FUTURE BOY by Michael J. Fox and Nelle Fortenberry

Posted 11:30 AM by Gerald So

Published October 14 by Flatiron Books, FUTURE BOY is Fox's memoir of filming BACK TO THE FUTURE while completing Season 3 of FAMILY TIES, written with his longtime producing partner.

The 150-page book with photographs delivers in describing how Fox juggled his high-profile TV role of Alex Keaton and what would be his breakout, best-remembered movie role of Marty McFly. I'm a fan of FAMILY TIES, the first BACK TO THE FUTURE, and of Fox's writing style from his previous memoirs.

I recommend the book to anyone who wants to relive 1985 vicariously through one of Hollywood's most popular actors putting his talent, instinct, and stamina to the test.

Showing Myself

Posted 6:00 AM by Gerald So

A YouTube video about Botox's effect on Hollywood actors and acting inspired this post.

Photo by Gerald So

Growing up in the time of instant film cameras, I recall posing for or taking few photos, denying countless shots where I blinked, looked away from the lens, or had my hand over my face. Unlike the hypothetical average person, I don't own a smartphone. Only two years ago did I start bringing my 2014 Kindle Fire HD7 outdoors, taking my own social media profile photos.

I correct the photos' lighting and color, but nothing to change my face besides a shave. I think I look good. A life avoiding alcohol, tobacco, and firearms has helped. I may give my cartoon avatars darker hair, but that's another realm.

Unlike me, actors and other on-camera personalities feel pressure to maintain youthful appearance to be considered for more roles. Besides, they may want to make changes for life beyond the business. Does it affect their acting? I don't know. Their faces or bodies haven't pulled me out of shows or movies.

Rewatching DREAM ON

Posted 6:30 AM by Gerald So

Created by Marta Kauffman and David Crane, the raunchy HBO half-hour sitcom DREAM ON premiered four years before their NBC mega-hit FRIENDS and ran six seasons totaling 120 episodes. Brian Benben stars as New York book editor and divorced dad Martin Tupper, trying to move on as his ex-wife Judith (Wendie Malick) is engaged to fantasy man Dr. Richard Stone.

Old TV and movie cuts depicting Martin's thinking are the show's signature. Casual sex is the show's point in part, but it is cleverly shot. Despite the double entendre of tupper, Martin packs condoms and an unassuming way you imagine would be widely appealing.

While most of Martin's sex partners appear only once, their chemistry is often more than physical attraction. I remember some vividly. Martin tries a few commitments during the series, but remains tacitly in love with Judith.

The first two seasons got a 2004 DVD set. The full series only recently reunited on The Roku Channel.

Here's an interview with Brian Benben from Fresh Air with Terry Gross, dated October 26, 1994.

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Shifting Gears

Posted 6:00 AM by Gerald So

Premiered on ABC January 8, SHIFTING GEARS is a new sitcom starring Tim Allen and Kat Dennings as combative father and daughter Matt and Riley Parker, reunited after Matt has been widowed and Riley's marriage has broken up.

While I can and have left Tim Allen, my esteem for Kat Dennings is boundless. I also like the show's supporting players Seann William Scott and Daryl "Chill" Mitchell.


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Facing Reality with Fiction

Posted 5:30 AM by Gerald So

Getting away from the reality of the election with a story, book, or TV show seems futile in one way, but in another it's important. In fiction, good usually wins in the very end. Core principles are upheld. Yes, this may not happen in life. See Tuesday's example. But if our principles exist and justice prevails only in fiction, at least they do there, reminding us that individuals and the people at large can make crucial, good decisions. Even one person who carries this into reality makes a difference.

NCIS: ORIGINS So Far

Posted 7:30 AM by Gerald So

I think the show is well done enough. Kyle Schmid, Austin Stowell, and Robert Taylor bring their well-known characters to life.

I'm not sure we need a darker NCIS set in a bygone era. NCIS: ORIGINS replaced NCIS: HAWAII but hasn't done as well as HAWAII in the ratings. I think Gibbs' story was told thoroughly enough in the nineteen seasons Mark Harmon starred in NCIS. Obviously CBS disagrees.

FOX's MURDER IN A SMALL TOWN

Posted 11:30 AM by Gerald So

This new show piqued my interest because it stars Kristin Kreuk and because it's adapted from a book series (by the late L.R. Wright). Rossif Sutherland plays former big city cop Karl Alberg, who moves to the seaside town of Gibsons hoping to de-stress. He becomes the police chief, but unlike Jesse Stone and others, he's not haunted or plagued by hindering hangups.

Refreshing, too, Kreuk doesn't play a deputy to Alberg with whom he begins a forbidden romance; she plays a librarian only connected to the culprits because everyone lives in Gibsons.

Like COLUMBO, MURDER IN A SMALL TOWN reveals culprits early and spends the rest of its time fleshing them out as people. This is a slower-paced, character-driven show that almost seems out of place on broadcast TV today. I'm glad it's on, though, and I hope it stays.

The first episode guest-starred James Cromwell, and the fourth episode guest-starred Erica Durance.


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The Misdirection of MATLOCK

Posted 8:30 AM by Gerald So

Sunday night CBS gave a sneak peek of its Matlock series starring Kathy Bates. Madeline Matlock presents herself as a do-gooder attorney cheated and mistreated by her ex-husband and in need of money as a result.

She hustles her way into a job with a New York firm and proceeds to help the firm with a case. Toward the end of the pilot, though, we learn "Matty" is not at all who she appeared to be.

I'll leave it at that to avoid spoilers. Clever as the twist was, I felt egregiously hoodwinked, made to empathize and root for Matty based on an utterly false backstory, down to her use of the earnest, folksy Matlock name. This show shouldn't be called MATLOCK.

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ABC's HIGH POTENTIAL

Posted 7:30 AM by Gerald So

Based on the French TV series HPI, ABC's HIGH POTENTIAL sees Kaitlin Olson play Morgan, single mother and night janitor for the LAPD. In the pilot, Morgan happens to spot a problem on an investigation board and alters the board to point police in the right direction. This annoys the lead detective (Daniel Sunjata) but impresses his superior (Judy Reyes). Under pressure from recent department failures, the boss orders him to work with Morgan.

The pilot depicts the friction between the police and Morgan and between Morgan's home life and potential new work. The show reminds me of MONK and PSYCH, but just as Adrian Monk is different from Shawn Spencer, Morgan is different from both, and I think Olson will keep her engaging.

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Stephen Amell auditioned for Young Gibbs in NCIS: ORIGINS

Posted 5:00 PM by Gerald So

Hard to believe he was passed over.

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James Earl Jones Dies

Posted 1:00 AM by Gerald So

James Earl Jones died Monday aged 93. My favorite of his performances was Admiral James Greer in THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER, PATRIOT GAMES, and CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER. His influence in the role is felt in Morgan Freeman's THE SUM OF ALL FEARS character Bill Cabot and Wendell Pierce's JACK RYAN TV series character, field operative James Greer.

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James Darren Dies

Posted 12:00 N by Gerald So

Actor, director, and singer James Darren died yesterday at 88. I'll remember him most fondly for playing Vic Fontaine, the self-aware, holographic 20th century Vegas lounge singer who helped Odo and Kira act on their feelings on STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE.

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THE UNION

Posted 5:30 AM by Gerald So

After failing to retrieve a stolen cache of spy identities, Roxanne Hall (Halle Berry) recruits her high school flame Mike McKenna (Mark Wahlberg) to help her buy the cache at a black market auction.

I was considerably against watching THE UNION after Wahlberg's stinging 2020 Spenser reimagining. Then I read a positive review and thought why not? He'd be playing a character to whom I had no attachment, and I like Halle Berry. The movie also features J.K. Simmons, Mike Colter, Jackie Earle Haley, Dana Delany, and Lorraine Bracco as characters whose most distinctive qualities are the names playing them.

The movie feels action-heavy, character-light, yet long enough I wondered why time wasn't spent on character. If it had been, I might have cared more about the people possibly being villains, being doublecrossed and killed. On the other hand, if the movie had been twenty minutes shorter, I might've liked it as a breezy romp.

As it is, I think I happened upon the one positive review and it misled me. Despite Wahlberg I didn't hate THE UNION, but it doesn't stand out in the pack of PG-13 B-spy flicks or in Wahlberg's or Berry's bodies of work.


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Gender, Genealogy, and Attitude Swaps in Film and TV

Posted 6:30 AM by Gerald So

I am open to creators changing characters' gender or genealogy to tell stories relatable to their changing audience. Some examples I think worked particularly well are Kara "Starbuck" Thrace (Katee Sackhoff) from the 2004 reimagining of BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, Sam and Lois Lane (Joel de la Fuente and Alice Lee) from 2023's MY ADVENTURES WITH SUPERMAN, and Oswalda Cobblepot (Minnie Driver) and James and Barbara Gordon (Eric Morgan Stuart and Krystal Joy Brown) from BATMAN: CAPED CRUSADER.

It's helpful and most fair to view any reimagining as if you haven't seen previous versions. If you didn't know Starbuck or The Penguin had been a male character, you wouldn't think, He's supposed to be male. You would judge the reimagining in its own right.

In my previous post about BATMAN: CAPED CRUSADER, I mentioned some of its reimagining seemed shallow. I was mainly alluding to its depiction of Dr. Harleen Quinzel (Jamie Chung)'s Harley Quinn persona. As originated by Arleen Sorkin in BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES, her demeanor as psychiatrist Quinzel was staid and professional; as Joker's sidekick Quinn, bold and bubbly. CAPED CRUSADER, on the other hand, has a bubbly Quinzel amd a laconic Quinn, appearently not influenced by Joker.

What's the point of an impassive clown? What drove this Quinzel to become Harley Quinn? In BTAS, Joker manipulated his asylum therapy sessions with Quinzel, driving her crazy in love with him. CAPED CRUSADER's Quinn has no such plausible origin so far.

She is revealed in the episode "The Stress of Her Regard," whuch sees her capture and manipulate several patients in the campy fashion of the 1960s Adam West BATMAN. A few BCC episodes experiment with tone, like "Night Ride," showcasing Gentleman Ghost as a bona fide evil spirit, eventually trapped by voodoo priest Papa Midnite. However, only "The Stress of Her Regard" strays too far from BCC's overall noir tone.


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BATMAN: CAPED CRUSADER

Posted 9:30 AM by Gerald So

As a fan of BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES, I followed word of this new show from the beginning. Originally in development for HBO Max, it promised to be even grittier than its inspiration. At first I thought it would be new adventures of Batman as portrayed by Kevin Conroy. When Warner Bros. merged with Discovery and Conroy died from cancer, I wasn't sure the show would land elsewhere, but I'm glad it did.

With its more defined 1930s–40s period, BATMAN: CAPED CRUSADER mirrors the film noir of the time. Almost every major character leads a double life. While the show isn't serialized and each episode showcases a different rogue, there is character development in the course of the season.

Some of the characters have been gender-, ethnicity-, or attitude-swapped from their original portrayals. Some of this plays to good effect; some of it seems shallow. The show may stand out most because characters die, I think to demonstrate they can die. In some cases I felt they should've had more time, but I was supposed to feel that.


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MOONLIGHTING

Posted 10:30 AM by Gerald So

Despite my lifelong fondness for private eye fiction, I'm not a fan of MOONLIGHTING, I think mostly because I dislike Cybill Shepherd and Bruce Willis as the stars, but also because the show plays with tone so broadly.

Now streaming on Tubi, it's interesting to look back at Willis right before his movie breakout, long hefore aphasia forced him to retire. I hear how clever the dialogue is. I would appreciate it whoever played Maddie and David.

Creator Glenn Gordon Caron wrote the role of Maddie for Shepherd and fought the network to cast Willis as David Addison, but if the show had different stars who got along better, if Caron had run things more efficiently, it might have yielded more than sixty-seven episodes and five seasons.


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Bob Newhart dies at 94

Posted 11:00 PM by Gerald So

Deadpan is my favorite comedy. It doesn't seem to seek laughs all along. Adding surprise, only when fully delivered do you see how funny it is. Bob Newhart was a master of deadpan and a presence you couldn't duplicate. As an audience, we're so fortunate he lived and entertained so long.

It's hard to believe he didn't win an Emmy until his 80s, for guest-starring on THE BIG BANG THEORY as Professor Proton Arthur Jeffries. In life, unlike Bill Cosby, he was the husband and father figure he appeared to be, someone who perfectly fit the description "the genuine article."


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Shannen Doherty dies at 53

Posted 5:00 PM by Gerald So

Shannen Doherty died yesterday after nine years battling breast cancer that spread to her bones and brain. Not a fan of teen melodrama, I avoided 90210, but enjoyed Doherty in MALLRATS and CHARMED. Living bravely with cancer is surely her legacy, but I'm glad she's free and no longer has to fight. Rest in peace.


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Cherchez les films

Posted 7:00 AM by Gerald So

You may remember ABC's 1985–'88 SPENSER: FOR HIRE fondly, but Robert B. Parker didn't love it. According to Jeremiah Healy's tribute essay "Bob, Boston, and Me: A Remembrance" from the 2012 collection IN PURSUIT OF SPENSER, Parker disliked Robert Urich's casting from the start. He gave in when he was offered the alternative, Erik Estrada.

Urich and Avery Brooks reprised their roles in four 1993–'95 Lifetime movies (SPENSER: CEREMONY, SPENSER: PALE KINGS AND PRINCES, SPENSER: THE JUDAS GOAT, SPENSER: A SAVAGE PLACE), but the other regulars (Susan Silverman, Frank Belson, and Martin Quirk) were recast. Parker and his wife Joan were credited with the screenplays, but when they watched the finished movies, they claimed to recognize nothing from their scripts.

From 1999 to 2001, A&E gave Parker full creative control of three movies: SPENSER: SMALL VICES, THIN AIR, and WALKING SHADOW. Joe Mantegna was cast as Spenser. Some said miscast. Parker, however, approved, saying Mantegna had read his books and could act like Spenser. (Since that casting, Mantegna has been the Spenser audiobook reader.) Parker's words indeed played onscreen, but the movies weren't the snappy perfection you'd hope. Parker's prose could be mannered at times. Hearing all the actors speak this way betrayed the fact he put the words in their mouths. TV series, by contrast, use writers' rooms led by showrunners, everyone working to make the characters spontaneous and distinct.

Shiek Mahmud-Bey plays Hawk in SPENSER: SMALL VICES. He has Golden Gloves boxing experience, but unlike the books, where Hawk is Spenser's age, Mahmud-Bey is about twenty years Mantegna's junior. A better match is Luis Guzman as Spenser's similarly lethal friend Chollo in THIN AIR. Finally, Hawk is recast with Ernie Hudson in WALKING SHADOW, leaving the actors no chance to improve their chemistry, the secret sauce of Spenser stories.

The Joe Mantegna Spenser movies stand out because they weren't distributed on home video as widely or for as long as other adaptations of Parker's work. SPENSER: FOR HIRE is available on DVD from Warner Archive and streaming on Roku and Tubi. The four Urich Spenser movies got a DVD set from Rykodisc. The nine Tom Selleck Jesse Stone movies are on DVD from Sony and streaming on Roku, Tubi, and Pluto TV. The 2008 APPALOOSA film is on DVD from Warner Bros. and streaming on Max. 2020's SPENSER CONFIDENTIAL is on Netflix.

Of the Mantegna movies, only SMALL VICES was released on VHS in the United States. THIN AIR got a DVD release internationally, I believe. Bottom line, the Mantegna movies were hard to find, but I found them on YouTube the other day. If you're curious, search them out and let me know what you think.


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MY ADVENTURES WITH SUPERMAN Renewed for Season 3

Posted 2:00 PM by Gerald So

I'm glad to see this, never mind Season 2's Brainiac storyline isn't my favorite. It rivals Season 1's cleverness. I've just seen Brainiac's brainwashing, collecting m.o. enough for my taste. (I'm less than three months shy of the Big 5-0.)

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