Television

"Your mission, should you decide to accept it..."

Those words have certainly been a part of the American pop culture for almost 50 years. It all started with the Desilu television series that hit the airwaves in 1966. That first year is probably unfamiliar to most of us. It was in black & white and starred Steven Hill as the leader of the Impossible Mission Force. A year later the show jumped to color and Peter Graves took over the team as the indomitable Jim Phelps.

Good grief, these people again. I had previously shared my thoughts on this program when reviewing the third season on this site: https://upcomingdiscs.com/2010/03/13/designing-women-season-3/ I shall expand on this but assure you that little has changed in my sour opinion.

For those who might not already be aware, I am currently living in the state of Texas. I would say great state of Texas but my lack of a straight face would give that away. “Go back to where you came from”. Well, I would love to go back to North Carolina and perhaps the Minnesota transplant that is using four letter words against me can do the same. However, I am very interested in how some of these states got their shapes. Perhaps the first season of “How the States Got Their Shapes” can help.

"My name is John Crichton...an astronaut. Four years ago, I got...shot through a wormhole to a distant part of the galaxy. I ending up on this ship...this living ship, populated by escaping prisoners...who became my friends. I made enemies..."

Take a magical journey with me now. I don't mean into outer space. It's a journey back in time to a day when the SyFy Channel was called the Sci-Fi Channel. A day when it was an exciting and promising place on the cable dial.

"It finally happened – Comedy Central messed up and gave me a show."

I have to admit that I had not heard about Gabriel Iglesias before I saw a recent Blu-ray concert film. Gabriel is a rather rotund comic. For him, it's not a liability at all. Honestly, he's turned it into a cash cow, of sorts. It's a huge, pun intended, part of his routine. In fact, to understand his nickname "Fluffy" you have to be clued into one of his signature routines. He identifies six levels of obesity.

Erle Stanley Gardner wrote crime fiction, and while many of his 100 or so works are unknown to most of us, he created a character that has become as identified with criminal lawyers as any other in fiction. It was in these crime novels that Perry Mason first faced a courtroom. He developed a style where he would investigate these terrible crimes his clients were on trial for. He would find the real killer, and in what has become a Hollywood cliché, reveal his findings in a crucial moment during the trial. While we may not remember the novels, we all remember the man in the persona of Raymond Burr. 

The Cartwright boys continue to do right on the Ponderosa Ranch in the state of Nevada. Having lasted 14 seasons, the series was relatively young in Season 2 but had already established Ben Cartwright and his three boys (from three different mothers) as household names on American television.

"Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force: You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. Good Luck! And let us all beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking." - General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces."

World War II was a turning point in American history unlike any other in the 20th century.

Personally, I do not watch much reality television. Most “realities” they present is quite boring or scripted. However, as of late I have started to watch reality shows that I have dubbed, “One Man’s Junk is another Man’s Treasure.” My two favorites are Storage Wars and Pawn Stars. The idea that just because one person might think it is a piece of crap, the next might think it is worth a ton of money. Today’s review is the second volume of American Pickers. Will it be another diamond in the rough?

Season 2 of the Tyler Perry-created series continues misadventures of Leroy Brown (David Mann), who, last season, opened up a seniors’ residence. This season has all the characters firmly in place, and the stage is set for no end of misguided schemes and misunderstandings, all of which conclude with lessons learned and heartstrings tugged.