Power Ballads - Here I Go Again, Whitesnake

I've had what can only be described as a hell of a day. It would be all too easy to not update my blog tonight but suddenly Whitesnake popped into my head and I thought, I have to listen to Here I Go Again and before I knew it, I was giggling and forgetting my bad day. This is what a classic power ballad can do for you and really who did them better than Whitesnake?

"Like a drifter, I was born to walk alone" Best power ballad line ever. "I know what it means, to walk along the lonely street of dreams!" Sing it David. Was there ever a more ridiculous rock star? Look at him now.

Good lord. What a mess.

Famous for the ridiculous videos of women in white dresses writhing on top of cars and so on, Whitesnake were really top fun. It's only recently I learned that David Coverdale was in Deep Purple. I know, I know, how could I not have known? I have also just learned that the woman in the videos was actually his wife. I feel bad for judging him now - at least he was married to her.

I also adore 'Is This Love'? I can't embed Here I Go Again so I am leaving you with it. It's basically the same video anyway...

The West Wing

My third Rob Lowe related post in two days. I make no excuses. So here we arrive at The West Wing. My excuse for posting about this? ROB LOWE!

All-time favourite TV shows ever? The West Wing is up there. It might be at number one. It's certainly in the top 5. I love it so much, I walked down the aisle on my wedding day to The West Wing theme. What do I love about it? Where to start? I'm feeling a list coming on...

1) CJ Cregg. Alison Janney is just wonderful in this and I love that a woman is written so well. The root canal episode makes me cackle every time.
2) Aaron Sorkin. A god among men for some of the best lines ever written. He warmed up with The American President which is one of my favourite films.
3) Martin Sheen as President Bartlett. If only we could have a president as noble, as convincing, as trustworthy. I'd vote. Martin Sheen is an under-rated actor, I've always loved him. After all, he gave us Emilio and ummm, Charlie.
4) Josh's Secret Plan to Fight Inflation.
5) Josh Lyman. He's smart, he's funny, he's annoying and he makes Jimmy Smits president!
6) Toby Ziegler. "Leo, wouldn't this time be better spent plotting a war against a country that can't possibly defend itself against us?"
7) It had Mark Harmon in it. Just when it couldn't get any better, it did.
8) The kidnapping of Zoe Bartlett - the most exciting 10 minutes ever shown on television.
9) ROB LOWE! As Sam. Job done.
10) Rizzo is the Prez's wife. Job done.

I could go on and on. I don't have big Leo love but I know it's out there. Charlie was another great character. The storylines were brilliant - it was moving and funny all at the same time. To this day I want to go and work at the White House as I am convinced it must be exactly like that, right?

Here are the credits. I think it's time to dig the boxsets out and watch it all again...

Speaking of Rob Lowe...

He has an autobiography coming out. Oh. My. God. How did I not know this? And he's on the cover of this month's Vanity Fair.

Cannot WAIT!

About Last Night

Remember me telling you how much I loved St Elmo's Fire?  Well, this is SEF's grown up sister. Another contender for film of the 80s Chez Teenager, I consider this to be another masterpiece of the Brat Pack genre. Although is it really a Brat Pack film? I am saying yes - Rob and Demi were brat packers, it qualifies.

I know I say this all the time but god, this film is perfect, Rob at his all-time prettiest. Demi at her cutest. I love her best friend Joan played by Elizabeth Perkins. She's uptight and jealous but a good friend. And James Belushi is great in this as Billy's sleazy best mate, Bernie. This was based on a David Mamet play and I watch the West End eagerly in the hope someone will revive it one day. No luck yet.

It has a soundtrack that is well worth mentioning. It goes without saying that I owned it on cassette. Sheena Easton had not one but two songs on it. I still play that album sometimes - I upgraded to a CD of course.

So, some great lines from About Last Night:

"I'm sick of hating, I mean god Joan, I don't know if I have any hate left" (oh the drama!)
"Your vulgarian friend is downstairs bending innocent people's fenders"
"He's a better human being than that bitch on wheels you've got for a friend!"
"You're not leaving are you?" "No. we're walking in backwards" (I love this)
"Interesting broad, where did she develop her personality? A car crash?"
"I refuse to go out with a man whose ass is smaller than mine"

Awww, I type those lines and I want to watch it again. For the hundredth time. It's a classic and I love it. Rob and Demi will never be as good again.

Now tell me, what do you do on sandwich night?

The Golden Girls

While we're having a sitcom moment, I'd just like to state for the record that I adored The Golden Girls. Sex and The City girls, eat your hearts out, this was the original show about female friendship.

This was such a brave show to make - a sitcom about a bunch of female pensioners living together? It was so wonderful and genuinely heart-warming. The actresses in this were all spot on. Bea Arthur was a legend, Rue McClanahan played the southern belle perfectly and Betty White was everyone's favourite grandma. I struggled a bit with Estelle Getty as Sophia at the time but on reflection, the show needed her one-liners.

My abiding memory of this (and I've not watched it in years) is that everything was solved by eating cheesecake at the kitchen table. Amen to that! I like to think this is how I might be in my golden years, hanging out with my old friends and having fun together.

So RIP Bea, Rue and Estelle and hang in there Betty - we love you!

Also, great theme tune.

Opening credits - 80s sitcom special

We've already amply established I didn't do much in the 80s except watch TV. And it occurred to me today that I watched many really bad sitcoms. I don't know if they even have an equivalent today of the sitcoms of the 80s. They all had exceptionally cheesy opening credits with syrup-laden ballads crooning over them. So here I present a few for your delectation.

First up, Family Ties. The show that brought us Michael J Fox and therefore always holds a place in my heart. It also has Jason Bateman's sister in it! It was about a liberal family who had a conservative son (MJF - Alex). This was the show that taught me about the evils of Richard Nixon. I also liked the dad quite a bit - not sure why in retrospect. Cheese rating: 8/10.

Next up - Charles In Charge. Does anyone else remember this? At my school, we were obsessed with this and used to rush home to watch it. Scott Baio! Can you ever fail? Scott was Charles who looked after a family while the parents worked. That's all I remember about it and I've never seen it repeated. It's another white, middle-class family folks. Cheese rating: 9/10

Next! Kate and Allie. I loved this show. Two recently divorced women living together with their kids in NYC. Fab-u-lous. I wanted to be Susan Saint James who was basically the lesser man's Kate Jackson. She was super cool in this. Plus the kid who played Allie's daughter turned up in The West Wing years later (she was annoying in that too). Each show opened with a little head to head with Kate and Allie. The main credits were at the end so I include them both. Cheese rating: 7/10

Next! Empty Nest. Oh dear. This really was bad. I think it may have been late 80s/early 90s. I can't defend it except to say it must have been on after Cheers. A dad with grown-up daughters who don't leave home. That's about it. Cheese rating: 9/10

Finally, to prove that black people did exist, A Different World. Another show I adored when Lisa Bonet was in it. A spin-off of The Cosby Show, it showed Denise Huxtable at college. It was cute and funny. I reckon those early episodes would stand up to a viewing now. Cheese rating: 5/10. This wasn't that cheesy at all.

Power Ballads - Wind Beneath My Wings, Bette Midler

We come to one of the great classics of the genre with Wind Beneath My Wings by the Divine Miss M. A song written by Willie Nelson about his wife, Bette makes it her own. I love Bette Midler, who doesn't love Bette Midler? After all, she gave Barry Manilow his big break.

I heard this song on the radio this morning. It's a song that will be played on the radio for the rest of time isn't it? She sings it beautifully. Beaches is a bit of a Bad Film We Love but I defy anyone not to shed a tear through it. *sniffle*

So here it is, I can't find the video, only this so you have to get to about a minute before the song starts. Before that you can look Barbara Hershey being 'movie glam sick'.

Power Ballads - More Than A Feeling, Boston

Some songs just cheer you up and this is one of them. The Mighty Boston. I can never resist a band named after a city (see Chicago as an example). More Than A Feeling is a marvellous power ballad. I once asked my friends on Facebook to nominate their favourite power ballad and my cousin Dan said this and I thought "why, yes of course!"

It's sublime. It's also easy on Guitar Hero. So take it away boys...

Opening credits - Baywatch

Today was a beautiful day here in London town. Spring has sprung. And so naturally my thoughts turned to warm climes, sunny beaches and Baywatch - one of the best early Saturday evening programmes ever made.

Yet again, David Hasselhoff does us proud. If you were expecting a picture of a buxom blonde up there in a teeny red costume, I am sorry but I am a girl and I don't wish to oblige. Respect to The Hoff. Watching these credits again takes me back to the 90s, the days before the internet when TV really was a unifying force. Everyone watched Baywatch. Marvellously simple in its premise: sexy people run around LA beaches in very little clothing. Who really bothered to care what happened week in and week out? This is the show that gave us the wonderful Chandler line in Friends: "Run Yasmin, run like the wind!"

Ah yes. The show that gave us Pamela Anderson, Yasmine Bleeth (what a name!) and Erika Eleniak. I didn't have to look up those names. Oh and Jeremy Jackson...

There's very little I can say about the show itself but plenty about the credits. For starters, it takes them 45 seconds to even get to the first actor, The Hoff. There is so much establishing going on. Sunny beach, hot chicks in bikinis, speedboats. It's hilarious. Then there's the song. I love this song. That drum introduction, the expectation, the drama and then the man wailing away about how he'll be there. It's called I'll Be Ready by Jimmi Jamison by the way. Don't say you don't learn from this blog.

Anyway, here it is. Enjoy!

Opening credits - Hill Street Blues

Hill Street Blues had one of the most perfect themes ever committed to television. Somehow just listening to it makes me feel a little blue which I thought was appropriate for a Monday post. It owes quite a bit to the Taxi theme, another favourite.

I was never a big watcher of the show, I think I was a little young to appreciate it but I used to watch the opening scenes so I could listen to the credits; it was the days before YouTube. I can't embed season one - you can watch it here. It's better than the later season below.

Be safe out there.