foster_316 Reviews

Sesame Street (1969– )

A part of my childhood and a timeless program

[10/10 · 23 May 2006]

When I was growing up in the early and mid 1980's in suburban Washington, DC, me and many of my childhood friends would be watching Sesame Street. Some of the skits the adult characters as well as the muppets did are timeless gems as well as the many songs. I learned a lot from watching the show each day which always had something different. My favorite muppet characters were Ernie, Bert, Big Bird, and Kermit the Frog, who I knew from the Muppet Show. I also learned about how to cope with different feelings. This show is a timeless piece of Children's TV history which will always be around for many years to come.

This Is the NFL (1967–1975)

The recap show before NFL Primetime

[21 April 2006]

"This Week in Pro Football" was the forerunner for the modern day weekly NFL recap shows that used humor to describe the week's action right up to and after the first week of the playoffs. I wasn't born yet when this series first aired, but after watching it in reruns, I got a chance to see what professional football was like in the late 60's through the mid 70's around the time before and after the 1970 AFL/NFL merger and some of the comical quips used in the show are timeless classics. This was before the "NFL Sunday Ticket", before the 24-hour cable sports networks and before the modern era of expansion, multi-million dollar signing bonuses and all of the teams having colored facemasks as well as modern day free agency. "This Week In Pro Football" will always be a timeless piece in the history of professional football.

Tragedy to Triumph: The Maryland Terrapin Odyssey (2003 TV Movie)

A must-see for Terp Fans and Alumni everywhere

[30 May 2005]

The Maryland Men's Basketball Program has gone through a lot of change in my lifetime, which me and my family personally remember. I had a cousin who attended the University of Maryland at the time Bias was there in the mid 1980's, and his unexpected death affected not only the students, fans, alumni, and the athletic department, but it also affected the drug legislature in profound ways. As for Lenny, he was one of the greatest players to ever put on a Maryland uniform and he meant so much to many people. Just the mere mention of his name stirs up many emotions among many Terrapin Fans. I was thrilled when the Terps won the national title in '02, which validated the Maryland Men's Basketball Program as one of the top programs in the country and after what many Terp fans had to go through to get to that point, it was well worth it going through probation to the final four and the national championship. I'll always remember what former head coach Charles "Lefty" Driesell said during the time when Lenny was battling Michael Jordan for headlines in the ACC "Jordan may be good, but I have to be Biased".

The Simpsons (1989– )

Timeless Classic

[9 November 2004]

The Simpsons is one of the greatest sitcoms of all time and is one of my personal favorite shows. **SPOILER ALERT** One of my personal favorite episodes is "Bart the Daredevil" from season 2 where Homer made his infamous jump over Springfield Gorge on Bart's Skateboard to only crash land at the bottom. Another episode I like is the one where they had the outtakes that previously were never aired before, which included the alternate ending to "Who Shot Mr. Burns". Over the years, Homer has progressively gets funnier every year, but concurrently gotten stupider, but Bart is my favorite character, and I will never forget the time he tried to get a tattoo and it had to be removed by laser, which used up all the Christmas money. and after that episode, I acted out the scene on my cousin where Bart kept saying "Ow, Quit It!". As for the current episodes, their okay, but I like the older reruns, which will be played forever. To sum it all up, The Simpsons will remain a timeless gem of American TV and culture for generations to come.

Cool Runnings (1993)

One of my all-time favorites

[4 November 2004]

Cool Runnings is loosely based on the amazing, but true story of the First Jamaican Bobsled Team that competed in the XV Winter Olympiad in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The late John Candy did a fantastic job portraying the Team's coach, Irv Blitzer, who had won a Gold Medal in Bobsled at the Sapporo Winter Games in '72, but was disqualified for making illegal modifications to his sled. Leon, Malik Yoba and Doug E. Doug all did great work in this film. The part I liked was the ending after the crash where the team picked up their sled and walked across the finish line. This movie showed what the spirit of the Olympics is really all about. About the real 1988 Jamaican Bobsled Team, The team was started by George Fitch, an American businessman in 1987 and went to Igls, Austria for Bobsled school and Trained for the Olympics in Lake Placid. When the Olympics came around, after the first three runs, they were in 7th place going into the last run and then, of course was the famous crash. The biggest moment for the Jamaicans came 6 years later in Lillehammer when the team finished in 14th place, one spot ahead of the first U.S. sled. After Jamaica's success in '88, other warm-weather nations started teams, which include Brazil. I wish Disney could make a sequel based on the Jamaican's success at Lillehammer.

Head of the Class (1986–1991)

Underrated and overlooked

[5 February 2004]

In my opinion "Head of the Class" was one of the more overlooked and underrated primetime sitcoms of the mid to late 80's. The reason why I say this is, of course in the same era as "The Cosby Show", most shows like these get overlooked. Some of the cast members went on to act in motion pictures and other TV shows after the series ended in 1991. I guess the initial draw to the show was Howard Hesseman because like mamy of you, I remember his days on "WKRP in Cincinnati" as the popular "Johnny Fever". I wish it could come on syndication because they made the required 100 episodes for it to go in that format. They made history by being the first U.S. sitcom to film episodes in the Soviet Union. I would love to see a reunion show in the near future, but still, for this show to stay on network TV for five seasons with a relatively unknown cast of characters, even with the standards that "The Cosby Show" had set, that is saying something. To sum it all up "Head of the Class" was one of those overlooked shows that have become Cult Classics.

Knight Rider (1982–1986)

One of the most memorable shows from back in the day

[5 June 2003]

I watched this show since I was a kid and still like to this day. Here are some of my personal favorite episodes with descriptions for those who have not seen it yet.

**SPOILERS AHEAD** 1. "Knight of the Phoenix" Two Part Series Premiere: Detective Michael Arthur Long is shot in the face and left for dead. Wilton Knight saves his life and gives him the alias "Michael Knight" and mates him with K.I.T.T. (Knight Industry Two Thousand) to find and stop associates of a computer firm in the Silicon Valley section of California.

2. "Goliath" Two Part 1983-84 Season Premiere: David Hasselhoff plays his normal role as Micheal Knight and also played the late Wilton Knight's estranged son Garthe, who drove Goliath, the 18-wheel truck that ran over KITT equipped with the stolen formula for KITT's molecular bonded shell.

3. "KITT vs. KARR": KARR makes his return to force a final confrontation with KITT.

4. "Knight of the Juggernaut" Two Part 1985-86 Season Premiere: Devon was kidnapped, and KITT was severely damaged by a ramrod after KITT's molecular bonded shell was neutralized. Having to be rebuilt by a local street gang, KITT has new features to help Michael find Devon and to stop the ramrod and the criminals from getting away.

5. "Knight Song" My personal favorite: R.C. returns to his old neighborhood to stop a block-busting operation. Teen Idol group New Edition makes an special appearance as the neighborhood kids.

This show will never be forgotten by whoever watched it. The theme song, the opening scene where KITT drives down the desert, and the evolution of KITT's components.

Greased Lightning (1977)

The story about the man who broke NASCAR's Color Barrier

[19 December 2002]

Whenever you think about influencial people in African-American sports history, you mostly think of Jackie Robinson, but during the Civil Rights movement of the late 1950's and early 1960's, a young racer from Danville, VA quietly broke NASCAR's color barrier and that was Wendell Scott. I think Richard Pryor did an excellent job of portraying Wendell Scott in this film and showed what is was like to race in the South at that time (1950's-1960's). This film shows that anyone can do anything, regardless of their ethnic background. The real Wendell Scott's racing career was cut short due to a serious accident during a race in Talladega, Alabama in 1973. Where would some of today's African-American racing drivers be if Wendell Scott did not open the door? A must-see for racing fans in general.

Carrie (2002 TV Movie)

OK, but a modernization of the original

[11 December 2002]

My thoughts on the reamke of "Carrie" were as follows. First of all, Angela Bettis was excellent portraying Carrie, not to take anything away from the woman who made the role famous, Sissy Spacek, but the movie was missing an element that could have equaled to the original. Also, Rena Sofer, who played Ms. Desjarden took the role to another level with her aggressive style of discipline. Finally, The other stars that stole the show were the people who played Billy Nolan and Christine Hargensen. They both showed the more evil side of their characters than in the original.

***SPOILER ALERT, SPOILER ALERT, SPOILER ALERT*** Even in the updated version, the best scenes in the movie is at the Prom. Of course, the scene that I will never forget, just like in the original is when the bucket of pig's blood is dropped over Carrie to everyone's shock while Tina, Kenny, and some of the other guests laugh at the prank. The one part I don't understand is why Sue drove Carrie to Florida. I credit NBC for at least trying to update the movie for the modern times. It was a good remake, but not like the 1976 classic.

Necessary Roughness (1991)

From National Champions to Probation

[6 September 2002]

Necessary Roughness is one of those football movies you can watch before College Football Season starts.

SPOILER ALERT!!! In 1990, The Texas State Fightin' Armadillos won the Division 1-A National Championship at the Cotton Bowl, and six months later, Texas State were penalized with the "Death Penalty" by the NCAA for violating their policies, which included illegal drug use, illegal payments to the players from boosters, grade tampering,and various recruting violations. Head Coach Ed "Straight Arrow" Gennaro (Hector Elizondo) is rehired by Texas State University President Carver Purcell (United States Senator Fred Thompson). The old players were expelled, and the old coaches were fired. As a part of the Death Penalty probation, Texas State loses all of their scholarships, blacked out on Television, and are banned from Bowl Games. Gennaro hires an assistant coach by the name of Wally "Rig" Riggendorf (Robert Loggia) and they conduct a open tryout to assemble a new team from the actual student body. Coach Rig drove 200 miles from campus to recruit Paul Blake(Scott Bakula), a 34-year old Quarterback who did not play in college. Before the first game, the team was cut down to only 17 players after the dean found out that some players did not make the grade. To field a full squad, Coach Gennaro brought back "Iron Man" football, where players play on both Offense and Defense. After being blown out by Southwest Texas in the first game 65-0, the Armadillos lost eight games in a row, all blow outs. In the ninth game of the season against the Kansas Jayhawks, Kicker Lucy Draper (Kathy Ireland), kicked a game-tying field goal at the end to tie Kansas three points apiece. Two weeks before the final game, the Armadillos get into a bar room brawl with the Texas Colts, led by their captain Harlan "Flat Top" Myers. As for the game, The Armadillos trailed 21 to 0 at halftime when Coach Rig gave a profanity-laced pep talk to the players and it worked. Before the end of third quarter,Dean Elias (Larry Miller) was fired when he tried to get the test scores from the players thrown out. By the fourth quarter, Texas State was down by 7 and made a big play on defense to get the ball back. The Armadillos move down field and scored a touchdown with no time remaining to cut the Colt lead to one. After scoring they decided to go for two on a fake field goal. Blake passes to Charlie Banks, a player who was a walk on the previous year , but did not play, who caught the game-winning 2-point conversion to win by one point 22-21. The Texas State Fightin' Armadillos finished the season with one win, eight losses, and one tie. This movie is a very funny sports comedy in it's uncensored form and like I said, it is great when you need a laugh before Football season.

Rocky IV (1985)

East vs. West, Man against Man, Can any nation Stand Alone?

[14 June 2002]

The fourth installment of "Rocky" was one of my personal favorites other than the original movie back in 1976. Rocky travels to The Soviet Union to fight Ivan Drago after Drago kills Apollo Creed in Las Vegas. It seems that the only song that I have thinking about since the terrorist attacks of September 11th was "Living In America" by James Brown. Also in the movie they showed two different training styles. Rocky using whatever he has and Drago in a State-Sponsored training facility. The fight scenes in Moscow to me were entertaining and you could sense the momentum swing towards the Stallion. Basically, Drago had the Soviet Union behind him and Rocky putting the pride of the U.S.A. on the line. Like others have said, they should have stopped the Rocky series after this film. Also this film was the last link to the days of the Cold War.

Knight Rider: Knight of the Phoenix: Part 1 (1982) Season 1, Episode 1

Probably the Best TV pilot ever

[28 January 2002]

The 2-part pilot for Knight Rider that aired September 26, 1982 is probably one of the best TV pilots ever made. **SPOILER ALERT** Michael Long, an undercover police detective who was working to bring down criminals who had infiltrated COMTRON, a computer company in the Silicon Valley region of Northern California, was shot in the face by Tanya Walker and left for dead. Millionaire Wilton Knight takes him to the headquarters of the Foundation to give Michael a new face through plastic surgery, a new identity and a new car, KITT, which looked prehistoric to the way it looked at the end of the series. Before Michael Long became Michael Knight, he was at WIlton's bedside before he passed and said the most famous line of the show "You were spared to lead the great fight. Don't turn away in fear. One man can make a difference and you are going to be that man". After that, Michael had one thing on his mind, to bring down Tanya Walker and prevent the ripping off of COMTRON. The climax of the pilot has Tanya trying to leave town by plane, but Michael using KITT as a weapon, takes out a wing which leads to the plane eventually exploding. Also, when Tanya tries to shoot Michael again, the bullet bounced off of KITT's window back at Tanya killing her. To put it in perspective, the pilot in most people's view was the best episode of the series, and with me it ranks up there with the other two major two part episodes in the series, "Goliath" and "Knight of the Juggernaut".

WWF Superstars (1986–2001)

One of the ground-breaking one-hour wrestling shows of all time

[5 September 2001]

When I was a young child growing up in the Washington, DC suburbs during the mid to late 1980's, My aunt who lives in Northwest Washington, DC was a long time wrestling fan and she got me hooked from that day forward. In my area, WWF Superstars of Wrestling came on WTTG-TV channel 5 in Washington and I watched Superstars every Saturday afternoon to see what was going on during the week in the WWF. It was the show to watch if you were a World Wrestling Federation fan back in the day, and compared to the popular shows of today, Superstars was a ground-breaking wrestling show during the ladder half of the 1980's.

Grand Prix (1966)

A Classic Must See Auto Racing Movie!

[10/10 · 5 September 2001]

Grand Prix is a classic racing movie. At the time the budget for the movie was $9 million. In today's money that would be about a quarter of a billion dollars. James Garner did a excellent job in this movie portraying American Grand Prix Star Pete Aron. Some of the racing scenes were shot after practice sessions and cameras were fixed on the back of a Ford GT-40 that was modified to rig the camera and the cars themselves which give the viewer an unprecedented view at the action.

**Spoilers!!!** Pete Aron started the season in Monaco with the Jordan-BRM team and was fired from the team after causing an accident past the exit of the tunnel which put him and his teammate Scott Stoddard of Great Britain in the Harbor. Jean-Pierre Sarti drove for Ferrari and was one of Aron's main rivals along with Stoddard. The best and most dramatic scenes has to be first from Brands Hatch when Aron's car catches fire at the finish line and in the final race at Monza where Sarti's Ferrari goes off the banking while trying to avoid a tailpipe that had fallen off the car in front and crash lands in a wooded area bursting into flames. After that happened, the Ferrari team manager displayed the black flag with the Ferrari emblem on it, which symbolized that Sarti had died from the crash. Meanwhile, Aron beat out Stoddard to win the world championship. I have seen this movie numerous of times when it has come on TV and it is probably one of the best racing movies ever made. Sadly John Frankenheimer, who directed this classic film passed away last year and I wish they could put out a DVD version real soon.