DavidThiel

Correction and Omission for "Ask Paul"... Gilligan's full name was Willy Gilligan, according to producer Sherwood Schwartz. This was disputed by Bob Denver, who insisted that it was simply "Gilligan." Ginger Grant and Thurston Howell III's full names were frequently mentioned, and a radio bulletin in the first episode referred to (Skipper) Jonas Grumby, (Professor) Roy Hinkley, and Mary Ann Summers. A later episode gave Lovey Howell the maiden name Eunice Wentworth. And now you know.

Throughout most of the podcast, I wanted to go online to make this exact point, so kudos and/or curses for getting there first. Also for calling out the comics franchise for having the same problem. "Marvel's The Avengers" handwaved it with a line about avenging the Earth, but that doesn't explain why Nick Fury was referring to the "Avengers Initiative" from Day One. I believe that this is key to understanding what the film is trying to accomplish. It may not be entirely successful...but see below. It simply may be a spy trope rather than a deliberate homage, but there's a similar village/training course in the "New Avengers" episode "Target." Here's the thing: I'd argue that the bear scene is THE moment that best evokes the whimsical quirkiness of the TV series. In the show's final season, there's an episode called "Look (Stop Me If You've Heard This One) But There Were These Two Fellers..." (no shit, that's the on-screen title) in which the villains are a group of retired vaudeville performers taking their orders from a Punch and Judy puppet theater. Watch that episode, then tell me that those bears are in any way out of place. http://www.dissolute...wo-fellers.html

I have nothing to say about "Kazaam," but I do think that you've mischaracterized "I Dream of Jeannie." While Jeannie called Major Nelson "Master," there's no question who was wearing the harem pants in that relationship. The show was much like "Bewitched" in that it was about a mortal man who met a woman with nigh-omnipotent magical powers...and wanted no part of them. Jeannie did whatever she wanted, especially if Tony forbade it. And if he got out of line, he'd find himself temporarily zapped to the Arctic. It was worse on "Bewitched," in that Darren Stephens preferred his soul-crushing job for his demanding boss, and would reject magical help to the point of expecting Samantha to do all of the housework--including inevitable last-minute dinners involving work clients--the mortal way. At least Major Nelson had a cool job (astronaut), and was mostly concerned about people discovering Jeannie's powers.

I remember that in interviews at the time Stephen King referred to this as a "moron movie." I always suspected that he made that determination after the fact. Haven't seen this film in decades, but back in the day I too was annoyed with its inconsistency regarding machine sentience. I recall a scene in which characters climbed into a car without even questioning whether said vehicle might try to kill them. The carving knife scene also annoyed me. I can accept that a malevolent car or lawn mower might be able to prowl around and attack people, but an electric knife has no means of locomotion. All it can do is hum menacingly. I preferred the short story's lack of an explanation for the phenomenon. The moment a pseudo-scientific rationale is introduced, then all of those questions about how the trucks can see or how they know Morse code are fair game. Without one, you can always assume supernatural forces, and then it's no big deal if the carving knife launches itself across the room. The original "Twilight Zone" series had an episode called "A Thing About Machines" in which various appliances ganged up on the protagonist. There was no explanation there either, but it was established that their victim had always hated machines and frequently wrecked them out of frustration. My favorite scene was when the electric razor descended the stairs, dragging its cord behind it like a cobra.

Amazed that no one has mentioned the one legitimately clever bit in this film: the tune played by the ice cream truck in the death montage is "King of the Road."