The Pitt S2 E4

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“10:00 AM”

This week’s episode of The Pitt was a slower one, as we got some specific, individual cases that allowed the staff to show that they are all very competent and intelligent doctors.

We also got some info on Dr. Collins, who is the one actor not returning to season two. The character is said to have gone back to her home in Portland, taking an attending job and planned to adopt a baby. It was nice to know the story behind the character’s departure.

Whitaker is reveled to be “helping” out a patient’s widow on a farm. The widow was from last season too and it did seem that Whitaker protested about being just friend a bit too much.

Whitaker also joined in on the betting pool about the reason why patients were being diverted from Westbridge Hospital. Whitaker chose power outage. Dr. Al-Hashimi joined the pool too.

It seemed as if Louis is doing better, bringing the stress level down that the happy-go-lucky patient was going to face something critical this season.

There was a interesting story involving eating disorder with Mel showing a lot of empathy in the situation. The show revisited the boy who was brought in an sedated early in the season, with his sister showing up, unsure about what was going on.

More foreshadowing involving a motorcycle and Robbie. Something is going to happen with that this season, I would bet.

It feels like they are setting up for something big later on in the season, but these slower episodes give some great opportunity for character development in both the staff and the patients.

EYG Favorite Comic Covers of the Week

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January 31

I am a couple of days late for this column this week. I think the biggest issue has been the Genre-ary, which has been going on every day this month. It has been busy so this post just never crossed my mind until tonight as I was reading these books. With the Genre-ary done until 2027, hopefully this will get back on track.

Also-Rans: Survive #5, Malevolent #1 (sketch cover), Do Not Disturb #1, Iron Man #1, Sonja Reborn #1, Spirit of the Shadows #1, and DC’s Supergirl Next Door #1.

Bronze Medalist

Feral #20

Variant Cover B (Halloween H20 homage cover)

Cover art by Tony Fleecs, Trish Forstner & Allen Passaloqua

The horror movie homage covers for Feral has been consistently sensational. This is one I recognized immediately as the Halloween H2O poster is the homage here. I love these homage covers.

Silver Medalist

Conan the Barbarian #28

Cover art by Gerardo Zaffino

This is a beautifully brutal cover with the blood running down Conan’s head. The black and white cover with the red blood is very striking.

Gold Medalist

Dust to Dust #7

Cover art by JG Jones

Dust to Dust is back after quite a layoff, with its fantastic covers jumping right back into the medal rounds. The beautiful image of the fire in the background makes this cover pop. JG Jones has been a regular in this column with Dust to Dust, and the Image book is right back into the race.

MASH (1970)

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January 31

So another Genre-ary comes to an ending with today’s movie, MASH, the original film from 1970 starring Donald Sutherland, Elliot Gould and Tom Skerritt, wrapping up the Comedy Genre-ary 2026.

I love MASH the TV show (it was my #8 in the Top 100) and that probably hurt this film, which I have seen a few clips from, but never sat down and watched the entire thing.

They were saying character names that I loved, but who did not seem like the characters that I loved. Outside of Radar O’Reilly (who was played by Gary Burghoff in the film and the TV series, the only cast member that returned), we saw Hawkeye Pierce, Trapper John, Henry Blake, Hot Lips, Frank Burns, Father Mulcahy, and Spearchucker.

My biggest problem with this film is that it is not the TV show. The doctors of the 4077 MASH felt so much meaner than what I was used to. I did not like some of the things that they did because they felt cruel instead of funny. They were cruder, obnoxious and not as empathic as I expected.

The plot was nearly non-existent. The film was just a series of scenes that were only connected together because they came at the 4077 MASH. That is… until the show turned into a football film. There were several episodes of the TV show where they competed against other units, but seeing them all in full football pads and helmets was weird.

The actors were strong with Donald Sutherland, Elliot Gould, Tom Skerritt, Gary Burghoff, Rene Auberjonois, Robert Duvall, Sally Kellerman, Jo Ann Pflug, Fred Williamson, David Arkin, Roger Bowen, Michael Murphy, and Timothy Brown.

I am sure that I would have liked this more than I did, if I did not have the TV series so firmly placed in my head.

And with that… the 2026 Genre-ary is closed.

Daily Countdown: TV Theme Songs #49

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#49

The Wonder Years

Title: “With a Little Help from my Friends”

Written: John Lennon & Paul McCartney

Performed: Joe Cocker

Joe Cocker originally recorded this song, a soulful remake of the Beatles hit, in 1968 and it was chosen for the theme of this series, which debuted in 1988 because of its nostalgic feel and the feeling of the 1960s. The show was set earlier that the 1968 song, but still fit perfectly.

Joe Cocker performed the song at Woodstock in 1969.

My Blue Heaven (1990)

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January 30

On the penultimate day of the Genre-ary, I watch yet another Steve Martin movie. M y Blue Heaven is actually the fourth Steve Martin movie (along with The Jerk, Cheaper by the Dozen, and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels) in this year’s comedy Genre-ary.

I rented My Blue Heaven on Fandango at Home to fall into the Genre-ary.

According to IMDB, “An all too uptight FBI agent must protect a larger than life mobster with a heart of gold, currently under witness protection in the suburbs.”

Steve Martin and Rick Moranis are great together. They are a wonderful pair with amazing chemistry, dating back to Little Shop of Horrors. The two lead actors are the reason why this movie holds together because there are some shaky moments in the story.

The story itself is kind of hard to buy because there are so many things that happen that are not realistic. But everything is held together because of Martin and Moranis.

There is a great cast around Martin and Moranis. They included Joan Cusack, Carol Kane, William Hickey, Daniel Stern, Deborah Rush, Bill Irwin, Jess Bradford, Seth Jaffe, Robert Miranda, Melanie Mayron, Ed Lauter, and Raymond O’Connor.

There are some awesome dance routines in the film. It was really entertaining.

My Blue Heaven was fun and funny with some great actors that overcame some of the wonkier marts of the script. A solid Steve Martin movie.

Daily Countdown: TV Show Themes #50

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#50

Diff’rent Strokes

Title: “It Takes Diff’rent Strokes”

Written: Alan Thicke, Gloria Loring and Al Burton

Performed: Alan Thicke

We are into the Top 50 of our Daily Countdown: TV Show Themes list with a sitcom about to young black boys being raised by an affluent white man and their lives on Park Avenue, New York.

Alan Thicke has done several theme songs in his career, and has appeared already once in this Top 100 with the theme from Facts of Life, the spin off from Diff’rent Strokes.

Spaghettiman (2016)

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January 29

I found this low budget superhero flick on Amazon Prime and it seemed like a good fit for comedy Genre-ary.

Boy is it stupid. But, I have to say, it is stupid in the right way.

According to IMDB, “Clark doesn’t care about you. He doesn’t care about the world. He barely cares about himself. But after an incident with an old bowl of spaghetti and a malfunctioning microwave, he becomes a superhero that can fight crime with the power of spaghetti. However, you have to pay him.“

Clark is really a jerk. He gets these weird spaghetti powers and he starts charging people. He is not your typical superhero.

The paper bag mask reminded me of when Spidey had to wear a paper bag mask and an old FF costume to get home. Lots of fun there. Or, I picture the Unknown Comic from The Gong Show. Either way, this is one more example of the paper bag mask.

There is clearly some Spider-Man love here as the spaghetti makes a Thwip sound when Spaghettiman shoots spaghetti from his hands.

None of it makes any sense, but it is funny. This film understands that it is stupid and it embraces that stupidity with both hands, with spaghetti shooting out of them.

It was a fun time watching this extremely low budget film that couldn’t be more indie if it tried.

Wonder Man S1 E5, E6, E7, E8

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I finished the final four episodes of Wonder Man on Disney + and I have to say that this is one of the best Marvel Disney + shows in a while. It’s up near the top of my list with WandaVision, Loki and Agatha All Along.

It is one of the least Marvel Marvel Studios TV shows. It is original and more focused on character. It avoided the typical, big CGI fest at the end with the villain fight while still providing a satisfying conclusion to the show.

I will say that when it ended, I really wanted more. That is a successful sign for any show.

I noticed the tremendous dialogue on this show, specifically in the last half of the episodes. The dialogue between Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Ben Kinsley was wonderfully written. It was both comedic and realistic. The pairing of these two characters is the main reason why this show worked as well as it did.

The first episode back after “Doorman” was an important one, and, while it may have been the shortest of the season, it was so very impactful. “Found Footage” worked on so many levels that it was the perfect return to form after the black and white origin episode for why Simon had to keep his superpowers hidden.

Joe Pantoliano made a triumphant return to resume playing the character of Joe Pantoliano.

The twist at the end with Trevor reclaiming the Mandarin mantel to protect Simon’s secret was unexpected but brilliant. Seeing Ben Kingsley re-deliver those epic lines such as “You never saw me coming” was awesome.

The biggest question I have is why Marvel decided to drop this series all on one day instead of on a weekly basis. This felt like a show that, if you dropped the first two or three together and then go weekly release, would have built viewership and word of mouth, much like Agatha All Along did, another show that people wondered if we needed only to find out it was amazing. Now, instead, Wonder Man gets dropped one day and could go the way of Echo. Even a daily release schdule like What If…? got might have been better.

I do hope that we get more of Simon Williams somewhere in the MCU. The talent of Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is too impressive to waste on just one 8-episode series.

Daily Countdown: TV Show Themes #51

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#51

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Title: “Buffy the Vampire Slayer Theme”

Composer: Parry Gripp

Performed by: Nerf Herder

Alyson Hannigan (Willow) intoduced showrunner Joss Whedon to the music of Nerf Herder and one of their songs were chosen as the theme. Nerf Herder re-recorded a version for the show after season three.

The pop-punk track kicks off the episode with a fire track, generating great energy and excitement for out Vampire Slayer.

The Audition (2015)

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January 28

Time is short tonight, so I went searching for a comedy short to watch, and did I find one!

The Audition was directed by Martin Scorsese and featured Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert DeNiro competing against one another for a lead role in the next Scorsese film.

Scorsese also stars, along with Brad Pitt. The four icons had come together to make this short as an advertisement for Studio City in Macau and City of Dreams in Manila.

This was a lot of fun with these superstars playing against their own reps in a very meta short. These talented actors are able to deliver the comedy as well as their typical dramatic roles.

Reportedly, the short/ad cost an estimated $70 million dollars.

Daily Countdown: TV Show Themes #52

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#52

WKRP in Cincinnati

Title: “Baby, If You’ve Ever Wondered”

Music by: Tom Wells

Lyrics: Hugh Wilson (series creator)

Performed: Steve Carlisle

WKRP in Cincinnati was inspired as a TV show by Harry Chapin’s song “W.O.L.D.” The theme song works well with the blend of eccentric characters on the show.

Wonder Man S1 E1, E2, E3, E4

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Destin Daniel Cretton directed Shang Chi and the Ten Rings in the MCU and will be directing the upcoming Spider-Man movie. He is the showrunner behind the new Marvel Studios television series which dropped on January 27th on Disney +, Wonder Man.

Simon Williams (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) is a working actor who is struggling. He lost a role on American Horror Story and found himself at a movie theater. He runs into Trevor Slattery (Sir Ben Kingsley), who lets him know that there is an audition for Wonder Man, a movie of a superhero Simon loved as a child.

I got to see the first four episodes last night and it feels like one of the most original and different Marvel Studio series yet.

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Ben Kingsley are fabulous together. The strength of this show was the chemistry between the pair of them. The story is about the actor’s process and the show is truly meta.

The show has shown us that Joe Pantoliano and Josh Gad are MCU cannon. They had some great cameos in the first four episodes.

Josh Gad’s episode was an amazing black and white episode that actually did not feature either Yahya Abdul-Mateen II or Ben Kingsley. It told a story of a super powered guy named DeMarr Davis, the Doorman, who was the reason why studios in the Marvel Cinematic Universe have actors sign an agreement that the new actors do not have superpowers.

After episode four Simon Williams and Trevor Slattery both get a call back for Wonder Man. We had met Simon’s brother Eric, who is a jerk and in the Marvel Comics, he is the Grim Reaper.

This was really great. I am excited about finishing off this series.

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988)

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January 27

I had thought that I had seen Dirty Rotten Scoundrels before, but I do not think I have. Certainly not all the way through to the end though I have seen clips of it. I always believed that I was not a fan and that it was not something that I would find funny. I guess this is a lesson to make sure that you have watched something before judging it, because I thought Dirty Rotten Scoundrels was fantastic.

According to IMDB, “Two con men try to settle their rivalry by betting on who can swindle a young American heiress out of fifty thousand dollars first.“

The Dirty Rotten Scoundrels were Michael Caine and Steve Martin and they were absolutely perfect together. The chemistry between the two con men carried the film. Glenn Headly added a nice touch of apparent innocence to the group with her portrayal of Janet Colgate.

I was rooting for Steve Martin in the beginning of the movie, but Michael Caine became someone better than you would expect. It was a fun ending which fit perfectly in with the story.

It had great comedy and showed the quick-wits of both characters. The rivalry between them was so believable, even if some of the things that they pulled off was out there.

This is a remake of the 1964 movie Bedtime story. This new version was directed by Frank Oz, who was well known as a Muppet performer (he did Miss Piggy and Fozzie Bear), the voice of Yoda, as well as director of other classic comedy hits such as Little Shop of Horrors, Bowfinger, and What About Bob?

I was sure that I had seen this before, but I had not seen the full film. It was very entertaining and full of Martin and Caine’s comedy chops and timing. I was very pleased to include this one in the Genre-ary for 2026.

Daily Countdown: TV Show Themes #53

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#53

Tiny Toon Adventures

 “We’re tiny, we’re toony, we’re all a little looney“

Composed: Bruce Broughton

Lyrics: Tom Ruegger, Wayne Kaatz, and Bruce Broughton

Performed: cast members Jeff Bergman (as Bugs Bunny), Joe Alaskey (Plucky Duck), Charlie Adler (Buster Bunny), and Tress MacNeille (Babs Bunny). 

Tiny Toons were reinvented for a more contemporary audience from the classic Looney Tunes characters. Steven Spielberg was attached to the project and brought a buzz to the cartoon. The energetic and funny theme song gave us that looney feel.

Withnail and I (1987)

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January 26

I am not sure where I got this film for the Genre-ary. It must have been on one of the lists that I was searching through. This is a British black comedy called Withnail and I, which featured the feature film debut of Richard E. Grant. I typically like British humor. Unfortunately, I could not get into the film.

I had a very difficult time engaging in the narrative of Withnail and I.

According to IMDB, “Two sloppy actors spend a weekend holiday at an uncle’s country cottage.“

Maybe it is not fair of me, but I just was not into this movie. Did I give it enough of a chance? Maybe not, but I was just not grabbed by the film. Maybe I should give this a rewatch at some time in the future, but right now, I struggled with this movie.