Recent TV Episode Viewings

[JaseSF]

The Outer Limits: "What Will the Neighbors Think?": Hypochondriac Mona Bailey (Jane Adams) wants to stay in her apartment building and complex at all costs but things take a rather crazy turn when she suddenly discovers she has the ability to read the thoughts of others in the building and they all seemingly want to kill her, or hate her, for one reason or another.

This episode of the 1990s series wasn't all that great. It is filled with annoying, irritating, vulgar and distasteful characters screaming at one another or worse. I suspect it's supposed to represent one woman's descent into madness but it never quite works as well as one would like and is just thoroughly unpleasant for the most part. A disappointing episode but one that somehow fascinates nevertheless. (Season 5, Episode 9, originally aired April 23, 1999)

The Twilight Zone: "A Most Unusual Camera": Chester (Fred Clark) and Paula Diedrich (Jean Carson) stumble across a rather unusual discovery - a camera that takes a picture about five minutes into the future. Eventually being joined by Paula's deadbeat small-time crook brother Woodward (Adam Williams), they eventually devise a plot to use it to successfully win at gambling and make themselves a fortune. However greed eventually gets the best of them all or is it the camera that's cursed?

This rather light episode of The Twilight Zone has some comedic elements which is not terribly surprising given the presence of lead Fred Clark. In the end, there's a twist that comes across as rather bizarre even for the Twilight Zone and isn't entirely satisfying. That said, the time moves at a brisk pace watching this one and it's an enjoyable escape for about a half an hour. (Season 2, Episode 10, originally aired December 16, 1960)

[JaseSF]

Crossroads: "Our First Christmas Tree": This tells the story of Reverend Henry Schwan (Don Taylor) who has come to the United States from Europe looking to take over the Ministry of the Zion Church and the struggle he faces trying to convince the townsfolk of the good of having a Christmas tree to help celebrate the Christmas season. The children of the town are all for it and excited to take part in decorating and Church services involving the tree but the townsfolk are dead set against it feeling that worship of a tree will replace worship of God.

Kind of a weird little story but probably relevant to the time in which it is set. Fairly forgettable overall. Lester Matthews appears as Henry's brother Reverend John Schwan whose storytelling is able to eventually win some support for the tree. (Season 2, Episode 12, originally aired December 21, 1956)

Dear Phoebe: "The Christmas Show": Bill Hastings (Peter Lawson) is a newspaper writer who writes a romance column under the name "Phoebe Goodheart". Here he decides to help Joey (George Winslow), a young boy he's made friends with before, after said boy ran away from military school. Also he works at trying to get tightwad boss Mr. Fosdick (Charles Lane) to throw a Christmas party. Eventually we learn Joey ran away because he didn't have a father to take part in father-son activities. Hastings works to track down the Dad hoping for a surprise Christmas family reunion for Joey.

This was O.K. Of course, it seems a stretch in terms of a story today but back in the day, it nevertheless somehow seems to work. It helps that the cast is likable. (Season 1, Episode 16, originally aired December 24, 1954)

Dragnet: "Big Little Jesus": Father Rojas (Harry Bartell) calls the police when he notices that the statue of the infant Jesus has been stolen from the Old Mission Plaza Church. Sgt. Joe Friday (Jack Webb) and Officer Frank Smith (Ben Alexander) work on trying to retrieve the statue before the Christmas service but time and luck aren't on their side. The eventual truth about the statue proves even more surprising.

This episode manages to get across the meaning and true spirit of Christmas. Good acting and storytelling here too. Could be a Christmas classic to some. (Season 3, Episode 17, originally aired December 24, 1953)

Follow That Man: "Petite Larceny": Store detective Mike Barnett (Ralph Bellamy) investigates a series of thefts that occurred near the store Santa Claus. The location of the thefts makes Barnett suspect a child might be involved. Investigation eventually leads Barnett to the carnival world and a magician nicknamed the Professor (Don McHenry).

This episode was a lot of fun to watch. As an audience, we know early the truth about the "child thief" (Athena Lorde) and this leads to some funny moments later on in our story. Margaret Hamilton also appears briefly in a funny supporting role as a victim of the thief named Mrs. Parmalee.  (Season 5, Episode 11, originally aired December 20, 1953)

The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet: "A Piano for the Fraternity": David, Rick, and the rest of their fraternity search for an affordable piano for them to use for an upcoming Christmas party. Along the way, they meet a friendly elderly couple named Mr. and Mrs. Stewart (Will Wright & Charity Grace) whom along with their slightly neglected parents, they eventually invite to the party.

This was a really nice little story and it was refreshing to see young people treat everyone nicely and with respect, especially those older. And to see it was also O.K. for older folk to still hang out with younger people and everyone could enjoy music, fellowship, and each other's company. (Season 9, Episode 13, originally aired December 21, 1960)

The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet: "The Busy Christmas": Ozzie volunteers for so many Christmas committees and charitable activities, he can't seem to find the time to hang the Christmas lights or find and decorate a Christmas tree.

This story champions helping and being involved in one's community and also family lending a helping hand wherever possible too. Good spirit and thinking certainly appropriate for the Christmas season. I really, really enjoy these Ozzie and Harriet shows. If only the world was this good-natured...(Season 5, Episode 12, originally aired December 18, 1956) (this was mistakenly listed as "Late Christmas Gift" on the DVD set I have these episodes on).

The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet: "Christmas Tree Lot": David and Rick decide to start a Christmas tree lot hoping the sales will provide them with enough money to buy Christmas gifts. However, things don't go quite as smoothly as Rick and David would like until a neighborhood businessman named Mr. Ferguson (Gavin Gordon) decides to help them out. Some advice from Ozzie also proves quite helpful too with regards to using music to attract a crowd.

This was an enjoyable episode. It does feature some singing from Ricky and Ozzie and has that general Nelson niceness going for it. (Season 6, Episode 11, originally aired December 18, 1957)

The Beverly Hillbillies: "Christmas at the Clampetts": The Clampetts celebrate their first Christmas in Beverly Hills but are confused by the aquatic themed gifts of Mr. Drysdale (Raymond Bailey) and Mrs. Drysdale (Harriet E. MacGibbon)'s high level of concern over her "full-length mink".

This was funny as usual mostly due to the misunderstandings of all involved. Best bit involved Granny and her reaction to her new "washing machine". (Season 2, Episode 14, originally aired December 25, 1963)

The Beverly Hillbillies: "Home for Christmas": The Clampett clan decide to head back to the hills to celebrate Christmas with their kin folk Cousin Pearl Bodine (Bea Benaderet) and Jethro's sister Jethrine (both played by Max Baer). When he learns of this, Mr. Drysdale insists in sending them home via flight leading to some funny misunderstandings as this is the first time the Clampetts ever flew anywhere. Meanwhile back home, Pearl puts forth her best effort to land herself an husband, her target Mr. Brewster (Frank Wilcox) while also trying to elude the unwanted affections of Homer Winch (Paul Winchell).

This episode is even better than the next year's Christmas special, just funnier and it's neat to get some glimpses of the extended Clampett clan and where they originally came from. Benaderet is really good in this episode and frequently steals the show when she's on screen. The flight bits are really fun too. (Season 1, Episode 13, originally aired December 19, 1962)

The Adventures of Robin Hood: "The Christmas Goose": A young boy named Davey (Jon Whitely) along with his beloved pet goose Matilda unexpectedly offend Sir Leon (Jack Watling) who orders as punishment to have the goose cooked for his Christmas dinner. However the boy seeks Friar Tuck (Alexander Gauge)'s help at the trial of said goose. When things don't go as the Friar would like, he seeks the advice and help of Robin Hood (Richard Greene) who teaches Sir Leon a lesson or two about Christmas.

This was a surprisingly good and enjoyable episode. The acting was above par here IMO. A simple but effective tale with a good moral. (Season 3, Episode 13, originally aired December 23, 1957)

Annie Oakley: "Santa Claus Wears a Gun": Annie (Gail Davis) and Deputy Sheriff Lofty (Brad Johnson) are worried when renown sharpshooter Snowy Kringle (Stanley Andrews) arrives in town. While the old man resembles Santa Claus, they've been warned he may in actuality be a crook after the Army payroll. Only all isn't quite as it seems.

This story played out in fairly predictable fashion for me and I could see its twist coming from far away. There's really nothing Christmas themed about this story though aside from Kringle's name and appearance. Otherwise, it's just another by the numbers episode. (Season 3, Episode 27, originally aired December 2, 1956)

[Gene Worm]

Diamond Eye: Warrior of Light:
Found a video showing half of one of the episodes. Basically a news reporter is attacked by the "Zensei Majin", a group of demons led by the villain "King Cobra", and uses a diamond encased superhero named "Diamond Eye" to fight them.

The episode didn't have much action, except for the news reporter following a woman (who was actually "Princess Cobra" in disguise) and her henchmen. The only action was at the end of the video, where the news reporter is kidnapped by Princess Cobra, King Cobra, and another villain called "Hitodetsubo" (all disguised at the moment). The news reporter then summoned Diamond Eye, who revealed the monsters' true forms and had a short battle with them, before King Cobra activated a trap door for him to fall through. The video then ended.

It is another one of those rare tokusatsus, like Barom 1 (although, not quite as cheesy and entertaining). Surprisingly, this one was created by Toho, the creators of Godzilla.

Feel free to watch the video here. Just keep in mind that a message, telling you to reconnect often appears during the video, and it restarts the video. Because of this, I just skip to the little bit of action at the end.

http://en.channel.pandora.tv/channel/video.ptv?ref=em_nom&ch_userid=rladudflq&prgid=46943191&categid=all&page=1

Bones:

A really quite popular FBI investigation show (one of the few good ones too) that aired on TNT. The episode was about Dr. Brennan (nicknamed "Bones") finds what is believed to be a murder victim that looks identical to her. Because of how similar this victim looks to her, Bones goes through identity crisis, and then befriends a security guard named "Mike" qho goes to lectures. However, along the way, they discover that this wasn't actually a murder, and was actually an act of suicide because the victim felt regret for not giving another one of the characters the chance to be loved.

The victim took heroine, purposefully beefed on a bicycle, got ran over by a car, and tipped in a helicopter. I forgot which one she actually died from. What ended up happening was after Bones' identity crisis stopped, and she discovered the answers to the case, she tells her partner, Booth about what actually happens, and he believes her and closes the case.

A rather sad episode, but still a good one. I was sidetracked at the end, and I missed it.

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That's it for the episodes I've seen. So not much. Also saw Who Wants to be a Millionaire, and part of The Chew, but I thought the other two were the only ones interesting enough to mention.

[dean]

Just burnt through the entire Season of Mr Robot. Pretty neat psychological/tecno drama/thriller.

[Gene Worm]

Assault! Armor Jack!:

Re-watched some rare footage of this show, for old-time's sake (haven't seen it in years). It was a Japanese toy company, Amapro's sad attempt at making a TV series for their character, Armor Jack. The show only made it for three, extremely low-budget episodes. The show has absolutely no plot, and Armor Jack fights against monsters that were fighting against each other. The monsters are:

Episode 1:

Rudongo: Looks like a Japanese chicken fast-food restaurant mascot. Is stabbed in the heart, by Armor Jack.

Rarigonika: A gorilla with crab claws. Gets stabbed in the back, by Armor Jack.

Episode 2:

Tsutabara: A green man, with a radish for a head. Is saved by Armor Jack, but then Armor Jack steals his food and stabs him. Good influence for children.

Naruton: A black dinosaur-like monster, with Japanese fish-paste for a face. Armor Jack gives him a huge beating, and then stabs him several times.

Episode 3:

Moaigan: A blue lizard-man with pink pants, a moai face, and he wields a toy gun. Is stabbed in the kidneys, by Armor Jack.

Tsutabara: Don't know how he came back. This time he wields some kind of cleaver. Is shot to death by Moaigan.

As bizarrely cheesy as this show is, it is still strangely entertaining.

Feel free to watch it here, for free!

Episode one: "I am Justice, Armor Jack" http://nicoviewer.net/sm146648

Episode two: "Protect the Green" http://nicoviewer.net/sm147700

Episode three: "Law of the Underworld" http://nicoviewer.net/sm160878

[Ticonderoga 64]

Binged watched DAREDEVIL seasons 1 & 2...

The Walking Dead first half of season 7..

Gotham first half of season 3

Doctor Who: Power Of the Daleks episodes 1-5

[Markk]

I watched the first two episodes of westworld on [removed]... I gotta say the Nolan brothers are invincible..wherever they go whatever they do its great... The story is so unique... And the cast is so great.. So many big names like Anthony Hopkins, Thandie Newton...And of course my favorite Evan Rachel Wood

[Rev. Powell]

I watched the first two episodes of westworld on [removed]... I gotta say the Nolan brothers are invincible..wherever they go whatever they do its great... The story is so unique... And the cast is so great.. So many big names like Anthony Hopkins, Thandie Newton...And of course my favorite Evan Rachel Wood

Please stop mentioning that piracy site. You are pinging my spam radar. Your posts seem to be on topic so I am giving you the benefit of the doubt but you are right on the edge of receiving a ban for spam.

[Trevor]

I bought season 3, 4 and 5 of Hawaii 50 (the reboot) and had my first 'binge watch' over Christmas. Some episodes are great, some good, some OK and some - like the season 3 episode Ohuna with its' stereotypical Souf Efrican bad guy - are terrible.



This guy - I have no idea who he is - is probably one of those peeps who thinks Africa is a country

[messedup]

I'm currently on vacation so I thought I would start some shows that sounded interesting. Since that I watched the first season of Billions (Good show...can't wait for season 2) and the first eps of Narcos and Mr. Robot. So far both seem pretty good, even though I might need to watch more of Mr. Robot to really get into the show.
Besides that a new anime season has started so I might find more to watch there. Also had to rewatch Ao no Exorcist (or Blue Exorcist) to remember the story for the second season that started couple of days ago.

[RCMerchant]

Watched a few episodes of History Channel's (why is it still  called History Channel?) 'Hunting Hitler'. It's premise is that Hitler escaped to South America in 1945. In other words-the same nonsense covered in the old Police Gazette magazines of the 1950's. Basically the Nazi hunter version of 'Ancient Aliens'. I feel sorry for young folks who-instead of reading books like the Rise and Fall of the Third Reich-get their lessons from crap like this. Kinda like Discovery Channel's Mermaid or Megashark fiasco's of a few years back. At least Discovery stated that those programs were BS.

[Murtlap]

I recently watched Sherlock and Homeland

[indianasmith]

Watched a few episodes of History Channel's (why is it still  called History Channel?) 'Hunting Hitler'. It's premise is that Hitler escaped to South America in 1945. In other words-the same nonsense covered in the old Police Gazette magazines of the 1950's. Basically the Nazi hunter version of 'Ancient Aliens'. I feel sorry for young folks who-instead of reading books like the Rise and Fall of the Third Reich-get their lessons from crap like this. Kinda like Discovery Channel's Mermaid or Megashark fiasco's of a few years back. At least Discovery stated that those programs were BS.

Dang, I wish I could give you karma for that one!  What arrant nonsense that show was!

[Pacman000]

Last night, Timeless, NBC's new time traveling show, featured the World's Fair Hotel, where the owner built hidden rooms & traps to murder people.  It seemed like the writers were running out of ideas & were relying on impossible cliches.

It was real: http://harpers.org/archive/1943/12/the-master-of-the-murder-castle/

[indianasmith]

Sounds like it might have been loosely based on the real serial killer chronicled in Eric Larson's DEVIL IN THE WHITE CITY.
He lured a large number of young women to their deaths during the Chicago World's Fair in the 1890's.