Star Trek TNG: More of Season 4

Two character studies begin the next batch of episodes:

• In "The Loss", Troi's empathic abilities desert her. It turns into a standard medical drama, with Deanna going through the stages of grief like a newly blind person ("I'll be fine"--"get off my back"--what am i going to do?"). Finally, after some speeches from Picard, Riker, and Guinan, she decides to trust her human instincts--and just in time. She saves the ship from two-dimensional beings dragging the ship into a "cosmic string".
• "Data's Day" covers a day on the ship from the android's point of view. It's a rare look into the life of the ship's crew. We see the ship's barber shop, gift shop (what is this--a mall?), and have a dancing lesson with Beverly. The lesson is particularly amusing. Data can immediately pick up Crusher's lessons, although at one point we cut away to to a shot of their feet--Spiner can't keep up with McFadden, since she's a professional dancer in real life. We also meet Data's cat Spot, and a Vulcan ambassador who takes them into the neutral zone--she ends up being a Romulan spy (the Vulcan, not the cat--I could have skipped that part of the storyline). Then, it's the marriage of O'Brien and Keiko (Rosalind Chao, in her first appearance). Data is the "father" of the bride. We end up the day with the birth of a baby boy.
• "The Wounded" introduces the Cardassians, the main bad guys in the later DS9 series. The Cardassian captain is played by Marc Alaimo, who also played the first Romulan seen on TNG, and went onto a recurring role on DS9. O'Brien gets a big role in this episode, as his character has a history with the Cardassians. There's also a showdown with a Starfleet captain (Bob Gunton) who attacked Cardassians with little reason (following the rule that all Starfleet personnel not on the Enterprise are idiots or crazy).
• "Devil's Due" is a rewrite of an unused script from the aborted "Star Trek: Phase II" series, which means it was designed for Kirk, and it shows. A civilization is being threatened by a mythological devil (played by Marta DuBois) who appears to have magical powers. She even visits him in his quarters! Picard is convinced she's a con artist, using a transporter and holographic projection. So, he plays Daniel Webster (with Data's help) and takes her to court. In the end, Picard outcons the "Devil".
• We start "Clues" with the crew enjoying some leisure time--Picard is playing Dixon Hill, this time with Guinan. Both are doing horrible Noo Yawk accents for some reason. A wormhole appears that knocks everyone out (except for Data) for 30 seconds--no one is hurt. As they continue on, a number of minor mysteries keep popping up, indicating that a whole day elapsed while they were out--this makes Data a possible suspect. Picard decides to investigate, going back to the "scene of the crime". Troi goes to Data, sounding like a female Barry White. It turns out that an alien race doesn't want anyone to know about them--the wormhole was a ruse. Because Data wasn’t knocked out, he woke up the crew, and found Troi taken over by the aliens. They announce the ship must be destroyed, but if this happens, other ships will investigate. They come to a compromise--clean up the clues, knock out the crew again, and zapping their memories. Picard orders Data to keep it quiet. A bizarre episode.

Star Trek: The Next Generation is available on Netflix--more to come!

Hogan's Heroes - Part 20

More of Season 5...

• The boys have to get weather reports to the Allies for a bombing run. So, they run a series of more and more ludicrous gags to send up balloons, ending in an anniversary party for Klink in "How's the Weather?" Shockingly, Klink actually starts suspecting something, which makes it even harder to pull off. In the end, Hogan gets Klink to guide the bombers via radio.
• Burkhalter's decided all Kommandants need to "Get Fit or Go Fight"--at the Russiian Front. Unfortunately, Hogan needs Klink to live it up in town in order to get critical plans to the allies. So, the boys try to get him into shape--although Carter has to step in as the german doctor, and Hogan has to step in as Klink for the real doctor.
• Guess who's coming to Stalag 13? Reich Marshall Goehring, along with a train of stolen paintings--and Marya (Nita Talbot). She plans to use Schultz as Goehrings' double. As usual, she doesn't let Hogan in on the plan--Goehring was never coming, and plans to use the boys to move the paintings off the train. Hochstedder is in the mix as well. Banner does a great Goehring (as if I would know). It's all in "Fat Hermann, Go Home".
• There's a boxing tournament at Stalag 13, and Kinchloe is the opponent. Like always, It's a ruse to get secret plans. Burkhalter orders Klink to make sure the Nazi wins--even by cheating. It's "The Softer They Fall". Hovis plays up the boxing announcer role.
• Burkhalter's niece is getting married, and Hogan becomes a wedding crasher to get information to an agent in "Gowns by Yvette". Of course, "Yvette" is LeBeau--Newkirk does the actual work--and they make a gown for the bride while Hogan meets with the informant. The agent gets nabbed by the Gestapo, so now they have to free him as well--Schultz steps in as the bride's double. The niece is played by Muriel Landers, seen in a number of TV comedy roles in the 1960's, and the groom is Mr. Whipple (Dick Wilson).
• On an underground mission, Carter gets lost--in a German uniform. He ends up in the German army! He apparently forgot it's "One Army at a Time". He gets a commendation and a promotion--for the wrong side. Hogan uses him to get back their dynamite, and Carter drives a tank to finish the job. Hovis really gets a chance to shine in this episode. At one point, they lay on the sound effects a bit too thick to indicate a cold night, and it sounds like Superman's in the area.

Walter Janowitz played Schnitzer the dog catcher on 12 episodes of the show, as well as a peddler on one episode. He had guest roles from the 60's to the 80's including Mister Ed, I Spy, Barney Miller, and WKRP in Cincinnati. 

We'll finish up Season 5 next time. Remember, you can play along! The DVD box set is available on Amazon.

Star Trek TNG: Season 4 Continues

Season 4 rolls on...

• Has Dr. Crusher goes cuckoo? Her old mentor comes on the ship, then mysteriously disappears. Then, more and more crew members are gone--but the remaining members and the ship's computers say everything is fine. It's all because of a warp experiment Wesley is running (stupid Wesley!). Eventually, it's down to Dr. Crusher and Picard--and then he's gone. Beverly figures out she's inside a warp bubble--and it's shrinking to the point the "universe" is smaller than the ship! Meanwhile, in the real universe, Wesley contacts "The Traveler" from an earlier episode, and together they use magic and gobbledygook to create a doorway between the worlds in "Remember Me". Gates McFadden does a great job as paranoid, then fearful, then resolute.
• A Federation ship crashes on Tasha Yar's home planet in "Legacy", so it's the Enterprise to the rescue. The planet is in shambles after a long war. They happen to run into Ishara Yar, Tasha's sister (played by Beth Toussaint). She supposedly wants to help them, but of course she's really working for her old Cadre. She also gets a chance to demo Seven of Nine's catsuit fashion. This episode is significant in that once it aired, TNG surpassed TOS in terms of longevity. There's a reference in the show to "Camus II", which was the planet in the final TOS episode "Turnabout Intruder".
• K'Ehleyr (Suzie Plakson) is back with her--and Worf's--son (Jon Paul Steuer) in "Reunion". She's there to meet with Picard--the Klingons are near civil war, and the current Chancellor (played by Charles Cooper) is hear death. He's been poisoned, and wants Picard to determine who will succeed him--and to find out who killed him. The bad guy Duras (Patrick Massett) is one of the candidates, and the other is the Barney Google-eyed Gowron (Robert O'Reilly). There's the normal Klingon ceremony and an assassination attempt. K'Ehleyr is also snooping around to find out why Worf was officially shunned by the Empire (as seen in a previous episode), since Worf is using that as a reason to refuse to perform the mating ritual with her. For her efforts, she is killed by Duras. Worf retaliates, killing Duras with his bat'leth. With no other candidate, Gowron becomes Chancellor. Worf sends his son to live with his adopted parents.
• In "Future Imperfect", Riker gets pulled away with from a birthday party to lead an away team to a planet's cavern--a possible old Romulan base. The team is quickly overcome with fumes, and Riker awakens to realize that 16 years has passed--he's now the captain. Crusher gives him some medical doubletalk about a weird virus that makes him lose his memory. Admiral Picard shows up and tells him that a Romulan - Federation peace treaty is imminent, with Riker needing to be front and center. He also meets his son (Chris Demetral), playing the trombone. Of course, it's all a ruse--he's on a Romulan holodeck. They wanted to get info on a secret base. Riker figures it out when he sees his old holodeck girlfriend as his now dead wife, and Data uses a contraction. Then he realizes he's in yet another fantasy--by an alien child who just wanted him to stick around. There's a lot of grey hair and different hairstyles in the episode, along with slightly different uniforms.
• It's Wesley's "Final Mission" (YAY!). He's been accepted at the Academy, but first he's going with Picard on a mission. The Enterprise has to go on a rescue mission, so they are forced to use an alien shuttle (why not use an Enterprise shuttle?), which ends up crashing on a desert planet. They make it to a cave, but Picard is injured while saving Wesley from a cave-in caused by bizarre energy. Wesley manages to get the water they need, but not before Stewart and Wheaton give their audition monologues. Also, the planet shots on this episode look particularly cheap--like beach balls.

Star Trek: The Next Generation is available on Netflix--more to come!

Hogan's Heroes - Part 19

Hogan Season 5 continues...

• Klink's getting blackmailed by a Gestapo agent due an incriminating "Big Picture", so the boys have to sneak out to a hotel to get the negative. Sandy Kenyon plays the blackmailer. He served in the US Army Air Corps in WWII, had recurring roles on the Dick Van Dyke Show, and was a familiar face on TV from the 50's to the 80's. He passed away in 2010.
• There's a top secret device on a crashed plane, and Hogan needs to get it--how? Set up a casino in Stalag 13--it's "The Big Gamble". They switch the device with a fake one while the Nazi scientist (Chet Stratton) plays roulette. This episode also introduces the long-running "Winter Relief" subplot--Klink's the local chairman.
• Two recurring guests--Harold J. Stone and Arlene Martel--play a defecting Field Marshal and his secretary in the obviously named "The Defector". Of course, Hogan and the boys have to get him out of Germany. Hochstedder shows up to increase the level of difficulty. One Field Marshal in the cooler and a blown up car later... I love Howard Caine's facial expressions during this episode.
• It's another Nazi with a briefcase chained to his wrist--this it's Parley Baer, better known his "country" roles such as The Andy Griffith Show and Petticoat Junction. Hogan wants the briefcase, so he cons Klink and Hochstedder that an enemy agent has come into camp via "The Empty Parachute". Once they get the case, Hogan realizes it's booby trapped, so they call London for help.  There's a rare dramatic moment while Hogan disarms the bomb.
• There's vital Allied info that needs to get all over Europe, so the obvious answer is to get Klink into the cuckoo clock business. While he gets "The Antique" business started, Burkhalter's worried that Klink's going to get bumped off (he would be next). It ends with a load of clocks in a closet, a suspicious general, and a wet Klink. It's a great episode for Leon Askin. 
• Berlin Betty (Antoinette Bower, returning to the show) drops by Stalag 13 to find out "Is There a Traitor in the House?". We've been over this storyline before--this time, it's Newkirk that acts as the traitor, in order to use her broadcast to get a message to the Allies.
• Burkhalter assigns Klink to guard an experimental nuclear plant (?!?!), and Hogan wants to know where it is. To find out, they give Schultz truth serum--but he only tells them about food. Well, "At Last--Schultz Knows Something". They figure it out though, and pose as farmers to use potato bombs to take out the plant.       

Ben Wright played multiple bad guys on the show, including on "The Big Gamble" episode. His prolific career began in radio, and was considered a dialect expert, including Indian, Chinese, Cockney, and Arabian. He was Herr Zeller in The Sound of Music, had guest roles on The Twilight Zone, Get Smart, and My Three Sons, and did a great deal of voice work, especially in Disney films. His last role was in The Little Mermaid in 1989, the year he passed away.    

More of Season 5 next time. Remember, you can play along! The DVD box set is available on Amazon.

Star Trek TNG: Season 4 Begins

We begin with the conclusion of the big cliffhanger...

• "The Best of Both Worlds" begins with Riker's desperate gambit. Unfortunately, it's useless--now that the Borg have Picard (now called Locutus), they know everything Picard knows, so they are ready. The Borg continue toward Earth, Riker is made Captain, Shelby is made First Officer, and the Federation braces for the attack. The last item doesn't go well--the fleet is taken out easily. Riker comes up with a complicated plan that retrieves Locutus (it involves losing a shuttle--they seem to have an unlimited budget for those). Data and Dr. Crusher figure out they can interface with Locutus, and send a signal back to the Collective. Data puts them to sleep just as Riker is about to ram the Borg cube. Picard is extricated from the Borg implants, and all is well--or is it?
• The big crossover is followed by "Family"--a character driven episode (I'm sure they needed an inexpensive episode to counter the SFX budget of the last two). While the ship is repaired, Picard returns to France, Worf is visited by his parents (played by Theodore Bikel and Georgia Brown), and Beverly deals with a recorded message from Jack Crusher to Wesley. Picard is considering leaving Starfleet, and the relationship between Picard and his brother (played by Jeremy Kemp) is strained until they have it out--literally. Picard breaks down about how he couldn't stop the Borg from controlling him. This episode is also significant because a) Brent Spiner does not appear; b) no scene is shot on the bridge; and c) Miles O'Brien is fully named for the first time.
• Now we know why Data wasn't in the last episode, since he gets triple billing in "Brothers". Data suddenly goes nuts, taking over the bridge and sending the ship to a strange planet. It's fascinating how Data outwits Picard and the others. It turns out he was under control of his creator, Dr. Soong, also played by Spiner--it reminded Mindy of The Princess Bride (Good luck storming the castle!). Soong has also accidentally called in Data's brother Lore. Soong has an "emotion chip" to add to Data, which of course Lore gets, and then Soong dies. There's a subplot about two kids on the ship, one of whom needs emergency medical attention. I'm surprised the Federation hasn't rethought the "kids on the ship" policy, especially after the Borg attack.
• We get a so-so episode in "Suddenly Human". A small ship is rescued with some alien boys--and a human (played by Chad Allen). He was "rescued" after a raid by an alien race, and has been assimilated into their society. Of course, he's the grandson of a Federation admiral, so they particularly want him back. The alien captain (played by Sherman Howard) considers the boy to be his son. There's a subplot about child abuse, Picard trying to act as a surrogate parent, and silly flashbacks. There's also some strange blocking at the start of the episode--Troi is hanging onto the bridge railing, and then is in front of the railing facing away from the camera a few seconds later.

Star Trek: The Next Generation is available on Netflix--more to come!

Richard Dawson 1932-2012

Richard Dawson passed away yesterday at age 79 from complications related to esophageal cancer. This leaves Robert Clary as the last surviving Hogan's Heroes cast member. In lieu of a normal blog entry, I decided to repeat my earlier entry on Mr. Dawson. 

Richard Dawson (Cpl. Newkirk) came to the US after a successful career as a comedian in the UK, with his wife at the time, Diana Dors (considered to be England's answer to Marilyn Munroe). He got his big break on the Dick Van Dyke show, with several guest appearances following that. According to an interview he did for the DVD set, he originally auditioned for the role of Hogan, but it didn't work out. After Hogan's Heroes, he moved on to Laugh-In, the New Dick Van Dyke Show, and guest hosting Johnny's Carson's Tonight Show. During that time, he moved into game shows--specifically, Match Game. He became a regular, and was chosen so often for the "Super Match" that they changed the rules of the game to give others a chance. In fact, he became so popular, he was offered a hosting gig. He was on Family Feud from 1976-85, with an encore in 1994-95. He also played a version of his game show persona in the Schwarzenegger vehicle The Running Man.

Klink Meets Batman

I mentioned earlier that Werner Klemperer appeared--in character--on the Adam West Batman series. They often had cameos when the Caped Crusaders climbed up a wall. There were so many celebrities clamoring to be on the show, and there's only so many guest super villain spots to go around Here's the clip--enjoy!

Star Trek TNG: Season 3 Concludes

Season 3 concludes with a cliffhanger that changes the series (and Trek as a whole) forever.

• "Tin Man" is another character study. Guest star Harry Groener plays a Betazed who can communicate with an ancient creature that lives in space. His advanced telepathy makes him a pariah to the galaxy. Groener spends most of time in the theater, but had guest roles on three Trek series, a recurring role on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and was a regular on Dear John.
• "Hollow Pursuits" introduces Reginald Barclay to TNG. He was a needed spot of comedy on the series once Data became a more important character. Barclay is played by Dwight Schultz, who played a very different role as "Howling Mad" Murdock on The A-Team. He spends most of his time doing voice work in cartoons today. Barclay spends less time on his duties than on the holodeck with a virtual Troi. I'm curious how Geordi and Riker walk in on his holodeck fantasy--I thought Barclay would lock the door.
• A rich collector (Saul Rubineck) decides he wants Data in his collection in "The Most Toys". Data uses passive then active resistance against his foe. Rubineck had guest roles on dozens of TV shows including a recurring role on Frasier, and now plays Artie on Warehouse 13.
• Two generations unite as "Sarek" of Vulcan boards the Enterprise-D. Spock's father is leading one more diplomatic mission for the Federation. Unfortunately, a medical condition is robbing him of his emotional control, and it's infecting the crew. There's even a classic barroom fight in Ten-Forward! In the end, Picard offers to mind-meld with Sarek to give him emotional strength. Stewart gives a great performance as he processes the Vulcan's emotions. Mark Lenard reprises his role as Sarek. We'll see him again later in the series. Joanna Miles plays his second wife, Perrin (while Jane Wyatt, who played his first wife Amanda, was still alive at the time, her character would not have been by that time).
• Mix Ferengis and Lwaxana Troi, and you get wackiness. In "Menage a Troi", a Ferengi "diplomat" falls in love with Deanna's mother. Also, having a telepath on your side is a great way to make money. So, her decides to kidnap her AND Deanna AND Riker. Deanna's off duty wardrobe is as inappropriate as her uniform-looks like an 80's version of future fashion. Meanwhile, Wesley is ready to go to Starfleet Academy (yay!), but decides to stay on the ship (boo!), so Picard gives him a field promotion (huh?). At least it's the end of those ugly Wesley sweaters. Majel Barrett Roddenberry reprises the role of Lwaxana, and Ethan Phillips plays one of the Ferengi--he later plays Neelix on Voyager.
• Gates McFadden finally gets a reason to come back to the series--she wasn't getting a lot of screen time. In "Transfigurations", Dr. Crusher treats a mysterious alien with amnesia. Of course, he turns out to be a wanted criminal on his planet--poor Beverly! On the other hand, he appears to be a god-like being that can bring people back to life. Mark La Mura plays "John Doe". He's been on a lot of recent TV--Law & Order: SVU and Criminal Intent, 30 Rock, and Damages.
• We've made it to the defining moment of TNG--"The Best of Both Worlds". Considered by many to be the best Trek episode ever (certainly better than all the TNG films combined), it brings the Borg into the ongoing storyline, defines both the Picard and Riker characters, and brings us our first real cliffhanger to end the season. Riker is offered another commission as Captain, while new young officer Shelby (played by Elizabeth Dennehy) is gunning for his old job. The Borg attack, and Picard is kidnapped and turned onto a Borg. A lot of desperate weaponry changes are made, to no avail. In the end, Riker decides to take out the Borg, and....DUMM--DUMM--DUMM--TO BE CONTINUED...

Star Trek: The Next Generation is available on Netflix--more to come!

Hogan Heroes - Part 18

And we're back, moving into Hogan Season 5...

• In a highly unlikely opening (but necessary for the plot), the boys are watching a war movie in the barracks. Klink wants to make a film about the "true" Stalag 13, and can do it with his new prisoner--the star of the film. Alan Oppenheimer is back as the pompous movie star. Schultz gets to play Klink in the "film", and Burkhalter becomes the producer. Of course, it's all a diversion for sabotage activities as "Hogan Goes Hollywood".
• There's a secret codebook Hogan wants his hands on, so they send Newkirk to break into Klink's safe. Unfortunately, it ends up in "The Well". One blown up waterworks, a fake escape, and a greased up Carter later... At one point, they mention Carter has to go down half a mile into the well, and a moment later, they have to drop him back in--how does that not kill him?
• Marya is back, and she's brought along a Count! He's on his way to the Russian Front with a attache case chained to his wrist. An attempt to get the case turns into a trap, a trip, and a suicide mission for Klink and the boys--they are "The Klink Commandos". The Count is played by Frank Marth, best known for his recurring role on "The Honeymooners".
• The Nazis have opened a gas station--at Stalag 13--and the boys need to take it out in "The Gasoline War". Dawson even gets to do the little old lady bit again. Of course, there's also the prerequisite beautiful agent, played by Marianna Hill, who also was on Star Trek and appeared in the Elvis Presley film "Paradise, Hawaiian Style" among others.
• Burkhalter's sister returns--Kathleen Freeman is back in the role--so Hogan and the boys kidnap her to swap for an underground agent. It's an "Unfair Exchange". As it normally goes when Frau Linkmeyer arrives, the episode script could just as easily be used on any 60's TV show.
• Hogan uses Klink as a courier for important papers, but it doesn't go well. The Gestapo finds him with the papers, so "The Kommandant Dies at Dawn" unless the boys can spring him. The Field Marshal for the week is played by Ned Wertimer, who must have been trying out uniforms for his role of Ralph the Doorman on The Jeffersons.
• There's a new Nazi "Bombsight" that could end the war--so Hogan's got to get the plans (why do they always pick Stalag 13?). Several failed attempts later, he decides to discredit the demo instead. For a 60's sitcom, there's quite a large number of explosion effects as the camp is bombed.

Cast info:

Harold J. Stone played three roles during the series. He had hundreds of television guest roles from the 50's to the 80's, including westerns and crime shows, but only had one regular TV role--on Bridget Loves Bernie. He passed away in 2005.

More of Season 5 next time. Remember, you can play along! The DVD box set is available on Amazon.

Star Trek TNG: Season 3 Is Getting Good

In the episodes below, the show has a turning point and matures as a series.

• "Yesterday's Enterprise" is considered to be one of the best episodes of the series. The Enterprise D runs into the Enterprise C--and the timeline changes as a result. Now the Federation is in a 20 year war, and the Enterprise C needs to go back to face certain death in order to make things right. Guinan is the only one who notices the difference. One other factor--Tasha is alive in the new timeline. 
  • The other guest stars are Tricia O'Neil as the Captain Rachel Garrett and Christopher McDonald as her helmsmen, who falls in love with Tasha.
  • Tricia began work as a model, then had a number of TV roles, including both TNG and DS9, with her last role on JAS in 2001.
  • Christopher had a number of guest and regular roles including the Dean Cain Superman series, Veronica's Closet, Family Law, and Harry's Law.
• "The Offspring" is a Data-centric episode. He's created an android daughter, Lal, Of course, a stupid Starfleet "expert" wants to take her away (Starfleet members outside of the Enterprise crew are usually idiots, insane, or evil). Lal is played with great subtlety by Hallie Todd. She had a regular role on the early Showtime series "Brothers", but is best known as the TV mother of Lizzie McGuire.
• It's another officer exchange program--this time, a Klingon (played by Tony Todd) comes on the Enterprise as first officer. He also happens to be Worf's brother, and they team up to save their father's reputation on the Klingon homeworld. The episode also ties into events in Star Trek VI. Tony has had a number of TV roles, mostly on genre shows (Andromeda, Stargate, Smallville, Xena).
• Picard gets the ol' switcheroo in "Allegiance"--he's beamed to a holding cell while a doppelganger runs his ship. He's stuck with members of three other races, played by Stephen Markle, Reiner Schone, and Jocelyn O'Brien, so he has to figure out how to escape, and who's the bad guy. Meanwhile, the faux Picard is singing on Ten-Forward and dating Crusher. We even get a rare kiss between the Captain and the Doctor.
• It's a "Captain's Holiday" for a worn out Picard. Of course, it's never that simple--there's a mysterious woman named Vash (Jennifer Hetrick, later seen as the same character on DS9, and per Memory Alpha, was at one point engaged to Patrick Stewart!), a Ferengi (Max Grodenchik, later to play Rom on DS9), time travelers, and an even more mysterious disk.

Star Trek: The Next Generation is available on Netflix--more to come!

Breakfast with the Munsters

When you think of breakfast cereals, you immediately think of the Munsters. Here, Herman has some problems around 1313 Mockingbird Lane. Enjoy! 

Star Trek TNG: More Season 3

After a short hiatus, we're back with more Next Gen reviews...

• If "The Vengeance Factor" wasn't about alien warring clans, it could be a police procedural. A girl can kill specific people by touch, based on their DNA. Crusher figures it out, but Riker has fallen on love with her by that point.
• There's some powerful overacting in "The Detector", mostly by James Sloyan as the titular Romulan. He played several alien roles on various Trek series, and was the voice of the Lexus commercials until 2009. He now does commercials for Mitsubishi.
• There's a bit of star power in "The Hunted", a story of military experiments and post-traumatic stress syndrome. James Cromwell plays the prime minister. He is a prolific actor going back to the 1970s, played Zephram Cochran on Tren film and television, and recently played the butler to the lead in the Academy Award winning The Artist. Jeff McCarthy plays the soldier--he had multiple Trek roles as well as those on Broadway, including a title role in Beauty and the Beast and the musical Chicago.
• Message coming in--TNG tackles terrorism in "The High Ground". Crusher is abducted by alien separatists, who turn out to need her help to cure the side effects of a transporter variant. Their leader is played by Marc Buckland--he only had a few onscreen roles before he moved behind the camera as an executive producer.
• It's "Deja Q"--except this time he has no powers. He's been kicked out of the continuum. He needs the Enterprise's help to survive, and they need him--they've got a planet to save from a rogue moon. John De Lancie is both wacky and emotive in the role of Q. We also meet another Q, played by Corbin Bernsen. He's now on Psych.
• It's Rashomon meets holodeck in "A Matter of Perspective". Riker is accused of murder, so they generate little "plays" with different views of what happened. Take the sci-fi elements out of it, and this could be any crime series. The episode also features Picard enjoying one of his hundreds of hobbies--in this case, painting. 

The show is about to ramp up big time--some of the best episodes are coming. Star Trek: The Next Generation is available on Netflix--more to come!

Hogan's Heroes - Part 17

Repooooort! More Hogan...

• Hogan has to go to the hospital (with a fake illness) in order to meet up with a wounded agent. He's "Up in Klink's Room". Victoria Carroll plays the nurse--she had six different roles on Hogan, and then spent most of her time doing cartoon voice roles.
• Hovis gets a chance to (over)act, since he has to handle live ammo--nitroglycerine, to be exact--in "The Purchasing Plan". The only remarkable thing about this episode is the poor quality of the DVD transfer. Just the vagaries of old TV shows, I guess.
• Marya (Nita Talbot) is back--this time with Murray Slaughter (Gavin MacLeod). He's got a Nazi superweapon, and he wants Hogan to witness its use and tell the Allies about it. Of course, Marya is only interested in getting the Russian scientist (Larry D. Mann) back, so it's up to Hogan to take out the rocket in "The Witness".
• The Nazis have a new superradar, and they want to test it at--wait, don't tell me--Stalag 13. There's also a beautiful (as always) British scientist involved, played by Karen Steele. She had guest television roles from the 50's to the end of the 60's (including Star Trek). Hogan has to take our the weapon and the girl in "The Big Dish".
• It's the "Return of Major Bonacelli"--except now he's Vito Scotti. He was the go to foreign accent guy for over 40 years, including Peter Gunn, Bonanza, Twilight Zone, The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Addams Family, The Brady Bunch, Happy Days, CHiPs, and Mad About You.   Here he's a walking Italian stereotype. There's also a strange music loop in the opening credits--not sure if it was an error or actually intended.
• What do you get a colonel/superspy who has everything? An ammo dump!  Unfortunately, it's a trap, so it's no "Happy Birthday, Dear Hogan". Barbara Babcock is the guest star/beautiful underground agent. She was a mainstay on TV from the 60's to the 90's, with her last role (so far) on Judging Amy in 2004. She also had no less than 5 guest spots on Star Trek, and won an Emmy for her work on Hill Street Blues.

Cast info:

David Morick played minor guard and Gestapo roles on 17 episodes of the series. He had many guest roles from the 60's to the 80's, including The Mary Tyler Moore Show, THe Doris Day Show,  The Six Million Dollar Man, and The A-Team, with his last in Amen (1988). He passed away in 1997.

That finishes the season--onto Season 5 next time. Remember, you can play along! The DVD box set is available on Amazon. 

A Mayberry commercial

I recently brought you an early TV commercial where sitcom stars IN CHARACTER pushed a product. Here's another one, with Andy Taylor telling Opie about Post Toasties. Aunt Bee even has a line. Keep in mind the kid here is now an Academy Award winner. There are several ads from the Andy Griffith Show hawking cereal available on the web. Enjoy!

Hogan's Heroes - Part 16

Ho--GANN!! It's more of Season Four:

• LeBeau "escapes" to allow Hogan to go "capture" him, so that they can sabotage a Nazi war plant in "Man in a Box". The result is Schultz tailing Hogan, and Klink tailing Schultz--all in trench costs. It's like an episode of Get Smart.
• Hogan has a plan to kidnap Burkhalter and then trade him for an underground agent prisoner. Unfortunately, it all goes wrong, and Klink becomes the prisoner--he's "The Missing Klink"! There's several great scenes with Askin and Caine--they are rarely together without Klemperer.
• Klink's getting an award for his great work as a Kommandant, and he's getting it from a British defector.  Unfortunately, Hogan has orders to take out the defector. Klink wants to know "Who Stole My Copy of Mein Kampf?" The defector is played by Ruta Lee. She's worked in TV since an episode of "The Adventures of Superman" in 1953, and was just on Days of Our Lives.
• A beautiful general's daughter (what else?) is also an underground agent, and wants Hogan to get "Operation Hannibal" plans to the Allies. Jack Riley (Mr. Carlin on the Bob Newhart Show) has a minor role. The only memorable thing about the episode is the poor art direction. There's a shot of an estate that is a photograph with the "Ken Burns" effect, and on multiple shots behind Crane at the Stalag, the background is clearly a painting.
• Klink and Schultz try to set up Hogan with a Baroness in order to get his secrets.  Of course, he's not fooled--he uses her to fool Hochstedder with fake invasion plans. He's "My Favorite Prisoner". John Orchard plays a British agent--he played three roles on the series, and later was "Ugly John" in the early episodes of M*A*S*H.
• We're back in generic sitcom territory--Burkhalter's sister is back, and Hogan has to help Klink get out of marrying her. This time, however, she is played by Alice Ghostley. She was a staple of 60's TV, appearing on Get Smart, It Takes a Thief, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, and most importantly, Bewitched. She played Esmerelda, they shy witch / babysitter.         

Cast info:

John Stephenson played eight different roles on the series. He guest starred on many TV shows from the 1950's (My Little Margie), 60's (Beverly Hillbillies), 70's (Lou Grant), and 80's (The Incredible Hulk). However, when you hear his voice, you'll be reminded of Saturday morning. He was and is a staple for the Hanna-Barbera cartoons. Mr. Slate, Doggie Daddy, most of the bad guys from Scooby Doo, characters from Jonny Quest, and many other authority figures--here's a list. His latest role from IMDB is a Scooby-Doo video from 2010. He has never given interviews and has rarely been seen in public.

John Hoyt played seven Hogan roles. He was a member of Orson Welles' Mercury Theatre, and at one point was a nightclub entertainer doing impersonations. Was on both the original Star Trek and original Battlestar Galactica. He had many TV guest roles going back to it's earliest days--Racket Squad, The Danny Thomas Show, The Life of Riley, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Untouchables, The Twilight Zone, Petticoat Junction--all the way to Gimme a Break in 1982. He also managed to get roles on both the original Star Trek (he was the doctor in the pilot) and the original Battlestar Galactica. He passed away in 1991.

Hogan's Heroes - Part 15

Achtung! More Season Four...

• Hogan's working with a beautiful underground agent (is there any other kind?), but she might be a double agent. Marj Dusay plays the agent--while she had many guest roles (including the worst episode of Star Trek and two other Hogan roles), she is best known for her 16 years of work on the soap Guiding Light.
• Another guest star in the episode is Ned Glass, who plays the grocery store owner.  His career goes back to the Three Stooges, as well as a recurring role on Gunsmoke, and continued through to 1981.
• A very naive (I'm going to call him dumb) foreign correspondent decides it's a great idea to publicize what Hogan and the boys are doing under Stalag 13. He doesn't name the camp, but it's more than enough to get Hochstedder involved. He sends in a ringer--there's a new guard that's also a spy. You may recognize both guests:
  • The correspondent is played by Richard Erdman, who's had TV guest roles since the 1950's, and currently plays Leonard on the cult show Community (Go Human Beings!)
  • The guard/spy is played by James B. Sikking, who played three different roles on the series, but is best known for his work on Hill Street Blues
• There's agents, double agents, poison rings, snipers, important briefcases--it's another Mission: Impossible episode. Actually, it's a Bad Day in Berlin". This episode is crawling with famous faces as guest stars--stay tuned.
• The Blue Baron (a famous WWI pilot) is in town, and Hogan wants to know where his secret airbase is. How? Get Klink to throw a party in "Will the Blue Baron Strike Again?".  This otherwise minor episode has three interesting points: 
  • Cpl. Langenscheidt covers for Schultz--John Banner missed this episode
  • One of the dancing girls is played by Cynthia Lynn aka Helga from season one
  • The budget must have run out--the "airfield" looks like it has cardboard planes

Cast info:

Arlene Martel (Tiger) played an underground agent in 7 episodes of the show (she also had the character names of Gretchen and Olga). She was born in the slums of the Bronx, but her mother's boss covered the costs for Arlene to attend a Connecticut boarding school. She attended New York's High School of the Performing Arts, and started her career in the Broadway production of "Uncle Willie" at age 16. She went to Hollywood and began television roles including The Twilight Zone, Route 66, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Mission Impossible, The Rockford Files, and Knot's Landing. Her talent with dialects came in very handy. Of course, there's also a Star Trek connection--she played T'Pring! Her latest role was on Brothers and Sisters in 2010.

Remember, you can play along! The DVD box set is available on Amazon. 

Reminder - Free Comic Book Day 2012

It's finally here--Free Comic Book Day is tomorrow!

This is an effort by the comic book industry to bring in new customers--especially younger ones--by selling special FCBD books to retailers as a low price, so that they can in turn be handed out as, well, free comics.

Mindy and I will have a booth at Packrat Comics in Hilliard, OH.  If you'll be in the area, we would love for you to stop by and say hello.

Packrat does an outstanding job both publicizing and running the event--it's like a mini-convention. Noel Fisher from Twilight and Randy from a Christmas Story will be there as well. You can also pick up one of the free comics available that day.

If not you're not local to Central Ohio, be sure to check out the FCBD site, They have a locator on the front page to help you find a local participating retailer.

Don't forget--it's tomorrow, May 5, 2012.  Have fun!

TV Pet Peeves - The Today Show

I thought I would use this forum to bring up some of my "pet peeves" regarding television. My first entry is about the Today Show on NBC.

I generally watch this when I'm getting ready for work, and like most shows of this type, it's fairly formulaic. For example, when 7:30a Eastern rolls around, I know it's time for the "missing blonde girl and/or baby" story. However, that's not what annoys me.

All morning news shows are obsessed with getting "exclusives"--someone to come on the show who isn't on the other shows--at least not yet. I understand that from the news and rating perspective. What bugs me is that the writers or producers of the Today Show don't understand how to use "exclusive" correctly in a sentence.

• Correct: "We have an exclusive interview with Bob Smith"

• Incorrect 1: "Bob Smith is here exclusively"
  • I assume this means Bob is not bi-locating, he is in fact only in their studio, has not broken the laws of physics, and is not astrally projecting himself to GMA.

• Incorrect 2: "We are speaking to Bob Smith exclusively"
  • That's good--it would be very difficult to understand if you held two different interviews at the same time.

 Here's a recent example--listen for "exclusive" being used incorrectly at 0:12.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Hogan's Heroes - Part 14

We're moving onto Season 4...

• Schultz accidentally sees something he shouldn't have seen, and now he's off to the Eastern Front. It's a "Clearance Sale at the Black Market". Murray Slaughter--sorry, Gavin MacLeod returns as the heavy that the boys have to blackmail.
• To get an electronics expert out of Germany, Hogan turns a rabbit trap into a high tech secret in "Klink vs. the Gonculator". Noam Pitlik guest stars--he had dozens of TV roles including one of Bob Hartley's regular patients on "The Bob Newhart Show", and then became a prolific TV director. There's some great interplay between Klemperer, Banner, and Askin in this episode.
• Newkirk subs for Hogan at an Underground meeting--unfortunately, it's a trap---"How to Catch a Papa Bear". The guest star Fay Spain will also be seen in a Season 5 Hogan episode. She had TV roles from the 1950's to the 1970's.
• Crittendon's back! Now he's taking over Underground efforts in "Hogan's Trucking Service...We Deliver the Factory to You". To be honest, they've turned Crittendon into an unbelievable buffoon by this point in the series. For a moment, I thought I was watching F Troop.
• The Gestapo's given up on violence--they've decided to use feminine wiles on our boys in "To the Gestapo with Love". One of the three "interrogators" was played by Sabrina Scharf, also seen in a Star Trek episode (I am Kirok!). There's a cut in the opening credits of this episode--perhaps it was running long?
• We're back in generic sitcom territory--the boys adopt a dog, Hogan has to hide a roll of film in the dog's bone, and the dog buries it.  Now they have to follow the dog around the camp to get it back in "Man's Best Friend is Not His Dog". Mr. Whipple (Dick Wilson) is back a as a prison camp inspector.

Cast info:

Jon Cedar (Corp. Langenscheidt) was the bumbling guard who acted as Schultz' backup--he appeared 17 times on the series. Cedar served in WWII in Italy, then toured in off-Broadway and traveling productions including South Pacific and Irma La Douce. His television roles outside of Hogan included Matlock, Barnaby Jones  Moonlighting, The Rockford Files, and Murder, She Wrote. Film roles included Foxy Brown, Capricorn One, and The Condorde...Airport '79. He also produced the horror film The Manitou in 1978. He passed away in 2011.

Remember, you can play along! The DVD box set is available on Amazon. 

Star Trek TNG: Season 3 Continues

We work further into Season 3 of Next Gen...

• The producers must have decided to amp up Troi's sex appeal--she's now wearing a light blue gown that's rather revealing.
• In "The Survivors", an elderly couple are the only remaining citizens of a planet that was attacked by mysterious aliens. Marina Sirtis performs some truly Shatnerian overacting during a telepathic attack.
• To hell with the Prime Directive! The Enterprise comes to the aid of scientists studying Bronze-Age humanoids, and end up creating a religion around Picard in "Who Watches the Watchers". Ray Wise is the prophet of the group--he's hardly recognizable here. You normally see him as a mob guy in an expensive suit.
• It's another touchy-feely episode when an officer is killed in an away mission, leaving behind a 12 year old orphan. There's a lot of people sitting around talking and lots of drama in "The Bonding".
• LaForge needs to save the ship from an ancient snare, so he does the obvious thing--he whips up a holographic scientist to be his girlfriend in "Booby Trap". She's one of the main designers of the ship's engine. Susan Gibney plays the girlfriend--this was one of her early TV roles. She later had a role on ST: DS9, tried out for the roles of Janeway and Seven of Nine from ST: Voyager, then went on to CSI, Crossing Jordan, and Lost.
• LeVar Burton gets another chance to shine in "The Enemy". Geordi is left   injured on a planet during an away mission, so he works together with a Romulan to save themselves. Also, Picard gives a big military speech--which he's good at.
• Troi falls in love with a man negotiating for a "stable" wormhole in "The Price". It turns out he's part -Betazoid, and uses that to manipulate his competitors--and Troi. Matt McCoy plays the negotiator--he has roles going back to the early 80's, was on Seinfeld, The West Wing, and Carnivale, and was just on the new series Touch.

Season 3 continues next time. Star Trek: The Next Generation is available on Netflix--more to come!