Category Archives: TV Show

Horror On TV: Tales From The Crypt 2.13 “Korman’s Kalamity”

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Believe it or not, I was planning on sharing more than just episodes from Tales From The Crypt this October but seriously, these old shows are just so much fun!

For instance, consider tonight’s episode!  In Korman’s Kalamity, Jim Korman (Harry Anderson) is an artist who works on the popular and famous comic book … Tales From The Crypt!  (Needless to say, his name should also make you think of Roger Corman, as well.)  After his wife (Colleen Camp) orders him to take an experimental fertility pill, his drawings suddenly start to come to life!

Since Korman specializes in drawing monsters, you see how this could be a problem…

Korman’s Kalamity is a self-referential delight.  Needless to say, it’s all played for laughs and sentiment so be sure to sit back and enjoy!

This episode was directed by Rowdy Herrington (who also directed that cable mainstay, Road House) and originally aired on June 26th, 1990.

 

Horror On TV: Tales From the Crypt 2.10 “The Ventriloquist’s Dummy”

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

For tonight’s excursion into the world of televised horror, we have the 10th episode of the 2nd season of Tales From The Crypt!  This episode, which originally aired on June 5th, 1990, is called The Ventriloquist’s Dummy!

Who doesn’t love a creepy ventriloquist story?  And this is certainly a creepy one, with an ending that you’ll either love or hate.

This episode was directed by Richard Donner and written by future Shawshank Redemption director and Walking Dead showrunner, Frank Darabont!

Enjoy!

Horror On TV: Tales From The Crypt 2.6 “The Thing From The Grave”

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Welcome to tonight’s excursion into televised horror!

These old episodes of Tales From The Crypt are pretty fun, aren’t they?  Originally, I was planning on only showing Tales From The Crypt on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday but I’ve been enjoying the show so much that I’ve decided to add a Tuesday showing as well.

Tonight’s episode is called The Thing From The Grave and it originally aired on May 8th, 1990.  It stars Teri Hatcher as a model who falls in love with a photographer played by Kyle Secor (yes, the same Kyle Secor who went so brilliant over the top in The Purge: Election Year).  Hatcher’s boyfriend, an abusive asshole played by Miguel Ferrer, gets revenge but, since this is Tales From The Crypt, things don’t go quite the way that Ferrer intended.  Nothing can kill love, which is something that I’ve always believed!

This episode was directed by Fred Dekker, who also directed a brilliant film called Night of the Creeps, which I really should review someday.

Enjoy!

Horror On TV: Tales From the Crypt 2.2 “The Switch”

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Tonight’s excursion in televised horror comes the second season of HBO’s Tale From The Crypt.  Originally broadcast on April 21st, 1990, The Switch tells the story of an elderly millionaire (William Hickey) who is desperately in love with a younger woman (Kelly Preston).  When she tells him that she’s looking for a younger man, he goes to extreme lengths to become that younger man.

The episode was directed by Arnold Schwarzenegger and features good work from both William Hickey and Kelly Preston.  And, of course, the whole story ends with a sardonic twist that, once again, reminds the viewers that the universe is just as random and meaningless as Werner Herzog says it is.

Enjoy!

Horror On TV: Tales From The Crypt 2.1 “Dead Right” (dir by Howard Deutch)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

For tonight’s excursion into televised horror, we present the first episode of the 2nd season of HBO’s Tales From The Crypt!

In Dead Right, Demi Moore plays a secretary named Cathy who is told two things by a psychic.  First, she’ll lose her job.  Next, she’ll marry a man who will inherit a fortune and then violently die shortly afterward.  After losing her job, Cathy meets the grotesque Charlie (Jeffrey Tambor) and she marries him when she finds out that he comes from a wealthy family.

Of course, since this is Tales From The Crypt, there’s a twist.  The medium’s prediction turns out to be true but not quite in the way that Cathy was expecting…

Dead Right is pretty good.  Demi Moore is almost too plausible as a golddigger and Jeffrey Tambor turns Charlie into a truly memorable character, one who is both pathetic and intimidating.  And the story’s twist ending carries a properly nasty punch, as well.

Dead Right originally aired on April 21st, 1990.

Enjoy!

Horror on TV: Tales From The Crypt 1.4 “Only Sin Deep” (dir by Howard Deutch)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

You may remember, from previous horrorthons, that I like to end each day in October by sharing a classic example of televised horror.  Over the previous two years, I shared several episodes of The Twilight Zone and everyone seemed to enjoy them.  I know I certainly did.

Unfortunately, I can’t do that anymore.

All of the episodes of the Twilight Zone that were on YouTube have been taken down.  Copyright infringement, they say.  And, unfortunately, Hulu is no longer allowing people to watch The Twilight Zone for free.  I can still embed Hulu videos on this site but unless you’re a subscriber, you wouldn’t be able to watch them.

Which sucks, by the way!  Seriously, I was soooooo mad when I discovered what had happened…

However, fear not!  While I may not be able to share any Twilight Zone episodes this October, it turns out that every episode of HBO’s Tales From The Crypt has been uploaded to YouTube!  And what could be more appropriate for Halloween than a little trip to the crypt?

So, with all that in mind, here’s the fourth episode of Tales From The Crypt.  It’s called Only Sin Deep and it originally aired on June 14th, 1989.  It tells the story of a prostitute named Sylvia Vane (played by Lea Thompson) who agrees to sell her beauty for $10,000 and the chance to marry a rich man.  Sylvia doesn’t take the deal seriously.  You won’t be surprised to learn that was a mistake.  Only Sin Deep is an entertaining little morality tale.  Don’t mess with karma.

(As well, I’m going to assume that the name Sylvia Vane is meant to be an homage to the name of Angela Lansbury’s character in The Picture of Dorian Gray.)

Only Sin Deep was directed by Howard Deutch, who also directed Lea Thompson in Some Kind of Wonderful.  (And, of course, he also married her.)  It was written by Fred Dekker, who directed the classic Night of the Creeps.

And yes, the story is introduced by the infamous Cryptkeeper.

Enjoy!

 

Here’s The Latest Trailer For Luke Cage!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Don’t worry, we won’t!

Speaking of which, here’s the final Luke Cage trailer!  The show itself will be available on Netflix starting on September 30th.

How to Get Ahead in Hollywood by REALLY, REALLY Trying!

Posted on by casewright

guy_bee

What allows for some artists to succeed?

I have known many artists and being able to support oneself with one’s art is a rare thing, demanding respect and investigation.  A friend told me that even the piano singer at a hotel singing “Summer Winds”, if he is supporting himself solely with his art, he is a rare success in the echelon of the .0001% of artists.  It is with that understanding and respect that I bring you Gentle Reader to my discussion with Director – Guy Bee.

Guy Bee’s IMDB page reads like a TV Fan’s dream resume. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0066218/

Guy came to Hollywood via Florida to California in 1987; he obtained a job working for a camera and camera equipment leasing company.  As Guy put it, “I came in early and stayed late.” He managed their books, meaning he logged the equipment that was checked in and out, he cleaned an repaired the equipment, and drove the company truck.  Guy’s diligence impressed his boss who offered to let him go to a Steadicam workshop because he wanted him to keep track of the equipment that was leant to the workshop, allowing Guy to attend a free Steadicam workshop.  As Guy leased this equipment he, would meet more and more Directors and Producers. This led to a string of short projects while he continued to work at the leasing shop, which slowly built up his reel (segments showing his camera work) on VHS TAPE.

Guy states that “You live and die by the reputation that you can handle anything without being rattled.” This philosophy set the stage for Guy’s shot at Directing.  By working diligently and establishing relationships with the cast, crew, directors, and producers of “Third Watch”, Guy was given his first professional directing opportunity, which would grow into 13 episodes of directing.  His success as a director on “Third Watch” led to “Alias” which led to one of my favorite shows of ALL TIME: “Jericho”.  “Jericho”, for the uninitiated, is the story of a Kansas town holding together in the wake of Nuclear War.  Guy described the show as – “Every scene was important and the stakes were always high. There was no ‘C Story’.”  Guy directed three episodes of this show that was gone too soon.

Protips?  Flexibility.  “If you’re behind because of lighting or someone’s late, you still have to figure out how to get it done in time”.  Why? Budgets!  Once you cross 12 hours of shooting, everyone’s rates go up.  “It takes seven days prep for eight to nine days of filming.”  These principles took him to three of my favorite shows: “Supernatural”, “Arrow”, “The Magicians”, and “iZombie”.

The question I had was how was he able to keep working and have one show feed into the next?  “[He] never turned down work.”  On “Supernatural”, he met Erik Kripke, Kim Manners, Bob Singer, and Sera Gamble and each of these producers led him to other episodes and new shows.

Where does he do the bulk of his work?  Not in Hollywood.  Why?  “New York is busy because the tax incentives have made it sexy to shoot there.”  This dates me a bit, but is there a true hiatus anymore?  “Everything has changed. Filming used to be  from July through April.  Now, with basic cable, it’s year round production.”

Protips:  I have an artsy daughter- what have I learned from Guy that I can impart to her to help her support herself in the arts?

Be versatile.  Guy has more than one skill.  If she were interested in filmmaking, I would advise her to not just be a writer.  I’m a writer and it’s fallow … A LOT. If she wanted to be a writer, I would tell her that she should also understand how to put together budgets for stories she’s writing.  Similarly, Guy has skills as a camera operator, which led to and helped him as a director- the skills were synergistic.

Build relationships. I would tell my daughter to be totally reliable and pleasant to work with (I apologize for ending with a preposition).   Guy worked on every project with diligence, never complained, and never turned down work, enabling him to continue working in the arts without a day job.

Here Are The Primetime Emmy Winners!

Posted on by Doc Bowman

Emmy-Awards

The flame-haired one missed watching the Emmys this year but don’t worry!  The kitty’s here with all the winners!  It was a good night for Game of Thrones, which won a record number of awards!  It was also a good night for Veep, which the flame-haired one says is the best comedy ever!  The People vs. OJ Simpson was the other big winner!

Main lesson that I took away from the Emmys?  Humans love Jimmy Kimmel!

COMEDY

BEST COMEDY SERIES
“Black-ish”
“Master of None”
“Modern Family”
“Silicon Valley”
“Transparent”
“Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”
X – “Veep”

BEST COMEDY ACTOR
Anthony Anderson (“Black-ish”)
Aziz Ansari (“Master of None”)
Will Forte (“The Last Man on Earth”)
William H. Macy (“Shameless”)
Thomas Middleditch (“Silicon Valley”)
X – Jeffrey Tambor (“Transparent”)

BEST COMEDY ACTRESS
Ellie Kemper (“Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”)
X – Julia Louis-Dreyfus (“Veep”)
Laurie Metcalf (“Getting On”)
Tracee Ellis Ross (“Black-ish”)
Amy Schumer (“Inside Amy Schumer”)
Lily Tomlin (“Grace and Frankie”)

BEST COMEDY SUPPORTING ACTOR
X – Louie Anderson (“Baskets”)
Andre Braugher (“Brooklyn Nine-Nine”)
Tituss Burgess (“Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”)
Ty Burrell (“Modern Family”)
Tony Hale (“Veep”)
Keegan-Michael Key (“Key and Peele”)
Matt Walsh (“Veep”)

BEST COMEDY SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Anna Chlumsky (“Veep”)
Gaby Hoffmann (“Transparent”)
Allison Janney (“Mom”)
Judith Light (“Transparent”)
X – Kate McKinnon (“Saturday Night Live”)
Niecy Nash (“Getting On”)

BEST COMEDY DIRECTING
“Master Of None,” “Parents”
“Silicon Valley,” “Daily Active Users”
“Silicon Valley,” “Founder Friendly”
X – “Transparent,” “Man On The Land”
“Veep,” “Kissing Your Sister”
“Veep,” “Morning After”
“Veep,” “Mother”

BEST COMEDY WRITING
“Catastrophe,” “Episode 1”
X – “Master Of None,” “Parents”
“Silicon Valley,” “Founder Friendly”
“Silicon Valley,” “The Uptick”
“Veep,” “Morning After”
“Veep,” “Mother”

 

DRAMA

BEST DRAMA SERIES
“The Americans”
“Better Call Saul”
“Downton Abbey”
X – “Game of Thrones”
“Homeland”
“House of Cards”
“Mr. Robot”

BEST DRAMA ACTOR
Kyle Chandler (“Bloodline”)
X – Rami Malek (“Mr. Robot”)
Bob Odenkirk (“Better Call Saul”)
Matthew Rhys (“The Americans”)
Liev Schreiber (“Ray Donovan”)
Kevin Spacey (“House of Cards”)

BEST DRAMA ACTRESS
Claire Danes (“Homeland”)
Viola Davis (“How to Get Away with Murder”)
Taraji P. Henson (“Empire”)
X – Tatiana Maslany (“Orphan Black”)
Keri Russell (“The Americans”)
Robin Wright (“House of Cards”)

BEST DRAMA SUPPORTING ACTOR
Jonathan Banks (“Better Call Saul”)
Peter Dinklage (“Game of Thrones”)
Kit Harington (“Game of Thrones”)
Michael Kelly (“House of Cards”)
X – Ben Mendelsohn (“Bloodline”)
Jon Voight (“Ray Donovan”)

BEST DRAMA SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Emilia Clarke (“Game of Thrones”)
Lena Headey (“Game of Thrones”)
X – Maggie Smith (“Downton Abbey”)
Maura Tierney (“The Affair”)
Maisie Williams (“Game of Thrones”)
Constance Zimmer (“UnReal”)

BEST DRAMA DIRECTING
“Downton Abbey,” “Episode 9”
X – “Game Of Thrones,” “Battle Of The Bastards”
“Game Of Thrones,” “The Door”
“Homeland,” “The Tradition Of Hospitality”
“The Knick,” “This Is All We Are”
“Ray Donovan,” “Exsuscito”

BEST DRAMA WRITING
“The Americans,” “Persona Non Grata”
“Downton Abbey,” “Episode 8”
X – “Game Of Thrones,” “Battle Of The Bastards”
“The Good Wife,” “End”
“Mr. Robot,” “eps1.0_hellofriend.mov”
“UnREAL,” “Return”

 

TV MOVIE/LIMITED SERIES

BEST LIMITED SERIES
“American Crime”
“Fargo”
“The Night Manager”
X – “The People v. O.J. Simpson”
“Roots”

BEST TV MOVIE
“A Very Murray Christmas”
“All the Way”
“Confirmation”
“Luther”
X – “Sherlock: The Abominable Bride”

BEST MOVIE/MINI ACTOR
Bryan Cranston (“All the Way”)
Benedict Cumberbatch (“Sherlock: The Abominable Bride”)
Idris Elba (“Luther”)
Cuba Gooding Jr. (“The People v. O.J. Simpson”)
Tom Hiddleston (“The Night Manager”)
X – Courtney B. Vance (“The People v. O.J. Simpson”)

BEST MOVIE/MINI ACTRESS
Kirsten Dunst (“Fargo”)
Felicity Huffman (“American Crime”)
Audra McDonald (“Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill”)
X – Sarah Paulson (“The People v. O.J. Simpson”)
Lili Taylor (“American Crime”)
Kerry Washington (“Confirmation”)

BEST MOVIE/MINI SUPPORTING ACTOR
X – Sterling K. Brown (“The People v. O.J. Simpson”)
Hugh Laurie (“The Night Manager”)
Jesse Plemons (“Fargo”)
David Schwimmer (“The People v. O.J. Simpson”)
John Travolta (“The People v. O.J. Simpson”)
Bokeem Woodbine (“Fargo”)

BEST MOVIE/MINI SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Kathy Bates (“American Horror Story: Hotel”)
Olivia Colman (“The Night Manager”)
X – Regina King (“American Crime”)
Melissa Leo (“All the Way”)
Sarah Paulson (“American Horror Story: Hotel”)
Jean Smart (“Fargo”)

BEST MOVIE/MINI DIRECTING
“All The Way”
“Fargo,” “Before The Law”
X – “The Night Manager”
“The People v. O.J. Simpson,” “From The Ashes Of Tragedy”
“The People v. O.J. Simpson,” “Manna From Heaven”
“The People v. O.J. Simpson,” “The Race Card”

BEST MOVIE/MINI WRITING
“Fargo,” “Loplop”
“Fargo,” “Palindrome”
“The Night Manager”
“The People v. O.J. Simpson,” “From The Ashes Of Tragedy”
X – “The People v. O.J. Simpson,” “Marcia, Marcia, Marcia”
“The People v. O.J. Simpson,” “The Race Card”

REALITY/VARIETY

BEST REALITY-COMPETITION PROGRAM
“The Amazing Race”
“American Ninja Warrior”
“Dancing with the Stars”
“Project Runway”
“Top Chef”
X – “The Voice”

BEST VARIETY TALK SERIES
“Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee”
“Jimmy Kimmel Live”
X – “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver”
“Late Late Show with James Corden”
“Real Time with Bill Maher”
“The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon”

BEST VARIETY SKETCH SERIES
“Documentary Now”
“Drunk History”
“Inside Amy Schumer”
X – “Key and Peele”
“Portlandia”
“Saturday Night Live”

BEST VARIETY SPECIAL DIRECTING
“Adele Live in New York City”
“Amy Schumer: Live at the Apollo”
“58th Grammy Awards”
X – “Grease: Live”
“The Kennedy Center Honors”
“Lemonade”

BEST VARIETY SPECIAL WRITING
“Amy Schumer: Live at the Apollo”
“John Mulaney: The Comeback Kid”
X – “Patton Oswalt: Talking for Clapping”
“Tig Notaro: Boyish Girl Interrupted”
“Triumph’s Election Special 2016”

Stranger Things: Season 1, Episode 8: The Upside Down, ALT Title: Hop’s Redemption

Posted on by casewright

stranger things titles

Cold Open:  Evil Modine’s Government Facility:  Joyce is screaming and Evil Modine enters.  He conveys with cold calm that six people were taken this week and tries to bully Joyce like he did Karen.  Joyce isn’t having it.  Henchwoman is having people taser Hop … A LOT!  He tells them that he knows everything about they did.  They propose to have him overdose.  He counters that they arm him and let him and Joyce go.  How does Hop fit into his pants with balls that big?!

High school:  The boys are at the school and restless.  They realize that Nancy and Creeper are gone.

Joyce’s House: They set up several booby traps and the xmas lights, which sets up an inconsistency in the storytelling.

Evil Modine comes to Hop.  Hop convinces Evil Modine to to arm him, release him AND Joyce, and allow him to pursue the monster.  He offers to forget about him and their project and he’ll tell him where El is, if he agrees to his terms.

Hop and Joyce get spacesuited up and enter into the belching gate to the Upside Down.

ROLL CREDITS:

The Upside Down: Hop and Joyce are looking for Will.  The respirator noise causes Hop to Flash to happier times.

Hop is in the past… clean-shaven, with his wife and daughter, and happy.  His daughter starts to wheeze.

The Upside Down:  Nancy and Creeper cut themselves to draw out the Postmodern Vampire.  She wonders how she will know when the monster will be coming, which brings us to the story hole: Why would she be screwing the lights back in before if she didn’t know that they had a purpose? Steve bangs at the door and forces himself into the house. They both try to get him to leave and Nancy even pulls a gun on him, but then the lights flicker, the monster appears, and Steve’s brain breaks a little.  They run to Will’s room.

The Upside Down:  Hop sees the destroyed Castle Byers and a teddy bear causes him to FLASH.

Hospital Room:  He is reading to his daughter who is bald from cancer.  When he’s done reading, he goes into the hospital stairwell and sobs.  Poor Hop.

Joyce’s House: Steve freaks out and runs to his car, but he sees the lights flickering and decides to become a hero.  The monster appears behind Nancy and Creeper.  Steve jumps in and starts hitting the monster with an upgraded baseball bat.  The monster gets trapped in the bear trap.  They set the monster on fire and it disappears.  There is smoldering monster blood in the trap.  My best guess of what smoldering Vampire Monster smells like is anything on the Arby’s menu.  

The Upside Down:  Hop and Joyce are in her home and they see the blood from the monster.  The lights start turning on in Joyce’s house.

High School: Dustin finds pudding. We get it; he’s the fat kid!  Mike talks to El about how his family will quasi-adopt her. Jibber Jabber Jibber Jabber, they kiss.  Then, Evil Modine and his Goons arrive to retrieve El.  The boys and El run.   They make it into a hallway and are cutoff with ….Goons to the Left and Goons to the Right and she’s the only El in town! [Sung]

El uses her mojo and melts/explodes the brains and eyes of the Henchwoman and several goons.  This brings us to bad ideas: New Coke, The Edsel, Qwikster, The Zune, Grease 2, and cornering a pissed off teenager with lethal mental Superpowers.  Hop and Joyce pursue the monster and follow its bloodtrail to the library where Hop has looked for love.

High school: The boys get grabbed by goons and El is passed out from mental exertion. Evil Modine hugs her and promises to make everything better to make her better.   The lights flash.  Mike sees the blood, the monster breaks through the wall, and envelops Evil Modine.  Once again, it’s a monster, who hunts at night, and searches for blood.   NOSFERATU!!!!!

The Library:  Joyce and Hop are in the public library.  They see skulls everywhere and viney gooeyness.  Lastly, they see Will with a monster snake attached to his mouth.

Flash to Hop’s daughter’s Hospital Room:  We see his daughter intubated and dying.  She flatlines.  The scene is intercut with Hop watching his daughter dying and him removing Will’s monster snake from him.

High school:  The goons are fighting the monster and losing.  The monster enters the room where the boys are hiding and Lucas tries to kill the monster with the slingshot for some reason.  The monster is flung and pinned against the wall.  El is awake with red eyes and is really pissed.  She looks back at the one boy she ever loved, says good bye, and then using her mind – she creates a bright LIGHT ….AHEM … A Bright Light like the Sun and destroys the monster by disintegrating both herself and it.

Hop and Joyce:  Hop is doing CPR on Will with Joyce’s help to revive Will.  In saving Will, he will have also released himself from the prison of his grief. We flash to the Hop’s dying daughter with doctors failing to save her and we see the beginning of his beard.  However, in the Upside Down, Hop is able to save Will and, in doing so, himself as well.

High school: Karen arrives and hugs her son.

The Hospital:  Will awakens to his family.

The Waiting Room:  Everyone is waiting for Will to wake up in the hospital.  The tragedy has brought them together as one community, one tribe.  When the boys hear that Will is awake, they run in and jibber jabber a bit.  Hop goes outside and is picked up by goons, but in a friendly way.

ONE MONTH LATER:

Snow has begun.  The boys are playing D&D again.  Creeper picks up Will and gets a present from Nancy, but we rapidly see that she isn’t his girlfriend.  It’s a camera. HMMMMM, not sure if that will improve Creeper’s prospects of staying out of handcuffs. 

Hop Goes to the station and gets some food and makes some wise cracks.  He drops off some eggos in a dead drop, which is presumably for El.

Joyce’s House: It’s all fixed up because the town must have pitched in together.  Will heads to the bathroom and barfs up a slug monster, flashes into the Upside Down, and doesn’t tell anyone because I guess mash potatoes were all he could think about at that time.

ROLL CREDITS

This has been so much fun!  Demand more with all your might!!!