August 13, 2006
Are we not men - we are TiVo
Welcome to the inaugural post of my classic TV blog. First, I'd like to give credit where it is due: I was inspired to create this by The Comics Curmudgeon, which looks at current comic strips and is one of the funniest blogs I've seen.
This is how it's going to work - I'm going to TiVo (DVR, to be precise) episodes of old TV shows, watch them, and then write about them. Did you get all that, Max? Feel free to post comments. Let's get started, shall we?
The Brady Bunch - "Tiger, Tiger!"
First aired, January 30, 1970 on ABC
Recently aired, August 13, 2006 on TV Land
Written by Elroy Schwarz
Directed by Herb Wallerstein
From season one, which means that instead of the Brady Kids retelling the epic saga of how Mom and Dad got together, we get to hear the Peppermint Trolley Company sing the theme song. If you're not familiar with the Peppermint Trolley Company, just know that they sound exactly like you would think a group of men who call themselves the Peppermint Trolley Company would sound.
In this episode, the family dog gets lost, and the Bradys work together to find him. Not exactly "The Contest" episode of Seinfeld, plot-wise, but there are a few things worth mentioning here:
1. A teenage boy with no lines comes to the door with a dog who looks nothing like Tiger. The mute boy is Gary Grimes, who is rewarded for taking such a small part by being cast as the kid who gets busy with Jennifer O'Neill in The Summer of '42 only a year later. Grimes' best friend in The Summer of '42? Jerry Houser, who as Wally Logan, marries Marcia Brady ten years later. Coincidence? Perhaps...perhaps.
2. Mike does a late-night bed check of the boys' room wearing pajamas and a robe. Wait a minute, Mike. Are you wearing the lapels of your pajamas OUTSIDE the robe? I tip my hat to you, sir. It really pulls the whole ensemble together!
3. The Astro-Turf lawn. Wouldn't be The Brady Bunch without it.
4. Two close-up shots of people unbuckling their seat belts upon exiting a car. What, was the director of the NTSB the technical advisor on this episode?
5. Alice Nelson, stand-up comic: "That dog eats more like a horse. One of these days, instead of barking, he's gonna whinny." Not bad, Alice, but watch the parallel structure.
6. Mike finally finds Tiger at Mrs. Simpson's house, whose back yard looks hauntingly familiar. I've got it - it's the Bradys' back yard, with a few plants moved around! Whew, that was going to keep me up all night!
This is how it's going to work - I'm going to TiVo (DVR, to be precise) episodes of old TV shows, watch them, and then write about them. Did you get all that, Max? Feel free to post comments. Let's get started, shall we?
The Brady Bunch - "Tiger, Tiger!"
First aired, January 30, 1970 on ABC
Recently aired, August 13, 2006 on TV Land
Written by Elroy Schwarz
Directed by Herb Wallerstein
From season one, which means that instead of the Brady Kids retelling the epic saga of how Mom and Dad got together, we get to hear the Peppermint Trolley Company sing the theme song. If you're not familiar with the Peppermint Trolley Company, just know that they sound exactly like you would think a group of men who call themselves the Peppermint Trolley Company would sound.
In this episode, the family dog gets lost, and the Bradys work together to find him. Not exactly "The Contest" episode of Seinfeld, plot-wise, but there are a few things worth mentioning here:
1. A teenage boy with no lines comes to the door with a dog who looks nothing like Tiger. The mute boy is Gary Grimes, who is rewarded for taking such a small part by being cast as the kid who gets busy with Jennifer O'Neill in The Summer of '42 only a year later. Grimes' best friend in The Summer of '42? Jerry Houser, who as Wally Logan, marries Marcia Brady ten years later. Coincidence? Perhaps...perhaps.
2. Mike does a late-night bed check of the boys' room wearing pajamas and a robe. Wait a minute, Mike. Are you wearing the lapels of your pajamas OUTSIDE the robe? I tip my hat to you, sir. It really pulls the whole ensemble together!
3. The Astro-Turf lawn. Wouldn't be The Brady Bunch without it.
4. Two close-up shots of people unbuckling their seat belts upon exiting a car. What, was the director of the NTSB the technical advisor on this episode?
5. Alice Nelson, stand-up comic: "That dog eats more like a horse. One of these days, instead of barking, he's gonna whinny." Not bad, Alice, but watch the parallel structure.
6. Mike finally finds Tiger at Mrs. Simpson's house, whose back yard looks hauntingly familiar. I've got it - it's the Bradys' back yard, with a few plants moved around! Whew, that was going to keep me up all night!
