Simply Red burst onto the scene in 1985 with their debut CD, "Picture Book", which produced two hit singles, the dreamy "Holding Back the Years" and the politically charged "Money's Too Tight (to Mention)", which took a not-so-veiled poke at Reaganomics. Uploaded by---wait for it---simplyredvideo:
Monday, January 30, 2012
Sunday, January 29, 2012
On DVD: Superman-Doomsday (2007)
In 1993, DC Comics took a huge gamble by killing off Superman. Of course, it was only temporary, but the idea, as has been the case for similar storylines produced by Marvel since then, was to boost sales on a book that was no longer in the top 10. Remember, too, that this was during the speculator boom of the early 90's, when every Tom, Dick, & Harry felt compelled to buy multiple copies of certain "hot" books, thinking that they could turn over a tidy profit. In the long term, that profit has dissipated because in reality, the books were mass produced in the first place. A little more than a year later, Superman returned, good as new, but the experiment bore some other fruit for DC by introducing 4 new characters, two of whom would later be given their own books.
In 2007, DC & Warner Bros. decided to adapt the "Death of Superman" storyline, which introduced the monster known as Doomsday, into a direct-to-video feature film. The end product, "Superman-Doomsday", sorry to say, fails to live up to expectations. How did it fail? That is easily answered.
Doomsday, for starters, only appears in the first 20-odd minutes of the movie, as, presumably, he too was killed in the infamous battle with Superman (Adam Baldwin, most recently on Chuck). A scientific research team from LexCorp unearths the monster while on a top secret mission for LexCorp CEO Lex Luthor (James Marsters, ex-Buffy the Vampire Slayer), but the creature's idea of gratitude is to slaughter the entire team. Luthor is only interested in covering up his team's tracks, however, and has Mercy Graves, repackaged here as a mousy but loyal corporate assistant (Cree Summer), make arrangements. Graves, inexplicably, is slain by Luthor later in the film, something unexpected. Then again, this film was rated PG-13 for a reason.........
Superman is very involved with Lois Lane (Anne Heche), who at the start of the movie only suspects that Clark Kent and the Man of Steel are one and the same. Clark supposedly is headed to Afghanistan on assignment, but instead, Superman whisks Lois off to the Fortress of Solitude for a romantic getaway, attended to only by a lone robot (Tom Kenny). When Doomsday hits Metropolis, having already left behind a trail of death & destruction, Superman & Lois return home, and, well, you know the rest.
The funeral for the Last Son of Krypton is, as was the case in the comics, a very public memorial, but, unlike the comics, the Justice League is conspicuous by its absence, one of several mistakes made with this movie. When Lois spots Clark's adoptive mother, Martha Kent (Swoosie Kurtz), her suspicions are heightened, leading to an awkward meeting in Smallville. Mind you, this is all before the movie is half over! Past the halfway point, Lois takes it upon herself to rescue a busload of school children being held captive by the Toyman (John DiMaggio, Futurama) and a robot spider. Superman seems to appear out of nowhere after bursting from his grave to complete the rescue. However, not all is as it should be.
That's because Superman has been cloned by Luthor, but as Dr. Frankenstein lost control of his monster, so has Luthor lost control of his. The Superclone, after learning that Toyman slew a 4 year old girl, takes it upon himself to mete out a little vigilante justice to Toyman, taking him from police custody and throwing him to his death. Later, still trying to convince Lois he is the genuine article, he destroys his "brothers", when Lois & Jimmy Olsen (Adam Wylie) find the lab. Luthor is holding the real Superman, or at least he did, as the Man of Steel is spirited back to the Fortress for healing. Even though he's not 100%, Superman returns home for a final battle, garbed in a black costume, meant to absorb solar energy so he can get his strength back. Armed with a kryptonite gun he'd once confiscated from Luthor, Superman attempts to use it on the clone, but fails. Lois finds it, and connects, but it's not until Superman strikes the final blow before it takes effect.
The clone had turned on Luthor and tried to kill him, but Luthor survived, leaving open the prospect of a followup movie, but none has been discussed.
Aside from the glitches in translating the comics to the screen, Jimmy Olsen leaves the Daily Planet in favor of a sleazy tabloid, a decision I'm sure he'd regret later. Toyman's designs are radically different from how he actually appeared in the comics. In fact, the original Toyman, Winslow Schott, has never exactly been given the best treatment in cartoons to begin with. When she was introduced in 1996's Superman: The Animated Series, Mercy Graves was a leggy, redheaded chauffeur/bodyguard. She was transformed into an African American, plus-size character in the books when she was introduced into the core DC Universe a few years later, but here, she's a bespectacled blonde who is Luthor's right hand woman. Perhaps it was all summed up best by an average guy on the scene when Toyman held the school bus and passengers hostage. LAME!
The movie ends with Superman casually confiding in Lois in her apartment after spending the night there. Yes, it's implied they slept together, and not exactly like in "Superman 2", mind you. In the comics, by 1993, Lois was aware of Clark's dual identity, and the couple were married 3 years later, a union recently erased as part of the rebooting of the DCU. Maybe they're waiting for a more appropriate time to do that angle over again, and marry them off again, this time allowing it to stick. Like, their wedding was the reason they decided to marry off Popeye & Olive Oyl a year or three later, but that's another story.........
Rating: D.
Edit: 12/8/15: Here's a sample clip:
In 2007, DC & Warner Bros. decided to adapt the "Death of Superman" storyline, which introduced the monster known as Doomsday, into a direct-to-video feature film. The end product, "Superman-Doomsday", sorry to say, fails to live up to expectations. How did it fail? That is easily answered.
Doomsday, for starters, only appears in the first 20-odd minutes of the movie, as, presumably, he too was killed in the infamous battle with Superman (Adam Baldwin, most recently on Chuck). A scientific research team from LexCorp unearths the monster while on a top secret mission for LexCorp CEO Lex Luthor (James Marsters, ex-Buffy the Vampire Slayer), but the creature's idea of gratitude is to slaughter the entire team. Luthor is only interested in covering up his team's tracks, however, and has Mercy Graves, repackaged here as a mousy but loyal corporate assistant (Cree Summer), make arrangements. Graves, inexplicably, is slain by Luthor later in the film, something unexpected. Then again, this film was rated PG-13 for a reason.........
Superman is very involved with Lois Lane (Anne Heche), who at the start of the movie only suspects that Clark Kent and the Man of Steel are one and the same. Clark supposedly is headed to Afghanistan on assignment, but instead, Superman whisks Lois off to the Fortress of Solitude for a romantic getaway, attended to only by a lone robot (Tom Kenny). When Doomsday hits Metropolis, having already left behind a trail of death & destruction, Superman & Lois return home, and, well, you know the rest.
The funeral for the Last Son of Krypton is, as was the case in the comics, a very public memorial, but, unlike the comics, the Justice League is conspicuous by its absence, one of several mistakes made with this movie. When Lois spots Clark's adoptive mother, Martha Kent (Swoosie Kurtz), her suspicions are heightened, leading to an awkward meeting in Smallville. Mind you, this is all before the movie is half over! Past the halfway point, Lois takes it upon herself to rescue a busload of school children being held captive by the Toyman (John DiMaggio, Futurama) and a robot spider. Superman seems to appear out of nowhere after bursting from his grave to complete the rescue. However, not all is as it should be.
That's because Superman has been cloned by Luthor, but as Dr. Frankenstein lost control of his monster, so has Luthor lost control of his. The Superclone, after learning that Toyman slew a 4 year old girl, takes it upon himself to mete out a little vigilante justice to Toyman, taking him from police custody and throwing him to his death. Later, still trying to convince Lois he is the genuine article, he destroys his "brothers", when Lois & Jimmy Olsen (Adam Wylie) find the lab. Luthor is holding the real Superman, or at least he did, as the Man of Steel is spirited back to the Fortress for healing. Even though he's not 100%, Superman returns home for a final battle, garbed in a black costume, meant to absorb solar energy so he can get his strength back. Armed with a kryptonite gun he'd once confiscated from Luthor, Superman attempts to use it on the clone, but fails. Lois finds it, and connects, but it's not until Superman strikes the final blow before it takes effect.
The clone had turned on Luthor and tried to kill him, but Luthor survived, leaving open the prospect of a followup movie, but none has been discussed.
Aside from the glitches in translating the comics to the screen, Jimmy Olsen leaves the Daily Planet in favor of a sleazy tabloid, a decision I'm sure he'd regret later. Toyman's designs are radically different from how he actually appeared in the comics. In fact, the original Toyman, Winslow Schott, has never exactly been given the best treatment in cartoons to begin with. When she was introduced in 1996's Superman: The Animated Series, Mercy Graves was a leggy, redheaded chauffeur/bodyguard. She was transformed into an African American, plus-size character in the books when she was introduced into the core DC Universe a few years later, but here, she's a bespectacled blonde who is Luthor's right hand woman. Perhaps it was all summed up best by an average guy on the scene when Toyman held the school bus and passengers hostage. LAME!
The movie ends with Superman casually confiding in Lois in her apartment after spending the night there. Yes, it's implied they slept together, and not exactly like in "Superman 2", mind you. In the comics, by 1993, Lois was aware of Clark's dual identity, and the couple were married 3 years later, a union recently erased as part of the rebooting of the DCU. Maybe they're waiting for a more appropriate time to do that angle over again, and marry them off again, this time allowing it to stick. Like, their wedding was the reason they decided to marry off Popeye & Olive Oyl a year or three later, but that's another story.........
Rating: D.
Edit: 12/8/15: Here's a sample clip:
Friday, January 27, 2012
Death has been busy lately......
Ivan Shreve over at Thrilling Days of Yesteryear has a regular feature he calls, "The Passings Parade", in which he compiles recent obits in one ginormous posting. If he hasn't done so already, I believe he will have more comprehensive notes on the following:
Dick Tufeld (1926-2012) was never seen on camera, but his voice was known to generations of viewers. He was the voice behind the Robot on Lost In Space (Bob May wore the costume and got the credit), and also announced for a myriad of shows, including The Hollywood Palace, and, for the cartoon fans, Thundarr the Barbarian, Spider-Man & His Amazing Friends, Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show, & Goldie Gold & Action Jack. Tufeld passed away at 85 earlier this week.
Robert Hegyes (1961-2012) is better known as Juan Epstein, a Jewish-Puerto Rican "Sweathog" from his run on Welcome Back, Kotter during the mid-70's. Epstein's schtick was drafting phony excuse notes, purportedly from his mother. Some of Epstein's mannerisms were derived from Chico Marx, whom Hegyes had played in a theatre production before turning to TV. Post-Kotter, Hegyes tried his hand at drama and joined the cast of Cagney & Lacey. Below is a scene from Kotter in which Epstein decides to mimic the teacher:
Hegyes passed away yesterday at 60 after a heart attack.
Also, British actor Nicol Williamson made his final bow at 73 on Wednesday, but some of the newspapers didn't give him his just due. Williamson succumbed to cancer.
Rest in peace, gentlemen.
Dick Tufeld (1926-2012) was never seen on camera, but his voice was known to generations of viewers. He was the voice behind the Robot on Lost In Space (Bob May wore the costume and got the credit), and also announced for a myriad of shows, including The Hollywood Palace, and, for the cartoon fans, Thundarr the Barbarian, Spider-Man & His Amazing Friends, Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show, & Goldie Gold & Action Jack. Tufeld passed away at 85 earlier this week.
Robert Hegyes (1961-2012) is better known as Juan Epstein, a Jewish-Puerto Rican "Sweathog" from his run on Welcome Back, Kotter during the mid-70's. Epstein's schtick was drafting phony excuse notes, purportedly from his mother. Some of Epstein's mannerisms were derived from Chico Marx, whom Hegyes had played in a theatre production before turning to TV. Post-Kotter, Hegyes tried his hand at drama and joined the cast of Cagney & Lacey. Below is a scene from Kotter in which Epstein decides to mimic the teacher:
Hegyes passed away yesterday at 60 after a heart attack.
Also, British actor Nicol Williamson made his final bow at 73 on Wednesday, but some of the newspapers didn't give him his just due. Williamson succumbed to cancer.
Rest in peace, gentlemen.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Musical Interlude: Harden My Heart (1982)
Quarterflash wasn't really meant to be a one-hit wonder, but, as history shows us, that was exactly their fate, as the band couldn't match the success of their first top 40 hit, "Harden My Heart", in 1982. I believe I had read that lead vocalist-saxophonist Rindy Ross and her guitarist-husband, Marv, were also school teachers in the Portland, Oregon area around the time they formed the band. Judging from the fact that Rindy spends most of the video dressed in leotards & tights, running through a maze of doorways, I'd wager a guess she may have been a physical education teacher.
Uploaded by the band's VEVO channel.
Uploaded by the band's VEVO channel.
Weasels of the Week: Penn State ticket scalpers
Former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno was laid to rest on Wednesday, but, aside from the Westboro Wackjobs attempting to use the solemn occasion to extend their 15 minutes, there were other ghouls looking to make some profit for themselves, showing absolutely no respect to the iconic coach and the school.
According to a wire service article appearing in today's Albany Times-Union, some scalpers attempted to resell free tickets for the funeral on eBay. The auction site pulled the offers off their site because it's a violation of their policy to resell free tickets. Now, you have to ask yourself, who would have the lack of decency, respect, and/or common sense to pull something like this? This wasn't the same as scalping tickets for a school sporting event, be it basketball or football, but rather, a funeral. These nothing-happening idiots have not been identified, and it may just as well be that we'll never know, because if their names appear in the paper, they'd only suffer further embarassment for their idiotic, self-serving endeavor.
We've designated a couple of "John Doe"s as Weasels before, so this is nothing new, but we're giving these idiots Dunce Caps as well for leaving their brains behind when they made this fool's errand.
According to a wire service article appearing in today's Albany Times-Union, some scalpers attempted to resell free tickets for the funeral on eBay. The auction site pulled the offers off their site because it's a violation of their policy to resell free tickets. Now, you have to ask yourself, who would have the lack of decency, respect, and/or common sense to pull something like this? This wasn't the same as scalping tickets for a school sporting event, be it basketball or football, but rather, a funeral. These nothing-happening idiots have not been identified, and it may just as well be that we'll never know, because if their names appear in the paper, they'd only suffer further embarassment for their idiotic, self-serving endeavor.
We've designated a couple of "John Doe"s as Weasels before, so this is nothing new, but we're giving these idiots Dunce Caps as well for leaving their brains behind when they made this fool's errand.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Maybe next time, last call should be before kickoff.........
To paraphrase Tony Bennett's most famous hit, some San Francisco 49ers fans----and for that matter, Baltimore Ravens fans, too----might as well be singing, "I left my brains at home" when they went to Sunday's conference championship game.
In San Francisco, Kyle Williams, a kick returner finishing his 2nd season with the resurgent Niners, fumbled twice, the last of which ultimately cost San Francisco the game in overtime, enabling the New York Giants to reach the Super Bowl for the fifth time, all in the last 25 years. Hours earlier, in Foxborough, Ravens kicker Billy Cundiff missed two field goals in the 4th quarter, denying Baltimore a Super rematch of their own with either the Giants, whom they beat for their lone title 11 years ago, or San Francisco, which would've been a rematch of coaching brothers John & Jim Harbaugh. What was lost in Cundiff's misfortune was the fact that on the preceding play, the referees held their flags when New England should've been called for defensive holding. As it was, the Patriots, the NFL's "evil empire", will get a chance to avenge not only a November loss to the Giants, but also the defeat in Super Bowl 42, 4 years ago. I'll discuss that further another time.
What links Cundiff & Williams together is the fact that both have been singled out by irate fans in each team's home city for costing them a chance at another championship. News reports say that both players have been getting death threats. Now, pilgrims, that's just pushing things a wee bit too far.
The fans issuing the threats had to be overly inebriated to begin with, and one suspects that they wagered plenty of money, which would give them cause to be angry, but to single out one specific player just because he had a bad day at the wrong time is just plain wrong. In the era of social networking, you're going to get far more of these liquored up, know-nothing yahoos making these kinds of remarks. What these idiots fail to see is that, at the end of the day, it's just a game.
Oh, sure, I may have an axe to grind myself, seeing as how New England took advantage of the zebras' usual post-season lieniency when they could've been called for far more penalties than they have. In the playoffs, the officiating takes on two different tacks. One is the "playground mentality" where they'll just let the players play and will only call the most obvious and heinous fouls, which is why New England's Sterling Moore, a reject plucked off the practice squad of the Oakland Raiders, can count himself thankful he wasn't costing his team 5 yards. On the other hand, there's also the belief that the league and its media partners got the matchup they wanted, strictly for the purposes of maximizing television ratings. Patriots-Giants isn't exactly on the order of that other Boston vs. New York rivalry, simply because the two teams don't play each other every year. The way the network suits see it, it is Yankees-Red Sox flipped over, with the Patriots as the hated villains. That all having been said, you lay the blame for the Ravens' misfortune solely on the officials' showing blatant home-team-favoritism. New England has had just 3 penalties in 2 playoff games. What does that tell you?
The Giants weren't exactly getting favorable calls, and have been underdogs the last two weeks while beating the two best teams in the NFC. The tabloids are already in maximum hype mode, and that won't stop until the day of the game, February 5. For the most part, the playoffs have been exciting and dramatic, unless the Patriots are involved.
Bottom line: If you want someone to hate, don't single out someone on your own team. Read between the lines. If you felt your team got screwed (and that should be the way they see it in Denver & Baltimore), don't take it out on your team, go after the ones truly responsible. Oh, and, one more thing. You'd be well served to have a clear conscience when you're on Twitter.
In San Francisco, Kyle Williams, a kick returner finishing his 2nd season with the resurgent Niners, fumbled twice, the last of which ultimately cost San Francisco the game in overtime, enabling the New York Giants to reach the Super Bowl for the fifth time, all in the last 25 years. Hours earlier, in Foxborough, Ravens kicker Billy Cundiff missed two field goals in the 4th quarter, denying Baltimore a Super rematch of their own with either the Giants, whom they beat for their lone title 11 years ago, or San Francisco, which would've been a rematch of coaching brothers John & Jim Harbaugh. What was lost in Cundiff's misfortune was the fact that on the preceding play, the referees held their flags when New England should've been called for defensive holding. As it was, the Patriots, the NFL's "evil empire", will get a chance to avenge not only a November loss to the Giants, but also the defeat in Super Bowl 42, 4 years ago. I'll discuss that further another time.
What links Cundiff & Williams together is the fact that both have been singled out by irate fans in each team's home city for costing them a chance at another championship. News reports say that both players have been getting death threats. Now, pilgrims, that's just pushing things a wee bit too far.
The fans issuing the threats had to be overly inebriated to begin with, and one suspects that they wagered plenty of money, which would give them cause to be angry, but to single out one specific player just because he had a bad day at the wrong time is just plain wrong. In the era of social networking, you're going to get far more of these liquored up, know-nothing yahoos making these kinds of remarks. What these idiots fail to see is that, at the end of the day, it's just a game.
Oh, sure, I may have an axe to grind myself, seeing as how New England took advantage of the zebras' usual post-season lieniency when they could've been called for far more penalties than they have. In the playoffs, the officiating takes on two different tacks. One is the "playground mentality" where they'll just let the players play and will only call the most obvious and heinous fouls, which is why New England's Sterling Moore, a reject plucked off the practice squad of the Oakland Raiders, can count himself thankful he wasn't costing his team 5 yards. On the other hand, there's also the belief that the league and its media partners got the matchup they wanted, strictly for the purposes of maximizing television ratings. Patriots-Giants isn't exactly on the order of that other Boston vs. New York rivalry, simply because the two teams don't play each other every year. The way the network suits see it, it is Yankees-Red Sox flipped over, with the Patriots as the hated villains. That all having been said, you lay the blame for the Ravens' misfortune solely on the officials' showing blatant home-team-favoritism. New England has had just 3 penalties in 2 playoff games. What does that tell you?
The Giants weren't exactly getting favorable calls, and have been underdogs the last two weeks while beating the two best teams in the NFC. The tabloids are already in maximum hype mode, and that won't stop until the day of the game, February 5. For the most part, the playoffs have been exciting and dramatic, unless the Patriots are involved.
Bottom line: If you want someone to hate, don't single out someone on your own team. Read between the lines. If you felt your team got screwed (and that should be the way they see it in Denver & Baltimore), don't take it out on your team, go after the ones truly responsible. Oh, and, one more thing. You'd be well served to have a clear conscience when you're on Twitter.
Monday, January 23, 2012
Musical Interlude: Indian Reservation (1971)
Originally, they were Paul Revere & the Raiders, and were costumed in colonial uniforms when they scored hits like "Good Thing" in the 60's. By 1971, vocalist Mark Lindsay had released two solo albums and had a pair of hits of his own with "Silver Bird" & "Arizona", but rejoined the band, now known simply as, The Raiders, for one last run on the charts.
"Indian Reservation" was the band's final hit, an ode to the Cherokee nation. When it resurfaced on the country charts a few years later (not sure of the artist), all references to the Cherokees were removed, making the song more of a commentary on Native Americans of all tribes.
I happen to be 1/4 Native American myself, so "Reservation" resonates with me a little.
The performance track comes from Kenny Rogers & the First Edition's 1971 syndicated series, Rollin' On the River, with an introduction by Rogers himself.
"Indian Reservation" was the band's final hit, an ode to the Cherokee nation. When it resurfaced on the country charts a few years later (not sure of the artist), all references to the Cherokees were removed, making the song more of a commentary on Native Americans of all tribes.
I happen to be 1/4 Native American myself, so "Reservation" resonates with me a little.
The performance track comes from Kenny Rogers & the First Edition's 1971 syndicated series, Rollin' On the River, with an introduction by Rogers himself.
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