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    Uncle John's Facts to Go UJTV
    Uncle John's Facts to Go UJTV
    Uncle John's Facts to Go UJTV
    Ebook92 pages1 hour

    Uncle John's Facts to Go UJTV

    By Bathroom Readers' Institute

    ()

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    About this ebook

    Uncle John takes a loving look at life on the small screen.

    From the Honeymooners to Honey Boo Boo, this entertaining expose of all things television is full of behind-the-scenes secrets, amazing origins, quotes, quizzes, goofs, and fun facts. Culled from Uncle John’s 25-year archive--along with a few all-new “very special episodes”--UJTV is sure to please boob-tube fans of all ages! Some sneak peeks:

     

    - Former TV child stars who shocked everyone by turning out okay
    - The surprising stories behind Breaking Bad and Game of Thrones 
    - How Monday Night Football changed the face of television
    - TV’s all-time most embarrassing news bloopers
    - The birth of Saturday Night Live
    - How angry TV writers get revenge
    - The history of the remote control
    - Bob’s punniest burgers
    And much, much more!
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPortable Press
    Release dateDec 15, 2013
    ISBN9781626861589
    Uncle John's Facts to Go UJTV
    Author

    Bathroom Readers' Institute

    The Bathroom Readers' Institute is a tight-knit group of loyal and skilled writers, researchers, and editors who have been working as a team for years. The BRI understands the habits of a very special market—Throne Sitters—and devotes itself to providing amazing facts and conversation pieces.

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      Book preview

      Uncle John's Facts to Go UJTV - Bathroom Readers' Institute

      YOU’RE MY INSPIRATION

      We begin with some boob-tube influences.

      COSMO KRAMER. While Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld were laying the groundwork for Seinfeld, David’s eccentric neighbor, Kenny Kramer, would often pop in and bug them. Just like his TV counterpart, Kramer had no real job but dabbled in schemes and inventions (he patented glow-in-the-dark jewelry). Unlike the TV Kramer, says Kenny, my harebrained schemes work.

      PHILIP J. FRY. The lead character on the cartoon Futurama wears the same clothes—blue jeans, red jacket, and white T-shirt—and has the same blond hair as Jim Stark. Who’s that? James Dean’s character in the 1955 film Rebel Without a Cause.

      VULCAN HAND SALUTE. Leonard Nimoy invented this for Mr. Spock during the filming of a Star Trek episode. The gesture was borrowed from the Jewish High Holiday services. The kohanim priest blesses the congregation by extending the palms of both hands…with thumbs outstretched and the middle and ring fingers parted. Nimoy used the same gesture, only with one hand.

      LAVERNE & SHIRLEY. In 1959, Gary Marshall was eating at a Brooklyn restaurant with his date when another woman approached the table and began arguing with Marshall’s companion. Before he knew what was happening, his quiet, demure date was shucking her coat and wrestling in the aisle. The incident made such an impression on Marshall that in 1975 he wrote it into an episode of his TV show, Happy Days. He named the two brawling women Laverne and Shirley. Audiences loved the pair, and the following year they had their own sitcom.

      AMY POEHLER. On her influences: "Laverne & Shirley was physical and broad, and I loved those characters. Law & Order’s Lieutenant Anita van Buren is a great example of a tough lady among men. Omar Little from The Wire—one of the best bad good guys, or good bad guys, on TV. Cliff, from Cheers. And Animal from The Muppets, who taught me: When in doubt, go crazy."

      ANIMAL. Jim Henson based the Muppets’ crazy drummer on another crazy drummer: The Who’s Keith Moon.

      OSCAR THE GROUCH. At a restaurant called Oscar’s Tavern in Manhattan, Jim Henson and Sesame Street director Jon Stone were waited on by a man so rude and grouchy that going to Oscar’s became a sort of masochistic form of lunchtime entertainment for them. They immortalized him as the world’s most famous grouch.

      SONS OF ANARCHY. According to creator Kurt Sutter, the violent show about the politics and infighting of a California motorcycle club is based upon Shakespeare’s Hamlet. (But he said the later seasons are more akin to King Lear.)

      STEVE MARTIN. As a boy in the 1950s, Martin loved watching The Red Skelton Show on TV. Amazed by Skelton’s power to make people laugh, he wanted that power, too. How’d he get it? By learning every Skelton skit word for word and then performing them for his schoolmates.

      SUE SYLVESTER. The mean high-school cheerleading coach on Fox’s Glee is based on American Idol’s Simon Cowell. Said actress Jane Lynch: Simon and Sue say the things people wish they could in their jobs or at their school, but can’t.

      THE BIG BANG THEORY. Show creator Chuck Lorre named the two leads—Sheldon and Leonard—after legendary producer Sheldon Leonard (The Andy Griffith Show and The Dick Van Dyke Show).

      THE SS MINNOW. The boat that took the seven castaways to Gilligan’s Island was named after FCC chairman Newton Minow. In a 1961 speech he called television a vast wasteland. Gilligan’s Island creator Sherwood Schwartz named the doomed vessel after Minow as an insult.

      Scooby-Doo is his nickname. His real name is Scoobert.

      GAME SHOW GOOFS

      Being on a game show may look easy from the comfort of your living room, but under those hot television lights, contestants’ mouths sometimes disconnect from their brains.

      Anne Robinson: What insect is commonly found hovering above lakes?

      Contestant: Crocodiles.

      — The Weakest Link

      Alex Trebek: "If a Japanese isha (doctor) asks you to stick out your shita, he means this."

      Contestant: What is…your behind?

      — Jeopardy!

      Todd Newton: Bourbon whiskey is named after Bourbon County, located in what state?

      Contestant: England.

      — Press Your Luck

      The Puzzle: TOM HANKS AS _ORREST GUMP

      Contestant: Tom Hanks as Morris Gump.

      — Wheel of Fortune

      Anne Robinson: Who is the only Marx brother that remained silent throughout all their films?

      Contestant: Karl.

      — The Weakest Link

      Richard Dawson: Name something a blind man might use.

      Contestant: A sword.

      — Family Feud

      Eamonn Holmes: Name the playwright commonly known by the initials G.B.S.

      Contestant: William Shakespeare?

      — National Lottery Jet Set

      Steve Wright: What is the capital of Australia? And it’s not Sydney.

      Contestant: Sydney.

      — Steve Wright Radio Show

      Bob Eubanks: "What is your husband’s favorite cuisine?

      Contestant: All in the Family.

      — The Newlywed Game

      Kevin O’Connell: "What moos?

      Contestant: A car.

      — Go

      Richard Dawson: "Name an occupation whose members must get tired of smiling.

      Contestant: Game show host.

      — Family Feud

      Oldest American show still on the air: Meet the Press, which first aired on November 6, 1947.

      UNSEEN TV

      Ever wonder what the network geniuses do behind closed doors? Here are some TV shows that they approved and produced…but never broadcast.

      SHOW: The Young Astronauts

      STORY: In early 1986, the United States was in the middle of a space craze not seen since the 1960s. Reason: the upcoming launch of the space shuttle Challenger, marking the first time a civilian would go to space. To cash in on the excitement, CBS produced The Young Astronauts, a Saturday morning

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