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All in the Family: Archie in the Cellar (1973)
One of my favorites
Carroll O'Connor was an English teacher before going into acting! It's hard to believe isn't it considering the way he always murdered the poor English language as Archie Bunker. Jean Stapleton, Rob Reiner and Sally Struthers were all so wonderful on the show as well but this episode is mostly Carroll O'Connor's alone and he pulls it off brilliantly combining humor and pathos. The Stivics and Edith leave town for the weekend and Archie is looking forward to some time alone but in a comic twist of events he gets locked in the cellar. Archie gets drunk on a bottle of vodka he found and rambles about his life and even tape records a will. In his delirium he has visions of his family and even tells Edith he loves her. This is one of those episodes both funny and touching, however the end is one of the biggest laughs ever as Archie thinks he hears the voice of God and it turns out to be...well watch it and see!
FBI: Consequences (2024)
Jeremy Sisto rules!
I have recently gotten "hooked" on FBI created by TV veteran Dick Wolf. Jeremy Sisto (who got his start on tv playing Jesus Christ in a 1999 miniseries) gives a great performance as Jubal Valentine a tough and dedicated G man who always gets hi man and who would have made Elliott Ness very proud. However, Sisto is a fine enough actor to make Jubal a very complex, multi layered character a tough but compassionate man who is also a loving father and a recovering alcoholic. He has been in some pretty painful situations and this episode is one of them where he and the other agents are racing the clock trying to find a dealer who has killed four teens by giving them fentanyl. It turns out that the yellow livered pusher is the son of an old friend Of Jubal's. Jubal finds the drugs in the kids room and his old partner actually tries to persuade him to destroy the evidence! This kids father turns out to be a real jerk who throws a fit when Jubal tells him he can get his son off with a two year sentence (he should be glad after all his son played a part in four deaths). In the end the father interferes in a shootout and his son is severely injuured and even then he shows poor Jubal no gratitude and disowns him as a friend. I felt so sorry for Jubal and wanted him to punch daddy dearest in the mouth.
The White Shadow: Spare the Rod (1979)
The more things change the more they stay the same
The White Shadow is one of those great shows that has stood the test of time and aged like a fine wine. Like Room 222, the issues that it tackled are still relevant today like in this one involving school violence. Coach Reeves (the always awesome Ken Howard) is forced to take over a gym class, which he looks forward to like a Soldier being sent on a suicide mission. He has a run in with the school bully Lucius Robinson who is hero worshipped by his peers for all the wrong reasons. Worse leads to worse and the punk hits the poor Coach and he hits back! Reeves is overcome with guilt feeling sorry for the poor kid after Lucius claims he comes for a poor alcoholic family. The issue of school violence and corporal punishment is discussed in detail and this episode could be set in modern times. SPOILER ALERT. Coach Reeves learns a sad lesson when he finds out the punk fed him a line of bull. Lucius actually came from a loving family but is just an all around bad seed and in the end he commits a frightning act of violence that Reeves stops just in the nick of time.
CBS Schoolbreak Special: Kids Killing Kids (1994)
I remember this show
This schoolbreak special was made in 1994 several years before the terrible epidemic of school shootings began in America, being that the case it is still just as topical and important today that young people see this. Malcolm Jamal Warner (good old Theo Huxtable) hosts the show that tells four different stories about young people who have a choice to make involving the use of firearms. One of the stories involves a good hearted but very stupid kid who brings a gun to his classroom and shoots the most popular girl in school dead accidentally! Another involves a promising baseball player who winds up shot and paralyzed for life. The stories have two endings one happy and one sad that involves the choices that we make. This is definitely a cut above the typical after school special. By the way the actress who plays the judge in the Sanderson case is the one that later played the ghoulish old woman in the 2009 horror film Drag Me To Hell.
Family Matters: Boom! (1991)
The Boston Bomber
Family Matters has sometimes been called "a dime store Cosby Show" but it deserves better than that. Reginald Vel Johnson was best known as Bruce Willis's buddy in the first two Die Hard movies as well as being in Crocodile Dundee but he was a wonderful tv father as well with just the right mixture of strictness and loving. Carl Winslow wasn't a rich doctor like Cliff Huxtable he was just trying to raise a family on a cop's salary (and having to put up with Urkel as well, my goodness give him the Purple Heart). This is one episode that stands out for being funny. Steve befriends an orangutan that is scheduled to be used in a dangerous scientific experiment and helps it to escape hiding it in, where else, the Winslow's house causing all kinds of trouble especially for poor Laura. In the meantime, Carl's pain in the neck Lieutenant forces him to go to the gym to lose weight and kick his waffle addiction. However Carl gets on the treadmill and finds out it has been rigged with a bomb that will go off if he gets off the treadmill. This is a wonderful scene where Vel Johnson gets to show his great comic skills as he struggles to stay on the treadmill while his doofus lieutenant tries to defuse the bomb! It is laugh out loud funny and in the end everything turns out fine there is a happy end even for the orangutan. There is one thing about this episode that is chilling though, the bomber who rigs the treadmill is called Nitro Ned the Boston Bomber. Its only a coincidence but this episode was made in 1991, 22 years before the REAL Boston bombing.
Bonanza: The Trouble with Jamie (1966)
A good episode
There was a poll taken once where Ben Cartwright was voted on the top of the list as the best tv dad. Lorne Greene did a wonderful job bringing the Ponderosa's patriarch to life and I am sure when this show was on there were kids who didn't have a father or who had a poor one that wished Ben was their pa. This is what you could call a "very special" episode of Bonanza where Ben gets to be a father figure to Jamie a spoiled brat who definitely needs more than a good talking to. Michael Burns plays Jamie and he was also on an episode of Dragnet where he played a hot rodding teen who turns into a killer at the end. Thankfully through Ben's "tough love" Jamie is redeemed and there is a happy ending. One scene that would not fly in today's politically correct tv is the one where Ben finally blows his top and gives Jamie a long and painful spanking. Hoss and Adam are fed up with him and listening to his begging and howls of pain is music to their ears.
What's Right with America (1997)
Everyone should see this!
I was so glad to have FINALLY found this special on youtube. I had watched it when it first was broadcast a quarter of a century ago and remembered it so well. It is still just as relevant today that everyone watch it because it reminds us of how precious our freedoms and liberties as Americans are and how so often we foolishly take them for granted. The special opens with a chilling dramatization, it shows a loving American family, parents daughter and son that have lived aborad for several years. When they fly home they discover to their horror that America has become a totalitarian regime where people are imprisoned and killed at will. They find themselves imprisoned and the daughter makes an impassioned speech about liberties and how she is an American woman who will stay and fight with the rebels. In the end of this hellish scenario the family is facing execution. What a nightmare. The special then takes on a more inspiring turn when they show four people who fought for liberty and made a difference such as a college student who fought for sexual assault victims and a civil rights leader. This is a great special everyone needs to see.
Standby: Lights! Camera! Action! (1982)
Another Nimoy treasure
Leonard Nimoy had one of the most wonderful "storytellers" voices that I have ever heard. He was wonderful in narrating In Search Of...(Rod Serling was supposed to do it but died). He also does a good job in this fascinating but almost forgotten series that takes us behind the scenes of movies to show how they are made. I am watching an episode right now on you tube about the making of Superman III back in 1982. Technology "back then" is nothing compared to today but it is still fascinating and nostalgic to watch and Nimoy as always makes it worthwhile. This Superman episode features an interview with Christopher Reeve and it is so eerie seeing him before he was paralyzed.
Voyager: The Grand Tour (1990)
Fascinating
Science was never my best subject in school but I found this little known documentary from 1990 fascinating as it talks about the Voyager I and II space probes that were launched way back in 1977 and will continue to orbit when everything man has created on earth has turned to dust. Acclaimed actor Powers Boothe (Guyana Tragedy The Story Of Jim Jones) narrates this film with masterful intensity and really draws us into this fascinating story. These probes have explored Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Jupiter and we learn amazing things about each of them. For example, Jupiter is so huge it could hold 1,300 earths! It could almost be considered a mini solar system because of its sixteen moons. I also wanted to mention that these probes carry a phonograph record in case alien life intercepts them. This record contains greetings in 55 languages as well as music from Beethoven and Chuck Berry! I wonder if our alien friends will like Berry's song Johnny B. Goode!
Catlow (1971)
Nimoy's part is so small
Leonard Nimoy wrote in his books I Am Not Spock and I Am Spock about the making of Catlow in Spain and how it was one of the happiest times of his life because it was soon after Star Trek and this role as a malevolent bounty hunter after Yul Brynner gave him a chance to break away from Spock. Brynner plays Catlow as a loveable rogue that you find yourself cheering for. This role gave him a chance to break away from The King And I. Richard Crenna, best known as Rambo's commander, is on hand as a lawman who has a love hate relationship with Catlow since they both served in the Civil War. This is a rather lighthearted Western and a pleasant way to spend two hours. There is a scene where Nimoy is naked in a bathtub and has a hand to hand fight with Brynner (its filmed in semi darkness by the way). I really liked Nimoy not from Star Trek but from the documentary show In Search Of... that he hosted and I was disappointed his part was so small.
Crazy About the Movies: Dennis Hopper (1991)
The wild man himself
This is an excellent biography of Dennis Hopper who could have been called Hollywood's most dangerous man or the person who made one of the greatest comebacks in the history of Hollywood. Hopper's wild and frentic life had more ups and downs then the wildest roller coaster. He co starred with such legends as James Dean, Jack Nicholson and John Wayne but at one point in his life every day he was drinking a gallon of rum, 28 beers and doing enough cocaine every day to kill about five normal people! Its a wonder he survived at all. This documentary features interviews with Hopper's friends and co workers as well as Hopper himself. Clean and sober for the last quarter century of his life Hopper was able to create a fine body of work acting in such hits as Blue Velvet, Hoosiers, River's Edge and Speed as well as directing the successful film Colors. What an amazing story.
Titanic: Alternate Ending (2021)
What if they had...
BOTH gotten on top of that door. What if Jack and Rose had both survived and lived happily ever after. There have been scientific studies (yes they have actually done this) wondering if that floating door could have held both of their weights. Mythbusters even had a show about this. I remember seeing Titanic in a theatre when it first came out and was irriated and saddened for poor Rose that her true love died and that jerk that treated her so badly survived the sinking (she mentioned that he killed himself later on). The ending was so touching because to me it showed Jack and Rose being reunited in Heaven.
Cadets (1988)
Punky Brewster and Shaft?
Looking back in my mind after thirty six years I vaguely remember this pilot for a series that aired on NBC in the summer of 1988. Solei Moon Frye (I hope I spelled that name right) had just completed her run on "Punky Brewster" and apparently felt ready for something more challenging and "uncute" as she played the part of a spunky young girl cadet at an all male military academy. The cliche as I recall was having her go up against her tough as nails by the book Sergeant who was played by none other than Richard Roundtree, thats right folks! Punky Brewster versus Shaft the bad mother (shut your mouth). I remember it was a cute show but unfortunately it never got picked up. I wish I could find the video on you tube.
CollegeHumor Originals: Daria Movie Trailer (with Aubrey Plaza) (2013)
Oh how I wish this was true
Daria Morgandorfer was originally a character In Beavis and Butthead before getting her own "spin off" series (which was also created by Mike Judge who also brought us King of the Hill). She had to be one of the funniest characters I have ever seen with her sarcastic, dead pan dry as the desert caustic wit (She made Bea Arthur look wishy washy). There were so many other memorable characters on Daria like her dumb as dirt sister Quinn and her ineffective parents Helen and Jake. This mock trailer shows a live action Daria going back to Lawndale for her 10th anniversary and finding the truth of that saying the more things change the more they stay the same. I really would like to see a live action version of Daria and have Aubrey Plaza play her.
Ancient Mysteries: Bigfoot (1994)
Just like In Search Of
I wrote Leonard Nimoy a fan letter once where I admitted I had never watched Star Trek but I was the biggest fan of his other show In Search Of...(I am sure it was the strangest fan letter he ever got but he did send me an autographed photo!). The first In Search Of...that I remember watching dealt with the legend and mystery of Bigfoot. Nimoy narrated Ancient Mysteries about twenty years after In Search Of... His voice was older but he was still a great narrator and this is one episode I remember about the mystery of Bigfoot. It rehashes a lot of stories about the legendary beast and features interviews with experts Peter Byrne and Grover Krantz. We've seen it all before but its still fun to watch due in no small part to Nimoy the master narrator.
Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.: Come Blow Your Top (1968)
Frank Sutton ruled
I enjoyed Gomer Pyle USMC and I liked Sergeant Carter better then Gomer. I always thought the poor man deserved the Purple Heart for putting up with this good hearted rube who drove him crazy. Sutton was a decorated World War II veteran who participated in thirteen landings including the one at Anzio. He had been an acclaimed character actor before Gomer Pyle and had even appeared on Broadway. This episode is a fan favorite because it showed Sergeant Carter trying to hold his temper for 24 hours on a bet. Sergeant Hacker (Allan Melvin) tries to sabatoge it by getting Gomer to repeatedly foul up. There is one scene where Carter drives off in the distance and runs to the top of a hill where he has a screaming fit! I thought I would split my sides laughing. The sad thing is that Sutton died in 1974 of a heart attack when he was only fifty years old.
Sledge Hammer!: Desperately Seeking Dori (1987)
Hilarious
David Rasche was technically the star of Sledge Hammer but this episode belongs to Anne Marie Martin alone! She shows wonderful comic talent as she adapts Sledge's mannerisms and behavior after a blow to the head leaves her with amnesia. This is an old cliche in a lot of shows but she gives it a great twist. Its a shame that Martin got out of acting after Sledge Hammer because she had a wonderful flair for comedy. She proved it on a Highway To Heaven episode she was on that had a similar plot. Alan Spencer was a real daring genius to create this show and its a shame that it only last for two seasons.
Highway to Heaven: Change of Life (1986)
Dori from Sledge Hammer is in this one!
I really loved the 1980's Dirty Harry spoof Sledge Hammer with David Rasche as a delightfully demented cop. Anne Marie Martin co starred as his straight laced partner Dori. She does a great job on this episode showing that she is excellent at comedy as well. Victor French, who usually played bad guys in Westerns, gets to show off his comic chops as well acting like a woman of all things! Jonathan and Mark are assigned as a bodyguard and hairdresser for Martin's character who is a big movie star. In this episode Mark learns a lesson because he makes some pretty sexist remarks at the beginning that would never be tolerated today.
Adam-12: Log 95: Purse Snatcher (1970)
What a dumb father
This is one of those episodes of Adam 12 that is still just as relevant today as ever because it underscores the fact that kids need a mother AND a father to keep them on the straight and narrow. Reed and Malloy are assigned to investigate a series of purse snatchings and there is comic relief in this episode in the form of one of their fellow officers who goes undercover in drag! (hint he doesn't make a very attractive woman). Malloy deduces that the purse snatchings are the work of a gang led by sixteen year old Benji whom he has had dealings with. Benji comes across as your typical snotty punk and its really deeper then that, his facade is a cry for help to his inattentive and dense father who can't get it through his head how troubled his son is and how serious his crimes are. In the end, Benji guns down a liquor store owner and is accidentally shot by his own father who tries to disarm him. In the end this poor stupid father is crying why God why and an angry Malloy tells him Mister its too little too late for that.
Inside 'Live and Let Die' (1999)
The first Bond I ever saw
Live And Let Die was Roger Moore's debut as our favorite secret agent who likes his martinis "shaken and not stirred". It was the first Bond movie I ever saw when I was five years old. I really enjoyed this documentary narrated by Patrick MacNee of "The Avengers" fame. Jane Seymour is lovely as always as she recounts the making of the film (Yes Doctor Quinn got her start as one of the "Bond GIrls"). Clifton James is interviewed and he was wonderful comic relief as the Southern redneck sheriff J. W. Pepper (he reminded me of the character that Jackie Gleason played in Smokey And the Bandit). Moore's Bond was more light hearted then Connery's and some have criticized that. I just always felt Sean was the better actor.
Little House on the Prairie: Soldier's Return (1976)
A different LHOP
Little House On The Prarie, unfortunately, is one of those shows that has not aged very well. It was seen as excellent programming when it was on the air but now the episodes just seem dated and silly. This one, however, still has relevancy today because it deals with a veteran suffering from both drug addiction and what would now be called post traumatic stress disorder. Richard Mulligan is known as a comic actor but does a good dramatic turn in this episode as a Civil War veteran haunted by the battle of Shiloh. He has an addiction to morphine that he cannot beat and in the end he takes his own life.
Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman: Lead Me Not (1997)
Doctor Quinn really gets steamed
Doctor Quinn Medicine Woman was a show that I loved just as much as Little House on the Prarie. It was one of those rarities in television, it was a good family show with really likeable characters you cared about AND it had positive lessons and life messages in almost every episode. This is one that I remember in particular. Jane Seymour is a wonderful actress who has accomplished so much in her career, someone once joked there seemed to be a law that you couldn't make a miniseries without her. She was even a "Bond girl" (in Live and Let Die). She was usually so sweet as Doctor Quinn the voice of love and compassion and reason. However, in this episode she goes ballistic against town barber and town drunk Jake Slicker after he comes to her house under the influence and almost hurts her baby. It is chilling to watch.
Alcatraz: America's Toughest Prison (1977)
Raw and gritty
This special was made back in 1977 but it still hasn't aged. William Conrad, the original Matt Dillon on the radio and the narrator of The Fugitive and Rocky and Bullwinkle narrates this documentary of America's toughest prison where only the worst of the worst were sent. Al Capone ruled Chicago with an iron fist but after only a few years on the Rock was a pathetic broken man. There is so much dark and fascinating history about Alcatraz even before and after it was a prison. There is a segment of the film where they talk about a 1946 uprising where both inmates and guards were killed. There are numerous interviews with former inmates and guards that tell fascinating stories about the prison.
Sledge Hammer!: Under the Gun (1986)
Great fun
Its so sad that a great show like Sledge Hammer, so original and so daring, could not possibly be made in this delicate age of political correctness. Alan Spencer created Sledge and he also worked with another comic genius named Mel Brooks. Spencer got the idea for Sledge Hammer after reading a review of a Dirty Harry film where the critic said Harry was turning into a gun crazy fool. I laughed myself silly all over again watching this maniac who fires warning shots at jaywalkers and thinks nothing about blowing up a building on his way to work. David Rasche is wonderful as Sledge as well as Anne Marie Martin as his straight laced partner Dori, the voice of wisdom and Harrison Page as his ever raging superior Captain Trunk.
Brad Paisley: Whiskey Lullaby ft. Alison Krauss (2004)
Ricky Schroder directed this
Ricky Schroder is one of those child actors who has been twice blessed, he managed to live a good and happy life not falling prey to drugs or alcohol and he was able to make a transition into adult roles (although he never became a major league star). He directs the video of this song that has got to be one of the saddest and most depressing imaginable (the description applies to a lot of country and western songs I know but this one really takes the cake). Its about a returning war veteran who finds his girl has not been faithful and drinks himself to death and she follows suit because of her guilt. Schorder does a good job directing this sad little fable and I wanted to watch Willy Wonka afterwards to recover from the trauma.