What could be bad about any project that puts '80s icons Rue McClanahan and Olivia Newton-John together in one scene? Add the outrageous Leslie Jordan and Caroline Rhea, toss in Bonnie Bedelia and veteran actress Beth Grant (No Country for Old Men) and you have Logo's Sordid Lives: The Series. Based on the 1996 play and 2000 film of the same name, the half-hour show chronicles a "dysfunctional family" in Winters, Texas. And yes, there's the Logo-obligatory handsome young wannabe actor (newcomer Jason Dottley) who's struggling to come out to his Republican Baptist family. Look for Sordid Lives to premiere on Wednesday, July 23, at 10 pm/ET. — Ileane Rudolph
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Tonights main theme was the interconnectedness of family in all its twisted forms a theme that was played out on several fronts At the Henrickson homestead Margenes mother Ginger Bonnie Bedelia showed up to bestow a little motherly wisdom on her daughter while seeking out temporary housing Suddenly its clear why Margene is so desperate for love and acceptance Her trashy mother was so consumed with jealousy over the life that her daughter has built for herself that she actually tried unsuccessfully to seduce her son-in-law This after she had earlier condemned Margene for her choices I thought it was funny how Nicki seemed to relish the motherly attention she was receiving from the decidedly unmaternal Ginger and how Margene and Nicki nearly came to blows over the situation For a moment it was like Bill was dealing with two teenagers Of course in Margenes case he practically isBarbs attempts to help Wanda and Joey get back on their feet brought
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Question: I've been watching Bonanza reruns and was wondering why it was eventually canceled. My dad says it was because Dan Blocker died. Is that true? Thanks for your help and keep up the good work!
Answer: Aw, heck — t'ain't nothin, but thanks for the kind words, Tim.
It's true that when Blocker died at 43 from surgical complications, many felt the heart and soul of the show went with him. But the show also dropped in the ratings after NBC moved it from its longtime Sunday-night berth to Tuesday night. The truth is that Bonanza most likely perished because its time had simply passed. Next to Gunsmoke, it was the longest-running Western on TV (from September 1959 to January 1973) and for much of that time it turned in phenomenal ratings. From 1964 to 1967, it was No. 1 and it only began to slip out
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