Outlaw Star 1.05

The Beast Girl, Ready to Pounce!

Gene, Jim, and Melfina return to Blue Heaven in the Outlaw Star. They talk Swanzo, Hilda's friend, and Mikey, his assistant, into helping them outfit the Outlaw Star. Swanzo warns them that a Ctarl-Ctarl woman was looking for them. It isn't long before Aisha Clan-Clan finds them. She is disappointed to learn that Hilda is dead. She wants to know the coordinates of the Galactic Leyline. She doesn't believe Gene when he says he doesn't know.

Aisha Clan-Clan attempts to change into beast form but she is low on energy and there is no moon nearby to help her. They lose her for a time after they split up. Jim goes to look for ammunition for Gene's pistol. Gene and Melfina find a quiet spot and talk about her past and how little she knows about it. Aisha Clan-Clan eventually catches up to them.

Gene talks her into having a bite to eat with them when they see how hungry and low on energy she is. She eats considerably more than they could have imagined. She isn't grateful. Gene uses one of the special rounds (#12) that Jim procured. She is knocked out by the round. Gene, Jim, and Melfina beat a hasty retreat. They tell the manager of the restaurant that Aisha will pay for the meal.

Mo' Better Blues (1990)

starring Denzel Washington, Spike Lee, Wesley Snipes, Giancarlo Esposito, Robin Harris, Joie Lee, Bill Nunn, John Turturron

written and directed by Spike Lee

Bleek Gilliam (Denzel Washington) is a jazz trumpeter who is juggling two women and trying to keep the musicians in his quartet happy. Giant (Spike Lee), his manager, has a gambling habit and doesn't do a very good job negotiating a good deal for Bleek's quartet at the jazz club at which they are currently performing. The most vocal member of the quartet is Shadow (Wesley Snipes) who also has his eye on Clarke, one of Bleek's women, who is also a singer.

Things start off good but go downhill from there. The pressure gets to be a little too much for Bleek. Giant gets beat up more than once by enforcers who are there to collect money. Bleek wants to help Giant but he's got problems of his own. Things go from bad to worse for Bleek and Giant.

Atypical 4.10

Dessert at Olive Garden

Sam mopes about not getting to go to Antarctica. He packs up all his stuff with penguins on them and gets rid of them. He tries to forget about Antarctica but he can't. Abby recommends that he draw until he forgets about it. He does just that but then Sam gets an idea.

Casey goes to see Izzy. She's angry but Izzy apologizes. They kiss and make up.

Doug keeps having a dream about Chuck playing tennis. The dream bothers him. He doesn't know what it means and he keeps having it.

Zahid has fully recovered from his surgery. Paige gets a job offer from the head office of Habitat for Humanity.

Elsa tricks Casey into meeting with a scout from UCLA. Sam decides to go to Antarctica even though there is no school trip. Doug decides to go with him.

Samurai Jack 5.05

XCVI

The Scotsman, now an old man in a wheelchair, is accompanied by his daughters and other armies. Together they attack the stronghold of Aku. The villain is bored but he annihilates the other armies and then turns on the Scotsman. The Scotsman is killed but his ghost lives on. His daughters and his ghost go looking for Jack.

Jack and Ashi leave the island on the back of a giant sea serpent. The night before, while Jack slept, she saw visions of her teacher telling her to kill Jack while he slept, but she refused. Ashi now wants proof of all that Jack has told her. He refuses at first but he eventually relents. 

They travel on and find a decimated village. A survivor tells him that someone evil took their children. Jack and Ashi go after the children. The evil robot-like creature has hypnotized the children. They attack Jack on command. Ashi goes after the device that is controlling the children.

She eventually finds it and defeats the villain. Jack thinks the children are dead. He sees the ghost warrior. It tells him that it is time. Jack leaves with the ghost warrior, before Ashi finds him.

Doctor Who (1963) 14.03.03

The Deadly Assassin - Part 3

The Master sends first an airplane and then a man after the Doctor while he is still in the Matrix. The Doctor attempts to deny the reality of the Matrix but he is on the Master's turf. He has no choice. The man is armed with a rifle. He takes multiple shots at the Doctor.

The Master gets impatient. He sends one of Chancellor Goth's personal guards, whom he has hypnotized, to kill the Doctor's body. The guard tells Castellan Spandrell and Coordinator Engin that he is there to take the Doctor to Chancellor Goth. They tell him he will have to wait. The guard attempts to mess with the controls of the machine to which the Doctor is connected. The Castellan tells the guard to get back and when the guard does not the Castellan shoots him.

The Doctor draws fist blood. He injures the man with a grenade. The Doctor makes a blow gun and injures the man again, this time with a poison tipped thorn. The man, who is wearing a mask eventually catches up to the Doctor. It is Chancellor Goth. The two men fight They are in a swampy area. Goth gets the upper hand and starts to drown the Doctor by holding him under the water.

District 13: Ultimatum (2009)

Original Title: Banlieue 13: Ultimatum
French with English subtitles

starring Cyril Raffaelli, David Belle

directed by Patrick Alessandrin

Walter Gassman, the leader of the Department of Internal State Security (DISS), makes a deal with some foreign business men to destroy District 13 in Paris. His plan is to wipe it off the face of the Earth and then rebuild. Police captain Danien Tommasso (Cyril Raffaelli) and District 13 resident Leito (David Belle) team up once again to save the neighborhood.

Thoughts

Elodie Yung plays Tao, the leader of one of the gangs in District 13. I know her best from Season 2 of Daredevil where she played Elektra.

This movie had some of the trappings of the first District 13 movie but it only had a glimmer of the acrobatics that were seen in the first installment.

Monk 1.02

Mr. Monk and the Psychic

A police commissioner murders his wife. A psychic finds the body. It looks like the commissioner's wife drove off the road by accident. Monk suspects foul play. He does not believe in psychic abilities. Sharona is impressed by the psychic.

Monk discovers evidence that links the psychic to the police commissioner. He thinks the psychic is working with the police commissioner, at first, but later decides that is not the case. He works with the psychic to fool the police commissioner into confessing.

Thoughts

The part of the psychic was played by Linda Kash. She had a small role in Season 3 of Fargo.

The Last Seduction (1994)

starring Linda Fiorentino, Peter Berg, J.T. Walsh, Bill Pullman, Bill Nunn

directed by John Dahl

Bridget Gregory (Linda Fiorentino) is married to Clay (Bill Pullman), who is selling drugs illegally. He makes a big score. She makes a remark and he slaps her. She runs off with the cash while he is in the shower. She winds up in western New York. She wants a divorce. Frank (J.T. Walsh), her lawyer, tells her to lay low. 

She follows Frank's advice. She hunkers down in a small town not far from Buffalo, NY. She gets a job at an insurance company, under an assumed name. She meets Mike (Peter Berg). She isn't interested in anything other than sex, but he is. He thinks his life has turned a corner. She just wants to have sex. He gets upset that she doesn't seem to want anything other than sex.

Clay owes money to a loan shark. He needs the money.to pay off the loan shark. He hires a private eye (Bill Nunn) to track her down. The private eye eventually finds her but she finds a way to deal with him. Another private eye is sent to keep an eye on Bridget. She deals with him too.

Counterpart 1.01

The Crossing

Howard Silk has been working for the same company for almost 3 decades. He applies for a new position within the company but is denied the chance to interview for the job. The next day he is ushered into a secret meeting with his boss and someone from "housekeeping" and a man who looks like Howard's twin.

Howard quickly learns that the man who looks just like him is from another world. The portal to that world is in the building where he works. The other man is also named Howard Silk. They share the same name but their lives have taken different paths. The other Howard (aka Prime) is there chasing an assassin named Baldwin. Prime thinks that she is going to try and kill Emily, Howard's wife.

Emily is in the hospital in a coma. She was hit by a car six weeks before. Prime's Emily is dead. She died of cancer. Howard has been going to visit Emily in the hospital every night after work. Prime insists that he take Howard's place that night. Howard gives him clothes and tells him everything that he needs to know about the hospital.

Captain Harlock (1978) 1.16

Kei - A Farewell Song

Kei returns to her childhood home and visits the graves of her parents. She runs into her father's assistant, Kazuya. He shows her around her parents house. He is continuing the work of her father. Her father was killed experimenting in space. Kazuya said her father was crazy at the time but now he knows he was wrong and seeks to make up for it.

Kazuya wants Kei to stay and work with him. Saki, his younger sister who is in a wheelchair, lives with him. Kei thinks about it. She talks it over with Captain Harlock and decides to take Kazuya up on his offer. The first thing Kazuya asks her to do is get in a centrifuge. He then proceeds to interrogate her while the centrifuge is spinning around. He wants to know how the Arcadia acted on its own and rescued Captain Harlock, in the previous episode. She tries to tell them that she doesn't know, which is the truth, but they don't believe her.

Moneyball (2011)

starring Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Philip Seymour Hoffman

directed by Bennett Miller

Billy Beane (Brad Pitt), the general manager for the Oakland A's, attempts to rebuild the team after losing 3 star players. He has a shoe-string budget with which to hire the talent needed. His first hire isn't a player but an economist, Peter Brand (Jonah Hill). Brand has analyzed the game and come up with a statistics based approach to figuring out which players to sign.

Brand's approach doesn't sit well with the Art Howe (Philip Seymour Hoffman), the manager of the team, or the team's scouts. Beane faces a lot of criticism for what he is doing to the team before the season begins. He fully buys into Brand's baseline approach to baseball which is that the most important statistic is on base percentage. The team stumbles out of the gate which doesn't make things any easier for Billy.

Art is the one picking the players who get playing time.  He plays the players he wants to play. They aren't the players that Billy wants him to play. Billy decides he has to shake things up. He trades a number of the players that Art prefers and brings in more players that seem wrong to most people but that seem right to him and to Brand.

Atypical 4.09

Player's Ball

Sam and Zahid have a going away party for Sam (who is going to Antarctica) and Zahid (who is about to have one of his testicles removed). Everyone is invited. Elsa helps to plan the party. Izzy says she will be there but then she doesn't make it.

Paige has to go back to wearing the potato suit at work. It proves to be a little too much. She quits.

Elsa accidentally finds out that the Antarctica program has been canceled, in the middle of the party. She tries to keep Sam from learning how she found out. She tells Zahid and then he tells Sam, thinking that Sam already knew.

Casey hangs out with Abby at the party. They wind up leaving the party to go and get hot dogs, after Casey learns that Izzy isn't going to be there. Casey asks Abby to give her a tattoo.

Doug finds Lillian, Elsa's mother, sitting on a park bench in her bathrobe. He takes her home and calls Elsa.

Sam freaks out when he learns that the Antarctica program has been canceled. He doesn't do anything drastic. Casey and Zahid find him at Techtropolis.

NewsRadio 4.18

Copy Machine

Ted from Accounting died late at night when his tie got caught in the feeder. Nobody remembers who he was. Everyone seems to think that Dave is grieving over Ted's death. He's not but they don't believe him when he insists that he isn't.

Ted's roommate from college visits the station. He wants to hear about what Ted was like since he last saw him. Various members of the staff make up stories. Dave ends up having to give the eulogy at Ted's funeral.

Thoughts

This isn't a great episode. I'm not even sure that I would say it is a good one. It ends with a joke that is in very bad taste and not all that funny. 

Samurai Jack 5.04

XCV

Jack survives the fall. He lands in a snow bank. Ashi, one of the Daughters of Aku also survives. She isn't ready to give up the fight, regardless of what he says. She believes that Aku is great and good and that Jack is the evil one. Jack restrains her but then a great beast comes along and swallows them both.

Ashi's arms are tied to her side but she continues to fight Jack as they make their way through the great beast. He saves her life on multiple occasions. Eventually they make their way out of he beast, through a blow hole. They were on land when they were swallowed but now they are at sea.

They find a small island. Jack takes a moment to relax. He turns his back on Ashi. She is ready to kill him when she has a change of heart.

Doctor Who (1963) 14.03.02

The Deadly Assassin - Part 2

The President is dead. The Doctor tries to escape but he is captured by the guards. Chancellor Goth orders that a trial be held right away. He wants the Doctor to be tried, convicted, and executed before the election for a new president can be held. One of his peers, Cardinal Borusa objects but Chancellor Goth gets his way.

The Doctor is locked up until the trial begins. He tries to convince Castellan Spandrell that he didn't do it. He tells Spandrell about the premonition he had that the President was going to get killed. Spandrell doesn't believe him. Spandrell talks to Engin about the matrix which contains the memories of all deceased Time Lords.

The trial of the Doctor begins. Lots of evidence is presented. The Doctor finally gets a chance to speak. He invokes Article 17 and declares himself to be a candidate for the office of President. Chancellor Goth doesn't like it but the trial has to be suspended until the election is over. Cardinal Borusa insists on it and this time he gets his way.

The Doctor works with the Castellan to try and figure out who killed the President. The Castellan doesn't fully believe the Doctor. He starts to change his mind as the Doctor shows him that the rifle doesn't shoot straight.

The Phil Silvers Show 2.03

Bilko goes to College

Sgt Bilko is trying to run the ROTC program for Schmill University when he learns that one of the students owes $1,000 to a bookie, Big Ed McMillan. Bilko decies to stick out his neck out for the student when he learns that the student is due to inherit millions of dollars in a few years.

Schmill is due to play Notre Dame in football. Schmill has never scored a point against Notre Dame which has always scored more than 100 points against Schmill. Bilko places a bet with Big Ed McMillan that Schmill will win. He bets $100 and is given 1000 to 1 odds.

Big Ed quickly starts to regret the bet and tries to get Bilko to cancel the wager. Bilko refuses to cancel the bet. He ups the pressure on McMillan and starts putting out all sort of false press about the Schmill football team. He wants McMillan to pay him $5,000 to cancel the bet.

Un Village Français 1.06

Coup de froid

or Cold Spell

Nov 11, 1940

Gustave is working on his letter to Marshall Pétain when Suzanne Richard arrives at the house. Marcel tells his son that his handwriting is too messy and that he needs to recopy the letter. Gustave doesn't have any more pages in his notebook so he uses a loose piece of paper. Neither Gustave, nor Marcel, nor Suzanne notices it but the piece of paper on which he recopies his letter one of the fliers which Suzanne and Marcel are planning to put in the newspapers.

Marcel and Suzanne run into a setback. They are trying to insert the fliers into the newspapers which are already tied into bundles but the bundles are too tight and they can't get them in every paper. They need to cut the bundles apart in order to get the fliers into the papers. They get string from the sawmill to retie the bundles. They don't notice it but Raymond sees them. He was sleeping there with Marie Germain. 

The principal of the school invites a couple German soldiers to witness the reading of the letters to the Marshall. At least one the soldiers speaks French. The principal has also invited the school official who reprimanded Lucienne.

The morning papers get delivered. Marchetti opens one of them and finds one of the fliers. He takes it to the sub-prefect and the mayor. Marchetti is more than ready to investigate and figure out who did it. The sub-prefect puts him in charge of the investigation. Suzanne Richard is the first suspect. She was seen arriving late to work at the post office. 

The Harder They Fall (2021)

starring Jonathan Majors, Idris Elba, Regina King, Zazie Beets, Delroy Lindo, LaKeith Stanfield

directed by Jeymes Samuel

Nat Love (Jonathan Majors) leads a few outlaws and one lawmen, Bass Reeves (Delroy Lindo), in the pursuit of Rufus Buck (Idris Elba), a notorious criminal who has just been pardoned. Love has a personal score to settle. Buck killed his parents when he was young. Buck controls the town of Redwood and it is there that Nat Love and his gang find Buck and his gang, most notably Trudy Smith (Regina King) and Cherokee Bill (LaKeith Stanfield).

Thoughts

Many of the characters in this movie were real people but the story itself is fiction. Not everyone makes it to the end of the movie. I found a couple of the deaths to be very moving.

Captain Harlock (1978) 1.15

Tragic Love! The Northern Pole Aurora

The Arcadia leaves Earth but soon returns when the crew spots something strange going on in the Arctic. It looks like a runway to them. The Arcadia lands and Captain Harlock, Miime, Tadashi, and Kei leave the ship to investigate. Captain Harlock gets separated from the others and meets a Mazone. She captures him and then causes the Arcadia to fall into a crevasse.

Commander Kiruta learns of what has just happened at the North Pole. He personally leads a squadron to the Arctic to destroy the Arcadia and its crew. The Arcadia is stuck and can't move but when the forces of earth start to drop bombs it frees the Arcadia.

Commander Kiruta and his men are forced to flee when the Mazone opens fire on them. Most of his men are killed and only Commander Kiruta seems to survive the counterstrike. Miime goes looking for Captain Harlock. She finds him and kills the Mazone. Together they return to the Arcadia.

Atypical 4.08

Magical Bird #2

Casey is in a funk. She hasn't recovered from freezing up during the track meet. She decides that she doesn't want to run anymore. Throughout the episode she talks to the camera about a story she made up when she was younger, about a woman, a runner named Mighty Mo.

Sam asks Casey to teach him to drive. She agrees. Sam almost runs over a dog. Casey recognizes the dog, it belongs to Evan and Beth. Sam gets the dog to come with them and they drive over to return the dog.

Samurai Jack 5.03

XCIV

Jack floats downstream holding on to a log. He sees the dark rider. He eventually leaves the river and finds a cave. He pulls the dagger out of his gut and sews himself up. The white wolf joins him in the cave. Jack dreams of his youth. Jack heals up, with some help from the wolf that brings him food and helps to keep him warm.

The Daughters of Aku resume their search for Jack. They follow signs to his passage along the river. Their efforts eventually lead them to Jack. He warns them to back off but they keep coming. He kills three of them. The fight continues. They corner him on a tree limb that juts out over a cliff. He kills them too but them the tree limb breaks and he falls.

Doctor Who (1963) 14.03.01

The Deadly Assassin - Part 1

The Doctor heads to Gallifrey after he has a vision. He sees himself taking aim at the President of the High Council of Gallifrey and shooting him. He arrives just outside of Gallifrey. Some guards try to arrest him but the Doctor evades them. Hilred, the leader of the guards reports into his Castellan Spandrell, his boss, letting him know what happened. The Castellan is not happy but he immediately starts to investigate the TARDIS that has arrived and its owner.

A skeletal figure in dark robes sees the Doctor escape the guards. He shoots a guard who tries to stop the Doctor from feeling the scene. The skeletal looking man later meets with another man who also wears a dark robe. 

Spandrell gets some help from Engin, a tech, in researching the Doctor. Spandrell reports his findings to Chancellor Goth, who hails from the same order as the Doctor, the Prydonians. Goth doesn't seem too concerned about the findings even though they seem to indicate that the Doctor may be an agent of the Celestial Intervention Agency.

The Doctor makes his way to the Panopticon where the President of the High Council is about to announce his successor. The Doctor sees something high above the floor of the Panopticon. He goes up to the level where a camera man is filming everything that is going on. The Doctor doesn't find the camera man but he does find a rifle. He points it at the President and shoots him.

The Phil Silvers Show 2.02

It's for the Birds

Sgt. Bilko gets one of his men, Corporal Honnegan, who is an expert on birds, to appear on the $64,000 question. Something happens just before the final round of the game show and Honnegan forgets everything he knows about birds. Bilko wants to not take a chance on losing everything in the final round, and walk away with $32,000 but he gets backed into a corner and is forced to let Honnegan go for the $64,000.

Un Village Français 1.05

div>Marchés noirs

or Black Markets

Nov 7, 1940

Raymond Schwartz is at the movies with Jeannine, his wife. He breaks away from his wife briefly to rendezvous with Marie Germain, his lover. They are caught kissing by Sarah Meyer, his housekeeper. Raymond asks Sarah not to say anything. She promises to keep silent about what she saw. She isn't supposed to be there. It isn't her day off. She is supposed to be working. Raymond doesn't care but Jeannine would, if she knew.

Someone starts booing during a newsreel showing Marshall Pétain meeting with Adolph Hitler. Von Ritter, the German commander, wants the offender found. He tells this to Dr. Larcher, the mayor, and Servier, the Deputy Prefect. He wants results. Larcher and Servier turn to De Kervern and Marchetti. They task the two police officers with finding the people who booed at the newsreel. De Kervern doesn't want to do it but Marchetti has ideas about how to approach the task.

Marcel almost gets arrested by a couple French police officers. He was accused of handing out communists pamphlets by a man on the street but when they stop him he doesn't have anything to prove he is a communist. Suzanne Richard, a woman whom he doesn't know, helps him out get rid of the pamphlets he was carrying. They meet up later on. She isn't a communist but she tells him about plans to rally support against the Germans. 

Monk 1.01

Mr. Monk and the Candidate

Adrian Monk is a former San Francisco Police Detective. He's consulting on one case in Santa Clara and brought back to work on another case. He's something. He as issues. Everything went south for him a few years ago after his wife was killed. He's a germaphobe, he's obsessive-compulsive, he has problems with heights.

He has a nurse, Sharona Fleming, who looks after him. She drives him around and helps him to deal with his issues. 

San Francisco Police Captain Leland Stottlemeyer is forced to bring Monk in after there is an attempt on the life of Warren St. Claire, who is running for mayor. Someone tried to shoot St. Claire. Monk thinks it is connected to the other case he is working on, in Santa Clara. No one else agrees. Sharona thinks Miranda St. Claire is behind the attempt on her husband's life.

It turns out that Monk is right about there being a link to the other case he is working on. It takes a while for Monk, Sharona, and the police to track down the killer but eventually they do. The killer gets away, but they track him down again. Sharona gets taken hostage. Monk saves her despite his issues.

Captain Harlock (1978) 1.14

The Mausoleum of the Sphinx

Harlock goes to see Mayu only to find out that Commender Kiruta has taken her to Egypt. Captain Harlock and the crew of the Arcadia follow Kiruta and Mayu to the airport in Cairo. Kiruta left instructions for them there. Harlock is to proceed on his own. Harlock, despite being warned by the crew, chooses to follow the instructions. He is taken first by airplane, then by car, and finally he is given a horse with which to cross the desert. 

The horse eventually collapses. Harlock puts it out of its misery and keeps going on foot. He has almost caught up to Kiruta and Mayu when he collapses. He is found by Mayu while she is going to get water. Commander Kiruta was stung by a scorpion which was about to bite Mayu. Harlock and Mayu nurse Kiruta back to health. He tells them about his sister who is buried nearby, next to the Sphinx.

Kiruta turns on Harlock and Mayu. He activates a secret opening in the chest of the Sphinx which reveals a Mazone weapon. Kiruta uses it to bury the Arcadia, which is parked 120 miles away in the Valley of the Dead, in a pile of rubble. The crew don't know what to do but the ship comes back to life and extricates them from the rubble. They find the Sphinx and destroy it and rescue Harlock and Mayu. They leave Commander Kiruta behind.

Atypical 4.07

Channel the Cat

Sam wants Zahid to break up with Gretchen. Zahid refuses. He's having too much fun with her. 

Sam is hired to draw a picture of a cat wearing a cowboy hat and chaps. He's only doing it for the money. He doesn't really like cats.

Casey is feeling the pressure. She is having trouble relaxing. She has been doing something to her fingers. something that she uses bandages to cover up.

Paige wants to have sex with Sam but he gets it in his head that he needs to abstain until he gets the picture of the cat completed. Paige takes some advice from Gretchen but it blows up in her face.

Samurai Jack 5.02

XCIII

Aku is bored. His great plan didn't work out exactly as planned. He destroyed all the portals to the past but Jack has stopped aging. He doesn't know that Jack no longer has his magic sword.

Jack is attacked by the Daughters of Aku. They attack him while he is in a wooded area. They pursue him to an ancient structure. The fight continues there. They outnumber him 6 to 1 and seem faster. He eludes them put they keep coming.

One comes after him. She is much closer to him than any of the others. he turns and attacks her. She stabs him in the side with a dagger. He slashes her throat. He didn't realize that they were human. He hears the others coming and jumps in the roaring river.

The attack on Jack is paralleled by another fight. This one is between a white wolf and three large cat like beasts. The wolf seems hopelessly smaller than the the cat-like beasts but it fights on. The episode ends with the three larger beasts and the wolf dead.

Doctor Who (1963) 14.06 Extras (Part 2)

Moving On (2010)

4 minutes

Philip Hinchcliffe talks about plans that were never realized for the next season of Doctor Who.

The Foe from the Future (2010)

7 minutes

The Foe from the Future was an idea for a Doctor Who story that Robert Banks Stewart wrote. There were a few elements from it that were used in The Talons of Weng-Chiang but it was its own, unfinished story. Robert Banks Stewart left Doctor Who before work began on The Talons of Weng-Chiang. He and Philip Hinchciffe talk about their memories of the original idea for the story and the connections between it and The Talons of Weng-Chiang.

Now and Then (2010)

11 minutes

This is a look at some of the locations where The Talons of Weng-Chiang was filmed. They show both what the locations look like in 2010 and what they looked like in 1977 when The Talons of Weng-Chiang was filmed. Some of the locations don't exist anymore or were in the process of being demolished in 2010. Other locations look more or less the same.

Look East (1977)

4 minutes

This is a news featurette that was filmed, presumably for the BBC, while Talons of Weng-Chiang was being filmed. It includes a minute or two of Tom Baker talking about the character of Doctor Who.

Victoriana and Chinoiserie (2010)

References in The Talons of Weng-Chiang

8 minutes

Philip Hinchcliffe and Dr. Anne Witchard talk about the origins of some of the elements of The Talons of Weng-Chiang. There is a heavy emphasis on popular and urban myths of the Victorian Era.

Freaks and Geeks 1.18

Discos and Dragons

Nick has a new girlfriend, Sara, and she has gotten him into disco. Daniel and Ken show up at the disco, which is in a room at a bowling alley and shout "Disco Sucks!" while Nick is dancing with Sarah. Ken is convinced that the only reason Nick is with Sarah is to make Lindsey jealous.

Mr. Rosso punishes Daniel for trying to pull the fire alarm by making him join the AV club. Sam, Bill, and Neal are all members of the AV club. Neal and Bill have their doubts about Daniel but Sam tries to stick up for him.

Lindsey is selected for Academic Summit at University of Michigan. It is a two week summer camp of sorts for the best and brightest students in Michigan. She doesn't want to go. Mr. Rosso gives her a Grateful Dead album to listen to in the hopes that it will help to mellow her out to the idea of going to Academic Summit.

Captain Harlock (1978) 1.13

The Castle of Evil in the Sea of Death

The Arcadia returns to Earth and heads to the Sargasso Sea, off the eastern coast of South America. Captain Harlock makes a visit to a military base in South America on the way to their destination. The Arcadia is attacked by a submarine which looks like I-168, a Japanese submarine that disappeared during World War II more than 1000 years before.

The submarine fires a single torpedo, which doesn't do any damage to the Arcadia, and then takes off. The Arcadia follows it. 

Commander Kiruta gets word of Captain Harlock's return after Harlock calls Mayu. Harlock wanted to make sure she was okay. Kiruta leads a squadron of fighter planes against the Arcadia but their weapons aren't powerful enough to damage the Arcadia.

Atypical 4.06

Are You in Fair Health?

Sam asks Zahid to take care of Edison the Turtle while Sam is in Antarctica. Zahid says he will but then Sam gets angry with him. Zahid doesn't seem to take the task seriously. Sam goes looking for someone else to take care of Edison.

Doug pushes Casey to train harder. He doesn't like Izzy. He thinks Izzy is keeping Izzy from training hard enough to get into UCLA.

Izzy and Casey's relationship gets a little rocky when Izzy finds out that Casey updated Izzy's take home test, before turning it in. Izzy thinks Casey did it because she thinks Izzy is dumb. Casey tries to apologize but Izzy doesn't want to hear it.

Samurai Jack 5.01

XCII

Jack is an older man now. He is haunted by his past, memories of his parents. His magic sword is gone. He rides a motorcycle. He fights with guns and knives. 

Seven girls are trained from infancy. They are the Daughters of Aku. Their mission in life is to find and kill Samurai Jack.

Jack arrives at a burned out city. Scaramouch, the minion of Aku who destroyed the city, has been waiting for Jack. Scaramouch is a robot but his voice is magical. He has a sense of humor but his jokes fall flat on Jack's ears. Scaramouch seems to get the upper hand in the fight but Jack is victorious in the end.

Un Village Français 1.04

Sur la terre comme aux ciel

or On Earth as it is in Heaven

Oct 15, 1940

Jacques is walking through the woods near Villeneuve when he sees a parachute. He finds the man who landed nearby. He is an English pilot and he's wounded.

A man shows up at the home of Daniel Larcher. The man is looking for his new born son. He has a picture of his wife. The woman in the picture is the mother of Tequiero. Daniel claims he wasn't in town the day that the man says his son was born, Jun 12. The man leaves empty handed. Daniel doesn't tell Hortense, his wife, who was at the door.

Raymond Schwartz is driving Marie Germain home when they get stopped by Jacques. He has a gun and he insists that they come with him. He takes them to the English pilot. Together they get him into a small abandoned cabin. Marie tries to care for him but he is badly wounded. Raymond has to leave. He has a meeting with Von Ritter.

Tequiero's father goes to see the police, De Kervern and Marchetti. They ask him some questions and recommend he talk to Dr. Larcher. He explains that he already did but Dr. Larcher lied to him.

The Phil Silvers Show 2.01

Platoon in the Movies

Lieutenant Pierson of the motion pictures office of the Army comes to Fort Baxter looking for some men to star in a training movie about spark plugs. Bilko does everything he can to get his platoon involved. Lt. Pierson picks Pvt. Doberman to be in the movie, against Bilko's advice.

Shooting the movie doesn't exactly go according to plan. Lt. Pierson gets frustrated and puts Bilko in charge of shooting the movie. Bilko radically changes the script and makes it into a musical. Doberman plays a shiny new sparkplug and Bilko plays an old worn out sparkplug.

El Mariachi (1992)

starring Carlos Gallardo, Consuelo Gomez, Peter Marquardt

directed by Robert Rodriguez

A mariachi (Carlos Gallardo) comes to town looking for work. He gets mistaken for Azul, a killer, whom Moco, the local mob boss, wants dead. Moco's men come after the Mariachi. He kills some of them in self-defense. The Mariachi hooks up with Domino. She helps him out not realizing that he his wanted by Moco. 

El Mariachi and Azul cross paths and accidentally exhange guitar cases. Azul winds up with the guitar and El Mariachi with the guns.

Freaks and Geeks 1.17

The Little Things

The Vice President of the United States, George H. W. Bush, is coming to speak at McKinley. Cindy is the president of the school's Young Republicans Club and will get to introduce him at the assembly. Sam hangs out with Cindy and her friends. He's getting tired of it and suggests that they go one a date, one that he plans. She agrees.

Amy tells Ken a secret about herself. She was born with both male and female genitalia. Her parents had the male parts removed when she was a baby. Ken doesn't know how to react. He likes her but he is unable to show it. He shares this information with Daniel and Nick, even though he told Amy he wouldn't share it with anyones else.

Mr. Rosso selects Lindsey to ask the first question of the Vice President. She has to submit her question in advance for approval and it gets rejected. The Vice President's people want her to ask him what's his favorite place to eat in Michigan. She's angry. Mr. Rosso isn't happy either. She tells her parents but they just want her to mention her father's hardware store when she's asking the question.

Drive (2011)

starring Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston, Albert Brooks, Ron Perlman, Oscar Isaac

directed by Nicolas Winding Refn

This movie is about a stunt driver (Ryan Gosling). He also repairs cars for Shannon (Bryan Cranston) who owns a garage. He is also a getaway driver. He doesn't have a name. He is just named Driver in the credits. Driver's life gets a little complicated when he meets Irene (Carey Mulligan), his neighbor and her son. His relationship with her starts when he helps her out when her car breaks down. He hangs out with her and her son. They go on a date. Stan (Oscar Isaac), her husband is in prison but he gets out a week after Driver and Irene meet.

Stan isn't too happy to learn that her wife has a male friend. Stan winds up needing some help from Driver. Stan is in trouble. He owes money to the mob. They want him to knock off a pawn shop. Driver agrees to help him, as the getaway driver. The hold up goes sideways. Stan gets killed. Driver is pursued by another car. He kills a couple men who come after him.

Nino (Ron Perlman), the big boss who ordered the hit on the pawn shop, is the business partner of Bernie (Albert Brooks), who is in turn Shannon's boss. Things get messy as Nino and Bernie try to clean things up. Driver isn't very cooperative.

Doctor Who (1963) 2.09.04

The Time Meddler

Part 4: Checkmate

Vicki and Steven explore the Monk's TARDIS. They find artwork and weapons from various eras. The Doctor talks to the Monk and learns his plan, to kill the Vikings before King Harold has to deal with them. His hope is that King Harold will be able to deal with William the Conqueror's invasion better if the Vikings are eliminated. The Monk takes the Doctor to see his TARDIS. Vicki and Steven are still exploring the TARDIS when the Doctor and the Monk arrive.

The Viking who was unconscious wakes up. He finds the other Viking and unties him. Together they look around the monastery. They arrive in the room where the Monk's TARDIS is located just as the Doctor and the Monk are exiting the machine. The Doctor, Vicki, and Steven get tied up. The Monk makes a deal with the Vikings.

Atypical 4.05

Dead Dreams

Sam develops a list of things he needs to do to prepare for his trip to Antarctica. He wants Doug to help him improve his outdoor survival skills. He wants his mother to bake him things that he will have to eat on his trip. He wants Casey to help him get in shape. He doesn't have a job for Zahid but Zahid figures out what Sam has forgotten about, he needs a medical professional.

Izzy is nervous about staying home because she is suspended. Casey comes to visit her and meets Sasha, Izzy's Mom. Sasha seems nice but Izzy doesn't like her. She also doesn't like Casey meeting her Mom. Things get awkward between Casey and Izzy.

Elsa gets kicked out of her support group for bringing everyone down. Sam freaks out when he goes to get a physical. He's okay until he sees a needle. Izzy apologizes to Casey and then patch things up.

NewsRadio 4.17

Balloon

Mr. James announces his plan to fly around the world in a hot air balloon. He claims that Bill Gates has been making fun of and this is Mr. James way to prove himself. The staff of WNYX tries to talk him out of the trip but Mr. James insists on doing it, solo.

Bill decides to give up smoking. He still needs a nicotine fix so he takes up chewing tobacco.

Thoughts

This was a fun episode. I don't recall seeing it before but I might have. It isn't my favorite but I might watch it again. Not great but good fun.

Cowboy Bebop (2021) 1.01

Cowboy Gospel

This series is based on the anime series of the same name that is over 20 years old. It is a live action version of the original/ There are a lot of similarities between the two. The opening scene and most of this episode and lifted from the anime series. This isn't much of a reimaging. It is more of a remake.

I had my doubts when I heard that Netflix was attempting a live action version of Cowboy Bebop. My hopes for the show rose when I saw the trailer. My hopes were dashed when I saw this episode. I didn't want or expect it to live up to the original. I was expecting something different. I was ready for it to be different. I wasn't ready for what I got.

Un Village Français 1.03

Passer la ligne

or Crossing the Line

Sep 30, 1940

Von Ritter, the German commander, comes to Raymond Schwartz. The Germans are in need of boards to fix up the school which they are now using as a barracks. Von Ritter hopes that Schwartz's saw mill can provide the needed material.

A German military telephone cable was cut the night before. Von Ritter comes to Daniel Larcher, who is now officially the mayor of Villeneuve. Von Ritter wants a list of 20 men. Larcher agrees to get him the list. Larcher then turns to De Kervern and Machetti, the two policemen in town. He talks them into investigating the crime.

Raymond Schwartz receives a note that Marie Germain's husband was killed in the fighting. He is tasked with delivering the news to her. The route to her place is blocked by German troops but he gets someone to relay a message to her. She comes to the road block. He gives her the news and a letter that was found on her husband.

Freaks and Geeks 1.16

Smooching and Mooching

Nick's father sells his drum set because his grades are poor. Nick moves out. He winds up staying with the Weirs. Lindsey is real uncomfortable about it. Harold, Lindsey's father, tries to help Nick. Lindsey gets jealous. Nick's father eventually comes looking for him.

Cindy broke up with Todd and wants to date Sam. They go to a party together. It is a make-out party. Neal and Bill come along. Neal has practiced his spin the bottle technique but the bottle keeps landing on Bill. The bottle winds up on Vicki when Bill spins it. Vicki and Bill spend 7 minutes in heaven together after the third time. Vicki doesn't want to kiss him at first but after they talk a bit she loses her inhibitions and insists that they make-out. Sam gets to make-out with Cindy.

Doctor Who (1963) 2.09.03

The Time Meddler

Part 3: A Battle of Wits

Vicki and Steven discover a secret passage which the Doctor must have used to escape from the monastery. They take the passage and find out where it leads. They don't find the Doctor but they do find a modern artillery piece along the top of a cliff.

The Doctor arrives back in the village. He has a chat with Edith who tells him that Vicki and Steven were there. He tells her about the Viking invasion and the Norman invasion before he returns to the monastery.

The Monk lets Wulnoth and Eldred into the monastery. He tends to Eldred's wounds but he is too weak to get very far so he stays there. Wulnoth returns to the village. 

The two Vikings who survived the fight in the previous episode argue about their best course of action. They decide to head to the monastery. Their plan is to hole up there until the Viking fleet arrives.

Knights of Sidonia 2.12

Decisive Battle

Part of the Crimson Hawksmoth works its way into the cockpit of Tanikaze's garde, the Tsugumori. It looks just like Hoshijiro. It almost gets him but Izana manages to activate some of the garde's systems. Tanikaze and destroys the Crimson Hawksmoth. The part that looks like Hoshijiro survives.

Hundreds of gaunas converge on the Tsugumori. Several of the Hayakaze attack ships arrive from Sidonia just in time to destroy the gaunas. Everyone returns to Sidonia. Life kind of returns to normal. Sidonia arrives at Planet 9. Nagate is given a medal for his actions. He goes exploring and returns to the place where he grew up.

Atypical 4.04

Starters and Endings

Paige apologizes to Sam. He accepts her apology but Casey thinks she needs to be tested. She comes up with challenges for Paige to complete. Paige completes the first two but then loses her patience when the third challenge is unreasonably tough.

Sam tries to improve his outdoors skill. He asks Doug for help but Doug doesn't help him, at first. Doug is mourning the death of Chuck. He doesn't want to talk about it with anyone but when Elsa throws out Chuck's sourdough starter, not realizing what it is, Doug loses his cool.

The Invaders 1.11

The Ivy Curtain

An cargo plane piloted by former test pilot Barney Cahill is forced down in the middle of a storm. The passengers are all Invaders. Cahill learns this after he notices that one of the men isn't bleeding after he got injured.

David Vincent arrives in Cameron, NM while following William Burns, a man he suspects to be an alien. He recently spotted Burns in Miami and Omaha. Vincent heads to Midland Academy which turns out to be a training center for the alien invaders. He is captured but escapes and gets a first hand view of the training in progress.

The aliens at Midland Academy are led by Dr. Rayner. He makes Cahill an offer he can't refuse. He wants Cahill to fly people to their training centers around the United States. He proposes to pay Cahill $1,000 for each peson he transports. The alternative is death.

Barton Fink (1991)

Starring John Turturro

Directed by Joel Coen

Produced by Ethan Coen

Barton Fink (John Turturro) is a playwright who is hired by Capital Pictures, a Hollywood studio, to write a sceenplay for a wrestling picture starring Wallace Beery. Jack Lipnick (Michael Lerner) , the head of the studio, puts a lot on Barton's shoulders.

Barton is unfamiliar with wrestling and has a lot of trouble getting started writing. He tries talking to W.P. Mayhew (John Mahoney), a novelist and screenwriter, who insists that Barton calls him Bill. Barton turns to Ben Geisler (Tony Shaloub), who is slated to direct the picture, but Geisler isn't much help either. Barton is an artist but what he seems to have found is an industry.

Barton is staying at the Earle Hotel. Charlie Meadows (John Goodman), his next door neighbor, is very affable. The wallpaper in Barton's room is peeling. There are mosquitos in the room. 

The Lucy Show 5.13

The Efficiency Expert

first aired 12/12/1966

Oliver Kasten (Phil Silvers) is hired to improve the efficiency of the bank. He terrorizes Mr. Mooney, the bank's branch manager, and gets him demoted. He promotes Lucy. Everything seems to be going smoothly until Lucy and Mr. Kasten visit a toy factory.

Un Village Français 1.02

Chaos

or Chaos

Dr. Larcher and his family run across his nephew, Gustave, while they are headed back towards Villeneuve. They take him with them. They are forced to abandon their vehicles outside of town. They are escorted back to town by German soldiers. The German commander puts Dr. Larcher in charge of the citizens of Villeneuve, even though he really doesn't want to be. He is a deputy mayor. The mayor has fled.

Most of the people in Villeneuve are in the church. Gustave's father, Dr. Larcher's brother, and mother are there and he is reunited with them. There are lots of people who need medical help. Dr. Larcher gets to work. Hortense, his wife, tries to find Tequiero some milk. A nun who is responsible for rounding up orphans finds out that Tequiero is not Hortense's child. The nun insists that the child will be better in the orphanage. Hortense feels otherwise.

Dr. Larcher, in addition to taking care of patients, has been charged with pacifying the people of Villeneuve. Jean Marchetti, one of the policemen in town, helps Dr. Larcher in rounding up weapons that people have. Dr. Larcher is very nervous about doing it but he starts to grow into the role. He has a tense moment with some communists who don't want to hand over their guns, but he talks them into it.