Spent the rest of the morning bringing my laundry downstairs and doing research on local online communities to join. I don't think I'm going to find a decent home or a better "safety net" job to replace the Acme until I can improve my network. The neighbors are nice and so are the people at the school, but I need more. I want several solid groups I can rely on, not one or two people. I realized as I did research that I do already have communities to talk to - all those record and book stores I love to visit. I'll observe there for a while, seeing what people are talking about.
Watched Manhattan Murder Mystery while I worked in honor of Diane Keaton, one of my mother's favorite actresses, who passed away last week. It was this or Annie Hall, and I thought this one focused more on Keaton's character than Hall did. Carol Lipton (Keaton) is suspicious when her seemingly robust neighbor Lillian (Lynn Cohen) dies suddenly, especially given how cheerful her husband Paul (Jerry Adler) is after her death. Her husband Larry (Allen) is annoyed when he finds out she's been breaking and entering and wants her to stop, but she's obsessed. She even gets her friend Ted (Alan Alda) involved. It's not until they find what seems like their neighbor's dead body in the bedroom at a shady motel that Larry starts believing his wife, too...and when the body disappears, they both become determined to find out what really happened with their neighbor and bring her two-timing husband to justice.
I have seen this before, but not in a long time. I thought a murder mystery was incredibly appropriate for a day that was cold, windy, and rainy, and this is definitely a fun one. Keaton has a blast as the paranoid lady who thinks there's more to their neighbor's death than a sudden heart attack. Alda has almost as much fun as her friend Ted who also gets roped in, and there's a ton of references to classic mystery film and film noir.
Had a very quick lunch, then called Uber. There was no way I was riding my bike during a nor'easter, even though it wasn't raining at that point. The driver going there and going home arrived in 9 minutes. No traffic either way.
I think you can guess that the kids never went outside today. It was starting to rain lightly as I arrived at the school. Some of the kids played Uno. Some colored. Some built high Lego towers with their friends. I helped with the ones playing Musical Chairs and Freeze Dance. The latter involves people dancing and making silly poses when the music stops. We eventually gave up on playing the actual game and just watched the kids make goofy poses. It was hilarious. I hadn't laughed so hard in ages.
Went straight into Match Game '76 after I got home, had dinner, finally remembered to bring up the laundry, and finished Manhattan Murder Mystery. Bill Anderson made his first appearance on the show during the second hour. Gene finally got to kiss Bonnie Franklin - he had a cold during her first appearance - and wondered how she could sit cross-legged on her chair. (The answer - she was a dancer on Broadway and was used to sitting that way.)
Worked on Maplepunzel for the rest of the night. Maple finally catches Brumpton drugging the coffee the morning of the wedding. Victor, Gertie, and Mr. Eldridge join them, having found the can of decaffeinated coffee. Scott, though he's exhausted, stays awake long enough to add he found out Abernathy wasn't working for the Pittsburgh Town Gazette, as he claimed. He and Brumpton were really potion-makers from Berlania Pavla hired to make sure no one asked questions about her wedding. Gertie and Mr. Eldridge had the duo arrested for conspiracy against the crown. On hearing the wedding music, Victor and Maple take Gertie and Mr. Eldridge's arms as everyone heads to the ballroom to stop the wedding.
Finished the night after a shower with game shows hosted by Art James. James initially started off as an announcer for Concentration in 1958, but eventually became a host in his own right. Alas, like most game show hosts of the 60's and 70's, the vast majority of his work is lost to time. One episode of his first show as a host Say When!! survives. This Price Is Right imitation has contestants choosing one prize at a time from an assortment. The contestant who got closest to a certain number without going over won the prizes. The second game had the contestants selecting a prize up to a certain amount over its individual cost. After the prize was revealed, it was added to their score. Not bad to watch, and James is certainly charming enough.
James also got involved in quiz shows. He hosted the New York area version of It's Academic in 1963. Three teams from local high schools played each other to test their knowledge. His longest-running hit as a host was The Who, What, or Where Game, which ran from 1969 to 1974. This imitation Jeopardy had contestants wagering on whether or not the other contestants could answer a question. Actually pretty interesting, with very challenging questions.
He returned to the shopping show well with Temptation in 1968. Three contestants are shown three prize packages. Each chooses a package. They only win it if the other two don't choose it. Pretty simple, maybe a little too much to be fun to watch. James dressing as a riverboat gambler with a cigar only made things more smarmy rather than charming.
Two of his biggest shows in 1975 were also among the many failed high-concept game shows that debuted that year. Blank Check had one contestant sitting in front of a giant check, choosing random numbers. James asked questions about how one phrase or thing related to the other. The contestant who answered got to challenge the Check Writer, who chose one of the digits. If the contestant guessed the right digit, they became the check writer. If they didn't, the number went on the giant check, and the game continued. Um, interesting idea, but kind of complicated, with a rather ugly, flashy set. This was probably too complicated to last longer the 7 months it ultimately ran.
The Magnificent Marble Machine only did slightly better, managing 8 months from November 1975 through 1976. This time, two contestants and two celebrities try to guess the answer to a pop culture clue they're given. The winner of the main game went on to play the title pinball machine, a massive mechanical marvel that would give them prizes, then money with a special "super ball." Though the giant pinball machine does look cool, I can understand why this didn't work. The front game is nothing special, and pinball is generally more fun to play than it is to watch.
James' last show as a host was the original US version of Catchphrase in 1985. Here, Herbie the Robot showed different pieces of a "catch phrase" drawn by computer. The correct answer allowed the contestant to guess the Super Catch Phrase, a completed picture hidden behind nine squares. If they got it, they got the jackpot money, though they lost nothing if they didn't. Winner went on to guess all the catch phrases hiding behind 25 squares. I really wish this had gone over better in the US! It's one of the most adorable game shows I've ever seen. Herbie's hilarious. Considering it's been running off and on in England since 1986, maybe someone over here will take another crack at this someday.
Join this charming host to solve trivia, guess the catch phrase, write that blank check, and just say when!
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