Soylent Green

I am toying with the idea of making this site dedicated to reviews of movies,tv shows, comic books and music that I read,see and hear. I did one of the TV shows, WKRP in Cincinnati and recently Dark Skies. Today I am doing one of an old sci-fi film Soylent Green. The movie came out in 1973. I like seeing movies fromthe late 60's and early 70's as you get a good but sometimes odd pairing of the movies golden age of actors with the then new age of actors. As many people know this film starred Charlton Heston with Leigh Taylor Young, Chuck Conners, Josepth Cotton and Edward G. Robinson. This cast is a good examploe of odd casting that worked. I espically liked the scenes that had Mr. Conners and Mr. Robinson opposite Mr. Heston. What you may not know about this film is that this film was based on a book called "Make Room! Make Room!" by Harry Harrison. I haven't read the book so I won't discuss that here. This was also the last movie to star Edward G. Robinson. He died before it came out. It seems odd but approiate that he passed away in the film. Kind of gave movie fans closure to some of his fans.
The film was actually an answer to the population explosion that the world was experiencing in the 60's and 70's. Overcrowdind in every country and mjor city was and still is a concern. How would we feed them all? Real food is now gone in this bleak future world. Only the manufactured food called Soylent is able to sustain us. They are identified by different colors and the most popular is the one is Soylent Green.
A man is murdered by a hired killer. We aren't told who or why at first. In this way the film is really murder mystery. Heston is a cop and he investigates the murder. As he peels back the layers he finds that the food company is behind it and, as most movie fans know by now, that Soylent Green is really made from corpses of dead people. Soylent Green is people.
If your only exposure to this ending is the one they spoofed on Saturday Night Live then you will be disappointed. Heston doesn't run through crowds shouting that famous phrase at the end. He is shot and carried out. He raises his hand soaked in his own blood saying the phrase and trying to warn them that one day they may breed us like cattle.
With the excepton of this taking place in the future and food being manufactured form people, there is very little to associate this in the science fiction area as it has been for decades. It is more of a cop drama then anything else. A pretty boring onw too. The acting is great but not enough to save it for my money. Still if you want the movie, book or the poster you can get them at Amazon. The on good thing about this movie was that it showed that Chuck Conners was a good an actore as Charlton Heston. More famous for his heroic roles on TV like the Rifleman and Branded, Conners was even better in films as the villian. I wish he had as big a film career as he had in TV.

Slap Happy Pappy

Here is a good example of a cartoon from the 1940's. Very funny spoofs of the celebrities from that time.

Last Train to Murder

My new book Last Train to Murder is now for sale on Amazon.com.

Dark Skies on DVD

Thanks to an advance copy of this DVD set from Shout Factory I am able to give you a review of the TV series Dark Skies.
The 1990’s was a decade of change for television. Programs that the big 3 networks normally wouldn’t have touched with a ten foot pole in earlier decades were now making their way to the broadcast airwaves. One of the biggest and most enlightening of the decade, broadcast on NBC from 1996 to 1997, was Dark Skies. Fact and fiction merged as it told the history of the United States of America from 1947 to the present. Well at least they would have gotten to the present if it was allowed to run longer. The fact that just a single season of the series aired at all on a major network was and still is to this day a major accomplishment.
It starts in the early sixties. Young John Loengard and his girlfriend Kim Sayers arrive in Washington DC. He has a job as a Congressional aide and she gets one working in Jackie Kennedy’s office. Together they find out the truth about what happened that involved the UFO crash in Roswell, New Mexico. Since then aliens have been involved in every major and even some minor events of our country and the rest of the world. John becomes involved with a secret government organization that is battling the alien takeover but in a belief that everyone should know the truth he quits and now he and Kim are on the run from them as well as the aliens known as the Hive. No one can be trusted as the Hive have deep undercover operatives everywhere.
This is one of the best sci-fi conspiracy shows that ever aired. The two hour pilot episode alone is worth the price of the DVD set. It was directed by veteran film director Tobe Hooper and released as a movie in the foreign market.
Eric Close and Megan Ward do a great job playing our heroes John and Kim but the standout performances are from J.T. Walsh as Frank Bach and Tim Kelleher as Jim Steele. This is one of the last performances by J.T. Walsh and may be his best job ever. Frank Bach is the head of the secret organization named Majestic that is fighting the aliens and trying to keep the public and most government officials in the dark about the invasion. He and Loengard are always at odds with each other. The scenes with them together are some of the best. They may be enemies but they respect each other on how they battle the aliens and sometime even help each other out.
Tim Kelleher as Jim Steele has one of the thankless roles in the series. He is the main alien who has taken over the body of a Majestic agent. This character is put through the ringer with losing sight in one eye, needing to change his identity from time to time, always getting captured and then escaping. I doubt he thought this was the direction his character would take during the run of the show. But Kelleher handled it well and proved to be an actor’s actor.
One thing this series is well known to science fiction fans for, even those who have never even seen one episode of the series, is the introduction of actress Jeri Ryan to television audiences. Her first appearance comes in the episode titled “The Warren Omission.” It is an introduction to a character that you won’t forget. She comes in kicking and knocks an agent, Kim and John to the ground and warns him what will happen if he tells the truth.
Another thing that I loved about this series was taking events and people of the time and working them in to the story. The aliens were responsible for everything from the murder of JFK to the Watts riots. Characters of that era that play parts in the series range from Robert Kennedy and John Lennon to Jim Morrison and Carl Sagan. James F. Kelly plays Robert Kennedy so well you would almost think he really was Robert Kennedy. He’s on so many episodes he should have been given star billing with the others.
The extras in this set are wonderful. There is the two hour pilot that is shown the way it was overseas. There are interviews with the stars and the creators Bryce Zabel and Brent V. Friedman. One of the selling points of the series was, not knowing if the series was based on fact or fiction. During the interview with the creators they told something that blew my mind and made me wonder again if it was real or not. I’m not going to tell you what that is because I want you to buy this DVD set and see for yourself.
The sad thing is that the series was canceled too early. We will never see how the Hive ties in with Watergate, Iran-Contra or the Gulf Crisis. There was an attempt for renewal to bring the series up to 1997 in season two but it didn’t save the series. In my opinion this is one of the great science fiction series. Any science fiction fan needs to add this to their DVD collection. It took guts for NBC to air even a single season. It took a long time to get the series to DVD due to musical licenses for the songs in the series. Shout factory took the risk and the series is here with all of the music. Don’t let them regret producing it on DVD. Buy it so more series of this quality will be release for us to enjoy.
Look for it in your local store on January 18. Even better you can order it now at Shout Factory.

Watch the drummer

See more funny videos and TBT at Todays Big Thing.

Watch this drummer go crazy. It is great.

Bringer of Light

I have an old College friend, Randy Wallace, who is the Pastor at Oak Ridge Baptist. Most of his life Randy liked to write and record his own music. I ran into him the other day and he told me that he is still doing it and his most recent album is Bringer of Light. Well I have listened to it and it is great. The music is positive adn uplifiting just like Randy himself. The cover is seen above in the screen capture. You can buy the CD and hear previews of some of the songs if you go to his record company site CDbaby.com.
Here what it says on the album notes. Many diverse styles are covered on this CD, ranging from Modern Country to Traditional Southern Gospel to Easy Listening and even Light Rock...but, beyond the styles is the optimistic message of hope and joy that are always evident in Randy's live performances.
This is Randy's fifth recording, and among his best. His first album, "Deliver the Young Musician," was mentioned in the book, "Vintage Vinyl:A Decade of Jesus Music," by Ken Scott.
Writing, singing, and playing about everyday things and situations and their deeper dimensions has always been Randy's forte, and in this collection of songs both old and new, it comes to the front once again. From the song for his wife ("Unvoiced Tribute") to his tribute to his parents ("The Moral"); from the contemporary Gospel feel of "His Hand" and the Van Morrison-like "God's Got a Hold on Me;" and the Jimmy Buffett-style "Believe in Yourself," all the way to the uptempo bluegrass "Gerald Brock Hill," this highly anticipated release will brighten your day and touch your heart.

The Church Snuggie

Short Break

Just an FYI that I will be taking a short break for awhile. But I will be back soon with a review of the soon to be released on DVD TV series Dark Skies. Thanks to Shout Factory for the review copy.

Merry Christmas from On My Mind:The Monkees Screen test

Merry Chirstmas and Happy New Year. To all Monkees fans here is a screen test video that was recently pointed out to meby Booksteve. I always heard that Micky and Peter's weren't shown on TV because theirs was silent but in Peter's case that doesn't seem to be why. The one here by Micky looks like it was from a call back since there are others with him.

Wreck the Halls by the Three Stooges

Here is a song that always gets me in the Christmas mood. Wreck the Halls by the Three Stooges.

Davy Jones Christmas Ad 2008 Merry Christmas

Here is a 2008 ad for Davy's song "It's Christmas."

Monkees Christmas Medley 1986: Merry Christmas

Monkees Christmas is my Time of Year: Merry Christmas

Monkees Sing Deck the Halls Merry Christmas

From the same show as yesterday's video here are the Monkees singing Deck the Halls.

Monkees Riu Chiu Merry Christmas

For Christmas here is a video of the Monkees singing Riu Chiu. If you are interested here is the english translation.
River, roaring river, guard our homes in safety,
God has kept the black wolf from our lamb, our lady.
God has kept the black wolf from our lamb, our lady.

Raging mad to bite her, there the wolf did steal,
But our God almighty defended her with zeal.
Pure he wished to keep her so she could never sin,
That first sin of man never touched the virgin sainted.

River, roaring river...

He whos now begotten is our mighty monarch,
Christ, our holy father, in human flesh embodied.
He has brough atonement by being born so humble,
Though he is immortal, as mortal was created.

Rhino | Video - Bee Gees - Jive Talkin'

Rhino | Video - Bee Gees - Jive Talkin'
If yoiu go here you can see a video of the Bee Gees playing Jive Talkin'.

Dennis the Menace Season 1 coming soon

I just heard that Season 1 of Dennis the Menace is going to be produced by Shout Factory. This is one of my favorite series from my childhood. Even though I liked the most beloved TV show Leave it to Beaver, it is Dennis the menace that was my favorite between the two. I found these pictures while surfing the net. I loved them both but being this is the Christmas season I had to put the more Christmas looking one up top. If any pictures are used in the DVD set I think the color one will be in it but I doubt it will be the black and white one. I like how you see an old fashioned church in the background. With many trying to take Christ out of the Christmas season when we celebrat His birth it made me feel good to remember a time when we did our best to keep Him in it and attend Christmas Eve services. There is no cover available yet But I read that there will be extras included.

Last Train to Murder

Want to get a book for that Monkees fan in the family. Well here is a wonderful murder mystery that involves the pre-fab four called "Last Train to Murder." It has them tracking a killer while on the way to a TV network executives meeting. It takes place in 1967. Why am I so high on this book? Is it because I too am a Monkees fan? Is it because I like mystery novels? Yes but mostly it is because I wrote it. It is published by Lulu.com. You can order it if you click on the button below.

Now I still haven't seen the proof copy but I wanted to get the word out asap.

Police Squad! Ring of Fear

Here is one of the funniest TV shows in history. It was a flop on TV but they got 3 blockbuster films out of it. In honor of Leslie Nielsen's passing here is an episode of Police Squad!

White Christmas Cartoon

I love this cartoon. Very funny.