For this week’s Monday mix, I thought we could take a look back to one of the cutest TV shows, “Kids Say The Darndest Things.” This clip features a little Cassanova who has tips on why older women are better. Hope you enjoy and happy Monday! Click here to view previous Monday mix clips.
Today, Beyonce, Diane Sawyer, Michael Jordan, Tom Cruise, Madonna and a crowd of 13,000 helped say goodbye to Oprah Winfrey during the double-episode farewell taping of her TV show, which will air at the end of the month.
Oprah announced in 2009 that she’d retired her show this year, and the date is set for May 25. I’m among the many who have been moved to tears by her talk show or cracked open a paperback touting the “Oprah’s book club” stamp. Oprah’s been at it since before I was born, and the end of the show marks the end of an era.
OPRAH, WELL-WISHERS
Looking through today’s photos, I wish I’d won one of the lottery tickets Harpo Enterprises gave away to attend. Tom Hanks emceed, Aretha Franklin sang “Amazing Grace,” Beyonce danced it out, Usher did his thing, Steve Wonder rocked the piano, Kristin Chenoweth Broadway-ed the audience with a song from “Wicked,” and those are only the a few of the entertainment acts. Seeing all of these celebrities and reading about the huge turnout in attendance, it’s clear her farewell is an event in itself.
Many people might have mixed emotions about Oprah leaving, but I share the same opinion as this woman:
Bessie Carroll, 70, of Chicago came to the show with her daughter. “I think we’ve gotten everything we could have and more than we should have from her,” Carroll said. “If she feels it’s time to go, we have to release her and let her enjoy her life.”
Reading up on Oprah, I’m reminded that she’s a force of nature, and a woman like that knows when to say goodbye.
The farewell episodes will air May 23-24. Click here to read the full Herald article and here to read more about Oprah Winfrey.
For this Monday’s mix, I’m going with a scene from FX’s TV show “Louie.” It stars comedian, writer Louis C.K., and it’s hilarious! Season 2 will air on Thursday, June 23. The thing I like about Louie’s comedy is he writes his own material and he makes it a point to always create new comedy: he won’t recycle the same joke for his taped specials. Hope you enjoy and happy Monday. Click here to watch previous Monday mix posts.
“We’ll make it better, the second time around.”
That’s the gist of “Second Time Around,” the awesome theme song to the not-so-awesome 1990s sitcom “Step by Step” about a newly blended family trying to take things “step by step, day by day.”
The cast of "Step by Step"
This show could best be described as a 1990s version of “The Brady Bunch” – divorced contractor Frank Lambert (Patrick Duffy) impulsively marries widowed beautician Carol Foster (Suzanne Somers), who return from a Jamaican vacation to tell their three kids (each!) that they now have step-brothers, step-sisters and step-parents.
Besides being on ABC’s TGIF lineup, “Step by Step” – and its theme song – has a lot in common with other classic 1990s family sitcoms.
The series was developed and executive produced by Thomas L. Miller and Robert L. Boyett, the TV dream team who also produced “Family Matters,” “Full House” and “Perfect Strangers.”
And “Second Time Around” was performed and co-written by Jesse Frederick, who along with Bennett Salvay wrote the themes for the three Miller-Boyett sitcoms I just mentioned. (In case you’re wondering, this explains why all four theme songs sound like they could be looped into one awesome early ’90s track. I’m still hoping to try that experiment some day).
Here are the lyrics to this classic theme song:
The dream got broken
Seemed like all was lost
What would be the future
Could you pay the cost
You wonder,
Will there ever be
a second time around?Woah-a, woah-a
When the tears are over
And the moment has come
Say “My lord,
I think I found someone”
And no one would be better
To be putting it together
For the second time aroundWe got the woman and man
We got the kids in a clan
Only time will tell
If all these dreams fit under one umbrellaStep by step
Day by day
A fresh start over
A different hand to play
The deeper we fall
The stronger we stay
And we’ll be better
The second time aroundStep by step
Day by day
{Day by day}
A fresh start over
A different hand to play
Only time will tell
But you know what they say
We’ll make it better
The second time around
I’ll admit that I watched the show from time to time in the early 1990s, but “Step by Step” is not something that I would recommend watching today. I think it’s boring, predictable and loaded with bad acting – that’s not all that different from many other sitcoms of its era, but I’d much rather watch “Perfect Strangers” if I want to get my TGIF fix.
Still, “Second Time Around” is such a great song that it’s always stuck in my head, even if I haven’t heard it in years. The tune has a great early ’90s vibe, plus it’s a rockin’ duet between Jesse Frederick and a Bonnie Tyler-like Theresa James. I can’t defend the show it was featured on, but no one has to defend their love of “Second Time Around.”
Here’s the full version of the theme – I’m sure the amusement park intro will be familiar to anyone who grew up with TGIF:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5y42dFQizJ8
Theme Song Thursday is a weekly look back at memorable, not-so-influential, nostalgia-inducing theme songs by the Herald’s Melinda Lavine and Ryan Johnson. Click here to read previous entries, and feel free to share!
NBC aired its premiere of “The Voice.” Yes, it’s another reality TV show, but before you write it off, hear me out.
It takes a different turn from “American Idol.” Instead of judges, it has four coaches in artists from different genres: Christina Aguilera, Cee Lo Green, Adam Levine (of Maroon 5) and Blake Shelton. These four have the task of forming a group of 8. A singer does their thing while the coaches have their backs turned. When the coaches hear the kind of talent they’d like to work with, they press a button. Then, the tables (or chairs) literally turn.
'The Voice' coaches
If more than one coach chooses the same performer, they then have to compete to convince that performer to work with them. “The Voice” has three stages of competition: the blind audition, the battle phase and the live performance shows.
Ok, this sounds kind of gimmicky, and I’m not a huge advocate for reality TV, but I was curious enough in the premise to check it out. And I liked it. (This is coming from a non-”Idol” viewer.)
A lot of things made news with “Idol.” It was a big deal when Fantasia won because she was a single mother, and it’s “American Idol.” There was a lot of flack when Kris Allen won over Adam Lambert – some fans said Lambert lost because he was openly gay, wore eyeliner and nail polish. Then there was the case when Frenchie Davis, a talented singer (who performed in “Rent” on Broadway in 2003) was disqualified as a semi-finalist because she disclosed to the show’s producers about topless photos that had been taken of her when she was 19. “American Idol” determined that because it was a family show, it would be inappropriate to have her continue as a contender. (It should be noted that in 2007, a similar situation occurred with “Idol” competitor, Antonella Barba, and she was not disqualified.)
Lambert, Seacrest, Allen
Frenchie showed up on “The Voice,” and she’s now on Christina Aguilera’s team. I like that the artists’ past, their race, gender, age, sexual orientation are all stripped from the process, and it’s not about who’s the most marketable or how badly they need to be Photoshop-ped.
As with all reality TV, the show may take a turn for the ick, but I appreciate that when you don’t have “American” or “Idol” attached to the title, you don’t have disregard talent for what “America can handle.” And on a lighter note, if any of you were wondering what happened to former TRL host, Carson Daly. He’s no longer rolling his eyes at tweens screaming for The Backstreet Boys. He’s reprising Ryan Seacrest’s role as the one-dimensional guy in the green room for “The Voice.”
I don’t know if I’ll keep up with the show, but I appreciate the premise.
Watch the first episode and view photos here.
Did you watch “The Voice” on Tuesday night? Whaddya think so far?
It’s a great theme song that makes “Seinfeld”
Flashback to the early 90′s. Flannel shirts, Nirvana, MTV still showed music videos and Nickelodeon ruled in the realm of adolescent programming. Thus begat THE ADVENTURES OF PETE AND PETE.
You might remember the Pete brothers; Petunia, the flashy pin-up tattoo; and their mother’s metal head plate. Thinking back to a lot of Nickelodeon theme songs, this was one of the most mature (*lyrics below) and definitely the most true to the 90′s. The theme’s called “Hey Sandy,” by Polaris, which was an off-shoot of the band Miracle Legion. They were featured in an episode of PETE AND PETE, and did a few other songs for the show.
I just rewatched an episode, and I understand its appeal to the Nickelodeon demographic. PETE AND PETE is way better than HANNAH MONTANA or THE SUITE LIFE OF ZACK AND CODY. I sometimes babysit (hang out with) and 8-year-old, and whenever we watch TV, it’s of course, age-appropriate. If I have to watch younger TV shows, I’m game for VICTORIOUS, iCARLY or BIG TIME RUSH.
PETE AND PETE was relatable to a larger group of kids, which many shows of this kind lack today, i.e., Hannah Montana leads a double life as a pop star, the teens of BIG TIME RUSH are in a pop group. Maybe it’s nostalgia talking, but I think the 90′s produced some great TV.
Here’s the theme song.
*Hey smilin’ strange
You’re looking happily deranged
I could’ve settled if you shoot me
Or have you picked your target yet?Hey Sandy
dontcha talk back
Hey Sandy
Theme Song Thursday is a weekly look back at memorable, not-so-influential, nostalgia-inducing theme songs by the Herald’s Melinda Lavine and Ryan Johnson. Click here to read earlier entries, and feel free to share!
News that MAD MEN, the multi-Emmy-winning series on AMC, had its fifth season delayed until 2012 is a disappointment for the show’s viewers. I’m catching up with season 4, and it’s as good as ever. (As much as I’d like to delay finishing to tide me over until next year, I don’t think it’s possible.)
In case you haven’t seen it, the show takes place in 1960′s New York City, revolves around an ad agency and focuses on Don Draper (played by actor Jon Hamm). What’ll initially catch your eye is the wardrobe, the incessant smoking, the nonstop liquoring and shameless womanizing. (If you’re trying to quit tobacco, this show won’t help.)
I get sucked into the beauty and allure of the 60′s, New York City, cheap prices for everything. One character goes to an Allen Ginsberg poetry reading, another to a Bob Dylan concert. I’m a bit jelly for their (fake) experiences, but the show doesn’t romanticize the past. It doesn’t hide the civil rights movement, the objectivity of women in the work place and the Cold War paranoia.
MAD MEN CAST
Male colleagues attribute the advancement of a female copy writer’s career with unwarranted quips to her waning virtue, all within her presence. A man draws an obscene cartoon and posts it in a female assistant’s office and plays it off with this stunner: “This is why I don’t like working with women. They can’t take a joke.” (Post-feminist readers, I feel your awe and disgust.) African-American men and women tend the elevators, restrooms and lunch carts, and characters don’t hide their bigotry, which is accurate for the era. A female assistant comforts a newbie in regard to the intimidation of a typewriter by saying “It was designed by a man, and he knew to make it simple enough for a woman to use.” (Arg!) This show also touches on homosexuality in the 60′s, how the discussion is avoided … basically, it’s a repression sandwich.
Click here to “Mad Men” yourself.
MAD MEN doesn’t hide the paralleled difficulties for women and African-Americans to be seen as equal citizens. I don’t want to recommend this show over a history book, but it showcases the small battles, which a history lesson may not always illuminate. Watching this makes me reflect on the opportunities I’m lucky enough to have today, it makes me grateful for the battles won before my time and happy that there’s something on television that makes me think beyond the screen.
Ok, I get that after all that, these characters and this time period may not seem preferable to watch, but there’s so much more to it: superior writing, character development and notable acting (Elisabeth Moss has had me rewinding scenes to applaud her nuanced performance). If anything, the carefully mapped set designs and costumes take you away from the current day, and that’s one of the hallmarks of entertainment for me. You’d be mad to miss it.
Click here to see Don Draper let loose on 30 Rock.
“In my opinionation, the sun is gonna surely shine.”
It’s a nonsense lyric, but these words of wisdom from the theme of the 1990s NBC sitcom “Blossom” are a prime example of the decade’s optimism-at-all-odds approach to life.
This might seem like a strange theme song to talk about in 2011 – after all, “Blossom” ended its five-year TV run in 1995. And other than Blossom’s love of ugly hats and Joey Lawrence’s “Woah!” catchphrase, any impact that this show had on American pop culture died out long ago.
But “My Opinionation” is a great theme song that deserves a listen, especially if you didn’t watch the show (which is probably for the best).
It’s performed by Dr. John, the New Orleans legend with an awesome voice that brings a sense of fun and excitement to the otherwise mundane sitcom situations that Blossom gets into.
And the track was written by composers Steve Geyer and Mike Post (yes, the guy behind the themes for everything from MacGyver to Law & Order). The lyrics are pretty cheesy, and kind of seem like lines out of a bad self-help book, but I still think the song is a good fit for the show:
“Don’t know about the future, that’s anybody’s guess
Ain’t no good reason for getting all depressed
Buy up your pad and pencil, I’ll give you a piece of my mind
In my opinionation, the sun is gonna surely shineStop all your fussin’
Slap on a smile
Come out and walk in the sun for a whileDon’t fight the feeling, you know you want to have a good time
And in my opinionation, the sun is gonna surely shine.”
Still not enough to convince you that this is a great theme song? Watch how much fun the cast of “Blossom” seems to be having as they dance along to the catchy tune.
Theme Song Thursday is a weekly look back at memorable, not-so-influential, nostalgia-inducing theme songs by the Herald’s Melinda Lavine and Ryan Johnson. Click here to read previous entries, and feel free to share!
To kick off this series, I had to think of a theme song that I grew up with that always struck a chord with me, and the UNSOLVED MYSTERIES tune creeped into my head. I probably watched this show when I was too young, but back then, I was interested in anything frightening or supernatural. I used to read books about ghosts and UFOs and of course, R.L. Stine’s Fear Street novellas (pre-Goosebumps, and waaay better).
So naturally, to test my limits, I would watch UNSOLVED MYSTERIES, and I’d see how long I could listen to the theme song alone before having to change the channel, but it always freaked me out. I would scramble for the remote to change the channel before the song reached it’s climax, the loudest, most in-your-face point. Eeeesh, I’ve listened to it over and over now, and I’m proud to say, it no longer has that effect on me. (What a difference 20 years makes.)
Side note: You remember the host, Robert Stack, used to urge viewers to phone in if they had a lead on the criminals featured? I once rode out on my bike (likely into the sunset) convinced I’d find the perpetrator in my neighborhood and bring him to justice. I was 8. Delusions of grandeur? More like fleeting valor.
Here’s a link to the theme song.
NIELSEN, STACK (1980)
(Farther to the) side note: Have you ever seen the classic film, WRITTEN ON THE WIND circa 1956? Robert Stack co-stars, and I remember being amazed cause “the guy from UNSOLVED MYSTERIES” was in a film. (I’d obviously forgotten about AIRPLANE.)
Herald reporter Ryan Johnson and I will look back at memorable, not-so influential, nostalgia-inducing theme songs. Feel free to share!
