NBC Fall 1984 - Saturdays

Saturday mornings on NBC 25 years ago were not exactly the hey day of kids' TV. Yes, favorites such as SMURFS and ALVIN & THE CHIPMUNKS were all there, surrounded by new shows like SNORKS, PINK PANTHER & SONS (ugh!), KIDD VIDEO, GOING BANANAS and reruns of shows like MR. T. ans SPIDER-MAN & HIS AMAZING FRIENDS. Nothing much to write home about.At night time, old reliable DIFF'RENT STROKES was back at 8PM, as future DESIGNING WOMEN and UN-WORKOUT star Dixie Carter joined the show as Mr. Drummond's new wife. She had an annoying bowl-cut sporting son played by the unfortunately named Danny Cooksey. NBC dropped the once-hit at the end of this season, with ABC rescuing it and pairing it with WEBSTER for it's final and eighth year.
At 8:30, the incredibly talented Nell Carter was back for a fourth season of the incredibly mediocre GIMME A BREAK. The show sailed along for another three years weathering the death of co-star Dolph Sweet and the addition of Rosie O'Donnell. Child star Joey Lawrence later became quite a hunk.
At 9PM, it was time for PARTNERS IN CRIME. I love Lynda Carter and I like Loni Anderson a lot. Then I should have really liked PARTNERS IN CRIME - shouldn't I have?
This "high concept" mystery series told the story of Carole (Lynda) and Sydney (Loni), who had nothing in common but an ex-husband! Carole is a former society matron, who is now flat-broke and trying to make a go at it as a photographer. Sydney is a con-man's daughter, a thief and she also plays the bass! When their shared ex is murdered, he wills his private investigation agency to them both! Of course after they solve his murder, they decided to become private eyes together. What a wacky idea for a TV series - TWO fishes out of water and one Odd Couple! I remember being excited when this show was announced (I must have been high) - and then being embarrassed about watching it. Luckily the curvaceous co-stars escaped this mess to do better work. Lynda went on to great small roles in films like SUPER TROOPER and SKY HIGH and, er Loni resurfaced in continuing rolls on shows like NURSES, THE MULLETS and SO NOTORIOUS , but I'll always treasure her for starring in THE JAYNE MANSFIELD STORY.
At 10PM, came HOT PURSUIT, the tale Jim (Eric Pierpoint) and Kate Wyler (Kerrie Keane), an upper-middle class couple that gets in over their head when Kate is framed for murdering her boss and sentenced to prison. Turns out, the grieving widow (the fabulous Dina Merrill) orchestrated the murder using a look-a-like for Kate! Jim and Kate then go on the lam to bring the widow Estelle to justice. This FUGITIVE-like series was fun to watch, but never made it through the season. Tomorrow: Sundays and Specials!

Every Trip's a Pleasure Trip!

While my family didn't go on many vacations (I think I can count them all on one hand) - we did manage a road trip to Walt Disney World in 1974. We travelled from New York to Orlando via Domenico bus (mostly because my dad didn't drive) with a bunch of strangers, who we never saw again. What I remember most about the bus trip is that the driver had a meltdown somewhere along the way, that we stayed at a motel called the 1776 Inn (because it cost only $17.76 a night) ...and that we stopped at a wonderful store called Stuckey's along the way! Stuckey's was a roadside souvenir shop that specialized in sweet, sticky pecan snacks and fun things kids could play with in the car. What I remember most about Stuckey's is that my family purchased four things there...

1) A monkey bank carved out of coconut

2) Issue #134 of The Amazing Spider-Man

3) A small bottle of Orange Blossom perfume (for my sister) that came attched to a seashell4) and a Yes & Know puzzle book with Invisible Ink pen!

So of course, upon the occasion of my recent road trip from California to Orlando, I needed to recreate as much of my 1974 experience as possible. This time we drove in a Hybrid (oddly enough, we came across only ONE other Hybrid during our entire two week trip - proving how out of step the rest of the states are with California). We searched high and low for a Stuckey's along the way, to no avail. It seemed like Cracker Barrel Country Store has taken over the roadside stop business and unfortunately the iPhone does not come with a "Stuckey's Finder" app (though the Starbucks Finder came in VERY handy).

Once in Florida, I was sure that we could find a Stuckey's, so I consulted the interweb and discovered there were actually THREE off Route 10 that we somehow missed. Damn! We'll just have to hit on them on the way back. While in Florida, I searched everywhere for Orange Blossom perfume, but the souvenir shops seemed more concerned with stocking alligator carcasses and aborted shark fetuses than perfume.

So after spending 8 days in Orlando, it was time to hit the road back to Burbank - and hopefully to Stuckey's! Finally, we found one - in Florida - but it was basically just an Exxon station that sold some wonderfully retro-packaged Stuckey's products.

I was disappointed, but did manage to buy some Peanut Brittle...

A Pecan Log Roll...

And a Yes & Know puzzle book!!! Complete with magic Invisible Ink pen!!! Hours and hours of "BY-YOURSELF ENJOYMENT" ® I was very happy, but hoped we'd have a more fulfilling Stuckey's experience. Oh well, there were TWO more Stuckey's on the way home. They've got to be better than this one. So we hit the next Stuckey's, also in Florida, but close to the Alabama border.

This one was even worse since they seemed to specialize in Confederate flag memorbilia and right-wing bumper stickers. Ugh. But they did have coconut monkey banks - but I was too disgusted to buy one.

The third and final Stuckey's was in the state of Texas and right out of THE TEXAS CHAINSHAW MASSACRE. On a dirt road with nothing else around. There was a little old lady behind the counter who we named "Maud Frickett" for some reason. There was also some provocative graphitti ("Show Your ____")  in the men's room accompanying a "glory hole" with eyelashes drawn around it. We suspect that Maud drilled the hole and dressed it up with the eyelashes to attract potential customers. I wish I took a photo of it, but this recreation will have to do.

I guess, as Stuckey's once proclaimed, "Every Trip's a Pleasure Trip!"

A not so "happy ending" to the Stuckey's saga, if you ask me.