Monday, November 09, 2015

SitcomsOnline Book Club Review - Situation Momedy by Jenna von Oy; TBS Announces Jan. 17 Premiere Date for Angie Tribeca & 10 More Episodes

Situation Momedy

SitcomsOnline Book Club Review - Situation Momedy

by Skees

Jenna von Oy has had many challenges throughout her life and career as a sitcom actress, and is best known for her role on Six on the Blossom and Stevie on The Parkers. But both of those experiences are a little different than her current experiences of being a mother. In her new book, Situation Momedy, she guides mothers through her experiences, in what is described as "a first-time mom's guide to laughing your way through pregnancy and year one."

So one may wonder why von Oy decided to write a book about motherhood. She even acknowledges this herself. What qualifies a former sitcom actress to write a book about motherhood? She addresses this right away in the preface of the book, appropriately titled "The Only Thing I'm an Expert at Is Being a Novice." She acknowledges right from the beginning that she isn't the expert, but rather that her experiences of being a mother were just like those she is writing the book for: she had no clue what she was doing. Her goal is not to tell mothers "how to" be a parent, but to try to guide them through the experiences based upon she handled them.

The question that sitcom fans may be asking at this point is "what does any of this have to do with sitcoms?" Well, it's pretty simple. As the book flows from chapter to chapter, each chapter is broken into three parts: "A Scenic View of My Past," "Cradle Chronicles," and "Moral of the Story." The first part is the part that brings her past (sometimes in relation to her career, but often not) to life, where she discusses anecdotes of her past that relate to the topic of the chapter. The remaining parts of each chapter bring us to the current day and her current experiences with motherhood.

For example, the book begins with the first chapter where she discusses being "different" on the set of The Parkers in the fourth season. But it wasn't a reference to her being the only white cast member. Instead, it was a reference to her being the "child" on the cast, the only one who wasn't a parent. It discusses how she coped with that, which was surprisingly difficult for her.

As the book progresses, over a total of 22 chapters, we get walked through the entire pregnancy experience, from the difficulties of morning sickness, creating the baby registry, and getting everybody prepared, including the father. Then we are brought into the actual birth of the child and how to deal with everything that happens after that, including getting life (and your body) back to normal following birth. The later chapters focus on the experience of going through motherhood beyond those first few days. Currently, her oldest daughter is still a toddler, so as one would expect, this only goes through the earliest days of motherhood.

The book really is a very well-written book, although if you aren't a new mother (I think fathers could possibly get some out of it as well), you may have a difficult time relating to much of it. If you're looking for a book that is about her career or any experiences from Blossom or The Parkers, you won't find so much of that here, although there are some small anecdotes. For that reason, this book has a narrow audience among sitcom fans, but it has a much broader audience among new parents who just need a little soothing and understanding from a real mom, a mom who also happened to be a sitcom actress.

(3/5 stars)

To purchase this book, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:
Amazon.com


Angie Tribeca

TBS has announced an airdate for its upcoming comedy Angie Tribeca, which was ordered for 10 episodes, but now 10 more have been ordered. TBS will introduce viewers to its first-ever "comedic" police procedural with a massive, international multiplatform launch on Sunday, Jan. 17, giving subscribers the opportunity to binge on the first 10 episodes of season one commercial-free through a 25-hour on-air marathon (Sunday 9pm – Monday 10pm ET/PT), as well as through TBS's VOD, digital and mobile platforms. Yep, you'll be able to watch the first ten episodes five times each during this marathon. Then on Monday, Jan. 25, TBS will begin rolling out the remaining 10 episodes. The new episodes (episodes 11-20) will launch weekly across TBS platforms each Monday at 9:30pm (ET/PT) followed by an encore (episodes 1-10) that aired during the Jan. 17 marathon at 10pm.

Real, brooding and shockingly alive, Angie Tribeca is the brainchild of Steve and Nancy Carell, who executive-produce the series through their Carousel Television. The series follows a squad of committed LAPD detectives who investigate the most serious cases, from the murder of a ventriloquist to a rash of baker suicides...but not really. OK the cat is out of the bag...Angie Tribeca is TBS's spoof of police procedurals, a comedic take on cop shows. Rashida Jones (Parks and Recreation, The Office) stars in this single-camera comedy as Angie Tribeca, a ten-year veteran of the LAPD. Her fellow officers in the squad are an eccentric but brilliant group of people who investigate crime, reveal way too much personal information about themselves and refuse to rest until justice has been served...sort of. A spoof in the tradition of The Naked Gun and Airplane!, you won't be disappointed. Also starring in the series are Hayes MacArthur (Life As We Know It, Go On), Jere Burns (Justified, Dear John), Deon Cole and Andrée Vermeulen.


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Saturday, May 31

none scheduled

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of May 26)

Friday, May 30

  • Nathan Fielder (The Rehearsal/The Curse) - Watch Nathan on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Paula Poundstone (Home Movies) - Paula performs stand-up comedy on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
  • Nathan Lane (Mid-Century Modern/Only Murders in the Building/Modern Family/Charlie Lawrence/Encore! Encore!/One of the Boys) - Nathan appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Ralph Macchio (Eight Is Enough) - Ralph swings by for a chat about Karate Kid: Legends on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
  • Justina Machado (One Day at a Time) - Justina chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT. She also talks about Broadway's Real Women Have Curves: The Musical on ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis at 7pm.
  • Yara Shahidi (grown-ish/black-ish) - Yara is telling Drew about the new venture she's taking on, where she's currently at with dating and more on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
  • Don Darryl Rivera (Only Murders in the Building) - Don talks about Broadway's Aladdin on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series Frasier (2023) - Season Two Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* (missing 4 episodes and some music has been replaced or altered) Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)

01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two
04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season
05/13 - The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* (missing 4 episodes and some music has been replaced or altered)
06/06 - Shoresy - Season 2
06/17 - Looney Tunes - Collector's Vault - Volume 1 (Blu-ray)
07/08 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)

More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD and Blu-ray Releases / TV Shows on DVD, Blu-ray and Prime Video / DVD Reviews Archive


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