Vintage VHS #1

I have hundreds of videotapes, and I still watch them. And just because most people no longer have the ability of watching what I’ve recorded over the years is no excuse not to review the programing. “Vintage VHS” is a series where I will review one videotape from beginning to end. Most tapes are an eclectic mix of TV shows and movies recorded over the last 25 years.

Tape Type: Maxell

Recording Speed: EP

Year(s) Recorded: 1994, 1995, 1996

Video quality: Not bad, considering it was recorded on the lowest quality speed over a decade ago

Audio quality: The usual tape hiss, but nothing garbled

Degree of embarrassment at having recorded what I did: 3 out of 10

0:00:00 Trail To Doomesday – MacGyver

The only thing about this made-for-TV movie that resembled MacGyver was that it starred Richard Dean Anderson, and, at the very end of the movie, Mac disarms a nuclear bomb using a tennis racquet. Otherwise, this was a pretty generic (and formulaic) movie that could have featured almost any TV crimefighter.

1:31:19 The Tonight Show with Jay Leno – Billy Connolly

Like most Americans, I first discovered Billy Connolly when he took over for Dr. Johnny Fever on “Head of the Class,” and each episode of the series quickly became nothing more than 20 minutes of Connolly’s stand-up act. He is crazy – that good kind of crazy that makes me smile. On this show, Billy spoke about his dislike of John Tesh, the way Europeans do not smell, painting toenails, and he lamented that, though he did voicework for a Disney film (Pocahontas), his character didn’t make it as a toy in a Happy Meal. One thing that stood out as I rewatched this was the segment was nine minutes long, and I don’t recall Leno doing lengthy segments with too many people.

1:40:20 Rivera Live – 2nd Anniversary of Nicole & Ron’s Murders

All I can do is apologize (yes, a sincere apology), to myself more than to anyone else, for getting so wrapped up in the OJ Simpson frenzy. I wasted more than a year of my life watching the “trial of the century,” as well as related programing like Geraldo’s CNBC series. I recorded the opening of the show, recorded June 13, 1996, which featured a brief clip of Geraldo’s show the day after the murders, then interviews with the deceased’s family members. I’d forgotten how annoying Fred Goldman was.

1:43:50 Politically Incorrect – William Shatner and Janeane Garofalo

Shatner still looks and sounds like Shatner in this episode, and not the caricature of himself that he has become. Topics include: “Can the messenger be nuts but the message be valid?,” “Is the public smart or stupid?,” and “Do corporations have an obligation to actually care about the public?”. What strikes me most is how much better balanced “P.I.” is than “Real Time” in terms of comedy and intelligent debate. Bill Maher wasn’t as focused on hammering a few personal anvils and allowed for discussions to flow more freely.

2:01:22 Late Night with Conan O’Brien – Bill Maher and “The More You Know”

Bill Maher, wearing a bowling shirt, reads from his book “Does Anybody Have A Problem With That?,” a collection of monologue bits from the early seasons of “Politically Incorrect.” “The More You Know” campaign, in its early years, included Conan encouraging people to jump into bear habitats at the zoo, Andy encouraging guys, who couldn’t think of what to do on a date, to have sex with their dates, and Max encouraging deaf musicians to hide their hearing problems and get angry at anyone who suggests there is a problem.

2:13:22 The Kids In The Hall – Picklefeather Sketch

It was a goofy premise: The writer of a sketch is also a character in the sketch, but he develops writer’s block, and he and his “boss” become trapped in the sketch. Days and weeks pass, and there appears to be no end in sight. This is one of my favorite sketches from “The Kids in the Hall.”

2:21:16 Over Your Head – Gallagher

I’m not a big fan of prop comics. I was never fond of the sledge-o-matic, or whatever other sight-gags Gallagher would throw at his audiences (literally or figuratively). But, to give credit where credit is due, he did employ clever wordplay in his act, which I enjoy. And this was a rebroadcast of one of his earlier specials, so he (and his his audience) had not yet become absorbed in the whole “what will he throw at us next” phenomenon.

3:01:05 WKRP In Cinncinnatti – Les on a Ledge (watch the episode online)

I recorded the second half of this, one of the earliest episodes in the series. It featured Dr. Johnny Fever trying to convince Herb that Jennifer was once a man, and it was probably one of the earliest sitcoms to look at how being labeled gay (or, in this case, “queer”) could affect one’s career and self-image in the machismo-fueled 1970s. And it managed to handle both storylines without G.L.A.A.D. coming after them.

3:11:33 Cabin Boy

Chris Elliot is my kind of comic – the kind who is not afraid of silence. He seems to live for those otherwise uncomfortable moments between the delivery of a joke and his audience actually working through it in their respective brains. The first time you watch the movie, you’ll chuckle at a few of the one-liners, but (if you are like a typical viewer) find a lot of the movie to be very dry and dull. However, there are jokes in the dry and dull bits, too, which a second viewing could reveal. Cameos from both David Letterman and Andy Richter make this a must-watch for fans of late night TV.

4:31:45 Ceremony – Spenser For Hire

As part of the deal the Lifetime cable network made when they bought the rerun rights to “Spenser For Hire,” they agreed to team up with ABC (then a production partner with the network) to produce a series of made-for-TV movies (oddly, the movies have been released on DVD, but the original series has not). TNT and author Robert Parker are near a deal to revive the series, but, to me, Robert Urich IS Spenser and Avery Brooks IS Hawk. And though a few other versions of the Spenser-universe have been produced for various networks, the Urich/Brooks combination worked the best. This installment was based on the novel by the same name, but the ending had to be softened a bit for the “network for women.” The story revolves around Spenser looking for a runaway teen who had become a hooker. In the movie, Spenser is able to find her and put her up in a shelter for kids. In the book, the best Spenser can do is pass her off to a woman who runs a high-end escort service, so at least the girl won’t get smacked around or contract any diseases. Otherwise, vintage dialogue between the characters and some decent action sequences.