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
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)
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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
Wednesday, October 23
Abbott Elementary - "Class Pet" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Janine gets a budget for class pets, but Melissa is resistant to taking on the added work and responsibility for her room’s guinea pig. An IT rep from the school district arrives to set up new computers.
Everybody Still Hates Chris - "Everybody Still Hates Bullies" (Comedy Central, 10:00PM ET/PT)
Chris gets a gig DJ-ing at a drag ball and develops drag queen eyes.
Everybody Still Hates Chris - "Everybody Still Hates Career Tests" (Comedy Central, 10:30PM ET/PT)
Chris and Greg tape over a porno rented from Caruso and must replace it.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of October 21)
Wednesday, October 23
- Billy Crystal (The Comedians/Soap) - Watch Billy on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Anna Kendrick (Love Life) - Anna appears on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Matty Matheson (The Bear) - Matty stops by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Bernadette Peters (High Desert/Mozart in the Jungle/All's Fair) - Bernadette is a guest on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Olivia Munn (Perfect Couples) - NBC's Today catches up with Olivia some time between 7-9am.
- Bridget Everett (Somebody Somewhere) - Bridget talks about Somebody Somewhere on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
- David Henrie (Wizards Beyond Waverly Place/Wizards of Waverly Place/How I Met Your Mother/The Pitts) - David discusses Wizards Beyond Waverly Place on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your listings. One or two Wizards Beyond Waverly Place cast members will be on New York Living at 10:05am.
- Judith Light (Who's the Boss?/Phenom/Transparent) - Judith talks about Before on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
- Billy Crystal (The Comedians/Soap) - Billy chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Mariska Hargitay (Can't Hurry Love) - Mariska talks about the greatest thing she’s learned since turning 60 on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Dexter Darden (Saved by the Bell) - Dexter talks about Peacock's Fight Night; The Million Dollar Heist on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
- Essence Atkins (Poppa's House/Marlon/Mr. Box Office/Are We There Yet?/Half & Half/Smart Guy/Under One Roof) - Essence talks about Poppa's House on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
09/10 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Seasons 1-7
09/10 - The Ropers - The Complete Series (VEI)
09/10 - Ted - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/17 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - Video Scrapbook
09/17 - Top Cat - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
09/24 - Friends - The Complete Series (4K Ultra HD)
09/24 - Young Sheldon - The Complete Seventh Season (DVD) / The Complete Series (DVD) (Blu-ray)
10/08 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Twelfth Season / The Complete Series
10/22 - Veep - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/05 - I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/19 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fourteenth Season
02/04 - 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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