TCM Remembers 2008

Along with preparing to say hello to 2009, it's also time to pay tribute to those we lost this year. Below is a tribute assembled by TCM of film industry people who we said goodbye to in 2008. The montage is set to the tune "God Only Knows" by Joe Henry.

Twilight Zone Marathon Starts On Wednesday!

Right up there with downing your beverage of choice as you watch the ball drop, the Sci-Fi Channel's annual marathon of The Twilight Zone has become one of the best ways to bring in the New Year. Starting Wednesday at 8 am EST, you can catch two days worth of episodes of Rod Serling's classic anthology series. If you aren't familiar with The Twilight Zone beyond the eerie theme music, this is an excellent way to get acquainted. Even for people like me who know the twist ending of damn near every episode, the show holds up over repeated viewings. Some of the standout episodes that will be featured in the marathon include:

"A World of His Own": Keenan Wynn as a playwright with a very unique dictaphone. This episode marks the first on-screen appearance in the series by Rod Serling.

"Hocus-Pocus and Frisby": A liar's tall tales get him into a whole mess of trouble.

"One For the Angels": A sidewalk salesman takes on death personified.

"Eye of the Beholder": A woman undergoes surgery on her face in order to look like everybody else.

"Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up": A group of bus travelers find that there is an extra person when they stop at a diner.

"The Invaders": An episode containing almost no dialogue, it stars Agnes Moorehead as a woman living in isolation who is terrorized by space aliens.

"Five Characters In Search of an Exit": An Army major in dress uniform, a clown, a hobo, a ballet dancer and a bagpiper find themselves in a giant cylinder with no memory of who they are or how they got there.

"The Rip Van Winkle Caper": A gang of gold thieves use suspended animation to escape to the future.

"Mirror Image": A woman waiting in a bus station begins to see strange things.

"A Game of Pool": A pool shark (Jack Klugman) challenges a long dead pool great (Jonathan Winters) to a game of pool to find out who's the best.

"The Dummy": A ventriloquist (Cliff Robertson) is controlled by his dummy.

"The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street": At the sound of the roar and the flash of light, neighbors whose contact with the outside world is mysteriously cut off begin to suspect each other of being aliens.

"The Four of Us Are Dying": A con man has the ability to change his face to make it look like anyone he chooses.

For a complete schedule of all the episodes airing during The Twilight Zone marathon, click here.

Below is a clip from the aforementioned episode, "Five Characters In Search of an Exit":

Eartha Kitt, 1927-2008

One of the true icons of pop culture, Eartha Kitt, has died of colon cancer at the age of 81. It's ironic that Eartha passed away on Christmas Day, given that one of her most famous songs is the yuletide tune "Santa Baby".

Because she had such a long and distinguished career, Eartha is one of those performers who is closely identified with multiple roles from a variety of eras. Perhaps her most famous portrayal is that of Catwoman on the 1960s camp classic series Batman. In the 1992 romantic comedy Boomerang, Eartha was a standout in her supporting role of Lady Eloise. In 2000, she was introduced to a new generation after providing the voice of Yzma in the Disney cartoon feature The Emperor's New Groove. She reprised the characterization in the 2005 straight-to-DVD sequel Kronk's New Groove and in the Disney Channel animated series The Emperor's New School. Eartha is survived by her daughter Kitt Shapiro and two grandchildren.

Below is a 1962 clip of Eartha performing the song "I Want To Be Evil".

Final Results of the Coldplay/Joe Satriani Poll

In the most recent poll, over 2/3 of you feel that Coldplay is guilty of plagiarizing the Joe Satriani track. There were some good points brought up by many of you. The latest news I've read is that Coldplay has politely (and not surprisingly) refuted Satriani's claim, saying that the similarities are purely coincidental. One aspect that I've found rather amusing is reading what some fans have had to say about the case. If you'd like to read some of the comments on the Rolling Stone site, click here.

Here are the final poll results:

Yes: 69%

No: 30%

Mike Tyson...Is That You?!

Based on the photo above, taken during the recent sixth annual Video Game Awards in Culver City, former heavyweight champ Mike Tyson isn't looking so "iron-like" these days. If he hasn't already, he looks like he is close to pushing 3 bills on the scale. Although Mike's dramatic weight gain is begging me to, I am going to take a pass on making any ear biting jokes. From the picture, it appears that Mike isn't planning on making an ill-advised return to the ring anytime soon. Then again, being out of shape didn't stop George "The Grill Man" Foreman from mounting a comeback in 1988.

Please Take A Moment To Vote In the Current Coldplay/Joe Satriani Poll... Thank You

Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images; ABC/CRAIG SJODIN

As many of you may know, the platinum-selling band Coldplay (fronted by Chris Martin, above left) were sued by guitar virtuoso Joe Satriani. In the lawsuit, Satriani (above right) claims the band's song Viva La Vida "copied and incorporated substantial original portions" of his 2004 guitar instrumental If I Could Fly. So that you can compare the songs before voting in the poll, the You Tube player below contains both songs.

If you would like to read more details on the story, click here.

Thursday Thirteen #24: Some of My Favorite Christmas Songs


Thirteen of My Favorite Christmas Songs
In case you missed it last year, this week's T13 is a repeat listing some of my favorite yuletide tunes.

1. Christmas In Hollis- Run DMC: Hip-hop holiday cheer by the rap trio from Queens. This tune was orig. featured on the 1987 album "A Very Special Christmas".

2. Christmas Wrapping- The Waitresses: Recorded in 1981 by the group that also did "I Know What Boys Like" and "Square Pegs", "Christmas Wrapping" tells the story of a single woman who (because of an exhausting year) plans to sit out the normal Yuletide activities. However, fate intervenes in a positive way.

3. Dear Santa Claus- Bobby Womack: This beautiful ballad was included on Womack's 1999 Christmas album "Traditions".

4. Father Christmas- The Kinks: Recorded in 1977, this song details the misfortune of a department store Santa who gets beaten up by a gang of kids asking him for money.

5. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus- John Mellencamp: This rocking version of the classic was also part of the 1987 compilation "A Very Special Christmas".

6. Jingle Bell Rock- Hall & Oates: Recorded circa 1985, I remember that this song was accompanied by a "so bad it's good" music video. Click here to watch it.

7. Merry Christmas Baby- Otis Redding: Released posthumously in 1968, this song was the flip side to Otis' version of "White Christmas". I love when Otis sings the line, " Santa came down the chimney. Half past three, y'all."

8. Peace On Earth/The Little Drummer Boy- David Bowie & Bing Crosby: Definitely one of the oddest music pairings, but it works! This medley was recorded in 1977 for Bing's Christmas special.

9. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer- The Temptations: Motown magic from the Emperors of Soul. This song was orig. included on the 1970 album "The Temptations Christmas Card".

10. Run Rudolph Run- Chuck Berry: Although it's been recorded by several artists (Bryan Adams, The Grateful Dead, and Sheryl Crow to name a few), this 1958 version is my favorite.

11. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town- The Jackson Five: The brothers from Gary, IN recorded this for their 1970 release "Christmas Album".

12. This Christmas- Donny Hathaway: This 1970 classic has been remade by a wide range of artists, including: Usher, Gloria Estefan, Harry Connick Jr, Boyz II Men, and the Cheetah Girls. It also inspired the 2007 film starring Regina King, Loretta Devine, and Chris Brown.

13. You're A Mean One Mr. Grinch- Thurl Ravenscroft: For the longest time, I thought the vocalist for this song was Geoffrey Holder (you may remember him from the 7-Up "Uncola" commercials from the 1970s). However, the man giving the verbal thrashing to the creature with a heart "two sizes too small" is Thurl Ravenscroft. He is best known as the voice of Tony the Tiger in over 500 commercials for Kelloggs' Frosted Flakes.*

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There's Nothing Lame About His Ducking Skills

Displaying reflexes that could earn him an honorary membership in the TMNT should he choose to take that path after his term ends, President George W. Bush narrowly missed tasting some shoe leather as an Iraqi TV reporter hurled his kicks at him during a news conference on Sunday. I wonder if President Bush is asking himself why can't he be more like Tom Jones. Whereas the "What's New Pussycat" singer gets panties tossed at him, the Prez has to worry about avoiding Florsheims upside the head. I know some of you may be saying that those panties belong to women with AARP cards. But hey... they're still panties!

Below you can watch the shoe throwing incident in real time and in slo-mo. This is one of those clips that will never get old to me. It ranks right up there with former Indianapolis Colts coach Jim Mora's "playoffs" rant back in 2001 as one that will make me laugh every time I see it.

The Retro Mix Playlist For 12/12/08

12 midnight hour

Back In Black- AC/DC
Love Train- The Supremes
Love Will Find A Way- Pablo Cruise
Turn This Mutha Out- M.C. Hammer
Come Out and Play- The Offspring
Mandinka- Sinead O'Connor
Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)- Jay-Z

The Guilty Pleasure of the Week:
Sad Eyes- Robert John

Under Attack- ABBA
7- Prince
Fly Like An Eagle- Seal
Come and Get Your Love- Redbone

1 am hour

Wild Wild West- The Escape Club
Is That Love?- Squeeze
Go Ahead With All That- Chanté Moore
Every Little Step- Bobby Brown
Crippled Inside- John Lennon
Stumbling In- Suzi Quatro & Chris Norman
Party Train- The Gap Band
Name- The Goo Goo Dolls
This Is the Sound- The Juliana Hatfield Three
Wild Thing- Tone Loc
Thank God It's Friday- Love & Kisses
Evil Woman- Electric Light Orchestra
The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite- R.E.M.
Another One Bites the Dust- Queen

The Retro Mix Video of the Week: Under Attack by ABBA

Abba - Under Attack
Uploaded by jpdc11

Special Time For The Retro Mix

Instead of it's regularly scheduled time of 7 pm EST, my show (The Retro Mix) will air tonight from midnight to 2 am. For information about The Retro Mix and how you can listen online, click here. I hope you can join me.