The Monkees

Classic Nick Wed. – The Monkees

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

 

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Even though today is Christmas and I was going to take the day off, as I was going to suggest all the Moderators do, I decided that I indeed would be able to find something Classic Nick to post today so here it is.

Most of you know The Monkees from watching their TV series in the 1970’s when it aired in reruns. Fast forward to February 23, 1986 when, a then five-year-old, MTV broadcast A Monkees TV show marathon called "Pleasant Valley Sunday" for the group’s 20^th anniversary.  

The group that was once brushed off by critics during their heyday as manufactured and lacking talent announced a "20th Anniversary Tour".  Tour dates grew from smaller to larger venues and became one of the biggest live acts of 1986 and 1987 with Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork playing North America. All four Monkees would later reunite as Davy Jones, and eventually Michael Nesmith, rejoining the group spreading Monkee shines everywhere they went.  

With a new surge of Monkeemania well on its way Nickelodeon began to run their old series daily and a whole new generation of kids welcomed the Monkees into their hearts as The Monkees’ original albums began selling again and a smaller version of Monkeemania began to spread.

The 20^th anniversary of the Monkees in 1986 was not only a revival for them but their rediscovered fame generated the first official Monkees single since 1971. "That Was Then, This Is Now" was listed as No. 20 position in Billboard Magazine which featured only Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork. As the due gained new fans Davy Jones later joined the Monkees for “Heart & Soul” later that year.

As was customary with sitcoms of it’s time The Monkees also filmed a Christmas special in which they helped a greedy boy find the true meaning of Christmas. The end of the epiode featured the quartet gathered around a microphone singing a traditional Spanish Christmas son called “Ríu Ríu Chíu.”

The Monkees – Ríu Ríu Chíu (1967)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JthZskazxKo

 

 

Also included in this blog are a few fun Monkees videos I found. Enjoy and Merry Christmas!

The Monkees – That Was Then, This Is Now (Version 1)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txO3D_VFWuA

 

 

 

The Monkees – That Was Then, This Is Now (Version 2)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKgqQksQLdY

 

 

The Monkees – Heart & Soul
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mo7cBvd62Uw

 

 

Monkees Screen Tests
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63nhSFFFfJ4

 

 

The Monkees Christmas Medley '86 Featuring Mike Nesmith
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ip5G3YcIGLo

 

 

The Audition (Find the Monkees!) – Full Episode.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7luImKzCuA

 

 

Daydream Believers: The Monkees' Story – 2000

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CujyfNQeduo

The 12 Days Of Classic Nickelodeon

While in search for something to post for today I came across a song that I had written back in 2009 when I was making my Classic Nickelodeon Songbook and thought it was seasonally appropriate for today’s post. This is, of course, set to the “12 Days of Christmas” song but with an 80’s Nickelodeon twist. Hope you enjoy it.

12 Days Of Classic Nickelodeon

By: Peggy Sue Clay

On the first day of Christmas,

My true love sent to me
A Pinwheel in a big house.

 

On the second day of Christmas,
My true love sent to me
Two Hobo Bugs,
And a Pinwheel in a big house.

 

On the third day of Christmas,
My true love sent to me
Three magic genies,
Two Hobo Bugs,
And a Pinwheel in a big house.

 

On the fourth day of Christmas,
My true love sent to me
Four Righteous Apples,
Three magic genies,
Two Hobo Bugs,
And a Pinwheel in a big house.

 

On the fifth day of Christmas,
My true love sent to me
Five awesome guests,
Four Righteous Apples,
Three magic genies,
Two Hobo Bugs,
And a Pinwheel in a big house.

 

On the sixth day of Christmas,
My true love sent to me
Six Special Deliveries,
Five awesome guests,
Four Righteous Apples,
Three magic genies,
Two Hobo Bugs,
And a Pinwheel in a big house.

 

On the seventh day of Christmas,
My true love sent to me
Seven obstacle courses,
Six Special Deliveries,
Five awesome guests,
Four Righteous Apples,
Three magic genies,
Two Hobo Bugs,
And a Pinwheel in a big house.

 

On the eighth day of Christmas,
My true love sent to me
Eight roller coasters,
Seven obstacle courses,
Six Special Deliveries,
Five awesome guests,
Four Righteous Apples,
Three magic genies,
Two Hobo Bugs,
And a Pinwheel in a big house.

 

On the ninth day of Christmas,
My true love sent to me
Nine Water Babies,
Eight roller coasters,
Seven obstacle courses,
Six Special Deliveries,
Five awesome guests,
Four Righteous Apples,
Three magic genies,
Two Hobo Bugs,
And a Pinwheel in a big house.

 

On the tenth day of Christmas,
My true love sent to me
Ten Tomorrow People,
Nine Water Babies,
Eight roller coasters,
Seven obstacle courses,
Six Special Deliveries,
Five awesome guests,
Four Righteous Apples,
Three magic genies,
Two Hobo Bugs,
And a Pinwheel in a big house.

 

On the eleventh day of Christmas,
My true love sent to me
Eleven buckets of slime,
Ten Tomorrow People,
Nine Water Babies,
Eight roller coasters,
Seven obstacle courses,
Six Special Deliveries,
Five awesome guests,
Four Righteous Apples,
Three magic genies,
Two Hobo Bugs,
And a Pinwheel in a big house.

 

On the twelfth day of Christmas,
My true love sent to me
Twelve rockin videos,
Eleven buckets of slime,
Ten Tomorrow People,
Nine Water Babies,
Eight roller coasters,
Seven obstacle courses,
Six Special Deliveries,
Five awesome guests,
Four Righteous Apples,
Three magic genies,
Two Hobo Bugs,
And a Pinwheel in a big house.

 

The Meanings Behind The 12 Days Of Classic Nickelodeon

By: Peggy Sue Clay

And a Pinwheel in a big house = Pinwheel House

Two Hobo Bugs = Herbert & Lulu from Pinwheel.

Three magic genies = Special Delivery, “Alex and the Wonderful Doo-Wah Lamp”

Four Righteous Apples = Special Delivery, “Silver City”

Five awesome guests = Guests on “Livewire”

Six Special Deliveries = Speaks for itself

Seven obstacle courses = From “Double Dare”

Eight roller coasters = Special Delivery, “Wild Rides” with host Matt Dillon

Nine Water Babies = Special Delivery, “Water Babies”

Ten Tomorrow People

John, Carol, Kenny, Stephen, Elizabeth, Tyso, Trisha, Mike, Hsui Tai, & Andrew = 10

Eleven buckets of slime = from “You Can’t Do That On Television”

Twelve rockin videos = From “Nick Rocks: Video To Go”

The Ballad of Peggy Sue

Classic Nick Wed. – The Ballad of Peggy Sue

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

 Forgive me, I meant to post this long before now but I got sidetracked.

For this week’s Classic Nickelodeon Wednesday I would like to share with you a Tomorrow People fan fiction written by me and my friend Sue Eastick called, “The Ballad of Peggy Sue” – Sue chose the name not me. Please note that this story is based off the classic 1970’s version of the Tomorrow People. I’d also like to point out that this story is in need of some editing of which I have no time to do these day but I hope you enjoy it anyway. Here’s the run down along with the link.

 

The Ballad of Peggy Sue

(Started in mid-January 2008 ~ Finished May 2008 – Updated Jan. - May 2009)

http://classic-nickelodeon-forever.jimdo.com/fan-works-updated/fan-fics-updated/

 

BY: Susan Eastick and Peggy Sue Clay

 

Disclaimer:

The original Tomorrow People characters are the property of Thames Television, Roger Damon Price and FremantelMedia. All other characters are original creations created by Susan Eastick and Peggy Sue Clay. The character of “Sue” is based on the real live person of Susan Eastick who has given her permission to be used in this story. The character of “Peggy Sue ”Ice” Hamilton” is based on the real live person of Peggy Sue “Ice Kat” Clay who has also given her permission to be used in this story.

 

Synopsis

There is a new Tomorrow Person about to break out just as Stephen ends one chapter in his life and begins a new one. Will he be able to help this new Tomorrow Person or will his personal life be too much of a distraction? Find out now in the newest chapter in the lives of the Tomorrow People.

 

 

 

**Classic Nickelodeon Alert** ~ Bill Cosby from “Picture Pages”

**Classic Nickelodeon Alert** ~ Bill Cosby from “Picture Pages”

 

This is both an alert and my Classic Nickelodeon Wednesday article on Sunday for two reasons. 1) This special will air tonight on Comedy Central and 2) Since Thanksgiving is this Thursday it might be a good idea to take this week off so that everyone can enjoy the holiday with friends and family and not have to worry about posting unless they just feel like it.

I hope that you enjoy this article as I did. I didn’t write it but since it masterfully captures the spirit of this special I thought it only fitting to post it as is. Enjoy.

 

 

 

Bill Cosby Is As You Remember Him in Far From Finished

By Matt Zoller Seitz | 11/17/2013 at 8:15 PM

http://www.vulture.com/2013/11/seitz-reviews-bill-cosby-far-from-finished.html
 

The Comedy Central program Far From Finished is being advertised as Bill Cosby’s first full-length stand-up special in three decades, but he only stands up once, not including his entry and exit. This isn’t an age thing or a laziness thing; it’s a style thing. Cosby has been a sit-down comic for three decades, and this matches his M.O. perfectly. The sight of America’s funny-cranky dad in a chair has always sent the not too subliminal signal that you’re in for an evening of stories, as opposed to jokes, so you might as well settle in (or settle down). Cosby looks his age here, absolutely, and that means that his brand of humor no longer seems amusingly incongruous. For most of his career, he was an old fogey trapped in a younger man’s body, waving a cigar and gabbing about the good old days while mostly avoiding politics, drugs, profanity, and other mainstays of post-sixties stand-up. He still has that beguiling mix of conversational smoothness and vaudevillian overreaction that made him a star in the sixties and led to TV shows (I Spy, Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, The Cosby Show), feature films (Uptown Saturday Night, Let’s Do It Again), and countless ads (he was a pitchman for Ford, Del Monte, Jell-O, and Texas Instruments and earned a place in Madison Avenue infamy by helping to launch New Coke). His much-imitated facial tics—the tilted head, popped eyes, incredulously pursed lips—have never seemed more natural than they do here. They’re the gestural tools of a blustering grandfather or uncle, somebody who’s here to tell it like it is and is a good enough storyteller that he knows you’ll keep listening even as you wonder what the point is. But even when Cosby is going big, he goes big in a small way. When overeager fans try to “help” him with his Comedy Central performance, he rolls his eyes heavenward, like Grandpa telling the grandkids that he’s not as helpless as they think—that, in fact, he’s still in charge, damn it.

Far From Finished isn’t an instant classic on the order of Bill Cosby: Himself or his stand-up albums Revenge, Why Is There Air?, and Wonderfulness. It’s more like a pencil sketch by a master painter or a late film by Woody Allen or Clint Eastwood: Which is to say that it’s Old Man Art and that a big part of its pleasure comes from seeing how economically the artist expresses himself and how intuitively he reads and manipulates the room.

Cosby’s material has a long white beard. It’s mostly bossy-wife-henpecked-husband material, the sort of thing you’d see on a mediocre domestic sitcom or in a quasi-Neanderthal newspaper strip such as “The Lockhorns.” But for a comic who was born in 1937 and always fetishized the Ozzie-and-Harriet model of domestic bliss, Cosby mines this material with subtlety. He’s the unreliable narrator of his own fiction. He gets big laughs portraying himself as a beleaguered, emasculated old man, utterly dominated by his wife, Camille (who, Cosby repeatedly points out, is not his “best friend,” although society requires him to say that she is). But by his own admission, he’s a mediocre mate, forgetful and lazy and a poor listener. In Cosby’s narrative, marriage is about trading pride for comfort; when he resists his wife’s orders or endures her needling, it’s often because he knows she’s right but has just enough male ego to refrain from rolling over too quickly. The special is filled with metaphors of gamesmanship. Fencing is invoked more than once. Ditto chess: “The queen moves anywhere she wants, picking off people,” Cosby says at one point, “and what happens to the king? He’s moving one square!”

Cosby’s great innovation was to reject setup-punch-line rhythms and align stand-up with good old-fashioned yarn-spinning. Other comedians got there first (notably Lenny Bruce onstage and Bob Newhart on vinyl), and Cosby had a few near contemporaries who equaled his inventiveness, including Richard Pryor and George Carlin, but there was something quietly daring about his approach, which swapped the “Keep it moving!” ethos for “Relax, we’ll get there eventually.”

“200 M.P.H.” is the greatest example of this attitude: a 23-minute routine about a new car that takes up a whole side of the 1968 album of the same name. Far From Finished has three comparably protracted examples of slow-burn humor, including a bit in which Cosby gets up in the middle of the night, triggers the security system in his house, has a Newhart-worthy phone conversation with a security-­company agent who won’t deactivate the alarm until Cosby tells her his “code name,” and confidently insists that he doesn’t have one. The fact that you can see where the routine is headed doesn’t lessen its payoff; like the rest of Far From Finished, it reminds us of the wellspring of Cosby’s career: his knack for intimate, laid-back stand-up. And it might make us mourn all the stand-up specials he didn’t tape because he was too busy revolutionizing the sitcom, making a mint as a commercial pitchman, stinking up the big screen with Leonard Part 6, lecturing young people on the virtues of pulling their pants up, getting caught in various hypocrisies that belied his self-styled Father of the Century image, and otherwise making us forget about his greatness as a storyteller. We shouldn’t. Far From Finished reminds us why.

Far From Finished: Bill Cosby. Comedy Central. November 23 at 7 p.m. and again on November 24 at 6 p.m. Central Standard Time.

*This article originally appeared in the November 25, 2013 issue of New York Magazine.

 

 

 

Nickelodeon's Marc Summers + 30 Creators, Stars, Writers + More

Classic Nickelodeon Wednesday – on Thursday

Nickelodeon's Marc Summers + 30 Creators, Stars, Writers + More
Wednesday, November 20, 2013

**My apologies, I meant to post this after church last night and I totally forgot.**

 After watching a video that Andy posted in my “A New Beginning for Classic Nickelodeon” group I stumbled on this video that was made during the launch of “Slimed: An Oral History of Nickelodeon’s Golden Age” by Matthew Klickstein.

Brought to you by 92nd Street Y and hosted by Marc Summers and Matthew Klickstein this almost three hour videos features a rotating panel of Classic Nickelodeon starts, writers, creators and more dish on the inside stories of some of favorite shows.

“Nickelodeon's Marc Summers + 30 Creators, Stars, Writers + More”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfrq7ZDy6co

Published on Oct 2, 2013

“Double Dare we say it—a Nickelodeon celebration? Network executives and creative staff who helped create the foundation of the entire channel will also be joining us to explain exactly how Nick happened at all!

Nickelodeon icon Marc Summers—with creators, stars, writers, producers and musicians from such classic 80s/90s Nick shows as "You Can't Do That on Television," "Double Dare," "Salute Your Shorts," "The Ren & Stimpy Show," "Doug," "The Adventures of Pete and Pete," "Clarissa Explains It All," "Nick Arcade," "Welcome Freshmen," "Wild & Crazy Kids" and "Hey Dude." Many of these guests haven't been together since these shows aired. Bringing it all together is master-of-ceremonies Mathew Klickstein, author of Slimed: An Oral History of Nickelodeon's Golden Age.”

 

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Bambi Meets Godzilla

Classic Nick Wed. – Bambi Meets Godzilla

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

 For those of you who grew up watching Nickelodeon in the very early 1980’s you may remember “Bambi Meets Godzilla” from a number of different airings. At times it was shown in between programs, it was also seen on Livewire’s festival of short films and again on Turkey Television. But no matter where you saw this short film you will remember it as you watch it from the link provided.

First created in 1969 Marv Newland Bambi Meets Godzilla was listed as #38 in the book The 50 Greatest Cartoons in 1994.

Originally scheduled as a live-action film Newland abandoned the idea when he lost an essential magic hour shot and settled for an animation version instead.

When we first meet Bambi he is peacefully grazing in a small patch of grass as “Call to the Dairy Cows” from Rossini's opera William Tell (1829) plays in the background. As the credits scroll by he hasn’t a care in the world until he looks up to see Godzilla's foot coming down, crushing him with The Beatles' "A Day in the Life" played at half-speed. After a moment, the closing credits scroll over the image of Godzilla's foot. At the very end, Godzilla's claws twitch once.

Screenings & Distribution

This cartoon prefaced Godzilla 1985 on some VHS releases. Two sequels were later made without Newland's involvement: Son of Bambi Meets Godzilla and Bambi's Revenge, giving Godzilla a hot foot.

 References

Beck, Jerry (ed.) (1994). The 50 Greatest Cartoons: As Selected by 1,000 Animation Professionals. Atlanta: Turner Publishing. ISBN 1-878685-49-X.

 

Directed by – Marv Newland

Produced by – Marv Newland
Written by – Marv Newland
Cinematography – Marv Newland

 

 

 

 

Marc Summers’ Mystery Magical Special

Classic Nick. Wed. – Marc Summers’ Mystery Magical Special

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Happy Halloween everyone! As some of you may know this is my favorite holiday so naturally I wanted to write about something spooky and what better than Marc Summers' Mystery Magical Special!

Most of us know and love Marc from Double Dar but how many of you knew that he was an amateur magician?

Created as a vehicle for Marc’s new found fame the Mystery Magical Special opens with Marc and this three friends, Trenton Teigen, Jonathan Brandis and Shiri Appleby, are returning home from the movies on a dark night when they, naturally, get a flat tire.

After realizing that they didn’t have a spare they make their way to the creepy old house where they meet John Astin (Gomez Addams) who tells them to, “help themselves.”

Inside they find the usual dust, spider webs, skeletons, heads falling from the ceiling, and various other spooky things. They also encounter a few magicians along the way namely Tina Lenert and Lance Burton.

Tina’s charming performance makes you forget that she’s the only one performance and Lance’s showdown with the bizarre demon-like villain ends in a swoard fight with a suprizing ending!

This Halloween themed special was originally produced in 1986, but continued air, often multiple times, every October for several years afterward.

 

A Message from Jeff Hyslop

Classic Nick. Wed. –

A Message from Jeff Hyslop

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

 

Today’s Classic Nickelodeon Wednesday is just a very short post from actor Jeff Hyslop who played “Jeff” on Today’s Special.

 Jeff Hyslop - Wednesday, October 23, 2013

(Posted around 1 PM Central Time)

Hi everyone! Just finishing up a wonderful month here in Vancouver, where I've been directing/choreographing a rather smart and sassy new Christmas musical - 'Mrs Claus' Kitchen', to open in December at Presentation House in N Vancouver. Gemma and Remmi have been here this week (fantastic) and we have our final reh this Saturday, before I leave for Chemainus and 'It's a Wonderful Life', starting reh Oct 28th.

 

Will keep y'all up to date with everything in the future - have been rather busy! FYI: My mom, Nan, is healthy and happy in Campbell River, post-surgery, and looks fwd. to coming down to Chemainus, seeing the show and spending time over Xmas. Brava Nan!

Review of the CW's "The Tomorrow People"

Classic Nick Wed. - Review of the CW's "The Tomorrow People"

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

 

http://w2.parentstv.org/Main/News/Detail.aspx?ProgramID=3721

MPAA Rating: TV-14  

Network:  CW

Show Day:  Wednesday

Show Time:  2100

The Tomorrow People - (CW/drama)

9:00 p.m. (ET) Wednesday

Production Companies: Berlanti Productions, Bonanza Production Inc., FremantleMedia, Warner Bros. Television, CBS Television Studios

Producers: Greg Berlanti, Julie Plec, Phil Klemmer, Melissa Kellner Berman

Creators: Roger Price, Phil Klemmer

 

This “reimagining” of the 1970s British children’s science-fiction program centers on Stephen Jameson, who learns he has psychic powers which make him the next step in mankind’s evolution. Stephen is contacted by other “tomorrow people” who have banded together for protection, including leader John, smart-aleck Russell, and the beautiful Cara., who has an unexplained psychic link with Stephen. The psychics are hunted by Stephen’s uncle, Dr. Jedekiah Price, leader of the government group ULTRA, who seeks to enslave or exterminate them.

Violence in the first episode was limited to several violent fistfights and Price’s implied murder of several psychics. Notably, the “tomorrow people” are incapable of killing others. Language included “damn,” “hell,” “bitch,” and “dick.”