Knowing It: Movies and TV Series over the Years

I've seen too many movies and television series; it makes sense to find ways to apply that knowledge to today's events.

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What's in My Data Bank?

This is especially true for science fiction, action series, even comedies:

Science Fiction

• How is RDM Battlestar Galactica different from Classic BSG?
• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine may have been "limited" to a space station, but it was so "realistic" that its realism carried over into the much-better critically-acclaimed RDM Battlestar Galactica.
• Connor MacLeod or Duncan MacLeod?

Action

• How underrated are On Her Majesty's Secret Service and Quantum of Solace as James Bond movies?
• Did The A-Team movie from a few years ago deliver the goods?
• Is ths 2006 Miami Vice movie better or worse than the 1980s television series, or simply different?
• The John Wick movies were good enough to make people forget that Keanu Reeves was also Neo, and that's saying something.
• Live Free or Die Hard is the best movie in the series since the original movie; sadly, the movie which followed is the worst and it wasn't even close.
• It took Wonder Woman to save the DC movie universe; it just needed more time to develop.

Comedies

• Ross was right when he insists "We were on a break!!";
• Seinfeld would be nothing without the supporting characters, but then again it would be even less as series about "nothing";
• My Wife and Kids would have been as great in the 1960s as it was in the 2000s.
• Betty White was still bringing it when she was a main character in Hot in Cleveland during the 2010s.

I May Know "A Lot," But Don't Call Me for a Lifeline

I won't claim to be an authority figure in this area, but usally people I know ask me what I think about some movie or other. Sometimes they're shocked that I hadn't seen something most people had seen:

• Although I've seen Goodfellas, to this day I haven't The Godfather or its squels. Will I ever see it? Perhaps someday, but not likely.
• At the time E.T.: The Extraterrestrial was playing in theaters, I made a point never to see it because even back then I thought it was overrated; I never said it was a bad movie, only overrated. Who talks like that in grammar school?
• It's hard enough for people to handle that I saw only 1 movie in the Fast and Furious franchise. When I say the only movie I saw was Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift?? Their minds explode! (Great soundtrack album, BTW!)

What Happened to VHS?

Like many people, I had a VHS machine. I remember Blockbuster Video and its competitors. Oddly enough, I didn't do much with VHS; television viewing was enough for me:

• The best use of censoring came with Resident Evil 2: Apocalypse when the profanity M----------r was replaced by Motivator; it was so good, I thought Motivator was part of the original screenplay! If it wasn't, it should have been.

Many of the movies and series I had seen came later with the benefit of DVDs and YouTube during the days when YT was still worth using. Thanks to YouTube, I was able

• to finally watch MacGyver.
• to finish watching Space:1999; it wasn't how I had recalled it.

Worth the Price of Admission (or Not)

Just as many I had seen in real-time as I was growing up and living life as an adolescent or younger man. For these movies and series, I had the benefits of historical context and layered memories. Among these movies were those starring (in my opinion at the time) the Big 3: Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Bruce Willis.

• If anyone needs to get the endorphins rushing through the brain, the Rocky movies still get it done even after 46 years.
• While most people remember Sharon Stone for That Scene in Basic Instinct, I remember her for kicking Schwarzenegger in the nuts repeatedly in Total Recall.
• I had expected Bruce Willis' character in Armageddon to survice the mission. When he didn't, I found myself asking when he made the transition from leading man to supporting actor.

Why Do I Refer to My Viewing Habits of Years Ago?

Although I may not see as many movies as before or as much television as in years past, many events taking place these days give me reason to compare them to what I had learned from all that viewing I did long ago.

Situations which I glossed over when I saw the movies in real-time take on a sharper focus today. On the flip side, some situations today call to mind scenes from movies I had scene long ago.

When commenting elsewhere on Hive, I'll refer to these movies or series, and if asked what I mean I'll explain how I connect them to current events. Sometimes I surprise myself with the connections I make, but that's how analysis works sometimes.

Final Thoughts

I just wanted to give an idea of how my mind works sometimes as I post on Hive. Going forward I'll be more focused in posts I publish at THE WEEKEND.