From the Couch Hole: Won’t You Take Me Back to School

Previously on FTCH, last year was on both sides now for poker face. The dead man had knives out on the social network for being close to naked Doritos. It’s been almost a month since we last gathered for a classic FTCH entry. I hope that the Best Of lists provided an entertaining change over the holidays. Here in Texas it was all about painting and improving the house for a sale in the new year. It was great to have the children here for a week, and hopefully next time we all gather, it’s in Massachusetts. This week the voice was shining darker than amber against the dreadful lemon sky. There were stranger things afoot like Pabst Blue Ribbon chili. Remember, at FTCH it’s time to play the music, it’s time to light the lights.

Pop Culture Ephemera

• John D. MacDonald – The Dreadful Lemon Sky (1975) (Published by Fawcett Publications): “The biggest and most important reason in the world is to be together with someone in a way that makes life a little less bleak and solitary and lonesome.” I don’t usually start a series on entry #15, to be fair. I had not read a John D. MacDonald novel, although I was familiar in passing that he wrote the Travis McGee character. I have been fascinated with the Raymond Chandler hard boiled detective novels the past year. I have also read many Elmore Leonard and Carl Hiaasen novels, that both feel like natural progression of the hard boiled detective stories. I needed that link from the ’40s to the ’70s. I still haven’t read any Robert B. Parker, but I feel like it can’t be more entertaining that this John D. MacDonald story.
  
  An old friend shows up to McGee’s houseboat, The Busted Flush, with a suitcase of money that Travis is to keep until she returns and give to her sister if she doesn’t. Travis can keep $10,000 for himself. When she is killed, the mystery story gets underway. There’s a fun set of characters and the Florida setting is ripe, as Leonard and Hiaasen take advantage of in their books. McGee is a generally honest guy, but not necessarily a nice guy. That detective with an internal set of ethics mostly resembles Chandler’s Marlowe character. This story captures a mood that just kept me turning page after page. This won’t be my last McGee novel.

Buy The Dreadful Lemon Sky

• Stranger Things – “The Rightside Up” (S.5 E.8) (2025): “Alright, lab rats, let’s scurry up. An entire dimension’s about to come crashing down our heads.” – Murray Bauman. It took nine years to complete five seasons. That’s always going to be an issue with a series that has teens as the majority of the cast. The show that started pre-Pandemic, has outlived it’s influences on pop culture. So how do you wrap up a show after it’s done in the public zeitgeist? I think they did the best they could. You can read lots of negative reactions to the last half of the last season, but I don’t know the alternatives.
  
  The finale doesn’t differ much from the rest of the series, which is why I don’t fully understand some of the criticism. The final battle isn’t distinctly different than the disappointingly easy battles throughout the series. The instinct not to kill main characters is present in all mainstream shows in this vein. The quibble can come with the last 40-minute epilogue. When the final battle was over and so much time was left, I had fully expected a “you didn’t see this monster coming” moment that never develops. If you weren’t emotionally invested in the characters, the ending will fall flat and seem trite. I thought it succeeded in parts (the D&D game that hands over the mantle to the next generation) and failed in others (the graduation and rooftop blather). It will go down as an important series that helped keep horror/science fiction in the public mind as a mainstream product. I’m excited to see what the Duffer Brothers get up to next.

Buy The Moody Blues – Long Distance Voyager

• The Moody Blues – “The Voice” (1981) (from Long Distance Voyager): “With your arms around the future / And your back up against the past.” I remember buying this album back in 1981, partially because of the cool album cover, and I had been familiar with some earlier Moody Blues songs. This was instantly my favorite song on the album. It starts with a cool synthesizer that sounds like the start to a film score. Then the combination of Justin Hayward’s vocals and the combination of synthesizers and multiple guitars makes it sound like an Electric Light Orchestra song (that feat even more realized on “Gemini Dream”). Lyrically, it fits within that Moody Blues lane of finding that the interior voice is sometimes your harshest critic.

• Darker Than Amber (1970) (Directed by Robert Clouse ): “I’m trying to warn you, baby, ’cause you’re next on the list.” – Travis McGee. My initial mistake was that while reading The Dreadful Lemon Sky I noticed that there weren’t many Travis McGee movie adaptations despite how many titles John MacDonald wrote. I say “mistake” because the plot of this film was way too close to the book I was reading and watching it before I finished the book. I was a little confused at who was who when I was blending the two.
  
  This is a very entertaining film. Rod Taylor is well cast and fit what I was imagining as I read the books. The Taylor portrayal brings the character spiritually closer to Chandler’s Marlowe, which is as I read it. I think about Robert Mitchum’s interpretation of the character in the ’70s as a similar feel to this one. The detective story is secondary to the detective in the film. I don’t know why this didn’t lead to a series of films. This is a great introduction to the character if you are thinking about reading these books.

Buy Darker Than Amber novel

• The Shining (1980) (Directed by Stanley Kubrick): “He is a very willful boy.” – Jack Torrance. This recent release in IMAX was all the excuse I needed to see it in theaters for the first time since the mid-’80s. What struck me was what you might expect in IMAX: it is a colder film on the extra large screen. The snow and darkness hits a little stronger than I recall in a home viewing. Even the cooler in the kitchen feels colder. The ability to take in the details of the cinematography is what I love about the IMAX format. I have not changed my opinion that this is a great film, independent of the really great book. The film and book depart early on, but it’s the arrival of Dick Hallorann on his return to the hotel where any comparisons have to just stop. It’s where the film kicks into another gear, but it also loses some of the symbolic threads that Kubrick had carefully constructed. The ghost story that Kubrick has created downplays the power that the film is named after. A ghost story is different than a haunted-hotel story in how we view Jack’s journey. It’s an ever frustrating film that I love deeply. If you can sit in the dark and really pay attention to the details, take that opportunity.
  

Buy The Shining

Best of the Rest

• I don’t trust this revival for some reason. I’m not saying I won’t be watching on February 4 on Disney+. I’m not as concerned about Sabrina Carpenter starring, but I’m worried about Disney+ neutering the humor. I’ll likely report back here in a month with the results.

• I hope that the Netflix and Sesame Street collaborations keep producing fun parodies like this one. Beignet Blanc is on the case when Cookie Monster’s pie disappears. There are some great lines here, but the bit about Cookie Monster’s lack of a nose is the best.

• The most important lesson here is that “waffle is breakfast cookie.” Dustin as a dust mop is my favorite. I’m not going to question why Sesame Street is doing such a fun job of parodies compared to outlets like Saturday Night Live, because here we are.

Sunday Morning Tuneage Flashback

• Sunday Morning Tuneage from 1/24/2010, after working 13 straight days, I was taking a day off to coach the boys in a couple of basketball games. The season wasn’t going well for either team, as we were in the middle of that every other year good rotation. Keiffer and Madison had just placed 6th at Ice Dancing Nationals. Hard to imagine I would see Madison in two Olympics before it was over. I was excited about Fringe (Fox), Archer (FX) and a repeat of Lost (ABC). My list was interesting to me then, and I’m having to think a little about it now.
  
  My #79 Top TV Show of All-Time was Columbo (NBC, ABC) (1968-1978, 1989-2003): This is more fresh in my mind having finished a rewatch just over a year ago. It’s so untraditional that it played out in a very untraditional way for a successful television show. It mostly played in a rotation of The NBC Mystery Movie and then The ABC Mystery Movie. It tossed the detective genre on its head by showing us the crime, the murderer, and then letting us see how Columbo unraveled the mystery. Peter Falk was wonderful as this Agatha Christie meets Sherlock Holmes character. It holds up really well. Considering the influence on shows like CSI: through Poker Face, I’d probably make this a Top 50 show now.
  
• FAVORITE ROBOTS OF ALL-TIME (2010)
  • 11. WALL-E (Wall-E) (2008)
  • 10. CYLONS (Battlestar Galactica) (1978)
  • 9. THE TIN WOODMAN (Wizard of Oz) (1939)
  • 8. THE IRON GIANT (The Iron Giant) (1999)
  • 7. FAKE MARIA/MASCHINENMENSCH (Metropolis) (1927)
  • 6. HAL 9000 (2001: A Space Odyssey) (1968)
  • 5. ROBOCOP (Robocop) (1987)
  • 4. ASH & BISHOP (Alien and Aliens) (1979/1986)
  • 3. MECHAGODZILLA (Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla) (1974)
  • 2. THE TERMINATOR (T-800) (The Terminator) (1984)
  • 1. R2-D2 / C-3PO (Star Wars) (1977)
    
• FAVORITE ROBOTS OF ALL-TIME (2025)
  • 11. THE VISION (The Avengers: Age of Ultron) (2015): He’s always been one of my favorite robots in the Marvel Comics universe. He translated pretty well to the films and shows. You could argue at times that he’s as powerful as any robot on this list.
  • 10. THE TERMINATOR (T-1000) (Terminator 2: Judgement Day) (1991): The whole idea of a liquid-metal robot sounded odd until you saw it in action. The concept is rather brilliant and couldn’t have happened until movie technology caught up to Cameron’s vision.
  • 9. FAKE MARIA/MASHINCENMENSCH (Metropolis) (1927): Fritz Lang created a fascinating robot character that is modeled after a real character in the film too. It’s an intense take on the Frankenstein myth.
  • 8. MAJOR MOTOKO KUSANAGI (Ghost in the Shell) (1995): It’s hard to single out robots in anime in general. It’s more difficult in a technology-rich world of GITS to say that one robot is better than another, but Kusanagi embodies the best questions of what it means to be a human vs a robot.
  • 7. WALL-E (Wall-E) (2008): The most human of the robots on the list. This film and robot are one of my favorites because of his personality as much as his design. Obviously, his love of old films had no influence on my rankings.
  • 6. OPTIMUS PRIME (Transformers) (2007): I know he was around in the animated series, but he really took a step forward when he hit the films. If nothing else, he has the best name of any robot. He’s huge, which makes his power a little unfair in comparison, but that’s why his “humanity” comes as so touching in the end.
  • 5. THE TIN WOODMAN (Wizard of Oz) (1939): The Tinsman forgot to give him a heart. The story of a robot that only wants a heart is one that hits right at the center of the best robot stories. This one set the standard for many of the ones on this list.
  • 4. ASH & BISHOP (Alien and Aliens) (1979/1986): Robots and science fiction had always been a natural fit. Robots and horror were a relatively new concept at this point. The question if these robots were defective or programmed to be evil is a great subplot.
  • 3. ROBOCOP (Robocop) (1987): This borders on non-robot, enhanced-human territory at first. It is a great satire of the robot- and cop-film genres while also taking itself seriously in all the right parts. This certainly wins the best robot-weapons category.
  • 2. R2-D2 / C-3PO (Star Wars) (1977): Call them “droids” at your own peril. These two Kurosawa-inspired robots initially felt like they were simply comic relief. In the end, they are the threads that hold so much of the universe of the story together. They have more secrets and powers than we ever thought possible in my youth. Of all the robots I even considered for this list, I can’t think of any that would be more instantly recognized around the world than these two.
  • 1. THE IRON GIANT (The Iron Giant) (1999): Brad Bird got the formula correct. It’s a delicate balance for sure. Here’s a robot that’s a protector of children, has great weapons, and has just the right amount of “humanity”. The Superman influence is huge. As we get more realistic robots in live action films, I’ve become more enamored with this animated film from the last century.

1976 in Review

Buy Captain America Epic Collection: The Man Who Sold The United States

• January – Captain America #193 (Marvel Comics): “I don’t know how you clowns conned me into brewin’ java for you — but don’t make a habit of it.” – Leila Taylor. Cover by Jack Kirby. Written and Art by Jack Kirby. It’s odd that Leila Taylor, the Falcon’s girlfriend, appears here because this run by Jack Kirby will include lots of characters that he creates specifically for this run. Very few of the established characters and none of the Avengers will appear.
• January 1 – The #1 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes lost to UCLA in the Rose Bowl, 23-10. The #2 ranked Texas A&M Aggies had already lost their final two games. The night time Orange Bowl featured #3 Oklahoma who would defeat #5 Michigan, 14-6, and be voted the National Champions by both wire services on January 2nd.
• January 17 – TV Guide: cover art by Richard Amsel. Angie Dickinson stars as Sgt. Pepper Anderson on Police Woman on NBC now in its second season. The shows #30 ranking was good considering the Friday at 10:00pm time slot. It was reported to be President Ford’s favorite show.

What the Hell Did I Put in My Mouth?

“Each and every heart it seems
Is bounded by a world of dreams
And each and every rising sun
Is greeted by a lonely, lonely one” – The Moody Blues