Jump to content
GreaseSpot Cafe

TV Show Mash-Up


bfh
 Share

Recommended Posts

This not-so-well-known show starred a well-known actor famous for movies and a variety show.  Although he has also voiced cartoon characters and had repeat roles in a couple of series, this was his only starring TV role.

The title of the show is a play on words, also alluding to a song he and a co-star performed in a very well-known movie (The Blues Brothers).  The two have also performed the song live, on occasion, and at least once on the variety show.

George

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

This not-so-well-known show starred a well-known actor famous for movies and a variety show.  Although he has also voiced cartoon characters and had repeat roles in a couple of series, this was his only starring TV role.

The title of the show is a play on words, also alluding to a song he and a co-star performed in a very well-known movie (The Blues Brothers).  The two have also performed the song live, on occasion, and at least once on the variety show.

Dan Aykroyd plays a widowed Episcopal priest.

George

Link to comment
Share on other sites

23 hours ago, GeorgeStGeorge said:

This not-so-well-known show starred a well-known actor famous for movies and a variety show.  Although he has also voiced cartoon characters and had repeat roles in a couple of series, this was his only starring TV role.

The title of the show is a play on words, also alluding to a song he and a co-star performed in a very well-known movie (The Blues Brothers).  The two have also performed the song live, on occasion, and at least once on the variety show.

Dan Aykroyd plays a widowed Episcopal priest.

George

Hmmm... let's see.  What song could Aykroyd and his Blues Brothers co-star have sung whose title could mean a priest?  :anim-smile:

George

Edited by GeorgeStGeorge
Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is a pre-1970 TV show (just to narrow the field a bit).

As the two main actors were essentially co-stars, the show had two sets of opening credits, one with one actor listed first, one with the other.  The choice of which one to use seems rather random, not indicating which actor had a larger role in the episode.

Although Pierre Jalbert had been employed at MGM for nearly a decade, he had no actual acting experience prior to being cast in a supporting role on the series. Up to that time his job at MGM had been in the capacity of a technician in the film editing department.

A feature-film adaptation of the series was planned, with Bruce Willis in the lead as the lead, but the film never materialized.

George

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is a pre-1970 TV show (just to narrow the field a bit).

As the two main actors were essentially co-stars, the show had two sets of opening credits, one with one actor listed first, one with the other.  The choice of which one to use seems rather random, not indicating which actor had a larger role in the episode.

Although Pierre Jalbert had been employed at MGM for nearly a decade, he had no actual acting experience prior to being cast in a supporting role on the series. Up to that time his job at MGM had been in the capacity of a technician in the film editing department.

A feature-film adaptation of the series was planned, with Bruce Willis in the lead as the lead, but the film never materialized.

One of the stars died in 1982, during filming of a movie based on another famous TV series.

The lead characters were almost always called by their last names and almost never called by their first names, though one was "Chip" and the other, "Gil."  "Chip" was obviously a nickname, but no other first name (e.g., Charles) was mentioned.

George

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

This is a pre-1970 TV show (just to narrow the field a bit).

As the two main actors were essentially co-stars, the show had two sets of opening credits, one with one actor listed first, one with the other.  The choice of which one to use seems rather random, not indicating which actor had a larger role in the episode.

Although Pierre Jalbert had been employed at MGM for nearly a decade, he had no actual acting experience prior to being cast in a supporting role on the series. Up to that time his job at MGM had been in the capacity of a technician in the film editing department.

A feature-film adaptation of the series was planned, with Bruce Willis in the lead as the lead, but the film never materialized.

One of the stars died in 1982, during filming of a movie based on another famous TV series.

The lead characters were almost always called by their last names and almost never called by their first names, though one was "Chip" and the other, "Gil."  "Chip" was obviously a nickname, but no other first name (e.g., Charles) was mentioned.

A typical "pep talk" from the show: "All right, just knock it off. YOU KNOCK IT OFF! You people make me sick. Go on, look at yourselves. You call yourselves a squad? You're a bunch of GOOF-UPS! Littlejohn, you cause nothing but trouble! You mind everybody's business except your own. From now on, you mind your OWN business and you FOLLOW ORDERS! Kirby - KIRBY! You're a hot-headed show-off who thinks of himself first and everybody else second. You fly off the handle every time you turn around! ...

Several sources have stated that one star was to carry the M1928A1 Thompson submachine gun. After two days of filming, he complained about the weight of the Thompson and switched to the lighter M1 carbine and carried it throughout the rest of the series. The other star was then given the Thompson to carry. After two weeks he also complained of its weight. A lighter replica Thompson was made out of wood and was carried by the latter star until it was time for a firefight, at which time he would switch back to the real Thompson. The replica can be seen with its incorrect ejection port.

Originally aired on Tuesday nights at 7:30 p.m. opposite NBC's Laramie, CBS' Gunsmoke , and The Lloyd Bridges Show.

George

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

This is a pre-1970 TV show (just to narrow the field a bit).

As the two main actors were essentially co-stars, the show had two sets of opening credits, one with one actor listed first, one with the other.  The choice of which one to use seems rather random, not indicating which actor had a larger role in the episode.

Although Pierre Jalbert had been employed at MGM for nearly a decade, he had no actual acting experience prior to being cast in a supporting role on the series. Up to that time his job at MGM had been in the capacity of a technician in the film editing department.

A feature-film adaptation of the series was planned, with Bruce Willis in the lead as the lead, but the film never materialized.

One of the stars died in 1982, in a helicopter crash during filming of a movie based on another famous TV series.

The lead characters were almost always called by their last names and almost never called by their first names, though one was "Chip" and the other, "Gil."  "Chip" was obviously a nickname, but no other first name (e.g., Charles) was mentioned.

A typical "pep talk" from the show: "All right, just knock it off. YOU KNOCK IT OFF! You people make me sick. Go on, look at yourselves. You call yourselves a squad? You're a bunch of GOOF-UPS! Littlejohn, you cause nothing but trouble! You mind everybody's business except your own. From now on, you mind your OWN business and you FOLLOW ORDERS! Kirby - KIRBY! You're a hot-headed show-off who thinks of himself first and everybody else second. You fly off the handle every time you turn around! ...

Several sources have stated that one star was to carry the M1928A1 Thompson submachine gun. After two days of filming, he complained about the weight of the Thompson and switched to the lighter M1 carbine and carried it throughout the rest of the series. The other star was then given the Thompson to carry. After two weeks he also complained of its weight. A lighter replica Thompson was made out of wood and was carried by the latter star until it was time for a firefight, at which time he would switch back to the real Thompson. The replica can be seen with its incorrect ejection port.

Originally aired on Tuesday nights at 7:30 p.m. opposite NBC's Laramie, CBS' Gunsmoke , and The Lloyd Bridges Show.

Including the first and last episodes, actor Paul Busch (I) appeared in 33 episodes as different German soldiers and officers. His character usually got killed.

The exclamation point in the title is a stylized bayonet.

The series lasted five years in spite of the fact that only eleven months elapsed between D-Day on June 6, 1944 and the German surrender on May 8, 1945. However, the episode count (152) was less than half the number of days (336) between the two events.

George

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If the italicized part doesn't give it away, I'm turning over the cards.

This is a pre-1970 TV show (just to narrow the field a bit).

 

As the two main actors, Vic Morrow and Rick Jason, were essentially co-stars, the show had two sets of opening credits, one with one actor listed first, one with the other.  The choice of which one to use seems rather random, not indicating which actor had a larger role in the episode.

 

Although Pierre Jalbert had been employed at MGM for nearly a decade, he had no actual acting experience prior to being cast in a supporting role on the series. Up to that time his job at MGM had been in the capacity of a technician in the film editing department.

A feature-film adaptation of the series was planned, with Bruce Willis in the lead as the lead, but the film never materialized.

One of the stars died in 1982, in a helicopter crash during filming of a movie based on another famous TV series.

The lead characters were almost always called by their last names and almost never called by their first names, though one was "Chip" and the other, "Gil."  "Chip" was obviously a nickname, but no other first name (e.g., Charles) was mentioned.

A typical "pep talk" from the show: "All right, just knock it off. YOU KNOCK IT OFF! You people make me sick. Go on, look at yourselves. You call yourselves a squad? You're a bunch of GOOF-UPS! Littlejohn, you cause nothing but trouble! You mind everybody's business except your own. From now on, you mind your OWN business and you FOLLOW ORDERS! Kirby - KIRBY! You're a hot-headed show-off who thinks of himself first and everybody else second. You fly off the handle every time you turn around! ...

Several sources have stated that one star was to carry the M1928A1 Thompson submachine gun. After two days of filming, he complained about the weight of the Thompson and switched to the lighter M1 carbine and carried it throughout the rest of the series. The other star was then given the Thompson to carry. After two weeks he also complained of its weight. A lighter replica Thompson was made out of wood and was carried by the latter star until it was time for a firefight, at which time he would switch back to the real Thompson. The replica can be seen with its incorrect ejection port.

Originally aired on Tuesday nights at 7:30 p.m. opposite NBC's Laramie, CBS' Gunsmoke , and The Lloyd Bridges Show.

Including the first and last episodes, actor Paul Busch (I) appeared in 33 episodes as different German soldiers and officers. His character usually got killed.

The exclamation point in the title is a stylized bayonet.

The series lasted five years in spite of the fact that only eleven months elapsed between D-Day on June 6, 1944 and the German surrender on May 8, 1945. However, the episode count (152) was less than half the number of days (336) between the two events.

George

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

I was going to try "Joanie Loves Chachi," but there wasn't enough trivia to post.  I'll leave this as a free post, but I thought I'd include a review of JLC from IMDb:

Some show generate spinoffs. Others metastasize. "Happy Days"--itself a spin off from "Love, American Style"--generated everything from "Laverne and Shirley" to "Mork And Mindy" to the rarely-seen "Anson Williams, P.I.". "Joanie Loves Chachi" was the final, genetically damaged offspring of this long, inbred line.

The premise--and here I use the word "premise" in the broadest sense--is that our Chachi has left Milwaukee to start a singing career in that hotbed of the music industry, Chicago. Joanie went with him, of course, along with Al (who has opened a new restaurant to escape the long shadow of Pat Morita). Chachi and Joanie have a band with painfully zany characters. Chachi and Joanie sing and dance--usually several times--in each episode. Chachi and Joanie sing the theme song. The only minor technical problem with all this is that Chachi and Joanie can't sing a note.

Erin Moran and Scott Baio are as grating and unlikeable here as they were in "Happy Days," only here they're on screen for the entire 22 minutes. How the producers dreamed up a romance between these two is a mystery--they have no chemistry. It's like watching Al and The Fonz kiss. The spin off was clearly intended to breathe new life into the "Happy Days" franchise, but here the "sitcom hijinks" are as tired and threadbare as they were in the original's Richie-less last gasps. Also, the ethnic stereotypes would make any Italian cringe. They boycotted the Sopranos but not this?

To be fair, this show is such a relic of early 80s television cheese that it would have to have some retro entertainment value now, especially for those who were young enough to enjoy it the first time. The Fonz and the Cunninghams show up with alarming frequency, and kitsch/camp fans who loved master thespian Baio in "Charles In Charge" will find gold in his "singing teen idol" incarnation, especially since Leif Garrett never made a TV series. The Christmas episode in particular is amusing in retrospect. But viewing it without irony/unintended humor, "Joanie Loves Chachi" is difficult, bordering on painful, to watch. I knew Arthur Fonzarelli. Arthur Fonzarelli was a friend of mine. Chachi Arcola, you are no Arthur Fonzarelli.

George

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

One of the actresses was only fourteen when she auditioned for the show. The casting directors required that any interested actors be at least 18 when auditioning. When producers asked her age, she misled them by saying, "Well, I'll be eighteen on my birthday." and neglected to say what year.

She had her first kiss in real life at the age of fourteen as an actress on this show with one of the actors. She and he are now married and have two children.

The fifth season episode titles are all Led Zeppelin song titles, the sixth season are all The Who songs, the seventh season are all The Rolling Stones songs, and the eighth season's titles are all Queen songs.

George

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm thinking, I'm thinking........

 

Ok, game shows.   Name ANY game show correctly to take the round.

 

A)  This game show has overseas versions (UK, and Australia as well as a US version.)   It's got loud, excited people answering questions and dropping balls down a giant board with prize amounts at the floor level.  Players show up in teams of 2, with one person in isolation, answering questions, and the other,  planning strategy, trying to maximize their gains while minimizing their losses.   An option to blindly trade their winnings for an "insurance" amount gives even teams that got wiped out a chance to go home with some money, provided they chose the trade sight unseen.

 

B) This series is a returned, older series.  The players must work with giant decks of cards and predict whether the next card will be higher or lower than their current card (in addition to answering questions correctly about results of polls done before their episode.)

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok, game shows.   Name ANY game show correctly to take the round.

 

A)  This game show has overseas versions (UK, and Australia as well as a US version.)   It's got loud, excited people answering questions and dropping balls down a giant board with prize amounts at the floor level.  Players show up in teams of 2, with one person in isolation, answering questions, and the other,  planning strategy, trying to maximize their gains while minimizing their losses.   An option to blindly trade their winnings for an "insurance" amount gives even teams that got wiped out a chance to go home with some money, provided they chose the trade sight unseen.

 

B) This series is a returned, older series.  The players must work with giant decks of cards and predict whether the next card will be higher or lower than their current card (in addition to answering questions correctly about results of polls done before their episode.)

 

C)  This UK game show has been running for slightly over a decade, and is a current show.  Comedians are generally the 4 contestants, and odd trivia come up all the time, by the host and the contestants.   Points are rewarded for correct answers, but deducted for boring answers that are incorrect.   Points are also awarded for interesting things that aren't the correct answer but seem related.    Steven Frye was the original host, but Sandi Tosvig has been the host the past few years.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok, game shows.   Name ANY game show correctly to take the round.

 

A)  This game show has overseas versions (UK, and Australia as well as a US version.)   It's got loud, excited people answering questions and dropping balls down a giant board with prize amounts at the floor level.  Players show up in teams of 2, with one person in isolation, answering questions, and the other,  planning strategy, trying to maximize their gains while minimizing their losses.   An option to blindly trade their winnings for an "insurance" amount gives even teams that got wiped out a chance to go home with some money, provided they chose the trade sight unseen.

 

B) This series is a returned, older series.  The players must work with giant decks of cards and predict whether the next card will be higher or lower than their current card (in addition to answering questions correctly about results of polls done before their episode.)

 

C)  This UK game show has been running for slightly over a decade, and is a current show.  Comedians are generally the 4 contestants, and odd trivia come up all the time, by the host and the contestants.   Points are rewarded for correct answers, but deducted for boring answers that are incorrect.   Points are also awarded for interesting things that aren't the correct answer but seem related.    Steven Frye was the original host, but Sandi Tosvig has been the host the past few years.

 

D) This current game-show airs primarily on Netflix.  It's been renewed for another season.  Teams of 3 people try to cross a big room  by hopping across the furniture and over obstacles.  If they fall to the floor, they are eliminated for a very obvious reason-  they "died" in the game.  (They're shown as fine later in the show, but contestants like to react as if they really died.)   That they "died" and why are very, very obvious for anyone watching the show. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

D) is obviously based on a game that pretty much every child has played, that the floor is somehow deadly (maybe a pool of sharks, or a pit of snakes), and that the room must be traversed by hopping from one piece of furniture to another.  (Not a game most parents are fond of.)  I don't have Netflix, so I don't know the show's title.  Adults acting like kids could be fun to watch, though.

George

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...