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The Lloyd Bridges Show: Mr. Pennington's Machine (1962)
Mr. Pennington's Machine
Adam Shepherd imagines how brash American businessman and tourist Carl Pennington decided to help destitute locals.
Mr and Mrs Pennington were on holiday in Hong Kong. He's taking photos of some villagers, throwing money at some kids begging for handouts.
His guide just regards them as insensitive tourists. Only when a young girl collapses, the guide tells him that it is not medical treatment she needs but food.
The villagers are starving. They have flour but need to exchange that for noodles. Only local gangsters like Quan (James Hong) control the supply and price of noodles. In essence the villagers are being extorted.
Pennington decides to do something about it. He brings the villagers a noodle machine and takes on Quan.
In essence a variation of the Seven Samurai tale. I could not cynically help thinking this was a good news story when the US were being pulled deeper into the Vietnam war. Another white saviour coming to the rescue in the far east.
Dead Boy Detectives: The Case of the Dandelion Shrine (2024)
The Case of the Dandelion Shrine
The episode introduces the campy Cat King. He wants to punish Edwin for putting magic on a cat, that is forbidden.
A caging spell means that Edwin is trapped in this Port Townsend until the Cat King decides to let Edwin go. Only Edwin does not want to pay the price demanded by the Cat King. That means he is left to counting cats.
Edwin and Charles also find another supernatural case in Port Townsend. Crystal Palace has the hots for her neighbour Niko.
In fact the hots are more than colourful. There is something wrong with Niko as she passed out.
Edwin and Charles think Niko has been possessed by something parasitic.
After an interesting opening, with no let up in camp or cats. The rest of the episode was dull and stodgy.
The special effects are good, some quirky humour. I expected this show to be sprightly.
Sorry!: Spellbound (1982)
Spellbound
Timothy is out with the mobile library with Reg who is driving. Reg talks about witchcraft as they examine a local stone.
When he van breaks down, Timothy goes out seeking help. While Reg believes it is all to do with dark forces.
As it gets dark he seeks shelter from the rain in a barn where three elderly women are. They predicted that a tall dark stranger would drop by. Well they were nearly right.
The three women tell his fortune and believe the letters TLS will have some importance. Well Timothy does not think this is all a load of fertiliser.
Soon the old ladies prophecies come true. Timothy gets invited for a job interview in Yorkshire for a mobile library. It might be written in the stars for him.
It was good to see Timothy getting assertive for all the wrong reasons in the job interview. Maybe for all the wrong reasons.
The denouement was rather predictable though.
The Beverly Hillbillies: Elly's First Date (1962)
Elly's First Date
Even the studio audience gasped when they caught site of Louis Nye in this episode.
He plays Sonny Drysdale, the selfish self centered spoilt stepson of bank manager Mr Drysdale.
He has set up a blind date for his stepson with Elly May Clampett. Sonny does not want to go until he catches sight of her in the garden.
Then Sonny is madly excited as his mother does not need to persuade him anymore.
For the date, Sonny brings a gift for Elly May. A signed picture of himself. However things do not go well, Jed and Jethro hide his sports car. Then Elly May manages him to shove him in the ground after a misunderstanding.
By way of an apology the Clampetts invite the Drysdale for a Thanksgiving dinner. Only to find themselves snookered.
It is clear that Sonny is rather old for Elly May but Louis Nye is fun with the spoilt rich man persona. Much better than the Clampetts thinking the snooker table is a dining table gag.
Shardlake: Episode #1.1 (2024)
Episode 1
It's got Sean Bean in it but this is sword and monastery rather than sword and sorcery.
Bean plays Thomas Cromwell. He requests barrister Matthew Shardlake (Arthur Hughes) to investigate the murder of his friend Robin Singleton who was a commissioner at a monastery in the remote town of Scarnsea.
Singleton had been decapitated. Cromwell has an agenda, to shut down the monastery now that King Henry VIII had split from the Catholic church.
Shardlake will be reluctantly accompanied by Jack Barak (Anthony Boyle.) Both men are suspicious about each others agendas.
When they arrive at the monastery the monks have clammed up. Paranoid knowing Thomas Cromwell have sent these men to close the order down.
Author of the Shardlake novels, CJ Sansom died a few days before broadcast of this episode. He meticulously researched his Tudor mysteries.
There is no getting away with the shadow of The Name of the Rose, the movie adaptation from the mid 1980s. Matthew Shardlake is as intellectually nonconformist as the monk William of Baskerville.
The first episode was more about the set up. At the monastery it established the monks have plenty to hide and there may have been more murders previously. It is a promising opener.
The hunchbacked lawyer is the smartest man in the monastery. His almost Sherlock like skill to deduce the height of Simpleton's attacker by looking at the head might be a little over the top.
Baby Reindeer: Episode #1.1 (2024)
Episode 1
I hope Richard Gadd's stand up routines are funnier in real life than it is here. Based on his semi autobiographical experiences.
This Netflix series charts Gadd's experience with his own real life stalker which later turned into a harrowing experience.
Gadd plays comedian Donny Dunn trying to make it as a comic in London and got lost in the capital city. He works in a pub to make ends meet.
One day in walks Martha Scott (Jessica Gunning) a rather large lady who looks distressed. Donny feels sorry for her. His first big mistake and gives her a cup of tea for free.
Despite not being able to afford to buy a drink. Martha tells Donny she is a high powered lawyer and then visits the pub everyday to see him.
Later Donny is inundated by texts and emails from Martha.
The first episode has an astonishing performance from Gunning who has been a familiar face on British tv screens for a few years. Needy without initially being threatening.
It is original as it relates to Gadd's real life experiences however stalker dramas are not new. You just wonder why Donny could not nip it in the bud so soon. Especially after he found out more about Martha.
Dangerous Knowledge: Clause for Concern (1976)
Clause for Concern
Kirby confronts Laura over the death of his old friend Pierre. Kirby knows only Laura knows who he was planning to see.
He also has suspicions over Laura's stepfather. Just who is this Fane and what connection he has with the British government? Fane is something big with the Home Office.
Laura thinks the same when she talks to her stepfather. He seems to know a lot more about Pierre's death.
Meanwhile a new character is introduced. Robin who is Kirby's aviator son. Kirby needs his son to fly him to France.
I thought it was good to see Kirby challenging Laura so soon.
Only at the end of the his episode where there is a seed of what Dangerous Knowledge is all about.
It seems to be something about World War 2, the French Resistance and the KGB. Still the central premise is very obscure.
The Gold Robbers: Account Rendered (1969)
Account Rendered
By this point the viewer would have learned not to fast forward the starting titles. Each episode reveals something new about the heist.
Harold Oscroft (Bernard Hepton) is a mousy geeky looking man. He did not take part in the gold bullion robbery. Oscroft is a clever accountant that has been disguing the payments made to those involved in the robbery.
Oscroft is a cunning accountant but a lousy businessman. Hence why he was forced to work for crooks. He needed the money
His turmoil in his private life and his work for the criminal underworld is about to collide. That could hand him straight into DCS Cradock's lap.
Meanwhile Cradock and DS Thomas has been examining the various share of the loot some of those involved got. They also came up with some names when they investigated the pilot Tom Goodwin.
What I liked about this episode was how clever the Andersons thought they were being. Hoping to put the squeeze on Oscroft and send him to jail for a few years.
Only it backfired, Cradock saw straight through Victor Anderson. Now he has a name and a face.
Mission: Impossible: The Ransom (1966)
The Ransom
If you thought Tom Cruise overdoes it with the face masks in the Mission Impossible movies. You ain't seen nothing yet.
The Ransom is the most cinematic in storytelling. As a desperate crime boss Frank Egan (William Smithers) kidnaps the daughter if Briggs friend.
Egan wants the Mission Impossible team to abduct Augie Gorman from police custody. He is due to testify against Egan.
Daniel Briggs finds himself having to save two lives and also figures that Egan plans not to leave any witnesses behind.
It makes you wonder just what the IMF would had done to Egan for coercing its crew for nefarious ends.
There are some good bits here as Briggs and others try to take Augie away.
I did think Willy posing as a motorcycle cop could had just stop Egan going any further. It would had robbed the finale from a thrilling moment.
William Smithers looks very cool with his dark shades. In the early 1980s he became famous for being one of the suspects in the Who Shot JR storyline in Dallas.
What If...?: What If... Hela Found the Ten Rings? (2023)
What If... Hela Found the Ten Rings?
This What If... is a simple redemption story about Hela, the Goddess of Death. Under her father Odin, Hela wanted to continue her bloodthirsty ways even after the nine realms were united.
Where originally odin banished Hela to hell. She is sent to a realm of Earth and has lost her powers.
Finding herself in China where she meets Wenwu and his 10 Rings. Hela learns life is not much fun without her powers. It is a good job then that Xu Wenwu is intrigued by her.
Later Hela encounters Jiayi at the magical village of Ta Lo. She is fascinated by Jiayi and slowly a change of mood takes place. Something Heimdall notices.
Cate Blanchett dos the voice work but this does very much play like a Thor story or even a Loki one. The naughty offspring seeing good.
Blue Ridge: The Series: Pilot (2024)
Pilot
Spun off from the VOD feature film Blue Ridge. This pilot is made for the Cowboy Way Channel and has the same actors from the movie.
Sheriff Justin Wise (Johnathon Schaech) is settling with his two deputies. On his way to a meeting at school about his daughter with his ex wife.
Sheriff Justin Wise goes pass a truck with a man dealing with a flat tyre. An asian woman in the car looks to be in distress. The Sheriff stops to talk to the man and it sets a chain of events that leads to a people smuggling gang.
After getting violent the man is arrested, the woman initially refuses to talk. Later the police station burns down as someone wanted to silence the arrested man.
The pilot is no great shakes. There is the backdrop of several shady families in this small mountain town.
It was all very predictable, some of the acting was not that good. The action scenes were below average.
Overseas Press Club - Exclusive!: Father Tiger (1957)
Father Tiger
The Overseas Press Club interview Father Maggiore of Naples. How he gained the trust of the feral kids who lived on the streets. Having to beg, borrow and steal to just get by each and every day.
Father Maggiore posed as an older youth who takes on the gang leader. Over time he finds them an abandoned church for the kids to stay in during the winter.
Only after a matter of months, one he thinks he has earned the boy's trust. He reveals himself as a priest.
Then finding a way for the boys to be schooled. The reporter is surprised that the biggest delinquent in the group of boys, joined the priesthood eventually.
The story is inspired by the true story of Father Mario Borrelli who created the House of the Urchins.
Just before Covid lockdown I attended a funeral of a longtime family friend who originally came from the south of Italy. As his family recalled his childhood in poverty stricken post war Italy. It was very much like as depicted here. Day to day survival.
Ted: Just Say Yes (2024)
Just Say Yes
Ted returns as a television sitcom in an overlong 50 minutes format.
This prequel to the movies is set in the 1990s with Ted's best friend John Bennett is a 16 year old high school student. While Ted has hit the lows of being a once famous television star.
The first episode has Ted going to high school after he accidentally shot John's parents television set.
Now Ted wants to get expelled from school by being caught in possession of marijuana. They go looking for drugs and find that the local dealer is John's cousin Blaire. She is staying in a room over the garage while she goes to college.
Ted is shocked that John's overbearing dad is charging her rent for a room that even Anne Frank would find to be too tiny.
Only Ted and John get high on marijuana and the local school bully takes what is left of the drugs from them. So no school expulsion.
Later Blaire is getting kicked out of the house when John's parents finds drugs in the house. Ted and John try to save her.
Seth MacFarlane goes for a scattered approach with the gags. Some land, most of them miss. It is still funny enough. Despite the bad language, there is a morality and heart at its core.
The Punisher (2004)
The Punisher
Marvel's The Punisher gets a by the numbers work out from first time director Jonathan Hensleigh. He also co wrote the screenplay.
Thomas Jane stars as the undercover FBI special agent Frank Castle. An assignment leads to the death of Bobby Saint, the son of mobster Howard Saint (John Travolta.)
Upset and distraught. Howard's wife suggests that Castle's entire family is wiped out as revenge.
Howard's henchmen led by his best friend Quentin Glass (Will Patton) go and do that. Only Frank Castle manages to survive the carnage and the injuries he received.
Now Frank becomes a vigilante, the punisher who declares all out war on Howard Saint and his mob.
Frank Castle gets Howard to turn on his wife and Glass before he unleashes a fiery hell on Howard Saint.
Violent and gloomy, this does not feel like a Marvel comic book character. In some ways this movie reminded me of Mad Max but with a lot less carmageddon.
Thomas Jane is bland and even Travolta struggles as a baddie.
Chief of Station (2024)
Chief of Station
Director Jesse V Johnson is better known for his collaboration with martial arts actor Scott Adkins in movies such as The Debt Collector.
In Chief of Station he goes for espionage but comes up short both in action and story.
Ben Malloy (Aaron Eckhart) is the CIA station chief whose world falls apart after his wife's death.
However Ben is drawn back into the shadowy world, after his former adversaries are killed. He learns that his son is in danger and discovers that he cannot trust anyone, even his former allies.
From very much the early scenes, you can guess who will turn against Ben Malloy. There is nothing here in terms of a good story.
That leaves the action scenes to do the heavy lifting. Unfortunately Eckhart is no Adkins. He is perfunctory with the action scenes but the script is not good enough for him to stretch his acting chops.
Framed (1992)
Framed
By 1992 Timothy Dalton knew that his time as James Bond had passed. Eon were involved in litigation with MGM causing delays over the next Bond movie.
So he was still officially James Bond and Dalton took the opportunity to do lucrative television projects.
Framed was one of them, a four part television series. After the success of Prime Suspect. Anything from Lynda La Plante was all the rage.
Dalton plays charismatic bank robber Eddie Myers hiding out in the Costa del Crime. Young police officer Lawrence Jackson (David Morrissey) out on a family holiday in Spain spots Myers.
Eventually Myers is extradited back to Britain with Jackson assigned to guard him. The officer from the original investigation Jimmy McKinnes (Timothy West) wants Myers to give up the names of the other robbers.
While his former cohorts plan to silence Myers. Only Myers has a plan, he needs to Jackson's help. Some of the proceeds of the bank robbery in a safe deposit box.
The series is essentially the temptation of Jackson by the magnetic Myers to the dark side. Both play a cat and mouse game with each other as well as Jackson's bosses. Can both men really trust each other?
It also features an early role by Penelope Cruz. There is nothing here to show that one day she will be an Oscar winner.
A young David Morrissey and Dalton are outstanding. Elevating was is really a hackneyed story. Dalton very much displays the star power that glimmered when he stepped into the Bond role in the last minute.
Dead Boy Detectives: The Case of Crystal Palace (2024)
The Case of Crystal Palace
A spin off from Neil Gaiman's The Sandman. This is camp crossover of Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) and Ghostbusters.
Edwin Paine and Charles Rowland are the Dead Boy Detectives. They are dead (in different time periods) but have avoided the afterlife to they can solve supernatural cases on Earth.
The first episode see them come to the rescue of a psychic called Crystal Palace. She was possessed by her boyfriend, a demon who took her memories.
Only Crystal has a vision of a missing girl, Becky Aspen. Crystal believes that Becky is alive but surrounded by death.
They all go to America to look for Becky.
This was a breezy opener with enough appropriate flashbacks. It was a jolt to see Charles going to see his elderly parents from outside their home. He was killed in the 1990s and his parents are still alive. While Edwin was meant to be a sacrifice by his public school chums back in 1916.
There was an inherent cheapness to the production. Although the main actors are British, it is shot in Canada. No wonder the story quickly moved to the USA.
Almost Paradise: Rise of the Kalangay (2020)
Rise of the Kalangay
An episode that gives some backstory to Kai. She was a rebellious teenager until her mother's murder who was a respected village elder.
Kai was put right by Cesar Rabara, the detective investigating her mother's killing. Detetive Rebara had caught the killer who then committed suicide.
Now Rebara is back on Mactan with a rock star reputation. He went to work for the police in Manila.
He will be investigating the death of a visiting British professor. Rebara gets Kai on his team.
Alex acts like a petulant child. His nose out of joint as everyone swarms around Rebara.
Alex mistrusts Rebara, he teams up with Ernesto. They quickly discover that the professor was looking at old crimes, where the suspect conveniently killed himself.
A kind of episode that is not new to cop shows. All of a sudden a person behaves out of character as their past is explored.
Glitter: The Popstar Paedophile (2024)
Glitter: The Popstar Paedophile
Gary Glitter was the epitome of Glam Rock back in the early 1970s. Even his backing band went on to have their own hits.
By the late 1970s he had disappeared. Glam was overtaken by punk and he was made bankrupt.
It was not the end, he made his comeback in the mid 1980s. In the ITV kids pop music show Razzmatazz. Glitter explained his thinking behind the video for his comeback song Dance Me Up.
So many people had asked Glitter where he had disappeared to. He decided that the video be set with Glitter in prison.
Fast forward to 1997. Glitter's dark secret was out. Child pornography was found on his computer after he took it to a branch of PC World for repair.
By then Gary Glitter was doing well with the nostalgia crowd. He was happy to mock his glam past in ad campaigns.
Now he was jailed for four months and faced accusations of sexually abusing girls. Those claims did not succeed in court.
The game was up for Glitter. His name was mud and in the late 1990s he had fled to southeast Asia.
The press had a field day each time they saw Glitter near a computer. There were reports of Glitter abusing kids in Cambodia. Later he was jailed in Vietnam for abusing two young girls.
After the revelations about Jimmy Savile. Some famous stars had nowhere to hide. Glitter was sentenced to 16 years behind bars in 2015 for abusing three schoolgirls between 1975 and 1980.
There was a bit of finger wagging in this documentary but little that was new. A few celebrities were interviewed to give their insights, that Glitter like Savile was always hiding in plain sight.
There had been suspicions in the past about Glitter. Most of the press seemed to be happy to play down such allegations as almost hijinx. Well other popstars had undersage sex and did not even get a police caution. No wonder these celebrities thought they could get away with it.
Perry Mason: The Case of the Calendar Girl (1959)
The Case of the Calendar Girl
Wilfred Borden is a political fixer and a keen photographer. Late at night he meets building contractor George Andrew (John Anderson) who is having issues with building inspectors.
George is hoping that Borden will make the problems disappear for a fee. Before George goes bust.
On his way home, George is involved in a car accident where a young woman gets injured. After he goes to get a flashlight, he notices the woman thrown from the car is different. The shoes have changed.
Fearing something suspicious he goes to see Perry Mason. Later George is arrested for the murder of Wilfred Borden.
Perry Mason, Della and George had gone to the Borden's house. Perry was sure that the originally injured woman might be in the estate looking for help.
Proceedings take place in a preliminary hearing to establish that there is a triable case.
It is clear very early on that Hamilton Burger has no triable case. You have two young women, one who has acted suspiciously. That was the least of it.
Surprisingly Paul Drake had little to do. Perry had turned photographer and managed to take pictures of a lady with bruises. It would go on to become very important.
Resident Alien: Lone Wolf (2024)
Lone Wolf
After a poor second season. I would hesitate to say this is a return to form. At least Lone Wolf started brightly. There is no way I will give season three of Resident Alien the benefit of doubt.
Harry Vanderspeigle has joined the rat race. He is a commuter, a worker now inside General McCallister's deep base. Hunting for the Greys.
One of them is safely embedded in the town of Patience. As Deputy Sheriff Joseph Rainier and he has his own agenda for humanity.
Harry needs to persuade a reluctant Asta to g on a date with Deputy Rainier. Find out more about him.
There was the return of the quirkiness from the first season. Yet I was left thinking that part of it was reheated leftovers.
Velma: Velma (2023)
Velma
In the first Mission Impossible film. A beloved legacy character from the television series was revealed to be a villain.
Warner Brothers said hold my beer. Here is an adult cartoon that is a spin off from Scooby Doo. This is an idea even more outlandish than the Banana Splits reimagined as a horror movie.
Before Velma joined the Mystery Machine. She was a cynical wisecracking nerd wrapped in the trauma of her mother going missing.
Daphne is a high school mean girl who deals in drugs. Fred is an over privileged self obsessed man child.
Wisely Shaggy and Scooby Doo baled out for now.
The first episode has these high school girls naked in the shower because pilot episodes have gratuitous nudity to hook in viewers.
With a scattergun approach, some of the humour did land but not all of it. There is a story arc regarding Velma's mom.
The trouble is I have no idea just who this edgy meta obsessed series is aimed at. It is not kids, fans of Scooby Doo or even the character Velma.
Dixon of Dock Green: Eye Witness (1973)
Eye Witness
This episode should had come with a prior warning. Mrs McCluskey in her underwear. A generation of Grange Hill viewers were left in a state of shock!
Anne Hastings (Gwyneth Powell) saw some dodgy men kill her long term boyfriend, a dicey croupier.
Present at the murder was Mr Colly, a big time gangster who resides in France.
When the police arrive, they initially suspect Anne. That is until someone attempts to gun her down. Mr Colly got wind of a potential witness.
Sergeant George Dixon is tasked to keep this valuable witness safe. He takes her to a remote location on the west country.
Only Anne is bored cooked up in a hotel, she steals a car and makes off. When a message is sent over the police radio, Anne's safety is compromised.
Although not that action packed. The way the episode is filmed is certainly dynamic. Helicopters, sea crossings, a drive by shooting, scenes set in France and characters with Jason King moustaches.
I did like how Anne succumbed to Mr Colly's offer at the end. It had a sense of cynicism, greed and self preservation.
This episode was rather George Dixon heavy. This had not been the case with the other surviving filmed episodes. Dixon has essentially been a guest star in his own show.
Once again I have to remind myself this was made before the television series The Sweeney. Yet this period of Dixon of Dock Green has been airbrushed from television history.
Worzel Gummidge: Fire Drill (1980)
Fire Drill
Mrs Bloomsbury-Barton wants to hold a fundraising event and decides to hold a bonfire. Outside of the usual November date. They have already held a garden fete and a flower show.
Mr Braithwaite offers his old scarecrow to be burned in the bonfire. Worzel Gummidge runs for the hills when he hears about his pending fate.
Once Worzel puts his thinking head on. The children decide that another scarecrow should be built. A decoy for the bonfire.
Only the scarecrow that Worzel makes with the hands the Crowman constructed. Makes the new scarecrow come to life. Something that cannot be thrown into a bonfire.
It is left to the Crowman to come to Worzel's rescue. Or else things will get very heated for Worzel.
It very much is carry on save your head for Worzel. The folk mysticism was very much downplayed in this version of Worzel Gummidge. It is clear this episode riffs on it with the scarecrow coming back to life.
Fred Dinenage Murder Casebook: The Welsh Child Killer (2011)
The Welsh Child Killer
Harold Jones was a rare instance of a child who was himself a murderer of other children.
The 15 year old shop employee from Abertillery in Wales was accused of murdering eight year old Freda Burnell.
However the locals refused to believe a young boy from their own town could carry out such a brutal killing. It had to be an outsider.
With the aid of a flimsy alibi. The jury cleared Jones and he was given a hero's welcome.
A few weeks later, the town of Abertillery was full of regrets. 11 year old Florrie Little was murdered by Jones. This time he confessed. As he was a minor, Jones could not be hanged.
Jones was released from prison in 1941. Later some criminologists and crime writers believed Harold Jones now living under the name of Harry Stevens. May have been responsible for a series of killings of prostitutes committed between 1964 and 1965 in west London.
The murderer has never been identified. Criminologist Professor David Wilson certainly thinks that Jones was 'Jack the Stripper.' A man who never showed remorse for the killing of two children.
There was nothing much special or intriguing about this episode. The reconstruction with Fred Dinenage was pretty poor. Even a consummate pro like Dinenage struggled with this one.