Has it been a week already?

Okay, so I haven't had much to say, lately. And, the last couple of days, I've been immersed in creating a fantasy television station.

Mikey

I don't know what to make of all this... Mark Evanier says it's OJ all over again, and I believe him. I also think Michael Jackson is this generation's Howard Hughes.

Changing gears, imagine my surprise when I was expecting a Jacko legalfest on Larry King last night (the show has turned into Burden of Proof) and they announced... an hour with Regis Philbin?!? Turns out it was just a ruse, to cover up for a star-studded surprise party for Larry's 70th birthday.

This time it's for real

We had a scare with Retromedia last month when it appeared the site was down. Now it's definitely down for good, and the Web is a poorer place as a result.

I wonder who wrote the book of love

This has been keeping me occupied all day. Of course, know-it-all that I am, trying to figure out what song every word was taken from is driving me nutso.

Unintended irony...

When CTV's coverage of Jean Chretien's farewell ended tonight, the show that was joined in progress was "Punk'd".

I got yer tabbed browing right here!

J-Walk, whose blog is daily reading for me, points out Microsoft is looking at incorporating a pop-up blocker in the next XP Service Pack. He goes on to say

If you're smart, just download a copy of Mozilla Firebird and forget about IE.

I've tried his precious Firebird, and it's nothing special, unless you have an axe to grind with Microsoft. IE loads faster than other browsers, I use the Google toolbar to block pop-ups, and if you prefer "tabbed" browsing, just hold the shift key when you click on a link, and it'll open in a new window.

As we say in the sewer, Ralph...

What a year. I think we'll remember this one. (Oddly, one of the things I'll best remember Carney for is immortalizing the line "So put some Jell-O down your pants!" in "The Muppets Take Manhattan."

Oh well...

The Eskimos were the better team. I have a sneaking suspicion we've seen the last of Nealon Greene in green and white.

Where's Sammy?

So I was browsing through the Christmas section of Wal-Mart today... and found this. He sings "Winter Wonderland" and "Let It Snow." I damn near bought one just to be ironic.

Hall of fame product name

After reading this, I'll never eat Timbits again.

Obit for a stone age writer

Mark Evanier noticed the obituary for Joanna Lee, a television writer who wrote a number of episodes of "The Flintstones." From the T.R. Adams book, here are the episodes she's credited with, followed by my comments...

P53 - Fred Strikes Out (the one where Fred gets a bowling ball stuck to his thumb and has to hide his hand from Wilma all night)
- Nothing very memorable

P56 - Trouble In Law (the one where Wilma's mother dates a rich Texan)
- Now HERE's a classic, with such oft-remembered lines as "WHAT? YOU DON' LIKE MY ZOOP???" and "Why, you ain't my sugarplum! - And you ain't my mommy! Whaaaa!"

P58 - Kleptomania Caper (the one where Fred thinks Barney's a klepto)
- So-so episode

P63 - The Twitch (the one with the song of the same name)
- Another middling ep... people really only remember it for the song, although I like the part in the talent agent's office, with "method actor" Mr. Chips, a monkey who yawns while doing his act.

P68 - Here's Snow in your Eyes (the one at the ski resort where Wilma and Betty follow Fred and Barney in disguise)
- One word: "Slalom."

P71 - Hawaiian Escapade (the one where they go to Hawaii for the TV show)
- "Please, pass the poi."

P76 - The Kissing Burglar (teleplay only) (the one where Fred's trying to scare Wilma)
- Ugh. This would have been bad enough on its own, but made all the worse 'cuz it's just a rehash of season one's "The Prowler"

P77 - The Birthday Party (the one where they try to keep a surprise from Fred)
- Lee recovers with this classic. "I told you we shoulda joined the private club."

P85 - Carry On, Nurse Fred (teleplay only) (the one right after Pebbles is born, when Fred fires the nurse)
- "Bon voyage, Sam and Stella!" (Mel Blanc recycles the voice of Sylvester the Cat for the guy at the laundry service)

P87 - The Big Move (the one where they move to a ritzy condo, then pose as hillbillies to get out of the lease)
- "Everybody into the pool!"

P89 - Dino Disappears (the one where Dino runs away)
- A ten-minute story stretched out over half an hour

P91 - Fred's Monkeyshines (the one where Fred wears the wrong glasses and thinks a circus monkey is Pebbles)
- Too many memorable lines to mention, as well as the source of my occasional nom de plume, "brithgob"

P95 - Sleep On, Sweet Fred (the one where Wilma and Betty brainwash the men in their sleep)
- "Say, that's fun. I love shoppin'. But you know what's even more fun? Picking up your wife at the beauty parlour."

P106 - Fred El Terrifico (the one where yet more jewel thieves chase them across Mexico)
- Near the bottom of my list

P114 - Operation Switchover (the one where Fred and Wilma trade places)
- Took a cliched storyline, and made it special

P135 - Sheriff for a Day (the one where Fred's buddy is a small-town sheriff, and they all get saved by the cast of "Bonanza")
- Odd that they would spoof a show from a rival network, but there you go

P141 - The House that Fred Built (the one where Fred buys a fixer-upper for Wilma's mother, rather than her move in with them)
- An interesting, original storyline

P142 - There's No Biz Like Show Biz (the one where Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm sing)
- The song is only mildly annoying (and was mined for a new closing credit sequence)... neat dig at Beatles' manager Brian Epstein

P145 - The Great Gazoo (see title)
- Get your waterskis, Fonzie

P150 - The Stonefinger Caper (the one where Barney's mistaken for a scientist, and Gazoo turns the bad guys into babies at the end)
- Fire up the motorboat

P159 - The Treasure of the Sierra Madrock (the one where Fred and Barney find gold the wives planted)
- What does this have to do with the movie that's spoofed in the title? Fonzie's in the air...

P165 - The Story of Rocky's Raiders (the diary of Fred's grandfather, a WWI vet)
- ...and he's cleared the shark. Luckily, this was the last new episode to air (although the second-last in production order)

So, overall, a mixed bag. Ms. Lee didn't join the show until after its golden age had ended, but she still made a significant contribution to Flintstones lore. May she rest in peace.

Year of death continues

Now that he's in Rock 'n' Roll Heaven, I wonder if the others are kicking the crap out of him for doing that song.

CBS at 75

Well, I thought they did a good job, anyway. It was no tackier than your typical awards show (and no surprise, since it was produced by the awards show people: Gil Cates, Louis Horvitz, etc.) while the NBC 75 show last year was done by the Saturday Night Live folks. In some ways, though, the NBC show had a bit of class that the CBS show didn't, by going for a retro-art deco feel, and having Andy Williams sing at the end.

And it's amazing what lighting and makeup can do. Bob Barker actually looked his age last night... he looks much better on Price.