By Kathryn Ware

Our tribute to the 35th anniversary of the debut of Maude continues.
*
Season 1, Episode 2
Episode Title: Doctor, Doctor
Original airdate: 19 Sept 1972
Plot: Carol’s eight-year-old son Phillip is caught playing doctor behind the garage with the next-door-neighbor’s granddaughter. Series regular Conrad Bain makes his first appearance as Maude’s ultra-conservative neighbor Arthur. It’s quickly established that he’s the bane of Maude’s existence. Arthur is disgusted by the boy’s behavior and demands that Phillip be punished. Carol and Maude refuse, calling it “adorable” and defend it as lovely expression of the human body. Arthur becomes incensed and drags homosexuality, wife swapping, and sex education in schools into his argument that this is just another example of how “This country is going to hell on a toboggan!” He storms out.

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Posted on August 29, 2007

By Kathryn Ware

Thirty-five years ago this September, Maude Findlay threw open the front door of her Tuckahoe, New York home, her floor-length vest billowing behind her as she strode into America’s living room for the first time. Like the theme song says, she was “uncompromising, enterprising, anything but tranquilizing. Right on Maude!”
Right on indeed. This popular sitcom, a hallmark of topical comedy, ran from 1972 to 1978 and touched on everything from the Vietnam War to abortion. The show was funny then and it’s funny now. (Unavailable in syndication, Maude finally became available on DVD in March.)
In honor of it’s 35th anniversary, we begin today an episode guide to one of TV’s most groundbreaking shows.
So, step on up to the living room wet bar, pour yourself a tumbler of vodka, and enjoy.

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Posted on August 28, 2007

By Steve Rhodes

Last week Robert Feder reported that former Channel 5 broadcaster Amy Jacobson had put her North Side house up for sale.
“With her income suddenly reduced, she and her family are considering renting a place or moving in with her in-laws across the street,” Feder wrote. “But that doesn’t mean she’s leaving town.”
“I still want to stay in Chicago and continue to work here,” she told Feder.
Any chance of that?
Let’s review her resumé.

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Posted on August 24, 2007

By Julia Gray

Welcome to the dog days of summer. It’s hot and humid outside, friends are on vacation in exotic locales like Sturgeon Bay and there isn’t jack cheese on television. So, I’ve decided to make my own fun and dig into my vast DVD collection to see if anything catches my fancy. And what have we here? The 1976 cinematic tour de force Mother, Jugs & Speed – a cavalcade of comedy with an All-Star cast fit for the times.

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Posted on August 23, 2007

By Marilyn Ferdinand

A 2005 film from Australia called The Proposition showed up on cable last week. I was intrigued at the possibilities of a Western out of Australia. How would it differ from American Westerns? What were the unique circumstances of colonizing and civilizing Australia that both paralleled and diverged from the American experience? I’ve been to Australia and know that, like Canadians, Aussies aren’t just Americans with funny accents. However, you wouldn’t know that by watching The Proposition, a cliche-ridden American Western rip-off that revels in ultraviolence (my full review here). OK, just another couple of mindlessly spent hours, not an unusual experience for a film critic.
What really amazed me was what I found when I turned to the opinions of my fellow critics. The 86% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes left me speechless.

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Posted on August 22, 2007

By Kathryn Ware

No sooner had HBO aired the season finale of John From Cincinnati than it was announced the show had been cancelled. Or, to put it another way, using the show’s own unique phraseology, HBO had “dumped out,” giving John and company the big flush.

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Posted on August 21, 2007

By Julia Gray

I thought I was prepared for Sunday’s episode of Bridezillas with last week’s bride, Stephani, until she blurted out, “I win with a two-carat diamond solitaire. I win in life because that’s just me. I win. I’m a princess. Daddy pays for everything . . . I tell my husband what to do . . . ”

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Posted on August 20, 2007

By Julia Gray

“I wonder if they can put vodka in Starbuck’s coffee,” wonders Stephani, one of this week’s featured brides on We TV’s Bridezillas. This is a request we’ve all wanted to ask our local barista at one time or another, but not while we’re downing a Xanax for the umpteenth time that day, in front of a film crew whilst our portly fiance is driving the car.

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Posted on August 16, 2007

Who: Joel Osteen.
Organization: Lakewood Church, Joel Osteen Ministries.
Book: “Your Best Life Now”
Website slogan: Discover the Champion in You
Fire and Brimstone: Joel is too much of an optimist to believe anyone would ever end up in Hell.

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Posted on August 15, 2007

By Julia Gray

When I heard that Kimora Lee Simmons and her husband, hip hop mogul and satchel-ass pants designer Russell Simmons were getting a divorce, I was hoping that Kimora’s 15 minutes would finally be up. Why such vitriol you ask? Well, her first offense was taking over the Hello, Kitty icon and turning it into expensive jewelry for her line of clothing and accessories, Baby Phat. Then, in an article in Vanity Fair, she compared herself to the late Coretta Scott King. Seriously.
The Style Network’s new reality series Kimora: Life In the Fab Lane is an inside peek at Kimora’s world. Last night’s episode featured Kimora planning an ad campaign for her Baby Phat line. There’s a hitch, though. The chosen theme, Russia, does not exactly reflect the pink T-shirts and hip sweat suits that are Baby Phat’s signature. I don’t remember seeing photos of Russian soldiers on the Eastern Front festooned in pink sweats or prisoners in the gulag trying to keep warm in dolman-sleeved tees. So, Senior Director of Marketing James (serfs aren’t allowed last names) has been assigned the task of making new designs to match the theme, not go over budget and most importantly, not let Kimora know there’s a problem.

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Posted on August 13, 2007