Don't Cry Mikaela! We Love You!

Auntie Shawna and I love you so much, little one!

Uncle Mike

Why Theatres?

Why would I post a 16-second video clip?

For the sheer joy of seeing a classic movie marquee in my city again, and seeing people lined up in front of it.

I love new technology.

New technolgy is wonderful.

But it's nice to think back to a time when we watched a movie in a huge, dark room with a group of people.

And then maybe going to a coffee shop to discuss it afterwards.

And yes, I did see The Empire Strikes Back in the summer of 1980 at this theatre, the Paramount.

On a cold, rainy, probably-August day, in the same summer that my sister and I discovered cable TV (13 channels and not 4? What heaven!)

My sister convinced my mom to let us go by saying, "But Mom, we always play Star Wars at recess and lunch!"

So off we went downtown to the Paramount: me, my sister, Mom, my sister's school friend who's now a very well-regarded musician in Japan, and his mom.

As the movie unfolded, I immediately had two questions:

1) If the planet in the movie was in a galaxy far, far away, why the heck did it look so much like Edmonton in winter?

2) And why were the big loud guy and the lady with the thingy in her hair yelling at each other and then talking this mushy "I love you" stuff? (Boy, if I could only go back in time and explain that one to my nine-year-old self...)

Of course I was probably the only person alive in 1977 who hadn't seen the original Star Wars in its first run. But I saw the double feature in 1983, in preparation for Return of the Jedi, at the Capitol Square, just down the street from the Paramount. So it all made sense then.

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Paul & Ringo: 50 Years Later

And 25 years later, Ringo's still rockin', with his bud Sir Paul Macca. Though I dread the day that they will pass into history as George and John have done, I nonetheless feel confident that we will be absolutely be discussing them, as we now discuss Beethoven, Mozart, Porter, and Gershwin. And at the end of the day, that's a great feeling.

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August 25, 1989 : Ringo In Edmonton!

Yes, you read that right kids. On Friday, August 25, 1989, Beatle drummer Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band played our Northlands Coliseum. The band included Joe Walsh, Clarence Clemons, Dr John, Nils Lofgren, Billy Preston,drummer Levon Helm and bassist Rick Danko from the Band. Ringo both sang his own songs, and drummed on everyone else's. He was backed up on drums by legend Jim Keltner, and also his son Zak.

All on one stage

And it absolutely rocked.

To understand what a big deal this was 25 years ago, you have to know that in 1989, Edmonton was not really known as a town where any Beatle would normally play, let alone his high-caliber players.

In mid-1980s Edmonton, a Kenny Rogers-Dolly Parton double bill was a big deal.

So was Bryan Adams.

So was Platinum Blonde.

And very occaisonally a megastar like Neil Diamond would come through.

The show played out exactly as in the video. I wish I could tell you that the Coliseum was sold-out to the rafters.

Unfortunately it was a concert-bowl size crowd of 7,000.

Oh well...it was still great! And we're now one of the busiest concert cities in North America! Paul played two sold-out shows in 2012!

Paul who, you ask?

Shame on you!


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More Rockford Files: Stephen J. Cannell Interview

A nice little extra about The Rockford Files, featuring a great interview with the late, great writer-producer Stephen J. Cannell. Enjoy!





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James Garner: Richard Castle's Spiritual Godfather

James Garner, the charming, charismatic TV legend whose career was epitomized by The Rockford Files (1974-1980) and Maverick (1957-1960) died Saturday evening in his Los Angeles home. Here he is in 1959 with a pre-Rawhide Clint Eastwood (who taunts him by referring to his character as "Mr. Maverack")






And here he is in the 1974 pilot for the Rockford Files with a young, pre-Bionic Woman Lindsay Wagner. Watching this, and seeing that this pilot was written by Stephen J. Cannell, the TV impressario who served as the de-facto "godfather" of Castle's poker games, I couldn't help but think that the character of Richard Castle owes quite a bit to Jim Rockford (especially if we overlook the fact that Rockford usually wouldn't be caught dead helping the cops). But the charm's the same!

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Cool Things About The Castle Finale

1) The Beckett-already-married thing. As much as it was an "oh...jeez" obstacle to a wedding we have been waiting over a year for, the upside was that it provided a welcome return to comedy after wrapping up the storyline involving Beckett's mom's murder the episode before. Nathan Fillion plays just thr right mix of righteous annoyance to just putting his all into helping his beloved Beckett getting the hapless ex-hubby Rogan O' Leary (Eddie McClintock) to sign the divorce papers. As O'Leary McClintock successfully plays the gamut from hapless cluelessness to a man realizing he's in grave danger.

2) The intimate wedding vs 300-people extravaganza.

3) Sweet Alexis (Molly C. Quinn). Not angry Alexis. Not that we never want the girl to have an opinion, but c'mon, the Pi stuff was way overkill, though, considering that her father went all the way to Paris last year to save her. But Myko Olivier certainly has screen presence that will serve him well in the future. To be absolutely fair to him, he did his very best playing more of an improv situation than a fully formed character. ("So you're a father. And you come home. You call out, "hello?". You hear some rustling. You go into your daughter's bedroom and turn on the light. She's in bed with a hippie-looking dude named...oh, I was good at math, let's call him Pi! And he's STAYING IN YOUR HOUSE!!!")Along with the Castle-Beckett relationship, the Alexis-Castle relationship has also been a joy to watch unfold, with daughter at first guiding wayward father, to wayward father seeing daughter through college, relationships, teenage fandom, and international espionage. So it was a little disconcerting to see the relationship go off the rails a bit this year. But now all's well.

Now for my "please, please" list.

a) Please don't let the finale be an hour-long dream sequence!

b) Please bring back Mr. James Brolin as Castle's father for the wedding! Can't believe how well that casting worked out. Mr. Brolin exudes the warmth and steely resolve that would make you both glad to have him in your corner, and also to have him related to you in any way.

But that's enough for now.  We'll see how the Season 7 opener goes in September!

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Nathan A Guardian?

This movie looks cool. Damn cool. Have to say that, being a comic book neophyte (nothing against them at all, just never had the time), Guardians of the Galaxy looks to be the superhero movie that anyone can get into. The X-Men, by comparison, lost me after movie two. And the IMDb (not always right, it must be noted, but usually close enough for horseshoes) says that Nathan Fillion has completed a role in Guardians. I'm only speculating, but with people like Bradley Cooper, John C. Reilly, and the golden pipes of Vin Diesel up front, my absolute guess is that Fillion will wind up somewhere in the aftercredits sequence. We know he can make memorable movie impact with limited screen time (see: Blast From the Past, Saving Private Ryan).
So whatever his role in Guardians, it's the logical next step. Can't wait to see what happens August 1!

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7 Cool Things I Want For Castle Season 7

1) There WILL be a Season 7 - yay! (Although ABC's Mr. Voice Guy kinda killed the burning-car-on-the-side-of-the-road suspense by cheerfully announcing, "Castle and Beckett will return this fall on ABC!" Though I'm sure that he recieved multiple bottles of champagne from the mailroom staff, and also those monitoring the switchboards and email servers).

2) My take on the burning Castle-related question on the Internet: Castle did definitely fall in love first, yes indeedy.

3) And because of that fact, Beckett (Stana Katic) has gotten very used to having Castle (Nathan Fillion) around. During the past two seasons or so, it seems to me that she might even be taking advantage of him a bit.

4) So hopefully the "oh-my-god-was-he-hurt-was-he-even-in-the-car-did-he-decide-to-surprise-everybody-by-jogging-into-the-church-at-the-last-minute" will be dealt with  in the first returning episode or two, so we can get down to the most hotly anticipated nupitals since General Hospital's Luke and Laura's back in 1981.

5) And with the nupitals over, and to keep things fresh, perhaps it is time to bring to light and expand on other aspects of the Castle-'verse so brilliantly created by Mr. Andrew Marlowe, Mr Rob Bowman et al.

a) How about having Martha (Susan Sullivan) solve a heist or murder mystery somewhere on the Riviera, or somewhere just as exotic? We know that the multitalented Sullivan can really sink her teeth into a role from all those years on Falcon Crest.

b) We don't know yet how Ryan (Seamus Dever) and Esposito (Jon Huertas) became so damn tight. My personal theory is that they went to high school together and enrolled in the police academy together. Considering the cast had so much fun going back to the '70s earlier this season, it might be time to go back to the 80s to see how they met up.

c) Given Nathan Fillion's seeming devil-may-careness with a tune re the Sing-Along Blog, and the whole cast looking like they had a blast singing "Piano Man" a few years ago, can Castle: The Musical Episode be far behind? And in said episode, it would be cool to have NPH as the villain/murderer. It really, really would.

6) Absolutely none of this fevered-brain-dropping stuff is meant to suggest that the focus shouldn't stay on the Castle-Beckett relationship. As portrayed by the supremely talented team of Katic and Fillion, the relationship has started, grown, matured, and thrived pretty much over a period of years, as a real relationship would.

But enough from me. Let's just see what happens!

7) Oh, one more thing...Pi=0...yay!

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Bonus 8) A couple more poker games with (dare we hope) one starring Mr. Stephen King?

Cool Clint Circa 1974

Clint Eastwood in 1974, on City Lights with Brian Linehan, the Canadian interviewer known for his inexhaustible research, in a period which predated the Internet (as far as civilian usage) by almost 20 years. Although the interview was conducted on a New Orleans soundstage and ostensibly intended to promote Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, but neither Linehan nor Eastwood so much as memtioms the film (save for Linehan's off-the-top intro), let alone discussing it in depth. This and countless episodes of City Lights have been preserved by Canada's National Screen Institute. How many past and future episodes of  Access Hollywood will be preserved by the Library of Congress, I wonder? Bravo, our filmic gentlemen!

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Woodstock Was 3 Days of Peace, Love and Music

Miraculously, no major injuries or deaths occured during the 3-day festival on Max Yasgur's farm in Bethel, NY. But I often wonder if that would have been the case had the Internet and social apps existed back in 1969. (Wait a minute. I remember now. According to Al Gore, the man who takes credit for singlehandedly inventing the Internet before becoming Vice President of the United States, it did. During the daily hour that he and roomie Tommy Lee Jones watched Star Trek, mind you). However, I suppose we can see what would have happened, because it already has...





...at the 30th anniversary in Rome, NY. Unbelieveably stupid. No peace and love whatsoever.


Guess which concert will STILL be remembered 40 years from now?

I don't know about you, but I prefer the tunes and atmosphere from 1969:




And my favorite Jefferson Airplane tune:



Let's stick it to the 1999 punks one more time, shall we?



Have a groovy night!

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Lawsuit Lindsay...ugh!

There used to be a time when celebrities used to be flattered to be referenced in pop culture. But Lindsay Lohan, perhaps not seeing sequels to Mean Girls or Parent Trap in her future, has decided to sue the makers of Grand Theft Auto V, for creating Lacey Jonas, a character she feels is based on her. And you know what? It probably is. But that's what Lindsay gets for ensuring that she is better known for drunken revels that would shame most ancient Romans and Greeks than for her film work. And then there's the fact that she missed the funeral of director Robert Altman, who ultimately dragged her best performance out of her in A Prairie Home Compamion, the last film he directed. Kinda lost my respect there, Linds.

But all this dosen't matter. Rockstar Games will probably give her a profit share, plus a cameo in GTA VI  ("That crazy Lacey, she's my double! Did I fool you? Sorry baby. Take me home and SPANK ME, DAMMIT!")

Yep Lindsay. You fooled me with Parent Trap.

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June 23, 1989 : Batman Opens

I remember vividly where I was on June 23, 1989. I was at Edmonton's Capitol Square theatres downtown, watching the opening evening show of Tim Burton's Batman. I was just as jazzed by the trailers and marketing as everyone else, and looked forward to the film's opening with great anticipation. Did the first Caped Crusader reboot reintroduce the character and mythology in a fresh new dark? Yup, it did. Did Sam Hamm's script make a lot of story sense? No, not really. But did then-newcomer Tim Burton propel the proceedings with enough artful momentum (with help from late production Anton Furst)  that we didn't care? You bet. And did Mr. Jack Nicholson knock it out of the park with his Joker, unfortunately somewhat neutering Michael Keaton's Batman/Bruce Wayne in the process? Pardon me while I squint and get all nasal: You bet your ass, man. And the one thing we get from Keaton's somewhat blah performance is that it opened the door for Ben Affleck to succeed when Batman v. Superman comes out on May 6, 2016...you can bet on it!

Happy 25th, Burton Batman!

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