Fun With Old Sitcoms!

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Anyone remember the television shows from the late '70s and early '80s? There is one that has always been one of my very favorites, and now that the

DVDs are coming out, I've become inspired. Well, inspired at least to silliness poking fun at the opening of the first episode...

So, the below is just a few moments of mischieviousness, read on if you wanna!


My silly version of the opening of the first episode of my favorite late-'70s/early-'80s show...
Text in italics is Narrator/Voiceover

Scene: Two women sitting at an outdoor café table, stage right woman is a blonde, stage left woman is a redhead. They seem to be having an involved conversation, both are smiling, dialogue is inaudible. Both are on the pretty side of average-looking.
This is the story of two brothers.

Closeup on the redheaded woman, who is approximately in her early 30s, as she smiles broadly during the conversation showing straight white teeth, nodding in response to whatever the other woman has said.
Jeremy Tate,

Closeup on the blonde woman, who is also approximately in her early 30s, and she nods with a slight smirking smile and responds to the other woman during the conversation.
and Mark Campbell.

Scene: Footage of a large brown-brick tudor-style home, camera moving from stage left to stage right as though driving by on the street in front of the house.
Jeremy lives in a neighborhood known as... RICH!

Scene: Closeup of Jeremy paying rapt attention to someone off-camera and responding to her or him.
Jeremy likes life. The only thing about life he would change, if he could, is that he would set it all... to music.

Same scene as the recent closeup, but of the whole room. Dining room, Jeremy at the end of the table on stage left, the Tate family having a meal and conversing, dialogue still inaudible, being served by the butler/cook, who is a smirking African American man (Benson). Facing the audience moving stage right are an elderly man in a naval dress uniform (The Major), a young brunette woman with long hair casually dressed (Corinne), a more conservatively dressed young woman with shoulder length and styled light brown hair (Eunice), a young boy of high school age with dark hair and his back to the camera dressed casually standing and reaching across the table while quickly drinking a beverage as he moves toward the door (Billy), and a man in his late 30s to early 40s at the stage right end of the table reading a newspaper and ignoring the family(Chester).
The Tates have more secrets than they do money.

Scene: Footage of a medium size white two-story home, camera moving from stage right to stage left as though driving by on the street in front of the house.
We're approaching Mark Campbell's house!

Closeup of Mark as he picks up a coffeepot from his cabinet
Mark, too, likes life.

Same scene as the recent closeup, angle widening and camera following Mark as he carries the coffeepot over to the table in the kitchen where there are seated three men as the Campbells are having a meal, as well. Stage left end of the table has an early 20s dark haired man who is in obvious good physical shape and dressed casually, eating a bowl of cereal (Danny). Stage right end has another early 20s dark haired man, dressed well in a brown suit, buttering a slice of toast (Jodie). Center of the table has a late 30s or early 40s man (Burt), and Mark carries the coffee to him from stage left and refills his cup.
Unfortunately, life doesn't seem to be too crazy about him. As you can see, the Campbells don't have nearly as much money as the Tates.

Closeup on Burt as he smiles up at Mark.
Closeup on Danny as he furrows his brow and looks toward Burt and Mark.
Closeup on Jodie as he meticulously butters his toast.

They do, however, have as many secrets...

Fade to black.

Exterior: Tate home still shot from street level.
Our story begins, early one morning in Dunn's River, Connecticut:

Now, here's the original, for you to compare:


Click here to go see it
Or, you can click here to see it on the YouTube site...

Should I do anything with this idea?
Edeyn Hannah Blackeney

Comments

Not on DSL

For those of us who can't watch online videos due to slow connection speed it might help if you told us what show you are talking about. What you have here doesn't ring any bells with me.

KJT

"Being a girl is wonderful and to torture someone into that would be like the exact opposite of what it's like. I don’t know how anyone could act that way."

College Girl - poetheather


"Life is not measured by the breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away.”
George Carlin

Aw, okay...

I was trying to make it a surprise, but for those that don't have high-speed, I will say... Soap!
Edeyn Hannah Blackeney

Wasn't it Jim Henson who said, "Without faith, I am nothing," after all? Wait, no, that was God. Sorry, common mistake...

Oh neat!

I was kinda half asleep reading this, so I didn't get it until I watched the clip. I like this story idea! You've definitely got me wondering in what direction you'd go with it.


Heather Rose Brown
Writer--Artist--Dreamer

Thank You Edeyn!!

SOAP has to be my absolute favorite old time TV show. I watched it every night it was on, along with my sister and my best friend, my cousin. We would laugh uproariously through almost all of the show.

I never thought to search for episodes on youtube, so I'm doubly glad you brought this wonderful show back to my mind, as I spent part of this morning watching the episodes archived there.

Have a wonderful holiday season, Edeyn, and thanks again.

Catherine Linda Michel

As a T-woman, I do have a Y chromosome... it's just in cursive, pink script. Y_0.jpg

TG

Soap even had a plot where Jodie was going to get a sex change to please his boyfriend the football player, which was handled in a fairly mature manner for a sitcom.

I'm also pretty sure Dutch and/or Chester dressed as women when they were on the run.

So did Danny,

when he was hiding from 'the mob'. Remember, he visited Jodie, when Jodie was in the hospital to get his SRS, disguised as a nurse.

Catherine Linda Michel

As a T-woman, I do have a Y chromosome... it's just in cursive, pink script. Y_0.jpg