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When Friends debuted on NBC in 1994, ABC decided to change the name of its returning Ellen DeGeneres-led sitcom These Friends of Mine to simply Ellen. When Roseanne Barr went on a racist Twitter tirade in 2018, her newly rebooted show Roseanne killed off her character and became The Conners. For both shows, the name-change likely spared them from a swift and premature death.

While rare, sitcoms occasionally change their titles, and when they do, it’s usually an attempt to save the show from a looming cancellation. And yes, sometimes it works. But not always. The unfortunate losers in the name-changing game are below.

1 ‘The Norm Show’ aka ‘Norm’

Norm Macdonald’s short-lived sitcom was built around a wildly half-baked idea: Macdonald is an ex-hockey player working as a social worker for community service. Despite the fact that that’s not remotely how the law works anywhere on Earth, the...

Since 1975 nearly a thousand hosts have graced the stage at Studio 8H at Rockefeller Center for “Saturday Night Live.”

Actors, comedians, musicians and even politicians have taken the stage to make America laugh on Saturday night for 50 seasons. Twenty five of these hosts have been inducted into the “Five Timers Club.” The club was first introduced during Tom Hanks’ 1990 monologue, featuring Steve Martin, Elliott Gould and Paul Simon.

During Martin Short’s December 2024 appearance, several Five Timers Club members popped up on the show to welcome him into the club, including Emma Stone, Tina Fey, Paul Rudd, Kristen Wiig and more, to give him the ceremonial robe.

Alec Baldwin has hosted the show 17 times, the most in the series’ history, with Martin, Hanks, Buck Henry and John Goodman following close behind.

As the show celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, we have rounded up every person who has hosted the sketch show.

Mitzi Gaynor, star of 1950s big-screen musicals including “South Pacific” and “Les Girls” and a series of beloved variety specials in the 1970s, died on Thursday. She was 93.

Gaynor’s management team, Rene Reyes and Shane Rosamonda, confirmed to Variety that she died of natural causes.

“For eight decades she entertained audiences in films, on television and on the stage. She truly enjoyed every moment of her professional career and the great privilege of being an entertainer,” Reyes and Rosamonda wrote in a statement on Gaynor’s X account. “Off stage, she was a vibrant and extraordinary woman, a caring and loyal friend, and a warm, gracious, very funny and altogether glorious human being.”

Gaynor starred as Navy nurse Nellie Forbush in the 1958 big-screen adaptation of Rodgers and Hammerstein musical “South Pacific” together with Rossano Brazzi as French planter Emile De Becque and John Kerr as Lt. Cable. Gaynor sang...

Colin Farrell is far from the first person to make his mark playing famous Batman rogue The Penguin in HBO’s aptly named new series “The Penguin.”

Of all the superheroes, Batman’s villains are the most recognizable. Among them The Penguin stands as possibly the most recognizable behind only the Joker. That’s led to quite a number of actors getting a crack at the character over the years beginning way back in the mid-60s.

There have been a few one-off performances in TV or animated movies where people lent their voice, but these 10 performers made their mark on the character especially felt. Before you get too deep into “The Penguin,” go back and appreciate the long history of the Batman villain on the big and small screen.

Burgess Meredith

“Batman” (1966-1968)

Burgess Meredith was the first actor to put his mark on the Batman villain. He hammed...

Warning: contains spoilers for Zero Hour: Crisis in Time 30th Anniversary Special!

I cannot believe DC brought back one of its most underrated cult heroes from the 1990s. The legacy of comics in the 1990s is a complicated one, full of excesses that nearly destroyed the industry. Yet at the same time, it saw some breakthrough characters and titles debut, and one of DCs best cult heroes of all time has returned to the Zero Hour: Crisis in Time 30th Anniversary Special.

The Zero Hour: Crisis in Time 30th Anniversary Special was written by Dan Jurgens and drawn by a roster of artists. Kyle Rayner Green Lantern, has been pulled to a mysterious Earth where Superman stayed dead and Batmans back never healed. This world is slowly being destroyed, and some of its biggest heroes have been summoned to save it. Among the assembled heroes are the Ray, Azrael, Connor Hawke Green Arrow,...

From 1973-1985, two generations of Saturday morning television were raised on the exploits of DC Comics’ stellar array of heroes on ABC’s Super Friends. While the exact title changed through the years, the Hanna-Barbera series continued to display heroes and heroines as models of truth, justice, and the American Way. There are many who, having grown up on the show, revere it. Others, those of us outgrowing that weekend ritual, found it a pale comparison to the four0-cloro source material.

I admit, I had a disdain for the series, what with its limited animation and prohibition against the good guys subduing the bad guys with their fists. As a result, you must be a fan of a certain age to find the arrival of the Super Friends complete series DVD box set a welcome treat.

There were 93 actual episodes over the dozen years, and it was a launch...

This article contains mention of sexual assault, racism, and homophobia.

Cult classics come in many forms, and many great movies of the 1980s went overlooked, only to be hailed as influential and important today. There are plenty of 1980s comedy movies that no one remembers, and the same can be said for most genres, no matter the decade. However, several films have gained cult status but have been reevaluated through a contemporary lens because of their dated elements. Most movies have problems, no matter when they were filmed, and this doesn't mean they're not worth watching, but context might change the meaning of some scenes.

Controversial and intense subjects have a place in cinema, but characterizing them well and not perpetuating stereotypes is an important aspect of filmmaking.

Every decade has its pitfalls, as plenty of cult classic movies from the 1990s have aged poorly as well. Some problems with...

Lately, in between reviews of swanky limited series and dramas desperate to be “Game of Thrones,” I’ve been using my non-work-related TV time re-watching “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.” What a comfort. What a joy. What an escape. The weary modern world is filled with I.P.-driven franchise extensions and comedies that aren’t really comedies, whereas Moore’s iconic ’70s sitcom gets laughs every other sentence from its simple setting in snowy Minnesota. Credit to the phenomenal cast (somehow Ted Knight and Ed Asner’s five Emmy wins in six years weren’t enough), the smartly designed, blessedly humble studio apartment (her new digs in Season 6 are more offensive than the episode where Murray professes his love for Mary), and good jokes elevated by a precise understanding of their punchlines. I can’t tell you how often I’ve burst out laughing because of a clever twist on the expected kicker,...

Caddyshack is among the most beloved of comedies. It’s endlessly quoted, referenced and parodied, its array of colorful goofballs embedded in our collective consciousness. But who’s the film’s main character? It’s not Bill Murray’s Carl Spackler, Ted Knight’s Elihu Smails, Rodney Dangerfield’s Al Czervik or Chevy Chase’s Ty Webb. No, the man who drives the action is actually Danny.

You remember Danny Noonan, the young caddie trying to make some money and maybe get laid. Amidst Caddyshack’s crazy, vain or smug weirdos, Danny comes closest to resembling ordinary human behavior. He’s not trying to murder gophers. He’s not making inappropriate comments loudly in public. Danny is just a poor local kid navigating a comic minefield of rich idiots. The actor who played Danny did such a good job that you tend to forget him. But as the film celebrates its 44th anniversary,...

Cindy Morgan, an actor whose screen credits include the films Caddyshack and Tron, has died at age 69. Morgan’s body was found on December 30 at her home in Lake Worth Beach, Florida, People reports. Her roommate contacted the police after knocking on Morgan’s bedroom door and hearing no response, the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office told the magazine. The authorities said that no foul play is suspected and that Morgan is believed to have died of natural causes sometime after December 19, when she was last seen alive. Morgan was born in Chicago in 1954 and took jobs as a deejay and a weather forecaster before segueing into acting, according to People. Her breakout role came in Caddyshack, the 1980 sports comedy in which she played Lacey Underall, the bombshell niece of Ted Knight’s character. Everett Collection “Caddyshack was my first film, and I’ll say that the end product was so completely different.

Cindy Morgan, best remembered for her key dual role in 1982’s Tron as Lora/Yori and as Lacey, the niece to Ted Knight, in comedy classic Caddyshack, was passed away at the age of 69. It was confirmed that Morgan died of natural causes.

A contact for Cindy Morgan wrote the following on Facebook, revealing the actress had actually died late last year. “I want to regretfully inform Cindy’s fans, that she has passed away. I got the call on New Years Eve night. I have been waiting for them to release a report and get more information. I’m sending info in to TMZ etc which should help spread the word of her passing. I will update as I can. May she fly with the angels and rest in peace.”

Cindy Morgan broke out with Caddyshack – in which she had memorable back-and-forths with Chevy Chase, including an improvised massage...

Tron actor Cindy Morgan, known for her roles in Tron and Caddyshack, has passed away at 69. She was found dead in her home by her roommate after returning from vacation, with police suspecting natural causes. Despite being a low-profile actor with few credits, Morgan also appeared in American Gigolo, The Midnight Hour, and Falcon Crest.

An original Tron actor, Cindy Morgan, was found dead in her home. Morgan made her name as an actor with appearances in Tron and Caddyshack but was largely a low-profile figure with few credits to her name. Besides those two movies, she also starred in American Gigolo, The Midnight Hour, and Falcon Crest, among other movies and shows.

While there was hope that Morgan might cameo in Tron: Ares, it is likely no longer possible. According to TMZ, Morgan died at the age of 69 and was found in her home by a roommate. The roommate...

Cindy Morgan, best known for her roles in the 80s films Caddyshack and Tron, died on Dec. 30. She was 69.

The actress died of natural causes at her home in Lake Worth Beach, Florida, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office told The Hollywood Reporter Saturday.

Born Cynthia Ann Cichorski on Sept. 29, 1954, in Chicago, Illinois, Morgan was the first in her family to attend college, attending Northern Illinois University to study communications. After working in local news and radio for some time, she eventually moved to Los Angeles in 1978.

The following year, she appeared in commercials for Irish Spring, becoming known as the Irish Spring girl. During that time, she was also attending acting classes and workshops.

She scored her first film role in the 1979 movie Up Yours. The following year, she took on the role of Lacey Underall in the sports-comedy Caddyshack, starring alongside Chevy Chase, Rodney Dangerfield, Bill Murray,...

In the entire history of the Primetime Emmys, the 12 lead and supporting acting categories have seen exactly 429 direct costar face-offs, with the largest chunk (by a 3% margin) having involved featured comedic males. Since 1959, 22 series have produced a whopping 67 Best Comedy Supporting Actor cast mate battles, with a dozen having occurred within the last 10 years alone. Scroll through our chronological photo gallery to find out more about this category’s many cases of dual, triple, or quadruple nominations.

The most sizable portion of these showdowns is attributed to “M*A*S*H,” for which four different costar pairs earned between one and four sets of opposing nominations from 1973 to 1982. “Cheers” produced another seven clashes on its own, with six being credited to “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and five apiece having come from “Seinfeld,” “Everybody Loves Raymond,” and “Modern Family.”

A total of 17 of the performers (hailing from 14 programs) who have...

In the entire history of the Primetime Emmys, the 12 lead and supporting acting categories have seen exactly 429 direct costar face-offs, with the largest chunk (by a 3% margin) having involved featured comedic males. Since 1959, 22 series have produced a whopping 67 Best Comedy Supporting Actor cast mate battles, with a dozen having occurred within the last 10 years alone. Scroll through our chronological photo gallery to find out more about this category’s many cases of dual, triple, or quadruple nominations.

The most sizable portion of these showdowns is attributed to “M*A*S*H,” for which four different costar pairs earned between one and four sets of opposing nominations from 1973 to 1982. “Cheers” produced another seven clashes on its own, with six being credited to “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and five apiece having come from “Seinfeld,” “Everybody Loves Raymond,” and “Modern Family.”

A total of 17 of the performers (hailing from 14 programs) who have...

The DC Universe is packed to the brim with heroes ready to fight evil wherever it rears its head. And while many of those crusaders for justice have natural superpowers, others use weapons that allow them to drive back the sinister foes back into the shadows.

Whether it's an unbreakable lasso that can reveal the truth or a belt that holds any and all tools imaginable, the Dcu has numerous iconic weapons wielded by its many heroes. Read on to find out the top ten most powerful weapons in the DC Universe.

Related: Darkseid's Ultimate Weapon Is So Much Cooler Than the Anti-Life Equation

Stargirl's Cosmic Staff

The infamous weapon of the Starman legacy, the Cosmic Staff has been passed down from hero to hero, starting with the Golden Age Starman all the way to its current wielder, Stargirl. Invented by Ted Knight, the Cosmic Staff provides its users with flight,...

Filmation caught lightning in a bottle. In 1965 or so, with no real money or track record, they bamboozled DC Comics into licensing Superman for animated fare. Just as the Man of Steel flew to his Broadway debut and Batmania was sweeping the country, they gave us Superman cartoons, followed by Aqualand and friends. Finally, in 1968, six months after the live-action series left ABC, CBS Saturday Morning welcomed The Batman/Superman Hour, mixing the 1966 super-doings with brand new 12-minute Bat-capades.

All 34 capers are now packaged in remastered form as The Adventures of Batman, a two-disc set from Warner Home Entertainment. At 10, I was delighted by these, even if some of the equipment and villains didn’t look quite on model, and even at that tender age, I recognized how many shots were reused to stretch the animation budget.

They played it straight and in animated form, worked without the camp element...

If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Rolling Stone may receive an affiliate commission.

When Golden Globe winner Brian Cox appears in Michelob Ultra’s Caddyshack-themed Super Bowl commercial on Sunday, fans might have a hard time believing the Succession star isn’t exactly a big golfer. “I’d have to take up golf in a very quiet and a very secluded place so I don’t make a total tit of myself,” Cox tells Rolling Stone with a laugh of...

HBO Max will remove more DC Comics based animated TV series, January 31, 2023, including "Aquaman" (1967), "Batman: The Brave and the Bold", "Justice League" and "Justice League Unlimited", voiced by George Newbern, Phil Lamarr and Kevin Conroy:

"Aquaman" (1967) was a Filmation animated series that premiered as a 30-minute version of "The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure", without the 'Superman' and 'Superboy' segments...

...featuring DC Comics 'Aquaman' (Marvin Miller) and his sidekick 'Aqualad' (Jerry Dexter), narrated by Ted Knight.

"Batman: The Brave and the Bold" (2008) featured superheroes coming together to foil a super villain...

....focusing on Batman's regular team-ups, noted as the first HD series produced by Warner Bros. Animation.

"Justice League" (2001) based on DC Comics' "Justice League of America", was a prequel to "Batman Beyond" and a sequel to "Batman: The Animated Series", "Superman: The Animated Series" and "The New Batman Adventures". 

"Justice League Unlimited" (2004), featuring a gaggle of...

Mickey Rourke was on the verge of two breakthrough performances when he nearly landed the straight-man lead in one of the most influential comedies of the 1980s.

It would've been another curveball in a life filled with them. The Schenectady-born Rourke grew up in Miami, where the athletic young man discovered an affinity for the Sweet Science. He showed promise as a boxer throughout his youth, but his career was derailed by two concussions. Rourke picked himself up off the canvas, hung up his gloves, and moved to New York City, where he gained acceptance to the prestigious Actors Studio with his first audition.

The talent was there, and so, god help us, were the looks. Rourke wasn't handsome. He was hot. He had the hunky bearing of Marlon Brando and the piercing eyes of Paul Newman. He was primed to be the biggest star of the next decade and beyond,...

HBO Max will remove more DC Comics based animated TV series, January 31, 2023, including "Aquaman" (1967), "Batman: The Brave and the Bold", "Justice League" and "Justice League Unlimited", voiced by George Newbern, Phil Lamarr and Kevin Conroy:

"Aquaman" (1967) was a Filmation animated series that premiered as a 30-minute version of "The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure", without the 'Superman' and 'Superboy' segments...

...featuring DC Comics 'Aquaman' (Marvin Miller) and his sidekick 'Aqualad' (Jerry Dexter), narrated by Ted Knight.

"Batman: The Brave and the Bold" (2008) featured superheroes coming together to foil a super villain...

....focusing on Batman's regular team-ups, noted as the first HD series produced by Warner Bros. Animation.

"Justice League" (2001) based on DC Comics' "Justice League of America", was a prequel to "Batman Beyond" and a sequel to "Batman: The Animated Series", "Superman: The Animated Series" and "The New Batman Adventures". 

"Justice League Unlimited" (2004), featuring a gaggle of...

"Caddyshack" started out as a straightforward coming-of-age comedy about a young guy working as a caddie on the links of a posh golf club; by the time it reached the screen, it had become a summit meeting between three comic heavyweights of the time. There was Chevy Chase, the former star of "Saturday Night Live;" Bill Murray, the then-current star of the show; and Rodney Dangerfield, the stand-up legend whose club in New York helped launch the career of many comedians like Jerry Seinfeld and Jim Carrey. There was also a gopher that looked remarkably like a hand puppet, but the coming-of-age stuff was largely relegated to filler by the antics of its three stars.

After the huge success of "National Lampoon's Animal House," Harold Ramis and Douglas Kennedy decided to take the riotous underdog formula to the links. They'd both had experience at golf clubs as teenagers and, together...

Warning: contains spoilers for Justice Society of America #2!

Content warning: brief discussion of sexual assault

The newest recruit to the Justice Society of America has a dark connection to a beloved '90s DC hero: Jack Knight, who once held the mantle of Starman. In Justice Society of America #1, the legendary team has fallen on hard times, forcing them to recruit villains or their offspring into their ranks. Kyle Knight, the son of Jack Knight and the Mist, is one of these new recruits. But is he carrying on his father’s legacy or his mother’s?

Jack Knight is the son of Ted Knight, the Golden Age Starman. Created by writer James Robinson and artist Tony Harris, Jack Knight lived in Opal City, where he ran a vintage/retro store. After his brother David - who had taken up the family hero business - was killed on his first mission,...

Burbank, CA – One of Filmation’s most beloved animated series has been newly remastered in high definition for release on Blu-ray for the first time ever! Warner Bros. Home Entertainment will distribute The Adventures of Batman: The Complete Collection on February 28, 2023, as a two-disc set featuring all 34 episodes of the classic series for 29.98 Srp (USA) and 39.99 Srp (Canada).

The Adventures of Batman was one of the spotlight animated television series to be produced by Filmation, who generated more than 50 animated series, over a dozen television shorts, specials and movies, and eight feature films. The Adventures of Batman was also paired with another famous DC Super Hero to become The Batman/Superman Hour.

Filmation veteran Olan Soule provided the voice of Batman, while American Top 40 co-founder & host Casey Kasem (Scooby-Doo franchise) played Robin. The supporting cast featured two-time Emmy Award winner Ted Knight as Commissioner Gordon, Larry Storch (F Troop) as Joker,...

As the most powerful superhero team in DC Comics, the Justice League is prepared for anything and assesses threats as they arise, which is why the underrated hero Starman and his ultra-powerful weapon the Gravity Rod have not escaped their notice. The Justice League brings together heroes from all over the galaxy to fight bad guys, establishing a legacy that will continue far into the future with a constantly changing roster. In Justice League #10000 it's revealed that even after centuries, the Justice League's strongest weapon will still be Starman's Gravity Rod.

As an underrated hero, Starman doesn't often get the spotlight in books such as this, but his weapon is confirmed to have massive power levels. First designed by Ted Knight's Starman in Adventure Comics #61 by Jack Burnley, Betty Bentley, and Raymond Perry, the Gravity Rod grants the user the ability to manipulate the natural laws of gravity and magnetism.

John Aniston, the charming Greece-born actor who for more than three decades portrayed the ruthless Victor Kiriakis on the NBC soap opera Days of Our Lives, has died. He was 89.

The father of actress Jennifer Aniston died Friday, his daughter announced.

“Sweet papa …⁣ John Anthony Aniston,” the Friends megastar wrote in a tribute post on Instagram Monday, “You were one of the most beautiful humans I ever knew. I am so grateful that you went soaring into the heavens in peace — and without pain. And on 11/11 no less! You always had perfect timing. That number will forever hold an even greater meaning for me now.”

She ended the post: “I’ll love you till the end of time.”

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Aniston had played a different character, a doctor, on Days of Our Lives in 1969-70, then worked on two other daytime serials,...

One year has passed since Brett Goldstein prevailed over his “Ted Lasso” costars Nick Mohammed, Brendan Hunt and Jeremy Swift in the Best Comedy Supporting Actor Emmy category. Now, the Apple TV Plus show has followed “Cheers” and “Modern Family” as the third comedy series to receive at least three concurrent featured male bids in multiple years. With Hunt and Swift out of the running this time, Goldstein and Mohammed are involved in a direct rematch that could end well for the latter, given that this category has not seen a back-to-back winner since 2008.

This year, Mohammed has chosen to have Emmy voters consider his work in the second season finale of “Ted Lasso,” entitled “Inverting the Pyramid of Success.” His character, AFC Richmond assistant coach Nathan “Nate” Shelley, spends most of the episode fretting about the last match of the season because he believes the team’s likely loss...

Hello, everyone! August 23rd is a quiet day for horror and sci-fi home media releases, but that doesn’t mean that this week’s offerings aren’t pretty darn great all the same. Scream Factory has put together a killer Collector’s Edition 4K release for Neil Marshall’s Dog Soldiers and Kino Lorber has put together reissues of their Blu-ray box sets for seasons one and two of The Outer Limits, which genre fans will definitely want to pick up.

Cheers!

Dog Soldiers: 4K Collector’s Edition

A group of soldiers dispatched to the Scottish Highlands on special training maneuvers face their biggest fears after they run into Captain Ryan – the only survivor of a Special Ops team that was literally torn to pieces. Ryan refuses to disclose his mission even though whoever attacked his men might be hungry for seconds. Help arrives in the form of a...

Click here to read the full article.

Pat Carroll, the gregarious Emmy-winning comedienne who was a television mainstay for decades before segueing to a voiceover career that included portraying the villainous sea witch Ursula in The Little Mermaid, has died. She was 95.

Carroll died Saturday of pneumonia at her home in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, her daughter Kerry Karsian told The Hollywood Reporter.

Carroll’s perky personality, screwball wit and impeccable timing made her a great second banana, and Red Buttons, Jimmy Durante, Mickey Rooney, Steve Allen and Charley Weaver were among those who called upon her to make their programs funnier. Her antics on Caesar’s Hour earned her an Emmy in 1957, and she was nominated for her work on the classic variety show the following year.

In a 2013 interview with Kliph Nesteroff, Carroll compared Howard Morris, Carl Reiner and Sid Caesar on Caesar’s Hour to the Chicago Cubs’ legendary double-play...

Until “Saturday Night Live” surpassed it in 2020, “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” stood above all other TV programs in that it boasted the most Primetime Emmy wins for acting. A total of 15 trophies were handed out to six of its cast members, including the 1973 and 1976 Best Comedy Supporting Actor awards to Ted Knight for his portrayal of dim-witted news anchor Ted Baxter.

Knight claimed his second win for the penultimate season episode “Ted’s Wedding,” in which Baxter is strong-armed into finally tying the knot with his longtime girlfriend, Georgette (Best Comedy Supporting Actress nominee Georgia Engel). At the time, the 52-year-old was the oldest man to ever triumph in his category, beating out 49-year-old Art Carney. Nine older men have since outpaced Knight, including five in their 60s and one in his 70s.

Since 1954, a total of 44 actors have won Emmys for their supporting roles on continuing comedy programs,...

It’s been half a century since Johnny Carson hosted the 24th Emmy ceremony on CBS on May 14, 1972. It was a year in which now-classic comedies battled it out and records were set, PBS had its first strong showing, Oscar-winning actresses were rivals and daytime-themed Emmys were awarded for the first time. Read on for our Emmys flashback 50 years ago to 1972.

Norman Lear‘s groundbreaking sitcom “All in the Family” had won Best Comedy Series for its freshman season in 1971; it held onto that title for its second year, and would win again in 1973 and 1978. The biggest competition for this award was another groundbreaking comedy that had premiered the year before, “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” which would eventually claim victory in 1975, 1976 and 1977. The remaining nominees were “The Odd Couple,” also in its second season, and “Sanford and Son,” for its freshman outing. “All in the Family” and “Mtm” would...

Actor/Producer Neal McDonough discusses a few of his favorite movies with Josh Olson and Joe Dante.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Masters of the Universe (1987) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary

Boon (2022)

The Warrant (2020)

The Warrant: Breaker’s Law (2022)

The Cowboys (1972) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary

The Shootist (1976) – John Landis’s trailer commentary

The French Connection (1971) – Mark Pellington’s trailer commentary, Dennis Lehane’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairings

The Sting (1973)

Jaws (1975) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary

Minority Report (2002)

Red Stone (2021)

A History Of Violence (2005)

Greater (2016)

Unforgiven (1992)

There Will Be Blood (2007)

The Mule (2018) – Dennis Cozzalio’s 2018 year-end review

Gran Torino (2008)

War And Peace (1966) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

Duel (1971) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary

Nobody (2021)

Caddyshack (1980) – Adam Rifkin’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairings

Caddyshack II (1988)

Natural Born Killers (1994)

Back To School (1986)

Stripes (1981)

Bullitt (1968) – Alan Spencer’s trailer commentary

True Grit (1969) – Stuart Gordon’s trailer...

“Cinderella story. Outta nowhere. A former greenskeeper, now, about to become the Masters champion. It looks like a mirac… It’s in the hole! It’s in the hole! It’s in the hole!”

Nothing’s more fun than The Wildey’s Tuesday Night Film Series. Rodney Dangerfield and Chevy Chase in Caddyshack (1980) will be on the big screen when it plays at The Wildey Theater in Edwardsville, Il at 7:00pm Tuesday April 19th. Tickets are only 3 Tickets available starting at 3pm day of movie at Wildey Theatre ticket office. Cash or check only. Lobby opens at 6pm.

Caddyshack is a comedy classic that will never get old. The best part about it is it took some of America’s top comic actors when they were at the prime of their careers and built a comedy that’s more than just the sum of its parts. I mean, just...

It’s sometimes fun to wonder if the reason February is the shortest month of the year is because folks want to get on to March as soon as possible. This month’s cold, damp, and often a 28-day excuse to stay inside. Even so, that doesn’t mean you have to be bored doing so!

Indeed, for those inclined to stay home but not interested in watching the Winter Olympics, Netflix has refilled its library with a variety of films. Admittedly, many of these lean on the action or broad comedy side, with romantic offerings being surprisingly slim for the month of Valentine’s Day, but if you’re in the mood for a cape or cowl, a terrifying chiller or something that will make you a giggler, then we have a list of solid offerings down below.

Batman Begins (2005)

February 1

It’s kind of strange to think that...

The Wjm-tv newsroom is in mourning.

Betty White’s death on Dec. 31 marked the sixth major figure from “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” to pass in 2021. Actors Cloris Leachman, Gavin MacLeod, Ed Asner , series co-creator Allan Burns and director Jay Sandrich also died during the year that just ended.

The coincidental timing of the losses of these legends underscores the passage of time for the network television business. “Mary Tyler Moore,” “All in the Family,” “Mash” and other early 1970s shows ushered in the era of big ensemble comedy hits destined to endure as classics of the form. TV historian Tim Brooks has dubbed this period the “relevance era,” representing a backlash to the fantasy escapism of 1960s comedy hits such as “Bewitched” and “I Dream of Jeannie.”

“Mary Tyler Moore” was endowed from the start with a powerhouse cast, most of whom were also blessed with powerhouse genes.

White...

Good night, Lou.

Ed Asner, the famed character actor, activist and union leader who died Sunday at the age of 91, was the last surviving member of original core cast of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.”

The ground-breaking sitcom that ran on CBS from 1970 to 1977 led Asner to become the first TV actor to play the same character in a comedy, “Mary Tyler Moore’s” irascible Wjm-tv news director Lou Grant, and in the CBS drama “Lou Grant,” where Asner took center stage as a new incarnation of the Grant character in Los Angeles as a big-city newspaper editor.

In the “Mary Tyler Moore” pilot, Asner’s Grant delivers one of the classic TV comedy lines of all time as he interviews Moore’s eager Mary Richards for the associate producer job at Minneapolis’ TV station. “You’ve got spunk,” Grant tells Richards. With the perfect timing that came from his early stage experience,...

Until “Saturday Night Live” surpassed it in 2020, “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” stood above all other TV programs in that it boasted the most Primetime Emmy wins for acting. A total of 15 trophies were handed out to six of its cast members, with the 1973 and 1976 Best Comedy Supporting Actor awards going to Ted Knight for his portrayal of dim-witted news anchor Ted Baxter.

Knight earned his second win for the penultimate season episode “Ted’s Wedding,” in which Baxter is strong-armed into finally tying the knot with his longtime girlfriend, Georgette (Best Comedy Supporting Actress nominee Georgia Engel). At the time, the 52-year-old was the oldest man to ever triumph in his category, beating out 49-year-old Art Carney. Nine older men have since outpaced Knight, including five in their 60s and one in his 70s.

Since 1954, a total of 43 actors have won Emmys for their supporting roles on continuing comedy programs,...

Gavin MacLeod was a versatile and dependable actor who was a good friend to his co-stars during the seven-season run of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” Ed Asner told Variety in paying tribute to the TV veteran who died Saturday at the age of 90.

MacLeod was an ally to his co-stars in any scene, recalled Asner, who played the voluble Wjm-tv news director Lou Grant on the groundbreaking comedy that aired on CBS from 1970 to 1977.

“He made everything easy,” Asner said.

Off the set, MacLeod was also generous. In the years after the “Mary Tyler Moore Show,” Asner and his wife were having marital troubles. MacLeod and his wife, actor Patti Kendig, made a point of reaching out to the couple out of friendship and concern.

“I realized that whenever I was tense, (MacLeod) was there to relieve it,” Asner recalled. “I treasured his friendship.”

MacLeod himself was a lot...

Gavin MacLeod, a sitcom veteran who played seaman “Happy” Haines on “McHale’s Navy,” Murray on “Mary Tyler Moore” and the very different, vaguely patrician Captain Stubing on “The Love Boat,” has died. He was 90.

MacLeod’s nephew, Mark See, confirmed his death to Variety. MacLeod died in the early morning on May 29. No cause of death was given, but MacLeod’s health had declined in recent months.

MacLeod played a relatively minor character on ABC hit “McHale’s Navy,” starring Ernest Borgnine, but as newswriter Murray Slaughter, he was certainly one of the stars of “Mary Tyler Moore,” appearing in every one of the classic comedy’s 168 episodes during its 1970-77 run on CBS. Murray was married to Marie (Joyce Bulifant) but was in love with Moore’s Mary Richards. His desk was right next to Mary’s in the Wjm newsroom, so MacLeod was frequently in the shot during the sitcom,...

To work with Cloris Leachman was nothing less than liberating. That’s how writer-director James L. Brooks remembered his collaborations with the beloved actor who died Jan. 26 at the age of 94.

“Life was not as confining when she was around,” Brooks told Variety of his experiences working with Leachman in the 1970s on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and many years later on his much-praised 2004 comedy “Spanglish.”

“She was the only person I ever knew who could make a certain kind of edgy outrageousness be lovable,” Brooks recalled. “You never knew what she was going to do. She was spontaneous. And there was a vulnerability to her. She was intrinsically funny but also brilliant funny.”

Leachman’s versatility was formidable. She became an Oscar winner for “The Last Picture Show” two years into her five-season run on “Mary Tyler Moore.”

She was in her 40s and had the perspective to...

Ed Murray, whose boyhood job as a caddy at a Chicago-area golf course inspired his actor brother Bill Murray’s hit 1980 film “Caddyshack,” has died at age 67.

William Murray Golf, the clothing company launched by the Murray brothers, announced Ed’s death via Instagram on Monday.

“It’s with the heaviest of hearts that we announce the passing of the legend Ed Murray,” the post began. “Named after the family patriarch, it was Ed who introduced the Murray family to this wonderful game of golf — by way of caddying at Indian Hills Country Club — at the age of 10, no less. (They don’t make ‘em like that anymore.)”

In 1963, Ed Murray earned an Evans Scholarship to attend Northwestern University — an event that inspired the Michael O’Keefe’s Danny Noonan character in Bill Murray’s hit 1980 comedy “Caddyshack” — which was co-written by brother Brian Doyle-Murray (along with Douglas Kenney and director...

Fifty years ago she turned the world on with her smile, and we haven’t stopped laughing since. “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” debuted on September 19, 1970. It’s one of a handful of sitcoms from the CBS network that changed the way television comedies were made. Throughout its seven seasons, the show received 67 Emmy nominations, winning 29, which was a record until 2002 when “Frasier” won its 30th award. It received a nomination for Best Comedy Series each year of its run, winning for each of the last three seasons, and spawned three successful spinoffs: sister sitcoms “Rhoda” and “Phyllis” and acclaimed drama “Lou Grant.” Although the shag carpet, plaid suits and bell bottoms will forever associate “Mtm” with the 1970s, the characters and stories are timeless and just as funny today as they were 50 years ago.

SEEEmmy flashback 45 years to 1975: ‘Mary Tyler Moore Show’ finally wins Comedy Series, plus Lucy...

Fifty years ago she turned the world on with her smile, and we haven’t stopped laughing since. “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” debuted on September 19, 1970. It’s one of a handful of sitcoms from the CBS network that changed the way television comedies were made. Throughout its seven seasons, the show received 67 Emmy nominations, winning 29, which was a record until 2002 when “Frasier” won its 30th award. It received a nomination for Best Comedy Series each year of its run, winning for each of the last three seasons, and spawned three successful spinoffs: sister sitcoms “Rhoda” and “Phyllis” and acclaimed drama “Lou Grant.” Although the shag carpet, plaid suits and bell bottoms will forever associate “Mtm” with the 1970s, the characters and stories are timeless and just as funny today as they were 50 years ago.

Mary Richards (Moore) is a 30-year-old woman who moves to the big city of Minneapolis after a bad break up.

Last week, Dan Levy (“Schitt’s Creek”) overtook Tony Shalhoub (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”) in our Best Comedy Supporting Actor Emmy odds — he currently leads 9/2 to 5/1. That means the Pop TV series is predicted to nab three of the four main acting awards in the same year, with leads Catherine O’Hara and Levy’s dad Eugene Levy also predicted to triumph. It’s a feat accomplished by a handful of comedies and not since 2002.

No comedy has ever won the four main acting categories in one swoop (the only program in general to have done this is “Angels in America” in limited/TV movie), but there have been five instances of 3 for 4:

1973: “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”: Mary Tyler Moore (lead), Valerie Harper (supporting) and Ted Knight (supporting)

1976: “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”: Mary Tyler Moore (lead), Betty White (supporting) and Ted Knight (supporting)

1978: “All in the Family...

Stars: Brec Bassinger, Luke Wilson, Amy Smart, Yvette Monreal, Anjelika Washington, Trae Romano, Christopher Baker, Neil Jackson | Created by Geoff Johns

Episode two of Stargirl starts off where episode one ended, with Pat and his mech-robot bringing Courtney back to the garage for a heart-to-heart talk about the power of the Cosmic Staff. Pat once again denies that Starman was Courtney’s father and forbids her from using the staff again. Courtney walks out on the conversation, but not before telling Pat that he’s the one that failed by giving up when Starman died by not using his powers to help people. Luke Wilson continues to shine in the series as the comedic relief, but also as the man trying to be a father figure to Courtney. The character of Pat comes across as a mix between Ward Cleaver from Leave It To Beaver and Phil Dunphy of Modern Family.

Now, more than ever, we need to escape through film, and today's movies aren't so effective at tuning out harsh reality. Everything is, for the most part, heavy, raw, dark, and overly based in very real trauma. No decade or genre of film encapsulated lighthearted escapism quite like 80s comedies. They had a sort of goofy charm and lack of grit that's seldom seen in modern film. Sure, many movies, like the works of John Hughes, touched on real world, personal issues, but these themes were tackled in a lighter fashion, with more innocent humor injected to ease the weight of misery. Look at Hughes' Pretty in Pink, for example: the film deals with a confused, teen girl lost and in search of her place, while her out-of-work, depressed father wallows around the home making no effort to get his act together. While that may sound heavy on paper, not...

HBO Max announced a greenlight for James Wan’s Aquaman: King of Atlantis, an animated mini-series looking to ride the wave of popularity for the DC Comics superhero amid the billion-dollar success of Wan’s 2018 live-action feature film.

Aimed at family audience, Aquaman: King of Atlantis will be a three-part mini-series from Wan’s Atomic Monster and Warner Bros Animation with stand-alone stories laced with ecological and ethical themes. The mini-series was announced Wednesday at the WarnerMedia Television Critics Association day.

The maritime hero Aquaman was created by Mort Weisinger and Paul Norris and introduced in 1941 in the pages of DC Comics.

“This DC property is a fan-favorite, rich with well-known characters and dynamic storylines,” said Sarah Aubrey, head of original content, HBO Max. “On the heels of Warner Bros. Pictures’ box office smash hit, we are certain Aquaman: King of Atlantis will be an exciting addition to...

Jim Dandy Oct 14, 2019

Every Justice League you can think of from across the DC multiverse comes to fight the Justice-Doom War.

I feel like gathering Justice Leagues from throughout time and the multiverse (including the Justice Society) for a fight against the Legion of Doom across three separate time periods should be a bigger deal than it is. I Also feel like it should be called a Crisis - I don’t make the rules, I just endlessly nitpick about them, friends - but that’s neither here nor there.

But really, think about it: until Justice-Doom War, the last we’d heard of the Justice Society was when Jay Garrick flashed (pun unintentional but gladly accepted) across the page in The Button, sixty-some issues ago in Batman and The Flash. Otherwise he and many others from that team were in the good but not Jsa book Earth 2: Society.

Tony Sokol Aug 31, 2019

Best known as Rhoda, Valerie Harper started as a dancer and never left the stage behind.

Valerie Harper, whose Rhoda Morgenstern character is an icon of television, died on Friday August 30, eight days after her 80th birthday.

"My dad has asked me to pass on this message," Harper’s daughter Cristina Cacciotti, confirmed on Twitter. “'My beautiful caring wife of nearly 40 years has passed away at 10:06 a.m., after years of fighting cancer. She will never, ever be forgotten. Rest In Peace, mia Valeria. -Anthony.'”

The Emmy winning actor was battling lung and brain cancer, according to Variety. When her brain cancer was first diagnosed in January 2013, Harper was told she had three months to live. While she was never cancer-free, she responded well enough to treatment to compete on Dancing with the Stars. Harper started in show business as a dancer, and her defining...

1968: The Doctors' Nick proposed to Althea.

1980: Texas' Justin rescued Rikki from a burning race car.

1981: Edge of Night's Sky plotted with Gunther against Gavin.

1991: Young and the Restless' Traci helped Brad with a Jabot ad."History speaks to artists. It changes the artist's thinking and is constantly reshaping it into different and unexpected images."

― Anselm Kiefer

"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.

On this date in...

1946: Prolific radio soap opera writer Elaine Sterne Carrington (Pepper Young's Family; Rosemary) was featured in Time magazine.

1968: On The Doctors, while at dinner, Dr. Nick Bellini (Gerald Gordon) asked Dr. Althea Davis (Elizabeth Hubbard) to marry him.

Thanks to Scott for sending in the item above.