rockhopper10r Reviews

Keeping Up Appearances: A Crafts-Woman Scorned (1995) Season 5, Episode 9

Not quite jumping the shark, but sharks were gathering

[5/10 · 19 August 2023]

This, the antepenultimate episode, demonstrates why it was for the best that Hyacinth and company did not return for a sixth series.

First, her rival in this episode is the heretofore-unknown Lydia Hawksworth. I guess Sonya Barker-Finch couldn't frustrate Hyacinth alone, but the name "Hawksworth" is not exactly a common name, but the fact that a one-off character shares a family name with two regulars (Emmett's surname; Elizabeth's maiden name) is just a little odd.

Stranger yet is Hyacinth's behavior in this episode. Yes, she's petty and narcissistic, but she would never steal a car. Richard is henpecked, but even he has limits, as seen in other episodes. Hyacinth forcing Richard to steal a Rolls Royce to impress someone who may or may not be related to their dearest friend is just not consistent with anything we have ever seen about the Buckets.

The remaining two are, while not the best episodes, are more entertaining than this, which is possibly the only episode in the entire run that I do not enjoy.

Bewitched: Mother, Meet What's His Name (1964) Season 1, Episode 4

The episode that sets the tone for the series

[10/10 · 15 June 2023]

This may be the best-written episode in the entire series. From Samantha's explanation of baseball, through the Welcome Wagon visit, to Endora's first meeting with "Dennis," this episode is solid. The climax with Darrin and Endora clashing sets up so much of what is to follow. That scene contains so much: Endora's feeling that her daughter has marred beneath her station; Darrin's hostility toward the use of witchcraft; the beginning of the conflict between mother-in-law and son-in-law; and some of the best lines in the entire series ("Consider yourself lucky that you are not, at this moment, an artichoke.").

I don't has much patience for fans who deride the later seasons and say that the early episodes are all winners. The truth is, there are great and awful episodes every season, with both Darrins. Having said that, this easily one of the best in the entire series.

Year of the Comet (1992)

Fun!

[8/10 · 11 September 2022]

This movie has such as sense of fun! Penelope Ann Miller is the brainy, nerdy heroibe. Tim Daly is the dashing, almost-but-not-quite perfect hero. Louis Jourdan is an over-the-top villain. What more could you want 90 minutes? Some beautiful scenery and an amazing score? Check. Tim Daly shirtless at the height of his pulchritude? Check. A breezy, lighthearted adventure? Check. And it even has wine! Is it the greatest achievement in film history? Probably not. Does it accomplish its goal of being a comedic modern swashbuckle? Absolutely!

This is just a lot of fun and deserves to be better known.

Partridge Family 2200 AD (1974–1975)

The nadir of Hanna-Barbera's output

[2/10 · 27 August 2022]

Let's be honest, many of us GenXers view Hanna-Barbera's '70s output through a lens of nostalgia and are willing to overlook that a lot of is objectively bad.

Then there's this show.

The original concept, a sequel to the Jetsons might have been interesting. Unfortunately somehow an animated Partridge Family was forced into that idea and the results are just awful.

Even the title is bad. A. D. Precedes a date (A. D. 2200).

As a five-year-old, I was horrified by the theme song's lyrics "It's the Partridge Family showing us how it's gonna be." No! The future cannot be this nightmare!

Marian the Martian and Veenie the Venusian were annoying, but, sadly, less annoying than the hackneyed scripts, which were about the most unoriginal in Saturday morning history.

I will say one good thing about this show: its existence keeps Filmation's The New Adventures of Gilligan from being the worst animated series derived from a live-action series. That at least had a little charm.

Bewitched: The Return of Darrin the Bold (1971) Season 7, Episode 17

Worthy of a two-parter

[9/10 · 11 July 2020]

This episode packs a lot in a half-hour, making it seem awfully rushed and without exploring a very interesting premise to its potential. Endora and Serena plot to turn Darrin into a warlock. Serena is sent back to 14th-Century Ireland to change Darrin's remote ancestor Darrin the Bold (previously seen in season three's "A Most Unusualness Wood Nymph" into a warlock, thereby changing Darrin into one as well. It works, but Darrin barely has time to explore being a warlock or any of the possible repercussions when Sam heads off to the 14th Century herself to undo what her wild cousin has done. It rushes a great idea for an episode to a conclusion. The previous two episodes are devoted to the Good Fairy saga, which, despite Imogene Coca's presence drags a not-very-interesting story out. Resolving the Good Fairy story in one episode and giving this two would have allowed us to see this idea (explored before a few times, most famously in season one's "A is for Aardvark") play out with the added knowledge we have of witch culture from the intervening seasons. Ultimately, it is a great episode that needs more time.

Bewitched: Samantha's Shopping Spree (1969) Season 5, Episode 29

The One and Only Appearance of Cousin Henry

[9/10 · 6 June 2020]

This episode features the marvelous Steve Franken in one of his six (!) roles on Bewitched, this time as Cousin Henry, who is apparently Uncle Arthur's edgier, short-tempered son. I always guessed that this script was written for Uncle Arthur, but Paul Lynde must have been unavailable. Although he's a joker like Arthur, Henry has a bit more of a mean side, changing a department store employee into a mannequin. This character really should have had a return appearance. It would have been interesting to see Arthur and Henry in a prank-off. Alas, it was not to be.

Bewitched: Samantha, the Bard (1969) Season 5, Episode 18

One of Bewitched's best

[10/10 · 30 May 2020]

This is one of my very favorite episodes. Sam begins speaking exclusively in rhyming couplets (with one limerick thrown in) and tries to hide it to no avail. This episode has what makes the best episodes of Bewitched great: brilliant dialogue and excellent performances. While Sam's condition is peculiar to witches, witchcraft does not drive the story. It also has some of the tenderest moments between Endora and Darrin (except the last scene). This episode will make you smile as wide as a mile.

Bewitched: Weep No More My Willow (1968) Season 5, Episode 12

Mediocre story, great performances

[7/10 · 28 May 2020]

This episode is fairly unremarkable, but great performances by Liz Montgomery, David White, Sandra Gould, and Bernard Fox make it tolerable. You don't really care about the willow, but the characters draw you in.

Bewitched: A Majority of Two (1968) Season 4, Episode 29

If they only...

[6/10 · 25 May 2020]

The script of this episode is actually decent. The idea of Aunt Clara (Marion Lorne's penultimate appearance, alas) having a whirlwind romance with a McMann and Tate client is rather sweet. It could have been a great episode. Unfortunately, the very white Richard Haydn (whom we all loved in The Sound of Music) was cast as the Japanese Mr. Mishimoto. Had they found an actual Asian actor to play the role, it could have been one of the best episodes. Now, it's just cringe-worthy.

The City That Forgot About Christmas (1974 TV Movie)

This was cute

[14 May 2005]

I remember this from when I was a kid. It was a tie-in with cartoons featuring a boy named Benjy (sp?). They were produced by one denomination or another (Lutheran, I think). I believe the others were _Christmas Is_ and _Easter Is_, but those titles aren't in IMDb. Anyhoo, the story is about this little town, none of whose inhabitants know anything about Christmas. The carpenter arrives in town in the kids see him whittling, and they all sing a song that went "Chip, chip, chip away". (Don't ask me how I remember that!). The man tells the kids about Christmas and about the birth of Jesus. One little girl says something to the effect of "What's so great about a baby being born? We have a baby at our house and he's no fun!" A bit heavy-handed, but not a complete waste of time, either.

Super Fuzz (1980)

The coolest super-powers ever!

[8/10 · 21 April 2005]

This is my all-time favourite "B" Movie! Sure, the plot is weak. Sure, some of the actors wouldn't know the Method from a Methodist. Who cares? It's a load of fun!!! And sexy Terence Hill as super-powered cop Dave Speed? Oh man! Dave had the coolest super-powers ever seen on any hero ever. Sure, he does the usual strength, speed and flying stuff, but he does so much more. He has telekinesis, he can broadcast his voice over the radio, instantly hypnotise people to do his bidding, walk on the water, teleport, see through solid objects, predict the future, read minds, and, of course, there's the Orange Bowl scene. He makes 70,000 or so people "disappear" with but a moment's concentration. Where do they go? I always wondered that when I watched it when I was a kid. Anyway, is this great cinema? Doubtful. Is it a whole lot of fun? Oh yeah!

Tabitha (1976–1978)

Might have worked 20 years later

[12 November 2004]

_Bewitched_ is probably in my top five favourite TV series of all time. The series went off when I was about three, but reruns were a staple in our house for years.

Trying to create a sequel just a few years after the parent show's demise would not have worked under the best of circumstances, starting with the point that, in 1977, Tabitha and Adam still would have been children. Also, late in the original series, it was revealed that Adam was, in fact, a warlock. This was reflected in the pilot of _Tabitha_ where he was an Uncle Arthur-type character. It is also rumoured that, in the pilot, Adam was intended to be gay. This may well be what led the powers that be to render him powerless once the series was picked up. Warlock Adam was the most entertaining part of the pilot. Without him, it was bland and boring. _Bewitched_ was always character-driven with outrageous witches (Endora, Maurice, Aunt Clara, Serena, Esmeralda, the aforementioned Uncle Arthur) and clueless, but entertaining mortals (Gladys Kravitz, Larry Tate and Phyllis Stephens--and their respective long-suffering spouses) and Sam and Darrin as the calm centre. This tension was not present in _Tabitha_, especially after the reworking.

Had the pilot been made 20 years later--about the time _Sabrina_ hit the air--it may well have worked. The characters would have had time to reach the ages at which they were presented. And, contemporary with _Ellen_ and _Will and Grace_, audiences may have been willing to accept a gay warlock Adam. Unfortunately, someone couldn't wait and a fabulous show has this sequel that is best forgotten.

BeastMaster (1999–2002)

A whole lot of fun!

[7/10 · 3 October 2004]

Oh what fun this show was! First you have the incredibly *gorgeous* Daniel Goddard as Dar, the BeastMaster. The producers had the good sense to keep him wearing as little as possible. Even in the third season, when he dressed a little more "modestly", you could still see those stupendous biceps. Yummy! Then you have the gay subtext. This is most pronounced in Season Two, where the five most important male characters all seem to be gay archetypes: Dar (Gym-Boy), Tao (Nerd with a crush on Gym-Boy), Zad (Leather Daddy), Voden (Party Boy) and The Ancient One (All-Powerful, All-Knowing Old Auntie). Then you have the fact that it was actually fairly well-written and acted. Admittedly, Season Three was the weakest. The show would have been better had they not gone down that particular road, but, overall it was a lot of fun and most certainly not the worst way to spend an hour. Oh did I mention how gorgeous Daniel Goddard is? (*sigh*)

My Favorite Martians (1973–1975)

I loved it when I was four!

[16 September 2004]

I absolutely loved this cartoon when I was four years old! In fact, it wasn't till several years later that I found out there had been a series with live actors that it was based on! Okay, the standard Filmation limited animation schtick was there, including the repeated footage and gags (I for one liked Brennan falling into the rain barrel!), but that was to be expected on Saturday mornings in the '70s. Here's an exchange I still remember thirty years on! Tell me this isn't comedy!: Mrs. Brown presents Uncle Martin with a very oddly-shaped coconut pie: Uncle Martin: "What's that lump in the middle?" Mrs. Brown: "That's the coconut!" Of course, the Ray Walston/Bill Bixby series was the classic, but of the animated shows based on prime time sitcoms (of which there were an embarrassing number in the 1970s and 1980s), this is probably the best. At least to a four-year old! ;)

You Wish (1997–1998)

"A" for effort

[6/10 · 8 September 2004]

This show tried hard. First, it was fun to see a male character with magic powers. I loved Samantha and liked Jeannie, Sabrina and the others, but it was almost always a woman who got to do the magic stuff.

John Ales was so cute as the manic Genie. He was kind of like a humanoid Bugs Bunny. His magic reflected his off-the-wall personality beautifully.

In retrospect, the show should have been more of a romantic comedy, playing on the tension between Genie and Gillian (the fabulous Harley Jane Kozak). Yes, that would have made it more like _I Dream of Jeannie_,but that formula works better in this genre than the family sitcom with kids having to learn a "valuable lesson". It tried to be a little of both, leaning toward the family sitcom, which weakened it. Adding Jerry Van Dyke was a mistake. He is a wonderful comic actor, but he detracted from the Genie/Gillian relationship.

They put forth an earnest effort, but ultimately it went down the wrong path. It would be interesting to see a new version of this concept--the magical romantic comedy--with either a magical male character and a mortal woman, or, perhaps, a magical male character and a mortal man!

Superboy (1988–1992)

A unique portrayal of the character

[8 September 2004]

I think the overall criticism of this show is too harsh. It didn't have the budget of _Lois & Clark_ or _Smallville_, but it was a lot of fun and, overall, well-done.

I actually prefer John Haymes Newton in the first season. Gerard Christopher was probably the better actor, but Newton brought a little cocky attitude--and a unique sexiness--to the role, never seen before or since in any interpretation of Superman. It added a new dimension to the character. A good example is the Newton episode where a bad guy drew a gun on Superboy and said "Freeze!" Superboy smirked and deadpanned "Good idea!" and then encased him in a block of ice with his super-breath. I think he may have come across to some people as too much of a "bad boy" for the role, but it really did work.

The Christopher episodes were fun, but they lacked something.

Overall, the show really deserves better treatment than it has received. I hope it resurfaces somewhere soon.