Episode 3 - "Mr. Denton on Doomsday" and "The 16 mm Shrine"
It is great to be back after a long absence. Unfortunately, the podcast has been off the air due to life's litlte unforeseeable events. I've done an overhaul of my sound system, so we now have a better audio quality. In our last episodes, we discussed "Where is Everybody?" and "One for the Angels." Instead of doing just one episode per podcast. I want to tackle two in one show. Another change is that I will review the episode rather than go through a series of study questions. It covers the types of questions I've asked in the past but compacts it a bit more. We now have 115 subscribers!!! I'd like to thank you for hanging in with me and for yoru e-mails asking if the show would continue. :) We've gotten some mixed reviews on ITunes. Some really enjoy the show and others don't. That's okay because nobody can please everyone. This is a new avenue for me, so it's an experiment and an experience in growth and learning. I'm always looking for new ways to make the show innovative and fun. Any suggestions and feedback is certainly welcome. Review for "Mr. Denton on Doomsday" Written by Sharon Hawkinson This was not one of my favorite episodes. When I first saw it, I had a hard time concentrating on it. Perhaps a part of it was because I’m not a western fan nor a fan of western settings. I had to watch the episode a number of times before I caught the meaning and theme of it (call me a ditzy blond). Al Denton was someone to pity. Yes, he was the town drunk, but there was obviously a reason as to why he got into that shape. He was a well known gunslinger, a perfect shot who could drop his opponent just like that. It’s a heck of a thing to be famous for. I would say it would drive many a person to drink, knowing that your existence is based on the kill-or-be-killed statement. This episode certainly proves that, even though a person can hit rock bottom, there are ways to climb out of the pit. Thanks to Henry J. Fate, Al Denton is given a second chance. Once again, he falls into his old gun slinging fame, but in the end, he doesn’t win, nor does he lose. Both he and his opponent are shot in their good hands, thus ending their careers as famous shooters. Now, does Denton stay reformed? Yes, I believe so. I feel he has learned a lot from his days as a drunk and knows he doesn’t want to go back to that. He would not want to once again lose the respect of the town, and last but certainly not least, there is a woman who is sweet on him. She believed in him and stuck up for him even when Denton couldn’t do that for himself. If an epilogue was in the works, it would probably point out that he and Liz Smith (the said woman) probably got married and now had a family. Remember, in the episode, it was said that it was a story to tell his grandchildren and now, he’d live to have them. My rating for this episode – three out of five stars. Review For "The 16 mm Shrine." Written by Sharon Hawkinson Barbara Jean Trenton is an aging, washed-up actress who yearns for her former glory days. She spends her days and nights in her private screen room where over and over, she watches her own films, reveling in the romantic lead parts she played. She wishes with all her heart that things could be as they once were. Ida Lupino was a terrific actress who played this role wonderfully. She captured the emotions of Barbara Jean exquisitely and truly brought her to life. Although Lupino did a marvelous job, I don’t particularly care for Barbara Jean as someone I might like. To me, she was arrogant, spoiled, demanding, and somewhat snobbish. Of course, these qualities still exist in her older self. I do pity her in some ways, however. It’s hard for some people to grow old. Not only do they age physically, but times also change. Barbara Jean can’t accept that she is no longer romantic leading lady material. She is given a chance for a role playing a mother, but she is devastated by that prospect. She is further driven o
