TV shows
RIP gary coleman
Gary Coleman, the star of 1970/1980s TV sitcom Diff’rent Strokes, died on Friday after suffering a brain haemorrhage. He was 42.
Coleman was taken off life support and died with family and friends at his side according to media reports. He suffered the brain haemorrhage on Wednesday at his Utah home after a fall.
He was undoubtedly best remembered for Diff’rent Strokes character Arnold Jackson and his “What choo talkin’ ’bout?” catchphrase.
Diff’rent Strokes debuted on NBC in 1978 and drew most of its laughs from Coleman, then only 10 years old. Normally I wouldnt mention a show that actually started in another decade on this site, but the show mainly aired in the 80s and was most popular then.
He played the younger of two African American brothers adopted by a wealthy white man. Racism and class relations became topics on the show as much as the typical trials of growing up.
There has been talk of the show being ‘cursed’ – with reference made to all the post show personal problems that some of the stars had – not to mention the drug overdose of Dana Plato in 1999.
My teeenage years stated in 1980 and this was one show I grew up with – I can still rememeber the majority of the shows and this guy certainly made me laugh many a time.
RIP, dude. Thanks for the memories, and here’s a small tribute I found on youtube:
Rage – going retro in January
For you Aussie readers, Rage which is the music video show on the ABC is going retro this month.
As they have done in previous years around this time, reruns of the the classic music shows countdown and rock arena are being shown this month.
As always with Rage, you can look at the playlists beforehand to see what is coming up.
Checkout the RAGE website.
The A Team
“In 1972, a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn’t commit. These men promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade to the Los Angeles underground. Today, still wanted by the government, they survive as soldiers of fortune. If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire… The A-Team”
Sound familiar? This was the voice over (first 4 seasons) for the very successful TV series A-Team that ran from January 23, 1983 to December 30, 1986. The show was an action adventure television series about a fictional group of ex-United States Army Special Forces personnel who work as soldiers of fortune while on the run from the Army after being branded as war criminals for a “crime they didn’t commit”. Each week was a different story (I think from memory there might have been a couple of multi-episode stories) but what I enjoyed most was the methods they went to at the beginning of each episode to disguise themselves to the new ‘clients’. This was done to be sure they were not being tricked into a trap by the military police who were always after them. Despite being thought of as mercenaries by the everyone else, the A-Team always acted on the side of good and helped the oppressed.
The Characters
The leader of the A-Team is Lieutenant-Colonel/Colonel John “Hannibal” Smith, whose plans tend to be unorthodox but almost always work out in his favour. Lieutenant Templeton “Faceman” Peck, more often referred to as “Face,” is a smooth-talking con-man who serves as the person in the team who manages to ‘acquire’ vehicles and other large items and equipment. The team’s pilot is Captain H.M. “Howling Mad” Murdock, who had been declared medically insane. Last, and by my no means least, is the team’s muscle Sergeant First Class Bosco Albert “B.A.” played my Mr T.
George Peppard ………. Colonel John “Hannibal” Smith
Dirk Benedict ……….. Lieutenant Templeton “Face” Peck
Dwight Schultz ………. Captain H.M. “Howling Mad” Murdock
Mr. T ………………. Sergeant Bosco “B.A.” Baracus
For its first season and the first half of the second season, the team was joined by reporter Amy Amanda Allen (Melinda Culea). She was ultimately replaced by fellow reporter Tawnia Baker (Marla Heasley) for the rest of the second season.
The A-Team was constantly pursued by the military police. In the show’s first season they were led by Colonel Francis Lynch (William Lucking), but he was replaced for the second, third, and earlier fourth season by Colonel Roderick Decker (Lance LeGault) and his aide Captain Crane (Carl Franklin).
Enjoy the video below of the opening sequence.
In June 2010, a movie based on the TV series was released.
