Maude please! (1 Viewer)

[MattPeriolat]

Seems I'm asking for a LOT these days with all these postings! Blame the books I read.

Seems some odd logic in the release on TV on DVD: we have All in the Family out and Good Times out, but no Maude, which was the spin off of All in the Family and in turn spun off Good Times. Plus with the success of Golden Girls on DVD, this seems strangely forgotten. Is there a rights issue we're not aware of? Inquiring minds want to know!

 

[David Lambert]

No rights issue, more of a "we'll get to it when we get to it" issue. Sony (Col/Tristar) has a lot of different shows they are working on for DVD, and this simply hasn't made it to the top of the list yet, as far as I can tell. It does seem to be on their radar screen, but then again it has been for a while. I just don't think it's Maude's turn quite yet.

 

[MattPeriolat]

Odd, but I suppose Good Times and All in the Family had higher profiles than Maude did. As long as Col/Tristar is looking, I'm willing to be patient. Such is the nature of wanting TV on DVD.

 

[David Lambert]

Speaking of Maude, I thought it was hilarious just a minute ago when my wife read me this CNN story about Dick Cheney being quoted as saying, "If nominated, I will not run. If elected, I will not serve."

It just leapt into my mind: "Maude's Mood", 4th Season, 1976, spoken by special guest star Henry Fonda. I guess ol' Cheney's a Maude fan!


In a nod to M*A*S*H's Radar, he also mentions Ottumwa, Iowa in there.

 

[MattPeriolat]

Funny thing, David, the line is actually a historical reference: Union general William T. Sherman used the line when suggested he run for President following the Civil War, much to the relief of the South.

In any case, yeah, any help for Maude is welcome.

 

[Andrew Budgell]

I want Maude too.

 

[Gregory V]

I would love to see at least the first four years of Maude. Seems after that the character started getting on my nerves. But I LOVE Bea Arthur, and it would be nice to see the ones with Mrs. Naugatuck again. She was always funny.

 

[LizH]

Lyndon Johnson quoted Sherman when he declined the 1968 nomination for President.

 

[Jeff#]

Well, the most notable person for saying that in the century in between you both left out (the 20th century). It was comedian Pat Paulsen during both the 1968 and 1988 Presidential years on both versions of CBS' The Smothers' Brothers Comedy Hour! And by the way, Paulsen really DID run for President of the U.S. -- no joke!

And thank goodness Dick Cheney isn't running for President in 2008! They only way he could become President before then, meanwhile, is if George Bush were to quit, be impeached, or get killed. I'm not sure which would be worse!

 

[Jeff#]

I didn't care much for Maude, because I can't stand Beatrice Arthur, Rue McClanahan, or Bill Macy. Although that episode with John Wayne guesting as himself was memorable.

 

[Dan McW]

One can be impeached and still remain president.

Regards,

B. Clinton

 

[Jeff#]

Ah, but in the end Bill Clinton wasn't impeached! Impeachment proceedings went through, yes, but in the end he was narrowly saved by a vote in his favor (and rightfully so, because all he lied about was his private relationship with intern Monica Lewinsky -- a very weak ground for the Republicans walked on in the first place).

 

[Dan McW]

An impeachment vote and--if successful--the resulting vote to remove from office are two different things, I thought. Clinton was impeached but not voted out--that vote could only have taken place following an impeachment. The American Heritage Dictionary has a usage note under "impeach" that mentions how people often call for impeachment when they really want a candidate thrown out of office.

Getting back to the Maude thread: ever notice how on that show and other popular series involving Norman Lear, the opening credits seem to show someone arriving home? All in the Family, Maude, Sanford and (especially early on) The Jeffersons all end up at the front entrance of the main characters' house/apartment building. In AITF and Maude, the camera shows a broader view of the city before it "arrives" home. The other two shows depict a character/characters traveling to their home.

I can't recall Good Times and One Day at a Time's openings--haven't seen those in a while. Obviously, a single "home" was a rock around which those shows were built as well.

 

[Jeff#]

Good Times showed people in the big city moving around, and then the camera pans through the projects window of the Evans' apartment into a painting of the cast. Later seasons had clips of the cast too.

One Day at a Time spent much of its theme song going down a highway and showing each signpost, and then showing the cast in action.

 

[Dorrie_W]

Ya know, Good Times is coming so fast, it will be done soon as will Sanford and Son, so hopefully more new shows will see the light of day. I would scoop up Maude.

 

[Jeff#]

All that's left is the sixth / last season of Sanford & Son (1976-1977), but why stop there? From a year earlier there was the Grady spinoff (the pilot is seen as an episode of the original series). They can package that with the The Sanford Arms spinoff (only 8 episodes of that from 1977), in which and old army buddy of Fred's named Phil Wheeler and Aunt Esther ran the boarding house / hotel next door (which as you'll recall Fred and Lamont started in a 1975 episode of Sanford & Son, after Julio moved). At least Whitman Mayo showed up as Grady in the first episode, and Bubba was the bellboy. Hard to believe that lasted a couple of months without Fred or Lamont, but since I've never seen it who am I to judge?

To make things even more interesting, how about The Redd Foxx Show from 1978? That was a variety series with Redd reuniting with LaWanda Page (who played Aunt Esther) where they appeared in comedy sketches!

And one show that absolutely, positively should get much more respect than it does: Sanford which more or less lasted a year in the early 1980s. It had Redd in his most famous role one last time on the classic junkyard set, with 300 lb. Dennis Burkley as a white southerner named Cal Pettie. Cal bought Lamont's half of the business, and became Fred's new partner.
By then Fred was no longer dating Donna, but an attractive middle-aged widow who also happened to be very rich! Her maid was constantly arguing with Fred, but she didn't replace Aunt Esther. In fact, LaWanda guest starred in a 2-parter in which Fred & Esther discovered from his marriage certificate that it wasn't Elizabeth that Fred married, but Esther! Well, anyway it was all a big mixup, but funny episodes like that make Sanford worth bringing back.

 

[David Lambert]

I would be shocked if we didn't get a Sanford & Son - S6 announcement by the end of March. As for the other, I dunno.