Unsung actors: William Boyett

William Boyett was one of those actors whose face – and even voice – was very recognizable. Yet few of us knew a name to attach to that enduring TV and movie presence.

Boyett, who passed in December 2004 at 77, had a long career playing stern or foreboding authority figures.

He’s best known as Sgt. MacDonald on the Jack Webb TV series “Adam-12.” Boyett had appeared on Webb’s “Dragnet” and became part of the actor/writer/producer’s repertory company of sturdy, dependable performers.

In the final decades of his life, he made a big impression on audiences who might not have known him as a man infected with a freaky alien presence in “The Hidden,” a wild 1987 science fiction thriller. If you haven’t seen it, seek it out. It’s worth the effort.

If Boyett was as much of a straight-arrow, by-the-book guy as the cops and military officers he portrayed, he’d be puzzled by my choice for favorite of his roles.

That would be a 1959 educational short, “Last Clear Chance,” in which he played a state police officer who tried to warn a family with young, first-time drivers about the dangers of crossing railroad tracks without looking properly. Of course, tragedy struck by the end of the short film.

It all added up to one of the best “Mystery Science Theater 3000” (MST3K) shorts.

Here’s to Bill Boyett, one of our favorite unsung actors.

Magneto on the job in ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’

Michael Fassbender’s Magneto was one of the best things about “X-Men: First Class.” A few people opined online that they’d pay to watch him hunt Nazis for an entire movie.

So a little Fassbender is nothing but a good thing in “X-Men: Days of Future Past.”

Director Bryan Singer is tweeting pictures of the cast and from the set, and today he released the Fassbender.

The movie comes out in July 2014.

The movie revisionists: Everything you know is wrong

Think you know the story of Superman?

Well, maybe not.

When “Man of Steel” comes out June 14,  director Zack Snyder might have a few surprises even for longtime fans of the man of … er, steel.

Most of us don’t know what to expect from “Man of Steel” yet, but it’s certain that a few elements of the Superman mythos will be tweaked at the very least.

That’s not surprising, because most filmmakers like to bring something new to their versions of familiar stories. That’s why “The Amazing Spider-Man” retold the origin of the webslinger only about a decade after we saw it before and tried to infuse new elements – chiefly a mystery about Peter’s parents – into it.

It’s not just superhero stories that get revamped. When director John Carpenter made “The Thing” in 1982, he made the “walking alien carrot” much less of the traditional monster familiar from 1951’s “The Thing from Another World.” the first adaptation of John Campbell’s story. Carpenter made the alien menace a much more paranoia-inducing shapeshifter.

By the way, spoilers ahead for some current movies if you haven’t seen them.

Some fans of the “Iron Man” comics were irritated when this summer’s “Iron Man 3” made huge changes to the character of the Mandarin, the longtime antagonist of Tony Stark.

The Mandarin went from an Asian menace armed with magic rings …

To a figurehead, a stalking horse played by a down-at-the-heels British actor.

Sometimes it’s more than changing characters. Sometimes it’s all about changing the background of sets of characters.

The classic 1982 “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan” was a sequel to an episode of the original series and emphasized the bad blood and shared history of Khan, the genetically superior warrior, and Jim Kirk.

In this summer’s “Star Trek Into Darkness,” however, there was no history between Kirk and Khan. And I think the movie suffered for that.

With “Man of Steel,” the rumors have been flying about changes Snyder and producer Christopher Nolan might have made.

Does Superman’s Kryptonian birth father, Jor-El, live? Or are the clips of Russell Crowe talking to Henry Cavill just indicative of an amazingly lifelike hologram?

Is Zod (Michael Shannon) sprung from the Phantom Zone or does he arrive in a space ship? Sure looks like a Kryptonian ship in the background to me.

We won’t know the answers for a few days. But we can already guess about fairly interesting cosmetic changes to two longtime characters from the “Superman” stories.

Daily Planet editor Perry White and cub reporter/photographer Jimmy Olsen have been staples of the comics for a half-century.

Snyder, interestingly, cast Laurence Fishburne, an African-American actor, to play White, who has traditionally been, well, white. I love Fishburne and I think this is a big win.

But it’s less clear who’s playing Jimmy Olsen in the movie. In fact, it’s becoming more clear that Jimmy Olsen isn’t in the movie. Actress Rebecca Buller seems to be playing Jenny Olsen.

Traditional Jimmy.

New Jenny.

I can live with that.

101 best-written TV series of all time?

The Writers Guild of America released its list of the 101 best-written TV series of all time today, and the list is guaranteed to generate some discussion.

I mean, it’s a cool idea and all, and everybody likes lists. But is anybody qualified to say “The Sopranos” is better than “Seinfeld?” I mean, how can you even compare those two?

(Cue funky “Seinfeld” music as Tony Soprano and family sit down in a diner in the final scene of the series.)

I think I’d rank “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” a hellmouth of a lot higher on my list. I can guarantee you that “Sex and the City” and “thirtysomething” don’t belong higher on the list than “Buffy” or “The Rockford Files” or “Freaks and Geeks.”

What do you think of the list?

1.             THE SOPRANOS

2.             SEINFELD

3.             THE TWILIGHT ZONE

4.             ALL IN THE FAMILY

5.             M*A*S*H

6.             THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW

7.             MAD MEN

8.             CHEERS

9.             THE WIRE

10.            THE WEST WING

11.            THE SIMPSONS

12.            I LOVE LUCY

13.            BREAKING BAD

14.            THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW

15.            HILL STREET BLUES

16.            ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT

17.            THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART

18.            SIX FEET UNDER

19.            TAXI

20.            THE LARRY SANDERS SHOW

21.            30 ROCK

22.            FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS

23.            FRASIER

24.            FRIENDS

25.            SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE

26.            THE X-FILES

27.            LOST

28.            ER

29.            THE COSBY SHOW

30.            CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM

31.            THE HONEYMOONERS*

32.            DEADWOOD

33.            STAR TREK

34.            MODERN FAMILY

35.            TWIN PEAKS

36.            NYPD BLUE

37.            THE CAROL BURNETT SHOW

38.            BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (2005)

39.            SEX AND THE CITY

40.            GAME OF THRONES

41.            THE BOB NEWHART SHOW – TIE

                YOUR SHOW OF SHOWS* – TIE

43.            DOWNTON ABBEY* – TIE

                LAW & ORDER – TIE

                THIRTYSOMETHING – TIE

46.            HOMICIDE: LIFE ON THE STREET – TIE

                ST. ELSEWHERE – TIE

48.            HOMELAND

49.            BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER

50.            THE COLBERT REPORT – TIE

                THE GOOD WIFE – TIE

                THE OFFICE (UK)* – TIE

53.            NORTHERN EXPOSURE

54.            THE WONDER YEARS

55.            L.A. LAW

56.            SESAME STREET

57.            COLUMBO

58.            FAWLTY TOWERS* – TIE

                THE ROCKFORD FILES – TIE

60.            FREAKS AND GEEKS – TIE

                MOONLIGHTING – TIE

62.            ROOTS

63.            EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND – TIE

                SOUTH PARK* – TIE

65.            PLAYHOUSE 90

66.            DEXTER – TIE

                THE OFFICE (U.S.) – TIE

68.            MY SO-CALLED LIFE

69.            THE GOLDEN GIRLS

70.            THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW

71.            24 – TIE

                ROSEANNE – TIE

                THE SHIELD – TIE

74.            HOUSE – TIE

                MURPHY BROWN – TIE

76.            BARNEY MILLER – TIE

                I, CLAUDIUS* – TIE

78.            THE ODD COUPLE

79.            ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS – TIE

                MONTY PYTHON’S FLYING CIRCUS* – TIE

                STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION – TIE

                UPSTAIRS, DOWNSTAIRS* – TIE

83.            GET SMART

84.            THE DEFENDERS – TIE

                GUNSMOKE – TIE

86.            JUSTIFIED – TIE

                SGT. BILKO (THE PHIL SILVERS SHOW) – TIE

88.            BAND OF BROTHERS

89.            ROWAN & MARTIN’S LAUGH-IN

90.            THE PRISONER*

91.            ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS (U.K.)* – TIE

                THE MUPPET SHOW – TIE

93.            BOARDWALK EMPIRE

94.            WILL & GRACE

95.            FAMILY TIES

96.            LONESOME DOVE – TIE

                SOAP – TIE

98.            THE FUGITIVE – TIE

                LATE NIGHT WITH DAVID LETTERMAN – TIE

                LOUIE – TIE

101.            OZ

 

Unrealistic comic book drawings? Ridiculous!

So there’s some Internet buzz about the new comic book X-Men team being made up of all women.

And here’s Storm, leader of the group.

Nobody ever said comic book superheroes and superheroines were realistically drawn. And i enjoy some fanboy objectification as much as the next geek.

But really.

So I think we know this Storm’s mutant power: An extra strong spine to deal with that figure.

Unsung actors: Eddie Paskey of ‘Star Trek’

Besides the featured cast of the original “Star Trek” series, even beyond such recurring performers as Grace Lee Whitney as Janice Rand, there’s a familiar face in the background of most episodes of the series.

If you’ve watched many episodes, you’ve noticed actor Eddie Paskey, usually in a red shirt, a bad sign for “Star Trek” crew members.

Yet Paskey appeared in 57 episodes of the original “Star Trek” series. He often played crewman and security officer Mr. Leslie, and the “Star Trek” wiki Memory Alpha says he appeared more often than Sulu or Chekov.

Paskey even died in one episode – true to his “red shirt” status – although he was alive and well in the next.

Paskey, now 73, left the series in its third season due to bad headaches from a medical condition complicated by the bright lights of the set. He operated his family’s auto-detailing shop and makes occasional “Star Trek”-related convention appearances.

Although Paskey is a familiar face from his many background appearances on the show, I didn’t know until I looked him up online that he had another pivotal role in the series: He was the driver of the truck that struck and killed Edith Keeler (Joan Collins) in the series’ greatest episode, “City on the Edge of Forever.”

And he was the hand double on the show for James (Scotty) Doohan, who was missing a finger.

If that’s not enough to guarantee a lifetime of appearances on “Star Trek” convention stages, I don’t know what would be.

Superman: He doesn’t look a day over 60

So what do you get for the Man of Steel who has everything?

A new logo, apparently.

DC Comics has released a new Superman logo for its comics to coincide with the 75th anniversary of the first “Superman” story.

Created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the last son of Krypton has been an enduring icon for three-quarters of a century. The new “Man of Steel” movie comes out June 14.

So how do we feel about the logo? It’s okay, I guess.

The cape’s too short.

The hair is funky.

But it’s nice to see Big Blue get a nod.

‘Longmire’ kicks off second season closer to the target

As a fan of Craig Johnson’s series of crime novels about Wyoming Sheriff Walt Longmire, I was a little disappointed with the first season of the TV series version that aired on A&E.

You can catch up with what I thought here, but it boiled down to: Not enough of Johnson’s trademark mix of tall, dark and quiet heroes and quirky plots.

Last night’s second-season debut, though, was closer to the target. The episode was based in part on a Craig Johnson book, “Hell is Empty,” which puts the sheriff in harm’s way as he transports a series of prisoners – including a man who killed a child several years ago – through his county and over a mountain … just in time for a blizzard.

The single hour of television couldn’t begin to capture all of Johnson’s straightforward plot and rich characters. But it came closer than any first-season episode.

The series is also coming closer to hitting the mark in the way it portrays Johnson’s characters. I’ve got to say I’m enjoying the heck out of Robert Taylor as Longmire, for whom “less is more” truly describes his spare speaking habit. Really, the less the writers give the sheriff to say the better – and not because Taylor’s not a good actor. He’s good, but he’s perfect with a long stare and grumble

I loved “Battlestar Galactica” vet Katee Sackhoff as Walt’s deputy – and is very tentative love interest the right way to describe her? – Vic Moretti from the moment she was cast and I’m still enjoying her.

Bailey Chase and Cassidy Freeman are quite good as Walt’s ambitious deputy and daughter, respectively.

I’m growing to like the terrific Lou Diamond Phillips as Henry Standing Bear, Walt’s longtime friend and confidant. Phillips is making questionable casting palatable.

One big plus for me with last night’s episode was an injection of the Native American mythos and mysticism that marks Johnson’s books. As Walt trudged through snow to track the prisoners, Henry and other figures – including an impressive owl – appeared to him. Thanks in part to Henry, spirit guides and the connection between the Wyoming characters and the earth are present throughout the books.

I’m still not convinced I’m buying the subplot about the death, before the show started, of Walt’s wife. She died from cancer in the books and, while her passing has left a huge shadow across Walt, it isn’t the stuff of an ongoing mystery.

I wasn’t sure I was going to check out “Longmire” this second season. The season premiere definitely encouraged me to come back for more.

‘Dragnet’ – Joe Friday on the job

I love “Dragnet.” Really.

The classic Jack Webb series – which ran in the 1950s and in the 1960s, although I’m really only familiar with the latter show – has long since become a touchstone for parody with Webb’s “just the facts, ma’am” writing, direction, casting and performances. But the show has a lot of virtues.

I’ve written about it as a LA travelogue before, for example.

Each half-hour episode quickly and concisely tells a story of crime and punishment in Los Angeles. Sure the show is ripe with silly hippie portrayals and overreaches in it’s messages. But Webb was master of the 30-minute (minus commercials) drama like no one since Rod Serling – and maybe no one since.

Still, it can be more than a little unintentionally funny.

I was watching an episode today – “The Badge Racket,” from September 1967 – in which Gannon (Harry Morgan) goes undercover at an LA hotel to catch a threesome blackmailing out-of-town businessmen. A bimbo barges into the businessman’s hotel room and then two guys, posing as cops, shake him down for money in lieu of telling the folks back home in Nebraska or Iowa or wherever.

As Gannon leaves the hotel with the crooks, Friday follows in a “loose” tail.

When they get to police headquarters – it’s all part of the crooks’ plan, so just go with it – Friday tightens that “loose” tail and is seen riding the elevator with them in a “don’t mind me, folks” moment.

The scene very nearly made me fall out of my chair laughing. I looked around online and was able to find a screen cap on the wonderful site dragnetstyle.blogspot.com.

Love it.

‘Criminal Enterprise’ a top-notch thriller

Owen Laukkanen is just a couple of years into life as a published author of crime novels, but he’s already created one of the most enjoyable series in bookstores.

His two books – so far – about FBI agent Carla Windermere and Minnesota police investigator Kirk Stevens are immensely readable stories of cops and crooks.

The first, “The Professionals,” would seem to be in the vanguard of books inspired by the Great Recession. Its criminal foursome are young people fresh out of school and unable to get hired. They decide to become professional kidnappers. Their modus operandi? Kidnap well-off but low-profile targets and ask $60,000 on the assumption that the kidnap victim’s family will easily be able to pay that small an amount. It works for a while but goes awry when they stumble upon the wrong target: A businessman connected to the mob.

In “Criminal Enterprise,” the central bad guy is Carter Tomlin, an accountant with a wife and kids who gets in over his head, financially, and decides to make money the old fashioned way: Bank robbery. Tomlin’s a different case than the four somewhat sympathetic anti-heroes of “The Professionals,” however: He not only enjoys the influx of cash from his robberies but gets off on the violence, particularly when committed in the company of his alterna-girl assistant and fellow robber.

Into the mix in both cases come Windermere, young and tough and an outsider in the FBI, and Stevens, happily married and settled into middle age and a long career in the Minnesota state police’s criminal investigations bureau.

The two cops, who end up working together by happenstance, are a good fit. Stevens balances out Windermere’s fiery demeanor with his cool calm.

Laukkanen doesn’t dip into the criminal world quite the way Elmore Leonard does, but his bad guys are compelling and relatable. Windermere and Stevens are the anchors of these books but Tomlin in the second book and the four kidnappers in the first book are absorbing characters. The author is working on the third book in the series, which is good news for fans of contemporary crime thrillers.