The constant stream of entertainment input offered by every flickering screen our insatiable bloodshot eyes can fix on has resulted in yet another spew of reactions from the staff at AllMovie. From handball bloodsport to post-structuralist 80’s cartoons; read on and check out how the so-called experts have been logging their viewing hours.

Cammila Albertson
Jem and the Holograms
It’s kind of a cop-out for me to write up Jem as my What We’re Watching contribution, because I basically put this show on by default. Part of it is nostalgia — I watched this awesome, high-heeled, neon pink vinyl ecstasy trip of children’s programming between the ages of four and seven when it originally aired, and sticking in the DVD’s really does take me back. I also watch it for the previously mentioned glittery rock star sci-fi madness. Just imagine me trying to explain the premise of this show to the room when I put it on for background entertainment at a party recently: Jerrica Benton is the young, stylish owner of Starlight Music, and manager of the kick-ass “rock” band Jem and the Holograms, except really she and Jem are secretly the same person, and Jerrica just alters her appearance to switch between the two identities with the use of holograms that are beamed from her earrings, which are powered by a computer called Synergy, which her dad imbued with a simulacrum of her dead mother’s soul (!) before he also died, leaving his music company and charitable foundations to Jerrica. She and the Holograms also run a home for runaway girls.

“That’s some crazy Evangelion type shit!” my friend David exclaimed. Exactly. It’s a corny “Girl Power!” cartoon for kids, and most episodes consist of adventures in thwarting the evil mischief of bitchy rival girl band the Misfits, but for some reason none of the producers even batted an eyelash at the unmitigated tragedy and spiritual ambiguity of this insane premise. It’s the mystery that gives the show its edge. Well, that and how they got the rights to name that band the Misfits.

Sarah Block
The Beijing Olympics
When I first heard reports that the Beijing Olympics were “the most anticipated Olympics ever,” I thought, huh? I mean, there were the human rights violations and the pollution concerns, and some guy named Michael Phelps, but otherwise, what was the big deal? But from last Friday’s mesmerizing opening ceremony (I’m such a sucker for that “thousands of people doing the same thing at exactly the same time” thing) through last night’s women’s gymnastics all-around final (thanks for getting me to bed at 1:30, NBC!), I have been drawn to the TV day after day after night, watching whatever the seemingly dozens of channels that are broadcasting the Games will throw my way. Team handball? Sweet! It’s like soccer, football, and basketball all rolled into one game. A badminton showdown between Chinese Taipei and Angola? Hell, yeah! It’s like 10th grade gym class x 100, complete with overhead smashes. And synchronized diving? Come on — how do they DO that? Of course, there are the typical crowd-pleasers like beach volleyball, basketball, gymnastics (I won’t even go into the insanity of those rings…), and that Phelps guy, which are enjoyable, too. But it doesn’t seem to matter what’s on, I find myself compelled to stick around to find out what happens. Suddenly the outcome of the bronze medal women’s fencing bout (or maybe it’s called a ‘match,’ or a ‘joust’? — I think I’ll call it that in my mind, at least) seems like the most important thing in the world. Go grocery shopping or make a dentist appointment instead of finding out who prevails in the 65kg group clean and jerk weightlifting final? (I probably made that event up) — forget it, those things can wait. And Ping-Pong hasn’t even started yet! I guess I know what I’ll be doing for the next nine days…

Jason Buchanan
Castle of Blood
Sure Castle of Blood may be a bit slow to start by modern standards, but it virtually oozes gothic atmosphere and once the eerily beautiful Barbara Steele shows up, Antonio Margheriti’s classic haunted castle flick becomes a Pandora’s Box of terror, gradually revealing an unseen world where death plays out time and again and the dead never truly rest in peace. This is the kind of flick that’s best enjoyed somewhere around midnight with the lights out and the curtains drawn. If anyone in the Detroit area happens to be reading this, keep an eye on the Nightmare SINema schedule for the next month or so, because Wolfman Mac and the gang will be airing Castle of Blood when the show comes back from hiatus in late August.

Spaced
It’s been a long time coming – damn near a decade in fact! – but the geektastic BBC comedy series from the creators of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz has finally seen a proper stateside release courtesy of BBC Home Video… and though we would have liked to see it sooner we’re happy to say it was well worth the wait. For anyone who likes their comedy served stylish, smart, and with an extra side of tasty, pop-culture savvy, this is the series for you. Not only that, but the US release offers all the features of the UK release and then some. One of the greatest things about watching Spaced is trying to pick out all of the wickedly clever pop culture references, and thanks to the patented “Homage-O-Meter” viewers can find out just how fast their trivia reflexes truly are. Also, due to the fact that this particular release hit the shelves nearly a decade after the series aired, the producers had the opportunity to produce a feature length documentary about the series as well as provide footage of the 2007 reunion question and answer session with director Edgar Wright and writer/star Simon Pegg, as well as commentary tracks featuring the likes of Quentin Tarantino, Kevin Smith, and Patton Oswalt. A fantastic series that will hopefully find a whole new fanbase with this Region 1 DVD release, Spaced is that rare series that went out on such a high note (it was only two seasons – or series’ – long) that the biggest complaint one can muster is that before you know it you’ve watched the final episode and you’re left wanting more. Thanks to the wealth of bonus materials, however, fans still have much more to digest and enjoy once they’ve finished the series proper. A true “must have” to comedy and television fans alike.

Perry Seibert
The Deal
The first-rate docudrama The Deal tells the story of British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s rise to power, and his complicated relationship with fellow Labour party leader Gordon Brown. Like The Queen, The Deal was directed by Stephen Frears, written by Peter Morgan, and co-stars Michael Sheen as Blair - making the two excellent companion pieces. While The Deal is certainly a solid piece of work, it does lack the psychological nuances of The Queen, but to be honest most films do. Also, since it was made for British television, The Deal makes references to events that Brits and Anglophiles will know well, but others might feel like they are missing a piece of the puzzle. That said, if you enjoyed The Queen (and really, why wouldn’t you have?), give The Deal a look.

Nathan Southern
The 7 Faces of Dr. Lao
A personal favorite since childhood, this most unusual, offbeat blend of revisionist western and mid-1960s fantasy from George Pal stars Tony Randall in the titular septet of roles – Merlin, Pan, Medusa, Apollonius, the Abominable Snowman, The Serpent, and Dr. Lao himself, the owner of a traveling circus. Best of all is the serpent bit, an animated segment where the Claymation snake-in-the-cage deliberately resembles the actor with whom he interacts, the great Arthur O’Connell, though he’s voiced by Randall. Shades of Dragonheart, years before its time. The striptease segment with Pan and Barbara Eden is also great fun.

Harvey
“Years ago my mother used to say to me, she’d say, ‘In this world, Elwood, you must be’ - she always called me Elwood – ‘In this world, Elwood, you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant.’ Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant. You may quote me.” Indeed. Jimmy Stewart never falls short of thoroughly enchanting in this fable about individuality and acceptance, as the genial alcoholic whose best friend is a pooka – a six foot tall invisible rabbit whom no one else can see. This one just looks better with each passing year. Josephine Hull won an Oscar for her portrayal of vexing Vita Louise Simmons, Elwood’s aunt, who conspires to have him put in a mental institution, though Stewart (who also picked up a nomination for the film) deserved a statuette far more than she did. Rumors are now circulating on the internet of a remake where the rabbit is visible. Count me out, unless he’s voiced by Bobcat Goldthwait.

Tom Jones
I watched this period romp again recently in preparation for my upcoming career retrospective blog feature on Susannah York; she’s wonderful in it as Sophie Western (and I’ll address that more in the feature at hand), but the film packs in many other highlights as well. Ushering in an atmosphere of zany frivolity, Tony Richardson perfectly manages to capture the picaresque spirit of the Henry Fielding novel. And the suggestive dinner scene now claims iconic status. It deservedly won the Best Picture Oscar in 1963.

Jeremy Wheeler
Black Sunday
I often think of how hypocritical I’ve been throughout my still young life when it comes to entertainment. Like was Give ‘em Enough Rope or Sandinista! in my collection when I was lamenting over how tragic it was that The Clash weren’t around anymore in my grungy high school days? Of course not. Well the same still goes for Robert Shaw. I’ll crow til the day’s end on how sad it is that the guy is gone 30 years after his passing, but bet me to name 10 other flicks of his off the top of my head – other than Jaws – and you’ll have me pointing at invisible stuff in the sky and running the other way as soon as you turn your back to me. Which brings us to Black Sunday… whew, this is one hot-cooker of a John Frankenheimer ‘70s thriller. It features Bruce Dern as a kooky-as-hell Vietnam vet who teams up with the Black September terrorist group (responsible for the Munich Olympic tragedy) to take out the Super Bowl with a bomb-rigged Goodyear blimp, with only Israeli military officer (Shaw) standing in their way.

While it’s notable most notable for being based on Thomas Harris (Silence of the Lambs) novel, I’ve found that it has stuck with me thanks to Frankenheimer’s implausible use of Robert Shaw as a pre-modern action hero. Now it’s not as if our man Quint is driving station wagons into jetliners or anything (even though I’d love to see that), but it is quite something to see his character rappel from a helicopter to the top of the blimp and hold on for dear life as it crashes through the Miami football stadium on a deadly course towards the 50-yard line. Only through the power of his knot-tying – and subsequent untying – does Shaw come through in the last second and facilitate the towing of the blimp over a body of water, where he is whisked away on the helicopter’s tow cable just before the blimp mightily explodes. One wonders how much CG would be used in this day and age to achieve what Frankenheimer does with a few carefully constructed optical effects.

As far as Shaw goes, he’s a mean machine in the flick – with one shot of him kicking in a door going down as certainly one of his most badass and iconic — or at least, one of the most iconic that I’ve seen so far. As far as that bet goes, at least I’m one step closer to collecting that dough then I was before. (Cue point, yell & run away here)