If I may "expose the business" a little bit here, let me tell you that I was all set to put up a tongue-in-cheek post about how I'd like to see a book called "The Definitive Quincy Companion," a volume devoted entirely to everyone's favorite TV M.E. I had come up with some of the features it should have, some of the tidbits I'd like to learn, et cetera.
Imagine my surprise (and while you're at it, imagine me kicking back in Aruba; I could use a vacation) when I saw an ad for Bear Manor Media books and saw that there IS a book about "Quincy, M.E." Yep, a fellow named James Rosin wrote it, and you can view/order it right here.
Now, I can't vouch for this, but it's awesome that someone wrote it, and it's possibly even awesomer that someone published it. Kudos to Bear Manor for publishing all sorts of cool works on film, radio, and TV. None of these books, as far as I know, features the cast of "Twilight," which makes Bear Manor's website a helluva lot more fun to peruse than the TV/Radio/Film shelf at your local Barnes & Noble.
I'm not a paid shill, by the way, just an average shark who's delighted and fascinated that a "Quincy" book is in print in 2009. I really ought to read more Bear Manor stuff, as they have a great-looking catalogue, and the last one I read (this one) was excellent.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Saturday, November 28, 2009
This Week in DVD
Angels and Demons: If there weren't a new Dan Brown book on bulky cardboard endcaps everywhere right now, would anyone even remember this movie came out this year? You know, if I didn't know any better, I'd say this sequel was a...I hesitate to even mention this...a bit of a cash grab.
Funny People: First, let me say I did not see this movie. But the two-disc has a 153-minute extended cut to complement the 146-minute cut of a film even many of its defenders thought was way too long. This, folks, is why DVD sales are down. (Not really the case at all, but I don't mind taking a shot at this Judd Apatow movie when I can).
2009 World Series Highlights: In case you thought Major League Baseball might deliver a Director's Cut to fix the mistakes it made in the postseason, nope, in this DVD, the Yankees still play the Phillies.
Four Christmases: I respect the discipline in holding off on the DVD of this 2008 comedy until now and ensuring a natural holiday shopping hook. Of course, it also provided time for everyone to forget how terrible it looked.
The Golden Age of Television: I know what you're thinking: How can any Age be considered Golden if it did not encompass the glorious reign of "What's Happenin'?" Excellent question, but you just have to take History's word for it, and not just History but TV History, no less. It's cool that Criterion is getting into fifties television here, but it is releasing some already out there material with apparently zero restoration work, so this looks like more of a rental than the must-buy it could have been.
Life on Mars Season 2: The good news I can stop waiting in vain for BBC America to rerun Season 2. The bad news is that now I can barely remember what the heck happened in Season 1.
Alfred Hitchcock Presents Season 4: This is a pivotal season because, as far as I knew, my RTV affiliate never ran any episodes after Season 3. The Master of Suspense had nothing on RTV, which keeps thousands of viewers waiting anxiously each day for which episode of a given series it'll pluck out of the pile and put on the air.
Funny People: First, let me say I did not see this movie. But the two-disc has a 153-minute extended cut to complement the 146-minute cut of a film even many of its defenders thought was way too long. This, folks, is why DVD sales are down. (Not really the case at all, but I don't mind taking a shot at this Judd Apatow movie when I can).
2009 World Series Highlights: In case you thought Major League Baseball might deliver a Director's Cut to fix the mistakes it made in the postseason, nope, in this DVD, the Yankees still play the Phillies.
Four Christmases: I respect the discipline in holding off on the DVD of this 2008 comedy until now and ensuring a natural holiday shopping hook. Of course, it also provided time for everyone to forget how terrible it looked.
The Golden Age of Television: I know what you're thinking: How can any Age be considered Golden if it did not encompass the glorious reign of "What's Happenin'?" Excellent question, but you just have to take History's word for it, and not just History but TV History, no less. It's cool that Criterion is getting into fifties television here, but it is releasing some already out there material with apparently zero restoration work, so this looks like more of a rental than the must-buy it could have been.
Life on Mars Season 2: The good news I can stop waiting in vain for BBC America to rerun Season 2. The bad news is that now I can barely remember what the heck happened in Season 1.
Alfred Hitchcock Presents Season 4: This is a pivotal season because, as far as I knew, my RTV affiliate never ran any episodes after Season 3. The Master of Suspense had nothing on RTV, which keeps thousands of viewers waiting anxiously each day for which episode of a given series it'll pluck out of the pile and put on the air.
Friday, November 27, 2009
Brooks on Books: From Russia With Love
I'm slowly working my way through Ian Fleming's James Bond novels and finding them a lot of fun, both for expected reasons (espionage, violence, and adventure) and not-so-expected ones (such as the constant detail about Bond's meals and what he thinks about them).
Last week, I finished "From Russia with Love," in which the evil Soviet organization SMERSH plots to humiliate Bond, and thereby England, with the use of a beautiful Russkie woman as bait. It' s another fast, entertaining read, but this novel stands out for its remarkable structure: Bond himself does not appear until page 123 of my nifty little paperback edition, and he is not even mentioned till page 59!
In the meantime, we're introduced to the turncoat who has become an elite killing machine for the USSR. Even more intriguing, Fleming takes us not just behind the Iron Curtain, but deep behind it, all the way into the upper echelon of Soviet decisionmaking as the hated organization SMERSH discusses how to score a victory over the West. It's an entertaining journey into this circle, and it's amusing how political everyone is as they worry constantly about their own advancement and status--and, let's face it, their own survival. Fleming makes an interesting choice to go with this approach, and it sustains the novel while Bond is "off page."
When we meet old 007 again on page 123, we then get a build of a different kind, though there are some adventures and exciting set pieces in Turkey, and most of the Soviets disappear for a while. This all leads up to the climactic confrontation.
[MILD SPOILERS AHEAD]
The question is, is all the build worth it? I'm not so sure it does pay off. The confrontation between Bond and his assassin is marred by a stretch of, as "The Incredibles" called it, "monologuing" which weakens the impact of this villain Fleming so meticulously develops earlier. It's also a little too short and not as satisfying as I would expect given the big intro given the Soviets. Fleming somewhat redeems this, though, with a powerful sequence afterwards involving arguably the true villain of the story.
[OK, DONE NOW WITH MILD SPOILERS]
Still, "From Russia with Love" is an entertaining effort, and though I keep mentioning the "buildup," the writing does not meander. In fact, it may be the tightest of the books so far, with less diversions for their own sake. This is the one famously listed by JFK as one of his favorite novels, and many call this the best of the 007s.
I don't think I'd say it's the best of the 5 I've read, but the supporting characters are memorable, the writing is solid, and for someone reading the series from the beginning, it's a nice change of pace and overall another fine entry.
Last week, I finished "From Russia with Love," in which the evil Soviet organization SMERSH plots to humiliate Bond, and thereby England, with the use of a beautiful Russkie woman as bait. It' s another fast, entertaining read, but this novel stands out for its remarkable structure: Bond himself does not appear until page 123 of my nifty little paperback edition, and he is not even mentioned till page 59!
In the meantime, we're introduced to the turncoat who has become an elite killing machine for the USSR. Even more intriguing, Fleming takes us not just behind the Iron Curtain, but deep behind it, all the way into the upper echelon of Soviet decisionmaking as the hated organization SMERSH discusses how to score a victory over the West. It's an entertaining journey into this circle, and it's amusing how political everyone is as they worry constantly about their own advancement and status--and, let's face it, their own survival. Fleming makes an interesting choice to go with this approach, and it sustains the novel while Bond is "off page."
When we meet old 007 again on page 123, we then get a build of a different kind, though there are some adventures and exciting set pieces in Turkey, and most of the Soviets disappear for a while. This all leads up to the climactic confrontation.
[MILD SPOILERS AHEAD]
The question is, is all the build worth it? I'm not so sure it does pay off. The confrontation between Bond and his assassin is marred by a stretch of, as "The Incredibles" called it, "monologuing" which weakens the impact of this villain Fleming so meticulously develops earlier. It's also a little too short and not as satisfying as I would expect given the big intro given the Soviets. Fleming somewhat redeems this, though, with a powerful sequence afterwards involving arguably the true villain of the story.
[OK, DONE NOW WITH MILD SPOILERS]
Still, "From Russia with Love" is an entertaining effort, and though I keep mentioning the "buildup," the writing does not meander. In fact, it may be the tightest of the books so far, with less diversions for their own sake. This is the one famously listed by JFK as one of his favorite novels, and many call this the best of the 007s.
I don't think I'd say it's the best of the 5 I've read, but the supporting characters are memorable, the writing is solid, and for someone reading the series from the beginning, it's a nice change of pace and overall another fine entry.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Journey Into DVD: The Lineup (1958)
If you've already seen the 5 movies included in Sony's recent film noir box, or maybe if you have DVD or VHS copies of your own, here's an incentive to go for the set: The commentary tracks. I recently enjoyed Don Siegel's "The Lineup" twice, the second time while experiencing a fantastic collaboration between Eddie "Czar of Noir" Muller and James "Greatest Living Crime Fiction Writer" Ellroy.
(If you're thinking of disputing me on the distinction I give Ellroy, don't bother. I got the label from an impeccable source--Ellroy himself in this very commentary).
The movie itself is a blast, and well worth a look-see in its own right. It's not so "noir" as one might expect, perhaps, and it's actually based on the old police procedural TV show of the same name (later known as "San Francisco Beat") but it's a great crime pic, filled with unsavory characters, outstanding location shooting, and a memorable performance by Eli Wallach as a sociopath trying to track down a missing heroin shipment. Thinking back now, some of Wallach's facial expressions stand out to me--just specific ones he gives in individual scenes--and I think that's a sign of a memorable performance. He really is a riot, but then Robert Keith and Richard Jaeckel also stand out to a lesser extent.
One of the hallmarks of "The Lineup" is the awesome late-fifties location shooting in San Francisco. It's a treat, then, to hear S.F. native Eddie Muller pointing out aspects of the geography, sites of interests, and other tidbits as the commentary track unfolds. The saddest threat that runs through it is the constant reminders of a past city that is no longer there in that form and never will be. Muller laments the loss of many of these locations as he points them out. Progress is progress, I guess. At least we have movies like this to preserve some of that history.
That's the saddest thread to me, but some of you might find Ellroy's obsessions sadder. Personally, I find the "Demon Dog" a fascinating observer, especially when he's paired with someone like Muller who is capable of steering the discussion on track as needed.
When Muller and Ellroy teamed up on a commentary for "Crime Wave" in WB's Film Noir Collection Volume 4, skittish Warner Brothers suits/lawyers reportedly censored a heap of it. Well, "The Lineup" is a Sony product, and, well...let's just say the Sony Standards and Practices Department is a helluva lot more mellow.
Throughout this audio commentary, you will hear profanity galore (including the glorious f-bomb), remarks about sexuality, drug references, and all sorts of other fun tangents. Ellroy being Ellroy, he often delves into his own interests, such as labeling seemingly every other character as a homosexual (not that he's always wrong in this regard, as there is some fairly overt stuff in the picture), referring to San Fran as "the Joan Zone" after a former object of his affection from the city, and--perhaps best of all--frequently expressing his fascist wish that police departments had more power; the power, for example, to bash a suspect in the head with a phone book in order to get information or, well, hell, just because.
At the beginning of one scene, Ellroy identifies a character--one we see for the first time, mind you--as homosexual within seconds (if that), and when Muller asks him about it, he just says it's his vibe. Later, as another character interacts with a little girl in a non-threatening way (at least on the surface), Ellroy is the one who "goes there," groaning something like, "Oh, on top of everything else, the guy's a pederast, too." Not that there's anything at all funny about that crime, of course, or even this scene the way it's filmed, but the the way Ellroy says this catches me off guard and cracks me up.
Muller strikes the right tone in dealing with his partner in crime here, indulging his comments without condoning them, often laughing with or sort of at them, too. The guys have a nice rapport that only enhances this bonus feature, and though Ellroy does go a little off the rails sometimes, he is strangely compelling, though Muller could have done an excellent track alone as well.
"The Lineup" is a great crime movie with a thrilling finish and several outstanding scenes. In addition to the great commentary track, there is a featurette about noir and the film's original trailer. I'd say this one is worth the cost of the DVD box set alone, but it's an expensive package, so I'm sure as hell not gonna say it's that good. But if you're interested in the other movies in the set for any reason, go ahead and get it if you can. "The Lineup" will not disappoint you.
(If you're thinking of disputing me on the distinction I give Ellroy, don't bother. I got the label from an impeccable source--Ellroy himself in this very commentary).
The movie itself is a blast, and well worth a look-see in its own right. It's not so "noir" as one might expect, perhaps, and it's actually based on the old police procedural TV show of the same name (later known as "San Francisco Beat") but it's a great crime pic, filled with unsavory characters, outstanding location shooting, and a memorable performance by Eli Wallach as a sociopath trying to track down a missing heroin shipment. Thinking back now, some of Wallach's facial expressions stand out to me--just specific ones he gives in individual scenes--and I think that's a sign of a memorable performance. He really is a riot, but then Robert Keith and Richard Jaeckel also stand out to a lesser extent.
One of the hallmarks of "The Lineup" is the awesome late-fifties location shooting in San Francisco. It's a treat, then, to hear S.F. native Eddie Muller pointing out aspects of the geography, sites of interests, and other tidbits as the commentary track unfolds. The saddest threat that runs through it is the constant reminders of a past city that is no longer there in that form and never will be. Muller laments the loss of many of these locations as he points them out. Progress is progress, I guess. At least we have movies like this to preserve some of that history.
That's the saddest thread to me, but some of you might find Ellroy's obsessions sadder. Personally, I find the "Demon Dog" a fascinating observer, especially when he's paired with someone like Muller who is capable of steering the discussion on track as needed.
When Muller and Ellroy teamed up on a commentary for "Crime Wave" in WB's Film Noir Collection Volume 4, skittish Warner Brothers suits/lawyers reportedly censored a heap of it. Well, "The Lineup" is a Sony product, and, well...let's just say the Sony Standards and Practices Department is a helluva lot more mellow.
Throughout this audio commentary, you will hear profanity galore (including the glorious f-bomb), remarks about sexuality, drug references, and all sorts of other fun tangents. Ellroy being Ellroy, he often delves into his own interests, such as labeling seemingly every other character as a homosexual (not that he's always wrong in this regard, as there is some fairly overt stuff in the picture), referring to San Fran as "the Joan Zone" after a former object of his affection from the city, and--perhaps best of all--frequently expressing his fascist wish that police departments had more power; the power, for example, to bash a suspect in the head with a phone book in order to get information or, well, hell, just because.
At the beginning of one scene, Ellroy identifies a character--one we see for the first time, mind you--as homosexual within seconds (if that), and when Muller asks him about it, he just says it's his vibe. Later, as another character interacts with a little girl in a non-threatening way (at least on the surface), Ellroy is the one who "goes there," groaning something like, "Oh, on top of everything else, the guy's a pederast, too." Not that there's anything at all funny about that crime, of course, or even this scene the way it's filmed, but the the way Ellroy says this catches me off guard and cracks me up.
Muller strikes the right tone in dealing with his partner in crime here, indulging his comments without condoning them, often laughing with or sort of at them, too. The guys have a nice rapport that only enhances this bonus feature, and though Ellroy does go a little off the rails sometimes, he is strangely compelling, though Muller could have done an excellent track alone as well.
"The Lineup" is a great crime movie with a thrilling finish and several outstanding scenes. In addition to the great commentary track, there is a featurette about noir and the film's original trailer. I'd say this one is worth the cost of the DVD box set alone, but it's an expensive package, so I'm sure as hell not gonna say it's that good. But if you're interested in the other movies in the set for any reason, go ahead and get it if you can. "The Lineup" will not disappoint you.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
The fuddy-duddy returns: Law & Order SVU on at 10AM?
I may sound like an ol' fuddy-duddy again here, but does anyone really need to see Law and Order: SVU at 10:00 in the morning?
Hey, if people do, great, but the local My TV affiliate, an "over the air" (can we still use that term?) television outlet runs SVU each weekday at this early time.
It's not the only thing on at 10:00 A.M. that's inappropriate for the younger set, but it does kind of stand out to me. When a show like SVU is in first-run, it may draw some controversy (well, not now, when anything goes, but humor me here; it did before), but it's pointed out that it's at night, it's maybe in a relatively later time slot and not the "family hour" (remember the family hour), etc.
Then the reruns start, and the time gets bumped up, and maybe it's on cable and all, but still.
Now it's on a non-cable channel every morning at 10:00. So you get up, have breakfast, maybe see your spouse off to work, help the older kids to school, then head out for a play date with your little one, and when you walk back in the door, you might be just in time to relax with an hour of...(let's see the descriptions, via TVGuide.com, for this week's episodes):
Monday: Stabler seeks an HIV-positive rapist who preys on young girls.
Tuesday: Party hosts are found murdered.
Wednesday: Special guest star David Keith helps track a serial rapist-killer.
Thursday: "The investigation of a shooting near a gay bar leads to a couple's involvement with porn movies." If on Thanksgiving your family is sick of the Macy's parade, here's another option!
Friday: This episode involves kidnapping and illegal adoption. There's nothing about rape listed in the synopsis, but I'm sure it's in the show somewhere.
I'm not saying someone should make WDCA-20 remove SVU from its schedule or anything. I just feel kind of weird about this being on so early, you know what I mean? Perry Mason and Joe Mannix and [first name unknown] Quincy might have investigated murders for years in early-morning reruns, but their adventures were a tad less graphic, and rape wasn't likely to show up in each episode (In "the good old days," I guess you could say shows used rape as an occasional treat, not the staple of the diet).
So, yeah, this is just kind of odd. Maybe it's not such a big deal anymore, but...
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Journey into DVD: Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
To commemorate what would have been Dick Powell's 105th birthday over the weekend, I was thinking of watching the great "Cry Danger," but I opted instead for a few episodes of his 1950s western anthology, "Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre."
Ever since I got this set, I have admired the ridiculousness of that title. Not that it's ever a mistake to get a great brand name out there, and, hey, how can you resist TWO brand names on your TV show? It does sound awkward, though, doesn't it? I decided to embrace it rather than mock it, and as far as I'm concerned, this particular copy of VCI's DVD set is "Rick Brooks' Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre." If I ever sell this package, the next guy can figure out what he wants to call it.
The show is a lot of fun. Like many anthologies of the 1950s, "RBDPZGT" delivers a new prominent guest star each episode, and it's fun to just launch the episodes without peeking and enjoy spotting the familiar faces. The half-hour stories are efficient but carry some weight, and from what I've seen so far, this is a fine, entertaining TV oater.
I particularly enjoy "RBDPZGT's" structure. Each show begins with a brief scene, usually one loaded with tension, that establishes the story. Instead of getting a representative spot from the middle of the show, as one might expect, we get a distinct bit that gets things hopping right away. The first few times I watched these DVDs, I had to remind myself not to get lazy during that cold open because I would NOT be seeing it again!
Perhaps the best part of each half-hour is Powell's droll intro following the open. He comes out in some kind of western duds, stands in front of a scenic backdrop that wouldn't fool Mary Ingalls, and explains a concept related to the Old West, usually while holding some kind of relevant prop. Powell strikes the right tone, implanting the tongue far enough in his cheek to carry off the comedic bits but holding back enough in his delivery so as to avoid demeaning the material we're about to see. In fact, Powell, unlike Al Hitchcock, does not return after the story to send us out on a light note; in my opinion, this serves the show well, allowing the impact of the episode to sink in.
A great feature on this attractive VCI package is the inclusion of original series promos and teasers. I wish more companies would add these to their TV on DVD releases. I can't believe Paramount doesn't have tons of this kind of material sitting around. It would be cool to program a night of classic TV at my house, using these kinds of promos as filler. Yes, I know I'm a dork, but I'd like to do that. I don't understand why DVD companies can't add some of the cool stuff to their discs instead of making us go to YouTube. I imagine it kills the mood if you're running a classic TV DVD program, and all of a sudden you ask everybody in your den to crowd into the office so you can load an old commercial on Google Video.
There are some of those spots on RBDPZGT, and I am grateful to VCI. Hey, I'm glad VCI did such a fine overall job with this relatively unknown Western. I hope to see more seasons, and I hope every fan of this kind of material is aware this is out there and gives the series a look.
Ever since I got this set, I have admired the ridiculousness of that title. Not that it's ever a mistake to get a great brand name out there, and, hey, how can you resist TWO brand names on your TV show? It does sound awkward, though, doesn't it? I decided to embrace it rather than mock it, and as far as I'm concerned, this particular copy of VCI's DVD set is "Rick Brooks' Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre." If I ever sell this package, the next guy can figure out what he wants to call it.
The show is a lot of fun. Like many anthologies of the 1950s, "RBDPZGT" delivers a new prominent guest star each episode, and it's fun to just launch the episodes without peeking and enjoy spotting the familiar faces. The half-hour stories are efficient but carry some weight, and from what I've seen so far, this is a fine, entertaining TV oater.
I particularly enjoy "RBDPZGT's" structure. Each show begins with a brief scene, usually one loaded with tension, that establishes the story. Instead of getting a representative spot from the middle of the show, as one might expect, we get a distinct bit that gets things hopping right away. The first few times I watched these DVDs, I had to remind myself not to get lazy during that cold open because I would NOT be seeing it again!
Perhaps the best part of each half-hour is Powell's droll intro following the open. He comes out in some kind of western duds, stands in front of a scenic backdrop that wouldn't fool Mary Ingalls, and explains a concept related to the Old West, usually while holding some kind of relevant prop. Powell strikes the right tone, implanting the tongue far enough in his cheek to carry off the comedic bits but holding back enough in his delivery so as to avoid demeaning the material we're about to see. In fact, Powell, unlike Al Hitchcock, does not return after the story to send us out on a light note; in my opinion, this serves the show well, allowing the impact of the episode to sink in.
A great feature on this attractive VCI package is the inclusion of original series promos and teasers. I wish more companies would add these to their TV on DVD releases. I can't believe Paramount doesn't have tons of this kind of material sitting around. It would be cool to program a night of classic TV at my house, using these kinds of promos as filler. Yes, I know I'm a dork, but I'd like to do that. I don't understand why DVD companies can't add some of the cool stuff to their discs instead of making us go to YouTube. I imagine it kills the mood if you're running a classic TV DVD program, and all of a sudden you ask everybody in your den to crowd into the office so you can load an old commercial on Google Video.
There are some of those spots on RBDPZGT, and I am grateful to VCI. Hey, I'm glad VCI did such a fine overall job with this relatively unknown Western. I hope to see more seasons, and I hope every fan of this kind of material is aware this is out there and gives the series a look.
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