Author Archives: Doc

Sha Na Na S3 E14, E15, E16

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In the middle of season three, the guests on Sha Na Na took a weird turn.

Dusty Springfield was a proper musical guest for the show. She made a lot of sense. However, one episode had Barbie Benton, who they did a Barbie Benton-look alike contest for (won by Lennie. I swear they find any excuse to dress him up in a dress) and then she sang. Her song was just not very appealing to me. I disliked it a lot. Then we got Robert Guillaume singing a song too, which was odd. He was announced as an actor from Benson, the TV show, and I know he has sung before, but this was certainly a strange turn of events. Sha Na Na luring Guillaume in by pretending that they were the TV show MASH (yes, with Lennie dressed up as Hot Lips).

There was a street set song from Denny called Sh-Boom, where the whole group (except Lennie) was on roller skates. Except for Chico and Denny, everyone else seemed a bit nervous with the wheels on their feet. Dirty Dan in particular looked like he had never been on roller skates before.

I have actually seen a couple of versions of Sh-Boom on this show, both sung by Denny. I think the second version is still to come later on in the show’s run.

They did a Carmen opera parody with their comedy skit that was actually pretty funny (Lennie was not in a dress. He was dressed up as a bull).

The best performance on these three episodes was Bowzer exercising his deep voice in a rendition of Elvis Presley’s hit song, “Can’t Help Falling in Love.”

GOAT

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A new animated movie came out this weekend that was a mixture of Space Jam and Zootopia. Sony put out this remarkably colorful and fun looking film.

According to IMDB, “A small goat with big dreams gets a once-in-a-lifetime shot to join the pros and play roarball, a high-intensity, co-ed, full-contact sport dominated by the fastest, fiercest animals in the world.“

This film had its ups and downs for me. It looked great for sure. The amazing color stood out well. The story was very predictable. The beginning of the movie was not as strong for me, but the ending was better and more engaging than I thought it would be. I was feeling like I was going to really dislike this, but the ending was able to pull it up for me.

Caleb McLaughlin voiced Will Harris, the goat at the center of the story. Gabrielle Union played Jett Fillmore, the superstar roarball playing cat. Other voices in the cast included Stephen Curry, Aaron Pierce, David Harbour, Nick Kroll, Patton Oswalt, Jennifer Lewis, Nicola Coughlan, Jelly Roll, Jennifer Hudson, Wayne Knight, and Sherry COla.

I think the target audience is not for me. This feels like a film that is targeted to a younger child and I feel as if it would be fairly successful in that manner. However, I did find myself bored through a good chunk of the film as I expected what was coming. I do think they did a decent job of sticking the landing so I did not hate the experience of watching GOAT.

It really is borderline for me. If you have a group of young kids, you could probably find worse movies to take them to, but there are better movies too.

2.9 stars

Crime 101

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We have a brand new crime thriller out this weekend featuring a bunch of actors who we have seen in various super hero flicks over the years. Director Bart Layton, who had directed American Animals and one of my all-time favorite documentaries in The Imposter, does a great job bringing this crime/heist film together.

According to IMDB, “An elusive thief, eyeing his final score, encounters a disillusioned insurance broker at her own crossroads. As their paths intertwine, a relentless detective trails them hoping to thwart the multi-million dollar heist they are planning.”

The film featured Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Halle Berry, and Barry Keoghan in major roles. Each of these performers did a great job in bringing a new face to their roles, and that is a difficult thing to do since they all have major roles that they are known for. Mark Ruffalo specifically does a great job as he is a compelling and original character that never once made me think of Bruce Banner.

Nick Nolte also showed up in this film, giving his best Nick Nolte performance.

I enjoyed this fairly well, even if it felt a little too long. At two hours and twenty minutes, this did feel its length. Strong performances with a pretty good story. I did find this to be an enjoyable film with a bunch of people that I really like.

3.5 stars

The Pitt S2 E6

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Spoilers

“12:00 PM”

I have been dreading this episode since the beginning of the season. All the hints and foreshadowing was there, but I tried my best to ignore them.

Then, last week, the show ended with Louie nonresponsive and Robby and Langdon trying to revive him.

Of course, that is where the show picked up this week and we watched as this secondary character died of a pulmonary hemorrhage due t liver failure. Louie had been a drinker, we knew. We just never knew what had led to the drinking.

During the debrief and the chance to say goodbye, Robby told the whole group assembled that Louie had been married and that his wife and unborn child had died in a car wreck and that Louie had never been the same after.

Ernest Harden Jr. played the role of Louie and you can tell how great of an actor he was when he was a side character that only had a bit of screen time and yet his character’s death impacted me dramatically.

This episode featured the nurses of the Pitt more than we had gotten prior, which was a long overdue look. There were other arcs to the episode, my absolutely most hated one was the hot dog competitor. I hate vomit scenes and this had two of them. I really hated that and I am glad he seemed to be a one and done arc.

However, the episode belonged to Louie and the grief that the staff showed. It was poignant when we discovered that the ER was Louie’s emergency contact.

Then, there was Ogilvie, whom I have not liked much this new season, but now I hate him for his callousness tied to Louie’s death. The way he broke the news to Whitaker so carelessly and his comment about “an alcohol abuser” was heartless. I am cheering for this guy to flame out in the program.

Emotional episode and we are still only six episodes in.

Daily Countdown: TV Show Themes #35

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#35

Firefly

Title: “The Ballad of Serenity”

Written: Joss Whedon

Performed: Sonny Rhodes

Firefly was a short-lived series on FOX that has had a long-lived reputation. The show was a “space western” and the theme song perfectly captured that concept with this gritty, gruff song from Joss Whedon. Whedon has written a lot of music, specifically for his own projects such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s musical episode and the online iconic Dr. Horrible’s Sing-a-Long Blog. “The Ballad of Serenity” is one more credit for the director.

Daily Countdown: TV Show Themes #36

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#36

Dukes of Hazzard

Title: “Theme from The Dukes of Hazzard (Good Ol’ Boys)”

Written: Waylon Jennings

Performed: Waylon Jennings

The 1970s and early 1980s… when Luke and Bo Duke were “Robin Hoods fighting the system” tothe country stylings of Waylon Jennings, who also was on the show as “The Balladeer” aka the narrator of the show.

Shrinking S3 E3

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Spoilers

“D-Day”

Damn, this is such a great show.

Brian and Charlie’s baby is born in this episode with some of the most beautiful moments you could imagine. I had a tear when they handed the baby to Paul at the end.

The heavy part of the episode dealt with the pregnancy, as Ava, the baby momma, went into labor. She had yet to sign adoption papers and it brought a serious conflict for Brian. His friends circled the wagon and brought some wonderful advise.

Paul passed Alice’s bench therapy along to Gaby, as he realized that he would not be there forever.

Sean reunited with his ex-girlfriend Marisol in another strong scene.

We met Jimmy’s father, played by the one and only Jeff Daniels. The conflict between Jimmy and his dad is clearly going to be investigated this season.

Daily Countdown: TV Show Themes #37

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#37

Moonlighting

Perfromed and lyrics: Al Jarreau

Music: Lee Holdridge

Production: Nile Rodgers

Note: The lyrics reflect the show’s premise of romance, mystery, and style, with a “soft rock/jazz” feel that became iconic for the era. 

Moonlighting is, of course, one of my all-time favorite shows, and the theme song by Al Jarreau was a wonderful way to kick each episode off. It was a smooth-feeling, jazzy song that capturd the style of Moonlighting.

EYG Favorite Comic Covers of the Week

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February 11

Today I took a personal day from school so I was able to spend NEW COMIC BOOK DAY at my two stores. Started the morning at In This Issue in Bettendorf and spent the afternoon at Comic World and Games in Dubuque. Always fun spending time with others who appreciate the hobby.

Even more so, I got to do some reading, and I got all my new books on the same day so I do not have to wait to chose the cover of the week until Thursday night.

Also-Rans: The Thing on the Doorstep #1, Space Ghost #8, Marc Spector: Moon Knight #1, Absolute Batman #15 (Second printing-foil), The Digger #1, and Bleeding Hearts #1 (foil virgin).

Bronze Medalist

DC KO #4

Variant cover G/Bracket Cover

Cover art by Dan Mora

This one reminded me of the Godzilla vs. Marvel Universe covers that I really liked from last year as they set this up like a fight poster, the match-up of the tournament front and center. I like how this builds this tournament up with the images of those that remain.

Silver Medalist

Hank Howard Pizza Detective: The Two Hollywoods #2

Cover art by Andrea Sorrentino

I love the shades of purple across this cover for Bad Idea’s new book. It has a compelling imagery across it as well, with the black standing out beautifully among the purples.

Gold Medalist

Wade Wilson: Deadpool #1

Cover art by Geoff Shaw

There were some outstanding covers for the new Deadpool series, and the cover A is right up there with some of the best of them. Something has made Wade Wilson want to end his life, which is a difficult thing for him to accomplish. The look of Wade on this cover gives that feel of hopelessness and all-consuming anger despite not seeing his actual face. The cover does a great job of telling you what this new arc is all about.

Agents of Shield S3 E1, E2, E3

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Spoilers

“Laws of Nature”

“Purpose in the Machine”

“A Wanted (Inhu)man”

Third season rewatch is underway with the team scattered about and everyone trying to face the possibility that Simmons was killed by being sucked into the monolith. Of course, Fitz never gave up and he was taking risk after even greater risk to prove that Simmons was alive.

I actually did not remember Simmons being brought back from the alien planet so quickly, but I know there is an episode coming up that is dedicated to the time she spent on the alien planet.

I am not 100% sure why May is doing what she is doing at the beginning of the season or why she decided to accompany Hunter on his mission. It has to be more than just the opportunity to kill Ward. However, the scene of May kicking the ass of the three brutes in a backroom of a fight club was awesome.

A new agency was formed by the President to deal with “alien” threats, meaning specifically Inhumans. The ATCU is led by Rosalind Price, and she and Coulson have some interactions.

Lincoln is being pursued by both the ATCU and Shield, and Daisy has her own personal feelings involved. It has been a rough three episodes for poor Lincoln.

Grant Ward recruited the son of Baron Von Strucker, Werner Von Strucker. I remember this character being a big piece over the seasons. Ward’s recruitment of Hydra agents does not seem to have gone very well so far.

We see the first appearance of the Inhuman named Lash. He was quite the powerhouse and a dangerous force.

Simmons struggled to readjust to earth, but she also seemed to want to go back to the planet. I do not remember why so I am curious to the answer.

Good start to the season and Dr. Garner even named dropped “Secret Warriors.”

Daily Countdown: TV Show Themes #39

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#39

The Twilight Zone

Originally Titled: “Etrange No. 3” (or “Milieu”)

Composed:  Marius Constant

Music: Guitar parts are believed to be played by session musician Howard Roberts.

Instruments:  electric guitar with bongos

Apparently, the song was not composed for the show. It was done for a library of cues, a stock library.

One of the most recognizable themes on TV, the creepiness, eerieness of the music set a perfect tone for the Twilight Zone.

Sha Na Na S3 E9, E10, E11, E12, E13

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I watched another block of episodes from the variety show featuring the group Sha Na Na. I remember as a young kid watching Sha Na Na, I was always mad when the guest stars or other actors made fun of Sha Na Na and/or treated them like they were no talented. It is funny because I can remember liking Sha Na Na was something that I did not like people to know about me. I wonder if the constant jokes against them affected how I saw them.

Fact is that Sha Na Na is filled with amazing musicians and some of the best voices you’ll hear. It has been fun catching up on this show, even with the limits of YouTube involved.

These shows continues the trend of Sha Na Na having country musicians on as they had Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers, Freddy Fender and Barbara Mandrel as guests. They also had Henny Youngman, who actually performed like a stand up comic would. That was definitely the right choice instead of trying to have him make smart remarks like they did with Milton Berle.

It was weird because once again they had a repeat song on one of the episodes. In episode 10, they ended the show with the Unchained Melody version that Sha Na Na performed. I know I had seen that one in a previous episode. However, it is one of the best performances the group did on this show, so it was good to see it again.

This block of episodes also seemed to feature Lennie singing quite a bit. Lennie had one of the best voices on the show, right up there with Johnny and Donny. Of course, Lennie was the sax master, but he could hit some solid high notes vocally too.

Lennie dressed up as Paul McCartney in episode 10 as well, along with Jocko as Ringo, Santini as George and Chico as John. It was an attempt to attract the Gatlin Brothers to their show, which begs the question, are the Gatlin Brothers huge Beatles fans and wouldn’t a Beatles reunion attract even bigger celebrities?

Episode 11 featured one of my favorite performances, “Hit the Road, Jack” performed by Jocko. I love this version of the song and the background dancers are great. I have to say, I always enjoy watching poor Donny try to keep up with the others.

When I saw Screamin’ Scott playing the stand up bass, I went to Google to see what instruments he could actually play. I have wondered whether when covering for Jocko, Scott or one of the guitarists, could they actually play that instrument or are they just pretending. Google told me that Scott could play the piano, the guitar, the banjo and the harmonica. My guess is that he could do the bass as well. He is clearly very skilled in the musical aspects.

Jerry Fox showed up a couple of times again (which is a character played by Donny sometimes during the comedy skits). He’s announced as from Cleveland, and I wonder what the origin is behind this alter ego. I have seen Donny play him probably around 6-8 times so far (including twice in this block of episodes).