Category Archives: TV-G[eek]

Sha Na Na S3 E1, E2, E3, E4

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I arrived at the third season of Sha Na Na with the first four episodes on YouTube and it kicked off with an odd thing. Episode one started with the group singing “Summertime” and then they had a backstage version of Up on the Roof, and I swear I had seen both of these performances on previous episodes. I did not want to take the time to go back and see if I could find them, but it was so odd that I wondered if they had to plug in some older versions of these songs for some reason. Jocko did not have his mustache, which is a key clue.

There was another song that I think they had done: Three Cool Cats. It featured one of the actresses who was the waitress at the diner, who we did not see in any other season three episode.

The season added a new set. One set was Greasers’ Hall, which apparently replaced the diner set. We also got much more Soupy Sales than in previous seasons. The new season episodes kicked off with a comedy bit before the introduction and episode one and two had a bit called “The Sha Na Na Joke Hall of Fame” which seemed like it was going to be a regular bit, only to not have it in episode 3 or 4.

Connie Stevens and Danny and the Juniors did a typical routine, with Stevens singing “Tan Shoes and Pink Shoelaces” and Danny and the Juniors doing “At the Hop.” The other two guests were Conway Twitty and Ben E. King, who both did medleys of their songs. I liked that and hope more musical guests will follow suit.

Sha Na Na did the theme song for Grease as one of their opening songs on the stage and poor Donny was so lost on the choreography of the dance routine. I felt so bad for him. He was giving it his all, but he was just behind the others so much. Donny is not the best of the backup dancers and this was pretty complicated. He kept just trying to do the grease your hair move.

Of course, Sha Na Na appeared in the movie Grease, playing the band at the dance where John Travolta and Olivia Newton John would win.

Maybe that was why they sold Donny to science in a future episode.

Man, they sure stick Lennie into a lot of dresses.

Lookin ahead, there are a lot of country musicians coming up. I wonder if they had burned through guests from the 1950s and had to move into different genres.

Fallout S2 E7

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“The Handoff”

“She’s Canadian!”

One of the best lines of the entire show. I laughed out loud.

Chet proclaimed it about Steph at their wedding after he said “I don’t” instead of “I do.”

Also, The Ghoul, Maximus and Thaddeus walking side by side down the street with Maximus in armor was so cool. Of course, Thaddeus’s arm fell off, so there is that.

Maximus fighting the Deathclaws was really epic.

Lucy and her father having an interesting interactions, while driving a golf cart.

Ned was back this week as he took a couple of dramatic blows to the head.

Clancy Brown as President of the United States? Never would I trust him. I have seen him in too many other projects where he is just not trustworthy.

I mean, there is a woman with her head in a jar.

Lots of dangling plots heading into the finale next week.

Sunday Morning Sidewalk #54

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Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials

“Bundles of Love”

This week’s new show on the Sunday Morning Sidewalk is from Netflix and is an easy to digest three episodes. It is entitled Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials, and it is a mystery based on the 1929 novel from one of the iconic mystery writers of our times.

According to IMDB, “In 1925, a country house party prank turns deadly. Lady Eileen “Bundle” Brent investigates the chilling murder plot. Lady Caterham and Superintendent Battle assist in solving the country house mystery that changes Bundle’s life.”

I do love a mystery. The first episode does an admirable job of setting up some solid questions. The whole clock thing in the bedroom of the dead man, the Seven Dials being repeated, everything pointing to a suicide though Bundle would not believe it, and the tragic occurrence at the end of the episode all set the table for an interesting story.

It is a touch slow, but I loved that about it. It allowed the story to take root and bring me into it with its deliberate touch.

Mia McKenna-Bruce as Lady Eileen “Bundle” Brent feels like a very engaging and entertaining lead character. I am also excited for more from Helena Bonham Carter and Martin Freeman, the biggest stars in the cast.

I am not always into a period piece, but this mystery grabbed my attention immediately and I love the fact that there are just two more episodes to go. I hope it doesn’t wind up forced because of time. The next two episodes are just under an hour, much like the first episode was, and this feels like there are a lot of moving pieces in the story.

Still, I am happy with the new choice of show for the Sunday Morning Sidewalk.

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.

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.

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.

The Beauty S1 E1, E2, E3

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“Beautiful Pilot”

“Beautiful Jordan”

“Beautiful Christopher Cross”

Ignition Press released a comic a few months ago called The Beauty, written by Jeremy Haun. I was unaware that there was a series before this one from Image Comics. I am enjoying the book from Ignition Press so I was intrigued when I heard that Ryan Murphy was adapting it to a FX series. The first three episodes dropped this past week and there will be a weekly drop on Wednesdays after that.

There is a virus that is transmitted sexually. When you get the virus, you become beautiful (in a horribly painful and gross way). Admittedly, there are some people who just explode in a big bloody mess. Not sure the difference at this point.

Evan Peters stars in the show as Cooper Madsen. The show also featured Rebecca Hall, Anthony Ramos, Ashton Kutcher, and Jeremy Pope.

FBI Agents Cooper and Jordan were investigating the mysterious deaths of several super models, including one that went crazy, killing a bunch of people before she exploded in a bloody splash. Meanwhile, out-of-shape and pathetic young man named Jeremy went to a plastic surgeon with the hope to make himself more attractive. The plastic surgeon worked on him, and it seemed to be successful. Jeremy went to a club where a group of women gave him some attention. However, they were just scamming him for free drinks.

Jeremy, in a rage, went to the surgeon’s office with a gun, killed several staff members, and threatened the doctor. The doctor, however, had another suggestion and hooked him up with a mysterious woman. Jeremy and the woman had sex and Jeremy wound up transforming into a more handsome, in shape person.

This series has a lot of body horror in it, and that is not one one of my favorite types of horror, but I am interested in the series so I will certainly be giving it a chance. I have been disappointed with Ryan Murphy lately (hated American Horror Story: Delicate and Grotesquerie). I did love early AHS and American Crime Story, so he has a hit-or-miss run for me. We’ll see how this goes.

Agents of Shield S2 E7, E8, E9, E10

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“The Writing on the Wall”

“The Things We Bury”

“…Ye Who Enter Here”

“What They Become”

The story of the Obelisk and its destiny is in full swing, bringing Skye and Raina into an underground cavern and turning them.

Poor Trip, we barely knew thee.

So much for Legacy characters.

The Inhumans arc kicks off big time with the Obelisk triggering the Inhuman transformation in Skye.

Or should I say Daisy?

Cal and Skye have their father-daughter reunion at gunpoint as Grant kidnapped Skye from the Bus. Cal dropped Skye’s true name, the name we would know her by as the series continued: Daisy Johnson.

Ward had a big stretch during these episodes too as he murdered his brother and parents, making it look like a murder-suicide. He rejoined Hydra, but he had his own motivations.

We learned that Cal wanted to murder Whitehall because he dissected Cal’s wife, giving him the ability to not age. However, Coulson shot Whitehall first, causing Cal to attack Coulson violently.

I am happy that the “Crazy” Coulson arc seems to be done now that they figured out what the weird writing was. Since Skye never had it happen to her, does that mean her Inhuman traits allowed her to avoid the crazy Kree messages in her head?

Dramatic episodes as the show is finding its pace.

Sunday Morning Sidewalk #53

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Death By Lightning

“Destiny of the Republic”

I have been simultaneously looking forward to and dreading the fourth and final episode of the Netflix mini-series, Death by Lightning. Looking forward to because I have been thoroughly enthralled by this historical drama about James Garfield and dreading it because I have grown to admire and love the character of James Garfield and I knew what his fate held.

The Sunday Morning Sidewalk came this morning and I watched the final episode.

It was so powerful.

It made me wish for a man like James Garfield who could step up and face the corruption of the current political setting. What I wouldn’t give for an honest man, one who did not play the games, like James Garfield. Seeing how his presence and kindness transformed Chester A. Arthur was amazing.

But, it was not just James Garfield who changed Arthur. He had help from a force of nature that we got to witness in this episode: Crete Garfield. The First Lady spent the episode bringing forth the vengeance.

Betty Gilpin got her moments in this episode and she was tremendous.

There were no shortage of villains in this episode. Starting off with Charles Guiteau, who wound up shooting the president in the back. The joy he showed at his actions, despite how demented he was, was obscene. I took a lot of satisfaction in the confrontation with Crete and Guiteau’s eventual hanging. The moment just before he is hanged where he finally realized what was going to happen was best. I also found a strange satisfaction in seeing his brain removed from his dead body for research at the end.

Another villain in the episode was Roscoe Conkling. He was horrendous in his response to the shooting of Garfield. His machinations being turned back on him was great, and seeing how Chester Arthur finally stood up to him.

Then, there was Doctor Bliss. The bullet was not what eventually killed Garfield. He was killed by infection brought on because Bliss did not sterilize his instruments when he was probing for the bullet. The arrogance of this doctor came through clearly in this episode.

This was one of the most compelling four episode mini series I have seen in a long time. Great performances and amazing true stories highlighted the show. I did not expect to love this as much as I did. If you have time, binge this series on Netflix. You will not be disappointed.

Next week, the Sunday Morning Sidewalk switches to another Netflix mini-series: three episodes of a show called Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials. I can only hope that it is as excellent as Death By Lightning.

Sha Na Na S2 E22, E23, E24

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With these three episodes, season two of Sha Na Na ended. I will say that season two was considerably better than season one. The first two-thirds of season one was so cringeworthy with the comedy and the laugh tracks that it really took away from the music. However, near the end of season one, they clearly started to find their path and season two saw them hit their stride.

They had another tribute medley, this time for Paul Anka, who was also their guest star. They have done tributes for Elvis, Buddy Holly in the past and I am not sure why they did not do this more often. This was great and took the place of the comedy bit for the episode. Paul Anka sang a song then that I had never heard before.

This Paul Anka episode has to be considered one of the best episodes so far in the rewatch. It was up their with the Billy Crystal episode.

Speaking of Elvis, Sha Na Na has been doing more music from the King recently. Elvis was very much absent from season one, which makes me wonder if there were rights issues when they first started.

Joe Namath came in and sang with the group… well, singing is a bit of a stretch. He said “Get a Job” in the song Get a Job while the rest of them did the background vocals and all the main lyrics. Joe looked like he was having fun though, which makes it fun for the audience.

I had never heard of Lloyd Price, guest star #3, but he did a Stagger Lee and Personality mash-up, which I have heard.

Sha Na Na has always done a great job of pairing up their singers into voices that complement each other well. In episode 23, Donny and Lennie sang What’s Your Name, and they sounded fantastic together. Lennie and Bowzer did a song similar to Mr. Bassman, but different.

Fallout S2 E6

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“The Other Hill”

So two of my favorite actors are here this week. Kyle MacLachlan is there on a regular basis, and Michael Emerson, making a small cameo.

Oh, and there was Ron Perlman too.

I was more engaged with this episode of Fallout than I have been most of the season. It had some really strong scenes with Lucy and her father and then some good flashbacks with Cooper and Barb.

I also enjoyed the scenes with Reg and Betty were fire. That is what I feel this arc with these characters has been missing this season.

The Ghoul, stuck on that pipe, was tough to watch. Seeing him slowly trying to pull himself up the pole was painful. I’m not sure who Ron Perlman is, but he does not seem to be someone that I want to mess with.

Hopefully this will continue to get better every week.

The Pitt S2 E3

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“9:00 AM”

This show has trained me to anticipate someone suddenly dropping over unexpectedly. I am always on edge waiting to see what is about to happen.

It is also why I am dreading every second that Louis is on screen because I am expecting something horribly tragic to happen before he is done with his draining and his tooth.

Now, we are getting a Code Black from Westbridge Hospital, averting their overflow patients to The Pitt. Is this going to be the massive section like the shooting was last season?

Does the fact that Robbie lies about his wearing of a motorcycle helmet foreshadow something down the road? It is another thing to just stress me out about.

The scenes with the little Jewish lady with the burned leg were remarkably sweet and heartfelt. I loved how she bonded with Dr. Robbie right away and how she chastised him when she found out about a 50ish man riding a motorcycle. Another piece of foreshadowing?

The little girl who they suspected of being abused by her father turned out to have something totally different to account for the bruising. The father certainly has a temper as he flew off the handle a couple of times once he arrived.

Langdon got to pull out a trick (much like Robbie always does) to help settle down an active child so they could extract some beads from his nose. The best use of virtual video games ever.

Another solid episode of the show but I feel there are some really painfully tragic things that are about to happen. I sure hope I am wrong about them.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians S2 E8

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“The Fleece Works its Magic Too Well”

The Sea of Monsters came to a conclusion with the second season of the Disney + show. Percy, Annabeth and Grover make their way back to camp in an attempt to stop Luke from burning the camp to the ground.

Of course, Percy wound up getting his ass kicked by Luke.

I am not sure how I felt about this final battle. It felt as if it had gaps in the story that just did not make sense or seemed to happen off screen. The ending of the whole thing felt a little anticlimactic.

I did like the use of Tyson saving Percy like a Deus ex machina. Percy really got brutally battered. I am not sure whether or not using the Fleece on the tree was a good thing. It brought back Thalia, but the end of that battle was lacking in my opinion.

I really enjoy Walker Scobell in this role. I think he does an admirable job as Percy Jackson. I enjoy the chemistry between the three main characters. Luke makes an interesting villain.

We got a new Zeus after the death of Lance Reddick. It was Courtney B. Vance, but he did not seem like Courtney B. Vance. I did not recognize him until I looked up the actor playing the role.

Honestly, I felt this episode was a touch of a letdown after a solid season. I am still anxious to see a season three, which is supposedly being filmed right now.

Sha Na Na S2 E14, E15, E16, E17, E18, E20, E21

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I came back for Sha Na Na on YouTube and we got some issues with the recordings. Now, the recordings were loaded up from old VHS tapes, so the quality has always been iffy, but this was the first time when whole songs were cut out, specifically in episode 15. In the comments, the channel’s owner, pattyoc01, stated that it was because of YouTube needing to cut some out for copyright reasons.

Another issue came in this group of episodes with number 19. On the playlist, #19 is listed as starring Jimmie Rodgers. However, on the YouTube list, it was just a repeat of S2 E18 with the Ronnettes. Not sure what happened with that.

Another funny thing was at the end of episode 18, there was a brand new “Goodnight Sweetheart” closing. You can tell because the camera was closer to each member and Jocko had his mustache shaved off as he has had for most of the two seasons of the show. However, oddly enough, episodes 20-21 both had the old closing version, making me wonder if this playlist was in actual release order.

Interesting guest stars on these episodes. Dick Clark appeared as the only non-singing guest, but he certainly has big ties to music. They played some Rate the Music, like they did on American Bandstand in the old days. This was a fun use of Dick Clark. There was an appearance by Jan and Dean, who performed on the actual stage. They had a performance by someone named Johnny Tillotson, who I had never heard of before. He did Poetry in Motion, which I knew well, but I always thought it was by Buddy Holly, or someone like that. Del Shannon was on and he sang Runaway, of course. Trini Lopez sang La Bamba as The Angels did My Boyfriend’s Back.

There was a fun duet between Johnny and Pamela Myers, who plays Ginger. She sings every once in awhile and their version of Hey Paula was well done.

I really enjoyed the comedy bit with Bowzer playing “Sven Bowzer” in an opera with Dirty Dan as the reporter. I actually laughed several times during this section.

There are some of my favorite Sha Na Na songs on these episodes. Johnny singing Roy Orbison’s Cryin’, Tell Laura I Love Her ( also by Johnny), Screamin’ Scott leading the Sha Na Na sing along with the song Don’t You Just Know It, So In Love, and Peggy Sue.

Speaking of Peggy Sue, they did an homage to Buddy Holly on episode 18 with them doing four separate songs. They did this instead of the comedy bit and I think they should have done something like this more often. I know they had done an Elvis one previously.

Three more episodes in season two to go. Even with the quality and the copyright issues, I am pleased that I am able to revisit these shows.