Five Actors I Can’t Believe Played Klingons

Halloween is a great time to get dressed up and wear cool costumes and make-up. If done right a person can be completely disguised, And on Star Trek, the aliens created by brilliant artist Michael Westmore give actors the ultimate chance to dive into a character that they could never play in real life, and be totally unrecognizable doing it!

 

When it comes to Klingons on Star Trek, it’s easy to lose the actor in the make-up and characterization. I mean Klingon’s are animalistic and savage. Well, except for TOS Klingons but that’s a different subject.  For instance did yoy know that wqas Mark Lenard aka Sarek as the Klingon at the start of Star Trek-The Motion picture? He is totally unrecognizable! Sometimes an actor will shine through but still do a good job. For instance we all know it’s Christopher Lloyd as Kruge in Star Trek III or James Avery on Star Trek Enterprise, but they did good jobs. Other times the actor will suck, like the awful Klingon Tim Russ played on DS9. So awful I don’t feel like looking up the character’s name.










But some actors do such a cool job that I still can’t believe its as them under all that make-up. Here are five :





John Larroquette

I said we can tell Lloyd is playing Kruge in Star Trek III, but did you know John Larroqiette is the Klingon Maltz? Yeah you probably did, but honestly I am still impressed by that. As many times as I’ve seen the movie I still can’t really see Dan Fielding in there at all. True he doesn’t have much to do, but he manages one of the movies funniest lines near the end.

Five Unusual “Frankenstein Monsters”

I’ve long neglected the classic Hollywood monsters that have such long histories. So since it’s Halloween, let’s talk about them. I discussed ghosts last time but ghosts have no specific identity or backstory. Some monsters do, and there backstories are so well known that they are part of pop culture.

A lot of people are amazed Frankenstein was written by a woman. Mary Shelley of course. But the amazing thing for me is that the original novel was written in 1818! That pre-date’s Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol! What is it about the novel that captivates us so? The tale is full of so much metaphor and symbolism it’s still relatable. And then there is Frankenstein’s Monster who is a true victim, and it’s the tragedy of that character that brings us back. He doesn’t mean to harm anyone, and in almost every version it’s always him who shows he does have a heart. Even parodies remember this. This book was amazing and I never read it.

 

It is was Boris Karloff who gave us the quintessential version that most movies and TV try to imitate. Even it differed from the book. Why did he have a blazer? The Universal Monsters made such an impact that we still remember them today. And that goes for all of them not just Frankenstein. But Frankenstein may top them all. Though I think Dracula technically has more adaptations. Who doesn’t know what his bride looks like? Or recognize that iconic laboratory set up? And yes, the monster never had a name!!! Can we stop arguing about that?

So while I could list the millions of versions of Frankenstein out there, some more faithful than others to the source material, here instead are five example of taking the basic premise of Frankenstein but doing something a little more, weird with it.






Frankenberry

I know when I think Frankenstein the first to things that come to mind is pink and strawberry. Sure. Clearly inspired by Boris Karloff, we got this character to sell cereal alongside the popular vampire Count Choccula. And yes of course I know about Boo Berry I forgot to mention him last time. While I wouldn’t eat the cereal, ever, I do admire the work out into these commercials and the legacy these characters still have forty years later. While some have disappeared, like Fruit Brute, these two continue to endure.

Top 5 Favorite Movie Ghosts

Well here we are now less than two weeks from Halloween, time for a Halloween article or two. Before zombies and vampires, ghosts were the huge thing. Ghosts are always fascinating because they don’t have to be evil or mean.  Heck, they can be normal people who just can’t leave the Earth. On the other hand they can be nasty creatures who seek to torment you. Here are five of my favorite ghosts from movies.

#5.Jacob Marley

Yeah I feel funny about this one, to me this is a Christmas story. But you can’t deny the supernatural element. I mean, they are called the ghosts of Christmas! So I guess it counts. Jacob Marley is singled out because, no matter what version it is, he is always the quintessential ghost. He is a ghastly site with his chains and does what any good ghost should–scare the crap out of Scrooge!







#4.Casper

Ok he was a cartoon first but he’s been in a few movies so he counts. Casper is the friendly ghost..and I was never really been a big fan. The problem with him being so nice and kind is he’s not much of a character. He needs other ghosts around him to be interesting, because bu himself he’s kinda dull. I saw his first movie and it wasn’t bad.

Five Actors Whose Characters Were Killed Off Their Own Shows

So “The Connor’s” premiered last night. I think we all know the backstory. After some rather alarming remarks from Roseanne on Twitter she was fired and her show is continuing on without her. It really is sad what a mess the Roseanne reboot has turned into, what was originally just a fun idea between Sara Gilbert and John Goodman.

I am not going to argue whether or not Roseanne deserved to be fired, instead I want to talk about the way her character was written out. I don’t think it’s a big spoiler to say Roseanne Connor was killed off. The funny thing is, this isn’t the first time a TV show has killed off a main character after firing a star. Usually when a show does this the character just disappears. Like Delta Burke on Designing Women, Suzanne Somers on Three’s Company, Lisa Bonet on Cosby or Dana Plato on Diff’rent Strokes. But every so often the producers go the extra step and actually kill the character off. One recent example is like Erinn Hayes from last year’s awful “Kevin Can Wait”. The thing there was she had done nothing wrong, the creators were just trying to save a lousy series. In most cases, there is a little more to it than that.


Here are five show which killed off a character due to backstage tensions, even if they were the star of the show!





Charlie Sheen

Yeah this wasn’t that long ago and I’m pretty sure we all remember this story. Two and a Half Men was a pretty solid hit. Then Sheen had a well publicized breakdown following several rehab stints. Not to mention reports of domestic violence and rude comments. The character was killed off, oddly, and replaced with Aston Kutcher who must have worked since the shoe went on just fine. I wouldn’t know I didn’t watch.

Five Killed Comic Characters That Should Have Stayed Dead

So as I said last time, let’s talk about characters who shouldn’t have returned. Generally speaking when a character dies, who figures a resurrection is down the road. Usually when a character is killed the question “what happens next?”. But sometimes a character death has such ramifications that it’s kind of insulting to bring them back. It not only tarnishes whatever effect that death had, but it’s just insulting to the story where the person died.

Here are five examples of what I mean. I didn’t specify it in my last list so let me do it here, all of these examples are BEFORE the reboot in 2012.



Maxwell Lord

It wasn’t enough that they ruined the character by making him evil. I was on board it this chatacyer until day one, and I promise he was not evil in the 80’s. Of course that changed and he became evil, and killed Ted Kord. Then Wonder Woman killed him (long story). So what next? Why not bring him back at the end of the Blackest Night event..for no real reason.

Five Killed Comic Characters That Stayed Dead

It’s common for comic book characters, whether hero or villain or just supporting cast, to be killed and then resurrected a few months later. But once in awhile, a character will be killed and actually stay dead. At least until the universe gets rebooted. For example Gwen Stacy over at Spider-Man never really returned from her shocking death, though she had clones and alternate versions aplenty.

But that’s Marvel and as you know I’m a DC guy.


Here are five examples, and the one rule is that the character has to have never been brought back to life. If they made appearances in the after life or as a ghost or zombie (or in expanded media) it’s not the same.



Dove

I talked about Hawk and Dove before, but it’s still fascinating that this character was never resurrected. Dove was reinvented with others playing the role, but Don Hall himself was at peace and stayed that way.

15 TV Theme’s That Are Also Full Length Songs

You may have noticed something odd in my last theme song article. The Fresh Prince theme was a tad, longer than you may have remembered. That’s because it was written as a full song. However, the full version was used all of once and after that we got the truncated (but still awesome) version.

And this isn’t the only example of this happening. A lot of theme’s have extended, full length versions that were released as singles and even played on the radio. Some actually started that way, before becoming a theme song. Others were created after the show (and subsequently the theme) became so popular that demand for a full version prompted one.



There are a ton of these but to keep this from going on forever, let’s just talk about a few of them today. No specific order and only songs, we’ll get to instrumentals another time.




“Thank You For Being a Friend” by Andrew Gold
Let’s start with this little gem. We all know “Thank You for Being a Friend” from The Golden Girls. Did you know this was first a full length song written by Andrew Gold? It was re-recorded by Cynthia Free when it was adopted by the show.

Top 10 TV Theme’s Sung By the Show’s Stars

Last month I talked about awful Season 1 theme songs I mentioned how Charlotte Rea sang the Facts of Life theme that first year, badly. Thankfully that one was re-recorded but a lot of other theme songs are sung by the stars and the song does work and even becomes iconic.

Here are my ten favorite theme songs sung by the stars of the show themselves.


#10.Frasier
I’ve complained how annoying the lyrics are to this but outing that aside it’s always fun to hear Kelsey Grammar’s bouncy rendition of this theme.

#9.My Two Dads
Most don’t remember this show, and I don’t blame them for that, but it wasn’t that bad really. Greg Evigan starred and of course sang the theme song. And it’s sung pretty darn well, for a silly so like this anyway.

Five Things I Liked in “Hocus Pocus”

Some guilty pleasures are so lame, we can’t stop loving them! I’ve mentioned this movie here and there but never did a real discussion of it. So, since it’s the 25th anniversary this year, this is a good time.

 

I saw this movie in theaters when it came out July 1993. Why did a clearly Halloween movie come out in July? Got me. Maybe Disney was so excited about it they couldn’t wait. They certainly hyped it enough, with horrible ads that didn’t explain the plot at all. Just made it sound like the three sisters were here for wacky hi jinks. And some of the stuff in this movie is definitely silly. Like the stock bullies, big plot holes, and that idiotic zombie nonsense. But what works, really works in my opinion. And in fact it’s grown such a cult following that Freeform shows over and over in October.

 

So we all agree that it’s a guilty pleasure, at best, then what is it that brings us back every year? Well, here are five reasons for me anyway :





The Music

Of course Bette Midler is in the movie so we had to have a song. And “I’ve Got a Spell on You” is pretty good. It’s got a nice beat but isn’t ridiculous. But what is often overlooked is the rest of the soundtrack, which is also damn good. The music is great and really enhances the mood. I discussed composers earlier this year one name I overlooked was John Debney who does good work. The other overlooked theme is the song Sarah sings to lure the children which is, well, mesmerizing.

Five Movies with Way too Predictable Endings

 So this weekend I got to see the movie Small Foot with my little niece. It’s a nice movie, I was surprised with the story as I had not heard about it beforehand. What I was not surprised with was the “twist” in the end. I can’t explain without giving it away, and since it just came I wont do that, but let’s just say it was obvious.

To be fair most movies are a little predictable. I mean do you think we'll ever a movie where Superman doesn't save the day? But sometimes movies will have an ending so predictable it's practically told to you earlier in the movie. Or even worst, all you have to do is see the trailer to guess the outcome. There are plenty of these but I picked five which drove me nuts for their obviousness.







Autumn in New York

Some probably never heard of this one. It’s a romantic movie about a couple played by Richard Gere and Winona Ryder. They fall in love even though he’s a tad older. And that’s basically the hook. Oh, and she has a terminal disease. They reveal this in the trailer for the movie, brilliant choice. Any wild guesses how this one ends? If that’s not enough to keep you away, Gere and Ryder have zero chemistry.