channel freakboy: INTIMATE AGONY (1983)

Paradise Isle is a luxurious destination to live or vacation.  There’s fine dining, a yacht-like ferry and tennis galore.  What more could anyone need?  Well, with the horndog tennis instructor, an unfaithful husband and promiscuous teenagers on the island, maybe everyone could use some antiviral medication.  This made for TV movie aired on the U.S. network ABC in 1983 and plays as if JAWS and an Afterschool Special met and had a herpes baby. 

NOTE: according to IMDb, the main character’s last name is Richards, but it is Richardson on screen.

Trust me, I’m a doctor!

Dr. Kyle Richardson (Anthony Geary) is initially having a good time as a new resident of Paradise Isle.  He is thrilled to bump into an old college buddy Tommy (Mark Harmon), who is now a lascivious tennis instructor.  Kyle is also happy to start spending time with Marsha (Judith Light), a cocktail waitress who nearly ran him over with her car in a meet-cute moment at the beginning of the movie.  However, things take a turn when the doctor realizes there is an outbreak on Paradise Isle.  Tommy has a fever and is worried about his sex life.  Nick Todd (Brian Kerwin), a philandering husband, has given the gift that keeps on giving to his unaware, pregnant wife Connie (Lori Lethin).  Then Katie Fairmont (Cindy Fisher), teenage daughter to real estate developer Dave Fairmont (Robert Vaughn), has contracted the virus after having sex with a boy in her class.  In other words, everything’s coming up herpes! 

Tragically, this is not a musical!

To make matters worse, Dr. Kyle Richardson is being silenced by head doctor Dr. Holliston (Arthur Hill) and Dave Fairmont.  They don’t want Kyle’s herpes concern to cause a panic or scare away real estate investors.  Plus, on top of all that, Marsha is hiding something from Kyle.  What will happen?  Will Dr. Kyle Richardson spread the word of warning before herpes spreads to more and more people?  Will Dave Fairmont learn of his daughter’s diagnosis?  Will Tommy stop being a tennis slut and learn to respect women?  Will Connie find out she has herpes before she goes into labor?   What exactly is Marsha hiding?  My lips are sealed since INTIMATE AGONY is streaming on Tubi. 

What happens on Paradise Isle, stays on Paradise Isle!

My sister spotted INTIMATE AGONY because she recognized Anthony Geary on the little Tubi poster.  Being fans of the daytime soap GENERAL HOSPITAL, we knew we had to see Geary play someone who isn’t the infamous Luke Spencer.  As Dr. Kyle Richardson, Geary is a sincere, gentle, caring medical professional.  Then there’s Judith Light as Marsha.  It’s weird seeing her in a dramatic role when you know she has serious comic timing, but from the dates on IMDb, Ms. Light was either fresh off or just finishing her stint on the daytime soap ONE LIFE TO LIVE.  I guess it’s not a far stretch going from housewife-turned-prostitute Karen Wolek to single mother Marsha, who may or may not have herpes.  

The fresh face of herpes?

Mark Harmon, with a porn star tache and nearly always in tennis shorts, is the epitome of a lothario and makes you believe Tommy was probably voted most likely to get herpes in school.  Brian Kerwin oozes pathetic loser vibes as cheater Nick Todd and Lori Lethin is all sorts of sweet naïveté as his wife.  Robert Vaughn gives rich fathers a bad name as Dave Fairmont, especially when he refuses to listen to anything more from his daughter after she admits to being sexually active.  Cindy Fisher is fine as Katie Fairmont, but she might be the weakest link, except for when she trashes her room out of frustration.  Katie’s best friend Lisa is totally more interesting and is played with ‘80’s new wave energy by Shawn Schepps, who would show up a year later as Sarah Conner’s (“You're dead, honey.”) co-worker in THE TERMINATOR. 

No herpes or plastic hangers ever!

The movie takes some time to become a cohesive story.  At first, all the characters seem very separate and it’s easy to forget who is who.  This may have something to do with the slew of writers listed.  Richard De Roy, James S. Henerson, and James G. Hirsch are the credited writers, for those who want to know.  From what I noticed on IMDb, director Paul Wendkos mainly directed television productions.  With INTIMATE AGONY, he delivered a solid disease-of-the-week TV movie without spiraling too deeply into melodrama and histrionics, with maybe the exception of Katie.

In her defense, Katie is having a really bad day!

In conclusion…
INTIMATE AGONY must have been shocking in 1983 with its frank discussion of genital herpes and its ultimately non-shaming attitude towards sex.  Never mind that HIV/AIDS was ravaging the gay community at the time and mainstream media, if they even talked about it, was largely all about blaming and shaming those suffering and dying, but that’s a soapbox post for another day.  If you’re looking for a blast from the past with some freakishly young looking familiar faces, I seriously barely recognized Judith Light, and some low-key unintentional humor, then INTIMATE AGONY may be the TV movie for you!  If anything else, there’s Mark Harmon wearing nothing but a towel. 

Tommy can give me herpes anytime!

Freak Out. 
JLH 

P.S.  Maybe one of the characters from the orgy in my last post visited Paradise Isle and started the herpes outbreak… 🤔 
(click here for more) 

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Embrace the agony and read my books in 2026!
📚
(click here for more) 

Happy Life Day…or something

🎵 You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Malla
Comet and Cupid and Donner and Itchy
But do you recall
The most famous Wookiee of all?🎵 

Wait, what? 

Lumpy is neither a reindeer nor the most famous Wookiee!  That honor goes to Lumpy’s father Chewbacca.  Oh, you didn’t know Chewie has a son?  He also has a frazzled wife named Malla and a  cantankerous father named Itchy.  They are anxiously waiting for Chewbacca to stop smuggling and generally galavanting around that far, far away galaxy with Han Solo and come home to celebrate Life Day. 

What is Life Day?  It’s a day to celebrate family and friends, and to hope for galactic peace or something.  All you have to do is throw on a robe, grab a glowing sphere and go into the light like Carol Anne in POLTERGEIST.  Then you’ll find yourself in some rocky, desolate area where Princess Leia Organa warbles a classic Life Day ditty, while Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Chewbacca, C-3PO and R2-D2 look on with varying degrees of interest. 

Before you get to hang with STAR WARS Legacy Characters in Life Day Limbo, you have to pay your dues by spending way too much time with Malla, Itchy and Lumpy.  You will have to sit through a cooking lesson with Malla and a multiple-armed alien Julia Child, played by Harvey Korman.  You’ll have to wonder what the hell is going on when Itchy gets overly excited by a trippy virtual reality song performed by Diahann Carroll.  Then there is Lumpy.  You will be forced to watch Lumpy refuse to do the dishes, take out the trash, try to steal a cookie and generally behave like a bratty prototype of an Ewok.  

Malla wishes she had used Wookiee birth control 

I honestly don’t remember if I watched THE STAR WARS HOLIDAY SPECIAL back in the day, but surely I did.  I mean, I may have been a very little kid, but I was a huge fan.  Maybe I blocked out the experience for the sake of my sanity.  So, my first memorable viewing was in the early 2000’s when I picked up a bootleg VHS copy at a comic book store.  This sketchy copy had all the authentic 1970’s commercials and the “Fighting the Frizzies” news promo.  For worse, or maybe better, the bootleg DVD I ordered from eBay appears to be a somewhat spiffed up print, at least compared to the VHS, that is commercial and frizzy free.  It’s almost what it would be like if George Lucas or Disney+ finally released an official version. 

THE STAR WARS HOLIDAY SPECIAL needs to be seen to be believed.  It’s a strange mixture of a made-for-TV movie and a variety show.  Who was the target audience in 1978?  I’m sure my 5-year-old  self would’ve been glued to the television set in a frenzied desire to see more of the characters I saw on the big screen.  I doubt I would’ve cared about Chewbacca’s family, Art Carney as a shopkeeper and Bea Arthur as a bartender at the Cantina.  Though, decades later, Bea Arthur singing a farewell song to drunken aliens is a highlight for me.  

Another highlight is the animated STAR WARS adventure Lumpy covertly watches while Imperial Stormtroopers search their tree house home.  The animation has a funky 70’s look and introduces badass bounty hunter Boba Fett a couple of years before THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK.  This alone makes THE STAR WARS HOLIDAY SPECIAL worth watching. 

In conclusion…
Ridiculous, weird and sometimes just plain painful, THE STAR WARS HOLIDAY SPECIAL is a time capsule of 1970’s television and a testament to the impact A NEW HOPE had on pop culture.  The fact they got the original cast, sans Alec Guinness, is truly remarkable and is another reason to watch.  So, if you’re in the mood for a certain kind of Yuletide sci-fi cheese, or you’re a STAR WARS completist, THE STAR WARS HOLIDAY SPECIAL is the festive tradition you didn’t know you needed…and you can find it on YouTube.  It’s honestly better than some of the more recent theatrical films.  

Chewie agrees with my assessment

Freak Out, 
JLH 

P.S.  Disney+ released THE LEGO STAR WARS HOLIDAY SPECIAL in 2020 and it’s a fun, satirical love letter to the original special and the entire STAR WARS universe.  

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Click an episode for more STAR WARS…
Episode I
Episode II 
Episode III 
Episode IV 
Episode V
Episode VI 
Episode VII
Episode VIII 
Episode IX 

I sold my soul for Doctor Who, but ended up on a Freaky Muppet Jonas trip instead!

Fine! 

I did it! 

I was weak and backsliding, like Carrie’s fanatical mom, and subscribed to Disney+ so my sister and I could finally catch up on Doctor Who!  

Have we been watching Doctor Who though? 

Nope.

We immediately started watching The Muppet Show (1976-1981).  It may even be funnier and more outrageous than we remembered, and it also proves Disney doesn’t have a clue what to do with these wonderfully sardonic, violent, sexual and irreverent characters in the 21st Century!  My only concern is being triggered with nightmarish childhood flashbacks when we get to the episode horrifyingly featured in An American Werewolf in London (1981)! 

Next we were going to watch Bride Hard (2025) because it stars Rebel Wilson.  Ugh, it was so painfully unfunny that we gave up after 10 or 15 minutes.  Instead, we watched Freaky Friday (1976), the one with Jodie Foster, who is always worth watching, and we still enjoyed this classic.  Sure, allegedly savvy, modern audiences might find the original dated now, but you just can’t beat the absolute charm of the opening credits!  I learned from Gill at Realweegiemidget
Reviews that “I’d Like to Be You for a Day” is sung by stars Barbara Harris and Jodie Foster! 

Then, I guess to prove my sister and I are not stuck in the past, we started watching and actually finished A Very Jonas Brothers Christmas Movie (2025).  For the sake of this post, and to take away any boy band blackmail power from Dave of My Gay Opinion, I confess that, for a very brief moment in time, I listened to the Jonas Brothers and may even still have one of their CDs.  So, of course we had to watch their Christmas movie.  The plot is completely ridiculous, but some terrifically funny guest stars, such as Will Ferrell, Laverne Cox, Andrea Martin, Billie Lourd and Randall Park kept us entertained.  However, I kept thinking the movie needed less singing and more of whatever this is…

What happens on the Jonas plane, stays on the Jonas plane!

In conclusion…
Maybe for such a fun, trippy Disney+ experience, my soul was worth the price of admission…so far!

 
Now on to Doctor Who and more of The Muppet Show!  

Freak Out, 
JLH 

P.S.  A Pennsylvania reader’s feline companion is eager to check out my Dawson’s Creek parody! 

📘 

channel freakboy: THE SNOOP SISTERS (1972-1974)

Before Jessica Fletcher started suspiciously turning up whenever a murder occurs, there was mystery novelist Ernesta Snoop and her sister Gwendolyn (call her “G”) Snoop Nicholson, who happily types out Ernesta’s manuscripts.  Through five 90 minute episodes, this duo solved murders, found suspected dead persons alive and even proved their own innocence in an attempted murder!  They did all of this surrounded by familiar faces, such as Vincent Price, Roddy McDowall, Geraldine Page, Jill Clayburgh, Bert Convy, Bo Svenson, Bernie Casey, Katherine Helmand, and Alice Cooper.  Yes, you read that correctly!  Alice Cooper even performs a song and does a bit of decent acting! 

I found THE SNOOP SISTERS at a thrift store during a day trip in a different town.  Neither my sister nor I had ever heard of this series.  I initially thought it was British, but when my sister read the back, I realized I was wrong.  According to the box, THE SNOOP SISTERS was part of a rotating NBC Mystery Movie series, which explains the limited number of lengthy episodes.  

Helen Hayes as Ernesta and Mildred Natwick as “G” have fantastic sisterly chemistry.  They finish each other sentences and sometimes communicate without even completing a sentence.  If they overhear their police detective nephew discussing the case as they are leaving a room, they turn around in unison to overhear more.  Together, they make for a delightfully quirky duo who will not stop until the mystery is solved. 

The pilot episode, “The Female Instinct” (S1 E0, according to IMDb) is the best in the short-lived series.  The story revolves around a former movie star who is murdered after she announces the impending publication of a scandalous tell-all book.  Ernesta and “G” knew the woman, so they take it upon themselves to investigate, with the occasional assistance of their ex-con chauffeur.  Eccentric characters come and go, culminating with all the suspects gathered in a drawing room for the big reveal.  It seems like a typical whodunit, but the charming idiosyncrasies of Ernesta and “G” elevate the plot.  Plus, the sisters get to pursue the murderer in their 1930’s Lincoln as their nephew pursues them in a commandeered ice cream truck!  

The best thing about the pilot episode is it allows THE SNOOP SISTERS to naturally be their quirky, curious, incisive selves, with verbal word play that is clever and funny.  With maybe the exception of “Fear is a Free-Throw” (S1 E2), where “G” is a prime suspect in an attempted murder, the other episodes tone down their quirky charm and instead focus more on the guest stars or placing the sisters in silly situations.  I mean, yes, it is amusing to see Ernesta and “G” dressed up as the Frankenstein monster and his Bride in “A Black Day for Bluebeard” (S1 E4), but it lacks that special something from the pilot. 

In conclusion… 
THE SNOOP SISTERS may not become my favorite mystery series, but it is an enjoyable early ‘70’s romp.  All of the guest stars are fun, but the title characters are the reason to watch.  When Ernesta and “G” are allowed to take the spotlight, they shine bright with eccentric glitter.  So, pull up a cozy chair and enjoy THE SNOOP SISTERS as they snoop and snoop and snoop!  

Freak Out, 
JLH 

P.S. In case you’re an Alice Cooper completist, the rock legend appears in “The Devil Made Me Do It” (S1 E3) 

channel freakboy: DOCTOR WHO: VOYAGE OF THE DAMNED (2007)

It felt like fate or destiny or a big ball of timey-wimey coincidence when Rebecca of Taking Up Room announced THE TITANIC IN POP CULTURE BLOGATHON.  Earlier this year, I revealed to the 4 or 5 readers of this blog how much I love James Cameron’s 1997 blockbuster TITANIC.  Since my heart already went on and on and on about one of the most loved and hated Titanic tales, how else could I participate?  The answer crashed into me just like the Titanic crashed through the walls of the TARDIS in the opening scene of the VOYAGE OF THE DAMNED 2007 Christmas episode of DOCTOR WHO.   

The Doctor had just said goodbye to companion Martha Jones when what appears to be the doomed 1912 luxury liner rams through his space-time machine.  After becoming a stowaway, The Doctor quickly realizes he isn’t on the original Titanic, but rather a spaceship replica currently visiting Earth.  I guess our savage, war-hungry race is of interest to hoity-toity alien vacationers.  These vacationers include a supposed expert on Earth culture and history, a rich entrepreneur, a spikey little reddish person, and a joyous couple who won tickets through a lottery.  The Doctor takes a shine to most of the vacationers, but his attention is primarily on a cocktail waitress named Astrid Peth.  Astrid took this job on the Titanic so she could visit alien worlds.  After The Doctor makes her alien sky dreams come true with a quick trip to Earth, the Titanic is hit by a meteoroid storm.  This collision causes the Titanic to begin sinking in space, hurtling directly towards Earth. 

Now The Doctor must guide Astrid and the surviving vacationers through the severely damaged ship to the bridge so he can take the helm.  This task becomes complicated when the information robot angels, meant to help passengers, begin turning into malfunctioning killing machines.  Was the meteoroid impact really an accident?  Will The Doctor rescue the survivors?  Will Titanic sink into the Earth and wipe out all life when the nuclear engines set the sky on fire?  Will the robot angels fly? 

VOYAGE OF THE DAMNED is, in my opinion, one of the best DOCTOR WHO Christmas specials and it would be a good introduction for the uninitiated viewer.  The Doctor is between companions, so it’s almost like a fresh start.  There are a few brief references to past episodes, but nothing vital to the central Titanic plot.  A new viewer will get to know The Doctor and how this space-time traveler responds physically and emotionally to sometimes impossible situations.  Another great thing about this episode is the viewer really gets to know the other characters as The Doctor leads them through the Titanic.  Tragically, this means it hurts when some of them die along the way.  The overall plot is more reminiscent of THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE (1972) than James Cameron’s TITANIC.  

Writer Russell T. Davies turns in a script that is simultaneously fun, scary, amusing, tragic and touching.  David Tennant as The 10th Doctor gives a dazzling performance full of humor and pathos.  The character of Astrid Peth is so down-to-earth and relatable that it’s easy to forget she is portrayed by the “Princess of Pop” herself, Kylie Minogue.  Nope, she doesn’t sing, which helps make Astrid feel so real that the viewer will root for her to be The Doctor’s next companion.  Add the rest of the strong supporting cast and director James Strong, and you will have the perfect sci-fi Christmas present to make you feel all the feels!

In conclusion…
Whether or not you’re a Whovian and/or a Titanic completist, VOYAGE OF THE DAMNED is a gem to be enjoyed at Christmas or anytime of the year! 

Freak Out, 
JLH 

P.S.  Click a pic for more DOCTOR WHO… 💙 

channel freakboy: SCREAM QUEENS (2015-2016)

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This post is part of The We Are Family Blogathon, hosted by Rebecca of Taking Up Room! 

Click the pic to read more reviews!

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Nepotism. 

I find it easy to believe that most people who find success nowadays in acting, singing, or even writing have a relative connection to initially open doors closed to ordinary people.  Oh, maybe celebs really are discovered at Schwab’s Pharmacy or on the Internet, but I’m sure they are very rare exceptions.  I don’t know how Emma Roberts was discovered, but you can’t tell me being the daughter of Eric Roberts, and especially being the niece of Julia Roberts didn’t play a huge part! 

A young Emma hitching a ride on aunt Julia‘s fame!

I first saw Emma Roberts in the fun 2007 big screen version of NANCY DREW.  Then I enjoyed her various roles in the television series AMERICAN HORROR STORY.  It’s actually in AHS where her range as an actor is on full display.  Her character in the Coven season is radically different from the one in Freak Show, for example.  However, there is one role I love more than any other character Miss Roberts has breathed life into and that is Chanel Oberlin in SCREAM QUEENS. 

Chanel Oberlin is too cool for this blog!

Chanel Oberlin is president of Kappa Kappa Tau, a very exclusive sorority at the prestigious Wallace University.  This 5’ 2” terror rules over her minions, Chanels #2, #3 and #5, with a self-absorbed entitled iron fist.  She is dating the stupid rich and just plain stupid Chad Radwell and she can boss around housemaid Miss Bean.  Chanel’s privileged life is perfect until it is turned upside down by an assortment of freak pledges led by Grace Gardner and Zayday Williams, who want to make Kappa Kappa Tau a real sisterhood of women empowerment and inclusivity.  Oh, and there’s a serial killer dressed as a Red Devil, the university mascot, and the psycho has set vengeful eyes on the sorority because of something terrible that happened there 20 years prior.  

This Devil is horny for blood!

That sums up the plot of the first season and it’s a roller coaster of comedy, horror and non-pc dialogue and behavior!  The second season is pretty much the same, with mostly the same cast, but it’s set in a hospital and there’s a serial killer dressed as a Green Meanie.  It’s even more ridiculous than the first season, but entertaining, especially on a second viewing. 

Sorry, Chanel, but season two doesn’t deserve an award!

For the record, Emma Roberts isn’t the only potential case of nepotism in SCREAM QUEENS.  Jamie Lee Curtis, having a blast as Chanel’s adversary, Dean Cathy Munsch, is the daughter of Janet Leigh and Tony Curtis.  Oliver Hudson, as goofy and suspicious Wes Gardner, is the son of Goldie Hawn.  Billie Lourd, perfectly cast as earmuff wearing Chanel #3, is the daughter of Carrie Fisher and the granddaughter of Debbie Reynolds.  Keke Palmer, as fun and feisty Zayday Williams, is the daughter of former actors Sharon and Larry Palmer.  Honestly, I’ve never heard of Keke’s parents, but it proves having even the slightest connection to the entertainment industry boosts your chances of being discovered.

Potential victims and killers in season one!

Other notable talent in SCREAM QUEENS includes Niecy Nash as the cluelessly determined security guard Denise Hemphill, who steals every scene.  Glen Powell is stupid fun as the incredibly dense fraternity leader and Chanel’s boyfriend Chad Radwell.  Lea Michelle is super awkward and funny as neck-brace wearing sorority pledge Hester Ulrich.  Abigail Breslin captures the mixture of superiority and low self esteem as Chanel #5, the most put upon of the Chanels.  In season two, John Stamos turns up as a surgeon with a killer transplant hand and Kirstie Alley gives a brilliant performance as the head nurse with a massive grudge against the Chanels.  They are all great reasons to watch SCREAM QUEENS, but I’m here to focus on one.  Obvi!

Yes, please tell me how fabulous I am!

Emma Roberts as Chanel Oberlin is amazing!  The character is at best a bully, at worst a psycho-sociopath.  Yet, Miss Roberts makes Chanel obsessively watchable and quotable.  (For years I had Chanel shrieking at the housemaid, “Miss Bean, I said let’s hit it!” as a text message alert sound on my phone)  Chanel is one of those television characters who’s fun to watch but you really wouldn’t want to be around them in real life.  Only someone with talent can walk this acting tightrope between loving and loathing a character.  So forget PRETTY WOMAN and whatever Eric Roberts has been in, (I mainly know him as The Master in the 1996 made-for-tv DOCTOR WHO movie) and celebrate an example of the entertainment industry striking gold through nepotism!  Emma Roberts shines brighter in a million different ways than her famous family members and you will never forget her, especially as the maniacal, manipulative, monstrous Chanel Oberlin! 

Chanel Oberlin says the awful, ugly things we only think with style and flair!

In conclusion…
SCREAM QUEENS is a scream and the true Ryan Murphy teen follow-up to POPULAR.  (gives GLEE a sideways stink eye)  Hilarious, creepy and absolutely bonkers, SCREAM QUEENS is bound to joyously entertain and offend. So, if you’re an Emma Roberts or Ryan Murphy completist or you enjoy killer comedies, slip on some earmuffs and serve up some cottenball appetizers because SCREAM QUEENS may be the television series for you! 

See, even the DVD knows who’s at the center of the series!

Freak Out, 
JLH 

P.S.  Click the pic for a bit more about POPULAR…

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STURGEONS (the complete serials) is a modern take on 1950’s sci-fi/horror films and what happens after the end credits roll…

channel freakboy: POPULAR (1999-2001)

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This post is part of The Mismatched Couples. Blogathon, hosted by Barry of Cinematic Catharsis & Gill of Realweegiemidget Reviews! 
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created by Gina Matthew’s & Ryan Murphy 

With my apologies to Buffy and Dawson, out of all the WB series I watched back in the day, POPULAR was and still is my favorite!  This two season wonder was co-created by Ryan Murphy, the mind behind AMERICAN HORROR STORY and SCREAM QUEENS, and his twisted touch is present, especially in the first season.  The setting is Kennedy High School, where teen-angst is on display with a wildly satirical bite to its bullseye truth. 

Team Brunette

It’s sophomore year for Sam McPherson, a brunette reporter for the school newspaper, and she is ready to make a fresh start.  She even encourages her widowed mom Jane to go on a singles cruise.  Meanwhile, Brooke McQueen, a blonde cheerleader captain, says farewell to her divorced dad Mike as he heads off on a business trip.  This lack of parental guidance provides the perfect opportunity to throw the first party of the year, thus securing and reinforcing the social hierarchy at Kennedy High.  

Team Blonde

Brooke is on top of this pecking order with her two main cohorts, cheerleader co-captain/manipulative witch Nicole Julian and ridiculously rich southern transfer/possible psycho Mary Cherry.  Also at Brooke’s disposal is her  jock boyfriend/aspiring musical thespian Josh Ford and his jock friend/aspiring white rapper Michael ‘Sugar Daddy’ Bernardino.  Sam rules the area between popular and unpopular with her hardcore activist friend Lily Esposito and her singing-dancing-wants to be a cheerleader friend Carmen Ferrara.  Also at Sam’s disposal is Harrison John, her supportive guy friend/golfer.  Meanwhile, butt bolo and forged doctor’s excuse seller Emory Dick unofficially heads the bottom of this Teen Beat cover model heap with chess aficionado Freddy Gong and the Tuna twins, inappropriately oversexed April and dirt eater May.  This unpopular quartet may be more entertaining than most of the main characters. 

Chaos erupts at Brooke’s party when Sam and her posse crash, but they aren’t the only uninvited guests.  Mike and Jane show up together with a bombshell.  These two available adults bumped into each other at an airport lounge, started talking and Mike decided to go on the cruise with Jane.  Now they are engaged!  If the parental units officially merge, Sam and Brooke will become sisters, a repugnant thought to both. 

Teen war is hell

Brooke sees Sam as an intrusive wannabe who stirs up trouble with condemning editorials on the jock and cheerleader culture.  Sam sees Brooke as a stereotypical superficial teen who only cares about being popular.  How do these two smart young women handle impending sisterhood?  Well, not very well.  There’s an argument over the bathroom sink, a full-on school cafeteria food fight, a scheme to make it appear Mike is cheating on Jane and even a synchronized menstruation cycle smackdown in the girls luxurious lavatory named after actress Kim Novak.  After all of this, Brooke begins accepting the situation, but not Sam, who feels she is losing her mom to Brooke.  In a last ditch effort to stop the wedding, Sam runs away to find Brooke’s mother who left Mike when Brooke was just a kid.  This seems to help Sam understand Brooke a bit better. 

By the first season finale, Sam and Brooke have made peace with their merging families and maybe finally see that they are more similar than different.  Unfortunately, this détente may be short lived as they deal with an earthquake, a cheesy boy band, a terminally ill May Tuna, a double wedding, which includes Delta Burke and Erik Estrada as CHIPS star Erik Estrada, and the class possibly murdering their tough-as-nails biology teacher Bobbie Glass!  It’s a wildly hysterical episode that needs to be seen to be believed and ends with a life-altering wedding crasher! 

Confused yet?

Season Two deals with most of the aftermath of that wild, wacky and wonderful fiasco, but overall isn’t quite as good as the first one.  The WB wanted more “real” teen drama and issues, which meant the satirical elements weren’t as fully blended in with the drama.  Brooke and Sam accept they are now family, of sorts, but continue having ups and downs with each other.  They even compete for the affection of Harrison John.  In my opinion, he plays them both, so they could do better.  The series ends with a cliffhanger over who Harrison chose and if Brooke survived being hit by a car driven by a drunk and vengeful Nicole Julian.  To keep with the blogathon theme, I should note the second season introduced Josh Ford and Lily Esposito as an extremely mismatched romantic couple, with overly serious results.  

Satire is a serious business 

Since POPULAR mostly exists in a hyper-reality bubble and is a Ryan Murphy production, the acting ranges from sincere to over the top and women have the best roles.  Carly Pope (Sam) and Leslie Bibb (Brooke) give solid lead performances.  Sara Rue (Carmen) gives the series a relatable heart.  Tamara Mellow (Lily) is believable as a feisty activist.  Tammy Lynn Michaels (Nicole) and Diane Delano (Bobbie Glass) are incredible as they portray often brutally ruthless characters with vulnerability beneath the hard surface.  Props to Adria Dawn (April Tuna) for plunging full-throttle into awkward outcast geekdom!  Oh, and I must not forget the familiar faces who pop up as parents.  Peggy Lipton is aloof perfection as Brooke’s mother.  Alley Mills is sweet and understanding as Harrison’s mom.  Delta Burke is phenomenal as Cherry Cherry, the sharped-tongue beauty queen mother to Mary Cherry! 

Were  you scared I forgot Mary Cherry?

Speaking of Mary Cherry, i was obsessed with this southern fried psycho diva back in the day and I still am!  She carries around cyanide and vials of E. coli in her purse.  She longs to be a mismatched couple with Joe, her nickname for Harrison John.  She will do ANYTHING in her pursuit of fame, including lip-sync to “Rock Me Amadeus” by Falco.  She will even dye her golden tresses the color of dung, and get possessed by Barbra Streisand, just to prove popularity isn’t about hair color and to feast on a lobster.  Ok, fine!  I’ll just say it!  Forget about Sam and Brooke!  Watch POPULAR for Leslie Grossman as Mary Cherry and the tragically too few appearances by Delta Burke as Cherry Cherry!  You will NOT be disappointed! 

Webbed fingers won’t fix themselves 

In conclusion…
I think POPULAR still holds up 20-some years later.  It’s funny, it’s daring and ultimately there is a heart beating underneath, even during its crazier moments.  So if you’re looking for a different kind of teen comedy-drama with mismatched couples, POPULAR may be the series for you! 

Thank you for reading or listening to my half-blind words. 

(SIDE NOTE: click the pic ⤵️ to read about a very POPULAR book…)

Freak Out, 
JLH 

P.S. click the pic ⤵️ for a different WB series from another blogathon… 🛸

P.P.S.  Obsessively maladjusted fans, like me, will notice how I mixed and matched POPULAR character and actor names to create Leslie Johns and Joe Grossman in STURGEONS! 🤓📗