[jimmm kelly]

Yesterday I finished watching ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT. I watched the entire run--the first three seasons and then the Netflix season.

I really loved this series when it originally aired and still have a warm spot in my heart for it. Back then, I felt like the third season was much weaker than the first two. One of the things I didn't like was the whole little Britain story. It's a cute idea and there are some funny bits (the Poppins), but it didn't really work for me--and Charlize Theron does nothing with the part she's given--it's just a nothing sub-plot that goes nowhere.

But the beauty of ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT was that every episode had lots of different plots being advanced with different characters. Even if one part was dull, there were all these other parts that could provide laughs.

That's the problem with the Netflix season. I understand what they were going for--and even admire it--but some episodes really needed the relief of a GOB or a Tobias or a Buster. Because each episode is so overloaded with one character, you tend to get bored with them. And it's just not funny. The unfunniness actually worked with GOB's episodes, but even with Tobias the unfunny reality of the situation nearly took me out of the show.

For this season, they had to film different parts with different actors to work around schedules. But even so, since the whole thing was filmed before it aired, they could easily have edited together scenes, so all the primary characters appeared in each episode.

Some actors had to carry too much of the story. And there's only so much Liza Minnelli or Jeffrey Tambor or Ron Howard that I can take. Jessica Walter had to carry a lot of the plot sometimes--whereas her character was always good in small doses--but this season did show off how talented she really is (and that she still has a good pair of legs).

The character that probably suffered the most was Michael. In the original series, he was always the guy we identified with. He had his failings, but they were never as apparent when contrasted with the failings of his other family members. But in this season, he often comes across as very unsympathetic--which might have been a deliberate choice, but it doesn't give us anybody to root for. Actually, GOB and Tobias were the most sympathetic characters this season.

For some reason, after watching the Netflix season I was put in mind of the Monkees' HEAD. Both are interesting experiments which win points for being very brave, but at the same time I feel very sad for the actors who were let down by the producers that often wasted their talent for no good outcome.

[josemas]

Recent series and collections watched-

Dexter Season 7 (2012)- the dynamics of the show change dramatically this season.  Not necessarily for the better IMHO.

Return to the Planet of the Apes (1975)- this one was one of the last Saturday morning cartoon shows I can remember following in the 1970s.  A fairly decent addition to the Apes canon.  Artistically well designed (by Doug Wildey) with some scripts using already estaclished characters and concepts from the film series but hurt by the very limited animation executed by the Depatie-Freling Studio (best known for their Pink Panther cartoons).

Adventure Time Season 1 (2010)- a very wack (and fun) recent animated series.

Love That Bob- 4 episodes (1955-59)-  Bob Cummings was an underrated actor.  He's quite good in such dramas as Alfred Hitchcock's Saboteur (1942) and Dial "M" for Murder (1954) or the Studio One version of "Twelve Angry Men" (1954) but is based remembered for the several comedy TV series he did in the 1950s and 60s.  This series (aka The Bob Cummings Show) was the most successful and featured Bob as a skirt chasing fashion photographer.

Topper- 4 episodes (1953-55)-  This was a CBS show sticking to what was established in the popular fantasy movie series of the 1930s and 40s (which was based on the Thorne Smith novel).  Leo G. Carrol (The Man from UNCLE) plays Topper in a fine befuddled way and is well supported by Robert Sterling and Anne Jeffreys as the ghosts of George and Marion Kerby.

Carnivale Season 1- (2003)- a strange but intriguing series about a carnival traveling around America during the Great Depression.

Person to Person: American Icons- A popular 1950s interview show that was hosted by the legendary newscaster Edward R. Murrow.  Each interview is done by Murrow from his New York studio while the subject is in his own home (often with various family members).  It must have been quite technically advanced for its time.  Each interview runs a little under 15 minutes.  Interviewees on this collection are Art Linkletter, Eleanor Roosevelt, Esther Williams, Andy Griffith, Dick Clark, John and Jackie Kennedy, Bobby Kennedy, Danny Thomas, Norman Rockwell, Billy Graham and Oscar Hammerstein.

Best

Joe

[jimmm kelly]

I remember watching THE BOB CUMMINGS SHOW as a kid, but it must have been in syndication as I wasn't even alive for most of the time when it was originally broadcast. Ann B. Davis appeared as the popular character, Schultzy. There was also Nancy Kulp as Pamela Livingstone.

Back then both of these women would have freely been described as homely. And for some reason it was funny that they were so desperate to land a man. Being a kid, I understood that this was supposed to be funny, but I didn't understand why. Still don't really.

I also remember watching TOPPER as a kid--again it had to be in syndication, since I was born well after it went off the air. But to me these shows were all new.

[narfstar]

I watched Bob Cummings in MY LIVING DOLL. A show thought all destroyed but now it is on Hulu. I latter saw Bob in late night oldies of his show

[josemas]

I watched Bob Cummings in MY LIVING DOLL. A show thought all destroyed but now it is on Hulu. I latter saw Bob in late night oldies of his show

Here's a thread at Nitrateville which explains why more episodes haven't been forthcoming.

http://www.nitrateville.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=14710

It sounds like the gentleman that was putting this together was a bit bullying in his ways and put off a lot of the very people who could have helped him.

Best

Joe

[jimmm kelly]

Something else I've been watching a lot lately is Helene Fischer in concert. About a month ago, I started watching Helene Fischer videos on the internet purely as a lark, but I quickly was seduced by her amazing performances. She sings in clear German (not dialect) so it's a bit easier for me to follow her songs. She also sings a lot in English (and her English is flawless), plus Russian (she was born in Siberia) and other languages on occasion (such as Italian). If she had been born in America, I think she would now be one of the world's biggest superstars--in any event, she's really big in Europe. She puts so much work into every performance--I've noticed that she seems to have no fear of heights as she's often suspended high above the stage. And she really sings.

The thing is I'd like to get some of her DVDs (of which there are many), but all of them are imports and not coded for North America. Even if I could play them on my computer (and I might have to invest in an external Blu Ray drive for my computer), my real desire is to show them to my parents or lend them to other family members--and I doubt their DVD players would play those discs.

It's ridiculous this whole regional system. So far I've had mostly good luck with the imports I've bought, but when I'm in Europe I always have to worry that the DVDs I buy there won't play when I get home. And if I want to buy DVDs here and send them to friends in Europe, I'm never sure if they will play there.

And these DVDs aren't cheap--so it's a big risk to buy something that won't actually play.

[paw broon]

You are bang on.  It is a stupid system and we have the same problem sending stuff to your continent.  We got round it by buying a multi region machine a few years ago, to supplement our standard player/recorder.  Nowadays, Sony, for istance, do a tiny multi region, blu ray player for a fraction of the price of my old one.  We are thinking of buying one. 

[MarkWarner]

Not sure about the current generation of DVD players but I have unlocked one before now ... it's (or was) just a software thing. Looked up model on line, a couple of seemingly random button presses and it was playing everything

[jimmm kelly]

Sometimes if I fuss with technology enough I can get it to work for me. Sometimes--not always. For example i wanted to get pictures from my phone to my computer, but with my plan it didn't work, so I invested in all kinds of technology just to get pictures from my phone onto my computer and every work around I tried still didn't work--so I just don't use my phone for taking pictures .

But again the problem is giving a DVD to someone else--and they can't play it on their system. This is bad enough with my parents--even I can't figure out how their DVD player works and the danger is you fuss with it until you've totally scrambled their settings. It's even worse sending DVDs overseas to someone else.

Still, if I find a reasonable deal on some import DVDs, I might buy those. I think that, with the right external drive, they could work. There are supposed to be some external drives that will play anything, regardless of origin. However, it's just as possible that I put my money into more technology and it still doesn't do the job, as with my phone.

[mr_goldenage]

You can find multi regional DVD players on EBay relatively cheap these days, I just bought 2 for $58.00 US free shipping and I think they were the Phillips brand and they work fine. Try one.

RB @ Work

[profh0011]

When I last watched this, and swore I'd never watch it again, I meant it. I've watched a pile of WHO stories since then, and had a blast picking and choosing which ones in sometimes-random order.

But last night, "TIMELASH" joined the ranks of the very FEW stories of the series I deliberately pulled out to watch totally out of sequence, all on its own. IN GOD'S NAME, WHY??? --you ask? Well... I've been watching my 1st-ever "H.G. Wells" marathon. "THE ISLAND OF LOST SOULS", "THE INVISIBLE MAN", THINGS TO COME", WAR OF THE WORLDS", etc. My copy of "THE TIME MACHINE" (with Rod Taylor) has annoyingly gone missing, but last week I watched "TIME AFTER TIME" with Malcolm McDowell.

And in a fit of inspired insanity, I decided it might-- might-- be fun to watch this next.

MY MISTAKE. This remains, in my mind, the SINGLE WORST story in this show's history. And it has to go a long way to beat "WARRIORS OF THE DEEP". I mean, when every single aspect of the story, every bit of casting, every bit of production design, every single line of dialogue, and every moment of directing and acting are all so unbelievably, unbearably AWFUL on every possible level... you're left wondering, HOW did such a piece of S*** like this ever get made???

I tell you! It takes a SPECIAL piece of CRAP to make 2 Bert I.Gordon turkeys-- "THE FOOD OF THE GODS" and "EMPIRE OF THE ANTS"-- look like masterpieces BY COMPARISON.

Next Friday: WHO does "WOTW". Of course-- "INVASION EARTH 2150 A.D."

[jimmm kelly]

Three unrelated items I wanted to mention:

I did buy an external blu ray drive yesterday. However, while I have no problem using it to play regular DVDs on either my Mac or my PC, I have yet to get it to play any blu ray discs. I'm not sure where the problem lies, but I might need to load some more software onto my PC and Mac. The 21st century bites.

--

I just watched an interesting documentary from 1991 on youtube--listed as THE STRANGE STORY OF JOE MEEK (it originally aired on the BBC on a documentary program called ARENA). It's a disconcerting story--with curious interviews and old footage.

--

Just heard that Sid Caesar passed away. Last year, I was watching bits and pieces of YOUR SHOW OF SHOWS and CAESAR'S HOUR--whatever i could find on the internet (being broadcast live, a lot of Caesar's classic work is probably lost to the ages).

Many of Carl Reiner's experiences in doing those shows with Caesar went into THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW (and the show within that show--THE ALAN BRADY SHOW).

Just to mention one of the bits that they did, here's THE CLOCK, featuring Caesar, Reiner, Howard Morris and Imogene Coca [I think there was a similar skit performed on TDVDS].
http://youtu.be/T0SG4YhiuYU

[paw broon]

Re. Joe Meek.  Apart from all the stuff shown on the t.v. prog. there was some great, memorable music.  Have you heard this one?:-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRIgpdNZEvA
One of my favourites at the time and still is.  Nearly every local band played this (or tried to) - incl. me when I was the chanter in a band in the '6o's and I don't think we were very good at it!-   in numerous church halls and local clubs.
And I'm sure you know this one and not only for his film career:-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7e4JXwd7XMo

[jimmm kelly]

My brother knows these songs better than I, as he was the target teen demographic buying all these 45s every week. He was always very much into the guitar bands like the Shadows and the Ventures and the Tornados.

But the Joe Meek song that I remember best was "Have I the Right to Hold You." Which, of course, my brother had on a single--which we played to death. It's interesting that the stomping beat on the record was probably not anything to do with the band and all Joe Meek. I liked these kind of stomping beat songs when i was a kid as I could stomp on the floor to the beat (so long as we played the records in the basement--if we did that upstairs, my father would have a fit).

[paw broon]

"Have I the Right to Hold You."  That was The Honeycombs and the drummer was a lady called Honey Langtree and I remember at the time, she was considered to make a lot of noise. Not subtle but she could pound out the beat. So I suppose Meek just had to tweak it a bit. I loved guitar bands, particularly The Ventures, and still have and listen to their original British 45 singles.
If you loved stomping along with the beat, you must have had fun with  The Dave Clark Five.  Mike Smith had a stomp board, at least that was what the music press at the time reported.

[jimmm kelly]

Oh yes the Dave Clark Five were the best for stomping. I remember when the Beatles started to get good word of mouth in these parts (late '63) that my brother maintained, while the Beatles were good, the Dave Clark Five were better.

And while everyone with 20/20 hindsight thinks that Decca went wrong by going with the Tremeloes over the Beatles--lately listining to the Tremeloes, I think they must have been the best live four piece band in England. If you were having a dance, you'd want the Tremeoes to be the band. All four members seemed equally talented, they could all sing and play, and there's a great vibe between them that you see on videos from back in the day.

That's not to knock the Beatles, who were pretty good in their own write.

[paw broon]

 The Tremeloes started out as the backing band to Brian Poole and were one of piles of groups from that British pop explosion.  Only my opinion but I think they were better after Poole left to pursue a solo career (unsuccessfully).  But I have to disagree somewhat in that I prefer The Beatles, if only for the sheer size and diversity of their music.  But, then again, back then I was a Rolling Stones fan more than a Beatles fan.

[jimmm kelly]

Well the Beatles are my favourite band under the sun, so let there be no mistake about that. But what I meant was at the time that both the Beatles and the Tremeloes audtioned for Decca--on January 1 '62--I think they were about even. The Tremeloes maybe were a little more polished, while the Beatles were still rough around the edges (and Pete Best would have been their drummer at the time).

But I guess the Tremeloes were still fronted by Brian Poole, so maybe that's why they passed the audition--even though I think they were a better band after Poole left. Of course, the Beatles also briefly were a backing band for Tony Sheridan.

The Tremeloes mostly did covers--most of the bands didn't record their own songs at that time. Decca and the other record companies probably wanted groups that would record the songs they gave them. They had an assembly line approach to producing records--the band was just one cog in that process. So they probably wanted a band that they could control, who would record the songs and then get out of the way on the production and merchandising end.

While the Tremeloes stuck with what they were good at as a four piece cover band doing great live performances--the Beatles continued to evolve, writing their own songs, polishing their image, using new and innovative recording techniques in the studio.

[josemas]

A few collections recently watched-

Dragnet (1951-1959) 30 episodes-  I consider the absence of a complete run collection of the 1950s Dragnet to be one of the major omissions among available classic television.  This show and its concurrent radio counterpart (1949-1957) had an influence on just about every police procedural show that followed in its wake.  It also spawned three feature films and three television revivals series. 
While there's over 300 episodes of the radio show (many of which were also adapted into the TV show) out there (on such places as the OTRR Library and the Internet Archive) that you can check out the same can not be said regarding availability of the TV Show.
Fortunately some of the episodes have fallen into the public domain and have popped up on DVDs from dealers who specialize in PD films.  These thirty episodes (of 276 broadcast) give one a pretty fair idea of the show but I'd sure like to see more. 

Weeds Season 2 (2006)-  Everybody's favorite dope selling Mom returns along with her dysfunctional family and friends for another go-round of raunchy humor.

Mr Peepers (1952-1953)-   This was one of those legends from the Golden Age of Television that I heard about but never saw more than short clips of for many years.  Since it had been shot live I wondered if much even survived of it.  Well fortunately kineosopes of a number of episodes were kept by some of the shows' producers and have been preserved by UCLA (from what I've read 102 out of a total of 127 episodes survive).  This DVD collection (the first of two) contains 26 episodes from the early months of the show (it ran until 1955).  The show stars Wally Cox as mild-mannered school teacher Robinson J. Peepers and is a fine example of early television sitcoms.  Tony Randall, Jack Warden and Marion Lorne are among those who appear in supporting roles.

Best

Joe

[josemas]

My current weekly serials.

Dick Tracy Returns-1938-Republic-  Previously viewed back in the 90s.  Looking very nice this go-round on DVD.  Solid action as Tracy takes on Pa Stark (Charles Middleton- best known as Ming the Merciless in the Flash Gordon serials) and his sons (a variation on the real life Ma Barker and her criminal sons).  Still taking liberties with the strip elements as Tracy continues as a G-Man and most of the supporting characters from the strip remain absent.

Brick Bradford-1947-Columbia-  Not bad but nowhere near the budget of such earlier sci-fi/comic strips serials such as Buck Rogers or the Flash Gordon trilogy.  Not sure how it compares to the comic strip as I've never read any.  Brick always seemed a distant third in popularity behind Flash and Buck.

Masters of Venus-1962-CFF-  My first example of a British serial.  Rather low-budget but fairly enjoyable so far.

Zombies of the Stratosphere-1952-Republic-  Another one that I last viewed about two decades ago.  Now, though, I'm really noticing just how much footage is culled from earlier Republic serials (answer: a lot!).

Best

Joe

[narfstar]

First episode of Mr. Peepers is on Youtube. I watched the Val Kilmer Batman Forever. Tommy Lee as Two Face was terrible the character was not well written. I am not a Jim Carry fan but think he fit the Riddler character very well. This Batman movie was most like watching a comic book.

[paw broon]

Joe, Masters of Venus is low budget and I'm glad you're enjoying it.  I thought it was good entertainment.  Not sure if we have had this conversation before but, if MoV is entertaining you, you might want to try Pathfinders in Space, another early Britsh childrens s.f. serial.  And very low budgetagain.  Some of it is well thought out, there is a good sneaky bad guy and, if you don't pay too much attention to some of the "effects", it sort of works.  But the real  big one to try is the excellent Timeslip set of 4 six part serials, all connected.  Time travel and s.f.  It was a bit of a cult in its time and still stands up well.  There are some excerpts on youtube
m.youtube.com/results?q=timeslip%20tv%20serial&sm=

[Captain Audio]

Watching "Our Man Flint", with "In Like Flint" next up then "The President's Analyst".
In Our Man Flint scientists intent on ending war and pollution are trying to take over the world by inducing Global Warming. Makes you go Hmmm

[JVJ]

Watching "Our Man Flint", with "In Like Flint" next up then "The President's Analyst".
In Our Man Flint scientists intent on ending war and pollution are trying to take over the world by inducing Global Warming. Makes you go Hmmm

Haven't seen those since they came out, but I still remember some scene in one of them of a huge "boulder" bouncing off someone fleeing up a passage as a volcano explodes. Styrofoam effects gone wrong. (|:{>

[Captain Audio]

Watching "Our Man Flint", with "In Like Flint" next up then "The President's Analyst".
In Our Man Flint scientists intent on ending war and pollution are trying to take over the world by inducing Global Warming. Makes you go Hmmm

Haven't seen those since they came out, but I still remember some scene in one of them of a huge "boulder" bouncing off someone fleeing up a passage as a volcano explodes. Styrofoam effects gone wrong. (|:{>

Too many bikini and teddy clad "pleasure units" running around for me to take much notice of the special effects.
Better quality effects were available even back then, but unlike the Bond films and some others the Flint films were parodies that didn't take themselves too seriously.