Thanks for the Memories.....

           One of the hardest experiences in my life is losing someone I love or respect. Entertainers are hard because they are markers for my own life. How old was I when I watched that show or what was happening to me when I watched that movie? Certain entertainers are like part of my life, they are like extended family. Earlier this year we lost Whitney Houston, and Donna Summer.  I loved to dance when I was young and go to clubs in Portland, Oregon.  One of the best disco's of the late 70's and early 80's was The Embers.  Donna Summers' Last Dance and MacArthur Park blaring out of speakers, and the disco ball sparkling overhead.  Later Whitney Houston's How Will I know?  Losing them in part is like losing a part of my family.  I will not forget Robin Gibb my favorite Bee Gees brother.

            As I have grown and moved through life I have added new interests, science fiction being  a big one. Ray Bradbury died in June, he was know for Fahrenheit 451 and the Martian Chronicles, classics in the Sci- fi world. A guilty pleasure for me the last few years was Desperate Housewives, I loved Kathryn Joosten who did a great death bed scene in the series finale. She perished for real a couple of weeks later.

              For those of you who are old enough to remember The Andy Griffith Show, Goober died this year, how many afternoons I spent watching reruns of the show with Goober(George Lindsey) down at the filing station in Mayberry. Definitely a more innocent time, where there was one town drunk Otis, who they carefully let sleep off his booze in the unlocked Jail cell.

              Lets not forget Dick Clark, from American Bandstand. Sock hopping teenagers dancing to the latest tunes on TV.  I know many will remember him from the $25,000 Pyramid or New Year's Eve show.  For me he will always be American Bandstand, interviewing Davy Jones of the Monkees who also passed this year. Davy was my boy band crush at 11.  Don Cornelius from Soul Train left us early.  I loved to dance to Soul Train and the R and B music on that show. The R and B of the 1970's was some of the very best.  Along with with them went Jonathon Frid from Dark Shadows, a show I ran home to watch each afternoon, the first vampire soap opera.  Then my senior came the sweathogs, from Welcome Back Kotter, that show started John Travolta's rise to fame. This year Robert Hegyes who played Epstein passed. I guess there will no more notes to Mr. Kotter signed "from Epstein's mother" that he was famous for.

              I just rediscovered Ben Gazarra in Run for Your Life last year, on the METV channel, only to lose him all over again. METV also reminded of My Three Sons, another rediscovered childhood treasure. Don Grady passed recently. He played Rob and went from squeaky voice adolescence to married father of triplets on the show. Not to be forgotten music legends Johnny Otis and Etta James also passed. 

             What started this nostalgic journey for me was the passing of Nora Ephron.  I first became acquainted with her at 4 years sober, in my first real grown up relationship. It was in a darken theater, where I watched and fell in love during "Sleepless in Seattle".  It was a perfect movie to me,  Meg Ryan, and Tom Hanks in a great love story, that included another great love story (An Affair to Remember), and great old music. It was after that I came to enjoy "When Harry Met Sally".  The latest movie of hers I loved was Julie and Julia.  I thought is was heart warming, and endearing. 

             So to all these people that I loved and shared my existence on this rock with, thank you. As Bob Hope would say, "Thanks for the memories", and I add, thanks for bringing me joy, laughter, romance and memories that will carry me the rest of my life.

Love that Rory Gilmore!

             Being introduced to Alexis Bledel on Mad Men, and missing the whole Gilmore Girls phenomenon, I started watching it on ABC Family Channel.  The writing is wonderful, clever, and funny in a eccentric way. The characters are capricious, from Babette (Sally Struthers) the next door neighbor to the now famous Melissa McCarthy as Sooki,  chef of of the Independence Inn, finishing with watching Miss Patty the dance teacher stand just outside her studio, smoking a long cigarette saying "releve, plie". Melissa McCarthy has a great physical wit as Sooki. The most normal of all of them is the young girl Rory, (Lorelei Gilmore, played by Alexis Bledel). Lorelei Gilmore is also the name of the flamboyant and rebellious mother (Lauren Graham, now on Parenthood)who had Rory at 16, and left home. She ended up at the Independence Inn with her baby, asking for a job. At the shows start, she is now the Manager of the Inn, and her baby is 16 years old.

           The show takes place in a small New England town. The town, Stars Hollow, Connecticut is where Lorelei, and Rory live.  It is about 30 minutes from Hartford,  Connecticut and is a tiny hamlet with a traditional town square and a gazebo in the center. Lorelei's parents live in Hartford. To get Rory into Chilton's Academy, Lorelei makes a deal with her wealthy family that she ran away from. That if her parents pay Rory's tuition, Lorelei and Rory will come to dinner once a week on Friday night. When the show was on the air, I avoided it for unknown reason. I think I thought it was too girly, and maybe for my frame of mind it was, however I now understand why people love it.  This show was on 2000-2007, and even now it has a strong following.  I happily have become part of that following.
                    
             The towns folk are the background to this charming show.  Babette lives next door (played by Sally Struthers),  Miss Patty the over the top dance teacher (Liz Torres), to Kirk (Sean Gunn) the gentle, yet emotionally dysfunctional  man.  Kirk has night terrors during which he strips naked and runs through town. From Taylor (Micheal Winters) the grocer, to Mrs Kim (Emily Kuroda) the born-again Korean Antiques dealer and the mother of Rory's best friend Lane (Keiko Agena), the characters are strong, well developed and are an entity of their own in creating the atmosphere of Stars Hollow.  One of my favorite parts of the show is to be brought into a festival or town issue being addressed at a town meeting. One character that I loved and slightly identified with though not a Stars Hollow resident was Paris (Liza Weil), complicated, smart and rather pesky she was a friend of Rory's that goes from Chilton's Academy to Yale with her.

            It's fast paced conversation, witty banter, engage me.  I liken the whole experience to being at a cozy retreat with my favorite girlfriends. I can see why it lasted 7 seasons. So over the last couple of weeks I have gotten to know "The Gilmore Girls" and the town of Stars Hollow. It has been a warm and enchanting journey. It raised my debating ability, warmed my soul and even made me hungry.  I was hungry for all types of food.  Whether it was the beautiful dishes that Sooki made, the wonderful containers of Chinese food that Lorelei had around, or the plates of Burgers and french fries that Luke served up in the diner,  it reminded me of my own experiences with good food and good friends. Scott Patterson as Luke Danes was sexy, manly yet vulnerable and loyal.  Easy to develop a crush on him.  The man who played Dean (Jared Padalecki) went on to another show I liked Supernatural. He was a great choice for the first boyfriend of Rory.

              Over all, I was glad that 5 years after the last showing of the Gilmore Girls, I could discover the joy and warmth of this program.  I love that there are so many ways to view programs (even ones that are no longer in production).  I am grateful to be able to turn the creative genius of this show into a warm personal experience that for me is right up there with mac and cheese as comfort food.

It is a Mad Men world

          I have been a  Mad Men fan since the inception of the drama. It reminds me of the grown up dramas that would come on when I was a child. At the time my attention span was 30 minutes long, which was long enough for Bewitched. Just as I was tired and getting ready to sleep there were these hour long dramas, like Ironside, or Columbo.  They felt a little out of my reach, and understanding, grownup, with grownup issues.  It was slightly enticing.

           When Mad Men came on, the smoky, alcohol infused drama was a fresh, brilliant addition to TV. Every year it seems to improve.  The development of Megan Draper (Jessica Pare), again a refreshing addtion to the cynical workaholic advertising execs.  I loved her birthday dedication to Don in the French song(Zou Bisou Bisou).  Her desire to act and the poignant scenes when she is rejected once again. Finally her excitement and gratitude when Don finally helps her win the commercial. Also Don's character takes on  a deeper tint in how he keeps trying to grow with Megan's desires for stardom. Watching him watch Megan do her screen test I was filled with a tenderness, as I could see how Don loved her, and knew doing this for her was the right thing. Yet Don felt left alone, so we will see if he can handle a wife who is independent.

              Another story line that was a blockbuster this season, is the rise of Joan Harris,(Christina Hendricks) Director of Agency Operations, superb.  Starting with her telling Greg, her estranged husband, to leave and not come back. Joan decided to spend the night with Herb Rennet, head of the dealers association, in order to get the Jaguar account. Before doing this Joan demands that she is made partner with 5% of the profits. I loved the development of her being a larger part of the agency instead of part of the administrative department

               Beth Dawes (Alexis Bledel)  has an affair with creepy Pete Campbell (Vincent Kartheiser). Who by the way, is said to be light and funny in real life,  not at all creepy.  Though Beth goes through electroshock therapy and no longer remembers Pete, I am hoping that is a temporary occurrence, and that next year she will be back. It gives Pete a broader dimension, and I love Alexis Bledel (formerly Rory on the Gilmore Girls).

                Lastly Peggy Olson (Elizabeth Moss), finally leaves Don, and the agency. The scene is way over due, and touching between the two.  She is on to more money and a position as copy chief at another agency.  Though she is on good terms with Don, it is going to be interesting to see what happens. Like I said, this show seems only to improve each year, and I look forward to the 6th season of Mad Men.

I would have sworn her name was Veronica

              Remember Veronica Mars, the spunky detective girl of Neptune High School?  She’s the part-time receptionist and detective, for her father, Keith Marrs (Enrico Colantoni). Well she is back on TV, and on Soapnet.  I discovered her on Father’s Day, when they were having a Veronica Mars marathon.  It reminded me how much I loved the quick witted Veronica (Kristen Bell).  The show originally ran three seasons, (2004-2007) and according to the Huffington Post, Creator Rob Thomas and star Kristen Bell are open to doing a Veronica Mars movie. 

               It seems that Veronica Mars has been on Soapnet since March 0f 2012.  I love the clever way the show portrays this “close, but down on their luck” family. The show started with the murder of her best friend and boyfriends’ sister Liliy.  Lilly is played by Amanda Seyfried (Mamma Mia, Big Love).  Keith Marrs was sheriff when Lilly was murdered. People in Neptune consider the handling of the murder incompetent.  His reputation was ruined and he lost his job and opened up a detective agency.  

                Keith Marrs  is the honest, hardworking man, who really tries to level the uneven playing field of Neptune, California.  Veronica is devoted to her father, and though appears tough on the outside, is vulnerable in the inside.  She also retains the values of her father in trying to help her classmates at Neptune High with her sleuthing.  There is an underlying theme that there was more to the murder of Lilly than what was known and that Keith Marrs was set up.  Lilly’s brother Duncan Kane (Teddy Dunn)and Veronica are broken up. The rich kids she used to hang out with abandon her when she stayed loyal to her father. There is a real ‘us against them’ play as they reject Veronica, and she is now an outcast.  Wallace Fennell (Percy Daggs III), is now her closest friend, and he sometimes help her solve her cases. 

                The show was well written, and well acted. It was quick witted, young and generally a great show to watch. It now has almost a cult following.   Eight years after its debut, it is still fresh, young and a great watch.  So look for it on Soapnet.

Hello World

Movies and television are like old friends to me.  I was raised by them, from my earliest cartoons, like Bugs Bunny, Magilla Gorilla, and the Jetsons.  I graduated to the Patty Duke Show, through Gilligan's Island and Bewitched, all the way in to the Brady Bunch.  Even today, it is one of my favorite things to do at the end of the day. Grab some tea and sit down to watch what I have saved in the DVR.  No matter what was going on in my life, there was some reference I would make to the shows I saw on television.  I remember one time in my life, the picture tube on our TV broke, and we listened to it, until we could afford another one.  My mother said it was like listening to the Lone Ranger on the radio, like she did when she was young.   Even though I hated the reference, I still sat there listening to the sound on that old TV. It has been that way through my entire life, Movies and TV shows are the soundtracks that play along my journey through life.

I left home at 17, it was a difficult time for me.  I lived with another family to finish High School.  American Graffiti got me dancing and participating in school and my church.  The Trial of Billy Jack fueled my sense of spirituality and discipline, “One Tin Soldier” I sang in a talent show. As I graduated and moved to Salt Lake City, I saw Jaws nine times.  I memorized the lines from the movies. My first year on my own, Silent Movie came out, and I would visit the movie in the theater over and over, mostly on my own.  I became a huge fan of Mel Brooks and went to most of his movies after that.  I usually worked at night, and so during the day, when there were not a lot of people I went and sat, laughed and was inspired by the movies. One of my favorite movies that sustained my first couple of years on my own was Rocky.  I know Sylvester Stallone was a heart throb to some, but he was inspirational to me.  When those films came out on Beta and then VHS, I had to own them so I could revisit them as needed.

Those are just the beginning, The Good Bye Girl, all Neil Simon plays turned into movies, John Hughes films, ET and all Steven Spielberg films. Well at this point I could go on and on.  This year as I am going into the next phase of my life, I noticed that TV, with the movie channels, has really become phenomenal, like a viewing smorgasbord of wonderful shows and movies.  So that is where I am at. The most I have ever heard people admit to this much love for pop culture, is Rosie O’Donnell when she had her talk show originally years ago.   Mostly we viewers hang our heads in shame for loving Shameless, or knowing when Mad Men has hit a home run like it did this year. We are considered by some lazy, and intellectually challenged.  There is something magical about TV and movies, and the people who work in the industry. I love them.  I think from now on, I will own that affection, instead of pretending, I am watching for the news.