Rutbreaker: The Curious Case of "Run With Us"

Take a look at this video. It's of a mid 80s song called "Run With Us" and it looks pretty straightforward for the time. The singer, Lisa Lougheed, has the big hair and all and it is full with synthesizers and guitar riffs.

What makes this song unique is it's origin. If you notice in the title, it has in parentheses (The Raccoons). Obviously the Raccoons was the band who originally sung the song and this is a cover right?

Wrong.

This is the Raccoons that are being mentioned:

It's a cartoon and "Run With Us" is its end credits theme. 

   

Now 80s cartoons had some rockin' music to go along with all the guns and aliens and great characters (all of which in no way could and would be exploited for the toy market; no siree). But even then, the main themes of these cartoons were the star. This was the end credits theme, a theme that usually is a remix or instrumental of the intro theme. For these creators to create not only an original song for the end credits but a song that is supercharged with more angst and worry perhaps than the usual 80s cartoon song is interesting and quite frankly commendable. If they are willing to put that much effort into a cartoon when they could have easily slapdashed it, then they were truly devoted to the project and to making it work.

"Run With Us" was made into a single and didn't do all that much on the Canadian charts. That's right, Canadian. Now some things make sense.

Anyway, it got me thinking, in my ADD way, to arguably the most successful song that could have ever come out of a cartoon. Two come to mind.

- The theme of Bob The Builder hit the top of the charts in the UK in 2000. It not only was a #1, it was the highest selling single OF THE YEAR in the UK. I'm not going to post it due to potentially scaring away people, but I think most people know it and it is on YouTube.

- A song that was just put in as an insert in the cartoon The Archies and it ended up becoming a classic. I speak of course of "Sugar Sugar"

The difference between the two is that while the BTB theme was a hit in the UK, it did not make a peep in the US. "Sugar Sugar" was a hit everywhere and still remains a classic song fondly remembered in that era.

What about you guys? What cartoon songs do you think could have made a blip musically. Please comment or get me on Facebook. Thanks.

The Renaissance WILL be Televised

           Over the past few years  Robert Mills, the Vice President of Alternative Series at ABC, has brought classic game shows back to life. It has almost become a science with them. It all began with Celebrity Family Feud with Steve Harvey (who arguably has been the center of this game show renaissance along with Mills). Then To Tell The Truth, which has aired in every single decade since the 1950s (TPiR has too although the format had changed while TTTT's fundamentally hasn't.) Then, Match Game with Alec Baldwin, followed by The $100,000 Pyramid with Michael Strahan.

          This year, they have added 2 more to that stable: Press Your Luck with Elizabeth Banks, an interesting get for a game show; and Card Sharks with Joel McHale. Both, through 2 weeks, have proven to be ratings winners in demographics and overall. But why are game shows going through a second renaissance?

          In my opinion, it comes down to one simple thing. Game shows are positive programming. In this turbulent time, most of what is thrown at us on the TV screen is negative. The news is negative, late night talk shows are shading politics, dramas have well, drama. Even sitcoms can be more serious and take on a strong tone. Game shows, inherently are positive; They involve rooting for ordinary people to win thousands of dollars in cash and prizes for playing a game that people can play along with at home

         So why use these classic formats instead of creating new ones? Well, Mills put it very succinctly in an interview with Vulture. He said:

"The old games themselves are good. I would love to try new games, but the stuff that [past producers] did — they were geniuses. These games are incredibly well-built machines. They’re time-tested. You know that they work. The nostalgia helps, and that’s another selling point."

The geniuses he mentions here are Bill Carruthers (PYL) who formerly worked with Chuck Barris, Bob Stewart (100k) who studied under the guiding wing of Mark Goodson (all the others). These guys knew what they were doing when they were creating these formats. And they are inherently known to the public. People are familiar with them and comfortable with them. Heck, classic game show reruns can be seen all the time on Buzzr and GSN. So there is less risk when choosing to watch them. And what ABC has done really well is meld modern technology and pacing into these classic formats while not mutilating the formats. So viewers get the best updated.

So to close off. kudos to ABC and Robert Mills bring this new game show renaissance about and hoping that it continues for a long time to come

Only in America...would you find a boulder dealer

From time to time I see things that just make me think "Only in America...."

So, I'm on my way to work yesterday, traveling on I-80 West, and my eyes turn to a billboard; one of those electronic ones that changes ads in different intervals. The ad had just changed and on the billboard now appeared the following words:

BOULDERS FOR SALE.

Yes, they were selling boulders or big rocks.

Why would you sell rocks? THEY'RE EVERYWHERE! All you need to do is go into the wilderness and find them. You need to hire a truck to collect them or maybe a crane to pick it up but still, why would you go to a rock dealer to buy a boulder?

Are there used boulder dealers? Do people wander around a yard with different boulders lined up and they are inspecting the quality of each boulder?

"Yessiree, this boulder only has 2000 years on it and was crafted through the finest sediment and shale in the Northeast Territory!"

I understand the concept of a stone mason or even a smith of rocks, but still selling boulders freelance seems like something very out there.

"Well Johnny, what do your parents do for a living?"

"My Mommy is a teacher and my Daddy sells boulders."

Right.

And now I Face the Finale Curtain.....

Over the past week, we have had two of the most popular shows on television wrap up their runs. The Big Bang Theory ended on Thursday night, to mostly positive reviews, I would say. And then there is Game of Thrones which ended last night and created a nuclear explosion on Twitter.

Television series finales have a tendency to be very hit or miss. And there is reason for that. You are wrapping up stories and characters that audiences have come to know, love and hate over the years the show has been on the air. And most of the time, fans come up with their own ending in mind or predictions based on how they want the series to end. Which creates a massive set of expectations that programs have to meet. And, as it turns out, they very rarely do.

When you talk about series finales, IMO, the best and most remembered has to be the finale of M*A*S*H, which was for many years, the highest rated program in the history of American television. What I think helps that finale is that the show is built in with a ready made climax. They're in a war so the logical finale would be that the characters get to go home. With that out of the way, the writers can focus more on the characters and how to wrap up the relationships with each other. The result is a great character piece which is fondly remembered by all who saw it.

Newhart is also up there for a very different reason. I'm going to spoil it so if you don't want to know what happens...too bad. Anyway it turns out that the entire series (Bob Newhart as an innkeeper in a quirky Vermont town) is a dream of Bob Hartley's, Newhart's character from the classic Bob Newhart show. While a show like Dallas was lambasted for making an entire season a dream, Newhart was praised for it. The reason is that the show itself was quirky enough that it could probably be believed as a dream, plus Newhart's dead pan charm was able to carry it through. I don't think any other TV show could pull it off now which makes that finale stand out as unique.

On the other side, there are other finales that didn't fare so well:

Seinfeld- Simple expectations, plus its very hard to wrap up "a show about nothing"

Lost- The complicated plot that made the show formidable came back to bite it at the end. Hard to wrap up

How I Met Your Mother- A case of setting an ending in stone early on and not letting the show breathe and grow

St. Elsewhere- Look up Tommy Westphall. On the surface, it's cool, but when you start to to analyse it, you get a headache

There are, of course, other finales that fall in the middle of not outstanding but not horrible. And in a way, those might be the worst type of the 3. Because one thing that a series finale should be is memorable. And by going to the opposite ends of the spectrum, you ensure that the finale is at least memorable. Now die-hard fans will probably remember it, but to capture the general public's attention you really have to make a show of it. So being top notch or hilariously bad will leave a lasting memory And that allows the TV show in question to live long after its demise, whether aided by syndication or not.

Talk to you later.

FanFiction (or a bit of self promotion)

I have just done something that I thought I would not do for a long time.

I wrote a fanfiction.

This was not the first time I wrote one, and the ones that I had written in the past were received well. But my problem with writing fanfiction was finishing them. I always had the great gem of an idea. But I could not flesh it out properly. That's why, if I were to write one again, it would be a one shot.

And that is what I have done.

The story is called Elemental Magic and it involves the television show Merlin, combined with Sherlock Holmes. Mainly it involves Holmes, as portrayed by Jeremy Brett, the man in the picture, above, as he encounters Morgana Pendragon, as portrayed by Katie McGrath, who now plays Lena Luthor on Supergirl. It is a simple tale with a hint of romance (Not with Holmes, perish the thought!).

Anyway, If you would like to read it,  please do and if you want to review it, do that too. Remember this is my first fanfic in a long time so be kind with me.

Thanks and I'll talk to you later.

It's Been a Little While.....

It's been a little while but there are a couple if things that I would like to get off my chest.

1. This came up completely out of the blue, but apparently JImmy Kimmel is teaming up with Norman Lear to produce a one off special recreating episodes of All in the Family and The Jeffersons. With an all star cast that includes Woody Harrelson, Marisa Tomei, and Jamie Foxx amongst others. I don't know what to feel about this. On one hand, why go to the trouble of recreating episodes? Why not just show the old ones? (I know, I know, MILLENIALS SCARED OF LOW DEF!) IN addition to that, I know that the Brits tried this a few years ago and it didn't work ( the one I quickly looked at was Are You Being Served? and it was ghastly). On the other hand, Norman Lear is involved so obviously it raises the bar of the quality of this production.

One thing I beg of Kimmel and Lear. No Trump jokes. After all, Donald Trump wasn't even in the public consciousness when these classic shows aired. Now they could skip around that point by alluding to Nixon, who clearly was around and doing some of the same things Trump has been claimed to have done (Thanks Mueller Report!). Either way. I'm sure they are going to get a shot in somehow, but how they do it needs to be handled with the class that these shows entail. I wish them good luck in their endeavor.

2. Random one I had just now, but did you know that Star Wars is older than the last time France used the guillotine to execute someone? France last used the guillotine in September 1977, a few months after Star Wars came out. Huh

3. I'm still annoyed that the Mister Rogers documentary wasn't nominated for an Oscar. I understand that the creator, Morgan Neville, won the Oscar the year prior, but still? Nominations should go to the best candidates. And I think that that film, while basic in style, was very effective and powerful in telling its story. But I think Tom Hanks, playing Fred Rogers later this year in a film, will nab and Oscar nom in a way of repentance (and the fact that he is an incredible actor).

4. A ton of injuries happening in baseball (which the Yankees seem to be the victim of the most) and we keep hearing how trained these athletes are  and how brittle they are. There has to be a way to be strong and flexible at the same time. A long time ago, baseball players were not creatures of muscle. They were skinny guys, fat guys etc. But they were limber and pitched and hit without giving full effort all of the time (most of them anyway). In that way, they were able to last longer in their careers and suffered fewer injuries. In addition to this, because of free agency, players don't have to take second jobs like they used to and spend the time lifting weights now. Whatever it is, a balance has to be made, otherwise we are going to see a lot more of the Michael Conforto (2 years ago) and Aaron Judge (today) like injuries.

Rutbreaker: The Title Sequence of "Working Girl"

 As usual with my random searches and delvings into the endless pit of who knows; I do not how how I landed on this particular thing. But I am glad that I did. I had a passing knowledge of the 1988 movie Working Girl, Melanie Griffith played a secretary in New York and the title song "Let the River Run" won an Oscar and it was composed by Carly Simon.

I will add to that list that it has one of the best opening title sequences for a movie that I have ever seen in my life. Without further adieu, here it is; the opening of Working Girl:

My God. It's wonderful. And I will tell you why it's wonderful:

1. The song "Let the River Run" won the Oscar and a single was released with Carly Simon singing the main vocal. The song doesn't work that way. It works better with a chorus of voices, especially since I believe it was meant to be a kind of jungle spiritual, with New York as the jungle. The version in the opening is perfect and exact.

2. Look at the actual camerawork. It's one continuous shot around the Statue of Liberty and to the Staten Island Ferry to come up alongside it.  I'm sure that with a steady-cam, which probably existed by the last 80s, you could do this from a chopper or small plane. Nowadays, people might not bother and just use CGI for it. It is a brilliant piece of camerawork, and should be remembered alongside other great like sequences in film history (the restaurant entrance scene in Goodfellas comes to mind).

3. Looking in comments underneath the title sequence, it seems to hearken back to a more meaningful time not only for the city but for the country. Unfortunately, you can see a big difference when the camera comes up on the ferry and you see the Twin Towers, in their commercial glory. The 80s in New York were documented in other movies such as Wall Street and they illustrated the dark points of the city. This sequence seems to show it as a magnificent palace, where the impossible can and will happen. So it worked on many different levels, not just being a pretty image, but also at the psychological level.

This title sequence does everything that you need a title sequence to do and it does it in a simple elegant matter. Very impressive and definitely worth remembering

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