Ever since Fox network acquired the rights to the World Series, the Treehouse of Terror (aka The Simpson’s Halloween Special) has been pushed to the first weekend of November.  The annual episode is actually three terrifying yarns told to send chills through the hearts of audiences.  Ironically, my favorite to date is the original, particularly the Simpson’s unique spin on Edgar Allen Poe‘s classic, The Raven.  In it, Homer is driven insane by the raven which strangely resembles Bart.  It also featured the first appearance of Kang and Kodos, alien invaders from Rigel VII.  In their first episode, the beings were not bent on world domination; however, Lisa’s suspicions got the better of her and the alien’s left in disgust.

SPOILERS AHEAD: Tonight’s episode featured three new tales.  My favorite was the final homage to another classic Halloween special.  The names were changed to avoid any lawsuits.  Milhouse and Lisa sat in the pumpkin patch awaiting the arrival of The GRAND Pumpkin.  Only in this tale, the creature comes alive after poor Milhouse sheds a tear after he is abandoned by his love.  After witnessing the torture pumpkins go through for Halloween (turning into jack-o-lanterns, etc), the giant gourd vows REVENGE. Most of the other aspects resemble the Peanuts special (even down to Bart’s holey Charlie Brown ghost costume and Ralph Wiggum’s cloud of dust as Pig Pen).  The Grand Pumpkin also featured the annual appearance Kang and Kodos.  And in yet another nod, Marge practiced her trombone which simulated the adult voices of the Peanuts cartoons.  While not as memorable as past years, I never miss a Treehouse of Terror.

I don’t know what kept me from seeing The Incredible Hulk when it was in theatres last summer.  Maybe it was the fear of being disappointed a la the original film.  More probably, it was the fact that I was in a show and was really busy, because I read some reviews and got excellent work of mouth.  However, seeing it on video I was FAR from disappointed.  The sequel had EVERYTHING the first film lacked in abundance.  It was almost a marriage of the comic book and the television series with homages paid to both.

The Incredible is so much closer in tone to the series while at the same time remaining faithful to the comic book.  Bruce Banner is on the run forever searching for the cure to his transformation into the not-so-jolly green giant. However, he may just come to realize that curing it is not necessarily the answer.  Along with him is his former fiance Betty Ross daughter of General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross.  General Ross is bent upon capturing Banner and using his alter-ego as a military weapon.  Another important figure derived from the comic series, Major Emil Blonsky (a rather power driven soldier) is introduced.

Yet, what made the movie so special (in my opinion) are the gentle nods to past incarnations of the character.  In most Marvel Superhero movies, Stan Lee (creator of The Incredible Hulk, Spider-Man, The Fantastic Four, and a whole list of other heroes) makes an appearance.  Lou Ferrigno (the ORIGINAL, original Hulk) has a cameo as a security guard as he did in the first film (and in a very cool vocal appearance).  There is also a nice reference to Bill Bixby (the original Dr. Banner) near the beginning of the film.  There is also a cameo of the original closing theme of the television series (“The Lonely Man”) .  Plus a mention of a certain investigative reporter.

Everything about The Incredible Hulk made it so much better than the first movie.  Everyone involved knew exactly what they were doing and made one monster of a tale.  It even included a cameo from a character  that  foreshadows a follow-up feature film.  So much for fans of the comic as well as those who remember the television series of the 70s-80s.  An Incredible film.

Can you believe that the Smurf’s are 50 years old and will soon be making a big comeback?  They were officially created in 1958 by a Belgian gentleman named Peyo.  There is going to be a new feature length motion picture as well as a new animated series.  However, gone will be the hand painted animation of the 80s and early 90s.  The little blue creatures will now be given the 3D treatment.  Also in the redux will be other Smurfs of the gentle sex.  Although I do recall a smurfling named Sassette who joined Smurfette and I was just informed that there was a Nanny Smurf.  As I recall, Smurfette was originally not a Smurf at all but was a creation of the evil wizard Gargamel in one of his nefarious plots to capture the blue critters and make gold.

One of highlights of  The Office outside of the main plot is the dynamic exhibited by Jim and Dwight.  I just roll with each scheme that Jim cooks up to get Dwight week after week.  Whether it be placing his desk essentials in jello (Episode One), playing a game of Hot and Cold for him to locate his desk (in the men’s restroom), or using a stop watch to monitor his time wasting (oops, is that a SPOILER), Mr. Halpert is a master of the well-conceived and well-timed prank.  Follow the link for a list of the best and feel free to comment on these or any that may be missing.

Ok… so this past week has not be fraught with hilarity… some fun, but a lot of downness (I KNOW a word that is not ), So, to cheer things up, I found a list of 24 quotable quotes from television… not from movies now. I’ll start off and let’s see how many we can come up with:

• “Space… the final frontier” (Surprise, surprise, eh?)
• “De plane boss… de plane” (Fantasy Island)
• “Faster than a speeding bullet… more powerful than a locomotive” etc (another shocker, yes)
• “NO SOUP FOR YOU!!!“
  
• “Marcia, Marcia, Marcia“

Ok… that’s five. come on all you shy people keep the ball rolling. Remember only television quotes for this one.  Sounds almost as fun as a rousing game of Shoes and Socks or “I’m Going on a Trip.”

Nanu, Nanu…Tonight, I was treated to a blast from my childhood. There was a mini-marathon of the series that launched the career of Robin Williams. Mork & Mindy was one of several series that spun off of Happy Days. Mork is an alien from the planet Ork who was sent to Earth to observe the primitive inhabitants and make weekly reports to his boss, Orson. The alien is taken in by a young single woman (played by Pam Dawber) and as one would suspect, their acquaintance eventually blossomed and Mork laid an egg that produced a bouncing baby boy who looked like a 50-something Earthling (Orkans age in reverse) named Mearth (appropriately enough). One of Mr. Williams’ heroes, Jonathan Winters, played the rather large bundle of joy.

One of the episodes in the marathon involved Mork’s encounter with a bully. Although he came from a world that had abolished violence and embraced peace, the alien ingeniously dealt with the bully by traveling inter-dimensionally and moved so fast that the combatant totally missed and embarrassed himself completely. Shazbot, indeed!

There were also a number of guest appearances by other actors on the verge of stardom. David Letterman played a motivational speaker named Elsworth(?). Unfortunately, his is the only one I can remember. Anyone want to help on other appearances?

So, it was kind of nice to revisit one of my childhood favorites.

I am all for the reinterpretation of a popular character over time to make him more appealing to the masses, but I have found one such instance a bit beyond what I consider plausible. I speak of the up-coming 8th season of Smallville. It not only seems that most of the traditional Superman canon is a MAJOR part of the young adult life of Clark Kent, but it seems that most of them know of his “secret.” Over the last two seasons, both Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen were introduced to the series as recurring characters which would be entirely understandable IF it were a series about the ADULT life of Clark after he had assumed the guise of the superhero. Last season, The Man of Steel’s arch-enemy Lex Luthor discovered the truth about Clark. There have been some interesting action-packed episodes with guest appearances of future Justice League members Green Arrow, The Flash, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, Cyborg, and Black Canary. However, I think the show’s creators may have driven the final nail in the coffin. For season eight, the monstrous destructive force known as Doomsday will be introduced. Instead of the inhuman monster who was responsible for killing the Last Son of Krypton, a troubled young man will eventually transform into the character. The new addition will also be involved in a love triangle with Jimmy and his girl friend. GREAT… more twenty-something angst. I think that it is high time that the BOY of steel grew up. I think it will be interesting how they plan to explain a way in which everyone who knows Clark’s secret will forget it (aside from the Kents, Pete Ross, and Lana Lang).

For a period of no less than four years, a production team has been attempting to create a musical version of one of the best-loved book and television series of all time: Little House on the Prairie . Before the series ran in the mid-1970s to ’80s, it was a collection of successful novels that dramatized the life and times of its author, Laura Ingalls Wilder, who grew up with her family in the wide plains of the South Dakotan frontier during the 1800s.

The musical, which opened at the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis, appears to have several differences from the tv show. Gone is the fictional town of Walnut Grove and replaced with the original Wilder setting of North Dakota. The role of Harriet Olsen seems to have been altered. She is not the typical, nosy busy body, who always seemed to have a knack for causing trouble (not unlike her daughter, Nellie) portrayed to hilarious delight on screen. However, the stage show does have at least one connection to its television predecessor that you can discover by reading the article here.

Personally, I’m not entirely sure that audiences will be as receptive to the stage show with such a drastic change to one of the television series’ supporting characters. Although the books were written in the 1930s-40s, I often found the role of Mrs. Olsen to be lacking when compared to her on-screen portrayal.

In the late 80s, one comedy kept senior citizens glued to their televisions on Saturday night. The Golden Girls featured 3 mature ladies living together under one roof. Dorothy, Rose, and Blanche were the three main characters. However, it was the wise-cracking Sophia (the mother of Dorothy) who stole every scene she was in. Ironically, Estelle Getty was actually 15.5 months younger than her on-screen daughter, Bea Arthur. Sophia’s acerbic wit and zingers (often directed to the promiscuous Blanche or the naive Rose) won Estelle 7 Emmy nominations and one statue for Best Supporting Actress (1988).

Estelle’s talents were not limited to the small screen. She also appeared in 80s and 90s big screen comedies. In Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot, she appeared as Sylvester Stallone’s mother. She also was the head of a department store in Mannequin. Not the world’s most entertaining films but worth a mention (Mannequin was more entertaining than Sly’s mediocre attempt to be funny) .

Estelle’s career ended in early 2000. Unfortunately, she was diagnosed with a severe case of dementia which later took her life.

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The television series Get Smart was created by Mel Brooks in the 1960s as a spoof of the James Bond phenomenon. Don Adams played the bumbling Maxwell Smart (Agent 86) to the much more competent Agent 99 (played by Barbara Feldon). Originally, 99 was to be Agent 69; however, as many would guess, the name was changed to prevent any sexual censorship.

Each episode finds the CONTROL agents (spies who actually punch time clocks) on missions to thwart the evil plans of counter agency KAOS. Two of the memorable recurring villains was Ze Craw (NO, NO…. not Craw, The Claw) who had a large magnet in place of his left arm and the evil Siegfried (who incidentally was a master magician (who used the “old gun in the rabbit trick.”)

Like Bond, Max has several devices at his disposal (the shoe phone and the inflato-jacket to name but two). The most memorable device is the Cone of Silence that never worked. 86 and the Chief would be surrounded by a large transparent bubble. However, there was a sheet of plexiglass placed between them which made it impossible for them to hear each other.

On Friday June 20, new audiences will be introduced to the characters when the comic genius Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway assume the roles created in the 1960s. This time instead of being the top agent of CONTROL, Max is promoted from analyst to field agent and goes on his first mission. This should matter little since Mr. Smart bumbled his way through 5 seasons on television but somehow always managed to foil the evil plans of KAOS. Facing every kind of danger imaginable…. AAAAND LOVING IT.

Some bits of trivia form the series:

Barbara Feldon was taller than Don Adams. Mr. Adams would stand on platforms to remedy the situation or Ms. Feldon would scrunch or sit down.

The acronyms CONTROL and KAOS actually stood for nothing.

Agent 99’s real name is never revealed.

The Chief’s real name was revealed as Thaddeus.

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Get Smart – Season 1