Super Sitcoms: “WandaVision’s” Classic TV inspirations

 By Michael Lyons

In addition to changing everyone’s weekly schedules, where we now eagerly log into Disney+ as soon as we wake up on Fridays, “WandaVision” has also provided a curious, new appetitive for classic TV sitcoms.

Since debuting on January 15th, Marvel’s latest show has had a jigsaw puzzle of an otherworldly plot that features super heroes Wanda (a/k.a Scarlet Witch)  played by Elizabeth Olsen, with her sorceress-like powers and her husband Vison, played by Paul Bettany, a super-human android.  The two live in an alternate reality that seems like something out of classic TV sitcoms - complete with opening credits and a theme song.

Stranger than that, each week seems to change decades, taking us from the 1950’s to present day.  The episodes include impressively reproduced sets, camera work and titles that are indicative of each era.

With this, in addition to keeping us guessing about what will happen each week, “WandaVision” also keeps us wondering about what sitcom that particular episode is based on.

Wanda...er wonder...no more.  What follows is a breakdown of each episode’s classic sitcom inspirations:

Episode 1: “Filmed Before a Live Studio Audience”  is almost a dead-ringer for a slew of ‘50’s and 60’s landmark sitcoms and mostly resembles The Dick Van Dyke Show (which ran on CBS from 1961-1966) and starred the title character as a writer for a comedy show, who lived in his cozy home in New Rochelle, NY with his wife Laura (Mary Tyler Moore).  Created by the legendary Carl Reiner, who originally came up with the idea for the show as a starring vehicle for himself, but after that pilot episode was unsuessful, the show was re-worked for Dick Van Dyke.

Episode 2: “Don’t Touch That Dial”  is an homage to a number of fantasy-based sitcoms of the ‘60’s particularly Bewitched (ABC, 1964-1972), the story of Samantha (Elizabeth Montgomery) a witch who is a happily married housewife and living in modern-day suburbia.  This sitcom is most notable for when  Dick York, the actor who played husband Darren, was replaced in 1969 by actor Dick Seargeant.  It was almost another bit of the sitcom’s magic in that both actors looked so much alike that audiences barely noticed!

Episode 3: “Now in Color” is a groovy re-do a number of 70’s sitcoms, but most notably The Brady Bunch (ABC, 1969-1974), one of the greatest “comfort food” shows in TV history, for a number of generations.  Like “WandaVision,” the Bradys aren’t without their weirdness, such as whatever happened to their dog Tiger and what was the deal with Cousin Oliver?

Episode 5: “On a Very Special Episode...” came after Episode 4’s break from TV sitcoms tributes.  This one seems to have taken a lot of its tone from the old TGIF ABC line-up from the late ‘80’s into the ‘90’s, most notably, Full House (1987-1995).  This has a nice, full-circle feel to it, as Olsen’s two older twin sisters, Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen rose to fame playing the cuter-than-cute Michelle Tanner on “Full House.”

Episode 6: “All New Halloween Spooktacular” takes its cue from the 2000’s favorite Malcom in the Middle (Fox, 2000-2006), the now seemingly forgotten well-crafted sitcom that dared to shed a light on an imperfect, dysfunctional family, with often hilarious results.

Episode7: “Breaking the Fourth Wall” designs itself around recent, documentary-like sitcoms, in which characters talk right to the camera.  This episode resembles most notably Modern Family (ABC, 2009-2020), the show that revamped the family sitcom format and kept us wondering, “What foolish, but lovable and hysterical thing with Phil Dunphy do this week?”

With only two more episodes to go and “WandaVision” continuing to keep us guessing, we can take comfort in the fact that when it ends, we can somewhat relive each surreal episode by binging on these and other classic TV shows that gave Marvel’s show its mojo.

In the meantime, we will just continue to obsessively log-on to Disney+ as our first Friday “to do” each week!

Play the Music! Light the Lights! “The Muppet Show”: An Appreciation

 By Michael Lyons

Pure joy.  That’s The Muppet Show.  And, what’s even more joyful is the fact that every season of Jim Henson’s wondrous show that ran from 1976-1981 at the height of “Muppet-mania,” will be coming to Disney+ Starting this Friday, February 19th.

The Muppet Show was a creative, comedic, and a musical flashpoint for a generation that gave us a  mismatched menagerie that included Fozzie Bear, Miss Piggy, Gonzo, Rowlf and so many more that would fill our TV screens with animalistic and monstrous shapes.  All of this was marshaled together by the already famous m.c. and ringleader, Kermit the Frog, who is manager of the cabaret theater where they all appear.

Jim Henson, with his quietly brilliant mind, had been attempting to create a prime time show starring his Muppets.  He and his team had a not-so-great experience when The Muppets were part of the first season of Saturday Night Live, but Henson took lessons learned from this, particularly around TV production and applied them to The Muppet Show.

For five seasons, starting in 1976, the show gave us some surreal, silly, and ultimately memorable moments, many of them featuring some of the biggest actors, singers and dancers in entertainment, all of whom clamored to be part of the insanity and join on the "Muppet-mania" pop culture popularity that was so prevalent at the time.  

Now, wondrously, thanks to the blessed technology known as streaming, we can enjoy them all, in and out of order. some of the highlights through the years include:

• The now famous and oh-so-singable "Mahna Mahna" song from the first episode with guest Juliet Prowse.
• A Muppet jugband singing "I'm my own Grandpa," also from season one.
• Singer Rita Moreno signing "Fever," backed-up by Animal on drums, also from season one...and she won an Emmy for the episode.
• Miss Piggy, always prone to violent outbursts, lets loose with her first karate chop in the season one episode with Florence Henderson.

• From season two, Steve Martin, at the height of his own popularity, entertains a theater-full of Muppets with his trademark banjo-picking comedy.
• A scientist Muppet sings Jim Croce's "Time in a Bottle," and as he does he continually gets younger, in this touching moment from season two.
• Also from season two, Fozzie tries his "hand" on ventriloquism, when Edgar Bergen guest stars
• From season three, Harry Belafonte singing his incredibly catchy song "Turn the World Around," which speaks of knowing where we've come from and world unity, in a number made all the more wonderful with Muppets that look to have been created for the number.  

• In season four, "The Stars of Star Wars" were the guests: Mark Hammill as Luke, along with C3PO, R2D2 and Chewbacca.  All of them there just in time to promote the debut of The Empire Strikes Back that summer.
• A boatload of Viking pigs sing The Village People's "In the Navy" (season five).  Enough said.

• Then, there were the recurring segments such as “The Swedish Chef,”. “Muppet News Flash” “Pigs in Space” and “At the Dance.”

All of these scratch just the tip of the many moments that made up The Muppet Show.

Through the years, the show has been called sometimes bizarre, sometimes beautiful, sometimes comedic, sometimes touching.  But, there’s one thing The Muppet Show has always been: pure joy.

Love Lines: Movies’ Most Romantic Dialogue

By Michael Lyons 

Here we are, heading into another Valentine’s Day.  It’s probably the only holiday where socially distancing is not encouraged (if you are thinking about staying six feet apart from your significant other, chocolate hearts and flowers are probably not the first things on your mind).

If you find yourself tongue-tied, as you try to find the right words to express how you feel, consider looking to the movies for some heartfelt inspiration.  What follows is a brief, not all-inclusive list of quotes from some of Hollywood’s most romantic films.  Some touching, some funny, all enjoyable...

Valentine’s Day (2010)

“When you love someone, you love all of them...you gotta love everything about them, not just the good things but the bad things too.  The things that you find lovable and the things that you don’t.”

The Notebook (2004)

“No matter what happens to us, every day spent with you is the best day of my life.”

Moulin Rougue (2001)

“The greatest thing you’ll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return.”

Ghost (1990)

“The love inside, you take it with you.”

The Princess Bride (1987)

“As you wish.”

Annie Hall (1977)

“This guy goes to a psychiatrist and says, ‘Doc, my brother’s crazy; he thinks he’s a chicken.’  And the doctor says, ‘Well, why don’t you turn him in?’  The guy says, ‘I would, but i need the eggs.’  Well, I guess that’s pretty much how I feel about relationships; ya know, they’re totally irrational, and crazy, and absurd...but I guess we keep going through it because most os us need the eggs.”

Some Like it Hot (1959)

 - “I smoke, I smoke all the time!”

 - “I don’t care.”

 - “Well, I have a terrible past.  For three years now, I’ve been living with a saxophone player!”

 - “I forgive you.”

 - “I can never have children.”

“We can adopt some.”

 - “But you don’t understand...I’m a man!”

 - Well...nobody’s perfect!”

An Affair to Remember (1957)

“We’d be fools to let happiness pass us by.”

Cinderella (1950)

“So this is love.  So this is what makes life divine.”

The Philadelphia Story (1940)

“The course of true love...gathers no moss.”

It Happened One Night (1934)

 - “What are you thinking about?’

 - “By a strange coincidence, I was thinking of you.”

As with any movie quote, each of these are better when heard in the context of the entire story and the complete film.  So, consider watching some or all of these and the many other romantic films Hollywood has to offer for a “socially close” evening at home with the one you love.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

 

Football Takes its Shot: Remembering the All-Star 70’s Movie “Two Minute Warning”

By Michael Lyons

Guilty Pleasure Movies don’t feel guiltier than Two Minute Warning.  Released 45 years ago and made at the height of Hollywood’s star-studded disaster movie fad, this thriller about a sniper at a professional football game plays like a dangerous version of TV’s The Love Boat and is immensely watchable.

Best of all, it’s also perfect viewing to add to movie watching that can help get one geared-up for The Super Bowl (putting out of your mind just how dangerous the movie’s melodramatic plot about a gunman truly is!),

Two Minute Warning opens as an unknown and faceless sniper positions himself at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, where the “Championship X” game (generic substitute for The Super Bowl) is about to start.  The sniper is soon spotted by a Goodyear blimp and the police and SWAT teams are both called.

So begins the macho showdown between Charlton Heston as the Police Chief and John Cassavetes as the SWAT Seargent.  As they put their plan together during the game, we are introduced to the all-star parade of popular and character actors playing the fans and others at the stadium: Beau Bridges as a dad with his family in tow; David Janssen and Gena Rowlands (Cassavetes real-life wife) as an estranged couple; Jack Klugman as a gambler in trouble with the mob; Walter Pidgeon as a pickpocket; Brock Peters as the Stadium Maintenance Director and Martin Balsam as the Stadium Manager

As we cut back and forth between each of these stories throughout the film and the game unfurls, the police and SWAT teams prepare to go after the sniper (which they do at the game’s...two minute warning). The sniper then opens fire and the crowd panics, as everyone rushes to clear the stadium resulting in a bloody and frenetic conclusion to the film, that, sadly, seems more realistic today than the fictionalized action it was when Two Minute Warning was released 45 years ago.

Even at the time, the conclusion was deemed so intense that, when it was shown on network television three years after its release, newly filmed footage was inserted, including a sub-plot about an art heist, to allow for the more violent scenes to be excised. 

Released on November 12, 1976, Two Minute Warning was helmed by Larry Peerce, a journeyman director who worked quite a bit in film and TV in the ‘70’s and here does a nice job balancing tension, action and even, at times, comedy,  

Two Minute Warning, despite its serious subject matter, plays out at times like an innocent “time capsule” (complete with full-on ‘70’s fashion statements).  

Like the buffalo wings, nachos and beer you’re about to gorge on Super Bowl Sunday, you’ll consume Two Minute Warning quickly and enjoy it...you may just feel incredibly guilty afterward.

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