#75
The Simpsons
Composed: Danny Elfman
Series creator Matt Groening approached Elfman and asked him to compose a theme to the new show. Elfman has said that he was looking for something like The Flintstones theme or other Hanna-Barbera classic cartoons.
The opening sequence of the show changed a little over the years, specifically with Bart writing something different on the chalkboard as a punishment and the family having something different happen to them hen thye jumped on the couch.
Spoilers
“The Magical Place”
“Seeds”
“T.R.A.C.K.S.”
“T.A.H.I.T.I”
This block of four episodes went into deep details about Tahiti, a magical place… or at least, what it truly was.
The information Coulson was able to ascertain about the mysterious magical place showed him some of the horrors that he went through to bring him back from the dead. He learned that he was dead for several days, not several seconds as it had been told to him. We saw the horror-scape imagery of them working on Coulson’s brain, implanting memories to help him forget the time of his resurrection. That image was truly horrific.
We are introduced to John Garrett, played by the awesome Bill Paxton, whom will become a major issue later this season. Garrett was Ward’s former SO and he came to the Bus to take control of the prisoner, Ian Quinn. Coulson did not want to give him up because he had shot Skye twice, leaving her for dead.
The whole Skye gamut was rough as the team tried to find T.A.H.I.T.I. and hope to find a way to save a dying Skye.
Several tense moments. Several of these episodes, especially T.R.A.C.K.S., played with POV and would go back to different groups of the agents, showing what they saw during the same time frame. It was a clever episode that ended with Skye getting shot.
We learned that the drugs that were created to save Coulson (and eventually Skye) came from the dead body of a Kree, hooked up to a machine inside T.A.H.I.T.I.
I’m still finding more and more times where Ward’s actual Hydra roots came in conflict with what he did. I do not remember much about these episodes, but the questions about him actually being Hydra is absolutely not being hinted at yet.
The team is bonding all the more with every episode. Next episode will be the one to feature Lady Sif, as we saw Lorelei arrive in the post credit scene of episode 14.
I am watching these episodes on YouTube and I am very grateful to be able to see them. However, sometimes the video quality leaves a little bit to be desired. Episode 13 is a perfect example. They were just bringing Fabian in to sing by faking a golf tournament, and Fabian asked what would happen if he didn’t sing. Then the video cut out and Fabian’s performance was gone. Funny bit of coincidence for this episode.
The episode 13 also included a double feature from Lenny. Lenny sang the opening song on stage, “My Imagination”, and finished the show on stage singing “Put Your Head on My Shoulder.” I do not think there has been a lead vocal doing both opening song and closing song yet. Lenny had a great voice though so he was certainly capable of pulling it off.
Screamin’ Scott had a couple of songs during these episodes too. I did not know either, but the second one, “Pinball Anonymous”, was a lot of fun.
Pattie Page was guest star in episode 12 and she did a medley of her songs including “Tennessee Waltz,” “How Much is that Doggie in the Window,” “Ol’ Cape Cod,” and “Crossing the Bridge.” She was a celeb tricked by Bowzer into performing, which was the new way of getting guest stars in this block of episodes.
I liked Joanie Summers’ song “Johnny Got Angry” in episode 11 as well. I had not heard that song before, but it really worked as she was trying to get Donny to do what she wanted.
January 4
The Genre-ary continued on today with a classic comedy from the late 90s called Office Space. I had heard of this film before, but I can honestly say that I really had no idea what the film was about.
According to IMDB, “Three company workers who hate their jobs decide to rebel against their greedy boss.“
This film is a satirical look at big business and corporations, and the people who work mindlessly within the structure of said business. The ridiculousness of some of the situations did not feel totally made up. I could easily be convinced that things like this actually happen in the offices across the country.
Ron Livingston does a great job as Peter. He is very relatable and you can feel his frustration over his life and his job. Jennifer Aniston appeared as Joanna. David Herman and Ajay Naidu were part of the office staff and friends to Peter. Stephen Root was very invested in his eccentric character and made every minute on screen worthwhile. Diedrich Bader was another standout and his character was hilarious. Another character who maximized his screen time.
Gary Cole is one of the most unlikable characters in the film, and he does a great job with it.
I found this movie very funny and I enjoyed it. There is not a ton of story involved with it, but the characters are fun and the bits are funny.
Spoilers
Death By Lightning
“The Man from Ohio”
I originally chose “Death By Lightning, the mini series from Netflix, as the next show for the Sunday Morning Sidewalk because it had four episodes and I was not yet ready to commit to one of the longer shows on my list. After watching the first episode of the series, I made an excellent choice.
I was thoroughly compelled by the show. I knew little of James Garfield, outside that he was President of the United States. The way this show set up the amazing, true story was simply brilliant.
In sense, setting Garfield and his would be assassin Charles Guiteau in the same world was a remarkable feat of storytelling, which immediately reminded me of Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr from Hamilton.
There was something so hopeful about the way Garfield received the nomination from the Republican Party in 1880. In a world of political discourse that we exist in today, I can not ever see such a thing happen and, the fact that it had happened, was stunning.
The political in-fighting inside the convention was fascinating. Garfield, who did not look for the nomination, received the ground swell among the delegates. Watching it build through the convention brought me a level of aspiration for the process.
Meanwhile, Charles Guiteau was being introduced to us as a manipulator and, perhaps, a mentally ill individual. What his plans are moving forward after robbing his loving sister once again, is compelling.
Great acting in the show so far as Michael Shannon and Matthew Macfadyen lead this talented ensemble. There was also several other amazing actors in the cast including Nic Offerman, Bradley Whitford, Betty Gilpin, Shea Whigham, Alistair Petrie, Laura Marcus, and Paula Malcomson.
I am hooked after this first episode and I am excited to see the remaining three episodes of this mini series from Netflix.
#76
The Tick (animated)
Composed/Performed: Doug Katsaros
“Da-da dweee! Da-da dwee dowww!”
The animated version of the Tick introduced me to one of my favorite characters. The Tick was special in the world of superheroes… a satire of the genre that showed how much it loved it as well.
The theme of the animated series was catchy and stuck in your head. Kicking off with an alarm clock, the scatting done by composer Doug Katsaros was intriguing and fun. The horns in the theme were in your face, much like the character of The Tick.
“The Hub”
“The Well”
“Repairs”
“The Bridge”
Spoilers
The Agents of Shield worked their way through several missions over these four episodes.
We get some inner depth from May and Ward… not only with their background, but with their own little tryst. We more of the story behind the “Cavalry” nickname as well as Skye’s mysterious parents.
We met an Asgardian who had been on earth for centuries and his staff that causes the wielder to gain super strength while building their rage.
Mike Johnson is brought back to show his current state, training for his super strength.
Coulson is continuing to have questions and doubts about Tahiti, which is, of course, a magical place.
We had a cameo from Shield Agent Sitwell. Again, with the knowledge I have now, I know that Sitwell was a Hydra agent inside Shield, so when Simmons tased him into unconsciousness, it felt like justice.
Raina and Centipede return again to try to keep building super soldiers using the Extremis power. At the end of episode 10, Raina kidnapped Coulson after a failed hostage swap. Centipede is curious as to how Coulson died, but came back.
These episodes are fine, but, looking back, it was clear that the show had to balance up the timing with the revelations of Captain America: Winter Soldier. I wonder when they knew that Ward would be part of Hydra because there are so many things in these episodes that would make you think that he was anything but a traitor.
Agents of Shield is a lot of fun and has some great stories being told.
I took a deep dive into season to of the Sha Na Na show and watched seven episodes. I watched this many cause I wanted to get to episode 10, where the run of musical guests came to an end. However, this was how you take a non-musical guest and use him effectively. Of course, it was Billy Crystal.
It was interesting when Johnny introduced Billy Crystal, telling a story about Billy working with Sha Na Na in the past, before Billy hit it big with Soap. He must have been a warm-up act for the group. Awesome that he was willing to come back to the group after he had become a star. It was shocking to see what a resemblance Billy Crystal had to Johnny. They could have easily been brothers.
Billy did an act on the stage and participated in the comedy song skit by doing his impression of Howard Cosell.
Earlier that episode, Sha Na Na did a musical tribute to Little Richard, which was very cool too. This might have been the best episode of the series so far.
Not that the other ones were bad. Actually, I have found season two to be very solid. The group has really spread out the songs among each other, even though there were several songs that I did not recognize.
The show has done an effective way of bringing on their guest stars in this stretch of episodes. With Brenda Lee, she came into the diner, looking for a hiding place because she didn’t want to sing. She wanted to hide in the powder room or behind the counter, but the waitress said they would find her in both places. She then mentioned how the Shirells hid behind the counter but was caught (in a previous episode). I appreciate the continuity.
Then, in episode 5, Sha Na Na did their opening number on the stage, Santini took the microphone, and introduced the Coasters, who came up and sang “Charlie Brown.” I thought that was a cool way to introduce the guest star in a way they had never done before.
Chubby Checker came back to the show to perform again. I wonder if he had filmed this at the same time when he was on the show before in season one. He became the first headliner to return as guest star, though Milton Berle was on the show twice too.
Donny really showed off his voice in this group of shows. He had a beautiful rendition of Mr. Blue, another ballad in Oh, Donna, sang with Johnny on Let the Good Times Roll, and a street set version of Singing the Blues.
Jocko also had a bunch of songs in this stretch, including Do You Love Me, Tossin’ and Turnin’, and, a personal favorite, Ya Ya. Jocko wound up in several background dance moments when one of the other background dancers had to sing.
Speaking of that, I have a question that I wonder any time I see Jocko up front and Dirty Dan on the drums. I know a lot of the times, they sing live but to a backing track and they do not do the instruments or background vocals live. I just wonder, does Dirty Dan know how to play the drums or is it just for show? It does the same thing when Screamin’ Scott is somewhere else. In these episodes, I saw Johnny and Lenny on the piano. Are they just sitting there?
Screamin’ Scott is another interesting one because he covers guitar at times when Dirty Dan is on drums and he has been shown to play the banjo. I do believe he knows how to play the banjo because during the comedy skit based on the song “Battle of New Orleans,” which Scott sang and played banjo. However, in between the song, where they did some comedy, Scott played a bit to help someone do a song. It sure sounded as if he really did play that banjo in that moment.
We rarely see Donny on any instruments (although I saw him on a guitar once) and Denny never plays anything either. I wonder if that is because they can’t play these instruments and when someone steps in for an instrument, they know how to play it, even with the backing track. It is an interesting thought and it makes me think about it any time someone is not in their spot.
They also made the first reference to Sha Na Na’s appearance in Grease. They also played “Those Magic Changes” which was one of their big songs from the film. I wonder what the timeline of that movie compared to the show was.
January 3
The Genre-ary continued today with The Jerk, a movie that, when I was compiling the possible list of comedies for the Genre-ary, I realized that I had not seen the entire film. Of course, I had seen parts of the movie. The “The new phone book’s here” scene is iconic. However, I could not recall much of anything else, so if I had seen it as a youth, this would be like a whole new movie.
And, as I said, I did not remember most of this movie, telling me that I had not seen the film all the way through.
Steve Martin is one of my favorite comedic actors, especially recently with his turn as Oliver on Only Murders in the Building. I was a fan of his from the early 80s with his song King Tut and some of his other films such as Roxanne, Parenthood, Planes, Trains and Automobiles, and Little Shop of Horrors.
In The Jerk, directed by comedy legend Carl Reiner, Martin played a slow-witted, innocent guy, Navin, who was raised as a poor black kid in a sharecroppers family. That very idea, considering Martin is as white as a person could be, was hilarious. It also was not as insulting as I first thought it might be.
After discovering his own life rhythm, Navin left home to try to find out who he really was. He then embarked on a wild ride that found him becoming a huge success and losing it all.
Martin’s performance reminded me of an actor who is always loud and over the top. I typically am not a fan of this type of role, but Steve Martin brought something extra to it that made it enduring. I can only guess that this film was an inspiration to actors such as Jim Carrey, Kevin Hart, Adam Sandler, and Chris Farley, as they all have made a career of the loud, obnoxious type character that Steve Martin was showing in this film.
The film’s title is not accurate to me though as Navin was not really a jerk, but more of a simpleton. There was an innocence about him that helped make him appealing to the audience.
The film featured several other actors in important roles including EYG Hall of Famer Bernadette Peters, Carl Reiner (as himself), Bill Macy, Mabel King, Richard Ward, M. Emmet Walsh, Jackie Mason, Dick Anthony Williams, Catlin Adams, and Dick O’Neill. Several of these key character actors add a perfect flair to the cast, playing off the ridiculousness of Martin’s Navin.
The Jerk is a classic and I am happy that I finally did take the time to watch the entire film. The plot itself is a little lacking, but it is more of a comedy sketch to see where Navin is at any time during his life.
#77
Benson
Composed: George Aliceson Tipton
George Tipton had composed the theme from Soap, the show that Benson was spun off from, so it made sense that he also composed the them to Benson.
It is January and I am going to a horror movie. Typically, that is a bad sign.
However, We Bury the Dead was not your typical January movie. This was watchable.
Daisy Ridley starred as Ava, who is in search for her husband who was lost after a catastrophic military disaster. They discover that the dead was not just dying, but they would rise and hunt.
The zombies were kept at a minimum in the movie and I think that made them more effective. They were scary in appearance, though nothing specific that we haven’t seen before. They did make a creepy clicking noise that was disturbing.
Honestly, the drama among the humans were the creepiest of the movie. Much like the drama of the Walking Dead and other movies, you tend to find out that the human race is as much, if not more, of the monster than the zombie.
The beginning of the film started a little slow and the end turned into too much of a zombie fest.
I think Daisy Ridley was great as Ava and the film had enough feels and surprises to make it engaging. Overall, not a bad start for 2026.
3.4 stars
January 2
It is Genre-ary time and today’s comedy is a stand up film featuring Eddie Murphy. Eddie Murphy’s Raw is a hilarious film that probably couldn’t work in today’s environment.
It is interesting that this concert film started off with a scene featuring famous black actors including Samuel L. Jackson, Tatyana Ali, Damien Wayans, Basil Wallace, Leonard Jackson, and Gwen McGee. It was a scene of a family night at home with a talent show among the kids. Little Eddie Murphy (Deon Richmond) did some comedy, setting the tone for the rest of the film.
Eddie Murphy showed a remarkable energy on the stage and his routines were very funny. There were a couple of them that made me cringe a bit (aka the homosexual jokes) but most of the show was entertaining. Murphy’s rapid fire delivery and pacing was an impressive demonstration of his comedic skill. He had the full audience enraptured with his words.
There was an ironic section too as Eddie did an imitation of a phone call he received from Bill Cosby about all the profanity Murphy would use on his stage show. In retrospect, a little swearing should not have bothered Cosby a much as some other things he was doing.
The stage section of the film was filmed in front of a live crowd in New York City.
EYG- Embrace Your Geekness 