Posts by Gino Sassani

"Trauma is messy."

So begins life at Grey-Slone Memorial Hospital without Dr. Wang, and for the show Grey's Anatomy, the loss of Sandra Oh. But there won't be time to dwell on that loss as the story shifts to the departure of another of the show's most popular characters and actors. Patrick Dempsey spent more than a decade as the show's McDreamy, one of the more compelling talents in the cast. It's another season, and mixed amid the medical emergencies, struggling relationships, and tragic events, it's time to say goodbye once again.

"Let's do it!"

NCIS has become the number-one-rated television show in the world. It might stand alone in that distinction, but it certainly doesn't stand alone. Last season saw a new spin-off that took us to New Orleans. It's hard to believe that it was six years ago now that NCIS: Los Angeles took to the West Coast streets and developed its own brand of Naval criminal justice. It's a franchise that rivals Law & Order or CSI in its ability to stretch out and continue to build a fan base.

"And then there's Maude."

In football there's always a lot of talk about coaching trees. You know the idea. Some great mastermind who saw his assistants go on to have success of their own and who passed that lucky charm down to others for, perhaps, generations. All In The Family would be the television equivalent to a coach with a long tree. There were an incredible number of spinoffs that lead to other spinoffs. Archie's neighbors The Jeffersons moved on up to the East Side and had their own several years of success.

“I am William Castle, the director of the motion picture you are about to see. I feel obligated to warn you that some of the sensations, some of the physical reactions which the actors on the screen will feel, will also be experienced for the first time in motion picture history, by certain members of this audience. I say certain members, because some people are more sensitive than others. These unfortunate sensitive people will, at times, feel a strange tingling sensation. Others will feel it less strongly…”

Horror fans feel very strongly about William Castle.

"It's 1945 and World War II is over. Hitler is defeated. But over eight million Nazis remain. Now Allies must conduct interrogations to identify Nazi offenders, from war criminals to the girl next door. What emerges is a startling history of the rise and fall of the Third Reich from a unique perspective: the Nazis themselves. What you are about to see and hear is based on their real interrogations. This is what they told us." 

It's always been true that history is written by the victors.

Phil Silvers was aptly named. If anyone in show business had a silver tongue, it was Phil. He started, like most comedians of the era, in Burlesque and Vaudeville. There he honed the natural talent that would make him one of the first true television stars in the industry. With The Phil Silvers Show he introduced us to the character of Sergeant Bilko. From 1955 to 1959 Silvers and his Bilko character would take the television landscape by storm. In 1956 the show became the very first series in television history to win three Emmy Awards in a single year. That year the wins came in the Best Comedy Series, Best Actor (Silvers) and Best Director. The last honor went to the show's creator, Nat Hiken. 

"Who are the Mythbusters?" 

You know who the Mythbusters are, don't you? They've been a staple on the Discovery Channel for over 12 years now. We're now looking at Collection #13 on DVD. If you really don't know who the Mythbusters are by now, I can't think of a better way to get acquainted than to pick up these collections.