Today, the Shattered Lens wishes a happy birthday to actor Steve Carell. This scene that I love is from Foxcatcher and it features Carell cast against type, as the sociopathic John du Pont. (Carell received his first and — to date — last Oscar nomination for his performance as Du Pont.) In this scene, Du Pont corrupts a young wrestler played by Channing Tatum.
4 Or More Shots From 4 Or More Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking!
Today, the Shattered Lens wishes a happy birthday to director James Cameron. It’s time for….
4 Shots From 4 James Cameron Films
The Terminator (1984, dir. James Cameron)
Aliens (1986, dir by James Cameron)
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991, dir. James Cameron)
True Lies (1994, dir by James Cameron)
Welcome to Late Night Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past! On Saturdays, I will be reviewing Saved By The Bell, which ran on NBC from 1989 to 1993. The entire show is currently streaming on Tubi!
This week, Rod Belding comes to Bayside.
Episode 3.1 “The Fabolous Belding Boys”
(Dir by Don Barnhart, originally aired on December 9th, 1990)
“You’re jealous of your own brother!” Zack snaps at Mr. Belding in this episode and you really do have to wonder how Zack was always able to get away with using that tone of voice with his principal. Most students would end up getting expelled if they talked to any adult that way.
Mr. Belding really goes through the ringer this episode. After the authoritarian history teacher has a nervous breakdown, Belding reluctantly allows his younger brother, long-haired Rod (Edward Blatchford), to teach the class. Soon, Rod is throwing away the midterm exam and allowing the students to pick their own grades. (Screech gives himself a B-.) Rod also convinces the students — well, a small handful of them — that the next class trip should involve white water rafting instead of going to Yosemite like his brother suggested.
That Rod is one cool guy until he decides, at literally the last minute, to blow off the rafting trip so he can hang out with a stewardess. “Cover f0r me!” Rod tells Mr. Belding. “Get out of my school, Rod,” Belding says, not knowing that Zack has overheard the entire converastation.
Mr. Belding does cover for his brother by claiming that Rod has the flu but he also volunteers to take his brother’s place on the rafting trip. Now, it’s already been established that Mr. Belding has no experience with white water rafting and apparently, he can’t even swim. So, there’s a good chance that the senior class is going to lose a few members over the weekend. But for now, all that matters is that the school trip is back on.
Zack apologizes to Mr. Belding.
“Rod is the more exciting Belding,” Mr. Belding admits.
“We got the better Belding,” Zack replies.
Awwwww!
This is definitely one of the best episodes of Saved By The Bell. For once, Belding gets to be something other than a fool and Zack is forced to admit that he was wrong wrong. Dennis Haskins shines in this episode and, for that matter, so does Edward Blatchford as Rod.
As I watched this episode, I was reminded of that episode of Good Morning Miss Bliss in which Bliss’s mentor was hired as a substitute and did a lot of the same crap that Rod did. On Good Morning Miss Bliss, the substitute was portrayed as being a hero. On Saved By The Bell, he’s a self-absorbed creep. The Saved By The Bell version is the better version.
It’s the better Belding.
Austin City Limits (YouTube)
I watched an episode featuring Leonard Cohen. It was a bit too low-key for me but I did appreciate Cohen’s sense of style.
Big Brother (24/7, CBS, Paramount+, Pluto TV)
I’ve been writing about the show that I love to hate at the Reality Tv Chat Blog.
Election Coverage
The Wisconsin primary will go down in history. As much as I disagree with Frances Hong on the issues, I felt a bit sorry for her. There was a time when it was very trendy to claim to be mentally ill on social media. I think a lot of people are going to run into the same problem that she ran into when they try to run for office.
Kitchen Nightmares (Disney Plus)
I watched the two latest episodes. I am amazed that anyone would allow their business to appear on this show. Personally, I am never going to eat again.
Survivor 50 (Wednesday Night, CBS)
That 90-minute run time is going to be the death of Survivor. Every episode feels so dragged out now.
Top of the Pops (YouTube)
I watched two episodes from the 80s on Saturday morning It featured some of the least danceable music that I’ve ever heard.
Watched and Reviewed:
Welcome to Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past! On Saturdays, I will be reviewing Baywatch, which ran on NBC and then in syndication from 1989 to 2001. The entire show can be viewed on Tubi.
This week, Mitch and Hobie are scared!
Episode 2.15 “Big Monday”
(Dir by Gregory J. Bonnan, originally aired on February 10th, 1992)
Hobie has a problem. A huge tropical wave is scheduled to hit the beach on Monday and all of his friends are looking forward to surfing it. His friends all say that Hobie is “chicken” because he won’t take the big waves. Hobie goes to Shauni for advice. Shauni offers to help him learn how to be a better surfer. Hobie wonders why he can’t be more like his dad. Mitch isn’t scared of anything.
Actually, Mitch is terrified of that big wave. Every time that someone mentions it, Mitch flashes back to watching a friend get washed away by a giant wave in 1961. With a new wave approaching, Mitch is scared that the same thing will happen again. Luckily, a visiting Hawaiian surfer just happens to be around to give Mitch an enchanted necklace.
Kaye, Mitch’s little-seen girlfriend, befriends a deaf girl on the beach. She tries to convince the girl’s mother to allow her to enroll Kaye in a sign language class. The girl’s mother is scared that her daughter will always be an outsider unless she learns how to read lips. (One of the teachers at the school is played by future Oscar nominee Paul Raci.)
Will Hobie prove that he can handle the waves?
Will Mitch overcome his guilt over his friend’s death?
Will Kaye convince the mother to enroll her daughter in sign language class?
Yes, yes, and yes. This is Baywatch. Other than that lifeguard getting killed by a shark, there are no unhappy endings.
As for this episode, I’ll give it some credit for having one unifying theme. All of the stories are connected by the theme of conquering your fears. Actually having a narrative theme is definitely a step forward for this show. That said, it’s still Baywatch. Everything happens a bit too easily in this episode. Yes, this episode says, fear is real. But, if you stick around for 40 minute, your fears will magically disappear in time for the end credits to roll.
This was a silly episode but at least its heart was in the right place.
As some of our regular readers undoubtedly know, I am involved in a few weekly live tweets on twitter. I host #FridayNightFlix every Friday, I co-host #ScarySocial on Saturday, and I am one of the five hosts of #MondayActionMovie! Every week, we get together. We watch a movie. We tweet our way through it.
Tonight, for #ScarySocial, I will be hosting Jim Wynorski’s 976-Evil II!
If you want to join us on Saturday night, just hop onto twitter, start the film at 9 pm et, and use the #ScarySocial hashtag! The film is available on Prime! I’ll be there co-hosting and I imagine some other members of the TSL Crew will be there as well. It’s a friendly group and welcoming of newcomers so don’t be shy!
Today, the Shattered Lens wishes a happy birthday to one of the better actresses of her generation, Jennifer Lawrence. This scene that I love comes from 2009’s Winter’s Bone. I still think this is Lawrence’s best performance.
4 Or More Shots From 4 Or More Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking!
Today would have been the 98th birthday of the great and enigmatic director, Nicolas Roeg. As both a cinematographer and a director, Roeg was responsible for some of the most visually striking films ever made. Today, we honor his legacy with….
4 Shots From 4 Nicolas Roeg Films
Walkabout (1971, dir by Nicolas Roeg, DP: Nicolas Roeg)
Don’t Look Now (1973, dir by Nicolas Roeg, DP: Anthony Richmond)
The Man Who Fell To Earth (1976, dir by Nicholas Roeg, DP: Anthony Richmond)
Insignificance (1985, dir by Nicolas Roeg, DP: Peter Hannan)
Welcome to Late Night Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past! On Fridays, I will be reviewing SLEDGE HAMMER!, a cop comedy which ran on ABC from 1986 to 1988. The entire series can be found on Prime!
My friend Pat McCurry introduced me to Sledge Hammer earlier this year. Starring David Rasche as Detective Sledge Hammer, this show was a parody of Dirty Harry and Hunter. Since I’m currently reviewing Hunter on Thursday night, it seems only appropriate to review Sledge Hammer on Friday night!
Episode 1.1 “Under the Gun
(Dir by Martha Coolidge, originally aired on September 23rd, 1986)
“HAMMER!” shouts police Captain Trunk (Harrison Page), “YOU COULDN’T RESIST BLOWING UP A BUILDING ON YOUR WAY TO WORK THIS MORNING, COULD YOU!?”
Captain Trunk yells a lot but that’s just because he’s been put in charge of managing Detective Sledge Hammer (David Rasche), a San Francisco cop who talks to his gun and who is currently on suspension for shooting a robber at a grocery store before then buying some eggs and “those little cocktail weenies.” When asked by a reporter if his response was too violent, Hammer replied that he really needed his groceries.
For the record, Trunk is correct. Hammer did blow up a building on his way to work. There was a sniper on the roof so Hammer pulled a rocket launcher out of the back of his car and took care of the problem.
Despite all of that, the mayor (John Vernon, who previously played San Francisco’s mayor in Dirty Harry) orders that Sledge Hammer be taken off suspension. The Mayor’s daughter, Francie (Judie Aronson), has disappeared. (“She was either kidnapped or she is just very good at hiding.”) The police think that she was taken by the Allied Violent Offence Network (AVON), a terrorist group led by Weird Willy Luxley (D.W. Brown). Weird Willy is so evil that his own parents gave him up for adoption three years before he was born. The Mayor thinks that Sledge Hammer’s unapologetic embrace of violence is the way to go.
Hammer is assigned a partner, Dori Doreau (Anne-Marie Martin), an expert in negotiation and criminal psychology. At first, Hammer is uneasy about working with a woman. But, when he sees her beat up a man with a shotgun, he’s impressed. “That was excessively violent and totally unnecessary. I loved it.” Doreau mentions she was at the top of her class in hand-to-hand combat. “I’d like to fight you sometimes, Doreau,” Hammer replies.
Hammer promises to bring back “the mayor’s daughter, dead or alive.” Reasoning that it’s usually a member of the family who is to blame in cases like this, Hammer arrests and interrogates the Mayor’s wife. That gets Hammer suspended again but it turns out that Hammer was half-right. It wasn’t the Mayor’s wife. Instead, in true Patty Hearst manner, it turns out that Francie Flambo is a member of AVON and she arranged her own kidnapping!
It all leads to a shootout in a warehouse, as these things often do. When AVON makes their ransom demand, Doreau is sent to deliver the money. (She’s actually given a suitcase full of shredded paper.) Sledge Hammer crashes through a skylight and lands on a box, grinning.
“Why are you smiling!?” Weird Willie Luxley demands.
“I’m trigger happy, that’s why!” Hammer replies.
Soon, all of the members of AVON have been subdued and Francie has been arrested. The Mayor offers Doreau a promotion but Doreau refuses to accept it because she feels that Hammer is not being given the recognition that he deserves.
This seems like the start of a beautiful friendship.
The first episode of Sledge Hammer may be 40 years old but it’s still feels relevant and the laughs still feel earned. As played by David Rasche, Sledge Hammer is the perfect parody of every unapologetically violent action hero. Though there are hints of attraction between him and Doreau, the episode makes it pretty clear that Hammer’s true love is for his gun. At the same time, there’s something rather refreshing about Hammer’s total and complete lack of angst. As I watched this episode, it occurred to me that Hammer would probably get as annoyed with Daniel Craig’s self-pitying version of James Bond as I do.
This pilot was enjoyable and funny 26 minutes of pure entertainment. I look forward to reviewing the rest of the series!
Through the Shattered Lens 