YouTube Spotlight: Madonna on "Bloopers"?

One of the interesting clips in this week's video playlist devoted to TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes is this clip of bloopers from Desperately Seeking Susan featuring Madonna:

Imagine that: 3 of the biggest showbiz icons of all time together at once: Ed McMahon, Dick Clark, and Madonna! If you didn't watch that clip up above this paragraph, I am going to disappoint you: Madge does not walk out to greet Dick and Ed as if she was personally delivering bloopers from her new flick. Can you imagine her seizing everyone's attention by writhing provocatively on a big 3-dimensional represeantion of the word "GOOF"?

I am sure NBC was thrilled to be able to promote a Madonna appearance on the show, even if it was a mere collection of film clips. Madonna knew Dick Clark from American Bandstand and, of course she knew Ed McMahon from American Family Publishers. (She was not on The Tonight Show until 1987).

Show Notes and Video Playlist: Episode 12-10: TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes

*Is it me or is there a Mandela Effect going on here. I might have thought this show was TV's Practical Jokes and Bloopers?

*Kermit Schaefer, Mr. Blooper, is credit with pioneering the practice of collecting media bloopers. He released several albums in the Sixties along with books like the one I mention. His 1974 movie Pardon My Blooper was a compilation of bloopers. 75 minutes of them!

*Johnny Carson's practical jokes special is "Johnny Carson's Greatest Practical Jokes," which aired on NBC in 1983.

*Later versions of the show aired on ABC from 1998 to 2007 and in syndication for a brief spell starting in 2012.

*ABC's knock-off, Foul-Ups, Bleeps, and Blunders aired midseason 1984, then was on the Fall schedule, but soon became just a series of specials before fizzling after a short run.

*1984 miniseries Celebrity is a 3-part NBC miniseries based on a 1983 novel. Stars include Michael Beck and James Whitmore. It won an Emmy for cinematography.

*The episode we discuss premiered February 13, 1984 on NBC.

*Jim Perry was a longtime game show host we talk more about in our Face the Music/Sale of the Century episode.

*Nancy McKeon of Facts of Life was not quite 18 when this aired. Brother Philip (Alice) was 19.

*Lee Cooper has been around over 100 years and is still around!

*You can see a lot of vintage Robert Klein specials on the Clown Jewels YouTube channel.

*1984's Angel from New World Pictures was a hit relative to cost and spawned several sequels.

*Finally, check out our video playlist for this episode, which includes (as of this writing) the full episode upload we watch and discuss for the podcast, plus promos, a few bloopers, and Dr. Joyce Brothers on Make Me Laugh!

*And remember, you can always check out our official YouTube page for all of our past podcasts and episode-specific playlists for each one!

Episode 12-10: TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes

The mid-eighties saw the rise of blooper-mania, and nothing exemplified that more than TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes, starring Dick Clark and BOTNS semi-regular Ed McMahon! If you've never seen the show, don't be fooled by the title, though. It's really TV's Bloopers, Commercial Compilations, Comedy Bits, Dance Montages, and Practical Jokes! Also appearing in this episode Nancy and Phil McKeon and Dr. Joyce Brothers.

#podcast #tv #retrotv #eighties #bloopers #practicaljokes #tvsbloopersandpracticaljokes #dickclark #edmcmahon #nancymckeon #phimckeon #drjoycebrothers 

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Check out this episode!

Tomorrow on Battle of the Network Shows...

 

Power Rankings: Chico and the Man!

The Power Rankings return to evaluate the characters on Chico and the Man. What more important pastime can there be than assigning rank to fictional people on a 1970s sitcom?

Remember, these ratings reflect how these individuals would fare against each other on a neutral playing surface in Malden, Massachusetts.

1) Chico and the Man (tie): Is this a cop-out? Of course it is, but the series relies so much on the tremendous chemistry between the two that it seems wrong to elevate one over the other. Prinze's Chico was the breakout, but Albertson's Ed Brown was the glue and was there the whole run (for better or worse).

3) Louie Wilson: Played with charismas as always by Scatman Crothers. Despite what I said above, don't think I didn't ponder putting Louie higher for a brief moment. Louie has to be one of the all-time great garbagemen (Future bonus episode idea?).

4) Della Rogers: Della Reese offered a surprisingly effective foil for Albertson after Prinze's death.

5) Charo: A little of Charo goes a long way, but the series needed some energy at the time, and, well, one thing Charo always provides is energy.

6 (tie): Mando, Mabel, and Reverend Bemis: The performers tried hard, but they just couldn't elevate these characters (Chico's pal, the mailperson, and, well, the reverend)  beyond solid contributors. They seem designed to be the kinds of characters who get rapturous applause when they show up, but I just have not gotten into them.

Also receiving votes: Raul and Monica. Don't blame the actors. They walked into an impossible situation.

Top Ten #324

1) Chico and the Man: This week on the podcast, we talk about a series which started blazing hot but ended early for obvious reasons. I enjoyed Chico and the Man more than I expected and am still watching it.

2) Freddie Prinze and Jack Albertson: What a team. You have a multitalented, charismatic superstar who commands the screen and who left us too soon...and Freddie Prinze was great, too!

3) Scatman Crothers: Scatman is always welcome on Battle of the Network Shows, whether he is in the series we discuss or not. Fortunately, he happens to be in 

4) James Komack: Say what you will about the executive producer, and many have, but he seems like a bit of a character.

5) Kmart: I for one bought many a cool toy at the store, the last of which closed this week. And by "bought," I mean, "asked my mom to buy for me."

6) Mannix: Check out the guest cast in the episode aired on CBS 50 years ago tonight, "The Green Man": Elisha Cook Jr., Russell Johnson, SCATMAN CROTHERS!

7) Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: The ceremony aired last night on Disney Plus. Congratulations to Cher, who we celebrated last season. She won the listener-voted Batty for Outstanding Duo with Sonny Bono! 

Meanwhile at the Hall, Allison Troy remains snubbed.

8) The Great Bear Scare: 40 years ago this weekend, many stations aired this 1983 Halloween-themed follow up to The Bear Who Slept Through Christmas.

9) Big Eddie: Let's take another look at the short-lived CBS sitcom that aired the same night as "Chico and the Van," the episode we talked about on the pod this week.

10) R.I.P.: Mitzi Gaynor and Sherry Coben (creator of Kate and Allie):

YouTube Spotlight: Can You Still Hear the Laughter?

One of the clips in our Chico and the Man playlist this week is this promo for the TV movie based on star Freddie Prinze's short life:

The full movie is also available on YouTube without looking too hard. Directed by Burt Brinckerhoff, it premiered on CBS Tuesday, September 11, 1979 after an episode of Wonder Woman. Opposition was a repeat of Part 2 of Holocaust on NBC and the ABC combo of new episodes of Three's Company, Taxi, and The Lazarus Syndrome. The sitcoms were season premieres.

Writing in The New York Times, critic John J. O'Connor called the movie "the bare scaffolding of the show-business structure constructed on the familiar story premise of 'too much, too soon.' As a magazine article, the form can still delvier narrative clout. As a dramatization, it demands much more than Can You Hear the Laughter?  was willing--or able--to make."

He says the movie is shallow and doesn't explain much about Prinze's life nor his death. He does praise star Ira Angustine, who resembles Prinze and "also manages to convey a good deal of his special warmth." Randee Heller and Kevin Hooks earn praise, too.