"Hot Tub Time Machine"

The bizarro comedy has four guys being sent back in time to Winterfest 1986 -- and getting a chance to fix some things in three of their lives. And a key plot element is the January 1987 Browns-Broncos playoff game, notorious for "The Drive." But read on ...


In the movie Lou (played by Rob Corddry) observes people watching the game. Remembering details of it, including the outcome, he begins to make -- and win -- bets on specific plays. But he forgets that having him and his friends back in the past might change history. And, after making an especially outrageous (and vulgar) bet, he watches as Elway's game-tying pass falls incomplete -- and the Browns win the game.

Sadly, "Hot Tub Time Machine" does not stay in the past long enough to show how the Browns then did in a revised-history Super Bowl.

Read more!

"Harvey"

Hat tip to Lynne Sherwin for passing along this item, from a column by Mark J. Price:
Denver playwright Mary Chase won a Pulitzer Prize in 1945 for Harvey, a whimsical tale about Elwood P. Dowd, a perpetually intoxicated fellow who may or may not be best friends with a giant bunny.
Broadway crowds lined up to see Harvey, which is kind of funny since Harvey couldn't be seen.
The offbeat comedy starring Frank Fay opened to rave reviews and sold-out shows Nov. 1, 1944, at the 48th Street Theatre in New York. It had a remarkable run of 1,775 performances over four years.
For Ohio residents who were lucky enough to get tickets, the humor hit close to home.
The script has many references to Akron. . . .
In the play, Elwood P. Dowd's grasp on sanity is a subject of debate. He holds one-sided conversations with his rabbit pal and introduces the invisible creature to puzzled strangers. Dowd's sister, Veta Simmons, wants to have her brother committed to a mental institution.
Dr. Chumley, operator of the local asylum, quizzes Dowd about the giant rabbit.
Harvey has the power to stop time in its tracks, Dowd says. The psychiatrist can travel anywhere he wants for as long he wants, and when he wishes to return, no time will have elapsed, Dowd says.
"I'd go to Akron," Chumley says wistfully.
The doctor confesses that his fantasy is to sit under an Akron tree, drink Akron beer and chat with a beautiful Akron woman for two weeks.
Would the rabbit allow it?
"I have never heard Harvey say a word against Akron," Dowd replies.
The dialogue had special meaning to Harvey cast member Jesse White [pictured, left, with Fay, seated, and two other cast members], who originated the role of Wilson, the orderly at Chumley's hospital. White grew up in Akron. (end column)

By the way, White also appeared in the 1950 movie version which starred James Stewart.


Read more!

"Three Rivers": Close By

The short-lived CBS drama was set in the fictional Three Rivers Medical Center in Pittsburgh. But the opening scene of the premiere is at a high-rise construction site in Cleveland where a supervisor falls several floors. The supervisor is taken to "North Ohio Regional Hospital" in Cleveland -- but he has lost brain function. He is taken off life support and his organs harvested, with his heart going to Three Rivers for a transplant. Read more!

"Covert Affairs": Hooking Up

In the new spy series for USA Network, which premieres Tuesday, CIA agent Annie Walker (played by Piper Perabo) gets into a crime scene by implying she was a prostitute who witnessed the crime. And what kind of prostitute? Well, her name is Amber Truesdale and, she says, "I'm a good girl. I come from a church-going family in Akron. . . . My mother told me to always do the right thing." Read more!

Where Did the Months Go?

I have been meaning to post, and even have some items set aside. But somehow other obligations have gotten in the way and time has passed far more than I thought. Quite a chill when I stopped in and saw the date on the previous post. I promise to post some new things before Thanksgiving. Sorry, and thank you to everyone who has been stopping by. Read more!

The Professor: Scientist, Educator, Clevelander

Roy Hinkley, the Professor on "Gilligan's Island," was born in Cleveland, according to many Web sites, including that of Russell Johnson, who played the Professor. Still haven't pinned down the episode where that is mentioned, but thought it was an interesting nugget.
By the way, Jim Backus, who played Thurston Howell III on "Gilligan's Island," was born in Cleveland.
. Read more!

"My Fellow Americans"

Jack Lemmon and James Garner play former presidents, and rivals, who join forces when the current president tries to have them killed. A key piece of information is in Lemmon's presidential library in Cuyahoga Falls. ...


Lemmon's character was born in Cleveland but says Cleveland wouldn't give him a good deal on property taxes. He got a better deal from Cuyahoga Falls for locating his library there.
After their helicopter is blown up, Lemmon and Garner catch a ride on an "NCAA Finals Express" train to Cleveland, posing as impersonators of themselves. They learn that the train will stop in Akron but have to get off in the town of Jefferson, apparently in Virginia, when they see their pursuers waiting at the station. They steal a car, planning to drive to Akron (Lemmon says they can get on I-77 near Galax, Va.), but there's a baby in the back seat so they return the car; fortunately, the family owning it is headed to Cleveland, and gives the two presidents a ride. As they enter West Virginia, the driver says they are eight to 10 hours from Cleveland.
They finally get to the library, which is a tacky little joint. (And, by the way, none of this was shot in Ohio.) But the evidence they have sought is not there, and they hit the road again.

. Read more!