From the Couch Hole: To Tempt You In and Drive You Far Away

Previously on FTCH, at Salem’s Lot, Carrie went down the old Spanish trail for some night ghoulery. It ended up being a chainsaw massacre over the new FrankenCakes. This week we had some family visitors from out of state. So it was a contracted work week and then some playing host. This week the Joker was in Stumptown with the monsters’ frightful friends. Plucky Duck said, “love is a stranger” and that beast must die. Remember, FTCH, cats call it “meow” for short.

Pop Culture Ephemera

• Greg Rucka – Stumptown Vol. 2: The Case of The Baby in the Velvet Case (2013) (Oni Press): “Now I see your hands . . . Or I see the fine pink mist that once was your brains.” It was quite a break for me between Volume 1 and Volume 2, and I see that I’m a couple of volumes behind. In between my readings, the adventures of detective Dex Parios through the alternative crowds of Portland (the Stumptown nickname of the title) was given a season of episodes on ABC that I didn’t watch. This story is about a missing guitar (the “baby” of the title) and the drug trade underground of Portland. I like the hard-boiled Dex character, and she fits nicely within the genre. This story is slightly better than the volume one case. There’s a car-chase sequence in the second half that’s a highlight of the book. There’s some continuity from the previous story to this one and the ending hints at a much larger corruption in the town that will involve Dex. Rucka is a solid writer, and I’m likely to pursue any mystery I see his name attached.

Buy Stumptown Vol. 2: The Case of The Baby in the Velvet Case

• The Plucky Duck Show – “Inside Plucky Duck (1990)” (1992) (S.1 E.5) (FOX): “Yeesh! That rabbit’s got an ego the size of Montana, and I don’t mean Max!”- Plucky. This episode is actually a repeat of Tiny Toon Adventures (1990) (S.1 E.39). I didn’t watch Tiny Toons but I was exposed to the series through The Plucky Duck Show on FOX Kids which was with only singular exception, a set of repeats of Plucky Duck skits from the other show.
  
  The highlight of this episode is “Bats All Folks” which is a spot on parody of Batman (1989). Plucky plays Spruce Vain. Hamton plays Decoy the Pig Hostage as his sidekick. He battles Jackster (the Joker with a Jack Nicholson voice), Question Mark (the Riddler), Polecat Woman (Catwoman), and the Puffin (the Penguin). It’s written by Paul Dini with help from Bruce Timm, who would have been creating Batman: The Animated Series at the time. The episode includes a clever callback to Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) which is what really tickles me about this episode. I’m impressed with the level of detail to the parody that this show maintains. We just didn’t appreciate it enough in the day.

Eurythmics – Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) CD

• Eurythmics – “Love is a Stranger” (1982) (from Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)): “And I want you so / It’s an obsession” There are so many ’80s synth-heavy songs that sound completely dated. This song doesn’t have that same feel. There’s a smooth mix of Annie Lennox’s vocal range and Dave Stewart’s synth arrangement. The song wasn’t a hit when it was released, but it was one of my personal favorites, and the video was iconic. The minor controversy that came from this that Annie Lennox was really a male transvestite seems petty today, but it was a nuisance at the time. This song just came into my head the other day, and it’s lovely to sit with it again today.

• The Beast Must Die (1974) (Directed by Paul Annett): “This film is a detective story – in which you are the detective. The question is not ‘Who is the murderer?’ but ‘Who is the werewolf?'” – Narrator. There just aren’t many movies these days that offer a werewolf break. The films that came out of Amicus Studios were formulaic but have held up very well. This is just a fun werewolf movie. It’s the Ten Little Indians of werewolf films. It flips the usual tropes of being about the suffering of the person who turns into a werewolf into guessing which of the eight rich people gathered at a house in the remote country is a werewolf. There are some nice twists worthy of the Glass Onion franchise. Peter Cushing adds horror film credibility to the production. The Halloween viewing schedule always has room for something clever like this film.

• Joker: Folie à Deux (2024) (Directed by Todd Phillips): “Got a joke for us today?” – various guards at Arkham. Let’s clear it up before you have to read a few more sentences. I didn’t hate this movie the way that is commonly expressed in comments and reviews since release. This feels more like a reaction to critics of the first film than a true sequel. Making it a musical allows Phillips to transition back and forth between Arthur and the Joker personalities. It’s easier to illustrate the internal battles going on as Phoenix breaks into song (even if his voice is purposely sub-par). I know that DC Comic Universe fans will want more out of Lady Gaga as Lee Quinzel. This is more restrained than the Harley Quinn of Suicide Squad and animated films. The film doesn’t refute the nihilism of the first film. If nothing else, it makes choices that support the lessons of the original. Is it valid to make the audience consider a killer to be a human like them? The disappointment for me is in everyone who isn’t Lee or Arthur. There was a need to rehash the events of the first film and an opportunity for us to view them in a different light in retrospect. What was also possible was the expansion of the Universe including a wasted appearance of Harvey Dent who would offer a much different interpretation of the events also.

Best of the Rest

• Don’t wait for the new Lays flavor to show up in your favorite Couch Hole before buying it yourself. You probably know by now that a good solid crunch is a desirable part of the potato-chip experience for me. The addition of Cajun Spice to the Frito Kettle Cooked line is a great idea. I am going to pre-review these based upon my familiarity with the Cajun spices of the Frito Lays lines and the quality of the Kettle Cooked chips to say, “These will be amazing.” That’s a three-bag purchase without even tasting the first chip.

• I’m not sure what to make of this CoffeeMate ad / sponsored video. The brand isn’t one to take chances so the humor isn’t what you would call edgy. The idea of fixing up break rooms for teachers is like some HGTV special, but it’s focused around making it a coffee break. I appreciate doing something different, but this is the type of thing that confuses me on how to categorize it.

• Entertainment Weekly (3/28/97): “Best Commercials of All-Time” #48 – Trix: “Trix Are for Kids”. The Trix Rabbit has been animated since the late ’60s. This commercial along with other earlier ones was voiced by Mort Marshall before Russell Horton took over. It’s a successful campaign over multiple decades. The Trix Rabbit would sometimes get a taste of the cereal and often come just so close when his disguise was discovered. There are six color Trix in the current version, missing Orange Orange, Lemon Yellow, and Raspberry Red from the original release. A solid entry for #48 best ads of all-time.

Sunday Morning Tuneage Flashback

• On the Sunday Morning Tuneage from 5/3/2009, I had been feeling poorly for about ten days and was finally having a non-flu day. It was a rest day with Mavs and Red Wings playoff games on my agenda. My #12 Favorite Movie of All-Time was Goldfinger (1964). It’s a great Bond film and easily in my Top One or Two of the series. Is it a #12 of All-Time? Nope. It’s between #50 and #100 at best. It’s still worth your time to revisit ever so often. The Simpsons (FOX) had guest star Ellen Page as Alaska Nebraska. Scrubs (ABC) was limping to a series finale. Survivor: Tocantins (CBS) was coming to an end and I was extolling the craziness of Coach. My list for the week is one that I feel I’ve done before, maybe even recently. The fact that I just watched a load of the episodes helps me do the exercise again.
  • BEST STAR TREK (ORIGINAL SERIES) EPISODES OF ALL-TIME (2009)
    • 10. “Balance of Terror” (S.1 E.14): Similar to Hunt For Red October and it introduces the Romulans.
    • 9. “Journey To Babel” (S.2 E.10)
    • 8. “The Trouble With Tribbles” (S.2 E.13): Usually it’s over-rated but it’s still fun.
    • 7. “The Doomsday Machine” (S.2 E.6): This is like a classic sci-fi story that just plugged in the Star Trek characters and it worked.
    • 6. “Arena” (S.1 E.18): Years later, I think Superman repeated this story. Both characters win a gladiator fight and they refuse to kill. It look like he defeats a Sleestack.
    • 5. “This Side of Paradise”: Spock gets a dose of love spores.
    • 4. “The Naked Time” (S.1 E.4): The only “naked” is swashbuckler Sulu’s torso, but it’s worth it.
    • 3. “Mirror, Mirror” (S.2 E.10)
    • 2. “Amok Time” (S.2 E.1): Horny Spock flips out, and the episode gives a ton of Vulcan history. This is great stuff.
    • 1. “City on the Edge of Forever” (S.1 E.28): I’m not going out on a limb here – but this Harlan Ellison script is the kind that still proves that the one-hour drama show can be as impressive as any two-hour film.  The whole Nazis develop the atomic bomb alternate history story is not overdone and played out in perfectly human emotions.
  • BEST STAR TREK (ORIGINAL SERIES) EPISODES OF ALL-TIME (2024)
    • 10. “Mirror, Mirror” (S.2 E.10): There are so many reasons to write this episode off as one of the silly ones of the later season. I just can’t help but be won over by the cast. I like the science fiction, but there’s something about having fun too.
    • 9. “Tomorrow Is Yesterday” (S.1 E.19): The time-travel episodes can be really bad. This one has all kinds of “huh?” moments, but the cast is at some of their most sardonic when talking to the Air Force. It’s fun if you don’t think too hard on it.
    • 8. “Space Seed” (S.1 E.22): It’s easy to overvalue this episode because of Khan’s future appearance in the franchise. The plot is a little pedestrian, but it’s saved by Ricardo Montalban’s charisma.
    • 7. “The Trouble With Tribbles” (S.2 E.13): I still feel like I can’t leave this off my list. On my recent trip through the series, I still was tickled by the overacting.
    • 6. “A Taste of Armageddon” (S.1 E.23): The show didn’t shy away from talking about larger concepts. This story talks about the folly of waging of war based upon computers and statistics as a thin-veiled lesson of the Vietnam War waging at that time.
    • 5. “The Galileo Seven” (S.1 E.16): Based loosely on Five Came Back (1939), I like these stories where Spock’s logic is not the answer. This introduces the common theme of Kirk needing to make a no-win decision.
    • 4. “Amok Time” (S.2 E.1): Spock vs. Kirk! The second season starts by building the backstories and the Star Trek Universe.
    • 3. “The Doomsday Machine” (S.2 E.6): This is the episode where I feel like they started to envision this making the leap to theatrical-level stories.
    • 2. “The Enemy Within” (S.1 E.5): It’s part All About Eve, and it’s part Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The episode could have been dropped into The Twilight Zone and felt at home. This is short of being a perfect episode because of some questionable choices towards the end, but it shows the generational appeal of this series as one for thinking adults.
    • 1. “City on the Edge of Forever” (S.1 E.28): I think what makes this so effective is that Kirk’s choice between Edith Wheeler (Joan Collins) and the greater good are what defines the Captains throughout the series.
  • Coming up with a Top Ten out of 79 episodes isn’t nearly as difficult as doing a show like Doctor Who or The Simpsons. It helps that Season Three has some real dogs. The Original Series holds a special place in my sci-fi fandom heart. It was a favorite treat on Sunday nights to symbolically end the weekend. I would not have predicted back then that I’d still be watching it in 2024 and that new episodes of the franchise would still be coming out.

1974 in Review

• October – Thor #228 (Marvel): Cover and art by Rich Buckler. Written by Gerry Conway. Thor relives the origin story of Ego. Then Galactus shows up to send Ego on his way.
• October 20 – Richard Petty finishes third in the 1974 American 500 in Rockingham, NC to clinch the NASCAR Grand National Championship (soon to be renamed Winston Cup Series) for the fifth time.
• October 24 – Joe Eszterhas had previously had some run-ins with Evel Knievel. The article portrays a seedy underground culture of America that would today be characterized in a more political manner. This was not the hero worship of Evel that the American press had usually used. The cover story has a satisfying crossover with the coverage of Watergate in the rest of the issue.

What the Hell Did I Put in My Mouth?

“Love is a danger of a different kind
To take you away and leave you far behind
And love, love, love is a dangerous drug
You have to receive it and you still can’t get enough of the stuff” – Eurythmics

Stay hard.

Shawn