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Quantum Leap: Exploring Time Travel’s Unique Twist

Mar25

March 25

A Tuesday Newsday Classic Updated

Dr. Sam Beckett and project coordinator, Al Calavicci

“Oh Boy.”

These two little words, uttered on March 25, 1989, launched a TV-show and inspired a cult-like following as viewers were treated to a mind-bending time travel fantasy with a new twist.

The fresh premise of Quantum Leap proffered that time travel is possible… but one can only time travel during the years the particular person is alive. Each person’s life is like a string with a beginning and an end. But if the ends of the string are tied together and the string then bunched up, the theory went, a person could leap from one point on the string to another bouncing from time to time.

The opening segment of each show, From the Infallible Wikipedia, is this:

“Theorizing that one could time travel within his own lifetime, Dr. Sam Beckett led an elite group of scientists into the desert to develop a top-secret project, known as ‘Quantum Leap.’ Pressured to prove his theories or lose funding, Dr. Beckett prematurely stepped into the Project Accelerator–and vanished.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/kf-nvBCTnR0?si=3X21lGIY5MvJmUxh

He awoke to find himself in the past, suffering from partial amnesia and facing a mirror image that was not his own. Fortunately, contact with his own time was maintained through brainwave transmissions with Al, the Project Observer, who appeared in the form of a hologram that only Dr. Beckett could see and hear. Trapped in the past, Dr. Beckett finds himself leaping from life to life, putting things right that once went wrong and hoping each time that his next leap will be the leap home.”

In the five seasons the show was on the air, Dr. Beckett – played by the yummy Scott Bakula – ‘leapt’ into the body of a different person each episode. He was an air force jet pilot, a minor league baseball player, and a prize fighter in the first season. He was young, old, male, female, black, white…

Sam’s first time in a woman’s body as Gloria in 1964

One of the things I loved about the show was its humor and, especially, all the ridiculous ways Scott Bakula had to dress for the series and the personas he assumed. He even wore dresses and high heels, lipstick and eye makeup. It was fun to watch him peer into a mirror and see whose body he now occupied.

Personally, I like the early seasons better than the later ones as his leaps placed him into the bodies of average people with regular struggles. In some later episodes he has brushes with historical figures and the writers/producers take tremendous creative license with past events and blow up their own premises, stretching the bounds of credulity.

Regardless, it was a fun show made all the more enjoyable by the interplay between Bakula and Dean Stockwell who portrays the cigar-wielding Al.

I bought the first season on DVD one year as a birthday gift for my then teenage son. I thought my kids would love the show! Instead, after 15 minutes, they were bored.  I determined that maybe it was a show which an adult audience could appreciate but was over the heads of kids. Or, perhaps, it only resonated with my generation as we could relate to the times and travels of Sam Beckett (born August 8, 1953). Who knows? Now that my kids are adults, they might enjoy it. I’m not sure how well the show has aged or if it’s stuck in the 1990’s.

All five seasons are available on DVD

In 2021, I discovered that Quantum Leap episodes were being run on Xfinity. So the hubby set it to record whenever an episode was aired. It took a while, but all 5 seasons were recorded and I rewatched them. Overall, it was an enjoyable journey although there were a few episodes that tackled some pretty intense topics.

I think one of the best episodes is his leap into his teenage self in the 1960’s. The episode is particularly poignant since he comes armed with knowing, since he comes from years in the future, that neither his father or his older brother are alive in 1989. Who among us wouldn’t love to go back and fix some of the mistakes of the past? Who would not want to go back and try to save a beloved family member?

Ultimately, Sam’s lesson is that while he might not be able to change the past, what he can control is his own interactions with his loved ones, letting them know how he feels about them.

It does show as being available on Peacock/NBC. A fun watch, in my opinion, if you have the time!

A few links:

Al explains string theory time travel:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_Leap

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Beckett

It’s A Wonderful Life

Jan7

Angels Among Us

January 7, 2025

A Tuesday Newsday Classic

Cover of the 60th Anniversary DVD featuring George and Mary Bailey and three of their children

This film, officially released in theaters on January 7, 1947, was plagued with missteps from the start. Its history of challenges, actually, seem appropriate as it is a film about failure and redemption and has become one of the world’s most beloved Christmas classics. The movie: It’s a Wonderful Life.

Its story begins in 1939 when Philip Van Doren Stern writes a short story he titles The Greatest Gift. Unable to find a publisher, Stern self publishes 200 booklets which he gives as presents to friends during Christmas 1943.

The story ended up being read by Carey Grant who was interested in adapting the story into film with him as the lead. RKO, a movie studio, purchased the rights in April 1944 to do just that.  Work commenced on the screenplay. For whatever reasons, Grant went on to other projects and the partially completed script was eventually sold to Frank Capra’s production company in 1945.

Capra – recognizing the potential in the story – hired a writing team to work on the script. But there were problems. From the Infallible Wikipedia:

“Capra salvaged a few scenes from Odets’ earlier screenplay and worked with writers Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, Jo Swerling, Michael Wilson, and Dorothy Parker (brought in to ‘polish’ the script), on many drafts of the screenplay.

It was not a harmonious collaboration. Goodrich called Capra ‘that horrid man’ and recalled, ‘He couldn’t wait to get writing it himself.’ Her husband, Albert Hackett, said, ‘We told him what we were going to do, and he said ‘That sounds fine.’ We were trying to move the story along and work it out, and then somebody told us that [Capra] and Jo Swerling were working on it together, and that sort of took the guts out of it. Jo Swerling was a very close friend of ours, and when we heard he was doing this we felt rather bad about it. We were getting near the end and word came that Capra wanted to know how soon we’d be finished. So my wife said, ‘We’re finished right now.’ We quickly wrote out the last scene and we never saw him again after that. He’s a very arrogant son of a bitch.’

George telling Clarence he wished he’d never been born

Later, a dispute ensued over the writing credits. Capra said, ‘The Screen Writers’ Arbitration committee decided that Hackett and Goodrich, a married writing team, and I should get the credit for the writing. Jo Swerling hasn’t talked to me since. That was five years ago.’ The final screenplay, renamed by Capra It’s a Wonderful Life, was credited to Goodrich, Hackett, and Capra, with ‘additional scenes’ by Jo Swerling.”

In order to make the film ‘Oscar’ eligible it was released at the Globe Theatre in New York on December 20, 1946 rather than wait until early 1947 as originally planned. The change likely cost It’s a Wonderful Life a Best Picture Oscar as the competition for 1946 was much more difficult. Best Picture winner was a movie titled The Lost Weekend, a movie now pretty much lost in time. It’s a Wonderful Life ended up with five nominations including for Best Picture and Best Actor for Jimmy Stewart.

The movie was under water some $525,000 at the box office.

It wasn’t until the late 1970’s when the copyright expired and the movie was ‘discovered.’ Also from the Infallible Wikipedia:

“The film’s elevation to the status of a beloved classic came three decades after its initial release, when it became a television staple during Christmas season in 1976. This came as a welcome surprise to Frank Capra and others involved with its production. ‘It’s the damnedest thing I’ve ever seen’, Capra told The Wall Street Journal in 1984. ‘The film has a life of its own now, and I can look at it like I had nothing to do with it. I’m like a parent whose kid grows up to be President. I’m proud … but it’s the kid who did the work. I didn’t even think of it as a Christmas story when I first ran across it. I just liked the idea.’ In a 1946 interview, Capra described the film’s theme as ‘the individual’s belief in himself’ and that he made it ‘to combat a modern trend toward atheism’.”

The house at 5417 40th Ave SW in Seattle as it looks now. When we moved there the right side of the yard had been dug out and turned into a driveway that heaven help you if you took a wrong step at the top.
The hubby covered in dust after an evening blowing insulation into the attic

It was in December 1981 when I first saw the movie. The hubby and I had purchased our first house six months earlier. It was a 1910 fixer upper in West Seattle and a hodge-podge of never-ending projects. Our initial weekend in the house involved ripping out pet urine-soaked carpets and removing part of the narrow, with a 90 degree turn staircase, in order to get our queen size bed up to the bedroom.  Behind the 1960’s era kitchen cabinets we unearthed a painted over window with the curtain rod still attached to the wall. Unfortunately, the curtains – mostly rags – also still hung there. The fix list went on and on. During the time we owned that house, it was one critical project after another.

Our cat, Porsche, was peering through the kitchen window watching as I worked with some steak and we inadvertently captured those horrible old windows, painted at the bottom and half covered up by ill-fitting counters.

Forward to the week before Christmas 1981. I was home sick from work with a bad cold, puttering around our drafty old house, doing what I could to get ready for the holiday. I had the TV on to keep me company when this old black and white film appeared.

Within moments I was hooked and soon I gave up my puttering and snuggled up on the couch under a blanket. I watched the whole thing. The already dim afternoon light faded to night just as George Bailey descended into his own winter solstice crisis. There I sat, commiserating with poor George over a house that needed constant fixing and worried about how he was going to find the money that Uncle Billy lost. I could relate as money was tight for a pair of house poor, married barely a year, kids.

The townspeople of Bedford Falls coming together to help George

There’s a moment in that film which sums it all up. It’s when George arrives back home – alive once again – and hugs the kids but cannot find Mary, his wife. The bank examiners arrive and tell George they are going to arrest him and his response is just the best. He tells them how wonderful it is for no other reason than because he’s alive and that is enough.

Just then, Mary bursts through the door, she and George embrace and he tells her how much he cherishes her. But she has a surprise for him – the community has come to their rescue and raised more than enough money to cover the missing funds.

It’s this scene which had me bawling. What a gift it is to be so loved, so valued, that your friends and family will do anything to ease your burden. Every time I watch It’s A Wonderful Life I hold it together until that scene comes on and George receives a gift from his Guardian Angel, Clarence, with the following sentiment:

“Dear George, remember no man is a failure who has friends. Thanks for the wings, Love Clarence.”

As always – the links:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It’s_a_Wonderful_Life
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Greatest_Gift

Back To The Future

Nov5

I am your Density!

November 5, 2024

A Tuesday Newsday Classic

“Your future hasn’t been written yet. No one’s has. Your future is whatever you make it. So make it a good one.” – Doc Brown

To be able to travel through time has long sparked the imagination of mankind.  It has been fictionalized in countless books, TV shows and movies. But there is one movie so original in its interpretation that when it was released it spent 11 weeks in the top box office spot and was the top grossing film of 1985. That film is Back To The Future.

November 5 was not the date the film was released. But for those of us who are cult followers of the film, we know that when Marty McFly stepped into Doc Brown’s DeLorean the date on the computer was set by the Doc to November 5, 1955. With the aid of plutonium stolen from Libyan terrorists, the Doc’s time machine – once it reached 88 mph – sent Marty back 30 years. There he encounters his parents, George and Lorraine, who are both teenagers.

From the Infallible Wikipedia:

“Marty finds himself transported to 1955 without any plutonium to return. He encounters the teen aged George, who is bullied by his classmate Biff. After Marty saves George from an oncoming car, he is knocked unconscious and awakens to find himself tended to by Lorraine, who is infatuated with him.

Doc Brown in the iconic closing scene of the movie

Marty tracks down Doc’s younger self for help. With no plutonium, Doc explains that the only power source capable of generating the necessary 1.21 gigawatts (1,620,000 hp) of electricity for the time machine is a bolt of lightning. Marty shows Doc a flyer from the future that recounts a lightning strike at the town’s courthouse due the coming Saturday night. Doc instructs Marty to not leave his house or interact with anyone, as he could inadvertently alter the future; because of this, Doc refuses to heed warnings from Marty about his death in 1985. When they realize that he has prevented his parents from meeting by saving George from the car, Doc warns Marty that he must find a way to introduce George to Lorraine or he will be erased from existence. Doc formulates a plan to harness the power of the lightning, while Marty sets about introducing his parents.

After Lorraine asks Marty to the school dance, Marty devises a plan: he will feign inappropriate advances on Lorraine, allowing George to ‘rescue’ her. The plan goes awry when a drunken Biff gets rid of Marty and attempts to force himself on Lorraine. George, enraged, knocks out Biff, and Lorraine accompanies him to the dance floor, where they kiss while Marty performs with the band.

As the storm arrives, Marty returns to the clock tower and the lightning strikes, sending Marty back to 1985. Doc has survived the shooting, as he had listened to Marty’s warnings and worn a bullet-proof vest. Doc takes Marty home and departs to the future. Marty awakens the next morning to find that his father is now a self-confident and successful author, his mother is fit and happy, his siblings are in their own successful businesses, and Biff is now an obsequious auto valet.”

There is so very much to like about Back To The Future, that I don’t even know where to begin. A couple of great scenes come to mind, however.

Marty and Lorraine in an awkward moment
  1. Marty is in the soda fountain and tries to order a “Tab” which, of course, is a beverage from 1985. The soda jerk chastises him and tells him he can’t give him a tab when he hasn’t ordered anything. The gag continues with Marty trying to order a ‘Pepsi Free’ which really makes the guy mad.
  2. When he meets his teenage mother she has rescued him after his being hit by his grandfather’s car and Marty wakes up – having been put to bed for recovery from the previously mentioned accident – and she addresses him as ‘Calvin.’ Marty questions Lorraine on why she calls him this and she tells him it’s on his underwear… there was no designer underwear by Calvin Klein in the 1950’s of course. But even more disturbing is the thought of how Lorraine found this information.
  3. Doc Brown, upon meeting Marty, is skeptical as to Marty’s story about traveling from the future and peppers him with questions in the following memorable exchange:

“Then tell me, “Future Boy,” Who’s President in the United States in 1985?”
“Ronald Reagan.”
“Ronald Reagan? The actor? Then who’s Vice-President? Jerry Lewis?”

 When asked for a list of my top ten favorite films, this is one of three films which I love and can watch over and over, never tiring of it.

For my father’s funeral in early November of 2019 and, because my older siblings declined to do so, I was the designated eulogist. It is very difficult to distill someone’s life down into a ten minute speech. Ultimately I decided to share a couple of stories which were illustrative of my dad’s spirit and determination. Upon reflection I realized I had gotten, during the ten years of going to Yakima and staying with him to cook meals and help, my own version of time travel. Although is not possible to actually experience it, this was the next best thing. Here’s what I wrote:

My dad’s official training photo from his time at Lakeland AFB, Florida, circa 1944, with (I believe) a PT-17 Stearmann plane

“In those early days (2009-2014), Dad was starved for conversation and companionship. While I know he appreciated the meals, I think he liked getting to tell his stories and talking with me more.  Over time I heard about his time in the Army Air Corps and the day he buzzed the tower at Chanute Field in Chicago; or the hurricane he went through while stationed in Lakeland Florida in 1943. I learned that before he knew Mom, there were a number of young women he dated – one in every town it seemed – and one of them brought her mother along and followed him from Buffalo New York to Dothan Alabama. Fortunately for all his kids and grand-kids, he was not ‘catchable’ at that point.”

But there was one particularly memorable moment in Back To The Future which has always resonated with me. When Marty returns to the future, his parent’s lives have changed and his father – who never once stood up to anyone before Marty altered the past – is completely different.  Instead of being in a dead end job, George McFly is now a successful author.

The message is clear: each of us is in charge of our own destiny. My destiny seemed to be that autumn morning when I walked into a novel writing class in 2004. As I sat there listening to the fictional pages others were sharing that day I had an epiphany. I knew – and believed – that I could write the stories which inhabited my brain. Seven completed novels later – with others still knocking about in my cranium –I have, like George McFly, taken that next step. In a few days my debut novel “The Darling of Delta Rho Chi” will be published.

I have created my own personal Back To The Future moment. And its even better than a flying car which runs on trash. Maybe.

The link:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Back_to_the_Future

Ninety-eighty Something

Sep24

The Goldberg’s

September 24, 2024

A Tuesday Newsday Classic

In the 1970’s it was the TV program Happy Days which took us back to the 1950’s. Then there were The Wonder Years which aired in the late 80’s but was set from 1968 to 1974.

Great storytellers often revert to their youth as a way to mine for fictional gems.

For anyone who grew up in the 1980’s they can tune in to ABC’s current program The Goldberg s and see their childhood come to life. It premiered on September 24, 2013.

Created by Adam F. Goldberg, the show is based on people he knew and events which happened to him while he was growing up.  Season 7 begins on Wednesday (Sept. 25) (For 2020, Season 8 begins October 21)

Like all great TV shows, excellent writing and casting are key. Adam’s is a wacky family which begins with his father, Murray, whose main goal in life is to be able to relax in his recliner (sans trousers) and watch TV undisturbed by his three children, who he calls ‘morons.’ The heart of the family is the ultimate intrusive mother, Beverly, who Adam and his siblings, Erica and Barry, call the ‘Smother.’ Although she ‘could have been a lawyer’, her only focus in life is finding ways to stay inappropriately relevant in her teenage children’s’ lives. The travails of the three siblings are fleshed out by a host of friends and rivals.

Beverly Goldberg, played by Wendy McLendon-Covey, a true ‘smother’

From the Infallible Wikipedia:

“The Goldberg’s is set in the 1980’s in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania. The show is loosely based on the show runner’s childhood, during which he videotaped events, many of which are reenacted throughout the program. It shows the reality of the 1980’s through a young boy’s eyes.

The series stars Jeff Garlin as patriarch Murray and Wendi McLendon-Covey as matriarch Beverly. Their two older children are Erica (Hayley Orrantia) and Barry (Troy Gentile). The youngest child, Adam (Sean Giambrone), documents his family life with his video camera. Beverly’s father, Albert “Pops” Solomon (George Segal), is frequently around to provide advice or to help out his grandchildren (often behind his daughter’s back).

The present-day ‘Adult Adam’ (Patton Oswalt) narrates every episode as taking place in ‘1980-something’.

The Goldberg children, Barry, Erika, and Adam as portrayed by Troy Gentile, Hayley Orrantia, and Sean Giambrone.

Many references to real-life Philadelphia-area businesses are made, including the Wawa Inc. convenience store chain, Gimbel’s department store, Willow Grove Park Mall, and Kremp’s Florist of Willow Grove, Pennsylvania.”

It was halfway through season six that I saw my first ‘Goldberg’s.’ Over the past 10 years, I have traveled frequently to Yakima to assist my parents. What started as an every five or six weeks visit to cook meals for my dad has shortened over the years as the needs increased. I’ve literally spent hundreds of days there helping both of them and dealing with a variety of crises. There have been hospital stays for both my parents, my mother living in multiple care facilities for 8 years, legal battles, her passing in November 2017, and now the decline of my 96-year-old father.

In January 2019, my dad took ill and ended up in the hospital. Upon his release my siblings and I recognized that we needed to place him into a facility as my brother, who had lived with him for the previous five years, was not able to provide the level of care needed.

My niece with Dad on his 95th birthday. This was in 2018, the last year in his house.

I was in Yakima to facilitate dad’s move and arrived back at my Dad’s place one evening sometime the last week of January. My brother told me he had discovered a new TV show and asked if I wanted to watch. I did and, like him, was soon hooked on The Goldberg’s.

For most people it’s a simple thing to be able to watch and enjoy a TV program. That was not the case at my Dad’s house.

While Dad was still at home, the TV was his main activity, particularly after my mother died, and there were only two things he watched: Sports and News.

During the five years my brother lived there those were the choices during the hours Dad was present.

In those first weeks after Dad moved to Assisted Living, an odd quiet descended over the house. I think both my brother and I were in a bit of state of shock as the new reality settled in.

Enter the Goldberg’s. My brother set up the TV to record every episode as it played since season’s one through five were being rebroadcast. Many evenings in the next few months during the days and weeks I was in Yakima, I’d arrive back after visiting Dad and my brother and I would binge watch, often staying up way too late.

In many ways it was a lifeline and a way to deal with the stress. Laughter and the occasional cry do that for you.

On another level there was a more subtle lesson to be learned. One that comes through from the Goldberg’s in every episode:

Sure, stuff happens in life and we’re not always at our best with our family and friends, but in the end cherish your family because things change – sometimes in an instant – and you cannot get it back.

We recently completed an estate sale at my parents’ house. Soon the condo will be on the market. As we went through the process of sorting everything last summer, we’d come upon items which triggered emotional responses. When I handed the electric griddle to my sister-in-law to use for her grandkids it hit me that I would never cook another pancake (I made thousands in those 10 years) or a pot pie for Dad in that kitchen, or stay there, or hear my dad’s walker thumping overhead in the morning. Everything had changed.

My Daughter, Reggie the Double Doodle, and the author hanging out.

But a new and different way of loving and supporting family has emerged. When I’m over there I now stay with my sister and her husband. Herbert and Teddy, their two dogs, announce every arrival in a cacophony of barking. Shop Cat – who is an outdoor pet – will come and hang out on the deck and has decided I’m okay, rubbing against my legs and looking to be petted. My sister’s adult daughter – who lives nearby – arrives most every evening, bringing with her Reggie and Rex, the Double Doodle dogs, who join in the melee.

I visit dad at least once a day when over there. He has good days and bad days… last week he had one particularly good day and insisted he wanted to have Kentucky Fried Chicken for dinner. So what the heck? I loaded him and his walker into the car and we went to KFC. Was it easy? No. But I recognize his days are short and doing something so simple made him happy for a little while. And that makes it all worthwhile. No regrets.

Dinner out with Dad September 2019

2019 has been a hard year, but it was made better thanks to the Goldberg’s and my own family.

Here’s the link to Wikipedia, but really, it does not do justice to the show. Give yourself a treat and watch an episode.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Goldbergs_(2013_TV_series)

Update 2024: When I posted this on September 24, 2019, I had no idea that exactly one month later my Dad would take his last breath. The Goldberg’s last episode was aired in May 2023.

The Day We Were Bewitched

Sep17

A Beloved 1960’s Sitcom

September 17, 2024

A Tuesday Newsday Classic

From the moment this TV show premiered, on September 17, 1964, a spell was cast over the American public and everyone fell in love with a beautiful witch named Samantha.

Screenshot from the opening credits

Bewitched was an instant hit, drawing everyone in to its crazy premise:

What if a witch were to fall in love with a mortal and give up her magical world to become a modern-day housewife?

Of course that’s not quite how it worked out. Week after week we were given a glimpse into the life and marriage of Darrin and Samantha Stevens who, with interference from her mother Endora and a wide cast of other relatives, seemed to stir up trouble for poor Darren. Add to that mix the nosy neighbor, Gladys Kravitz, and Darrin’s demanding boss, Larry Tate, and you had the recipe for a sitcom which aired for the next eight years.

From the Infallible Wikipedia:

“The witches and their male counterparts, warlocks, are very long-lived; while Samantha appears to be a young woman, many episodes suggest she is actually hundreds of years old. To keep their society secret, witches avoid showing their powers in front of mortals other than Darrin. Nevertheless, the effects of their spells – and Samantha’s attempts to hide their supernatural origin from mortals – drive the plot of most episodes. Witches and warlocks usually use physical gestures along with their incantations. To perform magic, Samantha often twitches her nose to create a spell. Special visual effects are accompanied by music to highlight such an action.”

The three main characters: Dick York as Darrin and Elizabeth Montgomery as Samantha (front) with the irreplaceable Agnes Moorehead as Endora.

The combination of great script writers coupled with outstanding casting was, no doubt, key to the series success. Elizabeth Montgomery, as Samantha, is frequently seen using her nose to make the dishes wash themselves, clean up a mess, or handle some mundane chore. Darrin was frustrated each week at his wife’s use of magic to handle life.

Personally, as a child, I very badly wanted to live in that world. My bedroom was ALWAYS a disaster of toys, books, and games, with never enough space to store them. If, of course, I was inclined to be tidy, which I was not.

My sister, who is 21 months older, forbade me from stepping foot onto her side of the room during those years. An invisible line was drawn between our matching twin beds and across that boundary I dared not venture. Oh to have Samantha’s nose which I could just twitch and get everything cleaned up in an instant! Then I might have been allowed across the magic threshold.

But my favorite character on the show had to have been the ever-vigilant neighbor Gladys. The woman epitomized the term busy body and was often seen skulking around the Steven’s house. She would climb into the shrubbery and peer through windows, certain that all sorts of strange things were going on inside. Of course, she was right but she never succeeded in convincing her disinterested husband, Abner, or the occasional law enforcement officer she would call, of the shenanigans which took place.

In her portrayal of Gladys Kravitz, Alice Pearce brought the meaning of a nosy neighbor to new heights

In fact, when I encounter a nosy person, I usually refer to them as Gladys. In a loving way, of course, but the name does sum up that one person which members of my generation instantly recognize.

No doubt, when the show went off the air in 1972, it was with a whimper. The original Darrin had left in 1969 due to complications from a severe back injury 10 years earlier which made working impossible. The original Gladys died in 1966 as had Samantha’s confused Aunt Clara. These hits to the cast affected the show profoundly. In many ways, in retrospect, it was almost as if a spell had been placed on the show. Elizabeth Montgomery died in 1995 at the age of 64 from colon cancer. Dick York succumbed at age 63 from emphysema. Agnes Moorehead, who played Endora, was stricken with uterine cancer which took her life in 1974 at age 74.

Bewitched lives on in syndication and, subsequently, on DVD and the internet. Although there was a movie made based on the characters which was cute, and there are proposals for a new TV series, no remake will ever be able to replicate and achieve the success of the original.

Sometimes magic only happens once.

For more about Bewitched:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bewitched

Mary Poppins

Aug27

Why is using an umbrella to fly not a thing?

August 27, 2024

A Tuesday Newsday Classic

Unlike most of the musical films of the previous decades, this one was aimed at children. It introduced new words into our collective vocabulary and catapulted its two stars into the stratosphere. Children everywhere wanted a nanny just like Mary Poppins and her chimney sweep friend Bert.

Mary Poppins debuted on the silver screen sixty years ago on August 27, 1964, and soon everyone was exclaiming Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious and singing Chim-Chim-Cheree.

The movie was based on a children’s book by P.L. Travers. It was the song writing brothers of Robert and Richard Sherman who created over 30 songs for the movie. Of those, 14 made the final cut.

It was, however, the superb casting, particularly of Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke, which provided the magic needed for the story.  Andrews, who was a Broadway actress at the time, transitioned to film and would, the next year, define the iconic Maria Von Trapp in the Sound of Music.

Between the incredible casting, the musical score, and the script, it proved a recipe for success. From the Infallible Wikipedia:

“It received a total of 13 Academy Awards nominations, including Best Picture – a record for any film released by Walt Disney Studios – and won five: Best Actress for Andrews, Best Film Editing, Best Original Music Score, Best Visual Effects, and Best Original Song for ‘Chim Chim Cher-ee’. In 2013, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being ‘culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant’. Mary Poppins is considered Walt Disney’s crowning live-action achievement, and is the only one of his films which earned a Best Picture nomination during his lifetime.”

For a seven-year-old, getting to go to a theater and see a movie was a big deal. Especially when it was the very FIRST movie that seven-year-old had ever seen in a theater.

I have a distinct memory of being dropped off at the Capitol Theater in Yakima along with my older siblings to watch the movie. I doubt my then 15 year old brother was thrilled at being the designated baby sitter for the event. Of course that mattered not to me. I was enthralled from the moment Mary Poppins, umbrella unfurled and carpet bag in hand, floated down to the Banks house.

My childhood goal: to fly using an umbrella

In the days, weeks, and months which followed, I strove to be Mary Poppins. If I was outside playing it was with an umbrella in hand, running down the street wishing to be lifted from the ground so that I could float away to magical places. Alas, despite some pretty strong winds at times, my Mary Poppins dreams went unfulfilled although I did manage to get airborne quite often.

After I had children of my own I made it one of my missions to expose them to the cultural phenomenon of Musicals. Although they enjoyed Mary Poppins I do not believe it impacted them quite the same way.

On a trip to Disneyland when my daughter was near the magical age of seven, we were on Main Street early one morning. Across the plaza I spied Mary Poppins. Determined to get her autograph for the daughter’s book, we hurried over.

The daughter proffered the souvenir and asked ‘Mary’ if she would sign it. A nanny’s eye landed on my daughter, said good morning, then proceeded – in character – to instruct the child to stand up straight, feet together, toes turned slightly out, with the admonishment of “spit spot.” Although my daughter was slightly flummoxed by the encounter, I was enchanted.

The whole nanny thing, I decided, might still be a good idea for seven-year-old children although I don’t think it’s a great idea for those same children to take flying leaps into the air in an effort to fly.

 No article is complete without a link to the Infallible Wikipedia:I

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Poppins_(film)

I suggest you do a search for Mary Poppins “Let’s Go fly a Kite” to see the final scene where Mary flies away. I tried to find a youtube clip but, alas, many are protected. Try these two links: https://youtu.be/BA-g8YYPKVo?si=8lCS4VWswAp0OPvZ

Tom Hanks

Jul9

He made a Splash! and his career went Big!

July 9, 2024

A Tuesday Newsday Classic updated

Tom Hanks at the Oscars 1994 for his role in “Philadelphia.” He would win again the next year for “Forrest Gump.”

With two academy awards and five total Best Actor nominations to his name, this performer is considered one of – if not the – best of his generation. Yet, while in school, he was a self-identified geek, extremely shy, unpopular, and average looking. He, however, has more than made up for his rocky start. Happy 68th birthday to Tom Hanks.

Hanks career began like many other actors: performing parts in plays in high school and in college. As connections were in the theater world, those led to television auditions. He landed a role alongside Peter Scolari in the 1981 sitcom Bosom Buddies, a show about two men who disguise themselves as women to secure inexpensive housing. Hanks TV career did not last long. According to the Infallible Wikipedia:

“After landing the role, Hanks moved to Los Angeles. Bosom Buddies ran for two seasons, and, although the ratings were never strong, television critics gave the program high marks. ‘The first day I saw him on the set,’ co-producer Ian Praiser told Rolling Stone, ‘I thought -Too bad he won’t be in television for long- I knew he’d be a movie star in two years.’ However, although Praiser knew it, he was not able to convince Hanks. ‘The television show had come out of nowhere,’ Hanks’ best friend Tom Lizzio told Rolling Stone.”

Hanks role on Bosom Buddies earned him a guest role on the immensely popular TV show Happy Days and drew the attention of up-and-coming director, Ron Howard. Howard encouraged Hank to audition for the role of the wisecracking brother in the 1984 film Splash. Instead, Hanks won the romantic lead role of Allen Bauer, a young man who falls in love with the mermaid (Daryl Hannah).

More leading roles followed. He was nominated for his first Academy Award for his portrayal of a 12-year-old boy who is transformed into an adult in the comedy Big.  The true date of his stardom can be set as 1993 with the blockbuster film Sleepless in Seattle, followed immediately by his performance as a man dying of AIDS in the dramatic movie Philadelphia.

His performance in Philadelphia garnered a second Academy Award nomination and his first win. In 1995, Hanks became only the second actor in history to be awarded the Best Performance by an Actor in a lead role in consecutive years. Forrest Gump also earned the Academy Award for Best Picture, was the highest grossing US film of 1994, and second behind Disney’s The Lion King in the entire world.

“My name is Woody, and this is my spot.” The animated character even resembles Tom Hanks.

In subsequent years Hanks has been involved with innumerable projects both in front of and behind the camera as director and as a voice actor. One of his more memorable and enduring roles is that of Sheriff Woody in Toy Story and its sequels.

His work and legacy continue to the present. According to the Infallible Wikipedia:

“Hanks is ranked as the fourth highest all-time box office star in North America, with a total gross of over $4.5 billion at the North American box office, an average of $100.8 million per film. Worldwide, his films have grossed over $9.0 billion. (snip) As of January 2019, Hanks is currently voted #1 on Ranker’s ‘The Best Actors in Film History.’”

I think I first became aware of Tom Hanks in his role as Josh Baskin in Big. Although I had seen the movie Splash prior to viewing Big, I would not have been able to identify Hanks as the lead! But in Big, his every-man persona really shone through. By the time Sleepless in Seattle hit the big screen I, like so many others, was a fan.

Be careful what you wish for or you might end up just like Josh Baskin – a kid who wakes up and finds himself occupying a man’s body. Hanks embraced the role perfectly.

I find it difficult to identify just one of his performances as my favorite. But I do have a list and at the top of it is the romantic comedy Sleepless in Seattle (is anyone surprised?).  I covered it in a Tuesday Newsday blog several years ago: https://barbaradevore.com/2018/05/01/sleepless-in-seattle/)

Hanks with “Sleepless in Seattle” co-stars Meg Ryan and Ross Malinger in the scene at the top of the Empire State Building.

This is followed, in order, by Big, Toy Story, The DaVinci Code, and You’ve Got Mail

I share with you with this quote from Hanks and his philosophy on movies:

 “A story has the opportunity to enlighten us, because as we connect the extraordinary moments on film with the ordinary moments of our lives, we ask ourselves, ‘What am I going to do the next time I’m scared? What would it be like to say goodbye to my family for the last time?’”

As a fiction writer, this is the essence of the process one goes through. I must say, however, that it often involves hours and hours of introspection before the written word springs forth.

So cheers to Tom Hanks and all the fantastic movies he’s created both in front and behind the camera.

You can read all about Hanks long and continuing career here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Hanks

American Idol

Jun11

In 2007 It took over our house…

June 11, 2024

A Tuesday Newsday Classic Updated

“This Is… American Idol!” These four words burst into our collective consciousness on June 11, 2002 and launched one of the most successful reality TV franchises in American History.

The American Idol stage

The show was an instant hit, showcasing the talent of people looking for their big break. Week after week fans tuned in to follow the stories of the lucky few selected to compete in the contest. The premise was, according to the Infallible Wikipedia, this:

The original American Idol judges Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell

“Each season premieres with the audition round, taking place in different cities. The audition episodes typically feature a mix of potential finalists, interesting characters and woefully inadequate contestants. Each successful contestant receives a golden ticket to proceed on to the next round in Hollywood. Based on their performances during the Hollywood round (Las Vegas round from the tenth through twelfth seasons), 24 to 36 contestants are selected by the judges to participate in the semifinals. From the semifinals onward the contestants perform their songs live, with the judges making their critiques after each performance. The contestants are voted for by the viewing public, and the outcome of the public votes is then revealed during a results segment. The results segment feature group performances by the contestants as well as guest performers. The Top-three results also feature homecoming events for the Top 3 finalists. The season reaches its climax in a two-hour results finale show, where the winner of the season is revealed.”

Carrie Underwood as seen during the 2005 American Idol competition

Along with the judges, viewers at home became music critics, repeating such phrases as “that was pitchy,” and “You’re going to Hollywood.” The judge everyone loved to hate, however, was Simon Cowell, who un-apologetically skewered the singing of contestants with such pithy remarks like “It was all a little bit like angry girl in the bedroom screaming on the guitar.”

I would argue that the high-water mark for the show was in 2005 with the crowning of Carrie Underwood as the winner. She has been, by far, the most successful AI alum and her win and subsequent stardom created much excitement and interest in the show. That excitement coalesced into the 2007 season with it being the number one show on TV that year. Also from the Infallible Wikipedia:

AMERICAN IDOL:  Blake Lewis and Ryan Seacrest at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, CA, on Tuesday, May 22 on FOX.1508

“American Idol ended the season as the top show of the 2006–2007 TV season. Its Wednesday episodes ranked first with an average of 30.02 million viewers, followed by the Tuesday episodes which averaged 29.54 million. The premiere episode became the series’ highest rated debut episode, viewed by 37.44 million viewers and receiving a 15.8/36 Nielsen rating in the Adult 18-49 demographic.”

In my household AI fever kicked in to high gear when my teenage daughter became enthralled with it and AI took over our lives. Just before 8 o’clock each evening I’d hear the thunder of her footsteps coming down the stairs and soon we were wrapped up in the drama.

That year there was extra interest as a contestant from Bothell – six miles north of where we lived – was making a name for himself on the show.

Blake Lewis was, at the time, a local Seattle musician whose beat-boxing ability provided enough novelty that he earned a golden ticket to Hollywood. At first, it seemed, the judges viewed him as a one trick pony who would not survive the first round of performances. Week after week, however, Lewis proved that he could sing. He made each song his own with original arrangements, and defied the odds, advancing in each round.

Blake Lewis at the Bothell hometown visit in May 2007

For my 14-year-old daughter and a couple of her friends, Lewis became almost an obsession like the Beatles were in the 1960’s, or David Cassiday in the 1970’s, or the Backstreet Boys in the 1990’s (It’s what 14-year-old girls are known to do!)

Of course, Mom was pulled in to that universe also, as we then had to vote for him every week. And I’m not talking about dialing the phone one time and being done. Oh no. On American Idol they encouraged the viewers to vote many, many times. Hundreds of times. Once the performances were over we’d start dialing and continue until they closed them down.

And Lewis became the last man, literally, standing.

When the contest is down to the final three it’s time for the ‘hometown’ visit. Or, as the cynic in me believes, just another way to market the AI franchise to the public.

The Blaker Girls trio the afternoon of Lewis’ Hometown visit in Bothell

In the week before Lewis was to arrive in Bothell, my daughter and her friends “L” and “D” spent a couple of afternoons making t-shirts and posters and plotting the big event. Lewis’ female fans called themselves “Blaker Girls.”

During that week I became the ‘cool’ mom. I bought the many supplies and, on a warm, sunny afternoon on May 11, drove the trio of girls to Bothell so they could see ‘their’ American Idol. I figured there would be a crowd so we got there several hours in advance, secured a parking spot and joined the throng of over 7000.

The girls were not disappointed. The fans were amped up for the parade and, after a long wait, there he was… riding on the back of a Mustang convertible, smiling and waving to the crowd.

After the parade, we moved with the hoards down to the park where he was to perform live and receive his hometown hero’s welcome.

From the Seattle Time’s article:

The Bothell crowd of more than 7,000 was growing restless. Where was its American Idol?

Some teens chanted “We want Blake!” Others hoisted “We Ache for Blake” or “Bothell Boy, You Rock!” signs. And then, off in the distance, the twirling lights of police cars, the thundering beats of the Inglemoor Marching Band and Blake Lewis, all smiles and waves and two-fingered kisses, sailing down Main Street in a Mustang convertible with his beaming parents.

It was a highlight in a full day of events for Lewis that started at 8 a.m. at KCPQ/Fox studios for a television performance on the morning newscast. There was a lunchtime “mini-concert” at Seattle’s Westlake Center, a parade through downtown Bothell and another performance at the Park at Bothell Landing in the afternoon.”

Not sure who took this photo but my nephew found it… Mom with the always present camera.

Lewis ended up finishing second the next week, much to our disappointment.

For the next couple of years my daughter faithfully watched American Idol and even went to the American Idol tour with a friend in 2009. For me there has never been a more fun season than that one. I no longer watch the show, but for a few months in the spring of 2007, it was a magic time.

Update 2024: When I first posted this article in 2019, I thought that the photos and video from that day was lost. Then, during the 2020 COVID lockdown I sorted, organized, and sorted again. Lo and behold, video evidence of the visit to Blake’s Hometown parade exists!

https://youtu.be/w3aEW5qnBp8

Many thanks to my nephew Chris, who put together the photos I took that day as well as found at least one I did not take. Not sure who did, but the author appears at the 2:19 mark with camera in hand next to the screaming teens. Enjoy!

The Princess Bride

Oct17

As You Wish…

October 17, 2023

A Tuesday Newsday Classic Updated

It under-performed at the time of its release and was largely ignored by critics and the movie-going public. Now, thirty years after its theater debut, the Princess Bride has become a well loved classic. As Actor Mandy Pantinkin – who played revenge focused Inigo Montoya – summed it up in 2007 “It’s sort of become ‘The Wizard of Oz’ of my generation.”

It is one of my favorite movies of all time. Apparently I’m not alone. From the Infallible Wikipedia:

 “The Princess Bride was not a major box-office success, but it became a cult classic after its release to the home video market. The film is widely regarded as eminently quotable. In 2000, readers of Total Film magazine voted The Princess Bride the 38th greatest comedy film of all time. In 2006, William Goldman’s screenplay was selected by the Writers Guild of America as the 84th best screenplay of all time; it earned the same ranking in the Guild’s 2013 update. The film was selected number 88 on The American Film Institute’s (AFI) “AFI’s 100 Years… 100 Passions” listing the 100 greatest film love stories of all time.”

My brother purchased the Videocassette for our family when my children were little. We’ve since upgraded to DVD. Although they enjoyed it, I loved the film from the moment I saw it and often quote from it. A few of my favorites:

“Oh, no, is this a kissing book?” – Fred Savage as the Grandson
  • “Never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line!”
  • “It just so happens that your friend here is only MOSTLY dead.”
  • “You are the brute squad.”
  • “ Mawage. Mawage is wot bwings us togeder tooday.”
  • “As you Wish.” And, perhaps, the most famous line of all:
  • “Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.”

I never tire of the film and the final scene of the movie between Peter Falk and Fred Savage (The two are cast in the roles of a grandfather reading a book to his sick grandson) is guaranteed to bring a lump to my throat every time.

“Never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line!” – Vizzini

The day this post was published in 2017, the hubby and I headed to the Regal Cinemas near Alderwood Mall in Lynnwood. We had reserved tickets to be certain we’d get to see the movie. We were not disappointed! Having never seen the movie in the theatre, we were in for a wonderful experience as the story really came to life on the big screen. We laughed, we cheered, and I still got that lump in my throat at the final scene.

Unless you have a Disney channel subscription, you will need to pay to see it on other platforms. Unless, of course, you happen to own the movie and still have your VHS or DVD player ready to fire up for a fun evening. You’ll know where to find me: snuggled up, a bowl of popcorn, and The Princess Bride on DVD.

“It just so happens that your friend here is only MOSTLY dead”- Miracle Max

For those unfamiliar with the movie (Inconceivable!), an overview of the plot is found here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Princess_Bride_%28film%29

Mary Tyler Moore

Sep19

“You’re Going To Make It After All”

September 19, 2023

A Tuesday Newsday Classic Updated

As an impressionable 13 year old on September 19, 1970, the premiere of one particular show  – more than any other – no doubt helped to mold who I was and my view of the world.

The original cast of the Mary Tyler Moore show in 1970: front, left to right – Gavin MacLeod, Mary Tyler Moore, Ted Knight; back, left to right – Valerie Harper, Ed Asner, Cloris Leachman.

For the next seven years I kept rooting for Mary Richards to find the love of her life but, alas, she never did. As a romantic I thought this was a tragedy beyond the pale. So every week I would tune in to see what was happening on WJM TV and to see if poor Mary’s love life would ever get launched.

In the course of the series run, it never really did. Certainly Mary had several encounters; and the show pushed many boundaries in the exploration of relationships which were not defined by marriage.

For the life of me, my 13 year old psyche could not understand how a 30 year old attractive woman would not WANT a husband and a family. From a perspective 40 plus years later I understand that not everyone needs or desires the same things.

The Mary Tyler Moore show was groundbreaking. A single woman, pursuing a career rather than choosing the then traditional route of marriage and children, was a foreign concept. From the infallible Wikipedia:

“Mary Richards (Moore) is a single woman who, at age 30, moves to Minneapolis after leaving her fiancé of two years. She applies for a secretarial job at fictional television station WJM, but that is already taken. She is instead offered the position of associate producer of the station’s Six o’clock News. She befriends her tough but lovable boss Lou Grant (Ed Asner), news writer Murray Slaughter (Gavin MacLeod), and buffoonish anchorman Ted Baxter (Ted Knight). Mary later becomes producer of the show.

Mary rents a third-floor studio apartment in a 19th-century house from acquaintance and downstairs landlady, Phyllis Lindstrom (Cloris Leachman), and she and upstairs neighbor Rhoda Morgenstern (Valerie Harper) become best friends. Characters introduced later in the series are acerbic, man-hungry TV hostess Sue Ann Nivens (Betty White), and sweet-natured Georgette Franklin (Georgia Engel), as Ted Baxter’s girlfriend (and later, wife). At the beginning of season 6, after both Rhoda and Phyllis have moved away (providing a premise for two spinoffs), Mary relocates to a one-bedroom high-rise apartment.

Mary Richards on her first day of work at WJM

In the third season, issues such as equal pay for women, pre-marital sex, and homosexuality are woven into the show’s comedic plots. In the fourth season, such subjects as marital infidelity and divorce are explored with Phyllis and Lou, respectively. In the fifth season, Mary refuses to reveal a news source and is jailed for contempt of court. While in jail, she befriends a prostitute who seeks Mary’s help in a subsequent episode.

In the final seasons, the show explores humor in death in the episode ‘Chuckles Bites the Dust’ and juvenile delinquency; Ted deals with intimate marital problems, infertility, and adoption, and suffers a heart attack; and Mary overcomes an addiction to sleeping pills. Mary dates several men on and off over the years, two seriously, but remains single throughout the series.”

The thing I remember best is that my mother loved the show. At the time of the premiere she was 45 years old and, I know from my own observations, struggling to define who she was going to be since her youngest child was 13 (the others were 15, 17 and 22) and daily chores were no longer all consuming or fulfilling. So she went back to college to study music and find activities which interested her. Somehow she managed to do what she wanted despite push back from my oh-so-traditional father. My mother often felt as if she had been born into the wrong era as she always wondered what it would be like to pursue a career.

But every Saturday evening – when I was at home – my Mom and I ALWAYS watched the Mary Tyler Moore show together! No doubt it WAS her favorite show and I imagine that if they were to air reruns she’d still love it today despite her advanced dementia and failing health.

The iconic moment when she tosses her hat in the air during the opening segment

For those who don’t know she was recently diagnosed with breast cancer so I know her time is short. In many ways I ‘lost’ my mother years ago with the dementia, then a stroke, and her continuing decline.

I’ve had more than one person say how ‘lucky’ I am to still have both my parents. My response is that I miss the woman who I remember as my mother. The true essence of that woman has, sadly, been gone a long time.

Update September 18, 2023: A little over two months after this post my mother passed away. I often wonder if she would have enjoyed being a single woman like Mary Richards pursuing a career. From my own experiences I discovered that there’s nothing special about the corporate world and you must develop a steel spine to successfully navigate it.

Ultimately Mom was able to pursue and experience many of the things which brought her fulfillment and joy. She wrote freelance articles, several of which were published in the Yakima Herald Republic; she wrote poems, some fiction, and scripts for musical productions for her women’s singing group. She and my Dad spent four to six weeks every January/February in Hawaii for 25 straight years.

It’s the nature of life, I think, to regret those opportunities we did not pursue. I think every person has their ‘the grass is greener on the other side of the fence’ moments. But in the end, she was surrounded by her family who loved her and cared for her. Maybe, just maybe, that’s what it’s really all about.

To read more about this groundbreaking show, click here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mary_Tyler_Moore_Show

And for a short segment that’s wickedly fun: