Sunday Fun: Gemini Man Intro

September of 1976 revealed the Gemini Man television series. It was the second stab by NBC at the 'invisible man' concept, as the television season before, they broadcast The Invisible Man -- a series which barely made it to the half season mark.

I was one of those viewers who made a point to tune in week after week to catch the limited-time, in more ways than one, adventures of secret agent Gemini man Sam Casey (played by Ben Murphy). Casey could nip out of the visible light spectrum, but for only 15 minutes in total per day -- or he would perish.

Capping the amount of time the show's protagonist could cloak to invisibility definitely made plotting and jeopardy more interesting, but once the network realized Sam Casey wasn't making television ratings more visible, the series disappeared forever -- after just half a dozen episodes.

But I enjoyed it.

Picturing: TTC "Sheppard West" Subway Station

DVD: Eraserhead

Eraserhead

Directed by

David Lynch

Criterion Collection

2014

Something I Must Say Today, Because of This Day

This Platinum Card-carrying atheist must say: "Yes, God Bless America."

Lost In Space Cardboard Clip - Displaced to Space?

The above 4cm-square card came, as I remember it, with a VHS tape I bought years ago of a single episode from the old and very bad television series Lost In Space (CBS). Before online video streaming services like YouTube materialized and provided sample clips, if not whole episodes, one had to sometimes buy old television programs on tape if one could not find a given show on the airwaves -- in my case, this was also just before DVD's came out. My excuse for buying LIS on VHS was I was designing a short film, and the script at times called for an "Irwin Allen Look". Look for: Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1964 - 1968); Lost In Space (1965 - 1968); The Time Tunnel (1966 - 1967); and Land of the Giants (1968 - 1970). Pick your poison, although Voyage is by far the best of the bunch.

With this being Donald J. Trump's last day in office, rumours are swirling about that the displaced U.S. president and his immediate family have volunteered to pilot the Jupiter 2 on a one-way flight to a planet orbiting the star Alpha Centauri. Of course, while the Trumps are frozen in acrylic tubes for the long trip, their frisbee-like ship will be knocked off course by a stowaway, an enemy agent. Who that person will be, we can only guess....

It sounds like a show with low ratings.

A Forever Question: In Stock?

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

Sir. In a supermarket, can one buy canned bads?

Rod Serling's Twilight Zone Intro on Trump Might Be

"This is a cheap man, a nickel-and-dime man, with a cheapness that goes past the suit and the shirt; a cheapness of mind, a cheapness of taste, a tawdry little shine on the seat of his conscience, and a dark-room squint at a world whose sunlight has never gotten through to him."

Sunday Fun: The Shulman File - Outro

"Look at you. You're a bunch of weirdos!"

So explained Dr Morton Shulman to his crowd of guests as he rocked back and forth in his comfy office chair. In that week's case his invited targets were into fetishes. One mustached guy in particular wore a half-face masquerade mask and expressed himself by answering the show host's questions with a simple question: "In what context?"

"Morty" was not afraid to stick it to his special guests, be they politicians, labour union leaders, or an assortment of the offbeat.

The embedded video clip above is from a show titled: "UFO's and Psychics. Fact or Fraud?"

When it premiered in 1977, I caught The Shulman File on a regular basis. It did not matter to me what any given week's theme was. After all, there was that great theme tune to get one in the mood for some television fireworks.

Then Toronto-based CITY-TV was a great station at one time. In its mix of creative programming sat a controversial presenter. Morton Shulman, politician, physician and coroner, stirred things up, but did so from an intellectual platform -- not sensationalism for the sake of sensationalism, and ratings (as in Bill O'Reilly).

It would be nice to see complete episodes; there are bits and pieces to enjoy on YouTube.

We need a show like The Shulman File today to grill our surfeit of "weirdos".

DVD: Night Gallery - The Complete Series

Night Gallery

- The Complete Series -

Directed by

Various

Universal Pictures Home Entertainment

2017

In Today's Junk Mail Box - Some Eeepoch Times

China, Communism, Socialism, China, Chinese, Socialism, Communist, China, China, China.

That, folks, just about sums up editorial content in the newest issue of The Epoch Times, a fresh copy of which showed up in my mailbox yesterday here in The Annex, Toronto. (My guess is they're trying to spread their right-wings.)

I'll put it to good use, even if Wilhelm insists I put a layer of litter between him and that rag.

Editorial: My cat's all about "Truth & Tradition".

No Articles of Impeachment News at the Toronto Sun

Surprised? I'm not. The Toronto Sun will not publish anything that goes against their beliefs, and those of their most dedicated readers and believers.

Minutes ago, as part of my morning newspaper rounds, I went to Toronto's stellar rag and found absolutely no press on what's happening in Washington, DC: the push to push-out Donald Trump. This city's dedicated Trump believer in print will be plated on Inauguration Day, January 20th.

Here's a paper that those folks at and for the Sun would have no use for, unless they want to pick-up anything by "sympathetic" columnist J.J. McCullough: The Washington Post

They can give the impression there's credibility at the Rundown Sun: "J.J. McCullough, Washington Post"

www.washingtonpost.com

A Forever Question: Sans Gavel

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

Sir. Why is it so easy for some people to get away with illegalities?

Sunday Fun: All in the Family Opening - Repeat

The greatest television series ever made, I say. It's certainly the greatest U.S. program of all TV time, to me. Archie Bunker was the "lovable bigot". Yes, he was misguided much of the time; a simple man who did not read (notice the set dressers provided no book case), which informed his ignorance and his not knowing much of anything. Providing a "Meathead", a son in law who was, in Archie's eyes at least, clearly misguided about most things from sports to social issues (a "pinko, commie, atheist"), allowed the script writers to explore and comment on a quickly changing America. Archie was afraid of change, which was the core idea behind the show: immigrants moving into his neighbourhood; an uneasy job market; general attitudes towards ideas that to Archie were immovable, but being moved before his eyes.

This character dynamic of 'conservative vs liberal' made the series work much better than if it had been a living room echo chamber.

It was a sitcom, but a very funny one.

A few years ago I reminisced about the series with a black friend of mine. We laughed. After we settled down, he said: "I'd have a beer with Archie."

Perhaps that's a mark of All in the Family's true brilliance.

An episode very early in the show's run had Archie say this, with passion and a finger wag: "You liberals are always trying to bring down dis here country."

That was from 1971.

Magazine: Video Watchdog (No. 89 / November 2002)

Video Watchdog (Issue No. 89 / November 2002)

- The Perfectionist's Guide to Fantastic Video -

Published by

Tim & Donna Lucas

Joe Biden's Confirmation Over Trump

I'll use an Archie Bunker quote, with a twist of irony: "Good ribbons!"

From Blogger to Custom Domain Name (That Easy)

My new domain name is www.simonstlaurent.ca

All blog posts are now under that URL.

This change was long in coming. (Hopefully it will force me to up my game.)

A Forever Question: Send Me the Bill

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

Sir. Why is it that when one says "send me the bill" one never gets sent a one thousand dollar bill?

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

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....

ESR Film Journal Is Firing Again

Toronto-based independent film journalist/scholar Greg Woods has again fired up his blog, ESR Film Journal. I have several copies of the now defunct print version and can assure the reassure the reader that one will not get the usual mainstream Hollywood pap available just about everywhere.

For instance, in Issue Number Three (Fall 2001) of The Eclectic Screening Room:

* Blood from The Mummy's Tomb

* The Films of Chantal Ackerman

* Jonas Mekas

* High School Confidential

* Early Kubrick

* Skip Tracer

Good reading!

Not Sure You Want to Enter 2021? (Repurposed Post)

It'll be better than 2020, no doubt.