Brad’s “Scene of the Day” – Brenda Benet watches Joe Don Baker swing his big stick!

Posted on by Bradley Crain

Today would have been the 80th birthday of actress Brenda Benet, a beautiful and talented woman whose life was cut short with tragedy. Born Brenda Ann Nelson in Los Angeles, California on August 14th, 1945, Benet had a career spanning over 16 years, mostly on TV. She’s probably best known for playing the character of Lee DuMonde in 298 episodes of Days Of Our Lives, but she appeared in episodes of many other classic TV series, and even in the Elvis Presley movie HARUM SCARUM (1965). In her personal life, she was married to actor Bill Bixby from 1971 to 1980, and they had one child, Christopher Sean Bixby. Tragically, Christopher died in 1981 during a ski vacation in California. Devastated and in the grip of depression after her son’s death, Brenda took her own life on April 7th, 1982. A very sad end for a very beautiful woman.

Today, I choose to celebrate her beauty and talent in this scene from WALKING TALL (1973). This is not her character’s most revealing scene in the film, but her exotic beauty at the beginning is quite the contrast to a situation that’s about to get real ugly. Rest in peace, Brenda.

June Squibb Moves To Manhattan In The Trailer For Eleanor The Great

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Scarlett Johansson is making her directorial debut with Eleanor The Great, a film that stars 95 year-old June Squibb as Eleanor Morgenstein, an elderly woman from Iowa who moves to Manhattan after a devastating loss and who gets involved in the lives of Chiwetel Ejiofor and his daughter.  Though it’s not obvious from the trailer, the reviews from Cannes indicate that Eleanor is not quite who she claims to be.

Many actors have tried their hand at directing, often with mix results.  Ron Howard enjoyed directing so much that he gave up acting.  Kevin Costner made his debut with a bang and he’s been struggling to match it ever since.  Robert Redford is a far more interesting director than actor.  You could probably make the same argument about Warren Beatty, Sean Penn, and Jon Favreau.  But then there are countless other actors who directed one forgettable film and then quit.  How will Scarlett Johansson’s debut play out?  Watch the trailer and try to judge for yourself.

Retro Television Review: Malibu CA 2.26 “Three Dudes And A Baby”

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Welcome to Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past!  On Thursdays, I will be reviewing Malibu CA, which aired in Syndication in 1998 and 1999.  Almost the entire show is currently streaming on YouTube!

Yes, this is from the first season. I don’t care. I refuse to waste my time looking for a second season advertisement.

All good things must end.

And so must all bad things.

Episode 2.26 “Three Dudes And A Baby”

(Dir by Gary Shimokawa, originally aired on May 20th, 2000)

It’s over!

After two seasons and over 50 episodes, Malibu, CA is over!

As opposed to the other Peter Engel shows that I’ve reviewed on this site, Malibu CA doesn’t get a real finale.  Instead, the final episode is just another stupid 22 minutes that signify nothing.  When waitress Stacie (Kristen Miller) goes out of town, Murray, Jason, and Peter take care of her baby.  Awwwww …. wait a minute.  Why would anyone leave their baby with those idiots?

When the three men find out that Stacie is getting divorced from her husband, all three try to step up.  Murray asks Stacie to marry him.  So does Jason.  Peter offers to adopt her.  Stacie reveals that she and her husband have decided to stay together.  Are you sure, Stacie?  Murray is like really rich.

Meanwhile, Lisa (the character, not me!) gets upset because her little sister is a fan of Traycee’s television show and is thinking of quitting college so she can become an actress.  Lisa blames all of this on Traycee which is weird because 1) Traycee didn’t force Lisa’s sister to do anything and 2) Traycee has found a lot of success as an actress and if Traycee can do it, why can’t Lisa’s sister do it?

This is a typical Lisa story.  Lisa (the character, not me!) acts like a total bitch, whines nonstop, and blames everything on Traycee, even though none of it is really Traycee’s fault.  Adding the character of Lisa was one of the biggest mistakes that was Malibu CA made during its second season.  The first season was pretty dire but, in the end, it was actually better than the second season and that’s entirely because the first season did not feature Lisa (the character, not me).  I don’t want to be too hard on the actress who played her because it’s not exactly as if she was being given great material to work with.  That said, Lisa was a poorly-written character who basically was portrayed as always being annoyed with something.  The fact that the finale of the show focuses on her as opposed to wrapping up the stories of Jason and Scott says a lot about why this show was the most forgettable of all of the Peter Engel-produced sitcoms.

And so, Malibu CA comes to a close and there’s really not much to say about it.  Peter Engel tried to work his Saved By The Bell/California Dreams/Hang Time magic but the show never really found a consistent tone and neither of the Collins brothers were particularly likable protagonists.  It’s really not a shock that neither Jason Hayes nor Trevor Merszei went on to have acting careers after this show ended.

On a positive note, Brandon Brooks and Priscilla Inga Taylor were consistently amusing, if just because they were smart enough to embrace the oddness of their characters.  And Ed Blatchford had his moments as the father figure.  Otherwise, this was a forgettable sitcom that signified the end of an era.

Next week, something new will be coming to TSL in this timeslot.  What will it be?  We’ll find out next Thursday!

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Wim Wenders Edition

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

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 78th birthday to the great German director, Wim Wenders!  It’s time for….

4 Shots From 4 Wim Wenders Films

The American Friend (1976, dir by Wim Wenders, DP: Robby Muller)

Paris, Texas (1984, dir by Wim Wenders, DP: Robby Muller)

Wings of Desire (1987, dir by Wim Wenders, DP: Robby Muller)

Until the End of the World (1991, dir by Wim Wenders, DP: Robby Muller)

Music Video of the Day: Dulce Amor by David Archuleta (2025, dir by Nathan Kim)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

In case you were wondering whatever happened to David Archuleta, here you go.

Myself, I can still remember when David Archuleta was on American Idol.  There was actually a lot of controversy when he came in second to David Cook, which always struck me as a bit odd.  Archuleta seemed like a nice guy with an okay voice.  David Cook actually had talent.

(If anything, this was the season that showed how silly it was to have adult performers competing against teenagers.)

Oh, the Archuleta stans were crazy.  I remember posting some very jejune criticism of Archuleta’s performance of Imagine on a message board and getting accused of being a “psychopath” for not enjoying Archuleta’s rather weepy interpretation.

My favorite that season was Jason Castro, just because of how obviously stoned he was.

As for today, Archuleta’s a boring ex-Mormon now.  Who didn’t see that coming?  This video presents us with Archuleta the angel, which is like whatever.  I honestly think it wouldn’t hurt him to get a new management team.  Either that or I guess he could become a perennial political candidate like Clay Aiken.

Enjoy!

Late Night Retro Television Review: 1st & Ten 1.5 “Play Me Or Trade Me”

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Welcome to Late Night Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past! On Wednesdays, I will be reviewing 1st and Ten, which aired in syndication from 1984 to 1991. The entire series is streaming on Tubi.

This week, an injury leads to the promise of sex …. or does it?

Episode 1.5 “Play Me Or Trade Me”

(Dir by Bruce Seth Green, originally aired on December 23rd, 1984)

Carl Whitherspoon, the star running back who is always demanding more money, is injured while filming a commercial for a rental car company.  (“Call OJ,” the commercial’s director says when it becomes obvious that Carl won’t be able to jump over any more luggage.)  The Bulls are struggling and Coach Denardo wants a championship but his star player is out for four weeks!

It’s time to trade!  Unfortunately, the only way that the Bulls are going to be able to get the running back they want is by trading their aging quarterback, Bob Dorsey.  Dana is upset about losing Bob but then she realizes she can finally have sex with him if he’s no longer a Bull and she decides that she’s okay with the trade.

But then the running back that the Bulls were hoping to trade for is injured so the trade is called off.  So, Dana can’t have sex with Bob.  But Bob still leads the team to victory.  Actually, the team wins because Bubba (Prince Hughes) blocks a field goal with his oversized ass.   (That’s not me being rude.  Bubba’s weight and the size of his ass is a running theme on this show.)  The Bulls are now 5-3 and I guess they don’t need a running back after all.

The main theme of this episode seemed to be that Dana needs to get laid.  I liked the chemistry between Delta Burke and Geoffrey Scott.  And the scene where Carl injured himself made me laugh just because of Sam Scarber’s over-the-top facial expressions as he crashed into a table.  Otherwise, this episode was pretty forgettable.

Brad’s “Scene of the Day” – Cary Grant & Eva Marie Saint hang out on Mt. Rushmore!

Posted on by Bradley Crain

Have y’all been to Mt. Rushmore? My wife and I stopped by in 2023 on the way home from Yellowstone. It was pretty cool stuff!

I remember as I was driving up to Mt. Rushmore, I saw a sign that mentioned the Alfred Hitchcock movie NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959) being filmed there. I hadn’t seen the movie in many years, so I decided to watch it again when I got home to celebrate the trip. I enjoyed seeing Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint hanging out near the giant rock faces of some of America’s great presidents. In celebration of Hitchcock’s 126th birthday in cinema heaven, I thought I would share that scene with all of you!

Timothee Chalamet Plays A Mean Ping Pong In The Trailer For Marty Supreme

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Timothee Chalamet plays Marty Mauser, a young man who dreams of being the world’s greatest ping pong player.

Normally, that is not the type of plot description that would catch my attention but Marty Supreme is directed by Josh Safdie, so you know it’s going to be about much more than just ping pong.  The cast is also intriguing.  Along with Chalamet, the cast includes everyone from Gwyneth Paltrow to Fran Drescher to Penn Jillette and director Abel Ferrara.  Is Kevin O’Leary playing himself?  Who knows with Safdie directing?

Judging from the trailer, this might be the most intense ping pong film ever made.