Can You Guess This TV Theme? #45 - Answer

Congratulations to TS Hendrik from 'The Non-Review' for correctly guessing that this week's TV theme is from the epic television show 'Doogie Howser, M.D.' He answered the question while waist deep in Tennessee flood waters....

Neil Patrick Harris starred as Doogie Howser, America's favorite boy genius! Trying to create a balance between being a teenager and a doctor, Doogie learns about life with his parents (played by James Sikking and Belinda Montgomery), his colleagues (played by Lawrence Pressman, Kathryn Layng and Mitchell Anderson), and his best friend Vinny Delpino (Max Casella of Newsies fame).... At the end of every episode, Doogie translates his life lessons learned throughout the episode into poetic prose that he types into the blaring blue screen of his computer journal (or personal blog, as I like to call it)....

This show was awesome 20 years ago, and it's still great now! I've been watching episodes all day, and it's amazing amazing Neil Patrick Harris was as Doogie....

Do you remember Vinny always coming in through Doogie's second story bedroom window? Did he ever use the front door?

Did you know that Steven Bochco and David E. Kelly, the creators of the show, have said that if the show would not have been canceled so abruptly, they would have had a season long story arc in which Doogie becomes disillusioned with medicine and in the end, becomes a writer?


Two things about Mitchell Anderson, who plays Dr. Jack Maguire:

1. His hairstyle, while on Doogie Howser, is a exact duplicate of my hair now....
2. He was in one of my favorite movies from the 80's, with Joaquin Phoenix, Lea Thompson, Kate Capshaw, Tate Donovan, Terry O'Quinn, and many other awesome actors and actresses, 'Space Camp'!!!!! I'll save the details for 'Space Camp' for another post....

And I have the best news you're going to hear all day! Every episode of Doogie Howser, M.D. is available on HULU!!!!! Just click on Doogie and Vinny below to be magically transported to the Doogie Howser, M.D. - HULU site and enjoy the magic!

Can You Guess This TV Theme? #40 - Answer

Congratulations to Amy at Listophelia for correctly guessing this week's TV theme!

'Murder, She Wrote', starring Angela Lansbury as mystery writer and amateur detective Jessica Fletcher, was on the air for twelve years and was amazingly successful!

I was going to try to sit and write something that would do 'Murder, She Wrote' justice.... But while I was doing some research on the show to try and find more interesting information, I found this article written by IMDB.com user 'Roghache'.... It's really a wonderful piece....

Before I get to the article, I was perusing the list of guest stars that had appeared on 'Murder, She Wrote' during the show's 264 episode run. Did you know that Paul Rudd, Billy Zane, Courteney Cox, Joaquin Phoenix, Megan Mullally, Jim Caviezel, Bill Maher, George Clooney, Neil Patrick Harris, Leslie Neilsen, Jonathan Brandis, Daniel Dae Kim, Julianna Margulies, Bryan Cranston, Greg Evigan, Kevin Sorbo, Barry Williams, Florence Henderson, Andy Garcia, Gabe Kaplan, Adam West and many, many more actors and actresses all made appearances on the show? Seriously, there's 483 names on the list! It's incredible....

Here's the article from 'Roghache':

"This series is one of my all time favourites, and I still eagerly catch it on re runs. Angela Lansbury is surely one of the greatest of all the entertainment world's ladies, growing simply more graceful, dignified, and endearing as the years pass. She made a superb Miss Marple in some of the Agatha Christie movies, but her role as Jessica Fletcher, Cabot Cove's retired high school English teacher and current mystery novelist sleuth, is the one she was born to play.

True, the series isn't very realistic, as Jessica invariably stumbles upon a murder each week and manages to ferret out the killer quite single handedly, while local law enforcement remains stumped. However, this is fairly typical of all fictional sleuths; look at Miss Marple herself. Certainly Cabot Cove has an astonishing murder rate! Some episodes are of course more captivating than others, but even when a situation is predictable, it's always a joy watching this lovely, clever, & kind lady in action as she uses her charm, wits, imagination, and instincts about human nature. Of course it's always fun to try figuring out the killer before she does.

Jessica's travels take her around the USA and indeed the world, as she makes frequent trips to her New York City publisher, visits friends & relatives around the country (ranches, ski resorts, Las Vegas etc.), and even travels abroad, for example to Hong Kong, Ireland, Rome, Athens, and Monte Carlo. However, my favourite episodes are set in her small Maine hometown of Cabot Cove. I always enjoy the depiction of her lovely old fashioned white house and small town New England life, her traveling about on her bicycle (like myself, Jessica does not drive a car), and especially her relationships with other townsfolk, notably series regulars Dr. Seth Hazlitt and Sheriff Amos Tupper. As Jessica is a widow, it's always interesting to watch her with her good friend, Seth; one is tempted to look for a glimmer of romance. Quite often Jessica's young nephew, Grady, appears with her as she tackles the solution to a case.

The guest list throughout the long running series does indeed read like a veritable 'Who's who' of Hollywood, including Hayley Mills, Shelley Fabares, Van Johnson, Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Polly Bergen, Wayne Rogers, Lucie Arnaz, and David Ogden Stiers...to name but a few.

I'm thrilled that the series continues to live on in re runs and tip my hat to Angela Lansbury's twelve season stint as the mystery writer sleuth. Personally, I wish Jessica Fletcher had taught my son English in high school, would love to read one of her mystery novels, and think she would make a fabulous & interesting next door neighbour... except that I'd be a teeny bit afraid I might just turn up murdered!"

I'm On A Horse

Back in the olden days, when I was a child, my dad would slap on Old Spice after shave every morning. I remember the white bottle sitting on my parent's bathroom counter. I can barely remember how the after shave smelled, but I remember my dad's customary four slaps on his face, then shaking his hands in the air to get the remaining after shave off of his hands....

Anyway, the marketing geniuses at Old Spice have created one of the best commercials ever! We're not a commercial watching family (The Digital Video Recorder is man's greatest invention!), so I have to give my wife credit for pointing out this commercial....

It's their best commercial since their Neil Patrick Harris commercials! He should know whether or not Old Spice is a good product, he used to be a doctor for pretend!

Prop 8 - The Musical

Here's my third and final blog post for today. I'm sticking with the making fun of the ridiculousness of Proposition 8...

A bunch of really funny big-named people put together a musical about Proposition 8.

For your viewing pleasure, "Prop 8 - The Musical":