[VIDEO] This is one of the opening scenes of The Late Shift. Shown on HBO in 1996 this film was based on a book written by Bill Carter which illustrated the fight for NBC's Tonight Show after Johnny Carson called it quits in 1991.
I liked this movie when it was released but at that point in time I was still a teenager. There was a lot about this movie that went over my head back then but understand it more now than ever. As a matter of fact in recent years we've seen more shifts in late night TV. Jay Leno retired twice, the Tonight Show essentially has gone through three hosts since at least 2009. After Jay, Conan O'Brien and after Jay again Jimmy Fallon with both Conan & Jimmy having hosted Late Night.
As we see in this movie and of course in reality Letterman moved over to CBS to host their Late Show after failing to get his dream job at Tonight. It was fun to see the positioning of both Letterman, Leno and all the players who made their pitches. In terms of what happened since Letterman retired from hosting Late Show.
If I recall correctly at times Comedy Central has shown this film. Now while this story involves two comedians at least, this doesn't strike me as a comedy, more as a drama. Some of what we see aren't meant to be funny although we see the actors who portray these comedians portray their roles adopting each comedians mannerisms. The comedians tell their jokes for the most part and as a result it seems the drama is portrayed by network executives & agents.
BTW, the scene above shows Letterman after a show lamenting how the crowd responded to him. He's definitely hyper even with a message to comedienne Sandra Bernhard that starts this scene off right. It's amusing, but an important part of this drama.
ALSO, this book has a sequel which revolves around "the late shift" that occurred in 2010 again with NBC's Tonight Show. After 7 months hosting NBC's signature late night franchise O'Brien was pushed out in favor of a returning Jay Leno. I'd like to see that adapted into a film in the near future.
Monday, July 6, 2015
Tuesday, June 16, 2015
#HawksWin Puck Dynasty
I saw the final period of last night's game 6 against the Tampa Bay Lighting. Today we learned that the Black Hawks won the cup on home ice for the first time since their second Stanley Cup victory in 1938.
It was cool to see the cup come home in Chicago. The last two times the cup was won by the Hawks it had been in Philadelphia and Boston respectively.
I never would've thought in years that the Hawks would have a cup dynasty in this decade. Surely Black Hawks fans would've just hoped for at least one in their lifetime, but three in six seasons is just incredible. Been waiting a longtime myself as a fan and it didn't just happen once it happened thrice. We can say dynasty akin to the Bull's dynasty of the 1990s.
Just think that I gave up the last few minutes of Monday Night Raw to see another cup come to Chicago. It's not like anything was missed that I couldn't catch up to later.
Now to the conclusion of the NBA Finals. Two teams who aren't know for championship success with one team - Cleveland Cavaliers - never having won NBA title facing a team - Golden State Warriors - who has had that success. And the Warriors are up by a game in that series!
Friday, June 12, 2015
States I've visited
Click above photo so that you can also share a map of all states you've visited or if you wish passed through.
Saturday, May 9, 2015
57 nerdy things about the original 6 "Star Trek" movies
From the first Star Trek movie in 1979 to the last film featuring the cast from the original series in 1991 we see a list of trivia from those original series films.
I found this bullet point to be the funniest one. It involved a certain computer seen in 1986's Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home - yes the one with the whales...
31. Hello computer?!? The Apple Mac wasn't supposed to be in the factory, and the original Commodore Amiga model was originally supposed to be in its place. Commodore Business Machines refused to send a sample machine for filming and simply told the film crew that they had to buy one. Apple just sent a machine and a member of staff to help out.Excuse me what's a Commodore?
Commodore also stated it didn't want to be associated with Star Trek. Facepalm...
BTW, here's the scene in question Scotty is trying to use a 1980s Apple Macintosh machine but speaking through its mouse. Well it was an hilarious scene and even better while Scotty may not know how to use a mouse he typed the hell out of that keyboard! [VIDEO]
Not bad for a guy who seemed to have started off only with two index fingers at first!
Saturday, April 18, 2015
Gene Roddennberry's intro to "The Cage"
In the above video Trek creator Gene Roddenberry gives us the rundown on the first pilot "The Cage". Little did I know that not only this pilot never aired on TV in the 1960s (it first aired in 1988 according to the Trek wiki) it had also been shown in black & white. Although when I've seen this episode it was always in color.
Most of what Roddenberry said isn't entirely unfamiliar to me. The idea of a TV pilot, his concept of the series, and perhaps the network's expection. That network being NBC who did air the series between 1966-1969. It's recognized that the series from this pilot to it's eventual cancellation was very different from not only other series from it time but also the sensibilities.
Of course there were other concerns such as advertisers. Tobacco companies advertised in those days. These days well we want to really discourage smoking and that means we won't see many smoking ads on TV now.
Judging by some of the effects and the sets Roddenberry was walking around this had to have been taped at least in the early 80s. According to the video description this came from a DVD featuring a color version of this pilot episode. And that seems to contradict Roddenberry who said there had been only black & white footage of this episode. Even though we see here both color and black & white footage.
Tuesday, March 31, 2015
The "Macho Man"
[VIDEO] If you've followed this blog over the years I'm a huge wrestling fan. Unfortunately, I have never seen a PPV produced by any company including the recent Wrestlemania which I understand is one of the highest grossing of all time for the WWF - err sorry WWE.
Anyway during the course of Wrestlemania weekend, the Macho Man Randy Savage had been inducted in the WWE Hall of Fame. I'm glad he's getting the recognition he deserves in that business as he definitely left an impression not only within pro wresting, but also with the public. Most people know who he is and what his catchphrases are.
Regardless, thanks to his tragic death in 2011 many fans were denied the one thing he should have had. Savage just like Hulk Hogan or even Ultimate Warrior should have had one run more run with WWF - err WWE. In the case of Warrior he made one more appearance on Monday Night Raw last year before his untimely demise not long after having one more moment with his fans.
Seriously though Hogan had one more run with his fans in the early 2000s and although it was clear that he didn't have the moves that he used to it was cool to see Hulkamania return to where it truly belonged. It truly belonged in the WWE Universe and the Macho Man belonged there as well. For whatever reason it didn't happen.
For a lot of past WWF - err WWE - superstars there were some issues that kept them from returning. Hogan had his issues with WWE Chairman Vince McMahon and so did Warrior in addition to even Savage. These are issues that at some point had to be addressed and all parties can move forward because it's best for business. So for Hogan and Warrior those issues were addressed and who knows if they ever were for Savage before his death.
BTW, this article from the Tribune before Wrestlemania is about the local roots of Randy Savage who had been born Randy Poffo had grew up and went to school in the suburb of Downer's Grove. It's amazing how many classmates he knew and in some cases they had no idea he had become a huge WWE Superstar.
When I first got to see the Macho Man, Savage was the "Macho King" with the late Sensational Sherri as his manager. I remember the storyline where his former manager and ultimate love interest the late Miss Elizabeth had a courtship and they were married. Apparently him and Elizabeth were a couple in real life although ultimately they divorced later. And while she followed him to WCW later, I wasn't sure what her purpose was in WCW as most of the time she didn't seem to affiliate with Savage.
Anyway I'm glad Savage is getting his recognition now, however, sad that he isn't with us to have one more memorable moment with his fans. I do hope you enjoy this video of Macho Man apparently in connection with a video game that was likely taped in 2010 or early 2011. He's aged, but he's still the Macho Man Randy Savage. That's why I got a kick out of it.
Anyway during the course of Wrestlemania weekend, the Macho Man Randy Savage had been inducted in the WWE Hall of Fame. I'm glad he's getting the recognition he deserves in that business as he definitely left an impression not only within pro wresting, but also with the public. Most people know who he is and what his catchphrases are.
Regardless, thanks to his tragic death in 2011 many fans were denied the one thing he should have had. Savage just like Hulk Hogan or even Ultimate Warrior should have had one run more run with WWF - err WWE. In the case of Warrior he made one more appearance on Monday Night Raw last year before his untimely demise not long after having one more moment with his fans.
Seriously though Hogan had one more run with his fans in the early 2000s and although it was clear that he didn't have the moves that he used to it was cool to see Hulkamania return to where it truly belonged. It truly belonged in the WWE Universe and the Macho Man belonged there as well. For whatever reason it didn't happen.
For a lot of past WWF - err WWE - superstars there were some issues that kept them from returning. Hogan had his issues with WWE Chairman Vince McMahon and so did Warrior in addition to even Savage. These are issues that at some point had to be addressed and all parties can move forward because it's best for business. So for Hogan and Warrior those issues were addressed and who knows if they ever were for Savage before his death.
BTW, this article from the Tribune before Wrestlemania is about the local roots of Randy Savage who had been born Randy Poffo had grew up and went to school in the suburb of Downer's Grove. It's amazing how many classmates he knew and in some cases they had no idea he had become a huge WWE Superstar.
When I first got to see the Macho Man, Savage was the "Macho King" with the late Sensational Sherri as his manager. I remember the storyline where his former manager and ultimate love interest the late Miss Elizabeth had a courtship and they were married. Apparently him and Elizabeth were a couple in real life although ultimately they divorced later. And while she followed him to WCW later, I wasn't sure what her purpose was in WCW as most of the time she didn't seem to affiliate with Savage.
Anyway I'm glad Savage is getting his recognition now, however, sad that he isn't with us to have one more memorable moment with his fans. I do hope you enjoy this video of Macho Man apparently in connection with a video game that was likely taped in 2010 or early 2011. He's aged, but he's still the Macho Man Randy Savage. That's why I got a kick out of it.
Monday, March 16, 2015
So the wrestler who shows up in the WWE finally speaks...
[VIDEO] On a previous edition of Monday Night Raw the vigilante Sting made his comments to the WWE Universe. He set up his match with Triple H in terms of what he saw happened in WCW and how that promotion ultimately died.
Well Sting was referring to the authority in WCW - which included one Eric Bischoff - who aligned themselves with the nWo or the new world order. The nWo consisted of such former WWE superstars at least back then as Scott Hall, Kevin Nash and even Hulk Hogan. The new world order was the dominate story line in WCW for most of the late 1990s.
Of course Sting was speaking in terms of storyline. What happened with WCW and it's ultimate purchase by WWE and it's closure was a lot more than we saw on our TV screens. At some point I stopped watching because it attempted to imitate the competition and I could watch the real deal. So perhaps one issue back then was the creative team.
Beyond the reality I did like how Sting set up his Wrestlemania match with the WWE's new authority with Triple H and his wife who just so happens to be the daughter of one Vince McMahon who basically establishes that universe. BTW, Sting already had run-ins with H as on two occasions matches had been interfered with which resulted in the authority being removed from power and resulted in returning three other wrestlers back to the WWE roster.
But then when you consider Sting in his current gimmick where he resembles that dark superhero the Crow, he always was a vigilante. He had to face the nWo as the franchise player of WCW and even had to change his persona from more of a surfer Sting to a much more darker character. The character who challenged the nWo and the decline of WCW.
How will that storyline finally unfold...
Well Sting was referring to the authority in WCW - which included one Eric Bischoff - who aligned themselves with the nWo or the new world order. The nWo consisted of such former WWE superstars at least back then as Scott Hall, Kevin Nash and even Hulk Hogan. The new world order was the dominate story line in WCW for most of the late 1990s.
Of course Sting was speaking in terms of storyline. What happened with WCW and it's ultimate purchase by WWE and it's closure was a lot more than we saw on our TV screens. At some point I stopped watching because it attempted to imitate the competition and I could watch the real deal. So perhaps one issue back then was the creative team.
Beyond the reality I did like how Sting set up his Wrestlemania match with the WWE's new authority with Triple H and his wife who just so happens to be the daughter of one Vince McMahon who basically establishes that universe. BTW, Sting already had run-ins with H as on two occasions matches had been interfered with which resulted in the authority being removed from power and resulted in returning three other wrestlers back to the WWE roster.
But then when you consider Sting in his current gimmick where he resembles that dark superhero the Crow, he always was a vigilante. He had to face the nWo as the franchise player of WCW and even had to change his persona from more of a surfer Sting to a much more darker character. The character who challenged the nWo and the decline of WCW.
How will that storyline finally unfold...
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