Here, There, And Everywhere

Hey Dr. Jones, no time for blogs. I just can't stop being busy. I spent last week in Moab, and this week I bounced around various locations, eventually spending several days in the middle of the rattle-snake infested desert near Green River (and don't get me statred on the bugs).
I was there working again on a series of commercials. The one at Green River was a spcae-exploration themed spot, with the rocky desert standing in for a martian planet. It was a cool little shoot. Here are some photographic highlights from the entire production.

I wrapped up that job on Friday, and on Saturday I ended up in Orlando, Florida so I can more fully explore the magic kingdom. It should be fun!

Now if I could only get around to the sixteen hours of backlogged television we would really have something fun to talk about on this blog. Hopefully I'll find the time in the coming weeks.

Let's Do The Time-Warp Again

That's right. I've been busy this week. It wasn't enough to pack up all my belongings into boxes and move them into a new house, I had to go and take a job that would keep me busy all week. I was able to live in my new house for a whopping one day (and two nights) before I quickly accepted a job on some commercials that took me down to Moab, Utah for a week.

I had never been to Moab before, and despite the bad timing right after the move (or the good timing if you're looking at it from a finacial standpoint) I really enjoyed being down there and seeing the sights.

I've always wanted to work on a western, and so far this commercial about a runaway stagecoach is the closest thing to that I've done. In fact, surrounded by the red-rock vistas of Moab, I thought it was really funny how our trucks and vehicles seemed out of place, yet the horses and the stagecoach seemed to fit right in to the surroundings.

It is actually a series of three commercials we are doing. One is western themed, one is filled with swash bucklers and the other is a sci-fi alien thing. They should be fun but I know I have another busy week in front of me. Since I'm working on these, I may not be able to blog regularly for a little bit.

It also seems like my millions of little projects in the new house may be put on hold for a little while as well. I do, however, always have time to talk TV.

I did get a chance to catch the premiere this week of the Amercain version of 'Life On Mars' and I would have to say it was pretty good. The episode I saw stayed very true to the original show, yet gave it a fun rough Amercan-cop sensibility. The addition of Harvey Kietel as the police captain in the 70's was actually a really good fit, although the same can not be said of 'Cosby Show' alum Lisa Bonet.

It has long been a dream of mine to have the majority of television shows on the air deal in some way directly or indirectly with time travel. With the addition of 'Life On Mars' I feel like I am on the way to seeing that goal realized. At current count I can think of six, 'Lost', 'The Sarah Connor Chronicles', 'Heroes', 'Battlestar Galatica' 'Eureka' and now 'Life On Mars'. It's a good start, although last year we also had the 'Quantum Leap' inspired 'Journeyman' and the 'Highlander' rip off 'New Amsterdam'. But I do think this year we're well on our way to conquering the airways with time travel!

All I can say is check out 'Life On Mars' this week if you haven't already.


I'll try and blog whenever I have time, but it's going to prove difficult because somehow in the move my computer decided to die. It's making a horrible clicking sound, which is basically telling me the enitre hard-drive is dead. It's sad to think of all the lost photos, music and programs I may have to deal with, but it is even worse to think about coming up with money to by a new computer. My computer dying right after getting into a new house, bad timing.

I Feel The Earth Move Under My Feet

That's right kids, it's moving week.  I won't have a lot of free time for the next couple days so my blog posts may feel a little thin for a while.  In any case, for those of you helping with the move here are some helpful hints:

It's A Pity To Waste A Whole Monte Cristo

I don't have a lot of time to blog this week as I am getting ready for the big move.  I would however like to point out that two of my three TV picks for this season will be debuting this week.  'Life' will premiere on Monday followed by another episode on Friday, and 'Pushing Daisies' will be on Wednesday night.

As for that ever-allusive third pick, well it turns out my third choice for a new show that really is an old show coming back for a second season has gained the awful "mid-season-replacement" status, so I feel I still have time to eventually blog about it.  But here's a hint: It involves a hardware store and the devil.

Many have heard that Paul Newman passed away over the weekend at the age of 83.  He was a very talented actor and gave many great performances over his long career.  So here they are, my top five picks of my favorite Paul Newman movies.

5.  Road To Perdition (2002)

One of the last film preformances I saw Newman give, it was good to see that her still had the stuff. Plus, it's always great when an actor who normally plays nice guys gets to be a cold-blooded killer. And in this film, we get both Paul Newman and Tom Hanks as ethics-defying mobsters.

4.  Hud (1963)

This is worth seeing if only for James Howe's Academy Award winning black and white cinematography. A classic american western, some say it was the last of its kind.

3.  The Sting (1973)

I love con-men movies.  Anytime I can get sucked into the wild world of grifters I consider myself lucky.  'The Sting' is really the grand-daddy of all modern confidence-game films.  From 'The Spanish Prisoner' to 'Matchstick Men' all the way to 'House of Games', they all took a page from this original, which always made the criminals fun and endearing.

2. The Hudsucker Proxy (1994)

Probably my favorite Coen Brother's film.  Newman is great as Sidney Mussburger, a greedy business man who promotes an idiot (a proxy) in an attempt to lower the company's value so he can stage a corporate take-over.  This type of dry comedy always served Newman well, as is evident in my number one pick:

1.  Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid (1969)

I know it's kind of a cliched pick, but I've always loved this movie.  The friendship and chemistry between Newman and Redford set the tone for who knows how many buddy pictures. 

A special performance of note, not on the list because Paul Newman doesn't actually appear on screen, is his 2006 role as Doc Hudson in the Pixar movie 'Cars'. 

He is the heart of that whole film (well him and the entire Route 66 highway).  He infused a cartoon with feeling and depth just with his voice.  All in all, a great talent with a great career.

An Important Public Service Announcement

Save the clock tower! Save the clock tower! As you may have heard, Mayor Wilson is sponsoring an initiative to replace our clock. Thirty years ago, lightning struck the clock tower and the clock hasn't run since. As a representative of the Hill Valley Preservation Society, I think it should be preserved exactly the way it is as part of our history and heritage.

Don't forget to take a flyer. You never know when it might come in handy!

Donations to The Hill Valley Preservation Society can be made at any time, and don't forget to support our local libraries. Thank you.

The Knight They Drove Old Dixie Down

Just a friendly reminder to those of you who enjoy talking cars; the new revamp of the 80's classic 'Knight Rider' debuts tonight on NBC.

I don't know if it'll be better than the TV-movie they produced earlier this year, but it sure would be hard for it to be worse. I loved the original when I was a kid but it seems like this newest incarnation hasn't embraced anything that made the first series great. What was that, you might ask? Well the answer is simple: camp.

The first series was fun and campy because it didn't take itself too seriously. Heck, Michael Knight had and evil twin named Garth (you knew he was evil because he had a goatee). And if that wasn't silly enough, even KITT the car had and evil twin named KARR.

The show was aware that its premise was a little silly and followed suit. The same can not be said of the promos for this new version. 'Knight Rider' 2008 could take a big lesson from one of the greatest unsold pilots of all time; 'Heat Vision & Jack'.

If you have never seen this I suggest you watch this immediately:

This was a TV pilot that a pre-movie star Ben Stiller wrote and directed for FOX back in 1999. It starred Jack Black (a relatively unknown himself back in '99) as Jack, a former astronaut accidently exposed to high levels of solar radiation. Now, whenever the sun is up, Jack's brain expands making him the world's smartest man. But wait, that's not all! Jack rides around on Heat Vision, a motorcycle that contains the soul of Doug, his unemployed room-mate (as voiced by Owen Wilson).

So Jack and his talking motorcycle ride around getting in adventures just like Michael Knight and KITT used to. The only difference, this show turned the camp meter all the way to eleven. It's a real shame the FOX didn't see the brilliance in this show. Can you imagine how fun a weekly TV show with Jack Black, Owen Wilson, and Ben Stiller would've been?

Now if they made the new 'Knight Rider' more like 'Heat Vision & Jack', I would definitely watch. Especially if it included the villainous actor Ron Silver playing himself trying to hunt down and capture the new 'Knight Rider' just as he did on 'Heat Vision' (according to Jack, he is a talented actor AND a cold blooded killer).

P.S. Pop-culture fun fact: Did you know that Ben Stiller met his future wife Christine Taylor while filming the TV show 'Heat Vision & Jack'? It's true!

The Kids Are Alright

Well my friends it is time again to discuss everyone's favorite topic.  Mainly, what am I listening to this week.  Today's answer: The Black Kids.

This is the debut album from a group of kids out of Florida.  I don't know why they call themselves The Black Kids, to my knowledge not a single member of the band is African American (as one might assume).

When I first heard them I didn't know that they were American, because the lead-singer tends to sing with some sort of British accent.  I don't know what it is about front-men of bands adopting english-accents when they sing, but it is a common practice. I guess this is a phenomenon that goes way beyond Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow.

In any case, this album is a collection of some pretty good pop songs.  In fact, in discovering The Black Kids I also came across their EP from last year called "Wizard Of Ahhhs".  This collection contains many of the same songs as "Partie Traumatic" but with a rougher, less polished sound.  Which album is better?  Well if you ask me they are both pretty darn good.  It might just depend on your mood.

They got a great sound that reminds me of a little bit of the "Hot Fuss" era of The Killers but mixed with a super-fun vibe of early 80's B-52's tunes.  That sounds like an odd combo I know, but it's basically a great album to have in your car when your just drivin' around.

My favorite track from The Black Kids' record "Partie Traumatic" is "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You" (Isn't that a great title for a pop song?). It is sort-of an updated version of the classic 1981 Rick Springfield song "Jessie's Girl", which I like because it makes me think of that dog dressed up in a shirt and tie.  Isn't clothing on animals hilarious?

Other tracks of note are "Love Me Already", "Hurricane Jane", and the title track "Partie Tramautic".

You Can Put Lipstick On An Emmy...

What a sad and depressing day.  First I wake up and it's cloudy and overcast.  A gloomy day often equals a gloomy mood; although I'm not sure why outdoor weather would affect me since I like to spend most of the day inside watching television.  In any case, sadness.

Speaking of television, did you see how terrible the Emmy awards were last night.  And this is from a guy who loves TV!  The winners and losers were fine (but I did wish that 'Lost' would get some much deserved Emmy love--Michael Emerson is one of the most brilliant things on a brilliant show--yet lost last night to Zeljko Ivanek), but I wish the show itself had been better.

I think the problem was the five hosts gathered together from various reality shows.  It reminded why I don't really watch reality TV--it is not entertaining.  The group sure meant well, but the collective whole of the sum of their parts was just painful to watch.  I mean, how do you make a show about television (which is awesome) incredibly boring?  I guess if you pick five hosts, some of which are okay in small doses and spread them out over three hours the result is a snooze-fest.

I did like the idea of getting all the nominees from a single category together to host the show, but why would they pick the reality guys (availability, I guess)?  Wouldn't a great group to host be the supporting comedy actors?  Can you imagine Jeremy Piven, Kevin Dillon, Neil Patrick Harris, Rainn Wilson, and Jon Cryer being the hosts?  Wouldn't that have been fun.  Just to see the buddy from "Grosse Pointe Blank", Dally's real-life brother, Dr. Horrible, Dwight, and Duckie (All Hail!) hosting together would be a lot more interesting.

The only Emmy highlights I saw were Ricky Gervais, The 'Laugh-In' reunion, and anything involving Stephen Colbert.  Other than that, I can't say there was much to blog about. Let me know if I missed something, but to me it seemed pretty weak-sauce.

P.S.  If you can identify the "sadness" photo from above, you are officially cool.  If not, well you got issues my friend.

Doogie Howser Plans World Domination

I'll get to my number three pick of the shows you should be watching sometime next week.  For today, I'll begin part of a random series to assign you to locate stuff on the web that you really should experience yourself.  Today's pick: Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along-Blog.

If you haven't seen all three acts of this web-only series you really are missing something.  It's about a wannabe super-villian in a comic-book world who video-blogs about wanting to take over the world and join "The Evil League of Evil."  Neil Patrick Harris plays Dr. Horrible and the always brilliant Nathan Fillion (is it possible to still miss him as Captain Malcolm Reynolds on 'Firefly'? Boy that was a great show!) as his nemesis Captain Hammer.  Oh, and did I mention it is a musical.  Check out the trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXI3obHfwgU

You can download the show and the soundtrack on itunes and I heard that they will soon release it on DVD, complete with a singing commentary track. Check it out.  It's absolutely brilliant.