ZorroMeansFox

ZorroMeansFox t1_izqvwf7 wrote

Reply to comment by PM_ME_UR_REDPANDAS in TIL that the theme song from Mission Impossible get is it's iconic beat of "long long short short" from the Morse code of "M" and "I", which is long long short short. by pango3001

I think Barnaby was a very solid investigator, and maybe the only TV detective to have his own in-office Forensics Lab, which he operated himself.

But that show went into a tailspin in the later seasons when they brought in J.R. to appeal to the youngins and do some running around and athletic moves that Buddy Ebsen (Jed from The Beverly Hillbillies and the original Tin Man from The Wizard of Oz! *) was getting too old to pull off (although he did retain a surprising amount of athleticism, probably because he had a lean, trained dancer's body). But Mark Shera as J.R. might be the single worst actor I've ever seen in a starring part on TV. He's a charisma black hole and seemed less believable than the gang in Scooby-Doo's Mystery Team.

(*Note: Ebsen was originally cast as The Tin Man, but had to be replaced almost immediately by Jack Haley, because Buddy got very sick from breathing the aluminum dust in the character's metallic makeup.)

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ZorroMeansFox t1_izqr835 wrote

Reply to comment by PM_ME_UR_REDPANDAS in TIL that the theme song from Mission Impossible get is it's iconic beat of "long long short short" from the Morse code of "M" and "I", which is long long short short. by pango3001

Yes; and Lalo's connection which led to him getting this gig is that the Mission: Impossible TV series was created by the same guy who created Mannix, Bruce Geller.

I've always thought the fly Theme Music to Mannix was the best thing about that show. The rest of the show's music (especially when diegetic) wasn't composed or chosen by Lalo, and it was almost always embarrassingly the opposite of "hip/cool." And that was also true of Mike Connor's character, who thought of himself as suave and irresistible to the babes, but who always came off like someone's dad trying lame moves and smarmy pick-up lines.

I've come to believe that Mannix might be the worst TV detective ever. He took forever to figure out what was going on, even when utterly obvious, he was caught off-guard and jumped almost every episode, he loses most of his fights, his secretary Peggy does most of the investigative heavy lifting, his physical acting always looked stiffly robotic, and he's terrible at trying to make the hard-boiled noir dialogue he's saddled-with sound convincing. Oddly, I've seen Connors in lots of other roles before he became Mannix, and he almost always played the heavy. And he was terrific as a bad guy. But it's leading man parts in a hit series that pay the bills.

A friend of mine had an old classic copy of Mad Magazine from the early '70s, when they parodied the show. They called it Mannuhx, because about the only acting trick Connors seemed to have was adding pauses punctuated by "uh" to give his line-readings some gravitas. Once I read that parody, I've never been able to watch the show without counting all his "uhs."

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ZorroMeansFox t1_iyajjxz wrote

Reply to Looking for movie recommendations for films similar to blood diamond or hotel rwanda by Sanchezzy123

Here are two interesting, very well made films which draw heavily from actuality in shaping their Drama:

The Last King of Scotland: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0455590/

The Devil's Double: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1270262/

The best choice I can offer is a bit less "grounded," but just as "true" in its implications: Beasts Of No Nation:

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1365050/

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