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[narfstar]

I was thinking about giving up on TOMORROW PEOPLE but the last episode was really good and has me hooked back in.

[josemas]

I think I'll check out a couple of episodes of Tomorrow People online.   

Isn't this a remake of an old British show or am I confusing it with something else?

Best

Joe

[Captain Audio]

I've watched a few eps of the original "Tomorrow People" years ago.
The episode about the living clothing was remarkably ahead of its time. The series was a bit more advanced than it seemed on the surface.

[Roygbiv666]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tomorrow_People
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tomorrow_People_(U.S._TV_series)

I think I'll check out a couple of episodes of Tomorrow People online.   

Isn't this a remake of an old British show or am I confusing it with something else?

Best

Joe

[paw broon]

Yes, it does seem to be from the original British series. And you can sample it on youtube:-
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=tomorrow+people&sm=3

[josemas]

Thanks for the info, gentlemen.

Best

Joe

[josemas]

Recent collections watched-

Dr. Who-"Planet of the Giants" (1964)- I learned from watching the documentary extras on this set that this storyline (the first story arc from season 2) was originally planned as the opening arc of the series.  I've always been a fan of this concept of people shrunk down in size ever since first seeing Attack of the Puppet People on TV and discovering Antman in comic books at age five so I found this great fun.

Sgt Bilko Season 1 (1955-1956)-   Prior to viewing this set I had only seen Bilko when a local TV station re-ran it in the 1970s but my schedule was such then that I was only able to catch the occasional odd episode and never developed much of a feel for the show.  Watching it in order greatly increased my liking for the series.  I hope they follow up with releases of the subsequent seasons.

Justified Season 2 (2011)-  This series remains the best example of translating Elmore Leonard to the screen, IMHO.  The producers obviously have great respect for the author.

Columbo Season 4 (1974-1975)-   Only 6 movies this season.  Guest stars included Robert Conrad, Dick Van Dyke, Patrick McGoohan, George Hamilton, Martha Scott, Robert Vaughn, Patrick McNee, Dean Stockwell, Gena Rowlands, and Lesley Ann Warren.  I especially enjoyed seeing Vaughn and McNee in the same episode.  Another episode of Mrs Columbo is included as an extra with a rather creepy story about a ventriloquist who is going crazy.

The Three Stooges Collection 1955-1959-  I've been working my way through the entire run of Three Stooges Columbia shorts (all 190 of them)-one every weekend- for the last three and a half years and finally reached the end today.  Over the years that the series originally ran (1934-1959) the costs of producing films had increased dramatically but their budgets had remained the same thus giving them less buying power to produce their shorts and giving them an increasingly cheaper look as the years progressed.  This is very noticeable when watching an early Curly short followed by a much later Joe Besser short as often happened when I used to watch them in syndication in my younger days.  Because of this sort of exposure to them in the past I used to have a disdain for these later shorts but I found myself with a greater appreciation of their merits by gradually easing into them via these DVD collections.

Finally a sampling of 1950s detective series (all revisits of a sort as I had seen some episodes of all three series prior to this)-

Follow That Man (12 episodes)- (originally Man Against Crime) An early detective series this ran from 1949-1956 and bounced around the networks appearing at various times on NBC, CBS and the Dumont Network.   The show broadcast live until 1952 and starred Ralph Bellamy as P.I. Mike Barnett.  Frank Lovejoy took over the role in the final season.  Only episodes of the filmed seasons of the Bellamy run seem to have surfaced.

Mr. and Mrs Smith (6 episodes)  These characters had been around for years appearing in print, stage, radio and film prior to this 1952-1954 television series which ran on NBC and CBS.  Richard Denning and Barbara Britton bring a nice chemistry to the husband and wife team who seem to stumble across murders at a regular clip.

Martin Kane, Private Eye (6 episodes)  This started as a radio series debuting in August 1949 followed a month later by a live television series on NBC,  Martin Kane was originally portrayed on both radio and TV by William Gargan and was followed, in both mediums, by Lloyd Nolan and then Lee Tracy.  The radio series ended in 1952 but the television series continued until 1954 with Mark Stevens portraying Kane in the later episodes.  The show was revived for a one season filmed syndicated series (shot in Europe) in 1957 with Gargan returning to the role.  My collection included live kineoscopes of the Gargan and Nolan versions with laughably clumsy inclusions of plugs for the sponsor- Old Briar Pipe Tobacco- shoehorned into each episode.

Best

Joe

[jimmm kelly]

I'm a little too young to have watched any 1950s TV shows and would only know about them through my older siblings, parents and re-runs.

I was thinking about all the short lived sitcoms that appeared in the '60s. Shows like LOVE ON A ROOFTOP, THE OCCASSIONAL WIFE, HE & SHE. Lots of these shows about young couples and the stresses they endured.

One theme for a lot of sitcoms seemed to be hiding secrets and pretending to be someone you're not.

The extreme examples of this were shows like BEWITCHED and I DREAM OF JEANNIE--but there were many more that didn't involve magic powers.

I'm trying to remember one short-lived sitcom about a young guy who is taking care of his younger sister--they are both orphaned, but he doesn't want her to be taken away from him and he has to pull off some deception to keep her. He's also going to university under an assumed identity.

Now that I think about it, all these sitcoms have a Kafkaesque sensibility where the threat of authority pushes people into bizarre behaviour to avoid some sort of penalty.

[Roygbiv666]

And Disney live action movies often involve orphans.

Now that I think about it, all these sitcoms have a Kafkaesque sensibility where the threat of authority pushes people into bizarre behaviour to avoid some sort of penalty.

[josemas]

I'm a little too young to have watched any 1950s TV shows and would only know about them through my older siblings, parents and re-runs.

Well I'm too young to have watched any 1950s shows during their original runs but caught some in syndicated reruns in the 1960s and 70s and certainly enjoy exploring the many early shows that have made their way to DVD and the internet.

One theme for a lot of sitcoms seemed to be hiding secrets and pretending to be someone you're not.

The extreme examples of this were shows like BEWITCHED and I DREAM OF JEANNIE--but there were many more that didn't involve magic powers.

Some other 1960s sitcoms that would fit that theme would be Mr. Ed, My Mother the Car and My Favorite Martian.  That sort of theme continued, to some degree, into the 1970s (Three's Company), 1980s (Bosom Buddies) and 1990s (3rd Rock From the Sun).

Best

Joe

[josemas]

Feature films watched the last couple of months-

Randy Rides Alone-1934, The Blonde Captive-1931-, The Grandmaster-2013, Sunshine-2007, Hope Springs-2012, The Pink Panther-1964, Dracula-2006, The Place Beyond the Pines-2012, Dames-1934, The Star Packer-1934, Into the Sun-2005, The Changeling-1980, Snow White and the Huntsman-2012, Side Effects-2013, The Trail Beyond-1934, Men in Black 3-2012, Tower Heist-2011, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey-2012, Horseshoes-1927, A Perfect Gentleman-1928, The Lawless Frontier-1934, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea-1961, Gamera, Guardian of the Universe-1995, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen-2011, 'Neath Arizona Skies-1934, Inglorious Bastards-1978, Submerged-2005, The Case of the Howling Dog-1934, Upstream-1927, Anything Else-2003, Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief-2010, Texas Terror-1935, A Shot in the Dark-1964, The Black Camel-1931, The Ghost Breakers-1940, Rainbow Valley-1935, Chinese Zodiac-2012, Frankenweenie-2012, Double Door-1934, The Desert Trail-1935, The Monster Squad-1987, Strangler of the Swamp-1945, The Devil and Daniel Webster-1941, The Dawn Rider-1935, Dredd-2012, Melinda and Melinda-2005, The Angry Red Planet-1959, Partners-1932, Hitchcock-2012, Masquerade-2012, Looper-2012, Paradise Canyon-1935.

Some items of note in this batch are-

Warner Oland's first outing as Charlie Chan (with Bela Lugosi and Dwight Frye in support shortly after making Dracula).

The first Perry Mason film with Warren William playing a pretty debonaire Perry.

My completion of the John Wayne Monogram-Lonestar western series.  It was almost like being back in the 1970s watching John Wayne theater again.  I think I'll move onto some vintage comedies for my Saturday morning movies next though-maybe some classic Marx Bros or W C Fields.

The first two Pink Panther/Inspector Clouseau movies.  I hope to work my way through these chronologically-one a month.

Catching up on some Woody Allen movies missed this past decade.

Best

Joe

[narfstar]

Those short lived shows seem to have never been re-run. At one time 100 episodes meant syndication. Now with all the channels a single season show can be put in syndication. Many of sixties show now show up thanks to youtube. I really liked He and She when it originally ran but that is all I remember about it except the stars.

[jimmm kelly]

Some other 1960s sitcoms that would fit that theme would be Mr. Ed, My Mother the Car and My Favorite Martian.  That sort of theme continued, to some degree, into the 1970s (Three's Company), 1980s (Bosom Buddies) and 1990s (3rd Rock From the Sun).

Best

Joe

Of course, THREE'S COMPANY was based on a British sitcom (ROBIN'S NEST--I think). But maybe the British sitcom was influenced itself by American sticoms. It's kind of like a reversal of THE OCCASIONAL WIFE--where the woman pretends to be married and living with her husband (for the sake of keeping his boss happy) but she doesn't really live there, but in the apartment two floors up.

In the '70s, there was also THE GIRL WITH SOMETHING EXTRA--starring John Davidson and Sally Field. But, of course, Sally Field was also THE FLYING NUN--one of the oddest of these oddball sitcoms.

One of my favourites of these type was THE SECOND HUNDRED YEARS, with Monte Markham playing his own grandfather. Monte Markham was a very likable actor.

[profh0011]

Josemas:
"Warner Oland's first outing as Charlie Chan (with Bela Lugosi and Dwight Frye in support shortly after making Dracula)."

A previously-"missing" film. When I was growing up (and possibly until quite recently), the earliest CHAN film available was ...IN LONDON. That was Warner Oland's 6th in the series.  Think about that. That's like if the earliest Connery-Bond film available was DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER!

"The first Perry Mason film with Warren William playing a pretty debonaire Perry."

That film made Warren William one of my heroes! It's incredible I can really "see" him as the SAME character from the much-later TV series, even though he looks NOTHING like the other guy. His sidekick still takes all the risks and gets beaten up a lot, but in those early films, Perry is young and fit enough to be chasing the girls himself. The 1st film is the only one where they make out that he runs a large firm with several other attourneys, with him only taking the biggest cases. It's also the one where he most blatently bends the law for the sake of justice.  Strangely enough, each of the 4 films he did has a completely different feel and vibe about it.  And the 2 that follow (with 2 other actors) each go completely into different continuities.

I recently read that before Perry Mason, William made a long career, being very popular & successful, playing villains-- including SHYSTER lawyers!  Then the Hayes Office came in and put a stop to that.  When I first saw him as Perry, it crossed my mind he may have been the inspiration for "Ham" in the DOC SAVAGE series.

"The first two Pink Panther/Inspector Clouseau movies.  I hope to work my way through these chronologically-one a month."

I LOVE the 1st, though the 2nd remains my favorite. Ironically, the only parts of THE PINK PANTHER that continue to bother me to this day are the 2 long, LONG bedroom scenes which were clearly added after-the-fact to PAD the movie out, once Blake Edwards realized Peter Sellers was stealing the film.  I've actually gotten in the habit of fast-forwarding over those scenes lately.  Also ironically, my favorite scene in the film has NOTHING to do with the story at all.  It's the "music video" smack in the middle, where an intermission might have gone in earlier days. That Fran Jeffries is something else!  Her vocal version of the song, insanely enough, has never appeared on the soundtrack album-- so I had to use my computer to create a "special edition" CD with the song as a bonus track.

I really wish Edwards had done at least one sequel that focused on David Niven, who was SUPPOSED to be the star of the series, before they started making the 1st film. At the very least, it's baffling to me he never got Robert Wagner to come back as the lead in a much-later sequel.  He did have a terrific couple of scenes in CURSE..., another one of my favorites.

I've never seen INSPECTOR CLOUSEAU (the only one not made by Edwards) but of the 70's revival films, RETURN... is awful, and ...STRIKES AGAIN even worse!! I was by then genuinely shocked that REVENGE... turned out to be a damned good film (at least, until it totally runs out of steam in the last 20 minutes).

TRAIL... never should have been made, but CURSE... is (apart from ONE really wretchedly bad scene-- the one with Harvey Korman)-- extrememly well-written & directed.  SON..., at least, was interesting.

[narfstar]

I happen to see a three hour run of Family Matters on the guide this morning and started watching it. I can not believe it has been over 20 years. It is like watching them again for the first time and I am loving it again. Too many shows do not hold up. I remember watching Mr. Belvedere recently and not being impressed. But Family Matters was one of the best.

[Captain Audio]

"A Shot in the Dark" is my favorite Inspector Clouseau film.

[josemas]

RE: Pink Panther/Inspector Clouseau-  My favorites are the first two films and are the only two I've seen more than once.  My memories of Return and Strikes Again (the only two I originally saw in the theaters) are not nearly so negative as yours, Henry.  It will be interesting how well they hold up when viewed again.  I have the Alan Arkin Clouseau film coming up soon.  My memory of that one is that it was pretty mediocre.

RE: Perry Mason-  Saw these here and there on TNT and TCM years ago.  Looking forward to chronologically going through the series.  I understand that Erle Stanley Gardner was not happy with the 30s films and much preferred the 50s Raymond Burr series (which the Lil Missus and I started watching recently). 
I first saw (and came to really enjoy) William playing sleazy characters (including lawyers -The Mouthpiece) in pre-code films prior to seeing him as Mason so I came at him from a different direction than you Henry.  He's also good in some Lone Wolf and Philo Vance movies that he did after the Mason movies. 
I doubt that Mason was an influence on the Ham Brooks character.  Despite Monk's frequent references to Ham as a "shyster" he was pretty solid when it came to practicing law.

RE:Charlie Chan.  It's a pity that those four early Warner Oland Chan movies remain lost.  A Spanish language version of one of them-Charlie Chan Carries On is extant (Eran Treces).  It does not star Oland but was shot on the same sets so it gives us an idea of what the Oland film would have looked like.  Also Fox's earlier pre-Oland Chan film Behind the Curtain (with Boris Karloff in support) is still around.

Best

Joe

[profh0011]

What I meant was, the moment I saw Warren William as Perry Mason, I thought, this guy SHOULD have played Ham in a DOC SAVAGE movie!  (Maybe with Buster Crabbe as Doc.)

I've got a few PHILO VANCE films (seems like every one I have is with a different actor-- come to think of it, that's about what they did), but I also have ALMOST all the Warren William LONE WOLFs.  My favorite is his first, which oddly enough has a different actor playing the butler.  But it's also got Ida Lupino as the daughter of a Congressman; she's madly in love with him, and he spends the entire film (foolishly?) trying to avoid the possibility of matrimony.  (I REALLY liked her character in the film, so my reaction in his position probably would have been very different.)

I've also got 2 of the 3 Gerald Mohr LONE WOLFs made after the war (and after William passed away suddenly).  They're okay, but it seems they changed the whole concept of the character too much between installments.

I've also got the final LONE WOLF, with Ron Randell, which strangely feels like they started with a BOSTON BLACKIE script and switched characters.  Not very good.

I've never seen it, but one thing I can't figure is how later they did a LONE WOLF tv series with Louis Hayward-- instead of havng him do a SAINT tv series!

[josemas]

Okay Henry, now I got ya.  Yes I agree that William would have been good casting as Ham in a 1930s Doc Savage film.  Crabbe sounds like a good choice for Doc or maybe another film Tarzan, Herman Brix.

Best

Joe

[profh0011]

I forget who it was, but somebody actually did a "fantasy" poster for a DOC SAVAGE movie with a painting of Doc very clearly based on Buster Crabbe.

I have the 2 feature film edits of THE NEW ADVENTURES OF TARZAN / TARZAN AND THE GREEN GODDESS.  I originally thought the brutal, savage, murderous battle with the natives in the "lost city" was about halfway thru (since it was the climax of the 1st of the 2 features), but on reading up about it recently, it turns out that scene was from chapter 3 or so.  Seems they went for broke early in the story, then, it just rambled for another 9 chapters or so. Never regained its momentum. Then again, it's hard to tell... from what i was reading, TONS of sub-plots weren't even mentioned in the 2 feature compilations.

Herman Brix was a TERRIFIC Tarzan. ERB co-produced that film himself, and Brix was the MOST authentic-to-the-books Tarzan ever seen until Sy Weintraub took over the main series from Sol Lesser in the late 50's.  Physically, Brix reminds me the most of Jock Mahoney, another real favorite of mine (though it's a shame he didn't get the part a decade sooner).

[Roygbiv666]

This?
http://monsterkidclassichorrorforum.yuku.com/topic/37715#.UoGOUyjDPHg

I forget who it was, but somebody actually did a "fantasy" poster for a DOC SAVAGE movie with a painting of Doc very clearly based on Buster Crabbe.

[profh0011]

No, that's the first time I've seen this!  I mean somebody did a painting, as a bogus movie poster. I wish I could remember who or where...

[josemas]

I remember seeing a mock movie poster based on James Bama's cover for the man of Bronze with Arnold Schwarzenegger's face photo shopped onto Doc several years ago when there some some talk of doing a Doc movie with Arnold in the lead.  I even had it downloaded as a screen saver for awhile.

Best

Joe

[Captain Audio]

Apparently Shane Black, director of Ironman III , has the green light for a new Doc Savage movie. In an Interview Chis Hemsworth was mentioned as a prospect.
Hemsworth can project a much more intelligent persona than his role as Thor would suggest, and he is one of very few with both the build and clean cut look.

[profh0011]

I haven't seen any new DOCTOR WHO since the end of season 3...

...but earlier tonight, I saw THE FIVE (-ISH) DOCTORS, with Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, and Paul McGann... with cameos by David Tennant, Janet Fielding, Matt Smith, Steven Moffatt, Russell T. Davies, Peter Jackson, Ian McKellan...

I LAUGHED MY ASS OFF all the way thru this thing!!!  Davison wrote & directed it, and it's great to see he, Colin & Sylvester all have great senses of humor about themselves.

Tom Baker appears in a clip from SHADA, and, in the form of a telephone answering machine message...