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Reviews
The Facts of Life: The Beginning of the Beginning (1988)
Facts Of Life Ends With A Whimper
Looking back on this show from a thirty-five year perspective, it's very odd that a long running show like The Facts Of Life did not get a proper finale. If there was a finale, it was Jo's wedding. All the following episodes tended to spotlight each individual character. We had Tootie and the ugly lavalier. Jo and the jumper. Natalie in what may have been a Friends prototype. Then, we get Blair buying Eastland. The only thing interesting about that episode is Juliette Lewis, Mayim Bialik and Seth Green. We also had. We also get Sam Behrens, who played Jake. Meyer on General Hospital, playing a misogynistic professor at the school. I think this is what surprised me the most was the level of actions by the male characters that would be considered sexual harassment now and would not be tolerated in this day and age. Back in the day, it was used to generate laughs. Just a funny, weird ending for a show called The Facts Of Life. The final group shot is missing both Natalie and Andy. Instead we get Pippa in Natalie's place. They should have at least concluded with a clip show.
Outer Banks: Heists (2023)
Yikes! Check Your Brain At The Door!
This has to be the dumbest episode yet, and there have been plenty of dumb episodes so far. These kids make all the wrong choices ever no matter the situation, and toss any logic out the door. After "stealing" the Cross, Topper takes the cops on a chase, followed by. JJ and Kiara on a dirt bike. After passing Kie off, JJ goes in hot pursuit of the cops, and for some dumb reason, the Pogues decide it's a good idea for them to chase JJ and the cops. After JJ crashes and he magically survives the crash and fall from the bridge without one cut or scratch. Then the Pogues stand around for the next ten minutes kvetching and oblivious to the cops who were pursuing them and then them pursuing the cops are above them on the bridge. They don't depart the scene of the crime until they are spotted by the cops. Kiara is the worst.
Trog (1970)
Troglodytes and the End of the Road for Joan Crawford's Storied Movie Career
I have been watching Joan Crawford movies all month and I have finally come to TROG. This is not my first time at the rodeo, but I sure had a different perspective on it this time around. The same happened with Whatever Happened To Baby Jane. I found the characters quite tragic. Most of Joan's movies, starting with her Warner years don't really end on a happy note, and this movie sure fits the bill with poor Trog. It very much has a Planet of the Apes and Escape From TPOTA feel to the story with Trog trying to fit in with society. News flash-it doesn't work out to well. As for Joan Crawford, she played the star to the end as she walks off into the sunset. Imo I don't really think this movie is camp. It's quite bad but it's also quite good. If you are not looking for an Oscar-worthy movie but want to have a good time, watch Trog and watch some old Joan Crawford movies. Recommended.
Eight Is Enough: Quarantine (1977)
The Bradfords Would Have Never Survived The Pandemic
The Bradford clan would have never survived the Covid quarantine of 2020-2021. After just a few days of being cooped up with each other, they are all sick of each other. It turns out, it was an allergy and not a contagion.
But what I really want to talk is the disappearance of Diane Hyland as the mother due to her dying of cancer. It's a bit disconcerting that they don't seem tp bring up her absence. I'm left to wonder if she was off on a trip or did they have her pass away offscreen and just failed to mention it.
This show is still enjoyable to watch after all these years. It was definitely quainter times back in the late Seventies.
Home Economics: Mermaid Taffeta Wedding Dress, $1,999 (2021)
This Episode Had Me In Stitches
OMG I found this episode so hilarious, I was laughing out loud. When I read other people didn't find it funny because they ruined a wedding, that made this episode even more funny.
This show seems to walk fine line between the mundane and the absurd, and I am fine with that. I was just checking the show out originally to see what Topher Grace was up to since Eric Foreman on That '70s Show. I think I will stick around and see what else happens between the siblings.
This show also sports to alumni from SNL. We get both Nora Dunn and Zasheer Zameeta.
Topher Grace is always good for giving us an uncomfortable character and make us laugh.
In Search of...: The Mummy's Curse (1977)
Downton Mummy
I was surprised to see Highclere Castle as the setting for The Mummy's Curse episode. It seems like a missed opportunity that the connection to the Mummy's Curse was not a story involving the Crawleys in Downton Abbey. In Search Of is still a pretty good series that holds your interest and gives us an insight into things we were concerned about in the 1970s. The music in the series seems reminiscent of the music in the classic Chariots Of The Gods. It could be intentional, trying to draw the comparison at that time. The Killer Bee episode was quite creepy as well, because I hadn't thought much about them recently. I sure hope I never run into Killer Bees nor Killer Mummies.
Days of Our Lives: Beyond Salem: The Alamainian Peacock (2021)
Beyond The Network
Now that Days Of Our Lives has left NBC after 50+ years, I was checking it out on Peacock and came across Beyond Salem and decided to check it out. I found it very enjoyable and think that it's a good way to highlight some not so oft seen characters like Billie and Austin. General Hospital needs to do this and resurrect their Night Shift series and stream it on Hulu. I was intrigued by the Allamaine Peacock storyline and Jackee Harry still seems to be a hoot after all these years removed from 227. I was also surprised to see Charles Shaughnessy on here because I only know him as the current Victor Cassidine on General Hospital. I plan to watch the rest of this mini-soap series.
Flowers in the Attic: The Origin: Part Four: The Martyr (2022)
Shadows Of The Attic
Garden Of Shadows concludes as Flowers In The Attic begins. This is V. C. Andrews done extremely well. If there is one sin to this series, it's that Olivia kills John Amos, which doesn't square with the rest of the series, since John Amos dies again in If There Be Thorns (I docked it a star for this reason). I wouldn't let this little tidbit detract from your enjoyment of this series. I can see why they did it from a storytelling POV. A new bar has been set for V. C. Andrews adaptions. They should conclude this series by adapting Christopher's Diary series where we could get a second look at the Dollanganger children's life in the attic. They might even think about doing Secret Brother as a standalone movie.
Glee: Pilot (2009)
Glee is Fame if it was done as a Comedy series
Now that Lea Michele is going to play Fanny Brice in Funny Girl on Broadway, my interest in Glee has piqued, after having watched it during it's original run on FOX. I remember the pilot premiered following the Super Bowl. This series needs a happy ending, since Finn, Puck and Santana are now no longer with us, due to unfortunate tragic circumstances.
Don't rain on her parade! Congratulations Lea Michelle!
Show Boat (1951)
It doesn't Quite Live Up To The 1936 Version Of Show Boat
While the 1951 George Sidney version of Show Boat looks georgeous in Technicolor, the story seems to lose something in the retelling when compared to the 1936 James Whale adaption of the same material by Edna Ferber. The biggest sin is the excision of the story between Queenie and Joe, truncating their characters from supporting to bit parts. Due to some of the subject matter, this is probably not the easiest material to adapt. MGM tried to change the show to a straight-up love story. Despite it's flaws, it still qualifies as an MGM musical classic.
The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries: The Strange Fate of Flight 608 (1977)
Two Soap Vets On Board This Episode!
Frank and Joe enter the Bermuda triangle and run into two soap opera veterans. We get Thayer David, who played multiple roles in the fabled soap, Dark Shadows, and Robin Mattson, who would play the fabled LSD-doping villainess Heather Webber in General Hospital four years later. The show effects are cheesy but effective. Disappearing in the Bermuda Triangle back in the Seventies seemed just as likely to happen as getting swallowed up by quicksand. I'm surprised we've never between treated to a reunion between the two brothers. With everyone jumping in the water from the plane reminded me of one of the live show attractions at Universal Studios and Tour. I sure hope the Hardy Boys don't disappear into the Bermuda triangle for all eternity. I wonder if this episode is the inspiration for LOST.
The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries: Mystery of the Hollywood Phantom, Part II (1977)
And He Would Have Gotten Away With It If It Weren't For Those Meddling Kids
Casey Kasem, the voice of Shaggy in the classic Scooby-Doo! Series, turns out to be the man behind the mask in this classic mystery! Casey does look quite a bit like Columbo. This mystery contained cameos from Jacklyn Smith of Charlie's Angels, Robert Wagner of Hart To Hart, and in Part 1, we got Dennis Weaver from McCleod. It's like a smorgasbord sampler of ABC in the late '70s. Pretty fun episode overall. Who knows? Scooby was on ABC at the time so maybe they were ripping Mystery Inc. Off.
The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries: Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew Meet Dracula, Part I (1977)
Tag Team of the Decade
This was a very fun episode full of enough '70s cheese to satisfy any appetite. Very amusing scenes when there was a mix-up with the room and the luggage. They really should have played up the sexual tension aspect between between Parker Stevenson and Pamela Sue Martin. We even get Paul Williams and Bernie Taupin thrown into the mix plus singing by Shaun Cassidy. What more could anyone ask for, except to bring on Part 2.
Doom Patrol: Amends Patrol (2021)
The Season Finale We Needed
This third season really built up to a payoff of the first two seasons. The team is now ready to embrace their super weirdness. I love the addition of Michelle Gomez as Madame Rouge to the team. Consistently funny and consistently character-driven. I was most caught up in Cliff's story. It will be interesting to see how he will evolve next season. I sure hope we get a next season.
The Facts of Life: The Halloween Show (1983)
The Facts Of Life Meet Sweeney Todd
For Halloween episodes on tv shows, this one is pretty good. Mrs. Garrett makes the Best Bratwurst in Peekskill! Where is she getting all her meat? Or is Edna possessed? Little Orphan Annie and Hansel & Gretel make appearances in the episode.
The Stand: The Walk (2021)
What Was Casting Thinking?
Casting must have had a serious case of Captain Trips, because Ezra Miller is terrible as Trash Can Man. He seems to be channeling a performance that is a cross between Bobcat Goldthwait and Yoko Ono. It's terrible, all that screeching. And shrieking. His performance pulls you right out of the story.
Babes on Broadway (1941)
Eighty Years Ago
I was reading that no one watches the old Mickey-Judy musicals anymore, so, seeing that this year, 2022, is the 100th anniversary of Judy Garland's birth, i decided I would dive into their old musicals starting with Babes In Arms and then Strike Up the Band. I now just finished Babes On Broadway and I'm really struck by the use of Blackface in the finale. Blackface was also used in Babes In Arms. It's a curiosity of the times, but it's not very flattering to watch these days. There is even a whole song about doing a minstrel show and blacking up with burnt cork. I was listening to the commentary from 2007 and there wasn't even a mention of Blackface in the commentary. We've come a long way in twenty plus years. It all now seems just wrong, but keep in mind, this was over 80 years ago. In spite of all that, Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney's stars shine in this movie. Very talented. Mickey even plays the banjo.
After Life: Episode #3.6 (2022)
Looking At Clouds
This series is definitely an emotional rollercoaster and is probably not for everybody, but if you do take the plunge, be prepared to go from laughter to heartbreak to frustration and to happiness.
Many unforgettable characters including Ricky Gervais' Tony and his dog. Too bad there were probably a couple characters sidelined this season due to the Covid.
All in all, this show is well worth taking the journey.
The Swap (2015)
Delete Delete Delete Hawk And Tory Over At Disney+
I will admit that I only came to this movie to see Jacob Bertrand and Peyton List, who now star as Eli "Hawk" Moskowitz and Tory Nichols on Cobra Kai.
The two young stars definitely carried the show, and it is plain to see they may have a long run in the showbiz industry. As for the movie, it was another retelling of an oft-told tale of body switching. The big catch here is that the two characters, Jack and Ellie, also switch genders.
I don't think it will go down as a Disney classic, but it is definitely worth a watch for those fans of Cobra Kai.
Peacemaker: Better Goff Dead (2022)
We Need More Vigilante and Judomaster
I'm really enjoying this adaption of Peacemaker, and I am glad the Charlton Comics characters are finally starting to get their due. John Cena makes a great Peacemaker. Peacemaker and Vigilante make a nice duo. I never read the Vigilante comic book, but this characterization by Freddie Stroma now has me interested in the DC character. The introduction of Judomaster is a welcome addition also. The supporting cast is nicely gelling too. It's a very funny series.
Fame: Alone in a Crowd (1982)
We Don't Talk About Bruno
Montgomery fires up the old mimeograph machine to get this episode rolling. It seems there is going to be a benefit performance and they need performers. Danny is talking inflation in his standup to an empty audience. Quite funny considering 40 years later, inflation is back. We meet Michael Thoma's Mr. Crandall for the first time. Bruno is experiencing a crisis of insecurity about playing his music in public, and Coco is not having any of it. Montgomery is playing producer and director and he is definitely not interested in having a tap dancing accordion player in his show. Bruno serenades hid Dad with one of his own compositions in their basement. No one seems very happy with Montgomery's choices for the benefit acts. Bruno is in a snit after finding out he made the cut when he didn't even audition. D'oh! Danny and Leroy compare sob stories. Mr. Shorofsky attempts to implant some musical wisdom in Martelli but he is not very receptive. Bruno just wants to create music in his own little bubble. Uh-oh! It's a brownout, and Doris and Danny get stuck together in an elevator on the way up to the benefit. Tough break for the FAME kids. William Morris is there but without power they can't really strut their stuff. It's beginning to look like a bust and Bruno doesn't care. Poor Bruno. What to do? Leroy saves the day when he remembers acoustic music only requires acoustic instruments, and Bruno finally decides to play nice and joins in on piano. Coco and Leroy sing the song, We Got The Power. The FAME kids deliver a spectacular impromptu performance impressing William Morris! Yay! What? Wait? What is Mr. Shorofsky doing? Oh my! The episode concludes with a round of applause and Mr. Martelli finally arriving with the equipment after climbing 36 flights of stairs, just as the power comes back on. "It's showtime!" A nod to All That Jazz. This episode is ok. It will never be one of my favorites. Too much of Bruno being an emo before we even knew what an emo was. Now we know why they don't talk about Bruno.
Fame: Tomorrow's Farewell (1982)
A Day In The Life With The Kids From FAME
An instrumental version of the title song opens the episode. It's a "Day In The Life" at the School of the Arts. And a visit from the school board is driving the staff crazy. A familiar face from the past is Luis Avalos familiar to all the kids that watched The Electric Company. A surprise piece of music with "Coalhouse and Sarah," from the movie classic, Ragtime, accompanied with some ballet work. We meet Leroy's brother, Willie Johnson, who is trying to reconnect, but Leroy isn't so sure. No one seems to like the showers at the school. D'oh! Leroy's Walkman looks like a mini-Boombox. Leroy has a b&w picture of his Mom, his brother and himself in the picture hanging on his apartment wall. So far, all the interviews have been done by the same faceless person-he's either been in shadow or shot from the back. It's Dance vs Athletic with. The song, I Can Do Anything Better Than You Can, with Erica Gimpel's Coco on lead vocals. Danny's favorite comedian is Richard Pryor. Another familiar face pops up in John Karlen of Dark Shadows and Cagney & Lacy fame. Things just got real for Leroy. Poor Leroy. He's lucky he has Miss Grant on his side. Leroy sings Come What May in a montage of introspection. There seem to be a lot of scenes shot for this episode that make it into the opening credits Titles sequence for the series. Leroy learned how to swim when he was a kid. Leroy's brother tells him, "You're dead to me, boy." It's a good thing Leroy has "family" at school. Buh-bye, Willie! Interesting to note that Leroy's brother is named Willie, and John Karlen played Willie Loomis on Dark Shadows. The episode closes with a triumphant dance by Leroy to the strains of The Jacksons' song, Can You Feel It. Great episode!
Fame: Passing Grade (1982)
Superfreaky Fame!
Watching the students breakdance before class sure brings back memories of my own high school years in the 80s. Leroy dances to Superfreak before class in Lydia's studio. Superfreaky! It looks like Leroy won the battle against having to wear tights for his dance class! Ralph Garci is out and Danny Amatullo is in in this second episode of the series. Late-night legend Johnny Carson and The Tonight Show get namedropped. Coco and Lydia are up for the same part, except Lydia may have a leg up since she is dating the director. Leroy is upset Miss Grant may leave the school if she gets the part and chooses not to wish her luck.. Poor Leroy. The show closes with an iconic song and dance number from the series.
Fame: Metamorphosis (1982)
Forty Years On, And It Looks Like FAME Will Live 4Ever!
Life was much different forty years ago. I was just revisiting the series on the anniversary of of it's premier in 1982. I watched it originally on NBC and then when it went into first-run syndication. Nice use of many of the songs from the original movie and it concludes with a rousing version of the title song by Erica Gimpel. Fran Drescher is briefly seen in this pilot episode. I'm glad they replaced Ralph Garci, from the pilot, with Danny Amatullo in all subsequent episodes.