A Study in Fandoms

I am Audrey Hepburn and Cat is my fandoms

So after a brief hiatus, the fandom posts are back. Here we go with a few more things, as Audrey would say, I go ape over.

ABBA

I first got into ABBA through my mother, who grew up in the ’70s and was a disco queen.

Yep she and my and my dad grew up in the ’70s, being the ones to blame for my obsession with the music from that decade.

Anyways, one day she was watching a Time Life infomercial or something that had a collection of all of ABBA‘s greatest hits; along with their concerts on a collection of videos (yes I said video, they were on VHS).

I started watching it with her when I heard the song Dancing Queen. I said “Isn’t that by the band S Club 7, a band I was a fan of through the TV show that used to be on abc family. My mom told me that ABBA was the one who created it. I stayed with her to finish watching, and became a huge fan.

What can you say about this Swedish Disco/Pop Rock/Glam Rock group other than they were awesome! I love the songs and their costumes.

When Mamma Mia! came out in 2008, I was the only girl their under the age of 40; but I didn’t care. The story was so-so, but I had fun singing along as I knew every lyric.

My favorite songs are Dancing Queen, Does Your Mother Know, Fernando, Gimmie! Gimmie! Gimmie! (A Man After Midnight), Honey Honey, Lay All Your Love On Me, Mamma Mia, S.O.S., Super Trouper, Voulez Vous, and Waterloo

Ned and Stacey

I happened upon this show accidentally one morning (they had stopped showing Saved By the Bell). I was channel surfing to see what to watch before class, when I saw Thomas Haden Church. As I just adore him, I decided to check the show out and fell for it.

Ned Dorsey (Thomas Haden Church) is a fantastic advertising executive. He’s up for a big promotion; only problem is he is a confirmed bachelor (trust issues & parent issues) and they are looking for a family man. He needs a wife and he needs one quick.

Stacey Colbert (Debra Messing) is a writer living with her parents as she can’t find an apartment she can afford with her meager paycheck. After Stacey and Ned meet on a blind date, Ned proposes. If Stacey can be his wife for three years; she can live in the beautiful apartment, have nice clothes, enjoy the parties Ned is invited too, and date anyone she wants to (discreetly). It seems like too good of a deal and the two are soon living together. But will this odd couple be able to last?

The show was cute and zany as Stacey was crazy and all over the place, while Ned was more controlled and the “straight man” in the comedic duo.

I loved this show, but couldn’t see why Stacey hated Ned. He’s hot, funny, has great fashion sense, takes her to all kinds of cool places, can cook, is a great gardener, etc. I would have loved being married to him.

Ringer

Ringer was a show that starred Sarah Michelle Geller and aired in 2011-2012. I thought it was fantastic and ended way too early. I’m not sure exactly what happened. Why did they cancel it?

 

Why did it end?

So the series is in the noir genre and has one over-arcing mystery, with multiple twists and turns. Similar to Veronica Mars but much more adult.

Bridget Kelly is a drug addict and stripper. She witnesses a murder crime boss Bodaway Macawi, but is afraid of his power; running away from the FBI agents who promised to protect her. She instead goes to her long estranged twin, Siobhan in New York.

Siobhan has risen from their humble roots, now being a a high society girl; married to one of the most powerful stockbrokers; Andrew Martin (Ioan Gruffudd). Siobhan promises to protect her and takes her out to their house on the Hamptons. They go for a boat ride when Bridget falls asleep. She wakes up to discover her sister gone! The only thing left are her rings!

Oh no…

Afraid that she might be suspected of doing something and worried about Macawi; she decides to pretend to be her sister. But what she thought was a perfect life; money, handsome husband, gorgeous clothes, great friends, etc.- turns out to be anything but.

Siobhan and Andrew’s marriage is on the rocks, her friends are catty, she’s cheating with her best friend’s husband, the stepdaughter hates her, an evil ex-wife trying to remove the “ex” in her title, and to top it all off; someone is trying to kill Siobhan.

Throw in a hot FBI agent that won’t settle until he finds Bridget and not knowing who to trust and you have one winner of a show! Too bad the network didn’t see that.

The only thing I didn’t like about this show was the reason why Bridget and Siobhan were estranged. It wasn’t a horrible reason, it made sense; but I don’t know I guess I was expecting more. The same way I was expecting MORE SEASONS!!

Why did they end it?!

For more on Sarah Michelle Geller, go to She’s Been Totally Different…Like Stepford: Ted, Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997)

Saved By the Bell

Saved by the Bell was one of my favorite shows growing up. I used to watch it in the afternoons, and then when they changed the line up; every morning. This continued up into college as I just loved the nostalgia, characters, and the fun plots. As they have it on Netflix; I’ve recently continued my watching and enjoyment.

So the show started out Good Morning Miss Bliss, with Hayley Mills as the main character, and teacher at the junior high school. The show did so-so; so they choose four of the characters to continue; changed the location, and instead focused on the students rather than teachers.

The show centered around Zach Morris, Screech Powers, Jessie Spano, Kelly Kapowski, Lisa Turtle, and A.C. Slater. Usually Zach either created a crazy situation or came up with some silly scheme to get out of a problem. However, they didn’t shy away from the serious issues; sometimes dealing with them in a cheesy way and others very poignantly.

I also watched the College Years, although I didn’t like the two girls they added on when Lisa, Kelly, and Jessie left the show. Otherwise it was good, espechially when they brought Kelly back.

So for characters we have my absolute favorite- Zach Morris played by Mark-Paul Gosselaar.

Zach was hot, and let me just say MPG is still looking pretty fine. He was also loyal, funny, kind, and just fun. He always had some kind of get-rich-quick scheme or plan that usually didn’t work out how he planned. However, one of the things that made him the best was his devotion and adoration of Kelly. Loved her from episode one and continued on.

Jessie Spano was played by Elizabeth Berkley. She was tall, intelligent, a feminist, and always crowing about rights and how stupid men are.

Sometimes she was annoying, but usually fun. At the beginning of the series she had a crush on Zach, but she ended up dating A.C.; and I thought the two worked well. She left the series, but returned for the series finale: when Zach and Kelly got married.

There was Screech Powers played by Dustin Diamond. Screech was a total nerd. He got straight As, built a robot, messed around with all kind of electronics, and was usually the naive one that went along with one of Zach’s schemes. He had a crush on Lisa, but she wasn’t interested in him.

Kelly Kapowski was played by Tiffani-Amber Thiessen. Kelly is the popular, pretty, cheerleader, but also smart all-American girl. All the boys wanted to date her; including Zach and A.C.

She and Zach are constantly being thrown together and then pulled apart, until the very end when the two finally stay together forever, as they get married.

Lisa Turtle was played by Lark Voorhes. Lisa was super rich and super stylish; always dressed the best.

She was always super popular and helping plan parties and dances. She and Zach date briefly, but most of the time she had a new beau every episode.

And last, but not least; the other guy that I thought was a total hunk (although my heart was first for Zach) Mario Lopez who played A.C. Slater. A.C. transferred to the school and was a jock, also being a rival for Zach in Kelly’s affections. However, as MPG and Mario became such great friends; the writers had to change the script and have the two become buds instead. He dated around, Kelly at times, but in the end of the high school series he and Jessie stole each other’s hearts. In the college years, he and Zach are roomies even trying to get into the same fraternity. Slater isn’t just a jock though, he has some great story lines in dealing with being an army brat and moving from place to place; along with trying to express his Latino culture. Like MPG he is still as hot as ever.

Lookin’ good

And just because it was awesome; here is the funny reunion they has on Jimmy Fallon’s show.

For more on Mario Lopez, go to On the 8th Day ‘Til Christmas: Holiday in Handcuffs (2007)

For the previous post, go to To Kill a Fangirl

And Stay tuned for part 20

 

On the 8th Day ‘Til Christmas: Holiday in Handcuffs (2007)

On the 8th day ’til Christmas  my blogger gave to me

Holiday in Handcuffs (2007)

This film is another one of those that goes under the cliché of two people who can’t stand each other being stuck together for a period of time; and then end up falling in love. This copies the film, It Happened One Night. That is such an influential film that I promise you I will do a review on it.

So this film was made by abc family, a part of their 25 Days of Christmas. It stars the amazing Melissa Joan Hart; sparking her return to acting; along with the very handsome Mario Lopez. I had the biggest crush on Mario Lopez when he was A.C. Slater on Saved by the Bell. (Although he was my second, my heart first belonged to Mark-Paul Gosselaar).

So the film starts out with Trudy, (MJH), being ragged on by her parents. In everything she’s been in lately, she always has mean parents, it makes you wonder if they are really like that.

Hmm

Anyways, her mom is complaining about Trudy. Everything about her and she does is wrong. In fact, one thing her mother always complains about is Trudy’s hair, so she decided she would get a perm “to fix” it. It doesn’t turn out as planned as she completely wrecks her hair.

Because she was distracted by her hair and a phone call from her mother she also misses a job interview.

What else could go wrong?

When she gets to work, Raj’s Diner, her boyfriend stops by. Instead of going with her to her Christmas Family Reunion, he dumps her.

Trudy has a complete breakdown, kidnapping the next guy she sees, David (Mario Lopez), and takes him with her. She has a 19th century gun, but David manages to slip on some ice making it much easier for Trudy to lug him in her car.

Trudy ties him up with pantyhose and her scarf. She explains the situation and starts to tell him a little bit about herself. She runs out of gas and has to go get some, but the attendant comes out to pump her gas and sees David tied up. Trudy hurriedly explains that he’s her bf and they are going away for a weekend of “fun”. He runs back to his store and Trudy hurries to pump the gas before he gets back, worried he is going to call the cops. As the attendant comes out, he gives her free furry handcuffs for her “weekend”.

So every Christmas Trudy’s family rents out a place for Christmas where they can be away from the world. No cellphones, phones, or any electronics are allowed. This year they are going to a cabin far out in the middle of nowhere. She takes David there, but first goes into the cabin to tell her parents that “Nick”, (as she is pretending David is Nick ), likes to pretend that he is kidnapped and doesn’t want to be there. When she brings David in, he starts yelling about him being kidnapped but all Trudy’s parents do is laugh. When her brother and sister also come in, they have the same result. Trudy also becomes the key-master, in charge of  hiding the phones and keys from everyone.

Trudy also keeps an eye on David, by having him share the room with her; telling her mom that she’s old enough to sleep in the same room as her bf. They end up sharing a room with bunk beds. That night David tries to escape, and Trudy catches him, bringing him back to the cabin.

The next day, David catches Trudy on the phone, and the two fight over it until Trudy crushes it with a meat mallet. The mom lends David some of the dad’s old clothes, which are too small, causing him to be the butt of everyone’s jokes. When the mom needs something from the store, he and Trudy’s dad go out to get it. Trudy tries to stop them, but everyone convinces her it will be great “bonding time”. While the guys are gone, Trudy’s sister helps her with her hair; straightening it out.

David and the dad drive out to the closest store,  which happens to be the same gas station that Trudy had stopped at before. When David tries to convince him that he was kidnapped and needs help; the man brings out a shotgun and tells him to go back to the pretty lady. David complies. As he and the dad are driving back; David tries to take the wheel, almost crashing them. The dad puts David in a chokehold and calms them down. When they get back, David is so bummed that he is still stuck there he flings himself down upon a chair. When he does that, his too-tight pants rip, and Trudy’s older brother comes to his rescue by lending him some of his clothes.

When he goes to get the clothes, David discovers that Trudy’s brother Jake has a phone. He borrows it and runs into the bathroom to hurriedly call his girlfriend, Jessica. When he reaches her, he can say nothing; because she is too busy yelling at him for standing her up.

I am not pleased

David is finally able to explain by bursting out that he was going to propose. Now this part made no sense to me. Jessica is the daughter of David’s boss, and used to the high life. And he was going to propose to her in a diner?

That makes no sense! You think he would pick something a little more classy than Raj’s Diner.

Anyways, he tells Jessica that he’s been kidnapped and to send help asap. Jessica promises to help, eagerly thinking of the ring she will be receiving.

By this time Trudy has figured out what is going on, and picks the lock on the door. She grabs the phone and tosses it in the toilet, but it’s too late by then. David laughs at her, and promises that he will be the best bf ever, just to make things worse when her family finds out what she did. He proves to be as her family tells him of all of Trudy’s secrets, has him put the angel on the top of the tree, make Trudy fetch David pie, and has him read ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas. Trudy becomes extremely upset the way that her family seems to like David more than her.

After they read the book, the mom has them write out their Christmas lists and leaves Oreos and milk out for Santa. Here Trudy and David have a heart-to-heart. Trudy tells him that she is a disappointment to her parents and David tries to console her.

The next day is Christmas, and in the morning Trudy and David spend the day out having fun. They play hockey and take a walk out in the snow. They both learn more about each other as David reveals that his parents died when he was about six, and was raised by his grandpa. He worked his way through college and studied architecture, becoming a developer only  because there was more money in it. Trudy realizes that while her family isn’t perfect there is plenty to be thankful for. She also tells David about the best Christmas she’s ever had. One year she was supposed to be in an ice-skating performance and it was canceled because of snow. She was so disappointed, that her father sprayed water over the patio, icing it up and decorated the whole area with lights so she could perform for them there.

Later, they go inside and play chess where they have some more heart-to-hearts and David realizes how sorry Trudy is for kidnapping him. They also just happen to walk under some mistletoe, causing the two to share a kiss and start up some feelings between the two.

Later when David is cleaning up, he finds an album with photos of Trudy’s artwork. She does a lot of portraiture; very post-impressionism style. Trudy finds her mom, and discovers that not everything is perfect in her parent’s marriage.

When present time comes around nobody gets what they want. Trudy receives a pink sweater, as her mom buys her one every year; Jake gets a tie; the Dad gets underwear; the mom a case of socket wrenches; and the grandma a mug that says “World’s Greatest Grandma”.  David got a backscratcher and Katie (Trudy’s sister) a book of all the law firms in the nation. Trudy is also given a briefcase, which starts another argument about Trudy’s need to get a “real job”. David can’t watch her parents be so cruel to Trudy, and interrupts telling them that her artwork is amazing. He also pulls out his ring for Jessica and proposes. It’s so sweet and romantic.

Meanwhile Jessica and the cops have tracked down Trudy’s friend and coworker to find out where Trudy is. They interrupt her and her boyfriend, and when the cops threaten her, she spills all.

Back at the cabin, all are getting ready for Christmas dinner. In fact Trudy walks in on David getting ready, getting a great look at his bod. All I can say is I greatly appreciated the writers creating this scene.

Right before dinner, David gets Trudy and tells her he has a Christmas surprise. He has recreated her prefect Christmas. He sprayed the patio so it was icy, and put lights up everywhere; and asks her to show him her ice-skating routine. She does and the two’s love for each other is cemented, but neither has realized it.

Christmas dinner arrives, and all hell breaks loose. Katie tells her parents that she dropped out of school and has used the tuition to start a pilates studio in CA. Jake reveals that he is gay and has been seeing a man for a long time. The parents tell all about their marital problems. Just as all is revealed, the cops break in arresting everyone and letting the cat out of the bag about the kidnapping.

Everyone spends the night in jail. The next day they are all released as David chooses to not press charges.

Trudy realizes that she is in love with David, but puts herself into her painting, creating a piece about David’s Christmas surprise.

Meanwhile David is starting to see that Jessica isn’t the right person for him. He starts to reevaluate what his life is going to be like with her, and not quite pleased with what it will be like.

As all this is happening, one of Trudy’s pieces is picked to be in a show. She invites her brother to come to it, and he brings along his boyfriend. At the show Trudy is surprised to see the rest of the family. The parents have been in counseling and all have promised to be more open with each other. Trudy’s piece also gets sold. However, her happiness is short-lived as she is heartbroken over David, he got married the Saturday before.

Trudy leaves the show by herself, and is kidnapped. She is blindfolded and taken somewhere by………….David! David is the one who had purchased her picture and came to tell her he couldn’t marry Jessica. That not only is he in love with her, but she inspired him to create his own architectural firm. The film ends with the two being together; happily ever after!

To start the 12 Posts of Christmas from the beginning, go to On the 12 Day ’til Christmas: The 12 Men of Christmas

For the previous post, go to On the 9th Day ’til Christmas: Borrowed Hearts

For more on two who hate each other falling in love, go to I Don’t Want the Money