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The Hitchhiker, Volume 3
The Hitchhiker was one of HBO's earlier attempts
at original series programming. It began in late 1983 with a
mere trickle of three episodes, but the producers really started
taking it seriously a year later, in the 1984-85 season. The
frequency of new episodes varied throughout the show's run.
Sometimes there was a fresh episode every two weeks, and at one
other point they were experimenting with a new one every week,
followed by a dark period of reruns and production time.
Sometimes production was dark for a long period. The longest
hiatus was almost two years, from May 1987 until April 1989, so
there were no new episodes aired at all in calendar 1988, but
the show experienced a strong revival in 1989, when a full
slate of 26 new episodes was aired. They were still producing a small number of episodes as
late as 1991. Here is the episode count by season.
| Season |
Dates |
# Episodes |
| 1 |
Late 1983 |
3 |
| 2 |
November 1984- April 1985 |
10 |
| 3 |
October 1985 - April 1986 |
13 |
| 4 |
February 1987 - May 1987 |
13 |
| 5 |
April 1989 - December 1989 |
26 |
| 6 |
September 1990 - February 1991 |
20 |
In concept it was similar to the old Alfred
Hitchcock TV series, except that it was in color and R-rated.
Hitchcock was replaced by some young hunky guy, but the general
narrative concept remained the same - the host would say a few
omniscient words at the beginning and end of each episode, and
the stories usually involved murder and/or the macabre. Even the
name was an homage to "Hitch." The HITCHhiker. Get it?
There have been three volumes issued on DVD and
there are ten episodes on each volume. The existing anthologies
therefore present 30 of the 85 total episodes. I don't know what
logic was used to determine which episodes were chosen for which
anthology, but they don't really seem to be in any kind of
order. Although this is the third disk, it is the first
one to include any episodes from among the original 13 aired in
seasons one and two. It includes episodes 9 and 11, and both
have excellent nudity, a feature which would be noticeably
absent in later episodes.
The following chart summaries the episodes on
this volume. The episode numbers and air dates are taken from
tv.com.
| Episode
Name |
# |
Air
Date |
Nudity |
| Man at the Window |
11 |
3/12/85 |
Penelope Milford (breasts) and Michael
Madsen (bum). This episode contains the only really
good nudity on this disk |
| Dead Man's Curve |
21 |
2/11/86 |
Susan Anspach (bum) |
| Made for Each Other |
35 |
4/14/87 |
|
| Joker |
36 |
4/21/87 |
|
| Videodate |
9 |
2/16/85 |
Linda Smith (one nipple), and Shannon
Tweed (breasts) |
| Best Shot |
37 |
4/28/87 |
Michelle Moffatt - breast in grainy
vidcam footage. |
| My Enemy |
63 |
11/25/89 |
|
| Tough Guys Don't Whine |
67 |
9/28/90 |
|
| Riding the Nightmare |
68 |
10/5/90 |
|
| The Cruelest Cut |
61 |
11/18/89 |
|
Michael Madsen's nudity was the only male flesh
on display in any episode, thereby assuring that Michael and
Virginia would provide the only brother/sister nudity. Among the
thirty episodes on DVD, there is absolutely no nudity at all
from any episode numbered higher than 37 although the series
consisted of 85 episodes! The later episodes, like the ones
numbered in the sixties above, have lots of irritating teases -
strategic cutaways, fully clothed sex scenes, etc. It seems that
there was a deliberate move away from nudity after the Reagan
years. Even Joan Severance stayed clothed!
Here is the nudity summary for this disk, which
is the weakest of the three.
Third Party Videos:
Here are LC's videos for Masters of Horror, S2,
E6. His collages can be found in yesterday's edition.
Ellen Ewusie and
Melissa Gonzalez are the actresses.
There are five clips, and they are combined into
one zipped file.
OTHER CRAP:
The Pop
Culture Palace is updated again, with songs #15-#11 from
1957.
 Another
treasure trove for old-time rock buffs. There are a few
names you may recognize: Elvis, Jerry Lee, Little Richard,
Buddy Holly, The Everlys
Reason #8 for the Pam/Kid break-up is named Conchita.
Britney buys a pair of underpants!
The 50 Greatest Commercials of the 1980s - all with videos!
 A
pre-Seinfeld Jason Alexander stars in an ad for the most
environmentally harmful sandwich ever, the extra-styrofoam
McDLT, complete with singing and dancing: Could be the
best lettuce and tomato hamburger ever!
Pujols wants to apologize to Howard over MVP remarks
Howard
got 20 first-place votes for MVP and 388 points in
balloting by a panel of the Baseball Writers' Association
of America. Pujols received 12 first-place votes and 347
points.
Hamlet,
as performed by The Simpsons
Bart
is Prince Hamlet in this Simpsons version of William
Shakespeare's classic. His uncle Claudius (Moe) marries
Gertrude (Marge) after killing King Hamlet (Homer) by way
of poison. The King returns to his son, telling him of the
betrayal and requesting that his death be avenged.
Gutenberg!, Poking Musicals in the Eye, Opens in NYC
The
sound you hear on East 59th Street may be howls of
laughter from show fans who appreciate the comic musical's
skewering of musical theatre conventions — to say
nothing of spoofing lame-brained tunesmiths who haven't a
clue what a good musical is.
CBS extends "Late Show" contract with Letterman to 2010.
Letterman,
who began his network TV career on NBC, marked his 13th
anniversary as host the "Late Show" on Aug. 30 of this
year and will celebrate 25 years in late-night comedy this
coming February.
Flushed Away and Cars race off with most Annie nominations
The
movies Flushed Away and Cars have garnered nine
nominations each for the Annie Awards, topping the list
for the U.S. honours that recognize the best in animation.
Censorship fears rise as Iran blocks access to top websites
The
clampdown was ordered by senior judiciary officials in the
latest phase of a campaign that has seen high-speed
broadband facilities banned in an attempt to impede
"corrupting" foreign films and music.
It is a sad day for the celebrity nudity community.
Desperado has mended his last fence.
In
our cloistered world, there was nobody more gregarious,
generous, and fun-loving than John "Desperado" Moritz of
"Desperado's Megalinks" (desperado.graphicsnxs.com). He
was perhaps our best ambassador to the outside world. He
was only 59.
A Chinese coal mine is claiming a world record for the
highest number of simultaneous weddings held underground.
"Marrying
the man I love in his workplace is really meaningful to
me," one of the brides, 22, was quoted as saying.
Spears' first marriage focus of new book
Jason
Allen Alexander, first husband of Britney Spears, is
detailing all the intimate details of his 55-hour marriage
to the U.S. pop singer in a new book. Alexander, who
married the "Toxic" singer at a Las Vegas ceremony in
2004, reportedly is writing a tell-all book about the
nearly three days he spent married to Spears before the
marriage was eventually annulled, US Weekly said. The
25-year-old admitted that the book, which he claims Spears
knows about, also will include details of their sex life.
Exclusive Apocalypto TV Spot from ComingSoon
Apocalypto
is a heart stopping mythic action-adventure set against
the turbulent end times of the once great Mayan
civilization. When his idyllic existence is brutally
disrupted by a violent invading force, a man is taken on a
perilous journey to a world ruled by fear and oppression
where a harrowing end awaits him. Through a twist of fate
and spurred by the power of his love for his woman and his
family he will make a desperate break to return home and
ultimately to save his way of life.
Vatican Employees Unable To Relax At Holiday Party With Pope
Around
Bernardin
was about to bust out his St. Bridget impression, which is
just spot on, but then the pope walked over and we quickly
changed the subject to the sacred presence of the Holy
Spirit during transubstantiation.
Bush gives al-Maliki the "Brownie" treatment.
In
a meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki today,
President George W. Bush reportedly told him that he had
his "full support" and that he was doing "a heckuva job."
Turistas, as
reviewed by the only true genius of film criticism, The
Filthy Critic
There
are a hell of a lot of things that Turistas could use more
of: original ideas, characters who aren't assholes and
coherence. Most of all, though, it could use more tits.
Good fucking God, how do you make such a generic
exploitation slasher movie on a party beach in Brazil
without at least letting us wash down the dogshit with a
healthy load of boobs? You do get to see a couple sets of
boobs, briefly, in the beginning, and one more set stiffly
sitting on the chest of a dead girl toward the end. To me,
dead girl nipples don't count, though, even if she's
really just acting dead. Watching this movie is like going
to a Hooter's and getting a male waiter.
The Top 7 seven reasons Pam Anderson and Kid Rock are
divorcing.
Sports oddities: Texans win with negative passing yardage.
The
Texans had a pathetic 124 yards of total offense. They
lost two fumbles. They converted 2 out 12 third downs. And
they won! Man, the Raiders have to be feelin' mighty good
about that loss.
Probably unrelated stories:
Barry Bonds will play next year unless hit by a bus.
Greyhound stock jumps 44%.
The
Greatest Slugger of His Time sits home in California,
jobless and teamless.
"Barry
will play next year," his agent, Jeff Borris, told
ESPN.com again this weekend, "unless he gets hit by a
bus."
Bush administration downsized for cartoon satire.
The
title character is surrounded by close pals like Lil'
Cheney, who grumbles unintelligibly, and Lil' Condi, who
pines for Lil' Bush and does his homework for him.
The intro to the first-ever New Price is Right!
Proposed Michigan law makes it illegal to break-up with a
pregnant chick
The
proposal actually makes it a crime for a man to 'change or
attempt to change an existing housing or cohabitation
arrangement' with a pregnant significant other, to 'file
or attempt to file for a divorce' from his pregnant wife
or to 'withdraw or attempt to withdraw financial support'
from a woman whom he has been supporting -- if it is
determined that the man is doing these things to try to
pressure the woman to terminate her pregnancy.The proposal
actually makes it a crime for a man to 'change or attempt
to change an existing housing or cohabitation arrangement'
with a pregnant significant other, to 'file or attempt to
file for a divorce' from his pregnant wife or to 'withdraw
or attempt to withdraw financial support' from a woman
whom he has been supporting -- if it is determined that
the man is doing these things to try to pressure the woman
to terminate her pregnancy.The proposal actually makes it
a crime for a man to 'change or attempt to change an
existing housing or cohabitation arrangement' with a
pregnant significant other, to 'file or attempt to file
for a divorce' from his pregnant wife or to 'withdraw or
attempt to withdraw financial support' from a woman whom
he has been supporting -- if it is determined that the man
is doing these things to try to pressure the woman to
terminate her pregnancy.
If
you will read that paragraph closely, you'll see that the
conditions apply even if the cohabitating male is not the
father of the baby!!
"Enron the Musical" debuts in Houston
Enron
- the Musical begins with a scene in which Arthur Anderson
employees launch a paper-shredding frenzy after an alert
from an Enron executive to destroy evidence, while one of
the attorneys sings The Sound of Shredding (to the tune of
The Sound of Music).
Uncyclopedia's list of weapons that don't exist, but should
Oscar
Wilde himself once said that the only thing worse than
being talked about is being killed by a non-existent
weapon.
That might be a paraphrase.
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Movie Reviews:
Yellow asterisk: funny (maybe). White asterisk: expanded format.
Blue asterisk: not mine. No asterisk: it probably sucks.
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Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills (1989)
This is a Paul Bartel movie with an amazing cast, including Mary Waronov,
Jacqueline Bisset, Ray Sharkey, Robert Beltran, Ed Begley Jr, Wallace Shawn,
Paul Bartel and Paul Mazursky.
Bisset plays an aging, recently-widowed soap queen plotting a comeback.
Bartel is her diet doctor. She lives with her daughter, a crazy maid, and a
houseboy (Sharkey). Her next door neighbor (Woronov) has just divorced Shawn
for cheating, and is having her mansion fumigated to get rid of all traces of
him. She normally lives with her gravely ill son and their houseboy (Beltran),
but her current entourage includes her playwright brother (Begley) and his new
wife (Walker). Woronov and her entourage will be staying with Bisset during
the fumigation. Woronow's houseboy is in deep trouble financially with a
Chinese gang, and makes a bet with Bisset's houseboy. Each will try to seduce
the other's boss. If Beltran wins, Sharkey pays off his debt. If not, Sharkey
gets a night of love with Beltran.
Bisset keeps seeing the ghost of her husband, and the maid is constantly
muttering incomprehensible non-sequiturs, but it is Arnetia Walker with the
most surprises. She is a former porn star, the one Woronov's ex was cheating
with, and she also manages to shag the remaining male members of the cast.
IMDb readers say only 5.7, and Ebert was unimpressed at two stars, but many
consider this Bartel's best work. It is certainly more mainstream than
most of Bartel's other films, features a stellar cast, and is wickedly funny
in parts.
Unfortuinately, I screened a German DVD which is full of color noise and
grain, and the English sound track is mushy and faint. I can't imagine why
this one is not available in DVD in the US. It's really crying for a good
re-mastering and the full Criterion treatment, including commentary from Mary
Woronov.
I will give this a B- as a movie, but do not recommend this
particular DVD.
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Marebito (2004)
Tomomi Miyashita
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Notes and collages
The Celebrity Shower series
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Elizabeth Berridge in Funhouse |
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Geena Davis in The Long Kiss Goodnight |
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In this excellent action/thriller, Geena Davis plays an
amnesiac schoolteacher who discovers that she used to be an assassin. This
film ROCKS!
The Celebrity Stripper series concluded
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Grace Jones in Vamp |
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...finally my last installment in my "stripper series:" Grace Jones
in perfect form as "Katrina" the stripper vampire..
---two thumbs up for this underappreciated vampire/dark
comedy...rent it/love it...
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From "L' as des as" , a Belmondo caper-adventure,
Marie-France Pisier wet see-thru and sexy.
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Plus bonus : Belmondo & baby bear
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Many Americans reacted furiously to a quote from Gwyneth Paltrow in the
Portuguese paper Diario De Noticias, that the British are "much more intelligent
and civilized than the Americans." Despite a history of making similar
statements, Paltrow quickly issued an apology, declaring that she was
"completely misconstrued, and I never, ever would have said that." She claimed
she only lives in England because she's married to an English guy, and she sees
herself as an American and "a New York girl." She said she didn't know where
that quote came from, but she did give a press conference in Spain in Spanish,
adding, "Obviously, I need to go back to seventh-grade Spanish!"
* And then she muttered, "Damn it! Who knew Americans
were smart enough to know how to read?!"
The London Sun reports that Fulla Nayak of India claims that she's lived to 120
by smoking cannabis cigars every day and drinking strong palm wine. She said
she doesn't know any other reason why she's lived so long, since most of her
relatives died younger, but she's 120 and lives in a hut with her 92-year-old
daughter and 72-year-old grandson.
* If this is true, then Matthew McConaughey could live
forever.
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