Today in Supreme Court History: July 23, 1936

7/23/1936: Justice Anthony Kennedy's birthday.

Justice Anthony Kennedy

 

Comments

[Dan Schiavetta]

In re Roche, 448 U.S. 1312 (decided July 23, 1980): Brennan on First Amendment grounds continues stay of subpoena in disciplinary proceeding against state judge requiring news reporter to identify which source on list of witnesses provided which information even though reporter during deposition had already given all the information in substance and identified all sources as being somewhere on the list; Brennan believed cert would be granted but there is no further record of this case

In re Discipline of Quinn, 567 U.S. 955 (decided July 23, 2012): order suspending Brian S. Quinn from practicing before the Court; Quinn later consented to be stricken from the rolls; Pennsylvania Supreme Court disciplinary decision against him recounts drug convictions and related malpractices; he became advocate for overcoming addiction (and does presentations on the topic for the same CLE outfit I do presentations for)

[Mr. Bumble]

What a trooper.

[Dan Schiavetta]

today’s movie review: Takin’ It Off, 1985

This stunning cinematic achievement is viewable on youtube. Its star, Kitten Natividad, product of breast enlargement though not nipple enlargement, was always good company and, like a lot of porn stars, had good acting chops but could not get into mainstream because, y’know, she’s done porn! (Hollywood is not controlled by rational decisonmakers.)

Not that this is a porn movie. What sex there is is simulated. Kitten plays a stripper who wants to get into serious acting (art imitating life) but has been told that she has to reduce her bust first. The “plot” involves various various attempts, from psychotherapy to diet to exercise, mostly involving the old vaudeville shtick of older men failing to get somewhere with a hot babe who is smarter than she seems. (Johnny Carson did this expertly with his Art Fern character.)

As an original Star Trek fan I recognized Angelique Pettyjohn, who played a green-haired alien babe in a bikini whom Kirk seduces (I mean, an actual green-haired alien babe in a bikini whom Kirk seduces) in one of the original series’s worst episodes. Here, instead of having to recite inane lines with a straight face, she gets to ham it up. Her soliloquy in the dressing room, as to her strip club going under if Kitten removes her boobs from the premises, struck me as on a par with “Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow . . . ” from Macbeth. Then again, I was drunk at the time.

Much of the movie is taken up with the stage shows of Kitten and her co-stars, the kind of thing middle aged men in those days found sexy. I sure didn’t. In the ’80s I went through two relationships with dancers (no — that’s not how I met them) and I would drive them to their gigs, and pretend to be a customer (attempting to shame the other guys by throwing 5’s onstage instead of 1’s). D’Jenaba and Theresa were never less attractive to me than when onstage. Though they were bringing a lot more $ in than I was, doing maintenance on transmissions.

At the end Kitten succeeds in taking two inches off her bust and getting a “real” acting job — as the host of a children’s show. We see her fully-clothed self finishing an episode of “Little Betty’s School”, stroking a toy giraffe’s neck and delivering her catchphrase — “If you can’t find someone to play with, play with yourself!”

Everyone seems to be having a great time making this movie, which ends with six naked women running through the woods to a “Rocky”-style tune. What I remember most is the wonderfully inventive Lucia Lexington, wordless until the closing credits, who skillfully operates a stick marionette (the “Nookie Monster”) which keeps attacking her and making rude comments. The only other time I've heard of such a thing is in the online story, “Nobody Messes with Patty Kowalski” (where Patty’s marionette is called “Lucky”). I did some research for this post and discovered that Lucia is still around with the Monster (fully clothed these days); her band is called “Little Zippers”.

[Mr. Bumble]

Another trip back to Time's Square?

[Dan Schiavetta]

I saw this in law school, when for the first time in my life I had a VCR and there was a rental store across the street.

As for Times Square, I vehemently deny that in 1977 my friend Ricky Hernandez and I went to “peep shows” to see 15 seconds of porn for 25 cents, or that I once threw ten dollars at a naked, pregnant dancer in a booth just before the curtain closed, or that in 1989 I drove 100 miles from my house upstate in my ancient VW bug and left it for an hour in a parking lot on 46th Street with the motor running the whole time because the battery was dead and there was no hill around where I could pop the clutch.

[SRG]

The moment you mentioned "green haired alien babe" and "worst episode" I knew it was "Gamesters of Triskelion". (Still, nothing beats Yvonne Craig as a full-on green babe.)

[Dan Schiavetta]

I agree.

For sheer beauty on display Yvonne Craig was the best.

Runners up were Sherry Jackson in “What Are Little Girls Made Of?” and Diana Ewing in “The Cloud Minders”.

[Mr. Bumble]

Susan Oliver in "The Menagerie" is right up there.

[Frank Drackman]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUMrDdY-66Q
I wish I could have a "Nurse" like Edith.

[Magister]

Once again Frank passes on scantily clad promiscuous alien women in Star Trek to lust after the woman who dresses like his mother.

[Magister]

Sure, any episode of the original Star Trek series is among the 79 worst episodes, and also among the 79 best episodes. Gamesters of Triskelion is somewhere in the middle of the pack.

[David Nieporent]

Spock's Brain, of course, is objectively the worst episode.

[Dan Schiavetta]

I agree. The other really bad episodes at least had a plausible premise.

[Magister]

Another planet run by a supercomputer kidnaps Spock (or at least just his brain) to keep itself going, and that's worse than the planet of people who breed like Tribbles and hate contraception but are OK with kidnapping Kirk to introduce a widespread plague? Worse than every other supercomputer/super alien running some planet badly? Worse than the planet of Nazis, the planet of modern day Romans, the TWO planets of ancient Greek refugees? The other planet run by a supercomputer which is served by people who are ignorant of sex?

Yeah, it really is the worst episode. But a number of other episodes said "Hold my beer" only to come up a little short.

[Dan Schiavetta]

The danger of computers -- either running amok or outliving the race that built them -- was a frequent TOS theme, but you couldn't blame the writers or the viewers, with so much becoming computerized around that time, including the possibility of nuclear annihilation.

By my count these are the episodes where computers are causing trouble:

"What Are Little Girls Made Of?"
"Dagger of the Mind"
"The Menagerie"
"Shore Leave"
"The Return of the Archons"
"A Taste of Armageddon"
"The City on the Edge of Forever"
"The Changeling"
"The Apple"
"The Doomsday Machine"
"Catspaw"
"I, Mudd"
"The Ultimate Computer"
"Spock's Brain"
"The Paradise Syndrome"
"For the World Is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky"
"That Which Survives"

[Magister]

I think the Star Trek supercomputer which has to be reasoned into self-destruction was pretty much the influence of Alphaville (1965).

That's a stretch on some of the episodes you list: no particular computers in Dagger of the Mind, The Menagerie or The Paradise Syndrome. The computer technology is doing what it was reasonably designed to do in Shore Leave, A Taste of Armageddon, and The City on the Edge of Forever (not even clearly a computer), even if that purpose was not terribly agreeable to the Enterprise crew.

Ironically, Kirk started his career of destroying bad computers in "What Are Little Girls Made Of?" by turning the android Ruk bad after reminding him of the equation, that survival must cancel out programming.

(Episodes with aliens whose technology or power the Enterprise cannot begin to match outnumber the bad computers left behind by aliens or created by humans, ranging from Charlie X to The Savage Curtain.)

[Dan Schiavetta]

In Dagger of the Mind Dr. Adams becomes overly enamored of his machine and starts misusing it.

In The Menagerie the “Keepers” have become addicted to the illusions their computer produces.

In The Paradise Syndrome the computer that’s supposed to protect the planet malfunctioned. Also badly designed in that the death of a witch doctor before passing on his “secret” defeats the purpose of the deflector. Although Sabrina Scharf is so good as Meramonee (and think — the character still risks her life to defend her husband even after he’s been exposed as a fake!), and the photography is so beautiful, that it’s a good episode to watch.

[Magister]

Dagger of the Mind: it's a machine, not specifically a computer; a futuristic electroshock therapy.

Menagerie: not clear that the Talosian power is from a machine of any sort and not their own psychic powers; they seem completely in control of the illusions. (Sad that the Federation ignored their warning and invented the holodeck not that much later.)

The Paradise Syndrome: at best, another computer operating as it was designed; the previous shaman(s) let it down by not preserving the secret of its use (or preserving knowledge independently of it), and Kirk stumbled into it, damaging his memory; can't blame the technology for that, it seems to me. I don't see any indication that the obelisk embodies any real automation; it does speed learning and asteroid defense, when properly activated for each function. If its builders had made it more automated, would it have destroyed the Enterprise as a potential threat (as other similar systems elsewhere tried to do in other episodes?); if the asteroid defense didn't need to be activated, why bother to have shamans who know anything about it?

[Sarcastr0]

Camp saves Spock's Brain for me.

'The Alternative Factor' is the worst one.

[Dan Schiavetta]

Yes, that was bad, but the idea of Good Lazarus entrapping himself with Bad Lazarus for eternity to save both universes is something that stays with one.

[David Nieporent]

Not only is ST not supposed to be camp, but remember the context: CBS had cancelled ST, and one of the first "please give us back our show" fan campaigns actually worked, and CBS uncancelled it and gave another season. And that is the episode they gave fans to open the season.

[Dan Schiavetta]

I am proud to say that I was one of the letter writers. I was 11 at the time and my letter probably showed it. But it worked!

Though the network (this was NBC, not CBS) then buried it in a late time slot and cut its budget, the letter writing campaign did show the extent of the fan base which persisted and led to the incentive for the movies and TNG. Though by then I had stopped being a fanatic (I think puberty had something to do with that).

And of course we all love "Galaxy Quest", don't we!

[David Nieporent]

Sorry on the network error, but the rest is correct.

And, yes, Galaxy Quest is the second best Star Trek movie of all time, after Wrath of Khan.

[Magister]

Sorry, you are already identified as the Dr. Ed 2 of Star Trek commentary. Star Trek IV is better than Wrath of Khan. Even some of the reboot movies are better than it.

[Sarcastr0]

Maybe not supposed to be camp, but Trek stumbled into it a lot. And I say that as a pretty Trekkie who cut his teeth watching TOS with his dad taped from the midnight showings on network TV.

Maybe it's just me encountering the 1960s as a child of the 1980s.

But for me the greatest sin is pacing fail. Spock's Brain is at least well paced, even if it's neuroscience is laughable, it's sexism is as strong as almost any ep, and it's ending is more Vulcan-ex-machina. I was entertained.

Can't say that for poor old Lazerus's confusing mess.

[Magister]

Star Trek was broadcast on NBC; CBS turned it down because they had Lost in Space and didn't want another similar series.

[Michael P]

Apparently this movie was followed (direct to video) two years later by Takin' It All Off.

[Dan Schiavetta]

That doesn’t surprise me, There seemed to be too much plot for just one movie. /s

[Sam Bankman-Fried]

Lol

[Frank Drackman]

Star Trek TOS reference???
Captain, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship (No Homo)
Yes, that was one of the worst TOS episodes (Some peoples say "Plato's Stepchildren", but hey I'd play Tonsil-Hockey with Uhura on any Stardate)
Favorite? there's so many, the Spock/Kirk duel in "Amok Time" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQL9U-fCQ64
Probably would settle on "City on the Edge of Forever" still holds up, which is saying something for an episode from 1967 (and featuring a 30-something Joan Collins)
Was 6 when NBC stupidly (some things never change) cancelled TOS in 1969, so didn't watch it in its original run, but reruns started soon after...

Frank "He's Dead, Jim"

[Frank Drackman]

and Bonus, Link to a Photo of the TOS Cast at Palmdale CA, 1976 checking out the new-fangled “Space Shuttle” (whatever happened with that?)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nichelle_Nichols#/media/File:Space_shuttle_enterprise_star_trek-cropcast.jpg (Bones, Scotty, George Takei (Oh My!), Uhura, Chekov, Shatner was away shooting “Barbary Coast” (or maybe that "Columbo" episode)

Frank

[Frank Drackman]

Man, so much Polyester, in such a small space.

[Sarcastr0]

Call me old fashioned, but I like the Corbomite Maneuver and The Doomsday Machine myself.

[SRG]

I have a fondness for "A piece of the action" - certainly one of the least serious episodes, but one of the most entertaining.

[JoeSaysStuff]

Also, the birthday of Don Drysdale.

[Frank Drackman]

Great Broadcaster, man, he was only 56 when he died of a Heart Attack?? With Statins/PCI’s he’d have spent a few hours in the hospital and maybe missed a game or 2. As a Lefty I liked Sandy K but as a pitcher loved D’s philosophy, a little “Chin Music” then drop Uncle Charley on the outside of the black, Oh, and he did Cameo’s on “Leave it to Beaver” and “Brady Bunch”

BONUS https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Drysdale#/media/File:Vin_Scully_(center),_Dodgers_announcer,_in_Dodgertown_for_Spring_Training_with_pitchers_Don_Drysdale_(left)_and_Sandy_Koufax_(right),_1985.jpg
Frank

[Dr. Ed 2]

There's still nearly $5000 he didn't refund.

[Dan Schiavetta]

How much is that in quatloos?

[defaultdotxbe]

More than enough to wager on some newcomers I imagine.

[Frank Drackman]

it's actually just "Space Seed" no "The" (rhymes with "Duh")
and thanks for not trying to say Khan was just "45" with better hair.
and Sally Kellerman?? I could still (redacted) one out, and this was before she was the original "Hot Lips" Hoolihan...
and as for "Balance of Terror"
OK, you frequently joke about my mom "Servicing" entire teams of Afro-Amuricans, when she actually worked at Letterman Army Hospital in 1968-1970 with maimed Soldiers/Sailors/Marine Corpse/Air men from Veet'nam and retired from the VA doing pretty much the same thang,
But, TOS fan-dom crosses all borders (I hear Puty Pute is a TOS fan)

Frank "You and I are of a kind. In a different reality, I could have called you friend."

[Dan Schiavetta]

“The Devil in the Dark” and “Charlie X”.

[Mr. Bumble]

...in any event it did have some hot looking women.

Aside from the two above there were Kathie Brown in "Wink of an Eye", Barbra Babcock in two episodes "A Taste of Armageddon" and Plato's Stepchildren", France Nuyen in "Ellan of Troylus"... well to mant to name and at least one hottie in every episode.