[paw broon]

"a new Brit series, "Broadchurch" with David Tennant"
Bowers, I went on holiday and didn't see your reaction to Timeslip.  It's available on dvd.
As for Broadchurch, it was a huge success here and got seriously good reviews.  Well worth looking out for, although everyone seems to have a good greet at times.
I mentioned a while ago, "Shetland", with Dougie Henshall (Primeval) - a crime show set in Shetland and very good it was too.  Today's paper says it's coming back with a 6 episode run of 2 episode stories.  Brian Cox is one of the guest stars. I hope you can get it in N. America.
Our t.v. went on the blink but we went on holiday and haven't yet bought a new one so we've been watching shows on I Player on the computer.  The Apprentice is charging towards the finale and it's been an intriguing and, at times, excruciating series.  But, one of our favourite radio comedies has transferred to t.v. - something that sometimes doesn't go well, but "Count Arthur Strong" works.  Difficult to describe but we fell about laughing.  Graham Linehan, the genius behind "Father Ted" is co-writing, so that really helps.
Don't know if this will work outside the U.K. but here's a trailer:-
http://www.countarthurstrong.com/tv-series-trailer-released/

As for Doctor Who, Rory Kinnear is current favourite and he co-stars with Count Arthur.

[profh0011]

"So! It's just you 57 suckers, against Kung Fu Joe!  Master of Karate!  Kung Fu!  Jui-Jitsu!  And ALL other shit you ain't NEVER heard of!  HA HA HA HA HA HA !!!!!!"



"BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!"


 



(lost count of how many times I've watched this now)

[josemas]

Some recent DVD collections watched-

Alias Smith and Jones Season One (1971)  One of my favorite western series while growing up.  Inspired by the success of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) this started as a mid season replacement show and quickly won over viewers with its blend of humor in the standard western drama (ala Maverick).  Good chemistry between the leads (Pete Duel and Ben Murphy), some clever writing and good guest stars (some in recurring roles) make this a fun show to revisit.

Columbo Seasons One and Two (1971-1973)  The Lil Missus and I are working our way through the entire run of Columbo movies (there's 69 of them that appeared between 1968-2003).  After pilot movies in 1968 and Spring 1971 the regular series launched in Fall 1971 with seven movies the first year and eight the second.  Even this early in the run several actors have already appeared twice in different roles including Ray Milland, Robert Culp, Anne Francis and James Gregory.  My favorite episode among these early ones is the season one premiere (directed by Steven Spielberg) "Murder by the Book" with Jack Cassidy excellently playing an author who bumps off his writing partner (Martin Milner).  Most disappointing episode in this bunch was the second season "Dagger of the Mind".  Most episodes were in 90 minute time slots (running approximately 74 minutes without commercials) but occasionally they'd do a longer movie in a 2 hour time slot.  "Dagger of the Mind" is one of these longer movies.  They spent some money on it too.  Actually traveling to England to film the movie.  There's also a good cast including Bichard Basehart, Honor Blackman, Wilfred Hyde-White and Bernard Fox.  The trouble is the movie is padded out with way too many scenes of Columbo just sightseeing around London.  It's like the producers really wanted to show off the fact that "Hey we actually went to England to shoot! Pretty cool, eh!?  Hey, looks there's Big Ben and hey, there's Buckingham Palace!"   A more clever way of shooting the movie would have been to have worked some clever location shooting into the script and that way you could have had all the neat location stuff without padding out the film.

Dexter Season Six  (2011)  Another winner of a season with Colin Hanks and Edward James Olmos making a fine pair of nemeses for Dex.  And, oh boy, what an "Oh S#!t" moment of a cliffhanger in that last episode. 

Inspector Morse Series One  (1987)  Wow!  Has it really been over 25 years since the Morse series began?  Revisiting these on something of an alternating basis with Helen Mirren's Prime Suspect.

Eureka Season Two  (2007)   I caught the occasional episode of this during it's original Syfy run but am enjoying it even more working through the series episode by episode.  A nice blend of humor, sci-fi elements and some characters we care about.

The Mary Tyler Moore Show Season Two (1971-1972)   The writing remains top notch as the characters already established in the first season continue to flesh out even further.  My favorite episode is the one with Ted Baxter (Ted Knight) and his brother, Hal, (Jack Cassidy) continually try to one up each other. Cassidy had originally been offered the Ted Baxter role and had turned it down but agreed to play the brother in this episode.  His untimely death in 1976 (burned to death when he fell asleep while smoking) deprived us of a real talent, equally adept at comedy and drama.

White Collar Season Two (2010-2011)  Good chemistry between the two leads (Matt Bomer and Tim DeKay) remains this crime show's strong point.

Studio One   One of the live anthology show that were very common on American television during its early years.   Although many were recorded on kinescope at the time of broadcast the networks were not scrupulous in preserving them.  A number of episodes of this series do seem to have survived and have been working their way onto DVD and the internet.  These live shows proved a great training ground for young actors including James Dean, Steve McQueen, Warren Beatty, James Coburn, Natalie Wood, Ed Asner, William Shatner, Warren Oates and more.

Best

Joe

[profh0011]

I liked how in the early seasons of THE NBC MYSTERY MOVIES, they would do an occasional 2-hour story, usually (but not always) when it was called for.  For example, in McCLOUD's 4th season (I think), when the season finale was "This Must Be The Alamo".  It's virtually a blueprint for HILL STREET BLUES, with 4 separate stories running side-by-side, which all collide at the explosive shoot-out at the end.

Unfortunately, some idiot at NBC apparently decided at some point to have ALL the movies be 2-hours long.  Especially the first year they did it, you could tell that many of the stories had been written for 90 min. and painfully padded out 2 2 hours.  (This was even worse than when they had a 2nd-season ep. of McCLOUD which had been clearly written for a 1-hour time slot, and very painfully padded out to fit 90 min.!! --it's the one with Milton Berle, in case anyone's wondering.)

I believe for the final season, NBC decided to make them all 90 min. again... and I suspect a couple of them may have been cut to fit.  (Sheesh) NCB really screwed over the series that season.  Originally, they had planned to pull the plug the previous year, but decided at the last minute to do one more.  (This explains why 75% of the cast of McMILLAN had been replaced-- they'd all got other jobs before the decision to do one more year had come down!)  Also, they kept doubling-up the shows and running them as double-features (2-90's to fit a 3-hour slot), while on certain weeks, having no mysteries at all, instead filling the time with "specials" and misc. crapola.

After they did pull the plug, even then, they decided to do ONE more year of COLUMBO... but all the stories that year were run at random times. You never knew when they'd be on! It's no wonder I never saw any of the last year until they went into syndication.

Robert Culp was the 1st actor to play 3 murderers; Jack Cassidy the 2nd.  Patrick McGoohan became the 3rd (but not until the 90's), but he enjoyed it so much, he came back for a 4th, and so, became the record-holder!  (Although, much earlier, Jack Cassidy had played a murdered on MRS. COLUMBO... but due to the nature of that series, I'm not sure it's considered valid within the actual "Columbo" scheme of things.)

Does anyone besides me think Peter Falk should have guested on an episode of VOYAGER... just as an in-joke?

[profh0011]

By the way, while I tend to think the quality of the writing and acting slowly dropped over the course of the 70's, and got even worse when COLUMBO was revived (Season 10?), the 2nd year of the revival was when Peter Falk took over as Co-Exec. Producer.  All of a sudden, the quality of the writing SHOT UP, they began to "play" with the format, and you were once again reminded that away from the criminals, the Lt. had the SHARPEST mind on the L.A. Police Force.  I was shocked.  I LOVED it!  Last year, I ran all my COLUMBOs (I'm missing most of the 70's, but have all of the 90's).  And as soon as I got to the 11th season-- WOW.  I've read reviews to the contrary online, but I really feel starting then, the show became BETTER than ever.

The 3rd one with McGoohan was one of my favorites (for once, a killer goes out of his way NOT to "help" the Lt.), as was the one where you discover there has been NO murder... until 100 min. in (including commercials), when the murder finally does occur.  WHOA!!  There was this hilarious scene where, after he appears to have made a nuisance (and fool) of himself, Columbo's boss tells someone, "Make sure you keep him AWAY from that house!"  The very next shot-- Columbo's car RACING to the scene, to get there before anyone can tell him not to.  The way he solved that one was brillaint, too.  (But in case you've forgotten, I won't tell.)

[jimmm kelly]

I have the first season of McMILLAN & WIFE on DVD, have always meant to get the second season, as well as some of COLUMBO.

All of this makes me mounful for the closing down of the brick and mortar video stores, because I used to like wandering through those stores, looking at whatever DVDs were on sale and buying stuff on impulse. It's not the same when you go online, and you know you will have to wait a week or more for delivery.

About Janeway, when VOYAGER started wasn't she supposed to be married? It seems like they wrote that out as the series progressed. But I haven't seen it in many years, so I'm not sure. Funny to think of Peter Falk as Mr. Janeway.

For anyone who has never seen it, I recommend Wim Wender's WINGS OF DESIRE--in which Peter Falk stars as himself. But I warn you DON'T watch FAR AWAY SO CLOSE. It's supposed to be a sequel, with some of the same actors, but you must not watch it. I wish someone had given me that warning. You can't unsee a thing once it's seen, but I wish I could unsee FAR AWAY SO CLOSE which trampled all over my memories of WINGS OF DESIRE.

[narfstar]

My wife and I just got caught up on Falling Skies. Cool show

[bowers]

Narf, this season of "Falling Skies"  is the best yet. Lots of different ways for the show to go- great writing. Also nice to see Stephen Collins again. Haven't seen him in anything since "Seventh Heaven", many years ago. Paw, a day or so after I posted about "Broadchurch", BBC America rolled a promo stating we'll get it Aug. 7th. The "Count Arthur Strong" link worked great, and I'll be looking for it and "Shetland". PBS just picked up "Dirk Gently", and it's incredibly funny. Alas, only a pilot and four episodes. Cheers, Bowers

[profh0011]

As I just polished off all 45 of my DARK SHADOWS tapes-- and seeing as my collection cut off right in the middle of "1970 Parallel Time" (it was decided the show "wasn't in the proper image of New Jersey Public Television"), I figured, this is the perfect time to watch the 4 different versions I have of DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE, back-to-back.  (Frederic March, Michael Rennie, Jack Palance, Anthony Perkins)

The Palance version, of course, was Dan Curtis' very 1st TV movie... so I'll follow that up by watching the others of those I have.  (After it had gone missing for more than a decade, I finally located his DRACULA late last year... I'd taped it on the 2nd half of a COLUMBO tape!  I usually do a better job mixing things on one tape than that...)

[Captain Audio]

The Anthony Perkins version is the only one I haven't seen.
I loved Palance as Mr Hyde, he had exactly the right face for it. His Jekyl was more of a challenge but for a man with such a naturally sinister face Palance could be surprisingly mild mannered when he chose to be.
Favorite line when accepting his custom sword cane "the finest steel and the very finest lead" as he crushes the head of the practice dummy.

His face and trademark sneer with animal like intake of breath was the result of facial injuries. He once said this was from his short career as a boxer but I've heard he was also injured in a plane crash while in the service.

I've seen the Fredrick March version again recently, its my favorite, and I once had a rather dog eared book of stills from that film. The figurine of the rape of Psyche by Eros on the table when Hyde assaults his woman was especially dramatic. The bit where Dr Jekyl moves the tip of his cane around the inside of the garter lying on the floor was a play on the old line "he'd put his (blank) where I wouldn't put my walking stick". The scene with the cat killing the bird is especially effective.

I found the Michael Rennie version at the Internet Archive awhile back, very well done for a TV short of the day.

Palance's Dracula is possibly my favorite, the final scene was one of the best Drac deaths ever.
I found a low res file awhile back, but I figure I'll wait for a better quality file or a DVD before watching this film again.

[narfstar]

Local University put on the J&H play a few months ago. I enjoyed it.

[profh0011]

About 10 years back I also saw the John Barrymore version.  It's fascinating to me how, like DRACULA, each version of J&H is so different from each other.  The Barrymore version, for example, much of the drama ensues because Jekyll's prospective father-in-law doesn't think he's "MAN ENOUGH" for his daughter, and insists he goes out and "sows some wild oats" first. In other words, the guy was virtually pushing his future son-in-law into the arms of prostitutes!!

Compare that with Frederic March, where no matter what the guy does, he's not "stable" enough for the girl's father, and he should "observe propriety" and "WAIT".  That version could be seen as a pre-Code statement about the dangers of too much repression!

The CLIMAX! version with Michael Rennie surprised me for the way it apparently is structured more like the novel.  It starts with Hyde being killed, then his friend reads the journal and finds out the whole terrible story.  I was also surprised at how many little details from this one later turned up in the DARK SHADOWS version with Christopher Pennock (which I saw in its entirety about 10 years ago... but my tapes from PBS in the 80's are missing the 2nd half, when the 2 stories they were doing in "1970 Parallel Time" both really started to get interesting).  Another surprise is the emphasis Jekyll's friend places on Jekyll being guilty, since he made a DECISION to do what he did, and continued to do it, even when he had proved his point and saw the possible dire consequences awaiting him.

2 STAR TREK connections in the CLIMAX! version-- "Poole", the butler, was played by John Hoyt (the 1st Doctor, from the Jeffrey Hunter pilot), and, the music was by Jerry Goldsmith!

Dan Curtis did his J&H on videotape in 1968 when DS was doing their (terrible) version of FRANKENSTEIN and BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN.  Robert Cobert did a lot of new music for it, and most of it was then recycled on DS.

The Perkins film is EDGE OF SANITY, and it isn't that great, but it does have its interesting points.  It also combines the story of J&H with that of Jack The Ripper!


I've also seen the Spencer Tracy version, about 10 years ago, but frankly wasn't that impressed by it.  I was more annoyed at the knowledge that for decades, the Frederic March version had been PULLED from circulation to avoid competing with the Tracy version!  (I really hate when studios do stuff like that.)

[jimmm kelly]

i saw the Palance, Tracy and March versions of Jekyll and Hyde in my younger days, but not recently. I've never seen the Barrymore version. But I've looked at video clips now for each and I prefer it when the actors have as little help from the make-up department as possible. In that regard, I think Barrymore and Palance used a lot less make-up and most of the change was made through acting.

I think for an actor that's the challenge--to use their physical ability to become a completely different personality. Like Jerry Lewis with the Nutty Professor and Buddy Love. Or Christorpher Reeve with Superman and Clark Kent.

This is why I believe it's a bad move to make Superman and Clark so similar in a movie. Part of the fun is in seeing the actor play this dual role, making us believe in the difference simply through the actor's skill. I haven't seen the new movie, but I'm sure some of the audience were let down by the lack of that dichotomy.

You can see how Jekyll and Hyde influenced the creation of Two-Face. Apparently this was inspired by the Frederick March version. Although to me, Two-Face looks a lot like the Spencer Tracy version.

[profh0011]

I could also see how J&H influenced THE INCREDIBLE HULK.  The Michael Rennie version (which seems to be closer to the novel than the Frederic March one) has a bit where, as Hyde, he gets very angry when someone mentions Jekyll, and yells out, referring to Jekyll as "the one man in all the world I hate most!!!"

[profh0011]

The Dan Curtis / Jack Palance JEKYLL & HYDE really is a fabulous piece of work.  They had enough time to really develop the story.  It's almost a shock how likable Hyde starts out-- before he begins to get excessive.  As Gwyn describes it, as time went on, he kept doing worse and worse, as if he was rolling downhill, picking up speed, and nothing was going to stop him.

I was surprised at how MUCH of this version later wound up in the DARK SHADOWS version, including the suspicious chemist who finds out the truth and tries to blackmail him.  Oskar Holmolka, of course, I mostly remember from FUNERAL IN BERLIN and BILLION DOLLAR BRAIN.  He was a lot more reasonable in the role than John Harkins on DS, who just from the word go came across as a total CREEP!  It's funny because I'm watching THE RETURN OF THE MAN FROM UNCLE right now, ahd he turns up in there as a Thrush agent.  (This sort of thing happens a lot with me-- stuff will sit in my video collection for years on end, then without any planning I'll run across the same actor more than once in the same week, sometimes in the same DAY.)

The rest of the cast was terrific as well, including Denholm Elliot (the earliest thing I've seen him in), Leo Genn, Torin Thatcher (in a bit part).  Robert Cobert really out-did himself.  It's funny that so much of the most memorable DARK SHADOWS music debuted in this film, rather than the show.  The main title music wound up reused in the film HOUSE OF DARK SHADOWS!

[Captain Audio]

I had practically forgotten watching "the Two Faces of Dr Jekyll" only a few weeks back. It is a forgettable film, and other than having Christopher Lee chewing the scenery in a supporting role has little to recommend it.
One unusual thing was Mr Hyde's clean cut and very civilized appearance compared to the Jekyll persona who was bearded and a bit coarse and not exactly a fashion plate. The brute nature of Hyde was revealed by his actions rather than by his appearance.

[profh0011]

It's been a lot of years, but I just saw EDGE OF SANITY again yesterday.  This answers the question nobody ever wanted asked, "What if Jack The Ripper was really Dr. Henry Jekyll?"  Depending on your point of view, this is either one really SICK F*** of a movie version of J&H, or, a more-stylish-than-usual SLASHER movie.

Apart from Anthony Perkins (I guess doing those PSYCHO movies and CRIMES OF PASSION wasn't enough for him), the only other people in the cast I recognized were Glynis Barber ("Soolin" from the 4th season of BLAKES 7 and "Beryl Stapleton" from the Ian Richardson version of THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES), making this at least the 2nd time she's played a woman married to a murderer, and Noel Coleman, hardly looking any older than he did 20 years earlier when he played "General Smythe" in the DOCTOR WHO story "The War Games".

Unlike the other 4 versions of J&H I've just sat thru, this one seems utterly pointless, especially as it leads to a BAD ending. When it comes to "Jack The Ripper" movies, I prefer MURDER BY DECREE-- or even better, A STUDY IN TERROR.

The one bit in here I remember seeing in one of the other versions (but I forget which one) was when Jekyll argues that man's "inherent sense of morality" does not "come from God" was was rather "mutually agreed upon"-- then throws out, "But what I DON'T agree?"

[josemas]

Since we've been discussing various Jekyll and Hyde versions I thought I'd throw in a plug for this collection of PD versions that one of my Movie Night buddies has put out.

http://www.grapevinevideo.com/dr-jekyll-mr-hyde-collection.html

Most versions of the story in one package that I have ever seen and I don't know of anyone who has ever put out that early 1930s Sheldon Lewis version before.  A real rarity!

Best

Joe

[Captain Audio]

The one bit in here I remember seeing in one of the other versions (but I forget which one) was when Jekyll argues that man's "inherent sense of morality" does not "come from God" was was rather "mutually agreed upon"-- then throws out, "But what I DON'T agree?"

Interesting notion. But Laws are by agreement and not inherent, bogus hypocritical morality is a construct of societies and never becomes universal, inherent revulsion towards some particularly vile actions (child molestors etc, matricide, the worst crimes against persons) are not constructions of society. In those instances laws are constructed to deal with something that would otherwise be dealt with by the raw violence of outraged individuals.


From Corpus Juris Civilus "the Justinian Code"

How do Natural Law, Law of Nations, and Civil Law work together to create a legal system?


"Civil law is thus distinguished from the law of nations. Every community governed by laws and customs uses partly its own law, partly laws common to all mankind. . . . The people of Rome, then, are governed partly by their own laws, and partly by the laws which are common to all mankind."

"{N]ations have established certain laws, as occasion and the necessities of human life required. Wars arose, and in their train followed captivity and then slavery, which is contrary to the law of nature; for by that law all men are originally born free. Further, by the law of nations almost all contracts were at first introduced, as, for instance, buying and selling, letting and hiring, partnership, deposits, loans returnable in kind, and very many others."

"The laws of nature, which all nations observe alike, being established by a divine providence, remain ever fixed and immutable. But the laws which every state has enacted, undergo frequent changes, either by the tacit consent of the people, or by a new law being subsequently passed."


So Slavery which is patently immoral and a violation of natural law is a construct of society, an Immoral act sanctioned by a society for its own convenience. Legality does not equal Morality.

[profh0011]

"Legality does not equal Morality."

Something that crminals-- and their lawyers-- often take advantage of.

[narfstar]

"Legality does not equal morality" and consequently illegality may not equal immorality. While at the end of last season they corrupted Dexter, I thought of him as a hero before that. He made 100% sure that the people he killed were cold blooded killers. This resounds with many who often will not admit it to themselves. It is also why Hit Girl was popular as well as Punisher, etc.

[josemas]

Narf,  Dexter had actually strayed from his path at least twice during the first five seasons.  He killed once out of anger and once by mistake.  Neither of these victims were killers (although both were jerks).  The series didn't dwell on either deviation from his norm and apparently they slipped your mind but both cases bothered me.

Best

Joe

[profh0011]

Last night...

"This is great! There's no way I coulda got a chick like this back home! There was only ONE problem..."
"COME WITH US."
"I don't who these ASSHOLES were-- but they sure picked a bad time to interrupt!"

--from HEAVY METAL  (1981)

[narfstar]

I do remember one Joe but I that was an accident, I think. And I wish they had just kept him "pure" over the whole series.

[narfstar]

Has anyone else seen THE BOKEN? Rated 3 out of 4 stars. Typical critic crap. This movie was ploddingly slow and did not explain or resolve anything. Kind of artsy fartsy crap critics seem to  like. That is why I look at user reviews not critic reviews at Yahoo or IMDB