Monthly Archives: August 2012

Must-read TV: A look at NBC’s heyday

Leave a reply

For a decade and a half, NBC was a primetime TV powerhouse with a line-up of shows – most of them on Thursday nights – that rivaled anything on TV at the time. “Cheers,” “The Cosby Show,” “E.R.,” “Frasier”  and “Mad About You” were among the huge hits.

Warren Littlefield wasn’t the writer or star of any of those shows, but he was an NBC executive, rising to the role of president of entertainment programing from 1993 to 1998. As such, he was one of the network “suits” involved in decisions made behind the scenes on all those shows plus others like “Friends.”

In “Top of the Rock: Inside the Rise and Fall of Must-See TV,” Littlefield presents excerpts from interviews with the writers, producers, directors and stars of some of the network’s most memorable shows. Although a few people – like “E.R.” star George Clooney – are notable by their absence from this oral history, Littlefield includes comments and memories from Jerry Seinfleld, Jason Alexander, Noah Wyle and most of the “Friends” cast among many others.

There are a lot of intriguing anecdotes here and some pretty funny memories, especially from people like Seinfeld and Alexander.

Littlefield’s book isn’t the equal of “I Want My MTV” or the similar oral history of “Saturday Night Live” from a few years back. It’s just not as comprehensive. But it offers some good backstory.

Some things I didn’t know, or had forgotten if I ever knew, until I read Littlefield’s book:

The script for the two-hour pilot of “E.R.” was really, really old. People interviewed estimate the script was at least 20 years old when it was reworked by Michael Crichton around 1993. One sign of its age: At one point, characters are watching a Boston Celtics game and a player who retired in 1965 is name-checked.

Kelsey Grammer’s drinking and drugging was a huge problem during “Cheers.” It’s also one retold with some humor here as interviewees note that Grammar might pick up a hitchhiker and make the guy his assistant.

Casting almost-was stories abound. Here they include Terry Hatcher for the eventual Helen Hunt role in “Mad About You” and Lisa Kudrow for the Peri Gilpin role in “Frasier.”

NBC scuttled a two-hour Bob Hope special to pay for four more “test” episodes of “Seinfeld.” Someone had to tell Bob. I’m surprised, retrospectively, that Hope was still doing NBC specials by 1989.

The people behind “Cheers” were really, really pissed when Shelley Long left the show but saw the show get a new lease on life with Kirstie Alley. I think they got a better deal.

Littlefield enjoyed actor Bob Balaban’s parody of him so much on “Seinfeld” that he had Balaban play him at a network meeting. Ha!

 

 

Holy Avengers! Fan sculpture of Clark Gregg as the Vision

Leave a reply

Never let it be said fans don’t back up their fondest movie wishes with some incredible reality.

Above is a photo of what looks like a sculpture done by an artist identified as bhsxf on the website http://www.therpf.com.

Not surprisingly, it’s a more … human vision of the android Avenger than we might expect. Not the most human we’ve ever seen him, however:

But wow, is it cool.

Someone get hold of Joss Whedon STAT!

 

‘Avengers’ release date set; Daredevil next recruit?

Leave a reply

Considering that “Iron Man 3” doesn’t come out until May, with a string of new Marvel movies to follow, you’d think the news about our favorite big-screen comic book movies would slow down just a bit.

Nope!

In recent days fans have seen a couple of developments:

Release date for “Avengers 2.” Marvel/Disney has confirmed a May 1, 2015 release date for Joss Whedon’s follow-up to this summer’s megahit. That’s on the heels of the announcement that Whedon had been signed not only to direct the sequel but develop a live-action TV series set in the big-screen “Avengers” universe and generally help the Marvel movie process move along through June 2015.

Daredevil likely back in Marvel’s hands: As we’ve noted here before, Marvel’s moviemaking division has big-screen rights to only some of the company’s characters. Others were long ago farmed out to other studios, which is why Fox is making a steady stream of X-Men-related movies and Sony/Columbia rebooted this summer with “The Amazing Spider-Man.”

Well, director Joe Carnahan had been gearing up for a gritty “Daredevil” reboot for Fox that promised to have a 1970s Hell’s Kitchen vibe. Carnahan said this week that his movie isn’t going to happen, leading some to expect that the rights to the blind superhero will revert to Marvel before Fox gets a chance to mount another effort.

Meaning that Marvel can include Daredevil in its on-screen universe now. Maybe even cast Matt Murdock in “Avengers 2” or his own movie.

As Marvel slowly requires some of its characters – apparently the Punisher is already back under the Marvel tent – the possibilities are endless.

Here’s a wish list for new members once Joss Whedon presents “Avengers 2:”

Black Panther. Gotta have the stalwart king of the African nation of Wakanda on the team.

Wasp and Ant-Man. Janet and Hank were original members of the group. An “Ant-Man” movie is in the early stages now. We need them in “Avengers 2.”

Daredevil. Why the heck not? New York is their mutual home turf.

Vision. The rumors flew, shortly after “The Avengers,” that the android Avenger would be included in upcoming installments, perhaps in some way personified by Clark Gregg of Phil Coulson fame. Make it happen, Joss!

Scarlet Witch. The references to Coulson’s cellist girlfriend in “The Avengers” got some people thinking Wanda, longtime Avenger and Vision’s wife, would make an appearance eventually. Yes, please.

 

Classic TV: ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ episode ‘Restless’

Leave a reply

“Restless” was the season finale of the fourth season of “Buffy,” airing in May 2000. The season had been an unusual one since it was the first that deviated from the high school setting of the show. Following the “Graduation Day” episodes of the previous season, Buffy and Willow went on to attend classes at U.C. Sunnydale, Giles was at loose ends before, in the following season, opening an occult shop and Xander kind of hung out, trying to find himself.

The season also featured a dramatic departure from past seasons by opening up the world of the Slayer to include “real world” supernatural elements, including what was in many ways the show’s most complex addition to its mythology, the Initiative, an underground (literally) government organization that captured and experimented on demons. It was the first absolute confirmation of Buffy’s “underground” status as the Slayer in a world in which the authorities – all the way to Washington D.C. – knew about vampires and demons.

The Initiative storyline had actually wrapped up in the previous episode, as the Scooby Gang defeated Adam, a Frankenstein-like monster created as an unauthorized offshoot of the program.

“Restless” took the form of a series of dreams sequences for Willow, Xander, Giles and Buffy in which each was stalked by the First  Slayer, a savage female proto-Buffy.

The dream sequences were perfect and spot-on, teasing viewers with suggestions of events that might come in the series. Who wasn’t intrigued by Spike’s declaration that Giles was teaching him to become a Watcher?

The episode also featured some faces from the past, including Seth Green as Oz, Phina Oruche as Giles’ girlfriend Olivia, Mercedes McNab as Harmony and Armin Shimerman as Principal Snyder.

Ultimately, “Restless” marked something of a departure for “Buffy” and for Buffy. Especially when the Slayer declared herself different from the slayers of old, demonstrating that the First Slayer and the conventions of the Watchers Council and past Slayers didn’t mean anything to her.

Random observations:

“Restless” was written and directed by series creator Joss Whedon a dozen years before he became a Hollywood sensation with “The Avengers.” Whedon imbued the episode with his trademark mix of thrills and humor.

The First Slayer isn’t the only thing primordial about this episode: Just before they fall asleep, the gang settles in to watch a movie on VHS!

Throughout the episode, a guy shows up and says something about cheese. Of all the odd moments in the episode that fans took as clues to the future, this one we felt we could laugh off.

The episode featured references to ongoing series developments, including Willow’s coming out. During her dream, Willow’s anxiety reached its peak when former flame Oz and current flame Tara snickered and smirked at her even as she succumbed to the First Slayer.

I love all the dream sequences, but Xander’s journey into an “Apocalypse Now”-style heart of darkness is hilarious.

The episode is peppered with references to characters and episodes past and future, including Faith the vampire slayer and Dawn, Buffy’s “little sister” introduced in the next season. You could even argue that Joyce’s appearance in a wall during Buffy’s dream sequence was a reference to her eventual death.

“Restless” is one of the great episodes of a great series.

 

‘The Lost Ones’ good next step for Ace Atkins

Leave a reply

After a few years as a writer of solid, entertaining crime novels, Ace Atkins drew a lot of attention among readers in the past year when he was chosen by Robert B. Parker’s estate to continue the beloved writer’s Spenser series. The result, “Robert B. Parker’s Lullaby,” was as good as anything Parker has written in recent years.

But Atkins is at his best when he plays with his own creations, including southern P.I. Nick Travers.

I’ve come to enjoy a new series by Atkins featuring Quinn Colson, an Army Ranger out of the military and back in his small Mississippi home town. Colson debuted in “The Ranger” and is back in “The Lost Ones.”

It’s no surprise that Atkins was chosen to continue Parker’s best-known series. He’s a straightforward writer prone to crime stories that feature a strong protagonist who knows right from wrong and pushes and pushes until the bad guys make a mistake.

In “The Lost Ones,” Atkins sets Colson, now the sheriff of Tibbehah County, against trouble from south of the border. An infant has been killed and Colson and dependable, sarcastic deputy Lillie Virgil and war buddy Boom find themselves dealing not only with a couple that buys and sells babies but also a crew looking to buy enough stolen guns to outfit an army.

Complicating matters are Quinn’s sister, Caddy, a true “lost one,” and his longtime friend Donnie, who’s catering to the gun buyers.

“The Lost Ones” is a satisfying read with an engaging set of characters. I look forward to Atkins’ next story about Colson and company.

Sci-fi alive and well in ‘Alphas,’ ‘Falling Skies’

Leave a reply

It’s been a long while since I’ve expected the channel formerly known as Sci-Fi to give us much more than a lot of cheap and cheesy ghost hunting shows. Yes, the now-monikered SyFy has a few actual scripted science fiction shows. But from the channel that once aired “Battlestar Galactica,” the pickings are pretty slim.

So I’m happy to note one good sci-fi show currently airing on SyFy and, as a bonus, another that’s wrapping up its season on TNT.

The show approaching the end of its second season is “Falling Skies,” TNT’s post-apocalyptic drama about a group of survivors in the wake of an alien invasion of the Earth.

The first season showed the survivors, led by a history professor (Noah Wylie) and a military man (Will Patton) learning how to work together and avoid the spider-like alien invaders and their “Robocop”-type mech droids. The greatest threat they faced was the aliens’ aims to harness human youth, including one of Wylie’s sons.

This second season the humans have been journeying from New England to Charleston, South Carolina, where the U.S. government has been reforming.

In tonight’s episode, the travelers reach Charleston and find one of Wylie’s mentors in a pivotal role. The mentor is played by Terry O’Quinn of “Lost” fame and if you have a feeling he’s more than what he seems … I’m right there with you.

“Falling Skies” airs tonight and then wraps up its second season on Aug. 19.

On SyFy, “Alphas” is one of the most entertaining sci-fi dramas airing right now. Almost a TV version of “X-Men,” the Monday night show features a group of people with special abilities – super strength, heightened senses, the ability to persuade others to do anything – under the direction of human doctor Lee Rosen (David Straitham).

The teams of Alphas is a diverse bunch, often conflicting with each other like the teams from the best comic book stories. Among the most intriguing: Gary (Ryan Cartwright), a young man with autism who can “read” electronic signals from cell phones and computers in the air; Bill Harken (Malik Yoba) a cop whose super strength takes a toll on his body; and – new to the series as of last week – Kat (Erin Way), a young woman who can quickly absorb knowledge and become expert on any subject or technique.

“Alphas” tells interesting “small” stories – including one about a man whose super-speed abilities made him grow old quickly; be was played by 1980s star C. Thomas Howell as a college-age kid who unfortunately looked middle-aged – against a backdrop of a bigger story: The government’s concerns about and control of the Alphas and a rival team of Alphas with leanings that will remind “X-Men” fans of Magneto and his brotherhood.

“Falling Skies” has a fairly dense history that will make the most sense if you seek out and watch past episodes, but “Alphas” is a fun series that you can jump into at virtually any point. They’re both recommended.

Carlo Rambaldi, designer of ‘E.T.,’ dies at 86

Leave a reply

Time slips on past us and, as the visionary directors, writers, designers and illustrators of classic films grow older, fans are inevitably going to be faced with their passing.

Like “Star Wars” illustrator Ralph McQuarrie, who died in March, Carlo Rambaldi’s work is, at least, immortalized on film. Rambaldi worked with Steven Spielberg to create the title character for the 1982 classic “E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial.”

The Washington Post notes that Rambaldi created three E.T. robots (probably a reference to remotely controlled E.T. faces, heads and necks) two costumes worn by actors and gloves that doubled for E.T.’s hands.

Nowadays, of course, E.T. would be a computer-generated creature, as in “Avatar.”

In the Post story, by the Associated Press, Rambaldi is quoted expressing his skepticism about CGI. There’s little doubt that mechanical effects that created creatures as diverse as E.T. and the shark from “Jaws” gave actors a real, physical presence to act opposite on the set.

Rambaldi won visual effects Oscars for “E.T.,” “Alien” and the 1976 “King Kong” remake.

 

iPhoneography: 2012 Indiana State Fair

Leave a reply

The Indiana State Fair brings summer to a close for hundreds of thousands of Hoosiers, who go back to school and jobs not long after the fair’s run.

The fair is also an opportunity for good iPhone photography.

The midway carnival rides are a natural photo subject. I’m pretty sure the Vertigo ride is new this year.

I haven’t found anything online that tells me how tall it is. I’m guessing … pretty tall.

The Freak Out is among the new traditional rides at fairs at the county and state level. It’s apparently a variation on a European ride called The Frisbee.

The Screamer is another new favorite.

If you’re more of  a traditionalist, the Ferris wheel is for you. The first was built for the World’s Fair in Chicago in 1893. The book “Devil in the White City” has some very interesting background on the Ferris wheel.

Sometimes traditional rides operate under a variety of  variations and names, including the Matterhorn, also known as the Flying Bobs.

The Firestorm is a traditional ride …

So is the Cliffhanger, or hang glider.

If you’re in need of a more sedate ride, the state fair offers shuttle trams pulled by tractor.

And lest we forget that 4-H competition is a big part of any fair …

Working at the cow wash. Get it?

 

 

‘Dallas’ closes great first season with ‘Revelations’

1 Reply

I hope you’ve been watching the revival of “Dallas” this summer on TNT. If so, you’ve seen one of the best continuations of a TV show I’ve ever seen.

If you’ve been watching, you’ll want to tune in tonight at 9 on TNT for the season finale, “Revelations.”

The first season of Ewing family in-fighting – new but comfortingly familiar – climaxes tonight. So far this season we’ve seen the storyline move along two main paths: John Ross, the son of J.R. and Sue Ellen Ewing, was conniving to break into the oil business, even if it meant drilling on family homestead Southfork Ranch.

The plan caused conflicts not only with John Ross’ cousin, Christopher, and his father, Bobby, but also with J.R. Ewing himself, who wants to get his hands on Southfork.

The fate of both Southfork and Christopher’s alternative energy start-up has been at stake in a complicated scheme that involved a bunch of Venezualans. That’s all resolved nicely tonight.

The other main storyline depicted the romantic turmoil surrounding Christopher and his “good girl with a secret” wife Rebecca as well as John Ross and girlfriend Elena, daughter of the family’s longtime maid.

If you haven’t been watching and think that plot makes it sound like the older generation of Ewings – brothers J.R. and Bobby, J.R.’s ex Sue Ellen and Bobby’s second wife, Ann – get short shrift in the new series, that hasn’t been the case.

Most of the emotional high points – and the best lines of dialogue – of the new series have revolved around the older generation and that’s the case tonight too.

So here are some random, relatively spoiler-free observations about tonight’s last episode of the season:

If you saw the end of last week’s episode, you saw that Rebecca, trying to break free from the scheme involving her pretend “brother” Tommy, struggled with Tommy over a gun. There’s little surprise who turns up dead at the beginning of this episode.

Bobby, in the latest in a series of medical issues, ends up in the hospital. There’s a genuinely touching moment as J.R. urges a comatose Bobby to “wake up and fight … fight me.” If you’re not a little misty after this scene, you’re not a “Dallas” fan.

John Ross, trying to reform, teams with Christopher to found a new company, Ewing Energies. Best part: It’s located in the old Ewing Oil building (albeit gutted and unrecognizable from its dated 1980s glory. Probably for the best.). Even better: You know these guys are eventually going to be at each other’s throats.

One relationship ends, ostensibly, in tonight’s episode, while another begins, in good soap opera fashion.

For those of us who loved Mitch Pileggi as FBI boss Skinner on “The X-Files,” his role as a sleazy Dallas businessman here is a shock. But he gets what’s coming to him tonight.

Linda Gray, always a bright spot in the original series as Sue Ellen, has had an “okay” role in this series so far. She gets a few nice moments tonight, as does Brenda Strong as Ann, Bobby’s wife. It’ll be nice to see more for them next season.

The final scene between Bobby (Patrick Duffy, solid as ever here) and J.R. (Larry Hagman, worth his weight in black gold) is perfect. Just perfect.

There’s a nice twist – no spoilers here – in tonight’s episode but it’s telegraphed somewhat by the opening credits. Don’t pay too much attention to the names of the guest stars tonight or you might see it coming.

And you don’t want to see it coming.

The final scene of this season finale and the final line of dialogue are just right.

I can’t wait until next season.

Whedon to develop ‘Avengers’ universe TV show too

Leave a reply

Well, duh.

In a perfect case of reverse-engineering, Disney and Marvel announced today that Joss Whedon, who got his start in TV and then directed “The Avengers” to good effect – and $1.5 billion in worldwide box office – will not only direct “Avengers 2” but oversee the development of the live-action TV series set in the “Avengers” movie universe.

It makes perfect sense, and some of the people reacting online tonight are sharing the same line of reasoning that had settled, like a fog, into my brain. Whedon, who made great TV series like “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Angel” and “Firefly,” has moved on, we told ourselves. He’s not going back to TV after having directed one of the biggest movies ever.

Well, turns out that way of thinking was wrong, wrong, wrong.

Now I doubt we’ll get Joss Whedon, showrunner, or Joss Whedon, director, or much more than Joss Whedon, occasional screenwriter, on this series.

But the man knows how to make a TV series with wit, action and service to multiple characters.

Turns out that was the strength that made him so right for “The Avengers.”

So here’s to a happy, anticipatory “Well, duh.”

Joss Whedon will be helping create the “Avengers” universe live action TV series.

Of course.