Top 10 TV Hangout’s (Diners/Bars)

I talked awhile back about my favorite waiters, waitress’s and bartenders at our favorite TV diner’s and restaurants. But one thing I never discussed was the places themselves. It’s true that in some shows the hangout’s don’t have much personality, like Nemo's on Everybody Loves Raymond, or “The Touchdown Club” on Coach. The characters were always there, but who remembers that place?

 
But in other shows, the hangout becomes so popular that it almost qualifies as a character in of itself. Here my favorites:





#10.The Simpsons

One of the amazing things about this show is how fleshed out the town and community of Springfield are. And one of the first places we learned to love was Moe’s Tavern. Whether it was Homer getting some advice or Bart playing yet another prank, we all loved this place. Hey, wasn’t there a Simpsons article I was supposed to be doing…..

Top 10 Favorite Batman Designs

Two months ago I discussed my favorite super hero costumes. You know, the costumes that are just aesthetic pleasing to me with no regard for character or anything else like that. And on that list was Batman. But the thing is, Batman’s design has changed a lot over the years. Oh sure the basic design is always the same, but as the character as grown as did his outfit. I kinda illustrated this a couple weeks ago in my rundown of Detective Comics over the last 80 years. But which of these are my
favorites?

So since we’re still celebrating the 80th anniversary of the Caped Crusader, it seemed only fair to go over them. Here are my ten favorite Batman designs. These come from comics, cartoons, and live media. But no video games, I had to draw the line somewhere! Also no crazy variations either like Elsewords stories or that awful 90’s heavy metal version.

#10.Superfriends Batman

I had to put this on here because I grew up with this version. This was the version I knew best as a kid. And looking back, yeah it’s kinda silly looking. They have the design down but there’s just something about the way it’s drawn that I just can’t see this Batman striking fear into much of anything.

Five Things I Liked in “Return of the Jedi”

It’s been almost twenty years since “The Phantom Menace” came out. I still can’t believe how long it took us all to accept how awful that movie was. So I thought today it would be fun to pretend it was twenty years ago, and we still live in a world with only three Star Wars movies. If you recall this simpler time, you may recall that of those three “Return of the Jedi” was considered the “bad one”. Where it ranks today is another discussion for another day. Instead I wanted to talk about this movie, which was my favorite of the three.

 

Released in 1983, this movie did not wow critics or fans. And I get that, I mean another death star battle? I give then credit for using Lando at least but it was still dull. Also I will admit as I have aged that the Ewok’s beating the empire’s best troops like that is kinda…stupid. True Vader’s redemption could be considered too easy. And don’t get me started on that revised ending I will always prefer the original. So ok it wasn’t the strongest movie, but I still love it. Here are five reasons why, aside from the fact that it was  the first Star Wars movie I was old enough to really appreciate in theaters.

Overrated Trek:The Trouble with Tribbles

Welcome back to overrated Trek, where I take a special look at Star Trek episodes that I hate…which may be popular or even loved by most. This has been a long time coming as I wanted to do this for awhile. Today let’s talk about an “classic” episode that is just plain lame. This is :

 

So is this episode really the classic that people claim? I mean it does focus on the critical issue of protecting grain shipments. I mean What’s… quadro-triticale? I think it’s wheat, so what?   Let’s see:

Celebrating Detective Comics #1000-Batman Through the Years

Last year when Action Comics #1000 came out, I had a huge tribute article that day. I loved Superman and wanted that article to be as big as it could be, and I listed my favorite Superman stories. Then like a dope I did Batman’s a few months later. So today, March 27,2019 when the landmark 1000th issue of Detective Comics comes out for Batman’s 80th…I got nothing. This wont even get posted on the right date

 

This doesn’t mean that I don’t respect Batman, but I think it’s also well documented that I liked Superman more. My favorite thing about Batman was the detective stuff and that has kinda been downplayed over the years.

But I feel like I need to do something to acknowledge this event, so here is a look at the many versions of Batman over the years via the covers of Detective Comics starting with the very first issue from 1939!!











Actually I tell a lie, this is the cover of Detective #27, the first appearance of Batman ever. I just can’t believe this cover is 80 YEARS OLD! You can tell Bob Kane and (yes) Bill Finger already had the character down pretty good even from this start.

Top 10 Favorite “The Simpsons” Celebrity Cameo’s

The end of this year will mark a very impressive anniversary. It was thirty years ago that The Simpsons spun off from The Tracy Ulman Show and became it’s own series. Yeah, amazing isn’t that this was originally a bunch of filler shorts?? Anyway it became it’s own show… And I avoided it entirely in 1989. Why? Because as hard as it may be to believe, The Simpsons was controversial in its day. Yeah I was around then and find that baffling. I guess Bart was a poor role model or something. It would take a few more years for people to start accepting not EVERY show had to be wholesome and educational, leading the way for Family Guy, South Park, and many others. The Simpsons truly was a game changer, as much  as I hate that overused expression it really applies here. But I covered the shows that were inspired by this one in another article. I don’t remember when I first tuned in, but it wasn’t right away. One reason was the "controversy".  The other reason I didn’t watch was also the small fact that the show originally aired opposite The Cosby Show and nothing was going to make me not watch that!

But the show was a smash and was soon EVERYWHERE. In fact the Simpsons even presented on the Emmy Awards one year! I did finally watch re-runs when I was in college, and found the show could be really good. I was never a die hard fan but I certainly had no problem with the series. I tune in occasionally, especially if there is a stunt going on like the Family Guy crossover (yes I know that was  a Family Guy episode). It’s also a Halloween standard at this point, who doesn’t watch as many of those “Treehouse of Horror” episodes they can? And of course the amazing thing is that, for some reason, IT’S STILL ON!! I mean, what the hell? Who is still watching these?? In fact it’s gonna plow right through its 30th season and start setting records to the longest scripted television series…..ever! That’s crazy!

So it seemed only fitting to discuss this show since whether you love it o hate you can’t deny it’s a major part of pop culture. It’s hard to believe there was a time when this show didn’t exist. So since I talked about the Halloween stuff to death, what other area could I cover? And that was an easy choice. One of the many cool things about the show are all the celebrities who have done cameo’s on it. So here are my ten favorite. And I am only counting when the actors played themselves, actors playing an actual character is another list my friends (one I am sure I will get to).

#10.Betty White
If you’re going to be angry and hate celebrities, you may not want to approach the sweetest and kindest celebrity ever!

Random Thoughts-The New Lex Luthor (no spoilers)

So I talked about the new Superman when he showed up on Supergirl, it was only fair to discuss this week’s newest casting. Yes my friends we have  a new Lex Luthor. Let's go over his appearance this past Sunday Supergirl, without any spoilers and real quick.

 

Not gonna lie, I was not excited about it. I have never been much of a Jon Cryer fan. The only thing’s I’ve really seen him in were Superman IV and Two and a Half Men. Course he was ridiculous in Superman IV and while he was ok in “Men” he was kind of a tool. Add to that the ghost of the last new Luthor, Eisenberg who trashed the character, I had my concerns.

What did I think?

I was very, and happily, surprised! So again with no spoilers, Cryer really did a fantastic job. He’s a much better actor than you would realize after that lame sitcom he got stuck on. This was a Lex that had everything. He had  a sense of humor and some humanity in him. But he was still smart as a whip and cunning. Luthor is always 2 steps ahead of everyone, except Superman, and that showed. He’s still got another two episodes so it’s hard to say for sure where he will rank on my list of actors who played Lex. He doesn’t beat Rosenbaum or Shea, or Hackman, but he is sure hell better than Eisenberg. Cryer seemed to really get Lex, and while I don’t think he physically fit the role 100% I think he nailed the rest of it. His scenes with Lena were superb. I was very impressed by the end of the episode, and that final scene was perfect it may be one of my favorite Arrowverse moments from any of the shows. Can’t spoil it so go watch it!!! It’s a shame these DC TV writers don”t write the movies, why couldn’t we have had this Lex in Batman V Superman rather than the Joker wannabe we ended up with?


I also loved the nod to the old comics, especially the plot point of Luthor having cancer by kryptonite exposure which was a real thing once. By the way I haven’t been thrilled with this season on Supergirl, but this episode as a whole was pretty damn good. Wonder what next week will bring?


So that’s it. my initial reaction to seeing the new Luthor. What did you guys think? Comment and let me know.