Tomorrow morning we will kick off our last TV draft round! We have 8 more TV Shows coming…we all want to thank you… the readers who have made this possible and a fun experience.
I also want to thank the bloggers who have reviewed all of these shows and we have covered every decade from the 1950s until now. Below are the picks that began in January and will end on July 3.
Thank you… Paula, Lisa, Dave, John, Keith, Mike, Liam, Vic, Hanspostcard (who started it), and Kirk for all of the reviews below.
I wanted to do a more modern show other than Life On Mars…and this would qualify as it…kinda. It has been on the air since 1975… a whopping 47 years. It’s been on life support at times but has always pulled through. It’s an institution at this point. There is not enough room on a post to go over every cast. Everyone has their favorites some were extremely funny and some were extremely bad (1980 – 1981 cast) and they all make up the history of this show.
I’m going to concentrate on the original cast and how the show became SNL. Most of you have favorite different casts…usually, the one you grew up with.
Even if you don’t like this show or what it’s become…it was a cultural landmark and no one can deny that. It changed television forever. The show started because Johnny Carson wanted more time off. NBC had been airing reruns of Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show on the weekends to fill space in their lineup. This allowed them to double-dip on profits from Carson’s outrageously popular show without spending another dime on production costs. He told NBC he would only be making four shows a week, which meant that best-of Carson shows that had been airing on Saturday nights would now need to be moved to a weeknight.
NBC executive Herbert Schlosser sought to create a new show with an old format…a variety show to fill the slot on Saturday Night. He picked Lorne Michaels, a Canadian writer who only had a handful of credits to be the producer. Michaels started a show that was far different than Schlosser imagined but to his credit… Schlosser was behind it and pushed for it to be on the air. The first two shows were experiments but by the third show, they found the format they would keep to this day. The funny thing is…Johnny Carson never liked the show.
Lorne Michaels made the show to appeal to baby boomers with a touch of Avant-Garde and “guerrilla-style comedy.” It was a game-changer much like All In The Family was to sitcoms. Late-night was never again a wasteland. This show helped open the doors for David Letterman and other shows to follow it.
It started out as “Saturday Night.” The Saturday Night Live title belonged to ABC for a show hosted by Howard Cosell who was out of his league. After Cosell’s show was cancelled, ABC let Saturday Night have the “Live” part.
Who was the best cast through the years? This is a question that is debated over and over again. People argue and usually pick the cast they grew up with. I grew up in the Eddie Murphy and Joe Piscopo era. Personally, I always thought the original cast was the best era of the show. Yes, I thought the Murphy and Piscopo casts were very funny along with later casts that had Dana Carvey, Michael Myers, Chris Farley, Chris Rock, and many others that followed. The first five seasons had something extra that others would not and could not have. It had an underground feel that vanished after it became a pure comedy show. They had a massive amount of talent in that first class.
John Belushi, Dan Ackroyd, Chevy Chase (though I liked his replacement better…Bill Murray), Gilda Radner, Jane Curtin, Garrett Morris, and my favorite overlooked cast member Laraine Newman. They were the perfect cast for that time.
Why do I like the original cast the most? They tried new things and went out on a limb. Some of the skits succeeded some fell flat but they were different from anything on TV at that time…and also at this time. That cast pushed the envelope and made the network executives worry. The host each week was usually under the radar actors, writers, comedians musicians, and sometimes athletes. The musical guests were mostly rarely seen performers that weren’t on tv…prime time or otherwise. Frank Zappa, Leon Redbone, The Kinks, Patti Smith, Ry Cooder, Kinky Friedman, and others. You would have more popular musicians like Paul Simon but the show gave you a great variety.
No way would Michaels ever dream of that now…he usually gets whoever is the most popular to draw in ratings. He can no longer do what he did in the 70s because of that. He also used the complete ensemble. It was not Eddie Murphy, Joe Piscopo, and everyone else of the early eighties. It was about building an unknown cast and all of them having a shot…not a star-driven show that gave all the best bits to the big names. He made sure the entire cast had a lead in skits and parody commercials. Dick Ebersol who followed Lorne Micheals, was famous for getting stars in the cast and the show revolving around them.
A lot of the skits are now famous… Ackroyd’s Bassomatic, the Samurai, the uncomfortable but funny Word Association with Richard Pryor, The Killer Bees, The Mr. Bill Show, Weekend Update, Roseanne Rosannadanna, Land Shark, Bag of Glass, The Wild and Crazy Guys, the Coneheads, The Lounge Singer, Mr. Mike, The Blues Brothers and many more.
The writers for the show were not in the variety show comedy vein..they were not in the current SNL vein either. The style was more aggressive, especially with Michael O’Donoghue. He was a comedy trailblazer with National Lampoon and added black humor to SNL. Other writers were Franken and Davis, Rosie Shuster, Alan Zweibel, Marilyn Miller, Anne Beatts, Herb Sargent, Tom Schiller, and also Ackroyd and Chase.
The original group also did some serious skits along with comedy and trips into the bizarre (See the ultra-dark “Mr. Mike”). …It separated the original from any other cast.
I like the feel of the underground the first five years had but you can only be that for so long…popularity takes over. Those first 5 years (the first four were great…the fifth very good) set the foundation that holds to this day…just without the daring and danger.
Ann Beatts was one of the original writers who saw the popularity of the show rise beyond anything she ever imagined. She knew the risk-taking traits in the show would have to end because of it. “You can only be avant-garde for so long until you become garde.”
By the 5th season (1979-1980), it was a circus grown out of proportion. The cast by that time were usually bigger stars than the guest hosts. Everyone left after that season along with Lorne Michaels. The show went on without him until 1985 when he rejoined. It was never the same again. Sometimes it was funny and sometimes not but it was never the same experimental show it was at the start.
What other show would introduce “Acapulco Gold” and “Orange Sunshine” to a national television audience?
The Bassomatic…something you cannot explain with words.
Welcome to the Hanspostcard TV Draft. The remaining 8 rounds will be posted here. We will have 64 different TV Shows by 8 different writers. I hope you will enjoy it! Today’s post was written byLisa from https://tao-talk.com/
Saturday 041622 Lisa – TV Draft Round 3 Pick 6 – Lovecraft Country (2020) 1 season 10 episodes, originally on HBO Starring: Jonathan Majors as Atticus “Tic” Freeman Jurnee Smollett as Letitia “Leti” Lewis Aunjanue Ellis as Hippolyta Freeman Wunmi Mosaku as Ruby Baptiste Abbey Lee as Christina Braithwhite Jamie Chung as Ji-Ah Jada Harris as Diana Freeman Michael Kenneth Williams as Montrose Freeman Jordan Patrick Smith as William Courtney B. Vance at George Freeman
Director: Daniel Sackheim (2 episodes and the rest, 1 each,) Yann Demange, Cheryl Dunye, Misha Green, Victoria Mahoney, Nelson McCormick, Jeffrey Nachmanoff, Helen Shaver, Charlotte Sieling Genres: drama, fantasy, horror Synopsis: Set in the 1950’s Jim Crow Era, as the story opens Tic is on a bus, a soldier coming home from the Korean War to his small southern town. He reconnects with his Uncle George, Aunt Hippolyta, and young cousin, Jada. Uncle George publishes a regional issue of “The Green Book,” which is a travel guide for people of color that lists safe places to dine, lodge, shop, etc., which he learns by going into the field on road trips. Aunt Hippolyta is a mother, wife, and amateur astronomer. Jada is a budding artist. Tic learns that Montrose, his father, and brother to Uncle George, has disappeared. He also learns that his dad is on a quest to investigate long-suggested mysteries around his family’s heritage. He leaves behind enough clues to compel Tic and Uncle George to go looking for Montrose. Enter Leti, who just got back to town and is only temporarily staying with her sister, Ruby. Leti is penniless and needs a ride to her brother’s house, which happens to be on the way to where Tic and Uncle George are headed. And so begins a rousing cross-country adventure that provides excitement, danger, terror, and more pieces to the puzzle every step along the way. The plot throughout mixes Jim Crow South with Lovecraft Horror skillfully as it puts our heroes through challenges nobody would ever wish to be put through in order to get to the truth. Impressions: It’s been a long time since I’ve encountered a series this dense with creativity, action/adventure, plot intricacy, depiction of institutionalized racism (and educating, in the process,) and resonance as Lovecraft Country. It may be that I’ve never come across a TV series just that good before. I literally had no clue what was going to happen next, and being that on the edge of my seat throughout 10 episodes was like going to an amusement park where every ride has no dead space.
This series is not for the faint of heart. There are hauntings, mythical and otherworldly beasts, curses, time travel, old secret societies that practice magic and other rituals, and shapeshifting with the Lovecraft aspect. With the Jim Crow aspect, there are “sunset towns, police racists/fascists threatening and variously harassing people of color, separate dining and lodging mandates, neighborhood and employment exclusions, and other things that create a hostile environment for anyone whose skin is not white. There are pervasive ongoing activities that are designed to keep our heroes from feeling welcome or safe. The closer they get to solving the mystery the more threatening and dangerous the forces become. Grade: 10 Etc.: It’s based on a novel by Matt Ruff, but it is a refashioning of a pulp fiction novel by H.P. Lovecraft, who is reported to have been a rabid racist. It is my understanding that Lovecraft Country was designed to be one season, based on the novel. Various sources give suggestions that there could have been another season, but it hasn’t happened, at least not yet. Awards: 24 wins and 104 nominations Website: There is a wealth of information on the series at the HBO website.
Welcome to the Hanspostcard TV Draft. The remaining 8 rounds will be posted here. We will have 64 different TV Shows by 8 different writers. I hope you will enjoy it! Today’s post was written by Paula from http://paulalight.com
Upload
Upload is a series on Prime that (so far) offers two seasons. I’ve seen both and I recommend this offbeat show. Unfortunately, I thought the premiere episode wasn’t that great and I almost didn’t continue, but I’m glad I did. I encourage you to persevere, if you feel similarly about E1, because the show gets better as the first season rolls on. I enjoyed S2 even more! The show was created by Greg Daniels, and the basic premise is that sometime in the near future, humans will be able to upload their consciousness to another realm where they will continue to exist post-death. It stars Robbie Arnell as Nathan, Andy Allo as Nora, Allegra Edwards as Ingrid, Zainab Johnson as Aleesha, Kevin Bigley as Luke, and Owen Daniels as AI Guy.
I have to tell you something about Robbie: he could be Tom Cruise’s double. It isn’t merely his good looks either, but also his voice and mannerisms are similar. It’s really freaky! And not only that, but there is awareness of it written into the show and at least one joke about it. Anyway, Robbie’s character Nathan dies in a car crash in E1 and his wealthy girlfriend Ingrid pays for him to be uploaded to Lakeview so his consciousness will continue on. Nora is Nathan’s human handler who helps him transition and cope with the new world. Nora has her own drama back in the “real world,” as she desperately tries to find a way for her dying father to upload to the Good Plan that Nathan has, but she can’t afford it. We see the disparity in the afterlife tiers for the wealthy vs the poor, which isn’t a surprise.
We get hints that Nathan wasn’t fully uploaded and part of his memory has been corrupted. Nora tries to fix these files and his memory returns in bits and pieces, but not completely. At his own funeral, which Nathan gets to view remotely, he hears that the software deal he was working on when he died wasn’t worth anything. Other factors make his death begin to look suspicious. We also discover that technology is emerging that may make it possible to regrow your original human body and “download” back into it, with some risks, such as your head exploding. But they’re working on that! E4 is hilarious due to a product known as a “sex suit,” which I will leave to your imagination (or you can watch the show).
After this, the show gets even more interesting with the introduction of new characters, such as Fran, an investigator into Nathan’s death, Byron, a guy Nora hooks up with from a dating app, Nora’s father, who still believes in the old-fashioned “heaven,” et al. S2 begins with Nora needing to go “off-grid,” since she now knows too much about Nathan’s death. We are treated to a wacky couple eps with the LUDDs, a group of anti-tech anarchists. Nora develops feelings for one of the men, maybe, and struggles with that vs her attachment to Nathan. The show now dives into even deeper philosophical themes regarding identity, memory, death, etc. S2 ends with a cliffhanger: Nathan has chosen to download in order to solve some of the mysteries surrounding his death, and at the last moment we see he has a nosebleed.
~*~
Paula Light is a poet, novelist, flash fiction fan, cupcake connoisseur, mom, grandma, cat mommy, etc. Her blog can be found at http://paulalight.com.
I have to thank Christian (Christian’s Music Musings) for introducing me to this band and to this song in particular. They resemble some of the roots revival bands I’ve been listening to from the 80s. This small band is a lot of fun.
The band is from Brown County, Indiana. The band consists of The Reverend Peyton, “Washboard” Breezy Peyton, and Max Senteney the drummer. Peyton’s guitar playing is spot on. He uses finger picks to play and also holds the bottom end since they don’t have a bass player. When I saw this video on Christian’s site I went to youtube and got lost in their many songs. They are worth a trip down the youtube rabbit hole. The band can hold a groove and he is an excellent guitar player.
Josh “The Reverend” Peyton first influences were his dad’s records such as Neil Young, Jimi Hendrix, and Bob Dylan. He eventually tried to learn the finger-picking style of artists like Charlie Patton. At the time Peyton was unable to master it, instead playing more pick-oriented blues.
Him and “Washboard” Breezy Peyton were married in 2003 and have been touring ever since. The band has had success…per Wiki: The band released The Front Porch Sessions on March 10, 2017 on the Thirty Tigers label, debuting at #1 on the iTunes Blues chart, and #2 on the Billboard Blues chart
They recorded this album on analog tape which I give a thumbs up to. Dance Songs For Hard Times, was released on April 9, 2021. This is their 10th album.
Reverend Peyton: “I was thinking about all the times where I’ve been somewhere and felt too cool to dance,” “I didn’t want to be that way. Not being able to do anything last year, I had this feeling of, ‘Man, I’m not going to waste any moment like this in my life – ever.’ ”
Too Cool To Dance
I been dreaming about a night like this I been dreaming about your sweet kiss But it won’t happen if we ain’t on the floor And it don’t matter what them folks say They gonna talk some anyway The time is right now What are we waiting for?
We may not get another chance Please don’t tell me You’re too cool to dance Our gift tonight is the circumstance Please don’t tell me You’re too cool to dance
The stars are high above so bright And the song is hitting us just right It may never be this good again It’s rough outside but not in here They’re all fake but we’re sincere And pretty soon this old song will end
We may not get another chance Please don’t tell me You’re too cool to dance Our gift tonight is the circumstance Please don’t tell me You’re too cool to dance
We may not get another chance Please don’t tell me You’re too cool to dance Our gift tonight is the circumstance Please don’t tell me You’re too cool to dance
We may not get another chance Oh, please don’t tell me You’re too cool to dance Our gift tonight is the circumstance Please don’t tell me You’re too cool to dance
Oh please don’t tell me You’re too cool to dance Please don’t tell me You’re too cool to dance
I came across Otis’s youtube channel and I think some of you would be interested. He is a singer songwriter but on his channel he has conversations musicians who have played or worked with Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Tom Petty, Waylon Jennings, just to name a few, and his own stories about different musicians. For you music fans it’s worth your time. The guy doesn’t interview people…he lets people talk and tell their stories. He is also a good story teller. I’m hooked on his channel.
He has stories about Jerry Reed, The Replacements, Dan Baird, Merle Haggard, Ry Cooder, Towns Van Zant, Bill Monroe, George Jones, Johnny Paycheck, John Prine, Mike Campbell and more.
He lives in Indiana but interviews many Nashville connected musicians. Check this guy out…His music is VERY good as well. I’m just checking that out more as I go… his music is classified as alt-country.
I just picked a few random youtube videos from his page below.
No this is not a review of the new movie…just memories from a Godzilla fan. I will say though that I did enjoy the movie…The fight scenes are the best I’ve scene through this monster universe reboot…I felt like I was 10 again.
When I was a kid I loved monster movies. Huge monsters stomping through cities. My monster was and still is Godzilla. I watched all of those Japanese movies of the sixties and seventies and loved them. I will still watch one every once in a while. When I was around 11 I bought a monster book while on vacation in Florida. I took it to school and some jerk stole it. I would love to have that book back…so if you are out there…come on…give me the book back!
My best friend growing up was named Ronald…he was and still is a huge Elvis fan and I am a huge Beatles fan (we both liked older music) and we would have good natured arguments over who was better. I still think I’m right!
Ok back to Monsters he was a Kong fan and Godzilla was my guy…another argument we would gladly have. After he sees the new movie we will probably have it again.
In 1998 a new Godzilla was in the theaters. I was so excited… normally I’m not a big fan of CGI BUT… with monster movies…oh yes! I could not believe what they did to my Godzilla…they made him a large sidewalk lizard. They changed his looks and sound. I didn’t think they would ever come out with anything again. At the time I did get some of the recent Japanese Godzilla movies and they were good.
1998
In 2014 the movie Godzilla came out and I felt like a kid again. This was the Godzilla (minus the man in the suit) that I loved as a child…
We all know Kong connects with people and that is a great thing but Godzilla is just so cool with his atomic breath and dorsal plates. Godzilla looks at people like ants but as long as we don’t attack him…he is cool with us…except if you own tall buildings on the coast! If you do you better get a lot of insurance.
This year was tough to say the least! I’ve gotten to know many more bloggers this year and have enjoyed all of you. When Covid started I met so many because I think blogging was an escape for a while when everyone was in lockdown. Many of them stuck around and we have built relationships.
I’ve met some with similar tastes as mine and a few with different tastes but with enough of common ground to learn and appreciate. Newer music, harder music, and I even read some poetry that I never have before. That is what our community is about to me…learning new things and sharing things that will be new to some people. The one word I would use for us…is “Passion”…lets face it. We are not making money at this but we do it for the love of it…and I’m better for it.
I thanked everyone in my Merry Christmas post…I want to thank you all again. Thanks for all of the comments that you have left…good or bad. I think I’ve learned more than I have shared but I’ll keep trying I promise.
Well…lets make 2021 MUCH better than 2020…the bar is set pretty damn low so we should be able to make that goal. Everyone be safe in the New Year…
The Zombies…THIS WILL BE OUR YEAR…probably my favorite New Years Song…it’s a song by the Zombies but I included a Foo Fighters cover also at the bottom..again…HAPPY NEW YEAR! yea I’m shouting.
This Will Be Our Year
The warmth of your love’s Like the warmth from the sun And this will be our year Took a long time to come
Don’t let go of my hand Now darkness has gone This will be our year Took a long time to come
And I won’t forget The way you helped me Up when I was down And I won’t forget The way you said Darling I love you You gave me faith to go on Now we’re there And we’ve only just begun This will be our year Took a long time to come
The warmth of your smile Smile for me little one And this will be our year Took a long time to come
You don’t have to worry All your worried days are gone And this will be our year Took a long time to come
And I won’t forget The way you helped me Up when I was down And I won’t forget The way you said Darling I love you You gave me faith to go on Now we’re there And we’ve only just begun This will be our year Took a long time to come
And this will be our year Took a long time to come
Nice little Christmas song by the father of Rock and Roll Chuck Berry. The song has a “Carol” vibe to it and that is never a bad thing. It was one of the first rock and roll Christmas songs and it was released in 1958.
Berry based this song on “Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer,” giving Rudolph a bit of an attitude as he delivers the toys. The song is credited to Johnny Marks and Marvin Brodie. Johnny Marks wrote Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. Chuck puts his stamp on this song.
The song is sometimes known as “Run Run Rudolph,” which is how it appears on some other covers. Other artists to record the song include Sheryl Crow, Bryan Adams, The Grateful Dead, Jimmy Buffett, Dwight Yoakam, Bon Jovi and Keith Richards.
The song peaked at #69 in the Billboard 100 in 1958 and has re-charted many times through the years…it peaked at #36 in the Billboard 100 in January of 2020…and I’m sure it is charting now.
The song appeared in a lot of films including Home Alone, Diner, The Santa Clause 2, Cast Away and Jingle All the Way.
Run Rudolph Run
Out of all the reindeers you know you’re the mastermind Run, run Rudolph, Randalph ain’t too far behind Run, run Rudolph, Santa’s got to make it to town Santa make him hurry, tell him he can take the freeway down Run, run Rudolph ’cause I’m reelin’ like a merry-go-round
Said Santa to a boy child what have you been longing for? All I want for Christmas is a rock and roll electric guitar And then away went Rudolph a whizzing like a shooting star Run, run Rudolph, Santa’s got to make it to town Santa make him hurry, tell him he can take the freeway down Run, run Rudolph, reeling like a merry-go-round
Run, run Rudolph, Santa’s got to make it to town Santa make him hurry, tell him he can take the freeway down Run, run Rudolph, reeling like a merry-go-round
Said Santa to a girl child what would please you most to get? A little baby doll that can cry, sleep, drink and wet And then away went Rudolph a whizzing like a Saber jet Run, run Rudolph, Santa’s got to make it to town Santa make him hurry, tell him he can take the freeway down Run, run Rudolph ’cause I’m reelin’ like a merry-go-round
Remember Build-A-Bear? Well this is the rock edition. I think this post may go under…”looked great on paper but…” but lets give it a try. Have you ever thought about if you could have a pick of any musicians living or dead and bring them together in their prime…what combinations would you come up with?
Who would you pick if you could pick anyone? We have a time machine so don’t worry…Jimi Hendrix is just a trip away. This is a discussion my friends and I have once in a while. I always wondered what a band with Keith Richards and John Lennon together would have sounded like…probably as raw as you could have sounded…a band with Big Star’s Alex Chilton and the Beatles Paul McCartney? It would be interesting.
There are many musicians I have left out…most likely they were here in previous editions that I’ve went through in the past few weeks.
Now… I would want to make at least two or three different bands…a rock, hard rock, and a pop/rock band. Now I could go on and on…Soul, Blues, Funk, Country/Rock, and even Heavy Metal. Who would you pick? What would your “dream” band be? If I had time I would have listed around 10 different kind of bands…but these 3 will do for now.
Rock band.
John Lennon – Rhythm Guitar/vocals
Keith Richards – Rhythm guitar/vocals
Duane Allman – Lead guitar
John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin) – Bass
Charlie Watts – Drums
Leon Russell – Keyboards
Rod Stewart (early seventies version) – Lead Vocals
Hard Rock Band
Jimi Hendrix – Lead guitar and vocals
Eric Clapton – Lead guitar and vocals
John Entwistle – Bass
Keith Moon – Drums
Steve Marriott (Small Faces and Humble Pie) – Lead Vocals
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