mango

1 hour ago, DRW50 said:

 

Steven Weber seems to just do the same thing in every role. I didn't mind him on Wings, he was a good contrast to Tim Daly and gave some energy to the proceedings, but you don't look at him and think you're witnessing a great work. 

 

Funny you should mention that. Twenty-ish years later and that vibe is still there on Mom with the sparring brothers, this time opposite William Fichtner.

Just now, dragonflies said:

 

Eh IMO she's overrated

Maybe it goes back to the SNL days? Not sure. I've got a soft spot for her.

51 minutes ago, Faulkner said:

No one talks about Mad About You (in spite of reboot discussions), Wings, Suddenly Susan, Caroline in the City, Boston Common, NewsRadio, The Single Guy, Jesse, Just Shoot Me, Veronica’s Closet, or any other of the interchangeable upscale, urban ensemble sitcoms of the ‘90s. Most sitcoms of any era are trash.

And damn. I forgot about half of those shows. NBC, in particular on Thursdays, tried to throw anything to see if it could stick for Must See TV. They wanted something to catch on between Friends and ER. During the second season of Friends, one night they gimmicked having David Schwimmer on The Single Guy while Lea Thompson was on Friends. 

Without Googling, I'm trying to remember the show with Michael J. Fox and Heather Locklear (?). And then Charlie Sheen showed up. Things are fuzzy. And maybe that wasn't even an NBC sitcom.

I don't care for Seinfeld, but adore Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

11 minutes ago, SoapDope said:

I will just go ahead an be honest. I don't get the love for Friends. I watched the first couple of years, then got bored. It's not one of my favorites and I get sick of it being on just about every channel in syndication. There are probably 20 channels rerunning in blocks and marathons. I wish it fade into the past.  

2

Oversaturation is definitely part of it. Once the cast starting becoming household names, they were everywhere, and it took away from the chemistry and strength of the writing. Magazines, talk shows, some movie duds (Matt LeBlanc with the monkey who played baseball!). There were a lot of gimmick guest stars, too. Some were out of the park good, like Christina Applegate and Paul Rudd, others not so much.

It's a shame because some of the early episodes, the poker one in particular for me, were well-written and displayed the strength of each actor, who were still finding their niches. There was an innocence in that first season that epitomizes the mid-90s to a tee.

As I got older, certain things started to annoy me more and more... the continuous dumbing down of Joey, trying to force a Joey/Rachel pairing, Phoebe being so mean and losing the essence of the character, Ross becoming a total horndog.

Not a problem. I'm already re-watching season two -- it's that good!

41 minutes ago, adrnyc said:

I would pay good money - I mean I would bankrupt myself, in order to buy episodes of ATWT in good quality. I'd pay $20/month for access to a streaming service. Ultimately, I'm glad that such a thing doesn't exist as I would spend most of my time revisiting soaps and checking out ones that I never watched!

 

Can I get in line with you? 

This is as of about two or three years ago, but P&G still has all of ATWT. However, about 80 per cent is in a format that needs to be edited, digitized and so forth. What the company decides to do with it is anyone's guess, but there certainly is a niche market for it.

I don't want to spoil anything for anyone who isn't that far into season two. I will say "Hello, Penelope" touched me in a way that a comedy hasn't in years. It was brilliant, especially the cast integration and how the story was told.

I'm sad there are only a few episodes left to watch.

I couldn't agree more. Wonderful episode.

What I really like about series is that it's a reminder of how good sitcoms were. For me in particular, the 1980s, where there was focus on family, current issues and yes, those "very special episode" type shows. The One Day writers have done a great job of blending it all. The actors have excellent chemistry and truly are an ensemble cast.

And how good is Todd Grinnell as Schnieder? 

I've also missed the days of watching the younger cast members grow up. Just look at how much Alex has changed since the first season.

Loving this show  

8 hours ago, amybrickwallace said:

 

I loved Ira!! Another character here who I haven't seen get any love yet is Murray the dog!!! 😊 ❤ 🐶🐕

Remember when Hank Azaria played Murray's walker aka dognapper, Nat?

"Come on Murray Povich. Come on Murray Osmond!" 

I was just thinking about Paul Reiser the other day. I saw him on Jimmy Fallon and remembered how endearing he is, but is it wrong that I associate him more with My Two Dads than Mad About You?

Mad About You wasn't even a top 10 show in its heyday (maybe 1994/1995?), but it had a solid premise and great starring and supporting cast. Leila Kenzle was a riot, while John Pankow was wonderfully cast as Ira.

NM - thanks to the kind folks for helping me out.

2 hours ago, adrnyc said:

The end days were certainly not the best of times. Currently, I'm watching for the first time Nov 1987. I'm DYING! I haven't mentioned it on here much for fear of spoilers but I'm on the edge of my seat every day waiting to see what happens!

I like to refer to those as "the lost years". The show was a mess -- everyone covered it well in a few earlier posts.

1986/1987 was my favourite time, maybe other than 1997. I'm jealous you're experiencing everything for the first time. Enjoy  It's brilliant. I yearn for those kinds of days.

Great Q&A with John Driscoll about his decision to leave acting to join the army:

https://www.soapoperadigest.com/content/icymi-john-driscoll-interview/

3 hours ago, adrnyc said:

Wow!  I've never seen someone else on this board who loves HB as Craig!! IMO, he was absolutely fantastic. Brilliant even! He had chemistry with every woman they paired him with. He was sexy as hell. He's a great actor and he really took the role and ran with it. And yes, he (and the entire cast) knocked it out of the park with Bryant's death storyline.

 

 

I'll be the first to admit I get attached to actors in certain roles. While Scott Bryce will always be Craig to me, Hunt Block certainly brought a different spark to the role. And I totally agree, he had chemistry with a lot of actresses, including Cady McClain and Mary Beth Evans. His protective dad persona with Lucy was totally believable too.
 

I'd love to see him on screen again. I wonder what he's up to these days.

48 minutes ago, Hunk Chandler Massey said:

I flove Scott Bryce and where is Chris Goutman?....LOL

Yes - X1000.

2 hours ago, DramatistDreamer said:

Just a word of caution-- please beware of troll's masquerading as well-intentioned posters asking innocent-looking questions.  

Some of these questions and answers have already been discussed at length.  Of course, the trolls already know this- they are just trying to engage unsuspecting and relatively new posters, so they can get a foothold in the thread and start occupying it with nonsense.

 

Thanks for the heads up! Still trying to learn the lay of the land and that's most helpful.

4 hours ago, Jerry675 said:

 

i know that we frequently saw the hughes kitchen up until late 2006 when idiot Chris Goutman destroyed it and made it part of the Oakdale Now set. This was extraordinarily unforgivable.

2

Mr. Goutman is synonymous with the word destruction, isn't he? There were so many simple, but poignant scenes in the Hughes kitchen over the years. Nancy knew how to make a mean sandwich  

A number of sets were dismantled late 2006/early 2007.

1 hour ago, adrnyc said:

 

 

It's so odd for me to think about all this right now. My current 1987 episode of ATWT is on as I'm typing this. I'm so into that era (which is new for me) that it feels as if that's what it "currently" happening in Oakdale. HA!

1

That's a special era to enjoy. 1986/1987 -- it's incredible how many stories were intertwined and the pace is unheard of these days. Douglas Marland was a wonderful storyteller. 

I often wonder what ATWT would be like now if it hadn't been taken off the air. Clearly, it's a moot point because we'll never know, but the thought crosses my mind from time to time. And I echo everyone's sentiments, the last few years were an absolute train wreck. It's best just to remember the golden years. It was a tremendous show then.