Guilty No More #3

Another "Guilty Pleasure" entry, up there with the ranks of The Pirate Movie:



Yep, you read that right. Upon seeing a picture and discussion over at 70s-Child, I decided to embrace the show once again.

A spin-off of the skits from The Carol Burnett Show, Mama's Family lasted from 1983 to 1990, first on NBC, then in first-run syndication. The cast was lead by Vicki Lawrence as Mama, with Ken Berry as her dim-witted son Vinton Harper and Dorothy Lyman as his sexpot second-wife Naomi.

When the show ran for two seasons on NBC, Carol Burnett and Harvey Korman appeared as Mama's daughter Eunice and her husband Ed. Betty White also starred as another daughter, Ellen, and Rue McClanahan  appeared as Mama's younger sister, Fran. Also appearing were Vint's teenage children, Sonja and Buzz, played by Karin Argoud and Eric Brown.

When the show was cancelled and revived in syndication, much of the cast was gone. Burnett and Korman moved on, Vint's children were gone, and White and McClanahan moved onto The Golden Girls. So, a couple of new faces were brought in: Allan Kayser played the role of Eunice and Ed's much-talked-about, but never seen, son Bubba Higgins. And Beverly Archer played Mama's neighbor and best (albeit younger) friend, Iola Boylan.

The show went on for four more seasons with this cast, and while never considered ground-breaking or anything, it was a fun, wacky show. Basically, it involved Mama's reactions dealing with her family and the problems they brought into her life. She wasn't one to suffer fools gladly, but ironically she had a house full of them.

I watched the episodes during the first run, and again in reruns. It has been a few years since I have seen the show, but I bet I would still love the small-town, small family hijinks and fun the show was good at.

Not sure if there are other fans out there, but I count myself as one and I will be Guilty No More for it!

Below are the openings for the NBC and the syndicated versions:

Anticipation is Half the Fun!

From Robot Chicken via Friday the 13th Blog

Guilty No More #2

Time to step up and admit another Guilty Pleasure:

AFV (aka America's Funniest Home Videos)

Okay, so this one may not be an "unknown" like The Pirate Movie, but lots of people seem to scoff at this show, and I can't see the reason why.

Basically, the show is made up of home video snippets sent in by viewers. We get to see the hilarious (and sometimes weird) moments caught on tape (or whatever) and laugh along with the subjects. Yeah, it's not highbrow stuff, but who says it needs to be? As they say, laughter is the best medicine.

Granted, sometimes the segments between clips, with the host making jokes, can be lame. But I believe this is true more of the earlier seasons with Bob Saget than now, with newer host Tom Bergeron.

Anyway, we all watch it for the slips and falls, cute kids and strange pets, right?

Enjoy some soccer-themed clips below:



Good stuff! AFV is something of which I will feel Guilty No More!

Guilty No More #1

First day of Summer here, so I am starting a new feature I hope you will all enjoy:


Guilty No More

We all have things we like or even love that we may feel guilty about, for whatever reason. Maybe a book is considered 'trashy', a CD thought to be 'uncool', a television show 'mindless brain-candy', or even a movie of a 'D-level or less' status. We know the thing we like is considered of less-than-stellar quality, but it doesn't matter. Something about it appeals to us, keeps us entertained and brings us back for more. And that should be all that matters. To each their own, as we all should know by now.

So, I refuse to feel guilty any more. I like what I like. You can like it, too, or not - I don't care. I just am going to embrace them and bring them into the spotlight, where they belong.

Without further ado, here is something I enjoy and for which I will feel Guilty No More:

The Pirate Movie (1982)




Figured I should start this feature of with what is considered a really guilty pleasure!

This film, starring Kristy McNichol and Christopher Atkins, is definitely not the greatest movie ever made, but for a kid in the 80s, it was something weird and wonderful to behold.

The movie got a lot of play on 80s cable channels like HBO, so my brother and I watched it over and over again. It was just wacky, weird and fun, never really taking itself too seriously. The characters constantly break the fourth wall and it's all in good fun.

The plot: The fantasy world of a shy, awkward girl named Mabel comes to life after she meets the handsome, dashing Frederic. In her fantasy, he must save her from pirates. But obligations to those same pirates interfere.  In the end, who will need saving?

The movie is a sort of reimagining of The Pirates of Penzance, but played loose and for laughs, with light pop 80s musical numbers throughout. Definitely of its time, however it is still a movie I can watch, laugh at and enjoy for the good humor and fun it was obviously made with. The actors all appear to be having a good time, and we can just relax and enjoy it, too.

This is one of the films that gave me a love for movies, television shows and even celebrities who don't take themselves overly seriously. Something great in watching something or someone that can laugh at itself, along with the audience.

So there you go, I am a fan of The Pirate Movie. And guilty no more!

Enjoy some quotes and then a musical number from the film:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Frederic: [moments after meeting for the first time] Look, I know this is going to sound silly, but I think I love you. I think I might even want to marry you. 
Mabel: God, that was a short love scene! 


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


The Pirate King: Away to the ship and hoist up that chain doodad!
Samuel: Anchor, sir?
The Pirate King: No, Sam. Just disappointment. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mabel: Frederic, you're not gay, are you? 
Frederic: [high voice] No! 
[clears throat and in a lower voice] 
Frederic: No. 
Mabel: The way you and the Pirate King get around in those rather feminine, pleated shirts and all that leather. 
Frederic: Mabel! 
Mabel: Hey! I'm not prejudiced. I mean, what does this country got a navy for? Screw 'em if they can't take a joke! 
Frederic: You're weird. 
Mabel: All kidding aside, tell me this. Are you a virgin? 
Frederic: I don't know. 
Mabel: Near enough. 


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Want to read more? Check out The 80s Rewind - The Pirate Movie

Wax On, F*ck Off!

Wax On, F*ck Off with Ralph Macchio from Ralph Macchio

from Funny or DIE (via The Daily What)

Movie Monday: April Fool's Day

April Fool's Day (1986)

[Deborah Foreman; Deborah Goodrich; Ken Olandt; Griffin O'Neal; Clayton Rohner; Amy Steel]

Plot: A group of college friends gather together at rich heiress Muffy's island mansion to celebrate their final year of school. They soon discover that each has a hidden secret, but as the secrets are revealed, those people end up dead. But are they r


eally dead, or just part of a very cruel April Fool's joke? The hostess supposedly knows what's going on, but maybe she's not the one orchestrating the deaths.


This is one horror slasher flick I had kept putting off over the years. I loved Amy Steel in Friday the 13th: Part 2, but somehow never ended up watching this film until this year.


It is good, definitely an 80s flick, but not as bad as some of the Friday or Halloween clones out there. That said, there is something missing. I feel like the writer was either lacking in some plot development, or that the director skipped over some scenes that could possibly have helped pull the whole thing into a more cohesive whole. Just felt, at the end, like it could have been so much more.


A fun flick, and definitely recommended for fans of 80s slasher/horror flicks and fans of Amy Steel herself. While she was better as Ginny in F13: Part 2, she is good here as well. How she never became a bigger movie star still puzzles me.

Splice Yourself

Okay, so I thought the Toy Story 3 Toy Generator was a bit... odd.

Johnny over @ Freddy in Space posted a Splice Yourself Generator.

Here's how mine turned out:

Now THAT is creepy!!!

So, go ahead and Splice Yourself. Then share it with the world.

Toy Story 3 Toy Generator

Disney/Pixar has a cool little generator:

Toy Story 3 Toy Generator

Here's mine:



A little creepy, if I do say so myself.

Head on over, make your own, & then come back here and tell us where to check it out!