Reviews

I liked the series overall, but I had some issues with it. The production values are great, the scenery is great, and the acting is also great.

However, why anyone with extreme emotional issues should be left in care of a child brings into question if the main characters had ever undergone psychological clearance after suffering severe PTSD. Also, the series gives the viewer the impression that many people in Britain are super rich and privileged. And anyone with firearms training always checks a pistol to see if it's loaded, functional and safe to shoot, especially if one already knows it's been tampered with..

I was only three when OMB first aired on TV, so I don't remember much of it, but it was a weekly staple at our house. I started watching it several years ago on Decades TV, and was struck by its clever writing and the witty delivery by Ms. Arden. Some of the plots were rather contrived, and I didn't care for the somewhat tame animosity between Ms. Brooks and Mr. Conklin (which came to a head in the show's last season), but it stands out as mostly far better than any other 1950s TV sitcom. Sadly, with the recent passing of Gloria McMillan at 88, they're all gone now.

Heavens, has it really been 70 years since the show first aired? I'm feeling my age now, but the show lives on.

Great to see the noted silent film actor Gilbert Roland, still very much in his prime in this 1964 episode.

The international airport featured here is really the Burbank--Los Angeles Airport, now called Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, California, which I've flown out of many times. It was an early regional airport, and while it now flies solely domestically it never was an international hub. David Janssen must have been a frequent customer, although he was also an avid private pilot himself. The airport has since been expanded, but it is still quite recognizable today (2021).

Okay, forget the misogynistic remarks (which reflect the mores of the times) and the overly simplistic plot to knock over Las Vegas, and focus instead on the camaraderie of the original Rat Pack, the likes of which we will likely never see again. Well worth watching as almost an historical film, featuring stars of the time that were obviously having a ball during the filming. I watch this movie at least once a year, and TCM usually airs it with the same frequency, denoting its ongoing allure and interest among us more older viewers.

I saw John Astin's short film Prelude in late 1968 and fell in love with it. But despite years of searching, I still cannot find the film, although the memory and message still resonates with me almost 53 years later. John or Sean, if you ever read this comment, please put the film into general circulation!

Lauren Chapin's acting ability is demonstrated to good effect in this episode, particularly the heartbreaking scene in which 12-year-old Kathy angrily confronts her seeming lack of attractiveness and popularity, common issues that many girls that age can relate to.

First, the good stuff: actor James Bradshaw's Dr. DeBrin character is so good he deserves a series of his own, and this episode,"Canticle," also features one of the rarer versions of Jimi Hendix's fantastic interpretation of "Red House."

Now the bad: I love both the Inspector Morse and Endeavour series dearly, and I would have given this otherwise excellent episode 8 stars, but the first four minutes of the show are truly annoying. I didn't mind the over-dialogue and cut-aways used to introduce the Christian media critic, but the awful pop music is simply beyond tolerating. It's the kind of mediocre rock "music" one hears in every Elvis or Beach Blanket Bingo film, which are not just forgettable but even nauseating.

My advice in watching this episode is to just mute the first 4 minutes and read the subtitles, otherwise you'll be reaching for the off switch. As for the music played by the episode's British rock group The Wildwood, I guess you can just mute that as well.

I'm a long-time fan of the Frost series, but this episode just didn't agree with me.

My main complaint (as actor David Jason himself agreed with at the close of the series) is that Frost is simply getting to old to be going after younger women, in this case a lithe aerobics instructor. Frost is now easily into his 60s, while the instructor looks be be no older than late 30s. In earlier episodes, Frost has occasionally had more than a protective, parental eye for the ladies (including ex-madams with hearts of gold), but this is definitely pushing things.

Another criticism: rare species trafficking is and was a serious problem, but it should have been addressed as a background crime issue, not the continuous public service announcement as it appears in this episode. In previous installments, the series adeptly handled more serious (even heartbreaking) issues like child sexual abuse and endangerment without becoming maudlin or preachy in their treatment.

Lastly, having conclusively identified the real mastermind behind the trafficking and murders, Frost normally would have read him his rights, cuffed him and had him hauled off straightaway. Instead, he chats at length with the criminal and allows himself to be led into a situation involving a dangerous wild animal. In the ensuing showdown, it is all too obvious that Jason's stuntman is doing the wild-animal taming act.

Overall not a great episode, but the closing narration brilliantly summarizes Richard Kimble's plight, one reminiscent of Henry David Thoreau's famous "The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation":

"Some people run for exercise, some are professionals chasing a record, and still others must run to live. Theirs is the longest race -- if they can last until tomorrow, their reward is one more day of running."

In the 2009 movie Inglourious Basterds, Hitler is seen delightfully chortling over the German propaganda film "Stolz der Nation" ("Pride of the Nation") as the German hero slaughter mass numbers of enemy soldiers. "Shooter" is just "Pride of the Nation" updated to appease neoconservative and fundamentalist Christian television audiences who can't get enough mass killing of swarthy Arabs, invariably depicted as evil incarnate.

Time and again, the baddies mindlessly run up against handsome, athletic, brave American soldiers armed to the teeth who are only too happy to gun them down en masse. Looking for a feel-good turkey shoot, or just like to see fish shot in a barrel? Then this is the series for you. The National Rifle Association would certainly like to see more shows this this one.

Frank Sinatra starred in two memorable heist movies in the 1960s. The first was Ocean's Eleven (1960), which brought the Rat Pack together for a film that Sinatra is said to have remarked "Forget the movie. Let's do the heist!"

The second was sci-fi writer Jack Finney's Assault on a Queen (1966). Despite its mediocre rating here on IMDb, it's actually a fascinating film marred only by rather cheap special effects (Sinatra's diving scenes look like they were shot in a backyard pool) and the sometimes ridiculous Rod Serling script. "She's so deep in my gut we breathe together" is the worst line, and one that Sinatra must have needed more than a few drinks to articulate.

Meanwhile, Virna Lisi appears as little more than eye candy in the film, and Anthony Franciosa's character is rather repugnant and oily. However, there are some good scenes with Sinatra and fellow Rat Pack member Richard Conte, and the movie would have benefited greatly if their two characters had been given more time together.

It's definitely worth watching, and Sinatra's acting is great as usual despite the weak script.

This film (along with a short outtake) is included in the Mack Sennett Collection, which I recently acquired.

Like many other people, I got interested in Mabel Normand primarily by way of her involvement in the 1922 William Desmond Taylor murder case, which has yet to be solved. While Normand seems to have been in love with the much older Taylor, and her cocaine addiction figured prominently in the case, she was never a serious suspect.

Anyway, Normand's swimsuit scenes are rather provocative in this film, and the audiences of 1912 may have been somewhat shocked, but of course it's all very quaint by today's standards. However, I found Normand to be rather on the chunky side, and the armpit hair she displays in the diving board sequence was a bit off-putting, but in 1912 women didn't seem to care about such things (and apparently the men didn't, either).

Still, Normand displays a personable charm that extends far beyond the 100-plus years since this film was made, and for this reason alone it's well worth viewing.

One of my favorites of the series, this episode showcases Jack Kelly's fine comedic acting along with one of the most beautiful women to grace the television screen, Merry Anders.

Although the plot is a tad hokey, the writing is clever and Kelly's facial reactions to some of the knottier situations are priceless, particularly the one in which his character, the unrepentant gambler Bart Maverick, discovers he is running for state senator as the Reform Ticket candidate.

This episode features a rare running gag in which Bart is constantly stymied in his attempts to play poker by the repeated interruptions of Anders' character, the prudish but delectable Penelope.

Overall, a really good episode.

The Cold War is very much in evidence in this mediocre outing. Nelson is sent down to investigate a mysterious object that has plunged into what appears to be 30 feet of water. Is it only a meteorite, or could it be an enemy ICBM warhead? Whatever it is, it's white hot, and it oddly retains its temperature during the entire episode, despite being in contact with water the entire time.

But the most preposterous aspect of the episode is the entirely arbitrary "ticking clock" that Mike has to work under. "Mike's got just 8 minutes and 13 seconds left to identify that thing!" What then? If it's a nuclear warhead, they'd all need to be 50 miles away when it went off.

Sorry, but I won't give away the "exciting" conclusion of this forgettable episode.