Path: ...!eternal-september.org!feeder3.eternal-september.org!news.eternal-september.org!.POSTED!not-for-mail From: Arthur Lipscomb Newsgroups: rec.arts.tv Subject: Re: What Did You Watch? 2024-03-24 (Sunday) Date: Mon, 25 Mar 2024 15:08:13 -0700 Organization: A noiseless patient Spider Lines: 163 Message-ID: References: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Injection-Date: Tue, 26 Mar 2024 01:50:04 +0100 (CET) Injection-Info: dont-email.me; posting-host="9b54dbd71a1ea62b8efabfa0bb7fc512"; logging-data="1490929"; mail-complaints-to="abuse@eternal-september.org"; posting-account="U2FsdGVkX18bI2KkRhaitenE3uufQBXsDSXXLFKYPKw=" User-Agent: Mozilla Thunderbird Cancel-Lock: sha1:MFWMkBLxeUH8aNGjGA7D4AtFJPg= Content-Language: en-US In-Reply-To: Bytes: 9643 On 3/25/2024 1:50 PM, Dimensional Traveler wrote: > The Twilight Zone S4E17 'Passage on the Lady Anne' - DVR > A woman hopes a trans-Atlantic cruise and holiday in London will halp > save her marriage.  (Comcast) > A young American couple, the Ransomes, who are trying to salvage their > troubled marriage, insist on booking passage on an old trans-Atlantic > cruise liner. But other passengers try to persuade them to disembark > immediately. > How exactly does a ghost ship interact with a regular ticketing agency?!? > Trivia: > Because of the large number of well-known actors in this episode, the > closing theme featured a credit roll of cast names instead of the usual > still frames. The remaining non-cast credits were then done with > standard still frames. This was the only episode of the series to ever > use a credit roll. > Joyce Van Patten is the sole member of the cast still alive, as of > August, 2021. > This was the last Charles Beaumont Twilight Zone screenplay to be > actually fully written by Beaumont himself. Around the time this episode > was made, Beaumont (then only 34) began suffering from the rapid onset > of a degenerative neurological disorder (believed to be either > Alazheimer's and/or Pick's Disease) which affected his speech, memory > and concentration, as well as causing him to physically age very > rapidly. As the disease progressed, Beaumont was soon unable to meet his > writing commitments. A number of his writer friends, including Jerry > Sohl and William F. Nolan, supported Beaumont by ghostwriting stories > with or for him and submitting them in his name, although Beaumont > insisted on splitting the fees with his helpers. His last screen credit > (also probably ghostwritten) was in 1965, by which time he was too ill > to work at all, and he died on 21 February 1967, aged only 38, although > his son later recounted that his father "looked ninety-five" at the time > of his death. > > > > The Twilight Zone S4E18 'The Bard' - DVR > A would-be writer (Jack Weston) summons William Shakespeare to help him > write a teleplay.  With John McGiver, Burt Reynolds.  (Comcast) > Julius Moomer, a talentless, but relentless, self-promoting hack who > dreams of becoming a successful television writer, uses a book of magic > to summon William Shakespeare to write dramatic teleplays that Moomer > will pass off as his own. Shakespeare becomes irritated by Moomer's lack > of appreciation and is even more appalled when he discovers the changes > wrought on his plays by cynical television executives. > I definitely remember this one, sort of. I don't remember Burt Reynolds being in it. And every time I try to think of specifics my brain goes back to the episode with the guy who could create things with the tape recorder. OK, so I don't remember it specifically. But I know I watched it. The 80s Twilight Zone did a version of this but in that one the person from the present was sent back in time and had to write the stories for Shakespeare. > Trivia: > William Shakespeare (John Williams) quotes lines from his plays nine > times with a trumpet flourish sounding each time, and most of the time, > him telling what play, act, and scene the quote came from. Three from > 'Romeo & Juliet,' two from 'Twelfth Night,' and one each from 'Troilus > and Cressida,' 'As You Like It,' and 'A Mid-Summer's Night Dream', plus > a partial one from 'Hamlet' (cut short when Shakespeare forgets the end > of the "To be or not to be" line. > Jack Weston and Marge Redmond (Mr. Hugo's secretary) were married in > real life at this time. > Burt Reynolds's character is clearly an amalgam of Marlon Brando and > Paul Newman. > Burt Reynolds and Jack Weston would act together again in Fuzz (1972) > and Gator (1976).  (This one was just to irritate Ian. :) ) > Burt Reynolds appeared on this show only once on a Thursday, the > following Saturday he appeared in his regular serious Gunsmoke. > >     William Shakespeare: To be or not to be Mr. Moomer, that... >     [Trumpets begin to sound, but are cut short, as he appears to > forget his line. He shrugs his shoulders and exits through the door. > From Hamlet Act 3, Scene 1 by Hamlet-not mentioned by Shakespeare] > > Narrator: [Opening Narration] You've just witnessed opportunity, if not > knocking, at least scratching plaintively on a closed door. Mr. Julius > Moomer, a would-be writer who, if talent came twenty-five cents a pound, > would be worth less than car fare. But, in a moment, Mr. Moomer, through > the offices of some black magic, is about to embark on a brand-new > career. And although he may never get a writing credit on the Twilight > Zone, he's to become an integral character in it. > > > The Twilight Zone S5E01 'In Praise of Pip' - DVR > Bookmaker Max Phillips that his son is dying in Vietnam and tries to > save him.  With Jack Klugman.  (Comcast) And if he doesn't save him he'll be wished into the cornfield. > A wearied bookie, learning of his grown soldier son Pip dying in South > Vietnam, gets to spend one last delightful hour with a ten-year-old > version of him at an amusement park.  (IMDb) > > In Pursuit of More Trivia!: > The favorite Twilight Zone of Rod Serling's daughter Anne Serling. > Watching she noticed several conversations between son Pip and father > Pop were almost identical to banter she had with her father. Rod Serling > nicknamed his daughter Pop, not Pip, and the final image on screen which > fits the narrative was also a personal message to his daughter. > The script originally had Pip stationed in Laos, but the network had Rod > Serling change it to Vietnam. Incredibly, CBS didn't want it set in > Laos, as that country was at the time the scene of intense fighting and > insisted the story be set in the more peaceful location of South > Vietnam. This episode was produced about two years before the massive > intervention of American forces in South Vietnam. > Bill Mumy's father rarely joined his son on sets, but joined him on this > occasion because the two often visited the pier they filmed on. His > father recalled being impressed with Jack Klugman who introduced himself > to the family and explained that father and son would be extremely > affectionate. Mumy joined his own son Seth Mumy on set of Dear God > (1996) with Klugman 30 years later. > eatures perhaps the first scene in American television set in the > Vietnam War, the opening scene where a wounded Pip is brought into the > field hospital. It's also one of the first American TV dramas to mention > the conflict in Vietnam and feature a Vietnam veteran, although Route 66 > (1960) had added a Vietnam veteran character earlier in the year. > One of only three TZ episodes to feature the line "Submitted for your > approval" during Rod Serling's opening narration, which is probably the > phrase most closely associated with the show that comes from those > monologues. > Essentially a rewrite of Next of Kin (1953), also written by Rod > Serling. The main plot thread of "Next Of Kin" features the same > characters, virtually all of the same character names, and the same > situations and general plot line. The fantasy element introduced in the > final third of the story, however, is unique to The Twilight Zone version. > > Quote: > Max Phillips: My son is dying in a place called Vietnam. There isn't > even supposed to be a war going on, but my son is dying. > > > The Twilight Zone S5E02 'Steel' - DVR > Two small-time promoters find that their fighter can't meet his opponent > in the ring.  With Lee Marvin.  (Comcast) > In 1974, boxing has been outlawed and is performed by mechanical robots. > With his next and possibly last fight approaching and his robot in need > of repair, he resorts to one last desperate gamble.  (IMDb) > > Trivia: > Of the sixteen episodes written by Richard Matheson, this was reportedly > his favorite. > Adapted from Richard Matheson's own short story. > This episode was in part inspiration for the film Real Steel (2011). You beat me to it. :-) I keep meaning to do a proper Richard Matheson marathon, but his movies are so different, it never works. Plus whenever I watch "Omega Man" that pairs better as it's own thing with either other Heston flicks and/or other adaptations of the story.