Thursday, December 22, 2016
Monday, November 28, 2016
Friday, November 11, 2016
Monday, November 7, 2016
Celebrity Spotlight: George McGovern
My blog of bankruptcies of celebrities and the famous takes a political bent this week ... https://michaelcurrylawofficedotcom.wordpress.com/2016/11/07/george-mcgovern-an-election-week-celebrity-spotlight/
Friday, November 4, 2016
13 Days a Beatle: Spotlight on Jimmy Nichol
Continuing my blog series on celebrities who filed for bankruptcy ... https://michaelcurrylawofficedotcom.wordpress.com/2016/11/04/13-days-a-beatle-celebrity-spotlight-jimmy-nichol/
Wednesday, November 2, 2016
Of Mouse and Men: Celebrity Spotlight on Walt Disney
https://michaelcurrylawofficedotcom.wordpress.com/2016/11/02/of-mouse-and-men-celebrity-spotlight-walt-disney/ Latest work blog spotlighting various celebrities who have filed bankruptcy.
Tuesday, November 1, 2016
Thursday, October 20, 2016
Wednesday, October 5, 2016
Tuesday, October 4, 2016
DC's Legends of Tomorrow, a primer
Today (October 4th) is the day Flash Season Three debuts and is Melissa (Supergirl) Benoist's 28th birthday. To celebrate, a primer on the CW's DC Legends of Tomorrow!
https://michaelgcurry.com/2016/10/04/1446/
https://michaelgcurry.com/2016/10/04/1446/
Monday, October 3, 2016
Sunday, October 2, 2016
An Ending, a New Beginning ...
This will be my last original blog through Blogger for some time.
I will still blog, but will do it through my two Wordpress accounts: one aimed at popular culture and the other through my work - legal issues, bankruptcy, etc.
I will post the links here on THIS blog instead of copying as I have done for the past several years. If you wish to follow the original posts that is fine. If you wish to continue following this post, that is fine, too!
I just felt that reposting the same content on two separate blogs were a bit of a drag.
And who knows, perhaps this blog sight will morph into something different - we will see what the future brings!
Thanks for reading, and do not be afraid to click on the links I post here in the future - it will be the same content I have been writing about all these years, just redirecting you to my Wordpress accounts.
Thanks again! I'll talk to you soon!
MC
I will still blog, but will do it through my two Wordpress accounts: one aimed at popular culture and the other through my work - legal issues, bankruptcy, etc.
I will post the links here on THIS blog instead of copying as I have done for the past several years. If you wish to follow the original posts that is fine. If you wish to continue following this post, that is fine, too!
I just felt that reposting the same content on two separate blogs were a bit of a drag.
And who knows, perhaps this blog sight will morph into something different - we will see what the future brings!
Thanks for reading, and do not be afraid to click on the links I post here in the future - it will be the same content I have been writing about all these years, just redirecting you to my Wordpress accounts.
Thanks again! I'll talk to you soon!
MC
Saturday, October 1, 2016
The Flash: a review of the CW TV show (part two)
A DC-TV Primer: the CW Network’s superhero lineup
Tuesday: the Flash
Part Two (here
is part one)
It does not take Sherlock Holmes to
deduce this is my favorite of the DC/CW shows The Flash is light-hearted without being silly.
“Light-hearted?” you might say,
“Worlds are imperiled; timelines are wiped and sometimes good people die!”
True, but by light-hearted I mean the
show still keeps its sense of fun even at the darkest of times. You cheer on
the good guys and boo the bad guys. You know things will turn out all right in
the end, however tense it might be.
Watch Supergirl episode “World’s Finest” in which Flash appears. The
scenes in which they appear together emits so much joy and sweetness it hits
you from every angle. There is genuine chemistry between the actors. You don’t
see this on TV very often. Good acting, good writing, good show!
Flash sticks
to its comic book roots in the Silver Age and Bronze Age. There are lots of
Easter eggs that make this old fan smile.
1) There are so many references to the
Silver Age Green Lantern – Ferris Air and Coast City are mentioned frequently
and we even see a flight jacket with a “Jordan” name patch – that I think an
appearance by the ring slinger is inevitable in the years to come.
2) Even their casting harkens back to
loyalty and tradition: Barry Allen’s father (John Wesley Shipp) played the
scarlet speedster in the 1990 TV show. Great casting – when I first read that he was
playing Barry’s father I was excited! When I heard that Jay Garrick would
appear in season 2, I thought, “Too bad, Wesley Shipp would have made the
perfect Jay Garrick!”
3) Even the villains give homage to the
past: the Trickster is played by Mark Hamill (do I REALLY need to tell you
about that OTHER role he played), who played the Trickster in the 1990 TV
series. Watching him chew the scenery is a delight.
Jesse L. Martin, who plays Iris and
Wally’s father (and Barry’s adoptive father) is always a highlight. His role as
a policeman harkens back to his Law &
Order days. But characterization was not L&O’s forte. What a treat to see him laugh heartily, mist up as
he gives fatherly advice, etc. He is superb…
Grant Gustin is no slouch either. As
Barry Allen and the Flash you can feel his joy in playing the character. “I
love being a hero,” Flash often says. Through Grant’s acting, it shows.
I would be remiss not mentioning
Carlos Valdes as Cisco. He plays the viewer’s role in the show: giving names to
the heroes and villains, encouraging Flash to fight the good fight, creating
the mcguffins that beat the bad guys. He is us.
Rounding out the crew of Flash’s
allies are Danielle Panabaker as the beautiful uber-nerd Caitlin Snow. She
started off as a cold fish but warmed up to the Flash (and us) pretty quickly.
Her “date” with Barry in the karaoke scene is a must-watch. I hope her role in
Season 3 is better than the love-sick hostage of Season 2, though. The
character and the actress deserves better.
Candace Patton as Iris West is
stunningly beautiful (just think if she were real: her dad’s a policeman,
yeek!) and plays her up-and-down relationship with Barry well. Both Iris and
Barry learn what we comic book fans have known for almost 50 years – they are
destined to wed. But with all the time tinkering; will they?
The villains (super or otherwise) are
also fun. One of the best part of the Silver/Bronze Age Flash comics was his
Rogue’s Gallery. The fiends are second only to Batman’s slate of bad guys. The
only one NOT to appear so far is Abra Kadabra; and with all the time-traveling
taking place in the show this is surprising. I think even the Top showed up (I
might be wrong, though). Mordant blue,
even the TURTLE shows up!
The show has its flaws: most obvious
is the character’s past. When Wally West shows up, we old comic fans have a
fair idea where his character will eventually lead. Characters with familiar
last names (Thawne) spoil any surprise to old readers of the comic. There is no
Black-Canary-bait-and-switch ala Arrow,
although with Edward Thawne, they try.
Binge watching reveals another flaw in
the show: sometimes it tends to wallow in formula. Villain is introduced, Flash
confronts villain and gets his ass handed to him, Flash’s back-up team propose
a solution using Star Trek Next
Generation-esque technobabble, they create a mcguffin to help Flash/use an
everyday devise to help Flash, Flash confronts villain again and defeats him.
Insert subplots at any point (Barry loves Iris, Iris loves someone else or visa
versa/team member might be bad guy/bad guy might be good guy).
Maybe it is a problem inherent in the
premise, but they use it too often. Supergirl
and Arrow use that formula, too.
A final issue that gnaws at me (and
not just Flash, but with all DC/CW
and other programs as well), is the season-length storyline that concludes with
the big season finale. A super-supervillain is hinted at from episode one and
introduced about four or five shows in. Other plots and villains come and go,
but the super-supervillain plot keeps seeping to the surface – usually given
the main plot-point every few episodes. The last three or four shows of the
season deal exclusively with defeating the BIG baddie.
This is tedious for the casual watcher
and eyerolling for the loyal fan. It became something of a joke at one point in
Arrow: “Some supervillain is
threatening to destroy the entire city? Must be May!”
For Season One of Flash this was acceptable, as everything about the show is new. By
the end of Season Two, a new viewer will be lost, or should I say Lost. If the “previously on…” segment
takes more than twenty minutes, you’ve lost your audience. Flash is in danger of that.
I can’t even tell you the events of
Season Three without giving spoilers for Season Two (although the ads are
giving it all away – it HAS to, to be effective)! All I can say is Barry
regrets what he did and is trying to change the people and things he has
affected!
The show is also in danger of becoming
one long storyline (ala Agents of Shield).
Which is fine if you are fan of that, but the real danger comes as lack of
story progression: no plot advancement with the good guys facing failed plans
and disappointed goals for 20 episodes (ala Agents
of Shield) leaving the viewers frustrated and looking elsewhere (ala Agents of Shield).
In other words, every show will become
“Villain is introduced, Flash confronts villain and gets his ass handed to him,
Flash’s back-up team propose a solution using Star Trek Next Generation-esque technobabble, they create a mcguffin
to help Flash/use an everyday devise to help Flash, Flash is defeated anyway,
repeat twenty times, Flash wins in episode 22, but it is revealed the enemy
lives and will square off again next season. Repeat until cancelled.” (ala Agents of Shield).
See what I mean?
But let’s hope Flash doesn’t descend
to that. There is too much love in the show, I think. And there is too much
love OF the show to make me think otherwise!
Arrow is next…
Original Material
Copyright 2016 Michael Curry
Characters
mentioned and their images are copyright their respective holders. Thanks to DC Comics, the CW Network and
Berlanti Productions and the actors portrayed for the use of their images.
I also
thank the original creators of all characters mentioned, whether or not they
have been properly compensated (gratmens during the credits aside).
Friday, September 30, 2016
The CW's Flash! A review, part one
A DC-TV Primer: the CW Network’s superhero lineup
Tuesday: the Flash
Part One
From Wikipedia (as I said before, if they are going to do
the work FOR me …):
CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR SEASONS ONE & TWO
Season One: After witnessing his mother's (Michelle Harrison)
supernatural murder and his father's (John Wesley Shipp) wrongful conviction
for the crime, Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) is taken in by Detective Joe West
(Jesse L. Martin) and his family. Allen becomes a brilliant but socially
awkward crime scene investigator for the Central City Police Department. His
obsession with his tragic past causes him to become an outcast among his peers;
he investigates cold cases, paranormal occurrences, and cutting-edge scientific
advancements that may shed light on his mother's murder. No one believes his
description of the crime—that a ball of lightning with the face of a man
invaded their home that night—and Allen is fiercely driven to vindicate himself
and to clear his father's name. Fourteen years after his mother's death, an
advanced particle accelerator malfunctions during its public unveiling, bathing
the city center with a previously unknown form of radiation during a severe
thunderstorm. Allen is struck by lightning from the storm and doused with
chemicals in his lab. Awakening after a nine-month coma, he discovers he has
the ability to move at superhuman speeds. Dr. Harrison Wells (Tom Cavanagh),
the disgraced designer of the failed particle accelerator, describes Barry's
special nature as "metahuman"; Allen soon discovers that he is not
the only one who was changed by the radiation. Allen vows to use his gifts to
protect Central City from the escalating violence of metahuman criminals. He is
aided by a few close friends and associates who guard his secrets.
Season Two: Six months after the events of the first
season, after a singularity event, the Flash is recognized as Central City's
hero. However, the event brings an evil from a parallel universe to Central
City in the form of the speedster Zoom (Teddy Sears;
voiced by Tony Todd; Ryan Handley in costume) who seeks to eliminate everyone
connected to the Speed Force throughout the multiverse. Harrison Wells'
parallel universe counterpart, and his daughter Jesse (Violett Beane), work to
help Barry and his friends stop Zoom. Joe and his daughter, Iris (Candice
Patton), struggle with their shared painful past related to their family,
especially after the arrival of Iris's brother Wally West (Keiynan Lonsdale),
whom Francine West (Vanessa A. Williams) gave birth to shortly after abandoning
her family. After Zoom kills Barry's father, the season concludes with Barry
travelling back in time to save his mother's life from the Reverse-Flash.
***
If I were
ever asked to create a television show based on the Flash, I would refuse. This
show has already done it. I. Love. This. Show.
Every
character. Every Villain, Every plotline. Its tone. Its mood.
Everything.
When I
decided to finally watch the DC-CW programs, this was my first pick. That
caused some problems: Arrow had
already been on for two seasons and its cast’s appearances in Flash spoiled some Arrow plotlines (“So-and-so just took over Queen Industries.” “I’m
sorry to hear about the death of – fill
in the blank”), but it didn’t ruin Arrow
for me. Knowing what was going to happen to this character or that plot line
didn’t bother me.
The Flash
was the first superhero I discovered. Every six year old knows who Batman and
Superman are, but the Flash was only on a few Filmation cartoons from the 1960s
rerun in the mornings. When I was old enough to discover comic books, the
characters Flash and Green Lantern quickly became my favorites (they were at
one time both featured in the Flash
comic book.
The comic
book was simple without being simplistic. His abilities were easy to explain
and easy to illustrate to this grade schooler. So were his rouges gallery:
Captain Cold shoots ice from his cold gun; Heat Wave shoots fire from his
gun. Got it.
Try
explaining the Penguin or Brainiac to the same group of kids …
The comic
and its characters were always fun and light – not childish, just
light-hearted. The villains robbed banks and jewelry stores. Stories were
(usually) done in one issue – rarely causing the reader to try to find the
conclusion over the next month. (They did a particular continued story back in
1976 where Flash’s wife disappeared. It was a three-parter and it took me until
2001 before I found it on Ebay. After 25 years I finally found out how the
story ended; as well as the continued Green Lantern back-up feature, too).
The show
captures that joy and light-heartedness, even when facing serious subjects.
The
producers changed some of the background of the characters. But the changes are not overwhelming nor are
they insulting to we old-timers! It sticks pretty close to the Flash’s Silver
Age origin.
With some
exceptions: Barry’s parents were alive and well during “my” time and showed up
frequently in the comic. Barry’s father being accused of killing his mother was
a modern take on the character in the comics of the 2000s.
The TV show went with Barry’s
father supposedly murdering his wife. Barry being “adopted” by the Wests was an
invention of the TV show. So was the explosion of the particle accelerator that
led to his powers (the lightning strike and the resulting chemical explosion
WERE part of the original story of the Silver Age Flash).
The coma,
being healed and then trained and helped in the use of his powers by Caitlin Snow, Cisco Ramon and Dr. Harrison Wells were all
invented by the TV producers for the show.
But
that is fine! If they want to make it canon I would not object! Considering now
they are changing superhero origins on nearly a monthly basis; this would be
one of the better changes!
A review
and critique of the characters, the actors who portray them and the plots will
come next time…
Original Material
Copyright 2016 Michael Curry
Characters
mentioned and their images are copyright their respective holders. Thanks to DC Comics, the CW Network and
Berlanti Productions and the actors portrayed for the use of their images.
I also
thank the original creators of all characters mentioned, whether or not they
have been properly compensated (gratmens during the credits aside).
Thursday, September 29, 2016
the CW's Supergirl, a review part two!
A DC-TV Primer: the CW Network’s superhero lineup
Monday: Supergirl
Part Two
I love the show, I do, but it is not without its problems …
Cat Grant
(a character from the Modern Age (post-1986) of Superman) is one of the few
characters that tend to plod down the story. She’s not a villain, in fact she
is key in getting the world to love Supergirl and not fear her, but is still cold
and self-centered CEO. She is shallow
almost to the point of being flighty. The staff of Catco (including Kara)
sycophantically acquiesce to her every whim for fear of being fired and
black-balled from the industry. It is good in small doses, but like
Spider-Man’s J Jonah Jameson, the character wears thin pretty quickly.
Of course,
a woman who works her way to the top in her field HAS to be tough and cold, I
suppose. That seems to be their message. Maybe I don’t agree with that; maybe
that’s why I role my eyes when the character stomps out of the elevator onto
her first scene of every episode. She has the power of an Oprah without the
humanity. Cat Grant would never give away a fleet of cars.
Attempts to humanize her are
forgotten or fall flat. Her interest in Kara being a foster child, for example.
The one line (“that is not uninteresting.” – I paraphrase), brings the hope of
a non-two-dimensional moment. Her adult son comes to National City and mother
and child try to make amends. We get to see how she became the way she is
through the visit of her unloving and shrewish mother.
It is quickly forgotten by the next
episode.
When kidnapped by a supervillain,
she begs for her life for the sake of her children. By this point I do not know
if she is sincere or just buying time…
This is no slight on Calista
Flockhart – she does a wonderful job with what she has. She looks like Holly Go
Lightly but talks and acts like Maude.
But with Cat Grant, a little goes a
long way.
Calista Flockhart will only have a
few cameos in Season Two, which may or may not be a good thing – if they keep
the character as is, small doses is best.
I think
they really missed the boat on the relationship with fellow nerd Winn (played
by Jeremy Jordan). He was in love with Kara before she became Supergirl. He revealed his feelings but it was glossed
over in a few episodes. Now they are back to being good friends. Too bad. That
could have been explored more – he loved Kara before she donned the cape and
big red S. Has his affection changed now that she is Supergirl? Does he still
love Supergirl, or are his affections aimed at Kara only? He never said, “I
wish we could go back to where we were. I wish I could talk to Kara when she’s
not Supergirl.” I think they missed a good thing there.
Kara’s
maybe-romance with Jimmy Olsen (played excellently by Mehcad Brooks) continues
to slowly bloom.
Speaking of
Jimmy: knowing Supergirl’s identity and being Superman’s Pal gives the
character a worldliness that Brooks plays quite well. He half-smiles at Cat
Grant’s – er – cattiness. If he could he would turn his back and wink at the
camera; just like Superman did in the 1960s cartoons. Once you’ve faced down
Brainiac, not much unnerves you…
So now that the show is under the
CW umbrella, what can we expect?
It was established on the
wonderfully fun Flash-Supergirl meeting in the episode “World’s Finest” that
Supergirl and her show take place in another dimension. Whether that is thrown
out to make all DC-CW shows one world remains to be seen. With Flash and Legends of Tomorrow constantly tinkering with alternate realities,
it can easily be done.
The first
season was on CBS which meant it tried to be all things to all people. Now it
can focus on a narrower audience. The three other Berlanti Production shows
have a total of seven seasons between them all. And the most common denominator
is the epic season-long fight with a specific super-villain, culminating in a
senses-shattering free-for-all at season’s end/sweeps. It has almost become a
joke. From Quenton Lance in Arrow (I
paraphrase): “Someone’s threatening to destroy Starling City? It must be May!”
Supergirl had an epic villain (Non),
but it was not the main focus of the season. In fact in a few shows he seemed
forgotten. But the season-long story arc will likely happen with Season Two.
Because of the nature of the heroes and villains, it might be earth-shattering
and not as vanilla as it seemed on CBS.
That may not be fair. We take Arrow’s villains seriously because the
characters are human. Flash is the
same, only a little less due to the character’s powers. There is no way to
forget that Supergirl is fantasy and
that creates a disconnect that doesn’t exist in the other shows. Ra’s al Ghul
is thus a scarier villain than a White Martian (being a more well-rounded
character played by a superb actor aside…).
That being said Flash, Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow did it correctly. Other things happened during
the season, too. There was story progression; not one long episode with no
progression and no enjoyment – where you could skips months of programs and not
lose any of the plot (kaff-agentsofshield-kaff).
Season Two will introduce a
character names Maggie Sawyer from the National City police department. Will she be an ally or an antagonist like Joe
West on Flash or Quenton Lance on Arrow?
The press is all over TV’s Wonder Woman Lynda Carter appearing as
the US President. Will she have a regular role or just appear occasionally?
Another item the press is gaga over
is Superman’s larger role in the next Season. In Season One he is shown only in
vague visions. Good move. This is Kara’s show. He would only have up-staged her
at this point. He does contact Kara by texting her (“Need help?” “Are you all
right?”), which was another good move: the show didn’t ignore him, but he
wasn’t a deux ex machina saving the
day every other episode, either. Hopefully he won’t steal Season Two.
Also in Season Two we will meet
Mon-El, a member of the Legion of Super Heroes who started off as another
youngster sent to earth from another planet. Unfortunately, he had amnesia and
could not remember where he came from. Having the same powers as Superboy, he
assumed, using comic book logic, that this stranger was his brother! We will
see how Supergirl treats the story.
Because of what they did with “For
the Man Who Has Everything” though, I’m not worried.
Original Material
Copyright 2016 Michael Curry
Characters
mentioned and their images are copyright their respective holders. Thanks to DC Comics, the CW Network and
Berlanti Productions and the actors portrayed for the use of their images.
I also
thank the original creators of all characters mentioned, whether or not they
have been properly compensated (gratmens during the credits aside).
Wednesday, September 28, 2016
CW's Supergirl, a review
A DC-TV Primer: the CW Network’s superhero lineup
Monday: Supergirl
Part One
From Wikipedia (why should I do all the work?):
CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR SEASON ONE
Kara
Zor-El (Melissa Benoist) was sent to Earth from the doomed planet Krypton as a 12-year-old
by her parents Zor-El (Robert Gant)
and Alura (Laura Benanti). Alura gave her
instructions to protect her infant cousin Kal-El, and informed her that she,
like her cousin, would have extraordinary powers under Earth's yellow sun.
En route
to Earth, Kara's spacecraft was diverted by a shock wave from Krypton's
explosion and forced into the Phantom
Zone, where it stayed for 24 years. During this period, time stopped for Kara
so, when the spacecraft eventually escaped the Phantom Zone, she still appeared
to be a 13-year-old girl. By the time the spacecraft crash landed on Earth,
Kal-El had grown up and become Superman.
After helping her out of the craft, Superman took Kara to be adopted by his
friends, the Danvers family. The main series begins more than a decade later
when the now 24-year-old Kara is learning to embrace her powers after
previously hiding them.
Kara hid
her powers for more than a decade, believing that Earth didn't need another
hero. However, she has to reveal her powers to thwart an unexpected disaster,
setting her on her own journey of heroism as National
City's protector. Kara discovers that
hundreds of the criminals her mother prosecuted as a judge on Krypton are
hiding on Earth, including her mother's twin sister Astra (also played by
Benanti) and Astra's husband Non (Chris Vance), who seek to rule the world.
After briefly becoming suspicious of the true agenda of her boss, Hank Henshaw (David Harewood), she and her adoptive
sister, Alex Danvers (Chyler Leigh), secretly discover that Henshaw is actually
a benevolent alien refugee, J'onn
J'onzz, who has resided on Earth for over fifty years after escaping a
holocaust on his homeworld of Mars. J'onn infiltrated the DEO to reform the
organization as well as to watch over both Alex and Kara in addition to guiding
the latter in the use of her powers due to his experience with his own
abilities. Kara is also being targeted by Earth's criminals as the result of
her being related to Superman, and later on encounters an emerging community of metahumans and individuals from parallel universes. In the process, Kara
accumulates her own rogues gallery who seeks to defeat and destroy her. She is
aided by a few close friends and family who guard her secrets—most notably her
cousin's longtime friend, James Olsen (Mehcad Brooks)—which also serves as a
major plot in high tech mogul Maxwell
Lord's (Peter Facinelli) scheme to expose Kara's identity.
***
I adore
this show. The few things I do NOT like about it are minimal, honestly.
The show is
wonderful fun. Like the Flash, Supergirl tells us how much she enjoys being a
superhero. No dark and brooding angst about being a hero! What little angst
there is deals with normal emotional turmoil – balancing work and play, love
and commitment. Just like the rest of
us! But overall the show exudes joy.
This is
even more amazing considering the content compared to other DC-CW shows: In Arrow the main villain could (and tries
to) destroy Star(ling) City. In Flash
the main villains want to destroy … well … the Flash. The villains in Supergirl have the power to destroy the
earth and everyone in it, have lunch, and then destroy Venus for snicks and
giggles. That could be absolutely terrifying! But it’s not.
Don’t take
that to mean the show is lightweight, or aimed at children. It just shows how
much unbridled fun the show is even during tense moments..
DC
characters abound – from villains (Hellgrammite, White Martians) to secondary
characters (Lucy Lane). All lovingly plucked from the comics.
There are plenty of DC Easter Eggs
to bring a smile or to make us worry. In the comics, Hank Henshaw (here the
head of the DEO) is, in the comics, the evil Superman-Cyborg. When the
character from the show intimates that he has a deep dark secret, comic book
fans raise their eyebrows. “Aha! He’s going to become the evil cyborg!” Is he?
The major
difference to Supergirl’s comic book origins (which has been tweaked over the
years) is the addition of her adopted sister Alex. It adds to the show and its
characters and is not a bad idea. If DC decided to make it comic book canon, I
would not object. Trouble is, in modern comics her life expectancy would be
quite short.
One episode
is a reworking of the best Superman story ever printed: Action Comics Annual
#11’s “For the Man Who Has Everything” by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, with
Supergirl trapped by the Black Mercy instead of the Man of Steel. When I saw
the opening scene and the alien plant attached to Supergirl I about hit the floor!
It was a great adaptation!
A nice
non-comic book Easter egg is the casting of Dean Cain and Helen Slater as her
adopted parents. Slater played Supergirl in the 1984 movie and Cain played
Superman in Lois & Clark: the New
Adventures of Superman. It is little things like this that bring a smile to
this old cynic: Berlanti Productions gives a damn enough about the comics to
give us these treats.
You can
tell the cast enjoys what they are doing, too. Melissa Benoist is phenomenal as
Supergirl. She portrays an innocence (and a young person’s temper and
frustration) and yet she will not hesitate to let you know she could pinch your
head off with her thumb and forefinger.
Frankly she is cuter as flighty and naïve Kara Danvers. Kara is a slightly less of a She-Geek than Arrow’s Felicity Smoak, but you can’t
help but compare. Imagine if Mary Tyler Moore played the role of Mary Richards
at age 24. Benoist is that good.
The show
has a few drawbacks, in my opinion: More on those next time.
Original Material
Copyright 2016 Michael Curry
Characters
mentioned and their images are copyright their respective holders. Thanks to DC Comics, the CW Network and
Berlanti Productions and the actors portrayed for the use of their images.
I also
thank the original creators of all characters mentioned, whether or not they
have been properly compensated (gratmens during the credits aside).
The CW Network line of superhero TV shows!
A DC-TV Primer: the CW Network’s superhero lineup,
Introduction
Note: I have never been sure of the
proper way to stylize the names of books, movies and television shows. Some say
to italicize the titles of books and
put the titles of TV shows and movies in quotes. Some say it is the other way
around. I do not care, frankly, I never have. As long as it is consistent
throughout the piece I am reading. If the next blog or article or book then
does something different – it doesn’t bother me as long as it is consistent
within that same text. I italicize
both comic book titles and movie and TV program names in this exercise. It may
be wrong, but at least it is consistent.
When I
think of the CW Network’s lineup of DC Comics superheroes my mind goes back to
the fall of 1976.
At that
time DC created what we would now call an imprint line of four comic books. An
“imprint” is a series of comic books that are not necessarily part of the
line’s mainstream comic. The imprint books share a similar theme. There have
been imprints aimed solely at children, for example. The Image imprint featured
comics with mature themes and art – not for the kids – with creator-owned
characters. The Milestone imprint from DC comics was set in a comic book
universe outside that of Superman and Batman and featured African American
characters and creators.
In 1976
four comics were published by DC with a television theme. DC-TV they called it,
and the company even changed its logo for these comic books. The four comics
featured television shows that aired at the time (or were about to debut): Superfriends, Welcome Back Kotter and Isis (no, not that Isis) debuted. The
fourth was Shazam (the adventures of
the original Captain Marvel – but DC dare not use his name on any comic book
covers lest Marvel Comics finally get their sweet litigious revenge on National
Comics … but that is a whole other story), a comic that had been around for a
few years but was on hiatus until the Saturday morning live-action show aired. Kotter and Isis lasted ten and eight issues respectively, Shazam started their TV run with #25 and lasted through #33; after
that it changed its style for the next two issues before cancellation (although
the character and title continue to be revived these forty years later). Superfriends lasted for several more
years – until 1981 over 47 issues – boosted not only by the successful cartoon
but also by the familiarity of the characters – Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman
and Robin.
Reviews and
commentary of those four comics would make a fun blog series … maybe given time
I will do it!
Forward to
2016. Forty years on I am tickled to see history repeat itself with another
DC-TV connection.
This fall
season the CW network will air a superhero program based on DC characters each
weeknight Monday through Thursday (the rumor of Constantine being added on Fridays are unfortunately untrue).
DC has published comic books based
on the shows – or has added some of the television regulars to their existing
continuity (in the Flash comic book
for example).
This blog
series will be a primer for those who (like me) are finally jumping into the
new DC-TV pool of programs. I hope to discuss and review all four (maybe five)
shows that are soon to begin their new seasons on the CW.
Starting
your viewing at this point (particularly Arrow,
which begins its fifth season) will only make you … Lost, if you get my meaning.
I promise
that I will use spoiler alerts. But you will generally learn nothing that you
won’t be able to find out on IMDB and on the “Previously on …” front tags of
each show.
***
My only
child turns seven in October, right around the time the CW will begin its new
season. She loves to read and play games – whether board games or on the
computer.
This means
that my days of staring at a parade of purple dinosaurs, child explorers and a
prime-colored Australian singing quartet are done. Oh, I still have to sit
through Frozen every few days, or
some other Disneyanic Princess derivation, but shows aimed at children … no
more.
So of
course I fill my time watching TV shows about super-heroes!!
Hey, you
can’t watch the Sopranos all the time
…
***
I heard
good things about the CW line-up from Facebook and “real” (haha) friends and I
was finally able to see what all their posts and comments were about.
Netflix has
the first three seasons of Arrow and
the first season of Flash available
for binge-watching. The entire run of Constantine
The only
trouble is these shows are linked.
Don’t stop
reading! By that I mean that the shows cross over, but they are not one long
continued story. You won’t have to jump from one program to another! So don’t
panic. In comic book terms, they share the same universe.
(They WILL
do have a continued storyline during November sweeps – Supergirl will be
chasing a villain through all four shows during one week.)
It’s been
done. Remember when Murder She Wrote
and Magnum PI had a continued story?
There were two (I think) great Law &
Order/Homicide shared storylines too. NBC was notorious for this in the
1980s and 1990s: one example is a hurricane hitting Florida affecting the plots of the Golden Girls, Nurses and Empty Nest all in one evening’s
programming.
And who can
forget the universal nexus of Sam’s General Store in the Beverly Hillbillies/Petticoat Junction/Green Acres? (Try as I might … )
Here’s what
I mean:
The
explosion that opened the Flash
series is mentioned in Arrow. When
the character Arrow (note that the TV show is italicized, the character is not)
changes his costume slightly, Flash mentions it. Flash and Arrow regular Felicity Smoak had a brief romance. Heroes,
side-characters and villains would pop up in each other’s programs.
I watched Flash first. By the time of Flash season one, Arrow was in season three. It did not make for confused viewing,
but it gave away some of the plot points when I later watched early Arrow episodes (we meet Felicity and
Diggle in Season One of Arrow – will
they be allies or enemies? It was fun to watch the development, but I already
knew the outcome). And there WERE some spoilers, “I’m sorry to hear about
so-and-so’s death.” Arrgh!
***
I will do
my reviews in the order in which the episodes will air: Supergirl first, then Flash,
Arrow, Legends of Tomorrow and finally Constantine Constantine
has not yet been officially added to the line-up. I’ll discuss it anyway; I am
a big fan of the show having finally seen it and would LOVE to have it added).
DC-TV.
Again.
Original Material
Copyright 2016 Michael Curry
Characters
mentioned and their images are copyright their respective holders. Thanks to DC Comics, the CW Network and
Berlanti Productions and the actors portrayed for the use of their images.
I also
thank the original creators of all characters mentioned, whether or not they
have been properly compensated (gratmens during the credits aside).
Saturday, September 24, 2016
... and in the end ... Part Four of a review of Eight Days a Week, the Touring Years
A review of Eight Days a Week; the Touring Years
A film by Ron Howard
Part Four: 1966 and beyond…
1966
was the end of the Beatles as a touring band. The movie shows their
frustration.
The
year began with three months off! The Fabs are shown lounging in a pool. We see
Ringo’s and John’s homes and family snapshots with their children – the only
mention of their spouses and children in the entire film (and only Julian is
shown).
Although
John hardly lived in familial bliss, it showed the band start to drift apart
physically and musically. We are introduced to George’s love of Indian music, for
example.
We
finally see their warts – something the film has avoided up until now. But then
again, it had never affected their live performing.
The
film tells us the story and shows a montage of the Butcher cover for the US
album “Yesterday … and Today”.
On
that subject: is this the ONLY documentary of the Beatles that does NOT even
MENTION “Yesterday”?! They performed it live in 1966, but there is no clip of
their singing it. Leaving out “Hey Jude” is understandable – the song is out of
the movie’s timeline – but a song that has been played over seven million
times? Of which there are over two thousand versions?
Wow …
The
film next shows us the recording of the “Revolver” album. George Martin, Howard
Goodall and the Fabs describe how their musical tastes are finally diverging.
They are using Indian music and avant-garde techniques in their recordings.
More importantly, they describe how hard (impossible) it will be to replicate
these songs in a baseball stadium, where even an announcer’s voice sounds like
white noise. “Tomorrow Never Knows?” Forget it …
There
is one clip that I have never seen (it still amazes me that after over 50 years
there are still film clips and photos that are truly so rare) and it shows the
rot of 1966 – even the press is turning against the Fabs. In Hamburg a reporter
asks the group why they are so “horrid snobby”.
“That’s
your interpretation,” John says, in a tone we will hear a lot in the late 60s
and early 70s usually in a bed with Yoko at his side. Paul gives a diplomatic
answer (akin to “the quality of our answers reflects the quality of your
questions”) which gets an applause, but his tone still has bite. Yikes! Even
Paul is getting snippy!
The
rest of the 1966 segment is filled with familiar Beatle lore: the protests in
Tokyo, the Marcos “snub” in the Philippines and the US tour marred by protests
over John’s “bigger than Jesus” remark – events even the poorest of Beatle
documentaries portray (that’s not meant to be derogatory – it just means that I
won’t go into detail about them here).
And
again despite the complaints of their quality, Budokan (for example) is an
excellent show with clear audio and video! Bootlegs of the concert exist.
The
movie shows the silent film made of the last live performance in San Francisco,
with the Fabs providing commentary.
George started the group’s anti-touring movement as early as the Shea
stadium show, but by the time this Frisco show was finished, the other three finally
agreed.
Paul
McCartney has a poor cassette recording of this concert made by Tony Barrow. As
bad as the sound quality (perhaps not the music) undoubted is, why didn’t he
share it with the producers anyway? It can’t be any worse than the sound
recording of the village fete where Paul met John …
The
Mania Years were over.
***
For
the next five minutes the movie does a recap of the Studio Years. They spend
most of the time showing the evolution of “Strawberry Fields Forever” with the
Beatles in their Carnaby-Street-pre-Sgt-Pepper clothing as well as clips of the
party leading up to the recording of “All You Need is Love”. There is a photo
montage of their last six albums.
A
placard tells us of one last live performance on the rooftop of Apple Records
in January 1969.
***
Three
songs performed at the rooftop concert concluding “Let It Be” complete the
film. The clips are clear, clean and sound fantastic! Despite assurances that
everything Apple Corps is resolved we STILL do not have “Let It Be” in DVD.
Why? I’m glad this movie managed to get permission to use more than just a
brief clip: we hear nearly the entirety of “Don’t Let Me Down”, for example.
Although “Let It Be” is available as a bootleg, it will be nice to finally get
a clean copy.
***
“Eight
Days a Week” is an excellent primer on the Beatles, their music and their live
performances, along with the good and bad that came with it. It focuses on only
one part of the Beatle mythos but does so thoroughly.
For
other events during the Mania Years – or the Early or Studio Years – you may
have to rely on documentaries such as “the Compleat Beatles” or “the Beatles
Anthology”. Like those, “Eight Days a Week” is something of a white-washed
version. For more dirt you may have to rely on books such as Cynthia Lennon’s
books on John or former insider Peter Brown’s “The Love You Make”, of which
Beatles insiders protesteth too much; if you know what I mean. Ron DiLello’s
“The Longest Cocktail Party” is a rollicking fun read on the Fabs’ Apple Corp.
The recent “Paul McCartney: A Life” by Phillip Norman is another warts-and-all
biography. I am currently listening to the audio book and will review that in a
few weeks.
Eric
Idle’s “The Rutles: All You Need is Cash” is the closest anyone has come to likely
capturing the real Beatles experience … from the Beatles’ viewpoint! George and
John are on record as having loved it (George produced and appeared in it).
The
only similar documentary is the recent “the Beatles: The First US Visit”, a
re-release of a BBC documentary made in 1964 of the Fab’s US tour.
But
“Eight Days a Week” has a broader scope than and is excellently done. It’s a
great jumping-on point for young people first learning about their parent’s
(grandparent’s?) favorite group and more about them can be learned elsewhere if
their curiosity is whetted.
Old
fans can bask in the Mania they may have been too young to experience. Plus
there is enough “new” or unseen material to keep us interested.
5:50
into the movie is when Paul almost tears up. The movie is worth that alone.
It is
available free to Hulu subscribers or on pay-per-view. It will be released in
DVD sometime in the next few months.
I
would buy the soundtrack if it consisted of live performances and the
rehearsals. The movie rarely plays studio recordings and then mostly over commentary.
If you have the Beatle’s music catalogue there will be nothing new here.
I
already have the studio recording of “I Want to Hold your Hand”, thank you; but
I’ll take the rehearsals of “Eight Days a Week” and the live “Nowhere Man”,
please!
***
I cannot
resist one personal story: when I loaded Hulu to watch it for the first time my
six-year-old daughter walked into the living room and asked what I was
watching. When I told her the film title she looked at me and said, “Daddy!
There aren’t eight days in a week!” Which pretty much summed up her feeling
about the movie.
I did
not intend for this review to go on for four blogs; it must have meant I
enjoyed writing about it as much as I enjoyed watching the movie. I hope you
enjoyed it!
Corporate
shill department: I published a fictional account of John F Kennedy meeting the
Beatles, titled, appropriately enough, “The Day John F Kennedy met the
Beatles”, available here on Kindle. I hope you
enjoy it!
Original Material
copyright 2016 Michael Curry
Friday, September 23, 2016
Part three of my review of Eight Days a Week, the Touring Years
A review of Eight Days a Week; the Touring Years
A film by Ron Howard
Part Three: 1965 – Beatlemania at its … most high!
A
film chronologically showing the Beatles touring and recording during the years
of Beatlemania.
52
minutes (and three years) into the film we have an interlude focusing on George
Martin. With Martin’s brief bio (Goon Show producer, he explains how he
“produces” a Beatle song) we see a longer segment of the Fabs working in the
studio than anywhere else in the movie except at the ending.
But
who is complaining? We get to hear the evolution of the song Eight Days a Week
– from which the movie gets its title – beginning as a demo to rehearsing the “Oooo”s
to the final song. Wonderful!
This
segment has my favorite line. Ringo: “On the early records, George Martin was a
god.”
“Later
ones, too,” I shouted from my couch in the living room! Good for you, Ringo!
For
the Mania Years (as opposed to the Studio Years), 1965 was the band’s
highlight. The Beatles were the first band to do a stadium tour, including the
now-legendary Shea stadium performance in front of 56,000 people (bootlegs of
the show on DVD and VHS can still be found – the picture and sound quality are
wonderful but WARNING: the music MAY have been reproduced by the Fabs sometime
later and dubbed in).
The
Fabs, in current interviews as well as old ones, discuss how awful their
performances were becoming. They could not hear themselves on their monitors.
Ringo said he had to watch John or Paul to see when a song ended. Baseball stadiums used their own sound
systems in which it was hard enough to hear at-bat announcements let alone rock
music. The film gave an example of what the Beatles’ concert must have sounded
like through that kind of system. An AM signal going through a tunnel was
clearer…
But I
disagree. I have always disagreed with that. The few legitimately-recorded
concerts (where the producers strived for quality) – such as the Shea stadium
(although some of it may have been overdubbed by the Fabs themselves), the
Hollywood Bowl (the only – to date – legitimate Mania-era live performance
released as an album) and 1966’s Budokan shows were excellent! Not superb, but
they were great and exciting live shows!
***
The
movie, as are most Beatle documentaries, is sprinkled with modern interviews as
well as archived interviews, press conferences and newsreels.
Along
with Paul and Ringo, we meet writers, historians, musicians and celebrities
telling us their Beatle stories: why they are fans and the impact on themselves
personally and professionally: Richard Curtis, Eddie Izzard, Whoopie Goldberg,
Elvis Costello, Malcolm Gladwell, Dr. Kitty Oliver (who tells us about sitting
in a desegregated audience for the first time during a Beatle concert), Howard
Goodall (I gasped when I saw him. And of course he discussed the Fabs’ musical
writing style and impact, comparing them to Shubert and Mozart – his being a
Beatle fan should not have been surprising…), Jon Savage, and Sigourney Weaver.
Sigourney
Weaver’s story of attending the Hollywood Bowl show is a highlight. Being a
descendent of media royalty (her father, Pat Weaver, was president of NBC in
the 1950s and the creator of “Today” and “the Tonight Show”), she was filmed at
the concert. We hear her in 2016 telling the story and watch her as a teenager
shouting for John). And she hasn’t aged a day.
Whoopie
Goldberg’s comments were the most moving. “You like that white group?” She
would be asked. To me, she explained, the Beatles were neither black nor white.
They were just the Beatles. And it didn’t matter of you were black, white,
rich, poor … everyone loved the Beatles and they helped her learn she could be
however she wanted to be and it was okay – you were still a Beatle fan!
Especially
moving was the story of her mother, somehow, affording two tickets to the Shea
stadium show. You’ll swallow back a tear just like she did.
Throughout
the movie, especially during the 1964 US tour, was the commentary of Larry
Kane, a reporter who toured with the Fabs. The movie replayed his 1964 reports along
with his current thoughts, opinions and reminiscences.
He
was a witness to these events. At first he was cynical (he was warned by his
father to not do it) but quickly became a fan and friends with the Beatles. To
hear him describe being mobbed by up to 7,000 screaming teenagers is at once
thrilling and terrifying...
… and
touching. When his mother died in1964, for example, John and Paul were
especially sympathetic. Paul then tells us of him and John losing their mothers
as well. It was the only time the movie harkened back to pre-Beatle days (a
clip of George Martin and the Goon Show aside).
Kane
is to this movie what Shelby Foote was to Ken Burns’ “Civil War”.
***
As
with 1964, there was a segment on the filming of that year’s movie, “Help”.
Here is where some of the cracks begin to show.
Surprisingly,
Paul admits that the band was stoned during the filming. George and John had admitted
this long ago, but for Paul to say so means only one of two things: 1) either
HE was stoned during the interview, or 2) the band was REALLY stoned during the
filming of “Help”.
The
Beatles being awarded the MBE at the end of 1965 was a strange addition – the
film ignores any event that had nothing to do with the music (including, up
until now, their drug use).
But the MBE segment
allowed the Fabs talked about their dissatisfaction with touring and the constant
pressure of being a Beatle. They found the studio more and more liberating.
Lyrics such as “was she told when she was young that pain would lead to
pleasure” would hardly be heard let along understood through baseball stadium
PA systems and 50,000 screaming teens (paraphrasing Elvis Costello).
As a
live group, the normally unbendable Beatles bent. In 1966, they would break.
***
Part
Four the last is next …
Corporate
shill department: I published a fictional account of John F Kennedy meeting the
Beatles, titled, appropriately enough, “The Day John F Kennedy met the Beatles”,
available here on Kindle. I hope you
enjoy it!
Original Material
copyright 2016 Michael Curry
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