Sherman's Showcase 1.06

July 8, 1995

This episode is supposed to be a replay of a complete episode of the show from 1995 but some parts of it have been cut because they no longer have the rights to rebroadcast them.

What's left is the usual mix of music, a Frederick Douglass advertisement, interviews, game shows, etc. There is no guest host this time around.

This was an okay episode. I liked it a little better than some but it wasn't a roaring success for me. I am starting to wonder if it is the lack of depth or sense of the show building to something, anything, that makes me find this show lacking.

Doctor Who (1963) 1.03 Extras (Part 3)

Inside the Spaceship: The Story of the TARDIS (2006)

10 minutes

People who were interviewed

• Carole Ann Ford (Susan Foreman)
• William Russell (Ian Chesterton)
• Ray Cusick, designer
• Verity Lambert, producer
• Waris Hussein, director
• Richard Martin, director
• Frank Cox, director
• Brian Hodgson, sound supervisor

Broadchurch 1.06

Episode Six

The episode opens with the funeral for Jack Marshall. Alec and Ellie keep their eyes open at the funeral and at the reception afterwards. Alec approaches Tommy, Ellie's son, and talks to him for a few minutes until Tommy's father sees them talking and gets Danny away from Alec.

Karen White tries to apologize to Ollie. She ran off for a few days after Jack Marshall was found dead. She feared that she would be blamed. Ollie isn't too impressed by her disappearing routine or by the fact that she didn't respond to his texts or e-mails.

Alec does some research and discovers that Paul Coates, the priest, is a recovering alcoholic. Alec suspects that Paul is hiding more than just that and asks him to come in so that he can get a genetic sample.

Abbott Elementary 2.04

The Principal's Office

Melissa tries to teach Janine how to cook. Janine tries to fix Melissa's relationship with her sister. Gregory has a student who keeps acting up in class. He tries taking the student to Eva only to discover that it doesn't help at all.

Thoughts

Jacob, Barbra, and Mr. Johnson are also in this episode. 

This was a very good episode. I really enjoyed it. I really liked the two endings.

Five Came Back 1.01

The Mission Begins

This three-part documentary series is based on the book of the same name by Mark Harris. It is about five movie directors who served in the armed forces during World War 2:

• John Ford
• William Wyler
• Frank Capra
• George Stevens
• John Huston.

The documentary series is a mix of archival newsreel footage from the 1930s and 1940s, archival interviews with the five directors shot from the 1950s to the 1980s, and clips from some of the movies they made from the 1930s and 1940s. Additionally there are clips of interviews with five current filmmakers (Steven Spielberg, Francis Ford Coppola, Paul Greengrass, Guillermo Del Toro, Lawrence Kasdan) about the five who served during World War 2.

Only Angels Have Wings (1939)

Only Angels Have Wings (1939)

starring Cary Grant, Jean Arthur, Thomas Mitchell, Richard Barthlemess, Rita Hayworth

directed by Howard Hawks

Bonnie Lee (Jean Arthur) gets off the ocean liner on which she is travelling in Barranca, somewhere in South America. She explores the town and winds up at an airport run by an American flying company owned by Geoff Carter (Cary Grant). She ends up sticking around for a week after she lets the ocean liner take off without her, in part because she has developed a fondness for Geoff.

Life at the airport gets more complicated after one pilot is killed when his plane crashes. His replacement, Bat MacPherson (Richard Barthlemess) and his wife Judy (Rita Hayworth), have ties to the crew of the airport. Judy dated Geoff before she got married. Bat bailed out of an airplane in a parachute once, leaving the other man in the airplane to die when the plane crashed. Kid (Thaomas Mitchell) is the brother of the man who died in that airplane crash.

Twentieth Century (1934)

Twentieth Century (1934)

starring John Barrymore, Carole Lombard

directed by Howard Hawks

91 minutes

Playwright Oscar Jaffe (John Barrymore) pushes Mildred Plotka (Carole Lombard) to change her name to Lily Garland and become the star of his latest Broadway play. She accepts his mentoring in stride but after she has more than proven her abilities on the stage she rebels from his heavy handed approach. Oscar is not ready to let Lily go and seeks to get her back into his next production.

Finding Nemo (2003)

Finding Nemo (2003)

starring Albert Brooks, Ellen DeGeneres

directed by Andrew Stanton

100 minutes

Nemo, a young clownfish, gets separated from Marlin (Albert Brooks), his father. on the first day of school. Nemo is captured by a scuba diver and taken to Sydney, Australia. He wakes up in a big tank with a bunch of other fish.

Marlin goes on a quest to find Nemo. One of the first fishes he meets is a blue fish named Dory (Ellen DeGeneres). She travels with him on his voyage to Sydney. Together they meet sharks, jellyfish, sea turtles, whales, pelicans, and lots of other creatures. Eventually they make their way to Sydney.

Sherman's Showcase 1.05

The Ladies of the Showcase

This episode is introduced by Mary J. Blige and includes a rap battle between two women that doesn't go exactly as Sherman hoped it would, Sherman has Diana Ross try Shermpagne for the first time, Frederick Douglass shows up in another advertisement, Latricia the Magician, "Brother, You Wrong" (a talk show), and I Don't Watch that Sh*t (a game show).

I liked this one a little better than the last one but I'm still not loving it like I was the first couple episodes. I'm not sure if it's me or the show. The shine of something new or different may just have worn off.

02/22/24

Doctor Who (1963) 1.03 Extras (Part 2)

Over the Edge: The Story of The Edge of Destruction (2006)

29 minutes

People interviewed for this documentary include

• Richard Martin (director, part one)
• Verity Lambert (producer)
• Keith Barnfather (freelance documentary producer)
• Waris Hussein (director of An Unearthly Child, Marco Polo)
• William Russell (Ian Chesterton)
• Brian Hodgson (sound supervisor, BBC Radiophonic Workshop)
• Carole Ann Ford (Susan Foreman)
• Frank Cox (director, part two)
• Richard Landen (former editor of Doctor Who Magazine)
• Jeremy Bentham (original features editor of Doctor Who Magazine)
• Ray Cusick (designer)
• Peter Anghelides (Doctor Who novel writer)

UFO Robo Grendizer 3.22

Shine Forever, You Two Stars!

or Shine forever! The two stars

or Ce n'est qu'un au revoir (It's just goodbye)

The fight between Grendizer (piloted by Duke Fleed) and the saucer beast (piloted by Lady Gandal) continues. Grendizer eventually gets the upper hand with some help from Kouji, Hikaru, and Maria. The body of the saucer beast is destroyed but the head and Lady Gandal survive. She pledges to kill the Great Vega Daioh and sends that message to the Space Science Center.

The Night of the Hunter (1955)

The Night of the Hunter (1955)

starring Robert Mitchum, Shelley Winters, Lillian Gish

directed by Charles Laughton

92 minutes

Two children, John and Pearl, go on the run from Harry Powell (Robert Mitchum), a homicidal man of the cloth, after he  marries and murders their mother (Shelley Winters) and then finds out that they have the stolen money that their father gave them. They eventually find safety with Rachel Cooper (Lillian Gish) a kind old woman who has taken in a number of other orphans. 

Broadchurch 1.05

Episode Five

The press starts to focus on Jack Marshall. He finally explains why it was that he spent a year in prison. He was a 39-year-old piano teacher. He had sex with a 15-year-old girl. It was her father that blew the whistle on the affair. Jack and the girl got married when he got out of prison. They had a son but he was killed in a car accident. Jack's wife left him after that.

Beth and Mark talk about why he had an affair with Becca Fisher. Beth finally tells Mark that she is pregnant.

Oliver and Karen write a story about Jack Marshall. They get testimony from Chloe's boyfriend, who was part of the Sea Brigade. Their story gets rewritten by the newspaper to make Jack Marshall look really bad. Oliver and Karen spend the night together. The next morning they find out about the rewritten story. It brings even more pressure on Jack Marshall.

The Phil Silvers Show 3.20

Bilko's Pigeons

Bilko is forced to get rid of homing pigeons that he has been using for gambling purposes when Col Hall threatens to bust Bilko down in rank if he doesn't get rid of the pigeons right away. Bilko gets rid of the pigeons and makes some money in the process but then the pigeons return to Fort Baxter.

Bilko smells an opportunity and sells the pigeons again. The pigeons return once again. Bilko sells the pigeons a third time but this time someone gets wise to what he is up to and uses it against him.

Gun Crazy (1950)

Gun Crazy (1950)

starring John Dall, Peggy Cummins

directed by Joseph H. Lewis

87 minutes

Bart (John Dall) has a thing for guns. He's a great shot. He loves them so much that he steals one when he is still a boy. His older sister Ruby, who has raised him since their parents died, begs the judge to release Bart into her custody. Dave and Clyde, two of Bart's friends, also speak on his behalf. The judge is not moved to be lenient and chooses to send Bart to reform school. Bart serves in the army after reform school. He finally returns to his hometown years later.

They Live (1988)

They Live (1988)

starring Roddy Piper, Keith David

written and directed by John Carpenter

95 minutes

John Nada (Roddy Piper), a homeless drifter, discovers (by chance, thanks to a pair of special sunglasses) that there are zombie like people disguised as humans, living on Earth. He teams up with Frank (Keith David), a guy he has just met. They work together (once Frank finally puts on the glasses, he is resistant at first) to try and figure out what they can do to save the world.

Thoughts

John Carpenter is credited as the writer but the story itself is based upon a short story: Eight O'Clock in the Morning by Ray Nelson.

Better Call Saul 4.10

Winner

The episode opened with the day that Jimmy finally became a lawyer. Chuck stood next to him and vouched for him. That evening there was a party for Jimmy. He sings karaoke with Chuck, although it takes him some effort to talk Chuck into sticking around and singing with him.

In the present Mike is looking for Werner. He has a number of guys working with him but it is Mike that makes most of the discoveries that leads to Werner. Lalo catches on that something is going on. He follows Mike. Mike eventually gets wise to the fact that someone is following him and loses him in a parking lot by jamming the ticket machine as he leaves.

Sherman's Showcase 1.04

Enemies

Sherman talks to the security guard; musicians done wrong by Berry Gordy plan to break into his mansion; a newspaper editor gets pitched stories by his reporters; and Common stars in a stage musical about Blockbuster Video.

Not my favorite episode. Didn't make me laugh as much as the first three episodes. Did I get all the references? Definitely not.

Doctor Who (1963) 1.03 Extras (Part 1)

Doctor Who: Origins (2006)

53 minutes

Narrated by Terry Molloy, who is probably better known for playing Davros in three stories, this special documentary revisits the coming together of the cast and crew to create Doctor Who in 1963.

The people interviewed for this documentary include

• Marcus Hearn. film and TV historian
• Sidney Newman, creator of 'Doctor Who' (archival interview from 1984)
• Verity Lambert, producer (1963-65)
• Richard Martin, director (The Daleks, The Edge of Destruction)
• Waris Hussein, director (An Unearthly Child)
• William Russell, Ian Chesterton (1963-65)
• Carole Ann Ford, Susan Foreman (1963-64)
• Desmond Briscoe. Founder of BBC Radiophonic Workshop (archival interview)
• Brian Hidgson, Special Sound for Doctor Who (1963-72)
• Bernard Lodge, Designer 'Doctor Who' Title Sequences (1963-80)

UFO Robo Grendizer 3.21

In Gratitude to this Wonderful Earth

or In the name of the beautiful Earth

or Pour l'amour de la Terre (For the love of the Earth)

Professor Umon uses a satellite to confirm that the Vegans have a base on the far side of the moon. The satellite is spotted by the Vegans and destroyed before it can gather all the information they need back at the Space Science Center.

Grendizer is capabale of space flight but Double Spazer, Marine Spazer, and Drill Spazer are not. Professor Umon has a solution for that which he has been working on and is nearing completion. It is called Cosmo Special Spazer but it still needs a little more work before it will be ready.

Broadchurch 1.04

Episode 4

It turns out that the burned boat does not to belong to Mark. Once the wreckage of the boat is brought ashore there is evidence found to indicate that Danny had once been on the boat.

Beth struggles with telling Mark that she knows about Becca Fisher. Eventually she does, but not until just before the end of the episode.

Oliver finds proof that Jack Marshall, who owns the news stand, had a conviction for a child sex crime. Oliver's boss takes the information to the police, who confront Marshall about it. Oliver later confronts Jack himself. Nige overhears the conversation between Oliver and Jack and tells Mark about it.

All About Eve (1950)

All About Eve (1950)

starring Bette Davis, Anne Baxter, George Sanders

directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz

138 minutes

Eve Harrington (Anne Baxter) gets a job working for Margo Channing (Bette Davis), a well known star of Broadway. Eve is doing a splendid job. Margo loves her but soon she starts to suspect Eve of trying to get between her and Bill, her long time boyfriend.

Karen, a friend of Margo, helps Eve become Margo's understudy in the play in which she is currently starring. Margo does not approve but Eve's star quickly begins to rise. Bill proposes to Margo which helps to clear the way for Eve to continue to rise. Eve attempts to seduce Lloyd, Karen's playwright husband, but Addison Dewitt (George Sanders) puts down his foot and convinces her that he is a better target for her affections.

Abbott Elementary 2.03

Story Samurai

A small troupe of performers (Story Samurai) comes to Abbott Elementary. Jacob used to be a part of Story Samurai. He wants to perform with them once again. Janine tries to talk him out of it. Ava wants him to do it so that she can stream the performance on the internet.

Melissa, attempts to deal with having to teach both 2nd and 3rd graders at the same time.

Thoughts

This was a decent episode but it wasn't laugh out loud funny.

The Blue Dahlia (1946)

The Blue Dahlia (1946)

starring Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake, William Bendix

directed by George Marshall

Johnny Morrison (Alan Ladd) returns from serving in the South Pacific during World War 2. He finds that Helen, his wife, is carrying on with Eddie Harwood, owner of the Blue Dahlia, a nightclub. Helen turns up dead the next day. Johnny quickly becomes the number one suspect even though she had a couple other visitors that night.

Morrison goes on the run. He calls himself Jimmy Moore. That's the name he gives to Joyce Harwood (Veronica Lake) when she stops to give him a ride. She is separated from her husband Eddie. She doesn't give him her name and he has no idea who she is.

A few people are called in for questioning by the police, including Eddie Harwood and two of Johnny's friends (Buzz Wancheck, George Copeland). Buzz (William Bendix) went out looking for Johnny on the night Helen was killed. He ran into Helen and went back to her place, not realizing who she was, for a drink.

Harwood eventually gets the drop on Johnny. Two of his men, posing as policemen, pick up Johnny. Things don't go exactly as they had planned. 

Better Call Saul 4.09

Wiedersehen

Kim and Jimmy pull a scam to replace some documents that were already filed for Mesa Verde. They fool the clerk they meet into "doing them a favor".

Nacho and Lalo, the new Salamanca, go to visit Hector. Lalo gives his uncle a bell. They also visit Los Pollos Hermanos. Lalo has a private chat with Gus. He tries to suggest that they could team up and take down Don Eladio. Gus isn't interested.

Werner wants to go home for a few days to visit his wife. Mike says he can go home once the job is done.

Jimmy goes to his hearing to get reinstated. He rubs the three person committee the wrong way. They vote against reinstatement. Jimmy gets angry and goes off on one of the committee members. Jimmy later off on Kim.

Werner uses some of his know how to fool the security cameras and makes a run for it. He leaves a note for Mike.

Roman Holiday (1953)

Roman Holiday (1953)

starring Gregory Peck,  Audrey Hepburn

directed by William Wyler

119 minutes

Princess Ann (Audrey Hepburn) is visiting Rome, just one stop on a trip in which she is visiting many European capital cities, when she decides that she's had enough. She sneaks out that night just after her physician has given her a sedative to help her sleep. She falls asleep on a bench where she is found by Joe Bradley (Gregory Peck), reporter for American New Service.

Joe gets her in a cab but she isn't lucid enough to tell him where she lives. He takes her back to his apartment. He places her on the couch and goes to bed. It isn't until the next morning that he discovers who she is when he sees her picture in a newspaper.

Sherman's Showcase 1.03

Behind the Charade

Morris Day hosts this episode. Most of the episode is focused on Charade, a musical performer who bears more than a passing resemblance to Prince. There are a few fake commercials. Morris Day also diverts from the Charade coverage to show a clip from the original version of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air which starred Morris Day.

Sherman isn't in this episode quite as much as he was in the first couple episodes. Morris Day played Prince's rival in Purple Rain.

This is still fun. I can't stop watching Sherman's Showcase.

The Whole Town's Talking (1935)

The Whole Town's Talking (1935)

starring Edward G. Robinson, Jean Arthur

directed by John Ford

Arthur Jones (Edward G. Robinson) is a meek employee at an insurance company. He has a thing for Miss Clark (Jean Arthur), one of his coworkers. His life gets turned upside down when he is mistaken for "Killer" Manion, a criminal who recently escaped from prison.

Jones gets arrested. He's released after his boss vouches for him and the police discover that that his fingerprints don't match the ones on file for Manion. He's given a letter, explaining that he isn't Manion, to help him in case any other police officers try to arrest him. Jones life gets a little more complicated when Manion shows up at Jones' apartment. Manion forces Jones to help him.

Manion fools the police into thinking that he is Jones and kills one of his former business partners. Jones doesn't know where to turn for help but lucks out when Manion's henchmen get mixed up and mistake him for their boss. 

Doctor Who (1963) 1.03.02

The Brink of Disaster

It turns out that Ian is the one who has grabbed the Doctor by the throat. Ian isn't quite himself. The Doctor is able to break free and knock Ian to the ground without much in the way of effort.

Ian and Susan recover. Everyone puts their heads into trying to figure out what is going on. Barbara is the one who solves the mystery. It is the TARDIS trying to warn them that something is wrong. The Doctor rejects this idea at first but later sees that she was right.

The Doctor finds a malfunctioning part of the control panel. He fixes it and everything goes back to business as usual aboard the TARDIS.

The TARDIS lands in a snowy region. Barbara and Susan go outside and find a giant footprint. 

UFO Robo Grendizer 3.20

A Citizen from a Distant Planet

or Our so-distant home star

or La princesse amoureuse (The princess in love)

Rubina, the daughter of the Great Vega Daio, leaves planet Rubi and comes to Earth. Her first stop is Skull Moon Base. The Great Vega Daio doesn't know what to do. He proposes to Zuril that he can marry her if he can keep her in line. Zuril isn't successful at that. Rubina tries to talk her father into making peace with Duke Fleed. She suggests that she and Duke Fleed could get married to seal the peace but her father doesn't want to have anything to do with her plan.

Rubina goes to Earth, unaware that Zuril is following her in a saucer beast. She finds Duke Fleed, who initially thinks that it is a trick and that she isn't who she says she is. Even after he has been convinced of her identity he still can't help but think of how the Vegans, her people, killed his parents.

Broadchurch 1.03

Episode 3

Mark Latimer is brought in to the police station for questioning. Before he goes in he texts his employee Nige and asks him to cover for him on the night of the murder. Mark tells Alec and Allie that he was with Nige. He also tells them that he was in the cottage fixing something, which explains how his prints wound up there. 

Alec and Ellie talk to the cleaning lady. She has no recollection of giving the keys to the cottage to Mark. They investigate Mark's boat and find some blood stains. 

They question Nige but he doesn't have a very good story and they see right through it and are able to confirm he wasn't with Mark when they talk to his mother.

The Phil Silvers Show 3.19

Bilko's Cousin

Bilko gets very excited when he learns that his cousin Swifty has joined the Army and will soon be stationed at Fort Baxter. Bilko assumes that Swifty will be just as slick as he. It turns out that Swifty is not very much like Bilko.

Bilko tries to get Swifty into Officer Candidate School (OCS). Bilko pulls a few strings and tricks Col Hall into thinking that Swifty is much much more impressive than he actually is. Bilko's plan goes up in flames once Col. Hall meets Swifty and asks him a few questions.

Gravity (2013)

Gravity (2013)

starring Sandra Bullock, George Clooney

directed by Alfonso Cuarón

91 minutes

Scientist and rookie astronaut Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) and veteran astronaut Lt. Matt Kowalski (George Clooney) are the only survivors of an accident that totals the US Space Shuttle while it is in orbit repairing the Hubble Telescope. Their oxygen is running out. They make an attempt to get to the International Space Station with some success but that proves to be also damaged to the point of not being able to provide the help they need. Dr. Stone is forced to go on alone after Lt. Kowalski sacrifices himself to provide her with a chance to survive.

My Son John (1952)

My Son John (1952)

starring Robert Walker, Helen Hayes, Van Heflin, Dean Jagger

directed by Leo McCarey

122 minutes

Dan Jefferson, a member of the American Legion, has two sons who have done him proud by serving their country in the USMC. His other son, John (Robert Walker), is another story. John doesn't care for his father's bible thumping and rah-rah patriotism. He tries to be respectful but his father doesn't make it easy. Lucille (Helen Hayes), John's mother tries to make peace between her husband and her son, without much success.

John ends up cutting a visit short with his parents after his father knocks him over. He returns to Washington DC where he works. He leaves in such a rush that he leaves behind something of value. His mother retrieves the item but not before learning that John is being investigated by Stedman (Van Heflin) an FBI agent.

Stedman, over the course of a few conversation with Lucille, convinces her to look into the allegations against him. She finds a gap in John's story. She assumes the worst, that John is a Communist. She urges John to tell Stedman everything and refuses to help him hide the truth from the FBI.

Better Call Saul 4.08

Coushatta

Jimmy takes a bus east to Coushatta, Louisiana, Huell's hometown. There and along the way he gets people to write letters to the judge. The letters all talk about how great a person Huell is and beg the judge not to throw the book at him.

Nacho is in charge of the Salamanca operation in Albuquerque. He's the enforcer and deals harshly with those who don't day their debts.

Mike takes the men working on the space under the laundry out to a strip club. They have fun but Kai gets in trouble. He tries to get hands on with one of the dancers. Werner, the foreman, causes a different kind of trouble. While Mike is dealing with Kai, Wener starts talking about the project, without getting too specific, to a couple of locals.

Sherman's Showcase 1.02

The Showcase Dancers

This episode is introduced and presented by Nigel Lythgoe. It includes a preview for a movie called Black People Were Right, a dance marathon to raise money to cure cancer, and Frederick Douglass makes another appearance, this time in an ad for a dating web site.

I'm still loving this show and still unsure how to describe it in any detail. There were some good laughs in this one. I think that there may have been a few jokes that I missed.