Doctor Who (1963) 1.03.01

The Edge of Destruction

Something shakes the TARDIS violently. All four passengers fall to the ground and pass out. Barbara is the the first one of wake up. Eventually the other wake up. Susan acts very strange. The doors to the TARDIS are open but when Ian starts to approach them they close on their own. Susan says that's impossible.

The Doctor has suffered a head wound. Susan gets a bandage for it. Barbara applies the bandage to the Doctor's head. Susan goes to lie down. Ian goes to see her. She has a knife and threatens him with it and continues to act very odd.

Barbara and the Doctor gets into an argument over nothing at all. Ian, Barbara and Susan all go to sleep. The Doctor doesn't know where the TARDIS is. The episode ends with the Doctor by the console. Someone grabs him from off screen by the neck.

UFO Robo Grendizer 3.19

Farewell, Dearest Friend Morros

or Tragedy of Elite Bodyguard Mors

or Le meilleur ami (The best friend)

The Vegans are pondering what to do next, how to try and kill Duke Fleed when a missing saucer beast shows up at Skull Moon Base. It is piloted by General Morros. The Great Vega Daio give Morros a chance to rest and then send him on a mission to kill Duke Fleed.

Broadchurch 1.02

Episode 2

The police search the Latimer home and find a wad of money in Danny's room and some cocaine in his sister Chloe's room. Ellie asks Chloe about the cocaine. She says she was holding it for Becca Fisher, the woman who runs the inn. The police leave a liaison officer with the family.

Karen White, the reporter from out of town, tries to talk to a few people. Alec Hardy, Chloe Latiemer. 

Jack Marshall, the man who runs the newsstand, tells Alec about a time he saw Danny arguing with the mailman. Alec and Ellie investigate the story but it leads nowhere. The mailman has an alibi and it checks out.

Outside the Law (1920)

Outside the Law (1920)

starring Priscilla Dean, Wheeler Oakman, Lon Chaney

directed by Todd Browning

76 minutes

Silent

Gangster Silent Madden and Molly Madden (Priscilla Dean), his daughter, are trying to reform when Silent is framed by rival gangster Black Mike Sylva (Lon Chaney) for shooting a police officer. Black Mike turns his focus next to Molly. He talks her into pulling a heist for him. Her partner in the heist is Bill Ballard (Wheeler Oakman), one of Black Mike's men.

The heist doesn't go exactly as Black Mike intended. Molly and Bill get away and hide out in an apartment. The plan is to lay low until things cool down. Bill tempts fate and goes out for stroll one day. He is spotted by one of Black Mike's men and trailed back to the apartment. 

Ikiru (1952)

Ikiru (1952)

starring Takashi Shimura

directed and co-written by Akira Kurosawa

143 minutes

Japanese with English subtitles

Kanji Watanabe (Takashi Shimura) has never missed a day of work in the Public Works department when he finds out that he has stomach cancer. He has six to twelve months to live. He tells no one, not even his adult son, but he stops showing up for work. He contemplates suicide but can't go through with it.

Better Call Saul 4.07

Something Stupid

The episode opens with a montage. Eight or nine months go by. Kim gets her cast off and her career takes off with Schweikart & Coakley. Jimmy continues to sell burners or drop phones from a van, even after the year is up and he is eligible to get his law license reinstated.

The work on the tunnel goes on. Nerves start to get frayed. It is taking longer than anticipated and the workers need some time off. Jimmy wants to get rid of Kai but the foreman needs him because he's his demolition expert.

Jimmy gets approached by a plain clothes cop who wants him to stop selling phones on the street to criminals. Jimmy says no. Huell sees Jimmy getting accosted and hits the man with a bag of sandwiches. The cop has Huell arrested and goes for a heavy sentence.

Doctor Who (1963) 11.05.X

The Final Curtain (2011)

38 minutes

This is the making of documentary feature for Planet of the Spiders. 

There are clips from interviews with 

• Barry Letts, producer (1969-74)
• Terrance Dicks, script editor (1969-74)
• Richard Franklin, Mike Yates
• Mark Gatiss, actor and author
• Mat Irvine, visual effects assistant
• Rochelle Selwyn, designer
• Jon Pertwee, The Doctor

The Pertwee interview was from 1995

Sherman's Showcase 1.01

Meet Sherman

John Legend introduces Sherman's Showcase, a show that originally aired in the early 1970s. Sherman's Showcase was a variety show. There is some background provided about Sherman's father, who was also in the entertainment business. There is an interview with Alex Haley. There are a few musical performances.

Sherman's show is a love letter to and a spoof of shows like Solid Gold and Soul Train, to name a few. It is very tongue in cheek. There are clips form the 1970s, 1980s, and beyond.

I enjoyed this very much. My description can't capture the spirit of this show but I really enjoyed watching it. I can't stop here. I will be be watching more of this show in the near future.

UFO Robo Grendizer 3.18

Farewell the King and the Father

or Tears from the deep of the heart

or L'imposture (The imposture) 

Maria is fooled by Lady Gandal into thinking that her father is still alive. Lady Gandal uses a telepathic device to encourage Maria to go looking for her father. Lady Gandal sends Commander Shuler to Earth, in a saucer beast, disguised as King Fleed, Maria's father. 

Maria cannot be dissuaded. She is convinced that her father is still alive. She leads Duke Fleed and the others into danger. She is convinced that the Vegans are holding her father prisoner. It isn't until Commander Shuler is killer, and his disguise falls away that Maria sees that she was wrong.

Broadchurch 1.01

Episode 1

The body of a young boy, Danny Latimer is found on the beach near the base of some cliffs. Alec Hardy is put in charge of the investigation. He is new to Broadchurch. He is paired with Ellie Miller, a life long resident of Broadchurch.

The police try to keep the identity of the victim under wraps but Oliver Stevens, a local reporter, figures out who the victim is after he sees Danny's sister on the beach near the site where her brother's body was found. Oliver tweets out the victim's identity.

Danny's family is distraught, as are many people in town. Ellie's son Tom was Danny's best friend. Tom starts deleting messages and data from his computer and phone after he learns of Danny's death.

A reporter comes to town from a national newspaper after seeing Oliver's tweet. 

Abbott Elementary 2.02

Wrong Delivery

Some books get delivered to Abbott by mistake instead of Addington, a charter school that is just a few blocks away. Janine, Mr. Johnson, and the other teachers take the books to Addington and notice how nice it is compared to Abbott. 

Gregory wants to break up with Taylor but is worried that Barbara will get angry at him when he learns that he is breaking up with her daughter.

Ava holds a Shark Tank-like contest to determine how to spend the grant money. Janine wins the contest but then the school needs to spend the money on an exterminator because the school is infested with mice.

Better Call Saul 4.06

Piñata

The episode opens with a flashback to 1993. Jimmy and Kim are both working at HHM delivering mail. Kim is going to school at night at University of New Mexico. Jimmy has no interest in studying the law. He is more interested in the Academy Awards betting pool.

Kim, in the present, decides she's had enough of M&A law. She meets with Richard Schweikart. She makes a deal with him. She comes in as a partner and in exchange gives them the Mesa Verde business. She eventually tells Jimmy. He is not pleased but does his best to cover up his true feelings.

Mike gets everything set up for the men who are going to build the lab in which Walter White and Jesse Pinkman will eventually work for a time. The men doing the work will be there for a while so he wants to make sure that they are comfortable. Mike gets the feeling that one of the men is going to be trouble on the first day that they show up.

Crazy Rich Asians (2018)

Crazy Rich Asians (2018)

starring Constance Wu, Henry Golding

directed by Jon M. Chu

121 minutes

Nick Young (Jenry Golding) invites Rachel Chu (Constance Wu), his girlfriend, to fly from New York City, where she teaches economics, to Singapore for his best friend's wedding. Rachel has some doubts but decides to go with him.

Nick is from Singapore, which Rachel knows, but he never told her that his family is super rich. This leads to numerous complications. Nick and Rachel both try but other people conspire to push them apart.

Doctor Who (1963) 11.05.06

Planet of the Spiders - Part Six

The men with spiders on their backs regroup and summon more energy from Metebelis III.

The Doctor talks to K'anpo and figures out that they have met before. K'anpo is also a Time Lord and was the Doctor's teacher when they were both much younger. The Doctor comes to the understanding that he has to return the blue crystal to Metebelis III. He disappears just as the men with spiders on their backs break into the room. They hit K'anpo with energy bolts although they were shooting at the Doctor. 

K'anpo heals Mike Yates who was struck down by the men with spiders on their backs. K'anpo collapses back into his chair once the process is complete. He regenerates and becomes Cho-je who was always an aspect of him, as explained earlier in this episode.

I'm Your Man (2021)

I'm Your Man (2021)

starring Maren Eggert, Dan Stevens

directed by Maria Schrader

108 minutes

in German with English subtitles

Alma, a middle-aged anthropologist, takes in Tom, an android. Her boss promises her more funding for her research if she will allow the android to live with her for three weeks and provide her evaluation of it.

Alma finds Tom, the android, creepy at first. He looks totally human but some of his mannerisms are not. She grows to appreciate him on some levels but she decides that he isn't what she wants. She has second thoughts after kicking him out but doesn't soften the stance she took when she jettisoned him.

The Phil Silvers Show 3.18

Bilko Presents Kay Kendall

Actress Kay Kendall stops in Roseville to promote her latest movie. Bilko's plans to put on a burlesque show at Fort Baxter go awry when Colonel Hall finds out what he is up planning. Bilko tries to find another venue in Roseville for his show. He doesn't have much luck until Bilko finds out that Kay Kendall is in town and tricks her into agreeing to appear in his show.

Thoughts

This was a fun episode. What made it special was the appearance of Kay Kendall. She died in 1959, at the age of 32 of myeloid leukemia, after appearing in 32 movies. This is just one four episodes of television in which she appeared.

Better Call Saul 4.05

Quite a Ride

The episode opens with a flashback to when Saul was getting ready to leave town at the end of Breaking Bad.

Kim starts to take some defense work on the side. She blows off Mesa Verde, which makes Paige angry. Kim apologizes. Paige gives her another chance. She expects that Kim will treat Mesa Verde as her most important client and come running at a moments notice.

Jimmy buys up a bunch of the cell phones from CC Mobile, the store where he works. He goes out and sells them on the street for cash. Everything goes well until the end of the night when he gets beaten up and robbed. of the cash he made selling the phones.

A Man Called Adam (1966)

A Man Called Adam (1966)

starring Sammy Davis Jr., Ossie Davis, Cicely Tyson

directed by Leo Penn

99 minutes

Adam Johnson's (Sammy Davis Jr.) 10-year-long downward spiral began when his drinking and driving led to the death of his wife and child. Things start to look up when he meets and falls in love with Claudia (Cicely Tyson). Adam's life, even with Claudia's support, is on a rocky path. He burns a lot of bridges. His heart is filled with anger and he can't seem to find a winning formular despite being an immensely talented musician.

The Glass Key (1942)

The Glass Key (1942)

starring Brian Donlevy, Veronica Lake, Alan Ladd, William Bendix

directed by Stuart Heisler

85 minutes

Paul Madvig (Brian Donlevy) falls hard for Janet Henry (Veronica Lake). He supports her father's run for governor. Things get complicated when her brother turns up dead. Complicating things is the fact that he had a gambling problem and had been hanging around with Opal, Madvig's sister.

Paul quickly becomes the prime suspect. Ed Beaumont (Alan Ladd), Paul's righthand man does what he can to try and figure out what really happened. Paul doesn't make things easy for them by not playing nice with Nick Varna, the mob boss who owns one of the newspapers in town.

Ed takes a meeting with Varna, after he has a public falling out with Paul, but when Ed isn't willing to play nice Varna sicks Jeff (William Bendix) on him. Varna wants Ed to dish all the dirt about Paul. Ed declines despite his very public spat with Paul.

The Tick (2016) 1.12

The End of the Beginning (of the Dawn of the Age of Superheroes)

Arthur and the Tick execute their plan and return the VLM to normal size. Superian gets involved at the last second but doesn't get injured as they feared he would. The Terror is enraged and executes Plan B. He targets Arthur's mother but Arthur and the Tick get there in time to stop him. Superian shows up at the last minute and saves Arthur when it looks like he is about to kill Arthur.

Thoughts

There are all sorts of little details that my summary doesn't mention, like the roles that Dot, Overkill, Walter, and Ms. Lint play in this episode.

Doctor Who (1963) 11.05.05

Planet of the Spiders - Part Five

The Doctor is trussed up like Sarah Jane. The Doctor and Sarah talk for a little while but then she is taken away to see the giant spider that has been working with Lupton. The spider wants Sarah and the Doctor to retrieve the blue crystal from Earth.

The Doctor escapes from the stuff in which they have him tied up using a trick he learned from Harry Houdini. He goes looking for Sarah Jane but instead finds the Great One, whom he cannot see. She uses mental abilities to convince him that he needs to retrieve the blue crystal and bring it back to Metebelis III.

Mike convinces the guys who run the meditation center to let him help them to open the portal to Metebelis III. They do so in the hopes that they can get Lupton back. The ceremony they perform doesn't have the desired effect. Giant spiders come through the portal but not Lupton.

UFO Robo Grendizer 3.17

The Sacrifice of a Son to Save his Father

or Father Offers an Aurora of Love

or Tel père, tel fils (Like father, like son)

Zuril's ship is stuck on Earth. It lacks the fuel needed to return to Skull Moon Base. He requests that someone be sent with enough Vegatron fuel to get him and his crew back to the Moon. Gandal and Vega Daioh send Zuril's son, Zuril Junior.

Better Call Saul 4.04

Talk

The episode opens up with a flashback. Mike remembers a moment when Matty, his son, was still a boy. It is a good memory. The scene then shifts to the present. Mike is at a support meeting with Stacey.

Jimmy gets a job offer from a cell phone dealership. He turns it down. He later changes his mind when he needs something with which to distract Kim. He calls the place back and accepts the job. He is running a store in a strip mall by himself but it doesn't get any traffic.

Kim goes to the courthouse to listen to cases. The judge notices her and asks her to come see him during his lunch break. They talk. He tells her to beat it, in a nice way, but when court resumes she is still there, observing.

Abbott Elementary 2.01

Development Day

The teachers at Abbott Elementary prepare for the new school year. Jeanine is still adjusting to breaking up with Tariq. She has not been paying some of her bills (rent, parking tickets). She acts like everything is okay until one day she has a meltdown. Gregory is putting an extreme amount of preparation into getting ready for his first year as a non-substitute teacher. Barbara warns him that his plans will get upset.

Thoughts

This is a decent start to the season. There were a few laughs but it wasn't great. Hopefully there will be many episodes that are better than this one (and none that are worse) in Season 2.

The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973)

The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973)

starring Robert Mitchum, Peter Boyle, Richard Jordan

directed by Peter Yates

102 minutes

Eddie Coyle (Robert Mitchum) is an aging crook who has been convicted and is about to get sentenced for driving a truck full of stolen booze. He's can't afford to go to prison. He's got a wife and three kids. He's trying to play both ends off against the middle. On the one hand he is still doing shady things on the side, things that could get him more prison time than he already has coming to him. On the other he is trying to get a federal agent (Richard Jordan) to help him get his conviction thrown out.

After Life (1998)

After Life (1998)

starring Arata Iura, Erika Oda, Susumu Terajima

directed by Kore-eda Hirokazu

119 minutes

Japanese with English subtitles

Twety-two people arrive, after dying, in a reception center. They are tasked with telling the staff about their favorite memory. They are given a few days to make their choice. Their one memory will get recreated for them by the staff of the reception center. Their one memory is the only one that they will be able to take with them when they leave.

Some people have an easy time choosing, others do not. The people who work at the reception center are also people who died in the past, some recently, some not so recently. The movie is as much about the staff of the center as it is about the people who have just arrived there.

The Tick (2016) 1.11

The Beginning of the End

Doctor Karamazov explains how he thinks the Terror plans to kill Superian. He also fixes Arthur's flying suit, while Tinfoil Kevin helps to get all of the Big Bismuth off of the Tick.

The VLM gets closer and closer to the city. Dot rescues Overkill from Ms. Lint who has been torturing him and trying to convince him to help her kill the Terror. Ms. Lint is just about ready to finish Overkill off when Dot shows up.

The episode ends with the Tick and Arthur about ready to put Doctor Karamazov's plan into action, although it will put them in considerable danger.

Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes 1.10

De-Mole-ition

New York City is invaded by a gigantic creature from undergound. The Fantastic Four go looking, after immobilizing the creature, and discover that the Mole Man lured it above ground. He didn't want it underground when its eggs hatched.

The Mole Man captures the Fantastic Four but the Invisible Woman escapes. She returns to the surface and helps the gigantic creature find the egg that the Mole Man placed in the Baxter Building. She then returns with the creature. She helps to free her teammates and together they prevent the Mole Man's plan from succeeding.

Doctor Who (1963) 11.05.04

Planet of the Spiders - Part Four

The Doctor is badly injured but he recovers thanks to Sarah Jane. She retrieves a device from the TARDIS that he asks her to get but she is captured by Lupton who takes her to the spiders. Arak brings the device that Sarah retrieved from the TARDIS. The Dotor uses it to help him recover.

Mike Yates, back on Earth, tries to reason with the employees of the meditation center but they knock him out and tie him up. The blue crystal starts while Tommy is looking at it. He falls down and when he wakes up he seems much more intelligent.

The Doctor goes to find Sarah Jane. Lupton tries to stop the Doctor but the guards arrest Lupton and take him to the queen. More guards take the Doctor to Sarah Jane who is bound with spider webs. She is happy to see him until she notices the guards.

UFO Robo Grendizer 3.16

Maria in the Snow Storm

or Maria in the Blizzard

or La grande douleur (The great pain)

Zuril starts to build a new base of operations on Hokkaido, the northern most of the four large islands of Japan. He has his second in command, Kane, send out a saucer beast to wreck havoc. in the area around the mountain where the Vegan base is being built.

Danbei is on Hokkaido buying horses and spots the saucer beast. He rushes to get a message to the Space Science Center. The Vegans catch him and chase him through the snow. They abandon the chase when they think he was killed after falling off a cliff.

The Phil Silvers Show 3.17

Doberman the Crooner

Bilko discovers that someone at Fort Baxter has a beautiful singing voice. Bilko sees a way to make money and goes looking for the crooner. Bilko doesn't know that it is Doberman. He gets a number of false leads. He thinks it is Col. Hall, Zimmerman, and Papparelli before finally figuring out that Doberman is the one with the beautidul voice.

Bilko runs into a snag when he discovers that Doberman's voice only sounded that nice because he had a cold. 

Thoughts

This is a fun one. It is a little more straightforward and focused than most of the previous episodes from this season.

Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes 1.09

World's Tiniest Heroes

Johnny brings a neighbor's dog into Reed's lab while he performing an experiment that involves shrinking technology. The dog starts running around the lab knocking things over. The next day the team wakes to find themselves smaller. They continue to shrink as they try to make their way to the lab.

HERBIE, the Baxter Building's computer, doesn't recognize the team in their reduced state. It concludes that they must be vermin and attempts to dispose of them. Dr. Hank Pym (aka Ant-Man) shows up and lends the team a hand before they shrink out of existence or get killed by HERBIE.