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Trollheart · 01-06-2023, 10:07 AM

1001 of Trollheart’s Favourite TV Shows

To somewhat paraphrase Grampa Simpson, I may not have seen that much of life, but I sure have watched a lot of TV. And so, in a companion thread to my 1001 of Trollheart’s Favourite albums thread, this will list 1001 of my favourite TV shows, everything from stuff I grew up on to stuff I watched yesterday. All genres, all languages, and in no order at all. Feel free to chip in, shake your head in despair, call the man at Happy Valleys Home for the Terminally Bewildered, or just laugh at the role TV has played in my life. Hey, maybe it'll spark some memories for some of you, who knows?

1001

Title: Parker Lewis Can’t Lose
Genre: Comedy
Year(s): 1990 - 1993
Basic premise: Parker Lewis is a somewhat geeky kid trying to survive at high school with his friends and fit in, while still maintaining his own “coolness”.
Starring: Corin Nemec, Troy Slaten, Billy Jayne, Melanie Chartoff
Seasons: 3
Written/created by: Clyde Phillips/Lon Diamond
Nationality: American
Best episode(s): Been so long now I can’t remember
Worst episode(s):
Status: Cancelled
What does or did this show mean to me? At the time it was one of the coolest shows on TV, featuring a sort of pioneering directing effect where things happened quickly, with sound effects; the characters broke the fourth wall, and pop culture references abounded.
One good quote: Mikey (seeing Parker write HELP on a mirror): “Quick! Park needs our pleh!”

With a slew of teen comedies coming out of every studio in the US, it took a lot for something to stand out, but Parker Lewis Can’t Lose took the idea of the geeky high-school teenager and kind of stood it on its head, long before Buffy. Centred around a core group of three friends - the de facto leader, the eponymous Parker, Mikey, the older student who was almost at times a father figure, and Jerry, a total geek who was as slavishly subservient to Parker as Marcy was to Peppermint Patty (he refers to both Parker as "sir" or "Mr. Lewis, Mr. Randall", the show was full of crazy capers and jokes, yet often took a more sobering look at growing up, a little like South Park’s “I’ve learned something today” bit. Ostracised in ways by the other students, Parker and his friends chart their own course though school and home life, sharing in-jokes and getting involved in ever more unlikely situations.

Ancillary to the show are Larry “Kube” Kubiak, a giant with the mind of a child, Grace Musso, the disturbingly sexy principal, Frank Lemmer, her pasty and slavish sidekick, Dr, Pankow, principal of a rival school, and Shelly, Parker’s sister. The show is narrated partially by Parker, before and during the episode, and often to the camera, in one of I think the earliest instances in comedy of breaking the fourth wall. There are plenty of the pop culture references of the time used, particularly those concerned with music, as Mikey is a guitarist and aspiring rock star, and there was a really bouncy theme tune. Each episode opens with one of the characters doing something that more or less defines them, but may not necessarily be a part of the episode. An example is Frank Lemmer, who is white as a sheet, so pale he could be an albino, coming into a chemist and asking for “Factor fifty”, then pausing, and adding “thousand.”

Although cancelled in 1993 after three seasons, Parker Lewis Can’t Lose was referred to nearly twenty years later in Seth MacFarlane’s animated comedy Family Guy, when Lois says to Peter “Nobody cares about your cancelled show” and Peter defiantly tells her “Lois, Parker Lewis can’t lose. Don’t even try to think of him losing, cos you’ll fail.” Good to hear.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_dvn3RtA-c

01-06-2023, 10:07 AM	#1 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,970	1001 of Trollheart's Favourite TV Shows 1001 of Trollheart’s Favourite TV Shows To somewhat paraphrase Grampa Simpson, I may not have seen that much of life, but I sure have watched a lot of TV. And so, in a companion thread to my 1001 of Trollheart’s Favourite albums thread, this will list 1001 of my favourite TV shows, everything from stuff I grew up on to stuff I watched yesterday. All genres, all languages, and in no order at all. Feel free to chip in, shake your head in despair, call the man at Happy Valleys Home for the Terminally Bewildered, or just laugh at the role TV has played in my life. Hey, maybe it'll spark some memories for some of you, who knows? 1001 Title: Parker Lewis Can’t Lose Genre: Comedy Year(s): 1990 - 1993 Basic premise: Parker Lewis is a somewhat geeky kid trying to survive at high school with his friends and fit in, while still maintaining his own “coolness”. Starring: Corin Nemec, Troy Slaten, Billy Jayne, Melanie Chartoff Seasons: 3 Written/created by: Clyde Phillips/Lon Diamond Nationality: American Best episode(s): Been so long now I can’t remember Worst episode(s): Status: Cancelled What does or did this show mean to me? At the time it was one of the coolest shows on TV, featuring a sort of pioneering directing effect where things happened quickly, with sound effects; the characters broke the fourth wall, and pop culture references abounded. One good quote: Mikey (seeing Parker write HELP on a mirror): “Quick! Park needs our pleh!” With a slew of teen comedies coming out of every studio in the US, it took a lot for something to stand out, but Parker Lewis Can’t Lose took the idea of the geeky high-school teenager and kind of stood it on its head, long before Buffy. Centred around a core group of three friends - the de facto leader, the eponymous Parker, Mikey, the older student who was almost at times a father figure, and Jerry, a total geek who was as slavishly subservient to Parker as Marcy was to Peppermint Patty (he refers to both Parker as "sir" or "Mr. Lewis, Mr. Randall", the show was full of crazy capers and jokes, yet often took a more sobering look at growing up, a little like South Park’s “I’ve learned something today” bit. Ostracised in ways by the other students, Parker and his friends chart their own course though school and home life, sharing in-jokes and getting involved in ever more unlikely situations. Ancillary to the show are Larry “Kube” Kubiak, a giant with the mind of a child, Grace Musso, the disturbingly sexy principal, Frank Lemmer, her pasty and slavish sidekick, Dr, Pankow, principal of a rival school, and Shelly, Parker’s sister. The show is narrated partially by Parker, before and during the episode, and often to the camera, in one of I think the earliest instances in comedy of breaking the fourth wall. There are plenty of the pop culture references of the time used, particularly those concerned with music, as Mikey is a guitarist and aspiring rock star, and there was a really bouncy theme tune. Each episode opens with one of the characters doing something that more or less defines them, but may not necessarily be a part of the episode. An example is Frank Lemmer, who is white as a sheet, so pale he could be an albino, coming into a chemist and asking for “Factor fifty”, then pausing, and adding “thousand.” Although cancelled in 1993 after three seasons, Parker Lewis Can’t Lose was referred to nearly twenty years later in Seth MacFarlane’s animated comedy Family Guy, when Lois says to Peter “Nobody cares about your cancelled show” and Peter defiantly tells her “Lois, Parker Lewis can’t lose. Don’t even try to think of him losing, cos you’ll fail.” Good to hear. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_dvn3RtA-c __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018 Last edited by Trollheart; 01-06-2023 at 11:32 AM.