I decided my knee felt up to a short walk to Dollar General after breakfast. I needed laundry detergent and Valentine's Day cards. It was almost noon by the time I got there, and they were pretty busy. I dodged a lot of people as I grabbed cards, Fresca, the smaller yellow Tide liquid, and a new flavor of hydration mix, Arctic Cherry. It wasn't a bad day for a walk, either. Though it remains cold, probably in the mid-upper 20's, it's still warmer than it was yesterday. The wind's down to a slightly chilly breeze, too, and the sun shown in a pale blue sky.
Put on Hart to Hart while looking up condos for sale listings in Cherry Hill and seeing what neighborhoods they're in. Jennifer is surprised when someone destroys the chocolate hearts she bought for her charity committee members. Turns out, the chocolate shop where she bought them is a front for a smuggling operation. The owners are willing to commit "The Hart-Shaped Murder" to find that heart and keep Jennifer and Jonathan from figuring out what they're up to.
Switched to She-Ra and the Princesses of Power during lunch. "Princess Scorpia" learns a tough lesson in friendship when Catra demands that she find Entraptra's notes for her work with Hordak. Turns out they're in Entraptra's favorite robot Emily, whom Scorpia has been taking care of. She's been trying and trying to make Catra see her as a friend...but it's Emily who reminds her what a real friend behaves like. Meanwhile, Flutterina is working hard to drive a wedge between Adora and Glimmer, who have their own ways of doing what's right for Eternia.
Called Uber around 2:25...and to my surprise, I got a ride home in 4 minutes. Got one going home in 6 minutes. No problems either way. Both turned up on time, and there was no traffic. In fact, I got in a little early and went for a short walk down Comley before I headed for the Thomas Sharp School.
The kids weren't that bad, either. My group did have some trouble cleaning up the Duplos before we went to the bathroom. Once I got them there, they were fine. We also had to wait a little longer than usual to get in the library after snack time. The school band was meeting there. I read The Gingerbread Man and Positively Purple (the latter about a polar bear whose medicine turns her purple and is reassured by her fellow animal friends that she looks great) to the kids looking at books and coloring. Once we did get in the library, I joined the kids who were coloring, while the others danced or built with magnetic tiles. They were fascinated with my artwork of Jeff, Scott, Victor, and Mr. Foley from Once Upon a Time In the Land of WENN. We'd only just moved the kids back to the cafeteria when I headed out.
Watched Match Game Syndicated when I got home and had dinner. Jokes about height abounded the week towering gentle giant Richard Kiel, best known today as Jaws from the James Bond movies, sat in the male ingenue seat and diminutive singer-songwriter Paul Williams was in the fifth "smart guy" seat. It's a shame Kiel never returned. Cracks about his height aside, he seemed to enjoy himself, and he played really well.
Put on Remember WENN after I took the laundry downstairs to the washing machine. Scott wants to put on "The Follies of WENN" after an old buddy of his offers them $1,000 to stage a burlesque show on Sunday. Maple is more than happy to show the ladies how to bump and grind. Trouble is, she and Betty are trying to get nicer apartments in their women's boarding house, which is run by staid people who approve of neither show business nor burlesque. It looks like Betty may lose her home and Maple her chance to get one, until a certain Mr. Hardy (Mickey Rooney) not only approves of the show, but claims he might get it on Broadway.
Self-important awards shows and annoying hosts get skewered in "Pratfall." WENN is nominated for 16 Golden Lobes, Pittsburgh's radio award. Eugenia tries for truth in advertising and to actually exercise for her nominated aerobics show, while Jeff and Scott compete with each other for the same role when they're both nominated for Young Doctor Talbot. Meanwhile, Hilary discovers someone at the station is on the committee to nominate an actor for the overall excellence award.
Finished the night after I brought the laundry upstairs with dating and romance-based game shows. Probably the most famous of these is The Dating Game. Three bachelors are questioned behind a screen by a young lady looking for a date. She takes out the one whose answers she liked best. Many actors turned up on this show prior to or just as they were becoming famous. Burt Reynolds is one of the bachelors in the first half of the episode seen here. Three handsome military cadets are the prospective dates in the second.
Tattletales throws the focus on the famous folk as it lets celebrity couples match stories about their love lives. While most of the 70's run and a good chunk of the early 80's run has turned up, only two episodes of the short-lived syndicated version from 1977-1978 are currently online. This episode from 1977 is one of the two surviving syndicated shows.
Relationship shows go back way further than even The Dating Game. Do You Trust Your Wife from 1956 has two of the most unlikely game show hosts ever. Edgar Bergen and his dummies Charlie McCarthy and Mortimer Snerd ask married couples with unique stories four questions. The husband can answer himself, or trust his wife to help out. The first couple had traveled around the US without spending a dime. The second was comedian Joe E. Brown and his long-time wife. Honestly, hearing Brown talk about his genuinely fascinating life in vaudeville and burlesque and seeing his real affection for his wife was more interesting than the actual game play.
Perfect Match from 1986 is a lot less interesting. This is basically a cross between Match Game, Jeopardy, and The Newywed Game. Couples bet on how well they can answer saucy fill-in-the-blank questions. Other than giving Bob Goen his start, this really isn't all that exciting or different.
The Big Date from 1996 at least tries something slightly different and more complicated with the dating game format. One man or woman chooses between three members of the opposite sex to go out on a date with. Host Mark L. Walberg asks them questions and see if they can match. It takes two matches to become a couple. Along the way, the contestant could change their choice with someone seen behind a screen. When they have two couples, Walburg would ask "me or not me" questions to see if they were compatible. The bonus round had Walburg asking the winners true/false questions. If they answer four correctly, they're eligible for a sweepstakes to win a trip to Jamaica. I can see why this lasted a little over a year on USA. The whole thing is way too complicated and hard to follow.
Blind Date from the early 2000's actually shows us the dates. Cameras follow a couple on a blind date and see how it went, and if they think it worked out. "Commentary" on the date pops up on the screen during the episode. I thought this seemed a bit smarmy, but it was a 7-year hit on syndication that would later make a brief return on Bravo in 2019.
Make a love match and find out more about dating in the late 20th and early 21st century with these romantic shows!
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