I Only Need a Pine Cone and a Shoe String!

Question: What TV survival expert once used candy bars to plug a sulfuric acid leak?

Patti and Selma Bouvier on the Simpsons can't get enough of this guy, and his legendary inventions will live on forever in pop culture. I am, of course, talking about MacGyver. I will be honest and admit that I never really watched MacGyver growing up in the 80s. I think it was just too adult to keep my interest for too long, but I was fascinated with his crazy inventions to save the day.

The word "MacGyver" has become a verb used often in my everyday life. I often MacGyver things together so they will work again. Back when I was working in a lab, I fixed a centrifuge door with a paper clip and a safety pin. Someone there started calling me "MacGyver" and ever since I have used the word to describe how I'm throwing things together.

I now teach high school science classes and we often don't have the expensive equipment needed for some of the labs, so I'll MacGyver the lab protocol until it works with what we do have. MacGyvering things also comes in handy at home. The extent of my cooking ability is usually browning some hamburger or popping in a frozen pizza. Every now and then, when I haven't been grocery shopping in awhile, my MacGyvering know-how is put to the test. Can you create a meal out of some egg noodles, spices, cheese, and hot dogs? MacGyver surely could.

So, thank you, MacGyver, for giving me the courage and the tools to survive my own life. I've yet to successfully create a bomb out of a pine cone, a shoe string, and a piece of gum, but I am also not Richard Dean Anderson. He has much better hair than I do.

Answer: MacGyver

"Dance Your Cares Away..."

Question: What kids' show centered on humanoids named Gobo, Mokey, Red, Wembley, and Boober?

Do you remember the days when kids' shows weren't all about the cinematography advanced technology? There was a time when it was all about the story and fun characters. Fraggle Rock was one of my most favorite shows as I was growing up. They were a branch off the muppets and they had fun living underground.

The Doozers made their sugar buildings that were tasty. Gobo seemed to be the leader of the lovable Fraggles, but all the girls knew that Red really called the shots. And who couldn't love a wise trash heap? The advice dispensed by the compost was always right on and helped the Faggles understand the lesson of their predicaments.

It was a weekly ritual for me to watch Fraggle Rock. My mom taught guitar lessons when I was little. My friend Tara's brother Jerry took lessons from her and Tara would also come over. We watched Fraggle Rock and pretended we were the Fraggles. I, of course, was Red and Tara would be Mokey. We'd laugh and my mom would make us Rock Candy so we could eat a "Doozer building" as we watched the show. Things were so much simpler back then.

Imagine my surprise as I noticed a DVD of Fraggle Rock in the bargain bin at Walmart. I immediately snapped it up for my son. Okay...so it was really for me, but it was under the guise of buying it for my son. I brought it home and we watched it. My son was not impressed. I blame Pixar movies for his lack of interest. Oh, well. I think I'll go watch it right now since he's not home.

Answer: Fraggle Rock

Yeeeee-Haaaaawwwwww!

Question: Who owned the Boar's Nest eatery that employed Daisy Duke as a waitress?

They're just good old boys...never meanin' no harm. Ah, Bo and Luke Duke. I don't remember a whole lot about watching the show when I was younger. I was, afterall, only 6 when it was canceled. I do, however, clearly remember my crush on Bo Duke. At the time, my Uncle Steve looked a lot like John Schneider and I would avoid him and wouldn't talk to him because I thought he was a long lost Duke. I also remember that my brothers would get out their CBs and I could be "Bo Peep" to their "Lost Sheep" and "Shepherd".

My brothers had the Daisy Duke poster in their room, and I even think we had a lunch box laying around somewhere. The products and marketing money they made off of that show is unreal. My four year old son plays a Dukes of Hazzard guitar when he visits Grandma and Grandpa's house. They kept that silly plastic thing with Bo, Luke, and Daisy's pictures on it from when my husband was little.

I am not ashamed to admit that I often watch the Dukes of Hazzard reruns on CMT after I get home from work. The good guys always won, and sometimes I just need a good car race and tight jeans to end my day. I also have seen every made for TV movie they produced throughout the years, including that silly one when Daisy was going to marry Enos, and the one where they had to save the family farm from being taken away to build an amusement park by going to Hollywood to make money. Uncle Jesse was always in trouble financially. That farm had to be saved more often than Cooter had actualy customers

The movie remake they did a few years ago was awful. The casting for the movie killed it. I was hoping for Owen and Luke Wilson to play the Duke boys. Jessica Simpson definitely had the Daisy look, but she wasn't very convincing as the tough, smart gal who liked to work on cars with her cousins. Jessica Biel would have been a better choice, but what do I know?

It doesn't matter. I have my beloved Dukes and their crazy adventures at my fingertips every night, thanks to syndication. I can ride along in the General Lee and try not to get caught by Roscoe P. Coltrane and Boss Hogg. After all, they're makin' their way the only way they know how...but that's just a little bit more than the law will allow.

Answer: Jefferson Davis "Boss" Hogg

It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Question: What TV star donated to the Smithsonian one of the sweaters his mom knitted for him, in 1984?

The days of my childhood were spent watching shows on PBS. I'd start out my day with Sesame Street, then Romper Room, The Polka Dot Door, and finally Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood.

Sesame Street back in my day didn't have Elmo, and I'm almost thankful for that. My son doesn't watch a lot of Sesame Street, but when he does, Elmo is constantly on the screen. When I was his age, Big Bird had an "imaginary" friend named Snuffelupagus. Snuffy is no longer imaginary. Everyone can see Snuffy now, which kind of takes away the mystique surrounding him. Oscar is still grouchy and Cookie Monster still scarfs down his cookies (although he was the Fruit Monster for awhile, and that's just wrong). Super Grover still saves the day and Mr. Hooper's store is still running even though he has long since passed.

Romper Room was also one of my favorites. I used to get mad when she didn't see me in her magic mirror. Luckily, Heather is a pretty popular name for my age group and she "saw" me often enough that it wasn't a huge issue. It was probably the show I learned the most from since I could say the Pledge of Allegiance when I was 2 (although I did admittedly say "Underdog" instead of "Under God").

I don't remember much about the Polka Dot Door, but I know there were some puppets and a door they would peek into to see a movie clip of some sort. There was also a lot of songs and I would sing along and dance. I don't remember much about the human hosts of the show, but they weren't the focus anyway.

And of course, there is always Mr. Rogers. Nowadays, he may be seen as a little creepy and I don't think he would have gotten his own show. I loved how as soon as he walked through his door, he'd put on his sweater and change his shoes. I always wondered where he went at the end of the show when he'd put his dress shoes and jacket back on and leave. I did usually lose interest, however, when Trolly came by and took us to the puppet world where Mr. Rogers did a very poor voice change to be that scary looking cat puppet.

I often wish some of these shows were still around and they would hold my son's attention, but alas, everything is slicker, faster, and usually more animated. They just don't make simple children's shows like they used to.

Answer: Mr. Rogers

"As long as we've got each other..."

Question: What surname did the Growing Pains family get, to honor a Mets pitching ace?

Back in the day before Kirk Cameron was afraid of being "Left Behind", I faithfully watched Jason, Maggie, Mike, Carol, and Ben (and later Chrissy, too) get in and out of predicaments that could always be solved in a half an hour and end with a group hug. Growing Pains was my favorite show and I never missed an episode. I, like millions of little girls, had a crush on Kirk Cameron and read every Tiger Beat and Bop! magazine that his crooked grin could be found in.

I like the character of Carol because she was smart. Yeah, she was whiny a lot, but I was always the smart girl in school so I understood who she was. The fact that she got to date the hunky football player who was dumber than a box of hammers gave me hope for the future. Alas, I never dated a football player (probably because my school didn't have football...) but then again that means my make believe football boyfriend also didn't die from internal injuries suffered from a car accident, either.

A few years ago, I watched the Growing Pains movie when Maggie was running for congress. It was just strange to see the kids as adults, but it was a pretty well done script with the characters staying mostly true to who they were during the series. Of course, Mike was now a responsible family man, but aren't most of those mischievous suburban high school boys from the 80s?

I was also excited to watch the E! True Hollywood Story about the Growing Pains crew. All of the juicy backstage gossip was highlighted. It was great to hear the stories behind the presumed off screen romance of Joanna Kearns and Alan Thicke, Tracy Gold's anorexia, Kirk Cameron's finding God and his future wife Chelsea Noble, Jeremy Miller's stalker, Julie McCullough getting kicked off the show because of her Playboy spread, and the eventual addition of Ashley Johnson and Leonardo DiCaprio to the family in order to try and save the show from cancellation. Alas, it was not to be, and the show sadly ended its run and left a gaping hole in my television viewing schedule.

Thank goodness for syndication!

Answer: Seaver

"If you have a problem and no one else can help..."

Question: Which Rocky III character noted: "I don't hate Balboa, I pity the fool"?

There was no doubt that this question was referring to the character played by Mr. T (I will put the answer to the question at the end of this post), which got me thinking about how much I used to like watching "The A-Team". Even 20 years later, I can hear the theme music in my head to that great action show from the 80s. Can you believe the A-Team was only on TV for four and a half seasons (1983-1986)? That seems like such a short amount of time, but it became a show my entire family came together to watch.

My brothers and I would drop everything and run to the living room like it was some sort of Pavlovian response when we heard the voice over that began every episode:

"Ten years ago, 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."

The show had political overtones that were lost on my 7 year old self, but my older brothers and parents would discuss the Vietnam war when it was mentioned on the show. When I watch reruns now, I can pick out those parts and I understand the show much better. It didn't matter to me, though, because there was plenty of action and humor I did understand. For instance, there was always a pile of cardboard boxes lying around to throw the bad guy into, because the machine guns the team used never hit their marks.

My favorite, of course, was B.A. Baracus played by Mr. T. He wasn't the best actor on the show, but he was the most unique. I also liked the women on the A-Team, but they seemed to cycle in and out a lot, so it was almost a waste of time to become invested in their characters.

I still try to catch an episode every now and then when I'm flipping through channels (reruns can be seen on TVLand, among other cable channels). I will always have a place in my heart for those misunderstood soldiers of fortune. I pity the fool who never saw "The A-Team."


Answer: Clubber Lang