charles in charge
11 Great 'It's a Wonderful Life' TV Spoofs

The Rue McClanahan You Never Knew

In what was already a sad week in entertainment, Rue McClanahan passed away this morning from a massive stroke at the age of 76.
This leaves the resurgent Betty White as the only one of the 'Golden Girls' quartet who's still with us, a remarkable thought considering that it didn't seem like that long ago when White, McClanahan, Bea Arthur and Estelle Getty were all making us laugh on Saturday nights.
Most people know McClanahan from her 'Girls' role of sexy senior Blanche Devereaux. But McClanahan's on-screen career stretches back almost fifty years, and she's been featured in a number of interesting television roles before and since her years on that lanai in Miami.
Here are some of the more interesting parts of Rue's career you may or may not have known about:
One Man Does a Duet of TV's Greatest Themes
One man, or rather two of him, have changed my perception on that phobia forever. Musician Fredrik Larsson has put together a beautiful rendition of TVs greatest tunes using nothing but a keyboard, an acoustic guitar and a DNA perfect clone of himself.
Trust me when I tell you this: the 'Charles in Charge' theme never sounded this, well, listenable.
[via Buzzfeed]
Buy some of Willie Aames' stuff
Willie Aames has had it tough as of recent. After his time as a celebrity (including high-profile roles on Eight is Enough, Charles in Charge and the voice of Hank in the Dungeons & Dragons cartoon), he then spent some time as BibleMan (and if you ever saw BibleMan, you'd understand why that was a bad thing), had an argument with his trainer on Celebrity Fit Club, and tried to commit suicide after his wife left him. Now he's apparently selling some of his possessions in a garage sale in suburban Kansas City.Why do I have the feeling that this is going to lead to him being on another reality television show like his Charles in Charge co-star, Scott Baio? They say there is no such thing as bad publicity, but I have to wonder.
The article lists some of the items he's selling, but it neglects to specifically mention the autographed picture of Scott Baio, the magic bow that shoots fire-arrows and the magic Bible.
New TV on DVD releases this week
Here are the new TV DVDs, in stores tomorrow.Am I a terrible person for not wanting to get Andy Richter Controls The Universe? Not that it was a bad show, it wasn't. It's just not one of those short-lived shows where I say to myself, "boy, I can't wait until that comes out on DVD." I can think of many other short-lived shows on DVD that I would buy before I bought this one. But it's good to see it being released.
I have Room 222 on my shelf but haven't watched it yet.
- Andy Richter Controls The Universe - Complete Series
- Charles in Charge - Season 4 (Amazon.com only)
- The Dog Whisperer - Very Best Of
New TV on DVD releases this week
Here are the new TV DVDs, in stores tomorrow.Hmmm, a bunch of "Best Of" sets are being released this week. I've never liked this idea (most of these sets don't have episodes that I'd like to see, and I'd like a complete collection), though I guess I can understand why they release them. They want to see if fans are interested and aren't sure if it warrants a whole season being released. Though I'm not sure why shows like Banacek and B.L. Stryker are getting "Best Of" sets since they have already had season sets released.
- B.L. Stryker - Best Of
- Banacek - Best Of
- Beany & Cecil - Classic Collection, Volumes 1 and 2
- Charles in Charge - Best Of
- The Crow: Stairway to Heaven - Best Of
- Curious George - Sails with Pirates and Other Curious Capers
- Death Note - Vol. 6
- Dirty Jobs - Collection 3
- Entourage - Season 4
- Everybody Hates Chris - Season 3
- Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids - Halloween
- The Golden Age of Comedy
- Heroes - Season 2
- The Honeymooners - Color, Collection 4
- NCIS - Season 5 and Seasons 1-5 sets
- One Tree Hill - Season 5
- Robson Arms - Season 3
- The Shield - Season 6
- Shockwave - Season 1
- The Untouchables - Season 2, Vol. 2
Five horrible TV theme song lyrics - VIDEOS
I was reading Brad's post about bad superhero shows, and the site he linked to picked the Cathy Lee Crosby version of Wonder Woman, which I think is silly. It was much better than the Lynda Carter version and was smart enough to use an instrumental theme song, not one with lyrics. When you try to put lyrics to a superhero show theme song, the results are usually very bad.
Here are my choices for five horrible lyrics from TV theme songs. I'm not saying these are the worst. Maybe this could be a regular feature. There are so many to choose from, but these really stand out. (I did a similar post a couple of years ago, but it was strictly bizarre lyrics, not necessarily "bad" ones. The list needs to be updated, especially since I didn't include the number one choice.)
New TV on DVD releases this week
Here are the new TV DVDs, in stores tomorrow.
- 24 - Season 1 (Special Edition)
- The Bill Engvall Show - Season 1
- Charles in Charge - Season 3
- Exes and Ohs - Season 1
- Gomer Pyle, USMC - Season 4
- A Haunting - Season 3
- JAG - Season 6
- The Jeff Corwin Experience - Season 2
- The Muppet Show - Season 3
- Nimrod Nation - Complete Series
- Penn & Teller's Bullshit - Season 5
- Richie Rich/Scooby-Doo Hour - Complete Series, Vol. 1
- Square Pegs - Complete Series
- Teenage Ninja Mutant Turtles - Season 5
- Tom Selleck Western Collection
- Young Maverick - The New Maverick
New TV on DVD releases this week
Here are the new TV DVDs, in stores tomorrow:
- The Batman - Season 4
- Bozo's Big Top - Collection 2
- BraveStarr - Vol. 1
- CSI - Season 7
- The Care Bears - 25 Years of Caring
- Chappelle's Show - Series Collection
- Charles in Charge - Season 2
- The Doris Day Show - Season 5 and Doris Day Today
- Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist - Complete Series
- Inside the Actor's Studio - Johnny Depp
- Little Britain - Abroad and Complete Collection
- Love, American Style - Season 1, Vol. 1
- Man with a Camera - Complete Collection
- Mission: Impossible - Season 3
- The Naked Brothers Band - Battle of the Bands
- Queer As Folk - Complete Series
- Star Trek - Season 1 HD
- Tales of Tomorrow - Vol. 3
- Teen Titans - Season 4
- The Tudors - Season 1 (Canada)
- The Wild, Wild West - Season 3
Stump the King - Charles in Charge
This week I got a great letter that brought back some fond memories.
Curtis Smith writes:
"I'm sure you hear this all the time, but for the last couple of years i have been trying to remember a short lived TV show that I saw in the mid to late 80's. It was about a kid who's dad was a secret agent and the kid some how got involved with the government. the only episode i can sort of remember is him trying to hide an attractive spy from his mom. Any help you have would be great. "
Nine shows that dramatically changed from the first to second seasons
In the life of a television show there are always changes. It could be the departure or addition of a cast member, a new set or shooting location, or just the aging of characters. But, those are subtle changes that many viewers just shrug off as the natural progression of a program.
Then there are those changes that are so drastic that they take viewers by surprise, making them wonder if this is the same show they watched the previous season. When these changes take place between the freshman and sophomore seasons of a show this really takes a toll on the fan base. Throughout the history of television there have been a number of shows that have seen such changes between the end of season one and the beginning of season two. After the jump you'll read about nine such examples.
TV Obits: Callahan, Tuttle, Handelman
A roundup of TV people from in front of the camera and behind the scenes who have passed away.
- James Callahan: He played the grandfather on Charles In Charge. He had appearances on several shows over the years, including Medium, ER, Promised Land, Cybill, Caroline in the City, Picket Fences, Golden Girls, M*A*S*H, Adam-12, The Invanders, Route 66, The Time Tunnel, My Favorite Martian, Dennis The Menace, and dozens of others. He died of cancer at age 76.
Stump the King - David Letterman
This week I got a trivia question from a reader named Len Maurer from St. Louis MO.
Len writes, "On Charles in Charge what was the last name of Scott Baio's character, Charles?"
I actually get this question quite often, and the answer is he didn't have one. Now some of you may insist that he did have a last name that was never mentioned on the show. However, according to a conversation I once had with Al Burton, executive producer of C in C, Charles was never given a last name ... ever.
Thanks for the question Len.
Now for this week's stumper...
Charles tries to take charge in restaurant
Writer Paul Davidson is trying his
damndest to get every single Hollywood star so ticked off at him that he is eventually banned from every restaurant,
bar, coffee shop, supermarket, pharmacy, and movie theater in California.This week: Chachi!
Davidson went to Mel's Diner recently, and was waiting for a table. A table was vacated, and the manager told Davidson that he could have the table as soon as it was cleaned. Enter Scott Baio, who got up from his chair at the counter with his food, and went over and sat down at the table! Did the manager bow down to the star? Did Baio have a fit? Did he go over and punch Davidson? Here's what happened.
The Five: bizarre TV theme song lyrics
"I want Charles in charge
of me." (Charles In Charge): I don't even want to know what the girl means by this.- "It don't matter that you got, not a lot, so what? They'll have theirs, and you'll have yours and I'll have
mine." (Diff'rent Strokes): Huh?
- "I hear it in your laughter, And I feel it when
you cry. I will be right there for you, until the day I die." (My Two Dads): Cheerful lyrics for a
sitcom, eh?
- "He just keeps on movin'. Ladies keep impovin'. (BJ and the Bear): How politically correct.
- "Welcome aboard, it's looooooooooooooooo-ove!" (The Love Boat): Translated, it means "come on to our cruise ship and have unprotected sex with someone you just met."
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