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LCShackley
Reviews
Tatort: Tango für Borowski (2009)
Borowski crosses the Finnish line
The plot is rather convoluted, but the scenery is breathtaking. Almost the entire episode takes place in Finland, where Borowski teams up with some rural police to track down a young German criminal who has escaped. The Director, composer, and much of the crew are Finns. We get plenty of beautiful shots of the northern forest, rivers, and lakes, as Borowski tries to recapture his prey. Even Frau Jung is on hand to use her special gifts in solving the mystery. And as usual, there are some touches of humor, including watching the detective dance the tango in a rustic picnic area. Not one of the best episodes, but one of the prettiest.
Tatort: Scheherazade (2005)
Conspiracy nonsense and little else
The MHz streaming service recently (2024) began showing the "Tatort:Bremen" series. For some reason, they began with this episode, skipping almost a dozen earlier stories, which leaves us without any back-story for the main characters. Neither character is particularly likeable or compelling, leaving us to rely on the supporting cast for interest.
The character of "Manu" is definitely interesting: a waif-ish druggie who vacillates between her obsession with a missing lover, and her obsession with 9/11. We are treated to a cartload of conspiracy theories, leading me to wonder if airing those theories was the true motivation for the script, rather than an interesting cop thriller. Manu is almost always on the run, assuming that everyone is after her.
As others have pointed out, the story ends without a real ending, just an enigmatic shot of Manu on the run again, and the assumption that the CIA and their sinister colleagues have gotten away with something again (a common plot device in European thrillers).
Unlke the series set in Munich and Vienna, we really don't get a feel for the city of Bremen, which to me is one of the reasons I watch TATORT. So: little plot, blah characters, and a neglected setting make this a disappointing start to a TATORT series. I may try one more to see if this was just a fluke.
Unfrosted (2024)
Flaky comedy for the boomer set
This is a light, fun comedy - not a lot of depth but plenty of chuckles. The cast is pulled from SNL, 30 Rock, Seinfeld, etc. And they all do their bits with aplomb.
Jerry comes from my generation, which is perhaps why I find it a lot funnier than many reviewers. Without a basic knowledge of the era, you'll miss the JFK-Cronkite-Missile Crisis jokes. You may even miss the J6 references near the end, when Tony Tiger, sporting a horned helmet and an animal-tooth necklace on his bare chest, invades the Kellogg's factory. There's even a nod to "Oppenheimer."
It's colorful, fast-moving, and full of familiar faces. The only "dud" was Hugh Grant, but it's not really his fault for being miscast. Thurl Ravenscroft's voice was an octave lower than Hugh's, and he came from the American plains, not the UK. Get the popcorn ready for 90 minutes of light-hearted laughs.
Hope Street: Episode #3.12 (2024)
An especially ridiculous episode in an increasingly ridiculous series.
The script writers are getting more desperate for their petty crimes of the week. This week we suddenly meet two new characters, one of whom is the brother of a primary cast member. Everyone in town seems to know them, even though we have never seen them in any previous episode. The plot becomes more and more bizarre, and of course we have all the usual soap opera stuff going on in the local pub. The show just grinds on from week to week, trying to fill the requisite 15 episodes for the season. Watching the various couples break up and get back together again is getting extremely tiresome after over 10 episodes..
The Avengers: Warlock (1963)
Steed Gets Hammered
Basically, this is a by-the-book episode: there's a secret formula and some bad guys want to steal it. But this time their method is different: they employ the skills of a master of the black arts to control and summon those who have the information they desire. So we simply remove all the usual James Bond-y elements, and replace them with clichés from the Hammer Horror studio. There's all sorts of nonsense about spells and charms, and several wasted minutes where robed extras gyrate around, waving their arms as if on some sort of demonic teen dance show. Fortunately, this appears to be the guilty screenwriter's only contribution to the Avengers canon.
Agatha and the Curse of Ishtar (2019)
The Curse of the Befuddled Viewer
It's hard to explain thoroughly what an utter mess this film is. The story is flimsy and hard to follow, and the actors seem to be asleep most of the time. Special opporobrium goes to the composer, who doled out a mish-mash of a score that ranges from Arvo Part-style minimalism, to weird processed piano doodling, to electronic noise. It's as though 3 or 4 different hacks each contributed a reel. The producer is a no-name whose only credits are three knock-off Agatha Christie mysteries. Who funded him? It's telling that he couldn't get the same actress to play the lead role in all three films. Shame on PBS for foisting this on a mystery-hungry public.
The Avengers: Mission to Montreal (1962)
A dud that starts too slowly
Sure, there's a murder right off the bat, but the revelation of the actual "McGuffin" doesn't appear until 1/3 through the plot. And only AFTER that time does Steed finally show his face (pretending to be a steward on an ocean liner).
What's confusing is that there are two characters that may or may not be Steed's allies, but we don't know that for sure. A doctor character, apparently a fill-in for the departed Ian Hendry, isn't introduced properly to the audience, so we have to wait to be assured that he is a "good guy." There is no Cathy Gale, only cheap sets and stock music, even during the climactic fight scene.
I'm watching all of season 2 on Prime because I don't think I ever saw them all before. So far, I haven't found any that made me think I missed something.
Perry Mason: The Case of the Dubious Bridegroom (1959)
Very true to the book
I watched this episode literally MINUTES after having finished the book, and I was pleased with how well the screenwriter adapted it for TV. (The previous book I had read, "The Case of the Lonely Heiress" didn't fare nearly as well - season 1/20.)
The opening scene is exactly as described by Gardner, and the story proceeds in line with the text. Character names haven't been changed (with minor exceptions), and the writer didn't try to shoehorn Tragg and Burger into a story where they didn't appear. (The trial takes place in San Diego.)
A few minor changes were made to condense the tricky plot, but the surprise ending still packs a punch. It's fun to see "Commissioner Gordon" from the BATMAN series playing a shady character. All in all a good episode, focusing mostly on Perry and the guest cast.
The Paper Chase: Lasting Impressions (1985)
The show gets even further away from its origin
Here's the second episode in a row which is more or less a boilerplate legal drama, which could have been on just about any "lawyer show."
The writer apparently thought that Golden needed to have the spotlight again, even though he's no longer at the law school. Why? He was an annoying character brought on in season two to give grief to Hart and the other Law Review staff members. Why should we care about what he's doing after graduation?
The plot is similar to one that would be used to greater effect in "Broadcast News" a few years later: a TV host uses sneaky editing to create a story that harms a pharmaceutical company. Golden represents the company, and its head, William Schallert, a comic-book rendition of an anti-Semite. The point is hammered home again and again, including a "minister, priest and rabbi" joke. Golden overcomes his antipathy to the client and, with the help of some other staffers on the TV show, presents a convincing case.
Our only tie to the law school here is a cute little subplot about Laura's friendship with the library janitor, played by Scatman Crothers. Without this recurring lighthearted bit, this episode would have been "The Golden Hour." And who needs it? Did Michael Tucci's contract require him to get a script with a focus on his character?
The Paper Chase: Security (1985)
Run-of-the-mill legal drama
Another reviewer sees this episode as a rebound from the priceless "It's Only a Show." I see it as a decline, as the series begins to be a typical "lawyer show" instead of one about students. Sure, Hart is involved in helping to solve the legal problem, but this plot could have been on any number of shows of the era. There is a funny subplot in which Zeiss and Harriman quibble about the menu for the big law school dinner. Overall, not a bad episode, but compared to the first two seasons, we seem to have lost our way. And how do these seemingly frantic students find the free time to do all these other activities?
The Paper Chase: It's Only a Show (1985)
Welcome comic relief - a memorable episode
Once a year, the frenetic law students take a break to do a revue, in which they spoof the law profession, their professors, and each other, in order to let off steam and have fun. This episode serves the same function in the course of this largely serious drama series. We get to see our familiar characters enjoying themselves and mocking their classmates.
As usual, there is conflict: mostly between Bell (the show's director) and the rest of the cast, who never seem to live up to his expectations. At times, it seems that the revue is going to fall apart, but once it gets going, there are legal laughs aplenty. There are two patter songs based on Gilbert and Sullivan, including Zeiss parodying Hart. Lanie Kazan fills in for an ailing Soloway, singing "You're Gonna Hear From Me" and bringing down the house. And finally, Bell reluctantly performs his Kingsfield impression (which we have seen him do in earlier episodes). James Keane does a marvelous job of capturing John Housman's eccentric delivery and mannerisms, as the faux-Kingsfield arrives at heaven's gate (with Ford as St. Peter) and discovers that he needs some "H. T." (humility training) before admittance. (Andra Millian also does a splendid impression of Mrs. Nottingham, Kingsfield's longsuffering secretary.)
A sub-plot has Kingsfield attending a conference in LA, where he stands aghast at current pop culture (breakdancing, "have a nice day," healthy food). In fact, he hates it so much that he returns to campus early, just in time to...well, you can guess.
The episode was written by Lee Kalcheim, who had written scripts for All in the Family, The Odd Couple, and many other shows. He wrote four episodes of Paper Chase, including the unforgettable "My Dinner With Kingsfield." This revue episode shows that he understood the characters well, and that he was quite good at writing parody lyrics. This was a welcome break, showing us another side of the students we have come to know well.
The Cat's-Paw (1934)
A clunker of a talkie
I'm a huge fan of Harold Lloyd, the star of the silent screen, but not so much of his talkie era. It's not his fault - he's still a likeable character and his voice was pleasant enough. But when the laughs depend on the script rather than the visuals, the peculiar talent of Lloyd is sidelined.
Not that there aren't some funny things on screen - it's just that the flashes of wit and zippy pacing are gone. Harold plays a boring character, a fish out of water who gets caught up in city politics against his will. He uses his Chinese connections and wisdom (he's a visiting missionary from Asia) to come up with a way to beat the city system.
It's probably funnier than a lot of today's comedies, but because of its time frame there are racial slurs dropped casually throughout the film. (The Chinese characters are presented with respect in the script, but the white characters refer to them by an old-fashioned pejorative.) Other than that, the worst language is "Holy Cats!" The supporting cast is excellent, and the give-and-take between Lloyd and George Berbier is particularly enjoyable.
The Milky Way (1936)
OK, but not outstanding
I recently became a Harold Lloyd fan, drawn in by his classic silent features of the 1920s. The DVD set I purchased also included some talkies, which (so far) haven't impressed me.
Lloyd is always a likeable guy, and this character is well-suited to him. But it could have been played by just about ANY comedic actor of the era (as proven when it was remade a decade later wtih Danny Kaye). Lloyd's earlier films stood out because of their incredible visual humor. But when the jokes are mostly spoken, the charm of the visuals is lost. This film was better than the previous talkie "The Cat's Paw," but not by much. It's no surprise that after a few more talkies, Lloyd bowed out of the screen biz.
Inside No. 9: Nine Lives Kat (2022)
Serling redux
Although there are some new twists and layers in this plot, it is pretty much a retread of a concept done by Rod Serling in a November 1971 episode of "Night Gallery" called "Midnight Never Ends." The characters on screen are at the mercy of an author, who cannot figure out how to advance the plot. The twist here is that the characters begin to take their fate into their own hands. There are a lot of funny jabs against the clichés of television mystery stories. Steve plays a fairly normal character for a change, while Reece plays a cop with a peculiar problem. Two familiar female faces round out the cast. The episode starts with a few scary moments, but as the plot progresses, it becomes more comedic than horrific.
Borgen: The Future Is Female (2022)
How progressive!
We've watched the earlier seasons of BORGEN and enjoyed them, but I almost gave up on the new season. We're used to the strong feminist viewpoint, but right away we also got dollops of climate nonsense, animal rights drivel, and the usual uninformed anti-fossil fuel rants. Looks like things change a bit in episode 3, but I'm sure all will be wrapped up in a lovely progressive bow by the end. The self-righteous smugness of the progressive entertainment elite knows no bounds.
Stranger Things: Chapter Seven: The Massacre at Hawkins Lab (2022)
Waste of time
If you manage to stay awake until the end of this episode, you will learn one tiny important bit of information. The last half hour is a boring monologue by a secondary character. There is plenty of blood, violence, and fighting with monsters, so if that equals a ten for you, you will enjoy this episode.
Robin Hood: Bad Blood (2009)
Unnecessary detour
This episode takes us away from the usual band of outlaws and creates an unnecessary backstory to the characters of Robin and Guy. The story continues in the next episode.
Inside No. 9: The Referee's A W***er (2020)
For football fans only
I am a big fan of this show, but I am definitely not a fan of British football. I assume that this episode is full of hilarious jokes that football fans will find amusing, but I found it all very dull. Even the big surprise ending meant very little to me. I hope the rest of the season improves to the usual standards.
ABC Comedy News (1973)
A missing comedy gem from the 70s
For years it was impossible to find any information about this show, or proof that it had even existed. I'm so glad there is a glimmer of hope here, and a full episode uploaded to YouTube to prove that my memory is correct!
This late-night show came on sporadically in the "Johnny Carson" time slot over at ABC. Johnny, of course, walked all over it, which was a shame because it had some wonderful talent: Bob and Ray, Fannie Flagg, Kenneth Mars, Mort Sahl, Dick Gregory, and my favorite, the musical madman PDQ Bach (Prof. Peter Schickele).
I remember having to look each week to see if an episode was coming. It got very little promotion, and vanished after only a few episodes (there is still apparently no information on the exact run of the show). It predated SNL's newscasts, Not Necessarily the News, and other parody programs.
ABC could never quite come up with a viable alternative to Carson, but Comedy News was a good try.
The Avengers: Who Was That Man I Saw You With? (1969)
Avengers in Espionage Mode
One of the attractions of The Avengers is the variety of story types: fantasy, espionage, science fiction, revenge, etc. This one falls solidly in the espionage category, featuring Tara King trying to breach the security of a top-secret government project. Why is she doing it, and who is she working for? Those questions drive the plot along, with the usual band of quirky secondary characters, including a villain who admires his own elegant feet, and an old lady who reads lips. There are plenty of standard spy tropes, including hidden cameras, and messages hidden in phone booths, plus a superbly choreographed fight scene at the end which may be the most acrobatically satisfying fight of the entire series. The final tag scene is classic Avengers, and is long enough to give you a good hearing of Laurie Johnson's "Tara" theme. Howard Blake, filling in for Johnson on the main score, does a seamless job of integrating with the standard "Avengers" sound, with the addition of what sounds like a Wurli electric piano. Don Chaffey (who directed some of my favorite PRISONER episodes) does an artistic job with interesting shots and angles.
I had not watched the Tara episodes for many years, and was expecting to be disappointed when I binged them recently. However, with only a couple of exceptions, these stories hold up well in the AVENGERS canon.
The Avengers: Pandora (1969)
Out of the ordinary
Some people count PANDORA among their least favorites, but I give it high marks for trying a different approach, and for a good Brian Clemens story with a wonderful ending. This is not a story about a criminal mastermind, or a Russian spy, or a sinister plot by or against rich British businessmen. "The Ministry" only plays a tangential part, because it was a chance meeting in the office that drew Tara into a plot to dupe a rich old man. I won't give away any other plot points, so that you can savor them yourself in the proper order. There's a wonderful supporting cast, including Avengers favorite Julian Glover, the prissy James Cossins, and the half-mad John Laurie. As icing on the cake, composer Laurie Johnson created two new themes for this episode: a melancholy harmonica theme to represent the Great War, and a wistful "love theme" for the mysterious PANDORA.
The Avengers: Homicide and Old Lace (1969)
Homicide with Old Footage
You know you're in trouble when you're past the 9-minute mark and you haven't seen Steed or Tara since the credits. The dread increases when it becomes apparent that the star of the episode is Mother, whose very presence is one of the biggest blots on season seven. Apparently, the producers were trying to salvage footage from an episode that was shot and too terrible to use, so they chopped it to bits (along with scenes from other old episodes) and had Mother talk over it, with occasional accompaniment from Laurie Johnson's tack piano. Despite the humorous bits by Mother's old aunties, this script is dead in the water and a mess to follow with any sense of logic. I guess it was a budget-saver, but it was so embarrassing that they didn't air it until the show was on its last legs.
The Avengers: What the Butler Saw (1966)
Charmingly British
One reviewer gave this episode low marks for being "too British," but that's exactly the reason why I gave it a "nine." It takes on two quintessential British institutions - the military and the "gentleman's gentleman" - and mixes them up with the usual dash of murder and espionage. Sure, it's a little silly, but isn't it fun to see Steed showing up with various styles of facial hair to match the man he's going to interview? How about the "butling school," in which stuffy butlers practice answering the door or ironing the master's trousers? And then there's the delightful scene in which Emma fends off the advances of Denis Quilley, with the help of Steed (as butler) interrupting the proceedings for an endless string of reasons? There are plenty of British eccentrics and other stereotypical characters, which are hallmarks of the series.
I should also point out the huge contribution of composer Laurie Johnson, who wrote many new "military-style" music cues for this episode. My favorite was early on, when the "Sailor's Hornpipe" is pitted contrapuntally against the Avengers theme. He was an expert with brass writing, and it shows in this score.
There are many kinds of episodes in THE AVENGERS canon, from the truly frightening to the light and airy. This one falls at the latter end of the spectrum, but is no less of an episode for all that.
Monty Python's Flying Circus: The Golden Age of Ballooning (1974)
Sad start for season four
One of the worst episodes of the first three seasons was "The Cycling Tour," a dud primarily written by Palin & Jones. It was an episode-long story which fell flat, and lacked the zaniness of the usual MPFC show. So why, WHY would they make the same mistake again with this boring story about the Montgolfier brothers?
First, the show is obviously missing the presence of John Cleese, and without him, there is no Cleese/Chapman material in the show. Second, the Pythons rely on what would later be an SNL staple: repeating the same jokes until they become tiresome. There are a couple of moments which provoke a chuckle, but that's about it. What appears to be the only Eric Idle script is one of his typical droning monlogues, this time in faux-Norwegian, which also has about one laugh in three minutes. Terry Gilliam is also woefully underused.
One bright spot is the arrival of Bonzo Dog Band's Neil Innes, with whom the boys had worked on a previous show. His only contribution here is a girl-group song about George III, but he would return in later episodes...culminating in his appearance as Sir Robin's Minstrel in "Holy Grail."
Monty Python's Flying Circus: The Cycling Tour (1972)
A colossal misfire for the Pythons
Michael Palin admits in "The Pythons" that by the end of season three, Cleese was bored, and they were all running out of good material. He and Terry Jones had come up with the "Cycling Tour" idea as a project for the two of them to do by themselves, but when the Pythons were coming short of new ideas, they pitched it to the others, who added their own bits.
This has always been my least favorite episode of the first three seasons, an experiment that failed dismally. Mr. Pither is a character that might have been funny in a 3-minute sketch, but not as the anchor for an entire story. The same goes for Mr. Gulliver, whose changes of personality are funny for about five seconds apiece. Chapman's Chinese ambassador is an overlong and embarrassing segment; the firing squad scene would have made a good brief sketch but goes on too long. Doing a funny accent is not an anchor for an entire segment.
What made the "normal" episodes work so well was the frequent change of story line, the different personalities of the writing teams, and the craziness of Gilliam's animations (which are drastically underused here). When I first saw this episode almost half a century ago I was disappointed; watching it again today left me with the same feeling.