In honor of the high holidays, and the impending arrival of the holiest of holies, we present the opening to Bridget Loves Bernie, a short-lived, high-rated CBS sitcom from 1972 that was canceled by CBS execs in response to complaints from viewers about the interfaith relationship between a gentile and a gentleman that serves as the show’s core. We must thank the A.V. Club’s Primer of 70s sitcoms, which brought this forgotten program to our attention just yesterday.
What is especially interesting about this is that after the show was canceled, stars Meredith Baxter and David Birney (not a Jew) wed. And what’s especially interesting about that is that 35 years and one husband later Meredith Baxter came out as a lesbian. Now imagine what that show would have been like! Too soon, America? Too real?
Alright, the sun will soon set so get in that last slice of pizza. Let’s have an easy fast, guys. A lot of hustle, a lot of focus. And we’ll meet to break the fast tomorrow night. I’ll bring the bagels, you bring the napkins.
And, come to think of it, if you didn’t love Jim Henson already then you probably hate this blog (and we hate you).
Everyone’s favorite PBS affiliate, Iowa Public Television, has unearthed a charming video from 1969 featuring Jim Henson teaching local Ioawans how to craft their own homemade Muppets. Watching this little gem, it’s no wonder that the Muppets just years later make Henson a household name. I’d like to attempt one of these little guys, but I think there’s just something special about Henson that brings the creatures to life. Just as soon as he slips his hand in they seem to become living, breathing entities. Also, eyes really help.
This reminds me, if you’re still looking for a birthday gift for me (only 2 months left!), I’m still hoping for one of these.
Just going to do a little bit of Muppet housekeeping and get out a couple overdue Kermit & Co related items as we head into the long weekend.
First, as widely reported last week (thanks, Yahoo! News), the original Kermit the Frog and some of Jim Henson’s other early creations have been donated to the Smithsonian, where they will sit alongside another more modern Kermit that has been on display for several years. Many of the Muppets, including Kermit, are from Henson’s local DC television show Sam and Friends, which you may remember from “The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years” (because I certainly wasn’t around to see it when it originally aired in 1955). Scroll to about three minutes to see the Sam and Friends clips:
When there’s a crossover between two or more of our favorite things, like here, we like to think of it in terms of the intersection on a Venn diagram, where something awesome meets something equally awesome. However, College Humor went ahead and took that idea a bit further, creating a Venn diagram by parsing out just one thing we love, that thing, of course being the Muppets. Below, the Muppet Names Etymology:
I feel silly for never seeing this before. And I have a human name. So I guess I’d fall into the top left intersection. Very illuminating.
Coming up next week: More Muppet news and/or links and/or old videos!
But that‘s still six months away. Instead, the internet nearly imploded today with the commemoration of 09/02/10 AKA “Beverly Hills 90210 Day,” which, to be fair, does only come around once a millennia. So, for posterity’s sake, we thought we’d throw our hat in the ring with our all-time favorite 90210 moment:
Today in their “Where are they now?” posting, TMZ featured Rider Strong, AKA Boy Meet’s World‘s resident bad boy/sensitive poet Shawn Hunter. However, we take an exception to their ostensibly derogatory summary of his post-World career, as they write:
In 2004, Rider graduated magna cum laude from Columbia University.
In 2009, Strong appeared in one episode of “Castle.”
That feels like a dig to me, no? How does it feel to you?
I think we all remember his role in the season 3 episode of Veronica Mars “My Big Fat Greek Rush Week” as Wallace & Logan’s classmate and fellow participant in the Stanford prison experiment. Strong, you may recall, played a guard in the exercise who bullied concurrent guest star and captive Samm Levine into pissing his pants (it was quite the guest star-studded episode, as Dan Castellaneta, the voice of Homer Simpson, appears as the professor conducting the experiment. What Veronica was doing this whole time I don’t recall).
So to say that in the intervening years since the end of Boy Meets World that Strong has only gone to college and appeared on one episode of a somewhat popular ABC show is unfair, and plain wrong. And, in addition to his spot on Veronica Mars, he also keeps up a pretty strong twitter presence.
We’re kidding here, of course. But Strong, according to his twitter, has been working on his own films and even doing some theater. And, more importantly, one time about 6 years ago we ran into him on the N train. And he was gracious and kind, even as we completely geeked out, and no doubt made him feel uncomfortable from across the train car. He was the first (but not the last) cast member of Boy Meets World that we have had the good fortune to meet, and for that he’ll always have a place in our heart.
And that, TMZ, is the kind of fact you can’t find on IMDB.
As Entertainment Weekly so generously reminded me, this week is the 20th anniversary of the passing of Jim Henson. It’s sad to think that he’s been gone for so long, but it’s a testament to his work that I was not quite seven years old at the time of his death and yet he had already made an inedible, lifelong impact on me. He’s been gone for 20 of my 26 1/2 years, and yet in those first 6 1/2 he shaped the person I am years later. I remember even then being aware of this death, and saddened by it, and worried that it meant the end of the Muppets. In fact, it might have been my first experience with death; at least I can’t recall anyone passing before then.
And I still remember being moved by his memorial, which, per his request, was a celebration and not a dirge And it still moves me to this day.
And to the credit of the Henson family and the Muppet family they soldiered on, and soon after the memorial they allayed my fears with a special television tribute to Jim, promising me and all the despondent, confused young fans that Muppets would live on. The fact that they confronted his death head on was somewhat difficult for a 6-year-old to comprehend, and somewhat overwhelming, but it was also somewhat appropriate, for Henson made entertainment for both children and adults alike, and I’ll always appreciate the honesty in which the Muppet team handled his death. It was immensely sad, but also immensely inspirational.
For many years now my email signature has been a Jim Henson quote, “When I was young, my ambition was to be one of those people who made a difference in this world. My hope is to leave the world a little better for my having been there.” I think I first came across it when I read a Jim Henson biography at about 10 years old and it resonated instantly, so when I was young that was my ambition too. And it still is.
Because of Jim Henson I hope to leave the world a better place. And if I can make a hundredth of the difference that Henson made then I’ll feel like I accomplished my goal.
Thanks, Jim. 20 years later you’re missed more than ever.
However, Henson wouldn’t want his Jumped The Snark in memoriam to end on such a treacle note. And the good news is that it doesn’t need to: the Muppets are on the verge of returning to the spotlight. We’ve missed a lot of Muppet news over the past month and a half, but things continue to look up for Kermit and the gang. And luckily another one of our favorite Jim’s, Jim Hill, has taken the liberty of rounding up the latest Muppet developments over on his blog. Things are looking up.
20 years later, and the Muppets are still going strong. Jim would be proud.
TGIF is pretty much my go-to subject for the Nostalgia Corner, but I’m not sure anything will ever top this TGIF theme song medley courtesy of tonight’s Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and a capella group Straight No Chaser. Late Night, you honor TGIF, and by doing so you honor us.
Hey, remember this classic blog post? One year ago today!
The Judd Apatow Effect! Finally Complete!
Many years ago I started plotting the connections between Judd Apatow, his frequent collaborators, and emerging comic talents. Well, I talked about that chart for a while, and never really did anything about it. However, after getting laid off I decided it was time to do it. And I’m happy to say it’s finally ready! Check out the thumbnails below and read more about it on the Judd Apatow Effect page. With several films featuring actors and directors from the Apatow family tree released in the last few weeks, ( I Love You, Man, Adventureland, and Observe and Report), the time seems right to look at the scope of his reach and his effect on modern comedy.
Please take a look and let me know if you have any thoughts, comments or suggestions. Also, don’t hesitate to relate any errors or omissions. It’s still a work in progress, and I plan to keep updating it. I already have a list of actors and projects to be added to the Third Level, and it doesn’t look like the Apatow factory is going to slow anytime soon, so keep checking back.
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Jumped The Snark 