As a quick followup to my last post: I realized two things the next day, as I was trying to map out the logistics of my next ~10 or so years of watching four TGIF shows every Friday night.
#1 All of the seasons of everything are different lengths and this is going to be absolute chaos. Season 1 of Perfect Strangers has only 6 episodes. All the other shows have 22! After that the season lengths basically never match again – 23 episodes, 25 episodes, would it kill the industry to have some standards here? Do I just watch everything linearly, or try to maintain some semblance of seasons? There are no good options!
#2 I trusted a stupid website to refresh my memory of what the TGIF shows were, and I did not read closely enough because the website was only covering TGIF shows in the 1990s. So correction to my last post, it is not true that Full House aired on TGIF for only one season. It was a tried and true anchor of ABC’s Friday night lineup starting in 1987, through the introduction of the TGIF concept in 1989, then lasted one season IN THE 90s before moving to Tuesday nights in 1991. We regret the error.
Now that we are rewinding our brains back to 1988 I know what you are thinking. “What about Just the Ten of Us?” (jk)
Guys, I am very sorry to be the bearer of bad news here but neither Hulu nor any other streaming service that I can find have Mr. Belvedere. This is, for me, pretty sad, and stirred up an odd memory:
At some point in the late 80s my family vacationed to Cape Cod for a week or two and it rained pretty much the ENTIRE. TIME. I mean, this happens. It is a bummer. But I must remind you that in the 80s it was a far more dramatic bummer because not only was there no such thing as the internet, cell phones or Kindles, in the 80s vacation homes (or, at least, the homes my parents vacationed in) DID NOT HAVE TVs. HOW DID WE LIVE. And while I on the one hand appreciate that TV is not really the optimal activity one should partake in on a vacation, I on the other hand will not go to a dentist that doesn’t have a 42’ flatscreen airing weird oral hygeine programming in their waiting room, let alone a VRBO that doesn’t have that satellite box checked, no thank you.
I feel like my parents must have really *got* me, though, because why else would they have brought along their weird little handheld radio that picked up UHF/VHF audio? It could not possibly have been for any other reason than to allow my 8-year-old self, in Truro Massachusetts on what I assume was a stormy Friday night, to lay my head on the kitchen table, close my eyes, and FORLORNLY LISTEN TO THE AUDIO OF MR. BELVEDERE. A pitiful tableau and a poignant reminder that we can never have all of the things we want, and should appreciate all the things we have.
So FINE. My life’s experiences have clearly led me to this point of acceptance that there is no Mr. Belvedere to be had. When the 6-episode first season of Perfect Strangers ends I will appreciate what Hulu has given me and will watch the 6-episode first season of Dinosaurs. But THAT IS IT. NO MORE DINOSAURS AFTER THAT. I don’t care if Hulu offers all five seasons, a 22-episode season of Dinosaurs is a line that I cannot cross.
And Hulu, if you read this, plz let my inner child have her Mr. Belvedere.
I have great news for you. Full episodes of Mr Belvedere on youTube. God Bless America, amirite? (PS I realized this after looking for the theme song and ended up watching 3-4 episodes…. on vacation in Hawaii. I think it must have been raining outside… yeah, let’s go with that…).