The TV thread

They've tried -- and it's not so bad -- to Wire up the opening theme music. It's kind of mesmerizing.

 

MTM is in a class of her own, but I just realized that Cheryl Hines has a passing resemblance to her.

 

I don’t watch the show but if she’s playing a morning anchor that could be pretty damn dead-on.

 

It was a CBS show and CBS had rights to the NFC at the time.

 

And who could forget the spinoff show: "Bud Grant."

 

Sounds appealing. Is it anything like Prime's Red Oaks? It was also set in the eighties. The cast included Paul Reiser and Jennifer Grey, and yes, the characters talked about seeing Alien and Dirty Dancing.

 

About 90 seconds longer than it needs to be. It's a regular FF-through.

 

I can't stand it. Always skip it.

 

Kind of irritated they moved away from Lear shows, but other than Maude, its slim pickings. Still, Mary Tyler Moore seems like it would be a perfect coda to a year that saw three castmembers pass and could include a cameo from Betty White - the Chuckles ep?
That said, can't argue with the casting of Arnold for this. Wonder which episode they'll do. Is there a "classic" facts of life episode?

And when do they get around to WKRP?

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/t...lithgow-abc-live-diffrent-strokes-1235050280/

 

I get the sense that Survivor is in a massive budget-cutting mode. They cut the number of days (due to COVID) understandable, but seeing how much time is spent in tribal councils and how you tend to get maybe one "challenge" a show when they used to toss out a reward challenge AND an immunity challenge (and spend time on the "reward)" One fewer build per episode is a pretty big savings.
The challenges and the rewards allowed for animosities to develop between the players, and helped magnify the weaknesses of the weaker players which spilled over into the social part of the game. Without the challenges and substituting "idol-and advantage-o-rama" really changes the nature of the game. I can't even remember the last medical evac they had.

I won't even get into the $1 million prize staying stagnant over the last 20 years. $1m in 2000 is $1.6m today.

 

How many more people would tune in to watch a stranger win $1.6m but not $1m?
My guess is less than a dozen.