Saturday, April 18, 2015

Happy Birthday, Barbara Hale!

Happy Birthday to a wonderful and special lady, our own Barbara Hale! And Happy Birthday to Della Street as well!

I wonder if MeTV really did plan things on purpose, airing The Reckless Romeo on the night before Barbara’s birthday. For those on Eastern and Pacific times, it aired completely on the 18th. For those on Mountain and Central times, it certainly ended on the 18th. Barbara is 93 today! So awesome. And since she’s one of the few surviving Perry cast members, and the only surviving member of the original Core Five, it’s a very significant day for all Perry fans.

I loved the little subplot in the film about Della’s birthday. Perry’s exchanges with Ken about it were so amusing. And then the gifting scene at the very end was lovely. What a sweet close to the film, with the pearls, a hug, and a kiss. It was very enjoyable to see how close Perry and Della had become through the years, even though I don’t accept the movies as absolute canon.

As for the main plot, well, we got another guy who couldn’t seem to keep his mind off of fooling around with women. And his lecherous behavior eventually got him killed. It’s hard to feel too sorry for him, especially after he ruined the lives of all the women mentioned when they were trying to get their lives set in order again. I particularly felt terrible for Nora, who had wanted to run for Congress and then felt she couldn’t with the book blackening her reputation.

I was kind of surprised that the reporter, Charlie (or Charley?), ended up being a good girl. She was so obnoxious, the typical frustrating type of reporter that you just can’t seem to get rid of, no matter how hard you try. Even the clichĂ© stunt of getting Ken arrested so he can’t follow her. Ugh. I loved how Ken realized and got back at her for that. And then Perry at last reveals that he actually likes her and she finally ends up shaping up, with her and Ken seeming to have some romantic interest in each other by the end. Of course, I doubt she’s seen in any other film.

I was thinking that the most obvious solution to the mystery was that the killer had to be Roxanne’s helper, since she was the only other person who knew about the dress. I was glad they didn’t go that route and instead had the real killer see the dress from a window.

As for the identity of the killer, it seemed to come out of nowhere again, although perhaps some people guessed it was the fiancĂ©e since when a character seems completely unbothered by someone’s actions, the reality is that sometimes they’re not. The bull statue seemed to come out of nowhere too. I don’t recall it being featured during the murder scene, or mentioned at all until Perry noted it was broken. I don’t know how he even knew it was a bull when it was in pieces like that. It seems like there should have been some mention of it early on, when it was together, so that it would make more sense when Perry identified it as a bull when it was in pieces.

The movie had some fun scenes. I loved when Perry showed how it was preposterous to think that Roxanne could have worn all the perfume the witnesses knew the killer wore. Yikes, that would be terrible, to break into a rash that severe from just a small dab of the stuff.

I did rather raise an eyebrow at his stunt with all the women in red. It was clever and amusing, granted. But it was definitely something akin to what Perry might have done on the television series, and I was surprised the prosecutor and/or the judge didn’t protest the courtroom theatrics!

Lieutenant Brock has been interesting to watch in both this film and last night’s. He was kind of insufferably obnoxious in last night’s, but then he did have some more tolerable scenes later on, and he was pretty good in this one. It’s nice to see that he’s on pretty good terms with Perry. I guess that kind of continues the pattern that the television series eventually fell into when the police got more relaxed and friendly with Perry and company.

Considering a subplot of this movie involved Della’s birthday, however, it seemed like she didn’t really have very satisfactory screentime. I wish she would be a little more prominent in some of these films, especially since she’s one of the only original cast members who appears in them. It seemed like she had better screentime in some of the earlier installments.

But in any case, it was a nice movie and a nice wrap-up to another Perry week on MeTV. Hopefully I can get to The Shooting Star soon and hopefully I’ll be aware ahead of time when MeTV does another Perry movie week (if they continue this feature for much longer).

23 comments:

  1. Maybe! Happy birthday to the both of them! :) Loved the last scene between Perry and her, and my mom said that it was actual emotion between them. So, so sweet.

    Me too, but he had to catch the killer somehow.

    Yea I noticed that too. I wonder if it might have been due to her schedule at the time. That's my best guess there.

    I hope that they do so. They're a hoot to watch :).

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    1. I can imagine it definitely was!

      Yeah, I suppose it could have been her schedule.

      It's nice to see them, but for me they'll never come close to replacing the original series.

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  2. Yea :).

    Good point. Guess it's the same with any series tbh. Looking forward to the X-Files mini series coming up, but I don't think it'll be in the same boat as the original either. But I'm keeping my hopes up.

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    1. I'm pretty skeptical about the X-Files mini-series, but let's say I'm curious at the same time. Still, I pretty much believe in the maxim "You can't go home again." I don't see how they'll ever recapture the magic of the original series, especially after the canon established in the series finale proper and that second movie.

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  3. Yea I feel similarly. I thought the actors did a nice job with what they were given. I just don't have a ton of faith in the writers. I didn't mind the second movie too much, hated the novelization though. Pure bad fic imo. Chris showed that he could be a bad writer too lol. Saw far better fan fic out there.

    What didn't you like about them?

    I wasn't a fan of the Who's the Daddy plotline, it was baloney and just bad. And I didn't like some of the melodrama in IWTB.

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    1. Yeah, the actors were great. They couldn't help the material they had to work with.

      I honestly didn't like much of anything about season 9 in general: Mulder often not being there, the Lone Gunmen dying, giving up William, Mulder and Scully on the run in the finale/second movie.... Since they are on the run, and I was thinking that was how it was left at the second movie's end (I actually haven't seen the second movie yet; I haven't been impressed with much of what I heard), I just don't see how the mini-series will capture the magic of the series, at least as I see it. The magic to me was Mulder and Scully as FBI agents, investigating weird stuff.

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  4. Yea, and that's one thing I can appreciate. Any actor that can rise above material like that.

    I wasn't thrilled either, but it was out of our hands sadly :(. I didn't mind Doggett and Reyes, just didn't like the whale singing O_o. Yea I wasn't too thrilled about it back in the day, but in a way he was safer for it. For how long, who knows though. It was (pardon my french) damned if she did, damned if she didn't. It wasn't an easy choice.

    I kind of liked the on the run thing lol. For the obvious shipper reasons ;). But outside of it, it wasn't the most believable way to bring him back in (the whole FBI needs your help and automatically pardons him, after he was on death row of sorts with them iirc).

    Ah. It's not too bad movie wise, the novel is FAR worse. It's worth a watch just to see M & S again. I just try to ignore certain bits since Chris has writing issues. Last time I remember him being able to write well was back in 'Improbable'. That was a pretty good episode.

    Yea I understand on that. But it would take a heck of a lot to bring them back in. At the end of IWTB, he pretty much turned down a position back there to stay with Scully.

    Here's some good clips from the movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PD6NvxpICBg

    Sorry for the quality on that one, but it's a good scene


    Better quality but Chris butts in :P:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAPGUpOi_q8

    It's too cute, the scene that is, not Chris XD


    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZC-Oe6ZZ2E

    This one is from around the end, it's nicely done by the two of them, they still got it :)


    This last one is from behind the scenes, Chris's comment about the kiss is priceless given the history lol

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Dyh8MkSmjk

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    1. I loved Doggett, but Reyes kind of annoyed me sometimes. And yeah, I don't know that William will be much safer not being with Scully. I'm not mad at her for giving him up, really, just annoyed that the writers/Chris decided to take that story-telling route.

      I'm one of the few people who prefers them not necessarily being romantically involved, same as I feel about Perry and Della. ;) Aside from that, though, I just plain didn't like their futures being so up in the air like that. And indeed, it doesn't seem believable for Mulder to be pardoned so easily.

      Chris seems very arrogant to me, the way he felt the X-Files could continue being successful no matter which characters were starring in it, and naming his production company after his own birthday (and giving said birthday to Mulder, as I recall). And yes, lots of writing issues. He pretty much admitted that he made stuff up as he went along. It reminds me of the issues I'm having with one of the only modern shows I was religiously following for a while.

      The main thing I didn't like about the second film was that some of it sounded awfully graphic in places and showed some imagery of things that particularly disturb me, so I honestly don't know if I could ever brave it.

      Yeah, that's what I mean, it doesn't seem likely that they'll ever be back in the Bureau, and then a lot of characters are supposedly dead at this point in the timeline, so I'm pretty skeptical that the mini-series will satisfy me.

      Thanks for the clips. :) I'll check them out.

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  5. Yea that one goes on the writers. She got on my nerves sometimes, never thought she deserved the name 'Moronica' that some fans gave her though :(. Thought it was rather unfair.

    Yea I didn't like it either. At the time it seemed like a cop out.

    Ah, I'm the opposite in that regard. Same with Perry/Della. I wouldn't be too thrilled if they had them break up. Just given the history. It would feel cheap now. Not that it would have to be romantic all the time. Too much can be TOO much lol.

    That seemed like a cheap plot device imo. Like they slapped things together. A dang shame.

    Agreed. Always got that vibe off of him since back in the day. Just heard something interesting in regards to Scully, that Chris liked Gillian, and Scully by extension, and he wanted her to remain 'pure'... so basically in a nutshell, no romances. Just some speculation from back in the day. But it sounds pretty arrogant. And looking back it certainly gives new meaning to the episode, 'Milagro'.

    The one with the fan fic writer in it. I kind of viewed it as Chris letting Scully go with Mulder. But if the speculation is the case, it's kind of sick :(. She has the right (character wise) to choose who she wants to be with.

    Yea and I just read an comment on his Reddit ama about it or an interview (iirc) where he said that he still wouldn't have a show bible -- to me it sounds like just a way to have a cheap way out if he forgets plots and such.

    It was a bit graphic, but not as bad as some of the other horror movies that are out there.

    That's kind of where I'm at, only in regards to the writing. They got Darren Morgan and James Wong back as writers and Glen Morgan is helping out in regards to exec producing with Chris. There's some history that kind of disturbs me in regards to M & S from back in the day (The Field Where I Died, etc.) that I have to get over before I'd feel comfortable.

    They're pretty much the wild cards at this point imo. Since they haven't been involved with the XF for around 20 years now. Hoping that they'll handle the relationship well, but I'm not counting on it.

    I wouldn't mind M & S there, but it would take one heck of a good reason for them to come back, after all they've been through with them.

    You're welcome :).

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    1. Ouch. Never heard that one. Poor Reyes. Yeah, she wasn't a moron, just kind of overbearing sometimes.

      Well, naturally, now that they do seem to be romantically involved, it would feel like a cop-out to have them break up. I just would have been happy if it had never gotten to that point at all. ;)

      Cheap plot devices are so irritating.

      Huh. That's interesting.

      Yeah, Scully should definitely have the right to choose whom she wants to be with.

      Bleh. Yeah, it does.

      I don't watch horror movies at all, really, though. ;) I watched The X-Files for the characters and the aliens, not the weird horror stuff. I even skipped some of the episodes that I just wasn't comfortable with.

      I thought the acting in The Field Where I Died was really good, but I didn't really like the storyline of that one. Too depressing, and too strange to think that Mulder and that random girl wanted to be together and never could be. And too weird to think of Mulder or Scully living past lives as the other gender.

      Yeah, I'm not really counting on much from the mini-series any way you cut it. After all the bad writing that got them to the point they're at, I don't really see any way of fixing the plot holes now.

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  6. Yea. I flinch whenever I hear it.

    Fair point. Some bits made me want to scream :D. I was a HUGE shipper back then, but NO fan of 'Dearest Dana'. That made me O_o. They got things balanced out by the end imo and by IWTB thankfully.

    I loved the UST leading up to it, but there was only so much they could have done with it. So I'm glad things worked out. But I can see that maybe they shouldn't have been brought together. At least in regards to some of the writing.

    But I'll be lmbo seeing how the writers wrestle with it :P. *rubs hands together*

    Yea I hate when shows resort to them. Or resort to filler episodes.

    Yea Mulder got to have that choice, so she should have had more of a chance to as well.

    Ah. I see. I'm not a huge fan of them either. I've seen some, but anything too gory isn't really my cup of tea. Cool. I felt the same way with some eps too. I can't watch First Person Shooter again. It just was really sexist. Made me want to throw something at my tv.

    Same. Definitely. I wondered why the writers had such a bug up their butts in regards to M & S there.

    Me neither. Heard CSM might be a part of it too. Which had me going, 'seriously?! He got blown to bits... how can he come back, other than in pieces ;), or as a clone or in flashbacks?'

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    1. That's good, at least.

      I love UST in shows. Resolving it, I think, often takes away a lot of the charm. But I suppose it's true that if they seem to have taken it as far as they can, there probably isn't much left to do but resolve it.

      I don't always mind filler. It depends on the show, really. Sometimes filler episodes do better character development than the main storyline.

      First Person Shooter was an irritating episode.

      Indeed.

      I wasn't fond of them killing him off in an explosion either, for that matter. I liked how he always managed to come back. He was such a good antagonist. I'd like to see the real him in the present if they do bring him back, not just a clone. The show is already so warped, I'm sure they could figure out how to do it. LOL. Maybe they could say the one in the explosion was a clone.

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  7. Yea. Chris at least found a balance, but the other writers who will be involved have to find one.

    I do too, up to a point. The actors can keep the charm going if they're good enough acting wise imo, even after they get together. Yep. Resolving it isn't always bad.

    I don't either, but when it's badly written or too over the top, then it makes me want to turn the channel. Good point.

    Yea it was a pretty bad one.

    Hopefully they won't still have said bug up their butts after all this time.

    I didn't mind it. He was a sick you know what. After a bit, the keep on coming back thing seemed to wear thin *shrugs*. Maybe XD.

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  8. Heads up! MeTv is having another week of Perry movies! I did some checking for the heck of it and saw that they have 5 more on their schedule (starting from the 6th of May from what I can tell so far).

    It's a mix, some from the late 80's and some from the end.

    Here they are:

    Perry Mason: The Case of the Desperate Deception
    Perry Mason: The Case of the Silenced Singer
    Perry Mason: The Case of the Sinister Spirit
    Perry Mason: The Case of the Skin-Deep Scandal
    Perry Mason: The Case of the Telltale Talk Show <-- SO happy that they're airing this one!

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    1. Oh thank you! Wow, I'm surprised they're doing another week so soon. But isn't the 6th of May a Wednesday?

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  9. You're welcome! I am too :). Yea it is, not sure of the rest of schedule day wise. I'll be keeping an eye. I figure it would be most of that week.

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  10. Here's the MeTv schedule: http://metvnetwork.com/schedule/2015-5-4

    Looks like it'll be starting on the 4th.

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    1. Yeah, I thought it would have to. Great; I'll make an alert on things in the next post.

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  11. Cool! Looking foward to it!

    Did you get a chance to see the XF clips?

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    1. No I haven't, but I was thinking about it yesterday. I haven't managed to get too much watched this past week and never did check MeTV's videos for the week yet. Sigh. Which means I'll have to do my usual mad scramble tonight/early Monday morning to watch at least of the Saint episodes I haven't seen before....

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  12. Ah I see. Good luck with the catching up!

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    1. Thanks.

      Okay, I looked at the scenes. Maybe it's just because I'm not a shipper, or because I could hardly hear the first clip, but the romantic stuff just didn't feel like Mulder and Scully as I remember them. It sounded more familiar when they started talking about the case in the first clip, though. I could hear them better at that point, too. Maybe they were talking louder. And I liked the playfulness in the first clip when I could see it better in that other version with the commentary.

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  13. You're welcome.

    Yea that one was filmed in the theater I think, so that's why the quality isn't as good. Yea they're at a different point in their lives so it took a bit to get used to. Heck it was funny seeing Chris act like a shipper too lol. Given the history XD,

    I did too. Chris's commentary aside.

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