#72
Spider-Man (1967)
“Spider-Man, Spider-Man, does whatever a spider can!”
Composed: Paul Francis Webster (lyrics) and Robert “Bob” Harris (music)
Performed: Canadian pop/easy listening vocal group The Billy Van Singers and Canadian vocl group The Laurie Bower Singers
This is a show that I have never actually seen. However, the theme song has become so iconic that is has been used in other areas, including the first Toby Maguire Spider-Man live action movie.
January 7
Going back over 100 years for today’s Genre-ary film, I picked up a rental on Fandango at Home for Sherlock Jr., a classic black and white, silent film starring Buster Keaton.
When I was doing the DailyView, I watched some Buster Keaton films, but I found that I preferred the Charlie Chaplin ones. Both were similar in their silent, comedic slapstick manner, but I just found Chaplin more appealing, more charming overall. However, after watching Sherlock Jr., I may have to reassess my opinion.
Buster Keaton was gold in this movie, giving a magnificent performance in both physical comedy and remarkable stunt work.
According to IMDB, “A film projectionist longs to be a detective, and puts his meagre skills to work when he is framed by a rival for stealing his girlfriend’s father’s pocket watch.”
Some of the things that this film accomplished in 1923 was simply astounding. Some of the stunts were superior to what I thought it could be done.
The dream sequence of the projectionist was sensational. The dream sequence where Keaton was the amazing detective Sherlock Jr. and it was funny, it had amazing choreography and slapstick comedy.
Of course when we say silent films, we mean that there is no one we can hear speaking. The is a constant musical score playing over the imagery of the movie. The soundtrack was composed by Timothy Block and his score was perfect for the speechless film. It was light-hearted when it needed to be, it was silly at times, and it was dramatic at the appropriate moment. The score truly helped to make this a classic film.
I thought Buster Keaton was special in this movie and the film was so much fun. I can see why it was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress in 1991.
#73
True Detective: Night Country
“Bury a Friend”
Written by : Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell
Performed: Billie Eilish
This is True Detective season four from HBO. This theme really helped me get into the show. I have not watched other seasons of True Detective after season 1 (and part of 2) but those themes do not stick out for me like this song does. Showrunner Issa López thought the lyrics of the song fit in with the overall dark themes of the show. Billie Eilish stated that the song was written about the monster beneath the bed, which turned out to be her.
January 6
I went back to HBO Max for today’s Genre-ary film and it was considerably better than yesterday’s. Alan Partridge was hilarious, clever British style humor that truly was a joy to watch.
According to IMDB, “When famous DJ Alan Partridge’s radio station is taken over by a new media conglomerate, it sets in motion a chain of events which see Alan having to work with the police to defuse a potentially violent siege.”
Alan Partridge is played by Steve Coogan and this film featured his brilliant wit and great dialogue that was as funny as it was intelligent. Colm Meaney co-starred with Coogan as Pat Farrell, one of the DJs that got canned when the new media conglomerate took over the radio station. Little did Pat know, Alan Partridge had a hand in helping to make the decision.
Alan was being put into so many crazy situations with this siege that you could tell what a fantastic character this guy was… and that was with him being a jerk in much of the film. Even though he was selfish and putting himself first, I could not help but love Alan.
Apparently, Alan Partridge was a character originally on a television program in England. It would be an interesting thing to see, just to compare the comedy with the film.
I really enjoyed this movie and I loved the character of Alan Partridge.
#74
The Munsters
Composed: Jack Marshall
Lyrics: (Unaired): Bob Mosher
The Munsters’ theme is a blend of spooky sounds and a 60’s style surf song. Jack marshall also arranged the theme, which may not be as well known as the Addams Family, but was still a perfect fit in tone for the Munsters.
January 5
We head back to 1932 today for the Genre-ary to a film called Miss Pinkerton. The 1932 film was viewed on HBO Max.
To be fair, it is labeled as a comedy/mystery/thriller, which is why it made its way on to the list for this year’s Comedy Genre-ary. Thing is…. there is not much of a comedy to it.
According to IMDB, “A hospital nurse is recruited by the police to watch a household where a suspicious death has occurred.“
Joan Blondell played the titular character, Miss Pinkerton, which was an alias she took on to help the police with their case. She was actually a nurse named Miss Adams. Blondell had some good presence as the lead of the film, but there was not a ton to the film.
The story of this movie is fairly convoluted and messy. I am not sure what was going on here.
#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.
EYG- Embrace Your Geekness 