Twilight Zone, “The Comedian”, Review!

The Twilight Zone was relaunched on CBS All Access and the first episode is available streamed almost everywhere.  The original show, which ran from 1959 to 1964, was groundbreaking in bringing all sorts of genres, fantasy, science fiction, and horror to an anthology created and hosted by Rod Serling.  The show featured an incredible roster of writers, besides Serling, there was Richard Matheson, George Clayton Johnson, and Ray Bradbury.  It is developed by Simon Kinberg, Jordan Peele, and Marco Ramirez.  “The Comedian” debuted on April 1st.  It is directed by Owen Harris who also directed an episode of Black Mirror.  The episode was written by Alex Reubens who worked on the show Key & Peele as well as co-writing Keanu (2016) with Jordan Peele.  

There is a warning about the adult content of the show.  It starts out with Kumail Nanjiani starting his set, Nanjiani is of course known for the show, Silicon Valley, and also his brilliant work co-writing and starring in The Big Sick (2017).  Nanjiani plays a subdued, smart comic, but he really works as a comedian on fire.  I think this is a very personal to Nanjiani, Reubens, but also reflects on Peele.  It resolves to a painting of a well dressed audience on the wall, hints of The Shining (1980)?  He plays Samir, casually dressed, working at Eddies Comedy Club.  His opening is about guns and the Second Amendment.  The audience is quiet.  He focuses on the “well regulated” part of the amendment.  Samir looks out at the unlaughing crowd.  He orders a drink at the bar and is joined by fellow comedian, DiDi Scott, played by Diarra Kilpatrick. She is also in the sitcom The Last O.G.  Didi is someone that Samir confides in and she is a little funny. 

TWILIGHT ZONE -- “The Comedian” -- KUMAIL NANJIANI -- Robert Falconer/CBS. 

Samir wants to tell thought provoking jokes and then points to another comedian who he says murdered people.  This is the drunk Joe Donner (Toby Hargrave).  Diarra doesn’t believe he is a murderer and leaves for her set.  He is then joined by legendary comedian J.C. Wheeler.  He is of course played by Tracy Morgan, a dramatic part here, he is best known for 30 Rock and The Last O.G.  It reminds me of the classic TZ episode, “A Game of Pool” (1961) where a legendary pool player has a final match with an up and coming player.  Samir asks J.C. where he has been, he had it all, but he is mysterious.  J.C. mentions the audience is interested in him.  He promises everything to Samir and says once the audience connects, then it will be “gone forever.”  Samir toasts J.C.’s glass. 

Joe Donner finishes and hands his mic over to Samir.  

He starts with the Second Amendment again.  Unsmiling faces.  He mentions they look like his dog.  There are some laughs about his dog named Cat.  The audience laughs their heads off.  Samir heads home to his apartment.  He calls for his dog.  Samir goes to tell his sleeping girlfriend, Rena (Amara Karan) about his success at the club.  He asks about Cat, but she says they don’t have a dog.  Jordan Peele as host speaks about Samir and the cost he is willing to pay, but he doesn’t say Samir has just entered the Twilight Zone!  I love the surreal show introduction, strange as the original, but fresh.  The show returns with a ruined bus stop at Franklin St.  We overhear Deven Singh (Marc Joseph), Samir’s ten year old nephew, ask about it and Samir tells his nephew that a drunk driver, a comic, hit the bus stop and killed people.  They put up missing dog posters.  

TWILIGHT ZONE -- “The Comedian” -- DIARRA KILPATRICK, KUMAIL NANJIANI -- Robert Falconer/CBS. 

Deven points out the joke of the no apostrophes sign to his uncle.  DiDi interrupts them and she likes Deven’s jokes.  Samir is back using the 2nd Amendment joke, really if jokes fall flat, he should use something else in his set or comment on his situation. Clinking ice cubes.  Deven is on his phone.  Samir starts joking about Deven.  Then, Deven is gone. Later, Samir asks Didi about Deven, but she doesn’t know him.  He goes out to the street, it is raining, asking about a “little boy.”  Then, he tries to use his cell phone, but there is no Deven Singh.  Samir goes back to his apartment, he interrupts David Candell (Ryan Robbins) having wine with Rena.  We find out later that he was Rena’s mentor as a lawyer.  He picks up the family photo that had Deven in it, but he is not there.   

Samir tries to explain to Rena about J.C. Wheeler and that the persons mentioned in his jokes are gone.  David checks on them, but Rena takes Samir aside.  There is a memorial to the bus stop victims.  Samir eyes it as he heads towards the comedy club.  On stage, he tries the 2nd amendment again, then about his nephew, it doesn’t work.  Neither does his joke about the president.  He looks at Joe Donner.  Samir starts to make fun of him for killing a mother and her baby.  The audiences laugh.  Joe Donner laughs with his bottle of beer.  Clapping and then there is no Joe Donner.  Samir checks the bus stop and sees that it is intact.  Some fans say he killed in his set.  Samir says he “unkilled.”  At night, while Rena is asleep, he goes through the people on his laptop from his life that were mean.  Playing God.  Rena laughs at the club.  Samir is on a roll.  Still, there are consequences, Samir may not have seen It’s A Wonderful Life (1946), he is not thinking about others and there is a twist.  Is there fear, a mind, a person behind the laughs?  It is strange, but needs to be intense and creepy to be Twilight Zone.  

Three Jokes out of Five!  

#TwilightZone, #TheComedian, #KumailNanjani, #DiarraKilpatrick

Happy Birthday Robin Wright!

Happy Birthday Robin Wright! Of course we know her as Princess Buttercup in Princess Bride (1987), but her first role was actually in Penelope Spheeris’ Hollywood Vice Squad (1986). She was Jenny in Forrest Gump (1994), and played Audrey Dunn in Unbreakable (2000), and was Walthow in the animated Beowulf (2007). She begun her award winning run on House of Cards as Claire Underwood in 2013.

Wright had an incredible year in 2017, as General Antiope in Wonder Woman, and played Lieutenant Joshi in Blade Runner 2049, two of my favorite movies! Then, returned as Antiope in Justice League. There is the comparison of another character turned princess to general. She’s now taking the lead role in House of Cards which wrapped up last year.  Wright has upcoming Wonder Woman 1984 next year!  Happy Birthday Robin Wright!

#RobinWright, #PrincessBride, #HouseofCards, #WonderWoman

Video Game Review - Marvel: Contest of Champions!

I went to Dave and Buster’s to check on the latest games and found Marvel: Contest of Champions!  I was a big fan of the Injustice arcade game and this looks like the Marvel version.  Kabam has used it’s 2014 mobile fighting game and brought it to the arcades.  It seems like Dave and Buster’s released the game to its arcades in February.  It has a large screen and you have buttons, a large yellow special attack, I used it a few times.  There are three blue buttons; Light, Medium, and Heavy.  

Marvel: Contest of Champions, photo by the author.

You can scan cards to form your three person team.  The characters are out of the comic books and not the films except Ant-Man and the Wasp.  You have a joystick to move and dodge, racing to fight an opponent, I use a series of light attacks which can be blocked.  I think there was a message that there are combo attacks pressing light and medium.  So it works like a traditional fighting game which is a little confusing for me.  Large attackers can face fast opponents.  At the end of a match with three champions you get a card.  

Marvel: Contest of Champions cards, photo by the author.

 There are 25 rare cards, I got the Red Skull card, and I also saw Captain Marvel.  Also 25 uncommon cards, I picked up Groot and Hulk (Ragnarok), and there is an Iron Man card.  There is the same number of common cards, I got Captain America and Black Panther, there are also foil cards.  I assembled a Guardians of the Galaxy team; Drax, Groot, and Gamora.  The lethal opponents are Gwenpool and Wolverine (X-23), I think I didn’t win once against them.  The most effective was Hulk (Ragnarok), his special move is to smash and this causes a tear in the ground, a ranged attack.  There are of course other ranged attacks like Hawkeye’s bow.  A fun and very addictive game, I can’t wait to go back and play some more!  

#MarvelContestofChampions, #Kabam, #HulkRagnarok, #CaptainAmerica 

Warrior, “The Itchy Onion, Review!

A picture of a woman is held in closeup.  The door to a aship oepns to the daylight and the man, Ah Sahm (Andrew Koji) holding it walks out, bearded in a black shirt with his possessions in his bag.  It is San Francisco, 1878 and the crowds head to Customs and Immigration.  There is some racist chants by people on the other side of the fence, one is holding up a sign, “Send Back The Chinese.”  The language is intense, but there is a warning at the beginning of the content.  The man eyes this chaos.  A well dressed man, Wang Chao (Hoon Lee), speaks in Chinese to the immigrants in behalf of their employer, Lao Ting. Ah Sahm eyes the shouting crowd and compares it to Wang Chao’s welcome message.  Immigration officers check their papers. One bearded officer insults one immigrant and throws him down.  The immigrant collects his fallen food in his pan, but Ah Sahm tells him to leave it.  The officer confronts the first man and strikes him.  He speaks in English to not hit him again, classic Bruce Lee!  Three immigration officers are angry at his insults.  He strikes the two officers down cold.  The bearded officer does not fare better.  We get the Western guitar with the opening of the show. The credits note executive producers Shannon Lee, Bruce Lee’s daughter, and Justin Lin.  As well as listing that it is “Based on the writings of Bruce Lee.” Then, the series creator, Jonathan Tropper, who wrote the episode. 

WARRIOR -- “The Itchy Onion” -- ANDREW KOJI, JASON TOBIN -- photo credit: Graham Bartholomew/Cinemax. 

Carriages move through the streets of San Francisco, in one of them, Ah Sahm rides with Wang Chao.  They speak in Chinese and the first man explains that he speaks English because his grandfather was American. Wang Chao speaks to three men playing pai gao and he tells him, it shifts to English, there is the insult of the man as an “onion,”  One of the players says “This onion is itchy” at his insult.  Ah Sahm is taken to a board room and he introduces himself as Ah Sahm.  The leader, Father Jun (Perry Yung), says if he is a fighter, then he will be needed in the war with the Tongs.  The boss gets angry at Ah Sahm leaving without bowing to him.  His son, Young Jun (Jason Tobin), who introduced Ah Sahm takes him for a walk and takes him to his room.  The night streets, a police officer, Sergeant O’Hara (Kieran Bew) sees a man who dies in the street, he sees two men attacking two others, he gives a warning and then strikes them down with his club.  A man, the mayor, Samuel Blake (Christian McKay), is given a shave and greets a woman in a pink dress, his wife, Penelope Blake (Joanna Vanderham) in the morning.  They are greeted by Walter Buckley (Langley Kirkwood) who informs them about the attack on the Chinese men.  She tries to join in the conversation, but dismissed by her husband.  Berkely explains the arrested men work for Merriweather.  The mayor meets Mr. Merriweather (Andre Jacobs) in his office.  He wants his bricklaying men free and leaves them. 

Sergeant O’Hara enters the office of the police chief and is told he is assigned to Chinatown.  He is worried about the risk.  The mayor’s official has assigned him.  At a trial is officer William Henry Lee (Tom Weston-Jones) who testifies.  Ah Sahm practices in his room at night.  The boss’ son is proud of the opium trade.  Ah Sahm aasks about the women and the son takes him to a prostitution house.  They are met by Ah Toy (Olivia Cheng) who takes Young Jun up stairs, Ah Sahm follows, she rings a bell and the prostitutes line up.  The boss’ son takes away two ladies.  Ah Sahm asks about a woman who crossed two years ago, Jao Jing.  Sergeant O’Hara is drinking in a bar.  He overhears a man talking about fighting in wars and losing jobs to the Chinese.  The racist leader wants a war.  Men are walking down a hall while Young Jun is busy with his prostitute.  The woman is killed.  They ask Young Jun if he asked about Jao Jing.  Ah Sahm answers and walks down the stairs to talke on the men.  He sits on one.  The defeated men take out axes.  A great fight scene.  Young Jun sees how Ah Sahm took them out.  Ah Toy meets Ah Sahm outside and warns him.  He thinks Ah Toy or someone who works for her contacted the men.  Ah Sahm asks again about Jao Jing.  She says another man was looking for her one year ago.  The bearded officer meets with officers and looks for volunteers.  One officer, Lee, volunteers from Georgia.  He gets in a struggle with another drunk officer.  Sergeant O’Hara hires him.  

WARRIOR -- “The Itchy Onion” -- HOON LEE -- photo credit: David Bloomer/Cinemax.

A brand is made on Ah Sahm’s arm and he is congradulated by other men.  Yoon Joon walks the streets with his men and Ah Sahm.  The other people in the market look down respectfully at them.  Then, we see the bearded officer, Sergeant O’Hara, and new team member who talk as they patrol.  The bearded officer says he fought in Gettysberg.  They meet with Wang Chao who takes them to the back streets to the back of a restaurant.  He shows them axes and other weapons.  Lee is hesitant to deal with a criminal.  The rowdy Irish leader meets with others and they are worried about the police officer.  Young Jun gets payment from a shop owner.  Ah Sahm notices something with two men with pony tails and follows them.  He watches a man throwing knives and is surprised by Young Jun who takes him away.  O’Hara is back at the bar and talks to the leader, Leary, who is worried about Lee.  There is a street brawl in the rain where two men are fighting.  Savage fists and ends with a bloody crunch!  Ah Sah walks up to several men and announces he is looking for Jao Jing.  Inside a room, he is seated in front of the men, the leader asks how he knows Jao Jing.  He faces Ah Sahm.  Their fight is called off by a woman in red (Dianne Doan).  

Ah Sahm smiles at the sight of Jao Jing.  He wants to take her home and says that Soong Ying killed their father.  She is angry at the abuse she suffered from Soong Ying.  Jao Jing says her name now is Mai Ling.  She sees the brand on his arm and sends him away.  The rival gang leader is prepared for bed and Mao Ying talks to him before undressing and joining him.  At a bar, Ah Sahm orders a drink, he talks to Wang Chao (Hoon Lee).  He asks about returning back home.  Ah Toy joins them.  Wang Chao leaves them.  Ah Toy knew about his sister and takes him away.  In her room, she offers him a pipe of herbs, and tells her Jao Jing is his sister.  She undresses and Ah Sahm takes off his shirt to join her.  It is Skin-e-max.   Mai Ling joins a man in a carriage.  Drunk men are killed by a woman in a robe.  Ah Sahm wakes up and practices.  The action is great, the adult language and Skin-e-max scenes seem like trying to be Game of Thrones.  This is of course it’s own thing not the prime time series that turned into Kung Fu.  The only downside is that there is a long time before character names are mentioned or seen and it is just a flood of characters that are not identified.  It is sorta like a Western, but misses the trappings of the frontier town, guns, and horses.  It is interesting, I hope there is more focus on the story, I think the only stand out is Officer Lee. I actually would have liked his character as the protagonist. Ah Sahm is difficult to empathize, he is an engima since his past is unclear, and what is his course now that he has found his sister?  

Three Onions out of Five! 

#Warrior, #AndrewKoji, #JasonTobin, #OliviaCheng

Cloak and Dagger, “White Lines”, Review!

The second part of the season two opener of Cloak and Dagger, “White Lines” picks up with a gang member who scrawls a symbol with cocaine before Cloak and Dagger enter.  Tyrone plays the tape and hears the gang leader surprised before the killing.  He sees the symbol, Voudon, Brigid enters and is angry at Tyrone.  She threatens to arrest them if they don’t leave.  Tyrone notices that one of the bodies has a slash.  A woman, Auntie Chantelle (Angela Davis), aunt to Evita, prepares flour and cooking.  He shows her the symbol, she says it is a prayer, which could be for justice.  Chantelle pours yellow powder to get protection for him.  Evita walks in and then stomps out angry that he was gone for eight months!  He takes her to an alley and shows her his power to cloak.  Again, she is angry that he could have told her he was okay.  It is not easy being a superhero! 

CLOAK AND DAGGER -- “White Lines” -- NOELLE RENE, AUBREY JOSEPH  -- Photo Credit: Freeform/Alfonso Bresciani.  

Tyrone forms symbols and lights a candle.  He appears in an ambulance, a woman pleads for help being drugged and tied down, a man takes out a shotgun and he cloaks away back to the church.  The woman is gone!  Tandy goes over leaving the club and facing Mikeyla.  This is an interesting interweaving of time, back and forth, to bring the stories together.  She sees Jeremy and he says that she is gone.  Tandy brings up his story about three guys who caused the wreckage, she says he drools when he is passed out from six beers, she saw him.  Tandy goes in to talk to  and is interrupted by Andre Deschaine (Brooklyn McLinn).  He tells her about house that Mikeyla may have known.  He asks what she is doing and suddenly she sees her father, Nathan Bowen (Andy Dylan), her fear causes the street lights to explode.  Brigid is getting drunk at a bar, pounding shots and glasses, she answers her phone.  Back at the club murder scene, she sees Tandy and Tyrone, and says she will clean up the mess.  She dials in call to report the murders.  Brigid continues drinking and then stumbles down the street, vomiting, and then sees her dark reflection insulting her.  Her dark side takes over!  

Brigid returns to the crime scene and explains that someone surprised the meeting killing the gangbangers.  She says the killer took care of the bodyguards.  An officer says that prints identify a shop owner, Brett Latour.  Brigid enters the house and asks about Brett.  She tears up a painting and threatens to tear up the house built on dirty money.  His wife tells him that he taking ambulances!  She pulls her gun on Tandy and shoots a lock on a fence!  Day, songs are made to the missing persons posted on a pole.  Tandy watches across the street.  Andre checks on Tandy and she asks about the missing girls.  He says the police aren’t working on their cases.  Andre gets a call that Mikeyla has overdosed and Tandy runs into the hospital to see Lia.  They see Mikeyla in a hospital bed asleep.  Tandy admits she wanted to help Mikeyla.  She closes the curtain and takes Mikeyla’s hand with the Dagger glow.  She sees a black and white video of the ambulance and reaches out, shorting out the lights.  

CLOAK AND DAGGER -- “White Lines” -- DILSHAD VADSARIA, OLIVIA HOLT  -- Photo Credit: Freeform/Alfonso Bresciani.  

Tandy tracks the ambulance to a fence and then sees Brigid.  She fires her gun and they enter.  Tandy identifes the man who kidnapped Mikeyla.  She chases after him with her light daggers.  He runs to another ambulance, but is blocked by Brigid’s car.  Tandy faces teh ambulance as it races for her and forms a globe that causes a blinding flash and overturns the ambulance.  A great new use of her power!  Brigid has the man in a choke hold trying to force out a confession.  She sends Tandy away and blood splatters on her face.  A vicious end and another victim of Mayhem!  Tyrone uses chalk to form new symbols, trying, again and again.  He sees Evita who apologizes to him about yelling at him.  Tyrone admits that he left the woman in the ambulance.  She says the ceremony requires breathing.  He closes his eyes and starts drawing the symbols with Evita holding his heand.  They both cloak to the hospital room.  Evita kisses Tyrone to distract them from the police.  They kiss again.  She wants him to leave and she will check on Mikeyla.  Tyrone knocks on Brigid’s apartment.  He hears a scuffle.  He cloaks in and sees Brigid tied on the floor.  She admits that she is the danger.  They appear next to Tandy.  She is confused and then sees a surprise appearance. This is all setup with Tyrone’s exile, how they resolve the situation with Mikeyla, and of course Brigid O’Reilly.  There is a tag at the end about how to get help for domestic abuse.    

Four Light Daggers out of Five! 

#CloakAndDagger, #WhiteLines, #EmmaLahana, #AngelaDavis

Cloak and Dagger, “Restless Energy”, Review!

It is season two of Cloak and Dagger and the finale of the first season had Tyrone Johnson (Aubrey Joseph) who is Cloak and can teleport in his cloak, and Tandy Bowen (Olivia Holt) who as Dagger can form light dagger, they become the Divine Pairing.  Tandy is back practicing ballet.  Tyrone is watching pay offs with a drug deal.  He cloaks away.  Tandy concentrates on her dancing.  A gang member sets down a duffel bag and it is gone!  They are confused and Tyrone places more money in duffel bags.  In a group session, Tandy’s mother, Melissa Bowen (Andrea Roth) explains that she made excuses for her husband, but was trying to protect her daughter.  Tandy accepts it as “heroic.”  The head of the group, Lia (Dilshad Vadsaria) asks about another group member, Mikeyla (Cecilia Leal), who has bruises on her wrists from her boyfriend, Jeremy.  Brigid O’Reilly (Emma Lahana) is on the firing range and fires her gun unloading an entire clip, she has missed her target.  Her injury in the finale has lead to some changes.  She walks out, and sees something.  Then, Brigid goes to car to pop some pills, she is surprised by Tyrone who cloaks to her back seat.  

CLOAK AND DAGGER -- “Restless Energy” -- OLIVIA HOLT, AUBREY JOSEPH -- Photo Credit: Freeform/Alfonso Bresciani.  

He opens a duffel bag of money which he has taken from drug dealers.  Tyrone is still a cop killer for the death of the corrupt Officer Fuchs.  She fears a gang war from his actions.  It is unexpected to have the duo in the same place, but not working together.  Back to the group therapy, they chant the group’s motto, and then Tandy brings the girl’s wallet.  Tandy returns to the church and brought his school papers and some movies.  He runs the projector and asks about Tandy.  They are watching old shows of Zorro and ask each other about being heroes.  At home, Tandy talks to her mother about cooking instructions, she just realizes she has to go to ballet class.  Tyrone is in a tree looking at his mother, Adina Johnson (Gloria Reuben) leaving her car to enter the house.  His father, Otis Johson (Miles Mussenden) carries a bag of groceries, Tyrone watches him on the street. Tandy watches Keyla with the abusive Jeremy (T.C. Matherne).  Tyrone watches his girlfriend, Evita (Noelle Renee Bercy) at school, rejecting a guy.  She looks up and he is gone.  Cloak has always been a lonely figure, but the series really brings his perspective as a stranger to his old life.  

Tandy watches Jeremy again struggling with her and has her light dagger, but lowers it.  She wants to take revenge, but holds back.  Her light daggers in the comic can be thrown and turn into streaks of light that can home in on targets.  Tandy has the light dagger and enters the house, cutting a message on the wall, as Tyrone records some notes on thermodynamics.  Jeremy sees the message, “Leave Her Alone”, on the wall.  Night, A motorcyle rider drives up to a warehouse as Tyrone sees them from the rooftop.  Money is taken and sorted, a counter finds that the duffel bag of money is gone.  An alarm is sounded, women in masks preparing the drugs are placed against the wall, Tyrone is surprised and beaten up.  A shelf knocks them over.  Dagger is there and takes Tyrone away.  They return to the church dragging duffel bags.  Tyrone hoped to make up for his mistake.  Tandy has discovered his map and followed him there.  He didn’t want to interfere with Tandy rebuilding her life.  He has followed her to the house.  She stomps off sent away by Tyrone.  He starts to write a message.  

CLOAK AND DAGGER -- “Restless Energy” -- AUBREY JOSEPH, OLIVIA HOLT -- Photo Credit: Freeform/Alfonso Bresciani.  

Brigid returns to her apartment and sees Tyrone’s message.  She gets a call from Captain Levy and heads on a tip at an underground club.  Keyla explains that she finds Jeremy afraid and feels sorry for him. The opposite effect for Tandy.  Tyrone practices basketball and we have Tandy making pirouettes with her light dagger, beautiful!  Tyrone appears in front of Tandy and apologizes.  Her thanks her for helping and says he needs her help.     They are checking Tyrone’s clothes, he tells her to get some clothes from his school, they both talk about wanting to take out their anger.  Tandy tells Tyrone to take off his shirt, he is a bit worried, she rips off the sleeves of his shirt.  They hold hands entering a  dance club and he is amazed they passed others in a line.  He wants to plant a recording device and Tandy gives the signal with her light.  Tyrone cloaks into a room and plants the device underneath a table.  He appears next to Tandy, his plan is to hang out, and wait until the meeting is over.  She orders drinks and seems to have a good time dancing.   Tyrone watches gang members enter the meeting.  A man is thrown against a door making a bloody print.  They race toward the room, there is bodies everywhere.  Is it Mayhem?!  The hints of the supervillain is great.  

Four Light Daggers out of Five!  

#CloakAndDagger, #RestlessEnergy, #AubreyJoseph, #OliviaHolt

Happy Birthday Robert Downey Jr.!

Happy Birthday RDJ! Robert Downey Jr. is fascinating as an actor, one of his early roles was as the preppy bully, Ian, in Weird Science (1985).  Then he was on Saturday Night Live (1985-1986) for a year, he hasn’t returned as host. Downey Jr. starred in the comedy Back to School (1986), roommate to Rodney Dangerfield in college.  In 1990, RDJ was in the action comedy Air America based on the 1979 account by Christopher Robbins.  Next, he was in the comedy, Soapdish, playing soap opera producer David Seton Barnes.  He changed everything with his lead role in Chaplin (1992), based on Chaplin’s autobiography and biography, it was directed by Richard Attenborough covering the life and films of the director and film icon.  I consider this to be Robert Downey Jr.’s best part to this date.  He appeared in the crime film Natural Born Killers (1994) as Wayne Gale. Downey Jr. played Special Agent Royce, a followup to The Fugitive (1993). 

 Next, Robert Downey Jr. was in the series Ally McBeal (2000-2002) as Larry Paul.  He had the lead role, Dan Dark, in the comedy musical, The Singing Detective (2003) based on the BBC series.  He was part of the duo in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005) directed by Shane Black.  One of his genre films was Richard Linklater’s strangely animated A Scanner Darkly (2006) based on Philip K. Dick’s novel. Jon Favreau took a chance pushing for RDJ on the role that set him as superstar, Iron Man (2008) that launched the Marvel Cinematic Universe! He was back in a comedic role in Tropic Thunder (2008). Downey Jr. also had another franchise iconic role with Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes (2009). RDJ returned as Tony Stark in Iron Man 2 (2010).  He also returned in Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011).  Then, he was in the superhero ensemble film, The Avengers (2012).  He finished the MCU trilogy with Iron Man 3 (2013) directed and co-written by Shane Black.  Downey Jr. was Marvin in Jon Favreau’s Chef (2014).  Then, he was in the drama, The Judge (2014). He of course unleashed Ultron in Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), broke the Avengers with Captain America: Civil War (2016) and acted as mentor in Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017). Last year, he faced Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War! This year of course he was upcoming Avengers: Endgame! Happy Birthday Robert Downey Jr.!

#RobertDowneyJr, #IronMan, #SherlockHolmes, #AvengersEndgame 

Happy Birthday Ben Mendelsohn!

Happy Birthday Ben Mendelsohn! A first film for Mendelsohn was The Still Point (1986), a drama about a teenage girl.  One of his first early work was on the long running soap opera, Neighbours (1986-1987).  Mendelsohn was in the Australian western, Quigley Down Under (1990) playing O’Flynn.  An early genre role was playing Sko in the “I-Yensch, You-Yensch” (2002) episode of the sci fi show Farscape.  He played Captain Dutton in the drama, Australia (2008).  Mendelsohn entered the realm of comic book films with The Dark Knight Rises (2012) as rival of Bruce Wayne, John Daggett.  

Then, he voiced Sun Thief in the Axe Cop (2013-2015) animated series.  In 2014, Mendelsohn played Dave, a mysterious banker, in Lost River, a dark fantasy film directed and written by Ryan Gosling.  An iconic role for Mendelsohn was as Director Orson Krennic in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016). He played King George VI in the biographical drama, Darkest Hour (2017).  Next, he was Sorrento in Ready Player One (2018) adapting the Ernest Cline novel.  Mendelsohn also played the Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood (2018).  This year, he entered the MCU playing the shapeshifting Skrull, Talso, in Captain Marvel.  Happy Birthday Ben Mendelsohn! 

#BenMendelsohn, #RogueOneAStarWarsStory, #ReadyPlayerOne, #CaptainMarvel 

Parker Stevenson, Austin James in Probe, Exclusive Interview!

The television program, Probe was created by Isaac Asimov, William Link, and Michael I. Wagner. Three episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, were written by Wagner and he created the animated series, Capitol Critters, with Steven Bochco. He passed in 1992. William Link is a writer for the investigation show, Columbo (1971-2003), and Murder, She Wrote (1985-1996). The Probe series lasted for eight episodes in 1988.  

Probe is in part a procedural show with Austin James (played by Parker Stevenson) as a genius inventor and owner of a technology company called Serendip. His assistant is Mickey Castle (Ashley Crow) who provides everyday wisdom and fun as counterpart to Austin James. The show is intelligent and cleverly written with multiple cases involving the scientific or paranormal. I had the opportunity to speak with Parker Stevenson at the Hollywood Show on February 2nd of this year. This interview was conducted via e-mail.  

In interviews, there is mention of your love of photography with your company, ParkerStevensonShadowworks.com, in my photography I see it as a capturing a moment, trying to be patient setting up a shot, and get the best lighting. What do you see as the challenges in photography?   

Yes, preparation for a shoot is crucial as from that an artistic concept and the visual qualities I am after evolve, which enhances confidence going into the session and allows a comfortable connection with the subject especially for portraits. All that preparation creates the confidence to then shoot instinctively; to be open and responsive to the spontaneous surprises from the interactions between subject and photographer, to discoveries involving light, space, and composition. All of this in the quest for an emotionally arresting image. That is ultimately all that I am after. 

The Hardy Boys was inspirational to me as a kid reading the books and seeing the show to have young detectives which is a staple now with cable shows. (Parker Stevenson played Frank Hardy, brother and fellow detective to Joe Hardy, played by Shaun Cassidy). What do you think is the lasting appeal of the Hardy Boys program?   

For me, the lasting appeal of the Hardy Boys tv series lies in the youthful innocence and playfulness of the mysteries solved in each episode. The stories all empowered kids with abilities that the adult characters in the series lacked. That quality of innocence is missing in most entertainment today, I think is why that series still appeals to so many.

The movie Lifeguard (1976) and the television series Baywatch brought some dramatic moments, but also depicted some of the life at the beach. (Stevenson played Chris in the Lifeguard film that also starred Sam Elliot. He was Craig Pomeroy in 1989 to 1990 of Baywatch and later returned in 1998-1999 episodes). Was it a challenge with directing several episodes of Baywatch and also four other shows?     

I grew up by the beach and spent a lot of time on the water which is where I am most comfortable and inspired. That is certainly at least part of the reason I was cast in Lifeguard and then Baywatch, and why directing those episodes came naturally. As to directing other shows, the joy was supporting the efforts of actors in keeping their work fresh and engaging, and in finding beautiful images to support the emotional moments to tell the story. 

You are currently on the Netflix show Greenhouse Academy based on the series Ha-Hamama.  You play Louis Osmond who runs a school for exceptional people. Do you think Austin James would fit perfectly in that school? 

There is some of the Austin James character of Probe in the character Louis Osmond that I play on the Netflix series Greenhouse Academy. I guess because there are parts of me in both those characters, at least qualities that I would like to think I might have a little of. Although Austin was more self-centered and single minded, both characters have the ability to think and function ‘outside the box’, while Louis is above all else devoted to nurturing and bringing out the best in his students. 

We mentioned Isaac Asimov creating the show, you mentioned the characters and the episode plots, did he discuss the character of Austin James with you?  Were you a reader of his work?  How did you get involved with Probe?  

I did know Asimov’s work and the originality of his writing but I never got to meet him. I was cast in the series Probe after the show had been created and sold to ABC. I loved being part of that series and the mouthpiece for all those beautiful ideas and words, but I was deeply disappointed I never got to know Asimov or get more seasons playing that character.  

The role of Austin James is intriguing, he is always looking around, analyzing his environment, also that his mind is constantly working through multiple problems, is this an acting challenge to be have every gesture to be controlled?  I will add that Austin’s genius was not intimidating.  I wasn’t lost trying to catch up with the mysteries, but enjoyed following Austin and Michelle.  

I am grateful you connected with the Austin character and were never lost or intimated by all the lengthy dialogue and high level of activity. That was the joy for me to portray a character that kinetic and eccentric yet to still connect with his innocence, enthusiasm, and sweetness.  

There is a give and take between Austin and Michelle Castle, but Michelle hurts him to the core by saying he doesn’t love anything. Austin reveals he helped build a prosthetic leg, he loves humanity, so his perception is macro in relationships, not one to one. Is it interesting to have Michelle as a counter, she seems to be the only person who can match Austin, and the pairing generates laughs. 

The casting of Probe served us well. Sometimes the people that interest us the most are the ones who are the most different from us. I think that’s why those characters engaged us and were fun to watch interacting. Ashley was a great choice and I think we complimented each other well. 

What was the atmosphere of the set?  Fun? Was it challenging handling the technical matters like computers and effects? The science all seems sound so there must have been great scientific advisors for the show.  

The atmosphere on the Probe set was like a fun house with all the amazing props and equipment filling the warehouse set. Making sense of all that dialogue was a challenge but we did have good scientific advisors on the series, we had Isaac Asimov!

We mentioned Sherlock Holmes and the shows and films that are currently popular, Probe, was my first exposure to such a character. Also, that X-Files was five years after Probe, which only had seven brilliant episodes. How do you think the show would do in today’s television schedule? Do you have a favorite episode? 

Both Probe (March to April 1988) and Max Hedroom (March 1987 to May 1988) which were on at the same time were way ahead of their time. I think the show would have been embraced more fully if it had debuted a few years later than it did. My favorite episode of Probe was ‘MAPE’ (the fourth episode) the one that we spent working with Sunshine the orangutan. I definitely think she taught us more that we taught her. 

The show with the pilot tackles religion, superstition, science, artificial intelligence, and humanity. The series is ambitious and of course ahead of its time, but applicable to today’s audiences who are interested in science. What would you like to say to fans and hope for the show to come to streaming, Blu Ray, or other form?   

Probe was a series that presented ideas, new ideas, Isaac Asimov ideas. We need that now more than ever, to address great challenges with creative new solutions, all our survival depends on that.

Probe was produced by MCA Television and distributed by NBC/Universal Television Distribution. There are no current airings of the show and it is not on Blu Ray or other home video forms. I hope the series will find its way on the one of the countless cable or streaming platforms. You may be able to catch episodes on Youtube. Thanks to Parker Stevenson for his time to answer questions and his incredible career.  

#ParkerStevenson, #HardyBoys, #Baywatch, #Lifeguard, #GreenhouseAcademy, #Probe, #IsaacAsimov, #WilliamLink, #MichaelIWagner, #AshleyCrow  

Heroes in Crisis #7 Review!

The Sanctuary mystery continues.  This issue cover by Clay Mann features Superman separating (both off page) Booster Gold blasting at Harley Quinn with her bloody hammer in a wheat field.  The beginning features art by Clay Mann.  There is a closeup of the Flash checking on flowers.  He reads a wedding poem to Iris West as he sees a wilted flower.  The Flash restores it with some Speed Force.  This opens to a stunning two page spread of Flash standing in a field of flowers with the rose.  Look closely and it cleverly spells out “Heroes in Crisis” in flowers.  The title of this issue, thanks Tom King for having titles instead of one title for a trade paperback collection, is “Too Fast To Save The World.”  Then, we have Harley Quinn singing a poem as she smashes Booster Gold as Batgirl and Blue Beetle look on.  Harley’s hammer is reduced to a spear-like shard that can’t pierce Booster’s force field, but Batgirl is exasperated having told her to not to kill.  

Next, we get the Sanctuary video of The Flash on his first day, he’s nervous.  The next page with art by Jorge Fornes has Flash running to the Batcave.  His talking is a near babble at super speed, but Batman apparently understands him.  The next art is by Travis Moore which has a splash page of Harley Quinn and Booster Gold both blaming each other for killing.  Then, Batgirl asks about Booster’s force field, Beetle admits he worked on restoring the force field through his ship tied to his own consciousness.  So Batgirl knocks him out. She tells Harley Quinn that the force field is down, but again not to kill him!  Mann illustrates the next video of The Flash where he discusses the loss of his family.  We get Fornes’ art with Batman working on his batcomputer as The Flash does his search through the world.  It’s back to Moore where Booster Gold gives up and doesn’t care if he is killed.  Harley Quinn raises up the bat shard and plunges it down!  She falls next to Booster Gold and explains that she used the rhymes because superheroes usually talk during fighting!  

Mann again provides the artwork of The Flash’s second week and he feels positive about the therapy.  The Flash uses his Speed Force on a flower and says that he doesn’t understand poetry.  This leads to an incredible splash page.  The only hint I will give is the flower.  The team of Harley Quinn and Batgirl as well as Booster Gold and Blue Beetle, Blue and Gold, discuss The Flash who has five days before he dies.  Beetle suggests Batgirl work on Booster’s robot Skeets to use his satellite network to find The Flash.  Harley Quinn adds that her team is called the Dynamicker Duo, this probably the most fun I’ve seen with the character that also keeps her dangerous nature.  Batman tells The Flash that all of the alarms in the Batcave are activated.  The Flash has a secret to tell the surprise appearance of a character.  It finishes with The Flash saying it is week three.  Is this a story of hope and not the loss of heroes?  Love it!  

Five Pieces of Peach Pie out of Five! 

#HeroesinCrisis, #TheFlash, #DynamickerDuo, #BlueandGold