Star Trek: The Next Generation is pretty much my favorite TV show. I have it, and many of the movies with the original cast, on repeat at most times. I recently decided to take a little break from Trek and gave Cheers a whirl. Little did I know, many actors who appeared on/in Star Trek were also on Cheers and Frasier. Here are some examples of the crossovers!
I’m severely behind in my Halloween movie and TV watching.
What else should I watch? Check out my past posts about horror movies and Halloween.
If you haven’t noticed from my previous posts, I like going down rabbit holes with film and TV. There are some interesting overlapping stories between Hugh Hefner, Peter Bogdonovich, Dorothy Stratten, and Bob Fosse.
I’ve pretty much been a lifelong Star Trek fan, right down to watching Star Trek: The Next Generation when it first premiered in 1987 and all the way through to when it ended in 1994. It’s also my go-to TV show to have on in the background since I know it well. While some of the newer Trek shows have been a mixed bag (I’m looking at you, Picard seasons 1 and 2), Strange New Worlds is pretty solid and the closest to older the older formula. Surprisingly, I had a hard time finding sites with comparisons between the cast of the original series and Strange New Worlds. Well, here you!
All images are the property of CBS, Paramount+, etc.
Hey, have you watched The Bear? I started watching it shortly after it premiered last year and was hooked right away.
The music alone was enough to sell me! It’s stacked with artists I’ve seen live; Wilco, Brian Wilson, The Decemberists, Pixies, R.E.M., Van Morrison, The Psychedelic Furs, and Smashing Pumpkins (and plenty more I haven’t had the pleasure of seeing). If you have a show with multiple songs by The Replacements in a single episode, that’s reason enough for me to watch.
But it’s not just the music. While I’ll say the first couple of episodes are a little repetitive, by mid season 1 you could tell this show was headed away from the expected. Filming in a real Italian beef shop in Chicago was a nice touch – the creator of the show grew up with the owner of Mr. Beef. While Marty Mathewson is a lot in real life (or at least what I’ve seen on YouTube), he’s a welcome addition to the show.
Season 2 changes this up a bit and the frequent “yes chef” exclamation feels more at home. The Christmas episode of Season 2 pretty much had my jaw on the floor from the casting. If I were to make a list of 20 people I’d want to see guest star on a show, about half of them are in that one episode.
Anyway, check it out on Hulu if you haven’t had a chance!
I’m always intrigued when I discover someone wrote or was a part of a movie or song and I had no clue. When watching Better Call Saul, I was excited to hear a Monkees song I didn’t know (‘Tapioca Tundra’). In reading about it, I also didn’t realize Mike Nesmith had written the song ‘Different Drum,’ made famous by The Stone Poneys/Linda Ronstadt.
It should be known that one of my first musical purchases was the audio cassette of the Monkee’s album Then & Now… The Best of The Monkees. I watched the show regularly, listened to my father’s copy of their first album on vinyl, and even watched the movie HEAD at far too young an age. While I (clearly) don’t know everything about the band, we’ve spent some time together.
Anyway, the song was offered to The Monkees, but rejected by producers and later released by a band called The Greenbriar Boys. However, it wasn’t until Linda Ronstadt sang the song with The Stone Poneys that it became a hit.
Below are all of the versions, including a short version from an episode of The Monkees, a full Mike Nesmith recording, and more.
You can read more about “Different Drum” on Wikipedia.
Bonus:
This is one of those meals I’ve been cooking for decades. I’ve served it at birthday parties, made it when I’ve randomly had the ingredients sitting around, etc. Since I’m made this last night, I thought I’d post the recipe.
Stephen Quirk 