Strolling Around the (Theme) Park One Day: Knott’s Spooky Farm!

Halloween was the last day for Knott’s Spooky Farm. Knott’s Scary Farm is about to wind down with the last day on November 2nd. The day time was for Knott’s Spooky Farm. Scary Farm began at 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. I really walked around Ghost Town and Calico Park, so didn’t get to Camp Snoopy. The best part for families is the trick or treat bags given out at the park entrance. Not a separate paid event, part of regular admission. Nice lines for the trick or treat Treat Fair stands with some kids dressed up, it is for ages 11 and under, but I did see  a few teenagers too. This was all around Ghost Town. My usual stop is at the Livery Stable which has been transformed to the Creepy Critters Corral. Unfortunately, horse and donkey were missing, but it was interesting to walk through the stable. 

Inside The Creepy Critters Corral!, the cases are to the left, Knotts Scary Farm, author’s photo. 

There were the aquarium tanks and cages for reptiles, the Creepy Critters of Calico. A bearded dragon clung to the side of its cage. I stared at the glass tank of the hognose snake. A handler had a yellow bull snake for guests to touch or hold. The animals are all part of the Southern California Herpetology Assocation and Rescue. At the Calico Stage was Snoopy’s Spooktacular Costume Party.  A fun show. This had music, the Halloween classics, by Krazy Kirk and the Hillbillies. The hosts bring on the Peanuts Gang with their Halloween costumes! Lucy dressed as a witch. Linus with Frankenstein head and grey clothes is the best! It is always great to see Snoopy with cape and mask. Everyone in costume, young and old, join the circle around the stage. Great interactivity and showing off of costumes. 

Krazy Kirk and the Hillbillies plus Snoopy and Peppermint Patty as The Mummy dancing and signing to "Monster Mash"!, Snoopy’s Spooktacular Costume Party, photo by the author.  

Employees carry around banners leading the circle around the stage. Guests had fun wearing costumes. I even saw a giant chicken velociraptor size! It has been some time since I saw a chicken walking around the park. I always like checking on the Spooky Farm themed artwork at The Factory Store. A few tributes to Elvira including a stained glass piece, “Mistress of the Dark and Light” by Daniel Miller. I liked a book art piece, “Dark Lullaby” by Jeff Lee, with dark fairy tale illustrations and story! I missed the Bob Barker Marionette Theater. The ride re-theming included the Timber Moutnain Log Ride turned into the Halloween Hootenanny. Also, the Calico Candy Mine Ride. Still, it is always fun to walk around the Halloween theming, skeletons here and there, plus seeing the Creepy Critters and Snoopy’s Costume Party! I enjoy just walking around the park during Knotts Spooky Farm or any occasion! 

#KnottsBerryFarm, #KnottsSpookyFarm, #KnottsScaryFarm, #GhostTown, #CalicoPark, #CreepyCrittersOfCalico, #BeardedDragon, #HognoseSnake, #BullSnake, #SouthernCaliforiaHerpetologyAssociationAndRescue, #CalicoStage, #SnoopysSpooktacuarCostumeParty, #KrazyKirkAndTheHillbillies, #TheFactoryStore, #Elvira, #MistressOfTheDarkAndLight, #DanielMiller, #DarkLullaby, #JeffLee,  #HalloweenHootenanny, #CalicoCandyMineRide. 

Agatha All Along, “Death’s Hand in Mine”, Review!

Agatha All Along has Agatha and Billy facing the next trial which focuses on Lilia, her story is winding around moments through the entire series! Re:cap - “Familiar by Thy Side”; After the revealation of The Teen as the son of Wanda Maximoff, he has trapped Agatha into the Road, and also did the same with Lilia and Jen. The episode opens on William Kaplan’s bar mitzvah at thirteen, he sees Lilia working as a fortune teller, and she gives him the sigil! Reports come in about the Anomaly in Westview and everyone is sent home. His family gets into a car accident that leads to his death, still he wakens calling out Tommy’s name. Three years later, the curren time, William goes with his boyfriend, Eddie, to meet with a contact who turns out to be Ralph Boehner! William researches Agatha and then we see his perspective as William breaks into her house. We find when the sigil hid his words that he was saying his name was William Kaplan and then Billy Maximoff! 

Agatha is about to pull herself out of the muck of The Witches’ Road, Billy crushes the sigil, and she wonders about how he got his new body. Billy says he doesn’t need Agatha now. Agatha goes over what Billy wants from The Road, not his mother, and not “robo-papa”, funny! Then, she brings up his twin brother, “Toby”! Billy has sensed Tommy and says he doesn’t trust her. The uneasy partnership continues to the next trial. Agatha says the last one there is a nice person. Billy whispers, “I’m not that nice.” The seventh episode is directed by Jac Schaeffer, the show’s creator who returns after directing the first two episodes. The writers are Gia King, she wrote for the comedy series, The Breakdown, and Cameron Squires, who also wrote the third episode. The "Death's Hand in Mine" lyric and title make me believe the last episode will be "Mother, Maiden, Crone"; the phases that we find Agatha going through? The dissolve from Billy on The Road opens to a closeup of Lilia’s distorted gasping. She is falling in a pink dress like Glinda the Good Witch. A resolution of what happened to Lilia and now her trial! 

Billy and Agatha and walking the Road and he asks her where’s Rio, but she brushes that question away. Then, Billy asks her if Wanda is dead, she has seen the body. In front of them is a castle perched on a mountainside, classic horror setting! They enter the gate and are transformed, Agatha into the Wicked Witch of the West from Wizard of Oz, complete with green skin, and Billy is now Maleficent! She points out a circular table where Billy finds Tarot cards. An hourglass spins to drop the sand for their timer. He draws the “horse drawn-“, Agatha cuts him off to tell him that it is The Chariot which is on the card!, Billy says it represents movement. It actually means victory over a conflict through will power. He sets the card down and a sword plunges down! Different suits of Tarot cards involve swords with different meanings. The Ace of Swords is quick action. Billy looks upwards to see a roof of hanging swords!  

Billy’s next card is the Seven of Swords, he says, correctly that it is about deception. It is reversed, he sets it down, and another sword falls! Agatha takes the cards and a sword falls when she pulls one. Then, she drops card after card with the swords falling around them, Billy looks up and dodges a sword striking his chair! Agatha says they should keep drawing cards, but all of the six places are taken. The rings of the table starts to turn and the ceiling with the swords starts to drop! Billy says he wishes Lilia was there. We see Lilia’s eyes and face muddied by The Road. She tells Jen that she was falling. They are in some underground passage with bright yellow roots. Jen said she told her to find shelving. Also, that the son of the Scarlet Witch took them off The Road! Lilia is shocked and then realizes that she had told Jen. Jen brings up that she is being “wispy.” This flashes back to the fourth episode where Lilia asked Alice if she was “wispy or kooky.” 

Lilia says, “Try to save Agatha” which shifts to her saying this to Agatha at her house. We finally get where Lilia’s outburst originated. This brings her to an elderly woman (Laura Boccaletti) who asks is seen. Boccaletti is in the thriller, Painter (2020). Lilia is a young girl in a yellow dress, a return for the actress from the third episode, who speaks to her teacher. It moves to Maestra who says Lilia is “visiting.” This turns back to Lilia in her present form. She asks and her Maestra says it is her first lesson. This episode is an interesting weaving of time, characters, and story that must have been fun for Schaeffer to direct. Maestra asks again and Lilia focuses on the bowl of tea leaves. On the Road again, Lilia gasps, Jen says she hasn’t heard the Salem Seven since the subway station? Lilia tells her “time is an illusion” and she had grown up out of sequence, a mix up, Merlin in Once and Future King lived life backwards. Lilia admist her gaps are becoming worse. Heartbreaking, this feels like a supernatural version, the disorientation of Alzheimer’s. Then, she screams and finds herself in the Glinda the Good Witch dress. 

Agatha is on top of her and says she stopped her from getting impaled by a sword! Lilia pushes Agatha off her. Billy tries to check on Lilia, but she pushes him against the wall. Watching them is Jen with long, grey dreadlocks and black robe like 1937’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarf’s Evil Queen as a witch. He tries to apologize to Lilia about his power and it comes out fragmented. Billy says he could have used his power to save Alice and Lilia realizes that he is reading her mind! She remembers his bar mitzvah. Jen takes Lilia to the side and says she is not mad at Billy. Lilia tells Billy that she was reading his fortune. He asks if she cast the sigil and Lilia says she knew who he was and needed time. More swords plunge down! Lilia wonders what she did wrong. She moves back to the fourth episode saying she hated it the first time. She screams and then is back in her kitchen with Billy and Agatha. She panics and repeats stop over and over. Then, Lilia finds herself back with her Maestra. 

Lilia says her first coven didn’t work out as well as this one, she says she is better as a fraud, Maestra says she still has fear. She wants control, Maestra says her task is “to see”, this moves from the sun to the light falling in the tunnel. She is walking with Jen and says she knows the next trial. Jen says it is Tarot because Lilia told her. She looks down and finds the spellbook of Billy! Jen says Lilia told her the episodes happened when she was young. Lilia tells her that they stopped when she ignored them. She says all she saw was death! An acting feat for LuPone, crazy, frightened, all in different moments and characters, throughout the show!, I hope she gets award recognition for this challenging role. They hear Billy and Agatha’s muffled voices. Also, around a corner, Agatha sees shelves! In front of them is Agatha and Billy when the table ring starts to turn. The ceiling drops, Lilia and Jen drop out of the bookshelf, and Agatha points out the ceiling with swords.

Ignoring the ceiling, Lilia concentrates on the table with the Tarot cards, and says, “My tasks is to see.” Lilia asks who is the quarant, the subject of the reading, and Billy says he is the quarant. She has Billy shuffle and cut the cards. They argue about the question and Billy finally asks if he is William or Billy. The ceiling stops. Lilia explains the card spaces of the “Safe Passage” spread. She calls Billy, Teen, and he is the Traveler, then the reason for his quest, and then lastly his destination. This is the first time that we see Lilia focused, professional. He choses the Magician card, Billy has potential, Lilia sets down the card and a sword falls! The next card is the reason, The Sun, Billy brightens at the reunion mentioned by Lilia. Another sword falls which disturbs Agatha, but it is not failure, it is the completion of the Tarot. Lilia asks for the Path Behind card, a sword is about to fall, and Lilia says, “Get off me!” There are flashes from several moments! 

She is back with her Maestra who confronts her about the reason she is on the Witches’ Road. Lilia admits she didn’t want to go, then that she wanted her power back, and Maestra counters that her power never left. Then, Lilia admits she doesn’t want to be a “forgotten woman.” There is some real emotion here, I always like the teacher figure like Yoda, trying to set right the apprentice. Also, great acting by Boccaletti. Lilia asks about her worth, she says their coven died by fever, and she saw it. Maestra says, “Death comes for us all.” There are tears in Lilia’s eyes. Lilia says she was falling and Maestra asks what she will do with her time before dying. Lilia covered in mud wakes up Jen and updates her on what happened. She is excited in a storehouse that is also a cave that she has the gaps filling in. One path leads to a room. Lilia hears the Salem Seven and they go to hide! The robed figures pass and Lilia points out the tunnel with the yellow roots, like the Yellow Brick Road? She wants to take it to help Billy and Agatha with the divination test.

Lilia asks Jen to join her, she looks to the comfort of the room, and then heads down the tunnel. She says to herself, “I know what I did wrong.” Lilia gathers the cards and says she is the Traveler. She says, “I am -“, this goes back to her younger self who says, “the Queen of Cups.” A meaning of a caring person who helps others on their path. Maestra happily says she can now see. She sets down the card and the ceiling spins. Agatha notes that no swords have dropped. Lilia takes out the next card, her quest’s purpose, and it is the Three of Pentacles. She sees the Three Star Rental eviction notice. Lilia says it is “singular voices waiting to harmonize.” She says she needed them, her coven. Next card, the past, the Knight of Wands, and she sees Alice using her power. The ceiling closes down shutting out the light from openings. The future, The High Priestess card is drawn, and she sees Jennifer. Power, but not able to use it. This is an impressive episode weaving Tarot cards, narrative across the episodes and characters, and showcasing Lilia Calderu who has been fascinating! 

Five+ Lockets out of Five! 

#AgathaAllAlong, #DeathsHandInMine, #JacSchaeffer, #GiaKing, #CameronSquires, #KathrynHahn, #JoeLocke, #PattiLuPone, #ShasheerZamata, #ChloeCamp, #LauraBoccaletti  

Re:tro Re:view - The Wolfman (1941)!

The beast side of man unleashed, early body horror, and an ancient curse are all found in The Wolfman (1941)! The werewolf is a fascinating creature of horror and the populization of it was in the Universal Monsters classic! Of course, there were legends of werewolves, lycanthorpes. It was basically transformations from man to wolf and not the wolfman creature. The first werewolf on film was also from Universal Studios, Werewolf of London (1935). The movie is currently streaming on Peacock. It had the wolfman form, makeup would probably be easier than a transformation into wolf, and easier to use an actor than an actual wolf. Werewolf of London had Henry Hull transform via Jack Pierce’s makeup effects. It had fangs, pointed ears, and furry eyebrows. 

Pierce was able to fulfill his werewolf vision in The Wolfman. The first film led to a classic, An American Werewolf in London (1981). It was groundbreaking with Rick Baker’s effects, which won him the first Academy Award for Best Makeup, it is the best transformation on film! Also director, John Landis, combined horror and comedy which made the genre popular. Baker returned to win another Academy Award for the remake The Wolfman (2010) One of the best werewolf shows was Wolf Lake (2001) which was created by John Leekley who also created the best vampire series, Kindred: The Embraced. Next year, January 17th, Leigh Whannell co-writes and directs Wolf Man. It looks to focus on a family and uncontrollable violence from a father as a werewolf. 

The cinematic werewolf really hit screens with the 1941 film directed by George Waggner. He also directed the horror film, Man-Made Monster (1941) that was the debut of Lon Chaney, Jr. The movie is written by Curt Siodmak who also co-wrote, The Invisible Man Returns (1940). It is streaming on Amazon Prime. From a bookshelf, a mysterious person takes out a book to open to page on “Lycnathorpy (Werewolfism).” The definition notes that it is a “disease of the mind”, but that a legend says a person could take on “physical characteristics” of the animal. Then, goes on to tell about a village by Talbot Castle. A man, Larry Talbot (Lon Chaney, Jr.) and his driver (Eric Wilton) are going through the village and see the castle, “obviously a model.” Chaney is the son of The Man of a Thousand Faces, Lon Chaney, who starred in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923). I think he had a distinguished performance as Lennie in the John Steinbeck adaptation, Of Mice and Men (1939). He also starred in Son of Dracula (1943) as Count Dracula. 

They drive up to the castle and Larry is greeted by his father, Sir John Talbot (Claude Rains). The actor also played Dr. Jack Griffin, the lead in the Invisible Man (1933). He is also known for playing Senator Joseph Payne in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) and Captain Louis Renault in Casablanca (1942). Rains brings an authenticity to the role with a British accent, most of the cast has American accents. His father mentions that the castle hasn’t changed in 300 years. He introduces Larry to Paul Montford (Ralph Bellamy), the chief constable. Paul excuses himself and Larry points out the portrait of his brother, John, above the fireplace. Sir John says that it took John’s hunting accident to have Larry to return to the castle. They shake hands and Sir John notes Larry has been away 18 years. Workers bring in a wooden case which one says is parts for a telescope. 

They head to the attic which has been made into an observatory. We see the same library of books from the opening, above it is the giant telescope, and windows that show the village and mountains. Larry adjusts the telescope. Sir John looks through the telescope to see a car and a bicyclist in the village. He is impressed at Larry’s work who says he worked on the Mount Wilson observatory in Los Angeles. Larry looks through the telescope, he scans across the village which does look like European Street at Universal Studios Hollywood. He finds a beautiful woman in the window. This is Gwen Conliffe (Evelyn Ankers). He’s a Peeping Tom! Ankers played Elsa Frankenstein in the Ghost of Frankenstein (1942). She is checking on her dress suit when Larry sees that she is in the room above Charles Conliffe Antiques. 

Larry walks into the store and welcomed by Gwen. He says he is looking for earrings and she takes out a box of earrings for him. Larry says he is looking for gold, half-moon shaped earrings. She says they don’t have any and he says it is on a dressing table in her room. Kinda creepy meet cute, but there is a gosh everyman quality to Lon Chaney, Jr. He decides to buy a cane and she asks how did he know about the earrings. Larry says he’s psychic when there is a beautiful woman. Now starting off a relationship with a lie or joke? The film's period really makes it that this is just a meet cute. He finds a cane that has on its end a wolf. Gwen explains that the tip is a wolf made of silver with a pentagram, the sign of the werewolf! He jokes at the legend. She tells about the poem, “Even a man who is pure in heart/And says his prayers by Night/May become a wolf/When the wolfsbane blooms/And the autumn moon is bright.” Gwen says the pentagram shows up on the palm of the werewolf's next victim. Some cool werewolf lore injected into their conversation. 

He says he will tell how he saw her on a walk at night. She refuses and then walks outside to see the arrival of fortune tellers on horse and wagon. Larry asks his father about werewolves. Rains’ delivery of the poem just has the right hint of the sinister. Sir John brings up Gwen’s name and wants his son to know all of the villagers since he will be in charge of the estate. A foggy night, Gwen leaves the shop waiting expectantly and Larry walks up to her. She introduces him to Jenny Williams (Fay Helm) who also wants her fortune read. It is a spooky night with the fog and Jenny points out the bush with the wolfsbane. She picks out a few even though the wolfsbane is poisonous to the touch! The camp of the Romani, gypsies is now a slur, Jenny speaks to a Romani man. He is played by Bela Lugosi, Dracula himself!, and his character’s name is Bela.  

Gwen walks with Larry into the thick fog and admits he used a telescope to watch her.  I really like the fog and the trees, in England, the fog can get thick you couldn’t see in front of you. She says she is engaged, but Larry doesn't give up. Jenny wants to know when she will be married. Bela moves the wolfsbane aside, weary, and then takes her right hand. He says the right hand which shows the future and sees a pentacle! Bela sends her away. I really like Lugosi's performance even as a cameo. In a tent is the elderly woman, Maleva (Maria Ouspenskaya) who watches a restless horse. The actress also appeared as the character in Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943). Jenny runs and then hears a wolf howl! Larry and Gwen hear the howl and then Jenny screams! Larry runs to help with his cane. He sees the wolf and pulls it off Jenny’s body. Larry begins to struggle with it and the wolf bites him. He starts striking it with the cane, repeatedly beating it off camera. Larry staggers away.

Gwen finds Larry who has fallen and she calls for help as a wagon rolls in with Maleva. She asks what happened and Gwen says a wolf bit him. Maleva says they should take him back home. Sir John and Captain Montford are chatting about Larry when he is brought in by Gwen. Maleva steps away and Gwen tells them about the wolf bite. Then,the butler, Kendall (Leyland Hodson) reports that Jenny was killed! Captain Montford leaves with Kendall to see the murder scene. Doctor Lloyd (Warren William) has examined the body and reports her throat was bitten. A reporter, Twiddle (Forrester Harvey) nervously takes notes. He is also the other actor with an English accent. A dog and its owner, Frank Andrews (Patric Knowles), find another body, Bela! Dr. Lloyd says he was killed by “heavy blows.” Montford points out Bela’s bare feet. Frank finds the wolf’s head cane. In the morning, Larry wakes up, Sir John, Captain Montford, and Dr. Lloyd enter, and Montford asks if Larry owns the cane. 

He says he killed the wolf with the cane and is told that the body of Bela was found next to the cane. Larry says that the wolf bit him, he shows Dr. Lloyd, but there is no mark! The others leave Sir John and Larry who rushes over to see the cane. Later, Sir John explains that Bela and Larry went to help Jenny. He says in the confusion, Larry killed Bela, and that the wolf tore his coat which led Larry to thinking it bit him. Montford says he won’t question Larry. Night, two women, see the casket of Bela and Larry, whom they call “the man that killed him.” The coffin is taken to a room at a cemetary. Larry wants to see the body, but hears voices. It is Maleva. He doesn’t want a Romani celebration and she says it is a custom. Maleva says words of condolence over Bela’s coffin as Larry watches. He seems to have a problem looking at women who are in private. Larry is grief stricken, almost angry, at Bela in his coffin. 

Gwen’s father, Charles (J.M. Kerrigan) is trying to reassure his daughter, but she is still traumatized seeing Jenny’s face. Mrs. Williams (Doris Lloyd), Jenny’s mother, blames Gwen for her daughter’s death. Larry enters the store as Mrs. Williams says she knows what Gwen was doing when Jenny died. He angrily slams the door and confronts Mrs. Williams and her friends. They all leave as Larry holds the wolf head cane! Larry apologizes to Charles and asks her permission to see Gwen in the parlor. Now, he acts like a gentleman. Larry also apologizes to Gwen especially with the argument of the ladies. Frank Andrews enters the store with his dog who barks at Larry. He takes away his dog and Gwen explains that Frank, her fiancee, is the estate gamekeeper. Larry awkwardly leaves and Frank says he was staring at his cane. He warns Gwen about Larry and says there is something tragic about him. At the celebration for Bela, there is music with violinists and a woman dancer, Frank has taken Gwen there. 

He sees Larry and takes her to say hello to him. At a shooting game, Larry has a rifle, shoots, while Sir John and Montford watch him. Larry pauses at a wolf target. Frank shoots it. Maleva sees Larr ,  tells him to go inside her tent, and says that the wolf was Bela! She says a werewolf can only be killed with silver. Maleva gives him a charm, necklace with the pentagram. He is about to leave when she says whoever is bitten by werewolf becomes a werewolf. Maleva says he has to have the charm over his heart. Montford watches as Maleva spreads word around the camp. The celebration ends and Larry runs into Gwen who had an argument with Frank. He tells her that he is a werewolf and gives her the charm! Larry kisses her and then sees the Romani break camp and she leaves. Good closeup as we see Larry’s conflicted face as he holds a tree branch. This leads to psychedelic swirl of images of Larry’s eyes, Maleva’s face, and Bela. Then, the transformation which must be early body horror. Besides the cool, wavy hair and beard, he has a bestial, furred face and fangs. Brilliant work by Jack Arnold! The Wolf Man has Larry’s kinda romance with Gwen, the bizarre transformation, and the savagery the werewolf! 

Four Charms out of Five! 

#TheWolfman, #GeorgeWaggner, #CurtSiodmak, #LonChaneyJr, #EvelynAnkers, #ClaudeRains, #RalphBellamy, #MariaOuspenskaya, #BelaLugosi, #WarrenWilliam, #FayHelm, #PatricKnowles, 

#ForresterHarvey, #WerewolfOfLondon, #HenryHull, #JackPierce, #AnAmericanWerewolfInLondon, #JohnLandis, #RickBaker, #WolfLake, #JohnLeekley, #WolfManMovie, #LeighWhannell

Hollywood Show - October 19th!

The Hollywood Show is an event that takes place three times year at the Marriott Burbank Convention Center. I attended the show on March 2nd and the previous one was on June 7th & 8th. Check out the latest info at: https://www.hollywoodshow.com/ Saturday featured the casts of Robocop, Baywatch, Sharknado, and Beverly Hills 90210. I was excited to see Tracie Thoms who starred as Joanne Jefferson in Rent (2005). She reprise the role in Rent: Filmed Live on Broadway (2008) and Rent at the Hollywood Bowl (2010). I forgot she played Etta Candy in the Wonder Woman (2011) tv movie. Thoms is currently Karen Wilson in 9-1-1 and also Dr. Diane Lewis in Station 19. 

Baywatch Panel at the Hollywood Show; Traci Bingham, Angelica Bridges, Brande Roderick, Nicole Eggert, Erika Eleniak, Kelly Packard, David Chokachi, Brandy Ledford, Jaason Simmons, author’s photo. 

One of the pleasant surprises was seeing Terri Hardin. She was a Disney Imagineer, performer for The Jim Henson Company, and worked on my many beloved films. Hardin said of the photographs of her many projects, “Every one has a story.” The one that intrigued me was Captain EO (1986). She was the puppeteer for Idee and Odee. I noted that the concept also showed up in The Phantom Menace (1999) as the Podracer announcer, Fode and Beed. Hardin’s book, Giggling Pumpkins (2021), features her artwork, and she had the DVD, Pumpkin Sculpting. Check out her work and online store at: https://terrihardin.com. 

Her Captain EO co-star, Tony Cox, was next to her. Cox is one of the charming, recognizable actors from Bad Santa (2003), the Preacher in Beetlejuice (1988), and he starred as Widdle, Wicket’s older brother in Return of the Jedi (1983) and the Ewok movies. Widdle was the Ewok who joined Chewbacca in taking over the scout walker! Hooter is the one of the standout characters from Captain EO, there is just so much personality in humor in his movements and voice! The hallway at the right of the convention center had the Robocop actors including Nancy Allen, Ronny Cox, and Ray Wise. There was also an art exhibit for Rod Serling’s Night Gallery. One had a robot maid slumped down with her head detached! Jim Benson, author of Rod Serling’s Night Gallery: An After-Hours Tour (2022), was at the show with artist, Tom Wright. 

'

Rod Serling’s Night Gallery art display, photo by the author. 

The facing table once you enter the convention hall was lined with actors from Baywatch. I was interesting in seeing Brande Roderick, who starred and directed the drama, Wineville. Roderick, who played Leigh Dyer, later said that there was one memorable moment of filming the show where she was filming and noticed the water safety personnel. They were surrounded by sharks! Traci Bingham (Jordan Tate) said, “I was told I would be David Hasslehoff’s love interest.” she was funny and had endless energy during the panel. Angelica Bridges (Taylor Walsh) noted that her test was that she swam in a tank to see how she looked underwater. 

Nicole Eggert (Summer Quinn) said, “I love the big octopus that attacked me.” This was in the “Tentacles” episodes. Eggert is the producer of After Baywatch: Moment in the Sun. The documentary is streaming on Hulu. Erika Eleniak (Shauni McClain) noted that the iconic swimsuit started out functional, but when the show was syndicated, “necklnes plunged.” After the show, Eleniak said she liked competing in the reality competition show, The Real Gilligan's Island. Kelly Packard said she had played four different characters in season 2, 6, and April Giminski in season 8 and 9. 

David Chokachi (Cody Madison) mentioned kissing with his co-star, Pamela Anderson. “When you shoot kissing scenes on television specifically, you’re not supposed to use your tongue.” They did so anyway and the producers never told them to stop! Chokachi had many funny stories about working on the series. Brandy Ledford (Dawn Masterton) noted the swim test was difficult for her because she was nervous. She later said her favorite takeaway was seeing a “19 year old, really young, really fresh, really ambitious Jason Mamoa get his feet wet with acting.” Jaason Simmons (Logan Fowler) mentioned that on his first day, he accidentally hitco-star David Charvet giving him “a fat lip”! A fun panel about experiences on a memorable show! The Hollywood Show has many celebrities with personal stories about their work. Next year’s show will be on January 10th & 11th; a nice way to start a new year! 

#HollywoodShow, #TracieThoms, #RentMovie, #911, #Station19, #CaptainEO, #GigglingPumpkins, #PumpkinSculpting, #TonyCox, #BadSanta, #Beetlejuice, #ReturnOfTheJedi, 

#Robocop, #NancyAllen, #RonnyCox, #RayWise, #RodSerlingsNightGallery, #JimBenson, #TomWright, #Baywatch, #BrandeRoderick, #WinevilleMovie, #TraciBingham, #AngelicaBridges, 

#NicoleEggert, #ErikaEleniak, #KellyPackard, #DavidChokachi, #BrandyLedford, #JaasonSimmons  

Agatha All Along and The Acolyte!

 It is a tale of two franchises, The Acolyte and Agatha All Along, two streaming shows that are both on Disney+, with similiarities in characters and plot, but the differences are all in the writing! The Acolyte is part of Star Wars that started with The Mandalorian in 2019, followed by four more live action series, the latest was Ahsoka in 2023. This led to The Acolyte which premiered on June 4th of this year. It was original in exploring the 100 years before The Phantom Menace (1999) and set towards the end of the High Republic era. The Acolyte was created by Leslye Headland who co-created Russian Doll. Similar to Agatha All Along, it has a female lead who has lost her identity, loosely tied to the franchise, mysteries, witches, a song spun out of the series, and a flashback episode revealing the past of a character. 

Amandla Stenberg had the dual role of Osha and Mae. The show also feature Lee Jung-jae as Master Sol, Dafne Keen (Jecki Lon), Charlie Barnett (Yord Fandar), and Manny Jacinto as The Stranger. Carrie-Anne Moss was Jedi Master Indara. Rebecca Henderson starred as Vernestra Rwoh. Jodie Turner-Smith played Mother Aniseya and Margarita Levieva was Mother Koril. The central mystery was centered around Osha and Mae, twins, and their tragic past on their homeworld of Brendok. They were raised by a coven of witches led by Mother Aniseya. The chant of the witches, “Power of Two”, and strangely, later not sung by Amandla Stenberg who is a great singer. It was turned into a song by Victoria Monét.  In terms of ratings, Nielsen has The Acolyte with its eight episodes ranked tenth of all shows with 335 minutes viewed in millions. The cost of the show was $230.1 million. Agatha All Along is of course part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which began with WandaVision in 2021, with eight other live action shows. The last was Echo that began on Disney+ on January 9th. 

Agatha All Along began streaming on September 18th. It is created by Jac Schaeffer. Similar to Headland, Schaeffer wrote and directed the premiere, and they also directed the second episode of their respective shows. The lead in this case is Agatha Harkness with Kathryn Hahn reprising the part from WandaVision. She had been under the Scarlet Witch’s spell so didn’t know her true identity until the end of the premiere. This is similar to The Acolyte. Also like Mae, we see Agatha as a villain, but also take her perspective as protagonist. Agatha finds herself teamed with The Teen (Joe Locke) whose past is mysterious until the flashback episode. We don’t know what happened with Master Sol until The Acolyte flashback. Agatha finds a rivalry with Rio Vidal (Aubrey Plaza). Osha struggled with her sister, Mae. Then, she assembles her coven; Lilia Calderu (Patti LuPone), Jennifer Kale (Sasheer Zamata), Alice Wu-Gulliver (Ali Ahn), and Sharon Davis (Debra Jo Rupp). Note that Osha was an advisor with the team assembled by Master Sol. 

The journey is clear in Agatha All Along, which is in the song, “The Ballad of the Witches’ Road”, sung by most of the cast. Each part is an episode title and important for the characters. The witches of Brendok were part of Mae and Osha’s past, and the witches of course are the main characters in Agatha All Along. The flashback episode, “Familiar by Thy Side”, is towards the conclusion of Agatha All Along with the sixth episode. The Acolyte flashback was in two parts, episode three and six, with eight total episodes. We of course found out that The Teen was Billy Maximoff, the son of Wanda Maximoff, which tied to the Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness (2022). There were cameos in The Acolyte, but not strong tie-ins with the films. Agatha All Along, according to Nielsen 426 million views with two episodes. 91 million more than all of The Acolyte episodes. Plus, it is said to be the least expensive MCU series "less than $40 million." There are still three episodes left with Agatha All Along. It has hints of a confrontation, maybe with an unknown villain, The Acolyte had a mysterious villain in the form of Darth Plagueis, but that was a teaser. AThe Acolyte and Agatha All Along has some similarities, but it is the writing and humor that makes the latter stand out.  

#TheAcolyte, #LeslyeHeadland, #AmandlaStenberg, #LeeJungJae, #DafneKeen, #CharlieBarnett, #MannyJacinto, #CarrieAnneMoss, #RebeccaHenderson, #JodieTurnerSmith, #Margarita Levieva, 

#PowerOfTwo, #VictoriaMonet, #AgathaAllAlong, #JacSchaeffer, #WandaVision, #KathrynHahn, #JoeLocke, #AubreyPlaza, #PattiLuPone, #SasheerZamata, #AliAhn, #DebraJoRupp, #TheBalladOfTheWitchesRoad, #DoctorStrangeAndTheMultiverseOfMadness