By Sylvia Gurinsky
Director Sidney Lumet, who died late last week at age 86, is being justifiably saluted for his film work - including "Network," a 1976 satire (and sadly, preview) of television written by Paddy Chayefsky.
He's also been commended for his television work during the 1950s and 60s, when he was cutting his teeth on live television dramas on programs such as "Playhouse 90," "You Are There" with Walter Cronkite and "Studio One."
Alas, as was mentioned recently in another context, little of this work is available for public sale so far. Fortunately, Lumet was interviewed by the Archive of American Television and described much of his TV work. Here's the link:
http://www.emmytvlegends.org/interviews/people/sidney-lumet
So long to one of the greats.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Friday, April 8, 2011
Week of April 8: Watch Any Good Books Lately?
By Sylvia Gurinsky
I started reading "Rum & Razors," part of the series of books based on the classic program "Murder, She Wrote," "by Jessica Fletcher and Donald Bain."
Jessica Fletcher, of course, was the character played so wonderfully on the CBS series by Angela Lansbury from 1984-96. Bain is the real writer of the "Murder, She Wrote" series and author of the book "Coffee, Tea or Me?"
Through the 1990s, successful series frequently triggered successful books. Comedies such as "The Partridge Family" and "That Girl" and dramas such as the original "Hawaii Five-O" and "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." came complete with a series of adventurous, not-too-long readers that would frequently go to places the shows didn't - especially the comedies. "That Girl's" Ann Marie (Marlo Thomas) terrorized by people living a real-life "Wuthering Heights?" Never happened in the series, but it did in a book penned by Paul W. Fairman.
Series for teens and science fiction fans, of course, have been principal sources for book writers. "Star Trek," "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Full House" have plenty of selections.
eBay is a primary source for finding such books. Even stories from more obscure series, such as 1970s "Nancy" about a president's daughter, are available in paperback.
The eBay search starts in the 1950s with such shows as "Gunsmoke" and "77 Sunset Strip." Just about every scripted television genre one can think of is covered.
So Happy Reading! And until next week, Happy Viewing!
I started reading "Rum & Razors," part of the series of books based on the classic program "Murder, She Wrote," "by Jessica Fletcher and Donald Bain."
Jessica Fletcher, of course, was the character played so wonderfully on the CBS series by Angela Lansbury from 1984-96. Bain is the real writer of the "Murder, She Wrote" series and author of the book "Coffee, Tea or Me?"
Through the 1990s, successful series frequently triggered successful books. Comedies such as "The Partridge Family" and "That Girl" and dramas such as the original "Hawaii Five-O" and "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." came complete with a series of adventurous, not-too-long readers that would frequently go to places the shows didn't - especially the comedies. "That Girl's" Ann Marie (Marlo Thomas) terrorized by people living a real-life "Wuthering Heights?" Never happened in the series, but it did in a book penned by Paul W. Fairman.
Series for teens and science fiction fans, of course, have been principal sources for book writers. "Star Trek," "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Full House" have plenty of selections.
eBay is a primary source for finding such books. Even stories from more obscure series, such as 1970s "Nancy" about a president's daughter, are available in paperback.
The eBay search starts in the 1950s with such shows as "Gunsmoke" and "77 Sunset Strip." Just about every scripted television genre one can think of is covered.
So Happy Reading! And until next week, Happy Viewing!
Friday, April 1, 2011
Week of April 1: What's With "All My Children"; All of C-SPAN; Remembering Farley Granger On TV
By Sylvia Gurinsky
Susan Lucci is having to pull double duty in promoting her new book, "All My Life." Besides that, she has to defend "All My Children" against cancellation rumors.
Lucci, who has masterfully played Erica Kane throughout the 41-year run of the series, doesn't have anything to prove. But "AMC's" problems are symptomatic of all problems with soap operas: The O.J. Simpson trial of 1994-95, which replaced many soap operas, began to alter viewing habits. The increase of the Internet continued that change.
The soap operas themselves didn't help matters with substandard casting, scripts and plotlines.
"All My Children," created by Agnes Nixon, began in 1970 with a fine collection of veterans of film and television drama such as Kay Campbell, who played Kate Martin; Hugh Franklin, who played Charles Tyler; Ruth Warrick ("Citizen Kane"), who played Phoebe Tyler; Frances Heflin, who played Mona Kane (Erica's mother) and Mary Fickett, who played Ruth Brent (later Martin). Among the young cast members were Charles Frank, who played Jeff Martin; Richard Hatch (the original "Battlestar Gallactica"), who played Phil Brent; Karen Lynn Gorney ("Saturday Night Fever"), who played Tara Martin and Lucci.
The show set standards for writing and acting and broke barriers; Erica became the first daytime soap opera character to have an abortion in 1973. Her younger daughter, Bianca (Christina Bennett Lind), more recently became part of the first gay marriage on a daytime soap. Darnell Williams and Debbi Morgan, who play Jessie and Angie Hubbard, were the first real African-American supercouple of soaps.
More recently, standards have been the exceptions. Most of the cast members with the series through its glory years have either died (Warrick, Heflin, Campbell, Franklin, Eileen Herlie, who played Myrtle Fargate and recently James Mitchell, who played Palmer Cortlandt), retired (Fickett; Ray McDonnell, who played Joe Martin; David Canary, who played Adam and Stuart Chandler) or have been laid off or had hours chopped (Julia Barr, who played Brooke English; Walt Willey, who plays Jackson Montgomery). With the exceptions of Lucci, Williams, Morgan, Michael E. Knight (Tad Martin since the early 1980s) and a few others, most of the current cast looks like it came off an assembly line of models.
Even if "All My Children" survives the immediate future, its years are probably numbered, sadly. At its best, it was special enough to attract the likes of Carol Burnett and Elizabeth Taylor (mentioned last week). It also broke barriers.
************************************************************************************
Farley Granger, who died earlier this week, was best known for his film work. But he spent more than 40 years adding television to his resume.
He worked on soaps "As the World Turns," "The Edge of Night" and "One Life To Live." He guest starred on numerous programs, including "Murder She Wrote," "Ironside," "Hawaii Five-O" (the original) and "The Love Boat."
But the gold standard may be the live television drama programs he did during the 1950s and 60s, including "Playhouse 90," "The United States Steel Hour," "The Kraft Theatre" and more. Alas, we are still waiting for DVD releases of even clips of those dramas.
************************************************************************************
To all political history junkies out there: C-SPAN now has an extensive online video library that features not only recent programs and archived programs going back to C-SPAN's beginnings more than 30 years ago, but also other archived material.
You can watch President Harry Truman being inaugurated in 1949 or President Richard Nixon resigning in 1974. There are recent congressional hearings or Question Time of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
It will also be of great benefit to students, historians and journalists. Here's the link:
http://www.c-spanvideo.org/videoLibrary/
***************************************************************************
See you next week. Until then, Happy Viewing!
Susan Lucci is having to pull double duty in promoting her new book, "All My Life." Besides that, she has to defend "All My Children" against cancellation rumors.
Lucci, who has masterfully played Erica Kane throughout the 41-year run of the series, doesn't have anything to prove. But "AMC's" problems are symptomatic of all problems with soap operas: The O.J. Simpson trial of 1994-95, which replaced many soap operas, began to alter viewing habits. The increase of the Internet continued that change.
The soap operas themselves didn't help matters with substandard casting, scripts and plotlines.
"All My Children," created by Agnes Nixon, began in 1970 with a fine collection of veterans of film and television drama such as Kay Campbell, who played Kate Martin; Hugh Franklin, who played Charles Tyler; Ruth Warrick ("Citizen Kane"), who played Phoebe Tyler; Frances Heflin, who played Mona Kane (Erica's mother) and Mary Fickett, who played Ruth Brent (later Martin). Among the young cast members were Charles Frank, who played Jeff Martin; Richard Hatch (the original "Battlestar Gallactica"), who played Phil Brent; Karen Lynn Gorney ("Saturday Night Fever"), who played Tara Martin and Lucci.
The show set standards for writing and acting and broke barriers; Erica became the first daytime soap opera character to have an abortion in 1973. Her younger daughter, Bianca (Christina Bennett Lind), more recently became part of the first gay marriage on a daytime soap. Darnell Williams and Debbi Morgan, who play Jessie and Angie Hubbard, were the first real African-American supercouple of soaps.
More recently, standards have been the exceptions. Most of the cast members with the series through its glory years have either died (Warrick, Heflin, Campbell, Franklin, Eileen Herlie, who played Myrtle Fargate and recently James Mitchell, who played Palmer Cortlandt), retired (Fickett; Ray McDonnell, who played Joe Martin; David Canary, who played Adam and Stuart Chandler) or have been laid off or had hours chopped (Julia Barr, who played Brooke English; Walt Willey, who plays Jackson Montgomery). With the exceptions of Lucci, Williams, Morgan, Michael E. Knight (Tad Martin since the early 1980s) and a few others, most of the current cast looks like it came off an assembly line of models.
Even if "All My Children" survives the immediate future, its years are probably numbered, sadly. At its best, it was special enough to attract the likes of Carol Burnett and Elizabeth Taylor (mentioned last week). It also broke barriers.
************************************************************************************
Farley Granger, who died earlier this week, was best known for his film work. But he spent more than 40 years adding television to his resume.
He worked on soaps "As the World Turns," "The Edge of Night" and "One Life To Live." He guest starred on numerous programs, including "Murder She Wrote," "Ironside," "Hawaii Five-O" (the original) and "The Love Boat."
But the gold standard may be the live television drama programs he did during the 1950s and 60s, including "Playhouse 90," "The United States Steel Hour," "The Kraft Theatre" and more. Alas, we are still waiting for DVD releases of even clips of those dramas.
************************************************************************************
To all political history junkies out there: C-SPAN now has an extensive online video library that features not only recent programs and archived programs going back to C-SPAN's beginnings more than 30 years ago, but also other archived material.
You can watch President Harry Truman being inaugurated in 1949 or President Richard Nixon resigning in 1974. There are recent congressional hearings or Question Time of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
It will also be of great benefit to students, historians and journalists. Here's the link:
http://www.c-spanvideo.org/videoLibrary/
***************************************************************************
See you next week. Until then, Happy Viewing!
Friday, March 25, 2011
Week of March 25: Elizabeth Taylor On TV
By Sylvia Gurinsky
The big screen was where she became a legend, but the small screen was where Elizabeth Taylor went to have fun.
The peak of her movie stardom coincided with the rise of television as America's major entertainment. In 1954, she appeared on the game show "What's My Line?":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gR-vU44gd4
It's too bad MGM wasn't casting her in lead comedy roles!
Sadly, Elizabeth Taylor wasn't among the MGM stars who appeared on "I Love Lucy" when the Ricardos and Mertzes went to Hollywood. But 15 years later, she appeared with then-husband Richard Burton on "Here's Lucy," when Lucy (now secretary Lucy Carter), couldn't get that famous Taylor ring off her finger:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FntN7Tr_O0Y
Taylor was a huge soap opera fan, and "General Hospital" was her favorite. In 1981, she got the chance to play the widowed Helena Cassadine - including scenes in the famous Luke-and-Laura wedding episode watched by 30 million viewers:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MK17NAY1d-8
In 1984, she also managed a cameo appearance on another favorite soap, "All My Children," that surprised good friend Carol Burnett, who was playing Verla Grubbs at the time:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSJGBYvm_Es
Taylor was dressed like Burnett's famous cleaning woman character from "The Carol Burnett Show" on CBS. Burnett took the "pilot light" comment from Vicki Lawrence's famous "Mama" character on her show.
She also did a number of television movies. The best of them, "Malice In Wonderland," a CBS production in which she played gossip columnist Louella Parsons to Jane Alexander's Hedda Hopper, is available on DVD.
To wrap up, here's part of her fantastic appearance on "The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson" in 1992:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5WlCf9zFMo
Alas, her marriage with Larry Fortensky (husband No. 8) did not work. But she was a survivor for 78 years with a marvelous film career - and very entertaining appearances on the small screen.
Farewell, Elizabeth.
The big screen was where she became a legend, but the small screen was where Elizabeth Taylor went to have fun.
The peak of her movie stardom coincided with the rise of television as America's major entertainment. In 1954, she appeared on the game show "What's My Line?":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gR-vU44gd4
It's too bad MGM wasn't casting her in lead comedy roles!
Sadly, Elizabeth Taylor wasn't among the MGM stars who appeared on "I Love Lucy" when the Ricardos and Mertzes went to Hollywood. But 15 years later, she appeared with then-husband Richard Burton on "Here's Lucy," when Lucy (now secretary Lucy Carter), couldn't get that famous Taylor ring off her finger:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FntN7Tr_O0Y
Taylor was a huge soap opera fan, and "General Hospital" was her favorite. In 1981, she got the chance to play the widowed Helena Cassadine - including scenes in the famous Luke-and-Laura wedding episode watched by 30 million viewers:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MK17NAY1d-8
In 1984, she also managed a cameo appearance on another favorite soap, "All My Children," that surprised good friend Carol Burnett, who was playing Verla Grubbs at the time:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSJGBYvm_Es
Taylor was dressed like Burnett's famous cleaning woman character from "The Carol Burnett Show" on CBS. Burnett took the "pilot light" comment from Vicki Lawrence's famous "Mama" character on her show.
She also did a number of television movies. The best of them, "Malice In Wonderland," a CBS production in which she played gossip columnist Louella Parsons to Jane Alexander's Hedda Hopper, is available on DVD.
To wrap up, here's part of her fantastic appearance on "The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson" in 1992:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5WlCf9zFMo
Alas, her marriage with Larry Fortensky (husband No. 8) did not work. But she was a survivor for 78 years with a marvelous film career - and very entertaining appearances on the small screen.
Farewell, Elizabeth.
Friday, March 18, 2011
Week of March 18: Just a Quickie From "Laugh-In"
By Sylvia Gurinsky
It's "Sock It To Me" Time!
This week, PBS, as part of its pledge drive, showed the "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In" retrospective aired by NBC a few years ago.
"Laugh-In," created in 1968 by George Schlatter for NBC, was very much of its time. Like CBS' "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour," "Laugh-In" fed on the discontent of many young Americans with the Vietnam War and their government; unlike "The Somthers Brothers," "Laugh-In" got away with considerably more, with a lighter touch. The fast pace helped with that.
Among the show's writers were Lorne Michaels, who would go on to create "Saturday Night Live," Allan Manings, who wrote for "One Day At a Time" and "Good Times," and Jim Mulligan, who wrote for "M*A*S*H." The initial regular cast included Goldie Hawn, Judy Carne, Arte Johnson, Jo Ann Worley, Dave Madden and Henry Gibson. Lily Tomlin joined the cast in 1969. The two hosts, comedians Dan Rowan and Dick Martin, cast member Ruth Buzzi and announcer Gary Owens would be the only participants to last through the entire run (1968-73). Hawn would go on to Oscar glory and movie stardom, Madden headed for "The Partridge Family" on ABC and many of the others had a variety of television appearances.
Who wasn't a guest star on this show? Sammy Davis, Jr. had frequent appearances. "Laugh-In" drew the cream of comedy, including Jack Benny; and film, including John Wayne and Kirk Douglas; and presidential candidate Richard Nixon (His opponent, Vice President Hubert Humphrey, declined an appearance; many believed that contributed to Humphrey's loss in 1968.).
Its snappy pace helped inspire the creators of PBS' "Sesame Street," whose initial seasons took children through fast-paced letters, numbers and life lessons.
Timely, "Laugh-In" would not prove to be timeless, since it was so topical. But it's fondly remembered, and a look at clips today provides laughs for those who remember the 60s:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZ8Vrvy0VeE
Was "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In" great TV? You bet your sweet bippy!
See you next week. Until then, Happy Viewing!
It's "Sock It To Me" Time!
This week, PBS, as part of its pledge drive, showed the "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In" retrospective aired by NBC a few years ago.
"Laugh-In," created in 1968 by George Schlatter for NBC, was very much of its time. Like CBS' "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour," "Laugh-In" fed on the discontent of many young Americans with the Vietnam War and their government; unlike "The Somthers Brothers," "Laugh-In" got away with considerably more, with a lighter touch. The fast pace helped with that.
Among the show's writers were Lorne Michaels, who would go on to create "Saturday Night Live," Allan Manings, who wrote for "One Day At a Time" and "Good Times," and Jim Mulligan, who wrote for "M*A*S*H." The initial regular cast included Goldie Hawn, Judy Carne, Arte Johnson, Jo Ann Worley, Dave Madden and Henry Gibson. Lily Tomlin joined the cast in 1969. The two hosts, comedians Dan Rowan and Dick Martin, cast member Ruth Buzzi and announcer Gary Owens would be the only participants to last through the entire run (1968-73). Hawn would go on to Oscar glory and movie stardom, Madden headed for "The Partridge Family" on ABC and many of the others had a variety of television appearances.
Who wasn't a guest star on this show? Sammy Davis, Jr. had frequent appearances. "Laugh-In" drew the cream of comedy, including Jack Benny; and film, including John Wayne and Kirk Douglas; and presidential candidate Richard Nixon (His opponent, Vice President Hubert Humphrey, declined an appearance; many believed that contributed to Humphrey's loss in 1968.).
Its snappy pace helped inspire the creators of PBS' "Sesame Street," whose initial seasons took children through fast-paced letters, numbers and life lessons.
Timely, "Laugh-In" would not prove to be timeless, since it was so topical. But it's fondly remembered, and a look at clips today provides laughs for those who remember the 60s:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZ8Vrvy0VeE
Was "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In" great TV? You bet your sweet bippy!
See you next week. Until then, Happy Viewing!
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Week of 3/10: Remember Those Hurt By Charlie Sheen Situation
By Sylvia Gurinsky
In another instance, I wish I could be writing about Charlie Sheen and Martin Sheen as one of the successful teams of father-child combinations on classic television. Hopefully I'll be able to, someday soon.
For now, it's just a matter of hoping the Sheens don't wind up like the O'Connors.
Carroll O'Connor, the brilliant actor who won Emmys as Archie Bunker in "All In the Family" and Sparta Police Chief Bill Gillespie in "In the Heat of the Night," died in 2001, officially of heart trouble brought on by diabetes, but really because of a broken heart brought by the tragedy of his son, Hugh.
Hugh O'Connor, who played Lt. Lonnie Jamison on "In the Heat of the Night," struggled for much of his life with drug addiction and finally committed suicide shortly after the show's cancellation in 1995. (In addition, Howard E. Rollins, Jr., the Academy Award nominee ("Ragtime") who played Virgil Tibbs on the series, also battled drug addiction for years.)
The heartache was too much for Carroll O'Connor to take. For years, he fought to have drug dealers connected to his son brought to justice. He did numerous interviews and public service announcements about the dangers of drugs.
If there was any consolation for Carroll O'Connor, it could have been that his son's battle was conducted in relative privacy. Anyone who watched "In the Heat of the Night" never would have known about it unless they'd seen some news stories about it.
Martin Sheen and the rest of the Sheen/Estevez family don't have the same consolation with Charlie Sheen. Not only is seemingly everyone watching the horror show, but too many - including correspondents at three television networks (ABC, NBC and CNN) and an executive (Mark Cuban) at a fourth, who should all know better - are exploiting it, or trying to, for ratings and profit.
Forget about what you see of Charlie Sheen. Think about his parents, his three siblings and especially his four children.
This isn't entertainment.
For them, this is persistent pain. One can only hope it won't end in the same tragedy that befell the O'Connors.
In another instance, I wish I could be writing about Charlie Sheen and Martin Sheen as one of the successful teams of father-child combinations on classic television. Hopefully I'll be able to, someday soon.
For now, it's just a matter of hoping the Sheens don't wind up like the O'Connors.
Carroll O'Connor, the brilliant actor who won Emmys as Archie Bunker in "All In the Family" and Sparta Police Chief Bill Gillespie in "In the Heat of the Night," died in 2001, officially of heart trouble brought on by diabetes, but really because of a broken heart brought by the tragedy of his son, Hugh.
Hugh O'Connor, who played Lt. Lonnie Jamison on "In the Heat of the Night," struggled for much of his life with drug addiction and finally committed suicide shortly after the show's cancellation in 1995. (In addition, Howard E. Rollins, Jr., the Academy Award nominee ("Ragtime") who played Virgil Tibbs on the series, also battled drug addiction for years.)
The heartache was too much for Carroll O'Connor to take. For years, he fought to have drug dealers connected to his son brought to justice. He did numerous interviews and public service announcements about the dangers of drugs.
If there was any consolation for Carroll O'Connor, it could have been that his son's battle was conducted in relative privacy. Anyone who watched "In the Heat of the Night" never would have known about it unless they'd seen some news stories about it.
Martin Sheen and the rest of the Sheen/Estevez family don't have the same consolation with Charlie Sheen. Not only is seemingly everyone watching the horror show, but too many - including correspondents at three television networks (ABC, NBC and CNN) and an executive (Mark Cuban) at a fourth, who should all know better - are exploiting it, or trying to, for ratings and profit.
Forget about what you see of Charlie Sheen. Think about his parents, his three siblings and especially his four children.
This isn't entertainment.
For them, this is persistent pain. One can only hope it won't end in the same tragedy that befell the O'Connors.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Week of 3/4: Que Pasa?
By Sylvia Gurinsky
Time to take a fun look at the only Cuban-American family to become a television hit - the Peñas of "¿Que Pasa, USA?"
The show was a United States Department of Education project to show a fictional three-generation family from Cuba settling into the United States with all the ups and downs of the late 1970s. Between 1976 and 1980, there were 39 episodes made. Topics included bilingualism, discrimination, alcoholism and drug use, homosexuality, the sexual revolution and more.
The family included grandparents Antonio and Adela (Luis Oquendo and Tampa-born Velia Martinez, who spoke perfect English in real life and was able to do so in one episode), who couldn't speak much English; parents Pepe and Juana (Manolo Villaverde and Ana Margarita Martinez Casado), working and sometimes confounded by "this country," and teenagers Joe and Carmen (Steven Bauer, then known as Rocky Echevarria, and Ana Margo, then known as Ana Margarita Menendez). Carmen had two best friends, Violeta (Connie Ramirez) and the American Sharon (Barbara Ann Martin).
Neighbors and occasional visitors included the nosy Marta (Glenda Diaz-Rigau), somewhat bigoted Mrs. Allen (Jody Wilson) and school counselor Mrs. Peabody (Hilda Wilde). Among the guest stars was a very young Andy Garcia, in one episode as Carmen's fiance. After Bauer left to try his luck in Hollywood, he was replaced by Bernie Pascual as Iggy, a cousin from New Jersey.
The show was produced by WPBT-Channel 2, the primary PBS station in Miami. Amid the laughter was a strong recognition of family quirks and moments by many in Miami's Cuban community.
The show is just as popular today. Check out the official website, whose only flaw is no detailed description of the episodes:
http://www.quepasausa.org/program.html
Full episodes can be found here:
http://www.generation-n.com/shows/quepasa/index.html
Many serious fans of the series (including me) agree that the best episode was "Citizenship," in which Joe wanted to get a college scholarship and had to become a United States citizen to do so. It was unquestionably the most emotional episode, even with the humor (particularly the scene in which Carmen and Violeta are testing the abuelos on citizenship questions!). Here's the finale:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kctvREA3Kmc&feature=related
Enjoy. And until next week, Happy Viewing!
Time to take a fun look at the only Cuban-American family to become a television hit - the Peñas of "¿Que Pasa, USA?"
The show was a United States Department of Education project to show a fictional three-generation family from Cuba settling into the United States with all the ups and downs of the late 1970s. Between 1976 and 1980, there were 39 episodes made. Topics included bilingualism, discrimination, alcoholism and drug use, homosexuality, the sexual revolution and more.
The family included grandparents Antonio and Adela (Luis Oquendo and Tampa-born Velia Martinez, who spoke perfect English in real life and was able to do so in one episode), who couldn't speak much English; parents Pepe and Juana (Manolo Villaverde and Ana Margarita Martinez Casado), working and sometimes confounded by "this country," and teenagers Joe and Carmen (Steven Bauer, then known as Rocky Echevarria, and Ana Margo, then known as Ana Margarita Menendez). Carmen had two best friends, Violeta (Connie Ramirez) and the American Sharon (Barbara Ann Martin).
Neighbors and occasional visitors included the nosy Marta (Glenda Diaz-Rigau), somewhat bigoted Mrs. Allen (Jody Wilson) and school counselor Mrs. Peabody (Hilda Wilde). Among the guest stars was a very young Andy Garcia, in one episode as Carmen's fiance. After Bauer left to try his luck in Hollywood, he was replaced by Bernie Pascual as Iggy, a cousin from New Jersey.
The show was produced by WPBT-Channel 2, the primary PBS station in Miami. Amid the laughter was a strong recognition of family quirks and moments by many in Miami's Cuban community.
The show is just as popular today. Check out the official website, whose only flaw is no detailed description of the episodes:
http://www.quepasausa.org/program.html
Full episodes can be found here:
http://www.generation-n.com/shows/quepasa/index.html
Many serious fans of the series (including me) agree that the best episode was "Citizenship," in which Joe wanted to get a college scholarship and had to become a United States citizen to do so. It was unquestionably the most emotional episode, even with the humor (particularly the scene in which Carmen and Violeta are testing the abuelos on citizenship questions!). Here's the finale:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kctvREA3Kmc&feature=related
Enjoy. And until next week, Happy Viewing!
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