As a WWF-obsessed kid in the 1980s, I was the target audience during pro wrestling’s peak period. But what I didn’t know then was this national explosion of popularity was killing off the last vestiges of rasslin’ as it existed for decades before, and fans of so-called “real” wrestling were mourning its loss.
Continue reading ‘Death of the Territories’ (2018): How expansion & betrayal changed pro wrestling foreverAll posts by Drunk TV
‘Hammer House of Horror’: Early 80s UK anthology sports tight scripts, nimble direction
The Complete Hammer House of Horror is perfect Halloween viewing for anyone interested in 80s UK horror and the Hammer Films studio: the scripts are tight, the direction nimble, and the performances spot-on…with plenty of gore and slight nudity to keep you tuned in.
Continue reading ‘Hammer House of Horror’: Early 80s UK anthology sports tight scripts, nimble direction‘The Love Boat’ (Season 4): The ABC juggernaut’s highest-rated season
Welcome to the fourth DVD voyage of The Love Boat’s Pacific Princess, where the hook-ups are plentiful and the penicillin shots are always free!
Continue reading ‘The Love Boat’ (Season 4): The ABC juggernaut’s highest-rated season‘The Eyes of Charles Sand’ (1972): Fun viewing for dark October nights
Flashy but familiar, bait-and-switch ABC Movie of the Week entry.
Continue reading ‘The Eyes of Charles Sand’ (1972): Fun viewing for dark October nights‘Harry O’ (Season 1): World weary 70s detective is classically quirky…at first
They couldn’t just leave it alone.
Continue reading ‘Harry O’ (Season 1): World weary 70s detective is classically quirky…at first‘Charlie’s Angels’ (Season 1): 70s original is better than you remember
Can I eat crow? Yes. I can. Can I admit being wrong? Absolutely. And I was wrong–desperately wrong, Mr. Spelling.
Continue reading ‘Charlie’s Angels’ (Season 1): 70s original is better than you remember‘Perfect Bid: The Contestant Who Knew Too Much’ (2017): How one man ‘cheated’ The Price is Right
2017’s Perfect Bid: The Contestant Who Knew Too Much is a documentary about a hero of sorts,
Continue reading ‘Perfect Bid: The Contestant Who Knew Too Much’ (2017): How one man ‘cheated’ The Price is Right‘I Dream of Jeannie…Fifteen Years Later’ (1985): Eden & Co. try to rekindle magic in mid-80s reboot attempt
Sad news: funny actor Bill Daily passed away this week. Pulling the rare trick of appearing in two iconic TV comedies—I Dream of Jeannie and The Bob Newhart Show—Daily was one of those actors lovers of vintage television took to their hearts like a cherished friend. He’ll be missed. So…in that spirit, let’s look at one of his lamer outings: I Dream of Jeannie…Fifteen Years Later.
Continue reading ‘I Dream of Jeannie…Fifteen Years Later’ (1985): Eden & Co. try to rekindle magic in mid-80s reboot attempt‘Beverly Hills, 90210’ (Season 1): Welcome to the 90s, high school
The golden age of Aaron Spelling TV. Wait…no! Every era was a golden age for Aaron Spelling TV, and if you were a teenager in the 1990s, you remember this “golden age” best!
Continue reading ‘Beverly Hills, 90210’ (Season 1): Welcome to the 90s, high school‘Smile Jenny, You’re Dead’ (1974): Second pilot film leads to ‘Harry O’ series
‘Sanford and Son’: When sitcoms were edgy & controversial
Yes. I’m going to write that word in this review.
Continue reading ‘Sanford and Son’: When sitcoms were edgy & controversial‘Daniel Boone’: ’60s & ’70s adventure series still perfect family fun
Daniel Boone—The Complete Series is perfect family entertainment for young and old…and that’s next-to-impossible to come by these long, hot summer days.
Continue reading ‘Daniel Boone’: ’60s & ’70s adventure series still perfect family fun‘Shut That Door! Larry Grayson at ITV’: ’70s British comic, master of the double entendre
‘The Jeffersons’: Norman Lear sitcom disrespected, but gets the love
The strangest thing: my younger kids think television coming over our old aerial—complete with commercials and limited choice of channels—is the coolest thing now (high tech burnout was inevitable). And one of their favorite digital channels is our local MeTV outlet, with its old timey sched of classic television fare (yes, they have taste, but of course, I’m shilling for a potential job offer, too…). So the upcoming “Summer of Me” programming change this Monday should be a lot of fun for them—and for you, too, particularly since The Jeffersons will be movin’ on up into the primo 6:30pm (Eastern) timeslot (now you don’t have to watch the fake news!).
Continue reading ‘The Jeffersons’: Norman Lear sitcom disrespected, but gets the love‘The Transformers’ (Season 1): More, in ’84, than meets the eye
You thought it was a giant toy commercial, and it was. But there was more than meets the eye…especially if you were in the target audience.
Continue reading ‘The Transformers’ (Season 1): More, in ’84, than meets the eye‘Nichols’: James Garner & Co. have fun in Rockford warm-up
“If you want to know the truth, you make it up.”
Continue reading ‘Nichols’: James Garner & Co. have fun in Rockford warm-up‘Mission: Magic!’: Rick Springfield’s trippy animated ’70s toon rocks on
Tripped-out Saturday morning cartoon groove.
Continue reading ‘Mission: Magic!’: Rick Springfield’s trippy animated ’70s toon rocks on‘Peyton Place’ (Part 3): 9 years later, DVD releases resume!
Peyton Place, that puritanical New England hot-bed of sex, scandal, class conflict, repressed emotions, and tasteful suffering, is back!
Continue reading ‘Peyton Place’ (Part 3): 9 years later, DVD releases resume!‘Getting Gotti’ (1994): Gambino crime boss gets ’90s TV treatment
Well, maybe more like Getting Close to Getting Gotti…but no cigar from the Teflon Don.
Continue reading ‘Getting Gotti’ (1994): Gambino crime boss gets ’90s TV treatment‘The Yellow Rose’: 80s primetime soap could have been a contender
All the talk this week about the 40th anniversary of Dallas’s debut got me thinking about one of the many pretenders to its prime time network soap opera throne—NBC’s The Yellow Rose—right before I saw word this morning that actress Susan Anspach had just passed. She was quite good in this expensive, all-star outing from NBC, so in memory of Miss Anspach, let’s look back at The Yellow Rose.
Continue reading ‘The Yellow Rose’: 80s primetime soap could have been a contender