Reviews by TrekMedic

I always remembered this show as the last season of Night Gallery. Imagine my surprise to recently find out this was a separate series unto itself, edited and reformatted (the Rod Serling intros were added later) to boost Night Gallery's syndication profile! Still a decent series in the macabre genre.

Shhhh,...listen closely,....those vocals in the background? None other than [Link removed - login to see] of the later Doobie Bros and his own solo career.

This is a show that ticks off so many positive boxes for me:
British crime drama, by Brits for a British audience, well-acted chemistry, one crime per episode with an overarching storyline, the unlikely pairing of the sacred and the secular (in this case, two damaged souls trying to make the world better from their own venues) and more.
It's also based in the 50s, when the Brits were still recovering from the ravages of WWII but showing the inklings of Britain with the Beatles, Carnaby Street and the free-wheeling 60s that made London the societal rival to New York City.
And this is where I take issue with shows like this: a 50s show that's written and produced in the 21st Century, with a 21st Century mindset.
And it all centers around the character of Leonard Finch, a/k/a "Gay Leonard." Leonard originally was the "naïve" (read "closeted") curate of the local Anglican parish. Over time, his homosexuality became a broader part of his character, including his hush-hush boyfriend. Mind you, I don't have a problem with the LGBTQ society but remember: this was 50's England and LGBTQ may well have been some secret British ministry, but not the acronym for a section of their society. That is, prior to 1967, [Link removed - login to see] in Britain (it wasn't decriminalized in Scotland until 1980).
As a sworn officer of the law, Detective Inspector Geordie Keating should have been duty-bound to arrest Leonard and his boyfriend! And either Vicars Sidney Chambers or Will Davenport, as part of their Anglican duties, should have reported Leonard and had him drummed out of the C of E for his "sins." Now (spoiler alert!) Leonard, as the victim of another act of crime, is ultimately tried and found guilty of being gay. He did time in jail and was defrocked by the Anglican hierarchy. But, by the end of Series 7, he and his boyfriend were still an active couple. The wokeism of the 21st Century,...sigh!

Have you ever had a feeling of deja vu? Watch this episode,...does it seem like you recognize the plot? You should! It's a near line-by-line remake of the Season 1 episode [Link removed - login to see] the only real difference is the Season 1 episode takes place during Mannix's days as an employee of the Intertect Agency. Boy, I have half a mind to add this to my [Link removed - login to see] list!

In any setting, the vast southern California desert alone could pass as a malevolent force. Placed into the hands of an up-and-coming young director named Steven Spielberg, that force morphs into an aging fuel tanker driven by a man Spielberg described as [Link removed - login to see] The movie itself, based on a short story, was the product of a network mandate to churn out weekly movies that basically served as time filler during the broadcasted sport off-seasons and handed over to Spielberg almost as a practice exercise for what excellence would come from him in the future. Dennis Weaver, a seasoned everyman actor, made the exercise all that much easier. Quaint and somewhat dated after 50 years (Santa Clarita has basically grown out into the northernmost portions of LA's San Fernando Valley), it's still a great little watch.

Only Stooge film to receive an Oscar nomination. And it's easy to see why! "Doctor Howard, Doctor Fine, Doctor Howard!" is the war cry that starts the medical mayhem! An apple a day keeps the doctor away, but what if that apple has its skin on the inside? And what saves those poor miners? Radium,...because why not? Just sit back and enjoy!

I know CFA takes a lot of heat for the opinions of it's owner, but in all the years I've patronized them, I've never had a bad meal and the high school kids they hire aren't there working dead-end "McJobs;" the managers actually encourage them to move on and continue their education.

A prequel that's more like Nyquil! Usually in franchises, there are two paths: good original, better second act, and out-of-steam denouement or great original and rapid slide into banality. Guess where this one falls? If the original were a serious movie, instead of a tongue-in-cheek wink towards the James Bond franchise, I would understand the dour tone of this episode. And without giving away the ending, it looks like there's more to come. Maybe this reboot will go the first route? One can only hope,...

A giddily anachronistic, feel-good movie! Like going to your local Renaissance Faire and seeing up-and-coming actors who, absent the tragic loss of Heath Ledger, went on to acting fame and fortune.
The post-tournament dinner and dance scene, turning from minstrels to David Bowie is hysterical!

I remember this show from my childhood because it originated in Philadelphia on KYW TV (then the home of the show's production company, Westinghouse Broadcasting). If you can imagine The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, broadcast in the late afternoon, and with a rotating series of celebrities in the Ed McMahon role, you had Mike Douglas. Sadly, in the show's later years, the production moved away to Los Angeles and ultimately faded into obscurity.