The DVD set of the second season of the classic '70s sitcom "Alice" solidifies my genuine desire to kiss the ring of the Warner Brothers executive who spearheaded releasing 1,000s of great television and film titles collecting dust in the Warner vaults. Aside from review copies, I have purchased numerous classic films and beloved '70s Hanna-Barbera cartoons from this wide-ranging collection.
"Alice" S2 is the latest example of terrific Warner Archives borrowing a page from the equally great Shout Factory's playbook. This helps revive a previously abandoned great show, and Archives seems to be releasing a new season every few months. I hope to be enjoying the third season set in February.
Archives was also Shoutesque in including two fourth season episodes that were intended for the second season. More "Alice" is always good, and seeing the later version of the opening credits was a treat.
Before fully expressing my thoughts on what may be the best season of this CBS staple, I want to share the reaction of a friend who visited over the weekend.
Because my friend shares my love of classic sitcom and lived in Phoenix, which is where Alice and her fellow waitresses dished out inedible meatloaf and much better chili at Mel's, I was confident that he would enjoy watching "Alice."
I initiated watching several episodes and kept us going while working toward a particularly noteworthy offering, but my friend surpassed me in saying "one more."
At one point, I had burned out after watching five straight episodes of "Alice" S2 on a day after we had watched several others and invited my friend to choose another show among the 1,000s in my collection. He asked to watch more "Alice," and we ended up watching two more episodes.
My friend shared that the oft-mentioned Camelback Inn is a luxury resort that at least one President Bush has frequented, that Phoenix no longer celebrated "Admission Day" in the 21st century, and that Phoenix itself has grown into the fifth largest city in the United States since "Alice" first aired.
The classic "Alice" Christmas episode, which will find its way back into my DVD player during the holiday season, is a prime example of the series' exceptional second season that captivated my friend and myself. This clip provides a taste of the story that has the entire cast taking a road trip in an 18-wheeler so that Alice and her 13 year-old son Tommy can visit relatives in Colorado. No, the family members are not named Kenny, Stan, Kyle, or Cartman.
Humorous moments that are typical of the characters' personalities are Alice being the mom of the group by helping ensure everyone's comfort while still trying to maintain order, "dinghy" waitress Vera relentlessly reading the signs for a roadside attraction but not sharing more important information from another highway sign, and sassy tacky Texan Flo flirting on the CB, that's citizen band radio to those of you not old enough to remember the Burt Reynolds' film "Smokey and the Bandit" or the classic song about a great big convoy that is a beautiful sight heading out into the night. CONVOY!"
Meanwhile, Tommy is having a great time thinking of cavorting with his cousins in the Colorado snow. Mel's role consists of driving the truck, bantering with Flo, and telling Vera to stow it. This is not to mention his secret profit motive for the journey.
The three equally classic "guest star" episodes were also memorable aspects of "Alice's" second season. In each case, the celebrity of the week was integrated into the plot line well and not simply there to eat at the diner and make a thinly-veiled reference to what made them a celebrity.
The episode involving veteran actor George Burns was the most unique of the three. He had just played God in the hit film "Oh God," and Vera genuinely believed that Burns was God. Burns displayed his typical grace, no pun intended, and everything worked out in the end.
An episode in which well-known Cuban philanderer Desi Arnaz played a philandering Cuban fashion photographer was very entertaining but a bit more "Three's Company" than "I Love Lucy" or "Alice." Seeing Arnaz in more of a Lucy role in being the one who has "'splainin" to do and who ends up trapped in a sofabed that spontaneously folded up was fun. As an aside, this was the second-to-last time that Arnaz ever appeared on screen.
An episode that involved Flo trying to get concert tickets to see her former baby sitting charge country music star, and "The New Scooby-Doo Movies" guest star, Jerry Reed was the most typically "Alice." Suffice it to say, mayhem ensued when Reed visited the diner.
The second season also had cameo appearances by "The Dick Van Dyke Show's" Morey "Buddy" Amersterdam and "Hogan's Heroes'" Larry "Carter" Hovis.
Consistent with my friend's comment that "Alice" held up much better than he had anticipated, the series had a nice '70s vibe without feeling unduly dated. The aforementioned use of a CB is one example. Others include an episode that had the cast engage in a (clothed) encounter group, many of the men having hairy chests and upper lips, Mel's waitresses protesting Mel paying a newly hired waiter more than they received, and a native American being referred to an Indian.
Episodes that were more "ripped from the headlines" today involved a retired mobster who was on the run from both the feds and his former associates and a rape trial that raised issues regarding how the court system and the public treated the victim.
Anyone with questions or well-intentioned comments regarding "Alice" is encouraged to email me. Anyone with something nasty to say can kiss mah grits.
Warner Archives has given pop culture fans an especially awesome treat in the form of the recently released DVD 1975 documentary "Bugs Bunny Superstar." This top-notch production meets the test for an exceptional documentary in that it entertains and informs.
My only complaint is that this film firmly implanted the "overtures curtain lights" theme song from the Bugs Bunny '70s series in my head. (The documentary does not include that song and accompanying dance by the Looney Tunes character.)
Criticizing this Orson "Charles Foster Kane" Welles narrated film for the title indicating that it is all about everyone's favorite wascally wabbit would be akin to my getting upset because the Ben and Jerry's seconds that were my special treat during grad school were no good because they had too many Oreos, Heath bars or other fixins. In both cases, the flub is a bonus.
It is worth noting as well that, forgetting about the unfortunate Gallo wine commercials, Welles' well-known integrity and deep appreciation for true art likely motivated his participation in this production.
This 90 minutes of pure joy includes nine truly classic Merry Meolodies or Looney Tunes cartoons and both home movies and caricatures of the Warner Brothers animators who created Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, et al. cavorting around and generally loving life in the animation studio that they lovingly dubbed "Termite Terrace" in reference to the building's shoddy construction.
Interesting tidbits include tales of Warner Brothers stars such as Humphrey Bogart and James Cagney dropping by Termite Terrace to see the animation geniuses at work, brief glimpses into the origins of Bugs Bunny and his animated pals, and Clampett gleefully discussing the work that he and fellow animation god Tex Avery created together.
The nine cartoons ae great examples of the indescribably good Looney Tunes and Merry Melodies seven-minute wonders. Clampett points out that he and team created far more drawings for each short than animators typically drew for a 20-minute Saturday morning cartoon show. The backgrounds from some of these are easily as good as ANY Disney film from ANY era.
"Rhapsody Rabbit" is the most noteworthy of the handful of Bugs Bunny cartoons in the group of nine. Like a few other Warner Brothers cartoons from the same period, it centers around classical music. ("Kill the wabbit; kill the wabbit" anyone.) In this case, Bugs Bunny puts his own wacky spin on performing a piano recital.
What makes this cartoon special for me is that I think that it is the only time that I have seen a tormenter make Bugs Bunny a foil. The wiseguy in this case is a mouse who lives in the piano that Bugs Bunny is playing.
The Daffy Duck/Porky Pig cartoon "My Favorite Duck" is unusual in that it is the only time that I can recall seeing said duck and pig in adversarial roles, rather than playing an Abbott and Costello or Laurel and Hardy like team that spent most of the seven minutes getting scared out of their wits.
This offering is also one of the funniest of the entire set. I do not want to ruin it for anyone by writing more.
An almost as rare feature of "Duck" is that it brings the already highly surreal elements of these cartoons up another notch by taking Daffy out of his animated world in much the same way as in the true Daffy Duck classic "Duck Amok" that most festivals of these cartoons include.
The bottom line is that buying "Bugs Bunny Superstar" should be a no-brainer for anyone who likes any of the classic Looney Tunes characters or simply appreciates good-quality animation. I can think of a few people who can anticipate having this set under their trees.
Anyone with questions or comments regarding Bugs Bunny or his friends is encouraged to email me. That's all folks!
People who know "The Streets of San Francisco" remember it as a good example of the testosterone-driven '70s cop show in which gritty police detectives or private investigators chase either equally gritty malfeasors or evil rich guys who wore three-piece suits and drove Lincoln Continentals.
People who are unfamiliar with that series or genre may relate to it as the inspiration for the tragically short-lived Zucker Brothers', best known for the classic film comedy "Airplane," hilarious series "Police Squad" and the subsequent "Naked Gun" films.
The recent release of the two-volume DVD set of "Streets'" fifth and final season provides a chance to complete your collection of this great Quinn Martin production. Virtually everyone who watched television in the '60s or '70s at least knew of "The F.B.I.," "Barnaby Jones," and the other hour-long dramas that Martin produced.
"Police Squad" did an excellent job parodying Martin's trademark lurid episode titles and technique of breaking episodes into four or five acts and an epilogue. Episode titles from "Street's" fifth season include "The Thrill Killers," "The Cannibals," and "Chill of Anger."
Before discussing "Streets" further, it is worth mentioning that the complete series set of the '60s Quinn Martin classic "The Fugitive" was also recently released.
"The Fugitive" was a quasi-anthology show that was a slight departure for Martin in that it had the titular fugitive Dr. Richard Kimball helping those in distress while traveling around the country evading arrest and seeking proof of his innocence of the charge that he killed his wife. The final episode of "The Fugitive" truly is one of the best shows ever.
My moderate personal affection for "The Fugitive" is such that I am going to wait until it is the bargain of the day to purchase it. However, the excellent things that I know about the series and have heard about the set suggest that it is worth buying now either if you really really like the show or want to get a fan of good drama an extra special holiday gift. (Hint to those to whom I am significant. )
Returning to "Streets," the hook was that grizzled veteran homicide detective Lt. Mike Stone was partnered with younger and more polished and educated Inspector Steve Keller for four of the five seasons. Karl Malden, best known to Gen Xers from his American Express commercials, played Stone. Michael Douglas, who requires no introduction, played Keller.
Richard Hatch from the original and new "Battlestar Gallactica" replaced Douglas in the awesome first episode of the fifth season. Douglas received a nice sendoff in that one.
The two-part season premiere, which was the aforementioned "The Thrill Killers" was a great example of what made "Streets" memorable. The fact that it had several "Love Boat's" worth of '60s and '70s television stars as guests in dramatic roles started things on the right foot.
The Reader's Digest version of the plot is that a group of radicals, including "The Partridge Family's" Susan Dey and "The Patty Duke Show's" Patty Duke Astin, kidnap the jury for the murder trial of two of the radicals' comrades.
I confess to joking to a friend that "Duke's" Patty, rather than Cathy, Lane had become a radical to impress a boy that she liked and that she finally saw more sights than a girl can see from Brooklyn Heights.
Actors who portrayed the jurors included "Eight is Enough's" Dick Van Patten and "Three's Company" Norman Fell. I laughed out loud when I saw Marion Ross, Mrs. C. from "Happy Days," play the equally sweet mother of Dey's character.
On a more serious note, most of the action in the "Streets" season premiere and the other episodes was realistic and not melodramatic. Martin truly was a master at setting the proper tone.
I was also glad to see that a loving homosexual relationship between one of the radicals and a fallen comrade was not sensationalized or otherwise disrespected. The episode additionally touched on the issue of race in an equally sensitive nature.
The show overall continued strong throughout its final season and introduced other topics worthy of water cooler discussions.
One fifth season episode involved the detectives trying to find a murder suspect before citizens who were pursuing a $1M bounty by the victim's father captured the alleged criminal. "Barney Miller's" Max Gail played the suspect. Another episode had a twenty-something dirtbag show surprisingly strong intelligence and chutzpah.
It is genuinely sad that the final episode was not one of the season's stronger offerings. A plot involving pursuit of a dog collar that had stolen diamonds was entertaining and had interesting twists and suspense but was more "Hart to Hart" than "The F.B.I."
An episode in which a kidnapping of a young heir, played by "The Hardy Boys'" Parker Stevenson, was a cover for a more sinister plot was a better episode and had a personal element that would have made it a better series finale.
Anyone with questions or comments regarding "Streets" is encouraged to email me.
