From the Couch Hole: Ghosts Appear and Fade Away

Previously on FTCH, the genesis of the left hand of darkness was forged in the moment of putting out the fire of the Medium Buffalo Pringles. This week we sent grandma on her way to live in Ohio. So it was a more quiet household with considerably less Jeopardy playing afternoon and night. Next week your Couch Hole will come to you from its new home in Massachusetts. This week the insidious Tommy and Tuppence departed perchance to dream but the maple syrup Chex were overkill. Remember, at FTCH there is nothing wrong with your television set.

Pop Culture Ephemera

• Robert B. Parker – Perchance to Dream (1990) (Published by Putnam): “You simply are a bastard, aren’t you, Marlowe?” — Vivian Sternwood. Author Parker did a decent to good job at finishing Chandler’s Poodle Springs (1989). A year later he went solo with a sequel to Chandler’s The Big Sleep (1939). Fifty-one years after the original, the reader has to inevitably ask not “can you write a sequel?” but “should you write a sequel?” That book left a ton of unanswered questions, even in Chandler’s own mind. The most pressing question was the future of Eddie Mars against Marlowe.
  
  The novel starts with pages of copy/paste of the original book to set the scene. It’s an interesting way to do the book equivalent of “Previously on…” The story doesn’t focus as much on Eddie Mars. It repeats some of the tension between Marlowe and the Sternwood sisters, Vivian and Carmen. It quickly moves to a very Chinatown plot over acquiring land and water rights. It’s hard to judge the book on its own merits because it feels like a “tribute to” instead of “sequel to.” I couldn’t get out of my own head comparing his style to Chandler’s brilliant portrayal of Los Angeles. I had to look to see if there was a sequel to this sequel because it definitely felt like the middle entry of a trilogy. This was all for Parker in the Chandler-verse, so now I’m having the dilemma of reading some of the other extensions of the Chandler characters.

Buy Perchance to Dream

• Agatha Christie’s Tommy & Tuppence – “Episode 1” (Britbox) (S.1 E.1) (2026): “Caution never solved a murder, Tommy. It just ensures you’re polite while the killer gets away.” – Tuppence. The biggest question with a new Agatha Christie adaptation is the setting. Her novels and stories work within their setting and are notoriously hard to update to modern society. The good news is that the chemistry between Antonia Thomas (Tuppence) and Josh Dylan (Thomas) is worth the watch. Tuppence is an actress and Tommy is a crime writer. The bad news is that moving the setting to modern day doesn’t make for an engrossing story. The first two episodes adapt the stories “Finessing the King” and “The Gentleman Dressing In Newspaper.” It looks like this two-episode arc is the pattern of the six-episode series. I will finish it for the romantic-comedy elements and not for the pedestrian mystery.

Buy Men at Work – Cargo

• Men at Work – “Overkill” (from Cargo) (1983): “I worry over situations / I know will be all right.” This was the first single off the follow-up album to Business As Usual (1981). It wasn’t anything like the hit singles off that album. If you had lived with the previous album like I had, you knew there was a darker side to Colin Hay’s lyrics. This song about overthinking and anxiety reflected similar feelings that artists talk about after a hugely successful first album. The Greg Ham sax drives this song along with a catchy bassline. It’s probably my favorite Men at Work single, which is saying something. More on the renaissance of this song later.

• The Departed (2006) (Directed by Martin Scorsese): “I don’t want to be a product of my environment. I want my environment to be a product of me.” – Frank Costello. Check off another “Movie of Shame” off my list that I waited far too long to watch. There seem to be so many in this 2003-2013 timeframe from when I was raising children. I’m checking off both Oscar winners and Scorsese films at the same time, prompted by this film being the #31 Best Films of the 21st Century on The New York Times rankings. Earlier this year, I finally saw Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street (2013). While ranked higher on the NYT list, I think this was a superior story, an adaptation of the Hong Kong Infernal Affairs (2002) that infused elements of other Scorsese crime films, Howard Hawks’ Scarface (1932), and a healthy dose of The Godfather (1972).
  
  Scorsese is associated with New York City from his best films. Moving the setting to Boston added an extra level of symbolism to the story. Boston has a history of division and identity between the residents of South Boston and North Boston. The story revolves as much around identity and family history as it does around crime. Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon are well cast as men working undercover among their enemies to the point that they have started to lose their own identity. I really like the Vera Farmiga character, Madolyn, who is the psychologist that connects the two characters. This was a movie that I finished and immediately started thinking about watching again soon.

Buy The Departed

• Insidious (2010) (Directed by James Wan): “It’s not the house that is haunted. It’s your son.” – Elise Reiner. I am pretty sure I saw this James Wan-directed film in 2010 in theaters, but watching it again this week, I’m less confident. October is the best time of year for a haunted-house story. A family with children moving into an old house with an attic, dark corners, and hallways is just asking for an Amityville experience. From the minute that young Dalton (Ty Simpkins) goes up the ladder the the attic, the film has a great pace until the last 15 minutes. Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne are well cast as generic middle-class family. The haunted-house angle is better told than the Poltergeist angle when the psychic and her two helpers arrive. I’m curious to see how it progressed after this, because I know for sure I haven’t watched any of the other five films in the series.

Buy Insidious

Best of the Rest

• Colin Hay did a solo acoustic version of “Overkill” on Season 2, Episode 1 of Scrubs (NBC). It brought the song back to mind, and showed off Colin Hay’s voice talent and humor all at once. I started hearing the song more often after this appearance. That wasn’t a bad thing. It also started a run of really great usage of songs on this series for the next three seasons.

• In 2007, Dashboard Confessional was getting ready to go on tour to do acoustic covers. There are some really good covers here on The Wire Tapes for those interested. It’s a very 2007. They take the Colin Hay acoustic version of his song and with some changes to the tempo create a slower indie-emo ballad about being lost and unable to sleep. Just start gazing at your shoes.

• I don’t even know what a Gaboon Viper looks like, but knowing that there’s one in Santa Ana, CA, I’m not sad about moving to the absolute other side of the country. The five- to seven-foot viper is from Sub Saharan Africa and oddly Edinger and Main too. Tree snakes are even more sneaky bastards. Be aware, my Cali friends.
• UPDATE: It was the cruelest of AI hoaxes. I feel violated.

Sunday Morning Tuneage Flashback

• Sunday Morning Tuneage from 10/24/2010, the Tuneage skipped a week because I drove roughly 3,000 miles over a couple of weeks to see my nephew’s wedding (with my son, Christian in the wedding), visited both my grandmothers (the last time I could say that), and saw some friends. I was back to reality and excited about two new shows. Dead Set (IFC) was about the Big Brother house while the zombie apocalypse happens on the outside world. The was a show on AMC also about zombies. I thought that the comic book The Walking Dead (AMC) might make a decent show as long as Frank Darabont was involved. The list for the week was interesting because it purposely left out the great Saturday morning live-action shows that the company made.
  
  My #44 Top TV Show of All-Time was The Amazing Race (CBS) (2001-Present): I have said that I would make a separate list for reality and competition shows. At the time, this was a fair rating for the show. The gameplay has changed very little since 2001, despite little twists here and there. That’s a testament to the solid concept of the show. The winners don’t fit into a simple category. All male, all female, mixed couples, young and older have all won the race. What they share is usually a calmness when the challenges are difficult and patience when the travel isn’t perfect. I don’t think I would do well at the challenges, but I like picking a team early on to cheer for. The only thing I miss from the early seasons is more travel choices as they negotiated autos and airports.
  
  
• BEST FILMATION CARTOONS OF ALL-TIME (2010)
  • 10. The Brady Kids (ABC) (1972-1973)
  • 9. The Batman/Superman Hour (CBS) (1968-1969)
  • 8. The U.S. of Archie (CBS) (1974)
  • 7. The New Adventures of Mighty Mouse and Heckle and Jeckle (CBS) (1979-1980)
  • 6. Ghostbusters (SYND) (1986)
  • 5. He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (SYND) (1983-1984)
  • 4. The New Adventures of Batman (CBS) (1977-1978)
  • 3. The New Adventures of Gilligan / Gilligan’s Planet (CBS) (1974-1975, 1982)
  • 2. The Groovie Goolies (CBS) (1970-1972)
  • 1. Fat Albert & the Cosby Kids (CBS) (1972-1985)
    
• BEST FILMATION CARTOONS OF ALL-TIME (2026)
  • 10. He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (SYND) (1983-1984) / She-Ra: Princess of Power (SYND) (1985-1987): These two are probably the signature shows of Filmation. They are easily the most recognizable from toys and other marketing. They came about at a time when I was more interested in girls and horror films, so I never identified with the show.
  • 9. Star Trek: The Animated Series (NBC) (1973-1974): Unlike so many cartoon adaptations of television shows, this one played it straight up. It didn’t add weird animals that weren’t in the original. I might not love some of the plots, but extra credit for running this show as a direct sequel to the original series.
  • 8. Flash Gordon (NBC) (1979-1982): Some of the best background designs from the company. I was skeptical of this at the time, even as a child, but I was so desperate for anything space after Star Wars (1977) that I tuned in and ended up loving it.
  • 7. The New Adventures of Gilligan / Gilligan’s Planet (CBS) (1974-1975, 1982): Voiced by all of the original cast (except Ginger in Planet), these shows mostly continued the plots of the original series with the addition of a talking monkey. The space series just added aliens to the mix, but with the same concept. As a child, this show was a bonus to the weekday repeats.
  • 6. Ghostbusters (SYND) (1986): Often confused with The Real Ghostbusters (ABC) that debuted at the same time, this version was unrelated to the hit film. This was the preferred show amongst my friends. This show had good monsters, but the confusion over the other show led to this one being forgotten.
  • 5. The U.S. of Archie (CBS) (1974): I loved anything history related at this time. The historical stories would always have characters that resembled the Archie cast back in the time of the story. Then it would end with a song. That was about a perfect combination for a seven year old.
  • 4. The New Adventures of Mighty Mouse and Heckle and Jeckle (CBS) (1979-1980): This wasn’t the 1987 New Adventures version by Bakshi that is still beloved. It did have some clever humor. I remember Quacula who was a equal combination of Daffy Duck and Duckula so much that eventually a lawsuit caused the discontinuation of the segment.
  • 3. The Groovie Goolies (CBS) (1970-1972): This was a brilliant combination of Universal Monsters, the Archies, and what would become Count Chocula and the Monster cereals. At different times, their shorts were paired with Sabrina the Teenage Witch or Tom and Jerry. I still search these out.
  • 2. The New Adventures of Batman (CBS) (1977-1978): The voices of Adam West and Burt Ward made this cartoon adaptation feel more legit. The appearance of Bat-Mite did not. Superfriends (ABC) was airing at the same time, so there was so much Batman and Robin on a Saturday morning back then.
  • 1. Fat Albert & the Cosby Kids (CBS) (1972-1985): It aired under a few different names, but the show functioned the same with the live-action bookends, animated story, and the moral lesson. It was the longest lasting and most awarded of the Filmation cartoons. Not to mention the funkiest theme on Saturday mornings. It aired at the end of the Saturday cartoon block most of the time and meant time to wrap up my morning and go play with my friends.
    

Buy Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids – The Original Animated Series, Vol. 1

1976 in Review

• October – Justice League of America #135 (DC Comics): “A score as old as time itself must be settled on a far greater scale than one mere planet!” – King Kull. Cover by Ernie Chan. Written by Nelson Bridwell. Art by Dick Dillin. The JLA/JSA crossover wasn’t one that I would have followed in these days. This issue fully integrated the Fawcett superheroes into the DC Universe.
• October 11 – Jane Pauley (25) was working for WMAQ-TV in Chicago She joins the team of Today (NBC). She would first host with Tom Brokaw and then with Bryant Gumbel until she left the show in 1989.
• October 11 – Sports Illustrated. George Foster was the best player on the best team in 1976. He had a breakout season with 121 RBI. The Reds had just swept the Philadelphia Phillies and would face the New York Yankees in the World Series.

What the Hell Did I Put in My Mouth?

“I can’t get to sleep
I think about the implications
Of diving in too deep
And possibly the complications” – Men at Work