magicdog

Caught two more episodes of "The Millionaire" this week, which give me mixed feelings. Given it was during the first season, perhaps the writers were getting their footing, but I think the show should have been an hour long - as some things remained unresolved and no time was left to get a proper end. In, "The Joe Seaton Story", the titular winner of the million never even knew he'd won! At the beginning, we learn his wife is in the hospital after miscarrying their son. He needs money for her hospitalization and asks for a raise. He loses his [low paying] job because his dick boss chides him for not having money set aside for emergencies. He loses it and tells his ex boss off. Then he advertises in the newspapers offering to do anything (as long as it's moral and legal) for $1,000.00 (which he needed to pay his wife's medical bills). He gets a call from a shady fellow named Peter Fullerton and his girlfriend who ask him to switch identities for a few days because he was being sought after by a former cellmate and he just wanted to make it seem like he met a man who had the same name. He agrees. In between we see how devoted he is to his wife's needs while he visits her but never tells her what's happened with his job. Later, Michael Anthony comes with the million dollar check and Fullerton accepts it (apparently Michael Anthony never thought to check for I.D.) and he and girlfriend start thinking they can escape to anywhere! Then Fullerton is worried that the guy impersonating him will get a clue so he puts a bomb under the bed. They worry his wife will find out too so Fullerton scales to her hospital room on the 7th floor and tries to silence her, she scares him off with screams, and he eventually falls to his death. The girlfriend, as far as I recall, is just fine. We see the loving couple embrace (and he is able to pay her bill with the 1K Fullerton paid him earlier) but we never officially know if Seaton ever knew about the million or recovered it!! I think that's a cheat in my book!! I hate to think the girlfriend got it all!! Then there's The Ralph McKnight Story! This one annoys for several reasons! First, there's a laugh track attached and it seems very out of place - like it were a lost episode of a different sitcom. Second, the story is a guy who was wronged by several people back in his army days and he finally has a way to get even. He uses some of the money to find them and give them what they deserve! One was a Sgt who purposely told him he didn't like him and actually hated him! He would give him the worst jobs he could find. One was a guy who stole his girlfriend at the time. Another was a guy who did mean things to him and would say that he LIKED him! The first guy he found working as an instructor at a children's military academy - lying to a bunch of 8 year old boys about being in Guadalcanal (he never left the army base in TX). McKnight is about to blow the lid off the lie in front of the kids but decides to continue the ruse due to being a nice guy. The second guy ended up marrying the girl he stole from him and they own and run a diner together. Nothing of importance seemed to happen to them. The third guy is working in a flower shop with his wife who henpecks him. McKnight buys the place and gives the ownership to the wife. In the end, he decides to buy a farm (a former farmer boy himself) and decides to romance the female detective who helped tracked down these people he held grudges against. That's about it. I know the show probably wanted to show McKnight as a good guy and that the jerks from his past are suffering their own personal hells, but I didn't think it was enough IMO! If the show has been longer, it could have been more like "Count of Monte Cristo" in destroying these miserable people.

It's definitely not a coincidence. It was alleged that Paramount ripped off the show that became B5. The idea was pitched to them, and they wanted a show to parallel ST:TNG. There were too many similarities to ignore.

Quoting the best line in the pilot: Louisa [Ellen Travolta] : "Rico thinks of himself as the head of the family. The rest of us DON'T!" Seriously, I'm more likely to remember him from the Police Academy films too! His look after his eyebrows are burned off is hilarious!! He was a decent antagonist in those films.

Funny! At the time the movie was in theaters, a local morning radio show was chatting about the film and the tragedy of the sinking. Then a listener called in annoyed how they spoiled the ending!!!

You're correct. Contrary to what some films or TV shows may suggest, literacy in those days was near 100%. The majority didn't need to be read to unless they were blind. Topic? Today being the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, some movies related to the event are turning up. I caught "Flight 93" (2006) this morning and it's still too heartbreaking knowing what happened to them.

"This is the coolest dress I could find!!" Had to love that she still didn't think of herself as being a fashion plate, despite truly looking lovely in that gown!

I took French in Middle and HS, so we used to read French publications talking about French celebrities. Belmondo and Catherine Deneuve were two of the best known French celebrities at the time. I remember the article we were reading was about his son Paul, and his racing career. It was that class that helped me get to know his film work a little. RIP Monsieur Belmondo.

An odd one, but I caught "Snow White & The Three Stooges" (1961) this morning! OK, not everyone is a Stooges fan, but even if you're not, the movie is still quite likeable and family friendly. The Stooge antics are quite rare here (they being in the twilight of their career) so you don't see a lot of eye pokes and slapping. You do see them emote quite a bit and they're quite effective at it - Moe in particular! Of course former Olympic skating champion Carol Heiss as Snow White is lovely and despite never having acted before, does a good enough job here, while Prince Charming (Edson Stroll) is hunk-a-licious!

Are you in college or planning to go [back]? Or perhaps considered it? Or perhaps it what college might represent to you (easier times when you were younger and had less responsibility)?

This is more for those in Southern NV news fans: long time news anchor Gary Waddell died this past Thursday at age 77.   Sure he worked for the competition, but long before I got into the business, I used to watch Waddell who was the classic stoic (but with a bit more flexibility) anchor who served the Southern NV community for over 30 years. He will be very much missed.

He'll always be that guy who hated MTM's spunk: I was impressed at the work he's done over the years! Besides Lou Grant (not just on MTM but his own series spinoff!) but I'll also remember him for his gender bending turn as Granny Goodness in Justice League Unlimited! I guess that means the character of Sid will have died in Cobra Kai. I don't know if he'll appear in Season 4 (which will likely air this fall - January at the latest) but it will definitely allow for a new wrinkle in that show's dynamic.

Had a good giggle at the office. Whenever we go on our breaks we have to notify everyone via email. Typically, We'll say something like, "Going on break [name of co-worker] will be on duty". Sometimes I like to vary things up, si I decided to type, "Gone fishin'! [co-worker] is on duty." Then I receive a response: [Magicdog] be all: <iframe src="https://giphy.com/embed/tIk1NLkHzKYBboNhnO" width="480" height="270" frameBorder="0" class="giphy-embed" allowFullScreen></iframe><p><a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/natgeochannel-wicked-tuna-tIk1NLkHzKYBboNhnO">via GIPHY</a></p> I enjoyed that!

I was watching a vintage TV series called, "The Millionaire" (1955-1960). It currently runs on Decades channel. It's interesting anthology series about what people would do if they received a million dollars. Back then, it was HARD to spend a million dollars, so these were people who were literally set for life if they did things right. For the most part the series was consistent with interesting stories, but sometimes there were clinkers. I just caught an episode called, "The Emily Short Story". Emily, a typist, is the lucky recipient, so she quits her job and decides to fulfill her dream of traveling to Paris. While flying there, she meets a handsome stranger whom she tries to converse with. The guy is a bit aloof, but tried to be polite. He tells her he plans on staying at a rooming house called the "Demi Ritz" (like demitasse coffee - half the rate, half the hot water...). She decides to follow him and stays where he is. Eventually we find out he's a smuggler (diamonds to be exact) and even he warns her to stay away, that despite their mutual attraction to one another, he doesn't want her in trouble or to have to deal with the hazards of a smuggler's life. Eventually, they part and as he walks away into night, she declares she love him and someday they'd be together (or something like that). This annoyed me! These two barely knew each other for 2 days! He was honest in that he didn't feel he was the guy for her or to involve her in his lifestyle. She, despite having a ton of money and plenty of ways to meet eligible guys, insists on following this guy and is fascinated with the intrigue! Girl, the man told you what he is! Listen to him!

I'd like to see Jay Garrick again! Then again, Flash 1990 has been a fave of mine!

Detective Paul Guardino from the Barney Miller episode, "Hair" (1975). Played by Michael Lembeck, he was a transfer from Narcotics and was set to work at the one-two with the rest of Barney's squad, which of course annoyed him greatly as he preferred to work alone. He is of course dressed like the kind of people he would typically bust: long hair, beard, hat and oversized jacket. Barney tells him he'll need to fit in with the rest of the group and shave and dress appropriately. When we next see him, he looks, well, adorable! One of the jokes was of course was that Guardino had a baby face and nobody would take him seriously when making an arrest. Barney of course denies that. Guardino pulls his gun and yells, "Freeze! Police!!" only for Yemana to laugh at him! Eventually, he and Chano (Gregory Sierra) go out on a call and are nearly killed by an abusive husband with a gun. When we next see them, both are in the hospital, as Chano tells Barney what happened. He said Guardino saved his life by pushing him down the stairs (breaking his arm) and taking a bullet. Eventually, Guardino confesses to Barney he was trying to run when he saw the shooter and happened to push Chano out of the way. Eventually, he asks Barney to reassigned him back to Narcotics. We never see the character again. I think this could have been a missed opportunity. First, the baby face jokes (heaven knows there are real life cops who have the same issue of initial credibility), then there's the task of Guardino having to learn to work with the other detectives since he was used to working alone. The character was also a Vietnam vet like Wojo and eventually he would have found something in common with each of the guys. I also hated that it was revealed that Guardino ran, and his saving Chano was more of an accident of circumstance than true bravery. This is a guy who dealt with violence in Vietnam after all, and while not every vet is eager to see gun violence in a lifetime, I don't think he would have turned tail like he did here. Plus we could have had visits from his real life sister, Helaine Lembeck (best know as "Judy Borden" from "Welcome Back Kotter") and father Harvey Lembeck (he played "Eric Von Zipper" the leader of the biker gang from the 60s Beach Party films).

My parents were children of the '50s so they loved the music from that era and raised me with it as well. When the Everlys had their reunion concert at Albert Hall in 1983, it was broadcast on HBO and Dad and I watched with great enjoyment. I couldn't wait to get their first album together after that, "EB '84" which had some great songs (including "On The Wings of a Nightingale" written by Paul McCartney). They also came to play live at the Hard Rock in Vegas so Dad and I definitely couldn't miss them! Mom and Dad were too poor to go to concerts when they were young, and I thought it was a great bonding moment for us. "Wake Up Little Susie". I used to use that song to wake up my little sister for school (to this day she STILL doesn't do mornings!).

The funny part is when questioned about that, Dylan claimed, "What was THAT all about?". Either he was in a drug induced haze when he put Hall down or he WAS trying to stir up something.

Tom T. Hall, songwriter who was probably best known for writing "Harper Valley P.T.A." passed away yesterday - age 85.

True. Are you in a right to work state and/or a member of a protected class? If you do there may be legal options.

Vietnam War correspondent Joe Galloway dead at 79. He also wrote the book which inspired the film, "We Were Soldiers" (2002) https://www.latimes.com/obituaries/story/2021-08-18/joe-galloway-vietnam-war-correspondent-we-were-soldiers-dies https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/joseph-galloway-dead/2021/08/18/9c5f647a-feac-11eb-a664-4f6de3e17ff0_story.html

Ditto. Jenny could have waited until morning and knocked on the door to try to obtain the lantern. Breaking and entering in the middle of the night just makes you look bad. Maybe the damage was based on age and depth of evil. Rebecca was a child who was being a bit bratty and stole a toy (at the behest of Eclipso) but that's different than attempted murder by an adult who has much more soil on the soul. Interesting that stepmom was kidnapped and forced to mother Cindy. I'm a little hung up on Jenny and the photo. The actress is obviously ethnic Asian, yet the photo of [supposedly} her and her brother show two white children together. IIRC, she and Todd were fraternal twins. Did they forget to change photos to show this? Or did they intend to have a white actress for the part and forgot? Been a while, but does he work at the garage for Pat? If so, that could be it. Yes and no. It's an alternate Earth (established during the Crisis episodes) but Alan Scott always had two children. This! You would think they'd start preparations 6 months before Jenny's 18th birthday so there would be a plan for her to leave and how to take care of herself. The opening scene was a recipe for homeless youth 101!

Nice and very spooky flashback! I was bugged that the bikes used were banana seats! Call me a purist but those bikes didn't exist in the early to mid 50s. You would have seen something like this: https://www.ebay.com/itm/384330297855?hash=item597bdef1ff:g:n58AAOSw85JhC0-E The girl was obviously Dr. Midnite's daughter. Her death is what probably lead him to crime fighting and joining the JSA. I found the contrast between how Yolanda and Rick are dealing with the fallout of the event of the finale interesting. Rick wanted Grundy dead in the worst way, yet now he seems to be trying to make peace with him by leaving food for him. Yolanda rightfully is feeling guilty over killing Brainwave. Yes, he had to go, but still, killing someone isn't something one just sloughs off the soul. I thought it VERY interesting that Mike of all people was one of those being considered for the new ISA. Why? How? The other kids would make sense as they are obviously second generation. Part of me hopes that Cameron will eventually escape his father's shadow. I don't mind if the writers change some things from the comics - keep things fresh. I liked Zeek! I hope he sticks around and adds more cool stuff to S.T.R.I.P.E. . What's up with Starman/Sylvester? Is it really him? I thought he'd died a decade ago? Why come back into the picture now? and interviewing Pat's ex? Hmmm. I thought same, but I figured, where's the fun in expecting reality? My thought were about Cindy/Shiv sneaking back into ISA HQ via school property and no surveillance or locked doors. If Courtney had to go to summer school, why can't she go on vacation for two weeks? Or at least do some work via computer while out of town? That teacher Rick had to deal with was a piece of crap! Poor kid doesn't have any adults to rally to his defense so I can't blame him for telling her to shove it and fail him. She should have to be able to prove he cheated. She can't. I'm bummed for Beth. Bad enough "Chuck" was down, and when she gets him online, he doesn't remember her! Then her parents splitting up! What seemed odd was her mother's phone call. I know some parents are oblivious and full of themselves, but it seemed out of character for her to have been so callous and dismissive. In season 1, her parents wanted her to find friends and a purpose, but not alienate her from them.

He was also Sabrina's father Edward Spellman in the 90s version of the TV show, not to mention the voice of The Beast in Beauty & The Beast. He was a kind of teen heartthrob too back in the day. He also did this commercial with another future TV star:

It's been a bit of a week.... One of the reporters is out so there's less material to work with, so that means more stories from the web (because the money we spend on video from FOX and CNN isn't good enough!). I swear yesterday I pulled about 12 stories from the web for the last 2 hours of yesterday's show!! I know the computer does the majority of the work but I was plain exhausted! Even my edit partner was amazed at how much was pulled! Wednesday was also a day of requests from FOX for no less than three different packages! Usually, the "cool" stories are requested in the afternoons/early evenings and the other shift does the sending. Today was a kicker of a day, one reporter in the field who was reporting on the anniversary of Elvis' death (big celebration at the hotel where he had his residency ), he fed back video which was cut off halfway in! Producers were freaking out. I found a complete version further in, but reporter forgot to tell us that. Producers freak out again when news breaks of a supermarket front collapsing. They took some raw video in with an interview of a bystander but didn't have time to pick a good sot from the interview. They begged me to use my best judgement and pull something that sounded good for air. Mission accomplished and another broadcast day is saved by the overnight editors!!

They say I shouldn't use my home phone or regular contact cell number for business. They say to contact my provider to have another line added to my current cell. Sometimes I wonder if it wouldn't be better to get a burner first.