Great Moments In Television History #35: The 33rd NFL Championship Game Is Broadcast In Color

Posted on January 2, 2025 by Jedadiah Leland

60 years ago today, the Cleveland Browns and the Green Bay Packers met in the 33rd Championship Game of the National Football League. The Packers were led by Vince Lombardi while the returning champions, the Browns, were coached by Blanton Collier and had all-star fullback Jim Brown on its offensive roster. The game was played at Lambeau Field in Wisconsin, in the middle of a snowstorm that soon turned the field into a mud pit. 50,777 fans showed up for the game, braving freezing weather and paying ten dollars per ticket. The Packers defeated the Browns, 23-12.

This game was significant for many reasons. It was the last NFL Championship Game to be played before the Super Bowl era. With the exception of that year’s Probowl, it was Jim Brown’s final game before he retired to concentrate on his acting career. It was Lombardi’s 3rd NFL Championship. (The next year, he would catch the Packers to victory at the first Super Bowl.)

It was also the first NFL title game to be broadcast in color. Airing on CBS and announced by Ray Scott, Ken Coleman, and Frank Gifford, the game was broadcast into American household in full, glorious color. It was both a worthy send-off to the Championship Game era and a welcome to the future of the NFL.

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Great Moments In Comic Book History #37: MAD Magazine Plays Both Sides

Posted on January 2, 2025 by Jedadiah Leland

In January of 1961, Mad Magazine taught a nation of young readers how to cover their bets. With the magazine due to go to press before the results of the 1960 presidential election would be known, Mad Magazine #60 was published with a double cover.

25 cents was not only a cheap price to pay for Mad’s trademark humor and satire but it was also the price of an invaluable political lesson. Thank you, Mad Magazine!

Previous Great Moments In Comic Book History:

Airplane II: The Sequel (1982, directed by Ken Finkleman)

Posted on January 2, 2025 by Jedadiah Leland

It isn’t the past. It isn’t the present. It’s the future.

The moon has been colonized and, on Earth, the Mayflower II is preparing for its first international flight. It will be carrying passengers from Houston to the lunar station. Test pilot Ted Striker (Robert Hays) claims that the Mayflower II is not ready to make the trip but he’s been in the Ronald Reagan Hospital For The Mentally Ill ever since he had a nervous breakdown after losing his squadron during “the war.”

Aboard the Mayflower II is Ted’s ex-wife, Elaine (Julie Haggerty), and her new boyfriend, Simon (Chad Everett). Simon says the Mayflower II is in perfect shape but he also turns into jelly whenever things get too rough. Piloting the Mayflower II is Captain Clarence Oveur (Peter Graves) and waiting on the Moon is Commander Buck Murdock (William Shatner). The crew of the Mayflower II is going to have a tough flight ahead of them. Not only is the shipboard computer making plans of its own but one of the passengers (Sonny Bono) has a bomb in his briefcase. Also, Ted has broken out of the hospital and is on the flight, boring people with his long stories.

Every successful film gets a sequel and when Airplane! was a surprise hit in 1980, it was inevitable that there would be an Airplane II. Robert Hays, Julie Haggerty, Lloyd Bridges, Peter Graves, and Stephen Stucker all returned. Unfortunately, Jim Abrahams, the Zucker brothers, Robert Stack, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Leslie Nielsen did not. (The directors and Nielsen were all working on Police Squad and their absence is strong felt.) Airplane II recreates many of the same jokes as the first Airplane! but without the first film’s good nature or genuine affection for the disaster genre. Airplane! was made for the love of comedy. Airplane II was made for the love of money and, while there are more than a few amusing moments, the difference is obvious and there for all to see.

Not surprisingly, Airplane II is at its funniest whenever William Shatner is on screen. In the role of Bud Murdock, Shatner pokes fun at his own image and shows himself to be a good sport. He’s still not as funny as Leslie Nielsen or Robert Stack in the first film but that’s because, unlike Stack and Nielsen in their pre-Airplane! days, there had always been a hint of self-parody to Shatner, even in his most dramatic roles. If Stack and Nielsen shocked people by showing that they could do deadpan comedy, Shatner’s performance just confirmed what most suspected, that he had always been in on the joke. Still, he’s the funniest thing in Airplane II and, whenever I rewatch this movie, I am happy he was there.

Airplane II was a box office failure, which is why the world never got an Airplane III. Fortunately, the world did get Hot Shots and The Naked Gun.

Airplane! (1980, directed by David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker)

Posted on January 1, 2025 by Jedadiah Leland

Airplane!, which may be the funniest movie ever made, has made me laugh every time that I’ve watched it. And I’ve watched it a lot!

Whenever I’m getting ready to travel for my day job, I watch Airplane! Whenever I’m going to Baltimore or West Virginia for the holidays, I watch Airplane! Whenever I’m in a bad mood and I need something lighten me up, I watch Airplane! Whenever I’m in a good mood and I want to be in an even better mood, I watch Airplane!

I can’t remember how old I was when I first saw Airplane! but I know I wasn’t yet ten. While a lot of the humor went over my head at that young age, it did not matter because I laughed at all the sight gags, like the heart hopping around on the doctor’s desk and the line of passengers waiting to “calm down” the hysterical woman. I laughed when Ted Stryker (Robert Hays) and Elaine (Julie Haggerty) got covered in seaweed while making out on the beach. I laughed at the people dying while listening to Ted’s story, even though I didn’t fully understand that it was because of Ted boring them to death. I loved it when Kareem Abdul-Jabbar got annoyed with the kid in the cockpit, even though young me really didn’t know who Kareem was other than he was a basketball player. Otto the autopilot was the coolest character around. Stephen Stucker’s Johnny made me laugh with his nonstop energy. “Excuse me, stewardess, I speak Jive.” “And don’t call me Shirley.” “It looks like I picked the wrong time to stop sniffing glue.” Every time I heard them, I laughed at all of those lines. I didn’t have to understand why Lloyd Bridges was suddenly upside down. I just knew it was funny.

As I got older and rewatched the film, I started to pick up on the humor that earlier went over my head. I traveled to Turkey when I was twelve and our tour guide spent an hour telling us that Midnight Express was not a fair representation of her country. After that, I suddenly understood why Captain Oveur (Peter Graves) wanted to know if Joey had ever been to a Turkish prison. I came to appreciate Julie Hagerty and Lorna Patterson as the two flight attendants. Airplane! still made me laugh but I came to understand that it was also a love story. What adolescent boy watching Airplane! didn’t want to be Robert Hays, not only landing the plane but also getting kiss Julie Hagerty at the end of the movie?

And then, as I learned more about the movies, I realized that Airplane! was a pitch perfect parody of the disaster genre and I came to understand the brilliance of casting actors like Lloyd Bridges, Robert Stack, Peter Graves, and especially Leslie Nielsen in this film. From the first time I saw the movie, Nielsen always made me laugh because he had the best lines and he delivered them with deadpan perfection. But, as I got older, I came to understand that Nielsen was doing more than just saying funny things. He was sending up his entire career. I’m a part of the generation who grew up laughing at Leslie Nielsen the comedy superstar and it’s always strange for me to see him in one of his older, serious roles. I have Airplane! to thank for that.

There’s so much to say about Airplane! I could write a thousand words just talking about my favorite jokes and one-liners or how much I enjoyed Stryker’s flashbacks. It’s my favorite movie and one that still makes me laugh even though I know all of the jokes by heart. (I’ve always thought Howard Jarvis waiting for Stryker to return to the taxi was one of the best, though underrated, jokes in the movie.) Airplane! is close to 50 years old and it’s still just as funny today as when I first saw it.

In fact, I think I’ll go watch it right now!

Happy Festivus!

Posted on December 23, 2024 by Jedadiah Leland

Happy Festivus!

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve. Monday is Christmas. But today is a Festivus for the Rest of Us! How will you celebrate Festivus? Will you air your grievances or participate in the feats of strength? Festivus may not be for everyone but, for some of us, it’s our heritage.

If you need a reminder about what Festivus is all about, allow Frank Costanza to explain:

Here’s wishing you a merry little festivus!

Thanksgiving Memories From WKRP in Cincinnati

Posted on November 27, 2024 by Jedadiah Leland

“As God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly.”

With those words, the Turkeys Away episode of WKRP in Cincinnati takes it place as a holiday classic, a rare Thanksgiving episode in a genre dominated by Christmas. In this episode, Arthur Carlson — the station manager of the perpetually low-rated and eponymous radio station — incorrectly assumes that turkeys can fly, turning his plans for the greatest radio promotion in history into something very different.

As with many of WKRP‘s wildest stories, this episode was based on something actually happened.. A radio station in Atlanta tried a similar promotion, with the station manager tossed the turkeys out of the back of a moving truck. Turkey still couldn’t fly or get out of the road fast enough. It’s not easy being a turkey in November.

While celebrating the holiday tomorrow, take a moment to enjoy this classic TV moment. Happy Thanksgiving!

Mike Tyson vs Jake Paul: The Aftermath

Posted on November 16, 2024 by Jedadiah Leland

You can’t always get what you want.

Last night, almost every true fight fan wanted to see Mike Tyson knock out Jake Paul. It didn’t happen, because Tyson is 58 years old and Jake Paul is 31 years younger. Tyson started out strong but, after the third round, it was obvious that he was exhausted and it even looked like Jake Paul was going easy on him as things reached their conclusion. Mike made it 8 rounds without collapsing, which was a personal victory considering how tired he looked by the end of the fight. Jake and Mike both got paid and I imagine that was their main concern.

Last night was hardly the worst thing that I’ve ever seen as far as boxing is concerned. I lived through the 90s and the era when Don King would shove any fighter, regardless of how mentally unstable or drug-addicted, into the ring. I am old enough that I can remember Oliver McCall having a nervous breakdown in the ring and refusing to defend himself against Lennox Lewis. I can remember Andrew Golota throwing away two certain victories because he just couldn’t stop hitting Riddick Bowe below the belt. I can remember Mike Tyson biting off a chunk of Evander Holyfield’s ear. I can even remember Montell “Ice” Griffin. Trust me, I’ve seen a lot worse that Paul vs. Tyson. But watching Iron Mike lose to a YouTube star, that’s definitely the type of thing that will hurt the soul of any 90s kid. The new generation has arrived and the man who was once the greatest boxer in the world lost to a former Disney star.

The biggest loser last night was not Netflix, despite all of the technical difficulties that they had trying to broadcast a live event. The biggest losers were the people who purchased a Netflix subscription just to watch the fight and instead spent most of the night staring at error messages and a buffering image. Did the Netflix engineer not consider that Mike Tyson coming out retirement to fight a YouTube star would put added stress on their servers? Netflix still made their money, though. They got what they wanted, even if fight fans didn’t.

I have no problem acknowledging that, even past his prime and two years away from sixty, Mike Tyson could easily beat me up. But now I have to live with the knowledge that Jake Paul could beat me up too. That’s the real tragedy of Paul vs. Tyson.

Mike Tyson vs Jake Paul: A Preview

Posted on November 15, 2024 by Jedadiah Leland

I’ve managed to avoid most of the hype surrounding tonight’s boxing match between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul. That was intentional on my part because I found the whole idea to be incredibly depressing.

When I was growing up, there was no athlete more fearsome than Mike Tyson. At the peak of his career, he was the best boxer of all time. You can count me in as one of the people who believes that Tyson, at his best, could have easily defeated Mohammed Ali. What Tyson lacked in finesse, he made up for in pure power. As Tyson got older, he got slower and was no longer as impressive as he used to be but that happens to almost every boxer. Even after he retired, Tyson remained a boxing icon. I don’t care how old he is or how slowly he might now move, I would not want to get on Mike Tyson’s bad side.

And then there’s Jake Paul. I had to ask Lisa who Jake Paul was. Apparently, he’s a YouTube star who has decided that he’s a boxer and who has won a few sketchy fights. Paul vs. Tyson is going to be his debut as a heavyweight.

Friends and fellow readers, let me just be blunt.

If “Iron Mike” Tyson loses to Jake Paul tonight, my childhood will be over. If Mike Tyson, the most fearsome boxer of my lifetime, loses to a YouTube star, I am just going to give up on everything and start my mid-life crisis. It would be one thing if this was an exhibition match. Everyone knows that an exhibition doesn’t mean anything. This is an officially sanctioned boxing match. This fight will forever be a part of Mike Tyson’s record. If Mike Tyson officially ends his career losing to Jake Paul, what’s the point?

And it could happen. Mike Tyson is 58 years old and Jake Paul is 27. There’s a big difference between 58 and 27. By his own admission, Mike Tyson also doesn’t like to train. In Tyson’s last officially sanctioned match, he lost to Kevin McBride. Remember that? Tyson quit the fight after the sixth round. And after he lost, Tyson said “I’m not going to disrespect the sport anymore by losing to this caliber of fighter.” Mike’s looking for a payday and so is Jake Paul. If Jake beats Mike Tyson, that’ll mean that anyone could beat Mike Tyson if they pay him enough. That would be the ultimate disrespect to the sport that Tyson says he loves.

I have faith in Iron Mike, though. I think Tyson will let the fight go to the end but I think he’ll win on points. I think that the universe or karma or whatever you want to call it will cut all of us fight fans a break.

At least, I hope it will.

BloodRayne (2005, directed by Uwe Boll)

Posted on October 29, 2024 by Jedadiah Leland

In 18th century Romania, Rayne (Kristanna Loken) is a vampire/human hybrid who is being forced to work in a freakshow by Leonid (Meat Loaf). After Rayne escapes, she meets a fortune teller (Geraldine Chaplin) who informs her that her father is the feared king of the vampires, Kagan (Ben Kingsley), and that he raped her mother. Rayne teams up with a group of vampire hunters (Matthew Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, and Michael Madsen) and sets out to destroy her father once and for all.

BloodRayne is perhaps not the worst film ever made about a vampire/human hybrid in Romania but it’s also nowhere near the best. Instead, it’s another one of Uwe Boll’s cheap-looking video game adaptations where a group of talented actors slum it as action stars. (Michael Pare, Udo Kier, and Billy Zane also appear in the movie.) The movie is full of bad wigs and big swords. Michael Madsen and Michelle Rodriguez are neither convincing as Russians or people who lived in the 18th Century. Geraldine Chaplin tries to keep things interesting, Ben Kingsley doesn’t. Kristanna Loken is actually a good choice for Rayne, in that she’s hot and she’s convincing in the action scenes. This is an easy film to laugh at but it features enough blood and nudity to keep its target audience happy. Don’t try to follow the plot, though. You’ll get a headache.

While we were watching the movie last night, Lisa suggested that Ben Kingsley was using his Gandhi Oscar as a stake. Now that would have been something worth seeing!

Haunting on Fraternity Row (2018, directed by Brant Sersen)

Posted on October 23, 2024 by Jedadiah Leland

The fraternity is throwing their “Winter Luau,” the biggest and wildest party of the year. It’s a night of drugs, drink, sex, and pranks. It’s just too bad that the members of fraternity ripped open a hole to another world in their basement and now an evil spirit is offing every last one of them.

Shot on a camcorder to give it that Blair Witch feel, Haunting on Fraternity Row‘s budget is low and the members of the cast are convincingly obnoxious. One member of the fraternity puts on a bunny suit and I could not wait for him to hurry up and meet the evil in the basement. It takes forever to get to the supernatural part of the story. Instead, most of the movie is the fraternity setting up for the party and then throwing the party. I think the people behind the film just wanted to throw a rager and they came up with all of the supernatural stuff as a way to convince people to give them money. Good for them. The party looks fun. Why didn’t my college ever throw any parties like that?

Don’t watch if you’re expecting sympathetic or even likable characters. Don’t watch if you want a plot that makes sense. Don’t watch if you’re expecting to see anything like the picture to the left. Do watch if you just can’t get enough beer pong.