Well, dear readers, are we really in the final week of March? I gotta tell you. This month has flown by like a gazelle eating Apple Brown Betty. Say what? Apple Brown Betty? Where did that come from? One doesn’t simply come up with Apple Brown Betty out of nowhere, and yet that’s exactly what just happened. Now, I have to admit that while I obviously had the name Apple Brown Betty somewhere in the deep recesses of the windmills of my mind, I actually had no idea what it was or, for that or any other matter, what it is. So, I just looked it up and I now know what Apple Brown Betty is. More importantly, I now know that know is just now with a “K” stuck on it. How many here have actually had Apple Brown Betty? How many here know or knew what it was? According to my unnamed sources, who wish to have anonymity, Apple Brown Betty-wise, it’s a dessert that dates back to Colonial American Time, which is similar to Daylight Savings Time and yet not. A “Betty” is a baked pudding or meatball made of pudding. Right there you want to vomit on the ground, don’t you? A Meatball Made Of Pudding – that’s the title of my next novel. Where was I? Oh, yes, Apple Brown Betty and What It Means. It’s made with layers of sweetened and spiced fruit and breadcrumbs, and is usually served with lemon sauce or whipped cream. The whipped cream would be a big plus. The most famous Apple Brown Betty is made with sliced apples and brown sugar. Now, I think that one of our adventurous dear readers should just whip up some Apple Brown Betty this very day and tell us how it is. However, I’m having difficulty getting past the meatball made of pudding part. Speaking of a meatball made of pudding, yesterday was Easter. I didn’t do much Eastering – I slept late (which I needed), and then puttered around the home environment until it was time to leave for a production meeting. The drive was free and clear and I got to the theater in forty minutes. The meeting lasted about an hour and that was that, and then I drove home – I took the long route, as there seemed to be endless problems on all the freeways. The longer route had no traffic at all and I got home in about forty-five minutes. Well, not home, for I stopped and had another lovely meal at Michael’s Bar and Grill in Burbank. I had the cheesy garlic bread and the fried catfish, both excellent. I then came home and sat on my couch like so much fish.
Yesterday, I watched four more episodes of The Rookies. As I said, it’s not a great show, but I like these old 70s cop shows, and all the episodes directed by Leonard Horn are really good, with lots of LA location shooting. And there are lots of fun guest stars, such as John Kerr (not a guest-star actually, but just a one-scene day player with no special billing, which surprised me), William Windom, Vincent Gardenia, Roddy McDowell, Ken Tobey, Lynne Marta, Leslie Charleson (anyone remember her?), and lots of other interesting folks. And, in a non-speaking one-minute appearance in which she’s offed by James Olson as a sick strangler, Miss Cheryl Stoppelmoor, aka the soon to be rechristened Cheryl Ladd. Some of the transfers look really good, some are a bit muddy-looking and dark. The first seven episodes are all scored by Elmer Bernstein and are terrific. Then others took over – so far, Allyn Fergusen and Jack Elliott, and then Pete Rugolo.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because I’m quite tired and the notes are already late because of all this Apple Brown Betty palaver. Not only that, I just checked and see that I’ve already had Apple Brown Betty as the title of the notes. I hate when that happens. Oh, well, one simply can’t have enough Apple Brown Betty, can one?
I am hoping that this week is not quite so pressure-filled as last week, because there is much that needs to be done and it’s really hard when there’s too much pressure and weirdness, and then having to go to rehearsal and be focused. So, we could surely use all the excellent vibes and xylophones you can send in this here direction. And send some Apple Brown Betty, too.
We’ve got several really big scenes to block this week, and a few small ones, and then the show will be blocked, although we haven’t run any of the scenes that we did two weeks ago and I have no idea how much the actors involved will remember. We’ll run them this week and see.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, deal with several important things that need dealing with, I must do some errands and whatnot, and then I must hie myself to rehearsal. Today’s topic of discussion: What are your all-time favorite cop shows of any era? And what was the first cop show you ever watched, have you seen any episodes lately, and, if so, did it hold up. My very first cop show was Boston Blackie, and I always remembered the opening to the show vividly. When I finally saw a tape of it some forty years later, it was exactly as I remembered. I loved Dragnet, M-Squad, Highway Patrol, Racket Squad, Mr. District Attorney, and then, later, The Mod Squad, Adam 12, and those types of shows. Your turn. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst we all contemplate a meatball made of pudding.