MTV’s first broadcast day was August 1st, 1981. On that day, they aired 116 music videos. The 14th of those videos was a performance clip for April Wine’s Just Between You And Me. It was taken from April Wine’s concert film, LiveinLondon, and it was the first video by a Canadian band to be aired on MTV.
Unfortunately, that’s not the video that is at the top of this post. The clip of the LiveinLondon performance is not available on YouTube. (You can, however, watch LiveinLondon in its entirety if you want to.) So, the video above is from another concert that occurred around roughly the same time. This was one was filmed at a 1982 concert at the Five Seasons Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Why am I writing a deeper analysis of Titans S3 Ep1-3? This season is so deliberately crafted and true to the source material that it deserves it. Also, it’s important to recognize Alan Ritchson’s brilliant performance in the series and how it came to a close.
This season is all in Gotham. It keeps the story fresh with a new home base and it allows for new characters to enter the mythology: The Joker, Scarecrow, and Babs. What is more emblematic of Gotham than Batman? Batman is a double-edged sword because, while he adds a lot to any story, he’s so iconic and imbued into our culture that he can eclipse the Titans and the primary protagonists.
How do you eliminate Batman and keep Gotham for the Titans? You have Bruce do the most anti-canon but logical thing: Bruce Kills the Damn Joker and retires! Titans is more akin to Watchmen than Arrow. What is the World like with Superheroes and Supervillians? In real life, cops or a person with any superpowers would’ve killed the Joker right off because of course they would. The Joker is a terrorist and even by the Geneva convention, terrorists can be shot and killed on sight. Really. I know this. Really.
So Batman kills the Joker and gives Gotham to Dick and says, “Be a better Batman”. This brings realism to the show and keeps Batman in the outer background away from the action perhaps permanently, allowing the story to remain a Titans’ story.
This show is so accurate in terms of how Soldiers (which is basically what they are) really act. When the jobs over, they play video games, joke around, bust each others balls, drink too much, and are always trying to get laid. The most accurate representation of this persona was done by Alan Ritchson, especially when talking with Dick.
Alan plays the Soldier in and out of recovery from alcoholism and drugs is 100% accurate. It makes it so much harder to say good bye to his character because he’s one of a handful of superior actors who can be so multi-dimensional, believable, and deliver in every performance. I’m not going to write who I’d rather have seen written off, but he would’ve been my LAST choice. The writers just went full-on Game of Thrones, killing off an A-1 talent. I hope that he’s cast immediately a variety of roles.
I want to be clear that performances of all the actors in show is the best I’ve seen in 20-years. They all deserve Emmy and Genies. However, there are standouts among the standouts. Brenton Thwaites and Curran Walters bring a dynamism to their roles that you just don’t see on television, every performance is a For Your Consideration. Nightwing (Brenton Thwaites) evolving into the Batman-like character with the antagonist Joker-like figure Red Hood (Curran Walters) and the history repeating itself in Gotham. Much like the opening song they used, Meet me in the Woods by Lord Huron- everything is darker and different and it foreshadowed the evolution of light versus darkness: Dick v Red Hood. I write Red Hood because Jason died and Red Hood is all that remains.
I knew that the opening scene would be Jason Todd getting murdered by the Joker, BUT I did not expect to see Batman murder the Joker. What I did expect and what got delivered was Brenton Thwaites and Curran Walters embody this epic battle so completely that it pulled me completely in. The writers use the source material cleverly and the dialogue is fantastic, but these Men breathe life into these characters. I was convinced this is what Gotham would be like with these Superheroes. It must be a lot of fun for Curran to get to play such a clever villain.
Sidenote: I do miss Esai Morales playing Deathstroke that was a masterclass in acting, but I guess that his story had to end. The writers are not afraid of killing off your favorites. I wish they would be more afraid of it.
Whether you are late to the party and have yet to see this show and you got spoiled today, missing this show is like never seeing Apocalypse Now or The Godfather. You will not see this level of storytelling again for twenty-years, if ever.
Originally, Jeff and I were planning on going up to the lake this weekend.
It’s something that we’ve been wanting to do for a while, just to get away from everything for a day or two. It’s summer in Texas, which means that it’s incredibly hot right now. The lake is awfully inviting in the summer. Originally, we thought we might go last week but I ended up getting sick and spending almost the entire week in bed. So, it made sense to just go this week, right?
Except …. well, did you happen to notice what day it is today?
Listen, at heart, I’m a skeptical person. One reason why horror films don’t bother me is because I don’t believe in ghosts or witches or magic or zombies or death curses or any of that other stuff. I don’t even believe in aliens. I’m not a superstitious person and I have to admit that I always find myself a bit confused whenever I talk to anyone who is. And yet, even I know better than to tempt fate by going up to the lake on the weekend of Friday the 13th. That’s the power of the tale of Jason Voorhees, his mother, and a New Jersey camp called Crystal Lake. Even the most skeptical among us know better than to mess around with Jason. There’s a 99.9% chance that Jason doesn’t exist and, even if he did, he would be way up in New Jersey but still, just the fact that there’s a .1% chance that he might be out there somewhere …. that’s enough to keep me home for the weekend!
With that in mind, Happy Friday the 13th! I’m celebrating by watching the original films, the one that were produced by Paramount Pictures in the 80s. By that, I mean the films that came out before Jason Goes To Hell turned everyone’s favorite hockey masked serial killer into a space slug. Say what you will about these films, they are an undeniable part of our culture and they’re amongst the most influential movies ever made. Personally, I prefer the first film, the 2nd film, and the 4th film. I’ll also defend Friday The 13th: A New Beginning because I enjoy being a contrarian. At its best, the franchise was an American tribute to giallo. At its worst …. well, we’ve all seen Part 3, right?
However you celebrate, stay safe! And maybe we’ll see you up at the lake next week!
From 1980, this is the British poster for Friday the 13th. It’s a lot different from the American poster. I prefer the British version. It’s more exciting. Sadly, the identity of the artist is not known.
“That was a major moment for me. It was my first foray into co-writing. Kalodner said, ‘You did great with ‘Rockin’ into the Night,’ I want to put you together with Don Barnes and Jeff Carlisi of .38 to see what you can do.’ That first night, Jeff and Don are at my house in La Grange, Illinois and we’re sitting around the kitchen table. Writing sessions are always like blind dates: It’s like making love without the foreplay. Suddenly you’re sitting there face to face, and you’re thinking, ‘OK, what do we do now? Am I going to embarrass myself? What if my ideas suck?’ So we’re sitting there nervously, just making small talk, and all of the sudden Jeff says, ‘I’ve got this lick,’ and he starts with the opening lick of what became ‘Hold on Loosely.’ I go, ‘That’s really neat,’ and Don says, ‘I’ve got this title – ‘Hold On Loosely,” and I go, ‘Yeah, but don’t let go.’
My wife of 32 years now, this is what broke us apart when we were teenagers – I was getting too close. I was getting too serious for her. She didn’t say, ‘Hold on Loosely,’ but that’s what was in her heart. So when Don said ‘Hold on Loosely,’ I immediately knew what he was talking about. He wasn’t even talking about that exactly, he told me later, he just thought it was a cool title.
I immediately saw a story, and it was really my own story. I said, ‘Jeff, play that riff.’ He plays the riff, and I start singing: ‘You see it all around you, good loving gone bad.’ It just started coming. I turned on the tape recorder and said, ‘Guys, I think we have something here.’ We got the stalk of the song in the next two days, then I fine-tuned it in the next two or three weeks. I flew down to Jacksonville where the band was rehearsing and basically worked out the song with them down there.”
— Jim Peterik, on co-writing Hang On Loosely
Jim Peterik was also the keyboardist for Survivor and that band, which was still looking for its first hit, were initially not happy that their keyboardist had written a hit song for another band.
HangOnLoosely was such a hit that the video for it, a simple performance clip, was the 13th video aired on MTV on August 1st, 1980, their first day of broadcast. Fortunately, a performance clip was all the song needed because the .38 Special could really play!
When I first heard that the Yankees and the White Sox were going to be playing a game in a stadium built next to the field that was used in FieldofDreams, my first thought was that it sounded really corny.
“Is Kevin Costner going to come walking out of the corn field?” I thought.
That’s exactly what happened. At the start of tonight’s game, Kevin Costner emerged from the cornfield surrounding the stadium and walked out to the mound. He was followed by the members of the Yankees and the White Sox. They all emerged from the cornfields and took their positions, just like in the movie.
And it was one of the greatest things I’ve ever seen. I may have thought it was going to be corny and maybe it was but when it actually happened, it was impossible not to get swept up in it. As I watched the players emerge like wandering spirits who had finally found their home and as I listened to the crowd cheer, I thought to myself, “This is what baseball is all about!”
I may have started off with some doubts and neither the White Sox nor the Yankees are my team (I’m an AL West girl) but the Field of Dreams Game was still one of the best games that I’ve ever seen. From the minute the first home run disappeared over the fence and into the cornfield, the Field of Dreams Game captured my imagination and it didn’t let go for the next three and a half hours. This game reminded me of why I fell in love with baseball in the first place. There were no big bands or fancy scoreboard or anything else that we associate with modern sports. Instead, there were just two teams, playing in front of a small but enthusiastic crowd. It was perfect Americana, a present to all of us baseball fans on Baseball Fan Day. After watching this game, I now think every stadium should be redesigned to look like it’s sitting in cornfield. It’s just how baseball was meant to be played!
(Of course, you may have to be a baseball fan to really get it. My sister was in the room when one home run was hit and she interrupted my cheering by making a joke about the Children of the Corn.)
It was a good game too. The White Sox won by one run in the ninth inning. I was cheering for the Yankees but the White Sox played a good game and I can’t complain about their victory.
This was a great game and exactly what I needed tonight! I hope this is an annual event because I can’t wait for the next Field of Dreams Game!
“Hank & Dove” – We open with the empty grave. The question: Bruce, what did you do with Jason? I’m guessing either the Lazarus pit or a Bruce Campbell Necronomicon crossover.
The Titans know that they have to stop Jason. Hank cuts through all the bullshit- He’s gotta be put down. The hope is that Donna Troy could come back too, but wait he’s all nuts now. Why do that to Donna?
Jason calls Hank and it’s intense. It looks like a setup, but Curran Walters plays it so well- I can’t tell. Hank goes to see Jason. I hope that Hank doesn’t die. Jason sends at a dirty pool. Hank all over town and gets him to strip. He gets captured – of course and he’s very naked.
When Hank gets back, he has a bomb on his chest from Jason. Jason demands that the Titans heist a truck and get him gold bars to keep Hank alive. I love the comment from Hank – “Did he have a white cat in his lap?” Hank throws so many one-liners; it’s great watching him laugh at the face of death. Hank and Dawn have a make out session. It’s sweet.
Dick is holding the hardline on no robbing an armored truck, BUT Dawn doesn’t care. She robs the Hell out of that truck. The ticking clock is great in this episode.
Dawn V Dick V Jason- FIGHT! Jason set up Dawn to kill Jason and save Hank. Shoot Jason, Hank lives. She shoots, but the gun was the detonator; so, Dawn ended up killing Hank. This is painful for me. Alan Ritchson was just brilliant in this show. I hope that Berlanti finds a way to give him a show.
“Red Hood” opens in Gotham City….Oh My…It’s just like the Comic!!!! It’s come to life!!!! Gangsters are called to a meeting, but no one knows who called them. One thug gets shot in the head. Another pulled by a Batcable. He demands they open a bag. Red Hood enters.
In one moment, he takes over all of Gotham’s crime because the bag’s contents are the heads of all rival mobsters lieutenants. He is Gotham’s crime boss. Chills. Damn, Curran Walters really brings it.
Hank has become a cop in DC on a bicycle with a mustache. Dawn is fighting crime/dating a ….realtor?! What?! Dawn, I get that you’re on the rebound, but you gotta aim higher. It must be a confidence thing, but really- we’ll do some trust falls or whatever, but aim higher. Really. Dick is still in Gotham and the news is that the Joker is killed by Batman. Alan Ritchson’s performance is everything you’d want. He’s clearly back on the wagon, but he knows that he destroyed is relationship with Dawn. He plays recovering good man for real.
Dick goes to the precinct and Babs is stunned that Dick is considering becoming Batman and following in his father’s footsteps. Rightfully, Dick calls Babs AKA Commissioner Gordon out on that bullshit. Their exchange is so natural that you forget that they are acting. This show is a masterpiece.
Dick calls in the Titans to Gotham. Immediately, the Red Hood begins terrorizing, forcing people to detonate IEDs. He gives people drugs that cause them….not gonna spoil this.
The cops are using Scarecrow as a profiler, setting up a great dramatic scene with Dick and Scarecrow. Starfire has another vision and is speaking…..Russian? Meanwhile in San Francisco, Starfire is contacting her Shrink/Boyfriend. I don’t approve. He’s crossed the line from lover to doctor. NOT OKAY! He’s the worst! I get it -Starfire is clock stopping gorgeous, but dude pull it together.
Dick V Scarecrow- BrainFIGHT! He’s demanding grass for anxiety aaaand gets it. Scarecrow (Vincent Kartheiser) really can play the snarky clever asshole well. It adds a New York element to the show is nice. Snarky clever sardonic folk just make my heart go pitter pat. The Red Hood has left Chess Clue?! This is next-level deep.
I’m enjoying the Hank/Dawn subplot. They’re trying to find the next victim. Bank robbery is happening and they’re all wearing Red Hoods. Gotham is just terrible. Red Hood has captured their children as the extortion to commit crimes. But this time, they weren’t the parents; So, the capes are fired.
After it all went to Hell, I love watching Dick and Hank talk it out. It’s so natural. They talk like Soldiers off duty. The real thing.
Cops are being lured into a trap, but the Titans are here. Doin their thing.
Seamlessly, Dick v Red Hood FIGHT!
Jason reveals himself and it’s AWESOME! He is the big Bad!
I do fanboy on this show a lot, BUT it is that good. Everyone delivers so well. It’s so natural. This is comics coming alive. The writers, directors, and actors excellent! It’s like a Supergroup from the 70s like Cream, Bad Company, or Derek & the Dominoes. We’re watching TV history get made.
It’s here! The new season of Titans!!!! “Barbara Gordon” opens with Jason Todd who has tracked down the Joker. Uh oh. He calls it in to Bruce, but Bruce tells him to stand down. This is painful. Oh No! He decides to go on his own.
Jason arrives at the Joker’s location. It’s an abandoned amusement park and guards have been killed by Smilex Gas. The Joker beats Jason to death with a crowbar.
The next scene feeds right into Nightwing kicking ass with electrified clubs. Awesome! Gar kicks ass and eats someone. Conner smash! Starfire is in full-force. The bad guy is easily dispatched.
We’re back at Gotham City and we’re focusing a lot on a delivery guy. Oh no, Door Dash is getting weaponized now?
We learn that Robin is Dead and Dick goes home to Bruce. We are comforted by Lord Huron – Meet me in the woods.
Dick goes into Jason’s room. We get a clue- Jason was studying chemistry. Earlier, Jason took an inhaler of super-juice.
We get to go inside the batcave again!! Awesome! Much better batcave than Season 1! Great job art department!
Bruce immediately moved on and buried him. Bruce is one cold-blooded bastard.
Back at Titans Tower, Starfire just craps on Jason and his foolhardiness. Does anyone have anything but a surgical steel heart in this show besides Dick? Now, Gar is talking to himself and thirsting over Raven.
Dick meets up with Barbara. She’s in a wheelchair and maybe moonlighting as Oracle? The episode is turning into a detective story. I love it. Dick convinces Babs to talk to Bruce.
Bruce, Dick, and Babs get together and talk war stories. Then, she lays into Bruce. Cruel. She says Bruce is as crazy the Fucking Joker. They just go back and forth so he can keep being Batman like an alcoholic to Vodka. She blames Bruce for her father’s death, Dick’s vigilantism, Jason’s death, Quickster, New Coke, canceling #manifest, and underwear that hasn’t gone tagless.
Dick continues his investigation on what Jason was up to before his death. Maybe we’ll find out the secret of the ooz…I mean inhaler.
Dick finds Jason’s abandoned lab and some of the super-juice. Dick beats the piss out of someone aaaaaand it’s awesome. Dick goes back to the cave and analyzes the super-juice. Dick learns that Bruce is already looking for a new Robin, including Kerry Kelly.
Dick digs into Bruce as well saying he’s as bad as the Joker and Bruce offers him his old job as Robin. Bruce admits that he can’t do it alone. Dick is stunned and turns it down. For the first time, Bruce is human.
Starfire just teleported and had a vision. WTF?! Bruce returns that he killed the Joker with the crowbar Joker used to kill Jason. He gives the city to Dick and turns over Batman to him. Bruce broke his rule and now Batman is dead, Bruce is all that remains, but the Bat could be reborn by Dick Grayson. This episode just grabs you. Everyone is in a different place by the end. Soon, we will see the birth of the Red Hood.
The performances by Iain Glen and Brenton Thwaites were just so visceral and real. This should be a For Your Consideration episode!
“Nightwing”- The final boss battle. Titans v Deathstroke! Fight!
The episode opens with a Cadmus infomercial. They have mind mushed Conner and now he is a mindless obedient super-soldier. Cadmus will begin phase II of their evil plan at a county fair. They’re food prices are already evil. Gar goes from eating a sno-cone at the fair to a hungry Tiger.
Dramatization:
LIKE THIS BUT WITH MORE EATING PEOPLE AND HE’S GREEN
Dawn, Raven, Wondergirl, and Starfire respond, but during their commute- Deathstroke -badasses and attacks. Just as he’s about to kill everyone-
Nightwing enters!
Nightwing!!!!
Nightwing Vs Deathstroke! Fight!
So sad, Rose joined up with the Titans. Kids today. Rose goes all Patricide and my favorite Villain goes down. Esai Morales is truly a national treasure. Such an amazing performance. You couldn’t help but see his POV. He was moral within his form of Bushido. His son was lied to and manipulated by the Titans. Deathstroke’s humor and snark was just great!
I wish that this final boss battle had gone on longer and maybe even had him escape. It’s so hard to see this character gone.
We return to the county fair. Gar is apparently never full. I always get tired after Fair Food. Conner easily dispatches to pesky kitty.
Now, it’s Conner V Titans! FIGHT!
Cadmus is doing an auction for the rights to own Conner. It’s identical how Sotheby’s runs. Bruce intercedes and cancels the bidding and blocking communication.
To defeat Conner, the Titans must work together. Rachel gets Dick inside Conner’s mind and chats/redecorates to save him. Not just for the return of Conner’s mental health, but it really opened up the room.
They end up at a virtual Kansas and Conner’s all normal again. Everything is all better, except for the powerlines……
Poor Wondergirl stops the power tower from falling on everyone and….she dies. UGHHH! Really?! She’s my favorite. Raven thinks she can bring her back to life. PLEASE DO!!!
The ending scene between Bruce and Dick put their past to rest. I liked it.
Hank and Dawn’s last scene; you can see the strength in Dawn and weakness in Hank. He wants to get back together and she shoots him down and that’s probably for the best, BUT she’s open to fighting as Hawk and Dove.
The episode ends with an awkward dinner and the beginning of a new mission – a crime has begun. The Titans are back.
The episode ends with Blackfire taking over a mom. Bummer. Those poor kids are all alone?!
Question: Dick and Conner are wanted fugitives. Dick’s in his hometown at his last known residence. Did the F.B.I. and US Marshals get really lazy. I’d find him in 15 minutes.
Through the Shattered Lens 