Saturday, March 18, 2006
Rare 1970's PBS Sitcom "¿Qué Pasa, U.S.A.?" Available on DVD
¿Qué Pasa, USA? was America's first bilingual situation comedy. The program explored the trials and tribulations faced by the Peña family of Miami as they struggled to cope with a new country and a new language. The series focused on the identity crisis of the members of the family as they were pulled in one direction by their elders - who wanted to maintain Cuban values and traditions - and pulled in other directions by the pressures of living in a predominantly Anglo society.
The series was bilingual, reflecting the mix of language often heard in Cuban-American neighborhoods - from Spanish in the home and English at the supermarket to the inevitable combining of both into "Spanglish."
¿Qué Pasa, USA? aired on PBS nationwide from approximately 1977-1981. A total of 39 episodes were produced over 3 seasons. The show was produced and taped live before a studio audience at PBS affiliate WPBT in Miami, Florida. In recent years, the series has been shown on Galavisión.
The cast included Manolo Villaverde as Pepe, Ana Margarita Martin-Casado as Juana, Luis Oquendo as Antonio, Velia Martinez as Adela, Rocky Echevarria (now known as Steven Bauer) as Joe, and Ana Margarita Menéndez as Carmen.
¿Qué Pasa, U.S.A.? La Completa Collection is available to purchase on the official site via their store. The 5-Disc Collector's Edition includes all 39 episodios of the ground-breaking comedy series. It will set you back mucho dinero: $99.95 plus $6 shipping and handling. This seems like an internet-only offer. You won't be able to order it on Amazon.com or buy it in stores.
The site, owned and operated by WPBT Channel 2, includes a number of other goodies including a photo album, desktop wallpapers, video clips, and an addicting Qué Pasa Concentration Game.
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Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Tuesday, March 17
none scheduled
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 16)
Tuesday, March 17
- Chelsea Handler (Are You There, Chelsea?) - Catch Chelsea on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Linda Cardellini (Dead to Me/Guys Like Us) - Linda appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Elijah Wood (Wilfred) - Elijah stops by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- David Alan Grier (St. Denis Medical/Dad Stop Embarrassing Me!/The Cool Kids/The Carmichael Show/Bad Teacher/Life with Bonnie/DAG) - David is a guest on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Lea Michele (The Mayor) - Lea and the Broadway cast and orchestra of Chess perform on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Affion Crockett (First Wives Club) - Affion is a guest on Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen at 12:37am on CBS.
- Mark Consuelos (Alpha House/Hope & Faith) - Andy Cohen interviews Mark on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 3:30am on Bravo.
- Josh Gad (Wolf Like Me/Avenue 5/The Comedians/1600 Penn/Back to You) and Andrew Rannells (Girls/The New Normal) - Josh and Andrew discuss the 15th anniversary of The Book of Mormon on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between7-9am.
- Sarah Michelle Gellar (The Crazy Ones) - Sarah chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Riz Ahmed (Bait) - Riz talks about Bait on NBC's Today in the 9am hour.
- Demi Lovato (Sonny with a Chance) - Demi talks about One Plate at a Time: Recipes for Finding Freedom with Food on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
- Lena Waithe (Master of None) - Lena tells Sherri about her playwriting and stage debut in Trinity at Baltimore Center Stage on Sherri, so check your local listings.
- Gabriel "Fluffy" Iglesias (The Santa Clauses/Mr. Iglesias/Cristela) - Gabriel is a guest on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
- Judy Reyes (Scrubs) - Judy appears on New York Living on WPIX in New York at 10:05am.
- Chris Pratt (Parks and Recreation) and Charlie Day (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia/Luis) - Chris talks about The Super Mario Galaxy Movie on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am. Chris and Charlie will be on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
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