rivals. Pavla finally admits that yes, she attacked Jeff, Scott, and Victor because they uncovered her involvement with some unsavory groups in Europe. They'd already found out about her having cursed other men into monsters. Scott didn't believe it...but he became the first one she attacked after she found out that he was the one breaking the codes. Jeff was her ticket to wealth, a beautiful home, and better acting roles in the US...and when he and the others threatened her with taking their discoveries to the authorities, she lashed out.
Pavla manages to corner Hilary and is about to turn her into a kitten when C.J emerges from the wings and reveals he recorded her entire confession on disc. Betty and Doug run over with the two FBI agents, who have been suspicious of her for years, but had no proof. Pavla does manage to escape and vanish, but Hilary is ready for her now. Not only does Betty finally know who Bear is, but Hilary has a pretty good idea of what happened to Jeff and the others. She, Doug, and her siblings convince the FBI agents to come to Troll's mansion at midnight on New Year's Eve to get the information they want...and take down Pavla for good.
Listened to two versions of Disney's Beauty and the Beast and some lesser-known Disney while I worked. I've loved the animated film since my family saw it in the theater when it debuted in November 1991. It received the first standing ovation I ever saw live, and it remains worthy of that today. Rose, Mom, and I were particularly big fans. We've all felt like Belle at one time or another, out of place and too smart and well-read for small communities. I had to have the soundtrack, which I think I might have gotten for Christmas or sometime in 1993. I finally replaced it with the CD version over a decade ago. Most people prefer the title song, but I like the ensemble numbers - "Belle," the hilarious "Gaston," the sweet "Something There."
Mom and my sisters and I were far from the only people who loved Beast. It went over so well, Disney adapted it as its first venture on Broadway in 1994. It was an even bigger hit there, running until 2007 and opening in the West End as well. It uses all of the songs from the original show, with several more written by Tim Rice added. Of the additional songs, a dark ballad for the Beast, "If I Can't Love Her," is my favorite, along with the expanded "Something There" that shows Belle teaching the Beast how to read.
One of my favorite finds from Innergroove Records is a British collection of songs from Disney movies. Not just the animated ones, either. The 1977 vintage means more than half the songs on 40 Walt Disney Originals are from live-action movies released in the 50's and 60's. There's "Eglantine," "The Old Home Guard," and "Portobello Road" from Bedknobs and Broomsticks, the title song and "The Ugly Bug Ball" from Summer Magic, "Feed the Birds" and "Step In Time" from Mary Poppins, "Are We Dancing" and "Fortuosity" from Happiest Millionaire, "For Now, For Always (Maggie's Theme)" from the original The Parent Trap, and a sweet uptempo ballad from Annette Funicello, "Dream Boy." Songs from animated and hybrid films included "Rescue Aid Society" and "Tomorrow Is Another Day" from The Rescuers, "Love Is a Song" from Bambi, and "Stick-It-Tivity," "County Fair," and "It's Whatcha Do With Whatcha Got" from So Dear to My Heart.
Watched Match Game Syndicated during dinner and while I finally brought my laundry upstairs. Jamie Lee Curtis and Richard Paul joined in for this week. Gene got so into his lectures to the contestants, most of the panelists walked off-stage. Richard took a nap, and Jamie looked close to doing the same. Charles joked twice about throwing away any other attempts by Gene to play professor.
Finished the night with game shows hosted by Dennis James, whose birthday would have been last week. James goes back so far with game shows and television, he hosted the very first network game show, the shopping-themed Cash and Carry on DuMont, in 1946. Unfortunately, that means that the vast majority of his work is lost to time. I did manage to dig up episodes of the 1955 talent show Chance of a Lifetime where he was the host and primary judge and the hit Stop the Music from 1956, where he shared hosting duties with Bert Parks. He also briefly took over The Name's the Same in 1954 when Robert Q. Lewis left and they revamped the show.
He had more luck in the 60's with the syndicated PDQ. Two contestants rearrange letters for a celebrity, who has to guess what the word or phrase is from the letters used. The fewer letters used, the more points you got. The bonus round had the winner guessing a series of words from three letters. Sammy Kaye and Giselle MacKenzie were the celebrities. This later got a brief revival as Baffle, and I'm surprised no one has tried this format again. This is a lot of fun to play along with, even if watching those poor contestants running around, forming words and trying to get people to guess, can be exhausting.
James' last network hosting gig was the daytime Name That Tune in 1974. This one was played a bit differently from the more popular nighttime Tom Kennedy show. The contestants came from the audience, and it started with one contestant grabbing money from a metal "tree." The longer a contestant took to name songs, the more the other contestant could grab. It also meant that the contestant had to grab the same amount, or lose the round. The other rounds proceeded pretty much as the nighttime version did. Ok, the money tree thing is just weird, but otherwise, this doesn't seem to be that bad. I'm guessing the market was just saturated by 1974-1975. It would run until 1981 in syndication, but couldn't make a year on NBC.
He'd been the original choice for the host of The New Price Is Right before that gig went to Bob Barker. He did end up hosting its nighttime version for five years, from 1972 through 1977. This basically plays the same as the original half-hour Price from 1972 through 1975. Three contestants play pricing games. The two biggest winners come back for the Showcases in the end. Once again, this isn't bad, but James, who frequently sounds like a racetrack tout at the best of times, can be grating. (It's also said that this version doesn't turn up as often because fur coats were frequently offered as prizes. Indeed, one is a major prize in the early 1972 episode I have here.)
Travel far back into game show history and explore the varied career of the very first TV game show host ever with these rare episodes!
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