Monthly Archives: September 2012

Unsung actors: Roger C. Carmel

1 Reply

He’s one of those “Hey, I remember that guy!” actors. Roger C. Carmel was featured in many, many TV series in the 1960s and 1970s. According to his IMDB page, he guest-starred in everything from “The Dick Van Dyke Show” to “The Munsters” to “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” and “Hogan’s Heroes” to “Batman” playing “guest villain” Colonel Gumm.

But Carmel, who died at age 54 in 1986, was best known for two roles. He co-starred in “The Mothers-In-Law,” a 1960s sitcom starring Kaye Ballard and Eve Arden and produced by Desi Arnaz, and he guest-starred in two episodes of the original “Star Trek” series.

Carmel played Harcourt Fenton Mudd, a galactic hustler and con man who shows up in the first season episode “Mudd’s Women,” a fairly straight story about transporting what are, in effect, mail-order brides. But he is probably best remembered for reprising the Mudd role in “I, Mudd,” a second-season episode that finds the Enterprise crew arriving on a remote planet (is there any other kind?) where Mudd is the ruler (and prisoner) of a race of androids.

In the second episode, the tone is much lighter and Carmel plays Mudd with his trademark flamboyance. The effect was appropriate for a returning and not-very-threatening villain.

Carmel provided the voice for Mudd in an episode of the 1970s animated “Star Trek” series. There’s an online reference to plans for him to play the role once more in “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” in the first-season episode “The Neutral Zone,” in which three people from the past are revived from suspended animation. It’s a neat Hollywood tale and maybe it’s even accurate.

Carmel, who provided voices for a number of animated TV series in his final years, passed away before he had a third chance to meet the Enterprise crew.

Classic TV: Paul Dixon and his show

Leave a reply

Here’s one from the wayback machine for us Midwesterners: Cincinnati-based broadcaster Paul Dixon was the toast of the airwaves in the tri-state area in the 1960s and early 1970s.

Dixon’s show – which aired each morning on Channel 13 in Indianapolis – was a truly goofy local talk and variety show that revolved around Dixon, a self-styled dirty old man, and regulars like singers Bonnie Lou and Colleen Sharp.

One of the things that most appealed to me, as a kid and young adolescent, was just how naughty the Dixon show seemed.

As juvenile and silly as it was – and you can’t get much sillier than a wedding for rubber chickens or a middle-aged man parading around dressed like a baby – the show had a decidedly off-color edge.

Dixon would compliment his nearly-always-exclusively-female audience on their looks, following that up with checking out the miniskirt-wearing front row with a pair of binoculars and declaring himself the “mayor of Kneesville.”

He would then choose a “winner” – usually a  young Cincy housewife – and slip a garter onto her thigh, followed by a “knee tickler,” some faux jewel bauble that would hang below the hem of her skirt. Thus, tickling her knee.

The whole process involved as much good-natured groping of the audience member as was probably allowed on TV at the time.

Not to be forgotten: The T-shirt giveaway that entailed “Paul Baby” helping a woman into a tight shirt, donned over her clothes, that ended up looking like standing-up groping.

For a lot of us kids, watching on sick days or during the summer, it all seemed like forbidden stuff. It sure as heck wasn’t run-of-the-mill daytime TV.

Dixon’s show aired on WLW-TV in Cincinnati from 1955 until shortly following his death in December 1974.

While other local shows might have emulated Dixon’s oddball charm, it’s hard to imagine they duplicated it.

And Dixon’s shadow was long. David Letterman, who has traditionally been as gracious as can be about the type of pioneering Midwestern broadcasters who came before him, like Johnny Carson, spoke to the Cincinnati Enquirer in 1997 and cited Dixon’s influences on his offbeat comedic choices, repeatedly maintaining that Dixon was funnier than he was.

That’s not really the case. But Dixon was truly an original.

 

‘Thor’ kicking ass, not taking names as far as we can tell

Leave a reply

This looks like it’s going to be fun.

We don’t know a lot so far about the sequel to “Thor.” It’s called “Thor: The Dark World” and draws from characters – and probably storylines – from the comics, pitting the Asgardian Avenger against Malekith, played by former “Doctor Who” Christopher Eccleston.

We also know that the “Thor” sequel will be part of phase 2 of the Marvel Comics movie universe, leading up to “The Avengers” sequel in 2015.

Today pictures from the set came out and show Thor, Sif (Jaimie Alexander) and company (or at least their stunt doubles) kicking ass.

“Thor: The Dark World” is scheduled to be released Nov. 8, 2013.

‘The Cut’ is a cool crime novel

Leave a reply

There are a couple of moments in George Pelecanos’ crime novel “The Cut” when his protagonist, solider-turned-investigator Spero Lucas, finds his heart beating and blood racing, usually when he’s confronted with horrific violence.

But most of the time, Lucas is the epitome of cool. And that makes “The Cut” cool reading.

Somebody with better oversight of the world of crime novels would know the answer to this question, but I can’t help but wonder if we’re seeing a slew of new thrillers and hard-boiled PI books featuring capable young heroes newly back in the US after serving in Iraq or Afghanistan. Another good series, Ace Atkins’ books about Mississippi sheriff Quinn Colson, comes to mind.

Pelecanos is planning on turning Spero Lucas’ adventures in gritty DC into a series and it feels like a natural.

“The Cut” finds Lucas back home after his tour of duty in Iraq. He’s working for a defense attorney and distinguishing himself for his no-nonsense investigations.

Between cases, he’s contacted by an imprisoned drug dealer who wants to hire him to find packages of marijuana that have been stolen. The dealer was using that tried-and-true method of moving illegal materials: Shipping packages to houses that are vacant during the day, then sending his men to get the packages off the doorstep. Except that the packages are being stolen.

Lucas, who has a moral code but doesn’t frown on associating with criminals, decides he can work for the dealer for a 40 percent cut of the money recovered.

While chasing down leads, Lucas finds the case is a little too close to home for members of his family, including his brother, a school teacher. Lucas and a small circle of cohorts put themselves on the line to save a promising young student and avenge the deaths of a couple of likable guys who should have known better but didn’t.

Some readers might be perturbed by the way Pelecanos has Lucas so damn casual about everything, including working with less-than-savory characters and, frankly, murder. But the character is ideally drawn considering his military background and his “you or them” matter-of-fact attitude.

While the story is as straightforward as a Robert Parker Spenser novel, Pelecanos fills “The Cut” with a lot of nice little touches, from Lucas’ way with women to his love of food to his blended Greek-and-African-American family.

Pelecanos has written several books but may be best known as one of the creative types behind “The Wire,” the highly-regarded HBO series.

“The Cut” is my first chance to sample Pelecanos’ work. You can bet it won’t be my last.

iPhoneography: Cool Halloween stuff

Leave a reply

Has it been a year already? Can it possibly be the weeks leading up to our favorite geeky and spooky holiday?

It’s twue, it’s twue. It’s not all that long now until Halloween.

And that means it’s time for our first 2012 installment of iPhone photos of freaky Halloween stuff.

If you remember from last year, I snap iPhone pics of fun, cool and unappetizing Halloween costumes, masks and decor. Considering that I saw my first Halloween stuff in the stores in July this year, I think I’ve demonstrated remarkable restraint in waiting until September.

Anyway, here goes:

Let’s start with the Zombie Baby pictured above. Remember Zombie Babies? I saw them for the first time last year and was immediately taken (and taken aback) with how twisted they were. Really. A co-worker put one in another co-workers chair last year. This year I’m waiting to see if anyone is brave enough to surprise a new parent with a Zombie Baby (like Freaky Frankie here; yes they all have names) in a playpen. They make quite a strong visual impression.

Ah, the classics. You can’t go wrong with a Michael Myers motif, copying the killer from John Carpenter’s classic “Halloween.” The original was apparently a modified William Shatner mask.

And speaking of classics: This officially sanctioned by Universal Studies mask of the classic Frankenstein monster is beautiful. This photo doesn’t do justice to how detailed it is.

Another classic, more recent: Pinhead from the “Hellraiser” movies. The pins are rubbery, of course. No need to worry about what damage you’ll do to the couch when you fall asleep, still wearing it, after the party.

And classics, part three: For decades, Don Post masks have been Halloween standards. Tor Johnson, anyone? (Remind me to do a special Don Post … er, post … in the coming weeks.) This one – Old Lady with Scarf – isn’t top-of-the line Don Post, but it’s nice to see the brand in Halloween stores.

How about a black rubber fetish mask? (The zipper doesn’t work; sorry.) How about standing in a dark room, after everyone else has gone home, wearing a black rubber fetish mask? How about someone calling 911 for me?

If you’re interested in something a little more light-hearted, you could do the time warp clear back to the 1970s with these sideburns …

Or this tambourine. Be cool, man. Some of us were alive during the ’70s.

If you prefer something of a more recent vintage. I imagine Eminem fully sanctioned and licensed this “White Rapper” mask.

As I’m sure that Tupac’s estate approved this “Thug Life” mask.

Getting away from masks for a moment: This scary clown piece would be perfect to hang in the aforementioned dark room. Now with extra creepy!

Last but not least for this time around: Pizza face for your coffee table.

More next time.

Classic TV: ‘Community’ ‘Remedial Chaos Theory’

Leave a reply

I’m not sure there’s anything on TV like “Community,” and that’s probably worked against the viewership of the show.

The NBC sitcom is about as atypical a situation comedy as anything airing now. The premise – a diverse group of misfits forms a family while attending a community college – isn’t novel.

But during its first three seasons, under the guidance of creator Dan Harmon, “Community” became something more.

There were inklings of the show’s inherent “different-ness” in the first season, certainly. But the first-season finale, in which the regulars and the large supporting cast wage war in an on-campus paintball match to win “priority status” for class registration, established the show as surely as “Prophecy Girl,” the first-season finale of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” established that series as one for the ages.

The paintball episode played, with furious and hilarious seriousness, like an action movie, “Terminator” by way of John Woo, with standoffs and ambushes and devilish double-crosses. All played against expectations.

My favorite moment is when off-kilter geek Abed (Danny Pudi) rushes up to snarky lawyer Jeff (Joel McHale) and intones, “Come with me if you don’t want paint on your clothes.” Fans of the “Terminator” movies recognized that line.

Throughout the second and third seasons, “Community” deepened its characters – a group that is frequently at each others’ throats but can’t live without each other – and raised the freak flag higher. An episode revolving around a game of Dungeons and Dragons was funny and touching.

By the time “Remedial Chaos Theory” aired early in the third season, Harmon and the cast and crew knew they could get away with a lot. And they did. As the characters gathered at a housewarming party for roommates Abed and Troy (Donald Glover), they rolled dice to see who would go downstairs to meet the pizza delivery guy.

With each roll of the dice, another reality unfolded. Friendships ended, relationships began and lives were lost, for god’s sake. It was all funny and incredibly clever and mind-bending in a way precisely unlike any show on TV right now.

The show has mixed in a tremendous amount of geekery in a manner that’s less showy but more genuine than the amusing “Big Bang Theory.” After “Remedial Chaos Theory,” the series explored the other, “darkest timeline” and, with a nod to the “Star Trek” mirror universe, Troy and Abed donned Evil Spock-like goatees.

When “Community” returns on Oct. 19, it will be without Harmon, a creative man bounced from his own show, if we’re to believe his own account and those of others, over huge differences in temperament and people skills.

So I’m not sure what “Community” will be like when it returns. Will it be just a silly sitcom? Will it continue to defy expectations and conventions? We’ll know soon.

‘Walking Dead’ season 3 poster arrives

Leave a reply

It’s not like we were looking forward to the Oct. 14 return of “The Walking Dead” or anything.

Oh, who are we kidding? Of course we’re looking forward to the third season of the AMC show, to see what happens when the survivors of the zombie apocalypse venture into the prison and the town of Woodbury.

And bonus: Merle!

AMC has released the poster for the new season and it features Rick atop a toppled bus in the prison yard.

“Fight the Dead. Fear the Living” is a good slogan. Of course, there are echoes there of George Romero’s classic 1978 “Dawn of the Dead,” where bikers and human frailty posed more of a threat than zombies.

Anyway. Oct. 14. Be there or be zombie chow.

 

Duncan only one case of unconventional superhero movie casting

Leave a reply

In noting Michael Clarke Duncan’s recent passing in this blog, I mentioned the minor furor after the “Green Mile” actor was cast to play the Kingpin in the Ben Affleck “Daredevil” movie.

Duncan worked as Marvel’s kingpin of crime however, and became the latest in a string of offbeat and unorthodox casting for comic book movies.

Some of them worked and others did not. Here are a few examples.

Offbeat casting that worked:

Michael Keaton as Batman. When Tim Burton cast Michael Keaton to play the title role in his 1989 “Batman” adaptation, the furor among fans was crazed. If the Internet had been in every basement at the time, it would have melted down. Keaton was best known for comedic roles like in “Night Shift.” And what about that jaw line? But Keaton was perfect as the grim-faced Dark Knight and the distant Bruce Wayne.

Hmmm. We’re still making up our minds:

Jessica Alba as Sue Storm. Alba is as beautiful an actress as you can find in Hollywood. But she just looked fake as the blonde adventuress, the Invisible Woman.

Tobey Maguire as Spider-Man. I thought director Sam Raimi’s first two “Spider-Man” movies were pretty damn good. But Maguire seemed too old to be a believable Peter Parker. Or maybe I was just reacting to foreshadowing of his emo-laden dancing in the third movie.

Nope. That’s just wrong:

Kate Burton as Lois Lane. “Superman Returns” had a number of problems. Brandon Routh wasn’t one of them, but Burton was. She’s a lovely actress but far too lightweight to be the tough and spunky ace reporter from the Daily Planet. Here’s hoping Amy Adams works better in “Man of Steel.”

Michael Chiklis as Ben Grimm/The Thing. How much do we love Michael Chiklis? A lot. But while he was an okay Ben Grimm he just didn’t work in a Thing suit. And he just wasn’t tall enough. When “Fantastic Four” gets rebooted, I think they should go the Hulk route and combine live action and CGI.

Jack Nicholson as the Joker. Sorry, fans. I love Nicholson. But he wasn’t right for the Joker. He was too old, not physical enough and – while he had an admirably goofy vibe – just didn’t have the right psycho demeanor. When I’m watching “Batman” now I like Nicholson’s pre-Joker performance more than his post-Joker performance.

And one wild one: When the producers of the Christopher Reeve “Superman” movie were considering actors to play the Man of Steel, they considered everybody from Robert Redford to Paul Newman (two of the biggest stars of the time). One of the Salkinds suggested casting the most famous man in the world, Muhammad Ali.

Ali wasn’t right for the role, but what an idea!

RIP Michael Clarke Duncan

Leave a reply

Here’s some sad news as reported by The Associated Press: Actor Michael Clarke Duncan has passed away at 54.

Duncan was probably best known for his role in “The Green Mile,” but I always think of him as Wilson Fisk, the Marvel comics crime boss known as Kingpin, in the Ben Affleck “Daredevil” movie.

Duncan also provided the voice of Kilowog in the “Green Lantern” movie.

Duncan, who some reports pegged as six-five and 300 pounds, had been in a Los Angeles hospital since a July heart attack.

There were a number of … off … elements about the “Daredevil” movie, although I think it gets more right than it gets wrong.

But one of the things that it got right was casting Duncan as Kingpin. It was a controversial move considering that Duncan was black and Fisk/Kingpin had always been portrayed as white in the comics.

This wasn’t a case of the character being changed in latter-day comics, as Marvel has gradually morphed Nick Fury into the image of Samuel L. Jackson, first in its Ultimates line of comics and now in the everyday Marvel world, where the original Fury’s son, who is black, has taken the name Nick Fury Jr.

At the time of the “Daredevil” casting, some people online complained that Duncan shouldn’t have been cast. Kingpin, who is also a Spider-Man enemy, shouldn’t be black, they said.

But there’s no reason besides the way the character has been drawn to rule out the color-blind casting.

And Duncan himself was good in the role of the dapper NYC gang boss.

Interestingly, we’ll see Laurence Fishburne as Perry White in next year’s Superman saga “Man of Steel.” There hasn’t been a lot of controversy about it and it’s possible that Duncan’s casting can be credited with paving the way.