Since I was already at Paramount Plus, I switched to The Backyardigans while getting ready to run errands. Sherlock Pablo is wondering "Whodunnit?" when he's called to Mystery Manor. Lady Tasha's jewels have been stolen, and everyone is a suspect, including Butler Tyrone, Miss Uniqua Underhood, and her neighbor Austin Frothingslosh. Who is the mysterious figure the kids keep seeing everywhere? Why did Uniqua suddenly turn up when she did? Pablo and Uniqua are on the case, but the thief winds up being far from what they expect.
Headed out after that for this week's grocery shopping session. Started with brunch at the Westmont Bagel Shop. I hadn't eaten there in a while. That's why I didn't go in for a big breakfast. Surprisingly for a summer Friday during the lunch hour, they weren't that busy. There were just two other ladies behind me chatting with the owner. I had my usual spinach and feta omelette, fried potatoes, and toasted bagel (cinnamon raisin this time). Picked up a few bagels for the week while I was there.
Went to Sprouts next. I mainly needed coconut milk and cookies here; found chocolate chip caramel with a manager's coupon. Picked up soda on sale and dried cranberries. Cherries and peaches were on good sales, too.
Rode up the hill past the Haddon Township Library and Haddon Township High School to the Westmont Acme next. Mainly needed to restock yogurt and soda here. Made Good granola bars are still on sale with an online coupon; got two boxes. Treated myself to a slice of chocolate fudge cake.
Watched Mickey Mouse Clubhouse while I got organized when I got home. "Donald the Frog Prince" drank Professor Ludvig Von Drake's frog potion and now needs Princess Daisy to kiss him and change him back. Mickey, Pluto, and Donald have to find their way to the tallest tower and past Guard Pete to rescue her.
Finished out the first season of Remember WENN next. Scott's "Popping the Question" when he attempts to fix their new game show "Brainstorm" in favor of the sponsor's obnoxious son. Betty, Hilary, Jeff, and Mr. Eldridge teach him a lesson in honesty when they're the ones judging and answering the questions. Meanwhile, Doug Thompson, the station's sweet-natured lawyer, waits (and waits) for Betty to remember their date.
"World of Tomorrow" picks up with Scott and Betty's big Wizard of Oz-inspired show for the end of the New York World's Fair in 1940. Jeff's not taking part in it. Victor called him to broadcast in London. Hilary's missing Jeff something terrible, even more when Mackie has to take over so many of his roles. Despite his seeming disinterest, it's Scott who finally finds a way for Jeff's first broadcast during the London Blitz to be a part of their show. The episode ends with everyone gathered around their broadcast...just as it dissolves into static...
Though there are some episodes I like from before Victor leaves, notably "A Rock and a Soft Place" and "Armchair Detectives," I think the show really picks up with Scott's introduction in "A Capitol Idea." Scott's brashness gives the show a real shot in the arm, and he plays much better off Betty and the cast than the eternally detached Victor did. To tell the truth, this is one of those shows that I highly recommend you start at the beginning to understand the characters and their stories...but rest assured, it does pick up quite a bit after this...
Spent the next few hours working on Hilary and the Beasts. Hilary runs across Mrs. Fox (Gertie) in the hall, delivering food to Troll. She bluntly questions the older vixen about the curse and what's going on. Mrs. Fox mostly avoids the questions or says she can't answer them...but she does lay into Hilary when she complains about Bear (Scott) throwing himself at Betty. Mrs. Fox angrily tells her that Bear was unconscious for three days after someone attacked him, with only her and Eagle (Victor) looking after him. When he awoke, he realized how badly his circuits had been scrambled and cried into Mr. Fox's shoulder - Eagle didn't know what to do for him. Mrs. Fox bluntly tells Hilary that Bear is throwing himself at Betty because she's the only one showing him any kindness before storming off.
Hilary finally ends up in the library, where Betty is overseeing Puppy (Enid) writing stories. Teaching Bear to read proves to be more difficult. The mental blocks make his head pound badly when he tries to decipher words and letters.
Being blunt with Bear about the curse goes even worse with him than it did with Mrs. Fox. He complains about his head hurting before finally stumbling out of the library. When the ladies catch up with him, he admits that he blames himself for making "her" angry, as he didn't like her pursuing his Troll master or what she was doing with "bad groups" in Europe, and causing their current state. Puppy angrily adds that "she" worked for certain groups in Europe that could get her deported if the truth were known. Puppy and Hilary finally leave Betty embracing the upset Bear in the hall.
Watched Evil Under the Sun while I worked. Since Hilary and the Beasts is giving me serious Agatha Christie vibes right now, I thought I'd do an adaptation of her work I hadn't seen yet. The second of six times Peter Ustinov played Hericule Poirot has the dapper Belgian detective following actress Arlena Marshall (Diana Rigg) to a hotel at a remote island in the Adriatic Sea in pursuit of a diamond a millionaire bought for her.
Also at the hotel are Arlena's husband Kenneth (Denis Quilley), his young daughter Linda (Emily Hone), publisher Rex Brewster (Roddy McDowell) who wants to put out Arlena's tell-all biography but needs her permission, and producers Myra (Sylvia Miles) and Odell (James Mason) Gardener. Daphne Castle (Maggie Smith) is the brash owner of the hotel. Handsome young Patrick Redfern (Nicholas Clay) spends the first few days with Arlena, to the consternation of his mousy wife Christine (Jane Birkin). When Arlena turns up dead at the beach near a cave on the third day, everyone seems to have an alibi...until Poirot begins to wonder just how meek and mild put-upon Christine is, and whether what she told Linda about her alibi was true...
I was impressed. I really enjoyed this. Stunning scenery in the Adriatic and gorgeous costumes highlighted a twisty mystery with a delightfully adorable Ustiov as the Belgian private eye who believes in the power of his "little gray cells." Smith and Rigg are hilarious sparring with each other, and Rigg sparkles as the obnoxious actress. Very recommended for fans of Christie or historical all-star mysteries.
Oh, and I got my schedule for next week around this point. Pretty much the same as this week with later work on Saturday. That does mean I'll be able to get to the farm market next week. Otherwise, my plans are pretty much seeing Superman in the theater, making a few errand runs in the area, and continuing Hilary and the Beasts.
Moved to Match Game '75 while eating dinner. I don't know what got into everyone that week, but the entire panel kept kissing and grabbing each other and the contestants every time anyone won the Head to Head. Bert Convy (who gave Brett huge kisses several times) and Gary Burghoff were repeat offenders here. Betty White and Mary Ann Mobley joined into observe the madness.
Finished the night at Shout!TV with Werewolf. One of the more recent movies Mystery Science Theater 3000 made fun of was this 1997 direct-to-home-video cheese fest. Scientists discover what looks like a werewolf skeleton in the Arizona desert. It only takes one of the workers being scratched by the skeleton for him to turn into a werewolf. One of the scientists (Jorge Rivero) attempts to find someone else to make into a werewolf. They first attack a security guard (film's director and author Tony Zarrindast), then scratch writer Paul Niles (Federico Cavelli) with the skeleton. He starts turning into one too, much to the consternation (or something) of his would-be girlfriend Natalie (Adriana Statsny).
Oh boy, is this bad. Bad acting (especially from Statsny), bad makeup, horrible dialogue, ridiculous and condescending use of Native American mythology. Even Mike and the robots thought it was pretty ridiculous. Some not-bad makeup effects are mitigated by how cheesy everything else is, including the dull filming in Arizona. I wouldn't go anywhere near here without robot wisecracks unless you're a truly devoted fan of B-horror cheese.
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