A Forever Question: Transit Metrics

"Since before your sun burned hot in space and before your race was born, I have awaited a question."

Sir. Why is one prone to miss the bus or subway train by seconds or centimetres and not minutes or metres?

Sunday Fun: Saturday Night at the Movies Intro (1980)

What? You wanted to get into film but did not live in Ontario, Canada, or border States that received the magic television signal? You poor, wretched soul. TV Ontario's Saturday Night at the Movies was a film school for those of us lucky enough to have watched it on a regular basis.

Elwy Yost was a Film Professor of the Air. His course? "History of Film" among other classes. The genial host interviewed not just stars, but character actors, cameramen, art directors, editors, writers, directors....you get the idea.

SNATM premiered on then OECA (Ontario Educational Communications Authority) in 1974 and I was there. My dad had pretty eclectic tastes in movies, so much of what was programmed suited him, too. (Pity the poor, wretched "I wanna be a director" soul who limits himself or herself to a certain school.)

Through the video course I was introduced to director Fritz Lang's 1933 supernatural thriller The Testament of Dr. Mabuse, which ended up one of my favourite films. Thank you, Mr Yost!

In addition to the classic and semi-classic "old" films, in the earlier days of SNATM there were the Republic serials, which was, again, my introduction to the form.

In "tonight's episode", illustrated above, Elwy introduces a night of "flying". Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines was the big show that evening. (I first saw the flick at CFB Baden-Soellingen's movie theatre and I loved it.)

We miss Elwy, don't we?

And there's TVO's Magic Shadows....

Film/TV Designers Times Three

Over the next few weeks I plan to render three sets of designs in the style of three film and television designers whose works I admire.

They are:

Jack Shampan
Keith Wilson
Walter M. Jefferies

Each had a unique style. I will try to imitate all three, but, of course, whatever I come up with will remain my own. I have my own style, as I should.

These gents I learned of through their work on:

Jack Shampan -- The Prisoner (1967 - 1968)
Keith Wilson -- Space: 1999 (1975 - 1977)
Walter "Matt" Jefferies -- Star Trek (1966 - 1969)

All three designers are deceased but their respective works survive in cinematographic form. Mr Shampan art directed several feature films in addition to working in television; Wilson was employed mainly in television; and "Uncle Matt" started with the big screen but enjoyed a long career on the small, including a relative lifetime on Little House on the Prairie.

I smell paint....

Andre Norton on Cats

"Perhaps it is because cats do not live by human patterns, do not fit themselves into prescribed behavior, that they are so united to creative people."

Our stars.

Jim Davis on Cats

"Cats are anthropomorphised in art because they are so laid back that you automatically attribute human thoughts and feelings to them."

They have a large vocabulary all their own.

Jules Verne on Cats

"I believe cats to be spirits come to earth. A cat, I am sure, could walk on a cloud without coming through."

Then slide down sunshine.

Albert Schweitzer on Cats

"There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life: music and cats."

Both extricated from the miseries of life.

Will & Mist (26-12-2018)

I Do Remember Seeing a Christmas Day NHL Game

Hockey Night in Canada on the CBC.

The Detroit Red Wings and the Toronto Maple Leafs played one another on Saturday, December 25, 1971. The Leafs won in front of their hometown fans by a score of 5 to 3.

What I learned minutes ago is the National Hockey League has had no Christmas Day games since 1971. (There were six match-ups that night.)

That was forty-seven years ago. Maybe the league should reconsider.

A Forever Question: TV Tunes

"Since before your sun burned hot in space and before your race was born, I have awaited a question."

Sir. Why are television theme tunes today so tuneless?

Sunday Fun: Doctor Who Opening (Pertwee)

OECA (Ontario Educational Communications Authority), now referred to as TV Ontario, ran adverts in the summer of 1976 announcing their Fall scheduling of a British programme from my childhood, Doctor Who -- which at that point had not yet stopped production, eventually wrapping in 1989; a twenty-six year run.

As a very young child living at RCAF Station Greenwood, Nova Scotia, I saw the first "Dalek" story; its affect on me was profound enough that I never forgot kneeling in front of the Admiral monochrome television set and being: scared!....by the BBC via the CBC. (Those panning eyestalk cameras lining the Dalek city's hallways gave me the creeps.)

Back to OECA.

Starting that September I was there in front of the tube every Saturday evening. That was my introduction to the third doctor, Jon Pertwee, and because of the network's two-year Who run featuring the time and space "dandy", he was, and remains, my favourite of all the actors to play and interpret "the Doctor". (In September of 1978, OECA switched to the Tom Baker Whos.)

Of special note is the classic theme tune composed by Ron Grainer; what must be noted is Dalia Derbyshire's "arrangement", an electronic transcription, really, from the composer's score paper. This theme burns into one's electronics.

While the original Doctor Who's production crews lacked today's wonderful technologies, they somehow managed to tell some terrifically entertaining stories.

A Forever Question: The Leafs?

"Since before your sun burned hot in space and before your race was born, I have awaited a question."

Sir. Why do the forever lowly Maple Leafs almost always play well against the Montreal Canadiens?

Searching For "in Search of..."

After I posted last Sunday's "Sunday Fun" piece, "in Search of..." (1977 - 1982) Titles, I got the urge to check out the series I hardly watched.

Picked Three:

"Bigfoot"
"Haunted Palaces"
"Ghosts"

What impressed me most was the difference in styles between subject matters. "Bigfoot" was the way I remember the show being; a bit of this and a bit of that. The other two episodes took approaches befitting the material: "Haunted Palaces", lots of atmosphere; "Ghosts", a ghost hunter investigates, and this becomes the episode's narrative drive.

The question I ask myself is this: Why did I ignore in Search of... when it originally aired? Did it have to become a piece of nostalgia though reputation for me to become intrigued?...something to search for?...

CKVR "TIme Warp Television" & Fall Schedule 1992

CKVR was a progressive television station.

("was")

The summer of 1979 was late night excitement in Barrie, Ontario, and surrounding area as "VR" ran old television series' discarded by the passage of time: Boston Blackie (1951 - 1952); Biff Baker, U.S.A. (1952 - 1954); The Outer Limits (1963 - 1965); and many more. The framework for these programs was titled "Summer Cine".

Unfortunately I have no promotional material from "Summer Cine", but I do have some from CKVR's 1992 programming year. The summer framework read as must-see: "Time Warp Television." Sparkling from within the schedule were shows of note: Perry Mason; Addams Family; Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea; I Love Lucy; Star Trek; Mary Tyler Moore; and on....

Into the Fall of 1992....

More Lined-Paper Boards for "Hyper-Reality"

Yesterday I posted two panels from Hyper-Reality, my as of yet uncompleted 35mm short film. The first thumbnail scribbles lead to the final storyboard panels. I designed the show from bottom to top: sets, costumes, and props. The script I co-wrote with Tim A. Cook. (A final polish was done with Michelle Berry.)

Lined-Paper Boards for "Hyper-Reality"

The first sketch: the thumbnail. I drew many when developing and visualizing my 35mm short film epic....as of yet unfinished.

From those storyboard bits came finer renderings.

For now I'll hold those boards close to my chest as there are rumblings about finally finishing Hyper-Reality. (Thank you, hyper-technology.)

Will & Mist (19-12-2018)

My Entire High School Sinking is Entertainment

We've heard it said before: "When I see a movie, I want to be entertained."

One man's entertainment is another man's trip to the beer fridge.

This past weekend I watched a film which entertained me: much of its entertainment value came from the fact that it was different. I enjoyed its differences. My Entire High School Sinking Into the Sea was it for 75 minutes.

What is the premise of this animated film from 2016? Besides homages to Irwin Allen's 1972 adventure film The Poseidon Adventure, which is a big part of Sinking's vertical drive, and William Golding's classic novel "Lord of the Flies", it's a potpourri of colour, texture, pop culture, psychology, and sociology. That might be the premise.

The characters were voiced by several name actors (like Jason Schwartzman, Susan Sarandon, and Maya Rudolph) but that was not important. After I got immersed into the story I didn't really care that Ms Sarandon spoke for "Lunch Lady Lorraine".

I just cared to be entertained.

Leonard Nimoy on Immigrants and Aliens

"My folks came to the U.S. as immigrants, aliens, and became citizens. I was born in Boston, a citizen, went to Hollywood and became an alien."

And became part of pop culture.

Sunday Fun: "in Search of" (1977 - 1982) Titles

Rarely did I search for in Search of... in the television listings during its original run, but many folk who were around back then have fond memories of being sold the works by that great voice: Leonard Nimoy.

The above video clip features the opening and closing titles from the episode "Earthquakes". (In search of earthquakes? Really?)

For some mysterious reason I now want to don the Ektachrome-coloured glasses and watch a few installments of in Search of....

Freaky theme music! That I remember very well. It was an important part of the show's identity.