TMP Television Edition: Comedies

We've reached the last Thursday of 2018, so I had to make sure I didn't miss this week's edition of Thursday Movie Picks. Of course, it's also the last Thursday of the month of December which means it's a TV edition. The topic is comedies. Hmmm....that's rather broad. Cool. Let's see how I get some of my giggles.

Ralph Kramden (Jackie Gleason) is a hard-working bus driver, just trying to do right by his wife Alice (Audrey Meadows). This often means some get rich quick scheme or some other misadventure that's bound to be a disaster. Usually, Ralph's partner in crime is his bestest buddy Norton (Art Carney) who lives upstairs with his wife Trixie (Joyce Randolph). Hands down, this is my favorite TV show of all-time. There are only 39 episodes and every one is pure perfection.


I used to watch this every day as a kid and I had no idea it was a comedy. It was just a never-ending string of fun adventures starring Batman (Adam West) and Robin (Burt Ward). Of course, there was also the rotating roster of villains that added to the excitement. When I watch it now, I realize it's really a slickly done sitcom satirizing the serials of the 1940s and playing cat-and-mouse with the censors of the day through the relentless use of double entendre. And it's damn funny.


The titular characters are Fred G. Sanford (Redd Foxx, and the "G" stands for whatever he wants it to) and his adult son Lamont (Demond Wilson). They run a junkyard together out of their own yard. As a youngster, I think it's appeal to me was rooted in the portrayal of a father-son relationship which I didn't have. Having it wrapped in absolute hilarity was a plus. Looking back on it as an adult, I still laugh at the jokes because Redd Foxx is funny as hell, but they definitely had a co-dependent relationship that bordered on being unhealthy. Fortunately, the cast of colorful characters that were always coming through their house distracts from all of that.



As mentioned, we're getting down to the last few days of 2018. For movie fans that means two things: looking back at the year that was, and looking ahead at the year to come. Last week, the topic was 2019 movies we're looking forward to. Since I missed last week, I'll talk about those, now.


I may often masquerade as a movie snob, but at the end of the day, Disney and the MCU get so much of my money, I'm pretty sure Mickey Mouse knows the pin number to my debit card. And they're going to get more because I'm one of those folks who think Avengers: Infinity War is amazing and can't wait to see Thanos get his comeuppance.



So, I was watching Split and thinking "This is pretty good." As it got close to the end, I was like, "Man, this is really good." Then the last minute happened, and I was like, "Oh shit! When is the next one coming out?" January. The answer is January.




You did catch what I said about Disney and my money, right? Rail against Walt's evil spawn and their needless live-action remakes all you want, but I was sold on this one the moment I heard it was happening over a year ago. Then, when the trailer played on Thanksgiving Day, it looked great, AND I heard the voice of James Earl Jones reprising his role as Mufasa, oh boy! Just kicked me right in the feels.



Speaking of trailers, this one took over the internet when it was released on Christmas Day. If you're somehow unaware, this is Jordan Peele's follow-up to Get Out. That alone meant I was looking forward to it and would most likely see it in theaters. After watching that trailer, and being blown away by it, there is a 99% chance I'm going to see it opening weekend.