The Lone Gunmen Predicted 9/11

Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction - or is it? In March, 2001 a TV series pilot aired on Fox television that depicted of all things, an airliner being flown into the World Trade Center (albeit with a different set of culprits and motives than the actual event). Keep in mind that this was nearly 6 months before 9/11 occurred. The show was called The Lone Gunmen and was a spin-off of the wildly popular  X-files. In the X-files series, the characters known as the Lone Gunmen served as a sort of 3 man cheap-laffs team. They ran a little read-conspiracy theory newsletter and helped Mulder and Scully out of any number of scrapes.

The DVD cover for the Lone Gunmen

As the X-files was finally winding down in 2001, the producers looked to the Gunmen to provide a spin-off into the next generation of X-files like paranoia. The show looked promising when it was first aired - the pilot followed in the best tradition of the x-files and the characters seemed to be able to stand alone w/o help from Fox Mulder. But then 9/11 happened and the show wasn't picked up for a new season. The show would have likely been cancelled anyway given the low ratings, which was partly due to its time-slot and off-season start. In fact, one has to wonder whether or not 9/11 would have happened at all if this show had been a hit. The initial response to the attacks on 9/11 included quite a number of statements by officials that just such an event could not have been foreseen or otherwise planned for. But as the pilot proved, the main idea of the attack had clearly been foreseen - by Hollywood anyway.

After 9/11, the government did actually enlist creative talent from Hollywood to help envision various types of scenarios not unlike those from the Lone Gunmen

It is fascinating to see the relationships between fiction and non-fiction, between popular culture and historical events. The strange case of The Lone Gunmen stands as one of the more profound examples of that - one that most people aren't even aware of...

This is the opening sequence from the Lone Gunmen pilot episode

Topic Reference	Ratings & Reviews	How to Watch
Lone Gunmen - Wikipedia	Lone Gunmen on Rotten Tomatoes	From Netflix
Lone Gunmen - IMDB	DVD Verdict	From Amazon

Copyright 2012 - Raving Reviews - All Rights Reserved

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Pilot Interruptus - Battlestar Galactica Blood & Chrome

So who was the fraking genius who came up with the idea of separating the Battlestar Galactica Blood & Chrome pilot into 10-12 minutes segments? Must have been some type of artificial intelligence - anyway - the verdict is in. The show seems like its coming together well but it's driving us crazy only being able to see 10 minutes at time. It turns just about every potential scene transition or ad slot into a fraking cliff hanger. Our nerves may not be able to take much more of this. Here's a fracking suggestion - try doing 30 minute segments so we can actually have some sort of fulfilling viewing experience why don't you? You can stream 30 minute segments right?

They've got way more ships on Blood & Chrome which means more ships to blow up - yippee!

So here's the fraking promo trailer and we apologize for using the word frak or trying to say other bad words (starting with S or B) under our breath so we won't get censored.

Since we can't watch the whole show yet, here's a music video / song that expresses our sentiments about having to watch Blood & Chrome 10 minutes at a time...

Me and my Cylon...

Copyright 2012 - Raving Reviews - All Rights Reserved

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An Homage to the Brady Bunch - Raving Retro

While the rest of the country was protesting the Vietnam war or watching the Watergate hearings there were many of us who viewed the world through the windows of our suburban tri-level homes and watched the Brady Bunch every weekend afternoon - there at least all was right with the world. The Bradys had the perfect family, they were happy, well-adjusted and seemed to have a lot of fun hanging out with each other (perhaps more fun than we realized based upon stories of Brady scandals that began emerging during the 1980's).

For the cast of the Brady Bunch, it was all downhill after the show was cancelled.

During the 1970's though, the Bradys seemed normal. While the Bradys' had their issues, those problems were always resolved by the end of each episode. The Bradys presented a somewhat narrow view of the world though, for example:

• There were no major characters from any minority, in fact you'd think minorities didn't exist if you watched it.
• Mrs. Brady was a stay at home mom who never once thought of having a career.
• The excuse for the family merger is murky, although Mr. Brady is a widower, no mention is made of Mrs. Brady's mysterious divorce. It's assumed she got all the kids in the settlement but apparently she doesn't get alimony.
• Nobody drinks on the Brady Bunch, despite their last name being Brady - except for Sam, the sometimes boy-toy for Alice the housekeeper.
• The Bradys' never faced any real trauma or setbacks, besides their vacations anyway.
• The Bradys' didn't seem to have any opinions about anything outside their own personal lives. 

Many people think that Seinfeld invented the comedy about nothing, but the reality is that the Bradys beat them to it - it is a show that said absolutely nothing on any subject for 6 seasons. Yet, the show had an appeal which was hard to ignore. We've assembled several top ten lists as an homage to the time wasted during our childhood watching these folks and thinking they had it better than us...

Top 10 Episode Titles:

• Marcia Gets Creamed - We didn't make these up
• The Great Earring Caper - Kleptos on the cast? We'll have to refer to Marcia's or Jan's books
• Getting Davy Jones - Odds are Marcia really got him, but we haven't read the tell-all book yet.
• Coming Out Party - way before it became popular...
• The Babysitters - Did this inspire the John Leguizamo film?
• The Big Sprain - Before Sports medicine was cool...
• Every Boy Does It Once - We don't want to know
• The Teeter Totter Caper - we forgot about this one
• Katchoo - One of several episodes dedicated to healthcare issues
• Eenie, Meenie, Mommy, Daddy - A show, about nothing

Top (real-life) Brady Scandals:

• Mike Brady is gay (dies of AIDS)
• Mrs. Brady hooks up with Greg
• Greg hooks up with Marcia
• Marcia apparently hooks up with everyone, including Michael Jackson and Steve Martin.
• Jan and Marsha hook up (maybe)
• Greg and Jan hook up
• Peter is gay (maybe)
• Multiple substance abuse issues
• Several failed spin offs 
• Mrs. Brady has an affair with the Mayor of New York

Top 10 Brady Quotes:

• Greg: Remember Dad, we're talking man-to-man, not kid-to-man man-to-man, but man-to-man, man-to-man.
• Jan: Well, all I hear all day long at school is how great Marcia is at this how wonderful Marcia did that. Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!
• Carol: [to Cindy] You shouldn't put down a loser, Cindy, because you might be one yourself someday. Just remember that.
• Greg: It's sure great how some people can sing while other people are dying!
• Alice: [to the deliveryman] You keep calling me sweetie, gorgeous & beautiful, and I'll follow you anywhere!
• Greg: [Greg then sits at his desk imitating Marcia writing in her diary] "Dear diary, at last I met him, my dream man. It was at the delicatessen and our fingers tingled as we reached for the same potato salad."
• Cindy: A star can't go on television, all fat and broken out.
• Marcia: Something suddenly came up.
• Carol: Cindy thought there are real butterflies in my stomach. What an idiot!

Top 3 Brady Hits:
Of course, someone had the bright idea to try to have the Bradys compete with the Partridge family. The following Brady hits were the fascinating result:

• Sunshine Day - no comment

• Keep on Moving - no comment

• Brady Bunch Variety Hour: Disco Medley  - to be honest we never even knew that the Bradys' had their own variety hour. That's probably a good thing...
  

Disco and the Bradys - the perfect match

There is one thing we're certain of, there will never be another show quite like the Brady Bunch - movie remakes not withstanding (satire doesn't count).

 Copyright 2012 - Raving Reviews - All Rights Reserved

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Outsourced, NBC's Comedy Jackpot

We mentioned Community in one of our earlier reviews as one of NBC's funniest comedies on the air. While our hearts still remain true to it, Outsourced, an NBC comedy whose premise is that an American company outsourced an entire call center to India and the manager is sent along with it to train his eventual replacement. The studio was hesitant at first, believing that it may offend the Indian community but after successful debut, they gave it a full season of production.

The fascinating array of cultural jokes and gimmicks mixes well with the brilliant cast members. You'll always find yourself laughing at this. While the idea of outsourcing jobs to India may not sit well with many Americans, this pokes fun at it and even does a good job of making it funny.

It might not be everyone's cup of tea, but its definitely worth the watch.

One of Mid-American Novelties more interesting employees, Gupta.

Madhuri, a rather... quiet employee.

Be on the lookout for more reviews!

BTW - the geniuses at NBC have relegated this show to the slot of the living dead, it is soon to be canceled. Perhaps we should outsource them?


Copyright 2011, Raving Reviews™

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Top Movies of 2010 that We Missed

The year isn't quite finished yet, so we have another list for you. The first of today's lists is the Top Movies of 2010 that we didn't see but wanted to. We conducted our analysis by going to movieweb.com and checking out the trailers of movies we didn't make it to this year. We like movieweb and all but having to listen to the plug for Oprah's new TV channel before every trailer clip nearly drove us insane - and where does she get off with an acronym like OWN (a bit pretentious if you ask us)?

Life's a bitch, then you get slapped

So our number 1 movie we missed that we wanted to see was "Bitch Slap." Here's the clip with the Oprah Channel plug to boot. BTW - this clip is rated R (for retarded) folks, no kids allowed!

OK, so we were kidding about this one - although this freak-fest
might make our worst movies of all time list next year (after we watch it).

Here's the real list (not presented in order or priority):

• Shutter Island - Leonardo Di Caprio had a banner year, although we didn't get to see all of it. This is a thriller, spooky, maybe sci-fi or horror and was made by Martin Scorsese. We can't wait to see and don't understand how we missed it.

Nothing could be scarier than a mental hospital, right?

• The Red Baron: Here's a guy who has had his story told a number of times, but this movie looks to be the one that did it right. The aerial combat / dogfights are almost fully computer animated but the cinematography looks spectacular. The cast looks good and as far as trailers go, this was the best one we've seen all year.

Knights of the Sky - the warring angels of WW1

• Entre Nos - This movie is based on the true story of an immigrant family that is left to fend for itself without a father in New York. It's an age old story yet made new again as each generation brings waves of immigrants to our shores seeking a better life.

A mother struggles to provide for her family and keep them together...

and now for something completely different...

• When You're Strange - Two weeks ago, Florida's governor decided to clear Jim Morrison's record (after 40 years). Who was Jim Morrison? This movie seems as though it may finally give us some insight into one of the most enigmatic figures of the 1960's.

This documentary appears to have incredible never before seen DOORs footage...

More of the movies we missed coming later today...


Copyright 2010, Raving Reviews

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The 10 Best Stories Never Told part 2

In our first installment of the The Top 10 Movies That Haven't Been Made Yet (but should be or need to be made better) we focused on historical figures and events. We will follow that mode with the remainder of the list but with some twists.

Number 6 - "The Godmother" The Griselda Blanco story. Most people don't know that is was Griselda and not Pablo Escobar who created the modern narco-traffic empire between North and South America - in fact she was the one who put him in business and may have been behind his death as well. There have been several somewhat goofy documentaries made which feature her story, but no one has made the movie. This is remarkable considering she was nearly single-handedly irresponsible for the drug wars in Miami that inspired the series Miami Vice. The Godmother was responsible for more murders perhaps even than Al Capone, was the first Cocaine Millionaire then Billionaire and is still on the loose (now in her native Colombia). The kicker is still around and out of jail!

The Godmother - This is another case where life is
more remarkable than fiction...

Number 7 - The Real Annie Oakley Story: Yes, there have been a lot of very superficial movies made featuring Annie Oakley, but none of them came close to telling her real story. A story that included a ten year running battle with William Randolph Hearst, a story that included making and losing a fortune and of course the story of how an Ohio farm girl (from near here in Greenville, Ohio) could become one of the most important women of her time. Our editor is a distant relation to Annie Oakley, so we're a little bit biased on this, but we still think it is a great movie waiting to happen. Here is a documentary about her on PBS...

One of the first films ever made - Annie Oakley hits the mark...

Number 8 - The Dirty War: There have been one or two movies set during Argentina's dirty war which lasted from the late 1970's to the early 1980's (finally ending when the ruling military Junta was overthrown after the Falklands / Malvinas war with Britain). Somewhere between 30,000 to 50,000 people, mainly younger folks or students were tortured and disappeared by the Right Wing government there. The story took on a unique human face through the tireless efforts of the Madres de la Plaza (Mother's of the Plaza) who protested for at least a decade and helped to bring down a corrupt and bloodthirsty regime. Our editor was in Buenos Aires in 1987, although the Junta was gone the Madres de la Plaza were still there seeking justice. A number of men were brought to justice and many children (who were stolen from people who were disappeared) were re-united with their families, but as in most nightmares like this, justice is rare and bittersweet when it does finally arrive.

Someday we may live in a world where violence and murder aren't state sanctioned, but until that day we will depend on the
courage of people like these to fight for us all...

Number 9 - The Trail of Tears: This was America's version of the Bataan death march - it happened in 1838-39 as greedy white settlers sought to remove a thriving Cherokee nation from its land in order to claim it for themselves. First the Cherokees were placed in concentration camps and then forced to march 1,000 miles on foot in the middle of Winter, at least 4,000 of them died. The Cherokees weren't the only Indian nations forced off of their land in the Southeast United States around that time, however this is perhaps the most tragic of those events. Telling this story forces us to take a hard look at American history and even some of our current policies and viewpoints.

There are some things we definitely shouldn't be proud of...

Number 10 - The Balkan Holocaust: Most of us have forgotten how bad things really got in Yugoslavia in the 1990's. Nearly 200,000 were killed in Bosnia alone as the Serbs practiced "ethic cleansing" on their Muslim neighbors. There have been a few movies on the topic, most notably the uneven "Welcome to Sarajevo" starring Ohio native Woody Harrleson. No one has yet properly addressed the topic which is even more relevant now given the growing global intolerance of the Muslim community. An interesting arc for the movie would be to view the events through the lens of the Dayton Accords - a peace process that brought the Balkins back from the edge of the abyss. Of course, embedded within this story is the story of the siege of Sarajevo - which lasted nearly a year.

Intolerance always leads to something much worse...

Sarajevo, home of the 1984 Winter Olympics
was plunged into Hell 10 years later...

Copyright 2010, Raving Reviews

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SyFy Channel - Wy ?

First it was Caprica, next came Stargate Universe - the two anchors of the season canceled in mid-season. Then SyFy renews Haven and picks up Merlin and seems to be going forward with Sanctuary.

It seems as though SyFy is morphing into SyFantaSy which may help to explain how any of its programming could coexist with professional wrestling. We were worried when they changed the name of the channel a few years back - as if programming science fiction was too narrow or too embarrassing to embrace - now they've gone and done this.

Admittedly, neither show was that great, but at least they were both real science fiction shows and we watched diligently hoping somehow they'd improve. But perhaps the writing staffs of the SyFy channel shows have been watching too much wrestling or worse yet Harry Potter movies and the exposure proved damaging to their cognitive and creative abilities.

Caprica Season 1.5 Preview

We know Caprica was stupid - but it was OUR kind of stupid ok? Can we make a series based on Inception, please? Anything - just no more Harry Potter, Sexy Vampires or Wrestling !!!


Copyright 2010, Raving Reviews

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