Archive for November 2002
Dead Air: The Wizard
November 11, 2002, 11:20 pmEntertainment-Geekly - November 11, 2002
Is it just me, or did TV show premises in the 80s seem a little odd to you. The 70s was big on action, like Emergency or Starsky and Hutch, and the 90s was the return of the prime time drama and sitcom, but the 80s were bizarre. From the A-Team (a group of military convicts run around the world working as the nicest mercenaries ever) to Small Wonder (man builds robot 10 year-old girl. No one thought this was creepy), Manimal (guy who fights crime by changing into animals) to Automan (There’s this movie, Tron. Let’s do that every week), it was just crazy.
I think I will spend a lot of time in the 80s in this column, picking up this week with The Wizard (little person builds toy gadgets for the government who has no dark or gritty intentions for them at all). When I think of The Wizard I’m often reminded of Mr. Wizard and/or Mr. Merlin, which probably reveals more about the way my brain works than I’d like to admit.
Anybody: “What’s 8 times 9?”
Me: “uh…”
Anybody: “Who played…”
Me: “Randolph Mantooth”
David Rappaport, whom you should all know from Time Bandits (glare) plays Simon McKay (I think, statistically, half of all male lead characters in the 80s were called Simon, McKay, or some combination of the two), a diminutive toymaker who is contracted on and off by the government to create stuff for them, usually through agent Alex Jagger (blink blink) played by Douglas Barr. Name sound familiar? Think Fall Guy. He was Howie. This was his rebound series.
I always liked to believe that Simon was making missile guidance systems or ceramic throwing knives, or something equally probable, but no, more often than not he was making helicopters with cameras. Actually I remember a lot of toy helicopters in the show. And RC cars. It’s probably just a nostalgia lensing effect as there were only 19 episodes and they couldn’t all have helicopters and cars, could they?
At the time though, I liked it as much as anyone else. No wonder no one noticed the Iran-Contra scandal slipping by, if we all thought the world of espionage and intelligence worked like The Wizard. Take for example this episode synopsis I found online (at TV Tome, where I often go to fill in the gaps in my memory.)
“Simon’s prototype robotic guide dog for the blind is stolen by black market arms dealers anxious to convert it into a weapon for terrorism.”
Robot dogs are better than training real dogs? Why? And if the Playstation 2 can’t be sold in Iraq, as its technically a super-computer, does this mean you can’t sell Sony Aibos in Afghanistan? And why does Sony carelessly build so many deadly products? But I digress.
The show just got weirder after that. One episode revealed he had a Tibetan mentor. While coolly pre-Richard Gere / Beastie Boys, I’m still not sure why an inventor has a monk teacher. Oh well.
The show came to an abrupt end after a slightly larger normal episode commitment by CBS. I’m assuming the show seemed like a great idea, but the viewers just didn’t tune in. Its last episode, in which a robot Simon created is accused of killing a scientist, featured a robot by the name of PAL. I bring it up only because it turns out this robot would later become a star itself as Number 5 in Short Circuit. I had no idea (I love it when I’m not the only one who remembers a show.)
Sadly, for a chipper guy who used to star in Saturday morning kids shows, or perform comedy with some of England’s finest, or write, or pretty much anything else you could think of, David worked on a couple more series (The Wizard ended in 1986) and then in 1990, for whatever reason, killed himself.
In spite of a tragic end, David Rappaport made his mark on pop culture, even though The Wizard is unlikely to see the light of day any time soon. I mean, c’mon…
It was about spies and toy helicopters for Pete’s sake. What kind of crazy premise is that?
—castewar | no comments
(posted in the Dead Air category)
Fireworks 2002
November 1, 2002, 12:38 pmOne of the biggest differences between Vancouver and Calgary (having lived in both) is fireworks. Calgary lives in mortal terror of fireworks, due largely to the fact that at any given time it has the flamability rating of rice paper. Vancouver, being perpetually damp, couldn’t give a rats ass, and will look for every opportunity to set off fireworks, be it grand scale, individually, or at someone’s head for a laugh. With that in mind, I present to you this year’s traditional front yard fireworks display.
Getting Started - Find some idiots. This should not be hard.
Bad Taste - Chinese firework foundaries have been producing these for decades and no one has said a peep. For the record, this is the loudest thing you’ll ever hear short of jumping into a jet engine.
Oooooh. Aaaaaah - We have hundreds of pics from hundreds of launchings. Here are three randomly selected images. Enjoy.
Gunpower Comrades - The evening is a collective effort, with several people buying fireworks. The grand total for the evening was approximiately $750. Note the pile in front. This what $750 bucks looks like at the end of the evening. It was worth it.
And next year, it will only get bigger…
—castewar | Comments Off
(posted in the General category)
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