Bernie Madoff Changed Kevin Bacon's Career

Let's talk about Kevin Bacon.  We all know him as the beautiful 80s leading man who fought a small American town for the right to dance.  He also fought underground monster worms (graboids) in the surprise hit Tremors. No one can ever forget his stint as a medical student who would kill himself in five-minute intervals to learn he felt bad about teasing a kid from his childhood.  His best performance was as a college basketball coach trying to woo an African boy with no formal education into playing for his university. 

As he transitioned into the 90s his career shifted.  He wasn’t getting leading roles anymore but had a name which lead to key parts in big Hollywood films.  He pivoted his career so well no one really noticed he wasn’t the leading man actor anymore.   So you get Capt Jack Ross in A Few Good Men, astronaut Jack Swigert in Apollo 13, creepy evil child molester Nokes in Sleepers.  

 

What’s interesting about his career in the 90s is how much more dynamic his characters were.  As the leading man he played into a mold.  The young, brash, good-hearted hero.  His 90s work consisted of different characters. Not just Kevin Bacon with a new name in a sticky situation.

Then in the 2000s he pivots his career again and starts doing more artistic projects.  We’re not commenting on the quality of the final product but if you look at his roles there was an effort for delve into deeper subject matter. The critically acclaimed Mystic River, The Woodsman where he plays a convicted child molester trying to reintegrate into society after his prison term (played a child molester twice…yikes), He directed and acted alongside his wife in Loverboy which I honestly don’t know much about but the trailer for this drama makes it seem like it stemmed from an inside joke about parent rearing between the two.   Maybe he was chasing that Oscar or maybe he just wanted to take on a new acting challenge.

 

In 2008 the Bernie Madoff’s ponzi scheme is revealed.  Kevin Bacon is one of his victims.  No one really knows how much he lost but he took a pretty big hit.  Some estimate it could have been around $30 million.  This is where his career shifts again.  For the decade following, all he takes are payday films.  He’s popping up as the main villain in X-Men: First Class, a sleezeball boss in Crazy Stupid Love, he popped up in R.I.P.D.  He stars in a the Fox TV drama The Following (because TV series is steady work for actors).  In 2018 he returns to the Tremors franchise after almost 30 years.  

The lesson we can learn from this is; if you lose all your money make sure you’re famous enough to whore out your name to make a chunk of it back.   

Written by
Joseph Ammendolea
Owner/President
“I Like To Play With Toys” Productions®
ILikeToPlayWithToysProductions@Yahoo.com

The DC Animated Universe Weekly Review - Batman: The Animated Series

Batman: The Animated Series

Episode 29

Eternal Youth

 

Poison Ivy is turning rich people into plants.  She creates a fake spa, sends a video to Bruce Wayne offering a free weekend but Alfred and his girlfriend go in his place.  The couple returns home but have become addicted to the spa life and go back. Poison Ivy reveals herself and turns them into plants.  Batman shows up and saves everyone.  

 

The main problem with this episode is that Ivy appears in the spa promotion video.  It would take a second to realize it’s her.  The worlds greatest detective and his butler shouldn't have had a problem figuring this out.  It’s a big plot hole, huge. The episode works well everywhere else you really have to suspend your disbelief.   

 

Written by
Joseph Ammendolea
Owner/President
“I Like To Play With Toys” Productions®
ILikeToPlayWithToysProductions@Yahoo.com

Episode by Episode - Star Trek: Enterprise

Season 4

Episode 83 The Forge

 

The Earth embassy is bombed on the planet Vulcan and Enterprise is sent to investigate.  A fringe group of Vulans called the Syrrannites are accused of the bombing.  Enterprise determines they are being framed.  Captain Archer and T’Pol secretly beam down to Vulcan to investigate.  They unknowingly meet the head Syrrannite Arev who gets seriously injured in a sandstorm and mind melds with Archer giving him his Katra.  Archer is then able to lead T’Pol to the Syrrannites where they are quickly captured. 

To be continued.

 

This is great setup to turmoil on Vulcan and their political system.  In all other Star Trek series Vulcans have their shit together but here there is some genuine turmoil.  

 

Written by
Joseph Ammendolea
Owner/President
“I Like To Play With Toys” Productions®
ILikeToPlayWithToysProductions@Yahoo.com

Why Marty McFly's Personality Changed Between Back to the Future 1 and 2

 "One other thing. If you guys ever have kids, and one of them, when he's eight years old, accidentally sets fire to the living room rug … go easy on him." 

This one little request changed the trajectory of Marty McFly. The events surrounding the living room fire are never revealed but one can postulate it changed time and Marty's personality for the worse. He was likely dared or challenged to play with matches or some other combustible material which caused the rug to catch fire.  

In the original timeline his parents issued a severe punishment and he learned not to give into people's taunts of courage. His father was a low-level office worker who never stood up to anyone. He was a pacifist, never worried about people's opinion. As a nerd in high school there was no one lower on the totem poll. George McFly knew he wanted his children to be better than him and instilled a solid sense of self, despite his own human failings. 

 

In the rewritten timeline, successful writer George McFly wins over the favor of all by standing up to the school bully Biff Tanen. George's entire history changed in that one moment. He grew into a man full of confidence. He raised children that were professionally successful. He owned a home ordained with material possessions showing off his success. He became a successful author and pushed his children to accomplish anything as long as equal effort was applied. 

That message gave Marty a false sense of self instead of the true sense the original Marty had. At a key moment in Marty’s life he would have learned the difference. George and Lorraine altered what was likely the worst childhood punishment Marty ever received and watered it down. Along with Marty's words, George went soft because he had a different perception on how public perception can change a person’s path and Lorraine had subconsciously conflicted feelings due to Marty’s odd resemblance to an old high school crush.

When we meet-up with Marty in Back to the Future II his personality has slightly shifted. He went from being the McFly child with the most potential to the dreg that sleeps in his clothes. His brother is a workaholic who’s trekking to the office in a full suit on a Saturday. His sister is implied to be so promiscuous that her older brother cannot keep count of her many male companions. And then we have Marty. 

Marty’s personality may appear to be the same as the original timeline but he’s now developed a temper. He’s easily manipulated into compromising situations over the tiniest offense against his ego. He’s destined to destroy his promising music career, have a shotgun wedding, have a failed career in in office work. He’s become the George McFly of the original timeline. But original George made certain his kid’s wouldn’t become him. While they may not have been financially successful, they were honest individuals and independent in their personalities. These new kids spent their lives chasing the success of their dad. They all became destined to forever fall short of their father, prestigious author George McFly. 

 

This is how Marty McFly’s personality was altered between the first Back to the Future and its sequels.

Written by
Joseph Ammendolea
Owner/President
“I Like To Play With Toys” Productions®
ILikeToPlayWithToysProductions@Yahoo.com

The DC Animated Universe Weekly Review - Batman: The Animated Series

Batman: The Animated Series

Episode 28

Dreams in Darkness

 

Another great episode, Batman gets thrown in Arkham Asylum after getting exposed to Scarecrow’s fear toxin.  The cure is a shot that will knock him out for a few days. But Scarecrow is poisoning the water supply and Batman needs to stop him ASAP.  The doctors at Arkham don’t believe him and conveniently won’t take off his mask because they are concerned it will cause catatonia.  Batman bust lose, defeats Scarecrow while under the toxin.  Alfred then gives Batman the shot in the comfort of the…Batcave.   The cold, drafty, damp, Batcave.

 

There’s a lot of great action in this episode and the questioning of Batman’s sanity is amazing.  The excuse to keep his mask on works well enough.  There’s a reference to Joker having the name Jack Napier which is the same name he has in the Tim Burton film but later episodes reveal it’s just one of many aliases the Joker uses.  

 

Written by
Joseph Ammendolea
Owner/President
“I Like To Play With Toys” Productions®
ILikeToPlayWithToysProductions@Yahoo.com

Episode by Episode - Star Trek: Enterprise

Season 4

Episode 82 The Augments

 

Enterprise stops the viruses from being released but the Augments stole a bunch more.  The main bad Augment Malik wants to blow up a torpedo in the atmosphere of a Klingon colony which will kill millions and start a war between humans and Klingons.  Soong is against this, he then starts trying to alter the embryos they stole to make them less aggressive murdering psychos.  So the Augments confine him to quarters.  One of the female Augments feels bad and bust Soong out, allowing him to flee in an escape pod.  Enterprise picks up Soong who decides to help Enterprise stop the Augments from killing millions and causing a war.  In the process all the Augments are killed in a space battle with Enterprise. Soong is returned to prison and decides to devote his mental genius to robotics stating it will take generations to perfect.  Thus setting the stage for one of his decedents to create Data.  

 

An awesome conclusion to a great story arc.  The entire concept was implemented perfectly from start to finish.   The callback to Star Trek: The Original Series is stellar.  It even discusses Kahn and the Botany Bay. Adding Brent Spiner who played Data as a guest star was a nice addition.  It’s absolutely one of the best story arcs of the season.  

 

Written by
Joseph Ammendolea
Owner/President
“I Like To Play With Toys” Productions®
ILikeToPlayWithToysProductions@Yahoo.com