Category Archives: TV

RIP great writer Richard Matheson

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It’s impossible to neatly summarize how important author Richard Matheson was to the word of writing, fantasy and science fiction and movies and TV.

Matheson, who has passed away at age 87, left so many great works behind.

Here are just a few.

“I Am Legend,” which inspired movie treatments starring Vincent Price, Charlton Heston (“The Omega Man”) and Will Smith.

“The Shrinking Man,” adapted as “The Incredible Shrinking Man.”

Other works that were made as movies, some of them written for the screen by Matheson: “What Dreams May Come.” “A Stir of Echoes.”

Original movies and TV shows he wrote: “House of Usher.” “The Raven.” “Comedy of Terrors.”

Several of the best-remembered “Twilight Zone” episodes, including “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet.” The “Star Trek” episode “The Enemy Within.”

“Duel.”

“The Night Stalker” and its sequel, “The Night Strangler.”

“The Legend of Hell House.” “Trilogy of Terror.” “Somewhere in Time.” “Twilight Zone: The Movie.”

“Jaws 3-D.”

“Profile in Silver,” the great JFK assassination time travel story for the 1980s remake of “The Twilight Zone.”

“Steel,” the story that was the basis for the Hugh Jackman fighting robot movie “Real Steel.”

Matheson might have been the most versatile and most accomplished writer to ever move between books, short stories, TV and movies.

He will be missed, but his legacy lives on.

 

RIP James Gandolfini

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James Gandolfini has died at age 51, various websites are reporting.

Gandolfini apparently had a heart attack while in Italy.

Gandolfini had some good TV and movie roles, but he’ll forever be Tony Soprano, the mob figure and family man for eight years on the HBO series “The Sopranos.”

Dealing with depression and anxiety attacks, dealing with double-crossing mobsters, dealing with sister-beating jerks, it was all in a day’s work for Tony.

I think I’ll miss how Tony would get pissed and beat up the hapless bartender at the Bada Bing club most of all. It was so random and reinforced both Tony’s fragile mental state and just how violent and awful even such a sympathetic character could be.

We’ll miss you, James.

‘Beware the Batman’ beckons

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I’ve only seen a couple of minutes of footage of the new Cartoon Network series “Beware the Batman” and I’m not sure how I feel about it yet.

The series could be fun if they get the tone right. Goodness knows there’s plenty of animated takes on “Batman” in the past, from the heights of “Batman The Animated Series” to “Brave and the Bold,” which was good silly fun.

If “Beware the Batman” is as dull-looking and featureless as CN’s recent “Green Lantern” CGI series, however, I’m not sure it’s going to engage me.

And what if it does? Cartoon Network traditionally abuses its series, even the great ones like “Justice League” and “Justice League Unlimited.” The network moves the shows around from one time slot to another with little or no notice. Seasons begin only to end abruptly a few weeks later. Series disappear for months or a year at a time.

So even if “Beware the Batman” were among the best Batman animated series ever … what are the chances Cartoon Network will give it a chance?

The show starts July 13.

 

TV crush: Yvonne Craig

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batgirl cape

It’s safe to say Yvonne Craig sparked more than a few transitions from boyhood to manhood for male TV viewers in the 1960s

That’s because Craig made a heck of an impression on us as Barbara Gordon, also known as Batgirl, in the “Batman” series.

Craig, born in 1937, was a ballet dancer before appearing in a variety of TV series, including “The Man from UNCLE” and “The Wild, Wild West.”

Yvonne_Craig_Star_Trek

Her appearance as a green-skinned seductress in the “Star Trek” episode “Whom Gods Destroy” – the second chartreuse woman in the series – is no doubt responsible for the presence of a green-tinged woman in the 2009 “Star Trek” movie.

But all it took was for Craig to join the “Batman” cast for her to forever be a fanboy favorite.

Craig, as Batgirl, was added to the cast for the final season in 1967.

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The impression her outfit – sparkly purple suit with yellow cape and hip-hugging yellow utility belt – made on a nation of us was truly great.

Here’s to Yvonne Craig.

Unsung actors: William Boyett

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William Boyett was one of those actors whose face – and even voice – was very recognizable. Yet few of us knew a name to attach to that enduring TV and movie presence.

Boyett, who passed in December 2004 at 77, had a long career playing stern or foreboding authority figures.

He’s best known as Sgt. MacDonald on the Jack Webb TV series “Adam-12.” Boyett had appeared on Webb’s “Dragnet” and became part of the actor/writer/producer’s repertory company of sturdy, dependable performers.

In the final decades of his life, he made a big impression on audiences who might not have known him as a man infected with a freaky alien presence in “The Hidden,” a wild 1987 science fiction thriller. If you haven’t seen it, seek it out. It’s worth the effort.

If Boyett was as much of a straight-arrow, by-the-book guy as the cops and military officers he portrayed, he’d be puzzled by my choice for favorite of his roles.

MST3K last clear chance

That would be a 1959 educational short, “Last Clear Chance,” in which he played a state police officer who tried to warn a family with young, first-time drivers about the dangers of crossing railroad tracks without looking properly. Of course, tragedy struck by the end of the short film.

It all added up to one of the best “Mystery Science Theater 3000” (MST3K) shorts.

Here’s to Bill Boyett, one of our favorite unsung actors.

101 best-written TV series of all time?

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the-sopranos

The Writers Guild of America released its list of the 101 best-written TV series of all time today, and the list is guaranteed to generate some discussion.

I mean, it’s a cool idea and all, and everybody likes lists. But is anybody qualified to say “The Sopranos” is better than “Seinfeld?” I mean, how can you even compare those two?

(Cue funky “Seinfeld” music as Tony Soprano and family sit down in a diner in the final scene of the series.)

I think I’d rank “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” a hellmouth of a lot higher on my list. I can guarantee you that “Sex and the City” and “thirtysomething” don’t belong higher on the list than “Buffy” or “The Rockford Files” or “Freaks and Geeks.”

What do you think of the list?

1.             THE SOPRANOS

2.             SEINFELD

3.             THE TWILIGHT ZONE

4.             ALL IN THE FAMILY

5.             M*A*S*H

6.             THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW

7.             MAD MEN

8.             CHEERS

9.             THE WIRE

10.            THE WEST WING

11.            THE SIMPSONS

12.            I LOVE LUCY

13.            BREAKING BAD

14.            THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW

15.            HILL STREET BLUES

16.            ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT

17.            THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART

18.            SIX FEET UNDER

19.            TAXI

20.            THE LARRY SANDERS SHOW

21.            30 ROCK

22.            FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS

23.            FRASIER

24.            FRIENDS

25.            SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE

26.            THE X-FILES

27.            LOST

28.            ER

29.            THE COSBY SHOW

30.            CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM

31.            THE HONEYMOONERS*

32.            DEADWOOD

33.            STAR TREK

34.            MODERN FAMILY

35.            TWIN PEAKS

36.            NYPD BLUE

37.            THE CAROL BURNETT SHOW

38.            BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (2005)

39.            SEX AND THE CITY

40.            GAME OF THRONES

41.            THE BOB NEWHART SHOW – TIE

                YOUR SHOW OF SHOWS* – TIE

43.            DOWNTON ABBEY* – TIE

                LAW & ORDER – TIE

                THIRTYSOMETHING – TIE

46.            HOMICIDE: LIFE ON THE STREET – TIE

                ST. ELSEWHERE – TIE

48.            HOMELAND

49.            BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER

50.            THE COLBERT REPORT – TIE

                THE GOOD WIFE – TIE

                THE OFFICE (UK)* – TIE

53.            NORTHERN EXPOSURE

54.            THE WONDER YEARS

55.            L.A. LAW

56.            SESAME STREET

57.            COLUMBO

58.            FAWLTY TOWERS* – TIE

                THE ROCKFORD FILES – TIE

60.            FREAKS AND GEEKS – TIE

                MOONLIGHTING – TIE

62.            ROOTS

63.            EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND – TIE

                SOUTH PARK* – TIE

65.            PLAYHOUSE 90

66.            DEXTER – TIE

                THE OFFICE (U.S.) – TIE

68.            MY SO-CALLED LIFE

69.            THE GOLDEN GIRLS

70.            THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW

71.            24 – TIE

                ROSEANNE – TIE

                THE SHIELD – TIE

74.            HOUSE – TIE

                MURPHY BROWN – TIE

76.            BARNEY MILLER – TIE

                I, CLAUDIUS* – TIE

78.            THE ODD COUPLE

79.            ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS – TIE

                MONTY PYTHON’S FLYING CIRCUS* – TIE

                STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION – TIE

                UPSTAIRS, DOWNSTAIRS* – TIE

83.            GET SMART

84.            THE DEFENDERS – TIE

                GUNSMOKE – TIE

86.            JUSTIFIED – TIE

                SGT. BILKO (THE PHIL SILVERS SHOW) – TIE

88.            BAND OF BROTHERS

89.            ROWAN & MARTIN’S LAUGH-IN

90.            THE PRISONER*

91.            ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS (U.K.)* – TIE

                THE MUPPET SHOW – TIE

93.            BOARDWALK EMPIRE

94.            WILL & GRACE

95.            FAMILY TIES

96.            LONESOME DOVE – TIE

                SOAP – TIE

98.            THE FUGITIVE – TIE

                LATE NIGHT WITH DAVID LETTERMAN – TIE

                LOUIE – TIE

101.            OZ

 

‘Longmire’ kicks off second season closer to the target

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As a fan of Craig Johnson’s series of crime novels about Wyoming Sheriff Walt Longmire, I was a little disappointed with the first season of the TV series version that aired on A&E.

You can catch up with what I thought here, but it boiled down to: Not enough of Johnson’s trademark mix of tall, dark and quiet heroes and quirky plots.

longmire and vic

Last night’s second-season debut, though, was closer to the target. The episode was based in part on a Craig Johnson book, “Hell is Empty,” which puts the sheriff in harm’s way as he transports a series of prisoners – including a man who killed a child several years ago – through his county and over a mountain … just in time for a blizzard.

The single hour of television couldn’t begin to capture all of Johnson’s straightforward plot and rich characters. But it came closer than any first-season episode.

The series is also coming closer to hitting the mark in the way it portrays Johnson’s characters. I’ve got to say I’m enjoying the heck out of Robert Taylor as Longmire, for whom “less is more” truly describes his spare speaking habit. Really, the less the writers give the sheriff to say the better – and not because Taylor’s not a good actor. He’s good, but he’s perfect with a long stare and grumble

I loved “Battlestar Galactica” vet Katee Sackhoff as Walt’s deputy – and is very tentative love interest the right way to describe her? – Vic Moretti from the moment she was cast and I’m still enjoying her.

Bailey Chase and Cassidy Freeman are quite good as Walt’s ambitious deputy and daughter, respectively.

I’m growing to like the terrific Lou Diamond Phillips as Henry Standing Bear, Walt’s longtime friend and confidant. Phillips is making questionable casting palatable.

One big plus for me with last night’s episode was an injection of the Native American mythos and mysticism that marks Johnson’s books. As Walt trudged through snow to track the prisoners, Henry and other figures – including an impressive owl – appeared to him. Thanks in part to Henry, spirit guides and the connection between the Wyoming characters and the earth are present throughout the books.

I’m still not convinced I’m buying the subplot about the death, before the show started, of Walt’s wife. She died from cancer in the books and, while her passing has left a huge shadow across Walt, it isn’t the stuff of an ongoing mystery.

I wasn’t sure I was going to check out “Longmire” this second season. The season premiere definitely encouraged me to come back for more.

‘Dragnet’ – Joe Friday on the job

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dragnet the badge racket

I love “Dragnet.” Really.

The classic Jack Webb series – which ran in the 1950s and in the 1960s, although I’m really only familiar with the latter show – has long since become a touchstone for parody with Webb’s “just the facts, ma’am” writing, direction, casting and performances. But the show has a lot of virtues.

I’ve written about it as a LA travelogue before, for example.

Each half-hour episode quickly and concisely tells a story of crime and punishment in Los Angeles. Sure the show is ripe with silly hippie portrayals and overreaches in it’s messages. But Webb was master of the 30-minute (minus commercials) drama like no one since Rod Serling – and maybe no one since.

Still, it can be more than a little unintentionally funny.

I was watching an episode today – “The Badge Racket,” from September 1967 – in which Gannon (Harry Morgan) goes undercover at an LA hotel to catch a threesome blackmailing out-of-town businessmen. A bimbo barges into the businessman’s hotel room and then two guys, posing as cops, shake him down for money in lieu of telling the folks back home in Nebraska or Iowa or wherever.

As Gannon leaves the hotel with the crooks, Friday follows in a “loose” tail.

When they get to police headquarters – it’s all part of the crooks’ plan, so just go with it – Friday tightens that “loose” tail and is seen riding the elevator with them in a “don’t mind me, folks” moment.

dragnet the badge racket

The scene very nearly made me fall out of my chair laughing. I looked around online and was able to find a screen cap on the wonderful site dragnetstyle.blogspot.com.

Love it.

‘The Walking Dead’ preview pic

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walking-dead-season four sneak

This photo has been out for a couple of days but I wanted to acknowledge that, yes, the new season of “The Walking Dead” is only – what – five months away?

Rick and his pal (above) will be there. I’m guessing you and I will too.

The show returns on AMC in October.

RIP actor Steve Forrest

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steve forrest dallas

Longtime TV  fans remember actor Steve Forrest as Hondo in the 1975 series “SWAT.” But I fondly remember Forrest from a later role in “Dallas.”

The 1986 season of “Dallas” was one of the oddest during the show’s original run on CBS. In the previous season, Bobby Ewing (Patrick Duffy) was written out of the show … only to return in a season-ending cliffhanger. Bobby’s disappearance was explained as “only a dream” of Pamela.

In the season that followed, Forrest joined the cast as Southfork Ranch foreman Wes Parmalee, a grizzled good ole boy who took a liking to Miss Ellie.

In time, Ellie came to believe that Wes was actually her husband, Jock, a character written out of the show when actor Jim Davis died.

Eventually, the Ewing boys proved that Parmalee was not Jock and Parmalee confessed and wandered into the sunset.

It was a fun storyline, however, and Forrest was good in it.

Forrest died in the Los Angeles area at age 87.