The last Movie Picks for this year but, I hope, there will be more from Wandering Through the Shelves. This year end we will talk about sports themed tv shows….sigh. This is not my forte but I chose 3 that I did watch…on occasion. Here are my 3…
1. THE WHITE SHADOW-1978-1981
This TV show was iconic because, aside from Ken Howard who was the star, it mainly starred people from other nationalities, African Americans, Latinos etc… He is a former athlete who can no longer play and becomes a teacher at an inner city school. This was one of the first shows that dealt with some major issues concerning race, sexuality, abortion etc.. it was a critics favourite and paved the way for future tv shows like St. Elsewhere.
2. THE BAD NEWS BEARS-1979-1980
I love the original film starring Walter Matthau but this show was not as good. It starred Jack Warden as the over the hill, boozing manager of a kids baseball team that sucks….they really suck. He tries to make them better. It was ok but not great and the network started moving it around which was the death knell for the series.
3. COACH -1989-1997
This is one series I did watch on a fairly regular basis. It stars Craig T. Nelson as a former football player who ends up as a University coach with Jerry Van Dyke and Bill Fagerbakke as his assistant coaches that left some brain cells at home. It started off with Nelson’s daughter wanting to know her father more but it later concerned Nelson and his long time girlfriend, later wife, played by Shelley Fabares. I found this show funny and engaging.
What non reality sports shows can you think of?
I am wishing you all a very Happy New Year!
Happy New Year. Yup, saw the theme and said , oh well. I haven't even seen the ones you mentioned.
ReplyDeleteIt’s Birgit and this one was hard for me but I’ve seen these.
DeleteThere was a baseball show called "Ball Four" that was a fictionalized show based on Jim Bouton's book. It didn't last long. One of Bill Cosby's early sitcoms had him as a basketball coach (and, of course, in "I Spy" he and Robert Culp were spies that used the identities of a tennis player and his coach).
ReplyDeleteI have not heard of these but glad you found some.
DeleteI never realized there was a Bad News Bears show. I sat this week out because all I could think of is Ted Lasso, which is a great show.
ReplyDeleteI have heard of Ted Lasso, obviously, but I didn’t know it was about sports
DeleteHappy New Year, Birgit! I'm familiar with all three and was a loyal watcher of Coach. Craig T. Nelson is fun to watch on Young Sheldon too. ☺ My favourite in this genre is Ted Lasso (on Apple TV), about an American football coach who takes over an English soccer team. Hilarious!
ReplyDeleteI have heard of Ted Lasso but have not seen it. I’m glad you watched Coach which was funny.
DeleteHi Birgit hope you had a great Christmas…even without your snow! It just rained non stop here but I did get to watch a film the new Indiana Jones a good bit of nonsense….xxx
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year! We got a bit of snow for New Year’s but that’s it. My Christmas was lovely and I hope yours was to. I still have to see the latest installment
DeleteTed Lasso! Absolutely the best show. I recommend it highly.
ReplyDeleteI have not seen your three shows, but I am familiar with them. Sadly, I don't think I could come up with 3 sports TV shows... Friday Night Lights (which I never watched). Sports Night (about a sports news show, that I watched sporadically). Would Cheers count as Sam was a former pitcher? I guess I have three here, sort of.
I've heard of your picks but haven't seen any of them. Sports are not my thing so I can't recall any sports related shows I ever watched.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year!
Lee
Yes, sports isn’t mine neither but I found these 3
DeleteI know and love so many. Hoosiers and Bull Durham are two of my all-time favorites in any genre. We like Breaking Away a lot at our house, too.
ReplyDeleteThese movies are good and I could choose many movies regarding Sports but not TV shows.
DeleteGah! I misunderstood. Okay...
DeleteSports Night is outstanding. Two seasons weren't enough. ABC cancelled the show and Aaron Sorkin turned down offers from other networks to continue because he was busy with his next project, The West Wing.
I think Cheers counts. Funny as the show is, at its heart, it's the sad tale of a disgraced former athlete trying to build a meaningful life afterwards. In the real world, that's probably a more common story than most people realize.
There was, all too briefly, a Men with Brooms series on CBC based loosely on the movie of the same name. I only watched the first few episodes and it wasn't terrible - faint praise, I know. But I've seen plenty of inferior shows that survived far longer.
How about Speed Racer? Or Wacky Races?
My comment here didn't go through either? Yikes. I guess your comment filter things I'm spam.
ReplyDelete*thinks
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