Friday, March 5, 2010
SURF DUDES WITH ATTITUDES -- KINDA' GROOVY: In news only Marsha will appreciate, the cast of California Dreams -- Peter Engel's seventh-best Saturday morning show, behind Saved by the Bell, Saved by the Bell: The New Class, Malibu CA, City Guys, Hang Time, and USA High -- reunited on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Nice! I can't wait to get home and watch that clip!
ReplyDeleteThis is awesome. Jimmy Fallon's nostalgia seems right in line with mine, so as long as we keep getting things like this and the Jawbox reunion, I'm in.
ReplyDeleteYour rankings are interesting - I definitely had less enthusiasm for the later in time shows (SBTB: The New Class, City Guys), but that was more a function of aging than criticism of relative quality. I've never even heard of Malibu CA, which makes me kind of sad.
I really liked Hang Time.
ReplyDeleteMy list was not in order. In order, I think the Engel shows would go: City Guys, Malibu CA, SBTB, Hang Time, USA High, SBTB:TNC, California Dreams, One World, All About Us. Just Deal was a TNBC show but not a Peter Engel Productions show, so it's not on the list. If it were eligible, it probably would be #1.
ReplyDeleteMalibu CA was not a TNBC show. It was syndicated. The genius of the show was that even though it was aimed at the same TNBC tween audience, (a) everybody was in a swimsuit (women: bikinis) 100% of the time, and the cast was picked with that in mind; (b) relatedly, one character was played by a Playboy playmate-of-the-month; and (c) the wacky friend in this case was, implicitly, always stoned. Whose idea was it to make a kids' show about bikinis and a Playboy playmate and a druggie? I don't know, but that person needed to be promoted.
I have a feeling that Isaac seriously underesimated the love/knowledge of this blog's audience for TNBC/Peter Engel programming.
ReplyDeleteI admit I looked up Just Deal to check whether or not it was an Engel show.
ReplyDeleteI still can't believe Malibu CA was never even on my radar. Sounds like I missed out!
Man, the gang at ALOTT5MA really knows my sister.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you mean, you looked up Just Deal? It was filmed on location (in Vancouver), not on a sound stage in Burbank; there were no wacky friends; the characters were not utterly fungible; the clothes were modestly stylish; there were age-appropriate cultural references. Even the acting was decent, especially from the women -- Dualla from BSG, the girl who looked and acted like Sela Ward; the unreliable friend who in real life was the muse for a Canadian rap band. It had nothing in common with the Peter Engel formula except for the age and the time slot and the devotion to attractive actors.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE THAT CLIP SOOO MUCH!!!!! I totally had a tape single of that theme song.
ReplyDeleteI know, I just thought it was a remote possibility that JD was Engel's attempt at aging up for the viewing audience, trying something different and sophisticated. But I guess his attempt at that was Malibu CA.
ReplyDelete<span>I know, I just thought it was a remote possibility that JD was Engel's attempt at aging up for the viewing audience, trying something different and sophisticated. But I guess his attempt at that was Malibu CA.</span>
ReplyDelete<span></span>
<span>(ETA: Or SBTB: The College Years, which in retrospect really makes my hypothesis above seem ridiculous.)</span>
So full of win. I totally watched this show with SBTB as the lead in. Although it's quite weird to see the brunette chick as a blonde.
ReplyDeleteWait, maybe I was thinking of Just Deal when I said that I really liked Hang Time. Wikipedia reminds me that I liked both shows, but Just Deal was the superior of the two.
ReplyDeleteI walk away for an afternoon, and I come back to...well, I have no idea. I must be in the completely wrong demo for any of these shows.
ReplyDeleteSBTB was prime-time, must see without fail viewing for me, but I'm sorry to say I've never even heard of the other shows.
ReplyDeleteLOVED hang time as well
ReplyDeleteWho didnt love Julie and the rotating slew of point guards she dated every season
Is USA High the one about the boarding school in Paris? I loved that one. Gretchen, I am totally confusing Hang Time and Just Deal as well. Also this post immediately got "C-I-T-Y City guys." and "One World, One World. Living in...." stuck in my head. I am only 26 and I have no clue about the Malibu one..
ReplyDeleteI miss El-Train.
ReplyDeleteDid anyone else ever see an afternoon show callled "Breaker High", about a high school on a cruise ship? I LOVED this show when it was on (97ish, I was 15). The best part? A little blonde kid playing the ladies' man/"Lounge Lizard".... a young Ryan Gosling. Apparently (after checking wikipedia) it was Canadian. Who knew?
ReplyDeleteagreed.
ReplyDeleteI'm not really a Jimmy Fallon fan, but I'm with KJ, his sense of nostalgia is right in line with mine.
ReplyDeleteThis clip is fab - and it reminded me about the crush I had on the lead singer way back when - but for me nothing tops the night Zack Morris stopped by the show. Mark-Paul Gosselaar is a good sport.
This was amazing.
ReplyDeleteYes. Yes they do.
ReplyDeleteI have been a bit out of touch this weekend, so I'm just getting here.(Needless to say, I heard about this from more than one person. My affection for California Dreams is well known.)
ReplyDeleteYes, this was incredible. Sly Winkle has barely aged, and some of the others have no fared as well (Heidi Noelle Lenhart!). California Dreams is not my fave TNBC (that's Hang Time - Isaac and I have agreed to disagree on this) but I do remember it very fondly.I should note, however, that Jenny and Sam were not on the show at the same time - Jenny only lasted the first season, and Sam was basically the replacement character. Jake also came on just as Jenny was leaving.
Sadly, they didn't bring back one of my favorite characters - the spicy and ridiculously stereotypical Latina Lorena Costa.
I actually saw Jennie Kwan in the touring production of Avenue Q last year. Very odd, but I always thought she was one of the less wooden members of the cast.
Gosh, who did Jennie play?
ReplyDeleteGee, who could it be?
ReplyDelete