One & Done
I watched a fun video on youtube about TV series cancelled after just one episode. Here are four:
Heil Honey I’m Home! (1990) A comedy on British satellite channel Galaxy that spoofed American sitcoms of the 1950s and 1960s by featuring caricatures of Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun, who live in matrimonial bliss until they become neighbors to a Jewish couple. I bet the creators were thinking: “If Mel Brooks can do it…” It starred Neil McCaul, who has had a substantial career and is still going strong, and Denica Fairman, who continued to act until 2015.
Co-Ed Fever (1979): CBS tried to capitalize on the popularity of Animal House (1978) with a show about a female-only college going co-ed. The debut episode was titled Pepperoni Passion. All was not lost. The set was used for the girls’ dorm in the first season of The Facts of Life. Surviving with career intact, cast members David Keith, Heather Thomas, Michael Pasternak and Alexa Kenin, who died at 23.
Lawless (1997): Brian Bosworth as John Lawless, a motorcycle-riding private eye who used to be a special forces operative. Although Boz has only 25 titles since 1991 under his name at IMDb, he’s still working.
You’re in the Picture (1961): A CBS game show hosted by Jackie Gleason, with Johnny Olson serving as the announcer and Dennis James doing live commercials. A four-member celebrity panel would stick their heads into a life-sized illustration of a famous scene or song lyric with a hole cut out, then take turns asking yes/no questions to try to figure out what scene they were a part of. If they were successful, 100 CARE Packages were donated in their name; if not, the packages were donated in Gleason’s name. The panel consisted of Pat Harrington Jr., Pat Carroll, Jan Sterling and Arthur Treacher. The next week Gleason aired an apology, sitting alone in a chair on the now-bare stage, stating the series failed because of “the intangibles of show business.” He also noted that more than 300 combined years’ worth of experience had been involved in the production. He said the program “…laid, without a doubt, the biggest bomb in history…” (Facts from Wiki)
I’ve seen others comment on the following Corona oddity — people driving alone in a car, windows rolled up, wearing a mask. I wonder if folks have become so accustomed to wearing one they forget it’s there. I wear one only in stores… NY & NJ, each guilty of egregious budget outlays, now see Corona as a perfect excuse to have all their sins forgiven by a federal government bailout — and don’t be surprised if they get it… Explain this from a foxnews.com article: “Just days before California’s Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered the closure of parks and beaches in Orange County, making it a criminal offense to step foot in the sand, the state ordered the release of seven high-risk sex offenders from the county’s jails over concerns they could contract coronavirus.”
Each afternoon I hang out for about an hour wherever my car is parked. Today Mike, a local super, and Andy, a retired electrician, both offered books. I said yes, even though I have no idea when or even if the floating book shop will ever ride again. I’m just curious about what will be there. Both men said they’d get back to me. I can always leave what I’m not interested in reading in the lobby of our building, so there’s really no problem in accepting.
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