Blockbusters was a nail-biter. The sweet history teacher played a sister pair...and they were all darn good. Neither wanted to give an inch. The two ladies won the beginning round, but the teacher came back and won the second. They were just about to start the tie breaker match when the show ended.
Switched to Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood for this year's first Valentine's Day episode. "It's Love Day!" at Daniel's school. He's made valentines for his friends to show them that he cares. His friends all have their own way to express love, from Miss Elaina's hugs to Katerina's twirls to Prince Wednesday giving him one of his best rocks...but who gave Daniel the sailor-themed card? Grandpere visits for "Daniel's Love Day Surprise." Daniel makes heart-shaped pizza with his mother, then hides valentines for Granpere to find. He's upset when Margaret gets to one first, but Grandpere assures him Margaret did it because she loves him.
Headed out shortly after Daniel ended. It was a gorgeous day to run errands! I might have gone out, even if I didn't need to get anything done. The sun was out, the sky was that piercing blue, and it had jumped into the lower 50's. Everything around me was melting, a symphony of glistening drops pooling onto sidewalks and yards.
First stop was Dollar General. I'm almost out of sugar and peanut butter. Had to dig in the back of the shelf for the former, and they were completely out of the latter that I like. Had more luck grabbing sponges. (And of course, I forgot two of the big things I wanted, hand soap for the kitchen and a new shower curtain. I can get the soap at work, but the curtain may have to wait.)
Didn't have as much luck walking on the White Horse Pike. The sidewalks in front of several buildings either weren't shoveled at all, or weren't shoveled well, and were now a slushy mess. Many of the streets are on a downward slope, forming huge puddles around the curbs at their ends too. I knew I should have worn boots. I had very wet sneakers when I got to the laundromat.
Thankfully, things improved from there. No one around at the laundromat. Good thing, too. I had a big load to wash, including towels. I was the only person exploring the House of Fun. They're moving to a new location on the 15th, and I wanted to check them out before they go. Saw nothing of interest, so I returned to the laundromat to toss my laundry in the dryer.
Treated myself to lunch at Capitol Pizza. I'd be avoiding restaurants, even if things were normal. I'm trying to cut down on salt. Thought eating out one day in a month wouldn't hurt, and I deserved something fun after all the craziness at work this week. Picked up a slice of cheese, a slice of mushroom, and a can of Coke. There were only two other people eating on the other side of the room, and one left as I finished my mushroom slice.
After I got home, I put everything away, then put on The Ice Pirates while dusting the apartment. This goofy and rather odd sci-fi swashbuckler is set in a galaxy where water is scarce and ice is used as money. The Templars of Mithra have control of all the water in the galaxy, and they'll destroy planets with water to keep everyone coming to them. Pirates, lead by tough guy Jason (Robert Urich) raid ships to get that precious ice cargo.
One such ship also holds Princess Karina (Mary Crosby), who is sleeping in a stasis pod in the hope of being alive when her missing father can be found. Jason and his men kidnap Karina and her nanny, but are captured and sentenced to slavery. Karina buys them, then needs their help again to avoid arrest by the Templars. She wants them to find her father, who vanished looking for a mystical planet that may hold vast quantities of water. Jason agrees to it for the money and the ice...but he doesn't expect to encounter time warps, weird little creatures, butler robots, or obnoxious noblemen who literally lose their heads over the mythical water planet.
Oh boy, is the gorgonzola ripe on this one. This is the most 80's swashbuckler I've ever seen. The men run around in costumes somewhere between Adam Ant and Mad Max, the special effects and sets are obviously cheap, and some of the gags get downright weird. When Bruce Villanch turns up in a movie playing a king with a ton of Amazonian henchwomen, you know it's two aliens short of a burst chest.
This turned up a lot on cable in the mid-80's. Rose loved it. I thought it was too darn weird. I feel a little better about it nowadays...but it's definitely not for those who take their sci-fi seriously.
Switched to Tattletales as I finished up the dusting. Comedian Milt Kamen and his wife Margot and songwriter Sammy Cahn and his wife Tita were the big winners today over Gary Crosby and his wife Barbara. Future talk show host Jenny Jones hit the jackpot on Press Your Luck when the one guy Whammied out and the other woman also kept losing money. She picked up a trailer, among other prizes, and only one Whammy.
Went into writing after the show ended. Added a section with Brett claiming she and the ladies will hang back and come up with their own idea to distract Goodson's crew and save Charles. Meanwhile, Charles is berating Richard for taking off. Richard more-or-less says all's fair in love and war...but he's given Gene a wink...
Switched to Match Game '74 while having leftovers for dinner, and then as I made Bread Pudding. We skip up to the week featuring the wacky husband-and-wife team of comedy writer Donald Ross and comedienne Patti Deustch. Also on this week - Janet Finn, who would become the most winning contestant on the show up to that point. Donald blames Patti for his odd fashion sense, while Brett and Charles blame each other for bad answers (and we see when he puts out his leg for an answer that Charles really doesn't wear socks).
Charles was on hiatus during tonight's Match Game PM episode, but jovial Dick Martin was a more-than-adequate substitute. Gene sat on Brianne Leary's lap to ask a question for Bill Daily, which didn't exactly tickle Brianne! She had even less luck with her answer for the Audience Match question "The Red __."
It was all about the women on Sale of the Century. The champ and the other woman remained so close for most of the game, neither would buy an Instant Bargain or the Instant Cash. The other lady pulled ahead towards the end of the show and really came through in the Speed Round. She got the Bonus Round cash with one second remaining on the clock.
Finished the night online with the 1987 live-action version of Masters of the Universe. The evil Skeletor (Frank Langella) has captured the Sorceress (Christina Pickles) and intends to drain her power by the next moonrise. Hoping to stop him, He-Man (Dolph Lundgren) and his friends Teela (Chelsea Field) and Man at Arms (Jon Cypher) rescue fuzzy locksmith Gwildor (Billy Barty) who has a Cosmic Key that can unlock portals to another universe. Attempting to storm Castle Greyskull only makes He-Man realize they need more help, so they flee through a portal Gwildor made...one that lands them right on Earth.
Teenager Julie Winston (Courtney Cox) has her own problems. Her parents recently died in a plane crash, and all she wants to do is leave town. Her boyfriend Keith Corrigan (Robert Duncan McNeill) shows her the cool music synthesizer he found...which, of course, turns out to be the Cosmic Key. It calls Skeltor's minions to Earth and leads He-Man and his buddies straight to them. Julie ends up with He-Man, but Keith is arrested by tough Detective Lubic (James Tolkan), who refuses to believe anything the kid tells him...even when Eternians show up in town and start shooting at each other. Julie's hurt in the resulting carnage. He-Man finally says he'll go with Skeltor to save the others...but it'll take a team effort to make sure Skeletor doesn't keep the power he craves.
Though we taped this when it debuted on cable somewhere around late 1987, I wasn't a fan at the time. As you may have noticed from the plot description up there, the movie has very little to do with the cartoon besides a few character names. Of course, the cartoon hasn't exactly dated well either, but at least it was generally light-hearted and fun. This movie is dark, from the grimy costumes to the pitch-black exteriors to the subplot with Julie leaving because of her parents' death. Only Frank Langella having a blast as Skeletor and James Tolkan as the skeptical Lubic seem to have even the most remote idea of how to handle the material.
I saw a lot more of this than I wanted to in the early 2000's. I watched the very well-done 2002 He-Man cartoon with my little brother Keefe when it debuted. He enjoyed it so much, Dad dug our copy of the movie out...and he fell in love with it, watching it several times a week. I found the whole thing annoying. I feel slightly better about it nowadays. The first half, which sets up the good guys, the teens, and the time-travel, is slow-moving and dull. Things pick up when the action kicks in and everyone's after the Cosmic Key, and then when they get back to Eternia.
I can kind of see why the movie's picked up a considerable fan base over the years, but...ehh. Some things are too cheesy, even for me. I'm glad I saw this again for old time's sake, but it's not something I'll be checking out a lot. If you're a fan of Langella or have fond memories like Keefe and me of catching this on cable, give it a try. Just don't expect it to be anything like any version of the original show.
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