Rate The Last TV Show Episode You Watched
-
Paul MacLean
- Posts: 7073
- Joined: Sat Oct 09, 2004 10:26 pm
- Location: New York
Re: Rate The Last TV Show Episode You Watched
Going back to your initial post, Eric, I am curious, what software do you use to rip and then edit the footage?
-
Eric Paddon
- Posts: 8634
- Joined: Sun Apr 10, 2005 5:49 pm
Re: Rate The Last TV Show Episode You Watched
I use DVDFab9 (I'm sure it's now a higher number) to rip the DVD releases from 2003 (I haven't upgraded to the capability to rip Blu-Rays). Then I use Moviemaker to edit the footage together. Because some of the footage was never used even in telemovies, they only have an "on-set" sound to them so for an outtake of a scene on the Galactica or in a ship interior I found someone had an endless sound FX loop of the Galactica engine that I could lay in underneath for that kind of scene and at least allow that to blend in more (I also benefited from an endless loop of a Cylon fighter flying which helped me restore an unused FX shot for "Hand Of God" showing a Cylon fighter launching from the Galactica landing bay).
Not every piece of unused footage was used since there were many cases of alternate takes of used scenes or sometimes footage of scenes that were later reshot (the Apollo-Serina wedding which was initially less elaborately staged) and if the footage was of an abandoned subplot that didn't fit to the rest of the series narrative wise (all the "Serina is dying" footage from Saga that was scrapped so Jane Seymour could be coaxed back for one more episode).
What amazed me is how in one instance, two minutes of a Council scene at the beginning of Part 2 of "War Of The Gods" that got cut ends up undermining one of the biggest complaints leveled by critics at the original series over the decades about the one-sided nature of the military-Council relationship and how Council members are always presented as narrow idiots etc. This impression is largely derived from the total stupidity of the Council in "Baltar's Escape" (not helped by poor performances by Ina Balin and John Hoyt, who sports a "who are you trying to kid?" toupee). But in Part 2 of "War Of The Gods" when Count Iblis compels Baltar's surrender the original version that runs shorter shows Council member John Williams (in his last ever acting performance) is prepared to make Iblis President and Adama has a short scene of gentle reproach where Williams then agrees to a delay of one day but still comes off weak. But in the two minutes not used during the course of the scene, we hear an amazingly cordial back and forth where Williams treats Adama's concerns with more respect and shows additional respect for what Adama has done. Had Adama's interactions with the Council in the other two episodes (Greetings From Earth, Baltar's Escape) been like *this* then most of the objections that have often made some label the original series as presenting a "Fascist" view of government would IMO be seriously undercut.
Another unused scene that wasn't even part of a telemovie edition is in "Experiment In Terra" that manages to elevate that episode from terrible to mediocre. The episode is loaded with poorly written moments and the biggest one for me was how the reason for the "Ship Of Lights" to have Apollo to be like a Terran never made any sense in the final episode since Apollo was largely left clueless and not sure of what he was supposed to do and ends up in a detention cell until Starbuck comes to the rescue. The cut scene though finally gives a *reason* that while not perfect at least makes the Ship of Lights people not come off as stupid. When Apollo gets detained, another prisoner in the cell opposite him, believing him to be the person the Ship of Lights have made Apollo resemble to him, opens up with minute specifics about the war situation and how it came about and what the present danger is. In short, Apollo has now gotten the information he's needed to hear as a result of what was done and so when Starbuck arrives he can stop even any pretense of pretending he's the other guy. The episode still has a lot of flaws but at least it's now thanks to the re-edit work no longer as bad as it's always been to me in the past.
What I probably enjoyed putting in most that was never used was a small bit in "Hand Of God" where before Apollo and Starbuck get the information on how to infiltrate the baseship from Baltar, Apollo muses aloud about hoping he'd have been able to see Sheba again before they left (this coming after the moment when Sheba has finally confessed her feelings for Apollo). Anything that further indicates the potential of an eventual Apollo-Sheba relationship is one of the reasons why that last episode is so good IMO. Almost every fanfic universe I've seen (including all of mine) and even the Max Press comic books of the mid-90s have always accepted the inevitability of the two characters coming together. That's why when the so-called Larson "Season 2 memo" surfaced in the late 90s about his alleged plans for the series had it been renewed, all of us were shocked to see that one plan was to kill Sheba off in the Season opener! (Anne Lockhart never knew about this and has said she would have fought the decision). Had this come to pass, I think all of us would have hated what followed even more than we hated "Galactica 1980" because G80 is so far afield it's easy to just ignore and pretend never happened. This S2 memo would have meant Galactica would have had a second season like that of "Space 1999". Something too disparate from the original to effectively blend in with what went on before and needlessly jettisoning good characters.
Not every piece of unused footage was used since there were many cases of alternate takes of used scenes or sometimes footage of scenes that were later reshot (the Apollo-Serina wedding which was initially less elaborately staged) and if the footage was of an abandoned subplot that didn't fit to the rest of the series narrative wise (all the "Serina is dying" footage from Saga that was scrapped so Jane Seymour could be coaxed back for one more episode).
What amazed me is how in one instance, two minutes of a Council scene at the beginning of Part 2 of "War Of The Gods" that got cut ends up undermining one of the biggest complaints leveled by critics at the original series over the decades about the one-sided nature of the military-Council relationship and how Council members are always presented as narrow idiots etc. This impression is largely derived from the total stupidity of the Council in "Baltar's Escape" (not helped by poor performances by Ina Balin and John Hoyt, who sports a "who are you trying to kid?" toupee). But in Part 2 of "War Of The Gods" when Count Iblis compels Baltar's surrender the original version that runs shorter shows Council member John Williams (in his last ever acting performance) is prepared to make Iblis President and Adama has a short scene of gentle reproach where Williams then agrees to a delay of one day but still comes off weak. But in the two minutes not used during the course of the scene, we hear an amazingly cordial back and forth where Williams treats Adama's concerns with more respect and shows additional respect for what Adama has done. Had Adama's interactions with the Council in the other two episodes (Greetings From Earth, Baltar's Escape) been like *this* then most of the objections that have often made some label the original series as presenting a "Fascist" view of government would IMO be seriously undercut.
Another unused scene that wasn't even part of a telemovie edition is in "Experiment In Terra" that manages to elevate that episode from terrible to mediocre. The episode is loaded with poorly written moments and the biggest one for me was how the reason for the "Ship Of Lights" to have Apollo to be like a Terran never made any sense in the final episode since Apollo was largely left clueless and not sure of what he was supposed to do and ends up in a detention cell until Starbuck comes to the rescue. The cut scene though finally gives a *reason* that while not perfect at least makes the Ship of Lights people not come off as stupid. When Apollo gets detained, another prisoner in the cell opposite him, believing him to be the person the Ship of Lights have made Apollo resemble to him, opens up with minute specifics about the war situation and how it came about and what the present danger is. In short, Apollo has now gotten the information he's needed to hear as a result of what was done and so when Starbuck arrives he can stop even any pretense of pretending he's the other guy. The episode still has a lot of flaws but at least it's now thanks to the re-edit work no longer as bad as it's always been to me in the past.
What I probably enjoyed putting in most that was never used was a small bit in "Hand Of God" where before Apollo and Starbuck get the information on how to infiltrate the baseship from Baltar, Apollo muses aloud about hoping he'd have been able to see Sheba again before they left (this coming after the moment when Sheba has finally confessed her feelings for Apollo). Anything that further indicates the potential of an eventual Apollo-Sheba relationship is one of the reasons why that last episode is so good IMO. Almost every fanfic universe I've seen (including all of mine) and even the Max Press comic books of the mid-90s have always accepted the inevitability of the two characters coming together. That's why when the so-called Larson "Season 2 memo" surfaced in the late 90s about his alleged plans for the series had it been renewed, all of us were shocked to see that one plan was to kill Sheba off in the Season opener! (Anne Lockhart never knew about this and has said she would have fought the decision). Had this come to pass, I think all of us would have hated what followed even more than we hated "Galactica 1980" because G80 is so far afield it's easy to just ignore and pretend never happened. This S2 memo would have meant Galactica would have had a second season like that of "Space 1999". Something too disparate from the original to effectively blend in with what went on before and needlessly jettisoning good characters.
-
Eric Paddon
- Posts: 8634
- Joined: Sun Apr 10, 2005 5:49 pm
Re: Rate The Last TV Show Episode You Watched
As a postscript I decided to upgrade to the current DVDFab12 and now I can rip the Blu-Ray and copy them as well. So I may end up doing this re-editing all over again for Blu-Ray!
-
Eric Paddon
- Posts: 8634
- Joined: Sun Apr 10, 2005 5:49 pm
Re: Rate The Last TV Show Episode You Watched
Star Trek: The Paradise Syndrome
-This was another Trek episode I hadn't sat down and watched in decades. There was something about it that never grabbed me and honestly this episode fails for the same reason the other big "Kirk falls in love" story of S3 "Requiem For Methuselah" fails because in both cases, there is a lot of plot contrivance that doesn't hold up to internal scrutiny. I'm willing to forgive the absurdity that the phrase, "Kirk to Enterprise" JUST HAPPENS to be the code to open up the obelisk but here's what I can't accept. Why were Spock and McCoy lollygagging OUT OF SIGHT of the Obelisk while Kirk went up there? The answer is, "So he could be out of sight and disappear and thus set the plot into motion." But that requires the two of them to be unprofessional according to stage direction contrivance. Surely Spock wouldn't have just been standing still letting the Captain wander off out of sight. To me, this is the kind of problem where if I don't believe the set-up necessary to get the plot rolling, then I'm going to end up taken out of what follows. I can buy what happens in the set-up for "All Our Yesterdays" because when Kirk runs off and disappears, Spock and McCoy run after. I couldn't buy what happens here.
-The fact that even an amnesiac Kirk wasn't capable of saying, "No, I'm not a god, I just don't remember who I am!" shows that maybe the Klingons were right and he does have "delusions of godhood" underneath!
-It's hard for me to buy that Miramanee's injuries could be fatal. Kirk took more punishment from the rocks than she did. Also surprising we had no final scene of "explanation" to the rest of the people. The ending was much too abrupt in that regard.
After this episode, I then watched a much better one, "The Enterprise Incident" which if you think about is, Trek doing "Mission: Impossible". All we're missing is a briefing scene ("Good morning, Captain Kirk. The Romulan Empire is building a cloaking device. Your mission is to get it and preserve the balance of power. If you should be captured, the Federation will disavow any knowledge of your actions.") My one regret though about this episode is that Lee Grant was offered the role of the Commander first and turned it down. She would have been absolutely perfect in the part and she also totally blew away LInville in the looks department.
-This was another Trek episode I hadn't sat down and watched in decades. There was something about it that never grabbed me and honestly this episode fails for the same reason the other big "Kirk falls in love" story of S3 "Requiem For Methuselah" fails because in both cases, there is a lot of plot contrivance that doesn't hold up to internal scrutiny. I'm willing to forgive the absurdity that the phrase, "Kirk to Enterprise" JUST HAPPENS to be the code to open up the obelisk but here's what I can't accept. Why were Spock and McCoy lollygagging OUT OF SIGHT of the Obelisk while Kirk went up there? The answer is, "So he could be out of sight and disappear and thus set the plot into motion." But that requires the two of them to be unprofessional according to stage direction contrivance. Surely Spock wouldn't have just been standing still letting the Captain wander off out of sight. To me, this is the kind of problem where if I don't believe the set-up necessary to get the plot rolling, then I'm going to end up taken out of what follows. I can buy what happens in the set-up for "All Our Yesterdays" because when Kirk runs off and disappears, Spock and McCoy run after. I couldn't buy what happens here.
-The fact that even an amnesiac Kirk wasn't capable of saying, "No, I'm not a god, I just don't remember who I am!" shows that maybe the Klingons were right and he does have "delusions of godhood" underneath!
-It's hard for me to buy that Miramanee's injuries could be fatal. Kirk took more punishment from the rocks than she did. Also surprising we had no final scene of "explanation" to the rest of the people. The ending was much too abrupt in that regard.
After this episode, I then watched a much better one, "The Enterprise Incident" which if you think about is, Trek doing "Mission: Impossible". All we're missing is a briefing scene ("Good morning, Captain Kirk. The Romulan Empire is building a cloaking device. Your mission is to get it and preserve the balance of power. If you should be captured, the Federation will disavow any knowledge of your actions.") My one regret though about this episode is that Lee Grant was offered the role of the Commander first and turned it down. She would have been absolutely perfect in the part and she also totally blew away LInville in the looks department.
-
Monterey Jack
- Posts: 9755
- Joined: Mon Oct 18, 2004 12:14 am
- Location: Walpole, MA
Re: Rate The Last TV Show Episode You Watched
Been slo-mo binging Knight Rider over the last few weeks (being the one boxed set I managed to get for a song from the botched recent Deep Discount "sale"), and am two discs into the first season. While it's obviously not as awesome/cool/suspenseful as it was when I was between the ages of eight and twelve, it still exudes a low-fi charm, and I'm kind of digging the studied pace of 80s genre TV, where you could just watch ONE episode of a series, and get an A-B-C plot that was resolved completely inside of an hour. 
Nice transfers on the Mill Creek set, as well, although regrettable than none of the DVD-era special features were included.
Nice transfers on the Mill Creek set, as well, although regrettable than none of the DVD-era special features were included.-
AndyDursin
- Posts: 34310
- Joined: Tue Oct 05, 2004 8:45 pm
- Location: RI
Re: Rate The Last TV Show Episode You Watched
Speaking of '80s TV, was very happy to see THE LOVE BOAT's entire run is now on Paramount+, all 9 seasons in HD. This is the first time I've ever seen the later seasons of the show in a decent quality format, the colors are something to behold based on the washed-out, horrendous looking prints WOR used to run when I was in college (of the same 10 episodes it seemed! I always wondered why the show "never went anywhere"...it's because they never aired the longer episodes where they actually DID!).
I downloaded the Playon app and signed up for $5 for a single month to download the shows -- says it will record them in 720p MP4's, which is more than good enough for these episodes.
Paramount+ doesn't have the original TV movies, but they DO have all 3 "specials" that aired after the show went off during 1986-87. Those 3 specials have not been remastered and look like WOR re-runs -- but I'll take it seeing as they air so infrequently (if at all that I remember).
I downloaded the Playon app and signed up for $5 for a single month to download the shows -- says it will record them in 720p MP4's, which is more than good enough for these episodes.
Paramount+ doesn't have the original TV movies, but they DO have all 3 "specials" that aired after the show went off during 1986-87. Those 3 specials have not been remastered and look like WOR re-runs -- but I'll take it seeing as they air so infrequently (if at all that I remember).
-
Eric Paddon
- Posts: 8634
- Joined: Sun Apr 10, 2005 5:49 pm
Re: Rate The Last TV Show Episode You Watched
Sadly "Love Boat" stalled out on DVD after four seasons and the third and fourth seasons were released from older transfers from the early 90s with music edits no less. Of all the shows that didn't get full runs on DVD, "Love Boat" and "Fantasy Island" are in my top 3 (along with elusive second season of "Burke's Law") because those two shows defined Saturday night escapism in the purest sense.
-
AndyDursin
- Posts: 34310
- Joined: Tue Oct 05, 2004 8:45 pm
- Location: RI
Re: Rate The Last TV Show Episode You Watched
Indeed, and this proves they are remastered and ready to go. I've never seen the later seasons look halfway decent -- every syndicated print looked blurry and washed out. All the regular-length episodes of Season 9 are 49 minutes so they are not cut for time (no idea about music replacements, but that's not a deal breaker for me here).
I highly recommend the Playon app. Right now I'm midway through having actual HD (720p) backups of Love Boat Season 9, so I should be able to work my way through the whole run of the series by the time my 30-day subscription is up (I signed up for the $5 plan to see how it goes)
The software works simply -- after downloading to your PC (there is a "cloud" only version but it's prohibitively more expensive), you provide your log-in to Netflix, Vudu, Amazon, Paramount +, etc so the program has access to those services. Then you select your show or movie, the episodes you want, and it starts recording. Bear it mind this happens in real time so if you're downloading 24 episodes, it'll take 24 hours (or as long as it takes).
In terms of legality, the files are output with a brief "watermark screen" noting your account information/IP address and about 20 seconds of blank screen (at least on these Love Boat episodes) to deter distribution beyond your own use. I think they've already been to court and it's been established Playon works as a "VCR" for people who have a legal subscription to these sites.
The point of it is to make these files available for off-line viewing. Since they're limited to 720p, piracy is probably low for newer shows (where people usually want to see them in 1080p or 4K). But in this instance of THE LOVE BOAT, I can get a better quality version than is available anywhere. The output MP4 files run just over 1GB each.
I noticed HAPPY DAYS is still MIA from Paramount+ beyond selected episodes from the early seasons (they may be streaming elsewhere, I dunno), but it's worth keeping an eye on since I know this whole run of remastered LOVE BOAT's were not on this service when it was CBS All Access a year ago.
I highly recommend the Playon app. Right now I'm midway through having actual HD (720p) backups of Love Boat Season 9, so I should be able to work my way through the whole run of the series by the time my 30-day subscription is up (I signed up for the $5 plan to see how it goes)
The software works simply -- after downloading to your PC (there is a "cloud" only version but it's prohibitively more expensive), you provide your log-in to Netflix, Vudu, Amazon, Paramount +, etc so the program has access to those services. Then you select your show or movie, the episodes you want, and it starts recording. Bear it mind this happens in real time so if you're downloading 24 episodes, it'll take 24 hours (or as long as it takes).
In terms of legality, the files are output with a brief "watermark screen" noting your account information/IP address and about 20 seconds of blank screen (at least on these Love Boat episodes) to deter distribution beyond your own use. I think they've already been to court and it's been established Playon works as a "VCR" for people who have a legal subscription to these sites.
The point of it is to make these files available for off-line viewing. Since they're limited to 720p, piracy is probably low for newer shows (where people usually want to see them in 1080p or 4K). But in this instance of THE LOVE BOAT, I can get a better quality version than is available anywhere. The output MP4 files run just over 1GB each.
I noticed HAPPY DAYS is still MIA from Paramount+ beyond selected episodes from the early seasons (they may be streaming elsewhere, I dunno), but it's worth keeping an eye on since I know this whole run of remastered LOVE BOAT's were not on this service when it was CBS All Access a year ago.
Re: Rate The Last TV Show Episode You Watched
Are you sure the complete run of LOVE BOAT is on Paramount +? I subscribe through Prime Video and there are multiple episodes missing. For example, I only see 15 episodes available for season 9.
-
AndyDursin
- Posts: 34310
- Joined: Tue Oct 05, 2004 8:45 pm
- Location: RI
Re: Rate The Last TV Show Episode You Watched
Yes, episode breakdowns on Paramount+ right now:
Season 9 - 25
Season 8 - 27
Season 7 - 27
Season 6 - 29
Season 5 - 29
Season 4 - 28
Season 3 - 26
Season 2 - 28
Season 1 - 24
There are also 3 episodes from "Season 10", or what they are calling Season 10, since they were just one-off specials
I don't check this every day, but I am sure many of these later episodes were not on Paramount+ before, and were newly added. They are also remastered as well. I don't know how Amazon Prime works with Paramount+ that but they may not populate new content that quickly? I wasn't even aware they had a subscription available through that.
BTW Paramount+ has a $50/annual plan with the code YEAR if you buy through their site (ends 3/31)
Season 9 - 25
Season 8 - 27
Season 7 - 27
Season 6 - 29
Season 5 - 29
Season 4 - 28
Season 3 - 26
Season 2 - 28
Season 1 - 24
There are also 3 episodes from "Season 10", or what they are calling Season 10, since they were just one-off specials
I don't check this every day, but I am sure many of these later episodes were not on Paramount+ before, and were newly added. They are also remastered as well. I don't know how Amazon Prime works with Paramount+ that but they may not populate new content that quickly? I wasn't even aware they had a subscription available through that.
BTW Paramount+ has a $50/annual plan with the code YEAR if you buy through their site (ends 3/31)
Re: Rate The Last TV Show Episode You Watched
Going through Season 8 of Columbo...just started re-watching it the other day (I have to go back and re-watch Columbo Goes to the Guillotine because I don't remember much of it from when I watched it last year). The season consisted of four episodes in 1989:
Columbo Goes to the Guillotine
Murder, Smoke and Shadows
Sex and the Married Detective
Grand Deceptions
I have yet to watch Grand Deceptions, but just a few comments on the episodes so far...Murder, Smoke and Shadows is pretty creepy. Kudos to Fisher Stevens as Alex Brady - he is so unbearably likeable that I felt no sympathy for him whatsoever when he got his come-uppance (which itself is very theatrical...ironically so). I wonder who his character was based on (if anyone)...
Sex and the Married Detective is...well, disappointing in a way. I have issues with a lot of it, especially the theatrical way Columbo traps Dr. Allenby and gets her to acknowledge she was guilty of killing her lover - the policewoman in the black dress on screen for a second and then off screen, leaving the viewer to wonder if it was Joan's imagination or not. Then the mannequin dressed in black in the suite - how did it get in there? There were a couple of moments that felt like unnecessary bits to either make Columbo more charming or funny or whatever - the tuba playing sequence was a waste of time (though it does show how he and Allenby were both at the concert hall at the same time), and the bit with the Russian housekeeper playing off of each person's accent...I didn't really find it funny. I also thought it was weird that Columbo would be able to enter Dr. Allenby's home without permission with a complete stranger/eye witness in order to tell Dr. Allenby about the Lady in Black...wouldn't that have been against the law??? I did find they way he treated Dr. Allenby at the end to be in line with his character - he treated her with dignity despite her crime, something that he had done in past episodes depending on the character of the person. Columbo is older, but I feel these new episodes so far are more of a celebration of the character of Columbo from the past than an extension of his story...if that makes any sense? Not my favorite episode of the bunch.
Columbo Goes to the Guillotine
Murder, Smoke and Shadows
Sex and the Married Detective
Grand Deceptions
I have yet to watch Grand Deceptions, but just a few comments on the episodes so far...Murder, Smoke and Shadows is pretty creepy. Kudos to Fisher Stevens as Alex Brady - he is so unbearably likeable that I felt no sympathy for him whatsoever when he got his come-uppance (which itself is very theatrical...ironically so). I wonder who his character was based on (if anyone)...
Sex and the Married Detective is...well, disappointing in a way. I have issues with a lot of it, especially the theatrical way Columbo traps Dr. Allenby and gets her to acknowledge she was guilty of killing her lover - the policewoman in the black dress on screen for a second and then off screen, leaving the viewer to wonder if it was Joan's imagination or not. Then the mannequin dressed in black in the suite - how did it get in there? There were a couple of moments that felt like unnecessary bits to either make Columbo more charming or funny or whatever - the tuba playing sequence was a waste of time (though it does show how he and Allenby were both at the concert hall at the same time), and the bit with the Russian housekeeper playing off of each person's accent...I didn't really find it funny. I also thought it was weird that Columbo would be able to enter Dr. Allenby's home without permission with a complete stranger/eye witness in order to tell Dr. Allenby about the Lady in Black...wouldn't that have been against the law??? I did find they way he treated Dr. Allenby at the end to be in line with his character - he treated her with dignity despite her crime, something that he had done in past episodes depending on the character of the person. Columbo is older, but I feel these new episodes so far are more of a celebration of the character of Columbo from the past than an extension of his story...if that makes any sense? Not my favorite episode of the bunch.
-
Eric Paddon
- Posts: 8634
- Joined: Sun Apr 10, 2005 5:49 pm
Re: Rate The Last TV Show Episode You Watched
What you say makes perfect sense because 90s Columbo is not about great, intricately plotted mystery stories and all about celebrating Falk's return to playing the character in scripts that are all weaker than the weakest of 70s Columbo episodes IMO. A tell-tale point is how most 90s episodes will often take FOREVER to get to the actual murder and the reason for that is because the scripts are not good at giving us multi-layered clues Columbo finds in the slow unraveling of the alibis etc. More "backstory" effectively means less investigating by Columbo.
Another problem is that I've seen many of these epiosdes going more for a "noir" type approach and that is simply wrong for Columbo. Columbo is not a hard-boiled detective, he's a drawing room mystery sleuth in the tradition of Holmes, Father Brown, Poirot etc. and the 70s Columbo episodes set largely in the bright sunshine of 70s California worked for that. There shouldn't be any "grittiness" in a Columbo story but too often many of these 90s ones fall into that trap IMO.
And then the final problem sadly is Falk. There is no nuance in how he plays Columbo in these revival stories. It's all broad in the same way a variety sketch would depict the character. The quirks and gimmicks of Columbo are overemphasized way too much because there's a self-conscious nodding to Columbo fandom by doing it. Give me the more nuanced Columbo of earlier episodes, especially S1 "Death Lends A Hand."
Another problem is that I've seen many of these epiosdes going more for a "noir" type approach and that is simply wrong for Columbo. Columbo is not a hard-boiled detective, he's a drawing room mystery sleuth in the tradition of Holmes, Father Brown, Poirot etc. and the 70s Columbo episodes set largely in the bright sunshine of 70s California worked for that. There shouldn't be any "grittiness" in a Columbo story but too often many of these 90s ones fall into that trap IMO.
And then the final problem sadly is Falk. There is no nuance in how he plays Columbo in these revival stories. It's all broad in the same way a variety sketch would depict the character. The quirks and gimmicks of Columbo are overemphasized way too much because there's a self-conscious nodding to Columbo fandom by doing it. Give me the more nuanced Columbo of earlier episodes, especially S1 "Death Lends A Hand."
-
AndyDursin
- Posts: 34310
- Joined: Tue Oct 05, 2004 8:45 pm
- Location: RI
Re: Rate The Last TV Show Episode You Watched
Weirdly, the season premiere of LOVE BOAT's Season 8 -- which must have been in a 90 minute slot because it runs 71 minutes here -- hasn't been remastered and looks ancient. I wonder if it never ended up in syndication because of the length? It's the one where they introduce the new cruise director Patricia Klous. It's also missing the opening theme song/guest star/cast roll too.
The rest of Season 8 is all HD and newly remastered...weird.
https://www.paramountplus.com/shows/the ... ly-cruise/
The rest of Season 8 is all HD and newly remastered...weird.
https://www.paramountplus.com/shows/the ... ly-cruise/
-
Eric Paddon
- Posts: 8634
- Joined: Sun Apr 10, 2005 5:49 pm
Re: Rate The Last TV Show Episode You Watched
Before she replaced Lauren Tewes, Pat Klous's one claim to fame was a short-lived series in 1978 called "Flying High" which was an attempt to basically copycat the "Love Boat" format in the air with Klous, Connie Sellecca and the forgotten Kathryn Witt as three stewardesses who provided the eye candy. Barley lasted a season and you can only find the pilot (which has one of Jim Hutton's final appearances) and one partial episode on YT. This in contrast to the other "Love Boat" clone flop from that season, "Supertrain" where all the episodes are available in circulation among collectors from off-air recordings.
Re: Rate The Last TV Show Episode You Watched
I finished Season 8 of Columbo last night with a viewing of Grand Deceptions. I think this episode attempted to return to a harder-edged Columbo, more like the character we grew up and loved (for example, when Columbo confronts Jenny - General Padget's wife - about her affair with Colonel Brailie...he shows some aggression there). And he also gets really smarmy and patronizing with the Colonel when he traps him at the end; and I liked Columbo's interactions with General Padget. This episode at least did not have a silly "Aw shucks, Columbo is so likeable!" moment as the previous episode did (i.e. Sex and the Married Detective, where he plays the tuba or has the comedic moment with the cleaning lady in the office). However, when Colonel Brailie drops out of the trees in a black "ninja" outfit to kill Sgt. Major Keegan, I laughed out loud as he looked ridiculously and utterly ludicrous. I think overall the cast did really well in this one, though again I wonder at some of the liberties the script takes with Columbo. For example, when the Special Project Reports are shown to him by Brailie's secretary, is he legally allowed to just take one of the reports and disappear with it?