The Monkees Marathon

Antenna TV is giving a tribute to David Jones with a marathon of the Monkees.

The Monkees was a sketch musical-comedy show. The band of four would go around the country looking for gigs and get into zany adventures. The great part of the show is they constantly broke the third wall. The referenced the script, the cameras, and the fact they were actors. Puns and jokes were non-stop often ending up in laughing fits by the actors. The singing and dancing often had little to do with script.

Even 45 years later this show still holds up well. The comedy is still funny and the music is great. I recommend everyone catch an episode or two.

TCM

Turner Classic Movies, Channel #41

Before television was popular the local cinema showed movies and shorts in a schedule similar to today's TV programs. Cartoons, newsreels, propaganda, commercials, and movies.

TCM has an enormous collection of the classics and if you're feeling nostalgic this is the place.

No commercials.
No editing.

Most people don't notice but when movies are put on television even cable they are edited. This always confused me why, for example, the Men In Black in theaters had one small scene cut during HBO's run, then had three scenes cut on regular cable.

With TCM you see it all. This may not appeal to everyone since the sensitivity of 1940s America may not translate well today. Still I take into account the time it was made and am very impressed people were not as awful as the secondhand stories one might hear.

I just watched a 1935 classic the third of six Perry Mason movies.

The Case of the Lucky Legs
Perry Mason, played by Warren William, is on the case of some broad who is accused of murder. William plays Mason to the hilt. Why no one shoots the famed lawyer is a surprise, his arogance is titanic in nature. The secretary steals the movie.

The breaks between movies are filled with original trailers and mini tributes to the old actors. Hearing Michael Caine talk about his encounter with Cary Grant was nice. After Grant retired he could walk down the street without being noticed. While Caine thought this was sad I think it is great. The ability to act for years then live a normal life is something wonderful, especially in today's internet-24/7-stalking-paparazzi.

This is a very refreshing channel that dedicates itself to movies the way they were originally meant to be seen.


Sidenote: I can't keep up. Please stop dying.
Fred Travalena a great impressionist in the time when this was a respected art form.
Karl Malden a serious legend in his field.

Harvey Korman 1927-2008

You want to know funny watch anything with Harvey Korman.
Most famous for his work with Carol Burnett and her signature show Korman quickly became a household name in the 1970s and 1980s.

He passed away from an aneurysm and the complications of several major operations.