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Thursday, August 18, 2011

Thursday Night At The Arcade: Pac-Man

Gluttony has been described as one of the seven deadly sins, and those who partake in the act of it are doomed to be stereotyped and ridiculed by others who are supposedly better than they are.

I mean, imagine a life where your sole purpose in life is to eat everything and anything in your path.  To some, it might seem a bit monotonous, depressing, or even insane.

Yet for the video game character who is being featured in today's entry, it's been a way of life for him for over thirty years.  He eats, and eats, and eats.  It's a miracle that he can even get around the dozens of labyrinths in his world, for he has no eyes.  And forget about friends coming over to visit...he eats the right morsel of yummy food, and they end up becoming dessert.

So imagine the surprise when Google announced a plan to celebrate the little dude's 30th birthday last year.

Anybody who has visited the Google website knows that the classic Google logo sometimes changes to celebrate some sort of occasion.  It could be a holiday, it could be an anniversary of something, or it could be something completely out of the ordinary.

That day, Google had apparently known ahead of time that this video game character was approaching a big birthday.  A thirtieth birthday, to be exact.  In May 2010, Google put up an interactive logo that doubled as an arcade game.  A game that starred this hungry yellow circular guy in action.

http://www.google.com/pacman/

I'm talking about Pac-Man, of course.  And with the creation of Pac-Man came the ideal that gluttony was no longer a sin.  It was in fact, encouraged, as the more that Pac-Man ate, the more points that one could accumulate.

Pac-Man was first introduced to gaming communities on May 22, 1980, and since its appearance in arcades, amusement parks, and 7-Eleven stores all over the world, it has become the highest grossing video game of all time, with a record $2.5 billion in quarters being deposited into the machines through the 1980s and 1990s.

The plot of the video game was incredibly simplistic, especially compared to current video games released today.  You had to guide Pac-Man through a maze filled with little yellow dots.  If Pac-Man eats every single dot in the maze, he wins the level and is taken to the next stage.  Sounds pretty simple, right?



Alas, it is not.  It wouldn't be a very fun game if there weren't antagonists in the maze, ready to attack you at every corner.  Meet the four ghosts who try to throw a monkey wrench into Pac-Man's 'all you can eat' quest.  You have Blinky (in red), Pinky (in pink), Inky (in cyan), and Clyde (in orange).  These four ghosts surprisingly enough have their own attack patterns, and have their own distinct personalities.  It's true!

According to the creator of Pac-Man, Toru Iwatani, he says that when the ghosts were programmed, they were given their own actions as well as their own methods of catching Pac-Man.  For example, Blinky was designed to be almost like a tracking ghost, following Pac-Man everywhere he went.  Pinky and Inky are more like the kamikaze type ghosts, literally coming at Pac-Man dead on, in the hopes of ambushing him.  Clyde, on the other hand, was more random in the development phase.  Although he sometimes puts on the Blinky shoes and follows Pac-Man around, depending on the direction Pac-Man is facing at the time, Clyde will drift towards the lower-left hand corner of the maze.


The ghosts may seem scary and relentless.  And they are in a way.  I mean, one false misstep and one touch of the ghosts, and it's Pac-Man's funeral.

Alas, there is hope.  As long as you gobble up one of those oversized power pellets inside the maze, then you have the power to really increase your food intake.  For every power pellet that Pac-Man inhales, it means a few seconds where the ghosts shed their vibrant robes, and expose their indigo coloured naked bodies in all their glory.

No, seriously, the ghosts all turn blue, and a blue ghost is a delicious ghost.  So, chase after those ghosts and swallow them whole.  It means, big points, as well as more time to get those hard to get Pac-dots.  Be warned.  It doesn't last forever, and you don't want to be around a ghost when they get their groove back, as well as their original colouring.

Oh, and lest you think that Pac-Man only has a diet of pixelated dots and cerulean tinted ghosts, think again.  For all the eating that Pac-Man does, he really seems to incorporate healthy choices in his diet.  Sure enough, as the game progresses, little pieces of fruit will appear somewhere inside the maze.  Nothing fancy...just apples, oranges, cherries, strawberries, and melons.  Eating these fresh produce items will not make Pac-Man feel better and keep fit, but they will also increase your score.  Keep in mind that for every ten thousand points scored, you get an extra life, so it's important to make sure you keep that point tally high.

At any rate, the original Pac-Man game provided hours of Pac-dot munching, ghost chasing, and fruit devouring, and provided endless fun for those who enjoyed playing Pac-Man.

Oh, wait...did I say endless fun?  My bad.



This is level 256 in the game.  As you can see, it's a little bit messed up.  The left side looks perfectly fine, but what's the deal with the right?  The fruit icons have been turned into a salad, half of the maze has collapsed, and apparently, poor Clyde ended up completely pancaked.

It wasn't supposed to be this way.  When Pac-Man was first designed, it was intended for the game to go on forever on an endless loop, so long as players managed to still have one Pac-life left.  A computer bug somehow prevented this from happening.  Normally, no more than seven fruits are displayed at the bottom of the screen at any one time. But when the internal level counter, which is stored in a single byte, reaches 255, the subroutine that draws the fruits erroneously rolls over this number to zero, causing it to try to draw 256 fruits instead of the usual seven. This corrupts the bottom of the screen and the entire right half of the maze with seemingly random symbols, making it impossible to eat enough dots to beat the level. Because this effectively ends the game, this "split-screen" level is often referred to as the "kill screen".

So, the game that wasn't supposed to have an ending, ended on level 256.

An interesting point of trivia for you all.  Taking into account the game-crashing bug of level 256, the highest possible score that could be achieved on a standard Pac-Man game without losing a single life, and eating every Pac-dot, power pellet, fruit, and ghost, is 3,333,360 points.  That score was first achieved by a man named Billy Mitchell in July 1999.

Pac-Man endeared itself to millions of gamers in his two-dimensional form.  Almost twenty years later, Pac-Man would come to our screens with a whole new dimension.



On September 30, 1999, the video game Pac-Man world was released for the PlayStation console.  The video game featured the classic 1980 version of the game, but it also had a new quest to take part in.  Designed to coincide with the game's 20th anniversary, Pac-Man arrives home to celebrate his birthday, but notices that all of his friends have been kidnapped by a robotic Pac-Man clone named Toc-Man. 

Some of these friends appeared in the various spin-offs from the original game.  Naturally, Ms. Pac-Man is one of them, but you also had Pac Jr, Baby Pac, Professor Pac, Chomp Chomp the dog, and Pooka.  Each of these characters can be found in various worlds in the game.  There's a pirate themed world, a space themed world, and even a factory themed world. 


While the idea of a three-dimensional Pac-Man was a brand new way of playing Pac-Man, you'd be surprised to know that a lot of the mechanics of Pac-Man World were exactly the same as the original Pac-Man game.  Just in 3-D.

Throughout the level, you could collect pieces of fruit (some of which you needed to unlock doors within the level), you could eat Pac-dots (which you could then throw at enemies), and even chase a few ghosts.  If you collected a Galaxian symbol, you could even be warped to a three-dimensional Pac-Man maze where you'd do battle against Inky, Blinky, Pinky, and Clyde.

At the end of each stage, all the fruit you collected was thrown into a machine, and you got the chance to play a slot machine.  If you matched three fruits, you won extra lives.  In addition, there were six letters hidden in each level that spelled the word Pac-Man.  Collect all six, you got to play a bonus stage where you could collect more fruit to earn more chances at the slot machine.

All in all, the three-dimensional version was a huge success, and spurned two more sequels on the PlayStation 2.

Not bad for a little yellow circle that couldn't suppress his appetite, huh?

I think that's all that I have to say about the world of Pac-Man, so I'm going to leave you with this song from 1982 by Buckner & Garcia.  Peaking at #9 on the Billboard Charts in 1982, here's a song that fits this entry well.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Across the Pond and Beyond: Takeshi's Castle

I am well aware of the fact that today is Wednesday, and that I really should be talking about pop culture from around the world, as Wednesdays have been known as 'Across The Pond And Beyond' since this blog first began. 

However, to properly begin this blog that celebrates global media, I have to bring up a North American reference.  Don't worry.  It will all tie in later.  Trust me.

By now, I'm fairly certain that most of you reading this blog have either watched, or at the very least heard of this current game show event.


Ah, yes.  Wipeout.  The summer game show that quite literally splashed into our lives during the summer of 2008.  Hosted by John Anderson and John Henson, and featuring commentary from the field by Jill Wagner, the show was almost like a combination of American Gladiators, Fun House, Double Dare, and Battle Of The Network Stars all rolled into one hour long show.

Basically, the gist is that twenty-four people compete against each other for the chance to win $50,000 in cash.  First, they must get through a qualifier round, which has included such obstacles as toppling towers, a suckerpunch wall, donut swings...


...oh yeah...there's also the obstacle known as the Big Balls.  The only constant obstacle currently in Wipeout from the very beginning.

From there, the top twelve compete in some sort of endurance challenge where the field is whittled down to six, and then from there, the group is put in another challenge, etc, etc, etc, until three are left.  Those three compete in a final challenge where the one who completes the 'Wipeout Zone' in the fastest time will win the prize money.

In short, it's mindless television.

Yet, it's mindless television that I admit to watching.  Mindless television that I get a kick out of.  Mindless television that I'd love to compete in.

Yes, you heard it here...I want to be on Wipeout, darn it!

And with more and more countries making their own versions of Wipeout (including one in Canada), it seems that almost everyone in the world might have the shot to bounce on those gigantic red bouncy balls.

(And, yeah, I'm aware of how dirty that sounded.)

So, what does this have to do with Japanese game shows?

Although the idea of Wipeout was born and bred in the United States of America, it seems to have a lot of similarities to a Japanese program called Takeshi's Castle.

Allow me to post a video clip of this program right now.


You may have noticed some similarities between Takeshi's Castle and the American version of Wipeout.  Both shows have obstacles that spin around.  Both shows force contestants to swing on ropes to the other side.  If memory serves me, I may remember one episode of Takeshi's Castle even had big balls.

(Keeping in mind that clips from Takeshi's Castle ended up being shown on the American show MXC, which aired on Spike TV a few years ago.)

And, those similarities have spurned a lawsuit against the producers of Wipeout by the Tokyo Broadcasting System, accusing them of stealing their ideas.


The origins of the lawsuit came from the Tokyo Broadcasting System, who accused the producers of Wipeout for copyright infringement.  Their claims are that Wipeout was a blatant copycat of some of their own programming, such as Takeshi's Castle, and that specific obstacles were purposely imitated directly after some of the obstacles featured in their programming.

For the record, Wipeout producer Matt Kunitz had said that Wipeout was 90% inspired by Fear Factor and 10% Japanese game show.  (Though, I don't remember watching any episodes of Wipeout where they have to eat live cockroaches or walk across a pit filled with larvae and scorpions, so I'm not sure that this description is accurate).

I will give the Wipeout producers the benefit of the doubt however.  After watching episodes of Wipeout and comparing it to Takeshi's Castle, I can tell you that there is very little difference between the two shows.


For one, while Wipeout only had twenty-four contestants per episode, Takeshi's Castle had well over one hundred people vying for the top prize, which was one million yen.

Which sounds like an impressive amount until you realize that it was only worth about $8,000 at the time the program was originally broadcast.

The original run of Takeshi's Castle began in May of 1986, and ran for almost three years.  The basic premise of the game is a count by the name of Takeshi has a castle that is plagued with booby traps, danger, and all sorts of secrets that hold the treasure.  It's up to the army of people trying to storm the castle and reach Takeshi to lay claim to the prize at the end.

See...Takeshi's Castle actually has a storyline surrounding it...amidst dozens of obstacles that knock people into mud, water, and other gooey surprises, whereas Wipeout...just makes you jump on bouncy balls for the sole purpose of wiping out.



Secondly, a lot of the challenges were designed specifically for one person to try at a time, as opposed to Wipeout, where only the first part and the last part were designed that way.  The image up above is one of the more popular segments in the Takeshi's Castle run.  The player had to run up the hill to get to the top, but had to beware, as a gigantic styrofoam-like boulder was rolling right towards them.  A few times, they managed to evade being flattened, or managed to not be knocked back that much.  Any other time, they went rolling, rolling, rolling down the mountain.

The other major thing that Takeshi's Castle had going for it was that it seemed to have its own distinct cast of characters, each with their own personality.



I mean, naturally, you have Takashi himself.  You couldn't have a show called Takeshi's Castle without a Takeshi.  Because then the show would just have been called 'The Castle', and that would have just been lame.

But there were so many others.  Just a small list, as I'm running short on time.

Takeshi's Gundan - the guards of the castle, dressed in green and white...affectionately known as the Emerald Guards.

Brad Lesley - an American/Japanese baseball player who tried to humiliate contestants during the challenges.

Yoroi - a sixteen foot tall giant who kept players from reaching their checkpoints in the game.

Large Fuji - a purple clad sumo wrestler.

Kojo Sekiyama - karaoke bar owner who judged contestants singing abilities to determine if they were allowed to move on in the competition.

Geisha Girls - they were around to help contestants in games.

I swear, I'm not making this up.

At the same time, I think after reading some of these points that you'll see that a lawsuit against the producers of Wipeout by the Tokyo Broadcasting System is a bit much.  I mean, there may have been similarities, but in the end, they are two completely different shows with different formats and different rules.  Both of them are quite entertaining in their own right, and both should be celebrated.

Besides, if Takeshi's Castle wants someone to sue, they should go after the producers of the Canadian television program Splatalot...now THERE'S a rip-off.

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

The Advertisements On The Back Of A Comic Book

It's really no secret to most of you who have followed this blog since May that I have a soft spot for comic books.

Specifically Archie comic books.

Sure, I've done a couple of blog entries on a couple of the characters in the comics.  I posted a blog entry about Jughead in May, and did a blog entry on Kevin Keller in July.  I also have peppered other blog entries with covers and images from the serial whether they be related to the blog subject or not.

It's just something that defines who I am, and it's one interest that I've always seemed to have.

And I'm the type of person who tends to read the books from cover to cover, picking out favourite stories, and favourite characters.

But sometimes what I find even more fun to view than the Gag Bags and puzzle pages are some of the retro ads that frequently appear on the back cover of the comic books and digests.


I mean, sure, most of the ads on the earliest of digest comic books promoted Archie related merchandise, such as this ad for the Archie...Archie Andrews...Where Are You Digest Magazine from 1977.  Unfortunately, this coupon expired in February 1978, so you cannot get this book even if you did clip it out.  But many kids did just that, and bought more books by mutilating their read digest magazines.  Note that technology was limited back in 1977, and the order forms were actually handwritten instead of being printed on a computer.  Of course, nowadays, order forms are works of art in themselves, but it was nice to know that the simplistic method still worked.

As time progressed, the Archie ads were quickly replaced by the Archie characters actually trying to sell us stuff, or even ads for the stuff themselves.  And these ads basically ranged from cute to intensely creepy.

Like, how about this advertisement for Hostess Fruit Pies from 1976, starring Josie and The Pussycats?  (Sorry for the small size...I tried to figure out how to blow it up, but no luck.)



First off, how bizarre is it to have the Hostess Fruit Pies receive equal star billing as Josie in this storytisement?  (And, yes, I did portmanteau story and advertisement.  It's my blog.  I'll do what I want.)

Still though, Josie sharing the billing with the fruit pies almost made it sound as if the band were changing its name to Josie and the Fruit Pies.  Doesn't quite have that same ring to it, does it?

Secondly, I wasn't around in 1976, so I can't say that I've ever experienced the joy of sinking my teeth into those delicious pre-packaged, filled with chemicals and preservatives Hostess Fruit Pies.  I have heard from others that were around during the mid 1970's that the fruit pies weren't anything to write home about.  So, it seems a little bizarre that Alan M would instantly swoon over Josie as long as she had a processed cherry pie that probably had less nutritional value and more fiber than a copy of the New York Times.

Surprisingly enough, that's not the most disturbing example of ads like this.  There's one that involves the Archie gang that is even creepier than wooing the losing team with the promise of Hostess Fruit Pies.

I'll get to that a little later.

Truth be told, after 1984, quite a few comic book ads were paid for by sponsors of whatever company paid the ad space inside the books, as well as on the back cover.

Many of these ads didn't even use the characters inside the books.

I'm sure most of you have seen one of those Fruity and Cocoa Pebbles commercials, with Barney trying to swindle Fred out of whatever flavour of Pebbles cereal he happened to be eating.  In case you haven't, here's a sample one.



Well, you could also see some of these ads in print form.

It wasn't all that uncommon for cereal companies to secure the prime advertising space on the back cover of comic books, or even within the pages of the books themselves.  Fruity and Cocoa Pebbles were a huge sponsor of getting print ads inside comic books and magazines, and chances were that if you picked up an Archie comic printed between 1988 and 1991, you would see at least one appearance by Fred and Barney on the back of the comic.  Other cereal companies that you saw ads for in comic books were Frosted Flakes, Honey Nut Cheerios, Cocoa Puffs, Trix, Sugar Golden Crisp, Rice Krispies, and even cartoon themed cereals like the Ninja Turtles and Nintendo cereals.

It's quite fun to see ads for candies and chocolates that are now either defunct, or not available in Canada anymore.  Does anyone remember Bonkers fruit chews?  The candies that were two-toned in colour and had stronger flavours in the center of the candy?  The ones where the lady kept getting crushed by oversized pieces of fruit?


Refreshed your memory yet?  Well, in 1985, when Bonkers brought out the watermelon flavour, not only did they advertise on television...


...they advertised on the back of comic books as well.  For the record, I remember Bonkers fruit chews, and honestly, I didn't really find the watermelon ones to be all that good.  I did love the orange and grape flavoured ones though.  Come to think of it, I think it's been about two decades since I had a Bonkers candy.  Does anyone know if they're still being made?  If so, let me know where...I kind of want some now.

Sometimes, the comic book advertisements had a specific gender target in mind.  Back in 1986, there was a deal going on for girls aged 8-14, where they could order 44 fabulous bracelets for four dollars.  Don't believe me?  Here's the proof.



I can see several things wrong with this ad.  First off, I think I spot a heck of a lot more than 44 bracelets.  Heck, the two girls in the photo look like they're each wearing at least twice that amount.  And secondly, I don't know about you, but four dollars was quite expensive back in '86.  Why, you could afford to buy an Archie Digest and a Betty and Veronica Digest, and still have enough left over for a Pep comic book for that amount back then!

The sad thing is, that kids in 2011 would gladly pay that amount for a whole bag of funky bracelets.  They're called Silly Bandz.

Oh, and this blast from the past should remind you of a simpler time when M&M's only used to have limited colour selection.



Ah, 1987 was such a simplistic time.  Remember how we only had plain and peanut M&M's to choose from?  Remember when the milk chocolate M&M's were once called Plain?  Remember when the only colours we had to choose from were orange, yellow, green, brown, and tan?  And for that matter, remember when we had tan M&M's?  I think they were permanently removed when they added red and blue.

Some ads just didn't sell products.  Archie comics especially used a lot of public service announcements starring the Archie characters.  I will say that while some of them were cringe-worthy, a few of them were quite informative.

They talked about buckling up for safety purposes...



They talked about how you didn't need drugs to have fun...



Some of them even talked about ways that we could protect our environment.


(Just for the record, there were ten tips published in total between 1991 and 1992.)

That's all that I really have to say about the ads in the back of comic books.  Some of them may have made you laugh, and some of them made you cry, and some of them were just weird.  Still, I think that a comic book would be kind of boring if they didn't exist.  Yeah, they are promoting a service or a cause in the long run, but at least it offers a nice little distraction in between stories...especially if the ad stands out in a hilarious and weird way.

And for the cream of the hilarious and weird, let's take a trip back to 1975 where once again, the ad is sponsored by Hostess snack products.  This one features the Archies, and there are just so many things that we have to discuss about this ad.  First, we might as well see it.  Technically, this one did not appear on the back of a comic book, but it's just too good NOT to post.



Okay, so let's start off with the unfortunate name of this storytisement.  'Good Deal'.  We'll see.

Basically we see the Archies at a recording studio with the full expectations that they will be paid MONEY for their hard work.  After all, a band's gotta eat and sleep and replace their guitar strings, right?

One problem.  There is no money.

Apparently, our boss took all of his money and spent it on...thousands of boxes of Hostess cupcakes.

Okay.  Seriously, what kind of moron would spend all of his money in processed snacks?  I mean, granted, I did enjoy the occasional Hostess cupcake...at age nine.  But the fact that the owner of the recording studio spent all his money on a whole carload of these treats...I mean, really?  What does that say about the legitimacy of the recording studio?  Would you want to record at a studio where the owner makes such impulsive decisions?

So, when the news is broken to the band, they are immediately angry (as they should be...I mean, the dude spent their wages on processed cupcakes), and they consider calling the police.

But, wait.  With one of the creepiest smiles I could ever see, and hope in his eyes, one of the representatives offers to pay the band in...Hostess cupcakes?!?

Um, yeah.  I can just imagine how well it would go if I was called into the office at my workplace and informed that instead of being paid in cash, I would be working for cupcakes, Twinkies, and fruit pies from the 1970s.  I probably wouldn't be working there much longer.

I mean, you can't buy clothing with cupcakes.  You can't pay your rent with cupcakes.  You can't deposit or withdraw cupcakes from your sweet tooth savings account.  The idea of paying ANYONE in baked goods is the most ridiculous thing that one can even think of doing.

Yet for the Archies, it was perfectly fine, and Betty makes the most dough-headed comment ever when she states that getting paid in cupcakes proves that money isn't everything.

Maybe not, but at least with money, you can buy a shelter, clothing, and basic necessities.  Good luck building a house out of cupcakes, guys.  They'll dissolve the first rainstorm you get.

Or, maybe with all the preservatives in them...maybe they won't.


Monday, August 15, 2011

Monday Matinee - Soul Surfer

To truimph over hardship is to build great character.  To take that same hardship and use it to your advantage shows great character.

The featured movie today is based on a true story about a female surfer whose life changed in one split-second moment.  Yet, she managed to deal with it, overcome it, and rise from it with such grace and poise that it's easy to regard her as an icon and a hero.  She was someone that young girls could look up to, and someone that managed to make the sweetest tasting lemonade from the most bitter lemon trees in the citrus grove.


The woman up above is Bethany Meilani Hamilton.  She was born in Hawaii on February 8, 1990, making her 21 years of age.  She looks like the typical sun-kissed young blonde women that you typically see on beaches and piers all over coastlines in the world.  Bethany's main goal in life was to become a professional surfer, and in her early teens started to compete in local surfing contests.  She was well on her way to achieving her dream, and already had a sponsorship deal with Rip Curl surfwear, along with her friend Alana Blanchard.  Things were progressing very well for the then thirteen-year-old Hamilton.

Then came the early morning events of Halloween 2003.

At around half past seven in the morning of October 31, Bethany and Alana went surfing along with Alana's father and brother along Tunnel's Beach.  There was one point where Bethany was lying on her surfboard with her left arm dangling underneath the water.  A tiger shark approached Bethany and bit off her left arm just below her shoulder.  Quick thinking on the part of Alana and her family helped Bethany survive the attack.  Alana's father made a tourniquet out of a surfboard leash to stop the bleeding, which was credited to saving her life.  By the time they made it to Wilcox Memorial Hospital, Hamilton had lost over half of her blood supply.  Ironically enough, Bethany's father was at Wilcox, scheduled to undergo surgery on his knee.  When Bethany was brought in, the surgery was postponed, and Bethany was brought in for immediate care.  After a week of hospitalization, she was released.

It is here that Bethany's future as a pro surfer came into question.  With only one arm, it seemed unlikely for Hamilton to continue with her dream of being a pro surfer.

That's why I find it so amazing that Bethany not only didn't let the loss of her arm stop her from going after her dream, but instead found a new self-confidence and self-assuredness that maybe was lacking before the attack.  She took her hardship, found ways to overcome it, and ended up becoming a huge star in the pro surfing world anyways.  In fact, in 2005, just two years after the attack, Bethany Hamilton came in first place in the NSSA (National Scholastic Surfing Association) National Championships, a dream that she wanted to achieve before the attack.  By 2008, she began to compete in the ASP (Association of Surfing Professionals) World Qualifying Series, where she ended up placing a very respectable second place in her first competition.

The attack prompted Hamilton to write a biographical account of the shark attack in 2004 entitled Soul Surfer.  The name takes on a couple of meanings.  Obviously, the title fits because surfing became Bethany's passion, so why wouldn't she want to write about it.  But it also has a religious tinge to it, as Bethany relied heavily on her faith and belief system to help her deal with the blow she had received and to rise above it.

That account helped bring forth the creation of the film of the same name.



Soul Surfer was released in theatres in April 2011.  The cast of the film was mighty impressive.  Dennis Quaid and Helen Hunt were cast as Bethany's parents, and the film marked the first feature film appearance of past American Idol winner, Carrie Underwood as Sarah Hill, a youth ministry leader, who serves as a mentor to Bethany.



The role of Bethany was portrayed by actress AnnaSophia Robb, who as you can see in the image above bears quite a striking resemblance to Hamilton.

I first saw this movie at my workplace of all places.  In our employee lounge, we had a television and DVD player set up, and each Tuesday (as a sort of in-store promotion to the employees), we'd have the brand new DVD/Blu-Ray releases available for us to watch during lunch breaks, if we felt like it.  Now, because lunch breaks are only an hour long, my viewing experiences of the film were kind of choppy, and I didn't get to watch the whole film in its entirety.  Fortunately, I happened to watch the most important plot lines during the few days that it did play, so I can come up with a basic review of the film. 

I honestly thought the film was brilliant, and the cast worked really well together.  I also have to give AnnaSophia Robb props for accurately portraying every possible emotion that could be seen in a film of such caliber.  Anger, sadness, pain, and eventually joy, acceptance, and strength.  All of those emotions could be seen in this film and more.



The movie stays true to the course of what exactly happened to Bethany Hamilton.  We see the events which inspire Bethany to get into competitive surfing, and we see the actual shark attack, as well as the aftermath behind it.  The movie does show quite a few scenes that people who only read about the shark attack might not have been aware of.

There's one scene at the beginning of the film before the attack which shows Bethany and Alana competing in a surfing competition.  The results of the competition have Bethany coming in first and Alana coming in third.  The second place winner, Malina Birch, was Bethany's fiercest rival in the surfing world, and wasn't too happy to come in second.  In a show of good sportsmanship, Bethany invites both Alana and Malina to come up on stage with her to share in the moment, but Malina refuses.

You also get a glimpse of Bethany's spiritual side through the scenes she has with Sarah.  Sarah showed disappointment when Bethany informed her that she would be skipping a missions trip to compete in a surfing contest, but is understanding and supportive.

You also learn more about what really happened in the aftermath of the attack.  After the attack, she was disqualified from the Rip Curl promotional photo shoots, but is happy for Alana.  She is given a prosthetic arm to wear, but she refuses it when she finds out that it isn't weight-bearing.  Add the paparazzi to the mix, and it made an already difficult time worse.

It made it even harder when some time after the attack, she wanted to get right back into competing.  She is frustrated by efforts made to give her an edge, such as giving her head-starts, and she later tells Malina that she doesn't expect her to go easy on her just because she only has one arm.

Unfortunately, Bethany is unable to stay on her board long enough to catch a wave, and she ends up losing to Malina.

She briefly has a moment of whether she should continue with her dream or not, and for a while believes that it is best for her to quit.



However when she watches footage of the Boxing Day tsunami in Thailand, the display puts things in perspective for Hamilton.  She decides to head down to Thailand to surprise Sarah, who is already there on a mission trip to help the people affected by the destruction of the tsunami.

During the trip, Bethany took notice of a little boy who seemed afraid to go in the water (which was understandable), so to show him that it was safe, she grabbed a surfboard and paddled out into the water.  The little boy was so impressed that he ended up going into the water, which was when Bethany had her 'A-ha moment'.  If she could use what happened to her as a way to inspire people, then maybe she didn't have to give up on her pro surfing dream after all.

With a few minor adjustments to Bethany's board (within the rules and regulations of the surfing contest), Bethany enters the same contest she took part at the beginning of the film.  Alana and Malina are also taking part.  Before the competition begins, Bethany shows her gratitude towards Malina for treating her as a serious competitor.  Regardless, as the competition goes on, Bethany finds it hard to claw her way up to the top.



But just minutes before the competition time ends, Bethany suspects that a huge wave is about to arrive very soon, so while the other surfers are waiting for the next big wave, Bethany frantically paddles out to sea to catch the wave.

The wave starts to form just as the buzzer sounds, and it is here that we see Bethany surf like nobody has ever surfed before.  I watched that scene and was absolutely blown away by what talent this girl had.  It was widely reported that all the surfing stunts in the movie were performed by Bethany Hamilton herself, so this made it even more breathtaking to watch.  In just the time span of a couple of years, she managed to take the lowest point of her life and turn it into something beautiful, inspirational, and exciting to watch.

Again, I don't like spoiling endings for you, and the last fifteen minutes are not going to be revealled in this movie.  You'll just have to rent the movie or download it for yourself to see whether it counted or not.  But I will let this leak out...there's a very interesting parallel between the judging ceremonies of both competitions that you'll find to be quite neat.

All in all, the parts that I did see of Soul Surfer were fantastic, and it really helped me find perspective in a couple of things.  For one, I really want to see the whole movie myself and catch up on the parts I may have missed (I ended up missing the first ten minutes, as well as some pieces in the middle).

But for another, it also showed me that one can rise above anything and make it work to their advantage.  None of us have it easy in this world, and those who tell you that they do are either full of it, or lying to themselves to spare themselves judgment from others.  It takes a very special person to take their hardships and turn them into something positive.  It takes an even more special person to use that positivity to help inspire others to follow their dreams.

Bethany Hamilton is a very special person indeed.

In fact, to close off this blog entry, I think we should hear from Bethany herself.




Sunday, August 14, 2011

Sunday Jukebox - Birmingham by Amanda Marshall


Depending on what geographical location that you happen to be living in, the name Amanda Marshall could have some familiarity to it.  Then again, some of you may not even know who she is.

Amanda Marshall was born in Toronto, Ontario in 1972 to a Canadian father and Trinidadian mother.  She started off singing in bars along Queen Street West in the Toronto area and by chance, happened to meet the late guitarist Jeff Healey, of The Jeff Healey Band.  Impressed by her powerful vocals, he personally asked the then teenaged Marshall to go on tour with him, and she agreed.

In 1991, when she was eighteen going on nineteen, she had landed a recording contract with Metalblade Records, but it didn't pan out, and both mutually went their separate ways.

Four years later, in 1995, she was signed onto Epic Records, and that same year released her self-titled debut album.



Amanda Marshall was released in October of '95, and immediately became a huge success in Canada.  Six of the ten tracks on the album reached top 40 status in Canada, and the record sold more than one million copies in Canada alone.  With such powerful tracks as 'Fall From Grace', 'Let It Rain', and 'Beautiful Goodbye', Amanda's star was shining bright as Canadian fans embraced her and her music.

Even I admit to listening to a lot of Amanda Marshall back in those days.  She was talented, the songs she sang were intelligently written and performed, and she really sounded very unique compared to some of the dance-pop music that seemed to dominate the Top 40 charts between 1995 and 2000.

But while Amanda's career was taking off in her home country, in the United States, her singing career hadn't had the same impact.  The album was also released in America around the same time as the Canadian release, but the overall American reaction to the album wasn't as widely accepted as it was in Canada.  As it stood, only one of Amanda's songs from her debut album even charted on the Billboard 100, and it just barely missed the Top 40.  Compare that same song's chart success to that of Canada, where the same song just missed the top spot, peaking at #3 in 1996.

But what a song it was...and what a powerful message it provided too.


ARTIST:  Amanda Marshall
SONG:  Birmingham
ALBUM:  Amanda Marshall
DATE RELEASED:  April 16, 1996
PEAK POSITION ON THE BILLBOARD CHARTS:  #43

I'm actually kind of surprised that this song didn't peak much higher on the American charts.  I mean, maybe it's because I was born, raised, and still live in Canada that I feel that way, since Amanda Marshall was a huge hit-maker here, but I feel she should have had more of an impact on the American market.

But then, maybe there was only room for a few female Canadian artists on the Billboard charts at a time, and in 1996, Alanis Morissette and Celine Dion had those spots wrapped up.  Who can say, really?

The point is that Birmingham is probably Amanda Marshall's most known song from her debut album, and to this date remains her highest charting hit.  And, why wouldn't it be?  It's a great song with a catchy melody.  Amanda's voice is definitely distinct, and suits the song very well.

But while the great city of Birmingham, Alabama is mentioned several times during the course of the song, the song really isn't what the song is about.  It just happens to take place there.

No, the subject of this song happens to do with something much more serious in nature.

The song is about a relationship filled with emotional and physical abuse, and one woman's courage to get away from it once and for all.

Dissecting the lyrics of the song, we find out our plotline.  Virgil Spencer is a man with many demons lingering inside of him.  At first, when he and his wife got married, things were great, and life was good.  After a while though, Mrs. Spencer's dreams were pelted with hues of black and blue, as her husband would verbally berate her and even use physical violence against her.  She was living a life of despair and she soon realized that she needed to end the relationship and get out of there, or else she would be damning herself to a life of misery and pain.

The final straw came one Friday night when Virgil Spencer pulled out a gun to change the channel on his 19-inch Hitachi.  That was the moment where Mrs. Spencer got her moment of clarity.  She needed to leave, and she needed to leave now before she was the next thing to get prematurely cancelled.

So, at three in the morning, she packed up the few belongings she had, and snuck out of the house quietly, so as not to disturb the drunk man passed out on the sofa inside.  She was afraid of what was going to come her way, and she felt as if she was alone in the world, but at the same time, it was the first time in a long time that she was the master of her own domain.

And, so she leaves Birmingham, Alabama for parts unknown (although I assume that she ended up North somewhere, as snow seems to be falling where she is.  She writes Virgil a postcard with no return address, slips it in the mailbox, and for good measure also tosses her wedding ring inside the box as well.  The former Mrs. Spencer then walks away, as a furious Virgil Spencer slams the door in anger behind him.

In our soundtrack of a marriage falling apart, the woman in the relationship ended up having an uncertain, but certainly happier future ahead of her.  Sadly, not everyone in an abusive relationship gets out safely.  A staggering one in three women will encounter some form of abuse at some point in her lifetime, be it verbal, emotional, physical, or sexual.  In 2005 alone, over 1,100 women were murdered by an intimate partner, whether it be a husband, boyfriend, or lover.  Those are some humbling facts.

The fact remains that no woman deserves to be abused by her partner under any circumstances.  It is no longer acceptable for any woman to live in fear in her own home, or be harassed by an ex-boyfriend as she walks down the street.  None of that should be tolerated.

Although rare, some men are victims of domestic abuse as well.  To me, this is also unacceptable, and should not be tolerated either.

The point is that the video for this Amanda Marshall song does offer up some glimmer of hope that anyone who is in a situation that they feel uncomfortable in can find their way out.  I'm sure that quite a few women who watched this video or listened to this song back in 1996 could relate to what the woman went through, and have their own survival stories to tell in regards to a subject such as domestic violence.

I've never really mentioned this before, mainly because I never really felt it necessary to before this.  And I definitely don't really want to go into too much detail because it's really not my place to do just that.  But as someone who as a child saw his fair share of...how you say...domestic disputes over the years, it's definitely something that should not be taken lightly.  Conflicts between members of a family, or between relationships can be handled in a variety of ways.  Talking it out.  Going to counselling.  Seeking advice from other couples.  All of these are fine and acceptable ways of conflict resolution.

But using emotional blackmail, violence, and cruelty for the purpose of controlling the other person is NEVER the answer...especially if there are young children around who can see it all.

Physical scars will eventually heal.  Bruises will fade away.  Bumps will reduce in swelling.  But the emotional scars will take a lifetime to heal from.

If you are in a relationship that is emotionally or physically abusive, and it keeps going on despite pleas of changing, or promises that it won't happen again, please, do yourself a favour and get out of there.

In fact, I'm going to list a few resources out there for all of you to have, if ever the need arises.  They are there to help you through, or at the very least, give you a soundboard for you to vent to if ever you need it.

If you happen to live in Canada, and you're a teenager who is in an abusive relationship, the Kids Help Phone is a resource that you can use.  The toll free number is 1-800-668-6868, or you can visit the website at http://www.kidshelpphone.ca/.

There is also a hotline for assaulted women, and the toll free number for this hotline is 1-866-863-0511.

For American readers of this blog, you can reach the National Domestic Abuse Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE.

I'm also going to provide a number for the Domestic Abuse Helpline for Men and Women, because as I said before, both sexes can be affected by an abusive relationship.  The number for there is 1-888-743-5754.

I notice quite a few viewers from the United Kingdom viewing this blog as well, so I want to provide a link for them as well.  The National Domestic Violence Freephone Helpline for Women and Children is 0808 2000 247 or you can visit the website at http://www.nationaldomesticviolencehelpline.org.uk/.

Finally, for you Australian viewers (and I do see a few of you out there), there is an Australia-wide counselling line for you to call.  The number for there is 1800 737 732.  Or, you can go here.   http://www.1800respect.org.au/.

For the rest of you, I am sure if you Google it online, you can find other numbers and websites that will benefit you and help support you in whatever decisions you decide to make.

There is one final link that I want to share with you.  It basically describes the warning signs, as well as offers tips and links to places where you can get the help you need to escape.


So, this was a pretty heavy topic for the Sunday jukebox, but a necessary one to bring up.  I had always wanted to use this blog as a way to promote social awareness causes of some sort without being overly preachy about it, and well, I am not exactly sure that I succeeded in that.  But, at the very least, if there's any indication by the resources that I have provided in this blog entry, it's that there is help out there.  And keep in mind that these are just a few of hundreds of sources out there where you can get assistance.

Not a bad message to take away from an Amanda Marshall song.

As for Amanda Marshall herself, I for one would love to hear more from her.  Her last album was entitled 'Everybody's Got A Story', and that was released ten years ago.  It almost seems like an injustice of some sort, considering that one of her songs got me so emotionally charged up that I created a whole blog entry devoted to it.  But that's exactly what kind of power that she had in her songs.

It seems almost ironic that one of the last songs that charted here in Canada was a song called 'Everybody's Got A Story (That'll Break Your Heart)', because it actually breaks my heart to NOT hear her on the charts.  Come back, Amanda Marshall!  I miss you!

Regardless of which, I think it's time to put a close to this blog entry, with the promise that tomorrow's version will be more light-hearted, yet just as inspirational.

Have a great day, everyone.

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Saturday Morning - Cartoon All-Stars To The Rescue

April 21, 1990 was a very important day in the history of Saturday morning programming.  The day started off like any other day, with ABC, CBS, and NBC all trying to one-up each other with various cartoons, competing to see which network's programming would come up on top for the 8-14 demographic.  In all honesty, I actually think that I was one of those kids who watched cartoons that April 21.

Something was different about this Saturday though.  Over the last couple of weeks, I had heard about this cartoon special that was supposed to have cartoon characters from no less than ten cartoon series come together on one show.  I was very excited about this prospect.  I mean, nobody ever expected to see Garfield on the same program as Bugs Bunny, or mixing Smurfs with Ninja Turtles.

Then came the next bit of good news.  This cartoon special was set to air on all three major networks at the time simultaneously.  There was no chance of missing this once-in-a-lifetime cartoon special because ABC, NBC, and CBS would be showing it at the same time.  Now, THAT was huge.

I was really excited to tune in and watch it.  I mean, if they booted off some of my favourite cartoon shows at the time for one week, it had to be worth tuning into, right?

The cartoon special reportedly garnered some major buzz on cable channels as well, as the USA Network and Nickelodeon screened this special the same day.

So, what was this cartoon special that seemed to make the world pause that one spring day in April, 1990?


Cartoon All-Stars To The Rescue.

The program was financed and funded by McDonald's, and included an introduction by George and Barbara Bush, the American president and first lady from 1989-1993.

And the subject of the 27-minute special was drug prevention.

But, wait a minute, I hear you saying.  A drug prevention public service announcement?  On Saturday morning?  A time period where kids could, would, and should be kids?  Where kids should not have to deal with adult problems?

I see your skepticism and I raise you this.  After viewing this cartoon special as a barely nine-year-old boy, I made the decision right then and there to never use drugs.  And that's a promise that I have abided to since then.  I'm not saying that the cartoon special was responsible for every child in the world going drug-free...that would be quite ignorant to say, considering that drug abuse is still a concern at schools today.  But the special did educate me on how serious drug abuse could be, and it helped me make the decision not to do any.  And I can't speak for others, but I'm doing just fine living the drug-free life.  I don't even touch alcohol all that much these days.



I think part of the reason why the special worked at the time was mostly because they had all sorts of characters from cartoon shows all throughout the Saturday morning cartoon line-up to help a boy named Michael kick the drug habit once and for all.  As I mentioned before, no less than ten cartoon shows from all three networks had at least one representative from the shows.  A total of twenty cartoon characters made a cameo in this special.  They include...

ABC CARTOONS:

Huey, Dewey, and Louie from DuckTales
Winnie-The-Pooh and Tigger from The New Adventures of Winnie The Pooh
Slimer from The Real Ghostbusters
Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck from The Bugs Bunny and Tweety Show

CBS CARTOONS:

Garfield from Garfield and Friends
Michelangelo from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Baby Kermit, Baby Gonzo, and Baby Piggy from Muppet Babies

NBC CARTOONS:

Alf from ALF: The Animated Series
Alvin, Simon, and Theodore from Alvin And The Chipmunks
Hefty Smurf, Brainy Smurf, and Papa Smurf from The Smurfs

So, while ABC definitely had the edge for most characters represented, the other two networks had lengthier scenes.

And another reason why the special worked was because it didn't really sugar coat things.  Certainly, because it was a Saturday morning special, there were limitations to how far they could take things.  But, they were quite honest about what effects drugs could have on not just your body, but your relationships with your loved ones as well.

I managed to find the whole special that someone uploaded on YouTube, and it has been divided up into three parts.  Let's watch the first one together, shall we?


Okay...two things right off the bat upon rewatching this program twenty-one years later is that it hasn't exactly aged well.  And secondly, how weirded out were you when Simon of the Chipmunks and Bugs Bunny dropped words like joint and marijuana?

That out of the way, we have our basic plotline.

Someone breaks into little Cory's room, and swipes her piggy bank.  The culprit later turns out to be her older brother, Michael.  When Cory is woken up by the commotion caused by the cartoons, she walks into Michael's room to see the broken piggy bank.  Cory is more concerned about her brother's behaviour than she is about the pocket change that he stole from her, but Michael is secretive, antsy, and aggressive towards her.  Cory knows something is wrong, but doesn't know exactly what.

Meanwhile, when the cartoons discover Michael's marijuana stash in the little blue box, they become concerned for Michael's well being, and feeling a loyalty to Cory, they all decide to find out what is going on and how to help.  Cory meanwhile, wants to tell her parents everything that is going on, but can't seem to find the right words to say it.

It all comes to a head at the video arcade, where Michael's friends from all the wrong places, encourage him to swap his marijuana for something stronger.  It's not determined in part one what the white crystals are, but it is implied that they are cocaine, or crystal meth.  To make matters worse, Michael seems to have an anti-conscience, so to speak, in the form of smoke (voiced by George C. Scott).  The cops soon arrive at the arcade, and all the teens flee, but Michael hits a dead end.  Luckily, the person after him isn't a cop.  Isn't exactly a person either.  And we see Bugs Bunny take out a time machine to transport them back in time to see how Michael was before he started using.

Right off the bat, we see that this story is loosely based on the classic Dickens tale 'A Christmas Carol'.  Assuming that we ended part one in the black and white past, we're bound to see the present and the future at some point.

Although, the inside jokes present in the special were fun to point out.  Alf threatening to eat Garfield, Bugs saying that he borrowed the time machine from some coyote.  That's what made a show on such a serious topic a little easier for young children to tune into.

The show also illustrated that marijuana is widely believed to be a gateway drug for more dangerous ones, as shown in the arcade scene.  Now, I'm also aware that marijuana can be used for medicinal purposes, but that's a different debate altogether.

So, that's the opening.  Let's tune into part two (though you may wanna skip to the 2:20 mark, as the first part is the end of part one).


And, right there, I forgot just how overly cheery and annoying that 'There's A Million Ways To Say No' song really was. 

Cheesy music and terrible lyrics aside, there really was a million ways to say no.  No.  Non.  Nein.  No, way, Jose.  There's four right off the bat.

Maybe the program didn't express it...the best way, but they did showcase ways that extended drug use can wreak havoc on your brain, as well as judgment calls.  I mean, Michael's friends were really cool, stealing his wallet and insisting that if he didn't do crack, he wasn't cool.  Peer pressure has been a huge reason why some feel tempted to use drugs.  Personally speaking, peer pressure sort of had the opposite effect on me.  I saw first hand how drugs negatively affected some of the kids I went to school with, and I was thinking...how could ANYONE think that was cool?  Not me.

It's here that we also get into more scarier imagery, like the roller coaster scene with the Muppet Babies.  Was it necessary?  Maybe looking back on it, I could see how it might be scary for six year old children, but to get the message across, they had to do something that would stick.  While I can't speak for anyone else, that scene resonated in my mind for years, and was the first thing I could remember about the special.

And as we see, Cory tried to tell her father about Michael's erratic behaviour, but couldn't get the words out.

So, that's where we are now.  Time to see how this whole thing plays out with the conclusion.


I'm sure that some of you reading this right now probably are thrilled to death that this special is finally over...but because I started talking about it, I might as well finish it.

By now, Michael is pretty freaked out over the idea of what drugs are doing to him, but the smoke surrounding him is literally putting the chokehold on him, and he is unable to think straight.  By this time, Cory tries again to talk to her brother, but he angrily grabs her and scares her.  After this incident, the smoke tries to convince Michael that his drug use is fine, and that it's not affecting him at all.

Alf decides to show him differently.  The scene changes to a carnival from hell, where he's lead by Alf into a fun house filled with mirrors.  He shows Michael an image of himself all drugged up, gaunt, and sickly looking...basically only a glimmer of the person that he used to be.  Michael did not want to see any more of it, and as you saw, he kind of went through a moment where he was in a living hell.

Finally, he managed to end up at a fortune telling booth, where Daffy showed him his future, which was not pretty.  Sure, the future Michael wasn't dead...but he may as well have been, reduced to nothing more than a quivering vegetable of a person.  Even for a Saturday morning cartoon, the image was pretty disturbing.  It was then that the whole cast of cartoon characters grouped together to tell Michael that he owed it to himself and his loved ones to quit using drugs for good.  While all this was going on, Cory happened to come across Michael's secret stash, where the smoke practically begged Cory to try them, misleading her into thinking that if she tried it, she could get her brother back.

Alas, Michael ended up seeing the light, and the way out of the nightmare, only to walk straight into another one.  Fortunately, he stopped Cory from taking any of the stash, threw the stash away, and managed to get the bad influence of the smoke away from him.  As he told Cory though, keeping him away would be hard work.  Luckily, he knew that he wasn't alone, and as the special ended, we saw Michael and Cory head downstairs to tell their parents everything.

Now, I hear what some of you may be saying.  The television special was weird.  It was creepy.  It was twenty-seven minutes that you will never get back again.  Again, I say that the special has not aged well at all.

That being said, it set out what it wanted to accomplish...well, at least it did with me.

I tell you, kids these days do not have it easy.  It almost seems like they are being exposed to gateway drugs at younger and younger ages, not being aware of how dangerous and deadly they can be.  That's why I wouldn't be opposed to letting them view this cartoon (or at least an updated version). 

The moment that I saw that scene where Daffy showed Michael that half-dead version of himself, that was when I decided never to go down the road of drugs.  Yes, I know that I was not even ten years old yet.  It didn't matter.  If drugs could do that to someone, I wanted no part of it.

I knew quite a few people who were just like the stoned friends that Michael had at the arcade.  They thought they were the kings and queens of the schoolyard, and thought that as long as they had their steady supply, they were invincible.  What they couldn't see was how destructive they were being to themselves.  They flunked out of classes, they spent their free time getting high, and just as Baby Kermit said, before they knew it, they needed the drugs to feel some sort of normalcy.  And lemme tell you, that is NOT normal.

It's been years since I've seen those people.  A few of them managed to see the light like Michael did, and are now living la vida sober.  Some of them still use though, and a couple of them have sadly passed away. 

Looking back on it, I'm really glad that I never ventured down that self-destructive path.  Don't get me wrong, as a teenager, I was very emotionally vulnerable, and it would have been very easy to have gotten stuck in that downward spiral...but despite the fact that at times my self-esteem was at low points, somehow, I must have had enough self-respect in me to not do drugs.  They would not have helped me.  It would have made things much worse, and I wouldn't have been able to forgive myself had I been that weak.

That being said...I hope that those people who do have drug dependency issues know that there is help for you out there, and that I hope that all of you will be able to find your way back.

Friday, August 12, 2011

TGIF Actor Spotlight: Valerie Harper

I thought that I would try something new for the Friday celebration of sitcoms gone by...mainly because I seem to be running out of television shows to talk about (actually, I'm not, I'm just trying to get more bang for my buck).

Instead, for this edition, I thought that I would do a sort of actor profile for this segment, just because I think that there are a lot of actors and actresses that really deserve to have the spotlight on them once in a while.  In the case of this actress, she's had quite a bit of success in the television world, and has played some very memorable characters on screen.  But that was nothing compared to the fight that she would endure during the filming of one of her sitcoms where the end result could have cost her dearly.

But, let's get to that a little later.


Today's TGIF blog entry is all about the talented and lovely Valerie Harper.  Her wittiness and comedic talents helped guide her through a long-lasting career, and she acted in musicals, television, and film.  And might I also add that she looks amazing, even into her early seventies!

Speaking of the early seventies, that was ironically enough the time period where Valerie Harper's name started being heard all throughout living rooms in America, and the rest of the world.

Although she had bit parts in feature films, and had done most of her acting work through stage productions, it wasn't until a casting director noticed her at a small theatre performance that she got her first big break.  In 1970, she was cast in a brand new sitcom set to debut on September 19 of that year.



Although the show was called The Mary Tyler Moore show after its star, Valerie Harper managed to score a really decent role.  She played Rhoda Morgenstern, who was best described as a wise-cracking Jewish New Yorker, who also happened to be Mary Richards' (Moore) best friend who lived in the apartment above her.  The Mary Tyler Moore show became one of the most talked about programs of the 1970's, and ended up running until 1977.  The premise was that Mary Richards was a thirty-year-old independent career woman who didn't need a man to support her or love her to be what she wanted to be.  Something that back in 1970 wasn't exactly shown.  As women's liberation groups started to gain ground, and more and more women were beginning to seek out careers, they looked up to Mary Richards.  They figured that if she could make it, then there was hope for them as well.

What really made the show take off in its first years were the scenes that showed the friendship between Mary and Rhoda, such as in this scene.


No jealousy between them.  No man to come in between them.  They were just really good friends, and they know that whenever one had a problem, they could always talk it out (much to the amusement of the studio audience).



Rhoda's character proved to be a huge hit though.  So huge that in 1974, after the fourth season of The Mary Tyler Moore show, the idea was pitched to give Rhoda a spin-off.  Spin-offs were very risky.  A few managed to have long-lasting success, but the track record for spin-offs wasn't very high.  However, it was a risk that Harper decided to take on.  Valerie Harper left The Mary Tyler Moore show at the conclusion of season four, and in 1974, Rhoda premiered.


Now, that's not to say that Valerie Harper cut all ties with The Mary Tyler Moore show, as Mary Tyler Moore herself guest starred in some episodes of Rhoda, and when The Mary Tyler Moore show ended in 1977, Rhoda was there to say goodbye.  There was even a reunion movie between Mary and Rhoda that aired in early 2000.

Still, when Rhoda premiered on September 9, 1974, it managed to break a record upon its first airing.  Would you believe that when Rhoda first premiered, it debuted at the #1 position on the Neilsen ratings scale?  And that no other television show can boast that distinction?  Ever? 

Eight weeks later, on October 28, 1974, the episode where Rhoda gets married aired, which saw the cast of The Mary Tyler Moore show appear on the show to give their blessings.  Apparently, Rhoda Morgenstern's wedding to Joe Gerard was such a huge success in the ratings that it was the highest rated television episode from 1974-1977 (when the miniseries Roots premiered).  The wedding episode surpassed the ratings for Monday Night Football, and when the episode was over, Howard Cosell reportedly welcomed everyone back to the game as he had not been invited to the wedding.  CBS even started receiving actual wedding gifts to give to the fictional couple.

And that's how you have an impact on the audience.  And that was all because of Valerie Harper's portrayal of Rhoda. 


Although the fictional marriage did not last (and what many fans of Rhoda believe to be the show's 'jump the shark' moment), the fact that the show ran for four and a half seasons did show that Rhoda could have just as much success as Mary Richards.  Part of it came from the fact that the show did have a strong cast backing her up.  In the picture above, you see Nancy Walker as Rhoda's mother, and Julie Kavner (who some may know better as the voice of Marge Simpson) as Rhoda's sister, Brenda.

But Rhoda was the star of the show, and Valerie Harper helped make Rhoda a believable, sympathetic, beloved character for many who grew up watching the show.

I will say though that my first experience with Valerie Harper wasn't with Rhoda or The Mary Tyler Moore Show.  Since I wasn't born until the early 1980's, I completely missed both of these shows during their original run.  Though I was lucky enough to witness Valerie's next venture into having sitcom success.  Sadly, the way this sitcom experience ended for her was on a sour note, and it actually caused one of the biggest behind-the-scenes battles reported.



The television sitcom, Valerie, premiered on NBC on the first day of March, 1986.  It starred Valerie as...well...Valerie.  Valerie Hogan was a working mother trying to balance a career with raising three boys, all while her husband worked as an airplane pilot.  Often, this would be the source of much of the conflict and comedy of the sitcom, as Valerie would often have to deal with the situations by herself.  Her sons included girl-crazy David (Jason Bateman), bookish nerd Mark (Jeremy Licht), and the athletic, but incredibly irresponsible Willie (Danny Ponce).  Often times, Valerie would often end up in the middle of it all, and would be left to try and sort out the various problems of the boys.  When Valerie gave David a job at the antique place where she worked, David's laziness and nonchalant attitude for the job really gave her a headache.  When Mark ended up mooning the school assembly, Valerie was mortified and furious.  And when Willie started developing a potty mouth, she was forced to wash his mouth out with soap to get him to stop his attitude.

It was basically a day-to-day challenge every day for Valerie.


The show itself was a family comedy, but I don't think it was as preachy as other family sitcoms were.  In fact, looking back on older episodes, I thought that the humour really was quite good.  Valerie Harper was brilliant in the role, and she had one-liners that could stun almost anyone.  The lessons learned in the show were presented realistically, and without any sort of sugary sweetness.  There was some slapstick comedy, but it didn't overshadow the main point of the show, which is what Valerie Harper wanted.

In fact, an episode called "Bad Timing" aired in early 1987, and focused on the issue of teen sex.  The episode was presented candidly, and even showcased the first prime-time use of the word 'condom'.  That episode was later released on home video, specifically for teachers and health educators to show to students in schools, but I can't really say that I remember watching it in health class...anyone out there who did?  I'd love to hear from you!

For the first two seasons of Valerie, the show followed that formula without any concern, and ratings were quite good.  However, Lorimar Telepictures (the company that produced Valerie) and Miller/Boyett productions wanted to make some changes to the program.  Because of Jason Bateman's rising star power, the company wanted to move the focus of the show to the younger cast members, instead of making it a family show with family based issues.  As well, due to the recent success of Perfect Strangers (another Lorimar and Miller/Boyett show that premiered just three weeks after Valerie), the company wanted to add more slapstick comedy in place of the more realistic humour that Valerie had during its first two seasons. 

By then, Valerie had managed to obtain some creative control for the show (considering that the show was named after her, the decision made sense), and she vehemently disagreed with the idea, and wanted to continue the show the way that it was.  When the show went on hiatus during the summer of 1987, both sides continued to battle over what was best for the show, but neither side seemed to budge.

So when the decision was made to write Valerie Hogan (and Valerie Harper) off the show, needless to say, it came as a huge shock.  Not just to Valerie Harper, but to television viewers in general.  Very few shows continued on after the main character left the show, and the outlook for Valerie was not so good. 

The decision was made though to get a new female lead.  Sandy Duncan was brought onto the show as Sandy Hogan, Valerie's sister-in-law, and when season three premiered, the opening was changed accordingly.


Now, granted, that was the 1990 opening of The Hogan Family, which was the series THIRD name change.  When the show came back in 1987 after Valerie Harper's firing, the show was known as Valerie's Family.


It was explained that sometime during the hiatus on 1987, that the character of Valerie Hogan was killed off in a car accident (that's ONE way of making sure that she would never come back), and that Sandy would be coming in to help raise the three boys.  What made it kind of peculiar was that in Sandy's introductory episode, the kids didn't seem all that broken-up about Valerie's death.  They even got into a food fight!  It just didn't seem to ring all that true until it was explained that Valerie had died six months ago.

The real grieving episode didn't come until a few weeks later.  In an episode specifically designed to teach families about having an escape route in case of a fire, the Hogan family household is severely damaged by fire.  The entire second floor and attic was a complete write-off, and the family lost quite a few belongings.  One of the more touching scenes in that fire episode was when David entered the charred remains of his bedroom and picked up a seared photograph, burned beyond recognition.  Although we cannot see the image inside, David's reaction makes it implied that the photograph was of his deceased mother, Valerie.  Sandy happens to witness the scene, and David and Sandy embrace each other with tears in their eyes.

Now, I'm not doubting that the scene (and for that matter the episode) was not moving.  It was.  And I am certainly not downplaying the acting ability of Sandy Duncan.  She brought her own stamp to the show and did a fantastic job.  And the show ended up running until 1991, so it was proof that the show could survive having a key player leave the show.

Truth be told though, there was a sense of hollowness in the fact that for this episode to take place, we had to kill off Valerie, and that's a decision that I never really agreed with.  Looking back on the whole show's run, some of my favourite episodes were the ones where Valerie was still in them.  Sandy was perky and cute, but Valerie was real.  And that's to the credit of the actress playing her.

Instead, it seemed as though the producers had the last laugh on Valerie Harper.  They killed off her character, burned any and all remnants of her in the fire episode and made out as if she had never existed.  And I don't care what people say.  It just didn't seem right to treat Valerie that way.  There would have been no show if she hadn't have kicked it off, and deep down, I think everyone knew it.

Valerie proved that she did have one more ace up her sleeve though.  In 1988, she countersued Lorimar for breaching her contract after they attempted a lawsuit of their own for claiming that she illegally broke her contractual agreements for the show.  Here's a news report on the story.



And, well...here's the end result.


Now, my honest opinion is that I'm happy that Valerie stood up and fought this.  Some may disagree with me on this point, but I really do think that Valerie ended up getting a raw deal, and here's why.

Suppose that I got the opportunity to take this blog and turn it into my own television show (not that it would actually happen to me, but let's just play along here and say that it did).  I would want to have as much control over the production of the show as I possibly could.  I would certainly like to have brainstorming sessions from others over what ideas would work and what ones I should forget about, but I would like to think that I would have the opportunity to stay as close as I could to my original vision.  So for someone to come in and start making changes to my own work would bother me a lot. 

Keep in mind that when I describe the word 'changes', I don't necessarily mean people coming in to offer ideas on how to improve it.  I'm all for constructive criticism and hearing ways in which I can attract more viewers.  The problem arises when so many changes come at once that it becomes less like my vision, and more like someone else's.  I think that's why I can understand why Valerie was so frustrated with Lorimar.  She had a vision for a sitcom that really seemed to be doing well, and that people really seemed to take to.  Clearly one of those 'if it ain't broken, don't fix it' scenarios.  Lorimar ended up wanting to change the show so much that it wasn't what Valerie wanted at all.

And if you can't believe in a new vision, it's hard to give your all towards it.

There's a lot of conflicting theories behind what really happened to make Valerie leave, but it seems the one that is widely believed is that Valerie was in fact fired from the show due to the conflict she had with Lorimar.  Regardless of what it was, I know that if someone logged onto my blog and told me exactly how I should run it, I would not take too kindly to it, and I'd probably stand up for myself.  Just like Valerie did for herself.

And in the end, she was given vindication to the tune of nearly two million dollars.

That's why I probably admire Valerie Harper more than other actresses in the business.  She has the talent, she has the looks...and she has major guts.

Valerie Harper, I salute you.