Posted Jul 23rd 2008 9:24AM by Debra McDuffee
Filed under: Retro Squad, The X-Files, Reality-Free
The X-Files was a one-of-a-kind, groundbreaking show. It took the typical FBI detective show and spun it, but good. Add some aliens and government conspiracy and you've done one better than a weekly FBI caper.
And the extraterrestrial and supernatural make for some good quotes, starting with the pilot, when Scully refers to Mulder by his nickname from the academy: "Spooky Mulder."
Or how about Mulder's understatement of the millennium: "
... in most of my work, the laws of physics rarely seems to apply."Continue reading X-Files: Aliens, conspiracy and quotes
Posted Jul 9th 2008 1:19PM by Debra McDuffee
Filed under: Video, Retro Squad, Standout Episodes, Reality-Free, Frasier
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Do not adjust your web browser. You are now entering the Retro Squad, where we are reviewing past episodes of classic TV shows.
(S06E14) It's awfully hard to pick a standout episode from a comedy like
Frasier that lasted eleven seasons. There are so many that stand out for different reasons.
I picked 'Three Valentines' because:
- It is a good example of classic Frasier foibles
- Niles's cold open is a masterpiece in physical comedy, something we don't often see in Frasier episodes
- The performances are top-notch: sensitive, masterful, spot-on
- This episode is an example of perfect timing being a key to a sitcom's success
- It is filmed in three acts, each allowing the characters featured to play up to their strengths perfectly.
Continue reading Frasier: Three Valentines - VIDEO
Posted Jul 7th 2008 11:06AM by Debra McDuffee
Filed under: Retro Squad, Reality-Free, Cheers
One of the best things about Norm's character on
Cheers is that he made no pretentions about who he was.
Norm Peterson liked drinking beer, was a big man who needed a lot of beer, liked to be in a bar with beer, liked to eat along with his beer... you see where I'm going with this?
Norm's insatiable love of beer came with a treasure trove of beer quotes, usually quips back to the bartender -- be it Sam, Coach, or Woody -- when asked what he'd like.
A few classics:
- "Women. Can't live with 'em, pass the beer nuts."
- Sam: Beer, Norm?
Norm: Have I gotten that predictable? Good.
- Coach: What would you say to a nice beer, Normie?
Norm: Going down?
- "What's the story, Norm?"
"Boy meets beer. Boy drinks beer. Boy meets another beer."
Yeah, that's not enough for me, either. It's a good thing
Norm's famous quotes, the
best Norm quotes, are
all over the internet.
Posted Jun 27th 2008 3:22PM by Debra McDuffee
Filed under: OpEd, Retro Squad, Angel, Reality-Free
All-in-all,
Angel was a good series, even though it kept reinventing itself each season. The set changes (Angel's original digs, the hotel, Wolfram and Hart), the cast changes, and the character changes (Fred to Ilyria) threw off my equilibrium, sometimes leaving me longing for the security of the previous season.
One of the hardest changes for me to take was the death of Doyle, who added so much heart and humor to season one. Even sadder was that the actor who played Doyle,
Glenn Quinn, went on to die a tragic death in 2002.
Continue reading Doyle: Angel's quotable demon
Posted Jun 26th 2008 5:24PM by Debra McDuffee
Filed under: OpEd, Retro Squad, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Reality-Free
The greatness of the Scooby Gang on
Buffy the Vampire Slayer was enhanced by the addition of Oz (Daniel Osbourne) in seasons two, three, and four. Sometimes a werewolf, mostly Willow's boyfriend, he added a new level of comedic relief to Buffy.
It wasn't the situations he was in, nor did he take the pratfall route. Oz was dry -- dry like a desert, dry like overcooked Thanksgiving turkey, dry like a leather shoe left out in the sun for several thousand years. Master of the understatement, man of few words, sarcasm blended with wit.
Arguably, Oz was the most quotable character on Buffy. For instance, when he found out vampires were real, he simply stated, "That explains a lot!" Another of my favorite Oz quotes was from season four, when Buffy was complaining about her college roommate and punching the air. Oz posits, "
No one deserves mime, Buffy."
Revisit some of
Oz's best quotable moments from each season he appears in and enjoy a giggle or two remembering the werewolf with a sense of humor.
Posted Jun 26th 2008 2:21PM by Debra McDuffee
Filed under: OpEd, Retro Squad, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, TV Squad Lists, Reality-Free
You know you love
Buffy, but could you beat me in a
Buffy the Vampire Slayer trivia contest? Nope, this is not a challenge, but I did challenge myself by taking some of the online trivia quizzes.
There are scads of
Buffy and
Angel trivia quizzes online, some totally lame, others a fun romp down Nostalgia Lane, still others so bizarre and obscure that you wonder about the mental health of the creators. I took 'em, I rated 'em, and now I'm sharing my thoughts with you.
Ultimate Buffy Trivia on Cool Quiz (1/5)My apologies to Josh Spears, but this quiz was not very challenging. I got all of the questions right, as would just about any fair-weather fan (of which I am not!). It is a fun quiz to take if you love Oz, because many of the questions are about him, but it runs extremely slow and is relatively painful overall.
Continue reading Buffy online trivia quizzes rated by me
Posted Jun 25th 2008 2:30PM by Debra McDuffee
Filed under: OpEd, Retro Squad, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, TV Squad Lists, Reality-Free
Yesterday, we delved into
seasons one through four of Buffy the Vampire Slayer's birthday episodes. Let's just say you really, really don't want to celebrate Buffy's birthday with her, as catastrophe, drama, and heartache are always center stage.
Season Five, episode 13, "Blood Ties"Buffy's 20th birthday goes no better than the previous ones. "Blood Ties" is all about how Buffy and Dawn share the same blood, "Summers blood," even though Dawn was created by monks to be The Key. Yes, it was a somewhat syrupy solution to Dawn's incessant whining in this episode, but it is so important for the resolution to the season, and the defeat of Glory, the Big Bad (Buffy can die instead of Dawn to save the world. Again.).
Continue reading Buffy's not-so-happy birthdays (part two)
Posted Jun 24th 2008 3:06PM by Debra McDuffee
Filed under: OpEd, Video, Retro Squad, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, TV Squad Lists, Reality-Free
Poor
Buffy. You'd think that with a life-threatening job like Vampire Slayer, she'd at least get a break once a year, on her birthday. No such luck for Buffy, but great luck for the viewers; we get really meaningful episodes, with significance to both the story arc and insight to the characters' motivations. Buffy's birthday episodes have been some of the strongest of the series.
Season OneThese is no birthday episode in season one, since the series began as a mid-season replacement.
Season Two, episode 13, "Surprise"In this episode, the Scooby Gang throws a surprise party for Buffy, but that is only one minor surprise in an episode filled with significant surprises. We learn that
Jenny Calendar is actually "Janna of the Kalderash Gypsies" and that her people were the ones who cursed Angel's soul. Oz gets his surprise when he finds out that vampires are real and that Buffy is the Slayer.
Continue reading Buffy's not-so-happy birthdays (part one) - VIDEO
Posted Jun 19th 2008 2:40PM by Debra McDuffee
Filed under: OpEd, Retro Squad, Standout Episodes, Reality-Free, Super Friends
Do not adjust your web browser. You are now entering the Retro Squad, where we are reviewing past episodes of classic TV shows.
I've got to hand it to the writers of
The Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show; for a mere ten minute episode, they really jam-packed 'Reflections in Crime' with a lot to make fun of ... er ... write about.
This 14th episode of
The Legendary Super Powers Show is chock-full of funnies; some intentional, some ... not so much. The episode begins with Superman and Samurai playing chess, although it sounds like they are fighting, with such lines as, "Oh good move, that really hurts." We get a chuckle when we see that they are merely playing chess.
Continue reading The Super Friends: Reflections in Crime - VIDEOS
Posted Jun 18th 2008 1:13PM by Debra McDuffee
Filed under: OpEd, Retro Squad, TV Squad Lists, Reality-Free, Super Friends
We are all so familiar with the main
Super Friends, not to mention their powers. Superman, with his x-ray vision, super strength, and all that flying and stuff. Batman, pretty much powerless, but with a darned cool toolbelt and a car second only to Kitt. Wonder Woman, complete with magic lasso of truth and invisible jet.
These
Super Friends ran the show over at the Hall of Justice, while the secondary heroes played second fiddle. But why? Honestly, I think some of the secondary heroes had the superior powers and they probably would have kicked the pants off of some of the main
Super Friends. So why did they remain secondary characters? Let's take a closer look at their powers ....
SamuraiBesides being able to turn into a tornado and set himself on fire, Samurai can become invisible. Yes, that's cool and all, but if your enemy cannot see you, how can they defeat you? I'm pretty sure the Legion of Doom would be mighty confused by this, as would most of the super heroes.
Continue reading Secondary Super Friends characters had superior powers
Posted Jun 16th 2008 2:05PM by Debra McDuffee
Filed under: OpEd, Video, Retro Squad, TV Squad Lists, Reality-Free, Super Friends
Being a proud child of the '70s, I have the fondest memories of
The Super Friends cartoon. Those memories have morphed into something altogether different as I revisit the episodes, approximately thirty years later, with my three-year-old son. What used to be a fun Saturday morning romp has been elevated to a new level of appreciation. Yep, it's still all rompy fun, but I feel so good about my son watching
The Super Friends for several reasons.
The Super Friends is an innocent cartoon. In today's world of inappropriate television, it is refreshing to see a show that could be very violent be instead very innocent. There are no guns (aside from "rays" that shoot light or beams and usually transform someone into say, a dinosaur or a miniature version of themselves. Yeah, that's realistic.). There is no fighting or physical contact, unless you count wrestling with Wonder Woman and her magic lasso. Assumptions about a show with "bad guys" could keep one from watching it with their kiddos, but don't knock it 'til you try it. I'd show Owen a marathon of
The Super Friends before I'd let him watch any of the violent Looney Tunes of my youth. Yeah, I turned out OK, and I know birds really don't drop anvils on coyotes and rifles really don't make people "all purple" as Owen puts it, but he's only three, for crying out loud.
Continue reading Reasons I let my kid watch The Super Friends - VIDEO
Posted Jun 11th 2008 5:22PM by Debra McDuffee
Filed under: Reality-Free
How much do you know about TV Dads? You can test your knowledge by taking
AOL's TV Dad's Quiz. I did, and here's how I fared.
First of all, I found it to be a well-rounded quiz spanning many decades. It was fun revisiting some of the old shows, like
My Two Dads and
Little House on the Prairie, even
My Three Sons. I think my favorite question was the one about the pipe smoking dad; it wasn't just a fact about the Dad (who will remain a mystery until you take the quiz -- no spoilers here!), like his job, but instead a fun reminder of a character quirk.
It wasn't a challenging quiz; the ones I got wrong were because I didn't watch the shows. However, there could be some trick questions in there, so think carefully before you choose your answer. I only got half of the questions right, so it seems I should be watching a bit more TV.
How about you? What was your score?
Posted Jun 11th 2008 3:21PM by Debra McDuffee
Filed under: Programming, Angel, Reality-Free
OK,
Angel fans, you've got another reason to celebrate, especially the week of June 23rd. As if it weren't enough that it is
Buffy the Vampire Slayer /
Angel week here at TV Squad's
Retro Squad, we've just learned the news that season one of
Angel will premiere on Hulu beginning on Monday, June 23rd.
Personally, I think it was really classy of Hulu to debut
Angel to coincide with our Retro Squad
Angel week.
What? You think it was a lucky coincidence? That simply cannot be ...
Many of the best things in life have been
serendipitous: Post-It Notes, ice cream cones, the Slinky. So I guess I can happily accept the debut of Angel on Hulu coinciding with TV Squad's Angel week being another fortuitous moment that benefits all of mankind.
Posted Jun 10th 2008 2:40PM by Debra McDuffee
Filed under: Heroes, Casting, Reality-Free
We
Veronica Mars fans take whatever bones the TV world will throw at us. We mourn the loss of the well-written female super-sleuth series, and we've been kicked while we are down with the cancellation of
Moonlight, where we at least got to see Jason Dohring every week. Could there be a little love coming for the
VM fans?
If you watch
Heroes, you could be in for a real treat this fall, when
Francis Capra, of Weevil fame, joins the cast alongside former
Veronica Mars star Kristen Bell.
We don't know much about Capra's role except that his name is Jesse and he will be evil. Weevil playing evil -- a rhyme I just had to make and a role I'm looking forward to seeing. Even though I don't watch
Heroes, I'll tune in to see what Capra's got for us.
So,
VM fans, enjoy the reunion of Veronica and Weevil this fall, and try not to let that bothersome
Heroes story line get in the way of the
VM nostalgia.
Posted Jun 6th 2008 11:59PM by Debra McDuffee
Filed under: Video, Celebrities, Shark, Awards
It's been a long road for the deserving It's a Paycheck Award
nominees; the honor of just being nominated, balanced with the drive to win it all. The backstabbing, the name-calling, the public humiliation. And that's just what the team here at TV Squad went through to choose the winner.
I jest, but it was a tight race between the two nominees you readers thought should win. So who came out on top -- Alec Baldwin, who successfully reinvented himself as a comedic TV actor, or James Woods, the essentially big screen actor who uncharacteristically starred in his own TV series? The envelope please ...
And the winner is ... James Woods!
Continue reading The It's a Paycheck Award: Winner - VIDEO
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