In the Franz Kafka story The Metamorphosis, the protagonist—a traveling salesman named Gregor Samsa—wakes up one morning to find he’s been transformed into a gigantic insect (generally considered to be a cockroach, though it depends on the German translation). I’ve been experiencing a series of similar misadventures here at Rancho Yesteryear lately, although my transmutation is more that of a garden slug. I was motivated on Sunday to write up a Mayberry Mondays for yesterday, particularly since Sunday was the natal anniversary of the person who’s the only real reason why you watch Mayberry R.F.D.—none other than Arlene Golonka herself. And speaking of Ms. Golonka, I would like to direct your attention to this little number, courtesy of the blog Doing Hard Time in Shaker Heights (and a special shout-out to She Blogged by Night’s Stacia for e-mailing it to me in the first place):
Can I get a yowsah? Okay, so after staring at that for the better part of a day I was also distracted by CharredHer’s On Demand service; I’ve been sampling a few of the new TV series that have made their January debut and of the four I watched only one of them I found disappointing. The lady who tidies up around Castle Yesteryear once a month told me I’d probably get a kick out of The Cape because “it’s so cheesy” and you know me—I’m all about the Velveeta. I’ve also developed a fondness for the new David E. Kelley series, Harry’s Law, which features TDOY fave Kathy Bates and whose character reminds me a lot of my BFF Duchess’ dear departed mother. I’d like to see Law become a hit but I’m convinced it’s going to suffer the same fate as the network’s other legal drama, Outlaw, which was actually a fairly engrossing watch.
Now that I found where On Demand hides the IFC shows (I don’t get the actual channel but I can tune in on a movie every now and then—and best of all, I don’t have to put up with the logos or commercial interruptions) I’ve been able to check out some of their new offerings; The Onion News Network is a riotously funny spoof of 24-hours-a-day cable news and I’d recommend it for the sharp satire (the Onion has, of course, been doing this sort of shtick online for a few years now). I also previewed the new Sci-Fi Channel (still refuse to spell it the new way) series Being Human, an adaptation of the hit BBC series of the same name that features a vampire, a werewolf and a ghost as wacky roommates. Since I haven’t seen the original series (which gets an airing on BBC America, an offering I neither get on my lineup nor On Demand) I can’t really compare and contrast the two but what I can’t figure out is how the vampire guy functions in the daytime—I thought the rules stated the undead couldn’t keep those kind of hours. (I mean, come on—Bela Lugosi never said: “Children of the mid-afternoon…what music they make…”) Is this something they explain later on in the series, cause it’s really bugging the hell out of me. (I also went nuts trying to figure out where I’d seen the actor who plays the werewolf, Sam Huntington, until it dawned on me that he was Jimmy Olsen in the Superman Returns movie. I’m not sure I care for him in this show, though; he wears the same expression on his face all the time, like somebody walked in on him in the bathroom.)
By the way, due to the underwhelming response for the “Colonel Bogey” Giveaway—not even one taker—I guess that means this nifty prize will go back in the closet; I’m not sure if the lack of response is because nobody who reads this blog owns a Blu-Ray or there’s just a great deal of animosity towards William Holden. But stay tuned to this space because I’ve got another giveaway in the works—the details to be announced soon.
Thrilling Days of Yesteryear 