Thursday, May 31, 2018

Thursday Movie Picks:TV Edition-entertainment Industry


TV time again since it is the last Thursday of the month and what better way to bring in the summer than with the entertainment industry. This has been a crazy month with 7 birthdays in 2 weeks ending with my birthday this Saturday 🎂. My friend, 2 of her kids, my hubby’s niece and my niece, my hubby last Friday...and then me. It has been expensive especially when you add in flower buying for the outside and license renewal. So this week is fun because it is about entertainment on the boob tube. I wonder what everyone else will choose, and to find out, head on over to Wandering Through The Shelves. Here are my 3...

1. I LOVE LUCY-1951-1957


I know I picked this before and could have chosen The Dick Van Dyke show but I just love...I mean LOVE this show. We all know that Ricky Ricardo owns a nightclub where he has his big Cuban band and he is the star. His wife, the great Lucille Ball, will do anything to be a part of his show much to his dismay and tries, in vain, to keep her off the stage. Their best friends and landlords, Fred and Ethel Mertz often are in on the hijinks. I have to admit that my favourite part of the series is when Ricky is asked to come to Hollywood for a movie and the gang meet all sorts of great movie stars from William Holden to John Wayne. The stars begin to realize how crazy the redhead is when she creates havoc trying to catch a glimpse of these famous people.

2. JUST SHOOT ME-1997-2003


I am not sure how many people saw this show but I thought it was quite funny about a top selling fashion magazine, named Blush, who is owned by a 4 times married man who hires his daughter to help run his enterprise. She has issues with daddy who loves fun and she is all intellectual and serious. The rest of the cast is rounded out by the Fashion Editor, a once big time model who can’t remember the 70’s since she lived at Studio 54. The photographer who loves to date all the models and the nerdy, creepy guy who is the Executive Assistant. George Segal is great as the dad, Wendy Malik plays the former model who wishes she was still 25 and David Spade plays the creepy geek. I enjoyed this show but the studio moved it around all the time which made it difficult to find and which didn’t help the ratings.

3. SMASH-2012-2013



This was a short-lived series with Steven Spielberg as an executive producer and Debra Messing, Katherine McPhee and Angelica Huston as leads in this series about a musical being made on the life of Marilyn Monroe. You see how the producer does everything in her might to find the money for this musical. The writers for the show must deal with a lot of crap every which way especially when the director is hired, who has a god complex. The casting call goes out and the part of Marilyn is between 2 gals, one a newbie(Katherine McPhee) and the other who has been part of the chorus for years (Megan Hilty). This was quite good, I thought, but it was a musical so it never had a great start for a show but it was done intelligently and with style. Most of the singing was to showcase a song from the show but, regardless, I found all the songs related well with the script. I enjoyed how a Broadway show gets put together, despite the in-fighting, intrigue, egos etc... What a shame it only lasted 2 seasons especially since I love Angelica Huston and Megan Hilty has a great voice. Oh, not that i am doing Battle of the Bands but, if you have the time to listen to each gal, who would you choose to be Marilyn based on her voice?

Which 3 would you choose?

52 comments:

  1. Just Shoot Me was awesome! Amazing how many name actors were in that show. Plus James Spade and Wendie Malick did Disney's The Emperor's New Groove together.
    How about WKRP in Cincinnati?

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    1. Glad you like that pick. OMG! I totally forgot about that great show that I love

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  2. My parents bought their first TV in 1950 and Lucy was a big part of our TV viewing. When the season ended and the reruns started we watched and laughed all over again. I never heard of the other two series you mention. I do have an album of Marilyn's that I won in a trivia contest just after she died. I think Katherine is closer to her voice but not quite as breathy.

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    1. One can always laugh with Lucy. I wonder if that record you have of Marilyn is worth anything?

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    2. I found it on UK eBay for 17-20 pounds. Free shipping, lol.

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  3. Hi, Birgit!

    Happy 21st birthday to you, dear friend! You are finally old enough to drink and smoke. :)

    What - no Roseanne? :)

    Lucy had impeccable comedic timing, didn't she? Whenever the series featured a celebrity guest, which was often, Lucy schemed and connived with Ethel to find ways to meet the star, get an autograph, audition for them, etc. She was always begging Ricky to let her "do a number down at the clupp" (his words) and she always had "some 'splainin' to do." I have seen every episode of this great sitcom multiple times.

    The Danny Thomas Show would be another entertainment themed series that I could recommend.

    I was also a regular viewer of Just Shoot Me. It's nice to see that George Segal landed in another hit series that I never miss - The Goldbergs. I watched Katherine McPhee in Scorpion but did not see her as MM in the musical TV series Smash.

    Once again, happy birthday to you and all the other b-day people in your life, dear friend BB!

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    1. Ahh 21....now I can drink legally:) Danny Thomas show would work but I saw so few episodes that I would like to see it now. I have not watched The Goldbergs but not sure why I didn’t.

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  4. I love Lucy is doing daily reruns for six hours on Decades network. I am not much of a fan, but I simply don't care for comedies.

    I have never heard of the other two shows, which surprises me, since I am much better at tv shows than movies. However, I had never heard of Katherine McPhee until I saw her on Scorpion. Then I caught her on a show that honored animals. It was one where they were trying to find forever homes for abandoned animals. On one song, she sang with two cats/kittens in her arms. It was the first time I heard her sing, and I am a HUGE fan. So she would win in my book any day.

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    1. She was a contestant on American Idol but I can’t remember if she won or not. She does have an amazing voice and I’m glad she loves animals which makes her great in my books.

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  5. I used to watch I Love Lucy reruns on Nick and Nite all the time. I loved her. I really wanted to get into Smash but I couldn't. That was so disappointing. I never saw Just Shoot Me.

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    1. Hey! 2 out of 3:) Smash was not a ...smash and most thought it was a hot mess but I enjoyed it.

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  6. Gosh, Birgit. Forgot to wish you a very happy birthday.

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  7. I'm skipping this week as I had nothing. Your picks sound good.

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  8. Happy Birthday Birgit....hope you have a wonderful day....
    Always enjoyed I love Lucy...the other two I haven’t seen.....
    Having a wonderful week of sunshine and spending it out in the garden....enjoy your weekend xxxxxx

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    1. I know you would have seen Lucy and I am so glad you are enjoying your garden. It is the season isn’t it?:)

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  9. I Love Lucy is a great catch, I never thought of it as a show about the entertainment industry because of all of Lucy's shenanigans. Classic show. I wasn't crazy for Just Shoot Me outside of one thing-Wendie Malick who is just a brilliant comedienne. I had such high hopes for Smash but after a great start it funked it and I stopped watching, I didn't even notice when it was cancelled.

    I had the hardest time this week coming up with three though now with others choices I see I missed alot.

    Buffalo Bill (1983-1984)-Unconventional and innovative comic drama of Bill Bittenger (an award level Dabney Coleman), an insufferable egotistical Buffalo talk show host and his long suffering staff (including Geena Davis, Joanna Cassidy and Meshach Taylor) who he thinks nothing of treating like dirt. Sharp, incisive and critically adored this always struggled in the ratings because despite his brilliance Coleman’s Bill was nearly impossible to warm to.

    Good Morning, Miami (2002-2007)-Lightweight comedy of hot shot producer Jake Silver (Mark Feuerstein) undertaking the reconstruction of one of the worst talk show on TV, a Miami morning chat show with a blowhard host and a nun for a weathergirl. The series followed his attempts to improve the show and the wacky cast. Never a huge hit but it had a decent group of performers including the late great Suzanne Pleshette as Feuerstein’s plain talking grandmother.

    Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (2006-2007)-Behind the scenes comedy drama of the chaos that goes into making a Saturday Night Live type program. A lot of high grade talent (Matthew Perry, Bradley Whitford, Sarah Paulson etc.) in front of and behind (Aaron Sorkin created this) the camera but it never found its footing or audience and the cast never truly gelled.

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    1. I forgot about Buffalo Bill which was a good show and Dabney Coleman was excellent. I haven’t seen your other 2 choices.

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  10. Oh and hope your birthday is a great one!

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  11. Wow, you could have gone in a lot of directions for this one! Broadway, TV, movies, radio...!

    Let's see... I never even heard of Smash, but I've only watched TV at other people's houses for the last ten years, so I pretty much watch what they watch.

    I had heard of Don't Shoot Me, but it took me forever to warm up to David Spade, so I never sought out this series. I've loved George Segal since the late '60s, early '70s, when I often saw him on The Tonight Show.

    And I Love Lucy? Hm. Never heard of that one either. (Yeah, right.)

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    1. Oops. Forgot to wish you a Happy Birthday, so... Happy Birthday!

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    2. Thanks for my Birthday wishes:) I love George Segal on the Tonight Show and recall when he spoke about him driving home when he was drunk (that was back in the day before one was horsewhipped for doing this...understandable though). I am not a David Spade fan because I think he is a smarmy jerk but I enjoyed this show regardless of him.

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    3. The first show I ever watched David Spade on was The Showbiz Show with David Spade, IIRC, although Lord only knows why I watched it to begin with, considering my dislike for him. (Maybe I saw a commercial for it and liked it.) Anyway, I enjoyed that show and managed to put up with Spade when Rules of Engagement began. I watched the first two seasons before I gave up cable and regular TV watching in general.

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  12. Happy Birthday!

    I know I watched Just Shoot Me semi-regularly back when it came on, but for the life of me I can't remember a single episode. I can't even remember a single scene or joke. Either it really wasn't very memorable or I'm getting older faster than I would like.

    Does WKRP in Cincinnati count? That would be my pick. Still my favourite sitcom of all time.

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    1. Thanks for the birthday wishes.I could kick myself for not thinking about this great gem. I love WKRP and consider it one of the best shows ever.

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  13. BIRGIT ~
    Oh, yeah, as C.D. said above, I'd also definitely put WKRP IN CINCINNATI on my list. Radio DJs are entertainers.

    Does Pop Psychology count as entertainment? If so, then my #1 pick would be FRASIER.

    And Jerry Seinfeld was a stand-up comic, so SEINFELD is a show about an entertainer, too.

    I guess those are my 3 top choices.

    ~ D-FensDogG
    STMcC Presents 'Battle Of The Bands'

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    1. POSTSCRIPT:
      I guess I missed the mention of your impending Birthday, Birgit. HAPPY 29th!! ;-)

      ~ D-FensDogG
      STMcC Presents 'Battle Of The Bands'

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    2. Thank you for the birthday wishes:) I can't believe I forgot WKRP!!! I would have went with that for sure because it is a classic. Frasier also fits the bill but I am saving that gem. Seinfeld fits and I am surprised it has not been picked more. Love the contest and "No Soup For You!

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    3. I used WKRP a few months back for the "workplace" theme, so I couldn't use it this time around. I actually did pick The Dick Van Dyke Show.

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  14. Happy birthday.

    A week where I'm familiar with all three of your choices. What are the odds? ;) I didn't watch Just Shoot Me regularly. It aired in my retail era, where I worked nights frequently enough that I wasn't following many TV shows. (If we had had DVRs back then...)

    I liked Smash, but I wasn't disappointed when it was cancelled.

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    1. Just Shoot Me was a fun show. Smash is not one most people liked...many said it was a hot mess but I enjoyed it and was saddened when it ended.

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  15. I Love Lucy had to be one of the funniest shows of all time.
    That's a lot of birthdays! And a Happy Pre-Bday to you, dear Birgit.

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    1. I think it is the funniest to be honest and she was no ordinary housewife for sure. Thanks a mil:)

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  16. Ton of Birthdays indeed. Happy Birthday to you.

    Just Shoot Me is one I heard of but never got chance to watch.

    I Love Lucy is sure a classic to go with.

    Never watched Smash as I heard it got cancelled.

    Seinfeld would be my top pick.

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    1. I thought Seinfeld would be big this week but it wasn't! I also thought The Gary Sandling Show would be mentioned but it wasn't.

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  17. I watched Just Shoot Me! I liked the stories that were done for the publisher's daughter. She and the photographer were the sanest in that asylum. I watched a few of the episodes of SMASH. I enjoyed the musical stuff. Not so much the characters.

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    1. They were the sanest! My fav was Wendy Malick. Smash has some great songs...as long as Debra Messing doesn't sing too much

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  18. Birgit,

    I remember that scene from the "I Love Lucy" show. She was such a great goof ball for sure never failing to make me laugh out loud with her craziness. I haven't watched much of "Just Shoot Me" just bits and pieces. This was a great clip, though. "Smash" is another series I haven't watched. I wondered how it might be while it aired. I think Katharine McPhee's vocals are the best suited for Marilyn Monroe. Neither of the girls were dead on Monroe's style but Katharine has a softer quality to her voice which reminds me more of Marilyn than the other gal.

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    1. Glad you listened to both and I do like Katherine McPhee's version a bit better. I love Lucy is just a classic

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  19. Other I Love Lucy I haven't heard of any of these. Offhand I'm not thinking of too many shows that fit what you're describing (if I understand the concept). Jack Benny had some very funny episodes about show business and behind the scenes.

    Ivy struck me as a closer ringer to Marilyn, but I preferred Katherine's delivery on the song.

    Happy Birthday!


    Arlee Bird
    Tossing It Out

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    1. I'm so glad you listened to the 2 versions. I do oprefer Katherine's rendition better. Jack Benny is a great pick! I would love to revisit his shows especially when he makes his way to the vault.

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  20. Totally forgot about Ricky being a singer when I was figuring out what to pick for this topic. Great call by you.

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  21. Not being a contrarian... I haven't seen I Love Lucy in decades... turning the dial when tv's had dials and happened along the show. When Lucy looked at the camera, opened her mouth and "whaaa!" That was her catchphrase, "Whaa!" From what I recall, in the literal or abstract, Ricky was like Jackie Gleason in a wifebeater t-shirt keeping his lady in line. Gleason and Ricardo with an ever ready slap respectively "To the moon" and "Get off the stage" and in concert "I'm the boss!" with an ever-ready slap "To the moon!" "Don't question me"
    -- "Whaaa!"
    *****

    Then the 70's happened when it was okay for women to work.
    Tyler Moore and the news show.

    The Partridge Family.


    That's it.

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  22. While I generally enjoy Megan Hilty's voice much more than Katherine McPhee's (and think she's a MUCH better performer in general), I like Karen's version of "Don't Forget Me" better than Ivy's. McPhee was an American Idol runner-up and her voice very much has that kind of quality to it.

    I Love Lucy is such a brilliant choice! And I remember LOVING Just Shoot Me, but I don't remember much about it now.

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  23. I saw Just Shoot Me a few times but didn't watch it regularly.
    How was your bday, Birgit? I wished you a belated on my blog. Mega apologies for being late getting wishes posted. I hope it was wondrous.

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  24. I used to watch I love Lucy after school.

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