M*A*S*H: 30th Anniversary Reunion

M*A*S*H: 30th Anniversary Reunion
Fox
May 17, 2002
Documentary
DVD
B

The then surviving cast, producers, and some of the writers gather together to reminisce about the making of the show.  It's good to see them together, enjoying each other's company-- an anecdote about the late Larry Linville (whom I didn't have room to tag) cracks the whole gang up-- but in a way it's too many people for this format, and not everyone gets an equal chance to talk.  (Alda, no surprise, does more than his share.)  Larry Gelbart, Burt Metcalfe, and Gene Reynolds do contribute a lot.  Note that at the time not only Linville but Stevenson and some of the supporting cast had died since the last M*A*S*H special I reviewed; last year of course we lost William Christopher, and Wayne Rogers the year before that (both on December 31st); Harry Morgan had gone at 96 in 2011.

True Colors credits

True Colors credits
Fox
1991
Sitcom
VHS
B-

What happens when the husband on an interracial blended-family sitcom leaves?  You redo the credits, with Stephanie Faracy wedding Frankie Faison but settling into marriage to Cleavon Little.  Then her mother, Nancy Walker, dies the next March and the show is cancelled in April, with Cleavon dying the following October.

1989 Emmy Awards [excerpt]

1989 Emmy Awards [excerpt]
Fox
September 17, 1989
Awards Show
VHS
C+

Florence Henderson and Robert Reed present an award and then "the Bradys meet the Bundys," i.e. Katey Sagal and Ed O'Neill.  The material they're given is kind of stale, and considering all we know about Henderson now, it's not especially shocking to see her come on to O'Neill.  Still, it's definitely a moment in TV history.

Married with Children: All in the Family

Married with Children: All in the Family
Fox
May 1, 1988
Sitcom
VHS
C+

I of course taped this because the Del Rubio triplets (of Americathon) appear as Peg's aunts.  They and other Wanker relatives pay the Bundys a visit, much to Al's displeasure.  I watched MwC off and on over its long run, mostly in the early years, although the mean-spiritedness was a barrier.  This episode is the Season Two finale, so Kelly is not yet stupid, and Marcy is still with Steve.

Linda Day, who directed four of the early Who's the Boss? episodes, here does one of her thirty-three for MwC.