Frankenstein premiered

November 21, 1931 – James Whale classic retelling of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, opened on this date. The Monster in this film does not physically resemble the character in Mary Shelley’s novel. It was make-up artist Jack P. Pierce who came up with innovations such as the Monster’s flat head, the bolts through the neck, theContinue reading “Frankenstein premiered”

Who knew, pickled eggs and Aerosmith would play at your bar

November 21, 1991 –Aerosmith was the first rock band to make a guest appearance on The Simpsons when they perform Walk This Way at Moe’s Tavern. The writers had heard that Aerosmith had wanted to appear in an episode, so they wrote the guest spot for them. According to Al Jean, they later found outContinue reading “Who knew, pickled eggs and Aerosmith would play at your bar”

Dallas’ J.R. Ewing Cliffhanger

November 21, 1980 –In what was one of the most-watched TV cliffhangers in television history, 350 million viewers worldwide tuned into the television series Dallas to find out who had shot J.R. Ewing at the end of the show’s previous season. As it turned out, he was shot by his wife’s sister, who also wasContinue reading “Dallas’ J.R. Ewing Cliffhanger”

Follow along (This will be on the test.)

November 20, 2007 –The debut album from Amy Winehouse, Frank, (the title refers partly to Frank Sinatra, an early influence on Winehouse,) was finally released in the US eight months after her second album (Back to Black,) and three years after its British release. It received generally positive reviews from most music critics and earnedContinue reading “Follow along (This will be on the test.)”

The Day After: A Nation’s Nuclear Fears

November 20, 1983 –An estimated 100 million people watched on this date, the controversial ABC-TV movie The Day After, which depicted the outbreak of nuclear holocaust in the United States. Twentieth Century Fox invited a group of scientists to preview this movie, to test their reactions to the “science” used in it. None of theContinue reading “The Day After: A Nation’s Nuclear Fears”

The Premiere of A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving

November 20, 1973 – The third Peanuts holiday special, A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, premiered on CBS-TV on this date. Lucy has limited role in this special: she has her scene where she torments Charlie Brown by yanking away a football as the beleaguered hero attempts to kick it. But that opening scene is the onlyContinue reading “The Premiere of A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving”

That’s one large pie

It could just about feed the Caligari clan. I thought we were done with British supermarket chains – I forgot Tesco, one of the really big ones in England but relatively unknown here in the US unless you’re a fan of British sitcoms, then they’re ubiquitous. What would Christmas be without gingerbread? Well, Tesco imaginesContinue reading “That’s one large pie”