The Electric Company Reunion Show - 10/29

jeffkjoe

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Hi:

Did anyone catch this special "THE ELECTRIC COMPANY GREATEST HITS AND BITS"

on PBS this past weekend? It was on at 5:00 on the local San Francisco PBS station (GROVER was on it, that's how this qualifies for this forum section), but:

They had interviews from all the actors from the 1970's TV show: Jim Boyd (Crank), Skip Hinnant (Fargo North), Judy Graubart (Jennifer of the Jungle), and Rita Moreno (Carmela).



Lemme tell ya: They have all aged fairly well, except that Judy Graubart (Jennifer of the Jungle)...I'm sorry, but she looks old!

I guess all of them were about Morgan Freeman's age (born circa 1936)? That puts them at around 70 years old each. On par with Bob McGrath.

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Drtooth

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My PBS stations have a horrible time airing new specials, especially during pledge month, when they do nothing but run the same specials over and over. They are:

  • Reba McIntire and Alec Baldwin massacre South Passific
  • Andre Reu minces around and slaughters classical music
  • Rich Dad and "Dr." Wayne Dyer with impossibly straight faces, pledging they aren't actually doing a thinly veiled infomercial
  • The Austrailian Pink Floyd (which isn't bad... but seriously... a special for a cover band?!?

They had the concert for Bangladesh, but only aired it 2 in a week where the first three I mentioned are rerun 5 times a day on both stations.

I'm STILL waiting for some Dr. Who special I heard about in May to actually be aired.

BTW... so, Bill Cosby wasn't present?
 

BillKal

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Doesn't look like he had. At least on the DVD set, I don't know about the Special.
 

Ziffel

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jeffkjoe said:
Lemme tell ya: They have all aged fairly well, except that Judy Graubart (Jennifer of the Jungle)...I'm sorry, but she looks old!

I guess all of them were about Morgan Freeman's age (born circa 1936)? That puts them at around 70 years old each. On par with Bob McGrath.
Yeah I recently watched some of my TEC volume 2 dvds that came recently and I noticed that about Judy. But I also thought the others like Jim Boyd, Luis Avalos, and Skip Hinnant also looked considerably older (not surprisingly since we're talking 30 plus years ago, yet still gave me a little bit of a "Wow, how they've aged" surprise). Our lives really are short here and time really goes by fast. Make the most of the time while you can! :smile:
 

sesameguy

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A very short review

The Electric Company hits & bits show recently aired in my area. I've written a brief review of it at my blog site for November 26:

http://heroshaven.blogspot.com/

Short version: Great fun for us grown-up fans of the show, with great interview moments and some classic clips. Only complaint: Please show more clips!
 

Drtooth

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Okay, reread my first post on this subject. You'll appreciate the irony.

Let's just say, Saturday, 3PM I never heard the song "Is it love" and by 11:10pm, sunday, I pretty much memorised the song. It was on at least 4 times in 24 hours. First time I actually WON'T complain about them relentlessly rerun specials a million times. But I STILL wish they'd air the Dr.Who thing, though.

Anyway, I do agree. It was too short, clearly edited to shove in the pledge drive. It felt like so much was cut out, and indeed it was. I really wish they trew in something about Spiderman in there. But all and all, I was a little on the fence about spending 30-40 bucks on a DVD box set, money I don't really have for something I haven't really seen. But now, once I can rustle up the cash, I'm so going for it. Hillarious stuff. I also liked how Gene Wilder said "i'm letter man." in such a quiet voice.

With that said, what ever happened to plans for the "New Electric Company" they announced like last year? I think it could work. Just need to update a few things. Get a new cast, stuff like that. Spiderman still works. I mean, 2 hit movies and one more on the way? And as For Letter man, hey! Get Mathew Broderick and Nathan Lane to voice it over. Maybe have Bruce Timm redesign them to look more superheroic, but still playful.
 

mikebennidict

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May not happen. There's already a reading series on PBS at the present time. BTW I'm watching the special right now.
 

Drtooth

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Actually I didn't think it so much an issue of there already having a reading based program. I mean, I don't think Between the Lions is still in production, and just ended it. I'm think more of the likes of SW not having enough money, or PBS not willing to invest in many new shows just yet.
 
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