Ringo Starr: Back Off Boogaloo

Ringo Starr: Back Off Boogaloo
VH1
Song released 17 March 1972
Music Video
VHS
B-

One of Ringo's Top Ten hits, this sort of has an actual video, although why he's befriending Frankenstein is lost in the mists of time.

The Beatles Anthology: Episode 3

The Beatles Anthology: Episode 3
ABC
November 23, 1995
Documentary
VHS
B+

"And in the end the love you take, is equal to the love you make."  Backing up to Brian's death, this is mostly about the "slow death" of the Beatles, so there's less giddiness here, and more reflection.  No mention is made of the years that came after the break-up, including Lennon's murder, but John's spirit is present throughout of course.  My favorite part is about the rooftop concert in Let It Be, especially with the reactions of the spectators, including a delighted little old man.  Overall, a very moving documentary, maybe not "complete," but very satisfying.

The Beatles Anthology: Episode 2

The Beatles Anthology: Episode 2
ABC
November 22, 1995
Documentary
VHS
A-

This takes us into late '67, so it definitely covers a period of the Beatles that is more interesting to me.  Also, I laughed out loud several times, at everything from Ringo praising George's song-writing skills and then asking, "Which of his songs was on Revolver?", to psychedelic-era John doing the Twist.  With both parts (maybe not so much in Part Three I'm guessing, with the break-up and all), I remember that, despite all the drama, this was a four-sided bromance, and part of the charm and joy of the Beatles is that they enjoyed being together and they invited us to watch and listen.  It's fitting that the episode ends with the "Real Love" video, mixing vintage and '95 footage.  Again though, death is omitted, even as important a death as Brian Epstein's.

The Beatles Anthology: Episode 1

The Beatles Anthology: Episode 1
ABC
November 19, 1995
Documentary
VHS
B+

This is the version that aired on ABC, edited from the version that had aired in Britain, and of course not containing whatever's on the DVD version.  And through a concatenation of circumstances, I honestly never watched it before.  The ex taped it at the time I think but then I spent the following semester in England (and, yes, went to Liverpool) and somehow never got around to playing the three videotapes, until now.  I'm very pleasantly surprised.  There's a great deal of material-- footage, interviews, and even songs-- that I don't have in any other form.  The editing is well done, concise and yet playful.  And the whole thing ends with the video to "Free As a Bird," which I'd also never seen before.  (I'd of course heard the song, and "Real Love.")

The documentary isn't perfect.  To take just one example, it feels weird to hear about Julia Lennon and Stu Sutcliffe and not have their deaths mentioned.  The darker side (other than in Hamburg) is generally omitted, and there so far is no mention of the Beatles' wives or siblings.  This part goes up to mid-1964, with Ringo happily rejoining the group on tour after having his tonsils out.  I look forward to the other two parts, especially since, to be honest, I don't like the pre-Rubber-Soul music of theirs as much.

(And, no, I'm not going to tag everyone, but I will note that a youngish Dudley Moore appears briefly, and we see clips from The Wild One and The Girl Can't Help It.)

Paul McCartney: So Bad

Paul McCartney: So Bad
VH1
From the Pipes of Peace album, which was released on October 28, 1983
Music Video
VHS
B-

Paul, Linda, Ringo, and the other guy pose for the cameras in this video for a light but likable song.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: I Won't Back Down

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: I Won't Back Down
Song released April 1989
Music Video
DVD
B

Petty again uses then cutting-edge visual technology but it's Ringo who steals the show.  Also features fellow Traveling Wilburys George Harrison and Jeff Lynne.  Note that the "book and box" motif would be reused in future TP & HB videos.

2 on the Town: The Beatles

Hostess Melody Rogers around that time

2 on the Town: The Beatles
CBS
Sometime between July and October 1987
News
VHS
C+

Half-hour-long local station report on the 20th anniversary of the Sgt. Pepper album, although too much of the show is about promoting the show, and not enough time is given to seeing the Beatles, including contemporary interviews (well, one-liners) from Paul, George, and Ringo.  Of historical interest at this point, including the excitement of Beatles music being released on CD for the first time.

Alice in Wonderland, Part 1

Alice in Wonderland, Part 1
CBS
December 9, 1985
TV-Movie, Children's, Fantasy, Musical
VHS
D+


OK, let's just start with the mind-blowing cast:

• Sheila Allen (producer Irwin Allen's wife) as Alice's Mother
• Scott Baio as Pat the Pig
• Red Buttons as the White Rabbit
• Sid Caesar as the Gryphon
• Imogene Coca as the Cook
• Sammy Davis, Jr. as the Caterpillar (he played the Cheshire Cat in the 1966 TV version, which I haven't seen)
• Sherman Hemsley as the Mouse
• Arte Johnson as the Dormouse
• Roddy McDowall as the March Hare
• Jayne Meadows as the Queen of Hearts
• Robert Morley as the King of Hearts
• Anthony Newley as the Mad Hatter
• Donald O'Connor as the Lory Bird
• Martha Raye as the Duchess
• Telly Savalas as the Cheshire Cat
• Ringo Starr as the Mock Turtle
• Shelley Winters as the Dodo Bird

On the one hand, it's cool to see such an eclectic array, but on the other, I spent most of the time feeling sorry for them, especially (if I had to pick just one) Shelley Winters; here's an acclaimed actress and you dress her up as a bird and just have her screech and do a silly dance while George Jefferson sings?  (Her Match Game appearance is classy in comparison.)  As for ten-year-old Natalie Gregory (probably seven at the time of filming) as Alice, she's OK.  Her wig looks really fake, but that's not her fault.  She's very American, but then so is most of the cast.

The writer is Paul Zindel, who may know how to write a quirky Young Adult novel, but did also contribute the screenplay for 1974's Mame.  As for the director, Harry Harris, he didn't work on any of my other shows, and the closest he ever got to an intentional comedy was Eight is Enough.  The worst part though is that the songs are by Steve Allen and they're almost uniformly dreadful.  In fact, both Zindel and S. Allen make the mistake of substituting their own material too much for Carroll's and there are no "Very Merry Unbirthday" moments here.  The absolute nadir is the Tea Party, where I was wincing the whole time.  The scenes with the Queen of Hearts are second worst, mostly but not entirely due to Meadows.

I thought maybe D+ was too harsh, and I did consider a C-, but the other complaint I have is that not only don't Harris, Zindel, Allen, and Allen seem to understand Lewis Carroll, but the program isn't even consistent within itself.  The relatively nice character of the Cheshire Cat is given a depressing song, while the thoroughly unpleasant Mad Hatter is given a song about laughter.  And Alice is told that she needs to grow up, when as we all know, she's just about the maturest seven-year-old in literature.

Selma Archerd, who was the 2nd PTA Lady on The Brady Bunch, plays the Queen of Diamonds.  Douglas Maida, who was a Ball Player on Who's the Boss? a few weeks earlier, is a Courtier here, while Fish Footman Scotch Byerley would be Gary on WtB.  Frog Footman Robert Axelrod would contribute "various voices" for the American version of Noozles.  John Walter Davis, who's the Seven of Spades, would be Ted Graham on Roseanne.

My review of the book is here:  http://rereadingeverybookiown.blogspot.com/2012/02/alices-adventures-in-wonderland.html.  Part 1 ends on a cliffhanger with the Jabberwocky, and technically into the Looking-Glass portion of the saga, presumably to get the audience to tune in for Part 2 the next night.  I don't think I would've at 17, but I did tape the three-hour back-to-back version that aired on cable a few years later, and would sometimes watch it in a train-wreck kind of way.  (Part 2 is better though.)

Magical Mystery Tour

Magical Mystery Tour
BBC
December 26, 1967
TV-Movie, Musical, Fantasy
VHS
C+

It's easy to see why critics blasted this 48 years ago, and why many fans have said, "It's not that bad."  It's always tricky to be objective about the Beatles, and gosh knows I've seen this multiple times, although not recently.  I think it remains an incoherent mess with some good songs in it, including a show-stopper by the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band.  In evaluating it now, I tried to just simply grade how entertaining it is, and I must admit that even the best songs are not filmed terribly well, and there's more filler in the film (including dream sequences) than I remembered.  I still would rather watch this than Help, and not just because it's shorter.

The genre labels are the best I can do: it's definitely a musical, the wizards make it fantasy, and it is a movie made for television.  It has been shown theatrically, but not till much later, unlike the situation with, for instance, Enchanted April, which was made for TV but got a big-screen release.