Star Trek TNG Intro

This is the intro to the very first season of Star Trek: The Next Generation. It started airing 20 years ago and by the time I knew this program even existed I was already halfway thru its very fifth season. As a result almost everyday from Monday thru Saturday my TV was tuned to WPWR Channel 50 at 6PM for old episodes during the week and a more current first run episode at 6PM on Saturdays with a rerun of the episode or previous episode at 10:30PM Sundays.

After that episode aired I could also get a taste of the original Star Trek that would air directly after TNG on Sunday night. Over time I grew to love the origianl Star Trek more than TNG, but if it wasn't for TNG I wouldn't have likely gotten into Star Trek.

Future James Bond Collectibles with Ira Gallen

From 1995 Ira Gallen, responsible for of my favorite websites as of late TVDays.com that provides old films from the past, talks about James Bond products in time for the latest Bond movie, Goldfinger. TVDays has a YouTube account where you can see some of these vids including the one embedded in this post.

Doctor Who: The Five Doctors

Starring Peter Davidson, Jon Pertwee, Patrick Troughton, and Richard Hurndall as the Doctor. Tom Baker and William Hartnell made cameo appearances in the form of images on stock footage. Tom Baker didn't make it because he didn't want to, and William Hartnell passed away in 1975. That's why Richard Hurndall played the "first Doctor". Then we get to see some of the past companions of the Five Doctors as well. Enjoy the first segment.

The Great Bird of the Galaxy on "To Tell the Truth"

Gene Roddenberry the creator of Star Trek appears on the 1970s game show To Tell the Truth. What a throwback!

Doctor Who - Time Crash - Children In Need 2007

The Fifth Doctor (Peter Davison) and the 10th Doctor (David Tennant) have an adventure in this special episode of Doctor Who. Apparently this aired November 16th.

A pair of items

I finally figured out why TV-Links went down but here's a link that might tell you of any replacements there might be out there for that website.

Also I've added a new link to the side bar to an online museum for Chicago TV called FuzzyMemories.tv. I will also provide FuzzyMemories two YouTube channels.

FuzzyMemoriesTV - The Museum of Classic Chicago Television
fuzzymemories - [classic Chicago TV]

I have also added another longtime favorite of mine the 80s TV Theme Supersite. It features audio and video that you might find from the 1980s.

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home Introduction

For a long, long time Star Trek 4: The Voyage Home was my favorite Star Trek film ever. I just so happened to have gotten out of watching this film for a long time but I was elated to find a version of the film intro on YouTube. Before the actual intro with the starting credits was William Shatner as Captain Kirk recapping the events of Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan and Star Trek 3: The Search for Spock.

Star Trek film casting call

The new Star Trek movie had a casting call the video is provided by TrekMovie.com

Star Trek: The Beginning

I'm really liking this story that's not likely to be made at all. It was the prequel that was going to be produced before the Star Trek project that's going to feature the original crew from the Original Series. When I kept hearing about this project it was either going to be about the crew from Star Trek: Enterprise or it was a prequel that took place in the fabled Earth-Romulan Wars.

BTW, I'll give credit to TrekMovie.com that presented this information.

Playing Doctor Who theme

Sometimes I wish I had learned to play music so I can do about what this man does. Play his version of the Doctor Who theme on his keyboard. I'll let him describe how he does it...

A quick video of me playing the Doctor Who theme. Bottom left is the bassline, and top right is the melody.

8 Mile

Well I had to watch this one at TV-Links as well. Of course it helps that I am an Eminem fan. The movie is all about the flows and rhymes. Why else would you hear about nothing but people rapping in this movie. I consider this a musical as I would a drama. Not a lot of singing and dancing though a lot of rapping and we all agree rap is a musical form, right?

Got a late night at home watch "Rabbit", Eminem's character, deal with life and starts to grow with his talent. Even leaves a foe speechless at a flow contest near the end of the film. Then after that goes back to work at his plant.

Since I had to see this online, I think this film shall go onto the needs list.

The Simpsons Movie

I just saw it tonight there was more skin and vulgarity than one could even think about seeing on the FOX network. That's OK because it makes for some good laughs. I only wish I had gotten my lazy but to the movie theaters over the summer to see it.

Oh and I was able to see it courtesy of TV-Links. I won't consider this movie reviewed until I actually buy a home DVD copy. Until then I consider it something that's going on my needs list that I started recently.

So what happened well Homer is even more obnoxious in this movie. He almost loses his family because of it. He almost single handely killed an entire town because an megalomaniacal bureaucrat seeks to seal out the whole town of Springfield and who else is complicit than President Arnold Swarzenegger who's concerned about making another family movie. All is not lost Homer and Bart does something foolish to save Springfield.

That's the gist but don't go to TV-Links to watch the film. Go out to your local video place and buy it!

I want to get this movie

Since I'm on an old school Hollywood trip, I want to get The Jazz Singer. This 1927 film starred singing sensation Al Jolson. It was billed as the first talkie but it was probably more accurate to call it the first profitable talkie than it is to call it the first talkie ever. I suppose in those days putting a soundtrack on film so that we can hear music, sound effects and dialogue was the holy grail of motion pictures.

Anyway here are some scenes that I've found. I see that at Borders Books, if I was gonna go ahead and buy the movie it would cost at least $30. It would be worth it though because I wanna see this film. Hmm, I think I should start a list of all the movies in the world I want to either buy or see. That'll be next for this blog.

Al Blacking Up, The Jazz Singer 1927

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To be sure this scene is quite controversial. Al Jolson is getting into costume of sorts. This movie involves him having to hide in "blackface" in order to perform as a Jazz singer. This will probably bring out the discussion of minstrel shows and all that but I've read that this was acceptable in the 1920s.

Al Jolson "Blue Skies" The Jazz Singer 1927

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This scene illustrates what he's up against. A mother who certainly approves and is entertained by her son but daddy unfortunately doesn't approve. He even has set goals for himself. Will this man's family get to live in the Bronx with all the "Bergs"?

Al Jolson "Mammy" The Jazz Singer 1927

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This song seems very stereotypical. It seems this is how blacks were expected to say mommy. This movie has the appearance of a silent movie but the dialogue and the synchronization is almost perfect.

Lost silent Hollywood

I've admired silent movies. In the earliest days of the "motion picture" directors and cinematographers didn't have the luxury of color or even sound. All that had to be done was snap pictures of a scene and then these pictures come alive because each frame becomes motion. The people move and walk.

This really was a funny video I saw I can't tell you much about it because this YouTube user didn't give much of a description of this video. It was funny though and the further you go I call it history. Near the end after you see this story about a man visiting Universal Studios you will see how cinematographers shot their footage, with hand cranked movie cameras. They were probably complicated for their time, but I imagine very simple machines for most of us today.

Still watch this. I hope you enjoy.

When Captain Picard meets Doctor Who

From TrekMovie.com...

Star Trek The Next Generation’s Patrick Stewart may be ‘done with Hollywood’ but he is still open to doing some sci-fi. Stewart tells This Is North Scotland that not only is he a fan of the BBC’s Doctor Who, but he is "deeply dismayed" that he has not yet been asked to guest star on the show. Stewart has kept busy as a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company since his time playing TNG’s Picard and X-Men’s Professor Xavier and is currently playing the title role in MacBeth on the London stage. Even if Stewart doesn’t end up on Doctor Who he will get a chance to act with Doctor Who. It was recently reported that David Tennant will be playing the title role in Hamlet along with Stewart in an upcoming production.

What could Patrick Stewart play? Maybe Picard or maybe an earlier version of the Doctor (perhaps the first one he's about that age at least whenever the writers of the new series might decide to do a episode about this doctor and the other doctor doing something). Anyway, I would say that this should be fun. Yes.

Doctor Who Theme-BBC National Orchestra of Wales

Know anything about me and know that I'm a big fan of film scores. If you find my music collection it will be dominated by film and TV soundtracks from some of my favorite movies and TV programs.

I share one with you. The BBC's orchestra gives its rendition of the Doctor Who theme. Totally brass, percussion and strings. No electronic, synthesized music and it should stir up the adventure in you. Enjoy!

Hmm, I wish that in the next Star Trek movie someone can give such a rendition of the original Star Trek theme by Alexander Courage. Can't wait!

I really miss this show

THis was a show that I would look forward to watching weekday afternoons after I get home from school at the then magical time of 2:30 in the afternoon. I look at those days fondly especially since I'm not of that age anymore. Still these were good shows that I and many other youngsters watched. I wonder if there are DVD collections of this show.

This show being The Animaniacs and this was one of their many segments referred to as Good Idea, Bad Idea and they were usually very funny.

For those of you James Bond fans out there...

The author who took up the authorship of James Bond after the death of Ian Fleming in the 1960s is dead. From the Chicago Tribune...

John Gardner, a prolific British thriller writer who authored more novels about James Bond than Ian Fleming did, has died. He was 80.

The author died Aug. 3 after collapsing near his home in Basingstoke, England. The cause was heart failure, said his daughter Alexis Walmsley.

By turns an Anglican priest, marine commando, drama critic and semiprofessional magician, Mr. Gardner wrote four dozen books in a career of more than 40 years. He was best known for the 14 Bond novels he wrote in the 1980s and '90s, which continued the work of Bond's creator, Fleming. Fleming wrote 12 Bond books.

In Mr. Gardner's hands, Bond is every inch a late-20th Century man. He smokes low-tar cigarettes and, in an authorial choice that anguished 007 purists, drives a fuel-efficient Saab instead of his Bentley Mark II Continental. Perhaps most shocking of all, he drinks only in moderation.

Though the reaction of critics was mixed, the novels were embraced by all but the most orthodox Bondians and appeared regularly on The New York Times best seller list. Among Mr. Gardner's Bond titles are "License Renewed," "Win, Lose or Die," "Brokenclaw" and, most recently, "Cold Fall."

John Edmund Gardner was born in the Northumberland region of England. His father was a priest in the Church of England.

As a boy, Mr. Gardner longed to become a writer, but his first job was in magic. An enthusiastic amateur magician, he auditioned in 1943 for the entertainment department of the American Red Cross. At 17 he was traveling to hospitals throughout England, performing for wounded American soldiers.

Toward the end of World War II, Mr. Gardner served in the Far and Middle East as a Royal Marine commando. He was, by his own account, "the worst commando in the world." While learning to fly, for instance, he bent an airplane, not an easy thing to do.

After the war, Mr. Gardner earned a bachelor's degree in theology from Cambridge, followed by study at Oxford. He received ordination as an Anglican priest in 1953. But he soon realized the vocation was not for him and left the priesthood after five years.

In the late 1950s and early '60s, Mr. Gardner worked as a newspaper drama critic. His first novel, published in 1964, was "The Liquidator." Its hero, Boysie Oakes, is an anti-Bond. Recruited as a secret agent entirely by mistake, Oakes is inept, vulgar and so cowardly that he hires a subcontractor to do his killing for him. Seven more Oakes novels followed.

After Fleming's death in 1964, his literary executors searched for a writer to continue the series, eventually settling on Mr. Gardner.

To be sure I read the novelization for Goldeneye that he wrote many years ago. I enjoyed it. And you know what else I have the novel Diamonds are Forever on my bookcase that I bought from the old defunt Crown Books many years ago. I never read it however.

Pursuit of Happyness

A great rags to riches story. The real life story of Chris Gardner who seemed to have had a very hardknock life. He was poor and the movie started off with him unsuccessfully securing a sale for his bone scanner.

You see I had nothing but comments about this. I called this bonescanner a lemon. Maybe I'm not using this in the correct context, but one doctor he attempted to sell one to called it expensive and unnessary. Not only that it caused him a lot of grief because he trusted that device with the wrong people or he kept losing it.

Thankfully that was the one thing that got him some more money in his pocket. While in the situation he was tired of he saw a man in a sports car and found out he was a stock broker and decided it was worth doing. I don't know how he found out about this internship program but he entered into it.

Then we see true adversity. His honey left him and threatened to take their child with him. He was moving around a lot with him being evicted from an apartment buidling or a hotel. Forced to spend nights in a subway bathroom. IRS reaching into his bank account for back taxes. Working very hard and being very worrisome trying to secure accounts for his internship.

While I may not want to do what he did, it paid off. Today he's able to tell his story and he has as much money as that man he met in the streets of San Francisco. His honey is surely kicking herself for not sticking with him at that most difficult time. She was weak and she couldn't hang with him anymore.

Besides he was obviously determined. If all she could see was dollar signs, then she missed what he really had. That was her choice however.

Hopefully if other people who have the same traits Mr. Gardner had then who knows they'll be alright too. With perhaps as much money as he got. So I recommend you watch this movie.

And let me just say Will Smith was more convincing as Chris Gardner than he was as Muhammad Ali. I really liked how he played a determined half-way homeless man. The chemistry with his own real life son, who doubled as Chris Gardner's son in this movie, was great. That was the heart and soul of this film. Made it more enjoyable.

BTW, I suggest you read the book. I didn't read the book before I saw the movie, but I found out that the movie took a lot of artistic liberties in this story.

More from "The Queen"

I forgot to mention this last night.

I thought that they portrayed Prince Charles (or Charles, Prince of Wales as I had referred to him last night who was played by Alex Jennings) as somewhat sensible. While the rest of the royal family such as his mom, The Queen and his dad Prince Philip and even his granny Elizabeth, Queen Mother were dumping on Princess Di (or Princess Diana or Diana, Princess of Wales as I also referred to her last night) Prince Charles stood up to them. Especially since Diana was the mother to the childen who are the future heirs to the British throne.

Of all the royals Charles seemed to have taken this news the worse. See the movie he definitely had that emotional reaction and we could see at various points his eyes welling up with tears. See that whole thing about showing the royals in a very human light?

Prince Charles was also portrayed as something of a tricky person. He had to find ways to get his mother to see his point of view and tried to be on the right side of public opinion. He told his mom, The Queen that he thought that he was in danger and she immediately changed her mind about taking a drive in the country. He seemed to be trying to really cozy up with Tony Blair who in 1996-97 was the new British Prime Minister (the head of government in Britain). He really wanted his royals to get out there to mourn with the rest of their people.

I really like the portrayal of Prince Charles who unfortunately isn't a very sympathetic figure. When I watched that whole episode with Diana back in 1997 I couldn't have seen or known how much of a role he had. Notwithstanding the fact that he used to be Diana's husband and he is the father to their children (Princes William and Harry) who just so happen to be the future of the Windsor dynasty.

So that should end my review of The Queen.

The Queen

I saw The Queen tonight. There were quite a few slow moments but it was a generally good story and we see the British royals in a much more human light than I would have imagined them.

Queen Elizabeth is referred to as "Cabbage" by her husband Prince Philip. Both the Queen and her son Charles, Prince of Wales, display emotion. Also we see the reaction the royals had towards Diana, Princess of Wales. She figures a lot in the story because most of the plot revolves around her death and the events surrounding that up until her funeral.

Well it's great to say that even if the royal family is held up to much higher standards than us commoners, that the fact is they are human. Thankfully they got people around them who might be able to keep them in touch with everyday people. Tony Blair is as important as the secretaries the royals have.

Other than that, you should pick this movie up when you get the first opportunity.

Related post: More from "The Queen"

Miami Vice: The Movie

I just finished watching this movie. It was hard to keep up with it, but it certainly had a 21st Century flavor to it. I really loved the cinematography with the very liberal use of video.

The action in this movie was brutal. A man had his arm shot off when he was ambushed and thankfully the movie doesn't get any worse on violence. Yeah there were some romance too, I could live without it but it didn't cause a distraction.

I liked it for the artistry though I wish I had been able to keep up better. Maybe their won't be a sequel, but as to whether this film makes me nostalgic for the 80's TV series well now I wish there was a new TV series. And I only wish that I was able to see this in the theaters instead of watching an unrated director's edition DVD.

I have always wanted to know how popcorn became a movie snack

No where else in the performing arts are the patrons allowed a snack. I remember going to symphony hall a few years ago that there were some cough drops in some bowls in case during a performance someone had to cough. I imagine that if you went to a theater downtown (like the LaSalle Bank Theater or the Oriental or the Chicago) they wouldn't let you carry a snack let alone offer you some popcorn.

So how did popcorn came to be sold at the cinemas. Check this out...

No trip to the movies is complete without an overpriced tub of popcorn covered in goo. Good thing, 'cause popcorn sales are responsible for a substantial portion of theater profits.

To learn how the tradition began, we first consulted the Encyclopedia Popcornica. According to this industry-supported site, the salty snack was very popular "from the 1890s until the Great Depression." Even during the Depression, popcorn remained "one of the few luxuries down-and-out families could afford."

Kidz World writes that popcorn first became available at movie theaters way back in 1912. They don't explain why, but Buzzle.com came through with many kernels of truth (none of which remained unpopped).

Apparently back in the old days, popcorn vendors would "set up shop" outside theaters. The theater managers didn't like this, thinking it was a distraction. But moviegoers disagreed, frequently ducking out to buy popcorn and then ducking back in to see the movie.

As Buzzle further notes, "it wasn't long until the theatre owners realized they could set up their own popcorn popper." That's exactly what they did, and popcorn's been associated with movies ever since. Kind of like Cracker Jacks and baseball games or gruel and orphanages.

I hope you like the new look.

I had no idea Doctor Who airs on WTTW now

I just saw it in the TV guide tonight and I switched immediately. Usually I'd watch Beyond the Beltway on WYCC, but now I have a reason to watch WTTW again. I haven't watched in years because now I don't have Wild Chicago to watch at the 10:30 timeslot anymore.

I didn't get to watch any Doctor Who tonight but what I did get was the behind the scenes segment.

BTW, this is how Doctor Who looked when it aired on WTTW back on July 15, 1984.

BTW, I intend to get back to watching movies this summer. I've just been sluggish. Hopefully I can check out what we just bought yesterday from Target.

I'm watching Batman on MeTV right now...

I've always thought this 1960s era Batman was the standard. When Batman came out in the movies theaters in 1989 thru 1995 and even with the animated series of the early 90s that aired on FOX Kids, I've always thought the 60s Batman was the standard. I don't remember when my standards changed.

I was more riveted by the animated Batman and Iwould later go see Batman Forever in 1995. I decided to get the three Batman movies already out on video. I even got to purchase from Best Buy, the animated Batman's feature film Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. These were some great movies.

Hmm I should pull them out one day. I've already seen Batman Begins once too many times since I got that movie on DVD.

As for the 1960s Batman, well, I was watching them in the era when the darker and much less camp Batman was the style. I could still watch Adam West and Burt Ward on the FX network in the 1990s. These days I can settle for watching them every weekend on Channel 23 in Chicago.

I forgot to review the Doctor Who TV movie

Let me start this post off this way. I don't know when I first discovered this show. I don't know what possessed me to find episodes on YouTube last year.

Whatever happened, I'm glad I did and I've been hooked ever since. And this Doctor Who TV movie was among maybe some of the first episodes I saw at YouTube too. It was pretty good but I was sad that I missed it when it first aired.

In 1996, that was when this movie aired on FOX, I was solidly a Star Trek fan. There were other sci-fi series I was fond of such as Babylon 5, Space: Above & Beyond (which was cancelled in 1996), Sliders, Seaquest DSV and others that I can't recall but they were around in those days.

It gives me a sense of nostalgia to not just consider what I've seen, but what I've missed. There are a lot of things I have nostalgia for, especially places I've been or wanted to go. Things that I used to see on TV or listened to on the radio. Now I have a cerain nostalgia for Doctor Who.

This TV movie was supposed to jump start a new Doctor Who TV series. It didn't happen, ratings didn't justify it, if I read correctly. If I had hoped there would be a series I would have watched, but then that would have been assuming I was a fan in the first place. At that time I couldn't say that I was a fan.

I was a fan of the aformentioned Space: Above and Beyond. Missing a few episodes between the first episode and the last, I really loved that series. Despite my viewership and of others, the show found itself cancelled after a full season.

I knew Doctor Who existed just as I knew Star Trek existed and I had to rediscover both. The internet helped me rediscover Doctor Who and Star Trek: The Next Generation helped me to rediscover the original Star Trek. What I did know though was that Star Trek used to be rerun on Channel 32 (WFLD-Chicago) at one point while one could see Doctor Who episodes on Channel 11 (WTTW-Chicago). And when these shows aired I couldn't say I was at the age where I could understand what was going on.

Anyway, I've meandered long enough. I've seen enough old episodes of Doctor Who to notice that the production values in the movie was doubled what I imagine many fans were used to. Which was great for a possible revival that finally happened in 2005.

In addition Paul McGann was a very loud and emotional Doctor. It was certainly fun watching him and like today's Doctors I can't imagine any of the old ones engaged in the action that McGann was. Even better though was the regeneration, Sylvester McCoy played the seventh doctor and it was safe to say that he went out the way I would have expected him too (that is to say, he went out in an eccentric fashion). Sad to see him go because I enjoyed Sylvester McCoy's portrayal of the Doctor.

We see the seventh Doctor become the eighth Doctor. Start kissing the woman who had unintentionally caused the death of his seventh incarnation. Engage in toying with history by giving people advice. Offering people jelly babies while at the same time engaging in a sleight of hand to take away a policeman's firearm.

And Eric Roberts as the Doctor's archenemy the Master was a very dark and scary portrayal. Somewhat playful but there was no doubt that the Master was evil. When you think about it though his portrayal at times seemed more like a comic book movie than I would have liked.

Anyway get this on DVD when you get the chance. You don't want to spend money then find it on YouTube. Maybe we might see the movie on TVLinks one day. They've started adding old Doctor Who episodes recently.

Doctor Who: The Movie (1996) - Part 1

Here I go with another Doctor Who post. This is the start of the Doctor Who movie that aired on the FOX network in May of 1996. A sign of things to come before Doctor Who returns as a TV series almost a decade later. Or at least I look at it that way.

I've ignored a favorite of mine here

Star Trek!!!!

One of my favorite Star Trek movies has an anniversary today!!!

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan was released today 25 years ago. And it had been a fast 25 years. Perhaps I need to pop in that movie again just to mark this occasion. Then I should review it here. I haven't seen this movie in years.

Here's a video from the TrekMovie Report. Here's Star Trek 2 in 5 seconds...

I've just realized something...

I miss comic books. This thought occured to me when I went downtown and visited Graham Crackers Comics on Michigan and Madison. That's where I bought a majority of my books.

I would like to be able to buy comics again and see what's going on with Vertigo Comics, Action Comics, Detective Comics, and Marvel Comics. See what's up with my favorite Superheroes such as Batman, Superman, Green Latern, and so on and so forth. So many stories I have missed out on.

What's going on with them?

"On Her Majesty's Secret Service" Theatrical Trailer

OHMSS is one of my favorite movies. I haven't seen this film in a while. I really like George Lazenby as Agent 007 James Bond. It was a very action packed movie although the love scenes are incredibly mushy.

I'm going to get back to reviewing movies soon. Gonna get back into the swing of things now that I'm home for the summer.

Batman & Robin

Batman & Robin made it to the big screen in the form of a movie serial. A movie serial that type that was normally seen before the feature films in the era before TV. Believe it or not though this was not the first Batman serial. There was one in 1943 during the height of the second World War. Here's Chapter 1 in two parts...

This honestly gave me goose bumps...

I was watching this Doctor Who special called Dimensions in Time. It was released in 1993 and we saw the 5 living doctors up to that point in this episode. This was the 30th anniversary of the premier of the series and we see not only Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker (no relation to Tom Baker), and Sylvester McCoy but also their time and space traveling companions (they can be considered sidekicks of sorts) in the same episode. Unlike other episodes where we see more than one Doctor, we would never see them at the same time, but constantly switching.

It was hard to keep up because they went from Doctor to Doctor and companion to companion. The episode was fun, but if I must say so some elements were corny and it was a good idea that this wouldn't be considered a regular episode in Doctor Who continuity. The props I give to it is the production values we see these Doctors in ways most fans couldn't even imagine. Almost as if the Sylvester McCoy era continued.

Oh yeah the other characters were from this BBC soap called EastEnders. This was something of a special presentation for a charity Children in Need. The YouTube user presenting this video doesn't care for it, but it's still worth watching especially since the Doctor Who series had been cancelled 4 years earlier.

Also I say the five living Doctors because the first two Doctors, William Hartnell and Patrick Troughton, had both passed away before this was filmed (Hartnell in 1975 and Troughton in 1987). Jon Pertwee played his Doctor for the last time on TV here and passed away in 1996 (the year of the Doctor Who TV movie that premiered on FOX). Tom Baker didn't play a big role except at the beginning to warn the other Doctors of the plot of the Rani.

Here are the two parts of this story...

You know I've been doing a lot of Doctor Who lately. I want to vary it up again. Still enjoy these clips these are worth it.

Casino Royale and a Link

I found this website and I just saw the movie I didn't get to see last year, Casino Royale. TV Links has movies, tv programs, music videos, cartoons, amine, and more. So if there's a movie out there that you wanted to see or a TV episode you didn't get to see, this is the place for you.

BTW, Casino Royale was pretty good. I can't wait to buy a DVD version. I can pay attention better if I wasn't on a computer. A lot more down to earth than the last Bond movie Die Another Day. It wasn't very big on special effects as most of the recent Bond films but it was definitely back down to how the series started anyway.

Daniel Craig did a great job and I can certainly believe that we are seeing James Bond in his first go around as a member of the British Secret Service and a Double 0 agent. Looking up info on the book, it wasn't that far removed. THe only diffence is that the movie was set in an era without a Soviet Union. And a much more high tech era than the one Ian Fleming knew.

If you get a chance buy Casino Royal on DVD and check out TV Links. And I must say this blog was more dedicated to Doctor Who in my more recent posts. It's great to back to earth somewhat with James Bond.

It's been years since I've seen an episode of Benny Hill

Yeah I was started on this real young too and was shocked when I found out back in the early 90s that Benny Hill had passed away. I was at Border's one day and found a CD with his theme on there and I immediately broke out laughing because it conjured up images of people running around very fast. That's what I and many people remember. Then I found some clips on YouTube one day.

This video entitled Benny Hill had nothing to do with Benny Hill. It just had three guys running around to the Benny Hill theme. It might be funny to you because of the theme, but there were other things going on too. Case in point...

This is from the Man Show. Yeah there is some running around but this is actually funny because that's not all there was to it. Running around, strange tricks, even a little sexual innuendo. Well it is called the Man Show. Still it made me laugh hopefully it will make you laugh. Finally...

This is Benny Hill himself running from people but he couldn't run away from this little girl. He even jumps off a cliff to get away from a mob and apparently not killed. Classic.

The Unearthly Child

The very first episode of Doctor Who. Great to hear the original theme in its entirely without interruption. The first episode will wisk two school teachers from London into their first adventures in time and space. Has to be a shock yes? Watch!

Chappelle's Show:The Lost Episodes Uncensored

I got this DVD just after the holidays. I finally had a chance to check it out. A very enjoyable DVD. Look at the deleted scenes and the sketches that didn't make it onto the actual episodes.

It's almost unfortunate that Dave Chappelle decided not to return to his show. Charlie Murphy, who hosted the show with Donnell Rawlings in the absence of Chappelle said how it was great to be a part of a great moment in comedy. He even said that if it was for Chappelle, people would still come up to him and say he's Eddie Murphy's brother.

Still it would have been nice if Chappelle had of been able to return. I'm sure there were a few great shows ahead, but looking at the story of why Dave Chappelle hadn't returned to do the show I still have my questions. Oh well though, we at least have the DVDs of the various episodes.

Indeed, it could be possible that if the DVD sets are profitable enough Chappelle might come back and do more shows. Perhaps instead of Comedy Central they'll put him on HBO. We shall see.

Doctor Who

Thanks to YouTube I've become a Doctor Who fan. I have seen many of the old episodes and a few of the newer episodes. The 21st century Doctors are Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant. They have taken on the mantle of William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker (a popular Doctor Who), Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, and Paul McGann (he did a Doctor Who TV movie that aired in 1996 on FOX).

The show without a doubt is an acquired taste. It's probably a pit farfetched for many people. It's amazing that I've gotten into it but then I really didn't watch the series in its old form when it would air on WTTW Chicago. But I just have to say that I have a hard time imagining any of the original Doctor Whos in the same situation that the the 21st Century Doctors are in.

It's almost like the current Doctor Who series were re-imagined for a new era. The pace seems faster and the action is ever present. It just doesn't seem slow as it once was. I can't imagine a Tom Baker running around or Peter Davison crash landing his TARDIS or Colin Baker saying six magic words to bring down a regime. And I must add thank goodness for CGI special effects. The effects of the old series may have been cutting edge in respectively the 1960s, 70s, & 80s. Today these effects are lame perhaps I've just seen better. The effects we see in the 1960s Star Trek have been reimagined recently perhaps for about the same reason.

Either way I'm liking the new Doctor Who. The re-imagined theme and listen to the end theme too. Almost James Bond like. And for new eps of The Doctor's adventures instead of waiting for PBS to air them you can watch them on Sci-Fi Channel or even BBC America. And then there's always YouTube.

For the old episodes there is YouTube but there is also going to your local video store and purchasing a copy of Doctor Who eps.

Perhaps every now and again I'll post Doctor Who videos I run across. I did post one over at My Mind's Eye.

Here is the first scene from the very first Doctor Who since 1996 and the last scene from School Reunion from 2006...

Reno 911 Miami

It's been a while since I saw this show on Comedy Central and now there's going to be a film version. Man I wonder how this is going to work out. And watching this trailer, this will certainly be a laugh riot.