R.I.P. Miguel Ferrer

American actor Miguel Ferrer -- best known for his roles in such movies as Traffic and the 1987 version of Robocop as well as for his starring role in the TV series NCIS: Los Angeles -- retired from show business on January 19, 2017, at age 61.

He will be missed.

R.I.P. William Peter Blatty

American writer William Peter Blatty -- best known for his novel The Exorcist -- ended the last chapter of his autobiography on January 12, 2017, at age 89.

He will be missed.

Quote of the Week

So while good times last, let us be thankful. It was not always so, and yet during darker times they still found reason to give thanks.
--Stephen Browne, "Why Should We Be Thankful?", Rants and Raves, November 22, 2018

Cuento de Mi Id

"It's a Good Strife"

"But if you do that, Mr. President, all the crops will die!"

"You gentlemen want to go into the cornfield?"

"On second thought, that was a good thing you did, Mr. President. That was a very good thing."

2016

Midway through the 2016 Presidential primary season, I started feeling like Michael Corleone in that scene from The Godfather: Part II where he predicted a Cuban rebel victory just based on what he had seen on the street earlier that day. To be fair, I welcomed a Trump presidency about as much as Michael Corleone welcomed a Communist takeover of Cuba but that didn't stop me from noticing that Trump seemed to be becoming increasingly immune to media criticism -- almost as if the voters were deliberately ignoring anything negative said about him, no matter how true it was.

The final proof that my theory was true came when Trump was revealed to have employed illegal aliens for one of his construction projects. Given all the publicity given to his "build a wall" speech and his status as an opponent of illegal immigration, the revelation that he himself hired illegal aliens should have been a vote-killer. But no one who was voting for Trump gave a damn. It seemed as if he could have been exposed as the Antichrist on national TV and he still would have had a substantial following.

And things only got worse by November...

Pensamientos Acerca de Televisión

Doctor Who (The Second Series): “The Woman Who Fell to Earth”

Just think. All those years I was growing up, I thought I was just clumsy but now that I've seen this episode and its description of dyspraxia... I was apparently just clumsy.

But seriously, folks.

This was the episode in which Jodie Whittaker officially became the first female Doctor on this show. (Well, she had a brief bit on a previous episode but this is the first episode in which she got to be the Doctor for the entire episode.)

So far, she has done a good job. She is smart and funny and just as fond as long, melodramatic speeches as her predecessors. Plus she has Mickey Smith, Maggie Habib, and Rory's dad as back-ups. Okay, not literally, but it is kinda hard to pretend that Graham, for example, was not just a little inspired by the character of Rory's dad in a previous episode.

Much of the episode was a tad predictable and BBC America didn't help much with their constant spoilers. Then again it was nice to see the casting people put their money where their mouths were as far as diversity was concerned. And it didn't hurt that the show's writers did not feel the need to give the Doctor a sudden shower or bathing scene just to satisfy the most sophomoric of the show's male fans.

So keep your fingers crossed. It looks like it's going to be a bumpy season.

Pensamientos Acerca de Televisión

Doctor Who (The Second Series): “Twice Upon a Time”

The First Doctor met the Twelfth Doctor after which the Thirteenth Doctor (played by Jodie Whittaker) was introduced. (For some reason, I keep wanting to call her Jodie Watley but that, no doubt, is just the aftereffect of having listened to too much 1980s music.) Unfortunately, Ms. Whittaker didn't get much to say in this episode but she should have more to say in future ones.

That said, it was good to see actress Pearl Mackie again even though this seemed to be her last appearance on the show. For that matter, it was good to see Peter Capaldi again that his character has shed all his House-isms.

In any event, I'm guessing we should not take the episode's cliffhanger ending too literally unless it was the producer's way of telling the audience that they changed their mind about Ms. Whittaker. But I really doubt that was the case.

Pensamientos Acerca de Televisión

Doctor Who (The Second Series): “The Pilot”

Geez, to listen to some people's reactions to this episode, one would think that biracial lesbians traveled with the Doctor all the time. If so, they really need to show those episodes because I always thought that Bill Potts was the first one to do so.

Anyway, ten or twenty years ago, this episode would have had audience members gnashing their teeth. Now it barely merits a yawn. So I should consider that progress?

Oh, well. At least Steven Moffat hasn't forgotten that dark-skinned girls like to have adventures too.

R.I.P. Nat Hentoff

American writer, historian and music critic Nat Hentoff -- best known for his columns for The Village Voice and for such books as Free Speech for Me — But Not for Thee: How the American Left and Right Relentlessly Censor Each Other -- closed his word processor for the last time on January 7, 2017, at age 91.

He will be missed.

R.I.P. William Christopher

American actor William Christopher -- best known for his role as Father Mulcahy in the CBS TV series M*A*S*H -- qualified for last rites on December 31, 2016, at age 84.

He will be missed.

R.I.P. Debbie Reynolds

American actress Debbie Reynolds -- mother of Carrie Fisher and best known for such movies as Singin' in the Rain and The Unsinkable Molly Brown -- finally sunk on December 28, 2016, at age 84.

She will be missed.

R.I.P. Carrie Fisher

American actress and author Carrie Fisher -- daughter of actress Debbie Reynolds and best known for her role as Princess Leia in the Star Wars movies -- announced her permanent abdication on December 27, 2016, at age 60.

She will be missed.

R.I.P. George S. Irving

American actor George S. Irving -- best known for Broadway roles and for narrating the animated Underdog TV series as well as for being the voice of the Heat Miser in the 1974 stop motion animated Christmas special The Year Without a Santa Claus -- silenced his voice for the final time on December 26, 2016. at age 94.

He will be missed.

R.I.P. Zsa Zsa Gabor

Hungarian-American actress Zsa Zsa Gabor -- best known for such movies as Queen of Outer Space and the 1952 version of Moulin Rouge -- left to reunite with her late sisters Eva and Magda on December 18, 2016, at age 99.

She will be missed.

Trailer of the Week: Set It Off (1996)

Apparently multiracial female caper flicks are all the rage this year. Perhaps because the idea of a caper film with nonwhite female characters is so new.

¡Feliz Día de Acción de Gracias!

I wish a happy Thanksgiving to all my devoted readers. May you all enjoy this blessed day and have many things to be thankful about!

Things I'm Thankful For

1. My mother. She has been very helpful to me these past few years and I'm glad to see that she is still hanging in there and in good health.
2. My siblings, who have been more patient with me this year than perhaps they should be.
3. My current mejor amiga, who has been more patient with me this year than I would have been in her place.
4. My health. (Never a thing to take for granted at my age.)
5. My job. (Not everyone is fortunate enough to have a job this time of year.)
6. My co-workers.
7. My late sister's children, who are doing their best to make their mother proud.
8. My relatives in Michigan, California and other states, who continue to inspire me far more than they will ever know.

Comic Book Image of the Week

The evil turkey from Hellboy in Mexico wants you all to have a happy Thanksgiving. And to eat more chicken. Buying more Hellboy comics would probably meet with his approval as well. After all, he is evil.

Quote of the Week

For only after they had reduced the real-life Spanish-speaking to the status of a foreign minority did the Yankees feel any deep compassion toward Spanish-American culture.
--Leonard Pitt, The Decline of the Californios: A Social History of the Spanish-Speaking Californians, 1846-1890

Pensamientos Acerca de Televisión

Speechless: "Pilot"

A sitcom about a special-needs kid with cerebral palsy and his eccentric family would seem to have the type of premise that has disaster written all over it. But fortunately, Speechless's first episode managed to avoid the dual perils of bad taste and inspiration porn, thanks in part to a talented cast and an inspired writing staff.

As I noted in an earlier post, Minnie Driver was the most famous cast member in the show and while I have never been a big fan of hers, I must admit that the more I watched the show, the more addicted I got to her voice. (And yet I never considered myself much of an Anglophile.)

The opening of the episode showed Driver frantically driving her son J.J. -- a boy confined to a wheelchair due to cerebral palsy -- to a restaurant in order to use a coupon before it expired. The show soon established that Ms. Driver's character -- Maya DiMeo -- had a reputation in her small town for being a very aggressive driver -- so aggressive, in fact, that the local cops dared not pull her over even when she was obviously speeding. Soon afterwards, we also find out that the DiMeo family had changed residences and school districts several times during the past few years and were in the process of relocating one final time so that J.J. could go to a regular public school.

Unfortunately, Maya soon found out that the new school had no special accommodations for handicapped students and that the only way J.J. could enter his new school was by using a ramp usually reserved for moving garbage cans. Needless to say, she was not happy.

At the same time, her other son Ray discovered a potential love interest in a fellow student who also happened to be an astronomy buff while Maya's daughter Dylan joined the school track team because she liked running.

Because J.J. could not speak, the De Meos hired an aide recommended by the school to help him out but the aide proved totally unsuited for the task. Ironically, J.J. ended up bonding with a school janitor named Kenneth and he ended up becoming J.J.'s new aide -- despite having initially gotten off on the wrong foot with Maya.

Sound confusing? Maybe. But the whole thing played better on the small screen and indeed, the more I watched the show, the more I felt sorry that I neglected the chance to keep up with it for so long. Then again not having time to watch all the good shows out there is hardly the worst problem I could have at my age.

Movie Quote of the Week

There is an endless supply of white men, but there has always been a limited number of human beings.
--Chief Dan George, Little Big Man (1970)

TV Quote of the Week

Don't tell me what I can't do. Native Americans believe that there are laws greater, and more just, than that of the U.S. Government.
--Michael Horse, The X-Files, "Shapes"

Pensamientos Acerca de Televisión

Speechless: "C-E-- CELEBRITY S-U-- SUITE"

Ah, Speechless is another one of those shows that I watch every now and then but never get around to writing about -- perhaps because I've been so backed up on this blog due to various health problems and other complications that it sometimes seems quite foolish of me to even think of trying to catch up.

That said, I must note that the part of me that still remembers the days when movies like Good Will Hunting and Grosse Pointe Blank were still new releases can't help but feel a bit shocked that actress Minnie Driver is now old enough to be playing a mother. Worse yet, she's playing the mother of teenagers. (I knew it had to happen eventually but still...)

She is still as attractive as ever -- in my eyes, at least -- and has the ability to make her lines seem a lot funnier than they should be. Nor does it hurt that she has a good cast backing her up. Plus this week she has assistance from actress Sarah Chalke -- best known for her starring role on the long-running comedy Scrubs -- who plays the mother of a special-needs child who competes with Ms. Driver's character -- Maya DiMeo -- and her special-needs son J.J. for the use of a celebrity suite at the local hospital.

Confused? Don't be.

The episode starts out with Ms.DiMeo staring at a raw turkey and trying to come up with excuses to not go through with the usual Thanksgiving ritual. Unfortunately, when Ms. DiMeo's obnoxious brother-in-law comes for a visit, she gets her wish when J.J.'s caretaker accidentally gives J.J. a pill of her in-law's heart medicine and forces them all to make an emergency run to the local hospital. Ironically, once they get there, Ms. DiMeo immediately starts improvising an impromptu Thanksgiving banquet only to be stymied by the lack of space and supplies. Then she finds out about the celebrity suites. However, only one is available and to get that, she has to compete Sarah Chalke's character Melanie, which is where we came in...

Of course, a lot more than that happens like an encounter between Ms. DiMeo's youngest son Ray and a young single mother (played by actress Azura Skye, best known to me for a memorable guest role on Buffy the Vampire Slayer.) Since this is a comedy, everything ends on a relatively positive note though I can't help but wonder what happened to Ms. Skye's career that she is now playing such conventional roles. Oh, well. I wish her well regardless.

And I hope my average reader's Thanksgiving holiday goes smoother than that of the De Meo family.

Pensamientos Acerca de Televisión

Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries: "Unnatural Habits"

You could tell this was an Australian show and not a British one because when the lead characters were considering a raid on a group of nogoodniks, the characters showed no hesitation in bringing out the firearms.

That said, this show is to be commended for doing a good job of balancing modern and not so modern sensibilities in a believable manner. If a woman like Essie Davis's Phryne Fisher character did not really exist in the Australia of the late 1920s, the stories in this show make a strong case that she should have. Actress Ashleigh Cummings also stars in this series, playing Ms. Fisher's loyal companion Dorothy Williams, a former maid who plays a Catholic Watson to Ms. Fisher's self-described lady detective. And of course, I should not forget to mention actor Nathan Page, who plays Ms. Fisher's would-be love interest Detective Inspector John "Jack" Robinson.

There are other characters, of course, whom I'll probably mention in future reviews but for now, the one regret I have about the episodes of this show that I've watched thus far is that I have not yet managed to find time to read the Kerry Greenwood novels that inspired them. Mea culpa. Mea maxima culpa.

Pensamientos Acerca de Televisión

The Wild Wild West: "The Night of the Steel Assassin"

The villain's last name in this episode would be Torres, wouldn't it? And yet when I first saw this episode as a teenager, I thought nothing of that fact. I was more impressed by the fact that he seemed to be somebody's idea of a nineteenth century version of the bionic man -- only he was created long before anyone had heard of bionic men. Then again, The Wild Wild West was dealing with steampunk-style stories long before anyone ever heard of steampunk so I should not have been surprised.

In any event, when I was a kid, I was fascinated by stories featuring characters that were far more stronger and tougher than myself. I suspect most kids are -- hence the popularity of such benign heroes as Superman, the Six Million Dollar Man and the various animated incarnations of Popeye and Hercules. Of course, I suspect the popularity of vampire movies like the 1972 made-for-TV movie The Night Stalker are also based on such fascination. And of course, it is no accident that popular action movies like the James Bond films regularly feature the hero triumphing over villains who are bigger and stronger than him.

Anyway, Torres was out to seek revenge against President U.S. Grant and agent James West had to stop him. Did he succeed? Well, the name of the show was obviously not The Wild Wild Torres so what do you think?

Yankee Weather

We're officially experiencing winter weather here in Dallas this week and it's not even December. I was just getting used to wearing jackets again and now I have to get used to wearing coats. And caps. And gloves. Maybe even scarfs.

On the bright side, it has not snowed yet.

R.I.P. Bernard Fox

Welsh actor Bernard Fox -- best known for playing Dr. Bombay on the 1960s TV show Bewitched as well as for an recurring role on the TV show Hogan's Heroes -- drank his last cup of tea on December 14, 2016, at age 89.

He will be missed.

R.I.P. Florence Henderson

Actress Florence Henderson -- best known for playing matriarch Carol Brady on the TV sitcom The Brady Bunch -- walked off the set for the final time on November 24, 2016, at age 82.

She will be missed.

R.I.P. Janet Reno

Former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno closed her last case on November 7, 2016, at age 78.

She will be missed.

R.I.P. Leonard Cohen

Canadian singer and songwriter Leonard Cohen -- best known for such songs as "Everybody Knows" -- finished his last composition on November 7, 2016, at age 82.

He will be missed.

¡Feliz Día de los Veteranos!

In honor of all the people who have served in the American armed forces -- including two of my late uncles -- I hope you all have a pleasant Veteran's Day.

Show Tune of the Week: "Nicky Machiavelli"

I never expected A Bronx Tale to be made into a musical but it was. And this is very easily the most memorable song on the soundtrack. It's kinda scary how it makes me think of a certain politico every time I hear it.

Movie Quote of the Week

It doesn't matter what I believe. It only matters what I can prove!
--Tom Cruise, A Few Good Men (1992)

TV Quote of the Week

There is no middle anymore!
--Kaitlyn Dever and Molly McCook, Last Man Standing, "Welcome Baxter"

Pensamientos Acerca de Televisión

Doctor Who (The Second Series): “Flatline”

Wow! How often do you see a TV show or movie nowadays in which the good guys win not by using guns or knives or fists or explosives but by using superior artistic ability?

Plus the show's writers have apparently discovered that the best way to make the Doctor seem likeable is to place him in the same episode as a character who is even more unlikable than he is. Too bad they can't do that every week.

However, I will give the show additional props for giving the Doctor a good speech towards the end.

Pensamientos Acerca de Televisión

Doctor Who (The Second Series): “Dinosaurs on a Spaceship”

It's dinosaurs. On a spaceship.

Plus Rory's dad. (Wait. Rory has a dad?)

And yes, the Doctor did some stuff, too.

Pensamientos Acerca de Televisión

Kolchak: the Night Stalker: "The Ripper"

The opening episode of Kolchak: the Night Stalker was all about investigative journalist Carl Kolchak's efforts to track down a modern-day serial killer who was slaying women in Chicago so naturally the first two murders in this episode took place in Wisconsin. Oh, well. Few people my age watched Kolchak for the plot logic and unfortunately, the TV show in its heyday never really caught on with people older than me.

While I find it a bit surreal to watch the show nowadays -- the older I get, the more I sympathize with the people Kolchak encounters and the less I sympathize with Kolchak himself -- I still had a bit of affection for the TV series -- and not just because it inspired producer Chris Carter to create The X-Files. It doesn't hurt to remember that when Kolchak was created, investigative journalists were still seen as heroes thanks to their role in exposing the Watergate scandal.

In any event, as I noted above the show started off in Wisconsin inside one of those 70s-era topless bars in which all the dancers seemed to have Godiva hair and never faced toward the camera unless they were being filmed above the shoulders. The dancer went back to her dressing room for a brief break, only to encounter an unexpected male visitor with a sword cane. Not long afterwards, another woman was killed by the same gentleman and then the scene shifted to Chicago.

Kolchak was doing his damnedest to get out of an unwelcome newspaper assignment when news of the Ripper killings occurred and then suddenly he was doing his damnedest to track down the killer in hopes of getting a big story. Before long, he realized that the villain in question was no ordinary murderer but the original Jack the Ripper -- a ripper that oddly enough acted much like the vampiric killer Kolchak pursued in the 1972 made-for-TV movie The Night Stalker which first introduced Kolchak to American audiences -- only without all the blood-sucking. Like the vampire, the ripper displayed superhuman strength, an invulnerability to bullets that even Clark Kent would envy and the ability to get out of a locked jail cell as easily as other people walk through a spider web. Kolchak kept insisting that all this proved his theory about the Ripper but for some reason, the Chicago police -- who did not have the best of reputations in the 1970s, thanks to the tactics they used during the 1968 Democratic National Convention -- chose not to believe him.

In any event, his pursuit of the story was hampered by his having to avoid his perpetually frustrated editor and boss Tony Vicenzo -- played by the late Simon Oakland -- as well as his having to outmaneuver his rival co-worker Ron Updyke (played by Jack Grinnage), a financial reporter whose journalistic skills would seem to be in much demand nowadays but on the show were constantly dissed for not being more suited to covering murders. Nor did it help that Kolchak kept crossing paths with various members of the Chicago police department, few of whom seemed particularly happy to see him.

Eventually Kolchak tracked down the Ripper to his lair thanks to the aid he got from a rival reporter (played by Beatrice Colen) and an elderly woman (played by Ruth McDevitt -- who would later join the show's cast as a full-time character). Unfortunately, his confrontation with the Ripper went less well than expected and, well, to say more would be telling.

Suffice to say that Carl Kolchak survived to live another day but lost the chance to file his big story due to lack of proof. Which, considering everything that could have happened in this episode, wasn't the worst thing that could have happened to him.