Can't Stop the Cops

Awoke this morning to bright sunshine and temperatures that were not only closer to normal, but way above it, in the lower 40's. Celebrated the return of warmer weather with a couple of Three Stooges shorts while I ate breakfast and baked Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip Muffins. Shemp, Moe, and Larry are "Three Hams on Rye" when they're corralled by the producer of the show they're appearing in to snare a particularly pesky critic before he can review the show. Failing that, they need to put on a good performance of their "southern" sketch...but the cake Shemp baked for the scene turns out to be a tad bit inedible.

"Studio Stoops" has them mistaken for publicity men for a major studio. They suggest that an up-and-coming star fake being kidnapped to generate publicity. What they didn't expect was that a couple of crooks would use their idea to snatch the starlet for real...or that they'd have to rescue her.

They're "Slaphappy Sleuths" when they're detectives assigned to figure out who's robbing a chain of gas stations. Posing as attendants, they attempt to get the goods on the criminals, but are more likely to be putting popcorn in their radiator. They think they've lost track of them, until they see the oil leaking out of their car...

Headed to work shortly after "Slaphappy Sleuths" ended. The muffins took so long, I had to leave them in the oven not quite done and rush to the Acme. As it turned out, the hurry wasn't necessary. We were never more than steady the entire afternoon. The only reason we had lines were there just weren't that many people up front. Most of us had been assigned to doing some post-holiday cleaning. I spent the entire four hours dusting the registers' front shelves and the tops of the soda coolers. Got all but the last two done.

As soon as I finished, I rushed home. Changed, finished baking the muffins, rounded up my laundry, and headed right back out again. I was going to do my laundry yesterday, but I opted to concentrate on writing. That was a mistake. The laundromat was the busiest I've seen it in ages, probably with people who couldn't get out during our recent cold snap. I barely got a washer and drier.

When I got home, I put everything away, then worked on writing for a few hours. BB helps Poe release Kaydel, Snap, Maz, and the gypsies. Finn and Rose use the trolls' belts to clothesline them and tie them up. BB tells Poe about Snoke attacking Toyland Town and his intention to force Mother Leia Goose to become his wife and marry Kylo Ren off to Rey Quite Contrary. No one's happy about that, especially Han and Poe, but as Maz points out, they need to make a plan...

Ended the night with leftovers for dinner, then online. Did a Police Academy double feature while I ate. Police Academy 3: Back In Training pits the cadets of Commandant Lassard's (George Gaynes) school against that of Commandant Mauser (Art Metrano). The winning school will remain open. Mauser is determined to make sure Lassard's misfit academy shuts down for good. New recruits like wild Zed (Bobcat Goldthwait), nerdy Sweetchuck (Tim Kazurinsky), and Nogota (Brian Tochi), who has a huge crush on tough Callahan (Leslie Easterbrook), don't help. Nor do two police buddies of Mauser's, who sabotage their every move. However, when the governor's ball is robbed and the governor himself is taken hostage, the cadets finally get the chance to prove that they really do have the right stuff.

Police Academy 4: Citizens On Patrol ditches the "save the academy" subplot and trades Mauser for the equally obnoxious Captain Harris (G.W Bailey). This time, Lassard has the bright idea to start a citizen's patrol. Ordinary folks will help cops fight crime, and the police will better integrate themselves into the neighborhoods. Harris hates the idea and does everything he can to fight it, especially once Lassard goes away on convention. As it turns out, the Citizens are actually pretty good at their new jobs, especially gung-ho old lady Mrs. Feldman (Billie Bird) and pretty Laura (Corrine Boher), who has a crush on Zed. Unfortunately, Mrs. Feldman proves to be a tad too gung-ho and accidentally disrupts a major police operation, leading to the end of the program. Harris finally learns how useful that extra help can be when there's a prison break while he's giving a tour to important guests, and it takes the combined efforts of the Citizens and the cops to chase don the escaped criminals.

While I think Back In Training is slightly better, you pretty much know what you're getting with this series. If you're a fan of the series, the cast, or the wacky misfits-vs-obnoxious authority comedies of the 1980's, you'll probably get as much of a kick out of these as I do.