“We used to be friends a long time ago/But I haven’t thought of you lately at all . . . “ I recently returned from a week in Los Angeles, and boy, did the City of Angels treat me well! Sondheim at the Hollywood Bowl! Edward James Olmos at the Aero Theatre! I breakfasted with friends … Continue reading GIRL GONE NOIR: The Saga of Veronica Mars
TV
HIS BOOOOOOKS!! What I Read on My Summer Vacation
Before I left for sweatier climes, I promised all you bibliophiles the following: I would make a pilgrimage to the Strand Bookstore (Broadway at 12th Street) and the Mysterious Bookshop (Warren Street) in downtown NYC; I would read three books and bring back reviews. Done and . . . almost done. On the hottest Thursday morning … Continue reading HIS BOOOOOOKS!! What I Read on My Summer Vacation
PERRY WALKS THE PLANK: The Case of the Substitute Face
If you select at random any one of the eighty-two novels featuring Perry Mason, you stand a good chance of finding an opening in Mason’s office with secretary Della Street looking over the black-eyed blondes, dangerous dowagers, and haunted husbands looking pacing the reception area, selecting one and then escorting them into Mason’s inner sanctum … Continue reading PERRY WALKS THE PLANK: The Case of the Substitute Face
CAN’T SEE MY, CAN’T SEE MY . . . POKER FACE
There are no two ways about it: when it comes to watching TV these days, we are being ripped off. I say this as a curmudgeon who is old enough to remember when entertainment came in twelve channels that cost nothing more than the electricity. Nowadays, this Californian pays Comcast $265/month for my basic cable. This … Continue reading CAN’T SEE MY, CAN’T SEE MY . . . POKER FACE
A CRIMINAL GAME FOR CHRISTIE FANS
Perhaps you have had a chance to see the trailer for Kenneth Branagh’s third (and possibly final?) Hercule Poirot film, A Haunting in Venice. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVrKNPMG6Dk Perhaps it . . . confused you in a way that his previous films, Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile did not. For despite the fact that Branagh’s Poirot sports a … Continue reading A CRIMINAL GAME FOR CHRISTIE FANS
THE TWILIGHT ZONE, PART 10: The Final Signpost Up Ahead
The past ten weeks of studying The Twilight Zone has been a nostalgic experience for me, but the reason I took this course had as much to do with a feeling I’ve had that this nearly sixty-year-old series has never felt more prescient. As we have seen, Rod Serling performed a fabulous deceit on the network when … Continue reading THE TWILIGHT ZONE, PART 10: The Final Signpost Up Ahead
THE TWILIGHT ZONE, PART 9: Alone Again, Unnaturally
From Season One, Episode 1, loneliness and isolation have been a major theme of The Twilight Zone. By the late 50’s, the age of extended families living under one roof or even in the same community had significantly disappeared in America, and it continues today, with mammoth urban apartment complexes, little-box suburbs, and condominium associations filled … Continue reading THE TWILIGHT ZONE, PART 9: Alone Again, Unnaturally
THE TWILIGHT ZONE, PART 8: No Explanations, Please!
The other day, a friend of mine tweeted: “The Outer Limits was the most interesting of all those late 50s/early 60s US anthology series. I much prefer it to The Twilight Zone.” I like my friend, but he was wrong. In the days of Elon Musk’s Twitter, this sort of wrong opinion is harmless; plus, it’s only … Continue reading THE TWILIGHT ZONE, PART 8: No Explanations, Please!
THE TWILIGHT ZONE, PART 7: Here Be Monsters
I understand that the big water-cooler show these days is HBO’s The Last of Us, about a horrible plague that sweeps the globe, turning everyone into giant mushrooms. I’m really looking forward to watching that one – never in a million years!!!!!!!!!! I don’t like gore, I don’t like gross-out imagery and, for some reason, I have … Continue reading THE TWILIGHT ZONE, PART 7: Here Be Monsters
THE TWILIGHT ZONE, PART 6: Other Dimensions Are Where You Find Them
Last week, we watched The Twilight Zone not to learn answers or to receive moral lessons. Instead, Rod Serling unsettled us with the fear of the unknown, the situation that has no answer. This week, in the most classic of the episodes we watched, Serling shows us that he can scare us and explain it all away. Instead of … Continue reading THE TWILIGHT ZONE, PART 6: Other Dimensions Are Where You Find Them
Ah Sweet Mystery! 