For Your Batty Consideration: 227 (Season 11, Episode 11)

Another listener suggestion, 227 surprised us with a funny episode reuniting star Marla Gibbs with Jeffersons co-star Franklin Cover ("The Butler Did It"). There were laughs, surprises, and "jive talk," and we enjoyed it. We explored the origins of the series and tried to avoid its final season or so. 

Our podcast episode

Show notes and YT playlist

Anonymous Batty insider says: "I don't see this as being a top top contender, but I see it having a lot of depth and challenging in a lot of categories. Again, we gotta talk episode selection; Regina King might have had an easier time getting a Batty to go with her Oscar if they had focused on one that featured her more. One thing to look out for: This podcast has strong ties to the DMV area, so will "227's" DC setting give it a bit of a home-field advantage?"

Two Eighties icons score with great guest shots: 227 and The Fall Guy

When we discussed 227, Mike mentioned Pee Wee Herman's appearance on the show, but I hadn't seen it until recently. It's one of the livelier episodes I have seen and a wonderful reminder of what a talented performer Paul Reubens was.

Mary and Lester are seeking toys for a charity drive, and they end up in a DC shop where the apparent proprietor is in a hurry to get them out of there. Turns out it's a burglar played by (lesser, but still) Eighties icon Terry Kiser, and he holds them, Sandra, and Pee Wee (in town for a performance) hostage in the toy store.

His energy is infectious, and the whole cast seems to be having a good time. I mean Pee Wee, not Terry, but Kiser is funny, too, in a nice cartoony (but not too menacing) Eighties sitcom kind of way. Herman inadvertently sabotages several attempts to escape, and he does cause some irritation, but he remains likable and in character the whole time. Didn't we need Pee Wee and Jackee to be together at least once? This episode is a must-see, and the toy theme makes it a good Christmas offering.

Just before Halloween, I watched a Fall Guy with special guest Elvira as basically herself. Colt and the gang are on the set as the horror icon (Am I overusing the word?) shoots a movie in a creepy old house. Another treat in this is the presence of mansion owner John Carradine, who appears in a brief scene with his sons. Orson Bean, Signe Hasso, and Doug McClure also have great roles.

Elvira is the star, though, as always. She is in "self-centered diva" Elvira mode here, and it is hilarious. A running theme is her attempt to seduce Colt. Her charisma steals the whole show, impressive whenever Doug Barr is around. OK, I jest, but there is a loaded cast, and Elvira commands the screen the entire time, even at the beginning when her character is particularly snotty.

She returns to the show for another Halloween episode, and that is something I will have to check out. It may be sooner than next October, though, because "October the 31st" is a funny installment with a nice blend of haunts and seasonal fun.

Starsky and Hutch and 227 in "TV Guide" Fall previews

I didn't post these when we did the respective episodes a few weeks ago, so here is your chance to check out the TV Guide Fall Preview issue glances at Starsky and Hutch (the 1975 issue) and 227 (the 1985 issue).

One thing that stands out is the lack of respect for Starsky and Hutch, which may indicate they didn't think much of it or its prospects for lasting. It ended up having a substantial impact even beyond the surface of its solid 4-year run, yet it gets barely a half-page here. And that picture they chose!

Also note Jackee is not in that cast photo for 227 but Alaina Reed is.

Power Rankings: People who were on 227

This week we are not ranking people who were on 227 as in the main cast members. No, the title of this list should really be, "People who were on 227?" The weirdest, the wildest, the ones we forgot were on there. Some guests are not surprising. Like, is it really a shocker that Ron Glass was on the series? I think not. Here we go! Remember, the rankings are based on who would win if they squared off on a neutral field in Capitol Hill.

1) Pee Wee Herman: This appearance in Season 2's "Toyland" solidifies the show's Eighties cred...and not just because Terry Kiser is in it!

2) Countess Vaughn: I think Mike and I both forget that the Alexandria character even existed, which is why she makes the list despite being a regular for pretty much the entire fourth season.

3) Red Buttons: Earns a spot for his appearance in the strange backdoor pilot episode "the Audit," which was designed to incorporate topical references into each episode--kind of like when Roc would hold up a newspaper to remind everyone it was being done live. "Joey, you know full well that today's horoscope says Libras should expect a sudden windfall!

4) Paul Winfield: Joined the show at the end of its run as the landlord in the fifth season and didn't really fit. Maybe it was because he played a deacon in the series' third season!

5) Lou Albano: We mention this on the podcast. Check him out in "We the People," in which the show takes a stand against homelessness!

6) Barry Sobel, Stoney Jackson: Pretty much all of the new additions in the last season. failed to make a positive impact.

7) Marvelous Marvin Hagler: Of all the sports stars to show up on a random sitcom...Hagler is effective in Season 4's "Hide the Star," playing himself.

8) Lyle Talbot: Man, the dude was in everything. He co-starred with the likes of Barbara Stanwyck in the Thirties, was a regular on Ozzie and Harriet in the Fifties, showed up a few times on Green Acres, and guested in one episode of 227 in his mid-80s.

9) Angela Bassett: A classic, "Hey, she was in that?" appearance is her showing up as an abandoned baby's mother in Season 5's "A Pampered Tale."

10) Kia Goodwin: I include her because she was a key part of the show in its first two seasons as Rose's daughter and Brenda's best friend but was written off the show and not mentioned as far as I can tell.

YouTube Spotlight: 227's Jackee on Saturday morning!

I am breaking precedent and highlighting a video not in this week's video playlist for 227, but one that maybe should be in there: Jackee (along with Smokey Robinson and...Rick Dees!) as her character from 227 introducing NBC Saturday toons:

I wouldn't be surprised if, at some point, there was an idea to make a Jackee cartoon. There HAD to have been a push for a Disco Duck cartoon with Dees, or as Sandra calls him, "Mr. Deeeeeees."

Don't you love how Dees and Robinson are doing that thing where they appear on the verge of laughing each time they do one of those bumpers?

Episode 11-11: 227

Season 11 returns with a look at 227, Marla Gibbs' follow-up to The Jeffersons. The sitcom introduced the world to Jackee Harry and a young Regina King, but it also featured the likes of the great Hal Williams and Alaina Reed Hall (Olivia from Sesame Street). In 5 seasons, they covered a lot of ground from kitchen-sink comedy to social commentary to random celebrity encounters to wacky sitcom premises. We'll let you decide which category an episode where Gibbs' Mary and Hall's Rose win a butler for a week falls. Did we mention one of Gibbs' old Jeffersons co-stars plays the butler? 

#podcast #tv #retrotv #seventies #eighties #227 #marlagibbs #jackeeharry #reginaking #butlers

 

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