Category: TV

Bobby Brown Goes Down

2013-04-04, 10:35 pm
Categories: Music, Politics, TV, Work

This seems like another one I didn't post because of the title -- but then again, it didn't stop me from headling a post "Crumpet-Munching Assholes: The Story Behind Bobby Brown Goes Down.

This is a pretty poor-quality video with pretty poor-quality audio, but looks like one of those rarities that's worth sharing. According to uploader Dave David it's from a 1978 special called Ohne Maulkorb.

(You know, since I mention it, I heard a coworker talking about how great Zappa is today, too. Like I say: starting to dig this place.)

Obits

2013-04-04, 9:29 pm
Categories: Comics, Movies, Stream of Consciousness, TV, Work

Roger Ebert's going to be getting most of the press today. But some other important folks died these past couple days too.

You know who writes great obits? Mark Evanier writes great obits. I'll start you off with his post on Ebert.

Then there's George Gladir, unsung Archie scribe, co-creator of Sabrina the Teenage Witch, and 2007 recipient of the Bill Finger Award, an award that recognizes great comics writers who don't get the attention they deserve.

A comics creator who did get plenty of attention also passed today: Carmine Infantino, one of the most important artists, creators, and editors in the history of the business. He's best known for ushering in the Silver Age between the co-creation of the Barry Allen Flash and the design of the New Look Batman. And he was art director during an era noted for stories written around crazy covers.

And I learned something about one of my coworkers today: when I told him Ebert and Infantino had died, I got a bigger reaction for Infantino. You know, I'm starting to like this place.

Last, but not least -- and I'm going with the New York Times here because Evanier doesn't have an obit for her -- yesterday marked the passing of Jane Henson, Jim's widow and earliest collaborator.

Sad times -- we lost some real talents. But they all had a good run.

Nightline 1985, Part 3

2013-04-02, 10:02 pm
Categories: Games, Music, Politics, TV

Finale. Nice point on how Al Gore wasn't lobbying to regulate country music -- in much the same way that, more recently, California's Leland Yee wanted legal regulations of video game violence but not Hollywood film violence, despite FTC research showing that video game ratings are enforced more consistently than film ratings.

And seriously -- Marvin Gaye? That's the sexually explicit musician you want to protect your children from?

Pity about that last cutoff, but good that someone got a tape at all. Thanks again to uploader koolstrike.

Nightline 1985, Part 2

2013-04-01, 9:21 pm
Categories: Movies, Music, TV

More from Donny Osmond on how G-rated movies don't sell tickets and directors add more adult content specifically to avoid the G rating. (I hear that's the whole reason for the scene in Star Wars where Luke finds Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru's charred corpses; prior to that scene being added, the film earned a G.)

And does anyone remember where interviewers could just say "A warning to our affiliates: we're going to go over"? I don't. Obviously live presentations and sporting events can go over time, but I don't remember seeing an interview do it -- aside from The Daily Show's frequent "Watch the rest on the Web!" schtick.

This one cuts off abruptly too, a product of YouTube's old 10-minute time limit.

Nightline 1985, Part 1

2013-03-30, 8:50 pm
Categories: Music, Politics, TV

Koppel interviews Zappa, Donny Osmond, and Kandy Stroud regarding -- what else? -- the Porn Wars. Uploaded by koolstrike.

Kudos in particular to Nightline for pointing out that Love for Sale was once banned from radio and Louie, Louie was investigated by the FBI for having allegedly obscene lyrics. The pro-censorship crowd argues, as always, "Well yes that was silly, but this time is completely different!" Much like people advocating video game censorship today.

Zappa also meets a potentially-unexpected ally in Donny Osmond, who is opposed to the music rating system on the simple grounds that R-rated movies make more money than G-rated ones and music ratings would be a threat to the sales of Osmond's squeaky-clean music.

Doctor Who: The Talons of Weng-Chiang

2013-03-14, 10:03 pm
Categories: Stream of Consciousness, TV

Originally posted Brontoforumus, 2009-12-05.

The Talons of Weng-Chiang is commonly referenced as a fan-favorite episode, so I gave it a look. It probably didn't live up to the hype, but it was still pretty good. It's a Fourth Doctor/Leela story in Victorian England, where they face off against the eponymous villain, who's a gestalt of Fu Manchu, Jack the Ripper, Dracula, and the Phantom of the Opera. The Doctor plays a Sherlock Holmes-y role.

It's got a great setting, sets, and costumes, good characters, and fantastic Fourth Doctor dialogue. The main thing working against it is its stereotypical portrayal of the Chinese -- some of this, like comments made by the English characters, is simply an accurate portrayal of the time the story's set in, but the character of Li H'sen Chang, played by an Anglo in heavy makeup, is damned awkward.

Those blemishes aside, it's a great story, with nice visuals and writing, and one of the Fourth Doctor's best, which is to say one of the series' best.

The special edition is currently $25 at Amazon, while the non-special edition has inexplicably shot up from $15 to $28.14. $25 seems a bit much; I'd suggest waiting for a sale or for it to become available for streaming.

Aaaand I think that's the last of my old Who reviews. Guess I'll have to find something else for my phoned-in posts when I can't come up with anything new to write. Course, I've written plenty else over at the forums over the years that I'm sure I can plunder.

Prague, 1990

2013-03-13, 8:43 pm
Categories: Movies, Politics, TV

Can't understand a word these guys are saying, but it's still pretty cool -- I'm fascinated by Frank's popularity among the counterculture in Czechoslovakia, and the warm welcome he received there after the collapse of its communist regime.

Uploaded by Yrrah0017.