Jimmy B is back, and this time we’re having a look at the pilot for the 1974 action/mystery/comedy(?) Evel Knievel, named for the world’s greatest motorcycle jump daredevil, Evel Knievel. He’s played here by the fine and mustacheless Sam Elliot, and oh my god does he look like Scot Bakula. Wow. It’s uncanny. Good theme song. Nothing else of substance.
My Evel Knievel Stunt Cycle… Awesome fun.
Join John Pavlich of Sofa Dogs as I join him to talk about The Truman Show. We love the film and praise nearly every aspect of it. I regard it as a nearly perfect film and try to rewrite it as a comedy. We muse about the different levels of meaning, whether or not Truman is crazy (John: it’s not paranoia if they’re really out to get you; me: oh he’s nuts) and why a TV studio with its own ocean doesn’t have any working boats. We wax poetical about the art design, writing, and cast, if not the acting (me vs Laura Linney; John vs Jim Carey). It’s a great film that speaks to us personally. After all: all the world’s a stage and all the people merely players. You can tell people I said that. I don’t think anyone has made that observation before. We hardly say word one about director Peter Weir, so here it is: he’s great.
On a related note: please consider reaching out to John and helping him get thru some medical and personal difficulties.
We’re watching it on Netflix and DVD. Cue up the first frame of black after the studio logo.
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Jimmy B is back with more failed TV pilot goodness. In this episode, we look at the the Kelsey Grammar-produced sitcom Alligator Point, starring Nathan Fillion and Jaime Pressly. I love it, Jimmy hates it, and over the course of things we meet somewhere in the middle (we both hate it).
My good friend Jimmy B has started a new podcast recently in which he and guests, including yours truly, discuss failed TV pilots (or, as I believe they call them in Scotland, “telly puddings”).
In this episode, we look at the the Tommy-Davidson-vehicle movie follow-up Coming to America.
Join John Pavlich of Sofa Dogs as I join him to talk about Groundhog Day. We praise the acting, the plotting, and the locations. We compare it to Edge of Tomorrow, Goethe’s Faust, Scrooged, and falling in love. I explain my head canon that makes it all work for me. And we try to decide what would make it better in general.
We’re watching streaming versions . Cue up the first frame of black after the Columbia logo.
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Space: the final frontier. Our five-year ten-episode mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before.
Olly and I overcome communications issues, swap bodies, and have a look at the final episode of Star Trek! We discuss Shatner’s acting, the challenge of doing a body swap episode, the likelihood of fooling the bridge officers, the fact that Spock never met a mutiny he didn’t like, and much, much more.
I’m watching the Netflix streaming version; Olly is watching something else; and we kind of stay in sync. Start at 0:00:00 on the countdown.
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Join Mehul and me as we again explore the vastness of space and decide whether or not getting mean texts constitutes “contact”. We compare it to 2001, 2002, 2003, etc., Contact, Alien, The Abyss, Leviathan, Deepstar 6, submarine movies, Seaquest DSV, Star Trek’s “The Tholian Web”, and Rocky 5*.
We discuss and praise the cast, the miniatures, and cinematography. We mock the slow burn, the Russian tech, and the politics. We suss out the motivations of everyone except the monolith. We try to figure out how gravity works. And we try to decide if Roy Scheider is a love interest.
* I don’t use Roman numerals because, as previously discussed, I DON’T SPEAK LATIN.
I’m watching the Blu-ray; he’s watching a streaming version and re-sync a few times. Start after the MGM logo on the countdown.
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Faldor is back! We sit down for a look at Edgar Wright’s new flick about the heartwarming romance between boy and his iPod and also a girl he kind of likes, but maybe not LIKE likes, ’cause he’s not gonna get all mushy or anything. We compare it to other Edgar Wright films, crime pictures of the ’60s and ’70s, Reservoir Dogs, Ant-Man, Highlander, James Bond films, John Wick, Layer Cake, Highlander, Harry Potter, Where Eagles Dare, Captain America: Winter Soldier, Oedipus Rex, The Omen, and, of course, the first in the series: Baby’s Day Out.
Martin (Faldor is just a code-name he tells everyone) recommends the Ford Ka as a getaway car. We recast Doc. We disbelieve that any adult was a toddler when iPods came out. We try to figure out the timeline of the third act. We try to figure out why Kevin Spacey bothers to pack up his tiny car collection. And we try to figure out why Bats has bats tattooed on his neck (theory: everyone likes bats).
We’re watching the Blu-ray and a download and stay in sync. Start the movie on the countdown after the logos, right before the bank scene fades up.
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Space: the final frontier. Our five-year ten-episode mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before.
Olly and I reestablish contact after slipping thru a rift in the fabric of space-time and a debilitating bout of space madness to talk about “The Tholian Web”! Oh those punctual Tholians cause no end of vexation while Spock tries to catch Kirk on the next swing around the ol’ space carousel (or whatever. Honestly, i have no idea what’s causing this). It’s great fun seeing Spock in charge and endlessly put upon, and it makes wonderful use of the whole cast; even Nurse Chapel!
I suggest we could have a whole series of this stuff. Olly insults Chekov, as usual. I suggest the Tholians might be teenage girls in disguise. Olly defends the sparkly spacesuits. It’s a haunted house! Kirk-light! It’s Shakespearean!
I’m watching the Netflix streaming version; Olly is watching something else; and we kind of stay in sync. Start at 0:00:00 on the countdown.
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Join Mehul and me as we explore the vastness of space and discover it full of stars character actors! We contemplate the nature of the universe, discuss alien life and intelligence, talk about the film’s influence on our culture and movies, and generally have a very good time with this slow, contemplative, visual feast of a film.
Altho we discuss what we think could have made it better, and altho I don’t say it, I consider this to be a nearly perfect film. But is it entertaining…? Eeeee, maybe not as much as it could be.
We’re watching the DVD and streaming versions and pretty much stay in sync. Start after the MGM logo on the countdown.
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