Monthly Archives: October 2006

I have no idea exactly when it happened but something called "The Reelz Channel" recently snuck its way into my TV channel lineup. I have DirecTV, which runs it on Channel 225 and it's supposed to also be on Channel 299 over at The Dish Network. It may even be on your local cable feed. The Reelz Channel website is urging everyone to "contact your cable or satellite provider and demand that they connect you to the ultimate movie information resource" and usually, the word "demand" would suggest they haven't made a load of progress in that area. But I found one online article that says they've made deals with Time-Warner Cable and Comcast Cable so it may be on your set before you know it. In my case, it was.

So far, The Reelz Channel doesn't look like the ultimate movie information resource but hey, it's early. The network only started a little more than two weeks ago…on September 27. It consists of a lot of shows about movies and they seem to repeat endlessly throughout the week.

This is good because it means you'll have hundreds of thousands of chances in the next seven days to catch the first episode of Secret's Out, a half-hour program hosted by my pal — and a man who is the ultimate movie information resource — Leonard Maltin. Someone has been wise enough not only to give him a show but to allow him to cover something other than what's opening this weekend. The premise, as the title suggests, is to cover great undiscovered and forgotten films. A great idea. When was the last time you saw a program that covered movies and ran a segment on the version of David Copperfield that starred Freddie Bartholemew and W.C. Fields? Heck, when was the last time you saw a program that covered movies that predated Rob Schneider?

A new Secret's Out debuts each Friday and then repeats over and over and over until the following Friday. Those of you who TiVo your television should be aware that it is not humanly possible to get a Season Pass that will record each episode once. I just tried it and it wanted to record the show twenty times this week. Set up a manual recording to snag one specific broadcast per week. You'll enjoy it.

I'm posting this because if I didn't, it might be a long time before you learned of this new channel and this fine new show. I'd never heard a peep about either until yesterday when Leonard told me about both of them. I can't believe this is the extent of their publicity campaign. They must have at least a couple of viewers who didn't find out that the channel was on their sets because Leonard Maltin told them.

Congressguy Christopher Shay says that he studied photos of what was done to prisoners at Abu Ghraib and "It was outrageous…they took pictures of soldiers who were naked and they did other things that were just outrageous. But it wasn't torture." He later added, "I saw probably 600 pictures of really gross, perverted stuff…the bottom line was it was sex. It wasn't primarily about torture."

If that's his idea of sex, things must get pretty kinky in the Shay household. Especially since his definition doesn't seem to require any form of mutual consent.

Here's an announcement about the complete first season of Saturday Night Live coming out on DVD. The release date is December 5 and the set allegedly contains every single sketch and musical performance for a whopping running time of more than 26 hours. I'll post an Amazon link for ordering as soon as they add it to their catalog.

I suspect this will sell very well but I wonder how subsequent volumes will do. How many people will be in a hurry to order Season 4 and Season 5 when they've never found the time to watch all of the first three seasons they already purchased? That's a helluva lot of catch phrases, repeated gags, Conehead bits, Tom Snyder impressions, etc.

I also wonder if some folks won't be disappointed in the show as viewed in that format. The reruns have played well for years in syndication and elsewhere…but those reruns are usually chopped down to eliminate the weakest third of each show. Some episodes, that third was pretty weak. I spoke once to one of the folks involved in the chopping-down of 90 minute shows to 60 and asked if Lorne Michaels had personally decided what to keep and what to lop. She said yes, he had…but that the decisions were usually pretty obvious. Someone else would make the preliminary choices and it was rare that Michaels — or whoever supervised the non-Michaels episodes — had to overrule that. It was especially simple in some cases because Michaels (or other guys in charge when the shows first aired) would routine the shows by sticking the pieces they liked least near the end. She said, "We rarely kept a sketch that aired in the last half hour."

Well now, if you buy these DVDs, you're paying for the sketches that aired in the last half hour. And while it might be a treat to see some of them again after so long, some of them were there for a reason.

I also wonder, if they're going to go ahead and do other seasons, if they won't run into problems trying to be "complete." There are a couple of segments that had to be yanked from reruns for legal reasons…like the one in which Jay Mohr plagiarized another comedian's routine and made it into a sketch. I believe that when the lawsuit was settled, it was agreed the sketch would never run again, and it was omitted when the otherwise-unedited full episode reran. There are also a number of cases where music was changed for reruns or when a version of a song or sketch from Dress Rehearsal was substituted in all reruns for the live performance…the time Sinead O'Connor tore up a photo of the Pope, for example. I guess they'd still advertise the shows as complete but they wouldn't be complete as they originally aired.

Here's something I've been thinking about for around twenty seconds now. The folks selling the SNL material on DVD have found numerous ways to repackage it for sale…theme compilations, "Best of Certain Performer" collections, etc. I wonder how long it's going to be before they begin compiling DVDs of the "lost" Saturday Night Live material, meaning performances taped at Dress Rehearsals. There are a couple of performers who had so many of their sketches cut after those preliminary tapings that they used to joke that their "Best of…" specials would be The Best of Dress Rehearsal. Well, maybe that'll happen. Some of that footage has been used for bonus material on DVD releases but I think it's all been sketches that were later performed on the air shows, and they include both versions on the DVD as a kind of comparison. I'll bet one of these days, they'll try issuing sets of not only that stuff but also the sketches that were taped at Dress and then dropped…kind of a "Worst of Saturday Night Live" compilation. There might be legal or union complications that will prevent it but I can't believe someone won't at least try to make it happen.

And if they really want to sell something "lost," they oughta dig out the disastrous live episode that was done in prime time for the New Orleans Mardi Gras in 1977. If you never heard about that one, here's what happened.

Russ Maheras sent me this link to a letter that was written by a soldier current stationed in Iraq. It was intended as just a note home to friends and family but it made it into that greatest form of communication…the e-mail that everyone forwards to everyone else. Time Magazine tracked down the author to authenticate it and to obtain permission to post it on their website.

It's sad, it's interesting, it's inspiring, it's maddening…it's even funny in places. I like the part where they're looking for one bad guy who's described as a midget and the forces go out looking for him and come back with 26 midgets.

The funny thing about this e-mail is that I've received it, so far, about ten times already…and that a couple people sent it to me because they think it shows how badly things are going in Iraq and a couple sent it because they think it proves the opposite. I don't think any one soldier's viewpoint proves anything beyond what he or she sees — but I think it's fascinating for us to see what they see. And essential that we do.

For those of you who live in Los Angeles and who are puzzling over the weather forecast for today and tomorrow morning, I will attempt to translate what the National Weather Service is saying…

We don't have a friggin' clue what's gonna happen.

This has been a public service of news from me, your full service weblog. Thank you.

This runs something like 14 minutes but if you haven't seen it, it's probably worth the time. In 1995, Universal Studios was acquired by the Seagram's Company, the largest distiller of alcoholic beverages in the world. This placed it under the control of Seagram's CEO, Edgar Bronfman, Jr.

For reasons that now seem elusive, Bronfman or some part of the new ownership decided it would be a good idea to create an employee training film that would sell the idea that Universal was and would continue to be an "artist friendly" environment. If that was a good idea, it may not have been wise to hand the assignment to Matt Stone and Trey Parker who, of course, are best known for South Park. The two men put together an amusing film loaded with celebrity cameos but the folks at Universal didn't know what to do with the finished product. It made the rounds — everyone in Hollywood seemed to have a copy of a copy of a copy — and now it's on the Internet…but as I understand it, it was never really used for any kind of orientation. As you watch it, you might try to imagine the reaction of the Universal execs when they first saw it and wondered aloud why they ever thought this would be a useful tool…

Here's Jimmy Breslin writing about New York on the day of the Cory Lidle plane crash. Some people may think this is callous but Breslin writes about that city better than anyone.

Sorry to hear of the death of Jerry Belson, a fine comedy writer who died last Tuesday at age 68 due to cancer. Obits like this one will tell you that Belson was a top scripter of TV sitcoms (The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Joey Bishop Show, The Lucy Show and many others) and of screenplays (The End, Smile, Fun with Dick and Jane and more).

What they won't tell you is that Jerry was also a prolific writer of comic books for a time. From around 1961 through 1966 — which means even while he and his then-partner Garry Marshall were writing some of the top TV shows on the air, Belson wrote Gold Key Comics for the Los Angeles office of Western Publishing Company. Among the comics he wrote for were The Flintstones, Uncle Scrooge, Daffy Duck, Bugs Bunny, The Three Stooges and Woody Woodpecker. I believe he wrote the one-shot comic with the best name ever on a funny animal comic book: The Tasmanian Devil and His Tasty Friends. (What? You don't believe they put out a comic with name? When will you people learn not to doubt me?)

I never met Jerry in person but I always admired his work and we had a couple of long phone conversations in the early seventies when I was writing some of those comics. He told me he enjoyed writing them because, even with the occasional editorial interference, it still felt like a vacation after days spent arguing with actors, producers and even his collaborator. I seem to recall him saying — this is going way back — that "Joey Bishop won't perform my jokes as I write them but Bugs Bunny will. Which is why the world will remember Bugs Bunny long after Joey Bishop is forgotten."

Neither will the work of Jerry Belson. If you've never seen Smile or The End, you've missed a couple of real good movies.

The Comedy Central website is a better joke than anything on that network. It's a mess of pop-ups and tracking cookies and ActiveX JavaScript trickery, plus it's just plain poorly designed. I don't understand why a major corporation goes to the time and expense of establishing a website full of great video clips and has it configured so you can't find many of the clips and even if you can, there's a fair-to-middlin' chance your browser won't be able to play it.

So with the warning that you may not be able to view them, I'm going to tell you about some terrific video segments they currently have over there. A few years ago on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, they'd have Steve Carell and Stephen Colbert do these little one-on-ones in a department they called either "Even Stevphen" or "Even Stepvhen." It was spelled both ways and I think a few others. By any name, each was a funny parody of debating conventions and there are nine of them presently posted.

This link might take you to one of them and if it does, you may be able to find your way to the others. That's if they even play at all on your computer, which they might not. If it doesn't get you there, you could rummage around on the site and try to find them but I wouldn't. There are better things to do with your time on the Internet. Like play Online Sudoku against Larry the Cable Guy.

I don't think anyone's announced it yet anywhere but we are about to see the release of the first season of Saturday Night Live in one boxed set…reportedly the first in what the folks behind it hope will be season-by-season releases. One does wonder how sales will be on Season 6, the "Jean Doumanian year." On the one hand, that's the year everyone hates. On the other, it's the year that you rarely get to see.

No word yet on when the first set will be out but I'm told that Columbia House, which sells DVDs on a membership deal, is already advertising the thing. I'm going to guess that if the first one does well, they won't go season-by-season in order but will start releasing some of the later seasons in a hurry.

TV Shows on DVD, which is the best place on the web to learn what's coming out on DVD, is reporting that there's been a minor alteration on the new Addams Family, Volume 1 set. At two points in the episodes, Morticia was (past-tense) heard singing, "It's So Nice to Have a Thing Around the House," a parody of "It's So Nice to Have a Man Around the House." This has been omitted from the DVD, reportedly because the issuers were unable to clear the song.

Music clearances are a problem in DVD Land. They're the reason we probably will never see unexpurgated releases of WKRP in Cincinnati or Solid Gold or several others. Those programs used too many popular records that would have to be cleared…and by "cleared," let's understand that it often isn't a matter of not being able to get the rights. It's often a matter of not being willing to pay what the rights holder is asking for permission. In a few cases, it's even a matter of not being willing to pay anything. A friend of mine is now assembling a proposed DVD collection of an old TV show and he's been told by his bosses, "If it's gonna cost us an extra cent, cut it out." Needless to add, if and when the set does materialize, the excuse for the omissions and alterations will be, "We were unable to clear certain songs," not "We're cheap bastards."

(For clarification, I should add that I have no idea if cheapness was at work with the changes on the Addams Family DVD, or if those who've contemplated some of the others are being niggardly. I just know that stinginess is sometimes the operative reason on these things and that no one likes to admit it.)

Also, elsewhere on TV Shows on DVD, we learn the following: There are releases now of Whose Line Is It Anyway? in two versions — censored and uncensored. You'd assume that the uncensored versions restore all the bleeps and visual-fuzzing that occasionally occurred in the shows when they ran on ABC. And you'd be wrong.

Here's another one of the Private Snafu cartoons that the Warner Brothers animation operation produced during the last World War. For some background on this series (and another cartoon) see this earlier post.

This one is entitled "Spies," it runs four minutes and it was released in August of '43. It was directed by Charles M. "Chuck" Jones and written by Ted "Dr. Seuss" Geisel, Phil Eastman and the gag men then working on the Warner Brothers cartoons. Carl Stalling did the music and even incorporated a few lines of "Powerhouse," which was the tune he usually used whenever there was machinery or anything mechanical. In this short, it's heard as Snafu melts the padlock in his brain with whiskey.

Mel Blanc provided all the voices, including those of Snafu and Hitler. Mel did a pretty good Hitler, don't you think?

As I mentioned, I think the new elimination of habeas corpus is blatantly unconstitutional…and I should have added that I think it's a dangerous move that runs contrary to just about everything America stands for.

This article by Stephen Rohde does a good job of explaining why. Mr. Rohde is one of the acknowledged experts on copyright law in this country but he also specializes in constitutional law and is a high executive in the American Civil Liberties Union. Some people who read this weblog will be even more impressed to learn that he was the main lawyer who represented Jack Kirby in his infamous battle with Marvel Comics over ownership of his original artwork back in the eighties. (The other lawyer who worked wonders for Jack back then was Paul S. Levine, who was on our Jack Kirby Tribute Panel at this year's Comic-Con International.)

What I write about on this weblog has everything to do with what's on my mind at any given moment. And what's on my mind often has a lot to do with the e-mail or other feedback I receive. Lately, I've gotten a lot of questions about my health since the big weight loss…and I see that I haven't really mentioned it here for around a month and a half.

That's because there hasn't been much to mention. I'm lost a little more of me but not a lot. My doctor says I've hit a "plateau," meaning that my system has stopped dropping poundage while it attempts to adjust to the new configuration. In theory, the weight loss will start up again one of these days…but even if it doesn't, I'm down more than a hundred pounds from my top weight (more than eighty since the Gastric Bypass Surgery at the end of May) and feeling jes' fine. I'd like to lose another thirty or so but I'd be quite satisfied just to stay where I am for the rest of my life. Almost all of me feels better and even my hair, which was falling out a lot for months after the procedure, seems to be making a slow and quiet return to my scalp.

Other effects? Well, this'll sound weird but for some reason, I began having trouble shaving. Maybe it had something to do with the contours of my face changing but all of a sudden, my trusty Norelco was cutting skin instead of follicles. I tried cleaning the razor repeatedly, installing new blades, pretreating my jowls with a couple of different pre-shave lotions. I even went back to my previous Norelco and it was the same thing. No matter what I did, I was still doing a Sweeney Todd on my stubble. Monday, the savior that is Costco Mail Order delivered a new Panasonic model and so far, it's removing facial hair expertly and without bloodshed. We'll see if it works a second time.

My taste for sugar has not returned. My ability to eat beef has, though I have to remember to chew it to the consistency of Cheez Whiz and to allow for the possibility of a brief feeling of weakness in the early throes of digestion. That happens once in a while but not always.

Friends keep asking me, "Do you eat? Can you eat?" as if I've made it since May off of stored body fat. I know I had plenty but jeez. Even a whale occasionally likes to nibble on a nice minnow or something. The answer is that I can eat just about anything I want but not as much of it as I used to. Around the house, I down four or five mini-meals a day. In restaurants, I've learned to order soup or an entree but not both…and to select an entree with an eye on taking much of it home. Some kinds of food are simply better the next morning than others. In instances when it isn't practical to doggy-bag it — say, when I won't be returning to Casa Evanier for a long time after the meal — I've accepted the necessity to have the busboy discard half a plate of perfectly edible supper. I think a lot of us eat too much because even when the stomach doesn't want it, the brain can't adjust to the idea of wasting it. Well, I'm adjusting.

I've also adjusted to not having much of a selection of beverages in my life. I don't like wine or tea or anything with artificial sweeteners. Dairy products and my tummy do not care for one another and like all Gastric Bypass patients, I had to give up anything carbonated or containing a lot of sugar, even natural sugar. So what does that leave? I'll tell you what it leaves. It leaves water, tomato juice and some watery lemonade and orange drinks that I mix for myself. More and more, I'm just making do with the water.

Every bit of clothing I was actively wearing in May is now too large for me except for socks, shoes and caps…and even those are getting a tad loose. At my friend Earl's wedding, I was dazzling in a sport coat that I bought around 1978, grew out of in 1983 and stashed away in storage around 1985. Inside it is the label of a store that went out of business long ago. I have most of my wardrobe marked with a color-coded clothespin system. A red clip, for instance, means "Way too big but I may be able to have it altered." The blue signifies, "Still a little too small for me." In the last two months, I've been able to get into apparel that I'd blue-clipped in June or July.

There's been some other odd adjusting that I'll write about one of these days soon. Some of it has to do with the way people relate to you when you suddenly go svelter on them but I don't have time for that now. Have to go eat a raisin…or at least, as much of one as I can finish now. I'll save the rest for later.

Fred Kaplan explains why John McCain has his history all wrong with regard to North Korea. And I might add that one of my many disappointments in the world of politics this last decade or so has been watching John McCain, who once struck me as a man of integrity devolve into…well, I'm not sure if he's changed or if I was just wrong about him in the first place. But he sure seems willing now to say or do just about anything if it'll get him closer to the Republican nomination in '08.

Keith Olbermann had a great segment last evening on the Bush administration's insistence on doing away with habeas corpus. It runs a little over seven minutes and I'd like to ask every visitor to this site to take the time to watch it. Here's Mr. Olbermann with a look at what I think is an out-and-out trampling of the Constitution…