Ep. 53: We Are As Gods

Hi! My name is Terry J. Aman and this installment marks my 53rd episode of "VideoFuzzy," my twice-monthly progress report on cataloging more than 2,800 VHS transfers and digital recordings. In this installment, titled "We Are As Gods," I highlight a short-lived Steven Bochco courtroom cable drama "Raising the Bar," pulling up the pilot episode for my Friday Night Feature.

In Cross Connections, I trace "Studio Six Feet Under" connections from that show through J. August Richards and Teddy Sears, then tracking actors Mark-Paul Gosselaar and J. August Richards' multiple appearances throughout my collection, as well as golden thread represented by Mark A. Sheppard.

In my Classic VHS-to-DVD Collection, I found several fifth-season episodes of "24," along with a few episodes of Monty Python's Flying Circus, featuring some racist language that has not aged well, but also featuring a couple of housewives pondering the human condition culminating in a visit to Jean-Paul Sartre, so these guys, you gotta take the good with the bad. Also, Tom Cavanagh in "Love Monkey" and The Daily Show's spoof of the Obama intro video at the 2008 DNC.

Then, as the title reference for this entry, I found Tom Lenk as Andrew Wells in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," the seventh season episode "Storyteller," a scrap of video featuring The Trio dancing about in Elysium fields with gold and a unicorn singing "We Are As Gods." I took a run at recreating that here, and in all modesty .. nailed it. :D

In my Nerd Shows, my Classic Collection also turned up an episode in a History Channel science series called "Evolve," tracking the evolution and adaptation of skin across so many millions of years and species. Fascinating.

In my direct-to-DVD Current Collection, I discuss the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards, "Pose," "Preacher," "Claws" and "A Million Little Things." Samantha Bee highlights expanded reproductive services provided at clinics in southern states to expand public support.

In VideoFuzzy at the Movies, I touch on broadcast presentations of "I Now Pronounce you Chuck and Larry," "Dragonwyck," "I Wake Up Screaming," "The Bishop Murder Case," "Hangover Square," "Spider-Man: Homecoming," "The Bone Collector" and "The Perfect Guy," as well as "Sweet Charity," "Steel Magnolias" and "Woman Times Seven," featuring Shirley MacLaine and Peter Sellers. Finally, I encountered the Turner Classic Movies presentation of Vanessa Redgrave and Dustin Hoffman in 1979's "Agatha," exploring the real-life disappearance of queen of crime Agatha Christie. I first heard about that intriguing little speculation on the "All About Agatha" podcast by Kemper Donovan and Catherine Brobeck, and you can check that out here.

In What I've Been Watching, Ralph and I recently finished watching all episodes of "Polar Bear Cafe" on Crunchyroll, and in upcoming shows, we'll be taking in the Fargo-Moorhead Community Theater production of Michael Frayn's "Noises Off!" They do a great job and I'm very much looking forward to that.