30 Rock: Cutbacks

30 Rock: Cutbacks
NBC
April 9, 2009
Sitcom
DVD
C-

Matt Hubbard wrote this, the weakest 30 Rock episode so far.  Jack and Liz both have to deal with budget cutbacks, which is a promising storyline, but there are too many unfunny and implausible moments, particularly in the thread where Tracy and Jenna think Kenneth is a serial killer, so they accidentally kill his pet bird.

Shockingly, Frank Anello plays a member of the Production Staff.  Then 91-year-old Don Pardo is winkingly cast as Sid, the elderly announcer for TGS.  And Todd Buonopane returns as Jeffrey Weinerslav.

The Daily Show: The Secretaries' Tour

Different episode but same year

The Daily Show: The Secretaries' Tour
Comedy Central
August 11, 2004
News Comedy Show
DVD
C-

Corddry treats the tour of the US cabinet like he's a groupie, and it just doesn't work.

Fruits Basket: Is the Rumored Ri That Mother's Daughter?

Fruits Basket: Is the Rumored Ri That Mother's Daughter?
TV Tokyo
May 27, 2003
Anime, Fantasy
DVD
C-

Tohru meets Ritsu the monkey, the child of the hot springs hostess.  But Ritsu is not that mother's daughter.  He is a young man who dresses like a girl, not because he looks cuter that way, like Momiji, or for fun and fantasy, like Ayame, but to, unsuccessfully, deal with his anxieties and insecurities.  He is like his mother in that he constantly apologizes, but he's even more annoying because he says he should never have been born.  I don't mean to sound heartless about trans issues or about suicidal tendencies, but the way these issues are handled, and the way Ritsu is presented, does not at all work here.  This is the worst episode of the series, which means I've seen worse anime.

His and Her Circumstances: 14 Days, Part 2

His and Her Circumstances: 14 Days, Part 2
TV Tokyo
February 12, 1999
Anime, Romance
DVD
C-

Tonami gives his backstory, of how Tsubaki both bullied him and protected him from other bullies.  Only Arima protected him, and Arima is happy to welcome him back.  I might've gone with a C, but then there's the scene where Yukino and Asaba force Arima to eat something and then say they enjoy making people do things against their will.  At least the animation is back up to standard.  And, no, I don't know why they couldn't just give the episodes real titles, rather than drawing out "14 Days" to five parts!

His and Her Circumstances: The Story So Far

His and Her Circumstances: The Story So Far
TV Tokyo
December 30, 1998
Anime, Romance
DVD
C-

On a live-action show, the characters sit around the living room (or workplace or what have you) and reminisce, while apparently in anime you just get a little narration linking clips in order that recap the "past five months."  I suppose this was tolerable when the show aired once a week, but watching on DVD?  Well, I confess I skimmed.

Roseanne: Satan, Darling

Roseanne: Satan, Darling
ABC
October 29, 1996
Sitcom
DVD
C-

Well, it's better than the spa episode, but still pretty random.  Let me just list the guest stars and then we can try to sort out the "plot":

• Mo Gaffney as Astrid Wentworth;
• Arianna Huffington as Estree Longet
• Joanna Lumley and Jennifer Saunders as their Absolutely Fabulous characters Edina Monsoon and Patsy Stone;
• and Marlo Thomas as Tina Beige, "that witch" in the nightmare portion;

So, Roseanne Barr co-wrote this story with Erin Quigley, the series costume designer, which sort of explains some of the costumes, and then co-wrote the teleplay with Saunders.  And she directed it.  It's actually a surprise it's not worse than it is.

Roseanne [Conner] and Jackie go to a high society party with Nancy, who soon ditches them and disappears from the episode.  They mingle and are clearly going to be exploited for their newfound wealth.  In the spa episode, Roseanne just took the abuse instead of standing up to it, while here she has a drunken dream that takes the form of Rosemary's Baby, with eight-weeks-pregnant Darlene heavy with Satan's child.  The spa visit and Jackie's relationship with the prince are referenced, and Astrid invites the two sisters to visit her at her home, setting up another episode.  The series has clearly slipped its moorings by this point, but you can't exactly call it dull.  And, yes, I guess this counts as this season's Halloween episode.

Ernest Harada, who was Mr. Jan (from the school board as I recall) thrice on Welcome Back, Kotter, has a nameless role here.  Kathleen Freeman, who was a Seaweed Attendant in the previous episode, is Edna here.  Party Guest Scott McKinley would soon play a Photographer.  Phil Leeds's middle of three Roseanne roles is as a waiter.  And a grayed-up 41-year-old Jim J. Bullock (from Too Close to Comfort) is Al.

This is the 1600th sitcom episode I've reviewed.  Yes, we'll get to 1700.

Roseanne: Someday My Prince Will Come

Roseanne: Someday My Prince Will Come
ABC
October 15, 1996
Sitcom
DVD
C-

Janet Leahy and Carrie Snow's last Roseanne story is one that is ostensibly set in the real world, as opposed to the ones that are "daydreams."  But it's about Jackie being swept off her feet by Prince Carlos of Moldavia (Jim Varney, deliberately cast against type).  There's no conflict here, and not much humor.  Also, I'm supposed to believe that Roseanne would include Leon on a trip to Manhattan?  Varney would return only once more and I can't remember why Carlos and Jackie didn't stay together.  This plot thread would soon be overshadowed by much greater departures from realism.

Roseanne: Disney World War II

Roseanne: Disney World War II
ABC
February 27, 1996
Sitcom
DVD
C-

Not terribly much happens in this Allan-Stephan-written plug for ABC's then new owners' Florida theme park.  The characters are all stupid and/or needlessly rude and/or out of character, and that includes the random children who gather and applaud when Bev sings, rather than flee in terror.  But I guess it's nice to see what Disney World looked like in the mid-'90s.  And this would retroactively become the episode where Darlene gets pregnant, if I recall correctly, so there's timeline info at least. 

Ted and Joy Christino again play Tourists.  This time Bob Fuller plays the Bellhop.

Roseanne: Halloween - The Final Chapter

And this is one of the saner moments.

Roseanne: Halloween - The Final Chapter
ABC
October 31, 1995
Sitcom
DVD
C-

Barr directed and co-wrote, with Lois Bromfield, this odd entry that might well be the Shark Jump, or at least the Putting on the Waterskis moment.  (It'll be easier to tell as the season progresses, or regresses.)  The title I believe has something to do with the fact that this was originally supposed to be the final season of the series, but it doesn't explain why Roseanne, after well over a year of pregnancy, gives birth to a baby boy (Cole Roberts in his first appearance), whom she names after the spirit of Jerry Garcia (Fred Asparagus, who'd played Del Moore on Who's the Boss?), after seeing the recently departed musician in a labor-induced hallucination.  Even before the hospital sequence, we get Ed McMahon and Sarah Chalke, as themselves (I think) mixed in with trick-or-treaters.  And a mini-clip-show of past Halloweens (which is why Gilbert and Goranson are tagged). 

Basically, the whole thing is a mess, not exactly redeemed by the tag where Roseanne fields staged-sounding questions from the audience.  (OK, I did laugh when a man who claims to be one of the writers asks what the hell the episode was.)  You know I've never been a big fan of the Halloween episodes, but they at least had some bearing on reality.  And contrast this episode with some touching and funny moments in the episode with the flashback to D.J.'s birth and you'll see what this series was starting to lose.  It's not all over, but the future doesn't look too bright from this point on out.

Jason Davis's middle Roseanne character is nameless, but he was possibly the lawyer kid.  Bobbie Bates makes her first of two nameless appearances on the show.  (And she was a dancer in Mame over twenty years earlier.)  Trippy Dancer Tera Hendrickson would be Barb on Ellen.

The Full Wax: Episode 2.3

Probably looking forward to Women Aloud.

The Full Wax: Episode 2.3
BBC
26 March 1992
Talk Show
VHS
C-

When the "highlight" is poor Mo Gaffney go-go dancing, and not even a Teri Garr interview can save things, it's time to call it a day.  I realize this isn't a complete collection, but the four and a fraction episodes average out to a very low C+, worth tuning in to, especially if you're a Whose Line Is It Anyway? fan, but you'll probably want to hit the fast-forward button.

London Underground: Emo Philips, Kit Hollerbach, Paul Merton, and Richard Belzer

London Underground: Emo Philips, Kit Hollerbach, Paul Merton, and Richard Belzer
BBC
1990
Stand-Up Comedy
VHS
C-

Merton is of course the best of the lot, although we'd hear some of these jokes on Paul Merton, The Series.  Smith does a nice job hosting, but the episode never recovers from opening with the painfully unfunny Philips.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Mary Jane's Last Dance

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Mary Jane's Last Dance
Song released December 25, 1993
Music Video
DVD
C-

Merry Christmas, Everyone!  A pretty good song with a necrophiliac video, albeit a beautifully shot necrophiliac video.

Other than this, the videos on the collection range from C+ to B+, and it all averages out to a B-.  Petty definitely had some of the more interesting videos of the first fifteen years of the music video era, and his songs were generally good.

Jeeves and Wooster: The Once and Future Ex

Jeeves and Wooster: The Once and Future Ex
ITV
23 May 1993
Historical Comedy
DVD
C-

And this is probably the worst episode of Series Four, if not the entire programme.  Lazy, sloppy, and boring, it contains one of the worst performances of J & W: Nigel Whitmey's as the recast Georgie Caffyn.  He appeared on one episode of Josie and would soon be on Paul Merton: The Series, but presumably on neither sketch show was he allowed to suck the energy off the screen like he does here.  It doesn't help that he's involved in the less interesting plot, where two old guys try to meet in secret to close a business deal, while George wants Bertie's help in getting together with the richer old guy's niece, for which George promises to reveal a secret way to break an engagement, and then it turns out that was a bluff.  And sub-Janos-Prohaska gorilla costumes are involved (for both a fake and a supposedly real gorilla).

Francesca Folan, who was the first Madeline Basset, here becomes the second Florence Craye, and this time Bertie's engagement to her is not at all intentional on his part.  She is better cast here, more brisk and much less bitchy than Fiona Gillies (who did, however, have fabulously permed hair).  Nicholas Palliser does fine in his role of uppercrust policeman Stilton Cheesewright, and we'd see more of them and their fractured romance.

As for the laziness and sloppiness, one example is that we see a newspaper dated August 23, 1931, which would be cool, except that it's in a scene set a few days before a Fourth of July costume party.  And we catch glimpses of Georgie's show, but none of the fun production numbers like for Ask Dad!,  instead a listless dance number rehearsed enough times that the chorus girls look as sick of it as we are.  Worst of all though is that, on top of no real pay-off to the deal with George, there's no pay-off to Jeeves secretly attending the costume party and shaping events; there's a close-up of his mask but no indication that Bertie has a clue about it.

Joseph Mydell is back as Coneybear, given a little more to do here, although still less than his predecessor.  In contrast, Sam Douglas returns as Corrigan the cop and is given a lot more to do.  Domini Winter is again a Choreographer, while Kim Barrand, Di Cooke, and Nola Haynes are Chorus Girls like last year.  And Peter Carlisle would return as the Bookseller.

Whose Line Is It Anyway?: Episode 4.11

Whose Line Is It Anyway?: Episode 4.11
Channel Four
3 April 1992
Improv Game Show
VHS
C-

Some of this episode is awkward, some of it is boring, and some of it, as you can see, was accidentally violent.  I wasn't crazy about Chip anyway, but when he poked Ryan in the eye, and then acted conceited most of the rest of the episode, I was definitely done with him.  Still, he and Ryan have some pretty good moments together, like in Bartender and Expert, mostly due to Ryan, but Chip's "acid"/"flaccid" rhyme works.  Meskimen & Smith are pretty forgettable this episode, except that for some reason Jim's Kevin Costner credits-reading has stayed with me all these years.  (And I haven't even seen JFK.)

Who's the Boss?: Who's the Boss?

Curnal Aulisio on Married with Children

Who's the Boss?: Who's the Boss?
ABC
January 25, 1992
Sitcom
DVD
C-

This Teverbaugh & Va Salle episode isn't as bad as I remembered, but that's not saying much.  When Tony's friends tease that he's henpecked and he himself feels like Angela's ordering him around, he ends up lying to her and his friends.

Cheerleaders Lisa Cohen, Colette Duvall, and Ria Giullani had recently appeared as characters with their own first names.  Robert Briscoe Evans's third and last WtB role is as the Announcer.  Vinny Argiro returns as Vinnie (yes, with that spelling). while Walter Olkewicz is back as Tiny.  And Curnal Aulisio is introduced as Sam's new boyfriend, Hank Thomopolous.

Whose Line Is It Anyway?: Episode 3.14

Sorry, Ryan, escape is not that easy.

Whose Line Is It Anyway?: Episode 3.14
Channel Four
19 April 1991
Improv Game Show
VHS
C-

An unworkable line-up, with a more racist and homophobic than ever Archie Hahn, and a looking out of place John Sessions.  I almost went with a D+, but one, the audience is not too obnoxious this time, and Mike has moments when he almost saves it, like his reaction to John breaking a scythe in Props, and his Audition for The Greasy, Dead Godfather Society.  This is the last we'll see of John on this programme, but he'd redeem himself six years later as the narrator of a Tom Jones adaptation.  And Archie would be back one more time, the following year.

Whose Line Is It Anyway?: Episode 3.13

Whose Line Is It Anyway?: Episode 3.13
Channel Four
12 April 1991
Improv Game Show
VHS
C-

One of the dullest episodes ever, redeemed somewhat by some Mike/Sandi.  Not only does he say he only has time for "a kiss, a cuddle, and a dance" at the Party Quirks she hosts, but their FATS has some innuendo, with her saying in Sci-Fi that she has power in her fingertips he would be pleased to know about, causing him to reply, "All hail the Queen of the Labia Minors" [sic].  Not only that, but when they switch to Horror, she says it's two days before her period and then confesses to him (but audibly to us), "I can't believe I said that."  Also, she looks at him adoringly during Gospel.  I'm glad they have one more episode together, and in a much more interesting line-up.

Whose Line Is It Anyway?: Episode 3.5

Whose Line Is It Anyway?: Episode 3.5
Channel Four
15 February 1991
Improv Game Show
VHS
C-

Colin Mochrie's debut is inauspicious, but then Mike, Sandi, and Tony aren't exactly at the top of their game either.  The episode is mildly gross and unfunny.  I guess there's some shippiness but nothing too remarkable, other than Mike/Tony in Musical Producers.  Again, the best game will be on, uh huh, the compilation.

Louie Anderson Concert

Around then

Louie Anderson Concert
HBO
1990
Comedy Concert
VHS
C-

Well, there was a time when I found Louie Anderson funny, not Robin Williams level, yet amusing.  But his jokes about the homeless and the Middle East have not aged well.  Maybe if there were more jokes about his family.

Paul McCartney & Wings: Arrow Through Me

Paul McCartney & Wings: Arrow Through Me
VH1
Song released August 14, 1979
Music Video
VHS
C-

Potentially good song marred by, of all things, Paul singing off key!  He does it more than once, so I assume it's deliberate, but it doesn't work for me.