This week Val and Rachel and special guest Naomi Brito discuss the second episode of VR.5, an American science-fiction television series first broadcast on the Fox network from March 10 to May 12, 1995. Ten of its thirteen episodes were aired during its original run. The title of the show refers to the degree of immersion the protagonist experiences in virtual reality.Hot topics include: 1.) Naomi's childhood TV rations 2.) Deep Jewish mysticism/Kabbalah themes in virtual reality 3.) How VR.5's VR manages to connect to someone's subconscious through their phone line? 4.) Where you can get your degree in Virtual Reality 5.) You will never believe how much VR.5 costs to produce! 6.) The MAD magazine segment competition really heats up 7.) We go hard on Lazy Lori's acting style 8.) This is definitely the worst show we have discussed so far on the podcast, so get ready for lots of laughter and confusion!

 

Wikipedia entry:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VR.5

This week Val and Rachel discuss Cybill, an American television sitcom created by Chuck Lorre, which aired on CBS from January 2, 1995, to July 13, 1998. Starring Cybill Shepherd, the show revolves around the life of Cybill Sheridan, a twice-divorced single mother of two and struggling actress in her 40s, who has never gotten her big show business break. Alicia Witt and Dedee Pfeiffer co-starred as Sheridan's daughters, with Alan Rosenberg and Tom Wopat playing their respective fathers, while Christine Baranski appeared as Cybill's hard-drinking friend Maryann. You can watch all of Cybill on Amazon Prime.

 

Hot topics include: 1.) How our concept of 40-something women has changed since the 90s 2.) How Rachel almost had a boyfriend in middle school 3.) Deep thoughts on 90s v. contemporary hairstyle 4.) Cybill Shepherd, Les Moonves, and #metoo 5.) Cybill Shepherd's singing chops 6.) We describe our love for Amy and David Sedaris 

 

Wikipedia entry:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cybill

 

We had a schedule change, Models, Inc. will be postponed until the week after next. ACTUAL next episode will be Fox's VR-5 with Special Guest Naomi Brito! VR-5 is hard to find, and we don't want to share the link because the last one was taken down, so good luck finding it.

This week Val and Rachel and Special Guest Sarah Cox (Rachel's VERY OWN SISTER) discuss The Torkelsons, whose pilot is on YouTube. The Torkelsons is an American sitcom television series which aired on the NBC television network from September 21, 1991, to June 6, 1993. The series starred Connie Ray, Olivia Burnette, and William Schallert. For the second and final season, the series was retooled and renamed Almost Home, at which point the show's setting moved from Oklahoma to Seattle and a young Brittany Murphy joined the cast. 

 

Hot topics include: 1.) Recurring segments Accent Corner, What Ya Watching? (Val goes deep on The Queen's Gambit), The Most 90s Thing (Is The Torks timeless?) and new segment MAD Magazine headline  2.) Embracing the new cool slang "Fence Neighbors" 3.) Thrift store pride! 4.) Stick with us to the end and you will hear a special rendition of the Torkelsons theme song by the Cox Sisters, the closest thing to the Judds you will ever hear.

 

Wikipedia entry:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Torkelsons

This week Val and Rachel and Special Guest Bennett Madison discuss Picket Fences, which is available on Amazon Prime. Picket Fences is an American family drama television series about the residents of the town of Rome, Wisconsin, created and produced by David E. Kelley. The show ran from 1992 to 1996 on CBS. It sometimes struggled to maintain a stable primetime audience and had fluctuating ratings, due in part to its Friday night death slot.

 

Hot topics include: 1.) Bennett reminisces about listening to Tiffany in high school 2.) Friday Night Death Slot can't hold the most teen-titillating crime-medical-legal-family drama of the 90s back! 3.) Recurring segments Accent Corner, What Ya Watching?, and The Most 90s Thing. 4.) The related movies Kindergarten Cop and Poison Ivy 5.) Val finds YET ANOTHER reason to shill for ER 6.) We invent the 90s Diet Binge Watch in real time: Hot tips for how to skip the binging and be more selective about which episodes to watch.

 

Wikipedia entry:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picket_Fences

 

Next week we will be discussing The Torkelsons, whose pilot you can see now on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNnvFqOeiZE

This week Val and Rachel discuss The Pretender, which aired from 1996 to 2000 on NBC's Saturday night Thrillogy lineup and starred a bunch of actors you have never heard of.

From Wikipedia: "The series follows Jarod, a young man who is a "Pretender", a genius impostor able to quickly master the complex skill sets necessary to impersonate a member of any profession. Being kidnapped as a child by The Centre, a sinister think located in the fictional Blue Cove, Delaware, who exploited his Pretender abilities; Jarod escapes as an adult, and goes on the run. He is chased by a trio of Centre agents: Miss Parker, the daughter of a pivotal figure within The Centre; Sydney, a Centre psychologist who raised Jarod; and Broots, a Centre computer expert. In each episode, Jarod assumes a new professional identity (e.g., doctor, lawyer, soldier) to investigate a crime framed on someone else, and deliver justice to the actual culprits. In the meanwhile, Jarod searches for his origins." 

Hot topics include: 1.) Val cleans house on her NBC Blackout theme error from last week 2.) We dig in to NBC Thrillogy history 3.) Rachel makes up facts about Pretenders, con men and grifters. 4.) We try to sound smart by discussing "plot structure" 5.) More beeper plot lines 6.) New segment unveiled: The Most 90s Thing! 7.) Jarod's caesar haircut: its origins, meaning and symbolism.

 

Wikipedia entry:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pretender_(TV_series)

 

For next week, we will be discussing Picket Fences (Season 1, Episode 17: Be My Valentine) with Special Guest Bennett Madison.

This week Val and Rachel and Special Guest Eric Hutchinson discuss The Single Guy, which aired from 1995 to 1997 on NBC's Must-See TV Thursday night lineup and starred Jonathan Silverman (from Weekend at Bernie's), Joey Slotkin Slotnick, Ming-Na Wen, and Ernest Borgnine. It has been considered a copycat of both Seinfeld and Friends, although it didn't muster enough enthusiasm to last longer. However, it was one of the highest rated shows to ever get canceled! The Single Guy is not available through any streaming service, but you can find a few episodes on YouTube.

 

Hot topics include: 1.) New Segment "What Ya Watchin'?" 2.) Accent Corner returns! 3.) Val's long-term relationship with ER 4.) Why The Single Guy failed even though it existed in the "Friends Universe" 5.) Creator Brad Hall's other project, the movie Bye Bye Love 6.) The first meeting of the Official Ming-Na Wen Fan Club comes to order 7.) Tenuous connections to The Monkees, The Everly Brothers, and The Brady Bunch 8.) 90s stuff like blind dates, beepers, Pay-Per-View, and answering machines 9.) Rachel becomes melancholy thinking about how many hours she wasted watching middling TV shows

 

Wikipedia entry:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Single_Guy

 

For next week, we will be discussing The Pretender, whose pilot you can see now on Dailymotion: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x78ofnf

In the third installment of the podcast, Val and Rachel discuss Father Dowling Mysteries, a show that technically started in the 1980s, airing from January 20, 1989 to May 2, 1991. Prior to the series, a TV movie aired on November 30, 1987. For its first season, the show was on NBC; it moved to ABC for its last two seasons.

Hot topics include: 1.) Favorable and unfavorable comparisons to Murder, She Wrote. 2.) We unveil a new segment called "Accent Corner". 3.) How erratic scheduling affects a show's prospects. 4.) Rachel's disgust for "cold fish" New Englander Jessica Fletcher. 5.) Digressions about grocery shopping at Aldi, Beauty and the Beast, the CLASSIC Meredith Baxter Birney made-for-TV movies Kate's Secret, and gaslighting children for fun.

 

Wikipedia entry:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Father_Dowling_Mysteries

 

For next week, we will have a special guest on to discuss The Single Guy, whose pilot you can see now on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QT4UxhfHN4&t=10s

In the second installment of the podcast, Val and Rachel and Special Guest/Wings Groupie Emily Wade discuss NBC's Wings, which ran for 8 seasons from 1990-1997. You will be on the edge of your seat as we recap the pilot episode from 1990 and the later episode "The Waxman Cometh" from season 6. Starring Tim Daly and Steven Weber as brothers Joe and Brian Hackett, the show is set at the fictional "Tom Nevers Field" airport, a small two-airline airport in Nantucket, Massachusetts, where the Hackett brothers operate Sandpiper Air.Hot topics include: Did Emily Wade model her adult life around her love of the TV show Wings? Why was Wings so popular and long-running? Was it because of the irresistible charm of Steven Weber or because of a cushy time slot? Would we like to hang out in a tiny airport all day? Is Tailspin the kids version of Wings? Val uncovers connections between Wings and Christmas classic It's a Wonderful Life. We also dig into sitcom plot structure, cameos, and what it means to exist in the "Cheers universe" without being an actual spinoff.

In the first installment of Sliders and Wings, Val and Rachel discuss the pilot episode of Sliders, which premiered on Fox in March 1995. Starring Jerry O’Connell, Sabrina Lloyd, Cleavant Derricks, and Jonathan Rhys-Davies, Sliders ran for 5 seasons: the first 3 on Fox and the last 2 on the then-new SciFi channel.

Short-attention-span-friendly rundown of topics discussed:

Val and Rachel’s respective teenage TV addictions

Show background and our personal histories with Sliders

The universal sexless appeal of puppy-human hybrid Jerry O’Connell

The psuedo-science gobbedly-gook of Sliding

Detailed (if sometimes confused) recap of the double-length pilot episode

The tragedy of a full-time Sliding lifestyle, especially if you didn’t bring extra underwear

Rachel’s personal vendetta against Anti-Spectaclist Zack Morris is exposed for the first time

Why Rembrandt “The Crying Man” Brown is the only likeable character

More about Sliders:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sliders

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112167/

**Sliders is currently streaming for free on the Peacock streaming service.**

Next week!!!!

We will be discussing Wings Season 1, Episode 1: Legacy and Season 6, Episode 5: The Waxman Cometh.

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