You may have noticed a couple of changes here at Made for TV Mayhem. I’m currently revamping the site. I’ve changed my banner, and I’d like offer my deepest thanks and gratitude to Lance Vaughan at Kindertrauma for creating it! He also created the MFTVM Funhouse pic on the right. I owe him my life! Also, where would I be without Bert Convy? Such a heartbreaker, he is. I think it’s doubtful I’ll stick with a black and white background, but for now I think this site screams “television madness” and that’s exactly what I wanted!
I’d like to throw a big thank you to my friend Jason who got the news out that Born Innocent is coming to DVD from Hen’s Tooth Video in June! I couldn't find much out on the website but apparently you can only order through Amazon and a couple of other sources. I’m not sure how good Hen’s Tooth Video’s quality will be, but this is such a great, and slightly rare, TVM, it might be worth the coinage either way. They've also just released Gargoyles, which did have a DVD release some time ago but went out of print.
If you are going to be in Louisville, Kentucky from July 22nd – 24th, then you really must go to the Fright Night Film Fest con, where they are hosting the 1st ever Dark Night of the Scarecrow reunion! How absolutely incredible is that?!?
I’ve also posted links to the Movies About Girls podcast I participated in and you will find those links on the right. It’s a really fun show so check it out! (Psst: The Romy and Michelle one is my favorite!)
Before I bid you adieu, let me direct you to a ukulele player my friend Adla turned me onto. Seems he has a penchant for TV theme songs. Here is his rendition of Dallas:
Got a few fun things going on at Casa By Night, so I thought I'd spread some good cheer!
Check me out tomorrow night when I return to the Movies about Girls podcast! We'll be discussing Streets of Fire, which I finally saw for the first time, thanks to this looming discussion we will be having. No doubt I adored it, so stop by tomorrow (Saturday, April 9th) at 8 pm. When the podcast is archived, I will add the links to both this one coming up and the one I did a couple of weeks ago (where we talked about A Vacation in Hell). It's been great fun thus far, so I am excited about tomorrow night!
And speaking of podcasts, I was listening to Hysteria Lives podcast #4, where they interviewed Curt Ayres from Mortuary and it turns out he was also in Midnight Offerings, which is mentioned. Also, there is a shout out to Deadly Lessons! If you love 80s horror, especially slashers, this is the podcast for you!
Also, I wrote an article on Slaughter High and bullying called When Push Comes to Shove. I had no idea how relevant this oddball slasher was! OK, maybe not totally relevant, but unfortunately bullying is way too universal for my tastes!
Don't forget to vote on the William Shatner poll! It's up all month! YAY!
Network: Channel 4, UK Original Air Date: May 15th, 1985
Return to Waterloo is one of those films I caught during the heyday of the Bravo channel. Believe it or not, instead of tons of reality shows and re-runs of popular American programs, Bravo aired uncut/commercial-free films from around the world. It was Bravo who exposed me to the beauty of a Merchant/Ivory Production, it was they who introduced me to the quirky world of French films as well as playing host to what would become my favorite foreign film of all time, Twist and Shout.
As a teen living in Vegas in the late 80s, I don't think I have to tell you that the city was a little short on, uh, culture. It was a town of stone-washed Guns n Roses fans, which was great - I was was all about Axl Rose - but one of the only outlets we had in our desolate little town (and yes, Las Vegas might look like a Mecca, but it was a very small place for locals), was this magnificent cable channel.
Every Saturday evening, they would show cult movies and I had the great pleasure of catching Return to Waterloo. Written and Directed by Ray Davies of the Kinks, Waterloo mixes some of the most thoughtful music of the 80s (all written by Mr. Davis) with a disturbing allegory about hidden truths and innocence lost.
The story focuses on The Traveller (Ken Colley), a man who is taking a train on his way to work. He passes people reading papers and he looks a lot like the serial rapist featured on the front page. He seems normal enough when his trip begins, but as things progress and some of the passengers come in and out of his life, we start to learn that The Traveller may in fact be the rapist everyone is looking for. And his deep secrets may also be the reason his daughter ran away and is now missing.
Creepazoid!
Told mostly through music, the lyrics that accompany the film are straightforward, simple and profound. One of my favorite scenes features the song Missing Persons and some of the lyrics are:
Now I'm sitting at home, staring at the wall. Waiting for the missing person to call. Waiting for the message I'm dreading to hear. Waiting to confirm my darkest fears. She's a missing person, I wish I could see All of the places she might be. Maybe I stopped her from being free. Maybe there was something missing in me.
Davies often takes a literal approach to the lyrics, like the ones above, but other times he gets very surreal, and to great effect. There are no answers given to the viewer but piece by piece, you get a fairly good sense of what The Traveller may have done and the repercussions he's endured.
I was really moved by this movie the first time I saw it. The music and imagery is very of its time. It's obvious that Davies had to make this movie on a limited budget (and he partially funded it himself), but like so many great, underrated films of that era (Dogs in Space for instance) Waterloo is a work of art. Not only does Davies convey a real feeling dread for The Traveller's journey, but also for the downfall of England itself.
Waterloo is also one of Tim Roth's first films and his performance is quite spirited (he even sings!). In fact, this film is flooded with interesting characters portrayed by wonderful actors. There's a definite British feel to Waterloo, and it captures a place caught between prim patriotism and a country on the verge of a revolution. Davies adeptly portrays the exasperation of how the middle class lived out the decadent 80s.
Cutie-pie!
For years this movie was impossible to locate, but it is now on DVD (along with eight Kinks music videos!) and the soundtrack is also readily available. You can even rent it through Netflix. You got no excuses, so get on it, K?
Ray Davies has a cameo and sort of bookends the movie. Here is a clever promo video showing what his character was doing while the Traveller was on the train:
