Soaps&SciFi

Early Mary Worth (maybe...?).

I wonder if they changed to The Gay Forties.

Single panel comic strip "The Gay Thirties." A waitress has to rush over to another table as some customers are leaving, so that her boss doesn't swipe her tips. Caption reads "---Gratuity Grabbers---". Strip originally created by Milton Caniff, Hank Barrow taking over in 1935.

"The Gay Thirties" by Hank Barrow, 1933-1942
April 17th, 1936 as seen in the Greenwood Commonwealth

Comic strip "Little Debbie." A boy asks Little Debbie if he can ride her hobby horse. She lets him, but warns the boy to be careful. The hobby horse seems to be alive and bucks the boy off, and Little Debbie says the toy throws any stranger that tries to ride him. This strip was originally called "Elmo," but the secondary character of Little Debbie proved popular enough to take over.

"Little Debbie" by Cecil Jensen, 1946-1961
July 25th, 1952 as seen in the Albuquerque Journal

Single panel Sunday comic strip "Where's Waldo?" Based on the activity books of the same name. You are tasked with finding Waldo in a chaotic Viking scene. Full text: "Welcome, Waldo Watchers! As you can see, the vikings' vacation season is here again! There they go, off to vanquish villagers in Vinland! While you survey this salty scene, try to spot 2 crabs, twin snorkelers, a bucket, a skull, a message in a bottle, and my walking stick. Waldo. Did you know that the vikings all worshipped Odin, king of the gods, who rode an 8-legged horse across the sky? Can you tell me where the gods lived, and the name of Thor's nasty brother who killed Balder, god of the summersun? And what with? Answers: Valhalla was the home of the gods. Thor's brother Loki killed Balder with mistletoe!"

"Where's Waldo" by Martin Hanford, 1993-1998
May 16th, 1993 as seen in the Patriot News

Comic strip "Smart Alex." Business woman Alex comes into a restaurant to have lunch with an associate named Don. He asks the staff where he can find a middle aged man in a wool suit, who point her to the bar, which is nothing but middle aged bald men in wool suits.

"Smart Alex" by Charlie Podrebarac, 1995-1995
April 26th, 1995 as seen in the Detroit Free Press

Comic strip "Pills." A fish sees a loose sandwich in the refrigerator and goes to eat it, but a teddy bear stops him, saying he's poisoned the sandwich with arsenic so that no one will eat it. Sure, the teddy bear can't eat it either, but at least no one else will.

"Pills" by Luke Mattison, 2001-2003
April 8th, 2002 as seen in the Daily Illini

Sunday edition of comic strip "Tiny Tim." The county fair is in town, and Tiny Tim's father gets caught up wheel of fortune game that's obviously rigged when the same woman keeps winning over and over again. Tim's father gets cleaned out, but the carny offers him a 50/50 chance to make his money back. From a distance, Tiny Tim sees this and recognizes the carny as a crook named Honest Lefty. "To Be Continued."

"Tiny Tim" by Stanley Link, 1931-1958
August 26th, 1945 as seen in the Detroit Free Press

I don't think it helps that I still remember the whole Dancing with the Stars fracas where he treated his loss like a crime against humanity. Still, he's a decent actor.

I think I'm saying, "pretty sure you're wrong." But no idea what episode it's from. Season 3? (and thanks for the clip, Sitcompeople!)

Not the right place I guess but I've never really cared for John O'Hurley. Maybe you have to be a huge Seinfeld devotee.

Highlights from tonight’s #Corrie.

Single panel comic strip "They'll Do It Every Time." An older many tears up his living room looking for his glasses, unaware that they're resting on his forehead.

"They'll Do It Every Time" by Jimmy Hatlo, 1929-2008
August 13th, 1929 as seen in the Albuquerque Journal

Comic strip "The Shell Game." Subtitled "The Sad Story of a Tip That DIDN'T Go Wrong." At the advice of a man with a strawberry for a head, a man with an egg for a head buys stocks in Onion Consolidated, thinking it's a wise investment. A man with a crab apple for a head arrives and lets them know that Onion Consolidated will actually bottom out soon, so Egg runs off to sell his stocks. When he comes up, he learns that Onion Consolidated actually skyrocketed in value. They throw Crab Apple out the window.

"The Shell Game" by Will B. Johnstone, 1911-1911
March 1st, 1911 as seen in The Bulletin

Serialized fairy tale comic strip "Once Upon A Time." A telling of the Scandinavian fairy tale "Jesper Who Herded the Hares." Full text: "There was once a king who ruled over a kingdom somewhere between sunrise and sunset. It was a small kingdom and when the king went up to the roof of his palace and took a look around he could see to the ends of it in every direction. He had only one child, a daughter, and he foresaw that she must be provided with a husband who would be fit to be king after him. Where to find one rich enough and clever enough to be a suitable match for the princess was what troubled him most. At last he devised a plan. He made a proclamation over his and the neighboring kingdoms that whoever brought him a dozen of the finest pearls and could perform certain tasks that would be set he should have the princess in marriage and in due time succeed to the throne. The pearls he thought could only be bought by a wealthy man and the tasks would require unusual talents. Rich men and foreign princes tried and failed, for, though they could all produce magnificent pearls, not one could perform even the simplest of the tasks. Tomorrow - The Fisherman."

"Once Upon a Time" by W.J. Enright, 1925-1929
June 25th, 1926 as seen in the Evening Day

Sunday comic strip "Maw Green," a topper strip for Harold Gray's "Little Orphan Annie." A man tries to pressure Maw Green into buying stocks, saying that the company is a sure thing. Maw Green refuses, figuring that any company that was actually successful wouldn't invite an outsider like her to invest.

"Maw Green" by Harold Gray, 1933-1973
June 2nd, 1935 as seen in the Columbus Ledger

Serialized comic strip "Miki." In the middle of a baseball game, the pitcher has started throwing poorly, walking three men. Something odd is happening. In the stands, young boy Miki and a magical sprite named Uncle Henry are watching. Uncle Henry takes a baseball and throws it at the back of the pitcher's head in hopes that'll snap him out of his trance.

"Miki" by "Robert Kay"*, 1945-1950
September 21st, 1949 as seen in the Flint Journal

*Bob Kuwahara

@thatweekinsnl.bsky.social @williamham.bsky.social

Sunday comic strip "The Simpsons," a tie-in to the animated show of the same name. Homer takes Lisa to a museum exhibit on neanderthals. While the museum guide details how ancient man gathered food, a hungry Homer spies a vending machine. When his food gets stuck, he starts to violently rattle the machine, reflecting the guide's description of neanderthal behavior. The vending machine falls on top of Homer, and the guide tells Lisa to leave him, "it's nature's way."

"The Simpsons" by Sherri L. Smith, Jeanette Bose and Jason Ho, 1998-2002
September 22nd, 2002 as seen in the Sacramento Bee

Comic strip "Toots and Casper." Husband and father, Casper, is speaking with his wife, Toots, about how he buys their baby boy, Buttercup, a toy at the first of the month, but this month he's unsure of what to get him. Casper puts several ideas on bits of paper and puts them in a hat, and instructs Buttercup that he'll buy whatever the child pulls out. Buttercup grabs all the papers, and true to his word, Casper goes out to buy several toys.

"Toots and Casper" by Jimmy Murphy, 1918-1956
November 7th, 1925 as seen in the Herald and Review

I forgot about this. She had several flop sitcoms. A shame the public never gave her a chance after Cheers, aside from the Brady Bunch movies.

Doris Roberts apparently once said Angie was the show she was most recognized for when she went out in public - not Remington Steele, nor Raymond. The first season did seem well-liked. Not sure what happened to tank it.

I've been watching this show off and on for most of my life, probably will as long as it's around (or I'm around)...seeing this hits home that the show was already very old even when I started it (late '80s).

It’ll never last.

January 18, 1983 - Daily Record -Jon Pertwee prepares to go off on holiday abroad.
#throwback #JonPertwee #holidayvibes #1980s #celebrityvacation #travelinginstyle

A snow-covered Gotham skyline at nighttime with the Gotham Zoo in the foreground. Black space in the middle of painting for projection.

Bill Mather’s hauntingly beautiful matte painting of Gotham City for BATMAN RETURNS (1992). Flawless.

🚨🚨First time streaming alert 🚨🚨 Now streaming for what I believe is the first time in the US, all three seasons of Parker Lewis Can't Lose are on Plex!

Another classic TV streaming update: Plex has hit it out of the park this month adding the rarely streamed short lived gems Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer, Ned and Stacey and Crazy Like a Fox.

Classic TV streaming alert: A trio of short lived but well remembered sitcoms are now streaming on Roku. Specifically The Naked Truth, Action and Sledge Hammer!

Highlights from tonight’s #Corrie. (First appearance of Billy’s iconic cardie.)