I've been meaning to say a little something about Showtime's Masters of Horror series. I thought Joe Dante's recent well-publicized Homecoming was arguably the best of the series so far. As political satire, I doubt it'll change anyone's mind, but judging from the interviews I've read with Dante and screenwriter Sam Hamm, I don't think they care to. It was a suitably creepy story with perhaps a little more bite than most, with just the right touches of Dante humor. Again a little darker than his usual, but some would not be surprised to learn that the director of Gremlins and the Howling has a dark side.
The runner-up would be Incident On And Off A Mountain Road, directed by Don Coscarelli, best known for the Phantasm series. This starts out seeming like it's just the best-shot, best-acted variant of the last act of every slasher movie you've ever seen. You know, where the young woman fights alone against a misshapen killer.
But there's a twist coming. And that twist, when it comes, is such a sharp blast in the face that it should not be given away. I'd recommend avoiding other reviews if you expect to watch it. The one I linked above is safe, but the first three I found gave too much away for my liking.
The other episodes in the series seem to be in the Hitchhiker/Tales From The Crypt vein, mildly creepy stories with recurring flashes of Hey, It's Showtime! nudity. But I should confess that I watched much of the others via On Demand with FF at the ready whenever I thought I could see an ending coming all the way up the track...
So don't take my opinion on those as an absolute. Also, regarding the nudity, I'd be a hypocrite if I said I didn't take my hat off to the casting department...
On an only semi-related note: On-Demand are junkie dealers. Over the past year, in a section of the On-Demand menu they call Tube Time, they've been showing the first three seasons of Barney Miller. In a handful of episodes at a time, you see.
Well, they've got me hooked. I was a little too young for this classic sitcom when it first aired (just a little too young-it started when I was four). Now I've grown increasingly addicted to the truly unique, conversational feel of the humor and the way the style of the show resembles a one-set stage play.
But, if you're not already way ahead of me, On-Demand hasn't updated with a new batch of episodes in weeks, maybe months. How can any human beings be so cruel? With the series not in syndication around here and only the first season availible on DVD...what is a man to do?
Junkie dealers...
1 comment:
Not only do they not make 'em like that any more, I'm not sure they ever made em "like that."
A lot of the sites like to compare Night Court to Barney Miller, usually unfavorably.
I can see the resemblance but at least NC came by it honestly-creator Reinhold Weege was a writer on Barney for many seasons.
To me NC had more of the style of an old radio show. Barney Miller was truly unique.
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