Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

People are complicated. Love is not.

Eh, that’s media spin. biden’s health is fine and he’s doing a good job.

The party of Reagan has become the party of Putin.

Wow, I can’t imagine what it was like to comment in morse code.

Technically true, but collectively nonsense

The poor and middle-class pay taxes, the rich pay accountants, the wealthy pay politicians.

Meanwhile over at truth Social, the former president is busy confessing to crimes.

Conservatism: there are some people the law protects but does not bind and others who the law binds but does not protect.

They traffic in fear. it is their only currency. if we are fearful, they are winning.

The next time the wall street journal editorial board speaks the truth will be the first.

But frankly mr. cole, I’ll be happier when you get back to telling us to go fuck ourselves.

All your base are belong to Tunch.

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires republicans to act in good faith.

Anyone who bans teaching American history has no right to shape America’s future.

Accused of treason; bitches about the ratings. I am in awe.

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

Jesus, Mary, & Joseph how is that election even close?

Everybody saw this coming.

Wow, you are pre-disappointed. How surprising.

Is it negotiation when the other party actually wants to shoot the hostage?

Nancy smash is sick of your bullshit.

That’s my take and I am available for criticism at this time.

You are here: Home / TV & Movies / Movies / Friday Evening Open Thread: Serial Drama

Friday Evening Open Thread: Serial Drama

by | 138 Comments

This post is in: ,


.

Understand that this might interest some of you, if only since some people regard picking through the leftovers as the best part of Turkey Weekend (/snark). Via NYMag:

… Picking up thirty years after Return of the Jedi left off, The Force Awakens brings back original stars Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, and Carrie Fisher, though it falls to new additions like John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Oscar Isaac, and Adam Driver to lead the series into the future (even if that future takes place a long time ago in a galaxy far away)…

***********

Speaking of serial drama, any good family sagas to share over the leftovers? What else is on the agenda as “we” wrap up Black Friday?

Reader Interactions

138Comments

  2. 2.

    James Gary

    WTF? Did they not have money in the Episode VII budget for ANY new hardware? (Awful as they were, the prequels at least had a whole ton of cool and previously-unseen robots and spaceships (e.g., the beyond-awesome Battle Droids that roll around like a giant wheel.)

  3. 3.

    Violet

    So I have a health insurance or billing question. A family member and I had the same doctor prescribe the same test–an ultrasound. Used the same imaging facility. The facility charged a different rate for each of us. How the hell does that happen? No, it’s not about the insurance because I checked with them and they said the two were sent to them with different rates being charged. WTF? How the hell does that happen. Same exact doctor and same exact procedure at the very same facility. Different rates.

    Anyone got any ideas? I’ll be calling the facility’s billing office on Monday. Any idea what I should ask them?

  5. 5.

    raven

    Contemplating two more days at the beach with improving weather. It’s great here on the Sunday after Thanksgiving because all the tourista’s split.

  8. 8.

    Violet

    @raven: Sorry, what was always like that?

    BTW, I’ve really enjoyed your photos. I’ve been busy and haven’t been able to comment much but I’ve clicked on a lot of them. Gorgeous.

  9. 9.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    I thought serial drama was in reference to family holiday events in adjacent months. No opinion on something with a trailer from this quarter.

    ETA: By “trailer” I mean a short promotional clip rather than a residence.

  10. 10.

    Mnemosyne

    @Violet:

    It’s probably the coding. Have them double-check what code the doctor used and ask his office to use a different one if necessary. I kept having a problem of getting billed separately for my annual pap smears even though they were supposed to be part of my annual checkup. Turned out my doctor was coding it as a regular pap smear and not the annual exam pap smear.

  12. 12.

    Violet

    @Mnemosyne: Also having that problem–the doctor’s office coded the EKG as “diagnostic” rather than “preventative” so it came though separately. At $125 or something stupid. I have to ask them to re-code it and resubmit. Do not know if they will.

  13. 13.

    Mike J

    @Violet: Did the same person interpret the results? Were they looking for the same thing? An ultrasound looking for X may be billed at a different rate from a ultrasound looking for Y.

  17. 17.

    Mnemosyne

    @Violet:

    They usually don’t mind re-coding. The billing office usually knows that the doctor sometimes uses the wrong codes, but they don’t know unless you tell them.

  18. 18.

    I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet

    @Violet: You say they say it’s not insurance differences. Could it be deductable differences? E.g. have one of you had more medical bills this year than the other? Or is the difference in the top-line price for the procedure itself?

    Were they having a “special”? November is Carotid Artery Ultrasound Month!111

    Other than that, I dunno…

    My $0.02.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  19. 19.

    Violet

    @Mike J: They were both supposed to be just a two-year check up. Nothing suspected–just sort of preventative. Thyroid ultrasounds.

    I don’t know if the same exact person read them because at imaging centers they send the images to who knows to be read. They could go to India for all I know. But it was the same exact location of the imaging center (they have more than one location), the same doctor, the same pre-printed order from the doctor, etc.

  20. 20.

    Violet

    @I’mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet: It’s not insurance differences because the insurance company says they were sent in with different prices for the same procedure–at least as far as they can tell. Deductibles, etc. didn’t come into play.

    They were done in different months, so I suppose it could be “July is Thyroid Month!” or some crap.

    I really hate our medical system. It’s completely opaque. I mean, I called about the pricing for the first one (cheaper one) and when the second one was required for the second person I didn’t call–just went to the same place because they were cheapest when I called the first time. It went from something like $98 for the first one to $125 for the second one. Not that much money difference, but percentage-wise it’s a massive increase.

  21. 21.

    I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet

    @Violet: Then I would assume it was just a coding difference as Mnemosyne said. Here’s hoping it gets resolved fairly.

    Good luck.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  22. 22.

    Mike in NC

    Never got into the Star Wars universe of horseshit and feel all the better for it. Saw the first movie, didn’t care much for it, and never went back. Yawn.

  23. 23.

    trollhattan

    Per resident 12YO whom I just parked in front of the computer, trailer is A-OK so you grownups can take what JJ gonna give you or whinge, the target demographic has spoken.

    Still wallowing in the enormous pounding Sea delivered yesterday to SF, at their neues Haus, yo. Monday at the office is going to be just grand. In two weeks, pounding the second.

  24. 24.

    Anne Laurie

    @James Gary:

    Did they not have money in the Episode VII budget for ANY new hardware?

    Movie isn’t coming out till next Xmas. I suspect the coding for the MOST MINDBLOWING F/X EVAAAARRR is still being done.

    (And no doubt some of the programmers already had their T-Day dinners spoiled, because deadlines!!!!)

  26. 26.

    trollhattan

    And, in our ongoing WTF chronicles, WTF?

    NFL running-back Ray Rice has won his appeal against an indefinite suspension from the game, and is now eligible to play again immediately.

    Rice, 27, was handed an indefinite ban in September when a video emerged of him punching his fiancé in the face. The player was released by the Baltimore Ravens, but he is now allowed to play should he sign for a new team. The appeal, heard on 5 November but announced on Friday, had to decide if the NFL overstepped its authority.

    American football’s governing body had modified Rice’s two-game suspension, making it indefinite after the video of the incident went public. Rice has been eligible to sign for a new team since his ban was put in place, but he had not yet accepted a contract. Rice and his wife Janay – who married after the incident – testified at the hearing, as did NFL security chief Jeffrey Miller and Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome.

    In her decision, US district judge Barbara S Jones wrote: “Because Rice did not mislead the commissioner and because there were no new facts on which the commissioner could base his increased suspension, I find that the imposition of the indefinite suspension was arbitrary. “I therefore vacate the second penalty imposed on Rice.

    Al Davis mans the zombie phone: “Sign me Rice, NOW!”

  27. 27.

    Violet

    @raven: Yeah, I thought it was too but I figured the exact same procedure at the exact same facility prescribed by the exact same doctor would come with the same price. And something straightforward like a thyroid ultrasound–I’m not talking about a procedure like sewing up a wound or something where there could be variables. It’s just weird.

  28. 28.

    Luthe

    @James Gary: You have to remember: the originals were built around a jury-rigged, poor-as-dirt-backworld, on-a-shoestring-budget resistance movement aesthetic. The prequels showcased the technology of a civilization in its prime: rich, flashy, and urban. So the sequels returning to the rustpunk technology of the originals makes perfect continuity sense.

  29. 29.

    raven

    @Violet: Obviously there are a bunch of people here who know more than I do about it.Maybe if you raise hell they will adjust the lower price to the higher?

  32. 32.

    Violet

    I got some spammy email with the subject line: “Black Friday Sales! No waiting! No lines! Botox.” Cracked me up.

  37. 37.

    raven

    @Violet: I just ordered a pair of lined jeans from Cabela’s that were on sale and had free shipping. I went through all the stuff and when I hit the “buy” button the bill said $8.95 shipping. I hit their live chat and the nice lady in Kuala Lumpur changed it.

  43. 43.

    Citizen_X

    @Corner Stone: Well, it’s a teaser, all you gotta go on is the look, and it looks cool: the X-Wings in the fog, black-metal Sith guy in the forest, hi-G maneuvering from the Millennium Falcon–what’s not to like?

    As to whether or not Abrams actually puts some effort into character and plot and such, unlike Lucas the last time, we’ll have to see.

  44. 44.

    trollhattan

    Tonight’s seven-day forecast is for rain/showers/rain throughout. In our bit of NorCal, this hasn’t happened in years. Fingers and non-webbed toes crossed.

  45. 45.

    raven

    @trollhattan: There was a dude from Humbolt County on the boat with me today. Harley jacket, cammie headband and scraggly as shit. We were talking about something and he totally spaced on what he was saying. “That’s what happens when you line in Humbolt” I said. He grinned.

  47. 47.

    Corner Stone

    @Citizen_X: I actually dig the nasty ominous voiceover, and the walk in the dark forest.
    The Millennium Falcon doing a hard G roll was just a bonus.

    ETA, needless to say, I like the dark side of this story telling much more than the special effects.

  51. 51.

    NotMax

    It’s not a trailer, it’s not a teaser, it’s barely the visual equivalent of an amuse-bouche.

    Still half expecting Goofy to show up as a Jedi in the finished product.

    One of the pleasures of the original was its ingrained sense of slam-bang Saturday matinee fun. This new thingamawhatzis takes the whole shtick way too seriously.

  52. 52.

    trollhattan

    @Mnemosyne:
    Did a day of frantic pre-storm maintenance that I haven’t done in years. While cursing cleaning the raingutters I at least remembered why they’re there.

    All of which means the storms will probably miss us but hey, maybe they’ll head south and soak you instead!

  57. 57.

    magurakurin

    As a youngster, I though the first Star Wars movie in 1977 was me pretty damn cool. And I think that for its time it truly was. Then, ensuing mega-commercialization, was damn nasty, and I never really had much interest in the films that followed….I was too busy drinking and getting high. I have seen bits and pieces of them over the years, but never actually watched them properly, same for the next three…..and they seem to be really really shitty. But maybe these new ones will be more like that first one back in the day? Probably not. I’m more curious about the upcoming Avengers movie to be honest.

  59. 59.

    jl

    Lots of great leftovers. Negotiations on who gets ’em underway. So far, the process is civil and polite.

  62. 62.

    Corner Stone

    @Citizen_X:

    Great, now you make it sound all dirty.

    Hmmm. I keep looking around for like a chocolate mousse with chocolate shavings on it.

  64. 64.

    Iowa Old Lady

    What I liked about the original Star Wars was that it showed a used universe. Before that, it was all shiny Buck Rogers.

    This trailer/teaser/whatever gives me no story or character reason to care, but it’s early days.

    We’re going to see Mocking Jay tomorrow. That’s as far ahead as I can plan.

  65. 65.

    PsiFighter37

    The movie’s more than a year away. Were you guys seriously expecting a full-length 2:30 trailer at this point?

    I loved it, especially seeing the Millennium Falcon show some serious aerodynamics (courtesy of the camera angle) that was impossible to see 30-35 years ago. As for the rest – there’s really not enough information to know what the storyline is. But given that the story picks up sometime after ROTJ, there’s no way I would expect the technology (especially on a backwater like Tatooine) to have seriously advanced. The prequels were all shiny because it was the golden age of the Republic – at least that was my justification for why it looked so nice.

    I really hated the EU disposal, but I’m hooked like the young kid I was who first saw ANH 20-odd years ago. And without Lucas writing the script directly or directing, it has to surpass the prequel trilogy on that alone. I really wish Spielberg (or anyone, really, although given his stature in the industry, it’d have to be someone with serious clout) did a heart-to-heart after Phantom Menace and told him that he needed to stick to writing (at most) and let someone else run the show.

    Clearly being a bit much of a fanboy.

    @trollhattan: And right on cue, ESPN released an ‘as told to’ essay by Rice’s wife about how he’s actually a really good guy.

    ESPN is such in the tank for everyone; I think they’re actually an extremely corrosive influence on sports culture. They’re arguably worse than the regular news media, since they have a virtual monopoly over 24/7 sporting coverage on TV. And they’re the #1 reason I hate college football – they basically built the SEC into the semi-commercial / quasi-slavery institution that it is today.

  66. 66.

    PsiFighter37

    @Belafon: Be disappointed. Cumberbatch is not in the movie, and the cloaked figure is almost certainly Adam Driver, since he was cast as the main villain.

  67. 67.

    Suzanne

    As a kid, I had a huge crush on Mark Hamill. Yes NERD.

    I think the trailer looks exciting. But AFAIK, the word “Sith” was never uttered in any of the original three movies. So is this getting back to the Jedi myth stuff? How are they supposed to talk about that shit when all the Jedi characters are dead, and Luke never learned that shit? “Now the Jedi are all but extinct….”

  68. 68.

    Mike E

    @efgoldman: I was 13 when Star Wars came out… you’re only 13 once. You set yourself up for disappointment when you except any of these vehicles to take you back. Tho, Raiders came the closest…

  70. 70.

    Mike E

    Ray Rice leads the early b’cast of my local teevee newscast. A shelter here got in a quote: We’re still slow to hold perpetrators of domestic violence fully responsible for their actions.

  73. 73.

    Bill Arnold

    @Chris:

    that T-Shaped lightsaber is the dumbest gimmick in the history of dumb gimmicks

    I saw it as a hand-wielded burning cross, a combination of a KKK staple and a horror movie prop. (and yes dumb.)

  75. 75.

    Baud

    … Picking up thirty years after Return of the Jedi left off, The Force Awakens brings back original stars Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, and Carrie Fisher,

    Luke, Leia, and Han find Jesus, renounce the Force as a hippie cult religion, and form the Tatooine Tea Party. “May the Force be with you” is replaced with “Keep the Empire out of my Medicare.”

  76. 76.

    JCJ

    @Violet:

    Hi Violet. Just turned on the computer so this might have been answered already. My best guess is that different billing codes were used. This could be done based on the indication for the U/S, something different might have been done during the study, it could even be that the wrong code was entered for one of the studies. As an example, the billing code for a screening mammogram is different from the billing code for a diagnostic mammogram. There is no difference between the two mammograms, but there is a reason why one is ordered vs the other. I have no idea if they have different charges, but I would not be surprised since I used to always be asked to change the order to diagnostic from screening by the radiology department. Now with an electronic record I almost always order diagnostic mammograms (nearly all of my patients for whom I am ordering this have a history of breast cancer or are concerned about having discovered a breast lump.)

  77. 77.

    Mnemosyne

    @efgoldman:

    Prepare to feel old: I was seven years old. And my now-husband was five.

    ETA: Obviously, this is ages when it was seen in its original release. I realize that there are many posters here who weren’t even born when it came out.

  78. 78.

    PsiFighter37

    @Belafon: And the voice is Andy Serkis (just learned this from researching the interwebs a little). I forget what he’s supposed to be doing in the movie, but that voiceover is well-done.

  80. 80.

    Mike E

    @efgoldman: I think one of the greatest letdowns has to be Temple Of Doom. Something that hacktacularly awful right after such a great flick was a real kick in the nards.

    Sorta like Next Friday following Friday.

  81. 81.

    PsiFighter37

    @efgoldman: Seriously, “No, I am your father” didn’t make you lose bodily control of every orifice?

    If there’s one thing I truly regret missing in my lifetime that wasn’t in the distant past, it was being in theaters when the Darth Vader reveal came. The closest thing that I’ve encountered live in theaters is the end of ‘Inception’ on opening weekend, and that didn’t carry anywhere near the emotional weight and shock value that the Vader reveal did.

    The end of ROTJ is great, but to me, there is no disputing that ESB is the greatest Star Wars movie made (so far – but given modern propensities, I have extreme doubts there will be a better SW movie in my life), and not just because you get your mind blown at the end.

  82. 82.

    PsiFighter37

    @redshirt: Me, because it took itself more seriously and dealt with real philosophical questions, as opposed to the paper-thin ‘good v. evil’ that a lot of older comics are about. That said, ‘Batman Begins’ was definitely the weakest, and the two instances of Bruce Wayne ending up in exotic Middle Eastern/Asian locales to train himself in the ancient art of combat/redemption/whatever were a bit lazy on Nolan’s part.

    That said, Heath Ledger did a hell of a job in ‘Dark Knight’.

  83. 83.

    Mike E

    @PsiFighter37: And to think Lucas regretted the direction of ‘V’ and made sure to not let it happen again in ‘VI’ by installing a puppet director to cap off the trilogy.

    I, II, III…WTF.

  84. 84.

    Amir Khalid

    Is anyone here bugged by the idea that the next movie will not begin with the 20th Century Fox fanfare? Instead of that as an intro for the world’s best known rip-off of La Marseillaise, we’re going to get a bit of When You Wish Upon A Star and a visual of Sleeping Beauty’s castle.

  88. 88.

    Suzanne

    @Mnemosyne: I was three when ROTJ came out—had no idea what they were. I saw them all on video, because we got a VCR in 1985-ish. I went to see all of the “Special Editions”, which pissed me off, but I wanted to see them all on the theater at least once.

  89. 89.

    NotMax

    One and only bootleg videotape I possess (actually a copy of a bootleg given me by an uncle in 1977) is the original Star Wars. In Betamax format.

  92. 92.

    Suzanne

    @efgoldman: I think Temple of Doom is not that bad. It’s mediocre, but the other two were so good. Yes, I am talking like Crystal Skull never happened, because it was so, SO fucking awful.

  93. 93.

    Mike J

    @efgoldman:

    And Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was a movie begging not to be made.

    And Alien certainly didn’t need a fourth either. It was different as a series though. Three different directors, three different genres (horror, war movie, prison movie).

  94. 94.

    Amir Khalid

    @Baud:
    So, does America also have great-grandpa security guards who look almost strong enough to carry their shotguns?

  97. 97.

    Amir Khalid

    @heckblazer:
    As I recall, Kasdan polished up The Empire Strikes Back after the death of Leigh Brackett, who wrote the first draft. But yeah, his being on board for The Force Awakens has to be a good sign.

  98. 98.

    NotMax

    @efgoldman

    Not unlike the original Star Trek. The special effects at the time were innovative, exciting, even daring, intended to be viewed on a really, really small screen (first TV series to cross the $1 million per episode for production costs). Nowadays, to be charitable, most look clunky and primitive.

  99. 99.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Uncle Rupert has thoughts. And a twitter account.

    Rupert Murdoch @ rupertmurdoch · 2 hours ago
    Okay, there are many shades of color. Nothing racist about that, so calm down!

    Rupert Murdoch @ rupertmurdoch · 3 hours ago
    Everybody-attacks last tweet. Of course Egyptians are Middle Eastern, but far from black. They treated blacks as slaves.

    Rupert Murdoch @ rupertmurdoch · 3 hours ago
    Moses film attacked on Twitter for all white cast. Since when are Egyptians not white? All I know are.

  100. 100.

    heckblazer

    @Amir Khalid: IMDb says you are correct. Keeping Lucas away from the script by itself has been a good sign. To quote Harrison Ford, “you can type this shit, George, but you sure can’t say it.”

  104. 104.

    Mnemosyne

    I found an interesting article in the NY Times via Wonkette that explains some of the media hysteria and insanity about Michael Brown and Tamir Rice:

    When Youth Violence Spurred ‘Superpredator’ Fear

    Short version: in 1995, a Princeton sociologist predicted that there would be a sudden surge of teenage “superpredators” with no conscience. Laws were changed (to allow children to be charged as adults) and the media freaked out, but the opposite happened: youth crime dropped dramatically. The sociologist has now recanted his theory, but it’s alive and well in the media and, apparently, in police forces across the country, including Ferguson, MO.

  106. 106.

    heckblazer

    I smiled when I noticed that the Millennium Falcon has a new radar dish. Because of course it would, the original one was sheared off in RotJ.

  109. 109.

    NotMax

    @efgoldman

    May have been a clause in Shatner’s contract precluding his appearing onscreen with anything involving obviously bigger balls.

    Or not.

  110. 110.

    Villago Delenda Est

    Battle.net and Blizzard in general appear to be under a massive DDOS attack atm. Also, too, it seems that St. Louis is being targeted for attacks by…someone, for…some reason. Gee, I wonder why? Go to this site to see a live map showing current attacks

  111. 111.

    Amir Khalid

    @efgoldman:
    Is McMass supposed to be a strictly Catholic thing? Also, it’s hard to imagine Mickey D letting anyone mess with their Golden Arches like that.

  112. 112.

    Peter

    The trailer seems promising, but I’m not ready to get back in the boat just yet. It does have the right look, though, I have to give it that.

  113. 113.

    NotMax

    @efgoldman

    Also too, much as I liked the original The Outer Limits, that was a cornucopia of cheesy. Smearing Vaseline on the camera lens obscures only so much.

    Granted, each episode was put together for what other production companies shelled out for lunch, but still…

    Also also too, on a 12-inch b&w Philco, one was more than able to suspend disbelief. Fairly sure color TVs had not yet reached majority penetration even during Trek‘s first run.

  117. 117.

    NotMax

    @Mnemosyne

    Nothing to do with that film, but did a quadruple take today while at a department store. Gent walked by who was the total spitting image of the long deceased actor Alastair Sim.

  118. 118.

    satby

    @NotMax: I remember when one family on our block got one of the first color TVs. We’d all go to their house the watch the original Star Trek in color, they would have maybe 20 kids jammed into their living room. It was a big fucking deal back then.

  120. 120.

    wasabi gasp

    I’d be happy if they just released an untouched version of the original.

    When I finally bought a proper HT system a few years ago, I quickly put together a blu-ray library. Star Wars was on the list. But the closest I got to it was reading reviews full of disappointment on Amazon. Same thing withTHX 1138.

    My interest in Star Wars is mostly nostalgic. For some of you diehard fans, this must be a constant source of irritation.

  123. 123.

    wasabi gasp

    @NotMax: It’s bizarre how Lucas got all chop-happy on his flicks.

    ETA: Suzanne Somers does not drive a Prius in American Graffiti, though. That’s something, I guess.

  125. 125.

    pseudonymous in nc

    @Violet:

    A family member and I had the same doctor prescribe the same test–an ultrasound. Used the same imaging facility. The facility charged a different rate for each of us. How the hell does that happen?

    Medical bistromaths. They make up the price, the coding is random, they assume that insurance is going to apply its bullshit “member discount” and they know the minimum that they want to get back in cold hard cash.

  127. 127.

    pseudonymous in nc

    @Villago Delenda Est:

    Also, too, it seems that St. Louis is being targeted for attacks by…someone, for…some reason.

    I think that’s just because Norse (the company doing the monitoring) has a big bank of its honeypot servers in STL. Nothing specific to the city, just that the familiar banks of shithouse IPs are going after boxes that are built specifically to be gone after.

  130. 130.

    wasabi gasp

    @NotMax: I’m so old school with the Star War show, that you threw me with the newfangled New Hopey Roman numeral stuff.

    ETA: During the rare conversation, I might hear “Oh, you mean episode four.” I start to glaze.

  133. 133.

    MazeDancer

    Teaser was great fun. Love the little rolly droid. It’s just fun to visit that world again.

    The voice over sure sounded like Cumberbatch. Web says it’s Andy Serkis, but felt like there was an attempt to make it sound Benedict-y.

    And in the many legacies sure to be not filled, there is the voice of James Earl Jones. No one is ever going to sound as full and remarkable as him.

  134. 134.

    Nanzee

    @efgoldman:
    Back to the first Star Wars movie: I was living in a small college town and Tuesday was $2.00 movie admission night in the small local theater. I saw the first one 7 times, in various conditions endemic to college towns in the ’70s.
    The movie was so different for the times. This was the same general era when there was a disaster movie about a swarm of bees if memory serves, and the ship that turned upside down with Shelly Winters swimming to save everyone. Star Wars was such fun and worlds away from those kinds of movies.
    None of the others have come close.

  135. 135.

    wasabi gasp

    @Nanzee: There were some other hot movies released around that time, but you’re right on the mark with it being “worlds away” from the others.

    The most notable other flick, at least for me, is Saturday Night Fever. Mainly because my best bud was completely nuts over it. Imagine, if you will, an eight or nine-year-old kid decked out in polyester, heals, and a coiffed ducks ass. Then press your internal play button to watch him boogie down.

  136. 136.

    NotMax

    @wasabi grasp

    At the time, was in the mood to catch a movie, and the only one nearby even half worthwhile was whatever that unmemorable B picture was with Henry Winkler involving wrestling.

    Anyway, the lights dimmed and an announcement was made. “Ladies and gentlemen, before our regular feature, this theater is proud to present a special an unadvertised sneak preview of an upcoming film, “Saturday Night Fever.”

  137. 137.

    Mnemosyne

    @wasabi gasp:

    I’ve only seen part of it, because I had to turn it off after the scene where Tony lets his friends drive off with a girl who has a crush on Tony so they can gang-rape her. I’m kind of astounded that an 8-year-old’s parents would let him see that movie, but I also know someone whose parents took her to see The Exorcist when she was about 6, so I guess it was just different times.

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