10 Years Later, We're Still F.R.I.E.N.D.S

By: Brittany L. Reid

See, no one told you life was gonna be this way,

Our favorite sitcom ended, 10 years to the day!

That’s right!  May 6, 2014 marked the 10 year anniversary of the F.R.I.E.N.D.S series finale.  After a run of 10 seasons and 236 episodes, it is no stretch to say that the renowned sitcom left a lasting impression on American culture for many years to follow.

Left to Right: Chandler (Matthew Perry), Rachel (Jennifer Aniston), Ross (David Schwimmer), Monica (Courtney Cox), Joey (Matt LeBlanc), Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow)

 The series premiered on September 22, 1994 via NBC’s network, and followed the day-to-day lives of six 20-something-year-olds in the hustle and bustle of Manhattan.  The characters all had a prior connection to each other, whether they were siblings, high school classmates, college roommates, or just apartment roommates.  Yet, they all bonded over so much more than their adolescent history.  The series consisted of these six people, who also embodied the struggles of conquering many adulthood challenges: getting jobs, losing jobs, familial issues, hook-ups, broken hearts, and even more trying, maintaining strong friendships throughout a variety of strenuous tribulations.

There was something about this series that nearly everyone could relate too.  The characters were immensely diverse, but quirky in a way that a fan could say, “My gosh, I so GET that!”  Whether you could connect with Ross being a nerd, Monica being a neat-freak, Joey being a player, Chandler being anxious, Rachel being materialistic, or Phoebe being free-spirited, it was the very essence of their personalities that made them…real.  Even more so, despite the fact that they were all different, each and every one of them always had the well-being of the others at heart.  While sometimes their deceptions would get out of hand, the measures they went through to avoid hurting each other in relation to those deceptions, showed just how much they cared for one-another.  So, it was rather uplifting that every Thursday night at 8:30 p.m. on NBC, these people welcomed America into their small circle of F.R.I.E.N.D.S. via television sets nationwide.

We were privy to the most intimate of their secrets: from witnessing what led to Ross and Rachel being “on a break,” to the secret relationship instigated by Monica and Chandler in London.  We were there when Ross had to give up his pet monkey, Marcel, and when Phoebe found out the hidden truths about her family.  We felt the frustration of Chandler having to deal with Janice (Maggie Wheeler), and the rest of the gang having to deal with Joey.  We felt the stress of Monica balancing her feelings for Richard (Tom Selleck), and Ross balancing the fragile web of his marriages in tandem with his dating life.  We were there for everything, and while some situations may have been unorthodox, they were by no means unbelievable.  Perhaps that is what made F.R.I.E.N.D.S so real for all of us: that their lives could have very well been any one of ours.

Thus, the series gave us a fitting goodbye in 2004, leaving behind iconic symbols such as the Central Perk coffee shop and “the Rachel hairstyle” that swept the nation in the 90s.  Fans received genuine closure as Ross and Rachel’s rocky-relationship finally glided down the runway for a smooth landing.  We also sent off fond well-wishes to Joey, who was gearing up for moving to L.A. with goals of continuing to pursue his acting career.  Chandler and Monica took their first steps of parenthood together, and Phoebe entered the early stages of being a newlywed with her beau, Mike (Paul Rudd).  The last episode was viewed by about 52.5 million people, making it the fourth most watched series finale in television history (Christiano, 2010).  The show itself received a multitude of awards and was nominated for 63 Primetime Emmys (Emmys, 2014).  Truly, it is one of the most treasured shows in televisions history.  It has even been parodied on other hit series such as Murder She Wrote, and Animaniacs.

"Acquaintances" short-intro on Animaniacs

The 10 year run ended with a finale that was open enough to leave plenty of room for future continuity, yet allowed the fans to envision what they believed happened with our friends in the future.  It was just last year the rumors hit the Internet like wildfire about the possibility of a F.R.I.E.N.D.S reunion special.  Such a special seemed plausible because the anniversary of the decade was looming just over our heads.  However, the rumors have been quickly dispelled by several members of the main cast, such as Lisa Kudrow (Duncan, 2014).  Still, it is fun to imagine that there could always be a possible spin-off with one of the 2^nd generation characters (i.e. Ross & Rachel’s daughter or Chandler & Monica’s twins).  Look at what is happening with Boy Meets World!

But in the meantime, we can always delight in the fact that whether it’s via reruns on television, posts online, or just seeing our favorite actors on screen, that feeling of friendship with these beloved characters will always be there.

I’ll be there for you, ‘cause you’re there for me too.

          All 10 seasons of the show are currently available via DVD box sets.

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Kent Christiano (2010, May 6). Top 10 Most Watched Series Finales. Retrieved from  http://www.indyposted.com/21133/top-10-most-watched-series-finales/

Emmys. (2014). Awards Search, FRIENDS. Retrieved from http://www.emmys.com/awards/nominations/award-search?search_api_views_fulltext=FRIENDS&search_api_views_fulltext_1=&search_api_views_fulltext_3=FRIENDS&search_api_views_fulltext_2=NBC&search_api_views_fulltext_4=&field_nominations_year=1993-01-01+00%3A00%3A00&field_nominations_year_1=2008-01-01+00%3A00%3A00&field_nomination_category=All&submit=Search 

Amy Duncan (2014, January 16). Were you left angry by the fake Friends reunion rumors? You might want to read this. It's an apology. A big one... Retrieved from http://metro.co.uk/2014/01/16/were-you-left-angry-by-the-fake-friends-reunion-rumours-you-might-want-to-read-this-its-an-apology-a-big-one-4265098/

Quack-a-Doodle-Doo: The Eggs are Falling!

     As many of you may know, I wrote, illustrated, and published my very first children's book not too long ago.  The name of the book is, Quack-a-Doodle-Doo: Do it Like Dave.  It is the first in a series of books I am working on to promote positive self esteem within children.  I'm aiming to have the sequel released sometime this year.

      In addition, I have designed and maintained a website to promote my publication(s).  Recently, I added a game to the homepage of the site entitled, Uni's Catching Game.  The goal is to see how many eggs you can help Uni catch in 60 seconds by moving him with the 'left' and 'right' arrow keys on your keyboard.

     So please stop by the website and check out the game!  Also, peruse the site itself and let me know what you think by signing the guest book at the bottom of the homepage.  The web address is: http://www.quackadoodledoo.com. 

Thanks!

-Brittany L. Reid

Sesame Puppeteer Workshop 2014: Photo-rific Memories!

I just wanted to share a few pictures of my time at the Sesame Puppeteer Workshop.

PHOTO CREDIT: ZACH HYMAN

I've been practicing my puppetry skills since the workshop and I'm planning on releasing a few fun videos this month.  So stay tuned!

Photo Credit: Zach Hyman

Photo Credit: Zach Hyman

Photo Credit: Zach Hyman

Photo Credit: Zach Hyman

Photo Credit: Zach Hyman

MEGA THANKS to Matt Vogel, Martin P. Robinson, Peter Linz, The Sesame Workshop, and these AMAZING puppeteers from around the country, for making this a treasured and unforgettable experience!  Also, MEGA THANKS to Zach Hyman for preserving these precious memories for us!

-Brittany L. Reid

The Herald Gazette: "Reid Knows the Way to Sesame Street"

"Reid Knows the Way to Sesame Street"

(As published in the Barnesville newspaper, The Herald Gazette)
Date of Publication: Tuesday, March 4, 2014

     Above is a printed copy of an article that was published in my local newspaper, highlighting my trip to The Sesame Workshop.

*For a larger view, click "Reid Knows the Way to Sesame Street," or click on the picture.  When a new window opens, click the picture again to enlarge it.

2015: The Year of the Chipmunk? (UPDATED)

-By: Brittany L. Reid

*Update to my original article:  The website www.chipmunks.com has recently been remodeled to promote the upcoming 2015 television series.  You can now connect with the show's Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube pages via the new website.

The 'History' tab that was present on the previous site has been removed.

“Watch out, ‘cause here we come!  It’s been a while but, we’re back with style!”

                Indeed, Alvin and the Chipmunks are back…AGAIN with another new look!  After the success of their recent live-action films, the munks’ designs are being revamped for a brand new television series set to debut next year entitled, ALVINNN!  And the Chipmunks!!!

                Buzz of the new TV series can be traced back to around 2010 with word spreading through means such as this YouTube video.  Not more than two years later, fans were treated with an idea of what the munks may look like through an interactive app that allowed people to engage with Alvin, known as the iMunk app:

With this app, users could make Alvin dance, play his guitar, and have him repeat whatever they said in a rather munk-y voice. 

The new design seemed to be a mesh of the old school and the new school.  While Alvin’s basic foundation reflects the same anthropomorphic figure of his renowned early 80s-early 90s incarnation, he is also equipped with a chipmunk tail, stripe down the center of his face, a chipmunk nose, and darker hair color that closely matches the fur color of his design in the live-action features.

 It wouldn’t be long before the rest of the munks made their debut with their updated designs as well.  The Chipettes’ new look quickly followed Alvin’s in June of 2012, through the release of their cover for the song “Call Me Maybe.”  Simon and Theodore would finally join the group with their designs in October of 2013, the year that also marked the 30^th anniversary of the Alvin and the Chipmunks TV series, which debuted in 1983.

The chipmunks are no strangers to redesigns.  When Alvin, Simon, and Theodore made their first appearance in 1958, they were displayed on their album covers as real chipmunks, but were immensely different than how they have looked in their recent motion pictures.

At the time, it was Ross Bagdasarian Sr. who served as the munks’ “father,” having brought that munk-y voice to life for his popular song “Witch Doctor.”  He would soon affix that voice to many more novelty records, including the infamous “The Chipmunk Song” (“Christmas Don’t Be Late”).  “The Chipmunk Song” was produced after “Witch Doctor,” and served as the melody that officially introduced Alvin, Simon, and Theodore as a musical group.  (To find out more, visit the 'History' tab on www.chipmunks.com).  With the success of their records, they soon made their way into the homes of millions by becoming re-mastered for the 1961 television series, The Alvin Show, which ran for just under a year (October 1961-September 1962) and garnered a total of 26 episodes. 

  Bagdasarian voiced all three munks, as well as Dave Seville, throughout the entirety of the show.  After his death in 1972, the munks were passed on to his son, Ross Bagdasarian Jr., who has kept the franchise alive alongside his wife, Janice Karman for more than two decades.  Together, they reintroduced the munks to a new generation in the 1980s with A Chipmunk Christmas, a primetime TV special in which the munks’ designs had even more detail than they did in the 1960s.  The popularity of the special led to the creation of the Alvin and the Chipmunks television series in 1983. 

The series would last for 8 years before being syndicated in reruns on a variety of television networks. This was the cartoon in which The Chipettes first made their debut, giving the female audience 3 characters in the animation world that they could relate too alongside the boys.  Ross and Janice wrote the stories for the show, and provided the voices for the characters.  Ross voiced Alvin, Simon, and Dave, while Janice voiced Theodore and the Chipettes. 

The franchise produced albums, lunchboxes, VHS tapes, apparel, and action figures galore.  The show’s popularity would result in munks’ first theatrical feature, The Chipmunk Adventure, which premiered in 1987.  In 1988, the series was renamed to, The Chipmunks.  By the early 1990s, they were honored with a Rockin' through the Decades special, recognizing their popularity throughout history.

It’s been over 20 years since the munks have been showcased on the small screens of homes worldwide via their own TV series.  As it stands, their new show has reportedly been picked up by over 70 Nickelodeon channels around the world (excluding North America and Brazil).  According to an article published on February 24th, 2014 on Animationmagazine.net, the show has been scheduled for two seasons of 104 episodes, each 11 minutes long.  Each episode will also feature an original song by the Bagdasarians.  Ross Bagdasarian Jr. and his wife, Janice Karman, shall provide the voices for the characters once again, just as they did during the Eighties and the Nineties.

“It’s a different style of animation. My dad created a look in the Sixties and Janice redesigned it beautifully for the Eighties with a very classic look, less stylized, and then redesigned it again for the movies. This is the next iteration; fresh and new but with the essence of the characters, both in look and story,” Ross has stated (Tbivision.com).

The series will be produced by Bagdasarian productions and OuiDO! (previously Genao) productions for PGS Entertainment.

BUT WAIT!  That’s not all!  In addition to the television series, fans can get hyped for an expected 4^th live-action movie to hit cinemas during the 2015 holiday season!  There’s been no official word on the plot of the film yet.  However, according to the International MovieDatabase, the movie is currently in pre-production and aiming for a release date of December 11.

                Between their return to TV and their new movie, you can bet that the year 2015 will most likely see an increase in munk-y merchandise to promote their continuous rise in entertainment industry.

My Visit to the Sesame Workshop

Tremors shivered up and down my spine and butterflies fluttered in my stomach as I clutched the phone tightly in my hand. It rang and then I heard my mother’s voice on the other end.
“Hello?”
“Hi, where are you?”
“Driving with your Memama.  We’re about to do some Christmas shopping.”
“Okay, well you might want to pull over or something.”
“Why?”
“I’ve got some big news.  Do you have me on speaker?  Put me on speaker!”
“Hold on. ……Okay, you’re on speaker,” my mom says.  Then, after my grandmother gives me her hello, I take a breath,
“Hi! Well, it looks like I’m heading to Sesame Street!”
---

That’s how I broke the news to my family after I received an e-mail stating that my submission for the 2014 Sesame Puppeteer Workshop had been accepted back in December. Immediately there were exclamations of joy from my mother and grandmother, and we soon shared the news with other members of the family.

The Count, Telly, and Me!

I’ve loved the Muppets ever since I was a kid. I mean, who hasn’t? Their characters are hilarious and timeless, heartfelt, and imaginatively realistic. Since their debut, they’ve practically been a part of everyone’s family, for every generation. But my love of puppetry extended beyond the Muppets. As a child, I had puppets of Charlie Horse, Lamb Chop, and Hush Puppy whom I often lifted up to the TV as I tried to mimic the performances I saw on “Lamb Chop’s Play Along.” I even took an interest in ventriloquism when I was about 9, and did shows for my local church and local school.

My love only grew as I became intricately interested in not just the performances, but the foundations of the stories and lessons that the puppets conveyed to their audiences.  By the time I was 11, I knew that I wanted to be part of a movement that had a great, positive impact on today’s generation. I knew I wanted that impact to be educational and entertaining.

Before long, I had written and illustrated my first children’s book, Quack-a-Doodle-Doo: Do it Like Dave.  After its success, I immediately began formulating a plan to incorporate my puppetry into my hobby of writing. I had done a few on-camera puppetry performances already. But I thought,

“Who better to help me hone my educationally-entertaining puppetry skills than the masters at the Sesame Workshop, a corporation who has breathed life into the edu-tainment industry since my parents were kids?”

With that in mind, when I heard about the open-call for puppeteers to send in their videos to the Sesame Workshop, I knew I had to take my shot. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and there was a one-in-a-million chance that I’d get in. But at least if I entered, I’d have a chance.

The video  that I sent in for my submission can be viewed below:

As I shot the video, I recorded my part first. Then, I recorded my Muppet’s part. When I went in to edit, I merged the two scenes together, utilizing skills I’d learn from the Video Production courses I’d taken at the University of West Georgia.

Needless to say, when I informed my family that my application had been accepted, they were thrilled and gave me their full support…(and when I say full support, I mean FULL). Before I knew it, I had two aunts and a grandmother exclaiming that they, “wanted to go to New York too!” I practically had an entourage geared up to travel with me to The Big Apple.

---

My family and I decided to travel by car. It was a long trip, but we entertained ourselves with several movies we had brought along for the ride. By the time we reached Maryland, we realized that a pretty heavy snow storm would be coming along our path. So we decided to bunk at an Inn for the night. We woke up early the next morning, and pulled out around 9 AM to finish up the rest of the drive. We ended up reaching NYC around noon, giving us plenty of time to check in to our hotel. I then made sure I had my materials ready before heading on over to the workshop, which began early that afternoon.

Walking into the workshop, I was surrounded by pops of color and the kid inside me was giddy with excitement! As I turned the corner into the meeting room, I met some of my fellow puppeteers. Before long more people began to trickle in. We all signed in, put on our name tags, and all chatted for a while as we eagerly waited for our mentors.

It wasn’t long before…they entered.

There was an air of cheeriness and positivity surrounding all three of them: Martin P. Robinson, Peter Linz, and Matt Vogel.

Everyone was beaming ear to ear as a bubbling wave of eagerness washed over the room. We all went around and introduced ourselves. Then, after we were given a rundown of what the workshop would entail, we were split up into our groups for the day.

Overall, the workshop focused on the basics such as eye focus and bold characterization. We did several exercises to help enhance our individual strengths and techniques throughout the workshop. There was also a great deal of versatility, both in terms of our groups and the puppets that we worked with. In the end, it all culminated into several fun skits that we did to gauge how much we had learned over the course of the workshop.

On the last day, we all make sure that we gathered each other’s contact information. My family ended up leaving NYC at about 4 AM after the last day, and we made it back home by that night.

I took away a lot; but one of the greatest aspects of this experience was the fact that I got to meet a lot of fabulous puppeteers, whom I hope to work with again at some point in the future.

I wouldn’t trade my experience at the Sesame Workshop for anything. I feel like a part of me is still in NYC; it all ended way too soon.

But it will definitely be marked as one of the best experiences of my life!

Me with my mentors: (left) Matt Vogel, (center) Peter Linz, (right) Martin P. Robi

Maybe I Can Tell You How to Get to Sesame Street!

                I have been blessed with a magnificent opportunity!  The Sesame Workshop recently called for aspiring puppeteers to submit videos of their talents for the chance to hone their skills under the guidance of Martin P. Robinson and Matt Vogel, a couple of the best professionals in the business.  The requirements were:

              Make a short video (3 minutes MAX) showcasing your talents as a puppeteer following these guidelines:

·         Introduce the video as yourself.

·         Enter and exit frame with your puppet (it’s helpful if the puppet you use has good eye focus).

·         Show a variety of character voices (3-4 minimum).  Please note: we want to see your original character voices, not your imitation of existing Sesame Street character voices.

·         Finish your video with a short song…we would like to hear you sing!

            Not long after submitting my video, I received a response stating that I had been offered a slot in their workshop!  I’m very excited and eager to apply what I learn to my skillset!  The workshop will take place during the first week of February and focus on:

·         Precise lip syncing

·         Bold characters

·         The ability to perform with a standard monitor

I’ll be sure to give an account of my experience here on my blog later! 

Stay tuned for more updates!

-Brittany L. Reid