Monday, October 31, 2011

TV – Starsky & Hutch Ride Again on RTV

RTV’s weeknight syndication package of the 1970s TV buddy cop show has cycled back to the inaugural 1975-1976 season, and although Lalo Schifrin’s grim, downbeat main theme is not as cheekily catchy as Tom Scott’s theme for seasons two and four, the show is still a hoot to watch. From the get-go, the ensemble cast blends perfectly, and the opening credits are a riot.

The opening credits are hilarious because, although the show is called Starsky & Hutch, the guy who plays Starsky (Paul Michael Glaser) and drives the flashy red and white-striped Ford Gran Torino is the second actor listed. David Soul (Hutch) gets top billing, and over a freeze frame of him yelling and flailing his arms maniacally.

Antonio Fargas, who plays nightclub-owning street informant Huggy Bear, gets special standout billing (“and Antonio Fargas as Huggy Bear”). But then, all of a sudden, the credits list Bernie Hamilton (the irascible but lovable Captain Dobey). That’s it – just Bernie Hamilton. It’s like the credits are saying, “…and Antonio Fargas as Huggy Bear – oh, by the way, Bernie Hamilton.”

There’s more to the show than just the hilarious opening credits, and certainly much more than the insipid, shallow, and unworthy big-screen Starsky & Hutch parody starring Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson. Stiller and Wilson may be funny (not really), but they’re no David Soul and Paul Michael Glaser. Soul and Glaser are solid actors with great screen chemistry, and Glaser is a better and more accomplished film and television director.

Even if you’re not into TV cop shows or don’t particularly care for Starsky & Hutch, at least just check out the opening credits of the current rotation of episodes on RTV. It’s one of the more entertaining highlights of classic 1970s television.

--Raj Manoharan

Sunday, October 23, 2011

CD Review – Star Eyes, by John Fluker

John Fluker presents a collection of gentle piano compositions that soothe the spirit and calm the soul.

The album is flawless from start to finish, beginning with a quiet prelude and ending just as peacefully, with relaxing, tranquil reveries in between. All of the melodies are beautiful and have the effect of lullabies. There is not one jarring, dissonant, disagreeable, or uninteresting moment on the record. The result is music that is both engaging enough to enjoy as vibrant, dynamic art and subtle enough to leave on in the background while engaged in other activities.

The main instrument on the recording is Fluker’s piano, which is sometimes enhanced with synthesized orchestrations and soft electronic percussion. The compositions, arrangements, and performances have an elegance and classiness in the vein of Burt Bacharach and Henry Mancini, making this a very worthwhile listening experience.

Highlights include “Anytime,” “Babe in Arms,” “When Love Lost,” and “A Long Way Home.”

This CD is definitely good for a spin or two while commuting or traveling, especially under a night sky of twinkling stars.

--Raj Manoharan

CD Review – Reflections, by Candice Night

The Blackmore’s Night vocalist takes a break from medieval-inspired music and steps out on her own with a spritely collection of ten ballads and rockers that deserves to be on the top of the pop charts.

Candice Night is in the league of great female vocalists such as Karen Carpenter, Ann and Nancy Wilson, Alanis Morissette, and Susan Boyle, and she is easily the best female singer-songwriter of the last decade.

My favorite songs are the slower tempo ones that really bring out the subtle beauty of Night’s voice, including “Wind Is Calling (Hush the Wind),” “Black Roses,” “Now and Then,” “For You,” “Call It Love,” and “Robin Red Breast.”

“Wind Is Calling (Hush the Wind)” is an engaging, infectious pop-rock single. “Now and Then” has a great pop ballad middle section, with a very New Age, almost hymn-like opening and closing, especially with the quiet crescendo of voices at the end. “Robin Red Breast” is a stunningly beautiful song with a striking, resonant melody.

If you’re looking for a solid collection of pop-rock songs with a great female voice to back them up, this should be on the top of your list.

--Raj Manoharan

Sunday, October 16, 2011

CD Review – Deep Still Blue, by 2002

A reissue of an earlier release by the Billboard-charting New Age duo 2002, this CD, like their new album Damayanti, is a wondrous collection of some of the most breathtaking, exquisitely beautiful music ever recorded.

Husband-and-wife Randy and Pamela Copus have hit on a winning formula, combining Randy’s guitars and Pamela’s flute and harp along with keyboards and synthesizers to create a hypnotic sound that mesmerizes and enthralls. It’s no wonder that they consistently chart on Billboard – they have clearly connected with their audience by continually delivering pleasing melodies and luxurious arrangements.

Having recently reviewed Damayanti and now Deep Still Blue, I have noticed that 2002 has developed a consistent style that comprises deliberate, measured pacing. I haven’t heard a 2002 song so far that’s faster than mid-tempo. Each track takes its time, unfolding at its own leisure, allowing the listener to bask in all of its rich sonic intricacies. This is a refreshing change of pace from most albums of any genre, where tunes careen from one style to another, sometimes to jarring effect. Instead, 2002 stays true to its particular style or theme and is all the more successful for it.

This consistency of methodology is a major reason why Randy Copus is quickly becoming my favorite, strictly-New Age guitarist. Rather than a flashy display of virtuosity, his lead- and rhythm-guitar playing is as deliberate and measured as the expansive songs themselves. Each note he picks delivers precise and maximum impact, and his chords are as comforting as floating clouds. This is masterful technique in itself. The full effect of Randy’s approach can be heard on such stunning tracks as “An Ocean Apart,” “Little Angel,” and “The Voyage Home.”

Pamela Copus is equally impressive in her subtle flute and harp playing. I’m not a flute and harp fan, but she makes it very accessible and enjoyable. Again, like Randy, her musical goal with her instruments is not to dazzle but to help paint a vivid, sonic portrait. Sometimes the flute trades lines with the guitar and other times it harmonizes with it, while the harp provides unobtrusive, decorative fills here and there. The result is a sound that is very cinematic.

Vocals also play a part in the proceedings, although not in the traditional sense. For the most part, the occasional vocals are wordless (“vocalese”) and are very angelic and choir-like. The title track has actual lyrics written by Randy and Pamela’s daughter Sarah and has an entrancing, hypnotic sound that I can only describe as New Age hippie folk, and I mean that in a good way.

Deep Still Blue is another gem in 2002’s stellar catalogue, and as “Flight of the Swan” is to Damayanti, “An Ocean Apart” is the jewel in the crown here – although the entire album is a delight from start to finish. Deep Still Blue and Damayanti are definitely two of my desert island picks.

--Raj Manoharan

Saturday, October 15, 2011

CD Review – Spectrum, by Hennie Bekker

The latest CD from Africa-born, Canada-based keyboardist Hennie Bekker collects fourteen tracks spanning about a dozen albums.

Some of the tunes are piano-based, while others focus on synthesized electronic textures. Many are inspired by Bekker’s homeland and as such feature the natural ambience of those environs. But whatever the style or sound, all of the tracks are of one accord – as the CD’s subtitle states, they are all indeed pieces of relaxing instrumental music.

While the music is soothing and refreshing, it is also engaging and inventive. Highlights include the Miami Vice vibe of “Urban Trance,” the refreshing reverie of “Stormy Sunday,” and the hip, mellow fusion of “Tranquility.”

In terms of overall feel, Bekker is definitely in the league of Vangelis, Tangerine Dream, and Jan Hammer, and listeners who enjoy those artists will find much to like in Bekker.

--Raj Manoharan

TV – Terrific Trio of Crime-fighters Weeknights on Youtoo

Three classic crime-fighting duos are now on weeknights on the social network channel Youtoo.

First up, Agents Mulder and Scully (David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson) investigate things that go bump in the sky in the 1990s paranormal megahit The X-Files.

Then, Van Williams fights the forces of evil as the titular masked avenger in the 1960s noir classic The Green Hornet, costarring Bruce Lee as Kato, the Green Hornet’s karate-chopping manservant, chauffeur, and sidekick.

Finally, Adam West and Burt Ward star in the 1960s pop cultural phenomenon Batman as Gotham City’s Caped Crusaders, who battle a comic cavalcade of cartoonish criminals, including the slinky, feline Catwoman (Julie Newmar); that pompous, waddling master of fowl play, The Penguin (Burgess Meredith); the devilish clown prince of crime, The Joker (Cesar Romero, whose mustache was visible beneath his clown makeup); and the criminally kooky Riddler (Frank Gorshin, who had probably the most hilarious and maniacal laugh ever recorded).

As Batman villain Egghead (Vincent Price) would say, “Eggs-ellent!”

--Raj Manoharan

TV – Lopez Sunday Nights

Lopez Tonight may be gone forever, but George Lopez lives on with a marathon of the classic 2000s sitcom every Sunday night from 8:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m. on ION Television.

I didn’t watch this show during its original run, and having discovered it in reruns the last few years, I wish I had. It’s a charming little show in which George balances his work and family life with hilarious results.

Series executive producer Sandra Bullock occasionally appears as George’s aviation company coworker Accident Amy. It’s also nice to see what zaniness Nick Offerman was up to before Parks and Recreation.

George Lopez is somewhat like a Latino-American version of Everybody Loves Raymond, so if you loved Ray, you’ll love George.

--Raj Manoharan

Saturday, October 1, 2011

TV – Starsky & Hutch Ride Again on RTV

UPDATE #2: Hooray! Tom Scott’s funky second-season theme is back for the fourth and final season currently running on RTV. However, it’s slightly modified – the second-season version is still the best. And I do kind of miss Mark Snow’s not-great-but-fun-in-its-own-way theme from the third season. Meanwhile, David Soul finally has an opening-credits freeze-frame shot that doesn’t make him look insane. Except this time, he’s clean-shaven in the scene from the previous season, although he sports a mustache in the fourth season. What are you going to do? It’s too bad this show didn’t make it into the 1980s – it would’ve been spectacular. And it’s also a pity we never got a TV reunion movie. Let’s hope they make one before Soul, Paul Michael Glaser, and Antonio Fargas really get too old – or join the late, great Bernie Hamilton in that big precinct in the sky.

UPDATE: Okay, so the main theme by Mark Snow (T.J. Hooker, The X-Files) for the third season currently running on RTV is not as catchy as Tom Scott’s funky second-season theme and doesn’t mesh well with the slightly revamped, still hilarious opening credits (with new freeze frames for Paul Michael Glaser and Bernie Hamilton, the latter of whom looks cool this time speaking into a squad car CB radio on location). But the show is just as entertaining to watch, with a solid cast and a nice balance of action, comedy, and drama. And hang in there, true believers, because Tom Scott’s “Gotcha” theme apparently returns for the fourth and final season. Even though it was only used in two nonconsecutive seasons, it is considered the official Starsky & Hutch theme (just do a search of ringtones if you don’t believe me).

ORIGINAL POST: The 1970s TV cop duo is cleaning the boob tube (or LCD or plasma set) of crime at 8:00 p.m. weeknights on RTV (Retro Television Network), and it’s quite the “trip” down memory lane.

The funky second-season theme by Tom Scott is both catchy and cheeky and complements the hilarious opening credits much better than Lalo Schifrin’s grim, downbeat, first-season theme.

And hilarious the opening credits are, because, although the show is called Starsky & Hutch, the guy who plays Starsky (Paul Michael Glaser) and drives the flashy red and white-striped Ford Gran Torino is the second actor listed. David Soul (Hutch) gets top billing, and over a freeze frame of him yelling and flailing his arms maniacally.

Antonio Fargas, who plays nightclub-owning street informant Huggy Bear, gets special standout billing (“and Antonio Fargas as Huggy Bear”). But then, all of a sudden, the credits list Bernie Hamilton (the irascible but lovable Captain Dobey). That’s it – just Bernie Hamilton. It’s like the credits are saying, “…and Antonio Fargas as Huggy Bear – oh, by the way, Bernie Hamilton.”

There’s more to the show than just the hilarious opening credits and wacky main theme, and certainly much more than the insipid, shallow, and unworthy big-screen Starsky & Hutch parody starring Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson. Stiller and Wilson may be funny (not really), but they’re no David Soul and Paul Michael Glaser. Soul and Glaser are solid actors with great screen chemistry, and Glaser is a better and more accomplished film and television director.

Even if you’re not into TV cop shows or don’t particularly care for Starsky & Hutch, at least just check out the opening credits and main theme of the current rotation of episodes on RTV. It’s one of the more entertaining highlights of classic 1970s television.

--Raj Manoharan

TV – Classic Rerun Roundup

UPDATE: Okay, so both TV Land and Antenna TV just botched perfectly good lineups. Go figure. At least Good Times and All in the Family are still running weeknights on Antenna TV, Married with Children and Everybody Loves Raymond weeknights on TV Land, Everybody Loves Raymond weekend evenings on TV Land, and Too Close for Comfort/The Ted Knight Show and Married with Children Sunday evenings on Antenna TV.

ORIGINAL POST: If you’re tired of the same old programming that passes for fresh, contemporary television and would rather spend some time with old friends like Aunt Esther, Buffalo Butt, Monroe Ficus, Cosmic Cow, and NO MA’AM, you’re in luck. TV Land’s and Antenna TV’s evening lineups are devoted to some of the funniest classic sitcoms from the 1970s through the 2000s.

TV Land runs Sanford and Son, All in the Family, and Everybody Loves Raymond, along with occasional episodes of original sitcoms Hot in Cleveland and Happily Divorced.

Antenna TV’s schedule includes Sanford and Son, Good Times, Maude, All in the Family, and Married with Children, with the addition of Too Close for Comfort/The Ted Knight Show on weekends.

Whoa, Bundy! And Die-No-Mite!

--Raj Manoharan