The following exchange was the final straw:

Lamont:  Pop, you gotta stop going out everynight.

Fred:  I can’t stop, son.  You know Donna.  I mean, she’s young and attractive and when she wants to go out, I have to go or she’ll give me up for a younger man.

Lamont:  Now, that doesn’t sound like Donna.

Fred:  I know it doesn’t sound like Donna.  I don’t do imitations.

Be sure to catch “A Gunfighter’s Pledge” on the Hallmark channel tonight.  This original movie stars Luke Perry, C. Thomas Howell, Kim Coates, Jaclyn DeSantis, and Francesco Quinn.  Click HERE for a synopsis - If it’s as good as it sounds, we’re in for quite a ride!  While there, be sure to enter for a chance to win a 5 day/4 night trip for two to Sedona.

The Hallmark Channel will be showing the best of the west this month.  Ironically, their Western’s month coincided with my theme on the blog the past few weeks (A Fistful of Westerns).  When I decided to go with this theme after the Father’s Day one, I had no idea Hallmark was planning a move west, too.

Great minds?

July is Rough N Ready Month on the Hallmark Channel and the fun has already begun.  Every night this month, you can head west on a honda recliner.  To see the schedule, see the Hallmark Channel’s Rough N Ready Month Calendar.

By the way, this post may sound terrribly repetitive and familiar.  Don’t worry you aren’t losing your mind (if only the same could be said of me….sigh).  We had to move all of our blogs and sites (well over 30) to a larger server - the most recent posts were lost in transition.  So, I’m trying to backtrack on all of my blogs and repost what I’d lost.  Talk about a mental workout.  Calls for a trip to Starbucks. Make that two trips to Starbucks.

As soon as the trailers begin, we enter a whole new world of fun.  That brings me to a mini rant, though.  Theaters have got to STOP showing commercials…we can see those at home.  Show more trailers and less commercials.  If I have to see the Democrat/Republican Coke commercial one more time, I may throw my Coke.

Nah, it costs too much.  Scratch the threat.

One of the most enjoyable, funnest comedies I’ve seen in a very long time… well, ever… is Get Smart with Steve Carell, Anne Hathaway, Dwayne Johnson, and Alan Arkin.

I knew it would be good, but I had no idea it would be as good as it is.  Everything about the movie was completely perfect.  It’d be impossible to count the “laugh out loud” moments.  You couldn’t, if you wanted to -  you’d be too busy laughing.  In fact, there were more than a few scenes that left me with tears in my eyes thanks to fits of laughter.

Now that’s what I want from a comedy - make me cry!  So few seem capable of doing it, it just makes it all the more special when one comes along that’s more than you could have ever hoped for.

The casting was dead on in Get Smart, with a surprising chemistry between the leads. Dwayne Johnson and Alan Arkin were fantastic in the film, as well.  If you haven’t seen this one, you’ll want to take care of that asap.  This one will have you rolling in the aisles - if it doesn’t, you’ll want to start searching for your missing sense of humor.

I’m starting a Movie Reviews Section on the site, and I’m thrilled that Get Smart is kicking things off.  I’m going to rate the movies I review on a scale of 1 to 10.  For me, an example of a 1 would be Beowolf.  (I LOATHED that movie!).  10 movies would be those that are absolutely perfect - like the Ocean’s movies (11 and 13), the Bourne movies (all 3), Iron Man (an all-time favorite), etc. 

I give Get Smart a 10 without a moment’s hesitation.  Loved it!

They were amazing! Lionel Richie and Vanessa Williams were in rare form. Lionel sounds as great as ever, and looks the same as he did years ago!

Vanessa Williams can absolutely do everything - she’s a great actress, a wonderful singer, she’s funny, gorgeous, and talk about style. Wow! She’s one of the few people that I think could pull off her own variety show, a la Carol Burnett. There’s just something about her chemistry with the camera….and audience, of course. She was the PERFECT choice for host.

Below is a short video clip of a few of the stars before the ceremony. Check out how great Sarah Gilbert looks. Sometime when we weren’t looking she grew from a cute little girl into a beautiful woman. She should be on some screen someplace - she’s too talented NOT to be.

For a lot more fun and coverage, go to TV Land.com’s TV Land Awards section. The videos are priceless.  Robert Verdi is someone else I could watch 24/7. He’s perfect on She’s Got the Look - entertaining but respectful.

When the Lucy Laughs end, TV Land will reshow the AMAZING premiere of their new reality show, She’s Got the Look.  If you didn’t catch it the first time around, you’ll most definitely want to see it this time.  It’s so well done, with a lot of style.

After episode 1 of “She’s Got the Look,” you’re in for more laughs with two back to back Beverly Hillbillies followed by some of the funniest Andy Griffith’s ever.

At 6:00, they’ll air “Hot Rod Ottis,” the one where Otis buys a car and puts the fear of God into Andy and Barney - who then put the same fear back into Otis!  The next Andy Griffith is just as hilarious - the title is “The Song Festers” - it’s the one where Barney thinks he’s a killer singer but Gomer comes  along and outshines him. 

At 7:00, Aunt Bee buys too much beef for the ailing freezer to handle, leading to headaches for Andy and laughs for the rest of us.  “Aunt Bee, call the man!“  At 7:30 is another of my favorites - “Divorce, Mountain Style!”  Any episodes featuring both Barney and the Darlings is one I don’t even blink during.  In this episode, Charlene wants to divorce Dud Wash and marry Andy.  Fortunately, Andy has Barney to help.  Except for one thing - he isn’t any!

After Andy and Barney finish up, there’s an episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition followed by… wait for it, wait for it… Episode 2 of She’s Got the Look.  According to the promo, it looks like someone has a big meltdown.   TV Land caps it off (post-meltdown!) with about 4 episodes of MASH.

I’ve already got TV Land on and going here in my home office.  Lucy and Ethel are trying to find a way to get in on the trip to Europe.  Ehtel cracked me up - when it looks like she’ll be the only one who doesn’t get to go, she was extremely down trodden and says, “I don’t want to see Europe anyway.  It’s so old.”

This is going to be a great day!

I’ve found a lot more lovelies online that I need (yes, need…want doesn’t quite get it), like the ones in this post.

The I Love Lucy Mousepad will probably be the first thing I nab. I thought I’d seen everything even remotely related to Lucy, but I’ve never seen an I Love Lucy Mousepad like this. I love it big time.

I’m also completely wild about the ROSEANNE for queen Keepsake Box and ROSEANNE for queen Stein. I have a feeling there are a lot more Roseanne goodies on the other side of the links above, but my billfold and I are afraid to look.

If you have a Target department store near you, you should check out their home decorating dept.  Somewhere along the way, Target really stepped up their game - they have some really amazing stuff now!  Granted, the prices stepped up their game as well, but I’m willing to pay more if the product is original, great looking, and is top quality.  Target is right on the target with all of those. 

They have a lot of vintage Hollywood art prints and posters. 

It’s not quite as easy to find play pretties for more recent classic television shows like Roseanne, Sanford and Son, Good Times, etc.  As ridiculously popular as they’re becoming, I have a feeling that’ll change soon enough.  Fingers crossed.

**I’ve added a “Clothes” page (see the navigational bar above) - I’m rounding up some great looking t-shirts, hoodies, hats, etc.  I’ve already linked to some I Love Lucy items that I fell in love with.  More will be added regularly, so be sure to check in from time to time.

I’m also adding quite a bit to the “Store” page, too.  Great stuff!

Whoa.  Not good.

Spike Lee and Clint Eastwood are having a little bit of a tit for tat.  It’s fast becomming a “He said..then he said…” spectacle.

Apparently, Spike Lee took exception to the representation of “African American” men in Eastwood’s films, “Flags of Our Fathers” and “Letters From Iwo Jima.” It’s his right, of course, to have opinions about other director’s work. Just as other directors may take exception to his films. For example, maybe they question the way their race is represented in his films. However, Spike Lee didn’t just think the thoughts, he voiced them. As a fan of both men, I wish Lee had gone to Eastwood - face to face, man to man. If he thought something was unfair, I personally think he should have had his say - to Clint Eastwood. There wasn’t any need, in my opinion, to speak out publicly on the subject.

Eastwood’s response: Again, words that would have been better directed (excuse the pun) at the individual, not the public. “The story is ‘Flags of Our Fathers,’ the famous flag-raising picture, and they didn’t do that. If I go ahead and put an African-American actor in there, people’d go: ‘This guy’s lost his mind.’ I mean, it’s not accurate.” Referring to Lee, he added: “A guy like him should shut his face.”

As you can guess, that went over pretty well.

Spike Lee’s response? “First of all, the man is not my father and we’re not on a plantation either,” he said. “He’s a great director. He makes his films, I make my films. The thing about it though, I didn’t personally attack him. And a comment like ‘a guy like that should shut his face’ - come on Clint, come on. He sounds like an angry old man right there.”

Now it’s stooped to name-calling. Not cool. These are educated men, here!

Here are the facts: almost 900 of the 30,000 marines that stormed the Japanese island were African-American. Eastwood explained that he wasn’t going to alter history for the sake of a film:

“I’m not in that game. I’m playing it the way I read it historically, and that’s the way it is,” he said.

“When I do a picture and it’s 90% black, like ‘Bird,’ I use 90% black people.” Bird was, of course, his 1998 film about jazz musician Charlie “Bird” Parker. Eastwood brought up the fact that even then, Spike Lee complained - “He was complaining when I did Bird (a biopic of Charlie Parker). Why would a white guy be doing that? I was the only guy who made it, that’s why. He could have gone ahead and made it. Instead he was making something else.”

Truth, more than anything, hits the hardest, doesn’t it?

Spike Lee’s next film is “Miracle at St. Anna.” It’s about the all-black 92nd Buffalo Division that fought in Tuscany, Italy during World War II. Clint Eastwood’s next project (The Human Factor) is about Nelson Mandela and his journey to help South Africa overcome the damages of apartheid.

About casting this film, Clint Eastwood said, “I’m not going to make Nelson Mandela a white guy.”
Touche’!

*In an AOL poll, the question was asked, “Whose side are you on?” After voting, I saw that 92 percent are on “Team Clint” and 8 percent are on “Team Spike.”

So, there you have it. If even Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Geoffrey Rush, and Keira Knightley can make mistakes, I guess the rest of us are allowed to.

I wonder why Vanessa Williams never released more cds… her voice is exceptional. Remember Colors Of the Wind? Speaking of exceptional voices (completely accidental segue - I’m not that clever), non other than Lionel Richie will perform on the TV Land Awards. He’ll perform a medley of his hits. He’ll certainly have plenty to choose from.

The show - which is obviously Can’t Miss TV will air on Sunday, June 15 AT 9 P.M. ET/PT. I know I’ll remind you between now and then, but go ahead and mark your calendars anyway. Every calendar in my house is marked, but you know me, I’m pretty much obsessed with TV Land and classic television.

Roseanne and family, Laverne, Shirley, Fonzie, Rob, Mork, the Golden Girls… Wow!

Honorees and presenters include:

Justin Timberlake will present The Legacy of Laughter Award to Mike Myers. The two will be in the upcomming movie “The Love Guru” - its arrival in theaters is also marked on my calendar (June 20). It’ll be out the same night Steve Carrell’s (Another star TV Land has lined up!) movie Get Smart is. I can’t wait for both of these. Justin Timberlake and Mike Myers also together worked in Shrek 3, too.

Penny Marshall, Cindy Williams. Henry Winkler, Jack Klugman and Dick Van Dyke will present The Legend Award to Garry Marshall. The name Garry Marshall certainly fits into the category of legend, doesn’t it?

Robin Williams will present The Pioneer Award to Jonathan Winters, from one comedic genius to another.

The Innovator Award will be presented to the cast of “Roseanne.” (YESSSS!!!) This award is presented to a series whose influence is still felt and is evident in television today; a show that carved out new territory, redefining elements of the genre and opening new pathways for others to follow. ….and made you laugh so hard you thought you’d die from glee. I added that last part.

The Pop Culture Award will be awarded to “The Golden Girls.” This award is presented to a show that has crossed the line from television series to pop culture phenomenon. The Golden Girls is another one of my all-time favorites. Has there ever been a more perfectly cast series? There absolutely could not have been another Blanche, Rose, Sophia, or Dorothy.

Sunday night - June 15th!