VOD

ROUTE 66 (1960-1964)

November 19, 2020

(hoopla/Prime/tubi/VOD/Vudu) While this show was always on this month’s slate, I wanted to recommend it on the day of SUPERNATURAL’s (WB/CW, 2005-2020) series finale. SUPERNATURAL is a show that’s been a bit of a lingering constant in my life since I glommed onto it around the third season. I haven’t watched every season, but I drop in from time to time — usually for any episode that Ben Edlund has penned, or any of the obviously meta eps — and I’m looking forward to seeing how everything ends.*

But I’m supposed to discuss ROUTE 66! Here’s what you need to know about ROUTE 66:

1) It’s one of the first road trip shows, and the creator of the show (Stirling Silliphant, who previously pioneered shot-on-location TV with THE NAKED CITY) insisted on shooting in every location detailed on the page. He wanted the show to explore America, hence the title.

2) ROUTE 66 is fundamentally about two drifters, one sensitive (Tod, played by Martin Milner), one more callous and randy (Buz, played by George Maharis), and they drive from town-to-town solving mysteries and soothing community wounds in a Chevrolet Corvette. Sound familiar? They often come to blows with how to deal with a situation, with one wanting to drive off while the other wanting to stay and help those in need. Each week ended up with everything neatly tied up, and they’d drive off to another town, slightly satisfied. Also, just take a look at ‘em! 60s versions of Sam and Dean if you ever saw ‘em.

It’s a fine case-of-the week strategy, which is exactly why SUPERNATURAL stole it. SUPERNATURAL creator Eric Kripke’s elevator pitch for the show was ‘X-FILES meets ROUTE 66’.** SUPERNATURAL became something completely different — and rarely ever shot on location — but you could still see the ROUTE 66 roots showing even in the final season.

By today’s eyes, ROUTE 66 is a fun, but mostly insubstantial show. It often feels like smaller scale version of the teen drifter/loner film dramas that were released around the late 50s/early 60s but, unlike those films, it showcased parts of the US that hadn’t previously been aired on TV. It boiled down to an entertainingly slightly dramatic tourist show, of which I think the only comparable show on the air right now is THE AMAZING RACE (also CBS, but a reality show).

Later on in the series, when the show started flagging a bit, they started having fun some fun with it, most notably with -Lizard’s Leg and Owlet’s Wing- which features Tod and Buz working at Chicago’s O’Hare Inn, where Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre, and Lon Chaney Jr. just happen to be staying, and TV-safe horror antics ensue. (If you’d like to read more about the ep, see here: https://www.classicfilmtvcafe.com/2010/10/route-66-lizards-leg-and-owlets-wing.html ) You don’t have to watch every episode of ROUTE 66, but that ep is a fine spooky treasure.

(Not a trailer, but the full first episode.)
  • For what it’s worth, my favorite SUPERNATURAL episode is probably the 200th ep. While it’s complete fan-service, it also cuts to the quick about all that works about the show, including the hows and whys it’s lasted fifteen years.
  • (Spoilers for the …prior 199 episodes? Really, apart from one specific reference that’s a running joke throughout the series, it’s mostly benign.)

** https://twitter.com/therealKripke/status/674659951747334144 I honestly can’t believe that worked as an elevator pitch in the late 90s. I’d expect to hear back: “Route what-the-who? Like the dad song?”

HAPPY ENDINGS (2011-2013)

November 15, 2020

(HBO MAX/Hulu/Netflix/VOD) Yes, I know the title is terrible, and it’s exactly why I didn’t watch this show until several years ago. Sure, it’s supposed to reflect how you can still be friends with your ex, despite her leaving you at the altar, but 1) that’s not what anyone thinks of when they hear that term and 2) that’s hardly what this show is about. It’s a hangout show that’s best described as a filthy Z-grade FRIENDS. (Okay, so maybe the title is slightly representative of the show.)

The worst part of the title is its poor use of phrasing, because this show -loved- twisting phrases. If you love the Marx Bros., you will love this show. Take, for instance, the rom-com-con cold open. (Yes, I’m skipping over the racist parrot bit because no one needs that.)

Or the following what-if joke regarding Mary Tyler Moore:

However, wordplay won’t get you very far if you lack a cast that can convincingly deliver quips, and HAPPY ENDINGS had one of the great ensembles; they wrangled a melange of brilliant comedic and improv actors (Adam Pally, Eliza Coupe, Damon Wayans Jr., Casey Wilson) and straight-laced performers (Elisha Cuthbert, Zachary Knighton), all of whom brilliantly handle their ‘so smart it’s dumb/so dumb it’s smart’ banter.

Not all of the humor has aged well, like uh, the racist parrot, the ‘Dave is 1/16th Navajo’ bit, and all of the fat jokes made at Max’s (Adam Pally) expense, but it holds up better than, oh say, 30 ROCK. Also, as a resident of Chicago, I’d be remiss to note that it severely misrepresents the city layout, almost to a hilarious degree, where many of the streets and addresses simply don’t exist. (One address cited would land them in the squarely in the middle of Lake Michigan.)

Those qualifiers aside, HAPPY ENDINGS is perhaps better than any other modern sitcom at what the show calls ‘pile-ons’. Taken out of context, none of the jokes are rarely amazing, but when unfurled over a scene they build on each other, and while the first or second gag maybe elicited a slight chuckle from you, by the time the scene has ended you’re doubled-over gasping for breath and have to rewind because you couldn’t hear the final quips over the sound of your own laughter.

CHILDRENS HOSPITAL (2008-2016)

November 11, 2020

(Hulu/VOD)? One of the first adult swim live-action shows, this is a wall-to-wall neo-vaudevillian gag machine riffing on the daily soap opera genre that just about no one watching adult swim have actually consumed.

Despite the fact that it ran for eight years, it never quite received the recognition it deserved, being wedged in-between SQUIDBILLIES and adult swim’s anime block, but it was clearly a labor of love from all involved, and holy crap there were a ton of brilliant people involved: David Wain, Henry Winkler, Megan Mullany (clearly having the time of her life), Ken Marino, Lake Bell, Jordan Peele, Jon Hamm, and several Robs and Corddrys.

It also featured brilliantly cyclical jokes like the following exchange, delivered by the under-appreciated Erinn Hayes to Rob Heubel:

“I’m breaking up with you.”

“What? Why?”

“I uh, have a brain tumor.”

“Oh, bleep How long have you known?”

“…how long have I known? Ugh, I can’t lie! I don’t have a brain tumor. I just couldn’t think of a reason to break up with you.”

“Break up? Not with you sick like this! I’m going to take care of you!”

“No, no, no. I said I -don’t- have a brain tumor.”

“That’s just the brain tumor talking!”

While there isn’t a bad episode in the bunch, Megan Amram (who contributed the best storefront puns in THE GOOD PLACE and is the mastermind behind AN EMMY FOR MEGAN) penned one of my absolute favorite episodes of TV ever by taking CHILDRENS HOSPITAL pitch-perfectly into the past with -The Show You Watch-. (Unfortunately, the episode labeled as -The Show You Watch- on YouTube is actually the episode -Through the Eyes of a Falcon- and definitely not a great episode to start with.)

SNUFF BOX (2007)

November 9, 2020

(hoopla/VOD) If you’re reading this, you’re probably familiar with Matt Berry and his vocal and musical talents, either via FX’s WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS, THE IT CROWD, or THE MIGHTY BOOSH, but SNUFF BOX is still my favorite work of his. (Also, shout-out to Rich Fulcher, who keeps popping up in the oddest places, including Oscar-winning MARRIAGE STORY (2019).)

SNUFF BOX is a severely dark British sketch comedy show that lasted for only six episodes, but it is endlessly re-watchable. It’s centered around two loathsome hangmen, their puerile antics, their ability to break into song, and that’s all you need to know.

Please note: the Rude Song below is very rude and NSFW.

WHIIIISKEYYY!!

TERRIERS (2010)

November 8, 2020

(Hulu/VOD) TERRIERS deserves a mention simply for having one of the catchiest theme songs, and one of the least-helpful titles, in recent memory:

The 30-second version:

The full song:

Setting aside the theme song (which cites a sally forth punk! I love it so much!), it’s a gorgeously sun-soaked California private dick neo-noir. The core of the show is the camaraderie between the two private detectives, in-recovery Hank (Donal Logue) and the overly earnest fuck-up Britt (Michael Raymond-James). TERRIERS was a collective effort from THE SHIELD show runner Shawn Ryan and screenwriter Ted Griffin (OCEAN’S ELEVEN, WOLF OF WALL STREET), and I remember the exact moment that the show grabbed me: thirty seconds before the credits roll in the third episode, there’s a background motion that explains everything set up in the prior episodes, and I laughed for a minute straight at how perfectly executed the script and shot was. To say more would rob you of the delight of your own realization.

While I wish TERRIERS had managed to have a long, long life, the single season we received is a perfect single season of TV. If you’re a fan of THE ROCKFORD FILES, noir in general, or heartfelt platonic relationships, this is a show for you.

BUNHEADS (2012-2013)

November 6, 2020

(fubo/Hulu/tubi/VOD) Yes, everyone’s celebrating Amy Sherman-Palladino and THE MARVELOUS MRS MAISEL now, but everyone outside of my wife and maybe a few friends, had largely forgotten her once GILMORE GIRLS went off the air in 2006.

Enter 2012: I vividly remember walking with some folks through a mall to catch a Bollywood film in the Chicago suburbs, and there was a BUNHEADS poster front-and-center between us and the theater, and one dude I was attending the screening with lambasted the poster; ridiculed it. I was a coward, half-heartedly chuckling at his jokes, but inwardly very angry.

It hadn’t aired yet and yes, GILMORE GIRLS has -a lot- of issues, I won’t deny that (especially the Netflix mini — yikes) but Amy Sherman-Palladino has done far more good than harm. And this dude was mocking a poster because it dared to promote a TV show about girls & dance, -while- we were heading to see a frickin’ Bollywood film.

Setting that aside: BUNHEADS is the story of failed ballerina/current Vegas showgirl Michelle Simms (Broadway star Sutton Foster who you may know her better as the lead in YOUNGER, and I really had hoped I’d be watching her on-stage with Hugh Jackman in THE MUSIC MAN right now, but so it goes) who drunkenly latches onto Alan Ruck one night, marries him, moves to a sleepy California town, and then Ruck dies. Simms then falls into teaching at Ruck’s mother-in-law’s (played by GILMORE GIRLS’ Kelly Bishop) dance studio.

While Michelle has a fair amount of drama, the show is far more concerned with the stakes regarding the girls she’s mentoring, and really, it’s about their stories and experiences, and how Michelle helps to guide them through life, despite being a bit of a fuck-up.

It’s quintessential Sherman-Palladino work: sweet, smart, overly verbose, and extremely well-produced (albeit, yes, extremely white). The following numbers below should sell you on the show alone. Why yes, I’ll take a musical dance number inspired by Tom Waits’ Mule Variations!

If you’re a sound nerd, I love how they mic the floors (see Dance Routines Part 2, ~1:30), so you hear every landing, every hit, every slap. I’m hard-pressed to think of a show that was as aurally tactile as this.

If you’re a cinematography nerd, goddamn, the cheats they employed to ensure that the mirrors were always seen, but never the cameras? Blows my mind. And the China Balls!

BUNHEADS had a little something for everyone, and it’s a crime how ABC Family buried it. I’m hoping Amy Sherman-Palladino will revisit it in the future although, granted they did film a farewell dance as a way to give closure, I’d still love to see a reunion special.

PENNIES FROM HEAVEN (1978)

November 5, 2020

(DVD/YOD) You may be familiar with the Hollywood film PENNIES FROM HEAVEN (1981), starring and ushered into existence by Steve Martin, but it’s based on a six-ep British series penned by Dennis Potter. To be fair to Martin, the film sticks very closely to the original series, but the Hollywood gloss gets in the way, to the point where the film can’t see the premise for the trees. For example:

Potter’s ‘Yes, Yes’:

Martin’s ‘Yes, Yes’:

But I’m getting ahead of myself. PENNIES FROM HEAVEN is an incredibly unsavory lip-synced jukebox musical that takes place in the 1930s about a man’s midlife crisis — Bob Hoskins as Arthur Parker, portrayed Willy Loman style — and the women he leaves in his wake. On paper, it’s not terribly appealing, partially because Potter frames Arther as a noir hero, eschewed by his wife (and therefore, society) because of his sex drive (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duIlaVlLwX4&list=PL10169BEFFBF3C1B6&index=14 ). However, Potter’s women are far more fascinating than Arthur, and the musical numbers still resonate, well over 40 years later. Take for example, Arthur’s paramour, teacher Eileen:

Potter’s ‘Love is Good for Anything that Ails You’:

Martin’s ‘Love is Good for Anything that Ails You’:

What’s dictated via Hollywood’s PENNIES FROM HEAVEN — no offense to Bernadette Peters’ performance — is the longing, the frustration, the thrill in letting loose. It’s all spelled-out. Contrast it with Potter’s number, where it’s all simply acted out through Cheryl Campbell’s amazing performance.

And here’s a number featuring Arthur’s long-suffering wife. (The number doesn’t appear in Martin’s film.)

Potter’s ‘You Rascal, You’:

If you aren’t into 20s/30s era American Jazz or post WWI British miserabilia, this probably isn’t a series for you, but if you’re into either one, hunt down a copy.

THE HAUNTING (1962)

October 31, 2020

(AMC+/SHUDDER/VOD) If you’re reading this, there’s probably a 50/50 chance you’ve watched THE HAUNTING and, if so, it’s well-worth a re-watch! If you haven’t? Well, that’s what these electronic missives are for!

THE HAUNTING (1962, not to be confused with the 1999 version, which isn’t as bad as you may remember) is probably the closest to a definitive Shirley Jackson adaptation we’ll ever get, and not just because she was actively involved with the adaptation. While it excises and condenses the book, it never loses track of the complexities of Eleanor, the figurehead of the story, wanting to be wanted, but unaware as to how she can be needed.

It helps that THE HAUNTING is shot with a pitch-perfect eye. Director Robert Wise (a goddamn Hollywood legend as the award-winning editor of CITIZEN KANE and director/producer of WEST SIDE STORY, THE SOUND OF MUSIC) and cinematographer Davis Boulton used an experimental Panavision 30mm lens that lends an unmistakably unique look to the film; the occasional lens distortion helps to amplify certain scenes near the end of the film.

The lens, in tandem with the claustrophobic and detailed sets and the intense lighting gives the house a verve (while often framing all of the primary characters as entrapped or jailed) that required almost absolutely no ‘traditional’ haunting visual effects, relying instead on perfect sound design, and all of it dovetails with the intense internal monologuing from Eleanor.

THE HAUNTING is a perfect Halloween film, one that’ll make you think about your surroundings as you lumber off to bed, all while questioning your own place.

TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 2 (1986)

October 30, 2020

(AMC+/hoopla/Prime/VOD) TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 2 has a similar reputation to its original as HALLOWEEN 3 has to the first two HALLOWEENs: fans felt betrayed. Both films toy with their hallmark villains (in the case of HALLOWEEN 3, Michael is nowhere to be found), neither film tries to repeat their prior efforts, and both look and feel drastically different from what fans expected. While HALLOWEEN 3 has finally been embraced by horror fans, TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 2 (TCM2) is still mostly ignored, which I believe is rather unfair.

TCM2 is unmistakably glossier and poppier — just take a listen to the soundtrack. And yes, it’s far broader than the original. In other words, far closer to the tone of similar 80s horror films, but there’s a reason for that.

Hooper and co-writer L.M. Kit Carson (co-writer of PARIS, TEXAS) are using TCM2 to actively undermine what Hooper created with TCM1, by putting a slapstick, circus-like veneer on the entire film. Texas, as a state, is reduced to a brightly colored carnival (Texas Battle Land, chock full of crass Alamo murals and poorly rendered re-enactments), the Sawyer family become a twisted Three Stooges, and Dennis Hopper is reduced to an short-sighted, idiotic buffoon, often over-compensating for his own weaknesses by taking up not one, but two chainsaws.

Is it puerile? Oh, most definitely — there’s even a scene where Leatherface (who quickly falls for our radio DJ heroine) ejaculates in his pants, then quickly becomes frustrated and tears up the radio station upon discovering this new sensation. New Sawyer family member Chop Top has a disgusting habit of picking the skin from around his skull wound with the hook of a clothes hanger and eating it.

Is it satire? I’m hard-pressed to say, but Hooper’s definitely undermining his original creation and having a lot of fun doing so. If they had replaced Leatherface and recast the Sawyer family and hadn’t sold it as a TCM sequel, I’m sure this film would be better regarded today. However, it’s questionable whether the film would have the same bite that Hooper intended if it weren’t billed as a Texas Chainsaw Massacre film, if it hadn’t pulled the rug out from fans’ feet.

THE MIST (2007)

October 29, 2020

(AMC+/fubo/VOD) I read a fair amount of King as a kid and, while I found much of it thrilling, I recall very little of it disturbing me (although the TV film adaptation of IT definitely kept me awake at night) except for one short story from his SKELETON CREW collection: THE MIST. I fully realize it wasn’t so much the story itself, but how the story let my imagination run wild with the fear of what’s unseen.

While Frank Durabont’s adaptation of THE MIST differs in many ways from the source material, it still reckons with the idea of ‘what’s the worst out there that we can’t see?’, taking it to the extreme with what you may feel is a controversial end. In-between the opening and that ending, you have your traditional small-town interpersonal conflicts and blow-ups, mostly structured within the space of a decently sized grocery store with overly spacious front windows.

It includes murderer’s row of fantastic performers, including Laurie Holden and Jeffery DeMunn (both pre-THE WALKING DEAD), Andre Braugher, and frickin’ Toby Jones, stylish shots and cracking sound and monster design, it’s one of those adaptations where everything coalesces into something special.

(By the way, there was a barely-promoted TV adaptation of THE MIST that aired on the now-defunct basic cable channel Spike in 2017. Unless you’re hardcore about comparing adaptations — like I am — you may want to skip it.)