SamuraiFrog's Essential Christmas Songs #3. I don't know a lot of people who value this Beach Boys classic, but for me there's no Christmas without it. The Beach Boys were one of my earliest musical loves; I still remember when my sister and I would wake up and play my Dad's Beach Boys 8-track while he made us pancakes. I associate this with my Grandma Davis, too. Just a great, fun Christmas song.
Wednesday, December 07, 2011
Xmas: Little Saint Nick
Harry Morgan 1915-2011
That's sad to hear; I think I just kind of assumed he was going to live forever. I've always had a love for Harry Morgan because some of my earliest memories--from 1979, when my Dad was still in the Army--are of watching M*A*S*H. As a three year-old, I had this weird, naive idea that when we lived at Fort Hood, what my Dad was doing all day was basically the same thing they were doing at the 4077th: that is, goofing around. And Radar was from Iowa, like me and my Dad, so it was a whole thing... anyway, I loved Colonel Potter, and I always loved seeing Harry Morgan pop up anywhere else. Sorry to hear he died.
80s Revisited: Scrooged
Scrooged (1988)
Directed by Richard Donner; produced by Richard Donner & Art Linson; screenplay by Mitch Glazer & Michael O'Donoghue
The way I generally remembered this movie was as a high concept, high profile late 80s failure. I remember a big marketing push being involved with this movie, but I remember it being referred to as a flop and ending up playing on cable, seemingly on repeat, for a couple of years. It must have made some cash, though; I see it was number one the weekend it opened and went out to make $64 million, which doesn't seem too terrible for 1988. All I know for sure is that my Dad and I went to see Ernest Saves Christmas instead, and that was around the same time we went to see Oliver & Company, The Land Before Time, and The Naked Gun. I also know, actually, that my Dad LOVED this movie when it was first on cable, and watched it a number of times. I even remember seeing parts of it with him, but never really being able to dig on it the way he did.
Maybe you need to be older. Maybe you need to be more versed in A Christmas Carol, which has become my favorite Christmas story over the last 15 years, one that I've read a number of times and continue to delight in. I never had a high opinion of this flick or a need to sit and watch it again, but Becca and I ended up sitting down and watching it the other night, and we both loved it.
It helps, of course, that I like Richard Donner movies and Bill Murray is a genius. He's the right person to play a modern, cynical version of Scrooge, because Murray's stock in trade is how sincerely insincere he is. He doesn't need to sell his comedic persona, he just comes out, does it, and sometimes it's only on repeat viewings that you realize just what his magic is. It's not that he acts like he doesn't care, it's that he does it so completely that it doesn't seem like an act. That's a big part of what makes classic comedies like Ghostbusters and Stripes so classic, and gems like Where the Buffalo Roam so underrated, and What About Bob? so weirdly, endlessly re-watchable.
And, honestly, there are points where Scrooged comes across a little too obvious, a little too on the nose to really be a successful parody of the TV business. I think some of the critical reactions to Scrooged that I've read were hard on it for not being satirical enough (especially with Mr. Mike as one of the writers), and instead just being a sincere, modern, occasionally breezy take on a Christmas classic. Also, I think in the end Bill Murray's not entirely believable as the reformed Frank Cross; oh, he's good, and he sells it, but cynical Frank Cross takes less effort to believe. He seems to be more comfortable in that persona, perhaps because it's more inherently comic and probably more fun to play. Still, I believe anyone would be willing to change just to let Karen Allen into their lives. Every time that genuine smile of hers lights up the screen... Please, Karen, come back to us full time.
All in all, though, I dug it. It's highly enjoyable, the ghosts are funny (I can't even remember a time when I didn't love Carol Kane), John Glover is always awesome, and Bill Murray is excellent. You could do a lot worse at Christmastime.
Film Week
A review of the films I've seen this past week.
IVAN THE TERRIBLE, PART I (1944)
IVAN THE TERRIBLE, PART II (1958)
Sergei Eisenstein's final films, telling the story (or two-thirds of it, as a trilogy was planned but never completed) of Ivan IV, the first tsar of a unified Russia. The first film was released when it was finished, but the second, which was considered by Soviet censors to be ambivalent towards state terrorism, wasn't released until after both Eisenstein and Stalin (who loved the first film) were dead. They're odd films; big and melodramatic, overacted and lingering in the style of silent films. They're so arch, so broad, but oddly compelling; you know, like Star Wars. The Pantomime of Ivan the Terrible. The costumes and the sets are beautiful; the cinematography has such a depth of field and shadow. They're terrifically made, but they're definitely relics of a bygone era of filmmaking. I sound totally condescending, but I really enjoyed these oddities. ***1/2 stars each.
Shorter Scarlett Johansson
"There was nothing wrong with those pictures. There's nothing wrong with anyone who wants to take pictures of themselves or star in a porno or something, even though I would never do anything so degrading that I have absolutely no problem with. So even though I called the FBI on the guy who I claimed stole the naked pictures because the sanctity of an actress' cell phone is a national security issue, there's nothing wrong with those pictures. I just want you to know I'm classy and don't give it away for free, not that there's anything wrong with that, either. Now why don't you pay me to pose topless-but-not-really to show you what a serious actress I am?"
Tuesday, December 06, 2011
TV Report
:: Okay, Castle, dial it back a little. Last night's episode was so unabashedly and ham-handedly trolling the audience--or at least the StaNathan shippers--that it distracted from the (thin) plot of the episode and made the flashback-heavy opening rather silly. You're not going to be able to come up with excuses to keep these two from getting together for much longer.
:: Speaking of plotlines I can do without: I'm very happy that the "Max falls in love with a hipster" story is behind us on 2 Broke Girls. If that stays behind us, that would be even better. Last night's episode made me cry, which was unexpected. It was Max saying goodbye to the horse; for some reason, it triggered memories about my cat, Sam, and how my mother dumped him at an animal shelter when I was at my dad's for the weekend. Nope, still not over it.
:: I started watching Homeland yesterday; I'm four episodes in now, and it is incredibly compelling. Claire Danes is excellent as an unstable CIA agent attempting to investigate a recovered POW she believes may have been turned by al-Qaeda. Watching this show peel back its layers is amazing. Danes's agent has a thoroughly damaged reputation with her office after screwing up an operation in Baghdad, and is secretly taking an anti-psychotic medication. She's obsessed with proving that the POW, Damian Lewis, is now an al-Qaeda agent, and one gets the sense it isn't about defending her country, but a desperate desire to be right about something. Meanwhile, Lewis' wife (the amazingly sexy Morena Baccarin, finally appearing in something that compels me to watch it) has been cheating on him with his best friend while her husband was missing and presumed dead in Iraq. These are some complex personal problems between the characters, and on top of that is the national security issue. It's riveting stuff, and easily the best of the new shows that came on this season.
Things Said
ME: So what's for breakfast?
BECCA: Self-reliance.
ME: If I wanted that, I wouldn't have gotten married.
********************
ME: And ruin my breakfast of donuts?
********************
ME: [reading junk mail] Oh, I'm pre-qualified for a loan. [rips it up, throws it onto floor]
BECCA: You're pre-qualified to pick that shit up off the floor right now.
Monday, December 05, 2011
Sunday, December 04, 2011
Song of the Week: "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)"
SamuraiFrog's Essential Christmas Songs #2: "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" by Darlene Love from the magnificent A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector album. I probably first heard this song in Gremlins when I was 8... that's the first time I consciously remember hearing it, anyway, although my Dad loves this song, too... Either way, my Christmas playlist is never complete without this. Back in the days of cassettes I used to open Side B with this one.
Saturday, December 03, 2011
Mitefall
Well, if Batman: The Brave and the Bold had to go off the air, at least they did it in style.
This show has been a joy to me for the last couple of years, riffing on the fun Silver Age of comics, not concerning itself with continuity or cynicism, but just telling fun stories with great guest stars and lots of neat references to a different and, frankly, better time in comic books.
I don't know all of the ins and outs of the decision to pull Brave and the Bold off the air, but this finale episode--masterfully written by Paul Dini--reflects both the TV environment that makes such decisions inevitable, and the ever-fickle demands of fandom. This episode really takes meta to another level, seeing Bat-Mite as a fan craving something new, and who changes aspects of the show to get it canceled--including adding extreme sports elements, silly sidekicks (including a Scrappy Doo analogue), vehicles and costumes only added to be introduced to the toy line, and recasting Ted McGinley as Aquaman (who takes the time to remind that audience that his reputation as a show-killer is overstated: "People forget that Married...with Children was on for seven years after I joined the cast."). At one point, Batman literally jumps a shark.
In tribute to that defining event of narrative overreach, Henry Winkler even appears in the episode as Ambush Bug. And I can't tell you how pleased I am that Ambush Bug finally appeared on the series!
So I'm sorry to see Batman: The Brave and the Bold pulled after just two and a half seasons, but what a fantastic show it really was. Probably my favorite thing DC has done with its animation arm. And what an episode to say goodbye with; a reminder of how classy and smart this show really was.
See you in the next animated incarnation, Batman.
Friday, December 02, 2011
Thursday, December 01, 2011
Xmas: It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year
SamuraiFrog's Essential Christmas Songs #1: "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" by Andy Williams. Every time I make a Christmas playlist, this is the opener. Can't be helped.
(Yeah, I decided to do a Christmas Countdown this year, similar to my Halloween Countdown. And I love Christmas music, so this seemed the place to start.)
What's Up, Doc?
A former park ranger in New Zealand came across the largest insect ever recorded. It's a giant weta, but it's the biggest giant weta anyone's got pictures of. While all of the grown men on Tumblr are spazzing out over "Eek! Eek! A really big bug!" I think he's cute. He looks like a little cartoon bunny that someone redesigned into the overgrown child of Hoppity and Jiminy Cricket.
Star Trek: Voyager
Alright, so... on to the next Trek, then...
Well, it's not a home run on the first swing, but neither was Next Generation. Hell, neither was Deep Space Nine, which had a number of shitty episodes in the first season, and I ended up loving it. So, you know, it's a first season for a new show, and it unfortunately seems to feature a lot of the Trek writers and producers I'm not so crazy about. But I'm giving it a chance to work on me.
1. Caretaker (my rating: 2 out of 5)
There are potentially interesting aspects of this series, but they don't really grab me right from the beginning. For some reason, I had a difficult time following the plot on this pilot, maybe in part because I'm already sick of space crews far out in the future meeting up with folksy Americana. Now, I've only seen a couple of Voyager episodes in the past, and I've never liked most of the characters, so I'm starting over on them here. To my surprise, the character I expected to hate the most, Neelix, is actually my favorite part of the show--it's like typical Star Trek intoning and technobabble, and then Harlan Ellison wanders in and tells everyone to lighten up. So we have a good premise, a couple of characters I like or am interested in right off (Janeway, Neelix, Kes, the Doctor), and this Maquis business. I hope they don't play this Maquis stuff as badly as they did on every other Trek series...
2. Parallax (1/5)
Bad episode. It hinges on an obvious twist that borders on a science fiction cliche. The rest of it is all trying to cram down our throats how great a character B'Elanna Torres is supposed to be; frankly, the case isn't argued well. I find B'Elanna pretty whiny and unpleasant. I hope this isn't going to be like early Worf again...
3. Time and Again (1/5)
Another obvious, predictable episode. Some of the scripts at this point feel like rejected premises for old Twilight Zone episodes, or rejected TNG stuff. Also: Tom Paris is a putz.
4. Phage (3/5)
Now this is interesting; the Vidiians are a fascinating race, ravaged by a disease called the Phage and harvesting organs from other species. Their weapon, which allows a body part to basically be transported out of someone's body, is scary and intriguing. Neelix suddenly dropping because he has no lungs is a teaser that really draws the viewer in. This is a really good episode for Neelix and Kes as characters, developing the closeness of their relationship, but the real standout for me in this one was Kate Mulgrew's performance as Captain Janeway. It's exciting that, through Janeway, we get a feminine viewpoint to a Starfleet captaincy. There's a maternal edge to the way she's protective of her crew, and also to the way she relates to them. What really got me here is how she's really able to feel for and understand the Vidiians, even though they've stolen Neelix's lungs. The way she can't bring herself to demand the lungs back, but can also order them to stay away or be destroyed, is very moving.
5. The Cloud (1/5)
And we're back. The Space Anomaly Turns Out to Be Alive episode. So thin that it's padded out with character scenes, almost none of which really work. I still don't know how I feel about Chakotay. He hasn't really been a character so far; in the pilot, he was doing action stuff and leading a Maquis crew, now he's kind of quiet and withdrawn. I think the writers don't know what they want to do with him yet, exactly, and I think they need to make a choice whether or not to play up the Native American aspect of his character. Probably they don't want to make him a stereotype, but at the same time they're playing it too subtly, coming close to a New Age caricaturing.
6. Eye of the Needle (3/5)
This is the first time we've seen the crew with a chance to get home; the way it unfolds is actually pretty nice, with the crew actually able to use the transporter beam to bring a Romulan from the Alpha Quadrant onto the ship. I also like the way the Romulan character is played here, only increasing my interest in finding out more about them.
7. Ex Post Facto (1/5)
If I could go lower than 1, I would. If Star Trek does anything worse than murder mysteries, it's noir murder mysteries. Also, I really don't care about Tom Paris. One of the worst episodes of any show ever.
8. Emanations (2/5)
Almost kind of interesting but not really. I think I kind of got lost in this one.
9. Prime Factors (3/5)
There are some interesting ideas in here; I like that the writers are really pushing here to come up with different technology that we haven't quite seen in Star Trek. The idea of the Trajector and the way it sort of folds space. I also find it interesting that Tuvok would simply disobey Janeway's orders; the way she talks to him about it is a great scene, but the explanation of why he did it doesn't really satisfy. The stuff going on in engineering with Lt. Carey, B'Elanna, and Seska is interesting, too; we're seeing the different lengths people are willing to go to in order to get home. It seems like they've dropped a lot of the Maquis silliness in order to get the crew of one mind: that this is about getting home, not ideology. The ideological differences with the Maquis were never explored well, to me, anyway; either too message-y or unfocused. Deep Space Nine went from people fighting for their homes to gleeful terrorists led by evil genius Michael Eddington. A potentially intriguing idea that was just never handled well.
10. State of Flux (3/5)
The Kazons seem more like warmed-over Klingons with crazy eyes than anything else. I hope they build these guys up a little better if they're going to keep bringing them back. What really gets me here is the character of Seska and the performance of Martha Hackett as the character. It makes sense that she would be a Cardassian, altered to look like a Bajoran in order to spy on the Maquis. It also puts her somewhat ruthless actions in the previous episode into an even more interesting context. I hope she comes back, because she's too good to let go. Even if she does end up coming back with Kazons.
11. Heroes and Demons (4/5)
How can it be possible that the first episode of Voyager I really, thoroughly enjoy is a Killer Holodeck episode? It focuses so thoroughly on the Doctor and the idea of what's real and what isn't when it comes to consciousness. Very well done, and Robert Picardo is more than game. Plus, they're doing Beowulf, which is just awesome. I'm sorry we won't get to see Marjorie Monaghan as Freya ever again; she's wonderful here, with great presence. I should also mention Kes. I'm just impressed with the way Jennifer Lien plays the character, when I'm sure there could easily be the temptation--a lazy one--to make the character some kind of whimsical pixie.
12. Cathexis (1/5)
Another space anomaly episode; these are going to get old. This one tries and fails to be a tense cat-and-mouse thriller, basically riffing heavily on The Thing, and the idea of Chakotay's free-floating consciousness is just ridiculous.
13. Faces (3/5)
So, if Klingons are immune to the Phage, does that mean humans aren't? Has that been mentioned, because a few crew members are exposed to it here. By splitting the half-human, half-Klingon B'Elanna in two, they make the fully Klingon version much more interesting than the fully human version. I would've liked to see these two separated for a while and for the show to have done something more with them. As it is, we've never gotten the sense before now that B'Elanna felt any conflict between the two sides. That might've given this episode more impact; they should've built that and done this in the second or third season. As is typical of Star Trek, everything just sort of goes back to normal at the end, anyway.
14. Jetrel (5/5)
Yes; more of these, please. This is an excellent character episode for Neelix, giving him the depth that saves him from being basically the joke of the series, and Ethan Phillips is up for it, turning in a great and moving performance. He's met equally by James Sloyan, who is always great in his various Star Trek roles, here as a Haakonian doctor who created a weapon that killed over 300,000 of Neelix's people, including his family. Just watching them act together, in this passionate debate on the ethics of war, is electric. And I'm glad the episode touches on themes of forgiveness and culpability, which are important themes to me. Just an excellent show, one which gives me hope for more like this.
15. Learning Curve (2/5)
Another mediocre episode, this one with Tuvok training the Maquis to act more like Starfleet crew members. It's okay, but I still think Tuvok is a lame character (not Tom Paris lame, but lame), and the attempted humor of a disease being caused by Neelix's cheese is just... silly. Silly and mediocre.
And I'm not going to pull punches here; it's a silly and mediocre first season filled with moments of interest, but only one (arguably two) episodes that really lit a fire for me. I plan to see this out to the end, but right now, it's really just hanging on some of the actors (and I really can't wait to see more and more how Kate Mulgrew develops Janeway) and my inherent love for Star Trek. So I'll roll into the second season now and hope for better. These shows are always better in their second seasons.
UPDATE 12/2: I should point out, too, that a lot of the cheaper episodes that were set on the ship with space anomalies were a result of budget problems; apparently due to recasting and needed reshoots for the pilot, they blew most of their budget on the premiere and couldn't afford to do a lot of what they wanted. So I get why there are so many less-than-stellar episodes in the first season; it's not like I'm calling the producers out for being lazy here. That would be unfair. What I really want to see is what they end up doing when they do have the money to do what they want.
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