I waited a few days to post this because it is impossible to dissect such a well written and brilliantly directed episode without a small spoiler. Let me start by saying "Lost" has redeemed itself in a two hour season finale that is arguably the series' best episode yet. It actually made me understand and accept the out-of-control spin the series started to take toward the end of last season.
From the moment it started it was clear that this episode was going to tidy things up. Okay, let's lay it out there, clean up the mess. Within the first few minutes the writers cleared up the confusing time frame of one of the key story lines. Before the first commercial we learned when (and why) Jack's descent into despair happens. More explanations followed, but as the puzzle pieces started flying into place, I realized the finale did a lot more than sew up loose ends. It literally "reset" the series much the same way "Desperate Housewives" did in its season finale two weeks ago (a new trend in serialzied television?). Next season, we can expect "Lost" to start fresh, builiding on a new set of story lines that will lead to what is sure to be a climactic conclusion when the series ends in a couple of years. It's sort of a metaphor that The Island itself was physically moved to a new location (kudos to the special effects team).
They've left plenty of questions to keep us coming back for more. We've learned The Survivors left behind on The Island face big "problems." Jack and Henry are on a mission to get the "Oceanic Six" to return to The Island. What of Desmond and Penny's future? Just where did The Island go? Have we really seen the last of Jin? And that final shot in the finale-how the heck did John Lock wind up in a seedy funeral home? Tune in next January.
Earth. Our planet. Do you see it there in the picture, the beautiful blue marble rising over the lonely gray plain of the moon? You've probably witnessed this iconic and magnificent image a thousand times. Here's a new twist and heads up on The Flaming Nose. June 8th, (next Sunday) 9pm eastern on The Discovery Channel, you'll be able to see this, and much of the Apollo space mission footage, digitally re-mastered and in HD for the first time.
Also...a last minute flag for all the late night US Flaming Nose fans (or early morning Global readers)...the Space Shuttle is set to take off tomorrow from Kennedy Space Center at 5:02PM eastern standard US. Check out the details at NASA. If you haven't seen it lately, their website is fantastic. God speed to the crew of mission STS-124 (pictured above) as they commence their journey to the space station.
Here's a little video taste of next week's Discovery Channel space mission special...zooming its way to you next Sunday in HD. I can tell you right now, they got the sound right. I've seen 3 NASA launches (Apollo and Space Shuttle) in person, and the only thing more beautiful than the sight of it, is the super sonic roar. Watch...and listen.
It's been a depressing week for fans of classic television. We learned yesterday of the death of comedian Harvey Korman, the tall, versatile and always magnificent supporting player probably best-loved for his years co-starring on various versions of The Carol Burnett Show. After several years in Hollywood making the rounds as an actor on various early 1960s-era series like Hennessey, The Untouchables, Surfside 6,Perry Mason, I'm Dickens, He's Fenster, Perry Mason, Route 66, Dennis the Menace, The Lucy Show, The Jack Benny Show, and so many others -- be sure to check out his IMDB credits for the whole impressive list -- he got his big break when he became a regular on The Danny Kaye Show, appearing as Kaye's second banana in assorted sketches. When Kaye's show ended after four years, Korman made a smooth transition to working with Carol Burnett, and the rest is television history. (There is an incredible and long interview with Korman about his television career here on YouTube, from the Archive of American Television.)
In addition to his years with Burnett, which led to a continuing working relationship with fellow comic Tim Conway in projects other than the Burnett show (check out this amazing set of three interviews with Korman and Conway about their long collaboration), Korman frequently appeared on the big screen in movies such as George Axelrod's satiric Lord Love a Duck, Three Bites of the Apple, Herbie Goes Bananas, and of course he was a favorite of Mel Brooks, starring in several of the director/writer's best efforts including Blazing Saddles and High Anxiety. Korman had a short-lived eponymous show of his own in 1977, and continued to be a frequent TV guest star on series like The Love Boat, Ellen, Diagnosis Murder, and ER, in addition to doing voice work on popular animated series The Flintstones, Garfield and Friends, The Wild Thornberrys, Buzz Lightyear of Star Command and many more.
What better way to appreciate Korman's contributions to television comedy than by watching a few of his bits, starting with this sketch from The Danny Kaye Show.
And here's a bit from with Carol Burnett as they play "The Old Folks":
And here's Korman and Conway together in their famous "Dentist" sketch:
And a fan put together a nice montage set to the song "Put On a Happy Face" which highlights Korman's comic career:
The really bad thing about losing somebody like this is that you realize you've taken him for granted, probably all these years, assuming he'd always be around, making comedy for us to enjoy. At least we have DVDs and video (copious amounts of his material on YouTube, so far at least!) and those hours of Harvey Korman will be a legacy that will surely go on.
The Flaming Nose has once more learned ofthe death of another television notable a few weeks ago; it was only just made public. Alexander Courage, composer of the Star Trek theme, died on May 15, 2008. The original Star Trek is practically the nexus for all of us here, and I know we all thrill to that iconic theme song.
Courage had a long and distinguished career in both motion pictures and television, and there's no better way to tell it than to watch the amazing documentary (written and edited by Tim Grant Engle and produced by Bob Klein) made a couple of years ago to celebrate Alexander Courage's achievements and presented at the first Malibu Celebration of Film in 2005. Hosted by John Williams, a frequent Courage collaborator, it's a delightful and informative look back at an impressive body of work. The doc is available in four parts on YouTube, but we'll embed them here for instant viewing. Also highly recommended is a five-part interview with Alexander Courage from the Archive of American Television which is also available on YouTube, starting with Part One here.
And so we begin with the first part of the Alexander Courage tribute documentary:
And here is Part Two:
Here is Part Three:
And here is the Conclusion:
What an amazing career. Hollywood will certainly miss Alexander Courage.
The Flaming Nose once again is saddened to hear of the death of another television icon, this time the wonderful composer Earle Hagen. If Hagen had composed nothing else than the theme to The Andy Griffith Show -- aka "The Fishin' Hole" -- he still would have brought more sheer joy than almost any other TV music writer, merely through that jaunty whistled tune which carried us each week into Mayberry. (Click here to listen to a sultry and delightful version of the song, with vocals by Mollie O' Brien, from the website FishingMusic.com).
Hagen also composed the themes and music scores for films and for many other series, including his Emmy-winning work on the truly cool I Spy (listen to music samples from the compilation album here!), the pert and still adorable theme for That Girl:
-- the hip and hilarious opening theme to The Dick Van Dyke Show:
-- and many others.
For a loving and truly complete look at Earle Hagen's amazing career, I highly recommend spending some time perusing the tremendous website EarleHagen.net. There's a nice article about his induction just last month into the NATAS Gold Circle for his long career in television here, and another great account of a 2004 night at the Hollywood Bowl featuring Hagen's music -- wish we all could have been there!
I will leave you with an unusual but completely heartfelt and adorable version of The Andy Griffith Show theme. I think you will love it, too.
Part 1 of A&E's new two-part adaptation of The Andromeda Strain premiered last night, with Part 2 tonight. I don't know what I was expecting, but it sure felt like a pretty traditional TV movie, with the obligatory early scenes with little kids and stuff...ick...why do they they always pad out movies with wasted and trite material like that? Because we'll think the President is a boring monster unless he hugs his little flouncy-skirted daughter? That was my first warning sign. And then Benjamin Bratt's mildly insolent son, another cliched moment.
Oh well. I hope my colleagues here liked it better than I did, though I'm hoping Part 2 will liven things up. I also was distinctly underwhelmed by the often clunky dialogue...man, I'm getting crabby in my old age. And don't even mention the commercials -- unbearable! Might want to wait for the DVD or watch it On Demand (if available) because it won't have commercials there, right? I must say I was saddened that (spoiler alert) the brave female fighter pilot who was supposed to drop the nuke on the infected town got all disintegrated, though. And I did like the whispered instructions that Viola Davis gave to her husband, that if she called and asked about his mother, to get the hell out of the continental United States. That was good and scary.
Was it just me, or was this not as great as the buzz would have indicated? Sorry for the negative remarks; we're usually pretty positive here but it just didn't send me, alas. Please tell me I'm wrong about this....
I hope you caught the premiere of the HBO TV movie Recount last night (Sunday). If you missed it, don't despair; there are many encores on the schedule and if you're lucky enough to have HBO on Demand you can find it there, too.
Why do I hope you watched it, and why is it perfect for Memorial Day? Because it will cause you to reflect upon the state of the nation, to put your notion of love of country up against the notion of self-interest, and figure out which way America is going.
It's quite a story, Recount is, all about the disputed 2000 Florida Presidential election results, and what happened behind-the-scenes that made us wake up one morning with George Bush as President-elect. Depending upon your politics you will think that was a very good thing, or it still depresses you. (I am still very depressed.)
I haven't even given you the good news about Recount, which is that the production is terrific. The cast is impressive -- Kevin Spacey, Dennis Leary, Ed Begley Jr., Tom Wilkinson,Laura Dern, Bob Balaban, John Hurt -- and you most certainly won't be bored.
In this current election year, as the very mechanisms of voting are still in many ways as fallible -- if not more -- as in 2000, it just doesn't feel good to think your country might not be even be able to pull off a fair election process. (If you are further interested in the issue, I recommend the chilling HBO Documentary Hacking Democracy which has some additional plays coming up very soon. If Recount doesn't sadden you, this doc certainly will.)
I'll climb down from my soapbox now, but don't forget to watch Recount, will you?
I believe if I had to distill down my most important TV influences to only two, it would have to be Star Trek and Monty Python's Flying Circus. Trek -- because it's just the best -- and Monty Python because to me it's just the funniest. Python embraces the absurd, celebrates eccentricity, and was a great place to begin exploring the brilliant British comedic point of view, which really is different than ours. I can't imagine not having that subversive influence around me, and finally BBC America is coming back to its roots a bit and bringing MPFC back to the air.
Weekly, starting this coming Friday, they will be running new digitally-enhanced versions of the show, with two episodes at 8p and 8:40pm (with later repeats), and more encores on Saturday afternoons and Sunday mornings. To get us in the mood, they're running 15 episodes from 9am until 7pm tomorrow, Memorial Day Monday. You can take a look at the BBC America website for an episode schedule but trust me the line-up listed for tomorrow has very weird ep numbers which don't necessarily correspond to anything. (Ep info seems to be back on track for the subsequent airings). I recommend just settling in and watching the whole darn marathon; it'll all be good, of course.
If you're a Python fan you probably have your favorite fella, possibly informed a bit by what they've done in the years since the show. Palin seems incredibly sweet after all his good-natured travel adventure shows, Cleese rather curmudgeonly but then we don't mind our Brits to be a little snarky (Simon Cowell, anyone?), Jones is similarly kind and an intellectual seeker, and Idle seems to be the Brit version of John Waters in his ability to bring a cult movie to musical theater success. Poor Graham Chapman is no longer with us, but what a hilarious presence he is in MPFC. After watching and re-watching Python all my adult life, I truly can't pick a favorite anymore. I love them all.
Anyway, they're back on BBC America! There are a lot of great Python segments on YouTube -- how to pick just one to highlight here...tough! After much deliberation I've decided to go with the delightful "Vocational Guidance Counselor" skit starring John Cleese and Michael Palin. Enjoy!
The Flaming Nose is saddened to learn of the death last night of television comedy favorite Dick Martin who was one-half of the hilarious duo who fronted Rowan and Martin's Laugh-in on NBC in the late 1960s. Along with long-time comedy partner Dan Rowan (who died in 1987), Dick Martin set the tone for the completely contemporary and game-changing series which took the nation by storm and created catchphrases which resonate to this day.
If you missed Jane's Nose-talgia post on Laugh-in from only last month, please take a look at it now, in honor of Mr. Martin and his lasting achievements.
AP has a nice article and biography on Dick Martin which is recommended reading, and I always find the pieces from the Museum of Broadcast Communications have a solid historical bent and they have a good piece on Laugh-in. In addition to their Laugh-in fame, Rowan and Martin had a red-hot career in traditional stand-up venues, of course, and as a second career Martin became a highly-skilled TV director. He was also a likeable actor who appeared on his own in movies like The Glass Bottom Boat (with Doris Day), and many TV series including a recurring role on The Lucy Show and guest shots on popular shows like The Love Boat, The Nanny, Diagnosis Murder and many others.
Dick Martin was a talented man whose many other achievements were no doubt somewhat overshadowed by the success and exceedingly long tail of his Laugh-in fame, but he was a true television and pop culture icon, and we salute him.
Bad day to be human, but possibly a great day to be a television viewer if the promos we've seen so far are any indication. Premiering this Monday at 9pm (Memorial Day!) on A&E network, the Andromeda Strain is a two night blockbuster miniseries about one of our favorite Flaming Nose topics...."the end of the world".
Powerhouse, genius film making brothers (Bladerunner anybody?) Ridley Scott and Tony Scott are the producers of this re-purposed apocalyptic fairy tale about a very bad Level 5 Hot Zone disease unleashed upon the world. Since practically nobody will remember the 1971 original Andromeda Strain, they can expect a whole new crop of amazed eyeballs for this 21st century take on creepy ways to destroy humanity with a whimper and not a bang.
The cast looks B level, special effects look top notch. Writing and execution is anybody's guess. I'm tuning in because I love Ridley Scott, so if he did much more than wave his hand over the script in a Pope-like blessing, I'm thinking there might be some fun to be had.
My question is: whatever in the world did A&E have to do to get the Scott brothers on board for this effort? Maybe they are partial owners of A&E now? Or maybe they both knew that cable television in the summer is the coolest place to be outside of an air conditioned movie theater. Let's all watch and find out!
Here's an important topic for a TV blog. Is television dying? Is it already dead? Since the end of the writer's strike, there has been a tsunami of negative press for broadcast television, all predicting its eminent demise. There's no doubt about it, the ratings are down for the big three (ABC, NBC, CBS). Only FOX has survived the viewer flight, due almost entirely to the strength of American Idol.
Many of the viewers who fled to other forms of media during the writer's strike are not coming back to traditional television. Ever. Here's why I, lover of TV since I was lulled to sleep by my first black and white Indian Head test pattern, think that might not necessarily be the end of the world.
While viewers might not be watching TV as much on the traditional home set, they are flocking to streaming video of their favorite TV shows online
Boxed set DVD sales of entire seasons of TV programs are flying off the shelves. Did you know that more DVD's are sold of TV programs than of all movies combined today?
Time shifting behaviors (TiVo, DVR) have become mainstream. People are still watching, they are just doing it when it suits them. Today, appointment television means you have to put permanent hold on your digitally recorded episode so it does not get erased before you are ready to view.
But beyond all that media mumbo jumbo, here is the real reason why TV is still relevant. I watched a pre-recorded episode of the one hour season finale of The Office with my son and 5 of his very vocal teenage friends tonight. On a scale of 1 to 10 for engagement, we were a 15. Whole scenes were re-wound so we could watch and discuss. Favorite characters were cheered and revered as they came on scene. Theories and predictions for the outcome of the episode were thrown out randomly and either applauded or dismissed. Everybody had something to say about the program and everybody went SHHHHHHH when there were too many comments and we missed something. And then we would re-wind again. It might just be tonight's pepperoni pizza talking, but that sure seems like love to me.
It's all about the content folks. Great writing, compelling characters, and nobody is going anywhere. But the audience is a fickle beast. Tonight we watched the brilliance of NBC's "The Office" on regular TV. Tomorrow it might be streaming on the Internet. Or our mobile phones. Note to Marshall McLuhan.....the medium is no longer the message. It's just the pipeline. We never know what's going to come down the chute these days. Tonight, it was a flawless one hour comedy on the family living room TV set.
And by the way...NBC totally understands the online world. You can watch this Office season finale on their website if you missed it last night. And you can watch the promo for it, right here on The Flaming Nose, compliments of You Tube.
I've been trying to get a handle on what it is that has me a little obsessed about David Cook. It's led me to realize why America has fallen in love with him, which in turn leads to a dissertation more about manners than about the talented young singer. Do a Google search of Cook and you will see some common themes in the rather substantial number of blog posts, message boards and articles about Cook. It turns out most of us value good manners and integrity as much as we do musical talent and sex appeal. Cook delivers on all fronts. He proves that being a hip, high-energy rocker, and a man who shows humility and decorum, are not mutually exclusive.
I'm 48. My slightly older sister and our friends (including fellow "The Flaming Nose" bloggers Jane & Lisa), my closest female friend Randy, and my partner Harry, are "second half" baby boomers. Not the folks heading into retirement now... the younger, recently middle-aged ones who came of age in the 70s and early 80s, and rocked to the Stones, Led Zeppelin, Eric Clapton, Bruce Springsteen, Pink Floyd... well you get the idea. We refuse to become old fuddy-duddies but we've definitely grown up. We also have parents who did a pretty darn good job of bringing us up. My group of contemporaries all have, and appreciate, good manners.
Which leads me back to Cook and the reasons why we love him:
First and foremost is his talent. A truly great vocalist, energizing performer, and as we're learning, accomplished songwriter and guitar player. Without that, we wouldn't know him, or care, right?
Second, those good manners. He always says thank you. He's the first to offer a hand shake. He brought the flowers to his first music teacher and gave her a hug and a kiss. He demonstrated humility on his trip home. It all comes across as sincere to me.
Third, his charm. Calm, cool and collected but with a slight smart alecky sense of humor. Confident but not cocky (he really dialed it back after that early exchange with Simon - being called arrogant clearly mortified him). All together it adds up to charm. Charm is sexy.
Fourth, authentic family values. From what we've seen, he's a devoted brother, with parents who've clearly done a good job raising their kids.
Fifth, he's smart. Our "word nerd" and forensics team competitor also knows how to present himself appropriately, which has served him well on AI. We have also seen him make great song and arrangement choices 90 percent of the time. He's a thinker and that's also sexy!
It may sound like I'm gushing but I’m really just trying to make point here. It comes down to something I've been saying for years. I may be a progressive, even liberal-leaning guy who embraces the "do your own thing" creed of my generation, but there’s an old fashioned part of me that really wishes more people these days had better manners. It’s not something that can or should be legislated. I oppose state censorship - but not self censorship. It would be a more pleasant world if we, as a society, just flat out demonstrated better taste. David Cook does just that. He is a young man who is, plain and simple, a class act. If you do a little research online you will come across some outstanding acts of kindness on his part. They involve him wearing two different wrist bands during American Idol performances, to support two different girls who have cancer; you will also learn he has made personal phone calls to the girls to offer them words of encouragement. He's what my mother would call a "mench." There may be lots of menches out there but too few of them have become celebrities.
I thought it was necessary for us to post it again, from Daily Motion this time! As Jane mentioned in her comment to Scott's original post, it's just so lame when the content police go around taking stuff down. They just don't get it, do they?
Here's something that's sure to become a TV classic... or at least a local TV classic that has become the ultimate blooper making its way around the internet. WARNING: this clip contains foul language, so if you're offended by swearing, don't click! Longtime WNBC-TV New York anchors Sue Simmons and Chuck Scarlborough during a promo two nights ago. Simmons obviously didn't know - or remember - it was live (which means hundreds of thousands of viewers in the New York-New Jersey-Connectictut tri-state area unwittingly watched her drop the F-bomb). My partner, funny guy that he is, wants Simmon's exclamation for a ring tone!
Space and astronomy fans are all over Microsoft Research's new release of WorldWide Telescope, and you should be, too. It's amazing, a virtual planetarium of tours and explorations which should keep you mesmerized for hours and hours. The download is free (thanks, Bill Gates!) but you will need a pretty fast computer and good internet speed to take advantage of this. (Further reason why universal broadband and unfettered access to the net is a must in this 21st century world of ours.)
Anyway, get on over to WorldWide Telescope, download the app, and start experimenting. Take some of the pre-made tours. (You need to download, start the program, then go back to the tour page and click, then it will download). For a fast one, I watched Earth @ Night, which shows the lights all over our planet. I can't wait to spend lots of time on this site, and I think many of you will feel the same!
I'm including here a talk by science educator Roy Gould and Microsoft's Curtis Wong, given at the recent TED conference, prior to the release of this exciting technology. It's a great overview and will get you worked up, I guarantee (and hope)!
A memorable line from last Thursday's well written episode of "Lost." One might use the same adjectives to describe this exciting but often frustrating series.
Looking back, I realize that we've learned a lot, as this abbreviated fourth season comes to a close. All of the Oceanic survivors and "The Others" have had past encounters of some kind. There are "special" characters who have varying degrees of E.S.P. - primarily Desmond, Ben, John & Walt - for whom being a "Chosen One" has consequences (another line from last Thursday).
We also now know that the Island, or something that inhabits its very being (Jacob?), is alive. The human characters of this talented ensemble are not, and never have been, the stars of "Lost." They're the supporting actors. The Island is the true star and centerpiece of the show. Whether it's a protagonist, antagonist or anti-hero remains to be seen, but its very survival has become a paramount theme of the show and it's starting to drive the plot. Thank God something finally is!
One other observation. "Lost" has always existed in multiple time frames. The past two seasons have had three time frames: the present (the crash and months that followed), the past (flashbacks that reveal the characters' histories and common threads), and the very near future (the flash-forwards focusing on "The Oceanic Six"). That's about to change as the "near future" turns into the present next season (we're literally catching up to the "near future"). The one wildcard still out there is the hint of time displacement between the Island and the freighter. That has yet to play out.
Hopefully the writers will tighten up the show as it enters the home stretch. This season was moving toward a showdown between two groups who were NOT the original main characters- Ben (of 'The Others") versus Whidmore (the man behind "the freighter crew"). Last week the Island (through "Jacob") dominated the plot. That's good, because it seemed as if the series had taken an unexpected wrong turn when the whole Darma Initiative thing was reduced to a mere plot device by the end of season two. Please tie it all together and build to a climax Mr. Abrams!!
Today I had the honor of spending an hour with a former KTLA-TV colleague of mine, the amazing Mr. Stan Chambers. Stan has just had a terrific book published about his 60 years as a television news broadcaster in Los Angeles, and one of his first stops on the book signing tour was the Borders right here in Torrance, CA where yours truly lives. There was a very diverse crowd of about 75 people waiting for Stan today, and when he walked into the room everyone burst into applause. Young and old, thick and thin, and a United Nations cross section of every possible ethnicity had arrived at Borders to meet Stan the man. These LA folks clearly adore him and rightfully so. Stan Chambers, in addition to practically inventing television news, is also one of the finest, kindest gentlemen in the broadcast biz. The first thing he did at the book signing was walk down the row of seats as he shook the hand of every single person in attendance. Stan has always been a steadfast family man (he had 11 children!), and one of his grown daughters gave his introduction today. She told a few adorable anecdotes about what it was like to have a busy newsman as a father and her love for her Dad was abundantly apparent as she fought a few tears to get through her speech.
Stan spoke very eloquently at the book signing and the audience was enthralled. You don't have to be a broadcast history fanatic (like I am) to be fascinated by accounts of the early days of TV news in Los Angeles; from the story about little Kathy Fiscus who fell down a well in 1949 to the many floods, fires, riots and earthquakes that have riveted and rocked Los Angeles for 60 years. Stan also spoke reverently of Klaus Landsburg, the technical and creative genius who founded KTLA in 1947, as well as veteran Channel 5 news anchor Hal Fishman who just passed away last year.
All of these stories and more are in this wonderful book, so I urge everyone to seek out a copy. Everyone, that is, except for my fellow Nose founder and KTLA alumni Lisa. Because Mr. Chambers remembered Lisa, as the extraordinary Programming Director for KTLA back in the 80's. And he signed a book for her saying, "To Lisa: Here's a salute to those KTLA days we shared". It will soon be in the mail, speeding its way to her Canadian home.
Arguably, "Amok Time" is the best Star Trek episode ever created. I know this area is highly subjective and personal and will be prepared to accept heated dissent from hard core Trekkies, techies, nerds and assorted mouth breathers for why THEIR favorite episode of Star Trek is better. Here are my reasons to support "Amok Time":
In "Amok Time", Spock undergoes a biological change that causes him to become somewhat unhinged. In short, he is "in heat". On Vulcan, they call that "Pon Farr", and for Spock that means trouble. Every 7 years, Vulcans must return to their home planet to mate. Sort of like salmon going back to their stream to spawn. I was 11 years old when I first watched this Star Trek episode, and it helped contribute to my vast confusion and ignorance about all things related to sex education.
When Kirk finds out that Spock will actually die if he doesn't return, he diverts the Enterprise from its course and off they all go for a little Vulcan R&R. And from that excursion, we get the following unforgettable Star Trek moments.
#5 Reason for loving "Amok Time": We get to see the planet Vulcan and its culture. And what a weird, warlike tribal culture it is. It's hot on Vulcan. And the sky is red. The Star Trek set creators really did an excellent job creating an alien ambiance. One immediately sensed that "Dorothy wasn't in Kansas anymore", and neither were Kirk and crew.
#4 Reason for loving "Amok Time": T'Pring, Spock's intended wife and T'Pau, the powerful female leader of the whole planet. First of all, Huzzah for making Vulcan a matriarchal society. Second, I flip every time I hear the wonderful (almost Yiddish) sounding accent of the actress Celia Lovsky who plays T'Pau. When she sees that Spock has brought crew members to the ceremony on Vulcan, she raises one fabulous eyebrow and says, "Spock...is dis cedemony for outvorlda's?" T'Pring is also perfectly cast as Spock's emotionless, beautiful and flawlessly logical betrothed.
#3 Reason for loving "Amok Time": The fantastic fight scene between Kirk and Spock, which I'm posting below. Spock must fight to the death the opponent chosen by T'Pring. When she choses Kirk, Spock has no choice but to comply. The fight itself is perfectly choreographed and tremendously exciting. You can practically feel the hot breath of the combatants. Why do the technologically advanced Vulcans still fight with Medieval weapons like swords and hatchets? Don't know, don't care. This fight to the death is still exciting to watch, even though we all know the outcome.
#2 Reason: Early on in the episode we get to see Spock spin out of control in anger, as his Vulcan hormones get a grip on him. When he smashes his computer with his bare hands, it is shocking and strangely erotic.
#1 Reason: The ending of course. Spock returns to the Enterprise to be arrested. He thinks he has killed Captain Kirk in the Amok battle and is devastated because he has lost his best friend. Well thanks to that wiley Dr. McCoy, Kirk wasn't dead at all, just in a little drug induced coma. Kirk walks onto the Enterprise fit as a fiddle, and Spock, overcome with joy yells "Jim!". And then he smiles. When Spock smiles, we all have to stand and salute.
Here is a little taste of the fight scene. Wonderful!
Here's another totally subjective list, just in time for Mother's Day: my personal list of some of my favorite television mothers, in no particular order. Of course I do have to start with clearly one of the all-time best:
Barbara Billingsley as June Cleaver on Leave it to Beaver
While everybody thinks they know what June Cleaver was about -- dishwashing in pearls and all that, those things are just the easy-to-mock fashion giggles from a bygone era. June Cleaver was well-informed -- you often saw her reading the newspaper. She came from an educated and well-off family -- remember her rich (but out-of-touch) Aunt Martha who wanted Beaver to wear short pants? Plus she had a wonderful husband in the calm, amused and amusing Ward Cleaver, anything but a martinet and a reflective father who, along with his wife June, always tried to act intelligently and reasonably in their childrearing. Just because June Cleaver was calm and supportive, she was no pushover. Leave it to Beaver is -- but you need to actually watch it to get this about it, and not just think you know the show -- a show with a definite sense of the absurd and (especially in the episodes before Beaver grows up, a bit awkwardly) it's genuinely hilarious. June Cleaver is a pop culture icon, and better even than that, she lives up to it. Here's a clip from a (typically stupid and barely informed) Good Morning America presentation at the time of the 50th anniversary of the show, but it's good to see most of the cast together again.
Barbara Bel Geddes as Ellie (Eleanor Southworth) Ewing on Dallas
I wasn't even a fan of the show, but occasionally liked to tune in to see this amazing actress, a veteran of stage and screen, plying her trade magnificently and gracefully among the rest of the series' histrionics. Bel Geddes had such a unique voice, a lovely rich instrument that made you crave each word from her. Barbara Bel Geddes was true class, and the show was lucky to have had such a wonderful actress portraying its resident matriarch. Here's a clip from an episode where she's having a conversation with little John Ross, J.R. and Sue-Ellen's young son.
Harriet Nelson as Harriet Nelson on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
There was something extremely calming about Harriet Nelson. There was something extremely calming about her husband Ozzie too. In fact, the whole family was pretty darn calm, but that didn't stop America from taking to the benign but beguiling suburban appeal of this gently humorous series. Harriet obviously got the joke, her bemused smile showing us she was in on the whole thing, and also that she clearly and dearly loved her immensely creative and deceptively hilarious husband. (Jazzy, too. Did any 1950s sitcom have a cooler end theme than TAoOaH?)Her two sons were decent guys, on TV and in real life, and talented too, traits they clearly learned from their Mom and Pop. Here's a clip of Harriet and her beloved Ozzie singing "Catch a Falling Star" from an episode of the show.
Marion Ross as Marion Cunningham on Happy Days
Happy Days hasn't aged as well as some sitcoms, and it's pretty easy to see why if you watch an episode: those out-of-control studio audiences turned the tapings into an "ooh" and "aah" fest that effectively killed any chance of anything lasting and brilliant making it through. (If you don't believe me, catch an episode from the first two seasons when the show was a single-camera filmed show; what a difference. Check out the uncut "Haunted" and "The Howdy Doody Show" -- both are hilarious.) But still, Marion Ross was a funny and likable television mother, and a charming presence on the show. Fonzie was crazy about her -- remember when they took dancing lessons together? -- and she was one of the few characters to stand up to his bravado, as in the clip below. It would be impossible not to like Marion Cunningham.
June Lockhart as Dr. Maureen Robinson on Lost in Space
I already know that I'll get no complaints about this favorite mom from my fellow Nose-ites. Could Judy, Penny and Will Robinson have wished for any better mother than this beautiful biochemist? As played by the TV veteran June Lockhart (who had already upped the TV mom bar by doing such a nice job as Jon Provost's mother on Lassie for several years) Maureen Robinson was a calm and steadying force, applying liberal doses of well-considered motherly advice to help the family through their out-of-this-world ordeal. Though once they were stranded in outer space some of her duties may have become more housewife-ish than scientific, we all knew that John Robinson had a wife who was both a loving companion and his intellectual equal. Here's a segment from a profile of June Lockhart aired in 1991:
Laura Linney as Abigail Adams on HBO's John Adams
Here's a new member of the great mother club. Laura Linney's portrayal of the loving, incisive, supportive and intense Abigail Adams was a highlight of the miniseries. It's particularly nice to be able to put a historical figure on this list, too. The true beauty of Linney's terrific performance is that it was based in fact, the real Abigail Adams being no less impressive than what we saw through those seven amazing episodes. How refreshing it was to see a woman, though living in a time that did not necessarily demand or encourage steep intellectual participation from females, take her deserved place as her husband's helpmate, sounding board and invaluable critic. Linney expertly delineated the indissolvable bond between her and John, along with the tremendous physical tasks expected of her as she often assumed the head of household role while her husband was away, and her ferocious and tender devotion to her children under all variety of circumstances. A wonderful performance all around! Here's a long promo for the miniseries, which will be repeating on HBO in June. (We keep promising our Top Ten John Adams moments, and we're working on them!)
Irene Ryan as Daisy "Granny" Moses on The Beverly Hillbillies
She was actually Jed Clampett's mother-in-law, but Granny ruled the roost as the cantankerous mountain matriarch who never did adjust to life among the rich folk. Completely hilarious, skilled in mysterious backwoods remedies and one of the most delightfully eccentric characters to ever grace television, Granny was the heart of the show. During the show's nine year run, which took the Clampetts from black and white to color, Irene Ryan was an audience favorite without peer. After the end of the show she went on Broadway in Pippin and though she died mid-run, postumously won the Tony Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role. Irene Ryan was a natural comedienne with a solid funny bone -- Bob Hope was crazy about her -- and a heart of gold: at her death she established a scholarship for acting students which continues today. The clip below is a wonderful tribute to Ryan set to her famous song from Pippin:
Sharon Gless as Debbie Novotny on Queer as Folk
Showtime's groundbreaking and immensely entertainingQueer as Folk was full of colorful characters, none more so than Debbie Novotny, diner waitress and mother of Hal Spark's comic lovin' Michael. As portrayed by Gless, who had earlier starred to much acclaim with Tyne Daly in Cagney and Lacey, Debbie was the super-proud parent of a gay son, unofficial den mother to all her customers and her son's friends, loyal sister to her ill brother, and a completely delightful and life-affirming part of the show. Sharon Gless' vibrant personality and let-it-all-hang-out performance made Debbie come to brilliant life. What a wonderful modern mother she was, a hard-working broad with a million dollar smile. The clip below is a tribute video which really captures her terrific portrayal:
Jane Wyatt as Amanda on Star Trek
How can one short guest role mean so much to us? In her role as Amanda, the human mother of Mr. Spock, Jane Wyatt made us long to learn more about Spock's mixed Vulcan-Terran heritage. We didn't doubt at all why Vulcan Sarek had decided to marry the brilliant and beautiful schoolteacher Amanda; how could he have resisted her gracious charms, even if it was, after all, illogical? Jane Wyatt had already established herself as mother extraordinaire on the gentle comedy Father Knows Best in the 1950s (she definitely gets an honorable mention here for that role), and turning up as Amanda added such a dimension to our favorite Vulcan's family background. When a serious health crisis threatened the life of her husband Sarek (magnificently played by Mark Lenard), Amanda had to implore her very logical son to remember his human half and come to his aid, as you see in the clip below. She's just wonderful in the role, and reprised Amanda in one of the original cast Star Trek theatrical films, too.
Bea Arthur as Maude Findlay on Maude
And then there's Maude. Bea Arthur's masterful turn as Tuckahoe's most outspoken and hilarious liberal was tailor-made for this larger-than-life talent. Despite all the saucy language on today's sitcoms, none can come close to the truly revolutionary exchange of thoughts and ideas that made Maude both an education and an unforgettable half-hour of comedy. It's finally coming out on DVD, so we can savor again her audacious bon mots and rip-roaring zest for life. Bea Arthur also went on to more hilarity in her equally flamboyant role as Dorothy in The Golden Girls, but I think Maude wins out. Her divorced daughter Carol (played by Adrienne Barbeau) lived with Maude and Arthur (the hang-dog-looking Bill Macy), and their very modern mother/daughter relationship was groundbreaking for television. And funny? Maude is still a very funny series, thanks to Norman Lear and his writers' timeless chops. Don't forget that Maude could pour on the charm when she wanted to -- remember the time she was all set to hate John Wayne when he came for a visit? Adorable! (The episode is on YouTube in three parts but the quality is really bad, but worth taking a look if you haven't seen it for a while.) The clip I've included here is what I said above -- groundbreaking -- as Carol and Maude discuss abortion. You can barely say the word in popular entertainment anymore...we are in dire times, indeed. Take a look here to see how far we've regressed:
So, that's my list. I left out far too many, but it's a start, anyway. Happy Mother's Day!
This week PBS' Live from Lincoln Center has a real treat -- Thursday night they premiered the minimally-staged version of Lerner and Loewe's classic musical Camelot, the very same production that preemed on Wednesday night in Manhattan and which will be running until Sunday. And, needless to say, which you would be paying upwards of two hundred dollars a ticket if you were to able to get a ticket. It's the very same show, and though I did read some way-insider Broadway-lovers bitching about the production, I thought it was very enjoyable and certainly well worth two and a half hours of your time.
Sure, Gabriel Byrne can't sing, but that's certainly never been a prerequisite for playing Arthur -- ask Richard Burton or Richard Harris -- and I thought his "How to Handle a Woman" was quite good in spite of that. At least he's an actor, and I thought had a charming and possibly even genuine and situational befuddlement that worked for the character. Broadway's Marrin Mazzie plays Guinevere, and opera's Nathan Gunn is Lancelot and both are attractive and effective. The only way over-the-top choice was making Morderd into an exceedingly androgynous punk rocker of sorts, but it wasn't a deal-breaker (just completely out-of-place) and Bobby Steggert certainly went at it with plenty of verve. Stacey Keach is around as Merlin, Fran Drescher has a small role as Morgan Le Fay and Christopher Lloyd is a delightful Pellinore. One thing you willnotice, too, is that Camelot has a much better first act than second, by a mile.
I'm a big fan of the trend toward minimally-produced musicals; who needs all that expensive staging and costumes and all that junk? If dispensing with some of the trappings could keep musical theater alive, pare it down, I say!
Check out the PBS website to find out when your local PBS station will be running the special! Many ran it on Thursday but some did not -- L.A. for one -- and there may be plays left in your market, too.
To close, from the "The English are just plain smarter and more interesting than Americans" file, I offer this clip of Nathan Gunn as astronaut Buzz Aldrin in the TV opera Man on the Moonwhich premiered on British TV in December 2006.
Well Scott, you've really started something now. It's late tonight so I can't possibly respond with the complete and comprehensive version of my top 5 Lost in Space and Star Trek episodes. There will be more time for that over the weekend. Just let me begin with one magnificent memory of a L.I.S. episode featuring the (most appropriate, since we just passed the anniversary of "Earth Day") GREEN LADY! Who could forget her seductive meow..."Dr. Smiiiiiiith...Dr. Smittttthhhhh....aaaaaaahhhhhhh!" That sing song plaintive whine for Dr. Smith as she floated outside the front window of the Jupiter Two. Her shimmering emerald green sparkling lips! Her asparagus colored tights! Her clear plastic bowl hat! Well. We all know Dr. Smith could not resist her charms. I vote that this Alpha Centauri hottie should become our mascot for the blog chain that is certain to follow.
Lisa? Flaming Nose Fans? Scott has thrown down the gauntlet! We await your top Star Trek and Lost in Space episodes as comments (or those who can) posts!
Time for a break from all this Idol madness. I've been contributing to TFN for a month, and it's high time I journey to the "Star Trek" world, and then take a quick trip to the Jupiter 2 for some "Lost In Space" thoughts. They are my sci-fi faves, and I know these shows are near and dear to the other TFN contributors! I was a nerdy Trekkie as a teenager, and Lost In Space was among two shows I never missed in reruns on WNEW-TV, while growing up in Warwick, NY (the other was, of course, "I Love Lucy").
Let's keep it simple. My 5 favorite "Star Trek" episodes (the orignal series):
"For the World is Hollow and I have Touched the Sky." Just the title says it all! It was taken from the line of an old alien man in the episode. His peeps lived for millennia inside a semi-hollow artificial satellite the size of a small moon. They had no idea they weren't on a planet looking at at the real sun and stars... and an all powerful computer called The Oracle controlled their thoughts, and punished them when they strayed. The old man-alien defied them all by climbing one of the fake hills and literally touching the sky (must have been a giant Imax screen!!).
"City on the Edge of Forever." Ok this is like everybody's favorite. It's the time travel episode staring Joan Collins. Go back in time and change history and you might make your present-day world disappear. The first episode that proposed the kind of paradox that used to give Voyager's Capt. Janeway a headache!
"Space Seed" The Ricardo Montelbanepisode. The prequal to "Star Trek II, Wrath of Kahn." 'nuf said.
"The Devil in the Dark" This was the one about the alien called the Horta. I loved this since it first aired in prime time when I was 7. It proposed life forms based on something other than carbon. The writers really did their homework! They based this creature on silicon, an element that scientists think could support life in much in the way carbon does, albeit not as complex. This creature tunneled through rock the way we walk through air. Big confrontation ensued until Spock's Vulcan mind-meld revealed the creature was simply protecting her eggs, which had been unwittingly crushed by human miners! Brilliant!
"The Corbomite maneuver" One of Captain Kirk's first great poker bluffs that outwitted a hostile alien! It's the one with that "little person" piloting a ship of what looked like a ball of light bulbs! I think I love this one because I remember watching it in prime time, on a tiny portable B/W Sony TV my dad mounted in the car for my sister and I to watch on our Friday night drives from NY City to Warwick, 90 minutes away. Not only was Star Trek ahead of its time-so was my dad. And Sony! Note to self, post these Warwick references on my Warwick blog!
TNG Mention I must add that my all-time favorite Star Trek episode is from "ST The Next Generation" (one of the classiest TV shows of all time). It's called "The Inner Light," and has Capt. Picard experiencing - actually living - an alien's entire life from young adult to death as an old man when his planet is destroyed by its sun going supernova. To the Enterprise crew, the whole event lasts just a few seconds, and only plays out in Picards mind. Turns out a space probe zapped the Enterprise with some sort of particle beam that gets into Picard's head and downloads the decades-long scenario. The doomed race designed it so someone-anyone-would remember their wonderful world and how they lived. Tears.
OK... as for "Lost In Space," a short list of my favorite quotes:
1. Dr. Smith to Robot: "Mind your manners or you'll lose your bubble." 2. Dr. Smith to Robot: "Yours is not to question why, yours is but to do or have your bubble removed! 3. Robot singing "today is Penny's birthday, today is Penny's birthday" to the tune of "for he's a jolly good fellow," while holding a birthday cake with candles! Irwin Allen must have been on drugs. 4. Space creature to Will: "I'm your ID! I. D. id! Will's reply: "You can't fool me with your big words." 5. Any alien to any of the Jupiter 2's occupants: "FOOLISH, FOOLISH Earth creatures!" I use this one at work sometimes. I need to exhibit more self control.
**The beautiful Jupiter 2 model in the photograph above is an incredible creation available from Simon Mercs and The Kit Factory. Please visit his wonderful website and marvel at the one-of-a-kind projects built for clients -- and you can buy one, too!
The Flaming Nose is thrilled to learn that AMC has renewed the fascinating, action-packed and nearly heartbreaking series Breaking Bad for another thirteen episodes. The series preemed in January with seven original episodes, and this more robust order is ensures that this great hour will be around for a while. We can't say enough good things about the performance of series star Bryan Cranston; if you only knew him from Malcolm in the Middle (and there's nothing wrong with that; he was great in it) you won't believe how amazing and affecting he is in Breaking Bad. That man deserves an Emmy nomination in the fall!
It's great to see that this wonderful series will be making more episodes. With two amazing original series -- Breaking Bad and Mad Men -- AMC is giving the rest of the cable nets some real competition. Our only complaint: please give us at least one uncut airing of each episode, with all the language, and in widescreen format -- late night would be fine. AMC is undercutting the true power of the show by pulling its punches and bleeping the profanity. The show is too fine for that kind of treatment. If there ever was a guy who deserved to be able to say "F*ck it all" -- it's Walt on Breaking Bad.
So, has anybody seen Iron Man yet? I'm going to run out tonight and see it at our little local theatre's cheap night. It's got to be worth five bucks, right?
Certainly the press is positive, but what I really want to know is when they say it's really good, does that mean it's really good, or that it's just not totally crap? I guess I'll find out!
The most consistently exciting documentary series on television begins its second season tonight -- The History Channel's incredible Mega Disasters has a new episode premiering at 9pm! Hypercane posits the fascinating theory that the massive dinosaur extinction of 65 million years ago, precipitated by the Chicxulub asteroid impact, was helped along by the consequences resulting from that event, possibly including a mega-storm that could have wiped out most of life on Earth all by itself. The special will examine the incredible destructive powers in such a storm, exponentially stronger than anything we have ever experienced in recorded history, and show us how the dinosaurs simply wouldn't have had a chance of making it out alive.
The concept of a Hypercane is itself a theory, and you can read some real scientists discussing Hypercanes: Fact or Fiction at a completely intriguing Sciforum site.
To celebrate the beginning of its 2nd season, The History Channel is running several episodes of Mega Disasters during the day, both in the morning and later in the afternoon. At 4pm you can catch Yellowstone Eruption, at 5pm West Coast Tsunami (about what might happen if the Cascadia Subduction Zone breaks), and at 6pm Mega Freeze. At 8pm directly before the preem of Hypercane one of the best segments -- Comet Catastrophe -- repeats. This is one of my favorites; a comet comes down in the ocean off the coast near San Francisco. Yikes! And then of course the premiere of Hypercane at 9pm. (The Comet Catastrophe/Hypercane combo repeats again beginning at midnight, and check the History Channel website for additional plays.)
Mega Disasters is compelling, frightening and awe-inspiring television! Congrats to The History Channel for taking this great concept and running with it. This is the kind of programming that helps beget tomorrow's scientists, and heaven knows this planet is going to need them.
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I waited a few days to post this because it is impossible to dissect such a well written and brilliantly directed episode without a small spoiler. Let me start by saying "Lost" has redeemed itself in a two hour season finale that is arguably the series' best episode yet. It actually made me understand and accept the out-of-control spin the series started to take toward the end of last season.
