Patrick McGoohan and Ricardo Montalban died the same day. Was the PRISONER set on FANTASY ISLAND?McGoohan had an unbelievable career considering he turned down the roles of James Bond, the SAINT, Gandalf in THE LORD OF THE RINGS, and Dumbledore in the Harry Potter films.
THE PRISONER was one of the greatest TV series ever. AMC has a remake premiering later this year. But they update it. Instead of McGoohan quitting a spy agency, this version has Matt Weiner quitting MAD MEN and he finds himself stuck on this island until he agrees to return.
Now that the election is over why are we still hearing what Sarah Palin has to say
? You lost. Shut up. Go away.Is this a current picture of Steven Tyler or a future picture of Jennifer Love Hewitt?
Less than a month before pitchers and catchers report.
AMERICAN IDOL’s debut was down 10%. Paula, time to do something really wacky in public again. Earn your keep.
CBS held up against IDOL on Tuesday but the CW got absolutely trounced. BEVERLY HILLS 90210 is the number of total viewers it has.
Jim Nantz is underrated as a football announcer.
Visiting teams have won 5 of the 8 NFL playoff games so far. I like the Ravens and the Eagles this Sunday and both are on the road.
FCC Chairman, Kevin Martin has resigned. Please disappear and take Sarah Palin with you.
No one watched Bush's farewell speech. Even Dick Cheney who was caught on camera nodding off. I'm only sorry Bush's speech wasn't up against AMERICAN IDOL and carried only on the CW.
Someone had a great comment on Mickey Rourke’s performance in THE WRESTLER. “He got up, didn’t shampoo, went to the set, and played Mickey Rourke all day.”
Boy George was sentenced to fifteen months in prison. The guys from Cellblock C requested he wear his make up.
30 ROCK and THE OFFICE got renewed. Whew! That was a close one.
I keep waiting for those PROJECT GREENLIGHT movies to be released.
Best of luck to friend-of-the-blog, Diablo Cody's new SHOWTIME show, UNITED STATES OF TARA. I don't get SHOWTIME. Someone will have to tell me how it is.
Best of luck to friend-of-the-blog, Diablo Cody's new SHOWTIME show, UNITED STATES OF TARA. I don't get SHOWTIME. Someone will have to tell me how it is.
ReplyDeleteIf you perchance have DirecTV, channel 101 is running the pilot.
WV: careha - Said by someone who doesn't give a crap.
No further comment on anything Ken said. I just liked the word verification that just came up:
ReplyDeletesnese - Ricky Ricardo with a cold.
Lionsgate just locked up the Weiner for two more years.
ReplyDeleteTV Guide stopped logging the CW a couple of weeks ago -- possibly because they figure nobody's watching it anyway.
ReplyDeleteWV: "Mulos" -- why Juan Valdez isn't home yet (weak, I know...)
What a terrible thing to say about Jennifer Love Hewitt. She'd have to spend a year scrapping her face with sandpaper to look like that.
ReplyDeleteWell that closed a lot of Columbo's cases: Columbo arrested Ricardo Montalban for murder once, and McGoohan 4 times. (McGoohan was a slow learner. He kept thinking he could outwit Columbo.)
STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KAHN, with Montalban and Shater, was truely a world class duel of the over-actors.
Montalban (Whispering with extreme intensity: "I've done mooooore than keeell you; I've huuuuuurrrrrt you. And I want to go on huuuuurrrrrting you."
Shatner (Screaming as loudly as humanly possible): KAAAAAAAAAAHNNNNNNNNN!!!!!
Kill me, just don't hurt me.
Other roles McGoohan turned down: Stanley Kowalski, Bart Simpson, Scarlett O'Hara.
Sarah Palin doesn't know the election is over. On TV, it's just a media filter. As for newspapers, well, she doesn't remember which papers shoe doesn't read anyway.
There's a "Nance" announcing football? Wow! How cool that they're finally reachhing out to the gay viewer. (And I do mean "The" gay viewer. There's only one gay guy who watches football.)
Bush's farewell address had more fantasy than 4 seasons of LOST.
Thank God THE WRESTLER isn't in Smello-Vision.
Boy George's big mistake was allowing people who had worked with him on his musical TABOO onto his jury. The judge had to admonish them that they weren't allowed to hang him.
Cheers darlings.
Jennifer Love Hewitt. Too funny.
ReplyDeleteWV: logiali - when Calista Flockhart pigs out (as if!).
2d WV: Liger - capital of Ligeria.
STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KAHN
ReplyDeleteIn a way, I'm sorry I didn't see this happen; Madeleine Kahn might have made a fascinating Trek villain -- especially when angry. As a comic episode/movie, this would've been right up there with "The Trouble With Tribbles," featuring the great William Schallert.
WV: "smsce" -- What comes out of your mouth when you try to sing Gershwin's ''S Wonderful" after a bout of slam dancing. (Or a six-pack of cheap beer.)
The word verification has to stop being so damn clever every time I check out the comments:
ReplyDeleteunair - The environment of Los Angeles.
My apologies. Back to the regularly scheduled Levine genuflection. :)
Locked up the Weiner sounds like some sort of euphemism.
ReplyDeletePS My WVW is "aeroth" which is what you call the ex-Van Halen frontman's when he moonlights as a flight attendant.
The one relevant thing from your post that is worth repeating:
ReplyDeleteLess than a month before pitchers and catchers report.
Thanks, Ken, for shoving everything else into the background with this wonderful news.
Wow, Ken.
ReplyDeleteShowtime is worth adding just to get "Dexter."
As a writer, and one who appreciates good writing, you would love "Dexter."
Besides, what's not to like in a show where a serial killer is the hero?
THE PRISONER was one of the greatest TV series ever.
ReplyDeleteThank. You. I'm so glad to hear you say that. "Danger Man" was a great series as well.
I was pretty ticked off at all the attention given to Ricardo Montalban over Patrick McGoohan.
I have a neighbor who is always on the lookout for McGoohan's movie "The Scarecrow." I hope Disney re-releases it.
WV: datiope - online dating service for antelopes.
That's Steven Tyler? I thought it was the last picture of Norman Bates' mother before she died.
ReplyDeleteWV: bakep -- What Eliza Doolittle said to the approaching truck at the loading dock
Just a clarification: Jim Nance was a fullback for the old Boston Patriots back in the 60's. Jim Nantz is the sports announcer.
ReplyDeleteIs this a current picture of Steven Tyler or a future picture of Jennifer Love Hewitt?
ReplyDeleteWhat do you mean, future?
No one watched Bush's farewell speech. Even Dick Cheney who was caught on camera nodding off. I'm only sorry Bush's speech wasn't up against AMERICAN IDOL and carried only on the CW.
Ah, cut the man some slack. Poor thing, he has had no luck even with that sad g'bye gig, which ran against "The Miracle on the Hudson" spectacle in the news. Bush who??
Last but not least, Tallulah M. -- LOL!
WV: glibousi - the Kazakh knock-off of The Big Lebowski
ReplyDeleteDo you like sex, Mr Glibousi?
WahwahWEEwah!
If you want Mrs. Palin to shut up, tell your friends in the news to stop covering her. While you're at it, tell them Mr. Gore and Mr. Carter also lost, a long time ago.
ReplyDeleteWV: rutymogi--plural of rutymogus
DEXTER is one of my favorite shows. I have a friend tivo it for me. Seen every episode. Wasn't Jimmy Smits great this year?
ReplyDeleteFrom Jan:
ReplyDeleteCorinne--Disney released the DVD of The Scarecrow in November of last year under the title "Dr. Syn: The Adventures of the Scarecrow." I had been hearing they were going to release it for over a year, so I kept checking on Amazon, and I snagged a copy for myself and for my son's family. I just checked again today for you, and it looks like it's off the market, but they do have it available from other sellers at a considerable markup. (I knew I should have ordered several copies just to sell--that's why I'll never be rich.) Your neighbor might try looking from time to time to see if they're just out right now, or he/she could pay the extra. It has both the orginal 3 part TV show and the movie they made out of putting the episodes together. Good luck.
A few thoughts from off the top of my own scrap heap:
ReplyDeleteWonder if Fox is planning on pre-empting Tuesday's AMERICAN IDOL for the Obama inauguration?... Damn Liberal Democrats -- always spoiling our fun!...
I also have heard the rumor that on Tuesday the Fox News Channel, as an alternative to covering the inauguration, will instead be re-playing a tape of Ronald Reagan's funeral, to mark the end of democracy in our country as they want it...
For pet lovers to note: Only three more days until the First Dog leaves the White House -- along with Laura and Barney the Scottish Terrier...
W's radio address to the American people this morning was lifted directly from his farewell speech on Thursday night... Guess he figured no one was watching either...
Stephen Tyler's face looks like Jennifer Love Hewitt's thighs....
And finally, as one who, like millions of other Americans, has become a victim of George W.'s economic policies (or lack therof) and was "downsized" this past month, join with each of them in saying that I'm certainly not looking forward to becoming an "American idle"...
I searched the shelves for the Dr. Syn/Scarecrow of Romney Marsh DVD on Black Friday for a Christmas gift for myself, but couldn't find it. Upon McGoohan's death, someone told me that the 2-disc set was a limited edition that had already sold out. As Jan says, you can get it on amazon.com, but it'll set you back 60 or 70 bucks. I guess I understand that a 45-year-old, rarely shown British Disney effort has a comparatively limited commercial value for the company, but sheesh.
ReplyDeleteI see the Nance/Nantz correction has been implemented. That KL never lets any grass grow under his feet. But Ed, we can understand the confusion, since Nance, the Pats’ fullback, may have used performance-enhantzing drugs. Of course, at the time, the drug of choice may have been Tylenol. To be fair, both men are considered comedic geniuses in Frantz.
ReplyDeleteTallulah, you’ve never had suspicions about all those guys who go out for center? OK, what about back-up center? Wide receiver, but expecting an entirely different experience? Conversely, tight end? Are we running a pattern here? (Seriously, our son Ty, who is way too into fantasy football, has long opined that Jim Nantz is the best sportscaster on TV, and I’ve come to agree.)
Has SNL ever had a sketch with three cast members portraying William Shatner, Christopher Walken, and David Caruso – or is this just wishful thinking? And, again, if you think the gay lifestyle doesn’t permeate professional sports, why would an announcer of the quality of Jim Nance ever opt for somebody like Billy Packer as a “partner?” Just asking – and btw, also just taking this as far as I can go with it.
I've only seen one of the Columbos with Patrick McGoohan, where he played a campaign manager. McGoohan didn't write this, but I love how he replies when Columbo accuses him of murder:
ReplyDelete"That's an extraordinary thing you just told me!"
alast: Daffy Duck expressing regret
US of Tara pilot is also available via Netflix streaming, and on the Showtime website. They want to make sure that everyone gets a free sample.
ReplyDeleteVerification: nesserr - the common mistake of thinking you saw a creature in the loch.
The interesting things about TWOK are that while the Shat and Ricardo chew up half the Paramount lot - is that they never meet! Its all done on view screens or through communicators! Plus, as overblown their emoting in the movie is, in the original Trek episode, Space Seed, both turn in fine, almost understated performances.
ReplyDeleteIt is so easy to forget that, in the early days if his career, Shatner was an very, very good dramatic actor, who could also occasonally delve into light comedy. The best TV Treks (most of the first season, and some of the second) show this range very nicely, thank you....
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete"LouOCNY said...
ReplyDeleteThe interesting things about TWOK are that while the Shat and Ricardo chew up half the Paramount lot - is that they never meet!"
True. No sound stage was large enough to contain both men, their egos, and their acting styles. Basically, Montalban's Khan views himself as Ahab (He quotes MOBY DICK endlessly) and sees Shatner's Kirk as his Great White Whale, which means the movie was made two decades too soon.
At least we were spared seeing their stunt doubles engage in a fist fight. (Watching Shatner's stunt double climb El Capitan under a Shatner-thatched-wig is one of the comic highlights of the hideous STAR TREK V, the one Shatener misdirected himself.)
Also, in STAR TREK II: THE GRAPES OF KHAN, Montalban wears an outfit with a V-shape neckline cut so low that these days, J-Lo would wear it to The Oscars. Admitedly, he had the cleavage for it.
Cheers.
Well! WV: emash. Ken's famous series online.
Nobody told the UK about Ricardo Montalban - shame, funny guy, funny wig. And that's the first Boy George joke I've seen; not bad, Ken. He's Georgie Girl now.
ReplyDelete"Tom Quigley said...
ReplyDeleteI also have heard the rumor that on Tuesday the Fox News Channel, as an alternative to covering the inauguration, will instead be re-playing a tape of Ronald Reagan's funeral"
How delightful! I loved seeing Ronnie buried, although I was sorry they waited until he died to do it. The Reagan and Nixon funerals were some of the greatest "Feel good" TV viewing of all time. They say that by the time he died, Reagan had forgotten he was ever president. If only the rest of us could be so lucky. Anyway, it's nice to know I'll have some alternative viewing to switch over to during Rick Warren's Satanic Incantation during The Presidential Inebriation.
But really, how silly of you to think that Fox would pre-empt AMERICAN IDOL for something as trivial as a mere Presidential Inebriation, particularly since the political ceremony takes place some 8 hours earlier. (11 hours earlier for me on the West Coast.) It's not a prime-time event, and a glance at Tuesday's listings shows you that AMERICAN IDOL will run in its normal time-slot. But woe to daytime soap opera fans; for they shall suffer pre-emption. On the other hand, Oprah fans will basically have a six-hour super Oprah episode.
"A. Buck Short said...
Tallulah, you’ve never had suspicions about all those guys who go out for center? OK, what about back-up center? Wide receiver, but expecting an entirely different experience? Conversely, tight end? Are we running a pattern here?"
What the hell are you blathering about, A. Buck? Has this something to do with football? You must bear in mind that I have never subjected myself to watching the brutal bloodsport.
In any event, all I said was that no gay men watch it, not that no gay men play it. Given the amount of guys-slamming-into-guys it involves, I've always assumed that ALL football players were gay, and that only David Kopay and Esera Tuaolo had the footballs to be honest about it.
It's not as if the men wore form-fitting outfits, or better still, worked half-naked, like boxers, gymnasts and divers. With those shoulder pads the FB boys wear, only berserk Joan Crawford fans are likely to find it sexy.
"Kirk Jusko said...
I've only seen one of the Columbos with Patrick McGoohan, where he played a campaign manager."
Well let's see, there's the one where he runs a boy's military academy, one where he's a CIA operative, and one where he's a "Mortician-to-the-stars" who has had the gall to kill Rue McClanahan!
I took a glance at Netfllx, to see if you could rent the Disney SCARECROW OF ROMNEY MARSH DVDs, which these days you can only buy "New & Used" on Amazon for around $70, but they didn't have it available either. Frankly, I prefer the less-kiddie-oriented Hammer film treatment of the story, titled NIGHT CREATURES, and starring my beloved Peter Cushing as Doctor Syn, aka The Scarecrow, and also featuring a young Oliver Reed, and actually made the SAME YEAR as the Patrick McGoohan Disney version for children. And the Peter Cushing version is easily, and cheaply available on DVD.
Blogwad, he was ALWAYS Georgie Girl.
Cheers darlings.
WV: derry. Something that, if it gets some air, would atract Boy George.
I went to a show last weekend and in the crowd I heard two people talking about how they were writing screenplays hoping that the Project: Greenlight would pick them. Unfortunately, they were not being ironic.
ReplyDeleteWV: deskets - Ikea singing group.
what do you mean you don't get Showtime? That's where The L Word plays, isn't it? (I don't get it either, thank god for bittorrent).
ReplyDeletenew season tomorrow!
derful news - American Idle down 10 percent and "24" off 30 percent. Proof that electing a smart guy to be President will indeed create a "zeitgeist" where public stupidity is tolerated less and less.
ReplyDeleteYou one-handed torture-porn afficianados are definitely not holding up your end - knowwhutImean, nudgenudge, winkwink, heh-heh...
Can Obama kill "reality" TV? One can only hope.
Having suffered through the inanity of the vastly overrated "Juno," I will definitely be taking a pas on "United States of Tara."
ReplyDeleteI agree. Nantz is terrific. But the team of Aikman/Buck really chaps my ass. The worst by far was Bryant Gumball. The handful of times he joined Collingsworth in the booth for those Thursday NFL network games were high comedy. At one point he referred to a cutback as "gorgeous". And always gesturing with the spectacles like he was Wittgenstein dissecting the games significance for us.
ReplyDelete"Feast", the latest Project Greenlight film, is on DVD. Watching them make it was far more entertaining than watching the finished product.
ReplyDeleteWV: ureck-rental car company that only rents total pieces of hell like the $7-$300 cars you see everyone avoid on the freeway.
TCinLA said...
ReplyDeleteHaving suffered through the inanity of the vastly overrated "Juno," I will definitely be taking a pas on "United States of Tara."
Agree. "Juno" was insufferable in its cutesy self-importance. A dreadful movie. Don't expect "UST" to be much different.
Hey, thanks everyone for all the tips & info regarding The Scarecrow. I usually hear about Disney re-releasing stuff but clearly missed this.
ReplyDeleteC'est la vie.
WV: watengli - the Italian version of the watusi.
"Admitedly, he had the cleavage for it."
ReplyDeleteI hate to break it to you, Tallulah, it wasn't really his cleavage.
Is nothing real these days?
Ken,
ReplyDeleteCardinals all the way!
"rms said...
ReplyDelete'Admitedly, he had the cleavage for it.'
I hate to break it to you, Tallulah, it wasn't really his cleavage.
"Is nothing real these days?"
The what WAS it? Borrowed boobies?
"Is nothing real these days?"
Is 1982 "these days"?
Cheers.
United States of Tara was excellent... but then, I loved Juno (especially the soundtrack).
ReplyDelete