Before we get back into the swing of season 11, we present one more encore episode. This time, we look back at Knight Rider, starring one TV's most charismatic stars and David Hasselhoff! We kid the Hoff! Still, a big shout-out to William Daniels as KITT, the talking, thinking, turbo boosting car. Why of all our episodes did we choose Knight Rider? Well, one, we had to check out a sweet KITT replica at a comics convnetion. Two, we wanted to give the well-known BOTNS boost to Knight Rider guest star and fellow podcaster Jason Bateman. Three, to remind everyone of the devastating affliction of CAR AMNESIA! One day...we'll find a cure.
Reminder: Murder Monday may (and often will) contain spoilers for the episode discussed.
We return to Cabot Cove for the second episode this season, which makes me happy, but it's not a strong outing. The mystery elements are a little weak, and the characters are silly. I enjoy seeing Seth again, though, and Sheriff Mort Metzger has a few amusing moments of SWAGGER.
One thing I like about it is that we get multiple looks at a neglected corner of Cabot Cove: The liberry! Jessica is doing research on poisons (for her writing, natch--research for her novels) when she runs into a former student. Randy is now a journalist in the big city (Portland, and I don't mean in Oregon) and is digging through records because he has a bead on huge secrets in the town's legendary story of Mad Maggie, who went to a looney bin after a shooting accident in which she killed her husband. What a scandal! He plans to write a book about it.
Randy goes to the local diner and makes a really awkward attempt to talk to a waitress there. He doesn't ask her, but he says he NEEDS to talk to her, so she is put off. Meanwhile, a local Pillar of the Community (someone who was there at the scene of the Mad Maggie incident; hmm) and his son are working on a real estate deal in their office, and the son peers out his window at the waitress as she walks away. We also meet Token Oldie Emily, who knew Mad Maggie; and her daughter Janet, and the two of them are organizing a fundraising lunch for a local Community Center.
Suffice to say Randy is killed in the library, and one of those who find the body is...ARNOLD! Yes, a librarian character, Arnold, someone nerdy in a great cliched way but harmless. Or is he? Randy had reported that Arnold was miffed he wouldn't let him co-write the book. That makes no sense—just one of the silly story elements here, like the fact that Randy is killed by a blow to the head by a paperweight that he always carries with him. You know, the lucky paperweight you absolutely have to have with you when you are on the road looking at real estate records in the library. Be a shame if one of those notorious library gusts came through and blew away some vital records.
I want to see more Arnold. I want to see more of the library, which looks like an inviting place apart from the murders. It leaves me wanting more!
The supporting cast is not distinguished, but Caroline Williams returns a mere 2 episodes after being in the Season 8 finale. Not so odd in real life, but watching these the way we are not taking several months off between seasons, it stands out. Creepy Arnold is the standout here, plus going back to Cabot Cove, but it's not a strong installment.
1) The Loch Ness Monster: Yet another "This time we really mean it," effort is underway to find Nessie, and this time the difference is...Actually, I don;t know, but I bet it's AI. They're claiming to use AI somehow, right?
2) In Search Of..: There is now a preponderance of evidence to indicate that Battle of the Network Shows ran a so-called "encore presentation" episode this week. Whether our investigation may turn up more glimpses of this phenomenon in the future remains to be seen, but it is clear that something is happening in the podcast realm.
3) Back to school: If you are heading back to school, good luck. If you want to relive those days, uh, why? No, if you are in the mood for something school-related, may we suggest our combo Head of the Class/What a Country! episode?
4) Quincy: The savviest, sexiest, shoutiest medical examiner has returned to broadcast TV with a run on Get TV. OK, this is a good thing, but now let's get the show on streaming in uncut, uncompressed episodes...or we'll GO RIGHT TO THE TOP!
5) Sgt. Slaughter: Happy 75th to the Sarge, who I met yesterday at a convention. By "met," I mean I looked over at his table and wished he didn't charge so much for an autograph but thought he looked in pretty good shape.
6) SWAT: The 1970s action show was added to Tubi this week. It's more than just a theme song, people! But, hey, here's the theme song:
7) Jane Curtin: The actress made news this week by saying she recently watched her old SNL episodes and found none of it funny--basically, you had to be there. Imagine what she'll say when she gets to the Jean Doumanian season!
8) Showtime in the Catskills: 50 years ago tonight, Channel 11 in New York aired a rerun of It's Showtime in the Catskills, and, oh, how I wish I had more info. Hosted by Corbett Monica, the episode welcomed Henny Youngman and a bunch of other entertainers.
10) Universal crime shows: Roku Channel added some new 24/7 live streaming channels, including one devoted to various shows like Kojak and another with nothing but Murder, She Wrote all day long. On a related note, check out our returning Murder Monday feature! And, hey, would it kill them to show Toma or something like that every now and then?
(Note: There are so many notable passings this week that we will do a separate post later this week to commemorate them.)
In honor of the big Loch Ness Monster search this weekend in Scotland, we offer an encore presentation of one of our favorite early episodes. We once again join Leonard Nimoy on a voyage of mystery and discovery as he searches for answers to Nessie and the disappearance of Amelia Earhart. Will he find answers this time? Will he reveal that Amelia Earhart is the Loch Ness Monster? Does this encore presentation have anything to do with a slight production delay on our part? We might never know the answers. Then again, it's just possible that one day we might...maybe. We'll see. Only time will tell...or not. #podcast #tv #retrotv #seventies #insearchof #leonardnimoy #lochnessmonster #ameliaearhart
Last night, I dreamed a disheveled (not necessarily a redundancy; he had been beaten) Dennis Franz, Mike, and I were in some abandoned warehouse. Franz--I am guessing NYPD Blue-era version--was manic after having freed himself from captivity.
He started raving about how they had gotten his friend, and now HE was gonna get THEM, starting with the other guy in the room with us. I have no idea who it was--someone I know? Someone Franz knows? TV's Mr. Belvedere, Christopher Hewitt?
Well, I am glad I don't know because Franz picked up a cinderblock and, "off camera," at least, smashed the other guy with it. What were Mike and I doing? We weren't podcasting, I can tell you that. I think Dennis--hey, at this point, we're on a first-name basis--saw our unease because he said to us, "They do it on TV; we can do it here."
Yes, that was the capper and the end of the dream.
They do it on TV; we can do it here.
Should The Tao of Franz be our new guiding principle?
