My Tribute to Robin Williams

We were all saddened at the new we received just about 24 hours ago (as I type this) regarding Robin Williams. Even more shocking than his death was how he died. At first, I wasn’t going to do a tribute article because, well, he was never my favorite comedian. Don’t get me wrong, he was a brilliant comedian and a genius at improve. But he was lower on my list when I grew up. But then I decided there were three things I had to talk about, and that is what we will do today.

Before I begin I am only noting the works I have actually seen. Therefore some his great stuff (like Good Will Hunting or Dead Poet's Society) will be absent. I am sure they were amazing but this is about the stuff I did see.

Five Hollywood Myths and Legends–I Wish Would Go Away!!

There are dozens of Hollywood myths and legends out there. But some of them have been explained. We know what was really going on but rather than fade away some people continue to insist the legend is true. And this gets on my nerves!


Here are five examples of what I mean


Three Men and a Baby Ghost



It wasn’t a ghost!! I’m sorry, let me start at the beginning.This was a really decent comedy starring Tom Selleck, Steveb Guttenberg, and Ted Danson. It pisses me off that this ghost is the films legacy. I think we all know the story, there is a scene where Ted Danson and  Celeste Holm walk past a window. And in the window is something..odd. At first glance it looks someone standing there. Legend grew that it was a ghost of a child who was killed in the home where they shot the movie. Ok, first of all they shot the movie on a soundstage not a real apartment. Second, upon closer inspection it’s clearly a cardboard cutout of Ted Danson. The same one we see in a different scene closeup. I get the feeling some lazy prop guy left it there, and voila! A movie legend is born. And people refuse to let this go even insisting there is a gun somewhere in the film which is what as used to kill the boy. Puh-leese!!

Underrated Trek:Carpenter Street (ENT)

Welcome back to Underrated Trek, where I take a special look at Star Trek episodes that I love…which may not be the most popular or even liked by most. Last time around I discussed an episode that wasn’t really bad. I promised the next time we would get into something I like that is truly looked down on. For that there is no better place to turn than the dreck of Enterprise. Today I give you:

This came along in Season 3. I have been putting this off (partly because SFDebris reviewed it a few weeks ago and was a little hard on it I thought) but think now is the time. Star Trek Enterprise was god awful but it did manage to pull off one or two decent episodes. Could this really be one of them? Let’s take a closer look.

Top 10 All-Time Favorite Movie Quotes

Today I wanted to talk movie quotes. Oh you know what I mean, those lines that we love and keep quoting years after we’ve seen the movies. Some quotes are famous they become part of our language. May The Force Be With You anyone?

So let me clarify I am not talking speeches, I’ve covered that. This is just a few lines of dialogue which somehow leave an impact. There are lots of great movie quotes involving two people but that is another discussion. But if you’re not what I mean as an example, click HERE


I do have clips of all these sorry for the ads before them. Still worth that to hear these memorable lines again. Ok, my list :


#10. “You’ve Never Seen Me Very Upset” from Mission:Impossible

This one is unique. I love this line, but I have never actually seen the movie. I must have caught it in the ads and just loved the way Cruise said it. The scene plays very serious as Cruise gets angrier and angrier. Wish I could provide better context, but it’s still a great line.

WATCH HERE



#9.”If you build it…They will come” from Field of Dreams

I love this line, even if it has kind of faded from pop culture. There is just something about the soft whisper in the wind which makes us say “what the hell are they talking about??”. Thankfully Ray (played by Kevin Costner) figures it out in one of my favorite Baseball movies.

 WATCH HERE

Random Thoughts-Why I Love Re-Run's

Over the last forty years I have often heard people groan when a re-run is on. Some people find it crazy that I would watch a TV episode that I have already seen. Why would I want to do that? Not only do I do that, but I have tapes in my closet of shows if I can’t find anything on regular TV. I love those tapes and would never part with them.


Now I admit I sure as heck prefer a new, fresh episode over a re-run. I mean, who wouldn’t? But to me watching re-runs is no different than popping your favorite movie into the DVD player (or netflix, whatever). If you haven’t seen the show in awhile you smile remembering the jokes and memorable characters. If you watch them more often you feel comforted with the familiar program. Why else would The Big Bang Theory air so many times IN ONE DAY. It’s why re-runs air after work hours and late night and have aired then for as long as I can remember. Scrubs summed it up best in one episode which spoofed goody sitcoms. It’s always nice after a long day to come up and unwind with your favorite programs.

Top 5 Worst Claire Huxtable Moments

 

I have gone on and on complaining about Debra Barone on Everybody Loves Raymond. But while I hate her, the truth is she isn’t that far removed from the sitcom mother’s that came before her.  I got to thinking the other day about one of my favorite shows, The Cosby Show. Specifically I was thinking about Claire Huxtable, played of course by Phylicia Rashad. She was a strong, smart, independent woman who loved her family as well as her career. Cliff admired the hell of how smart she was and there was no doubt they were in love with each other and respected each other.She also supported her kids and was always there for them, with advice or a firm hand.

But that being said, she could be really overbearing at times. Seriously, to the point of being just plain mean. In fact she could almost be at the level of Debra Barone, There are lots of times she was almost unlikable!  So in my never ending quest to be fair, since I have said so many horrible things about Debra Barone let me show that even a good TV mom has her moments. Here are my top 5 worst Claire Huxtable moments (and yes some are less moments than they are character traits).



#5.The Pilot

Fair is fair, and this is the pilot which means that the characters are just getting started and the actors haven’t even really figured out how to play them yet. That being said, why is Claire such a witch in this episode? This was obviously before Clair was turned into the smart, independent woman she would becomes. Here she is more the stereotypical aggravated sitcom mother who sends the father up to deal with the kids. She seems downright hostile, at one point asking Cliff why they have four children. I get that she would be angry at Theo but yelling at him isn’t the answer (Thankfully the show itself points this out in the episode where Theo is diagnosed with Dyslexia). There is another scene where sends the kids upstairs after dinner like a drill sargeants and tells them to wash up and go to bed. Yes this was coming from Cosby’s stand up act but it was kind of stupid their to. She whines that she was beautiful, before the children came. Finally when Cliff looks for a little affection she points out that “this is how we got the children”. Cliff backs off… for a second. Heck there’s even a line where Cliff says he loves Theo, and maybe his mother loves him too. She was awful in the pilot but thankfully this did not last because no one would have liked her if it had.

Top 10 Favorite SchoolHouse Rock Episodes

Oh are we going to have some fun today my friends! I have touched upon this here and there but never really explored this fantastic PSA series which aired on ABC in the 70′s and 80′s. ANYONE who was a kid during then knows about these, I don’t care who you are or how much you pretend otherwise. And yes I know ABC and Disney re-ran these through the 90′s so I am sure most here are familiar with these. Of course I am talking about:

The series began in 1973 and covered included grammar, science, economics, history, mathematics, and civics. What makes these so memorable and timeless is the method used to teach these things. Quirky music videos with memorable lyrics you will never get out of your head!
Before I begin the list, let’s here that opening tune!
Now this is all just opinion, these are my personal favorite episodes

#10.Electricity

This gets the top spot because while the song is memorable…I am not sure if it’s really good. The song is about, well, electricity! It is clever and well done for a subject matter that really isn’t very interesting. In fact when the narrator discusses how electricity works even at my age I’m going HUH?
WATCH IT HERE