The Silver State Chronicles

The Florida State Song!

One of my all time favorite songs and melodies is the classic southern anthem, “Old Folks at Home” which is commonly referred to as “Swanee River.” Indeed, it’s been part of my morning shower songlist for over two decades now, and it continues strong!

I came across this nice, lazy rendition on YouTube by The Earthlings Washboard Band, and wanted to share! Enjoy!

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I had a bad feeling about this…

Probably my two favorite tv comedies of all time are The Odd Couple and Get Smart. The OC, of course, started on stage and made its way to the big screen, and ultimately the tv screen. Get Smart started on the tv screen and had a very successful run, and back around 1980 made it to the big screen in a forgettable film called The Nude Bomb.

The Nude Bomb brought Don Adams back to the role that he made famous, and indeed the role that made him famous, Control Agent 86, Maxwell Smart. Unfortunately, he was the only major cast member to return, and the loss of Barbara Feldon/Agent 99 and Edward Platt/The Chief really hurt the film.

In the late 1980s, however, a much better reunion film was made for television, Get Smart, Again!, reuniting as much of the original cast as possible. It’s released on DVD and usually in the $1 bin at Walmarts across the fruited plain – well worth the investment!

I love the original so much that I winced when a couple of years ago I heard that Hollywood was doing what it does worst, and making a big-screen, big budget Get Smart film. They almost always screw these things up, so why would Get Smart be any different?

Then I heard that Steve Carell was cast as Agent 86. While I am not a big fan, he seemed like a great choice given the current climate and talent pool. Alan Arkin as The Chief – seems like a good fit, and I can definitely see Max testing his patience! Anne Hathaway is easy on the eyes but seems a bit young for the top-shelf Agent 99. Duane ‘The Rock’ Johnson also seems perfect as Agent 23, a character created for the film: Control’s most capable and suave agent, and Max’s idol.

A glimpse at IMDB’s page reveals many old favorites in the cast of characters. Terrance Stamp as Seigfried – great choice! And Bill Murray as Agent 13, the Control spy who would always get assigned tight covert spaces. The pieces seem to add up, and I resolved to be of open mind and look forward to the film’s opening on June 20, 2008.

Though they haven’t begun marketing the movie in the states, I found both the teaser trailer and extended trailer for some international markets available on YouTube! So I checked them out.

Gotta say, I feel even better about the project after watching these two clips. Maybe it’s just a combination of hopefulness and gullibility on my part, though. I did hear that a rough cut of the movie was screened back in the Fall and tested horribly, enough to force the filmmakers to go back and redo some scenes. Usually not a good sign, but I am still hopeful.

Based on the clips. it seems faithful to the kind of humor that made the original tv series one of my favorites. In particular, that ‘element of surprise’ joke made me laugh quite a bit.

I suppose the question is, “Do audiences in 2008 want that?” I hope they do.

Wait and see…

PS – Anyone care to opine – the narrator of the shorter teaser sounds a lot like Leonard Nimoy, which would be a nice tie-in with another one of my favorite spy tv series, Mission Impossible. Anyone else think it sounds like ol’ Spock?

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Sudden Urge To Bite Into A…

Now and then some really unusual stuff from around the globe crosses my desk here at the world headquarters of The Silver State Chronicles. Well, this time, a tv commercial from halfway around the world has caught my attention. It’s for a product McDonalds markets as ‘The Tomato McGrand.’

I can’t decide if the ad is sexy or creepy. Or maybe it’s sexy-creepy. Or maybe it’s creepy-sexy?

While whoever posted it on YouTube felt that this was a video of Ronald McDonald’s daughter, I tend to think she is a cheap floozie who comes by the McDonalds’ home when Mrs McD goes away for the weekend to visit her mother. Good for Ronald, I suppose! Always gotta keep an eye on those sly old dogs in clown makeup!

I also have to say I nearly fell out of my chair at the 15-16 second mark. Holy Baloney! Is McDonald’s gearing up to market the ‘McCamel Toe Royale?’

In any event, a creepy-sexy, or sexy-creepy, redhead and a catchy tune tend to be the start of something big! At least, that’s the way it’s always worked out in my life…

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Running with Cloverfield this weekend

Courtesy of AintItCool.com, word is that Hollywood boy wonder JJ Abrams is giving fans a sneak peek at his big-budget, big-screen re-imagining of the original Star Trek series. A teaser trailer evidently will run with his giant monster attacks New York movie Cloverfield, which opens this weekend.

Looks like the teaser starts with some real-life inspirational quotes about space exploration, and then gives fans a view of the construction of the original Enterprise.

Gotta admit, it looks pretty sharp!

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“Mrs. Peel, We’re Needed”

It’s no secret to those that know me personally that I have been a lifelong fan of the classic British tv series, The Avengers. Indeed, I confess that I carried around an umbrella every day during the 4th & 5th grades in an effort to emulate one of my great role models, Mr. John Steed (Patrick Macnee).

Of course, I have a different sort of affection & admiration for his greatest crime-fighting partner, Mrs. Emma Peel (Diana Rigg). But I am only human, after all! What a woman!

Truth is, while modern television does show brief lucid flashes of genuine quality, wit, & creativity suitable for all ages, nothing comes close to the sheer escapst fun of this classic series!

And it’s that very essence that this fan-made video captures! So sit back and enjoy the snazzy presentation of the classic Avengers theme and the marvelous video that accompanies, courtesy of PeterPeel at YouTube!

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Lee Marvin on Dragnet

Thought I would share a Dragnet classic this week – an entire episode! This episode is ‘The Big Cast’ and featured a young Lee Marvin before he would go on to greater success.

The episode was first broadcast on February 14, 1952, and is brought to you today courtesy of the magic of YouTube!

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Spider-Man 3 Out on DVD Today!

Well, of course I was one of the first kids on my block to run out and get a copy of Spider-Man 3 on DVD! I believe the DVD has about six hours of additional features, which really shows how ridiculous these things are getting. The 2 1/2 hour movie was long enough – who needs another six hours of introspection and behind the scenes stuff?

This of course leads me to the meat of the matter: Spider-Man 3 was very good, but it wasn’t great and it is widely acknowledged as the weakest of the Spider-Man film series. Too long and too much nonsense were common criticisms, and while I liked it I can’t help but agree.

Well, kick back and enjoy this great animated video I found on YouTube that pokes some well-deserved fun at Spider-Man 3.

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Hawaii 5-0 Wisdom

Here in Las Vegas, one of my local tv stations runs the great police drama, Hawaii 5-0. GREAT SHOW! If tv were more like this, I would watch more!

So I was checking out the rapidly fading YouTube for some cool 5-0 stuff, and came upon this great clip. In it, McGarrett gives a strong verbal reprimand to a handful of obnoxious, naive hippies!

Thanks, McGarrett – I couldn’t have said it better myself!

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Many pretenders have followed, but there is only one Batman!

I was checking out some stuff on YouTube this weekend and came across a great tune from 1989, by renowned raconteur, Wally Wingert.

I recall how the anticipation for the upcoming Batman film was tempered by concern by fans of the 1966 tv series (like me). In the end, the Batman film was a huge hit that spawned several sequels, but it just didn’t capture the escapist fun of the original tv series.

To me, there will always be just one Batman, and that is of course the legendary Adam West. And the sentiment is shared by Wally Wingert in his classic song. ‘Adam West.’ I enjoyed the video immensely and decided to share both versions of the tune!

Adam West by Wally Wingert

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