Interview with Al (Grandpa) Lewis - Part 4

Interview with Al (Grandpa) Lewis - Part 3

Interview with Al (Grandpa) Lewis - Part 2

Interview with Al (Grandpa) Lewis - Part 1

This is a great read! Especially if you are a fan of old tv shows/stars like from The Munsters.

This interview, with Al Lewis, who played Grandpa on that show is from my copy of The Munsters #1, TV Comics, 1997. There are 5 scanned pages.

Happy day to Mr. King!

Been enjoying Castle Rock!

Picnic at Hanging Rock

This classic is getting a remake apparently.

I was obsessed with the original Peter Weir film (more at this previous post) after seeing it a rep house theatre back in the early 80s. I tried to find out if the story was based on actual events. I even ordered the book through a local book store.

Every few years I revisit the story and see what new developments there have been. Like when, following the author's death, a concluding but left out chapter, made its reappearance!

So much has happened since I last looked at this particular story including a movement to take references to the story and Miranda (one of the two girls who disappear) out of the interpretation for the actual Hanging Rock site. You can read more about that and other things here on Wikipedia.

And here now, is the latest development...a tv series....

Devil, Devil I defy thee...

There's a Season 3 of The Detectorists!? How did I not know this?

 

Currently watching...

Black is a Korean supernatural drama that features a young woman who sees 'shadows.' These ghoulish shadows foretell a person's imminent demise.

It's available on Netflix and if you don't mind reading subtitles, is well worth a look.

 

Mat Night & Spooky Viewing

Because I'm originally from Quebec I still refer to the night before Halloween as Mat Night. And well do I remember how excited some kids, particularly boys, got on this day. In the schoolyard, at recess and lunch time, there were many whispered consultations as plans and plots were hatched for the evening's mischief; egging cars, TP-ing trees, or placing poo in brown paper bags on people's doorsteps and then blowing the bag up with fire crackers, ugh!

I never participated myself. No, really. But I was always excited and full of anticipation on this night. Kind of like Christmas Eve...but spoooooky!

As an adult I still find Mat Night particularly exciting. It's got all the quality of Halloween night going for it but I don't have to hand out candy. So I can do whatever I want by way of soaking up the atmosphere.

On this Mat Night I plan on the following. If the weather is good, we'll go for a walk in our back woods around sunset. Then we'll be in the kitchen carving pumpkins and roasting seeds. And then, candles lit, spooky lights on, we'll be settling on the couch to watch three special X-files episodes.

I mentioned before that we've been re-watching the X-files. Well, through our re-viewing we have watched every single episode...except for three. I skipped these because I consider them among the scariest and, naturally, wanted to save them for tonight. (I have another favourite classic scary and ghostly X-files episode, but I save that one for Christmas.)

So tonight's viewing will include first, a double header. "Squeeze" (Season 1, episode 3) and "Tooms" (Season 1, episode 21)



And then the classic 'Home' (Season 4, episode 2). Many agree this is one of the top 5 episodes of the series. And it features Newfoundland actor, Sebastian Spence!



Will I survive the night?

X-files fun

I think I've mentioned before that my husband and I are re-watching the X-files on Netflix. We are in Season 5 right now, which is where I find things start to get somewhat bogged down. However, among the episodes we've watched up to this point are a few that I think are fine Halloween viewing.

If you are looking for something typically Halloween-y then Chinga or The Calusari might interest you.





If you are looking for something a bit more blood filled try Die Hand Die Verletz.



But if you are looking for something a little lighter try The Modern Prometheus (a re-telling of Frankenstein).

I am saving 3 of the scariest episodes for tomorrow night....

Apple cider

My husband is a fan of apple cider. One his favourites is the Nova Scotia brew, No Boats on Sunday. I'm not a huge fan of cider but even I like this very crisp and apple-y beverage (review here). Also love the label (see below).

Now, if you are looking for a good scare with apples at its core (forgive me) then you might want to watch the video below. It's the first episode of Midwinter of the Spirit, which I posted about a couple of years ago. It's based on Phil Rickman's book Wine of Angels; a mystery series with Reverend Merrily Watkins as the protagonist/detective/exorcist.

This story features a creepy old man, a spooky old apple orchard, and ciiiiideeeerrrrr (reference to the audio book).

The Guardian Review here

Crossed oars will keep the demons at bay! Source

Spooky tv fun

I hope we get to see this. I've found everything Adam Scott has been in to be worth watching. And I think Craig Robinson is hilarious!

Retro watching on Netflix

In anticipation of the 11th season of X-files in 2018, hubby and I decided to re-watch all of X-files (tv and movies...or at least what's available on Netflix) for the next several months. We recently finished Season 1 which was fun.

It was fun chatting about where we were when we first saw particular episodes. Commenting on 90s fashion styles (those ties!!) and technology (remember telephone answering machines!). And which episodes were well remembered and which were almost entirely forgotten was interesting. And then there are the guest stars; my husband spent time looking up various actors on IMDB after too many brain cells were popped from trying to remember what other shows we knew them from.

Of course, knowing what is to come in the X-files mythology means seeing huge holes in that particular part of the narrative. I'm glad they are dropping most of that for the next season. I felt the show was at its best when Mulder and Scully were sparring over monster-of-the-week theories or doing stand alones (that fantastic haunted house Christmas episode, for example).

 

Strange Tidings

Yippeee!!!

Cozy Mysteries

More here

Recently perusing the October Good Reads newsletter and came across list of cozy mysteries as recommended by Charlaine Harris. You remember her? Author of the books that inspired True Blood tv?

Anywho, one caught my eye...

Apparently it's part of a series by G. M. Malliet.

Puts me in mind of that hunky 1950s vicar on Granchester...

Granite Flats

It's raining and cold today so no pumpkin festival :(

Lester's Farm has postponed it till tomorrow when I will be out of town :(

In lieu of pumpkin festivals today's post will be about tv. Or what I've been watching on it. Because, you see, being back in North America means we now have access to Netflix - yay!

Now, admittedly I used my free month to rewatch a lot of old stuff. Like the first season of The Gilmour Girls. (Oh, come on! Who isn't rewatching at least some of it to get ready for the new movies next month?)

I also rewatched the first few episodes of Season 1 of Farscape, which, by the way, seems to have stood the test of time. I mean, how can you go wrong when you combine sci-fi, Henson muppetry and the interstellar chemistry between John Crichton (Ben Bowder) and Aeryn Sun (Claudia Black).



Two months in I've started watching new (ish) things. Like this show called Granite Flats by BYUtv. Set in the USA during the cold war period there is, seemingly, a UFO mystery at the core of Granite Flats.

I've enjoyed the first few episodes. Despite the fact that it's not sophisticated story telling there is a certain charm to it. Reminds me of The Goonies and Stand by Me.  The sometimes uneven acting but wholesome appeal had me convinced it was a co-Canadian production! (eg, Murdoch Mysteries and Houdini and Doyle). But it's not.

Now while there isn't much of Granite Flats on Youtube to share here's a little taste...



Definitely some appeal, right? But who/what is BYUtv? I'd never heard of it.

After some more googling I've discovered that BYU is Brigham Young University...run by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints.

And that's the Mormons, right?

HMS Terror

"In 1847, Captain Sir John Franklin led a Royal Navy expedition to navigate the Northwest Passage. His crew of 129 men and two ships were lost in the Arctic, leaving no survivors. For over 150 years, the final resting places of the HMS Erebus and HMS Terror were a mystery. The Erebus was found in 2014, and Deadline reports that the wreckage of the Terror has been located by the Arctic Research Foundation. This missing expedition is also the premise of an upcoming adaptation by AMC..." - AV Club

 

Dead of Summer

I've seen the first 2 episodes and...meh, not bad. Nothing award winning but it's got a good bit of froth with some pretty people and nifty scares. Fun summer horror.

Also set in the 80s I suspect this is the lite version of Stranger Things.

NOOOOOOOOOO!

I have not seen the last three episodes of Penny Dreadful yet. Was waiting to watch last few episodes back to back. And then I heard it's been cancelled and the last three are it...forever!! Why? You can read more here. But I won't...yet.

Source

The last three episodes are now something I want to dole out carefully rather than binge on...(*sniff)

Brain Dead

Ok, I admit it. I've been watching a lot of tv. It's very hot here now so spending much time outdoors during the day isn't an option. And tv does help pass the time. Or am I slowly working my way towards being...brain dead?

Which is the catchy title of this new effort brought to us by husband and wife writing team, Robert and Michelle King. A cross between West Wing and Mars Attacks the premise is intriguing and Tony Shalhoub and Mary Elizabeth Winstead are great to watch.

But I have to admit the first episode has left me...unclear on what the point is of this particular narrative.

Other than to explain why Washington politics seems to have taken a bizarre turn.



- read positive review from AV Club here