TV SUPPORTING CHARACTERS WHO DO MORE THAN SUPPORT

Want to spice up your show? Then find marvelous actors like these to help you. Nick Searcey on JUSTIFIED, Tony Hale on VEEP, John Slattery on MAD MEN, CarrielPreston on THE GOOD WIFE and Margo Martindale on JUSTIFIED and THE AMERICANS. And the greatest of them all: Jonathan Banks as Mike Ehrmantraut on BREAKING BAD. (And now on COMMUNITY).

Who are your favorite backup players?

Sunday Night poetry: W. H. Auden

Saturday Night Music: Beyonce

Games

The condo we are staying it is filled with seventies-eighties era games. Do people play games like this anymore or is it mostly on electronics? Kevin has a Star Wars version of TROUBLE but it's a pretty minimal update.

What was your favorite board game? I remember playing Yahtzee on a vacation once until I could never again tolerate the sound of those dice in a cup.

How About a Tortoise Race

Friday's Forgotten Books, Friday January 10, 2014

This is hardly a forgotten book but I was reminded of it a few days ago when I caught part of the movie on TCM. I have read it several times, seen the movie more than once, and even saw the play version in Stratford in Ontario. I am constantly amazed at just how complex a story it is. It deals with the power of a teacher to influence and what happens if that influence is corrupting.

The story begins as a group of new girls come under Jean Brodie's influence at a school in Edinburgh. She is in her "prime" she tells them and is intent on making this group her special girls. Certainly she exposes them to a lot of literary and historical influences that are admirable but she is also a fascist, a true one, who admires Franco in Spain. She also sets various other plots into motion. As the girls grow up, one sees the danger in her influence, on how she chooses girls that are somewhat alone in the world and those susceptible to her tutelage-much like a man seeking sex with young girls might do. (In fact, she sets one of them up with a male teacher). The girl informs the headmistress of one particularly heinous act and brings her down. She betrays her yes, but sometimes one must.

A great book by a great writer.

Sergio Angelini, SPYSHIP, Tom Keanes with Brian Haynes
Joe Barone, MURDER IN ANCIENT CHINA, Robert Van Gulik
Brian Busby, THE HAPPY HAIRDRESSER, Nicholas Loupos
Bill Crider, MIDNIGHT ROAD, Jada M. Davis
Scott Cupp, THE REPUBLIC OF THIEVES, Scott Lynch
Martin Edwards, A DAGGER IN FLEET STREET, R. C. Woodthorpe
Ray Garraty, THE FUGITIVE PIGEON, Donald E. Westlake
Ed Gorman, CORPUS CHRISTMAS, Margaret Maron
Jerry House, NIGHT KILLS, Ed Gorman
Randy Johnson, THE TRIALS OF O'BRIEN, Robert L. Fish
George Kelley, KARAMESIN, Gerald Kersch
Margot Kinberg, THE RELIGIOUS BODY, Catherine Aird
B.V. Lawson, MYSTERY OF THE BOULE CABINET, Burton Egbert Stevenson
Evan Lewis, "A Slug for Cleopatra" Richard Sale
Steve Lewis/Dan Stumpf, THE RASP, Philip MacDonald
Todd Mason, Walt Kelly: The Life And Art of the Creator of Pogo by Thomas Andrae and Carsten Laqua (Hermes Press 2012); The Art of Jaime Hernandez: The Secrets of Life and Death by Todd Hignite (Harry N. Abrams 2010)
J.F. Norris, THE MAN IN THE MOONLIGHT. Helen McCloy
James Reasoner, DOOM PLATOON, Richard Gallagher
Gerard Saylor, LEGS DIAMOND: GANGSTER, Patrick Downey
Ron Scheer, HOMBRE, Elmore Leonard
Kerrie Smith, THE THIRD GIRL, Agatha Christie
Kevin Tipple, BABY GRAPE AND HUSKEY, Thom Rogers

Friday's Forgotten Books, Friday, January 10, 2014

California Dreaming

The links will come up around 11-12 EST for the next six weeks. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Final Scene: SEX AND THE CITY

My Favorite TV SHOWS of 2013.

NOTHING CAN TOUCH BREAKING BAD

BUT THIS HAD THE BEST DEBUT SEASON I REMEMBER

ORPHAN BLACK

Saturday Night Music: Judy Collins

Theme: MIller's Crossing

TV VILLAINESSES

There are not that many great female villains on TV. I think of Mags Bennett on JUSTIFIED, but the great Margo Martindale doesn't do much wrong. What other women were memorable?

Check out my new story, STICKY FINGERS in LITERARY ORPHANS. 

Wednesday Book Review Club: DIFFICULT MEN, Brett Martin

The subtitle is BEHIND THE SCENES OF A CREATIVE REVOLUTION FROM THE SOPRANOS....

This was quite an interesting book for me because I am a fan of the shows Mr. Brett looks at here. He makes the case that TV is undergoing a third golden age in terms of the product it is turning out. He is not talking about network shows but rather the sort of shows being produced by cable and premium channels. The Difficult Men he refers to are the characters in these shows and the men who serve as show runners: Vince Gilligan (BREAKING BAD), David Simon (THE WIRE and TREME), David Chase (THE SOPRANOS), Matthew Weiner (MAD MEN).

He begins with the last golden age, the years of Tinker, Bochco, Silverman, etc and movies into comprehensive studies of the recent trends. Networks are no longer willing to experiment and take the sort of risks they did during the HILL STREET BLUES, HOMICIDE era.  They can make their profits through reality shows and traditional fare. Cable and premium services produce fewer shows and are able to give these show runners considerable latitude in how they tell their story. And their story is often one that takes at least one and possibly many years to tell. These shows are more about character and place than plot. I am a fan of this approach to TV; many are not.

If the evolution of TV interests you, you will enjoy this book.

For more book reviews, visit Barrie Summy.

Tuesday Night Music: Chattanooga Choo Choo-Glenn Miller

Forgotten TV-A Favorite Episode of M*A*S*H

In the third season of MASH, the actor playing Henry Blake (McLean Stevenson) decided he had a better future off the show and the writers shocked Americans, with an episode that killed him rather than sent him home. I never remember being this shocked by a TV show. Unfortunately, this series was his finest hour. And his replacement, Colonel Potter (Harry Morgan) had a long run in his place. He was probably a better fit for the long haul.

I don't much watch the later seasons of MASH, which at the time I loved. But now if I watch a rerun at all, it is those early, loony seasons that hold up best for me.

Opening Credits: KOJAK

Incidentally, in the past I have had someone else post FFB while I was away. This year I am going to do it myself but it will probably mean getting posted around 11 or 12 EST. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Three Who Took a Wrong Turn.

These three men looked poised to be huge stars back in eighties with films like WHEN HARRY MET SALLY. BEVERLY HILLS COP. MR. MOM. These were three of the funniest guys on the planet

Then something derailed all three. With Keaton, I do believe it was BATMAN. And Murphy started making kids' movies-- but bad ones. Crystal--I don't know. Perhaps he was the least credible in a movie to begin with. But he sure nailed Harry.

Can any of them reclaim their former glory? What the heck happened?Has anyone successfully resurrected a career after 60?

Saturday Night Music: Jack White

Friday's Forgotten Books, Friday, January 3, 2013

Todd Mason will be collecting these links today. Thanks, Todd.



This review will also appear on Crimespree Cinema today but I am also posting it here because it has overtaken BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOR as my favorite film of 2013.

 INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS

Written and Directed by Joel and Ethan Coen

Starring: Oscar Issac, Carey Mulligan, John Goodman, Adam Driver

The Coen Brothers, for my money, have the strongest writing and directorial credits in the history of U.S. movies. Yes, there have been a few misses: BURN AFTER READING, THE LADYKILLERS and one or two more. But films like TRUE GRIT, NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, A SERIOUS MAN, FARGO, BLOOD SIMPLE and OH BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU far outnumber their few missteps. 

INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS may be their finest achievement. And this, from a viewer who is not particularly fond of folk music. When friends told me, “go for the music,” I thought I was in trouble. But instead I found a film that avoided every cliché that lesser directors would have rested the story on.

The movie covers about a week in the life of a struggling folk singer, Llewyn Davis. He has lost his partner, cannot get a good gig, has impregnated a friend’s wife, has no place to live, is stuck with a cat he can’t return. Llewyn is having a bad week that only gets worse. His pilgrimage through the Village of 1961 and later still a road trip to Chicago is never glamorous, never unrealistic. His life is peopled with characters that are absurd but realistically drawn. He is not particularly likable but is never evil or irrational. It might be this is just a bad week for him. But when it concludes, we have come full circle and have little faith the following weeks will improve.

This is the best film of 2013 for me. I cannot recommend it highly enough. And if you like folk music, you are doubly blessed.

Final Scene: Beverly Hills 90210

My Favorite Books of 2013

 

My Favorite Books of 2013

1. LIFE AFTER LIFE, Kate Atkinson

2. LET HIM GO, Larry Watson

3. SHACKLES, Bill Pronzini

4. THE HOURS BEFORE DAWN, Celia Fremlin

5. THE BLACK HOUSE, Peter May

6. THE SEARCHERS: THE STORY OF AN AMERICAN LEGEND, Glenn Frankel

7. AFTER VISITING FRIENDS, Michael Hainey

8. BURIAL RITES, Hannah Kent

9. THE WOMAN UPSTAIRS, Claire Messud

10. BLANK WALL, Elizabeth Sanxay Holding

How about your top reads?

Theme Music: EAST OF EDEN

Tuesday Night Music: Jagwar Ma

Favorite Episodes of TV Shows: ALL IN THE FAMILY:ARCHIE IN THE CELLAR

“Archie In the Cellar”Original airdate: Nov. 17, 1973 (Season 4)
 

Archie gets locked in the cellar of the Bunker house while everyone else is away over the weekend, and gets drunk on vodka. A man is coming to fix their heat and Archie, drunk by now, confuses him with his maker. This is a great solo piece by Carol O’Connor, especially during the scene when he uses a tape recorder to make a will.

This was written by Don Nichol who wrote more than thirty episodes in the early years. 

ALL IN THE FAMILY was one of the first, if not the first, socially relevant sitcoms. It took on every issue of the day fearlessly.  

Opening Credits: FORTY GUNS

Movie Scenes Without Dialogue

Richard Wheeler had a lovely idea about sharing our favorite movie scenes that use no dialogue.

Here is a brilliant one he suggested.



Of course, ALL IS LOST came immediately to mind for me. Here is one from that.



WHAT OTHER ONES COME TO MIND?

I also posted this on facebook where many other movies are being mentioned. I remember the movies but forget the silent scenes. https://www.facebook.com/patti.abbott/posts/10152121963679551?comment_id=29433627&offset=0&total_comments=10&notif_t=share_comment

My Favorite Movies of 2013

10

 

                                                                     

 

My favorite movie of 2013

Saturday Night Music: Patti Smith

I returned home to get this wonderful Christmas/Birthday Present. Thanks, Rob. 

Final Scene: DOUBLE INDEMNITY

Happy Hoidays

Tuesday Night Music: Joni Mitchell

Myrna Loy

I guess she will never top Nora Charles in THE THIN MAN for me, but Myrna Loy made so many great pictures. (Does anyone call them pictures now?) What are some other favorites?

My Favorite Columbo Episode: Etude in Black

with the great John Cassavetes. Cassavetes plays a sophisticated, arrogant conductor who murders his mistress to prevent her for spilling the beans to his rich wife (Blythe Danner). Columbo seldom solved crimes with perpetrators that weren't rich and arrogant, but Cassavetes played it oh, so well.

Written by Steven Bochco and Richard Levinson.

Columbo sort of lost it along the way for me. It was too tied to its set-up. And its decision to always place  the murders among the wealthy made them awfully similar. But for a few years, it was terrific. And Falk was always terrific in the part.

What is your favorite COLOMBO episode.

Opening Credits: TREME

Nate Southard: PALE HORSES

A SWEET, TERRIBLE PLACE

A Guest Blog by Nate Southard

Hello.  My name’s Nate.  If any of you have heard of me, it’s probably as a horror author.  For the last five years, I’ve been writing scary stories.  I’ve had a few novels published, a couple of short story collections, and I have one of the smoother bald heads in the genre.  That last part may be up for debate, though I’m not sure why anyone would want to discuss the issue.  I’m not even sure why I brought it up.

Recently, Snubnose Press published my first crime novel, Pale Horses.  It’s probably the best book I’ve ever written, the story of an Indiana County Sheriff struggling to hide the beginning stages of Alzheimer’s Disease as he tries to solve a murder, deal with the county’s growing meth problem, and quell the simmering violence brought about by a hot-headed deputy and a war vet suffering from PTSD.

Strangely, as people have asked me about the novel in the weeks since its release, one question keeps popping up over and over again.  It takes different forms, but it almost always come up.  “So, are you done with horror?”  “Are you going back to horror after this?”  “Why did you decide to leave horror for crime?”  I’ve given different answers to different people, explaining that this was just a story I wanted to tell or that I wanted to test the waters.  The more I think about it, however, the less I think any of those answers are correct.  The more I think about it, the more the answer becomes clear…

Honestly, I just don’t consider the horror and crime genres to be different.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not going to call Stephen King’s Carrie or Scott Smith’s The Ruins masterpieces of noir or anything like that.  Rather, I think both genres, when at their best, deal with the same issues and provide the same escapist release.  At the heart of it all, both genres deal with humanity and how a person may or may not cope with circumstances far beyond their control.  Both serve up the emotions of dread and excitement to the reader.  Maybe one does it with a maggot-filled claw and the other a cocked pistol, but I think those who enjoy either genre do so for similar reasons.

Some of my favorite authors illustrate the similarities between the genres perfectly.  Jack Ketchum, author of The Girl Next Door and Off Season has written only a handful of stories with any supernatural elements, but he’s considered an astounding horror author.  The majority of his novels, especially great reads like The Lost, Old Flames, and Hide and Seek, are pretty straight crime and noir tales.  The monsters are all deeply human, but Ketchum horrifies us by giving us a deeper peek into what makes them tick.

Gillian Flynn has been on everyone’s radar for a few years now, and she’s rightfully considered a master of the crime thriller.  In my eyes, however, Sharp Objects is hands down the best horror novel of the last decade.  The final two chapters still send chills down my spine.  Even thinking about them now gives me the goose shivers. Ken Bruen’s American Skin?  Another amazing horror novel.  In that novel, we meet the Tammy Wynette-obsessed Dade, easily one of the most fearsome monstrosities to land on the page in some time.

Let’s not forget Jim Thompson’s The Killer Inside Me.  That novel is a master class in establishing dread and slowly turning it up over the course of a narrative.  The slow unraveling of Lou Ford’s sanity almost echoes the slow unraveling of sanity we find in the best of H.P. Lovecraft’s work.  Is there some cosmic Elder God involved?  No.  There’s just a crazed sheriff’s deputy slowly destroying everything around him.

Look…maybe you’re a crime fan who thinks horror is where all the weirdo kids play.  Maybe you’re a horror fan who believes a story without a MONSTER monster isn’t worth reading.  Let me assure you, our pet genres are a lot closer than they appear.  Check out some of the titles I mentioned.  You might be surprised.  They’re all dark tales.  And the dark, after all, is a sweet, terrible place.

Sunday Night Poetry: Anne Sexton

Best Christmas Songs: The Pogues

Victoria Wilson on her Barbara Stanwyck Biography on THE BAT SEGUNDO SHOW

If you are a Barbara Stanwyck fan, and who isn,'t, be sure to check out the great interview biographer Victoria Wilson gives Ed Champion on THE BAT SEGUNDO SHOW.

I listen to several of these podcast series and Mr. Champion's are always the best because he has read the book(s) and asks perceptive and relevant questions.

Lots of her films have been playing in New York at the Film Forum this month if you are near by.

How About a Roller Skate Race?