Tuesday TV Touchbase: The Boys and Hacks

This week’s Tuesday TV Touchbase gives us two shows that have a few things in common:

 

• Both began their 5th season. 
• And both are on the home stretch to a series finale.
• And both say “Fuck” a lot!

 

From there, the shows paths diverge.

 

Let’s start with The Boys.

 

Season 5 begins with Homelander solidifying his super powered grip on the United States government, overseeing a country where Christian nationalism is running amuck. 

 

Even when Starlight gets the infamous Flight 37 video out for everyone to see (the one where Homelander allowed the plane to crash with everyone on board), the damage is quickly mitigated by a PR apparatus that immediately springs into action with claims of “fake news” and allegations of AI manipulation.  

 

There remains the one option to kill him, the virus that in order to be strong enough to unalive Homelander would also kill every single person with super powers on the planet. 

 

So Billy Butcher gathers up the team to put this final option into effect.  First, Billy, Starlight and Komiko (who can talk now!) have to bust out Hughie, MM and Frenchie from a “Freedom Camp”, an internment facility for those Homelander calls enemies of the state. 

It's scary how much the world of The Boys reflects the world we're actually living in and show runner Eric Kripke's kind of annoyed about that actually.   

“I am really tired and weary of the world reflecting the show before we get a chance to do it. I appreciate the marketing. I’m just like, can you just please give us a chance to put some absurd satire out there before you prove that it's more realistic than we ever intended?”

Homelander has egomaniacal delusions of grandeur, of ascending to godhood.  A vision of the deceased Madelyn Stillwell tells  Homelander “Who is more loved than Jesus? And why should he have more love than you?”

Kripke felt confident this plot development would not be matched by the real world.   "Homelander saying he’s God is so out there. We have to be careful about how we even introduce the idea to the public because they’ll say he’s gone too far."

Then Donald Trump drops an A.I. image of himself as Jesus Christ.  

Kripke can only shake his head and comment wearily, "It’s just really hard to out-satire this world."

 

And now we’re off to Hacks.

 

The fall out from Deborah’s season 4 decision to not capitulate to studio boss Bob Lipka about what she can say or do on her Late Night talk show and who she can hire continues to impact her life.  Bereft of a TV show and unable to score any work anywhere due to the non-compete clause in her contract, Deborah is lost.  

Lipka has his fingers in so many media pots, he has effectively erased her from pop culture existence, pulling not just the clips from her talk show but also all her comedy specials as well.  His retaliation against Deborah for her daring to stand up to him has been total.  

Her legacy is more than just diminished and tarnished. Her legacy is just plain gone.  

 

And Deborah is understandably pissed off about that.

Deborah stages a secret stand up comedy set where everyone's phones are confiscated.

But someone records the show anyway and puts it online and Bob Lipka immediately sues Deborah.  On the courthouse steps Deborah frames the non-compete restrictions as a first amendment issue and announces she will be back on stage at Madison Square Garden when she beats this contract.

Who leaked that video? It was Ava. But that's OK, it's all part of the plan. Lipka's lawsuit was just what Deborah needed to put herself in front of the cameras in the first phase of reclaiming her legacy.

Although securing MSG might be harder than expected. The only date available for the venue is... September 11th. 

Well, that's gonna make for some awkward comedy.

Leave it to Hacks to make September 11th a punchline.

 

That is that for this week's Tuesday TV Touchbase.

Next week, everything old is new again as we look in on the return of Scrubs and Malcolm In the Middle.  

Until next time, remember to be good to one another and try to keep it down in there, would ya? I'm trying to watch TV over here.   

 

 

The Worship Of Power

CAUTION: this is a long one. Sorry!

_______________________________  

Religion has been a hot topic lately. 

Who has religion?

Whose religion is it?

Who is using religion properly?

Who is NOT using it as intended?

What is the intent of religion?

Here's what Thomas Jefferson had to say on the matter of religion:   "In every country in every age the priest has been hostile to liberty. He is always in allegiance with the despot , abetting his abuses in return for protection of his own."

Does that sound disturbingly relevant?  

The subject of the use and abuse of religion as a lever of power and influence has been a topic of contention in the last week.

The instigator was this image that Donald Trump posted to his moldy mildewed Truth Social platform.  

Taking a look at this A.I. generated image of Li'l Donnie in white and red robes with glowing hands and most people would look at this and say, "What the hell? Does Donald Trump think he's Jesus Christ?"

When pressed for a response, der Führer admitted he did indeed post the image but he thought the picture depicted him as a doctor helping people because that's what Donald Trump does, helps people.

A doctor? Really?

The Doctor maybe? That glow around his hands could be regeneration energy. Oh HELL NO! Keep your decaying grubby hands off my Doctor Who fandom! 

Hey, does that guy Trump is "healing" look like Jeffrey Epstein?

So Li'l Donnie wants us to think he's a doctor. 

My doctor does not dress like that.

I've been in hospitals as a guest and as a patient and I've never seen a doctor dress like that.

I've also spent a lot of time as a child in Baptist Sunday School and in all the books, pamphlets, pictures on the wall and everything, guess what Jesus was always frickin' wearing?

Li'l Donnie can gaslight us all he wants but we can all clearly see der Führer is co-opting Christian iconography for his own aggrandizement. And someone would have to be a goddam fucking moron not to see that! 

<Knock! Knock!>

Excuse me, someone is knocking at the I'm So Glad My Suffering Amuses You door!

Why look! It's Rev. Franklin Graham. So, reverend, what do you have to say on this topic?

“I do not believe President Trump would knowingly depict himself as Jesus Christ—that would certainly be inappropriate. I’m thankful the President has made it very clear that this was not at all what he thought the AI-generated image was representing—he thought it was a doctor helping someone, and when he learned of the concerns, he immediately removed the post. When I looked at the illustration, I didn’t jump to the same conclusion as some. There were no spiritual references—no halo, there were no crosses, no angels. It was a flag, soldiers, a nurse, fighter planes, eagles, the Statue of Liberty, and I think this is a lot to do about nothing.”

 <Whir! Whir! Whir!>

That whirring sound is Franklin's dad, Rev. Billy Graham, spinning in his grave.  

<Knock! Knock!>

Excuse me, someone else is knocking at the I'm So Glad My Suffering Amuses You door!  (When did this blog get a door?)

Why look! It's notable crazy person Marjorie Taylor Greene. I bet she'll have something to say that is....

“Franklin Graham making excuses for Trump posting himself as Jesus is one of the worst things I’ve seen."

...perfectly reasonable.   

My God!  A preacher defending blasphemy and MTG making sense? What is going on in this crazy world?

An online account called @WalshFreedom posted in response to Li'l Frankie's obsequeious toadying:  “Hey @Franklin_Graham, assuming there is a God, and assuming you meet him one day when you leave this life, he’s going to put this tweet in front of you and he’s going to ask you point blank why you lied here and called a man who is the very antithesis of Jesus Christ the most “pro-Christian” president ever. He’s also gonna demand to know why you sold your soul to so obscenely support such a cruel, hateful, ignorant, & dishonest sociopath. I hope you’ll have some good answers.”

Donald Trump posting himself as a Christ like figure even managed to offend non Christians. Muslims don't consider Jesus the son of God, but they revere him as a prophet and believe that he helped pay the way for the teachings of Prophetic Mohammed.

Seriously, what kind of stupid suck up would defend this?

<Knock! Knock!>

Really, another knock at the I'm So Glad My Suffering Amuses You door?  (Why does a blog even have a door?)

Look, it's J.D. Vance!

"'I think the president was posting a joke."

(Ha!) OK, I think I get it! Trump's policies have so decimated (Ha! Ha!) people's access to afforable health care that (Hee! Hee!) it would take a fucking miracle (Ha! Hee!)  for someone to (Giggle!) get healed.

Bwa! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!

That is a good one, J.D.! Thanks for explaining that! 

<Knock! Knock!>

NO! We are not doing this bit anymore! 

Amanda Marcotte of Salon.com made a deep dive into what all this means.  

"One gets the sense that most evangelical influencers weren't really angry so much as they were embarrassed that Trump said the quiet part out loud: He has supplanted Jesus Christ as their lord and savior. MAGA leaders love to praise Trump's bluntness when he's attacking their presumed enemies, but they expect him to be a little more circumspect when assessing the character of the people who follow him. That is a huge miscalculation. Trump eventually betrays everyone who shows him loyalty, so it should have come as no surprise that he couldn't help but strip away the pretense that their faith is about following the teachings of Christ."

"The Christian Right is really not about worshipping God — it's about worshipping power."

"In the MAGA movement, Trump serves a similar role, his followers not to the Almighty but to what they really want: control over American government and society. And there is nothing the president could do that would cause the Christian Right to lose their faith in him."

When Trump once said that he could shoot someone on 5th Avenue in New York City and not lose any support, THIS is what he's talking about.

As long as Li'l Donnie is a useful tool in the acquisition and retaining of power, the snivelling synchopants in the Christian Right will say or do whateve it takes to maintain their support of their new lord and savior, der Führer himself.

After deleting the picture of Trump AS Jesus, Li'l Donnie began circulating this image of Trump WITH Jesus.    

I would like to think this whispered conversation in this illustration goes something like this. 

"Psst! Donnie! Yeah!
Dad says you are so fucked!"

Oh great! Now both Donald Trumo and I are going to Hell! 

Meanwhile, Donald Trump is not the only one looking to usurp religion to sell an agenda. Pete Hegseth, Dude Bro' O' War, keeps trying to promote the war with Iran in religous terms as some kind of sacred crusade.  

Recently, Pouty Pete delivered a prayer that was quoting a passage from the Bible. 

Or Samuel L. Jackson from Pulp Fiction.   

Jesus preached messages of peace and forgiveness.

Pete's faith is rooted in hate and restribution. Of course he would think Samuel L. Jackson's tirade was Biblical.  

As if the war with Iran was not enough, Donald Trump has declared war on the Vatican.

Pope Leo declared that peace is preferable to war and Li'l Donnie lost his shit! 

You know, the same Li'l Donnie who lost his shit when he did not win the Nobel Peace Prize took exception to Pope Leo's call for peace over war.

Trump declares that if not for this war, Iran would've made the Vatican a radioactive crater by now.   

Trump and his enablers are trying to sell the war in Iran as some kind of devine cause blessed by God. 

Pope Leo doesn't believe wars are blessed by God.

And now IT! 

IS!! 

ON!!!

JD Vance and Mike Johnson have taking turns attempting to school the Pope in theology and what God does and does not want.

Vance is allegedly a Catholic and Catholics are supposed to believe the Pope has a direct hotline to God.  

I guess Vance thinks Pope Leo needs a better cell phone plan?

Pope Leo says he's not scared of Donald Trump and the Pope insists he will remain a defender of peace over war.

Jesus! Who does this guy think he is? Some kind of emissary of Christian ideals? 

While on a visit to Cameroon, Pope Leo made a very telling and significant statement. 

“The masters of war pretend not to know that it takes only a moment to destroy, yet often a lifetime is not enough to rebuild.  They turn a blind eye to the fact that billions of dollars are spent on killing and devastation, yet the resources needed for healing, education and restoration are nowhere to be found.” Pope Leo in Cameroon, 4/16/2026

Surely Pope Leo wasn't calling out Donald Trump.

Well, a couple of weeks ago, Trump was caught on a hot mike saying the federal government didn't have money for health care, food assistance or some other 3rd thing that actually helps people. 

There is only money for war.

Seriously, he really said that.  

So yeah, that sounds pretty directed at Li'l Donnie.

That's Pope Leo being nice about it.

I will not.

Donald Trump is a failure and a total loser who knows nothing except how to destroy, to traffic in hate and ignorance.  He knows nothing of kindness or compassion.

Any so called followers of Jesus Christ continue to follow Trump, I say you know nothing of Jesus Christ. You trade worship of God for worship of power. 

And I am no Pope Leo but I kinda think Jesus would not be OK with that.  

Happy (Belated) Superman Day

Yesterday, Saturday April 18, 2026 was Superman Day.

How did I not know that?

I'm going to lose what remains of my comic book geek cred.  

Maybe I'm just getting too old for this stuff.

April 18, 1938 was when Action Comics #1 was released featuring the debut of Superman by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.

So happy (belated) Superman Day!

It is apparently not too late to join the party as DC Universe Online (DCUO) has a Superman Day Event running until April 27, 2026, with a "Doomed Metropolis" theme, featuring daily/weekly missions and exclusive rewards.  

So up, up and away, Superman, forever and a day!

Star Trekking: The Paramount Ball Drop

 

Welcome to another edition of Star Trekking, this blog's regular berth for all thing Star Trek.

This week we're taking a break from the look back at Star Trek: The Next Generation for a look forward. 

What pray tell does the future hold for our friends and foes of the Federation?

Well, I hate to say this but the future's kind of fuzzy.

At last week's CinemaCon 2026, Paramount kicked off it's presentations with updates on such franchises like Top Gun, Jackass, Call of Duty, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

And Paramount is rolling the dice on Johnny Depp who dropped by to show off some footage from his upcoming Christmas Carol movie.

Well, good  on them for all of that.

But this post is Star Trekking, this blog's regular berth for all thing Star Trek. Whazzup with Trek, y'all?

It seems that in this 60th anniversary year, Paramount is dropping the ball on all things Star Trek. 

At the start of the Paramound presentation, there was a rapid fire annoucement of all the things the studio is allegedly working on and buried in the mix was Star Trek. 

Basically it boils down to Paramount's standard line that a Star Trek movie is "in development". 

They've been saying that for years. 

Ever since Star Trek Beyond was released in 2016 (has it really been THAT long?), Paramount's been telling us that a Star Trek movie is "in development".

Last year, we did get this news from the studio that the writing team of  John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein were working on a new Star Trek movie which was both good news (Yay! These guys wrote Spider-Man: Homecoming) and bad (Uh oh! These guys wrote The Flash).

SIDE NOTE: John Francis Daley was Dr. Lance Sweet on the TV series Bones. When Daley needed some time off to focus on a writing project, the show had Sweets murdered. And yes, I'm still pissed off about that.

The only other deets we got about this alleged Star Trek project was that the next movie would be a whole new direction with whole new characters.

So fans who WANT to see more Zachary Quinto as Spock, well, no, you're out of luck. 

All that was last year. This year at the major hype fest that was CinemaCon 2026, all Paramount could say about Star Trek was "hey, we're working on something, guys".

Paramount saying they have a Star Trek movie in development is about as meaningful as me saying I have a Star Trek movie in development. 

So that's Star Trek at the movies? Surely something is going with TV stuff, right? 

Nothing.

No, less than nothing.  

The sets from the most recent Star Trek series have been broken down and are being sold off at auction.  

That write in campaign to save Starfleet Academy? Forget about it.

The idea that Strange New Worlds could spin off into a Star Trek: Year One type series with Paul Wesley as Capt. James T Kirk?  Not bloodly likely! 

All that world and character building in the last season of Picard carrying over into a Star Trek Legacy series? Sorry but that ship has warped outta here. 

To celebrate Stat Trek's 60th anniversary, Paramount is not giving fans anything they want or asked for.  

It looks the time of Alex Kurtzman and his Secret Hideout production team on Star Trek is done.   

And there is no one set to take his place.

And all we have from Paramound is a vague promise of some kind of movie coming some time. 

Paramount has a long history of not quite knowing what to do with this franchise.

William Shatner was in town last week, appearing at the Tanger Center for a screening of Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan and he shared stories afterwards with the audience.  

No, I did not get to go but one fan did post a clip online where Shatner shared how Paramount execs were jealous of the success of Star Wars and wondered if they had anything like that. They had to be reminded they owned Star Trek. 

And once they remembered, well, their involvement wasn't always helpful.  One of the reasons Star Trek: The Motion Picture was so low and ponderous was that Paramount wanted to compete with Star Wars spectacle so character development was sacrificed to put more time for special effects on screen. 

Subsequent films were done in by Paramount's ever more stringent budget cuts.  Yes, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier was done in by William Shatner's bad story and bad directing but Paramount's bare bones budget of $25 million didn't help either. 

When Paramount reluctantly greenlit  Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, they did so for the same $25 million budget. The movie repurposed sets from the Star Trek: The Next Generation TV series to help meet the budget.   

While Paramount's management of the Star Trek franchise has always been questionable, it seems it's fate is even less uncertain under the current Paramount Skydance regime led by CEO David Ellison, a MAGA supporting ally of Donald Trump.

Is Star Trek's future actually in doubt due to it's propensity for progressive views, showing women in charge, racial equality and support for the LGBTQ+ community, all concepts that are anathema to the orange blob monster in the White House? And his billionaire friends? 

Like the recent Artemis II mission to the moon demonstrated, Star Trek is the epitome of what good can come from a diverse humanity coming together to accomplish incredible things.

But the powers that be that control Star Trek are following a political movement heading in the opposite direction of such an expansive and hopeful future.

Hopefully this political race to self destruction will reverse itself and Paramount may want to see the wonder and beauty of Star Trek's vision for a diverse and inclusive future.

For now, we have to contend with Paramount's big ol' ball drop.

******************************************

Never mind me, what does a wiser and more informed person feel about the current state of Star Trek?

Here are some quotes from Jonathan Frakes on the Star Trek All Access podcast.  

“I think, sadly, to celebrate the 60th anniversary of our incredible franchise, it seemed very unfortunate that they’ve chosen this moment to not have any new Trek in production. It seems like a very unfortunate irony. I’m sure that Trek will resurface, it always has, and it always will. And the power that Roddenberry invested in it seems to have made it through six decades.”

As a working actor and director, Frakes can ill afford to burn many bridges in Hollywood but it's clear his hope for the future of Star Trek is tinged with more than a little cynicism. 

“So some people who either didn’t like or didn’t approve or didn’t support the latest endeavors, for whatever reason.  Perhaps it’s the changing of the guard at Paramount+ and CBS [Studios]. Perhaps it’s indecision. Perhaps it’s the amount of money it costs to make how beautiful the show is; the level of the production has become this sort of “shoot to thrill” cinematic phenomenon that when we did the show back in the ’80s, we counted on storytelling and acting and the occasional camera move. It’s a different beast now, and that beast is very expensive, and as we know, it’s called show business.”

Frakes commented on the recent cancellation of Starfleet Academy.  

“Yeah, isn’t that unfortunate? And that’s how [Alex] Kurtzman felt. I got a call from Alex and Noga [Landau], who was his co-showrunner on Starfleet Academy. They were calling people to let them know that the show was kind of ‘on ice,’ I think was the phrase they used. And it was what you just said [critiques coming from people who hadn’t watched the show], they couldn’t not mention as a factor, the trolls.”

Even in the wake of cancellations and halts to production, Frakes looks to hold on to hope. Even if as he says, "None of it is encouraging."  

“I’m very optimistic about the future. I just wish that something was percolating now. I know that there’s talk of another movie. I don’t think it’s going to be one of the J.J. movies. It seems it’s going to be a brand-new [idea]. I know that there’s also a percolating idea about the Paul Wesley [Star Trek: Year One], which would be the origin of Kirk, but that’s all I’ve got. All I’ve got is rumor and innuendo, and none of it is encouraging… But in truth, there will be a Star Trek on the air through 2027. That gives us a lot of time to get something else in the oven, if you will.”

God bless Jonathan Frakes.  He acknowleges things do not look good for Star Trek right now but he holds on to it's ideals and the hope that it will rise again somehow, some way.

******************************************

Next week: Star Trekking returns to the past as we move to season 3 of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Movie Time: La Mujer Murcielago

It's Movie Time! 

Today's post is about a film that came out in 1968 called La Mujer Murcielago.

Other wise known as.... The Batwoman! 

Or The Bat-woman!

Or The Bat Woman!  

Any similarities to DC Comics' Batman is completely coincidental. (Wink!) 

Why did I put La Mujer Murcielago in the post title instead of Batwoman? I was aiming for cultural preteniousness that this post is going to about some kind of sophisticated foray into foreign cinema.

No, it's not.  

What pray tell is this week's cinematic foray in to hell?

Let's find out! 

The police in Acapulco are confounded by an ongoing mystery. 

Wrestlers keep disappearing and then reappearing but unalived. Five of them so far and maybe more if these deaths are connected to similar wrestler deaths in Macau and Hong Kong.  

Autoposies show one consistent oddity between all the victims: fluid has been extracted from the penis gland.

Hold on! Let me check my notes

Whoops! 

Fluid has been extracted from the pineal gland.

The local cops have no idea what the hell to do with THAT information but help is on the way.

Welcome agents from the International Intelligence Bureau (I think that may be made up for this movie), Mario Robles and Tony Roca.  Why these clever rugged manly men of international mystery will get to the bottom of this murderous mystery in no time flat.

Nah! They're stumped too. I don't think they really did anything before giving up. 

So Commissioner Gordon and Chief O'Hara....uh oh! I mean Marco and Tony immediately come to the conclusion:

This is a job for Batwoman!   Or Bat-woman! Or Bat Woman! 

I gotta pick one! 

Let's go with Batwoman.

Who is Batwoman? Well, Mario and Tony know but no one else does 'cause it's a secret.

Hey, you look trustworthy. I'll loop you in.

Batwoman is a rich socialite named Gloria who made her a rep  as a luchadora enmascarada, or masked female wrestler.

She also fights crime. 

Because... why not?

We have no clue if a crying child Gloria was left alone in an alley over the murdered bodies of her parents or if a bat flew in the window of her boudoir.  

Gloria is Batwoman. Batwoman is Gloria.  What more do you need to know?

Batwoman makes a grand entrance into Acapulco via parachute and....

Yeah, we need to comment on her look for a moment.

This Batwoman sports a cowl and cape very much like the American Batman.  Below that mask is... different.

Batwoman boldy battles bad guys in a bikini! 

Our scantily clad heroine immediately waltzes into police headquarters, reviews the autopsy report and...

She has no clue either. 

Really, why did Mario and Tony even call her?

I mean, other than the fact she shows up for work in a bikini.

Because she's in a movie with her name in the title and the plot needs to move forward somehow,  some dots are connected to a yacht floating out in the harbor off Acapulco.

It's not much of a yacht. It looks more like a fishing trawler.

1960's Mexican filmmaking on a budget ya'll.

So what the hell is happening on this "yacht"? 

SCIENCE!

Dare I say.... MAD SCIENCE!!!!!!

Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha!

...

Ha.

On board, conducting strange experiments on man and fish is a mad scientist named Dr. Eric Williams 

Yes, THAT Dr. Williams, the epitome of evil amongst  ichthyologists! 

So here is the bad doctor's seven phase plan.

We're dealing with some serious shit here:   SEVEN whole phases to the plan.

1. Abduct wrestler.
2. Drain fluid from wrestler's penis gland.
3. Tell Dave-El to stop making that stupid joke. 

Wait, does this part count as a phase? Damn it, I lost count. Gotta start over.

1. Abduct wrestler.
2. Drain fluid from wrestler's pineal gland.
3. Inject fish with pineal gland fluid.
4. Fish turns into a human shape but still the size of a fish. A man-fish, if you will.
5. Zap man-fish with radiation to make it grow into a human sized creature, a fish man.
6. Torment fish man to bend fish man to do your bidding.
7. Rule world. 

Seems simple to me! 

"I thought maybe we good go to the weinie roast...."
"and go dancing later, Gloria!"
"Oh Mario! Oh Tony! You're both ever so dreamy!"
Batwoman Bikini Beach Babe A Go-Go

Batwoman's initial efforts to get on the "yacht" to get evidence of Dr. Williams' evil doing don't quite go according to plan and she is forced to flee but not before our mad scientist gets splashed with acid and scars half his face. 

You know, like the classic Batman foe Two-Face.

But NOT like Two-Face because any similarities to Batman are purely coincidental. (Wink! Wink!) 

Well, it's personal now and Dr. Williams has a side hustle to add to his fish man making business: destroy Batwoman.  

Our mad scientist enlists various thugs to capture Batwoman but since she is a luchadora enmascarada (as we learned earlier in this post is a masked female wrestler, pay attention class), our masked mistress of mystery dispatches with these ruthless ruffians with ease.

Yeah, let's talk about that a moment.

The actress who portrays Gloria aka Batwoman is Maura Monti, an Italian born model.  So she was hired more for her ability to fill out a bikini than her fighting prowess.

The ruthless ruffians assist in Batwoman's victory by helpfully not putting up much of a fight.

There are some scenes of Batwoman engaged in wrestling in the ring and in the gym while wearing a grey full body unitard with blue briefs and a gold belt that look a lot like Batman's uniform.

But NOT exactly like his uniform because any similarities to Batman are purely coincidental. (Wink! Wink! Can you NOT see me WINKING over here?) 

In those scenes, Gloria's masked alter ego appears to be taller and weigh a few pounds more. 

Could it be Maura Monti's stunt double?

Hey, don't go there or you will spoil the magic that is La Mujer Murcielago.

Dr. Eric Williams (you know he's evil because his name is "Eric") sics his fish man on Batwoman but that doesn't work for... what I'm sure must be good reasons but it appears to me that the fish man just gives up and wanders back into the ocean.

The dastardly doctor's put a lot of work into creating a fish man just to have his big monstrous debut just sputter to a close like that.

To get his clutches on Batwoman, he switches up tactics and kidnaps Mario and Tony as bait for a bat in a trap.

So our damsels in distress are men! Yay, 1960's nascent feminism.

Well, feminism will take a few blows as this movie nears it's end.

After fending off the sinister scientist's ruthless ruffians for the whole movie, suddenly Batwoman can't seem to do that now and she's overpowered by those same ruthless ruffians and brought to the doctor's lab.

Where she's strapped to a table so our lecherous villain can drain her penis gland.  

Damn it! Pineal gland! 

Admit it! That joke just keeps getting funnier every time, am I right?

But just then, the fish man barges in and attacks Dr. Williams. 

Hey, torturing and abusing your mutant lab creation may not be a good idea.

In the ensuing melee, the lab catches fire while Tony & Mario break free and rescue Batwoman.  

Hooray for women's equality? 

Feminsm is not dead yet.

The last scene is Gloria commiserating with Mario and Tony about the case when she spies a mouse and letting out a girlish shriek, Gloria leaps up into a chair begging the men folk to kill it.

OK, NOW feminism is dead. 

And that brings us to the end of La Mujer Murcielago.

Other wise known as.... The Batwoman! 

Or The Bat-woman!

Or The Bat Woman!  

Or I can't believe I watch this thing.

Well, I didn't watch it alone. 

I was accompanied by a hapless human and a pair of robot pals.

This was an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000 from August 19, 2022.  By that time Jonah who replaced Mike who replaced Joel was gone.

By this point, the hapless human stranded on the Satellite of Love is Emily.

Oh my God! Emily is one of... them!

A female woman of the opposite sex! 

And Crow T. Robot is voiced by a woman.

I thought Emily did a fine job and had some really killer one liners. I will admit I never quite got into the groove with Crow's new voice. 

Or Tom Servo's new voice for that matter which is still male but somehow lacking the smug arrogance we've come to know and love in our bubble headed robot pal.  

Still, I had a fun time watching this odd contraption of a movie with Emily and the bots.  

La Mujer Murcielago is such a shallow, poorly conceived film, you can't help but laugh as this Batwoman accomplishes little other than look good in a bikini and try making a Batman mask a cutting edge fashion accessory.

But NOT exactly like a Batman mask because any similarities to Batman are purely coincidental. (WINK!) 

Man, I gotta see a doctor about this weird eye twitch.

Your Friday Video Link Goes To the Dogs

 

Last weekend's Movie Time post covered a film that came out last year called The Friend about a woman and a dog who bond over their shared grief.  

Since Andrea and I watched this movie a couple of weeks ago, we've come across a number of clips on You Tube where Naomi Watts and Bing made the rounds last year to promote the film on various talk shows.

Your Friday Video Link today is a clip from Drew Barrymore's show where  Naomi and her canine co-star drop by for a visit.

More dog on a talk show action with a clip from The Tonight Show where Jimmy Fallon welcomes Millie Bobby Brown and her pet doggie.    

That is at they say that for this week's edition of Your Friday Video Link.

Until next time, remember to be good to one another.

Especially dogs! 

Banana Break

 

Yep, that graphic means it's blog break time!

Back tomorrow as Your Friday Video Link goes to the dogs!

Until then, remember to be good to one another.

Doctor Who Is CLASSIC: The Sun Makers

Today is April 15th, Tax Day here in the United States.

Be sure to file your taxes and be prepared to pay up because goddam Donald motherfucking Trump's goddam golf trips to motherfucking Mar-O-Lago are not going pay for their goddam motherfucking selves. 

Am I angry about that? Yes, I am!  

Back in 1977, also pissed off about taxes was writer Robert Holmes. He turned his agression with the British tax system into a scathing satire for Doctor Who called "The Sun Makers".

Which brings us to this edition of Doctor Who Is CLASSIC! 

Producer Graham Williams did direct Holmes to dial back some of the nastier bits. And Holmes made the villainous entity a private corporation instead of a governmental agency.

Still, a whopping smack on the backside of both taxation AND rampant out of control capitalism.  

Gee, I'm glad Doctor Who back in the 1970's wasn't all WOKE and shit like it has been lately.  (Wink!) 

So what gives with this story?

It all begins when the Doctor, Leela & K9 arrive on the planet Pluto and intervene to stop this guy named Cordo from killing himself.

The cause of his suicidal distress? His tax bill.

The Company rules all, controls all.  All praise the Company!

How bad is the tax situation? Perhaps this sequence will give an idea about that.

WOMAN: Citizen Cordo, District Four?

CORDO: Yes?

WOMAN: Congratulations, Citizen. Your father ceased at one ten.

CORDO: All was well?

WOMAN: A fine death. Body weight was eighty four kilos at termination.

CORDO: I'm gratified.

WOMAN: Gatherer Hade is waiting for the death taxes.

CORDO: Yes, I have them here.

WOMAN: Pay them at the Gatherer's office.

Yep, there's a tax to be paid when someone fucking dies!

The Company barely pays it's workers a subsistence wage AND then taxes those meager earnings in ever increasing amounts. 

There's an entire Undercity filled with desperate and dejected souls, worked into subservience, taxed into submission. 

The Doctor is captured by the Company and brought to the Corrections Centre.  Gatherer Hade, an obsequeious middle management toady, is intriqued by this Doctor fellow who is so unlike the other physically and spiritually beaten down inhabitants of the Undercity.  

Leela, Cordo and K9 lead an attack on the Centre to rescue the Doctor but Hade has released the Doctor to lead him to his fellow conspirators working against the Company. 

Well, he's traded one prisoner for another as Leela is captured. Hade presents Leela to the Collector, a short hairless ill-tempered troll who sits at the center of the Company's web, tallying ever single penny of profit, every single penny of loss. 

Meanwhile, the Doctor attempts to rally the dispirited citizens to rise up in rebellion against the Company. He knows an autocratic dictatorship when he sees one and this one needs to be brought down.

And he needs to save  Leela.

The Doctor discovers the Company decimated Earth, then Mars, ravaging planet after planet until setting up shop on the planet Pluto. 

(Fuck Neil Degrasse Tyson! I was born in a solar system with 9 planets! And damn it, I say I still live in one and Pluto is a planet!)

The Collector orders Leela to be publicly executed in the steamer. It's a creepy tube where victims are, well, steamed to death.  Like broccoli. 

Leela is going to be broccolied to death.   

The Collector allows for a temporary halt in production so the workers (without pay) can attend the execution. Which they can witness for a small fee. And attendance is mandatory. 

Despite such mangaminous generosity from the Collector, the revolution is on!

Gatherer Hade is thrown from the roof to his death! 

(Man, Robert Holmes was really pissed off about that tax bill.) 

Having rescued Leela from her  death sauna, the Doctor confronts the Collector who the Doctor recognizes as a seaweed-like sentient poisonous fungus from the planet Usurius. As the rebellion proceeds, the Collector checks his computer and finds the Company is heading for bankruptcy.

The shock of this revelation is so great, it causes the Collector to revert to his natural form, a puddle of goo.  

The Doctor, Leela & K9 depart, leaving Cordo and his fellow citizens free to live their own lives, perhaps going back to Earth and rebuilding their home world. 

"The Sun Makers" is a pretty solid sci-fi story welded to a wicked sharp satire on bureaucracy, taxation, capitalism and autocracy. Robert Holmes has a lot of targets for his anger and he hits them all hard.

Gotta call out Richard Leech as Gatherer Hade  whose over the top declarations of fealty to the Collector and the Company are a source of outlandish comedy.

• Ah, what a great truth, your Sublimity. A pearl of wisdom.
• Indubitably, your Elevation
• Your Amplification
• Your Voluminousness
• Praise the Company for ever and ever. 
• Your Globosity
• Your Magnificence
• Your Supernal Eminence

Gatherer Hade was a one man Trump cabinet meeting.

There's a lot going on here that the makes "The Sun Makers" a worthy look back at classic Doctor Who.

Now, go pay your taxes! Donald Trump needs more bombs.