No snakes were harmed in the making of last night’s episode of Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner, which was essentially two children of the ‘80s reminiscing and sharing their observations about the Indiana Jones series. The emphasis of the discussion was on the first three films, and there were no spoilers about the latest installment, “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” now in theaters. So if your concern is choosing wisely, you can guzzle from this grail with confidence! If nothing else, follow the link to see how dapper I look in a fedora and thrill to my amazing approximation of Raymond Scott’s “Powerhouse” (on which John Williams’ dad played the drums).
Speaking of dads, I’d like to direct your attention to a special belated Father’s Day edition of the show, as tomorrow night, Roy will be joined by his dad, Ron, and his son, Ryan, for an intergenerational discussion of “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World” (1963). Okay, not a lot of science fiction in this one, but it’s a milestone in a genre of behemoth comedy that 16 years later spawned Steven Spielberg’s “1941.” It’s also the grandaddy of all scavenger hunt films, and the characters destroy as much stuff as the Blues Brothers.
It’s fun to see all these mid-century comedians do their thing, even if a lot of the gags have whiskers, alongside dozens of blink-and-you’ll-miss-them celebrity cameos. It’s what I call a good Sunday afternoon movie. So watch the film, and then tune in for commentary by three generations of mad, mad, mad, mad Bjellquists, on the next “Roy’s Tie Dye Sci Fi Corner,” this Sunday evening at 7:00 EDT!
