MY REVIEW: THE PRACTICE (1976)

 

     Danny Thomas was a very successful comedian and actor.  He was an even more successful businessman and producer.  Some of his successful productions included "The Andy Griffith Show", "The Dick Van Dyke Show" and "The Mod Squad".  He would probably tell you that the most successful creation was The St. Jude Children's Research Hospital which continues to help children and families to the present day.
     However, by 1975 Thomas really didn't have anything more to prove as an entertainer.  His classic "Make Room For Daddy" ran for 11 years and he was always a big draw as a nightclub act but came across a show his son, producer Tony Thomas, was putting together as a pilot for NBC.  The younger Thomas and his producing partner Paul Junger Witt had other people in mind for the lead role of Dr. Jules Bedford, a older cantankerous but caring doctor who worked out of a run down office in an older area of New York City  and still made house calls but the elder Thomas won the role after auditioning for the network.  The program would be called "The Practice" and was created by an up and coming comedy writer named Steve Gordon.
     The 1st season which consisted of 13 episodes premiered in January 1976 to decent reviews but mediocre ratings.  Series regulars included David Spielberg as Jules' son Dr. David Bedford, who practiced medicine at a fancy Park Avenue location; Shelley Fabares as David's wife Jenny; Didi Conn as Jules' ditzy receptionist Helen and Dena Dietrich as Jules' nurse Molly.  John Byner would also make intermittent appearances as Dr. Roland Caine, an associate of David who was far more interested in making money than actually treating his patients.
    The 2nd season which consisted of 14 episodes premiered in the Fall of 1976 and some changes to the format were made.   John Byner's character was no longer seen and Mike Evans, who played George Jefferson's son in "All In The Family" and "The Jeffersons" was now seen here as Lenny, a medical intern.  Personally, I thought Evans was a great comedic actor who seemed underused on those Norman Lear shows.  Unfortunately, he wasn't given much to do here either and was back playing Lionel Jefferson on the show a few years later.  Also, guest stars were featured to lure people to the show such as Lucille Ball and Danny's daughter Marlo Thomas.  Oh, and David and Jenny were now living in a different apartment.  Jules' living quarters were never mentioned or seen in either season.  In fact, he ended up crashing at his son's place in several episodes.
     The ratings for the 2nd season did not improve and NBC cancelled the show after just 12 episodes aired.  All 27 episodes (including 2 unaired episodes) are now available as part of Warner Archive Manufactured On Demand collection of the complete series. Why wasn't it available prior to 2019?  I'm not sure.  I've never heard considered as a 'cult classic.'  But who knows?  Steve Gordon created a few more TV shows and movies and had a big hit on his hands as the screenwriter and director of the 1981 comedy film "Arthur" starring Dudley Moore when he passed away of a heart attack at the early age of 44 in 1982.
     My Grade: B

I ALSO WONDER

     There is a strange phenomenon happening in the world of movies these days.....and, no, it has nothing to do with the controversy with Martin Scorcese's Netflix film "The Irishman" being funded by the streaming service, playing for a very limited time in theaters and the going back to Netflix for maximum streaming consumption (they hope, as the budget for the epic Mob drams is around $150 million and there isn't a DC or Marvel character in sight).

     I'm instead referring to several episodes of a 20 plus year old sitcom that will be playing in select theatres over the Thanksgiving holiday.  Yes, "Friends" will be clogging up some screens at your megaplex (I'm betting on theater 26 myself) very soon.  They're all Thanksgiving themed episodes so that's something, I guess.  No new content.  No restorations.  Nothing different that what you're streaming or shows up on your dusty DVD box sets.  I'm not much of a fan of the show but if my local theater was showing 6 episodes of one my favorite series (i.e. "Seinfeld") I wouldn't go out of my way to rush down to catch them at the cinema.  Why?  Because it's everywhere else....at little to no charge.  And, besides, Kramer looks spooky enough on my 42 inch TV.  I think I would have one of those Mary Hart induced seizures if he was as large as Godzilla trampling through Tokyo.

     I could blame this on millennials who supposedly breathed new life into this show and "The Office" but I think these shows are comfort food for people who think life is getting a little too dark these days.  Understood.  And  I will watching the box office totals for this Fathom Events stunt to see if this actually starts a new trend.  But I will not be watching a decades old sitcom on the big screen no matter how hilarious it is to hear Matt LeBlanc uttering the phrase 'How you doin.' 

I WONDER

"Immediately remove and wash clothes or linens that may be contaminated with vomit or poop."

This sentence comes from a government website.  They are using what is basically a slang term for feces or excrement.  What's next?  The Department of Housing and Urban Development telling us how to best inspect the 'crib' that our family deems acceptable?

MY REVIEW: PRESS YOUR LUCK (2019)

    

I must admit, I was a BIG fan of the original 1980's version of "Press Your Luck" and its host Peter Tomarken.  It was literally all bells, whistles and whammies all of the time.....and a few trivia questions thrown in to satisfy someone's need to justify watching such a razor-thin premise of a game show.  And for all of us who thought it was a giant hit show, it didn't fade away but rather burned out in a rather dull fashion after only three seasons on CBS daytime.
     Is all of this nostalgia enough to bring such a trifle of a show back?  Hell, yeah it is!  And of course now that it is a prime time beast, we have to super-size it; making the highs higher and the lows so much more sad and tear-jerking.  However, those nasty whammies just don't seem as nasty as they did when I was thirteen years old.  I guess real life will do that to you.  And the trivia questions seem even more dumbed down than before.
     And then there's the new host.  There are probably thousands of people more qualified to host this show ( both men AND women) but I suppose few women who look like they just walked off of a fashion shoot like Elizabeth Banks.  But I'm afraid her hosting skills leave a lot to be desired.  Her 'banter' sounds either rehearsed or wooden or both.  It's refreshing to see a non-comedian get the job but she acts like she studied at the Drew Carey school of game show hosting.
     Oh, and the contestants.  They seem to have been hooked up to a Red Bull I.V. before taking the stage.  No one can be that excited.  I know you're enthusiastic but take it down a notch or two, ok?
     The game board is what I really want to see but after a few episodes, I simply became bored.  All the bells, whistles and whammies just aren't that dazzling anymore.  This is an okay time waster but as a great game show it's only a mediocre one at best.
      My grade: C-

THE TIMES SURE-HAVE-A-CHANGED

    

Woodstock 50 is dead.  At least, in its dreamed-up-by-Michael Lang edition.  Why?  Because the rules have changed.
     The original 1969 was hatched on a handshake deal by Lang and a few others who wanted to hold a music and arts festival.  The place, bands, and size of the grounds constantly morphed during the seven months between conception and execution.  This type of 'ever changing scenario' would not be allowed in today's world.  Neither would a 'handshake' deal.  Hell, even Lang knew this at the start of his 50th anniversary idea because it was mostly and heavily backed by a Japanese financial conglomerate.  What kind of contracts and confidentiality agreements would poor old Max Yasgur have to sign if he were still alive today?
     Everything is a business now.  Air. Water.  Literally everything.  And how about these 'radius clauses'  (MEANING: a tour promoter stipulates that a performer, for a certain length of time prior to or following an appearance at a concert or festival, must not hold concerts at other locations within a certain radius of the city where they are to perform. In essence, it gives the promoter a form of territorial exclusivity, ensuring that the performer does not book concerts with competing promoters and venues in nearby areas, which can undermine ticket sales for their main event.)  This kind of thing forced several bands to drop out because of ties to companies like Live Nation who love this type of practice.
  Would legendary rock concert promoter Bill Graham have done that type of thing?  Hell no, man.  Live and let live, right?  When the original Woodstock ran out of tickets to sell, the promoters started to just let people in for free because they felt that if these people who came from everywhere, they shouldn't be denied entry because of their poor job at ticket selling.  Like, pretty heavy, huh?
     What would have happened if at the end of Jimi Hendrix's appearance at the 1969 event, he suddenly grabbed the mic and said 'I'm gonna be auctioning off this guitar I was playing right after the show and whoever gives me the most money or five football fields full of hash can have it?"  I believe the hippie dream would have gone up its own ass right then and there.
     Not everything needs a sequel.  Woodstock is just one of those things.  I'm sure Mr. Lang had good intentions (he was trying to raise money to promote voter participation) but these intentions are just going to have to stand on their own two feet as a separate entity.  Bummer.

MR. STEWART GOES TO WASHINGTON

    

This article probably should have been titled "Why I Miss Jon Stewart As Host Of The Daily Show"  but I thought twice about that, especially since the show has become an almost an entirely different entity under its current host Trevor Noah; much like the way the show transformed when Stewart took over for Craig Kilborn.  Everyone is bringing something different to the table.
     In Jon's case it was his critical and watchful lens on the television media and its tendency to wander off from its supposed journalistic integrity in its naked and shameful pursuit of giant ratings.  John Oliver has a little fun poking the eye of the local CBS affiliate in New York City (WCBS) from time to time but for Stewart it was a never ending battle.  The broadcast networks and later the cable news outlets have become neutered by their sponsors and shareholders in what stories they can and cannot tell and in some cases how they tell them.  To him, MSNBC was just as guilty as Fox News in how unashamedly crass they where in how they 'dumbed down' the events of the day, even though it was clear he leaned more than a little to the left.
     Recently, Stewart has been back on TV but not in his previously satirical pose.  He has been working with surviving first responders of the Twin Towers attacks in hopes getting the 9/11 Victims Bill extended so that it never runs out of money.  He is speaking for many of those who literally can't.
This is not a 'bit' or a 'gag.'  I happen to agree with his point of view on this subject and most who don't are currently holed up in Washington D.C. taking their orders from a man who probably never even volunteered a decent line of Peruvian marching powder up to a fellow partier at Studio 54 back in its heyday.  And one of the Congressmen he called out personally fired back by saying that he didn't think Stewart was 'funny anymore' and called him a member of the 'left-wing mob.'  First, the left wing is too unorganized and diverse to be even considered a 'mob' and, more importantly, sir, he wasn't trying to be humorous; especially after one of the survivors who testified in front of a governmental committee a little over six weeks ago is now dead and buried.
     Now let's try to get our facts down before we start vomiting up falsehoods, shall we?


UPDATE:  Can you guess how the vote went by this picture?

A MOST UNINSPIRATIONAL BUT HILARIOUS QUOTE

"The three purposes of the University?--To provide sex for the students, sports for the alumni, and parking for the faculty."

^{-Clark Kerr}
Former President of the University of California