Category: TV Series
Happy Days: Henry Winkler’s Leather Jacket as Fonzie
Henry Winkler as Fonzie on Happy Days
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Henry Winkler as Arthur “Fonzie” Fonzarelli, cool mechanic-turned-diner owner and high school teacher
Milwaukee, late 1950s and early 1960s
Series: Happy Days
Air Dates: January 15, 1974 – July 19, 1984
Creator: Garry Marshall
Men’s Costumer: Mickey Sherrard (1977-1984)
Background
Happy Days premiered 50 years ago today on January 15, 1974, the start of an impressive 11-season run on ABC chronicling an idealized look at mid-century life in the Midwest. Created by the prolific Garry Marshall, the series initially centered around all-American teenager Richie Cunningham (Ron Howard) and his family and friends until retooling to increase focus on Arthur “Fonzie” Fonzarelli (Henry Winkler), a quintessential ’50s greaser in the mold of Marlon Brando and James Dean who quickly rose to become an audience favorite. Continue reading
The Bear: Richie Wears Suits Now
Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Richie Jerimovich on The Bear (Episode 2.08: “Bolognese”)
Photo credit: Chuck Hodes/FX
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Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Richie Jerimovich, restaurant manager and honorary Berzatto “cousin”
Chicago, Spring 2023
Series: The Bear
Episodes:
– “Bolognese” (Episode 2.08)
– “Omelette” (Episode 2.09)
– “The Bear” (Episode 2.10)
Air Date: June 22, 2023
Director: Christopher Storer
Creator: Christopher Storer
Costume Designer: Courtney Wheeler
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
“New year, new me” is an oft-repeated philosophy thorough January as people reaffirm committing to becoming their best selves. One of my favorite on-screen transformations recently has been Richie Jerimovich’s journey to find his purpose across the second season of The Bear. For his portrayal of Richie, Ebon Moss-Bachrach has been nominated for a Golden Globe, an Independent Spirit Award, and an Emmy—with the results of the latter to be announced this Monday night.
The Bear established Richie at the start as a brash and boastful loudmouth, proud of his self-maintainted reputation as a wild card. “I’m not like this because I’m in Van Halen, I’m in Van Halen because I’m like this,” he frequently reasserts, all the while increasingly questioning his purpose. Though he loves his “cousin” Carmy (Jeremy Allen White), Richie clearly resents the new methods that the experienced chef and his visionary new hire Sydney (Ayo Edebiri) had brought to their longstanding Chicago restaurant… until Carmy enrolls Richie in a week honing his stagiaere skills in what would be essentially an unpaid internship at the exclusive Chicago restaurant Ever. Continue reading
The Sopranos: Tony’s Gray Suit and Shirt in the Pilot Episode
James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano on The Sopranos (Episode 1.01)
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James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano, New Jersey mob chief
North Caldwell, New Jersey, Summer 1998
Series: The Sopranos
Episode: “The Sopranos” (Episode 1.01)
Air Date: January 10, 1999
Director: David Chase
Creator: David Chase
Costume Designer: Juliet Polcsa
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
The Sopranos premiered 25 years ago tonight, introducing HBO audiences to New Jersey Mafia chief Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), driven to therapy following stress-induced panic attacks as he attempts to balance family and The Family.
“Written and directed by [David] Chase, the pilot is a hybrid slapstick comedy, domestic sitcom, and crime thriller, with dabs of ’70s American New Wave grit,” conclude Matt Zoller Seitz and Alan Sepinwall in The Sopranos Sessions. “The device of putting the hero in therapy lets Chase deliver reams of information about Tony, his crew, his bosses, his family, and their overlaps, along with the points where Tony’s personal and professional distress are inseparable, all without the usual pilot-episode busy work.” Continue reading
“Nuns don’t work on Sunday…” — One of Magnum’s Striped Band-Collar Shirts
Tom Selleck as Thomas Magnum on Magnum, P.I. (Episode 2.13: “The Jororo Kill”)
Vitals
Tom Selleck as Thomas Magnum, private investigator and former Navy SEAL
Honolulu, Hawaii, Fall 1981
Series: Magnum, P.I.
Episode: “The Jororo Kill” (Episode 2.13)
Air Date: January 7, 1982
Director: Alan J. Levi
Created by: Donald P. Bellisario & Glen Larson
Costume Supervisors: Denita Del Signore & James Gilmore
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Nuns don’t work on Sunday…
Though perhaps not as iconic of a line to Magnum, P.I. fans as Thomas asking Ivan if he saw the sunrise, this brief moment from the series’ second season—followed by Tom Selleck’s heel turn to shoot a figure dressed in full habit—has found renewed life in meme format, often paired with captions like “80s detective shows rocked” or “the best scene in movie[sic] history”.
80s detective shows rocked 🤣 pic.twitter.com/Tq4HGZMMNN
— I❤️80s𝕏 (@IL0VEthe80s) September 30, 2021
Of course, the context of the scene helps audiences realize that Thomas Magnum doesn’t have a trigger-happy reaction to monastics who divert from his expectations of their schedule.
The episode featuring this moment, “The Jororo Kill”, first aired 42 years ago today on January 7, 1982. Continue reading
Succession: Connor Roy’s Blue Glen Plaid Three-Piece “Rehearsal” Suit
Alan Ruck as Connor Roy on Succession, Episode 4.02 (“Rehearsal”)
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Alan Ruck as Connor Roy, neglected millionaire heir and failed presidential candidate
New York City, Fall 2020
Series: Succession
Episode: “Rehearsal” (Episode 4.02)
Air Date: April 2, 2023
Director: Becky Martin
Creator: Jesse Armstrong
Costume Designer: Michelle Matland
Background
It’s four in the morning, the end of December…
By Succession‘s timeline, poor Connor Roy (Alan Ruck) still had two months to go until the end of December when crooning Leonard Cohen’s 1971 folk ballad “Famous Blue Raincoat” in the private room of a Midtown Manhattan karaoke lounge. I use the adjective “poor” rather loosely here as Connor’s the kind of guy who can afford to spare millions on a misguided presidential campaign merely to prove his own relevance to himself and his family, but that’s beside the point. Continue reading
The Bear: Carmy’s Rugby Shirt on Christmas Eve
Jeremy Allen White as Carmy Berzatto on The Bear (Episode 2.06: “Fishes”)
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Jeremy Allen White as Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto, celebrated international chef
Chicago, Christmas Eve 2018
Series: The Bear
Episode: “Fishes” (Episode 2.06)
Air Date: June 22, 2023
Director: Christopher Storer
Creator: Christopher Storer
Costume Designer: Courtney Wheeler
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Merry Christmas to all BAMF Style readers who celebrate!
Among its Yoshimi-sharp depictions of service industry stress, The Bear brought its anxiety in-house for the second season’s brilliant, bonkers, and relentless sixth episode “Fishes”, flashing back several years from the show’s narrative to a chaotic Christmas Eve with the Berzatto family.
Our protagonist Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) takes a supporting role in the proceedings as we spend an increasingly stressful hour with his family and those “related through friendship” in his childhood home, decorated like an Olive Garden for the holidays. There are a few familiar faces—like his late brother Mikey (Jon Berthal), his sister Natalie (Abby Elliott) whose “Sugar” nickname is finally explained, his unrelated-cousin Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), and their “uncle” Jimmy (Oliver Platt)—as well as several all-new cast members, many of whom appear only in this episode.
“I wanted it to be distracting,” series creator Christopher Storer told Yvonne Villarreal for the Los Angeles Times. “I wanted the viewer to be like, ‘What the fuck is Bob Odenkirk doing here?’ I wanted it to really feel like when you walk into your family’s house and you are just overwhelmed by a cousin who you don’t want to talk to, an uncle you don’t want to see. You don’t even know who’s related to who, which I always feel like is the truest thing—everyone’s calling each other cousin and you don’t know what the fuck is really going on, but you do know that even through all their weirdness and how dark it gets, they do kind of love each other.” Continue reading
Santa Claus on AOL Blast for Detective Crashmore
Santa Claus on AOL Blast
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Biff Wiff as Santa Claus, serious actor who does Christmas
AOL Blast studio, Summer 2022
Series: I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson
Episode: “You sure about that? You sure about that that’s why?” (Episode 2.03)
Streaming Date: July 6, 2021
Directed by: Alice Mathias, Zach Kanin, Akiva Schaffer, and Zachary Johnson
Created by: Tim Robinson & Zach Kanin
Costume Designer: Monica Chamberlain
Background
If Leonardo DiCaprio was here, would you ask him about Christmas is around the corner?
Santa Claus graciously appeared on AOL Blast—despite the fact that no one watches it due to its unprofessional bullshit—to promote his latest film Detective Crashmore, for which Lamador Pictures paid him his rate of $2 mil to play the eponymous crazier-than-hell detective.
Once the unprofesssional host Wesley Fillmore finally determined that he would follow his guest’s instructions to interview him as an actor, we learn about the cosmic gumbo—Santa had joked with his co-star Ryan Tanna on set about how it was a cosmic gumbo—that mixes “the action of the ’90s combined with the exploitation films of the ’70s” while almost moving to the beat of jazz. Continue reading
Succession: Cousin Greg’s Pre-Thanksgiving Puffer Vest
Nicholas Braun as “Cousin Greg” Hirsch on Succession, Episode 1.05: “I Went to Market”
Vitals
Nicholas Braun as Greg Hirsch, mild-mannered media conglomerate underling and family outsider
Canada to New York City, The day before Thanksgiving 2018
Series: Succession
Episode: “I Went to Market” (Episode 1.05)
Air Date: July 1, 2018
Director: Adam Arkin
Creator: Jesse Armstrong
Costume Designer: Michelle Matland
Background
Ahead of Thanksgiving tomorrow, one of the things I’m grateful for is that—if Succession had to end this year—the fact that it did so perfectly when the series finale ended in May. To commemorate the final year from this landmark series, let’s flash back to the first season as we joined the Roys for their annual Turkey Day celebration.
From the start of Succession, the anxious Greg Hirsch (Nicholas Braun), aka “Cousin Greg”, aka “Greg the Egg”, initially served as an audience surrogate as we were all collectively introduced to the world of the extremely wealthy and highly dysfunctional Roy family, led by domineering patriarch Logan (Brian Cox) as his children Connor (Alan Ruck), Kendall (Jeremy Strong), Roman (Kieran Culkin), and Siobhan (Sarah Snook) wrested for their withholding father’s favor… and the keys to control his media conglomerate, Waystar RoyCo.
The outsider Greg had never been part of their circle, thrust into it during Logan’s 80th birthday party when his mother—Logan’s niece—dispatched him to New York for a job after he was fired from one of a Waystar amusement park for getting high inside a mascot costume. Within a month, he’s got a job with the company that pays himself just enough that he needn’t sneak food out of the Waystar break room in doggie-doo bags anymore, and he can afford enough gas to power his three-year-old Hyundai to Canada (“with the healthcare and the ennui!”) and back to transport his grandfather Ewan (James Cromwell) to New York for Logan’s Thanksgiving dinner.
Greg: Happy Thanksgiving!
Ewan: Not for the Indians.
Greg: No sir! Nope… that is still true.
Arrested Development: GOB’s Powder-Blue Sports Coat
Will Arnett as GOB Bluth on Arrested Development (Episode 1.01: “Pilot”)
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Will Arnett as George Oscar “GOB” Bluth II, magician (part-time)
Orange County, California, Fall 2003
Series: Arrested Development
Episodes:
– “Pilot” (Episode 1.01, dir. Anthony Russo & Joe Russo, aired 11/2/2003)
– “Altar Egos” (Episode 1.17, dir. Jay Chandrasekhar, aired 3/17/2004)
Creator: Mitchell Hurwitz
Costume Designer: Katie Sparks
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
TV audiences first met the Bluth family 20 years ago this week when Arrested Development premiered on November 2, 2003. As Ron Howard narrates over each episode’s opening credits, it’s the story of a wealthy family who lost everything and the one son who had no choice but to keep them all together… it’s arrested development.
The son in question is Michael (Jason Bateman), arguably the most responsible of the four Bluth siblings, though it could be argued his sensibility extends into self-righteousness as he seeks to maintain a sense of normalcy while raising his son, the anxious George Michael Bluth (Michael Cera)—named after his father and grandfather and not the singer-songwriter.
In addition to Michael, the avaricious George Sr. (Jeffrey Tambor) and Lucille (Jessica Walter) also raised the absurd GOB (Will Arnett), the spoiled Lindsay (Portia di Rossi), and the sheltered Buster (Tony Hale).
Like his fellow “eldest son” Connor Roy, GOB—pronounced “jobe”, though not everyone in-universe has received the message—harbors some resentment that his smarter and more ambitious little brother has been tapped to succeed their corrupt father’s footsteps in taking over the family’s real estate firm. Instead, GOB is left to defend his magic tricks illusions against his family’s disapproval and mockery. Continue reading
The Twilight Zone: William Shatner’s Suit for a Nightmarish Plane Ride
In honor of the 60th anniversary of this iconic episode, today’s post is the third to be written by the curator of the popular Instagram account @jamesbondswardrobe. Enjoy!
William Shatner and Nick Cravat filming The Twilight Zone episode “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet” (Episode 5.03)
Vitals
William Shatner as Robert Wilson, paranoid middle-aged “husband, father and salesman on sick leave”
Aboard a Gold Star Airways flight across the United States, Fall 1963
Series: The Twilight Zone
Episode: “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet” (Episode 5.03)
Air Date: October 11, 1963
Director: Richard Donner
Costume Designer: Mitchell Leisen
Background
Portrait of a frightened man: Mr. Robert Wilson—thirty-seven, husband, father and salesman on sick leave. Mr. Wilson has just been discharged from a sanitarium where he spent the last six months recovering from a nervous breakdown, the onset of which took place on an evening not dissimilar to this one, on an airliner very much like the one in which Mr. Wilson is about to be flown home—the difference being that, on that evening half a year ago, Mr. Wilson’s flight was terminated by the onslaught of his mental breakdown. Tonight, he’s traveling all the way to his appointed destination, which, contrary to Mr. Wilson’s plan, happens to be in the darkest corner of the Twilight Zone.
Yep, not much more background is needed than that—thanks, Rod Serling! Our “hero”, played by the legendary William Shatner, nestles in for what should be an uneventful plane ride home. If we learned anything from the likes of Don Draper and Pete Campbell, dressing for air travel in the sixties meant wearing your regular business duds. Loafers hadn’t yet become the de facto footwear to have on when boarding a plane, and men “dressing for comfort” seemingly translated to them just wearing a more comfortable suit. Continue reading
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