Batman: Caped Crusader 1.08

Nocturne

Leslie Thompkins brings a group of children from the orphanage to the carnival. One by one they start disappearing. Harvey Dent is also at the carnival, fundraising for his mayoral campaign. The election is just around the corner. Bruce Wayne is at the carnival on a date with Julie Madison.

Schitt's Creek 3.13

Grad Night

Alexis is graduating and tells her parents not to attend the ceremony. It is David's birthday and it looks like he is going to wind up spending it alone. All the rooms at the motel are booked for the first time since the Rose family arrived in town.

Thoughts

This was a funny and sentimental episode of the show which I really enjoyed. It was an excellent way to end the season. There are hints of things to come in the next season for David and Alexis.

Doctor Who (1963) 12.02.04

The Ark in Space - Part Four

The Doctor escapes from the Wirrn that used to be Noah thanks to Vira. Noah tells them that they should leave the Ark in the shuttle. They refuse because it would mean leaving all the cryogenically frozen humans.

The Doctor and the others make their way to a control room and come up with a plan. They will run a cable from the shuttle to the cryogenic sleep chamber. Sarah volunteers to lay the cable down even though it means crawling a hundred or so meters through narrow tunnel.

Sarah gets through the tunnel. The Doctor and the others use the cable and the power from the shuttle to electrify the door to the cryogenic chamber. Wirrn Noah tries talking the Doctor and the others into leaving the Ark in the shuttle, once again. They refuse, once again.

Within Our Gates (1920)

Within Our Gates (1920)

starring Evelyn Preer, Flo Clements,  

written, directed, and produced by Oscar Micheaux

74 minutes

Sylvia (Evelyn Preer), a young southern school teacher of color, seeks to escape her horrific past. Her life, since losing her parents to a lynching, has gotten better but she is still plagued by ne'er do wells from the Black community, and racism from Whites.

Thoughts

This is the earliest film made by an African-American director that has survived, mostly intact. There is one scene that is missing. The film was thought to be lost until a copy was found in Spain. The intertext cards had to be translated back into English.

87th Precinct 1.21

King's Ransom

Douglas King, the manager of a shoe factory, is told that his son has been kidnapped. It turns out that his son is okay but his chauffeur's son has been kidnapped. The criminals demand he pay $250,000 for the return of his chauffeur's son.

King has just taken out a mortgage on his family's home in an attempt to buy the shoe company. If he uses the money to pay the ransom then not only will he not be able to buy the company but he will very likely lose his job and his home.

The detectives of the 87th precinct step in to help King recover his chauffeur's son.

Thoughts

This is the first time I have watched an episode of this show. I found it on YouTube. It is based on the novel of the same name by Ed McBain. I watched it because I was curious to see how it would compare to High and Low (1963) which I watched yesterday and was also based on the novel. The television version of the story predated the movie by about a year. The novel was first published in 1959.

The setup of this episode was very much like High and Low, with one major exception. The kidnapper is not seen until halfway thought the movie but the kidnappers are in the first scene in the television version of the story. The kidnappers continue to play a major part in the televised version of the story.

The TV version of King's Ransom had a compelling opening act but it also had a much more upbeat ending than the film did. It is considerably less interesting or nuanced than High and Low (1963). It felt like they rushed to wrap things up after the first act.

High and Low (1963)

High and Low (1963)

starring Toshiro Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai

directed by Akira Kurosawa

143 minutes

Kingo Gondo (Toshiro Mifune) one of the directors of a shoe manufacturing company is getting ready to execute a hostile takeover of the shoe company when he gets a phone call telling him that his son has been kidnapped. It turns that his son is safe and that the kidnapper grabbed the son of Aoki, Gondo's chauffeur, by mistake. The kidnapper discovers the mistake but still insists that Gondo pay a very large ransom, most of which he was about to use to buy the remaining stock he needed for the hostile takeover.

Justice League Action 1.15

Hat Trick

Felix Faust steals Zatanna's top hat. He uses it to summon a giant insect-like creature from another dimension. The beast grants Felix his wish and makes him young again. The beast then leaves. Batman and the Demon follow the beast and try to prevent it from harming anyone while Zatanna stays put and duels with Felix Faust.

Thoughts

Zatanna proves to be very athletic and acrobatic as she ducks and dodges Faust's attacks. The Demon and Batman aren't given quite as much to do.

I like this episode very much. It features the same three members of the team as in the last episode but this one is head and shoulders above that one.