Category: TV

Twilight Zone: “The Rip Van Winkle Caper” [Season 2, Episode 24] / Z-View

Posted on by

Twilight Zone: “The Rip Van Winkle Caper” [Season 2, Episode 24]
Original Air Date: April 21, 1961

Director: Justus Addiss

Writer: Rod Serling

Starring:  Simon Oakland, Oscar Beregi Jr., Lew Gallo and John Mitchum.

The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…

Four thieves steal a million dollars in gold.  Their plan is to sleep in suspended animation for 100 years and be rich when they wake up.  Of course they forgot to take into account mechanical malfunction, human greed and that they are in the Twilight Zone.

Rating:

15 Incorruptible Facts About “The Shield”

Posted on by

Roger Cormier and Mental_Floss present 15 Incorruptible Facts About The Shield.  Here are three of my favorites…

1. THE CO-CREATOR OF LOST THOUGHT THE NETWORK WOULD CHANGE THE PILOT.
Damon Lindelof, co-creator of Lost and The Leftovers, remembered reading Shawn Ryan’s pilot script for The Shield and always waiting for Vic Mackey to become an Andy Sipowicz-type, or “a good guy despite his gruff exterior.” Instead, he read the ending where Mackey murdered an Internal Affairs rat in cold blood. “And when I read that, I thought to myself, ‘Shawn Ryan will never get this ending on the air,’” Lindelof recalled to the Chicago Tribune in 2008. (Spoiler alert: Lindelof was wrong.)

4. ERIC STOLTZ WAS OFFERED THE LEAD.
Eric Stoltz was offered the lead role and—and almost took it.

5. FX EXECUTIVES WERE NOT SOLD ON MICHAEL CHIKLIS.
The network knew Chiklis for his even-tempered roles in The Commish (1991-1995) andDaddio (2000). Against his agents’ advice, Chiklis took six months off from acting and lost 57 pounds. For his The Shield audition, he shaved his head. “When I heard his name mentioned, I thought he was wrong for the role,” Kevin Reilly, FX’s then-president of entertainment told The New York Times. “I knew him as a soft, cuddly guy physically and emotionally. He came in with this shaved head and his biceps, and he just chewed through the scene. He blew us away.’

Z-View Twilight Zone: “100 Yards Over the Rim”

Posted on by

Twilight Zone: “100 Yards Over the Rim” [Season 2, Episode 23]
Original Air Date: April 7, 1961

Director: James Sheldon

Writer: Charles Beaumont

Starring:  Cliff Robertson, John Crawford, Evans Evans and Edward Platt.

The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…

Christian Horn [Robertson] is leading a wagon train out west in 1847.  Horn’s son is burning up with a high fever and unless some water is found he may die.  Horn leaves the wagon train to search for water.  When he goes over a dune he finds himself in modern times.

Rating:

Z-View Twilight Zone: “Long Distance Call”

Posted on by

Twilight Zone: “Long Distance Call” [Season 2, Episode 22]
Original Air Date: March 31, 1961

Director: James Sheldon

Writer: Charles Beaumont

Starring:  Philip Abbott, Lili Darvas, Patricia Smith and Billy Mummy.

The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…

Billy Bayles [Mummy] receives a toy phone from his grandmother [Darvas] as a birthday gift.  Grandma and Billy claim that the phone will always keep them in touch.  After Grandma dies, Billy says she still talks to him on the phone.  His parents don’t believe him until…

Rating:

Z-View Twilight Zone: “The Prime Mover” [Season 2, Episode 21]

Posted on by

Twilight Zone: “The Prime Mover” [Season 2, Episode 21]
Original Air Date: March 24, 1961

Director: Richard L. Bare

Writer: Charles Beaumont

Starring:  Dane Clark, Buddy Ebsen and Christine White.

The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…

Ace Larson [Clark] and his buddy, Jimbo Cobb [Ebson] own a small diner.  While they are getting by, they ain’t gettin’ rich.  Larson hopes to save enough money to marry his girl [White] but the outlook isn’t rosy… until Larson learns his pal Cobb has telekinetic powers!

Larson convinces Cobb to go to Vegas so they can “earn” enough money for him to wed, but greed gets in the way…

Rating:

Tony Burton – R.I.P.

Posted on by

Tony Burton best known as Duke Evers, Apollo Creed and later Rocky Balboa’s trainer died last night at the age of 78.

Although Duke Evers was my favorite of all the roles, Mr. Burton played, I was also partial to his portrayal of Wells in the original Assault on Precinct 13.  Any movie or tv show was improved with a Tony Burton appearance.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Mr. Burton’s family, friends and fans.

Z-View Twilight Zone: “Static” [Season 2, Episode 20]

Posted on by

Twilight Zone: “Static” [Season 2, Episode 20]
Original Air Date: March 10, 1961

Director: Buzz Kulik

Writer: Charles Beaumont from a story by Oceo Ritch

Starring:  Dean Jagger, Carmen Mathews and Robert Emhardt.

The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…

Ed Lindsay [Jagger], living in a boarding house with other tenants (including a woman he almost married) has, over the years, turned into a mean old man.  Things begin to change when Lindsay begins listening to an vintage radio and hears a radio station that has been off the air for over a decade.

Rating:

Z-View Twilight Zone: “Mr. Dingle, the Strong” [Season 2, Episode 19]

Posted on by

Twilight Zone: “Mr. Dingle, The Strong” [Season 2, Episode 19]
Original Air Date: March 3, 1961

Director: John Brahm

Writer: Rod Serling

Starring:  Burgess Meredith, James Westerfield and Eddie Ryder.

The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…

Luther Dingle [Meredith] spends most evenings at the local pub trying to relax with a beer.  Sadly Dingle is often called to settle ever-escalating arguments between another patron and the bartender.  Somehow Dingle always ends up the loser.

Invisible aliens visiting our planet see what is happening to Dingle and decide to give him super strength.  Dingle becomes a local celebrity… for a while.

Burgess Meredith saves this episode.

Rating:

Z-View Twilight Zone: “The Odyssey of Flight 33” [Season 2, Episode 18]

Posted on by

Twilight Zone: “The Odyssey of Flight 33” [Season 2, Episode 18]
Original Air Date: February 24, 1961

Director: Justus Addiss

Writer: Rod Serling

Starring: John Anderson, Paul Comi and Sandy Kenyon.

The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…

Flight 33 from London to New York appears to be a routine flight until they hit some strange turbulence that rockets the plane to dangerous speeds.  When the plane is free of the turbulence all returns to normal… or so it seems until it is time to land.

Rating:

Z-View Twilight Zone: “22” [Season 2, Episode 17]

Posted on by

Twilight Zone: “22” [Season 2, Episode 17]
Original Air Date: February 3, 1961

Director: Jack Smight

Writer: Bennett Cerf

Starring: Barbara Nichols, Jonathon Harris, and Arlene Martel.

The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…

While recovering in the hospital, Liz Powell [Nichols] has a recurring nightmare where she ends up in a morgue.  Fearing that this is a vision she is going to die, Powell tells the dream to her manager and her doctor.  Both men laugh it off as her being tired from overwork.

When Powell finally begins to piece together what the dream means, it may be too late…

 

Rating:

Z-View Twilight Zone: “A Penny for Your Thoughts” [Season 2, Episode 16]

Posted on by

Twilight Zone: “A Penny for Your Thoughts” [Season 2, Episode 16]
Original Air Date: February 3, 1961

Director: James Sheldon

Writer: George Clayton Johnson

Starring: Dick York and June Daytona.

The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…

When a timid bank teller [York] gains the ability to read other people’s minds, he is able to see that many are not as they seems.

 

Rating:

Z-View Twilight Zone: “The Invaders” [Season 2, Episode 15]

Posted on by

Twilight Zone: “The Invaders” [Season 2, Episode 15]
Original Air Date: January 27, 1961

Director: Douglas Heyes

Writer: Richard Matheson

Starring: Agnes Morrehead.

The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…

An old woman who lives alone in a rural shack with no modern conveniences finds herself under attack when small visitors from another planet land on her roof.

Contains one of the best Twilight Zone twist endings of all.

Rating:

Z-View Twilight Zone: “The Whole Truth” [Season 2, Episode 14]

Posted on by

Twilight Zone: “The Whole Truth” [Season 2, Episode 14]
Original Air Date: January 20, 1961

Director: James Sheldon

Writer: Rod Serling

Starring: Jack Carson.

The Overview: Beware of Spoilers

Harvey Hunnicutt [Carson] is all that the worst used car salesmen are said to be.  He stretches the truth and only cares about making the sale.  All of that changes when Hunnicut buys a used car for resale that compels him to tell the truth in all situations.

A nice change of pace that is under-rated.

Rating:

15 Fun Facts About “Everybody Loves Raymond”

Posted on by

Roger Cormier and Mental_Floss present 15 Fun Facts About Everybody Loves Raymond.  Here are three of my favorites…

6. RAY IS OLDER THAN HIS “OLDER” BROTHER.
Brad Garrett, who played Ray’s older brother Robert, was 36 when the series first aired. Romano was a few months shy of his 39th birthday.

4. PETER BOYLE WAS PERFECTLY ANGRY AT HIS AUDITION FOR FRANK.
Peter Boyle had trouble just getting into the studio lot. He then couldn’t find a parking space. Then he went into the wrong building. By the time he reached Romano and show creator/showrunner Philip Rosenthal he was, in his own words, “enraged”—and perfectly in character for Frank Barone. The topper of it all was that, according to Romano, the CBS President was going to give Boyle the gig anyway.

12. THE SHOW MADE ROMANO THE HIGHEST PAID ACTOR ON TELEVISION.
Romano made $1.7 to 1.8 million per episode during the last two seasons of Raymond, surpassing Kelsey Grammer’s $1.6 million per episode salary for Frasier at the time.

Z-View Twilight Zone: “Back There” [Season 2, Episode 13]

Posted on by

Twilight Zone: “Back There” [Season 2, Episode 13]
Original Air Date: January 13, 1961

Director: David Orrick McDearmon

Writer: Rod Serling

Starring: Russell Johnson and Paul Hartman.

The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…

Pete Corrigan [Russell Johnson of Gilligan’s Island fame] spends the evening debating the possibility of time travel to the past to change events.  When he walks outside that evening Corrigan finds himself transported back in time to the evening that President Lincoln was assassinated.  With little time to spare, can Corrigan change history?

Rating: