Jack_1515

I caught the show when it ran on a retro TV channel and loving Jimmy Stewart and curious about it, I gave it a try, but with boring characters and boring scripts it's easy to understand why the show only lasted one season.

The age difference between Stewart and Julie Adams is too wide to ignore. Although just 18 years apart, Stweart looks much older than his 62 years and Adams in her 40s could easily pass for 10 years younger.

For a college setting in the early 70s the campus seems to be completely detached from the concerns of times. The lone Black faculty member played by Hal Williams disappeared after one episode. Series producer Hal Kanter in James Stewart: A Biography by Donald Dewey reported that Stewart protested against having a regular African American cast member as a faculty member in a position higher than Stewart's character because it would alienate Southern viewers. The character was dropped after one episode.

The best part of the show was John McGiver whose over-the-top performance also showed moments of vulnerability (at least in one episode where his character is rejected by an infatuation). A young Kate Jackson also made her mark in a few episodes as a student.

As a curiosity, it might be worth checking out an episode or two for serious retro TV fans, beyond that, there is not much to recommend.

A loving tribute to Gene Wilder, but perhaps a bit too loving. Not mentioned are his first two marriages, his broken relationship with his adopted daughter Katherine - who is not mentioned at all. Terri Garr, who co-starred with him in Young Frankenstein, briefly dated him, and who has been critical of Wilder's behavior at the time is noticeably absent.

The best and most welcomed parts of the documentary are the coverage of Wilder's early years. Rare photographs, interviews, and audio from the man himself provide depth. Peter Ostrum who played Charlie in Willy Wonka and the Choclate Factory is a welcomed sight and provides great insight into Wilder's performance and technique as an actor.

Nevertheless, the film, while mentioning Wilder's movies, generally is uncritical of them, particularly his later films. The only negative thing they say is noting Willy Wonka lost money.

As Julie Nimoy is one of the executive producers this approach reminds me of the treatment of her father's first marriage in "Remembering Leonard Nimoy," which she also co-executive produced. Nimoy's divorce gets about 10 seconds of coverage -literally.

A good film, but some noticeable omissions.

I get the show is not every Sven fan's favorite, but I love it. The skits, the humor, the cast of characters, the summaries of the movies. It's a lot of fun, but more along the lines of Space Ghost Coast-to-Coast.

Admittedly, the show got off to a slow start in season 1, but mid-way found it's strid and season 2 established a good recurring set of characters, and storylines. Yes, the humor is juvenile, the characters over-the-top, but that has always been part of the horror show host menu.

I actually checked out a couple movies I never saw because of the summaries on Sventoonie, and it was fund to see some of my favorites get skewered. To be honest, I wouldn't mind Sventoonie getting his own horror show gig and host a full-length movie.