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fridaythe13ththeseries · 1 year

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Jack-in-the-Box

Episode Recap #69: Jack-in-the-Box Original Airdate: May 5, 1990

Starring: Louise Robey as Micki Foster Steve Monarque as Johnny Ventura (as Steven Monarque) Chris Wiggins as Jack Marshak

Guest cast: Wayne Best as Brock Garrett Marsha Moreau as Megan Garrett Lori Hallier as Helen Garrett A.C. Peterson as Mike Riley (as Alan C. Peterson) Bonnie Beck as Sandra Baker Jill Hennessy as Lifeguard / Leah Earl Pastko as Merv Ron Byrd as Rick

Written by Dennis Foon Directed by David Winning

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Open on an indoor pool and adult men horsing around. The young lifeguard tries to get them to behave. One man, who has been drinking, yanks her into the water. She gets out and as she storms off she sarcastically thanks the nearby janitor for his help.

The boss lifeguard, Brock, is on the phone with his wife, Helen. Seems it is their daughter Megan's birthday and they have a surprise planned. The young lifeguard comes in and tells him about the men in the pool and he goes to deal with them. The drunk men continue to act up, but he is persistent and tells them to leave and not return.

At home, Megan is sad cause she thinks her parents have forgotten her birthday. She leaves to meet her dad at the pool.

The men are waiting outside the pool building and see the young lifeguard leave, and head back in to get even with Brock. The janitor is also there, but no one sees him. The man hit Brock with a pipe and knock him into the pool. The janitor says he's going to call the cops and the men knock him out and scatter. Megan arrives and sees the lead drunk dude, they make eye contact before he takes off. Megan looks for her father, finds the janitor coming to and then screams at the sight of her father floating in the water, dead.

Cut to credits.

Micki is looking through a photo album at a photo of Brock, Helen and Megan. Jack offers condolences, seems Brock was a good friend of hers. Johnny asks about Brock's family, and Micki says they are inconsolable. Johnny offers to speak with Megan, since he has experience with parental loss.

Helen is sad and sits in the dark. Megan asks to go to the pool, but her mom doesn't think it is a good idea. They hug. She tells Megan she hasn't opened her gift, but the girl isn't in the mood. She goes into the living room, which is still decorated for her surprise party. She somberly sits, then opens the card on the gift, from her dad. She decides to open it and finds an antique wind-up Jack-in-the-box. She turns the handle and the music starts, playing an instrumental version of "What Shall We Do with a Drunken Sailor". Megan tells her daddy she misses him.

Later, Helen laughs as she reminisces with Micki about Brock. She gets emotional and Micki says she'll get through this for Megan. Johnny goes to find Megan and hears the music. She hides the toy. Johnny offers condolences and tells her about his dad being killed, too. Megan wants the men who did it to die, but Johnny says that won't change anything.

At night, Megan tries to wake her mom, but the woman has been drinking and is out cold. Megan gets dressed and leaves, taking her bike and the jack-in-the-box to her father's office at the pool. She puts one of Brock's coats on. Going to the pool, she looks into the water, then runs into the janitor, who is startled by her. She scoffs at him and says he would just hide anyway. He says he didn't see who killed her dad, she realizes he is drunk and blames him for her dad's death, knocking is bottle into the pool. As he tries to retrieve it, Megan turns the handle on the toy while continuing to blame him. Suddenly, hands of water reach out of the pool and pull the man in, drowning him. After he dies, a ghostly image of Brock appears above the water. Megan is shocked, and so is Brock, who sees the janitor and asks what happened.

In the morning, Megan goes home and wakes her mother to tell her what happened, but Helen thinks she was dreaming. Megan is adamant though.

Micki is still mourning, as Johnny and Jack talk about trying to figure out what happened to Brock.

Megan rides her bike on the street and runs into the creep she saw at the pool, coming out of a bar with a woman, who calls him Mike. Megan recognizes him, but they drive off.

Micki visits Helen again, who offers her a drink. Megan runs in to tell her mother about seeing the man from the pool. Helen freaks when she realizes what part of town she was in and tells her not to leave the house again. Micki tries to learn what Megan knows, and she tells her the man's name is Mike. Micki asks more, but Megan can't recall the license plate or anything and rushes off, mad at herself.

Johnny has learned the janitor is believed to have drown when he fell in the pool drunk. Jack is checking the manifest and finds a listing for a Drowning Sailor's Jack-in-the-Box. When Johnny asks what it is, Jack says he is clueless, but it was bought by the Sailor's Museum. Micki comes in to tell them what Megan saw, and that Helen is not doing well and drinking a lot. Micki herself is tired.

Helen asks Megan to stop playing the jack-in-the-box at the table, and gives the girl a frozen dinner. She herself drinks more. Megan mentions what happened at the pool again, but Helen is frustrated and reminds her that was a dream. Megan wonders if all who are responsible die, would God give her father back to her? Helen says he is gone and Megan needs to accept it. But the girl gets angry, grabs the jack-in-the-box and takes off.

Micki has a restless sleep. Suddenly, Brock appears in his ghostly form, telling Micki that Megan needs her help. When she gets up, he's gone. Jack hears her and comes in. Micki tells him what she saw and he comforts her.

Megan is on the street, at the same bar. She finds the woman with a different man. She asks where Mike is, but the woman tells her off, gives the man her address, and drives away. Megan rides her bike to the address the woman mentioned. In her apartment, the woman is preparing to take a bath for two, awaiting the man. Megan goes to a window and spies on her, then turns the handle on the antique toy. When the jack-in-the-box pops up, water hands pop up from the sink and kill the woman. Megan leaves to go see her father.

At the pool, Megan sits with the apparition of her father. She's happy, but he wants her to stop using the toy, that it is wrong, even though they both want to see each other. Megan says its not fair. He tells her to make the most of her time with her mother. He reminds her people are hurt each time he is made to appear. Megan says they don't matter. He tries to remind her that her mother needs her, and fades away. Megan is sad and confused.

Johnny reads an article about the stripper drowning in her bathroom sink. Micki wonders if the woman was the one Megan saw on the street. Jack asks her to talk to Megan more, he is going to talk to the curator of the now-closed Sailor's Museum.

Helen is boxing up Brock's clothes, which Micki offers to bring to the homeless shelter. Helen, still drinking, makes a comment about how well Micki knew Brock. When Micki mentions her drinking, Helen is offended and tells Micki to leave.

Outside, Micki sees Megan, who says she doesn't like being home much anymore with her mom drinking. Micki asks if the man she say had a toy box, but Megan says no and goes inside. She finds her mom drinking, says her father wouldn't be drinking and associates drinking with all responsible for Brock's death. Helen says it has been hard for her, but Megan points out it has been hard for her, too, and she doesn't drink.

At Curious Goods, the group is trying to figure out what the person using the jack-in-the-box is getting from killing people via drowning. Jack asks them to check the bars and strip clubs, and is worried about Megan. Micki remembers Brock's warning to help his daughter. The curator calls and tells Jack that Brock is the one who purchased the item from the closed museum. They are all shocked and leave.

Megan rides her bike downtown in hopes of spotting the man, Mike. She stops and waits in a doorway.

Micki runs out of Helen's house, telling Jack and Johnny that the woman hasn't seen her daughter in hours, but the jack-in-the-box was Brock's gift for Megan. Jack realizes Megan is searching for Mike, and they head to 7th Avenue to find her.

Eventually, Mike does exit the club and Megan accuses him of killing her father, saying she saw him at the pool. He threatens her and heads off.

Megan follows him to the car wash he works at. As Mike drives a car in to wash, Megan turns the crank on the toy. The car is slowly filled with water and Mike is trapped, drowning inside. As Megan leaves, the woman who owns the car spots Mike dead inside and screams.

Megan is back at the pool looking for her father, who eventually appears. He is upset she used the box and killed again. He tells her she needs to concentrate on being there for her mother and cannot use the box again. He fades away.

At the car wash, Jack and crew are informed of yet another weird drowning. Johnny wonders if it was Megan, and they speculate the girl is the one using the cursed item to spend time with her father. They rush to go back to see if Helen would know where Megan would be.

Helen is home, drinking in the dark, when Megan comes in. Helen asks where she's been, but Megan thinks her mother doesn't care and begins turning the music box crank. Helen is confused, but then Brock's voice calls out to Megan and his apparition comes down the stairs, shocking his wife. Brock tries to get through to Megan to stop hurting people. Megan wants to be with him, but he says to love her mother like she loves him. Helen calls to Brock as he fades away. Megan says she is going to be with him again and runs out.

Micki and the guys pull up out front, and Helen is outside, asking if they saw Megan rush by. Helen tells them about Brock, and that she thinks Megan is going to the pool to join Brock.

At the pool, Megan is in her swimsuit with the music box. Brock asks what she is doing and tries to get through to her, but she walks through him and sits on the side of the pool, beginning to turn the handle. Brock continues to try and get his daughter to listen to reason, to remember her mother. Megan is confused, thinking her mother's drinking means she doesn't love her. Brock begs her to stop turning the handle. Helen and the others arrive but are unable to get into the pool area. Megan keeps turning the handle. Johnny breaks the glass and the group rush in, Helen grabbing Megan and Micki grabbing the box. Mother and daughter hug as Brock waves goodbye and fades away.

Jack and Johnny put the music box into the vault. Micki says Helen and Megan are getting away to the country for a bit. Jack says how difficult grief can be. Johnny says mother and daughter will see how important they are for each other. As they head upstairs, we see the inside of the vault, the various stored items, and hear Megan and Brock's voices as we end on the now locked up jack-in-the-box.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My thoughts:

A great episode, lots of emotion, even though Micki has never mentioned these nearby friends before. Helen alludes to Brock having been special to Micki at some point in the past.

The cursed item is cool but an odd pairing with the sailor/water curse. Are jack-in-the-boxes a known sailor item? I hadn't heard of that connection before. Maybe we have to go with the item tying itself to Brock's death by drowning? Although it is already playing a sailor's song and was bought from the Sailor's Museum. So, yeah - weird.

Liked seeing both Marsha Moreau and Lori Hallier. Moreau was good in The Playhouse and is good here. And Hallier was from the wonderful My Bloody Valentine!

Also, liked how Brock wasn't changed after his death, still was looking out for his daughter's well being above all else, including revenge.

Was this the first time some one was actively trying to commit suicide with the cursed item? I know the guy with the cameo a few episodes back killed himself, but he didn't use the item to do it. But Megan's plan at the end was to use it on herself. Dark.

And that last use was quite prolonged! I know it was for dramatic effect but boy did she turn that crank awhile. You'd think them item would would have gone off quick knowing the others were close to stopping it.

Liked the quick trip through the vault, seeing what was stored there so far, including Vida the doll! Wonder if they are all still safely locked away in 2023?

Next week: Spirit of Television

#friday the 13th: the series #micki foster #80s tv #louise robey #jack marshak #chris wiggins #robey #curious goods #johnny ventura #steven monarque #jack in the box #jack-in-the-box #episode recap #season three #marsha moreau #lori hallier

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retropunch · 6 years

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My Secret Identity (1988) - Season 1 intro

The adventures of a superpowered teen and his scientist friend.

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kwebtv · 2 years

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White Collar - USA - October 23, 2009 - December 18, 2014

Drama (81 episodes)

Running Time: 60 minutes

Stars:

Matt Bomer as Neal Caffrey

Tim DeKay as Special Agent in Charge Peter Burke

Willie Garson as Mozzie (Theodore Winters)

Tiffani Thiessen as Elizabeth Burke

Marsha Thomason as Special Agent Diana Berrigan (recurring, season 1; main cast, seasons 2–6)

Sharif Atkins as Special Agent Clinton Jones (recurring, seasons 1–3; main cast, seasons 4–6)

Hilarie Burton as Sara Ellis (recurring, seasons 2 and 4; main cast, season 3)

Natalie Morales as Special Agent Lauren Cruz (season 1)

Recurring characters:

Diahann Carroll as June Ellington:

James Rebhorn as Special Agent Reese Hughes

Bridget Regan as Rachel Turner/Rebecca Lowe

Gloria Votsis as Alexandra Hunter

Ross McCall as Matthew Keller

Alexandra Daddario as Kate Moreau

Treat Williams as James Bennett/Samuel "Sam" Phelps

Mark Sheppard as Curtis Hagen

Judith Ivey as Ellen Parker/Kathryn Hil

Noah Emmerich as Special Agent Garrett Fowler

Beau Bridges as Agent Phillip Kramer

Moran Atias as Christie

Andrew McCarthy as Vincent Adler

Emily Procter as Assistant Special Agent (in charge) Amanda Callaway

Titus Welliver as Senator Terrance Pratt

Denise Vasi as Cindy

#White Collar #TV #USA #Drama #2000's #Tim DeKay #Matt Bomer #Willie Carson #Marsha Thomason #Tiffani Thiessen

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elcinelateleymickyandonie · 3 years

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Barbara Rush.

Filmografía

Cine

- Los Goldberg (1950) como Debby Sherman

- Quebec (1951) como Madelon

- La Primera Legión (1951) como Terry Gilmartin

- Cuando los mundos chocan (1951) como Joyce Hendron

- Flaming Feather (1952) como Nora Logan

- Príncipe de piratas (1953) como la condesa Nita Orde

- Vino del espacio exterior (1953) como Ellen Fields

- Taza, hijo de Cochise (1954) como Oona

- Magnífica obsesión (1954) como Joyce Phillips

- El escudo negro de Falworth (1954) como Meg

- Capitán Lightfoot (1955) como Aga Doherty

- Beso de fuego (1955) como Princesa Lucía

- Mundo en mi esquina (1956) como Dorothy Mallinson

- Más grande que la vida (1956) como Lou Avery

- Vuelo a Hong Kong (1956) como Pamela Vincent

- ¡Oh hombres! ¡Oh mujeres! (1957) como Myra Hagerman

- Sin pago inicial (1957) como Betty Kreitzer

- Los jóvenes leones (1958) como Margaret Freemantle

- Harry Black y el tigre (1958) como Christian Tanner

- Los jóvenes de Filadelfia (1959) como Joan Dickinson

- The Bramble Bush (1960) como Margaret 'Mar' McFie

- Extraños cuando nos encontramos (1960) como Eve Coe

- Fecha límite: San Francisco (película de televisión de 1962)

- Ven a soplar tu cuerno (1963) como Connie

- The Unknown (película para televisión de 1964) como Leonora Edmond

- Robin y las 7 capuchas (1964) como Marian

- The Jet Set (película de televisión de 1966)

- Hombre (1967) como Audra Favor

- Estrategia del terror (1969) como Karen Lownes

- Mannix (serie de televisión de 1969, S2Ep06 'Una copia del asesinato') como Celia Bell

- De repente soltero (película para televisión de 1971) como Evelyn Baxter

- Cutter (película para televisión de 1972) como Linda

- Los ojos de Charles Sand (película para televisión de 1972) como Katharine Winslow

- El hombre (1972) como Kay Eaton

- Moon of the Wolf (película para televisión de 1972) como Louise Rodanthe

- Crime Club (película para televisión de 1973) como Denise London

- Peege (corto de 1973) como Mom

Superdad (1973) como Sue McCready

- Tontos, mujeres y diversión (película para televisión de 1974) como Karen Markham

- El último día (película de televisión de 1975) como Betty Spence

- Death Car on the Freeway (película para televisión de 1979) como Rosemary

No puedo detener la música (1980) como

- Amantes del verano (1982) como Jean Featherstone

- La noche en que cayó el puente (película para televisión de 1983) como Elaine Howard

- A su servicio (película para televisión de 1984) como Barbara Stonehill

- Web of Deceit (película para televisión de 1990) como Judith

- El beso de la viuda (película para televisión de 1996) como Edith Fitzpatrick

- El peinado de mi madre (corto de 2006) como Destino

- Corazones sangrantes (corto de 2017) como Barbara Irons.

Créditos de teatro

- El Balón de Oro (1937) debut en el escenario

- The Little Foxes USC Santa Barbara, 1948 y 1975

- Antonio y Cleopatra (1950) Teatro de Pasadena

- Stock de verano (1951) con Anthony Perkins

- La loca de Chaillot (1951) con Jeffrey Hunter

- La voz de la tortuga (1953), con Jeffrey Hunter

- Siempre abril (1969)

- Gira nacional de 40 quilates (1969-1971,1972)

- El cuatro con cartel (1971)

- La insumergible Molly Brown (1972)

- Las mariposas son libres (1972, 1981)

- Private Lives (1973) gira nacional con Louis Jourdan

- Gira nacional del Día del Padre (1974) con Carole Cook

- Toques finales (1974, 1978)

- Fiebre del heno (1975, 1980)

- Los hijos de Kennedy (1975, 1976)

- Especies en peligro de extinción (1976)

- Gira nacional a la misma hora, el próximo año (1976-1978)

- Noche de la iguana (1978)

- Ramitas (1980)

- The Supporting Cast (1982) gira nacional con Carole Cook y Sandy Dennis

- Espíritu alegre (1982-1983)

- Genio discapacitado (1983)

- Mujer de medios independientes (1983-1988) Broadway y gira nacional

- Steel Magnolias (1988-1989) gira nacional con Carole Cook, June Lockhart y Marion Ross

- Cartas de amor (1990-1993)

- Monólogos de la vagina (1995-1997)

- Un delicado equilibrio (1993)

- La edad de oro (1997)

- Hazme un lugar en Forest Lawn (2002-2007).

Televisión

- Lux Video Theatre (1954-1956, 4 episodios) como Cathy / Ruth / Charlotte / Joyce Gavin

- Playhouse 90 (1957-1960, 2 episodios) como Liz / Clara

- La undécima hora (1962, 1 episodio) como Linda Kincaid

- Saints and Sinners (1962-1963, 4 episodios) como Lizzie Hogan

- The Outer Limits (1964, 1 episodio: " Las formas de las cosas desconocidas

Dr. Kildare (1965, 2 episodios) como Madge Bannion

- El fugitivo (1965, 2 episodios) como Marie Lindsey Gerard

- Custer (1967, 1 episodio) como Brigid O'Rourke

- Batman (1968, 2 episodios) como Nora Clavicle

- Peyton Place (1968-1969, 75 episodios) como Marsha Russell

- Mannix (1968-1975, 2 episodios) como Rebekah Bigelow / Celia Bell

- Marcus Welby, MD (1969-1972, 2 episodios) como Dorothy Carpenter / Nadine Cabot

- Medical Center (1969-1974, 4 episodios) como Claire / Pauline / Judy / Nora Caldwell

- Amor, estilo americano (1970, 1 episodio) como Carol (segmento "El amor y el motel")

- The Mod Squad (1971, 1 episodio) como Mrs.Hamilton

- Ironside (1971-1972, 2 episodios) como Lorraine Simms / Mme. Jabes

- Night Gallery (1971, 1 episodio) como Agatha Howard (segmento "Cool Air")

- Maude (1972, 1 episodio) como Phyllis 'Bunny' Nash

- Las calles de San Francisco (1973, 1 episodio) como Anna Slovatzka Marshall

- El nuevo show de Dick Van Dyke (1973-1974, 3 episodios) como Margot Brighton

- Cannon (1975, episodio "Lady on the Run") como Linda Merrick

- La mujer biónica (1976, 1 episodio) como Ann Sommers / Chris Stuart

- Los misterios de Eddie Capra (1978, 1 episodio)

- Fantasy Island (1978-1984, 3 episodios) como Mildred Koster / Kathy Moreau / Professor Smith-Myles

- The Love Boat (1979, 2 episodios) como Eleanor Gardner

- Los buscadores (miniserie de 1979) como Peggy Kent

- Flamingo Road (1980-1982, 38 episodios) como Eudora Weldon

- Knight Rider (1983, 1 episodio) como Elizabeth Knight

- Magnum, PI (1984-1987, 2 episodios) como Phoebe Sullivan / Ann Carrington

- Murder, She Wrote (1987, 1 episodio) como Eva Taylor

- Los corazones son salvajes (1992, 1 episodio) como Caroline Thorpe

- All My Children (1992-1994, 35 episodios recurrentes) como Nola Orsini

- La ley de Burke (1995, 1 episodio) como la jueza Marian Darrow

- The Outer Limits (1998, 1 episodio) como Barbara Matheson

- 7th Heaven (1997-2007, 10 episodios) como Ruth Camden.

Créditos: Tomado de Wikipedia

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

#HONDURASQUEDATEENCASA

#ELCINELATELEYMICKYANDONIE

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mst3kproject · 7 years

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The Creature Walks Among Us

The third installment in the Creature from the Black Lagoon series does not have John Agar in it, thank heavens, but it does have Jeff Morrow and Rex Reason from This Island Earth and Gregg Palmer from The Rebel Set. It continues the theme of the poor Gill-Man just wanting to be left alone in a nice, peaceful swamp where he can snap alligators in half to his heart's content – but western science just won't leave him alone. So what haven't we done to the poor bastard yet? Well, we haven't set him on fire... okay, awesome, let's do that!

As the movie begins, another bunch of assholes are setting out to hunt our scaly antihero, who apparently vanished into the Everglades instead of dying at the end of Revenge of the Creature. The biggest asshole of them all is Dr. Bill Barton, who thinks the Creature will be Perfect For His Experiments. Barton has this Doctor-Moreau-esque theory that he can speed up evolution through surgery, and he's also brought his wife Marsha along because he is convinced that if he turns his back for five minutes he'll find her in bed with three other men. The other assholes on the trip seem to consider this a challenge, and a couple of them try to put moves on Marsha as the creature hunt progresses. This is as dull and annoying as all such unnecessary romance plots.

When they finally catch up with the Gill-Man, they manage to capture him – but only after he’s been accidentally doused in gasoline and set on fire. The fire burns off the Creature's gills, giving Barton the opportunity to save him by making some surgical improvements to his vestigial lungs. Also burned were the scales, leaving behind bare skin. Barton takes this to mean he's succeeded in partially transforming the monster into a man, and decides to take him home in order to continue the process. This is definitely not a terrible fucking idea, is it?

For starters, I do have to say that this movie looks pretty nice. The everglades are beautifully dense and primordial, which is a relief after spending the previous movie mostly in the bleak, artificial landscape of Sea World. The night shots are especially good, with artful use of filters and reflection of lights in the water, and good matching of day-for-night to actual night shots. The Creature on fire is done very well. And the music isn't bad, either – the familiar Creature Theme is present, and there's a nice bit where music is used to suggest that Marsha is suffering from 'rapture of the deep'. Too bad the accompanying shots demonstrate that she's only a few feet from the surface.

If you'll remember, my main complaint about Revenge of the Creature, besides the existence of John Agar, was that the female lead was a sexy lamp. This is actually true of Creature from the Black Lagoon as well – both films end when the Creature kidnaps a woman in white and the men have to chase him down and shoot him until he lets her go. I'm not sure what the Creature's interest in women in white is... maybe female Creatures turn white as a signal to the males that they’re ready to mate? Regardless of the reason, The Creature Walks Among Us looks at first like it's going to continue the pattern. Marsha Barton goes diving while wearing a white bathing suit, and the Creature stalks her in the water as it had other heroines before her.

But Marsha herself soon starts to show signs that she, at least, has potential to defy our expectations. For starters, she evinces a surprising amount of actual personality. Her activities have been severely restricted by her controlling and paranoid husband, and she attempts to alleviate the resulting boredom by having a variety of hobbies and sometimes by taking reckless risks. An early scene establishes that she enjoys hunting, and seems to be a good shot. Could it be that she will save herself from the Creature, or even save one of the men?

To my amazement, the movie seemed to spend some time setting up the latter idea. After the swimming scene, the Creature actually takes very little interest in Marsha. His anger is instead saved for the men who are tormenting him with surgeries and experiments. When he comes charging out of the laboratory where the scientists have kept him sedated, he is drawn by Marsha's cries as one of the men, Grant, tries to rape her. But it is Grant he attacks, for it is Grant who had previously harmed him. I found myself daring to hope that the movie would end with the Creature killing Grant and Barton, then being shot and killed by Marsha when he goes after her love interest, Morgan.

Of course I was disappointed.

The movie does end with both Barton and Grant dead, and Morgan alive to move in on the widowed Marsha, but during the climax Marsha herself simply fades away. She was in the movie not long earlier, taking a swim while the Creature watched, but as the action begins she melts into the background. She puts in a brief appearance to scream and cry while the Creature goes on his rampage, then vanishes and does not reappear until the denoument. Time spent setting up that she could swim and shoot was apparently just misdirection. Instead of using the gun it placed on the mantlepiece, the movie decides that instead, we need to see the resolution to the confused romantic subplots involving Barton, Marsha, Grant, and Morgan.

Barton, as previously mentioned, believes that Marsha is a cheap little tramp (he actually calls her this at one point) and if he lets her out of his sight she'll be spreading her legs for every man and fish monster for miles around. Grant has apparently decided that a woman with an overprotective husband is twice as attractive – and what the woman herself thinks of his advances is irrelevant. Morgan seems honestly concerned about Barton's mental state and the effect it's having on Marsha, and is the only one of the lot who appears to consider Marsha a person with problems of her own.

Weirdly, the actors playing Grant and Morgan look and sound very much alike, to the point where it's possible to confuse the two. Jeff Morrow as Barton has a similar haircut and is much the same height, so he blends in with the crowd as well. I hate when movies do this. Were 50's standards for male beauty so exacting that they could not hire even one guy with a halfway distinctive face?

Grant and Morgan both get a taste of Barton's jealousy, but what eventually drives him over the edge is Grant's evident unwillingness to take 'no' for an answer from anybody. In a fit of rage, Barton murders him, and then attempts to frame the Creature by tossing the body into the pen. This gives the Creature the opportunity to break out and kill Barton. Marsha is nowhere to be found.

The interesting thing about this ending is that while it is a bit disappointing, it represents a complete reversal of previous Creature movies. In both Creature from the Black Lagoon and Revenge of the Creature, the Creature himself represented a sexual threat to the female lead. He became fascinated with her to the point where he carried her off, and the men had to save her from whatever horrible fate it was he had in mind (I like to think it would have involved a lot of frustrated waiting, wondering when she’s going to lay her eggs so he can swim over them). In The Creature Walks Among Us, it's exactly the opposite: the Creature, albeit unintenionally, saves Marsha from the sexual threat presented to her by Grant and Barton!

This reflects another reversal, as the script finally seems to understand what the audience has been thinking since early in the previous movie – the Creature himself is by far the most sympathetic character here. He spends most of the movie badly burned and with possible brain damage, and all he wants is to go back to the water where he belongs. He doesn't understand that the surgeries Barton has performed on him have left him susceptible to drowning like a land creature. We want to see him kick the shit out of these guys and while the ending, where he wades into the ocean not knowing he will drown, is tragic, it's also kind of a relief. The water is not an escape this time, and nobody can drag him back to civilization for another round of abuse.

When I think about it, I'm actually fairly sure that both these inversions are intentional. I suspect that at least the first writer, Arthur A. Ross, re-watched the first two movies and noticed the things Revenge repeated, and then set out to write something that would turn these specific two ideas on their heads. I wish he'd done a little more with Marsha, who is really not much more than a plot device to motivate the enmity between Barton and Grant, but it's nice to know somebody actually cared about this story rather than simply trying to wring a little more profit out of last year's success.

The movie has another point to make, too, but it's pretty muddled. In between tinkering with the Creature's internal organs, the scientists have philosophical discussions about mankind's capacity for animalistic behaviour and our ability to overcome it with science, describing us as 'caught between the jungle and the stars'. Much of what is said here is very poetic but doesn't come across as particularly meaningful, mostly because the actors themselves do not really seem to understand the points their characters are trying to make. It's all hopelessly undeveloped and serves mostly to confuse and frustrate the audience, who just want to see more of the Creature.

While there are Episodes that Never Were where I really don't know why they never got picked up for MST3K, in this case I think it was actually divine intervention. The Creature Walks Among Us is a boring, stupid movie that would have made a great episode, but that episode would have sorely lacked one thing. There is a sequence in which strange sounds bring everybody running to the Creature's lair, where they discover it has killed a mountain lion. While I'm sure Mike and the Bots could have come up with some great Puma-Man or Pyoooma-themed lines, the perfect callback for this scene came into existence only after MST3K on the Sci-Fi Channel was over and done. The Creature Walks Among Us simply could not be properly riffed in a time when “I hear a mountain lion!” was not yet funny.

#mst3k #reviews #episodes that never were #the creature walks among us #tw: rape #it's beginning to look a lot like fishmen #50s

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tuseriesdetv · 7 years

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White Collar: Don't Trust A Blue-Eyed Man In A Suit And Fedora

Una de las mejores cosas que le pueden pasar a uno cuando ve una serie es llevarse la sorpresa de que, sin esperar gran cosa de esa ficción, finalmente acabes enamorándote de ella. Es algo que me pasó al ver White Collarpor primera vez y, ahora que la he vuelto a ver, no podía dejar la ocasión de invitaros a verla. A lo mejor también os enamoráis.

Me lo como ♥

White Collar es una serie que pasó desapercibida pues no estaba en una gran cadena, USA Network, y aunque en un principio se emitía en temporada alta (septiembre-octubre; tanto la quinta como la sexta temporada también siguieron este camino), a partir de su segunda decidieron partirlas en dos y empezar a emitir su primera mitad en verano y la segunda a partir de noviembre. Vamos, un poco caos. Lo que no era un caos era cómo estaba estructurada la serie ni la personalidad de la misma. White Collar tiene una de las personalidades más atractivas que una serie puede tener. Es divertida, fresca, unos personajes bien estructurados, que crecen, al igual que las interrelaciones, con un cast que tiene una gran química delante y detrás de las cámaras, y, sobre todo, tiene alma. White Collarha sido una de las sorpresas de mi vida y creo que jamás estaré tan agradecida al ¿destino? por haber puesto esta serie en mi camino.

Matt con esas gafas de aviador y la chupa de cuero. No puedo con la vida

La trama se centra en Neal Caffrey (Matt Bomer, Traveler), un estafador condenado por falsificación de bonos que, un día, escapa de la cárcel a tan solo tres meses de obtener la libertad tras estar cuatro años metido en el trullo. Peter Burke(Tim DeKay, Carnivàle), el agente del FBI que lo atrapó, es avisado de urgencia para ir tras Caffrey y meterlo de nuevo entre rejas. Tras investigar, da con la clave del porqué Neal ha escapado: su novia Kate Moreau(Alexandra Daddario, True Detective). Finalmente, Caffrey es atrapado por Burke pero no sin antes citarlo nuevamente una semana después tras darle una gran pista para su actual caso. Esto nos lleva a la dinámica en la que estos dos polos opuestos están inmersos: Neal estará al cargo de Peter mientras que ayuda al FBI a resolver casos en el Departamento de Robos de Guante Blanco, la especialidad de Caffrey. Esta perpetua carrera entre el ratón y el gato se convierte en una asociación entre los mismos donde la confianza siempre estará en entredicho. Cuando hablo de polos opuestos, lo digo completamente en serio, y no porque uno sea un ladrón y el otro un policía, sino porque sus personalidades y estilos de vida son totalmente diferentes. Neal Caffrey es un tío muy apuesto – de lo cual es muy consciente –, tiene labia, sabe manejar a la gente, hacerse su amiga o flirtear para conseguir lo que quiere; tiene estilo, luce los trajes como nadie – gracias a los padres de Matt Bomer por semejante hombre –; es inteligente, sabe de todo, desde las artes plásticas – pinta, esculpe y falsifica como pocos – hasta las artes culinarias; es un romántico empedernido, un hombre con el corazón de un niño, leal – aunque no lo parezca – y cuida de sus amigos. Neal es un hombre hecho a sí mismo, un superviviente, alguien que intenta huir de ciertos aspectos de su pasado pero que no dudará en enfrentarse a ellos cuando llegue el momento. Por su parte, Peter Burke es un hombre más rígido, un agente de la ley que quiere servir y proteger, pero es benevolente y justo. Se preocupa muchísimo por Neal y ambos desarrollarán una relación seudopaterno-filial preciosa y verdadera. Burke es la voz de la conciencia de Neal, quien intenta que vaya por el buen camino, pero es él quien queda atrapado en las travesuras de su confidente. También, Peter es un romántico – no tanto como Neal – y fiel a su esposa Elizabeth (Tiffani Thiessen, Saved by the Bell). Son una de las parejas más bonitas y sanas que he visto en una serie. Son un ejemplo a seguir y su cuquicidad se dispara con el paso de los episodios. Se comprenden, se apoyan y se preocupan el uno por el otro. Elizabeth es la dueña de su propio negocio, en el que se dedica a organizar eventos, aunque tiene un gran amor por el arte, un nexo de unión que tendrá con Neal.

Diana es genial y merece la pena que la conozcáis

Pero esta serie no sólo vive de Neal y Peter, sino que tiene otra serie de personajes que convierten al elenco en una gran familia. Por el lado de Neal contamos con Mozzie (Willie Garson, Sex and The City), su gran amigo y aliado en los golpes que den. Mozzie es un hombre que cree a pies juntillas en las conspiraciones – es el Mulder de White Collar –, que no para de citar frases de célebres filósofos y artistas de toda clase, desde los clásicos hasta Bruce Springsteen, y que no duda un segundo en guiar a Neal en cuanto algún golpe se mete en su camino. Es un hombre de confianza y un pequeño genio; siempre tiene alguna forma de resolver puzles, acertijos y lo que se ponga por delante. La historia de Moz es triste, pero muy interesante de conocer. También tenemos a June (Diahann Carroll, Julia), la propietaria del edificio donde vive Neal, su casera y una mujer curtida en el mundo del hampa. Su esposo ya fallecido, Byron, también era un estafador, por lo que comprende a la perfección a Neal y le toma un gran cariño. Por último, tenemos a Kate quien, por ahora, está desaparecida, pero Caffrey quiere buscarla porque la sigue queriendo. En el lado de Peter tenemos a Diana Barrigan (Marsha Thomason, Las Vegas), una de las mejores agentes del FBI. En la primera temporada no está – se encuentra la actriz Natalie Morales (Parks & Recreation) en su defecto –, pero en las posteriores es un personaje regular. Es hija de un diplomático, lesbiana y se encuentra en una relación estable. Y también tenemos a Clinton Jones (Sharif Atkins, ER), un exmarine que fue a la facultad de Derecho en Harvard y que prefirió unirse al FBI. La camarería entre Peter, Diana y Clinton se nota, son un grupo que confía en el que tiene al lado, y con la llegada de Neal, esto no cambiará, sino que le integrarán.

En esta serie sale mucha gente conocida y encontrarte con ellos siempre es una sorpresa de lo más agradable: Dylan Baker (The Good Wife, The Americans), Hilarie Burton (One Tree Hill, Lethal Weapon), Bridget Regan (Jane The Virgin, The Last Ship), Noah Emmerich (The Americans), Andrew McCarthy (Less Than Zero), Peter Hermann (Younger), Joe Manganiello (True Blood), Lena Headey (Game Of Thrones), Paul Blackthorne (Arrow), Hoon Lee (Banshee), Scott Evans (Before We Go), hermano de Chris Evans; Steven Pasquale (The Good Wife), Mark Sheppard (Supernatural), Andrea Navedo (Jane The Virgin), y un larguísimo etcétera. Hay muchos más, pero os dejo a vosotros localizarlos – esto parece un poco los Pokémon, sorry –.

Bromance total

En cuanto a datos técnicos, la serie cuenta con seis temporadas y tiene unos 13 episodios de media, de unos 42 minutos cada uno, excepto el piloto, que dura una hora – tranquilos, es una hora muy entretenida –. Está creada por Jeff Eastin (Graceland) y tanto Matt Bomer como Tim DeKay se unieron como productores a partir de la quinta temporada – nota curiosa: si os fijáis en los créditos al principio del episodio, en uno está primero Matt y, en el siguiente episodio, lo está Tim, como símbolo de que están al mismo nivel, ninguno de los dos está por encima del otro. Adoro a este cast –. La serie no fue cancelada, sino que simplemente Eastin determinó que ya era hora de que el viaje de Neal Caffrey y cía que empezó en 2009 acabase en 2014. Uno de sus posibles inconvenientes es que es procedimental, pero me parece que los casos son el mejor modo de conocer la mente de Neal Caffrey, cómo se las ingeniaría él para cometer el crimen, y comprobar así porque es uno de los mejores criminales con los que se ha topado el FBI.

Algunos datos curiosos que me gustaría compartir con vosotros y que creo que le dan una relevancia a la serie muchísimo mayor es que está protagonizada por Matt Bomer, un actor abiertamente gay, algo que no suele ocurrir en la industria del cine y la televisión; y que el personaje de Marsha Thomason, Diana, es una mujer afroamericana y lesbiana que no tiene un final trágico – lo sé, pequeño spoiler, pero me parecía importante –. Creo que para ser una serie que comenzó en el 2009, son datos importantes, aunque es cierto que las series de ahora tienen mucha más diversidad racial y de orientación sexual que antes, pero algo es algo.

White Collar es una serie muy entretenida, ligera, con un elenco que se lo pasa bien y lo transmite, con un protagonista que quita el hipo – hey, no puedo mentir – y que, sin duda, te robará el corazón. A mí no para de robármelo.

Irene Galindo (@MissSkarsgard)

#series americanas

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