Daily Archives: April 22, 2012

‘Mad Men’ tunes in and turns on with ‘Far Away Places’

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This season of AMC’s “Mad Men” is one of the most enjoyable — if hard to predict — because you never know what’s going to happen next. In any given episode, Don Draper might be choking an old fling — at least in the depths of a fever dream — or Lane Pryce might be handing young Pete a beat down.

In tonight’s episode, “Far Away Places,” the plot was appropriately odd and disjointed, especially considering all the sex, drugs and rock and roll.

The show continues its headlong plunge into the heart of the most turbulent part of the 1960s as Peggy (Elizabeth Moss, who is always wonderful) gets fed up with the Heinz beans people and insults them, much to everybody’s shock. So Peggy, who earlier had an argument with her boyfriend, decides to take in a matinee.

Peggy gets offered a joint by a guy (in very loud striped pants) in the theater and doesn’t react with dismay when he makes a pass. As a matter of fact, Peggy administers an “Animal House”-style handjob — minus the Greg Marmalard plastic gloves — right there in the theater.

Meanwhile, Roger (the likewise always wonderful John Slattery) and wife Jane (Peyton List) go to a party and partake of LSD. The middle part of the episode finds Roger and Jane tripping out. When they come around, Roger tells Jane he’s moving out, a decision based on her acid-inspired comments.

Also meanwhile, Don (Jon Hamm) and Megan (Jessica Pare’) go out of town on a trip to a Howard Johnson’s. It’s ostensibly to check out a client, but Don plans the same uncomfortable mixture of business and pleasure that he’s been practicing with Megan all season. When they get into a fight and Megan disappears, Don’s anxiety skyrockets.

To top it all off, Bert Cooper (Robert Morse) — who’s spent how many seasons wandering in the wilderness of the conference room? — administers a brisk slap across the face to Don. Bert calls him out on how little work he’s done lately. Holy crap!

Other highlights:

I’m enjoying the little glimpses of Ginsberg and his father (“I’m the original,” the elder Ginsburg tells Peggy) but I’m curious where the characters are going.

Has “Mad Men” been employing flashbacks? Tonight we get a glimpse of the past in Don and Megan’s Disney vacation with Sally and the little Draper boy, whatever his name is.

In the preview for next week, Roger says he’s had a life-changing experience. Does he mean the acid trip? At the end of tonight’s episode, he was pretty damn cheerful.

“Mad Men” continues to keep us guessing.

‘Itchy and Scratchy and Poochie:’ Totally in your face

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Leave it to “The Simpsons” to have the final word on adding unwanted — and hated — characters to a TV show.

I’m talking about Poochie, the “proactive” and “totally in your face” canine added to the show-within-a-show, “Itchy and Scratchy,” in the eighth season of “The Simpsons,” way back in 1997 (!).

It was far from the “worst episode ever.”

As the show opens, Krusty the Clown and Rogers Meyers Jr., the creator of “Itchy and Scratchy,” are trying to re-invigorate the ratings for the show. A network type has the idea of adding a character because we’ve seen how well that works (Cousin Oliver on “The Brady Bunch,” any character Ted McGinley played on various sitcoms).

After a frustrating round of focus groups with kids who don’t know what they want, Meyers and company add Poochie, a dog. But not just any dog. He’s a “surfer dude,” complete with board, sunglasses and attitude.

Inevitably, Homer auditions for the role of Poochie’s voice and debuts in an episode in which Itchy and Scratchy pick Poochie up along the road on their way to a fireworks factory.

As Poochie raps and poses and dunks basketballs to heavy metal guitar riffs, the audience gathered in the Simpsons’ living room grows restless.

“When are they going to get to the fireworks factory?” a frustrated Milhouse whines.

The introduction of Poochie is a disaster, with even Kent Brockman weighing in, noting that kids won’t be sad when the canine is “put to sleep.”

Meyers decides to kill Poochie off on the cartoon, but Homer insists on recording a heartfelt bit of dialogue first.

Meyers and the crew appear to be touched. But when the episode airs, instead of Homer’s moving words, Poochie simply announces he must return to his planet. The animation cel bearing his likeness is crudely pulled upwards and out of view.

Then a slide appears:

Ah, Poochie. We hardly knew ye.

Other highlights:

This was the episode that introduced the catchphrase “Worst. Episode. Ever,” intoned by Comic Book Guy. The show’s writers have some fun by having the geeky character declare he will be hurrying to the Internet to air his complaints.

Homer and the voice actress who performs Itchy and Scratchy make a personal appearance at the Android’s Dungeon. In a riff on the “Saturday Night Live” sketch in which William Shatner is asked insane questions about “Star Trek” episodes, a nerd in the audience asks about a mistake in an “Itchy and Scratchy” cartoon.

The show features a fun in-joke as the Simpsons also get a new character, Roy, who moves in with the family. By the end of the episode, Roy is out the door.

Troy McClure makes another appearance. The ham actor, voiced by the sadly missed Phil Hartman, also auditions for the voice of Poochie. “I’m Troy McClure. You may know me from such cartoons as ‘Christmas Ape’ and ‘Christmas Ape Goes to Summer Camp.'”

 

Maberry’s ‘Ghost Road Blues’ has some King in it

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You’ve heard of Christmas in July? How about some Halloween in April?

If that sounds good to you, I’ll recommend Jonathan Maberry’s “Ghost Road Blues.” It’s not a new book but it’s new to me. I sought out Maberry’s book because I enjoyed his zombie thriller “Dead of Night” and wondered what he could do with something on a grander scale.

With three books in the Pine Deep trilogy — “Ghost Road Blues” is the first — Maberry has written a story that, at least in the first volume, feels like something from Stephen King. With supernatural lurking in the shadows of a small town and all-too-human characters nearly outdoing the monsters for evil — even while an apocalypse draws near — “Ghost Road Blues” reads like some of King’s best, including “The Stand” and “Salem’s Lot.”

Best of all, it gave me a real feeling of Halloween approaching — without the actual onset of winter not far behind.

“Ghost Road Blues” takes place in the town of Pine Deep, Pennsylvania, in the weeks leading up to Halloween. The holiday is an important one because the town is famous for its over-the-top celebration of Oct. 31. The town attracts thousands of visitors from the eastern U.S. with its shops, restaurants, haunted hayrides and ghostly attractions.

Three characters are central to the novel: Crow, a former cop and recovering alcoholic who runs the hayride attraction and owns a holiday-themed store; Val, Crow’s lifelong friend and girlfriend; and Terry, another lifelong friend who’s also mayor of Pine Deep.

Into the mix this year comes a carload of drug dealers, thieves and killers led by Ruger, a mass murderer wanted by the authorities up and down the East Coast. Ruger and his cohorts end up in Pine Deep as they try to elude police.

Crow, Val and Terry have a lifelong bond because of something they experienced as children 30 years ago: A mysterious serial killer struck Pine Deep, killing Terry’s little sister and leaving all three survivors scarred.

Town vigilantes ostensibly killed the serial killer but in reality they killed a black drifter, the Bone Man, who was innocent. In fact, the Bone Man himself had earlier dispatched the killer.

What none of the players know: The killer from 30 years ago was the embodiment of evil and now he’s back, ready to begin where he left off.

“Ghost Road Blues” is nearly 500 pages long but rarely lets up. Crow and his friends are great, sympathetic characters and Maberry puts them through the wringer. It’s hard to imagine what he has in store for them in “Dead Man’s Song” and “Bad Moon Rising,” the remaining books in the trilogy.

Like King, Maberry draws some of his best characters from flesh-and-blood types, including Iron Mike Sweeney, a teenage monster movie fan who is befriended by Crow. Iron Mike, who prefers to live in a fantasy world in which he is a hero, is as lovable a character as you could ask for.

On the other hand, Iron Mike’s stepfather, Vic Wingate, is one of the most detestable characters I’ve read in a long time. Iron Mike lives in a fantasy world because Wingate is a brutal bully, abusing Mike and his mother.

But Wingate is something else as well. He’s the right-hand-man of the evil force, long believed dead, manipulating the modern-day players.

With its moody imagery of corn fields, pumpkins and lonely farms, “Ghost Road Blues” perfectly captures the macabre melancholy of small-town Halloween. It’s a genuine treat even well in advance of the ghostly holiday.

The Great Newspaper Comics Challenge Part 10

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In which we look at today’s comics page offerings. Because we can depend on “Batman” for all our laughs anymore.

“Classic Peanuts” shows Charlie Brown’s frustrations when his all-girl outfield leaves during a game to attend a tea party. Snoopy comes to the rescue with a bunch of blue birds. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Snoopy with any birds besides Woodstock before. I’m a little concerned about their relationship.

“Baby Blues” shows the harried mom picking up toys. Ooops, she put the baby in the toy box. The expression on her face in the last panel perfectly captures parental guilt and the feeling of “Did anybody notice that?”

“Garfield.” Two words. Projectile spitting.

“Blondie:” Dagwood uses Earth Day as an excuse not to mow the lawn. What’s the final panel? If you guessed Dagwood on the couch … you’re read “Blondie” before.

“Curtis” has an idea for a different kind of zombie movie. Instead of attacking people and eating brains, the zombie is an annoying houseguest: He leaves the refrigerator open, accidentally deletes his host’s iTunes playlist and … leaves a toe in the breakfast cereal? I can’t count the number of times that’s happened.

Another Earth Day message from “The Family Circus.” The family stands on top of a hill, looking out over a landscape. “God does a lot of coloring in the spring, doesn’t he?” Dolly says. Awww!