Who's Back

I know it's been a while since the last post. Sorry...it's been crazy here...

Caesar finally ended its two year stay in my head...and perhaps at some point I'll share all the backstage bullshit that happened along the way...mostly as we got into tech week...but for now I'll just say it was an experience directing Shakespeare and I'm very proud of the finished product (especially since the backstage crap rarely came out on stage).

Add to that prepping the house for the new baby's arrival in June (which includes re-organizing and eBaying a lot of stuff) in addition to some other things I won't mention just yet and I just haven't had the time or energy to blog...

But now I'm back...

And today I'm gonna review Torchwood Season 2 (in its entirety) and Doctor Who Season 4 (just the premiere episode).

Torchwood is the more "adult" spin-off from Doctor Who featuring Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman) leading a team of agents in an X-Files like manner. The first season was a decent start but the episodes were hit or miss. The second season (which just ended) is about the same. Some highlights included the introduction of Jack's fellow Time Agent, Captain John Hart (James Marsters of Buffy fame), the death and weird resurrection of Owen, the three episode arc that included Dr. Martha Jones (the Doctor's companion from Season 3 of Doctor Who), Rhys not only knowing what Gwen does but being allowe dto keep the secret and help out and the fleshing out of Captain Jack's backstory. Unfortunately, the show kind of frittered away that backstory in the two part season ender. And the deaths of two of the team, while emotional, seemed to be a bit of a stretch given the story they developed from. I do look forward to seeing where they take the show for a third season (assuming there is a third season...I do hope so), but I think they need to have a better ratio of high & low points. Right now its the acting and the characters that keep me around...the plots only so often...and now that we're down two characters, we better get two damn good replacements (maybe Martha comes back).

Doctor Who started its 4th season with an amusing episode that will hopefully not set the tone for the rest of the season. We get the return of the annoying Donna Noble (Catherine Tate) from the 2006 Christmas Special "The Runaway Bride". Here, she's less annoying...but not by much...and she's now the full time companion. I'm hoping that next week's episode, which seems darker, turns the tide with Donna as a character because I don't know how long I could take seeing her annoy us week after week. Beyond that and the cute-ness, the show's still fun and there was a nice "Holy Shit" moment that I won't spoil. It'll defintely be an interesting season.

That's all for today.

Hope to be back again soon.

Be seeing you.

A Mini Update

Hey folks,

I know it's been a while, but things have been crazy with rehearsals for Julius Caesar (opening March 7) and prepping the house for the new baby (a boy named Duncan scheduled for caesarian on June 2). So I haven't had time to write about a number of things (planned but fell by the wayside were the Broadway stage hands strike, the WGA strike, the HD disc based format wars, some movie reviews, TV reviews, comic & book reviews as well as a behind the scenes look at Caesar).

But here I am today because I've got some time (now that my three weeks of rehearsing without a title character are over) and the annual Toy Fair is about to end and since I still love toys (even though I'm in sell-off mode on eBay -- well will be again in a week or two when I get the confidence back after my eBay account was hacked -- its a bit disconcerting to come home after being away for 4 or 5 hours to find that you've started an auction for a Jeep Wrangler which you don't own -- but passwords have been changed and my Paypal account wasn't affected thankfully, but I changed the password anyway)....


So...on to today's missive...

When I was a kid my first action figure experience (after the Fisher Price toys whose modern day versions scare the shit out of me) was Mego's various lines that included "The World's Greatest Super Heroes" (a combo line of both DC and Marvel Heroes & Villains), Star Trek, Planet of the Apes and even The Wizard of Oz. You could have Captain Kirk hook up with Wonder Woman while Captain America beat Doctor Zaius to death with a Munchkin. Or have Spock & the Scarecrow have long philosophical conversations while Joker got eaten by a Mugatu.

Everyone was pretty much the same scale (something that some companies seem to have issues with, but I digress) and there were some neat accessories and playsets.

Today's modern equivalent is much much smaller. You've heard me talk about the "plastic crack" known as MiniMates before. 2007 seemed like it was going to be a banner year for the line as we got 6 waves of DC heroes, 3 waves from the current incarnation of Battlestar Galactica, 2 waves from Classic Star Trek, a new bunch of Marvel heroes and some figures from Rocky, 24 and Back to the Future.

It was a cool year for MiniMates in 2007...but 2008 is gonna get even cooler, in spite of some bad news.

And that's where we'll start. We got 6 waves of DC heroes last year. This was a bit of a fluke as the first three waves (and for DC a wave consists of four 2 packs) were supposed to come out in 2006 but got delayed. But it was an amazing six waves. We got big names like Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Joker, Green Lantern, Harley Quinn, Robin, Penguin, Luthor, Brainiac, Aquaman and smaller names like Blue Beetle, Doctor Fate, Booster Gold and obscure names like the Golden Age Red Tornado and S.T.R.I.P.E. It was a great mix of characters male and female, villain and hero, modern and Golden Age.

For 2008 DC had already solicited 2 more waves before Toy Fair and one of them actually hit stores the week before Toy Fair. Wave 7 seemed to still contain that nice mix including The Flash & Grodd, Cyborg & Raven from Teen Titans, a "Classic" Batman variant & Clayface and Lobo & Ambush Bug (for that odd pairing of a very popular character and an obscure one). But Wave 8 (which doesn't hit until June) contains the first real mistake. Its too early in this line's life to have variants of the "Big 3" (Batman, Superman & Wonder Woman) from "Elseworld" titles. To give us a Red Son Superman & Wonder Woman pack is just odd. And I'd overlook it IF there were a Wave 9 coming afterwards, but as of now there isn't...and word coming out of Toy Fair is that if sales don't pick up there will never be anything past Wave 8.

This is very unfortunate as these figures are AMAZING and they do seem to be selling well in most places. I think the introduction of odd ball variants so soon into this line was a mistake but its also indicative of bigger problems at DC Direct (they are the company that makes the figures while Art Asylum which holds the MiniMate concepts does the actual designs). DC Direct has been plagued by many other problems like scale issues (a moot point with MiniMates, but they were doing a decent job by using both the 2 inch bodies and the 2.5 inch bodies for "larger" people) and the inability to complete a team properly without adding in yet another Superman, Batman or Wonder Woman.

It will be sad to see these goes, but I don't see there being much to save them. This is actually the second time DC MiniMates have faced extinction. The first was when they were part of Art Asylum's C3 construction line in 2005. The construction blocks were not as good as Lego, but the MiniMates were the draw and DC Direct saw that and made them happen on their own. Now is not the time to abandon them...but maybe Diamond Select Toys (which owns Art Asylum and handles most of the other MiniMate lines) can come to the rescue. We'll see...

Meanwhile, before Toy Fair there were rampant rumors that Diamond Select would no longer be making Marvel MiniMates. Thankfully this is not the case. While Waves 19 & 20 arrive this week, Toy Fair had on display Waves 21, 22 & 23 in addition to a new box set. The box set is from the recent comic book story line "Civil War" and features Nitro, a Battle Damaged Captain America, Spider-Man in his Tony Stark designed costume and a modern Iron Man. Sure it's only one "real" new figure, but Spidey & Iron Man are new designs that make sense. We've had a Battle Damaged Cap before, but this one blows it out of the water. Wave 23 consists of Cloak & Dagger, Nova & Gamora (taking a cue from DC with an obscure character) and War Machine & Spymaster. The variant in this wave is War Machine. You can get him as either Jim Rhodes or Tony Stark (the Waves of 2 Packs from Diamond Select across all of their licenses tend to consist of three 2 packs with a fourth having a variant version of one figure paired with a repeat from the wave -- so here either War Machine still comes with Spymaster and you'd have 2 Spymasters to get all the figures in a wave).

But wait -- I skipped Waves 21 & 22. Well...both of these are movie based waves and while there were signs saying "no photography" there were leaked pictures of Wave 21. This wave comes from the new Iron Man movie and while I'm unsure of the pairings they showed off Tony Stark, pepper Potts, Jim Rhodes, all 4 Iron Man costumes and what looked like Iron Monger armor as well. Wave 22 is based on The Incredible Hulk sequel and no pictures have shown up so I have no idea of the lineup, but expect the typical 7 figure wave in four 2 packs.

While there were no new Back to the Future sets on display, Diamond did display the already announced Back to the Future Part III 4 pack and the Back to the Future II 2 pack. This will probably be the end of this line as there's not much beyond Jennifer, Clara and Einstein the dog to add. Its been a fun line with a few too many Marty McFly variants (and yet we didn't get his future sister from Part II).

Star Trek's universe gets bigger after the upcoming already announced Wave 3 of classic characters. Waves 4 & 5 branch out into other areas. Wave 4 brings us Sick bay McCoy & Nurse Chapel from the classic series, Picard & Borg from ST:TNG and Kirk & Scotty from Trek II (with Scotty being the variant in either his dress uniform or engineering uniform). Wave 5 brings us Green Shirt Kirk& Yeoman Rand from the classic show, Decker & Illia from ST: TMP and Sisko & Gul Dukat from DS9 (Sisko's the variant as either a Captain or Commander). While I'm glad they're starting to branch out a bit, I wouldn't have minded a few more classic waves first as we're missing some core aliens. Diamond should do with the Klingons and Romulans for this line like they did for the Cylons in Battlestar Galactica (where they released a case of 12 figures that contained a mix of 5 different figures so you could easily create an army).

Battlestar Galactica is represented in both the classic & modern forms. The Classic version gets 2 new packs (each containing 5 figures), one of Colonial Warriors (Adama, Apollo, Starbuck, Boomer & Muffit the Dagget) and one of Cylons (Imperious Leader, Baltar, Lucifer, Cylon & Cylon Commander -- the last two are repeats from the case I mentioned earlier). These were already seen before Toy Fair. The modern incarnation gets a 4th Wave (already announced) a 2 pack (already announced), a 5 pack from the recent TV movie Razor (already announced but seen for the first time at Toy fair) and a case from Razor (already announced but seen for the first time at Toy Fair).

24 gets another 4 pack and an "End of Day" 2 pack for Season 3...but these were announced some time ago. There was nothing else on display. I'm assuming that the writer's strike and delay in the airing of Season 7 are what caused no Season 4 MiniMates to be available. I expect we'll see them later in the year.

A number of movies are getting smaller -- The Silence of the Lambs (Clarice, Buffalo Bill and 2 different Lecters -- blue jump suit and straight jacket with mask), Platoon (Pvt. Taylor, Pvt. Lerner, Sgt. Grodin & Sgt. Barnes -- look ma' no repeats), Clint Eastwood's spaghetti Western trilogy A Fistful of Dollars (Rojo, Marisol, Baxter & Joe), For A Few Dollars More Mortimer, El Indio & two Eastwoods in Man With No Name & Monco -- sense a trend? more repeats of "core" characters -- and this set was announced a while ago and will be out first in a few weeks) and The Good The Bad and the Ugly (Angel Eyes, Tuco & two versions of Blondie -- more repeats). We're also getting a two pack from Desperately Seeking Susan containing both Madonna & Roseanna Arquette's characters. Diamond thinks they can sell this, but DC can't get their ass in gear?? Go figure.

Rocky surprisingly returns since Diamond had said they were a bit disappointed in the sales so far with their offerings from the first two films. But the line picks up with a set from Rocky III that thankfully contains only 1 Rocky Balboa (the previous sets each had the Italian Stallion taking up two of four spaces). This set also includes Apollo as Rocky's trainer, Clubber Lang and Thunderlips. There will also be a two pack of Rocky & Paulie from the TV commercials they made in the movie. There may also be a two pack of Rocky (as a loan shark) & Apollo (in his USA boxing costume) as these were shown but there was no card announcing them (the same thing happened at last year's Toy Fair with another Apollo in Business Suit and Adrian that never saw the light of day).

The BIG news on the MiniMate front is the addition of Underground Toys to the mix. Working with Art Asylum for designs we are getting MiniMates from the new version of Doctor Who and I couldn't be happier (well...the birth of our second son Duncan will make me happier, but its all relative). No prototypes were on display, but control art was shown for the Ninth Doctor (Christopher Eccleston) 2 versions of the Tenth Doctor (David Tennant in both blue suit and brown over coat), Captain Jack (looking more Torchwood than Doctor Who but I suppose its a 3rd Season Captain Jack), Martha Jones and Cybermen (well -- they were on promo art...there was no control art). I have no idea how or when these will be coming out, but I hope they are as successful as Trek and BSG and that we get many many more (like Classic Doctors and monsters). I'm sure making Daleks in this block figure format will be a challenge (if they can get the rights or even bother with it as I think there are toy Daleks already on the market that would be in scale).

I'm sure Diamond will have some more surprises at Comic Con this summer. But 2008 is shaping up to be a better year (and not just for MiniMates) than 2007.

Well...back to Caesar (gotta do some more sound work before tomorrow night's rehearsal)...I hope to be back soon.

Be seeing you.

Big Cities and The Monsters Who Terrorize Them

So...I went to see Cloverfield. I went in expecting to see Godzilla meets The Blair Witch Project. And that's pretty much what we got. The thing that surprised me the most was that it took 8 years for someone to make this movie. It was a fun rollercoaster ride and probably not worth seeing more than once (unless the DVD is so jam packed with extras to "enhance" the whole concept of seeing "footage found by the government"), but it worth paying $6 in the theater (and no sitter needed since the wife didn't care to see the film anyway).

Saying anything more about the film would not only ruin the "surprises" but also be kinda pointless because its just a mindless popcorn film and little more.

I also watched a movie I hadn't seen in years. Someone recently asked me about movies where the actors had bad Chinese accents (she is auditioning for a show that needs them). So I mentioned both The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu with Peter Sellars and Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen with Peter Ustinov. I hadn't seen either in AGES and couldn't find my old VHS versions (Fu Manchu was available on LD but I never picked it up for some odd reason). But I did find a bargain DVD of CCatCotDQ (since people love to abbreviate movie titles like this). Now, for $5 I didn't care that the film wasn't widescreen (its an open matte movie, so technically I could do it myself by "zooming" in on the TV screen), but oddly enough some genuine work went into this DVD. The picture looks better than I ever remember seeing it (and I saw the damn thing FOUR TIMES in theaters back in 1981) and there even some half-assed extras that aren't too terrible to sit through.

As for the film itself? Well...that remains little more than a load of dumb fun. With a cast that also includes Lee Grant, Rachel Roberts, Roddy McDowell, Angie Dickenson, Richard Hatch (fresh off of the original cheesy Battlestar: Galactica) and a very young Michelle Pfeiffer how could you go too wrong...especially when you recycle gags from Get Smart among other sources. A silly way to spend an hour and a half, but there are sillier ways.

Be seeing you.

Attend the Tale of Screeney Todd & Other Movies

Usually I hate it when a stage musical makes it to the silver screen and has had musical numbers copped up, rearranged or left out completely. Don't get me wrong, I sometimes understand why this was done...but I don't necessarily agree with it (it tends to be laziness on the part of the writers & directors who can't figure out how to make that puzzle piece work). It also doesn't detract from my enjoyment (or dislike) of the film version at the end of the day as I can see the difference between the two medium.

All that being said, the film version of Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street has been stripped down to its core essentials. And this is not a bad thing at all. Don't get me wrong, I love the stage version. It is arguably the greatest musical of the late 20th Century. But it is very theatrical in its construction, especially in regards to the chorus that comes in every so often to sing "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd" and comment on the proceedings. All of that has been eliminated from here. The love story between Anthony and Johanna has also been paired down to the bare essentials by having a few of their numbers also left out.

The removal and changes only cause two musical problems in my mind. The first is in regards to the song "God, That's Good". Because of some rearranging to the story about when and how Todd adds the chute to his barber shop, certain aspects of this number had to be eliminated (since on stage the new chair is being delivered during the number and on screen Todd builds it himself prior to this scene). It is now essentially a short duet sung by Toby and Mrs. Lovett.

The second problem is with the very end. On stage, after all the grisly proceedings have played out, the chorus returns to comment on them and the play is wrapped up on a nice musical note. Being a musical it should end on a nice musical note (using the term figuratively). Having eliminated the chorus, the film just stops musically...heck it just stops entirely. It doesn't ruin the film by any means, but I feel it doesn't give us any real resolution.

As far as the actors are concerned, I was very surprised. I thought Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter were a bit on the young side for the parts, but here the entire cast has been aged down (Anthony & Johanna are in their late teens, Toby is just entering his teens) and it all makes sense. Both Depp and Bonham Carter are quite good vocally and both give very different interpretations of the characters (for the first time I actually felt that Mrs. Lovett could have a nurturing mother within her...maybe because the film version is less screechy). The rest of the cast comes off well both acting and vocally with only Timothy Spall's Beadle Bamford being weak on the vocals (luckily his vocal needs have been paired down to one song here).

Director Tim Burton has created a great movie musical that has a wonderous look to it from material that stands the test of time. While the big screen version of Sweeney Todd may be different enough from the stage version to make comparisons inevitable, it is a great version in its own right and is easily one of the best films of the year.

We also got around to catching a few films we missed in theaters:

The Darjeeling Limited -- Wes Anderson's films tend to have a dry humor that I like. I found this to be his "least" film yet. There are some moments and some fine acting, but all in all, I think his previous movies are better (please realize that I was watching this on our flight home from California...so that may have colored my view of the film).

Live Free or Die Hard -- While I love John McClane as a character (we even put the Die Hard Palz action figures on our Christmas Tree/Hannukah Bush/Holiday Shrub in a neat "scene" I should have taken pictures of...maybe next year), this feels like its a day late and a dollar short (well...12 years late and many millions of dollars short). Yeah, its still a fun film with some neat connections to the previous films...but when you've got to fill Samuel L. Jackson's shoes as the "sidekick", I'm not sure Justin Long's gonna cut it. And when the villains are worse than those from Die Hard 2: Die Harder (and played by Timothy Olephant to boot), you know we're moving in the wrong direction.

Waitress -- Hmmm....could be the best film I saw from 2007. You'll have to wait for my Top 25 list to find out (still cranking out viewings until the Oscars...assuming they happen since the strike seems to be killing everything).

Next time: A Multitude of MiniMates Makes Me Mad

Be seeing you

Happy New Year? Let's Hope So. For All But One.

Hey folks,

So we're back from our annual trip to California to visit the in-laws. As always, its lots of fun, but we're always glad to get home by the end. This year was especially so since we had a two and a half year old with us (it seemed easier with a six month old and an 18 month old the two previous years).

The flight out wasn't bad. We had Malcolm strapped into his car seat which was strapped into the plane's seat. He still fits in his car seat, but when you add narrow plane rows, his feet can easily kick the back of the seat in front of him. He didn't do this too often and the guy directly in front of him was easy going about it. He got a bit fussy during the last hour because as a toddler he HATES being tied down and wants to roam. Being in a flying tube with 200 other people kinda prohibits this.

The flight back was nightmarish. We took a red eye hoping he'd sleep (which is what happened last year). Didn't happen. We even eliminated the car seat and bought a special harness to strap him in thinking it'd give him more room to stretch (it did...he could stand in front of his seat and jump). But he wouldn't sleep. Of course, the guy behind us was pretty much an ass anyway. He kept kicking the back of Malcolm's seat every time Malcolm made a sound (regardless of whether it was a happy sound or not). He also pretty much ignored us later in the flight when we asked him about shutting of his reading light (the only one on the entire plane that was on and by that time Malcolm was over tired and would have fallen asleep if the light wasn't shining in his eyes).

The ass did shut off his light eventually and Malcolm passed out, but woke up again when we had to strap him in for landing. He screamed the entire way from that point on. When we did land, I had Tash try to get him off as fast as possible and I'd stay behind as long as needed to gather all our stuff. There were two very nice, understand and helpful women on the plane (when Malcolm was screaming that he was "stuck" one woman tried to calm him by explaining that "we're all stuck and no one likes being stuck").

But as soon as Tash & Mac were off the plane, the as started making comments about the longest flight of his life...and I'm still standing there! I was about to say something (or deck him) when the woman behind him agreed that it was a long flight "but think about how long the flight was for the child's poor parents". That seemed to shut him up. Thank you, Mrs. Whomever you are.

Flying with kids is not easy, but sometimes it is something that has to be done. We don't like our kid screaming any more than you do. In fact we probably hate it even more because we're trying to not only keep our kid calm but we're worried about your rest and relaxation as well. So until the airlines start a "family only section" on a plane, try not to make things worse by being an obnoxious ass. We're doing the best we can under stress. If you're gonna make the problem worse, I won't hesitate next time to tell the flight attendant that you mentioned having a bomb on the plane. That should make your trip nice and happy.

Next up: Movie Reviews!

Be seeing you.

That Time Of Year

Hey folks,

Its that time of year when I start prepping my "Best 25/Worst 5 Films of the Year" list. Last year, you may remember that I didn't post my list until after the Oscars because I hadn't seen that many films and couldn't fill out either list. In fact, I may have just quietly posted the list and been done with it.

This year, I'm offering an "epiphany" of sorts before publishing the list.

I'm 38. I'm married. I have a 2 1/2 year-old son and a second child due in late May/early June. To put it quite simply...movies don't matter much anymore.

Okay...now that everyone has done a spit take or gasped as if I've uttered some blashpeme, let me expand upon this and explain where I'm coming from before we start taking pitchforks and torches to my two college degrees.

I love movies. I will always love movies. From Citizen Kane to Ernest Goes to Africa, I have always championed any kind of film. A few years ago, I finally realized that a good chunk of what Hollywood puts out is just utter crap that isn't worth my time and my rule of "if I start it, I have to finish it" went out the window to fall in the pile of other stupid rules other humans have come up with throughout the millennia (we can thank The Whole Ten Yards for opening my eyes).

Granted, before this time I had seen A LOT of shit. But I always found the good within the bad. I no longer have the time or energy to do this. With the crap that gets churned out on a regular basis to fill the silver screen like so much diarreah, there was no longer time to devote to the passion of watching the magic of film.

Perhaps, unfortunately, the good got tossed out with the bad. Life took me in different directions and I wasn't even able to see all the "good" films either. Sure, I still caught things I wanted to see or felt I had to see, but some of the more acclaimed films had to wait. Netflix came in handy for a while, but eventually that had to go the way of the dodo in our household. We just didn't have the time to keep up with TV shows and life and movies. And while I missed a few things here and there, for the life of me I can't think of anything off the top of my head that I truly "missed" and regret. Sure, I've got a list running of movies I had an interest in seeing...but after a while of not being able to get to any of them, I forget about them entirely. Meaning they couldn't have been that great to begin with or else I'd remember them.

So...in looking over everything I did see this last year, we come up with just about 25 "films"...some of which I refuse to put in a "Best of" list. And I haven't seen anything so horrible as to even have a "Worst of" list. So what am I to do?

Well...I'm gonna have a Top 25 list...but I'm changing the rules somewhat. Since the way we as a society view "films" have changed over the last decade anyway, I'm catching up with the times somewhat. I will be adding "direct to video" movies to the list if they are worthy. They could be based on TV series, but they cannot be part of a show that is still on the air (so don't expect to see Battlestar: Galactica - Razor on the list...but there are one or two others that are eligible and may make it).

As far as doing something about the "Worst of" list, I'm going to list movies or trends in movies that I wish didn't happen...regardless of whether I've seen them or not (let's face it, while Airplane is still a funny film, does anyone think that Date Movie will be funny in 5 years when it wasn't funny to begin with). I believe I have enough "knowledge" of things to be able to espouse an opinion on these matters. If you have a problem with that, well...tough titty.

So that's where it all stands right now. The lists won't get published until just after January 1 as we're going to be seeing at least one other film in theaters before too long and I want to be able to add it to the list if it deserves to be there.

Anyway...I will be back with some other reviews and looks back in the next day or so while I'm relaxing in Napa.

Be seeing you.

That's Frahnk-en-steen

So...we got Broadway tickets (and a babysitter) for our anniversary this year. The tickets were for Young Frankenstein. Being the Mel Brooks fan, I had to see this. I went in with no real expectations. I knew this wouldn't be as funny as The Producers, but it couldn't be worse than Monty Python's Spamalot (which I did still enjoy, just didn't think it was as great as everyone makes it out to be). I have to say I was very pleasantly surprised. While I didn't find it as funny as The Producers (though Tash found it funnier), I really enjoyed myself.

If you don't know the plot of the film, its covered pretty well here on Broadway. When his infamous grandfather dies, Frederick Frankenstein (Gary Bart in the Gene Wilder role) returns to Transylvania and gets reluctantly involved in the "family business" of reanimating dead corpses. This leads to many problems with the locals who are tired of the Frankenstein family making their lives a nightmare. Frederick winds up creating a new monster (Shuler Hensley in the Peter Boyle role) that he hopes will be different and also winds up falling in love with his assistant Inga (Sutton Foster in the Terri Garr role), much to the chagrin of his fiance Elizabeth (Megan Mullaly in the Madeline Khan role). The end of the show is somewhat different from the film, but not enough to matter.

Brooks has assembled the same creative team as The Producers and while the show is a lot of fun and technically amazing (there are loads of neat special effects), it doesn't feel as fresh as the previous Brooks musical. Here is a rundown of the show's numbers and my general thoughts on each:

The show starts with a lightning flash and a recreation of the very opening of the film (lightning lighting up the castle...here its on a scrim). And we're told the play takes place in 1934 in Transylvania Heights.

The Happiest Town -- The show starts off with a fun number in which the citizens or Transylvania rejoice that Baron Frankenstein has died...so they're not "The happiest town in town" (a funny lyric that doesn't get much mileage). Inspector Kemp (Fred Applegate in the Kenneth Mars role) arrives to let everyone know that there is still one Frankenstein left, a grandson in New York.

The Brain -- Here we meet Frederick in a scene lifted directly from the film that's still pretty funny on stage. But now they've added a song about how much Frederick loves studying the brain. Gary Bart is definitely not trying to imitate Gene Wilder as he tends to scream lines to punctuate jokes. At first it was a bit ANNOYING, but eventually it woorked to differentiate the two actors nicely.

Please Don't Touch Me -- Instead of being at a train station, Freddie says goodbye to Elizabeth at a boat dock (which makes more sense). With the joke of her not wanting to be touched because she's had her hair done, her nails done, a new dress, etc now turned into a very funny number the problem of Megan Mullally's performance explodes onto the stage. No, she's not trying to recreate Madeline Khan's wonderful performance...but she seems to be channeling Karen from Will & Grace by way of Mathew Broderick in The Producers which is totally wrong for this role (she teeters from being drunk to being spot on to even possible soudning like she forgot a line in one song). We also discover here just how much of the film's sexual innuendo has been transferred over...all of it...and its been amped up to 11 (Elizabeth uses the word "tits" about a few dozen times in a row at one point). Its a funny song that needs a better leader.

Together Again -- As Freddie arrives in Transylvania (by train so we can get the whole "Pardon me boy is this the Transylvania Station" joke), he meets Igor (Christopher Fitzgerald in the Marty Feldman role). This is easily the most memorable original song in the show (which isn't saying much). Igor's film entrance is recreated as best as possible on stage and is enhanced to be even funnier as Freddie moves around in the fog prompting Igor to move around in "surprise" more than he should. Igor tells Freddie how they met in a dream before. And then we get the "walk this way" joke.

Roll In The Hay -- Freddie meets his new assistant Inga (or is it Ula...the role from The Producers now seems much more interchangable with this one than they did on film). Igor takes them for a ride in a hay wagon up to the castle. The effect of making the trip (which involves a stationary cart, two actors dressed like very real horses -- at least at first -- and a movie to make it look like they're moving) are pretty amazing to see. We even get the "where wolf" joke complete with "live" were wolf.

Join The Family Business -- Mel Brooks pretty much lifted "Tevye's Dream" out of Fiddler on the Roof for this one. It involves a neat effect of the castle shaking, a number of ghostly ancestors (and their assistants) and a giant monster puppet. Definitely a memorable highlight of the show (even if I can't remember the tune or lyrics).

He Vas My Boyfriend -- Frau Blucher (horse whinny sound) is played by Andrea Martin. She is easily the best part of the show and this number (which has that Cabaret feel) highlights all of it. The scene also highlights the show's biggest problem. The very memorable music that Frau Blucher (horse whinny sound) plays in the film is COMPLETELY ABSENT from here (did they spend too much money on other things? How memorable is this music? A guy in our row was whistling it during intermission). A BIG letdown in my book.

The Law -- Kemp and the villagers decide to "schnoop" around the castle to see if the new Frankenstein has been up to no good.

Life, Life -- Freddie brings the Monster to life (complete with the charades game involving the sedative and the revelation that Igor got "Abby Normal's" brain instead of Hans Delbruck -- in a scene that's much funnier than the film I might add).

Welcome To Transylvania -- The villagers welcome to good doctor with a song and as the Monster starts to awaken offstage we move into...

Transylvania Mania -- where Igor tries to distract everyone from the Monster's howling. The monster breaks free and the first act ends.

He's Loose -- Everyone is trying to recapture the Monster in the foggy woods at the start of the second act.

Listen To Your Heart -- Inga seduces Freddie. Yawn.

Surprise -- Elizabeth arrives to surprise Freddie (with an entourage that resembles Roger DeBris' from The Producers) but gets a surprise of her own as she finds Inga & Freddie together.

Please Send Me Someone -- Another big highlight of the show as we meet the Hermit (Fred Applegate again this time in the Gene Hackman role -- and the quick transform from Kemp to the Hermit is displayed during the Curtain Call and its pretty amazing). The blind Hermit wants the Lord above to send him "someone"...so of course, you know the Monster's gonna come crashing through the wall at some point (he gets a whole song and thankfully its very funny). The rest of the scene plays out as it does in the film, but being a live show where things can go wrong we got to see a happy accident as the candle went out before he could light his cigar, so Applegate had to change the line "Fire is our friend" to "Fire is our friend -- sometimes" and then milked the mistake for the rest of the scene.

Man About Town -- Freddie tries to calm the Monster after he's been recaptured. Don't remember the word "fuck" being in the film, but it got a laugh here anyway.

Puttin' On The Ritz -- OK...you knew it had to be here and they basically did to this what they did to "Springtime for Hitler" in The Producers in that its been made longer and bigger. Here, it still works but seems a bit like warm leftovers as Igor, Frau Blucher (horse whinny sound), Inga/Ulla and a bunch of tap dancers with monster shoes dance up a storm with Freddie and the Monster.

Deep Love -- After escaping from the theater and taking Elizabeth with him, the Monster satisfies a need and Elizabeth sings the biggest double entendre song EVER...heck its really just single entendres all over the place...in spite of Mullally's bizarre performance, its a funny song and rather memorable...

Frederick's Soliloquy -- Freddie does the brain transference as the mob breaks in. They take him to the square to hang him...and they do...

Deep Love (Reprise) -- But the Monster arrives just as it happens and is able to revive him and sing of his love for Elizabeth since he now "talks like Noel Coward" (as Kemp says).

Finale Ultimo -- We get a happy ending that no one will remember the words or tune to.

All in all, the show has many faults (they got every joke and bit from the film up there except the Monster meeting the little girl...and the missing theme music is unforgivable), but it is a lot of fun in spite of Megan Mullally's weird performance. Of course, knowing that Kristen Chenowith was the first choice makes Mullally all the more hard to take. Chenowith would have done Madeline Kahn proud.

Its definitely not The Producers which lent itself to the musical genre very easily since it was a story about a Broadway musical. This show is based on a movie that was a love letter/homage to a genre & time of filmmaking that was long ago. Not quite as easily adaptable. Brooks does a decent job by throwing every joke he can at the wall and seeing what sticks (a lot like his later movies). Its funny but feels tired and old at the same time.

While I did enjoy the show, I really hope the threat that "Next year Blazing Saddles" is just a threat and not a promise.


Be seeing you.

A Trio of Movie Reviews

Hey folks,

I know its been over a month. Sorry for that. We're in a bit of transition here at the house...mostly due to expecting a second child sometime in late May/early June. There have been a few other things as well, but I'll get to them in due time.

Hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving in the meantime. We had a nice small one (the three of us, my parents and my Uncle). Grilled the turkey on the Komodo Kamado Ceramic Grill we bought at the beginning of the summer. Yum! With the rest of the menu, I think we've found one that can work with minor alterations in subsequent years.

Anyway...we had the opportunity to see Across The Universe a few weeks ago in the theaters. Good movie, not great. I was expecting to either love it or hate it...but I just liked it. Thought it was audacious of Julie Taymor to even tackle something that could remotely resemble Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Fortunately, it didn't fall into the "so bad, its good" category. If you like musicals or Beatles tunes or even off-beat filmmaking, you should catch this film at some point.

Meet the Robinsons from Disney is a funny, cute and touching story about an orphan who is looking for his place in the world. Louis is something of a child prodigy who likes to invent things and one day at his school's science fair, he is approached by another boy claiming he needs to stop the man in the Bowler Hat and that he's from the future. To say any more would ruin the twists and turns this film does have. Let's just say a good chunk of it will have you saying "they must have rewatched Back to the Future one too many times while high". Not your "typical" Disney animated feature (do they even still make those anymore?), but a lot of fun regardless.

Ratatouille is Pixar's new entry for the year (although we could just say its Disney's second entry for the year and be done with it). The film concerns a rat named Remy who is a bit of a gourmand. When Remy gets separated from his family he winds up teaming up with a dorky young kid and helps him become the next "Iron Chef" (just kidding, but you get the point). Funny and charming, this is pretty much what you'd expect from a Pixar film at this point (just remove Randy Newman from the equation). Definitely worth seeing.

Two minor complaints about both films being released on DVD. It seems that Disney has abandoned their old philosophy of releasing both a standard single disc DVD and a Two Disc Special Edition set at the same time. Now while I don't expect Meet the Robinsons will ever get a special edition beyond the few extras on this current release, the BluRay release of Ratatouille (and Cars) has me thinking that there will be something later. The BluRay versions have many more extras than the standard DVDs. If this is a ploy to get people to jump to the HD format, I don't see it working. The only thing that will make anyone jump to either HD disc format is to end the fucking format war. HD-DVD (a stupid mouthful that should have been called HDVD or something else entirely) and BluRay are quickly consigning themselves to a niche smaller than LaserDisc before we are forced to buy/rent downloads by the studios (which gives them more control and us a lot less...if Amazon's Kindle gets popular for books in any meaningful way, you can pretty much kiss the concept of consumer "ownership" goodbye).

Anyway...that's all for now. Hope to be back sooner rather than later. I've got some pointed comments of the two current entertainment strikes going on that I'll eventually post and since the new Futurama movie hits this week, I'm sure I'll want to yak about that.

Be seeing you.

Off To A Late Start

So the new Fall TV Season started a few weeks ago and I have yet to comment. Why? Well, we can start with some laziness. My laptop was in for repairs (took 28 days) and I was too lazy to use either the desktop in the office (cause its hard to do any work in there with Malcolm poking his fingers at everything) or my wife's laptop (I felt like I was hogging it anyway).

So...we're "back" in business and what do I have to say about the new Fall TV Season? Not much it seems.

You see...my toddler has spent the last couple of months winning the bedtime battle...so our viewing habits have changed drastically. Between not getting him to sleep until 9pm and all the rehearsals either one of us has had in the last two months, if we get to watch one show a night, we're lucky.

Of course, some things are slowly getting back to "normal". Rehearsals have fallen by the wayside for the most part and I've gotten Malcolm's bedtime back to between 8 & 8:30 which does give us more time to catch things...but honestly, the energy and desire aren't quite there anymore.

For example...I enjoyed the first two seasons of Prison Break and while our DVRs have been recording away, neither one of us cares much to actually try and watch it. The cliffhanger from Season 2 left us a bit cold anyway. Desperate Housewives is also starting to fall into this category.

Journeyman and The Bionic Woman sounded interesting, when they started I had no interest and no longer have the time or energy to catch up.

So I do apologize to all of you. I know in years past I have at least reviewed the pilot of most of the new fall shows. This season, you'll barely get that.

So what are we watching? Let's take a look night by night.

Mondays -- Its all NBC. Chuck is a great new show about a guy who accidentally "downloads" (or ingests or views) all the top secret info the government has been collecting over the last few years. So now, in addition to being the head of the "Nerd Herd" at Buy More (the fictional equivalent of Best Buy's Geek Squad), Chuck Bartowski is now a "spy" as he gets dragged along onto assignments by CIA Agent Sarah Walker (not her real name) and NSA Agent Casey. The show is well cast, well written and highly entertaining. Heroes is faltering a bit in its second season. I'm thoroughly bored by the Hiro in ancient Japan storyline and dislike the fact that they seem to only be able to afford one old Star Trek actor at a time. But while it has diminished a bit, its still a great show.

Tuesdays -- While our DVRs are still recording Bones we're so far behind its not even funny. House remains as good as ever and the first few episodes with House's American Idol-like methods for picking new assistants was just short of brilliant. Boston Legal even with all the casting changes (yet again) also remains a fun and entertaining show (maybe more so with the addition of John Larroquette). The new show of the night that we're enjoying is Reaper about a guy who turns 21 only to discover that his parents had sold his soul to the devil and Satan has come to collect. Now he's the devil's bounty hunter as he has to capture souls who have escaped from hell and are wreaking havoc on Earth. Its a fun show (with an exceptional performance by Ray Wise as Satan) that has gotten a bit repetative (much like Smallville in its first season), but will hopefully come out of that.

Wednesdays -- We're still sort of watching Criminal Minds since we wanted to see how they wrote out Mandy Patinkin's character and I like Joe Mantegna and want to see how he gets worked in...but the episodes between those events are a bit blah and have started sitting on our DVR. Back To You starring Kelsey Grammar and Patricia Heaton is a typical newsroom sitcom, but one that is funny and well done. I'm surprised its on FOX. Pushing Daisies is easily the best new show of the season. Quirky and enchanting, I won't say much more about this other than Tash & I both make it the first show of the night (especially if its the only show of the night). South Park has also returned for a bunch of episodes that feel forced and old hat. But they're still funny in that gross way.

Thursdays -- Ugly Betty is still our guilty pleasure that we both enjoy. Smallville also remains high on the list. We do wind up watching this a few days later (like Saturday afternoons during Malcolm's nap). My Name Is Earl and 30 Rock also remain funny shows that we try to watch (well...I do with the latter, Tash doesn't care much for it). Law & Order: Criminal Intent has moved to USA and still remains the best of the franchise in my opinion...but it also gets "time shifted" in viewing.

Fridays -- Aside from still recording the abomination known as Flash Gordon we use this night to catch up on things from the week and watch The Soup when Monk and Psych are on their breaks.

Saturdays -- Just early morning cartoons in The Batman and Legion of Super Heroes get watched. If we're awake at night, we're still catching up on things or going out to see movies if we can get a sitter.

Sundays -- While I'm in the process of finally admitting that fatherhood has changed my movie watching & TV viewing habits, you'll have to pry FOX's Sunday night animation lineup from my cold dead hands.

There's only one new show that we have any interest in that has yet to premiere. Viva Laughlin will get a full review once it does start this week. And I'll mention that somehow Lost, Scrubs, 24, Doctor Who, Torchwood, Battlestar Galactica and possibly the original Law & Order will find their way back into our lives when they return to the airwaves.

That's all for today. I'll be back sooner rather than later with a few things...including some BIG news.

Be seeing you.

Closing The Trap

So The Mousetrap opened last night in Curtain Call's Dressing Room Theater. We were sold out. We're actually sold out already for the whole opening weekend and the second Saturday. Its an interesting and exhilarating feeling. Not sure what to attribute it to. Is it the popularity of Agatha Christie? Is it the longevity of the show? Is it the cabaret style/bring your own food environment? Is it the actual production? Well...a sold out opening night/weekend probably can't be attributed to that cause no one had really seen it yet, but if the trend continues it probably means we've got good word of mouth.

I'm very proud of this production. I've seen some really bad Christie since I started doing community theater. And I'm not saying that only my versions are the best (I'm my own worst critic, I know where my faults and problems are and while this production isn't "perfect", very few non-theater people will notice), but I like to think that I can do right by Dame Agatha.

The show is lean and raw in the round. The cast was highly energized last night having a packed house so in their faces. There was a lot of uncomfortable laughter which worked nicely. We pulled everyone's strings exactly how I hoped we would (chills whenever the windows to the "outside" were opened as if it suddenly got cold in the theater, gasps at all the twists and turns -- particularly the ending).

We've got nine more performances and I look forward to seeing them all.

Its been fun producing shows for The Darien Players this past season, but its nice to be back in the director's seat...and even nicer to be in a new space.

Come see the show if you can. Check out www.curtaincallinc.com for more ticket info.


Be seeing you.

The Play's The Thing

So I've been involved with Community Theater in the Fairfield County area for about 6 and a half years now. It started with getting involved with The Darien Players in 2001 for The Unexpected Guest by Agatha Christie and its been a downhill ride ever since...sort of...

I apparently did well enough with that show, the Players not only asked me to direct again the following season (I picked Night Watch by Lucille Fletcher) they also added me to their Board of Directors. Didn't ask for it, but was honored at the time. If I knew then what I know now I would have run screaming into the night (well...not really as I did first meet my wife during the auditions for Night Watch).

My third season I wound up directing two shows for the Players. I stepped in on The Heiress after the director got sick and also did The Curious Savage (my choice of material). I had a co-director on both since the former was going into performances as the latter was auditioning and rehearsing. I was also acting in The Curious Savage.

The following season I finally figured how to make Noises Off work in a space that is really to small for such a large show. But we made it work really well in a scaled down/stripped down version. It was a lot of fun. (I also had a small role and ran lights for Ah, Wilderness earlier this season and stage managed Follies prior to that).

The 2004-2005 Season was The Darien Players 25th Anniversary and I helped with getting an Anniversary show off the ground. I wrote a rather funny Agatha Christie parody (since the Players seem to have done more of her shows than anyone else's...in a 10 year period they did of her plays...all but one directed by the same person...who wasn't me as I've only done The Unexpected Guest there). That season, my show was Lanford Wilson's Book of Days a show I'm very proud of. It got the Players "off the stage" and starting to rethink not only how to stage shows in a very flexible black box space, but also what type of shows to do. This was a good season for change as we got some new directing blood into the group.

The 2005-2006 Season I directed Sly Fox in addition to helping out in various ways on other shows. This was a tough show to direct as I had at least one cast member who didn't trust in my vision for the show and acted like a spoiled diva throughout rehearsals. By the time I finally stepped in and put my foot down, the damage had been done. It was not a bad show by any means, but it could have been better if I didn't have to deal with childish distractions from various camps. I decided I needed to take a year off from directing.

The 2006-2007 Season found me involved in co-producing every show across the season (except one...but I was still involved enough to be annoyed by the antics of a visionless and unorganized director who always casts his wife in his shows...which wouldn't be a problem if they didn't collectively suck the life from everything they touch). I did more work during this season than I did when I was only directing. The Darien Players had a good successful season (with the one exception being the afore mentioned show). We brought in more new directors to help re-energize the group and it all worked well. We finished the season with a wonderfully successful production of A Raisin in the Sun...in Darien...in 2007...and we still got some comments about why we did the show...amazing how close minded some can be.

Anyway...the 2007-2008 Season is just about to start and I'm making my directing debut at Curtain Call in Stamford. Its nice to only be driving 8 minutes to get home at night instead of the 20 or so to Darien. I'm directing Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap which will also mark my third Christie show (as I also directed Spider's Web in Westport back in 2004...so I guess any time I work at a theater for the first time, I'll be doing a Christie piece).

I love Dame Agatha's work. There's a lot of fun that can be had if one understands the material and knows how to work it properly. Not to blow my own horn, but I think I know how to handle her stuff very well. I've watched three of her pieces get butchered in Darien and two of them were not pretty sights (Witness for the Prosecution was mind numbing...some great acting, but that had nothing to do with the director...he just lucked out with a few of the actors...but for a courtroom drama whose pacing depends on the judge and the two attorneys to keep it moving you don't cast people who can't remember lines...even when the lines are written on their legal pads).

I've got a great cast for The Mousetrap. All except one of the eight actors is completely new to me. And I think its going to be a lot of fun. It runs from September 14 until September 30 on Fridays & Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 2pm. There is also a Thursday night performance on September 27 at 8pm. It is being performed in Curtain Call's Dressing Room Theater which is a black box theater where you can bring your own food for a cabaret style experience (yes...hearing that brings up visions of Kevin Kline in Soapdish, but its actually rather informal and not that bad...I've seen a few shows this way). The doors open at 7pm and you sit at your table and eat & drink & be merry until the show starts at 8pm.

We're performing this one "in the round" to give it a bit of a spin for anyone who's already seen the longest running show in theater history. It should be loads of fun. If you're in the area, please come see it. Check out Curtain Call's website for ticket info.

At the same time The Mousetrap opens, my wife is rehearsing a show at Norwalk's Carriage House Arts Center. Sordid Lives opens October 12. Its gonna be a funny show with a great cast under the direction of Frank Gaffney (who also cast our regular babysitter in the show, so we've had to work out a very specific schedule to keep everything on track). Check out the Carriage House website for more info.

While all of this is going on, The Darien Players will have started rehearsals for the first show of the season which is The Elephant Man. I'm co-producing this one. It opens November 2.

After that show closes, we're starting a new series (well...putting a new spin on an old series) called The Darien Players Unplugged. We're trying to get more consistent with our staged readings, so we're doing one on the Sunday after each show closes for a series of 5 across the season. We hope to have a nice mix of new short pieces and excerpts from longer works. I'm "directing" the first session that plays on November 18 (since The Elephant Man closes on November 17).

Lastly, I'm directing Julius Caesar for the Players in March 2008. Its going to be done modern dress and should be both fun and interesting...but I'll discuss that more as we get closer (in between Elephant Man and Caesar The Darien Players are doing Six Degress of Separation). And then I'm most likely going to take a real break from doing shows...a long break from doing shows...

Its been fun, but honestly being on the Players' Board and as their Vice President for the last 4 years has been taxing. There are one too many people on the Board who can't see the future beyond looking down their own arms and I've grown tired of dealing with them. They suck the fun and life out of the most simple tasks (we have a staged reading session going on tonight that has been a pain in the ass and I'm not even involved in it).

I've grown tired of dealing with people who are supposedly part of a larger group but only concern themselves with their working within the group (not for it). I've grown tired of dealing with people who do nothing but complain about how the others who do work very hard all season long. And I've grown tired of people who question how things are done when we've worked hard to put a machine in motion for every show that works very successfully.

Sure, I may change my mind between now and Caesar, but I've thrown the gauntlet down and told the Board (without pinning my frustrations on any one person) that unless things change before that show opens, I will be resigning. Its not an idol threat (as my wife has heard this statement so many times before). I'm tired and I'm done. When something stops being fun, it is time to move on.

Directing The Mousetrap has brought the fun back. Caesar will hopefully sustain it. But I can't continue in the capacity that I have been...that has not been fun.

Be seeing you.

Batman Returns

So, the animal control guy returned (finally) to check things out. We haven't seen our friend in a few days now...so we're assuming he's gone (either flew out the open window or dead somewhere inside the house...still waiting for Malcolm to find it and pick it up).

ACG (animal control guy) checks both fireplaces (which involved having to move lots of toy bins). They're locked up tight.

He checks the attic. No sign of bats.

So maybe this was a one time fluke thing.

He starts looking on the outside of the house. Apparently these little fuckers can get in between siding, shingles, etc. So ACG shines a flashlight all the way up the side of the house into a space at the very corner at the roof line (you have to be standing right up against the house to see it). He points out three dark spots. To me they look like knots in plywood...until he gets his binoculars and we look "closer" and one of those knots has moved about three feet away.

We got bats in our belfry ;-)

There are a few other spots outside the house that also show signs of bats. ACG guestimates we have 10 to 15. Natasha hears this and I can tell I'm going to be late for rehearsal because she's already freaking out (she'd rather we had rattle snakes...she can handle any animal but bats).

ACG then tells us that 10 to 15 isn't a problem. He just went to a house where bats had gotten under the siding and you could hear them in daytime. He said it was like that wall of the house was alive. He figures there were about a thousand or so when they were done cleaning the bats out (which sounds like it should involve a giant vacuum, but is actually much more humane).

So it looks like we're shelling out money to get rid of our dozen or so guests (this is in addition to new tires on the Quest...which we just discovered we were sold a bill of goods on with "run flat tires"...I'll get into that some other time)...this way maybe people will get back to sleep around here. But I kind of doubt it.

Next time...a theater update...haven't done one in a while and there's a LOT going on.

Be seeing you.

Klytus I'm Bored....

Originally I was going to wait three episodes before reviewing SciFi's new series Flash Gordon, but I figured what's the point.

I've been a big fan of Flash Gordon since I was a kid and PBS would show the old Buster Crabbe serials on weekends. I'd watch them with my dad and while there was an innocent cheesiness to them, they were a lot of fun to watch.

The 1980 camp classic was the first film I saw in theaters after my dad died. Some family friends took my brother and I to distract us from real world events. I wound up seeing it 4 times in the theaters. It was also one of the first films we owned on VHS when we got a VCR. And I've traded up to new formats with it every time its been re-released. It even recently got a new DVD release as a "Saviour of the Universe" Edition which is pretty lackluster if you ask me (so lackluster that I decided to break down and buy the Region 2 version as well...I can at least play that on a computer and listen to the commentary that we didn't get in the new edition). The "extras" on this new DVD consist of an interview with the screenwriter, an interview with comic books artist Alex Ross on why he loves the film, a promo for the new SciFi series and the first chapter of the 1936 serial. Yawn. Luckily, the movie remains A LOT of fun in its cheesy over the top spectacle.

Around the same time, NBC aired a new Saturday morning cartoon that was relatively faithful to Alex Raymond's original Sunday comics. Both seasons of the show are available in a 4 DVD set, but be warned that while the first 16 episodes are great and very faithful, the second season became typical Saturday morning fare (and yet still maintained that Raymond feel surprisingly).

A 1996 cartoon is pretty much ignored these days as it re-envisioned Flash as a skater boy and Ming as a Lizard. Not terrible, but not great either.

Which brings us to the new SciFi series. You know you're in trouble when the preview for the next episode is more exciting than the episode you just watched...and that's only because they're using the Queen theme from the 1980 movie (well...a cover version of it). It's still a great song to get you in that Flash Gordon mood. Too bad the series, after two episodes, doesn't live up to it.

This is not to say that all is horrible. Eric Johnson actually makes a pretty good Flash. I just wish he had better material to work with. Jody Racicot's Zarkov is a bit different from how the character is normally portrayed, but it works for this version. Anna Van Hooft's Princess Aura doesn't quite hold a candle to Ornella Muti's version from 1980, but she holds her own nicely. And Karen Cliche as Baylin, a new character created for this series, is actually somewhat interesting. Ming's right hand man, Rankol, is also an interesting addition to the series (and not just because he hovers when he moves).

Its the rest of the show that is a misfire from start to finish. Gone are any real "aliens" and "monsters". There are no rocket ships only a "rift" that opens to Mongo. Ming is horribly played by John Ralston and the writers don't help him at all. For a guy whose name is Ming the Merciless it took almost all of two episodes for him to even remotely do something to live up to the title. He's more like Ming the Mundane ruling over a planet that pretty much feels like Mongo 90210 than anything else. We haven't seen any of the other major characters from Raymond's universe show up yet, but if we're to believe interviews with the shows producers, we should pray they never do. We're gonna get Hawkmen who have no wings and don't fly? That's not Flash Gordon that's cheap SciFi programming.

And that is what this show reeks of. It seems like someone took a look at all the recent relaunches that have worked well (Bond, Batman, Superman) and decided to give this a shot...but then gave it no budget and the worst writers. Its really sad and someone should put it out of my misery...because I'm such a fan of the characters and situations I may keep watching just to see if it gets any better. And I really don't want to do that.

Until next time.

Be seeing you.

The Gift That Keeps On Giving

So, Sunday August 12 was my wife's 32nd birthday and Tuesday August 14 was my 38th.

In honor of our birthdays we decided to get rabies vaccinations on August 17th.

What brought us to this decision? Funny you should ask? (though you probably didn't, you're gonna hear it anyway).

August 15th was a long day. Natasha was at a workshop from about 8am until 3pm and then we had to go into NYC for my grandfather's 94th birthday dinner. We got back from NYC around 9pm, dropped my parents at their house, took Malcolm home put him in bed and retired for the evening. Tash was exhausted and promptly fell asleep. I always take a while to unwind, but by 11:30 I was in bed.

At 5am I'm aroused by a sound. It's still dark outside. So I look at the clock and register the time. I listen and hear this fluttering sound. Upon looking up I see this small dark object circling over our heads. I promptly start turning on every light I can reach to confirm that we have a bat in our bedroom.

Tash, groggily wakes, registers my concerns and hides under the covers.

I go screaming like a girl across the room, ducking as low as I can, turning on even more lights. I quickly dart out of our room into the laundry room and yank the screen, open the window and turn on the lights. Of course, now every insect in America is starting to come in, but maybe the bat will leave. Luckily, Malcolm's door is closed and he's asleep.

The bat never leaves our room and eventually flies into our bathroom. I quickly shut the pocket door that separates our bathroom from our bedroom and then close up the laundry room. At least the bat is "trapped" and we can call animal control in the morning.

No one sleeps the rest of the "night". Well...that means mostly me as I'm on line researching what to do if there's a bat in the house.

Frightening stories go past my eyes as I read of what to do and what not to do. I don't think the bat bit either of us, but apparently there's a chance you may not know. Thankfully, Malcolm was nowhere near the bat. We call a place that handles bats at a "reasonable" hour (8am) and the guy says he or his partner will come between 11am and 1pm and his rates are $145 an hour to search. OK. We know where the bat was, so hopefully this will be $145 well spent.

The guy's partner arrives and we show him the location. He searches and finds nothing. He lets us know that a bat only needs a quarter inch opening to hide in, so he's not surprised he can't find him. He suggests we all go for rabies shots just in case, leaves a pamphlet and says to call if the bat returns (when I ask even at 3am, he's a bit hesitant).

That night I come home from a rehearsal around 11pm to find Tash and Malcolm waiting for me in the basement. He won't go to sleep. So we take him for a drive and discuss bringing him into our room when he does. We're out for about 45 minutes and he finally falls asleep...but instead of bringing him into our bed like we discussed, I put him in his bed and close his door as we normally do.

We put all the lights on in our bathroom/closet area and close the pocket door. Tash falls asleep, but I'm having problems. At 3am I go to the bathroom. While sitting there minding my own business, I hear a thump against the window screen. Bruce (my name for our visitor) has returned and he's staring right at me. I run out faster than I've ever run before and reshut the pocket door. I wake my wife informing her the bat is back/still here. We formulate a game plan.

We shut the door to our room. We pull open a window, yank our the screen and turn on all the lights. We then open the pocket door. Bruce comes flying out and proceeds to flap around us ignoring the open window escape route. Tash crawls over to the bed and grabs a blanket which I attempt to throw over the bat (no success, it drives him behind a window shade). We carefully escape from the room.

Downstairs we call the people who we had already called. There is no answer so we leave a message. I think yank open the phone book and start looking for ads under "Pest Control" that have the words "bat" "emergency" and 24 Hour" in them. We pick the first one and call, waking a woman and her husband. The husband says its $150 for an after hours call and that I should go shut the window cause if he's coming out there had better be a bat. I go and do so, but don't see the bat in the process.

The guy arrives and proceeds to go upstairs and start his search. He turns off every light in the room and spends the next hour looking in every crack and crevice (and there are a lot). He eventually gives up and tells us he can't find anything. Now it may have gone out the window, but it may not have. If the bat reappears, even if its right after he leaves, we are to call him on his cell phone and he'll come right back. He even says he's gonna come back over the weekend and check the outside of the house as well as the attic for any openings or other bats. And he's only charging us $75 instead of the quoted $150 (I pay that anyway as I was grateful he was so much more helpful than the earlier guy). On leaving, he suggested we call our doctors and set up appointments to get rabies shots just in case. He leaves us pamphlets from the CDC (Center for Disease Control) stating the same thing. All of the online stuff I've read has also said we should all get shots.

In the morning (which sounds like it was hours later, but it wasn't...Tash & I slept in the den, she on the couch, me on the floor), we decided that we'd all go to New Haven together since Tash had a paying gig on a film and was too tired to drive alone and I was too tired to watch Malcolm alone. So on the way we called doctors.

Malcolm's pediatrician asked many questions about Malcolm's proximity to the bat. As far as we could tell, there was no reason to think Malcolm had been exposed to the bat. Both times he was in his room with the door closed and the bat stayed in our room/bathroom (with a brief foray into the hall that first night). His doctor didn't think he should get the rabies shots since there was no reason to suspect exposure (had Malcolm been in the same room at any point she would have recommended putting a 2 year old through a series of shots...thankfully I had the sense to not bring him into our room that second night).

Now, our doctor basically said we'd know if we were bitten and there was no reason to get the shots and hung up (okay...I'm exaggerating, but that's what it felt like). Malcolm's pediatrician even suggested that Tash & I get the shots. We talked over our options (and even got advice from family members and friends we trust...let's face it, we were working on making important decisions with very little sleep), to get the shots or not get the shots. Since we didn't have the bat, we couldn't get it tested for rabies. So that wasn't an option to help. It was either not get the shots and hope for the best (with the worst case being one of us does have it and dies an agonizing horrible painful death and then the survivor sues our doctor for malpractise) or get the shots and have peace of mind. We decided we'd rather be safe than sorry and went down to the Emergency Room (we left Malcolm with a friend who has been staying in our basement also away from the bat).

When I was in the hospital five years ago for my aneurysm, I had lots of shots. And in spite of my father's antiquated warnings of 20 needles in the stomach, I knew this would be easier to take than death. Turns out the rabies vaccine is a series of shots. The first day you get two...well...sort of two. The first is a shot in the arm with one drug. The second is a series of shots in the lower back/upper ass of a second drug based on your size. Needless to say, I'm a big guy. I got six shots (two in each ass cheek and one in each thigh). Tash got 5 (all in the ass). We now have to go back on specific days (all counted after the first day of shots) to get subsequent injections of the first drug. So all we get now is a shot in the arm four more times (Day 3, Day 7, Day 14 and Day 28). Not a big deal when you're other option could be death.

Call me a hypocondriac on this one if you like...I feel better mentally...we even slept better last night...although we all slept at my mom's. Tonight, we're sleeping at home and we've got a game plan if Bruce reappears. Lock him in our room again and call the second guy right away no matter what time it is. He said he'd stay until he caught the bat.

So that's our birthday presents to each other this year. Peace of mind.

I'll let you know if we ever see Bruce the Bat again.

Be seeing you.

Damned If You Do...

Today we've got a few brief movie reviews...

But first a rant (which may be a repeat...so I apologize if I've bitched about this before)...

Releasing TV Shows on DVD is a tricky business for the studios. They put out a show's first season and then based on sales they decide to do (or not do) more seasons. We as consumers know this and we buy a show's first season in hopes we'll see more. When it works, we get screwed in the end anyway.

There have been too many instances of a studio actually getting an entire show out on DVD only to turn around and fuck the fans by then releasing a complete series box set with even more material. This has happened several times in the past (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, M*A*S*H, Homicide: Life on the Street), but seems to be more prevalent.

We can now add the upcoming Twin Peaks, Star Trek: The Next Generation, The X-Files and I Love Lucy to this list. Its even more obnoxious in the case of I Love Lucy because fans had been promised that what is now the "bonus" disc in the Complete Series set was going to be part of the last season set when it came out back in May. This wouldn't be too much of an issue if the studios released the bonus disc separately (like Fox kind of did with M*A*S*H in putting the bonus material into a set with the final episode...which was already part of the 11th Season set anyway...but at least a fan wouldn't be forced to buy the whole series over again).

Its one thing to put out an entire series, season by season, and then repackage the whole thing in some bizarre collector's box when they're all out. Its another thing to reward fans by fucking them in the ass by saying "We want you to buy this all over again just to get the special stuff." So a big raspberry to the studios for this marketing ploy (especially Fox & Paramount who seem to be the biggest offenders so far).

There ends the rant.

Saw Becoming Jane. It took a while to decide if I couldn't get into the film because the first 30 minutes were dull or because the three teenage twats behind us wouldn't shut the fuck up. Turned out the film was boring. I didn't know much about Jane Austin going in (aside from being my wife's favorite author) and now I don't think I know much more and don't care at all. Skip it.

The Bourne Ultimatum was an exciting action packed film. As far as plot goes, it feels like it was stitched together as they went along. Since I could barely remember what had happened in the other two films, I guess this didn't matter much. Is it just me or is Albert Finney starting to look and sound like Noah Cross (John Huston's character in Chinatown). If you know anything about movies and have never been to Tangier, you know that the best way to find someone is to run across rooftops while looking at the other buildings. Lastly, the most unbelievable thing in the film (aside from the return of the assassin at the end looking like he had time to take a shower between what looked like his "death" in a car accident and his next appearance) is an overhead shot of a NYC highway with three cars on it. Maybe at 3am, but not during mid-day.

Hot Fuzz is the second film from director Edgar Winters and writer/actor Simon Pegg after (following on Shaun of the Dead). What starts as a very funny sendup (which is the wrong word, because like Shaun this film is much more than that...a sendup exists solely to poke fun at something specific, these films are films in their own rights) turns into a hysterically funny film about a big city cop trying to fit into a small village. Easily one of the funniest films in quite some time with a nice dark twist to it. Look for Timothy Dalton to chew more scenery than he did in and Flash Gordon and The Rocketeer combined, but its all in good form for this film.

Marvel Comics' latest animated offering is Doctor Strange and its the best of the four direct to DVD releases so far. While not being the perfect adaptation of the Sorcerer Supreme's origin, it is a very good one. For anyone who doesn't know (and since he's a B level hero at Marvel, most of you don't), Stephen Strange was an arrogant surgeon whose life is ruined when he gets into a car accident and loses the use of his hands. He searches the world for fixes and eventually winds up in Tibet to discover who he really is and becomes the greatest sorcerer on Earth. The movie is relatively faithful but adds some modern twists and new elements all of which work well for the film.

Well...that's all I've got for today. I don't think I've left anything out. I'll be back over the weekend with a look at the savior of the universe.

Be seeing you.

And So It Begins...Again....Sorta...Maybe?

Most of you know I'm a big fan of Babylon 5. It was a cutting edge TV series whose formula of storytelling is now being aped by pretty much everyone. The show ran its course and served its purpose. But it was a shaky road in getting to the end (all of which series creator J. Michael Straczynski chronicles in a book series entitled The Babylon 5 Scripts of J. Michael Straczynski).

But with the main story told we leave behind a rich legacy of characters and worlds that would be great places to visit from time to time. Since the show left the air in 1998 we've had a few attempts at a resurrection. A companion series Crusade was misunderstood by the network that ordered it and cancelled before it could even air (though the 13 episodes produced did eventually air and are now on DVD). A TV Movie Legend of the Rangers was interesting, but didn't have enough of the characters and stories we loved most.

Now we get a very noble attempt at changing the distribution formula. A direct to DVD production entitled Babylon 5: The Lost Tales. Designed to continue the stories of the characters we have come to know, this new release is good when it could have been great.

Essentially a "longer" episode of the series (clocking in at 72 minutes), we get two stories that are barely linked. Interstellar Alliance President Sheridan (Bruce Boxlitner) is returning to Babylon 5 for the 10th Anniversary of the creation of the IA. In preparation, Colonel Elizabeth Lochley (Tracy Scoggins) has to deal with a crew member who may be possessed by a demon. Meanwhile, Sheridan is visited by Galen the Technomage (Peter Woodward) who wants him to kill the Centauri Regent Prince who is travelling with him.

While the connection is Sheridan's return to the station, the stories don't really intertwine and can be watched separately. The Lochley story is rather thin and is representative of a rather pedestrian episode of the series. The Sheridan/Galen story is much more interesting. The production looks magnificent when it comes to most of the CGI. In fact, the CGI looks much better than it did on the series. Of course, the trade off here is that since the production was done on the "cheap" as a "test" (if its successful there will be more), the one thing that doesn't look as good as it did is the inside of the station itself. During the series Babylon 5 was a bustling and busy station. Here, it seems empty. A shell of its former self. We get to see mostly empty corridors and small rooms since all the money was spent on a new CGI docking bay. A bit of a shame.

Luckily, Straczynski's writing remains sharp and we get mentions of everyone from the series, including a touching reference to Doctor Franklin and G'Kar (both Richard Biggs and Andreas Katsulas have passed away). And maybe that's part of the larger issue. While it may be nice to see these "lost tales", knowing that two of the characters can never actually return to the screen (even thought they are still alive in the B5 universe) makes watching something like this even more heartbreaking.

For such a short program, the DVD is rounded out by some nice extras including a tribute to each of the late actors, a look at the making of the show and a few other interviews with the actors on display here and the show's creator.

While I hope this does well enough for at least one more (Straczynski stated he originally had three stories for the first one, but the Garibaldi story got too large for the budget of this release), I also hope there's more money and a bit more ambition behind the next one.

I'll be back over the weekend with the savior of the universe.

Be seeing you.

Twenty Years In The Making

Inevitably, the question that will be asked about The Simpsons Movie isn't necessarily "Is it good?", but more likely "Why? Why now?"

But The Simpsons is more than just an animated TV series. It has become an American institution (why else would there be long lines outside all the 7-11s that became Kwik-E-Marts in one of the most fun promotional gimmicks ever). The family has been with us since April of 1987 (when they first appeared on The Tracey Ullman Show) and have lasted through over 400 episodes not because of the jokes (which even when they're not funny are still funnier than most other "jokes" on TV today), not because of the supporting cast (which has grown HUGE over the years), but because of the archetypical family members that can appeal to all of us.

It is the family dynamic that has been the engine that runs this show. For all his stupidity, for all his loveable faults, Homer Simpson exemplifies the selfish part of all of us that we do our best to surpress at times...yet at the end of the day, he always realizes his faults, does his best to grow from them (until the next episode of course) and remains a faithful husband and loving father. And the rest of the family play their parts as well (Marge is the anchor, Lisa the idealist, Bart the anarchist and Maggie the voice of reality -- and I know the last one sounds funny since she rarely speaks, but think about her reactions to the antics of the others).

It is this dynamic that some may have forgotten about over the course of 18 seasons which have had "terrifying lows, dizzying highs, and creamy middles" (to quote Homer). When the show is good, it is the best show on TV. You don't last this long if you're not. When the show is bad, its still good...just off the mark. The last eight seasons have had more moments than the previous ten combined. But the episodes that work best focus on the family. And they are what is at the heart and soul of The Simpsons Movie. Everything else is just garnish (of course, lovable garnish).

There is little new to the film and this may be where the "why" comes into play. Why make the movie if there is nothing new in the film? Why not? The creators have used the bigger screen to paint a bigger canvas. Do they use it to the same advantage that South Park did when it went "wide"? No...of course not. That's comparing apples and oranges. South Park has always been about getting across a message through crass jokes. The Simpsons is always about exploring family dynamics (sometimes we just have to extend the definition of "family").

There are a few boundary pushes in this PG-13 film. Homer gives the town the finger, Bart dangles his doodle for all to see, Marge actually says "G-d damn" (which threw my wife because Marge has never said that before). All of the major supporting players get at least some screen time (with the exceptions of Sideshow Bob and aliens Kang & Kodos -- whom I suspect will wind up on a special edition DVD in a cut credits sequence I've read about). The film never feels long and never outstays its welcome. It feels just right.

The film starts with a great poke at the audience (and should be seen in theaters because here's a film where the communal experience greatly enhances things...we had a wonderful audience of kids and adults at the matinee we saw and they were all into it). From there its a non-stop riot from start to finish (and by finish I mean stay to the very end of the credits otherwise you'll miss a few more jokes). The story centers around Homer basically turning Springfield into the most toxic city in the United States. The Environmental Protection Agency encases the town in a dome. The town turns on Homer. The family escapes to Alaska. There they discover that the government is actually going to destroy Springfield. The family then has to go back and save everyone from death, but not before leaving Homer behind to have an epiphany on why he should bother.

As I said, there's little new here. Homer's screwed up the town before. The family's been driven from town before. The government has been shown to be evil or incompetent before (though not on this scale...well at least in the show...real life is a different matter). How many times has Homer brought home a new pet only to have bad things happen because of it? How many times has Lisa fallen in love with another like-minded person? How many times has Bart turned to Flanders as the model father he believes he wants? How may times has Marge left Homer because of his selfishness?

In twenty years all of this has happened at least once before. But even in its repetition, the movie doesn't feel stale or old. Its as funny as many of the best episodes of the show in its prime.
Like any good movie that comes from a different medium with a built-in fan base, if you like The Simpsons, then you'll like The Simpsons Movie. If you don't, then you won't. Its that simple.

I'll be back in a days.

Be seeing you.

Hair Products & More Music To Watch The Simpsons By

You can check out my August 14, 2003 entry (newly added to the blog after a search of computer files) to find out what I had to say about the Broadway version of Hairspray. My views have changed a little bit...especially in light of the release of the movie version...

Which makes this yet another movie musical based on a stage musical based on a movie...if only we could unearth a book the movie was based on and a tablet the book was based on...

Anyway...the stage version of this story was a fun show that made you want to get off you ass and dance around...especially by the end of the show. The movie kind of puts something of a damper on that feeling. Its still a whole lot of fun, but it could have been even more so.

First, the casting.

There's just something off about John Travolta playing Edna Turnblad. Maybe its the weird latex face, maybe its that the role really needs a Divine or Harvey Fierstein in the role (both men were already bigger than life) or maybe its that Travolta seems to be barely tapping his talents (think I'm wrong, listen to the CD of the movie...once you divorce the look from the sound you are left with Travolta's voice...and it sounds like a barely breathy Travolta when it should sound a bit more feminine...even Harvey got that down in spots and he's got a very distinctive voice).

Christopher Walken is a good song and dance man and he handles himself well in his one big number, but at this point its more like watching Walken doing an impression of Jay Mohr doing Christopher Walken. Queen Latifah holds her own nicely in a part that's a bit more under-written than the stage version. Only Michelle Pfeiffer comes off better than her stage counterpart. This Velma von Tussle has much more bite to her (well...mostly...even though she's had a few things taken away, she's had a few things added...two new songs and better orchestrations). The kids fare much better, except Amanda Bynes as Penny Pingleton, who is too cute and not awkward enough.

The musical numbers have been changed around somewhat. Four songs have had their order switched (I Can Hear The Bells and It Takes Two have been flipped as have I Know Where I've Been and Without Love), six songs have been cut (Mama I'm A Big Girl Now, Velma's Revenge, The Big Dollhouse, Good Morning Baltimore Reprise, You're Timeless To Me Reprise and Cooties), four songs added (Ladies Choice, The New Girl In Town, Big Blonde And Beautiful Reprise and Come So Far Got So Far To Go -- which just plays over the end credits) and a few have had lyrical changes that don't make sense to me (the worst being the deletion of Velma's verse of the big ending showstopper You Can't Stop The Beat).

The new songs actually feel like they were always part of the show and don't feel shoehorned in (particularly the Big, Blonde and Bueatiful Reprise since the subplot of Velma trying to seduce Wilbur is new and works rather well). The cut songs are missed (especially the jail cell number The Big Dollhouse), but two of them have been repurposed for the end credits (Cooties -- which is given a modern spin much to its detriment -- and Mama I'm A Big Girl Now -- which has been changed from a song that bounces back and forth between the mother/daughter teams of the Turnblads, the Pingletons and the Von Tussles to a song featuring the three women who have played Tracey -- Ricki Lake from the original film, Marissa Jaret Winokur from the original Broadway cast and Nikki Blonsky from this film, in addition to a short cameo by Harvey Firestein for a lyric or two).

A few plot points have been moved around (the protest on the TV station is now towards the end of the story) and some have been deleted entirely (the arrest after the protest). At the end of the day, the movie is still a lot of fun, but with what's missing or changed, its not as fun as it could have been.

Meanwhile, this Friday is the day I feel like I've been waiting for forever...but since I've got a wife and kid, I'm exaggerating (a bit).

The Simpsons Movie opens this week and I'm in full Simpson mode. So, having picked up the movie soundtrack...and not knowing much about the film (a first...I know...this coming from a guy who knew the end of the new Harry Potter book two days before it was published and still hasn't read it), here's a peak at what's in store (symphonically at least) this Friday (and you can bet your ass there'll be a full review between seeing the film Friday afternoon and the opening of A Raisin In The Sun which I'm producing for The Darien Players later that night -- 655-5414 for tickets, it runs until August 11 on weekends).

The fifteen tracks on this disc were all "baked by Hans Zimmer" (as it says on the cover). Inside, you discover he composed them all except "The Simpsons Theme" which was composed by Danny Elfman, but is given an amazing orchestral rendition. Most of the disc has tracks with funny titles that actually sound like what they're describing (even though I have no real idea what they are describing, but I can make assumptions about a track entitled "Release The Hounds" and the music fits the description). The "funniest" track on the CD has got to be "Spider Pig". If you've seen recent commercials for the film, you'll know what this might be, but it actually turns out to be something even bigger and better and funnier (at least musically).

Listening to the CD Soundtrack yesterday did what watching Sunday's block of episodes did, get me even more excited for a film I can't wait to see.

Friday can't get here fast enough.

Be seeing you.