Movie Quote of the Week

She’s fair game, Joe. It’s always open season on princesses.
--Eddie Albert, Roman Holiday (1953)

TV Quote of the Week

Everybody marries everybody these days.
--Pam Austin, The Twilight Zone, "Number Twelve Looks Just Like You"

Pop Song of the Week: “Stranger in Town”

The Passion, MTV style.

Pensamientos Acerca de Televisión

Doctor Who (The Second Series): “The Impossible Astronaut”

The high point of this season's first episode: a post-mortem dedication of the episode to the late Elisabeth Sladen, who played journalist Sarah Jane Smith in both the first and second series of Doctor Who.

The low point: the fact that the episode not only ended on a cliffhanger but one of the less thought out cliffhangers to appear in the second series thus far.

In between, the Doctor and his companions had to deal with an eerie race of aliens who specialized in erasing all memories of their existence (the Memento Men?) and win over a former FBI agent with a mysterious secret. (No, the agent's last name was not Mulder). Dr. River Song showed up to carry on her age-old jihad against any headgear the Doctor might wear and if that was not enough, poor Amy was gaining weight and suffering from bouts of nausea. There was also a mysterious astronaut who might have something to do with the show's latest mystery and what's this? A guest appearance by both President Nixon and Nell Gwynn? Words fail me.

Those of you who like mysteries might want to ponder why Amy chose to share a particular secret of hers with the Doctor and not with her husband. (Apparently poor Rory is becoming the Rodney Dangerfield of the Doctor Who universe.) For that matter, what did the FBI agent mean when he talked about having gotten fired for wanting to get married? Was this an allusion to same-sex marriage -- or given the fact that much of the episode is set in 1969 -- was it an allusion to interracial marriage, which would have been still a big deal at the time of this episode? Inquiring minds want to know.

In any event, the answers to these and many other questions should be answered by this time next week. Unless they're not.

Movie Song of the Week: “I Don't Know How to Love Him”

From the 1973 movie Jesus Christ Superstar, it's Yvonne Elliman as Mary Magdalene giving her side of the eternal conflict between sacred and profane love. My apologies if you find her lyrics a bit on the TMI side.

¡Feliz Pascua de Resurrección!

Or as my English-speaking relatives would put it, Happy Easter! I hope all my readers have a wonderful holiday.

Trailer of the Week: The King of Kings (1927)

One of the earliest versions of the Christ legend to make it to the silver screen.

Hey, I Remember This Show: The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Hour

From 1968, it's the most famous cartoon rabbit of them all and the Saturday morning cartoon show which introduced him to my generation. Of course, a lot of the fun of this show was spoiled when I realized how many of the classic cartoons shown on this series were cut to make room for ads. But I'm sure all you folks who are fans of more recent shows like The Simpsons have nothing to worry about, right? Er, right?

Hey, I Don't Remember This Show: Greg the Bunny

Frankly, I'm not sure I want to remember this one even though some of its cast members are a lot more famous now. Definitely NSFW.

Pop Song of the Week: “The Whole of the Moon”

For all the good people who have inspired me over the years who are no longer with us.

Movie Quote of the Week

Of course, it's no Buckingham Palace.
--Paulette Goddard, Modern Times (1936)

TV Quote of the Week

And any friend of Sarah Jane Smith is a friend of mine.
--David Tennant, The Sarah Jane Adventures, “The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith: Part 2”

R.I.P. Elisabeth Sladen

British actress Elisabeth Sladen, most famous for her role as journalist Sarah Jane Smith in Doctor Who and The Sarah Jane Adventures, went off to assist the Brigadier in Peru early Tuesday morning at age 63.

She will be missed.

Movie Song of the Week: “The Spring Song”

Charlie Chaplin sings. No, seriously, he really does sing.

Trailer of the Week: Scream (1996)

“Everybody's a suspect!” Wow. Did that one line capture the spirit of the 21st century or what?

Hey, I Remember This Show: The FBI

Believe it or not, there actually was a time in our nation's history when a television show about the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation did not automatically include a mention of Mulder and Scully. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

And doesn't guest star Gene Hackman look awfully young in this clip?

Hey, I Don't Remember This Show: O'Hara, U.S. Treasury

Wow. Jack Webb of Dragnet fame actually produced a TV series about the U.S. Treasury. And former Fugitive star David Janssen was the star. I wish I could say I watched it when it was on the air but I didn't.

This Is Depressing

The same local movie theatre where I first saw La Femme Nikita, Como Agua Para Chocolate and Run, Lola, Run is now showing the grade-Z drug comedy Your Highness. And to think that there was a time back in the 1990s when said theatre actually bragged about having too many good foreign films and art movies for one theatre to show alone.

On the bright side, the same theatre will be showing The Muppet Movie soon.

Movie Quote of the Week

Everybody has to pay taxes. Even businessmen, who rob and cheat and steal from people everyday, even they have to pay taxes.
--Jonathan Winters, It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963)

TV Quote of the Week

If you start giving money back because you don't need it, you're breaking with centuries of tradition.
--Nigel Hawthorne, Yes, Prime Minister, “The Smoke Screen”

Pop Song of the Week: “Cult of Personality”

For Bluejay.

Well, I Did My Part

I actually had to pay income tax this year due to a change in the tax laws affecting the amount of unemployment compensation which can be taxed -- a change based, no doubt, on the theory that the one group of people most likely to be living large in this current economy is all those good folks collecting unemployment. My check is winging its way towards the IRS as we speak so if our beloved president can't find a way to get rid of that $4 trillion deficit this year, he certainly can't blame me.

Movie Song of the Week: “Little April Shower”

Oh, deer.

Pensamientos Acerca de Televisión

Bones: “The Double Death of the Dearly Departed”

This episode was the first episode of this series that my beloved mother ever saw -- and judging from her reaction, no doubt it is the last episode she will ever see.

To be fair, this was hardly one of the better episodes though I suspect it was the “surprise” conclusion which convinced my mother to give up on it. Any time you see a member of my family tuning out a TV show before the closing credits start, that is usually not a good sign.

Trailer of the Week: Strangers on a Train (1951)

In honor of the late Farley Granger.

Hey, I Remember This Show: Shazzan

That Chuck and Nancy. It seems like they were always getting into trouble.

Such are the memories I have of this 1967 animated series which was basically one of my first introductions to the world of The Arabian Nights. Not to be confused with a certain cartoon series from the 1980s which went under a similar name, this show probably would not be made today due to its Arab villains and its Anglo-American hero and heroine. Not to mention the helpful dark-skinned genie who always seemed all too pleased to help his young light-skinned masters. But I still have a soft spot for it -- despite any protests I may be receiving from the Arabs which are rumored to exist in my family tree. Then again I still have a soft spot for Sinbad Jr. and His Magic Belt.

Hey, I Don't Remember This Show: Shazam

Apparently this animated version of Captain Marvel never got as much publicity in the 1980s as its live-action equivalent got in the 1970s.

And look! Mary Bateson was described as “blending the grace of Selena with the best qualities of other goddesses.” Cool. The narrator probably wasn't thinking of the same Selena I usually think of when I hear that name, but hey, I can dream, can't I?

R.I.P. Sidney Lumet

Noted American director Sidney Lumet, famous for such films as the 1957 trial drama 12 Angry Men and the 1976 satire Network, finished his last take much earlier today at the age of 86.

He will be missed.

Movie Quote of the Week

I may be old-fashioned but I thought murder was against the law.
--Farley Granger, Strangers on a Train (1951)

TV Quote of the Week

You’ll be fine. Just do what I did when I first met Ellie’s folks. Be yourself, only less Latino.
--Ian Gomez, Cougar Town, “When a Kid Goes Bad”

Pop Song of the Week: “The Safety Dance”

In the spring a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of Ren Fair.

Movie Song of the Week: “The Flesh Failures (Let the Sunshine In)”

Every time I think this number is obsolete, recent events convince me otherwise.

R.I.P. Farley Granger

American actor Farley Granger, most famous for his role in the 1951 Hitchcock film Strangers on a Train, finished his last match on March 27 at age 85.

He will be missed -- and not just by Bruno Anthony.

Trailer of the Week: Secret Ceremony (1968)

It is time to speak of unspoken things.

Hey, I Remember This Show: The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends

The most famous moose-related cartoon series that actor William Conrad ever narrated.

Hey, I Don't Remember This Show: Green Lantern

Apparently ring-wearing superheroes were very popular in the 1960s.