Taxi

Taxi has always been one of my favorite shows. For me it holds up better than a lot of other 70's sitcoms that hung around way too long until they became pale imitations of their former selves. Taxi on the other hand lasted just five seasons all of them great. I even think their last season was better than their first which I can't say about many other shows in TV history.

The talent level both in front of and behind the camera was incredible. While you had comedy legends like Christopher Lloyd and Andy Kaufman delivering the lines, there was a hall of fame writing staff typing them out. People who would go on to create more TV classics like James Brooks and Sam Simon (The Simpsons), Glen Gordon Caron (Moonlighting), Glen and Les Charles (Cheers) and then there was David Lloyd who wrote for just about everything (The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Bob Newhart Show, Rhoda, Cheers, Frasier, etc, etc). David Lloyd died earlier this month which made me take a look back at his work and the shows I grew up watching. Taxi may not have even been his best work but when you combine it with all the other writers it becomes a once in a generation television landmark.

Anyway, here's a couple of my favorite moments from Taxi. And if anybody would like to get me the Taxi complete series DVD set I'll be your best friend for life. Just kidding. Maybe.

Unknown Hinson

I went through my video collection last night and uploaded another clip from The Unknown Hinson Show. You probably know him best as the voice of Early Cuyler on Squidbillies but in the 1990's he was a public access TV star in Charlotte, North Carolina. A friend in NC sent me tapes of his show and I've been a fan ever since.



I've also decided that from now on I'll use this blog as an extension of my YouTube account where I also go by Yamtastic. My goal is to go through my musty heap of old videotapes and put whatever I find worth saving online. My collection dates back to the mid-80s when I got my first VCR but I can't keep them forever even if I wanted to as tapes degrade over time. Hopefully by doing this blog and uploading more videos I'll be free of a lot of old videotapes that I won't have to break my back carrying the next time I move.

This girl cracks me up

You've gotta admire someone who'd make a life-size Barbie doll box just for a YouTube video.

Elections

I guess I should have posted this last night but it's still funny so who cares. Black Adder is comedy gold especially the third and fourth series.

WW2 Cartoons

I'm a fan of Hollywood's Golden Age which includes movies of course but I also love the cartoons of the period especially World War 2 themed ones. Film studios were at the peak of their power in the 1940's and I think it shows through in the quality of their work. Here's a few of my favorites.



Walt Disney made a lot of cartoons supporting the war effort. "Der Fuehrer's Face" and "Education For Death" are famous examples but I also like "The Spirit Of '43" starring Donald Duck which subtly reminds Americans to pay their income tax.



"Draftee Daffy" may be my all-time favorite Warner Bros cartoon. Besides the manic off-the-charts energy, it also shows Daffy's transformation from lovable psychotic to the cravenly coward he'd become in later Bugs Bunny shorts.



What's funnier than Hitler as a duck? How about Mussolini as a goose? Yeah, ducks were the default animated characters in that era. Back then nobody had the idea yet to create an animated character out of a sponge or a wad of hamburger meat.

The Axis powers had their own propaganda cartoons too. They didn't exactly have that Hollywood polish but the message comes through. Actually, I'm not sure if the message came through either. Watch these and decide for yourself.



This first one was made by the Nazi-supporting Vichy government of France. Mickey Mouse, Popeye and other American cartoon stars bomb the hell out of French civilians.



And this cartoon from Japan is a complete mystery. Who are the rats and snakes supposed to represent? Chinese? Americans? Imperialists in general? Your guess is as good as mine.

Crush The Castle

I guess there are worse ways to kill 30 minutes on a Sunday afternoon. It's a fun game if you're into medieval weaponry or just like demolishing stuff.

My Favorite TV Musical Performances

Music on television is often a pretty disappointing affair. When I watch a talk show most of the time I change the channel by the time the musical act takes the stage at the end. Even when it's a band I like they're usually just lip-synching or going through the motions confined by the program's rules and regulations. However, there are some exceptions...


You'd think They Might Be Giants and the Tonight Show band led by Doc Severinsen would be an odd combination but together they did an amazing version of "Birdhouse In My Soul". Love the way the guy with the flattop is bobbing his head along to the music.


After playing "Less Than Zero" for about 10 seconds, Elvis broke into "Radio Radio" a song he'd been forbidden from playing on the air. Lorne Michaels later chased him off the studio and was banned from American television for 5 years.


I can relate a lot to this song. And hell who doesn't like Johnny Cash?


It's so legendary that it's almost a cliche'. Keith Moon fills his drum kit with extra flash powder. Pete Townshend temporarily loses his hearing in the resulting explosion. Bette Davis watching offstage faints into Mickey Rooney's arms.


The Whites Stripes studio version of "Let's Build A Home" is a bit tepid but live on Conan O'Brien they completely killed it. Maybe with a little luck they'll include it on a greatest hits album.

Things I Miss About TV part 2

Back in television's golden age every city had their own locally produced kiddie show, a cavalcade of cartoons, skits and whatever other hijinks the station could afford. And of course every kiddie show had to have their own host to keep the little rug rats in line. Dozens of these hosts often portraying some colorful character like a clown or a hobo kept kids entertained after school across the country.

For example, if you grew up in Baltimore you may have tuned in to Captain Chesapeake.



Or if you lived in L.A. you might remember Engineer Bill. (Love the trains)



But if you're from North Texas then the kiddie show host above all others was Icky Twerp.



Icky Twerp (real name Bill Camfield) was the host of Slam Bang Theater on KTVT channel 11 in Fort Worth, Texas. Wearing horn-rimmed glasses and an undersized cowboy hat he was the master of ceremonies over a show that included The Three Stooges, cartoons of all kinds as well as their own comedy sketches. His style was most definitely slapstick with someone taking a pie to the face in almost every show. As an ardent supporter of The Three Stooges he was even cast in their movie "The Outlaws Is Coming".

To be fair Twerp wasn't the only kids show host in the Dallas area. The CBS affiliate had Mr.Peppermint who always dressed in a red and white striped outfit. Mr.Peppermint was also really boring. If Icky Twerp was like Krusty The Clown with the zany antics then Mr.Peppermint was more like Grandpa Simpson telling tales about onions on belts before falling asleep in the middle of his own story.

Bill Camfield pulled double duty at channel 11 by also hosting the horror movie show Nightmare. That was the nature of local TV in those days. The whole kiddie show format died out in the 1980's and Bill Camfield himself died in 1991. Still, classic kiddie shows and their hosts hold fond memories for many people. Icky Twerp seems to be especially well remembered with a fansite and even his own movie!

Good Night Moon

When I heard that NASA had fired some kind of rocket probe at the moon I immediately thought of this.

Things I Miss About TV part 1

It used to be the networks made a big deal out of their new fall schedules. They'd do all kinds of promotions including lavish commercials with their show's stars and upbeat jingles which would be the network's ad slogan for the year. It was corny as hell but it made the whole television experience a little more grand somehow. Of course these were the days before a million other home entertainment choices were available and people thought a new season of Happy Days was something to get excited about.


ABC 1971 "This Is The Place To Be"


CBS 1973 "The Best Is Right Here"
The Tiffany Network?? Yeah, CBS thinks it's better than you and isn't afraid to say it.


NBC 1978 "NBSee Us"
If you don't remember these shows that's because most of them were canceled by year's end. NBC was a real disaster area in the late 70's


ABC 1979 "Still The One"


CBS 1979 "Looking Good"


ABC 1982 "Come On Along"


NBC 1985 "Let's All Be There"
I remember NBC lazily just added "Let's All" to their previous year's catch phrase "Be There". I think this is when the networks stopped giving a shit about the new fall TV season.

Monty Python and Me

On October 5th 1969 Monty Python's Flying Circus premiered on the BBC. It also happens to be my birthday. There are all kinds of strange connections between myself and England's most revered comedy troupe. It's sort of like those eerie Lincoln/Kennedy coincidences only I've never been shot in the head.

Allow me to list a few more...

1. My real first name Terry is the same as 1/3 of Monty Python.
2. My last name is just a couple of letters off from Terry Gilliam's who also happens to be the group's only American member.
3. I was born in Dallas home of the PBS station that first broadcast Monty Python in America. I remember watching it with my sister.
4. The first movie I ever went to see was Monty Python and the Holy Grail. The first videotape I ever rented was Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl.
5. Eric Idle's secretary warned him not to go to the theater. My secretary warned me not to go see "Nuns On The Run".

OK, I made that last one up but the rest are all true. So what does it mean? Is there some mysterious psychic bond between myself and Britain's bad boys of comedy? Nah. Like their TV series it's just a bunch of crazy goings on with a threadbare link connecting it all. Anyway this post wouldn't be complete without my 5 favorite Monty Python bits of all time or at least tonight.

5 Openings of The Twilight Zone

This was the opening sequence for the 1959 pilot episode "Where Is Everybody?" broadcast 50 years ago today!


season 1


season 2


season 3


seasons 4-5

Old School Conan

Glad to see Conan O'Brien back doing The Tonight Show after that fall he took last Friday. I'm sorry he knocked himself senseless but trying to take a slide on the studio floor like that wasn't his brightest idea. Conan, next time just concede the race to Teri Hatcher. She's simply in better shape than you are.

I've been a long-time fan of Conan since the early days and have dutifully followed him over to The Tonight Show. I admit he seemed a little off when he took over but you should cut him some slack since moving from New York to L.A. would be serious culture shock to anyone. I think in the last few weeks he's gotten considerably more comfortable with the show head injuries not withstanding.

Still, I have lots of great memories from his years on Late Night. One of the things I think that set Conan apart was that he wasn't afraid to get physical in his comedy segments. Letterman, for example, would be content on mocking something like donkey basketball from the sidelines but Conan would actually mount up and attempt a free throw. Anyway, here's a few of my favorite Conan clips from Late Night.









Conan Old Time Baseball

Blogger Can You Spare A Dime?

Whenever I'm feeling down I've noticed that songs about the Great Depression from the early 30's put me in a good mood. I like a lot of music from that era plus I can say that no matter how lousy things may seem now at least I'm not eating my own shoes for dinner. At least not tonight anyway.

Batman X 2

I had long heard that Lyle Waggoner was the other choice to play Batman in the 60's TV series but I only recently saw his screen test for the part. I think after watching both his and Adam West's audition the producers clearly made the right decision. Waggoner isn't bad but he's far too serious in the role. West on the other hand has a suave debonair quality that makes him quite believable as a millionaire playboy who also happens to be a secret crime fighter.





I think the producers also made the right call on Robin. Peter Deyell does look more like a 14-year old, the Robin character's age in the comics, but his acting ability is positively painful. Not to mention his voice sounds like he is constantly on the cusp of puberty and about to crack at any moment.

Other TV Casting Trivia

• The role of Robert Petrie was between Dick Van Dyke and a young game show host named Johnny Carson.
  
• On The Addams Family, John Astin originally auditioned for Lurch and David Cassidy auditioned for Gomez. Carolyn Jones was only the producer's 3rd choice to play Morticia but was cast because she was the bigger star.
  
• Gilligan's Island creator Sherwood Schwartz wanted Jerry Van Dyke to play Gilligan but Dyke turned it down. He also turned down the part of the deputy on The Andy Griffith Show. Dyke would later take the lead role in My Mother The Car.
  

The High Price Of Earl

There's an eBay seller who deals in actual wardrobe and prop items from 20th Century Fox TV shows which includes everything from The X-Files to Prison Break. One of the shows he currently has items up for bid on is My Name Is Earl. Ever since Earl was canceled this summer I was thinking about buying something used on the show. Why? Hell, I don't know. I just thought it'd be fun to have. Earl was an entertaining show overall and buying useless crap is something I have a knack for.

The problem is that I keep getting outbid on anything I might want and prices keep going up and up. Fun's fun but I'm not one of those guys who's going to pay any amount for something just because Alyssa Milano touched it. Likely due to the cancellation they've been cleaning house and selling everything from the show since they're not coming back.

Interested in Catalina's maid uniform? Final bid was $127.50.


Earl's prison shirt? $167.50


Earl and Joy's wedding picture? $201.77


Joy's Mrs.Claus ensemble? $306.01


Earl's wallet? $412.00


The thing I really would have liked to won was Earl's list but with a closing bid of $505.00 that wasn't going to happen. Maybe with some luck I can still win something like Tim Stack's lifeguard jacket or one of Earl's moustaches.

My All-Time Favorite Movie Trailers part 2

Dr.Strangelove

Stanley Kubrick liked this trailer so much that he had the same guy do the opening titles to the movie. I'm also a fan of the trailers for A Clockwork Orange and The Shining.

Terminator 2

This teaser trailer was shown before another Arnold Schwarzenegger vehicle Total Recall.

Johnny Firecloud

Everything you need to know about 70's drive-in movies is contained right here.

Clerks 2

Dante, Randall, Jay and Silent Bob rock out to Anthrax.

A Night At The Opera

The opening bit with the MGM lion was meant for the actual movie but for some reason ended up in the trailer instead.

Kristen Bell Tuesday

I like how one blog I follow Arbogast on Film positively hates Kristen Bell (look at their latest post) while another blog on my list Electronic Cerebrectomy is so infatuated with her they have "Kristen Bell Mondays". Personally I have no strong feelings for her either way but I'd like to introduce the two blogs just to see what would happen.

My All-Time Favorite Movie Trailers part 1

My first rule when going out to the movies is that I must arrive in time to see the trailers. I know some people hate them but for me it's all part of the full movie going experience just like sticky floors and seven dollar popcorn.

The Thing

Love the slow reveal in the beginning not to mention the tagline "Man is the warmest place to hide."

Pink Flamingos

You have to admire a trailer that doesn't use any footage at all of the movie just people's reactions to it.

Don't!

I enjoyed all of the fake trailers in Grindhouse but "Don't!" and its skewering of horror movie cliche's was the funniest.

Master Of The Flying Guillotine

Besides showing the craziness of this 1970's kung-fu movie, the Hong Kong trailer runs approximately twice the length of a typical American trailer.

Psycho

Alfred Hitchcock himself gives a hilariously morbid tour of the Bates Motel and its grounds.

Vintage TV Cast Commercials

Back in the 50's and 60's TV show cast members often made contractually obligated appearances in their sponsors commercials.


The Munsters for Cheerios


Bewitched for Kodak


The Beverly Hillbillies for Winston (yep, there were a lot of cigarette ads back then)


Superman for Kelloggs Corn Flakes


Dragnet for Chesterfield cigarettes


Hogans Heroes for Jell-O


Lucy and Ricky for Phillip Morris

9/9/99

I'm not a huge gamer but I thought I'd pay a tribute to the Sega Dreamcast. When the Dreamcast debuted back in 99 I'd been out of video games for a while. I'd practically grown up with them starting with Pong and Atari and later Nintendo and the Super NES but by the late 90's I was kinda burnt out. I didn't buy any of the fifth generation systems like the N64 or Sega Saturn as they didn't seem to generate the same excitement as their predecessors. After a while however I started hearing people say good things about the Sega Dreamcast. I looked around online, bought a used system and damn it the people were right!

For starters it's a very elegant looking console, off-white relatively small with a flip-top lid. It's a stark contrast to some of the ugly behemoths of other systems. And then of course there's the games. For something that was only around for a couple of years the Dreamcast has dozens of good games e.g. Soul Calibur, Crazy Taxi, Sonic Adventure, Jet Grind Radio, Shenmue, NHL 2K2, Unreal Tournament, Power Stone, Quake III, etc. You get the idea. The Dreamcast is actually the only Sega console I've ever owned. I never bought a Genesis as I liked the graphics better on the SNES and thought the three button controller was too limiting. I can't really say anything bad about the Dreamcast. I just hope it'll keep working for another 10 years.

Ripley's Believe It Or Not!

During the early 1930's Robert L. Ripley at the height of his newspaper comic's popularity made two dozen short films for Warner Bros. Vitaphone. Here are five.

thoughts on the new TV season

I looked over the new fall TV shows on tvguide.com and as expected it's pretty bleak. There's more reality fare, remakes of old programs like V and Melrose Place and some show about vampires that 12-year olds will probably go crazy for. There's also something called Cougar Town on ABC. I'm guessing it's not a wildlife show.

And then of course there's The Jay Leno Show. I'm really hoping it'll fail but I'm afraid it won't. The problem is that the bar is set extremely low. If it can attract just 5 million viewers it'll be considered a success i.e. more profitable than the shows it replaced. When that happens the networks will dump scripted programs en mass and replace it with god knows what. I'm not sure what the next step down is after reality shows but I'm sure people are working on it.

The only show I'm halfway curious about is Community on NBC with Joel McHale and Chevy Chase. Man, I remember when Chevy was a comedy god. He was the breakout star of SNL's first season. He was one of the biggest movie stars of the 80's with hits like Caddyshack, Fletch and National Lampoon's Vacation. Now he's taking a supporting role in a sitcom under a guy whose biggest credit is that he hosted a show on the E! network. Ouch. Well, I guess work is work. I think I'll tell my TiVo to record it if only for the fact that this may be the last thing we ever see Chevy in.

The Many Moods Of The Kinks

At first I wrote a lengthy diatribe on why I thought The Kinks were the greatest of the original British invasion bands or at least were great for the longest amount of time. Instead I think I'll post some clips showing their diverse musical range over the years and how they're not the same three songs you only hear on the radio. God Save The Kinks!


Mod Kinks


Psychedelic Kinks


Music Hall Kinks


Folk Kinks


Gospel Kinks


Disco Kinks

Reno 911! cancelled

I recently heard that Reno 911! has been canceled. Comedy Central hasn't made it official but the information came from Thomas Lennon's Twitter account. Personally, I think that's kinda shitty of CC and their bosses over at Viacom. Just give 'em the boot during their mid-year break so they can't have a series finale to wrap everything up. I think a show that ran for six seasons deserves a little more respect.

It seems that every TV show that had a redneck in it got the ax this year e.g. Reno, King Of The Hill, My Name Is Earl. It reminds me of when CBS canceled all of their rural comedies in the early 70's e.g. Green Acres, The Beverly Hillbillies, etc. Speaking of hillbillies, I don't see how much more redneck you can get than Robert Ben Garant's character Deputy Travis Junior. The guy lived in a dilapidated RV of all things. He makes Hank Hill look downright cosmopolitan in comparison. At least Hank lives in an actual house.

Here's my favorite bit from last season.

The 7 openings of Mystery Science Theater 3000

KTMA "Season 0"


Season 1


Seasons 2-5


Seasons 5-6


Season 7


Seasons 8-9


Season 10

Gilligan's Island - the almost 4th season

I make no apologies for being a fan of Gilligan's Island. For me it's classic comedy infused with elements of fantasy and science-fiction played by just the right cast. Critics may have called it inane but to that I respond, "If you're so smart, how come you're a television critic?" Gilligan's Island ran for three seasons on CBS from 1964 to 1967. It quickly became an audience favorite finishing 18th and 22nd in the Nielsens during its first two seasons. Ratings for Gilligan's Island dipped slightly during its third year likely due to schedule changes but still won its time slot. Based on this success the show was picked up for a 4th season.

Production began on scripts and castings were made in anticipation for another year of Gilligan. TV Guide announced that the new season would begin with a one-hour special. Some stars of the show bought homes on the promise of the show's renewal. And then tragically at the very last minute Gilligan's Island was cancelled. CBS brass decided to take away their time slot and replace it with Gunsmoke to save it from its own threatened cancellation.

So what was planned for the fourth season of Gilligan's Island?

According to series creator Sherwood Schwartz, the first episode would have released Tina Louise from her contract who was extremely unhappy with the show. In an episode entitled either "Another Start Is Born" or "Bye Bye Birdy" Ginger would have swam too far out into the ocean but then saved and pulled aboard an old wooden lifeboat the Titanic Jr. Later the other castaways are listening to their radio when they hear Ginger being interviewed after her rescue. She says that the other passengers of the Minnow are alive and stranded on a desert island. Mary Ann asks, "I wonder why everyone can get to this island, but in all these years only one of us could get rescued?"

Other episodes proposed for the 4th season...

"An Eye For An Eye" Ginger is replaced by Miss Krissy and Miss Sally.

"Proportional Potions" Gilligan finds a drink which makes him miniaturized.

"No Bill For This Tab" Guest star portrayed by Tab Hunter appears.

"Ahoy Matey" Modern day pirate 'Silver Long-Johns' comes to the island played by Vito Scotti who was also the Japanese sailor and Dr. Boris Balinkoff earlier in the series.

"Eye Detect You" Gilligan thinks he's Dick Tracy and ruins rescue.

"Who's The Dodo?" Professor tracks what he thinks is the rare Dodo bird while Gilligan finds a lamp which when rubbed brings forth a genie.

"My Favorite Alien" A silly alien lands on the island.

"I Hear You" A singer (Bobby Vinton?) guest stars as Mary Ann's, Miss Sally's, and Miss Krissy's favorite singer.

"Laugh Until It Hurts" Comedian Paul Lynde guest stars to 'test' jokes on the castaways. (I think this one could have been the greatest Gilligan's Island episode of them all.)

Shonen Knife - the nicest band in the world

Shonen Knife, the legendary Japanese pop-punk band, will be starting a North American tour this October. If you're a fan I don't have to tell you to go see them. Even if you're not a fan you should still go as I promise they'll win you over. I saw Shonen Knife in Dallas back in 2005. It was undeniably the most fun show I've ever experienced. They played an energetic 90-minute set of all their most loved songs and even threw green beads to the audience (it was St.Patrick's Day). It was clear the band loved what they were doing and the crowd loved them right back. After the show they stayed behind to greet all their fans. I had my picture taken with the group and they also autographed a tour poster all for no charge. Without a doubt they were the most gracious, down to earth band I'd ever met in my life.

Like groovyville. or something...

Some people are fans of the "punk rock episodes" of early 80's TV shows such as Quincy and CHiPs. Authority figures taking on young, green-haired ne'er-do-wells and somehow teaching them a valuable life lesson by episode's end. Yes, they're camp classics but hardly an original idea. If you really want to see the beginnings of the post-war generation gap in terms of media stereotypes check out television's "beatnik episodes" of the early 60's!

The Beverly Hillbillies had two episodes featuring a coffee house clan led by beatnik extraordinaire Sheldon Epps.



Petticoat Junction had perhaps the most clean-cut beatnik ever on TV. No goatee, no sunglasses, no bongos. In fact, he may have just been a moody asshole.



Both The Munsters and The Addams Family had their own beatnik episodes. It's interesting to note that the beatniks and the Munsters seemed to accept each other while The Addams Family beatnik was at least initially considerably more freaked out.





And of course there's TV's original beatnik Maynard G. Krebs. Can you imagine Dobie Gillis without him? Neither can I.