kazvorpal Reviews

Hunter (1973 TV Movie)

Stop the Monkeys?

[7/10 · 9 November 2005]

Is this the movie from whence came the phrase:

Please stop the monkeys!

I saw such a movie, years ago, wherein a race car driver was brainwashed (by making him watch video of the winged monkeys from Wizard of Oz) and programmed to assassinate some VIP by (if I recall) crashing his car into the stands where said guy was to be seated at a specific race.

But I don't remember the name of the movie I saw, I am simply going by someone's claim that this is the movie, plus the Baum writing credit above. Anyone know for certain?

If so, this movie belongs in the special club of media which created some long-term cultural impact, and yet was itself forgotten. One can find 'stop the monkeys' references all over the net, yet nobody seems to know where it came from.

Reminds me of "We don't need no stinking badges", from The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

Valley of the Dinosaurs (1974–1976)

Better than Land of the Lost

[13 December 2004]

As a kid faced with the scheduling conflict between this show and Land of the Lost, chose Valley first, unless it was a rerun.

It was definitely the better show.

It had a greater diversity of situations and cast...one can only stick the flyswatter in the carnosaur's mouth so many times before even a kid begins to roll his eyes and fall asleep.

More character development and better acting, too. Which is ironic since it was animated.

You know, that ten line minimum for making a contribution probably just invites a lot of boring filler at times like this, when being succinct would benefit the readers more.

Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn (2002–2004)

Truly Politically Incorrect, Unlike Bill Maher...

[4 December 2004]

This show was very politically incorrect, which made it not only one of the most entertaining shows on the air, but also one of the healthiest. The ideological repression of Liberalism, especially the extreme California variety, is unhealthier than Victorian culture and life under the Taliban combined, and along the same lines.

And one symptom would be that this clever show was pulled despite its success. If you want to see how good it was, just do a search for the title on Google, and see how many pages turn up with Liberals saying it's the most dangerous, harmful TV since Limbaugh got yanked. Remember, negative comments are the best indicator that a show is successful.

On this show, little or nothing was taboo, which is how normal human conversation itself should be. The guests constantly mocked stereotypes, insulted anyone famous they could think of, and destroyed every socio-political event and idea that they came across, good or bad. It was a more entertaining...and informative...version of the McLaughlin Group. It was everything Bill Maher ever told himself Politically Incorrect could be -- Maher being SO politically correct that he was never able to come close, himself. One can only patronize female guests over how tough it is to be a woman in a sexist society, whine about how evil capitalists are destroying the environment, et cetera /so/ many times before you lose your non-PC credentials.

That final segment they did each day, with the contrived sketches, was horrible, though. A total waste of precious time they could have spent battering some conventional wisdom.

If this ever comes out on DVD, I'm there. If Quinn, or any of several regular guests, or anyone else with gonads, ever makes another show like this, I'll follow it with stalker-like enthusiasm.