Special TV-Garfield TV Specials

So as I talked about before, June will be Garfield’s 40th anniversary. Since I talked about the comic strip last time, what to discuss this time? How about all the TV specials? Truth is I have hardly discussed them, and to be even more honest I barely remember them! Mostly because, I was not a fan of them (holiday one’s aside). They just never grabbed me, and in fact I remember the books these specials were adapted into more than the shows themselves. I think I had most of them. They were mostly in the 80’s and I never understood why they stopped. Though I supposed you could argue the Saturday Morning Cartoon had something to do with that. Still that’s eleven specials over ten years, pretty good! Man, I miss the days when the networks would put an animated special on just because.

Now since others smarter and wiser than I have done thorough retrospectives on these, this not going to be a thorough overview. Just quickly go over the premise and what I thought of it. They’re all on YouTube so feel free to hunt them down and check them out!








Plot:When Garfield and Odie are caught by a dog catcher, Garfield escapes. But Odie doesn’t. Does Garfield decide to go back for him? Of course he does and just in time to find out Odie is to be put down (you read that right).

Comments:This is the first special aired, and you can tell because the voices aren’t the same. Well ok it is Lorenzo Music doing Garfield, but Jon is a different actor. Also the designs are clearly early 80’s Garfield. Right away we have Lou Rawls who did songs for all of these. Also doing some voices an singing is Desirée Goyette. Man do we need talk about her! But first, what did I think of this? It feels like a Garfield strip animated into a TV show so it’s good. It hits all the notes a Garfield story should, and has a plot which is not overwhelming like some others will be. But the big thing with this is the scene where Odie is dragged away to be euthanized. This is THE SADDEST THING I HAVE EVER SEEN. Not helped with Desiree’s haunting vocals singing over the scene. Goyette should be much more well respected than she is, not only does she sing in every one of these specials but she’s done some great voice over work. Not only did she do the voice of Nermal but her voice made the character click and become popular. So does Garfield save Odie? Of course! Thankfully the cell opens at the right moment allowing Garfield to escape and rescue Odie at the same time.

Just a quick unrelated nitpick, It’s a common thing in animation but I hate it when people call the pound on pets who are lawfully owned. That just drives me crazy. And why was Odie being put down so fast?

Grade-B, Good start except for the padding (yeah Rawls is awesome and a legend but what do those songs really ad? I wish he had just done the openings)

Special TV-Michael Jackson’s Halloween

Well I haven’t done one of these in a very long time. But my friends, we have to talk about this one. This aired last Friday (Oct 27) and I watched it last night. Normally I would feel bad I need Wikipedia’s help with some details, but this time I really did. So here are my gut reactions after only seeing this once…..

 

I’m rushing this a bit, I admit, so forgive the lack of details. And spoilers by the way

The Plot-OK, I am going to to try to make sense of this. A young and woman cross paths on Halloween night, and the woman loses her dog. They follow him into a haunted house, and after listening to a Monkey named Bubbles (of course he’s named Bubbles) the two end up on a magical journey where they meet a scarecrow, a spider security guard. and a cat mad scientist (all three who become Michael Jackson? I missed that part) and an evil witch they all have to stop. What’s her goal? Getting ti of music and dancing. Of course it is. The thriller dance saves the day and I wont even try to talk about how the villain is defeated.  Let’s just say it was the power of love. Of course.

 

Special TV-Disney TV Specials

 

This Sunday ABC is presenting a huge special for Disneyland’s 60th Anniversary. It’s supposed to be a huge two hour affair. After I heard about this, two things came to my mind.

The first, why does Disney have to ruin Star Wars? Maybe I am just old and don’t get it, but having Darth Vader and Storm troopers in the Disney parades drives me crazy. It’s an insult to the characters in my opinion. And since Star Tours wasn’t enough, now Disneyland is going to have an entire land for Star Wars! That makes no sense (and is probably the real for this special). Oh and did I mention that Space Mountain was changed to have Star Wars elements in it? Why?????? I DON’T WANT TO GO TO DISNEYLAND FOR STAR WARS CRAP!!!!!


Yeah I know Star Wars was always part of Disney with Star Tours and yeah the movie was good so maybe I’m overreacting. I just don’t get it. By the way Disney World is doing a stage show and a nighttime spectacular which is better but still WHY IS STAR WARS TAKING OVER DISNEY!! At least when Disney went “Frozen” happy that made a kind of sense.


The second thing that came to my mind, what ever happened to the Disney TV specials? When I was a kid in the 80’s and 90’s Disney had tons of specials, celebrating everything from a new park or attraction opening to holidays to some characters anniversary. It seemed like they hit their peak in the 90’s with a really bad special featuring Caroline Rhea. After that they just kind of, vanished. But when they were big especially in the 80’s and 90’s, they were real big! I’ve covered at least two (Mickey’s 50th Birthday and the Opening of Disney/MGM Studios) but that was just a drop in the bucket.

Special TV-“The Simpsons” Halloween Specials, Six Segments I Loved/Hated

Last year I focused on the Halloween episodes Roseanne had, not mention discussing my absolute favorite Halloween episodes (and a few I hate). But with all of that there was one series that got seriously snubbed, with barely a mention. A series which goes above and beyond every Halloween, with a new classic every year. Yes of course I am referring to:

Why didn’t I talk about it last year? The Simpsons had so many great Halloween episodes how could I pick just one!! Ah, The Simposns….I was never a major fan. It just never grabbed me though I did see many episodes in college when the show was in re-runs. However, even I have to admire the Halloween specials (or Treehouse of Horror if you prefer, I miss the old name). They are clever, well made, and usually a lot of fun. Since they take place outside the show’s time lime the creators can do whatever they want. And they do!


 



So today I wanted to discuss six (well, seven you’ll see what I mean) of them that I just love, and to be fair more that didn’t do anything for me. Before I begin let me make this clear, I am going mostly by memory for these. I would love to sit and review every single episode, and maybe if they are ever released all together on a DVD I will (there is one DVD out but it only has a sample of episodes, and I ran out of time or I would have ordered it off Netflix). But for now this is what I have. And I would be lying if I said I remember, or have even watched, every episode. So obvious one’s will be missing like “The Devil and Homer Simpson” where Ned Flanders turns out to be the devil. If I saw it I don’t remember it. And “The Shinning” seems to top everyone’s list but somehow I missed that one. Besides having never seen the classic movie the parody would be a bit lost on me.



   





So these are the standout’s that I enjoyed and still remember. By the way these are in no particular order.



The Raven (Season 1)

I really can’t say what it is about this one, it’s really nothing amazing. It’s just James Earl Jones narrating while Homer recites Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Raven”. But something about it just works. Is it because Jones is bad ass no matter what he does? Is it because the poem is just awesome? Is it because Homer’s reactions are classic Homer? Is it because it is simple, but effective? Whatever it is, I love it.

Special TV-Elmopalooza!

I loved Sesame Street as a kid. And I am thankful that I got to experience it when I did. Why? Because when I watched it, there was no Elmo! Yep, he hadn’t been invented yet. I’m not saying I hate Elmo, I just think he is a little overexposed. I mean does he need a fifteen minute segment in every episode? How is there time for the regular Sesame Street stuff? It’s probably crammed in now, and I do know they at least have the other characters walk on to “Elmo’s World”. And the stuff is there while I do not watch (being, well, 40) I do know they did a Game of Thrones parody as well as turning Super Grover into Iron Grover, But, what is it with all the Elmo stuff? Why not just do a spin-off show? It’s gotten so bad I’m surprised Sesame Street wasn’t renamed “Elmo’s Sesame Street”.

 

I talked about Elmo’s Christmas Countdown awhile back, which is really awful and very disappointing. But almost ten year’s earlier, Elmo was the center of yet another special. It’s a a perfect example for how much Elmo was slowly taking over Sesame Street, airing February 20, 1998 on ABC. It was billed as an all-star celebration of 30 years of songs and laughs on Sesame Street, with Jon Stewart and many big celebrities. Guess who was the center of the special? The title makes it clear :

I mean, why not “Sesame Street-Palooa” or something? But does that mean it was as bad as the Christmas Countdown, or was it at least decent anyway? Let’s talk about it.

Special TV-The Olsen Twins Mother’s Day Special

With Mother’s Day coming up a special treat. Unlike say Christmas or Halloween, there aren’t a great deal of Mother’s Day specials. Sometimes someone will do one since it is May, and sitcoms have devoted episodes to Mother’s Day which I have gone over elsewhere, but actual specials are far and between. Today I wanted to talk about a certain one which aired in 1993, and I am not so proud to admit I do have on videotape.

 

(uh, yeah, finding pics for this one was not easy! And Mark Curry is listed in the ad but never appeared, guess he got cut out?)

Just as the Olsen twins were starting to become the major media monsters they would become (they had at least one TV movie under their belt at this point) we get this cute special. Airing on May 5, 1993 was it good? Let’s discuss it.

Special TV-The Dick Van Dyke Show Revisited (2004)

Yeah, been a while since I did one of these. I haven’t come up with any new specials to talk about. Then I remembered this little treat from about ten years ago. I wanted to talk about it because it’s a fantastic example of how an idea can sound fantastic and can’t miss….only to end up failing HARD.

 

The Dick Van Dyke Show ran from 1961 til 1966. It was a major hit and is still adored in re-runs to this day. Many years later, creator Carl Reiner came up with an idea for a reunion. He got the surviving cast to do it, and it premiered on CBS in 2004. So was it a good idea, or a bad one?

Special TV-Star Trek TV Specials

As you would imagine for a franchise as old as Star Trek,there have been many TV specials over the years. Today I wanted to take a look at some of them, the good and the not so good. Now since these specials are all basically clip shows, going into great detail on any one would be a waste. So instead I want to run down a ten of the more notable specials, some of which I still own on VHS, and just give my thoughts on them.

I am only talking about specials which aired on American TV.There are plenty of other direct to video releases but I would be here all day if I included them. Also only standalone specials, no tributes that were part of a talk show or some other series like Entertainment Tonight, Pioneers ofTelevision, or America Loves…. Because, well, there are a ton of them too!

1.Leonard Nimoy: Star Trek Memories

Fond memories of this one! Leonard Nimoy and a green screen,what more could you ask for? All kidding aside, this is a fun watch. This was when Star Trek III was being made so all the focus is on the original series.And I like that, since at this point the classic era gets pushed aside by the more new stuff. I think this was syndicated but did air on TV and from what I read was filmed right here in my home town of Boston. Yeah some of the stories Nimoy tells in this have been told to death by now, but at the time this one of the first times these stories were ever told and that made this special awesome. It is on YouTube and is definitely worth a watch.

 

Special TV-Muppet Letters to Santa

Remember a few months ago I did an article on John Denver and The Muppets:A Rocky Mountain Holiday? It's dreadfully slow and boring, but I went easy on it and said it was decent. Want to know why? BECAUSE THERE ARE WORST THINGS OUT THERE MY FRIENDS! I give you:

Ok, Ok. It's not the worst thing ever. But it has problems. This came out a few years ago on NBC, and watching it makes me understand why The Muppets don't appear on NBC anymore. Let's take a closer look :

Special TV-Elmo's Christmas Countdown

It's that time of year again. CHRISTMAS! I got a few special blogs coming in the next few weeks, starting with this special. What a cute idea...that sucked hard! Let's talk a look at one of the worst things I have ever seen. I give you:

I was looking forward to this when it first came on. It sounded really good! Then I watched it. Let's take a closer look:

Plot-Stiller the Elf narrates this story concerning Elmo. Stiller gives Oscar the job of counting down Christmas with the Christmas Countdowner. The Counter-Downer contains ten boxes (numbered  1-10) that help count down the last 10 days to Christmas. Without it, Christmas can't happen.After Oscar the Grouch throws away the offical Christmas Countdowner, it's up to Elmo to find all ten numbers and put it back together in time. Every time he finds a number it segues into another music number and/or sketch. In the end they find all ten, until Cookie Monster eats the Countdowner! Will Christmas be lost forever?

Special TV:John Denver and The Muppets-Rocky Mountain Holiday (1983)

Last week I did an article on Muppet productions which sucked. When it was done I realized I had missed something which could have easily been a seventh slot. So since I can't go back and re do that list, I will just talk about this show here. I give you:

John Denver had a long association with The Muppets. He was on The Muppet Show, did a Christmas special and album with them, and then there was this show. I watched it as a kid....and hated it. Simply, it was boring. For years in fact I mixed this up with the Christmas show, thinking they were one and the same. I always wondered why the Christmas special had a campfire scene. It was my friend Les who straightend me out a few years ago.

It is on YouTube so I decided to give it another look, now thirty years later. So is this special really as bad as I remember, or was I just looking at it through very young eyes? Let's take a look.

 

Special TV:The Dream is Alive, the 20th Anniversary of Walt Disney World (1991)

The last two times that I talked about a Disney special I ended up saying that I was disapointed with the specials. So today I wanted to talk about a Disney special that I just love. It came on in 1991 as Disney World was getting ready to celebrate its 20th anniversary. The theme of the special was The Dream is Alive!

But while it's one of my favorite specials, does that mean it's perfect? Let's take a look at :

Plot:Actually pretty simple. As the occasion of Walt Disney World's 20th Anniversary approaches then Disney Ceo Michael Eisner tries to find a big named celebrity to host the event. Despite asking several major celebrities he comes up empty, and ends up hosting the special himself.

Yeah, that's about it. So let's take a look at what I liked and what I hated.

Special TV-Disney MGM Studios Theme Park Grand Opening (1989)

This past week we were treated to some excellent articles by our friend Moviefan12 on the TV special's Disney has done for the grand openings of their theme parks. Of course there was one missing. And by coincidence, a few weeks ago I found an old VHS copy of it! So today I decided to take a look at this show.

Before it became Disney Hollywood Studios this was known as Disney-MGM Studios. Why that name was added, and the trouble it caused, is a subject for another time. I don't miss the name, but I do kind of miss the logowith Mickey laughing at the MGM lion. In 2008 the park was officially renamed.But I am talking today about when it first opened, back on May 1, 1989. The day before, as per usual, NBC had a TV special about it!

-Disney MGM Studios Theme Park Grand Opening Special

Plot-

Of course the special is introduced by Michael Eisner. I always liked his intros, it made these specials uniquely Disney.  So the special finally opens on the recreation of the Chinese Theatre, and we pan back to get a special song from Smoky Robinson. The song is, ok. During the song we see actors in different costumes from famous movies. The song is basically them all inviting the audience to come and "experience the movies". Is that replica of the Chinese Theatre still there?   Then John Ritter appears to guide us through the park, showing us all the Hollywood landmarks that were recreated around the working movie studios. There is a storyline in this, sort of; it appears John has less than two hours to get the park ready for the big grand opening!  So basically the special is John checking out all the attractions to make sure they are ready.

Special TV-Superman's 50th Anniversary (1988)

 This was AWFUL! The absolute worst thing ever! I have never in my life seen anything this terrible!!

Um, maybe I should start over.....

 SUPERMAN's 50TH ANNIVERSARY:A Celebration of the Man of Steel

In 1988 to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Superman CBS gave us this special on his legacy. Ok, now I have to be fair. When I saw this in 1988 my knowledge of SNL was not good at the time. As a result, I didn't realize that this was satire. If I knew who Jan Hooks, Dana Carvey, or Lorne Micahels were maybe I would have. That being said...this still sucked! Maybe if they had been clear about the direction of the special, mixing real tributes with satirical sketches being played straight just created a confusing mess. My bother and I watched this, and we just had no idea what the heck we were looking at! Was a it a tribute? Was it a parody? Was it something in between? WTF?????

Since this is the 75th anniversary of Superman this year it's a good opportunity to take a look at this program and find out if it really was as bad as it seemed all those years ago. It's not on YouTube but is available as a bonus feature on the Superman II DVD.

Special TV-Saturday Morning Previews

 Ah, sweet memories!. Now if you're not familiar, you may wonder what the big deal is. A special previewing the new line up for Saturday mornings? What's so special about that? Well, some of these specials were really cool, even going above and beyond to get us excited for the brand new shows coming on the next morning.

They usually aired the Friday before the new cartoons were set to premiere (which as a kid was as exciting as Christmas!). In the 70's they were like variety shows with music and entertainment. In the 80's some networks got more creative to present these shows, even including a plot in many! So today I want to change my format a bit, and do a quick overview of some of these very memorable specials.

As I noted these began in the 70's but I was way too young to remember those. They seemed silly enough with specials hosted by The Osmonds,The Brady Kids, Lee Majors, and Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids.  But I wanted to acknowledge these so I asked my good friend Les if he remembered anything special about these shows.

Special TV-Mickey's 60th Birthday (1988)

Many years ago I went to a Disney on Ice show. I ended up having a great time because rather than just have the characters skate for 90 minutes, they gave this show a plot! There was an actual story, as the Wicked Witch from Snow White cast a spell and kidnaps Minnie, Daisy, and some human girl. Of course Mickey, Donald, and a human guy have to charge to the rescue. They have a sword fight to rescue the girls, and it was just so cool to see a story rather than just a boring ice show.

Why am I telling you this? Because that is what I am reminded of when I watch the TV special I want to talk about today which premiered in 1988. Mickey's 60th Birthday!

This reminds me of the ice shoe because rather than just get a glorifed clip show we get a special which has a story! Is it a good story? Well, that's another discussion entirely. This is one of those programs where What seemed really cool as a kid seems down right peculiar today when looked at with adult eyes. In fact, the more I watch it the more I realize that they really missed the target with this. Let's take a closer look.

Special TV-The Earth Day Special (1990)

Starting what I hope will be a new series talking about the great (and not so great) specials from the 80's and 90's. We just don't get these anymore, not counting that awful Betty White's 2nd Annual 90th Birthday Special. I adore Betty White but That was seven kinds of stupid.

Today I want to talk about a special which has become almost infamous. It aired on Earth Day in 1990 and was simply claled "The Earth Day Special". I loved this as a kid because of the all star cast. As an adult I find it more and more...silly.

My brother and I videotaped this and I still have it to this day. I have seen it several time and it gets weirder every time. I will say one thing, it sure does have an all star cast. I'd be here all day if I listed everyone who appears in it. Basically the special is a series of cutaways and cameos. They do try to hammer in a narrative, but it gets so lost toward the end you forget it.

Special TV-Casper's Haunted Christmas

Last year I took a look at Rudolph and the Island of Misfit Toys. It sucked. This year I wanted to do at least one Christmas article on something bad, but what? It had to be something different, that hasn’t been done to death. Then I saw in the TV listings that Casper’s Haunted Christmas was on. Cool, I loved that growing up! It was a similar to Yogi’s First Christmas (which came after) but in this one we had Yogi and company run into Casper. It was harmless fun. So I put it on, and discovered that I was mistaken. That special was Casper’s First Christmas. This was a direct to video abomination which came out back in 2000. Well, how bad could it be?

(One viewing later)

Aaaarrghh! This was the dumbest thing ever!

So let’s discuss this horrible, horrible movie. It was  computer animation, and that I could live with. Sure it wasn’t Pixar level or anything but it was decent. The characters were ok, Casper is a friendly ghost who doesn’t like to scare people. The Ghostly Trio are the jerks he hangs out with who act more like normal ghosts. Ok, so what’s the plot?

Kibosh, the King of Ghosts or something, decrees that Casper must scare someone before Christmas Day or he will be banished to The Dark for all eternity. To make sure this happens; he confiscates the Ghostly Trio's Scare licenses and flings them to Kriss, Massachusetts where they meet the Jollimore Family.

Ok, let me stop here and explain a few things. The town they go to is Kris, Mass. Um, sure. Why not. As a resident of Massachusetts I am not sure if I should be amused or offended. Offended because the people in this town are morons. The trio of ghosts can’t scare anyone until Casper does, so when they meet the people in the town they convince the residents that they are people auditioning to be ghosts in A Christmas Carol, and the people believe this! The fact they are transparent never seems to bother anyone. What’s worst is Casper befriends a little girl named Holly, who believes Casper is a snowman. A transparent, flying snowman. Oh god.

The town has embraced the name Kris, Mass and become the most Christmassy town in the world. I guess they were going for a Salem, Mass parallel but where Salem is a real place Kriss, Mass is a really forced pun.

Anyway, when Casper is unable to scare anyone, the Ghostly Trio call in Casper's look-a-like cousin Spooky and his girlfriend Poil to do the job. However they suck at it, and are totally unable to scare anyone. Apparently no one in this town has ever heard of ghosts. Spooky convinces Holly that he is Casper, so she feels betrayed. You see she is tired of the Christmas centered town and the way her parents ignore her, a character arc which never really gets resolved.

Casper tried to apologize to Holly which launches into a song sequence. WHY DO MOVIES THINK IT’S SMART TO JAM A SONG IN WHEN NONE HAD APPEARED BEFORE? The song is awful, and out of step with the rest of the film. It’s so bad that at the end they do a little gag, poking fun at how cliché the tune was.

Casper finally reveals he is a ghost, Holly believes he is a snowman even after seeing him fly, but she decides to stay with friends with him anyway. The ghostly trio has a plan to steal all the presents for some reason, which Casper becomes aware of and works to stop with Spooky and Poli who have suddenly switched sides and want to help him out. Actually the trio are planning one massive scare and steal the presents to set this up. Fortunately Casper scares them away in such a stupid manner  I am not even going to describe it.

This movie is so boring I had trouble paying attention to it. So we get a final showdown with Kibosh, the supreme commander ghost or something, I don’t know.  The showdown gets the attention of no one in the town, which is odd you would think someone would notice a big green ghost/monster in the street.  So the Trio convinces Kibosh that Casper scared them and to restore their licenses. Which he does in  an end that is basically anticlimactic. Casper isn’t even involved with the final resolution. Then the family sees all the ghosts and still believes they are actors in costumes using special effects. Dumb!!!

I guess Casper saves Christmas but I don’t really care since we learn so little about the town or the people. He makes up with Holly and all is good. This mess ends with Randy Travis singing Deck The Halls, and he sound totally bored while singing it. Oh, and as the credits role we get outtakes because this film was just so hilarious! Right.

This movie is a mess. Story concepts are started and then dropped before they can be developed, the characters are uninteresting, and the Ghostly Trio gets more screen time then Casper does!

I think the big problem with this is that the film doesn’t know what it wants to be. Is it a parody of Christmas movies? A parody of Halloween movies? They do an “It’s a Wonderful Life” gag followed by a “Psycho” gag.  Then it suddenly turns into a parody of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”….an hour in!.... that ultimately goes nowhere. Um, yeah you can’t do both. Pick one! Is it meant to be taken seriously; they give us Holly who they try to make a strong character with a serious problem but the conflict doesn’t get enough attention. The story of Casper’s look alike just feels like they ran out of ideas and kept making it up as they went along. Even the town they are in doesn’t really get developed, we know it’s the Chrismassiest town in the world, but aside from the decorations what makes this town different than any other town around Christmas? Nothing is clever, and nothing is funny!

Well, I learned my lesson. Read the description before choosing to watch something. I guess it could be worst; at least it wasn’t The Legend of Frosty the Snowman. Ah, the heck with it. Next time I am going to just put on Yogi’s First Christmas!

Top 5 Halloween Specials

Well it’s that time of year again, Halloween is coming Monday night. I love Halloween; it’s just a fun time. Garfield said it best when he said it was his kind of holiday. No stupid relatives, just candy, candy, candy! Just throw a costume on and get some candy, simple as that.

Of course being an adult I don’t trick or treat anymore. However, there are ways to enjoy the holiday and one of those ways is by watching some favorite Halloween specials on television. So, I thought in honor of the holiday I would list my top 5 favorite Halloween specials of all time. I am just talking specials; I will talk about sitcom episodes another time.

#5. Saturday Night Live.

Call me crazy, but I love watching this every year on Halloween. This show did a great job of doing real Halloween themed sketches. They weren’t scary, of course, but they were funny and most are so much fun to watch year after year. My favorite might have to be Chris Farley’s motivational speaker sketch, where he talks to a trio of teenagers who have been causing trouble. Of course he is all over the place and winds up smashing the coffee table. When first aired this special was hosted by Wayne and Garth, and unfortunately their commercial intros have all vanished as the special has been reproduced many times. Their opening and closing is still there at least.