magicdog

I and the other editors get an email from our supervisor about using the same video over and over again for covid/vaccine stories. They wanted us to "do better". Excuse me, but have you considered telling the producers to take it easy on the "7 ways from Sunday covid stories"?? Everyday, we're reporting on Covid or the vaccine at least 2-3 times per hour. The video used is "file". Sometimes local, often it's from CNN or FOX. They tend to send the same old video. Even in recent packages!! We can only edit what we have access to! If you want different, then shoot it yourself! We are expected to in some cases to stretch the video to a full minute and that means sometimes having to loop the video (repeat previously viewed shots). Here's a thought management: DO BETTER!

This! I loved the first season but was seriously disappointed in subsequent ones. They had the ending, Sylar was too dangerous to live anyway. The character's race had been run. I really got annoyed at later seasons of The Pretender (and the two TV movies that followed). That show was like an onion, peeling back the layers and getting a bit more about the past of Jarrod, Miss Parker, et al, and it was fun getting to a conclusion. Then it wasn't. Suddenly "The Center" (the think tank that arranged for Jarrod's kidnapping and training to be a Pretender) is now created by documents written by Satan (!) and Miss Parker's ancestors helped build it (her father was the current head of the place but there seemed to be a hierarchy) and so many other questions were either never answered or contradicted. What happened to Jarrod's dad and the clone after they escaped? What about his mom and sister? Why was Miss Parker's mom suddenly alive and pregnant (!!) when she was supposed to be dead - and little Miss Parker SAW HER DIE? They peeled so much the onion vanished.

Agreed, but the episode gave no indication that she had legit reason for the trust issues. Not a bad ex, or Sargent had been a reformed ex-con, NOTHING! She distrusted him solely based on a news report and coincidence of the bad guy being in the area! TBH, it was like a bad sitcom joke. There was an episode of "I Love Lucy" in which she and Ethel are driving with a woman and due to a news report are dumped in the middle of nowhere because the passenger thought they were two convicts who escaped from a prison all because they matched the rough description of the cons. At least the woman was a stranger and had a reason to suspect Lucy & Ethel as bad guys! This happened to a guy who had been no stranger to his fiancee!

Back to The Millionaire: The Philip Sargent Story (Dec. 1955) Sargent is the titular millionaire. He received the money shortly before he is scheduled to marry his fiancee and go on their honeymoon. The rule for recipients is they are unable to tell anyone (other than their spouse) about the money or where it came from. He plans to tell her after the marriage. He gets his money and decides to buy the cabin they had been planning to honeymoon at (which is in the mountains) and takes about 40-50K in cash with him on the trip. He and his finacee get hitched at the justice of the peace as planned and head for the cabin. She discovers the loot in a suitcase and is suspicious. Later on the drive, they hear a radio report that there was a bank robbery and a man matching Sargent's description was seen in the area they're traveling in with 50K in stolen funds. She's convinced he stole it and tried to convince him to take it back. He naturally tried to explain the money wasn't stolen, it's legally theirs and he's explain everything when they got to the cabin. She refuses to believe him. They arrive at the cabin (it's early December and it's snowing) and prepare for their wedding night but the wife refuses and suggested getting an annulment since she can't see herself married to a thief. He tells her the truth as he's able to tell it, but she still refuses to believe him and tells him to sleep in the car! In the snow! Without heat! He goes and has to run the car to get warmth from the heater. She is nice and comfortable in the cabin. He starts to think maybe he should annul the marriage since she doesn't believe him and he never gave her reason to think he'd rob a bank. At some point, he has to come back into the cabin. They argue more, saying he deserves better than to be thrown out on his honeymoon for something he didn't do or that his own wife didn't trust him. Two state troopers show up and ask if they heard anything about the robbery, etc. Wife looks at the money bag resting on the fireplace and it looked like she was thinking if she should turn Sargent in to the cops or not. Eventually the radio announces the man they were looking for and the loot was found and everything is fine. Husband and wife reconcile, the end. NO! Perhaps it was the standards of the time, but this was the wrong ending! This couple presumably have been together at least a year if not longer. Usually, you'd know if they were up to dirty business. Granted, the story of how Sargent got the million is scant (none of the recipients knows who gave them the money or why, only that they can't tell anyone but their spouse about it) and seems fantastic, but he deserved the benefit of the doubt. She was so eager to just annul their marriage rather than listen to him and it's not until the announcement Sargent was NOT the robber, that she finally believes him! If this episode were made today, I would have had them go their separate ways, because obviously there were trust issues on her part. She treated him like crap!! It wasn't until the real bad guy was caught before she finally thought he was telling the truth.

GAH!!! No! If they want to do a reboot, let it be similar to the original in that a 20 something model/aspiring actor is put into the body of a portly 40+ year old man. For good measure, have the 20 something guy single and a player, while the older man is [happily] married with a family. THAT would be a good adjustment to watch. Not watching a guy struggle to wear high heels.

I remember he got in a lot of trouble for that joke! One of the bigwigs at NBC was friends with OJ and I hear was responsible for forcing MacDonald out of the show. Ditto! I had hoped there would have been a "Heavenly Edition" of Jeopardy with Macdonald, Ferrell, and Hammond all recreating their roles one last time.

Nothing good will come of Courtney telling Cameron about what happened. He'll likely blame her and fully reject her. I wouldn't be surprised if he would run straight to join the new ISA after finding out. His grandparents will certainly see to that. I do hope they get together at some point and Cameron comes to realize his father and the ISA were no good. Interesting the ice powers are at least 3 generations long. Didn't know the grandparent had them.

I saw a local stage production! Great musical! I'm sure you'll love it.

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.