Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Batman, Bradys, Simpsons and Sopranos; 2009 Anniversaries


Looking forward to looking backward...

One of my least admirable characteristics is my lack of patience (go ahead and ask my wife, I'm sure she'll agree). Proof is today's blog. Here are some of the Pop Cultural Anniversaries I'm looking forward to over the next 12 months.

January - 10th Anniversary of The Sopranos. Has it really been a decade? I can remember watching the first episode as if it were yesterday (OK- maybe the day before yesterday, but you get the point). Who'd have thought that Mafia families were as dysfunctional as the rest of us?

February - 50th Anniversary of "The Day the Music Died" - the plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper (J.P. Richardson). I previously wrote about it here.

March - 50th Anniversary of Some Like It Hot. Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon star in Billy Wilder's cross-dressing comedy. It has one of the greatest closing lines in the history of movies (go ahead and check, I'll wait).

April - 25th Anniversary of the death of the great Marvin Gaye.

May - Everyone's favorite anthropomorphic undersea life-form, SpongeBob SquarePants, turns ten.

June - The Caped Crusader, Batman, turns 70. You may have heard of him...

July - 4oth Anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon Landing (or is it?).

August -

4oth Anniversary of Woodstock - three days of peace, love and music, four decades of acid trips.

70th Anniversary of the equally trippy Wizard of Oz.

September - 40th Anniversary of The Brady Bunch. In one of those bizarre moments of mnemonic clarity - I can distinctly remember the first time I watched this show with my Mom way back in 1969. I was a wee lad of 8. The crush on Marcia would come later.

October -

5oth Anniversary of the Twilight Zone. Having spent much of the New Year's holiday watching SciFi Channel's TZ Marathon, I newly in awe of Rod Serling's masterpiece.

40th Anniversary of the Miracle Mets. Yankee fan though I am, I give props where they're due.

November - I'll think of something...

December - 20th Anniversary of The Simpsons. Originally a series of animated shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show, two decades and 24 Emmy Awards later it's the longest-running American sitcom, longest-running American animated show and tied with Gunsmoke as the longest- running American prime time television program. Not bad for a dysfunctional yellow family.


4 comments:

  1. I think it would be appropriate to engineer some sort of plane crash involving Lou Diamon Phillips. It would be a fitting memorial and might even spark some interest in his waning career.

    Glad to hear Batman is now 70. I imagine advancing age and the inevitable prostate issues that come with it are somewhat of a hamper to his crime fignhting career ( To hell with the batphone Robin - - I am still trying to take a leak. Oh ? it's been forever my Smartguy ? You think you could do better ?)

    And of course the cause celebre from Nepovember will be the celebration of Bic Day on the 26th - - put it on your calendar ...

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  2. Of course - Bic Day - I knew there was something in November! How old are you going to be?

    Starring as one of the members of that fatal plane crash seems to have been the high point of Gary Busey's career as well. I can't believe he was nominated for an Oscar in 1979 - 30 years later and he's appearing on Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew...

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  3. I was born in 1964. Since I age differently than earth based lifeforms I will be 23 in November.

    Re:Gary Busey - -Think this one over. Charlton Heston parted the Red Sea and a scant 40 or so years later he is dead.

    Life is Funny

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  4. Ok - I hearby proclaim November 26 to be "Bic Day" here on my blog...I tremble with anticipation.

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