MOCKINGBIRD LANE - "Unaired Pilot" (2012)

Today's Saturday Night Special falls a little short in the "Special" department, in fact, I didn't really enjoy it much at all. I don't know whose brilliant idea it was to remake The Munsters as completely different characters, and I'm too lazy to look it up, because I really just don't care!

It's called "Mockingbird Lane" and is either a TV movie or a failed pilot from the year 2012, depending on who you talk to. Either way, it's probably really something that just should have never happened.

The best part of the forty minutes is imagery like this!

This is the house that's for sale at 1312 Mockingbird Lane, and Marilyn Munster is there to look at it.

But what she really likes and wants is the dilapidated olde mansion across the street at 1313 Mockingbird Lane, an address we're all familiar with.

She's told by the realtor that the house is scheduled for demolition and, and is not for sale, but she ends up getting her way.

They do a fake out at first, and Herman is standing in front of a hanging deal that makes him look like he has the standard Frankie electrodes in his neck, but when he steps away, we see he looks pretty much like a normal guy, except with severe stitching on his neck.

Jerry (Stand By Me) O'Connell is Herman Munster. Jerry was also the star of the cool TV show called "Sliders."

British actress Charity (Burlesque Fairytales) Wakefield has the role of Marilyn Munster, and is probably the best character in the show!

1313 Mockingbird Lane needs a little TLC!

 Lilly Munster makes a rather flamboyant entrance!

 The very lovely Portia (Dead & Breakfast) de Rossi has the role of Lily Munster. 

Calm down boys, Portia is the wife of Ellen DeGeneres.

 

Eddie (Across The Universe) Izzard has the role of Grandpa, so you can see the problem is not a lack of talent!

Somebody's at the door!

 

The whole premise of the story is that little Eddie is maturing, and Lily has to try and explain to him that he is a werewolf. Eddie had no memory of it, but at the very beginning of the show, he appears to slaughter his whole boy scout troop while on a camping field trip. Eddie Munster is played by Mason (The Lone Ranger) Cook.

The shots of the house are always great!

It's fairly traumatic for Eddie to know that he is a werewolf, especially since he wants to be a vegetarian.

 

Grandpa shows his true colours in the end, and......

.........Eddie gets a dog to make him happy!

THE GREEN HORNET / Chapter 1 - "The Tunnel Of Terror" - 1940

In this classic movie serial from Universal, a newspaper publisher and his Korean servant fight crime as vigilantes who pose as a notorious masked gangster and his aide in 13 Action-Thrill Episodes!

Gordon Jones stars as newspaper publisher Britt Reid and the crime fighting Green Hornet. Gordon had 162 acting credits and played the sheriff in THE MONSTER THAT CHALLENGED THE WORLD. He died of a heart attack in 1963 at age 52 in Tarzana, CA.

Keye Luke stars as Kato, he had 226 acting credits and played Charlie Chan's number 1 son among other roles and did English voiceover in the American versions of RODAN and GIGANTIS THE FIRE MONSTER. He was born in China, raised in Seattle and died at age 86 in Whittier, CA in 1991.

This serial was adapted from the radio show created by Fran Striker, who also wrote for THE LONE RANGER and SERGEANT PRESTON OF THE YUKON. Francis Striker was a man.

Okay, so here we go, chapter one, "The Tunnel Of Terror."

Britt Reid visits his servant Kato in the garage where the Korean handyman is creating clever devices designed to fight crime for his boss...

Britt's father has just died and he takes over the reigns at The Sentinel newspaper.

After meeting with the police chief, it seems like there's a need for a modern day Robin Hood to fight against the crime syndicates in the city...

Then, the man who was going to spill the beans on a tunnel project, well, he gets blown the Hell up in his truck as he was driving to meet with Britt Reid about the situation.

Like in many of the serials, the big boss is just a voice coming over a radio until he's exposed at the end of the story.

Here are the crooks carrying out the boss's orders, guy on the left needs to be followed.

After floating the idea of becoming a real crime fighter, freaking Kato has made Britt a leather mask with a hornet tooled in. And, a special gun that fires sleeping gas pellets instead of bullets.

There's also a very cool Green Hornet emblem sewn onto the palm of one of his new gloves.

Green Hornet goes to the home of one of the crooks for info, and when the guy's ready to name names, his pals that are keeping an eye on him turn off the lights and shoot him dead. Hornet ends things when he hits the men with a few gas pellets.

Reid and his driver try to get into the mine tunnel to check out the safety violations claims but are forcefully turned away by one of the goons in charge there.

So, it's time for the Green Hornet and Kato to hit the scene. This is a special 1937 Lincoln-Zephyr named Black Beauty, and Kato has tricked it out to do 200 mph!! In this scene, Kato, who's driving, has just kicked in the Energizer. To the mine!

Green Hornet has ordered one honcho to take him to mine 4, the other one sees them and follows with a hunk of wood in hand. But, Kato sees that guy and follows him. What's cool is that Kato karate chops the big oaf in the back of the neck and he drops like a ton of bricks!

The unsafe tunnel decides to implode, causing a disaster that Green Hornet and Kato must escape from. See what happens in chapter 2, next week at this theater!

After this, THE GREEN HORNET STRIKES AGAIN! Now, that is one sweet poster!

FRINGE - "Question The Answers" (2008)

Tonight's Wednesday Weirdness is just that and more! It's called "Fringe" and it's a TV show that aired from 2008 until 2013! Did I ever see any of them at the time? Hell no, I've been busy watching movies from 50 or 60 years earlier. Here's the deal! You see those three names on the title card? Then, just think "Star Trek," "Star Wars," and "Mission Impossible" just for starters and you will know what kind of show "Fringe" was!

 

"Fringe" is a high-tech freak show!

 This "Pilot" episode starts on an airliner, and ends somewhere East of Hell!

So, what's the big deal? Everything seems just fine. Just another mundane day on the job!

Everything goes to Hell in a handbag in no time at all!

Hey Captain, I think I might be sick!

It's a good thing they did, or this flight would never have made it to the runway!

Is there anything more comforting that a neon Motel sign?

I think not!

The star of this show is Anna (Mindhunter) Torv as FBI agent Olivia Dunham. That's Olivia's boyfriend agent John Scott behind her. They have to keep their relationship secret because FBI agents are not supposed to fraternize, much less have sex! John was played by Mark Valley. Mark was the voice of Superman in "Batman: The Dark Knight Returns."

The plane landed and now it's time to have a gagging good time looking inside!

The two agents have a perp in their sights!

Agent Dunham sees her boyfriend get blown up in a massive explosion!

And she barely escapes alive herself!

But somehow the perp comes out of it unscathed!

John Scott, on the other hand, ain't feeling that great, and it appears that the chemicals that were in that explosion have a lot to do with what was happening to the people on that plane.

You know what they say about desperate times, Agent Dunham is willing to enlist the help of a Doctor who has been in a mental institution for almost two decades. His son also becomes a major player in this story, because you can't visit this lunatic unless family is present, and his son is the only family he has left.

If you think this giant high-tech company called "Massive Dynamic" has anything to do with it, then you might be right! 

"What do we do?" Everything! "What don't we do?" Nothing!!

Agent Dunham gets the krazy ass Doctor out of the asylum, and they get his old lab up and running. He tells her that he has a plan where she can communicate with John, but she has to strip and take L.S.D. and get in this tank to make it all happen!

The reason she wants to get inside John's head is so that maybe she will be able to identify the perp, since John actually was the only one who saw the jerk's face.

It's quite an interesting journey for her!

 

Her efforts were not wasted, and they are able to quickly put together a composite of the perp!

 

There are moments of levity............

......But it's mostly pretty damn serious!

I watched the first official episode last night, and I don't know if I will make it through a full five seasons, but I think I'm going to give it a try, starting with the next episode as soon as I finish writing this.