The 8 people I still love watching with GOAT Tony Geary

Before I disappear down the rabbit hole of Anthony Geary's work on General Hospital, I wanted to give the genre's greatest of all time some props and tell my GH origin story. So rare for me to have this kind of clarity on a memory, but I've been telling this particular tale for a long time.

I was away at Girl Scout camp in 1980, and some people talking about how Luke had been knocked off a yacht by someone. They were pretty animated about it and their disgust for him. Now the only Luke I knew of at that time was from the Star Wars universe. So I said, "I like Luke!" and the quick retort was, "He's the bad guy!" I held fast to Luke's side, though, and when I came home from camp, I started watching GH. And sure enough, don'tcha know, Luke became the good guy with all kinds of adventure and a perfect love story with Laura (it was more idyllic for not knowing their origin story, I suppose.)

Is he the greatest of all time because of the legendary Luke & Laura romance that led to 30 million people watching their TV wedding and eight Daytime Emmys for Geary (that number unfathomably still seems low). No, that's not why he's the greatest but rather the result of him being the greatest.

Geary couldn't figure out how he became a sex symbol, specifically noting his receding hairline, weak chin and sallow complexion during a Soap Opera Digest interview done at the height of the mania. It was obvious to all of us drawn in by his charisma, and I probably didn't know much about it at the time, but also his attention to detail and desire to do the best job he could, even if it was "only" on a soap opera.

Guess who benefited most from this? Well, yeah, ABC ... and the soap magazines ... and the teen magazines. But also his co-stars because this guy could have charisma with a lamppost, so imagine matching up with and/or facing off against someone with talent? 

That got me thinking about his decades on the show, his fellow actors and who I loved watching him play scenes with the most. I've narrowed it down to five actresses and three actors, but Geary was capable of greatness at any moment. He was known for going off script and shaking things up, here are eight actors who could not only play that game but raise the stakes.

The five actresses:

No. 1: Genie Francis (Laura) has to be No. 1, right? ... Right! We've heard over the ensuing years that Genie didn't feel like she had gotten enough credit for Luke and Laura's success when she originally departed the show. And since she was made to feel that way, I'd have to agree. There was something about Genie's beautiful, fresh-scrubbed face that was reflected in Tony's eyes. It was a partnership, 50/50. A seasoned actress despite the fact she was just out of her teens, she wasn't the least bit fazed by Geary's penchant for flying by the seat of his pants. Not only could she match him there, but she inspired devotion because she delivered even the most soapy bits of dialogue with the ring of truth. Luke and Laura became a supercouple because of Tony and Genie, and daytime drama got a lot bigger audience and a little more respect as a result.

No. 2: Sharon Wyatt (Tiffany): Luke and Tiffany Hill were never love interests, but they were roommates for an all-too-brief period. I could have done with more scenes like Tiffany walking with her toes in the air after painting her nails and Luke completely revolted by the image. But beyond that, their mutual admiration society was always evident when they were on screen together. Luke brought a lot of genuineness out of Ms. Hill, she didn't put on airs around him (unless it was for a good cause). When her other best friend, Laura, was presumed dead, there was never a doubt that Tiffany would be there when Luke needed her. It was such an unsoapy, gratifying relationship -- always with love and humor. I credit Tony and Sharon for most of that, it probably wasn't on the page to begin with.

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No. 3: Emma Samms (Holly): When Genie departed (the first time), the pressure was on the show. What would they do with their hot commodity Tony (and Luke Spencer by extension)? They brought then-unknown Demi Moore into the fold as feisty reporter Jackie Templeton, and she and Geary had a couple of sparkling promotional photo sessions. I was one of the few who liked her, but just not with Luke, it was 1. too soon and 2. wasn't clicking properly. So, in swims Emma Samms as Holly Sutton. That worked better but really got great when Luke was presumed dead and Holly was forced to marry his best friend. So Luke and Holly may not have been meant for each other, but the chemistry remained and we got to see it resurface on a couple of occasions later.

No. 4: Robin Christopher (Skye): I really liked the combination of Luke and Skye, maybe it was because they both had some down-and-out times and birds of a feather can have a lot of chemistry together. But the Luke and "Blaze" story never completely caught fire because another opportunity presented itself. In running across this era nowadays, it seemed inevitable that Luke and Skye wouldn't wind up together, but I still can't help wishing that they had a better crack at it.

No. 5: Jane Elliot (Tracy): They absolutely weren't going to go back to the Luke and Laura well, right? OK, then this is probably the best possible matchup we could get. Tony and Jane long reigned as two of the strongest characters Port Charles has ever seen, living and loving and laughing, a breath of fresh air from the mob mania. Yeah, I might consider Luke and Tracy soulmates under other circumstances. The affinity both actors had for their characters was evident in every line of dialogue, in every sideways glance and in every emotionally denying sneer. Ultimately they were worthy of each other.

The three actors:

No. 1: Tristan Rogers (Robert): How does a day player wind up becoming a soap icon? Take Tony Geary, add Tristan Rogers and stir, do not shake! What a boon this "little" decision turned out to be. Rogers matched Geary quip for quip and vice versa. They could make something out of the most menial dialogue. Once the two characters teamed up and were the best of buddies and not adversaries, GH ascended another level. It was enthralling to watch the bromance grow and change, it added depth not only to Luke's rapscallion-turned-hero personality but gave us rooting interest in the Aussie as well. As tends to happen on a soap, that led to a battle for fair Holly's heart, but we knew somehow, someway they'd always find their way back to each other. Luke and Robert were end game too.

No. 2: Jonathan Jackson (Lucky): GH struck gold again with the casting of Jonathan when Luke and Laura returned to the canvas in 1993 with an 11-year-old who really seemed to be the byproduct of the soaps' greatest love story. He was wise beyond his years but not precocious, and he kept up with the 0-to-60 pace set by his on-screen parents. Speaking of living up to lofty expectations, the lessons from Geary have paid off for Jackson, who has six Daytime Emmys of his own. He's definitely proven to be his on-screen father's son no matter what material has been thrown his way, he's just as adept with the medium's heavier moments as he is with the kind of scenes that endear characters to viewers.

No. 3: Kin Shriner (Scott): On screen, Luke and Scott were rivals from the get-go. Off camera, they were besties. And as such, both actors always seemed to feast on their chances to face off as mortal enemies. Both had opportunities to run the gamut back and forth and back again on the show. Antagonist Luke became everyone's hero and boy-next-door Scotty turned into quite the spiteful villain when the love of his life was taken away from him -- never more evident than in the Wedding of the Century shocker that found Scotty catching Laura's bridal bouquet. And so it went back and forth over the years, the two practically grinding their teeth when they wound up in each other's orbits. But it always was riveting when Geary and Shriner had the chance to face off once again. --Paige

A Few thoughts on one Good Man

There's not much we can say about Rob Reiner's untimely passing beyond our reactions of total shock and immense sadness. But what we can express in more detail is just how much his work has meant to us over the decades in which he's been part of our lives. Reiner was a fine actor, no doubt, but where he impacted us most was as a director. It started in our formative years, and our affinity and respect for him has only blossomed in the years since.

So we're going to present three favorite Rob Reiner films apiece. We'll be leaving some other films behind in doing this list, but his work will continue to be part of our lives now and in the future.

Misery (1990): This is one of those times I read the book before I saw the movie. Reiner paired with legendary screenwriter William Goldman, who wrote the script based on Stephen King’s best seller about a writer’s No. 1 fan. Reiner did what King couldn’t (or chose not to) do: his Annie Wilkes had some bouts of likeability. There are brief moments where you almost root for Kathy Bates’ character over James Caan’s Paul Sheldon. But then you learn her backstory, witness the hideous hobbling and mourn the loss of the inquisitive local sheriff. I’m sure many squeamish viewers preferred the movie version of hobbling over the book version, but Rob surely raised the tension for that scene. Fun fact: This is the only movie in which Reiner directed someone (Kathy Bates) to an Oscar win. --Leah

The Princess Bride (1987): I think we first saw this one at a local theater together. At the time, it was nice to know a cynical 15-year-old could still find something -- anything -- enchanting. Twenty-eight years after its release, it remains my favorite Rob Reiner movie. Goldman wrote the script based on his own novel -- he wisely kept the good parts and ignored the not-so-good parts. Reiner and his cast brought those scenes to life and told a story that truly seemed to have something for everyone. It’s not a perfect movie; someone really needed to have a talk with the editor (best example: the scenes after Fezzik dunks Inigo’s head into buckets of water). But great movies are allowed to have flaws. Not-as-fun fact: Rob Reiner is the voice you hear on the audio book version of The Princess Bride. As you know, in the movie, a grandfather is reading the story to his grandson. On the audio book, a father is reading it to his son. You’ll never listen to it the same way again. --Leah

Stand by Me (1986): It is no easy feat to adapt Stephen King's work for the big screen because the legendary author is so great at what he does that even the most talented of visionaries has trouble translating the vivid imagery we conjure up in our heads to the big screen. The fact that Reiner was able to do that on more than one occasion is another testament to the man's talent, his openness and the fact that he truly understood the assignment. And not only did he do that, but he also excelled on another front that historically proves difficult for filmmakers -- bringing the aches and pains of adolescents to the big screen in a way that is heartfelt and not cloying while also remaining accessible to people not of the same age group. As a result, Stand by Me isn't just a kids' story, it's a tale that reminds us of when we were young and naive and the tell-tale moments in which all of that changes forever. --Paige

The Sure Thing (1985): Another great example of a genre that it's tough for moviemakers to get a decent grasp on, Reiner reflected upon the coming-of-age children from 1959 in Stand by Me hot off this often-overlooked gem of young modern-day college students trying to figure out who they are, and literally and figuratively deciding what path they're going to take in the world while being subjected to ridicule and derision of their peers' whims. Movies about this age group -- as well as the teenage years that preceded them -- were a dime a dozen in the '80s, because John Hughes had shown there was a sustainable market for them. But out of the lion's share of them, you'd be hard-pressed to find one better than The Sure Thing. In fact, I prize this more highly than Sixteen Candles or Pretty in Pink, because it does a better job of defining characters beyond the film's emotional core. And it's certainly head and shoulders above the allegedly titillating likes of Porky's. --Paige

This Is Spinal Tap (1984): The groundbreaking mockumentary that forever will have us cranking it up to 11 gave rise to all such films that have come since (particularly the hilarious works of one of the film's stars, Christopher Guest). It succeeds in this endeavor because it takes the title faux heavy-metal band seriously while pointing out the foibles of its members (including their dubious drummer tales of woe) and the absurdity of the record industry at the same time. Reiner played the part of the director documenting the band on camera while also harnessing all the ridiculousness from the outside for the actual movie. He gave his stars -- Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer -- the green light for improvisation and then basically got out of their collective way. And the band members had such fun doing it that the "fake" band resurfaced as a real group, releasing records and giving concerts en route to a recent return to the screen in a sequel. --Paige

When Harry Met Sally (1989): Too bad we don’t have access to multiverses so we could see how movies like Misery, The Princess Bride and When Harry Met Sally would’ve ended up if they had different directors. It’s easy to give credit to writers and assume anyone can turn a stellar script into a fantastic movie. But in someone else’s hands, I don’t think Nora Ephron’s script would resonate the way it did. Casting for this one was just as important as the timely hairstyles. And Reiner’s use of Harry Connick, Jr.’s jaunty, jazzy music is just perfect in the background. The chapter intros -- couples talking about how they met -- are a great structure for the movie. Fun fact: In an interview, Reiner once described demonstrating Meg Ryan’s orgasm scene in the deli to show her what he wanted her to do. Everyone knows Reiner’s mother Estelle had the movie's best one-liner because of that scene, but not as many people probably think about how awkward it had to be for Rob to perform that scene in front of his mom. --Leah

Sundown with Robert Redford

There's not a connection between Robert Redford and our mother that means anything outside of our family. But the movie icon's passing days after our own beloved superstar left us brings up all kinds of memories, like going to see a movie with Mom in which Redford waltzed down a Las Vegas street in an electric outfit. Or watching Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid and/or The Sting and having the best kind of eternal debate -- Robert Redford or Paul Newman? (Ultimately, I think Mom came down on the Redford side, but she loved them both.) She also enjoyed a good romantic film -- be it comedy especially if Neil Simon was involved (like Barefoot in the Park) or drama especially if Barbra Streisand was involved (like The Way We Were). 

So I'm thinking about them both at the moment, even though my favorite Redford films are mostly in a different ballpark than Mom's. I've been lucky enough to be in attendance at two New York City events featuring Robert -- a retrospective on his career and a look at one of his last roles, The Old Man and the Gun with Sissy Spacek. I thank Mom heartily for the introduction to one of my favorite actors. 

So now I'd like to present my top films of Robert's -- there will be plenty of "these were his best movies" lists going around, these are just the ones I love and watch the most. And this blog is the first thing I've written on Mom's laptop, which feels entirely appropriate.

All the President's Men: 

This will obviously be on a lot of best-of Redford lists. Robert made this one happen after buying the rights to Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward's book on Watergate, and helped transform it into a movie about the investigation that led to Richard Nixon's resignation. This film represents a lot of things for me beyond being my favorite Redford film. It's also my favorite movie about the industry I've chosen to work in for more than four decades. It's a microcosm of life in the '70s. It somehow retains tension throughout, even though you know how it ends. The thing I always think gets lost when it comes to the film is just how good Robert's performance is in the movie. He plays Woodward with an air of naïveté while retaining the journalist's drive and desire to get a story that feels like it's over his and Bernstein's heads at times. There's a scene that hits perfectly in which Woodward is on the phone talking to two different sources and he calls one by the other's name because his head is just spinning. That's the kind of detail that gives the movie gravity and sustains it.

The Hot Rock

It's a precursor to all the Oceans movies that came afterward with four men trying to pull off a diamond robbery that keeps getting thwarted -- a lot of the time thanks to their own mistakes. Redford plays Dortmunder, freshly out of prison and immediately thrown back into a life of crime. He's smart, but he's not infallible, and that goes double for the guys he chooses to associate with -- brother-in-law George Segal, Paul Sand and Ron Liebman. They get the rock out of a high-security museum, sorta, then leave it behind at a police station, fly a helicopter to try and retrieve it and ultimately swipe it from a bank deposit box. None of these attempts are typical measures and it always seems like things just won't roll their way. The words "Afghanistan banana stand" become code for knowing and appreciating the habitual crime.

Downhill Racer

Redford doesn't always play the good guy, it just kind of feels that way. And by "good guy," I don't mean on the up and up, I mean taking on more of a villainous role. As the Sundance Kid, he's certainly not on the side of law and order. Same with The Hot Rock above. There's an interesting dichotomy that comes into play, though, when you really shouldn't like his character because you go into the movie wanting to like Robert Redford. In this film, he portrays cocky David Chappellet, a skiier brought onto the U.S. team when another athlete is injured. The reason he didn't make the squad in the first place is that he's not really a team-first guy. But the squad needs him, and he is good at what he does. Chappellet clashes mightily with his coach (Gene Hackman) and he's not exactly a good boyfriend. It makes for an interesting trip down the hill.

Sneakers

This is kind of a buddy caper movie with Redford in the lead as a security pro in charge of a group of scene stealers (David Strathairn, River Phoenix, Sidney Poitier and Dan Aykroyd). Martin Bishop and his fellow hacking experts are blackmailed into stealing a black box for the government ... but is it really for the government? This collection of pros -- with Martin's former flame (Mary McDonnell) in tow -- will surely figure it out. It plays out as sort of the flip side as The Hot Rock, but with a similar sense of humor and more of an expectation that this crew can handle whatever obstacles arise.

Legal Eagles

I call this one a guilty pleasure, but I don't really feel guilty about it. Redford plays district attorney Tom Logan and gets himself into hot water -- something his boss seems to have been waiting for so he can send him packing. But an opposing attorney (Debra Winger) takes a shine to him and his daughter (Jennie Dundas) loves him, so he can't be that bad, right? More proof: When Tom can't sleep, he tap dances while eating ice cream. So when he does something even dumber -- sleeping with a suspect who becomes a client (Daryl Hannah) after he joins forces with Winger's Laura Kelly, we can forgive his trespasses while waiting for him to best another icon who recently passed (Terence Stamp) and hear an actual guilty pleasure, Rod Stewart's hit song, "Love Touch."

The Horse Whisperer

There are a lot of romantic Redford flicks out there. The one I like the most was also directed by him. In my mind, Tom Kelly is the character I most closely associate with Robert. Tom speaks with actions more than he does with words, but when he does voice his opinion, it resonates all the more. Kelly may seem to relate to horses better than he does people, but the latter just needs to be as open to "hearing" what he has to say the way horses do. So when city girl Kristen Scott-Thomas brings severely injured daughter (Scarlett Johansson) and her maimed horse to his ranch for fixin', everyone winds up changing for the better. It takes a lot of time and patience, but even the most broken characters can be healed.

Brubaker

I remember seeing this one with my mother when it came out. And it's not your garden-variety Redford movie, some of the more violent images have remained with me for a lifetime. His Henry Brubaker goes into a prison as an inmate to get the lay of the land, and then it's revealed that he's the new warden. So he knows exactly what needs to get done, but it's definitely not that easy. My affinity for this one gets an added boost because we have a kitten named Brubaker. And he was named that, by me, because our favorite cat rescuer said the orange kitten they had just taken in had eyes that reminded her of Robert Redford. Of course we wound up adopting him.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

Newman is super fine in this movie, but Redford makes it for me. But there's really no need to pick between them because the pairing -- as well as the duo's subsequent one in The Sting -- works like gangbusters. The real-life besties (their escalating car prank story is just as hilarious as tricks played in any movie) just work off each other so well that I'd be willing to have them just read the phone book on screen, let alone dive into this well-suited tale of the two outlaw cowboys. In fact, I take back what I said earlier, my favorite love story with Redford is this bromance. I don't need raindrops falling on my or Katharine Ross' or anyone else's head, just set me up with these two long tall ones. 

The Old Man and the Gun

Redford went back to the well for one of his final roles as Forrest Tucker, a 70-year-old bank robber and escape artist. It's like watching one of Roberts early ne'er-do-wells rounding the last bend as Forrest tries to awkwardly make amends while still getting his jollies as a career criminal. That alone is interesting enough, but then there's another component that makes the story even more compelling. This charmer unfortunately was his only teaming with Sissy Spacek. Man, they played off each other really well. I wish that collaboration happened a lot sooner and we could have enjoyed more moments of simple perfection with them together.

Quiz Show

For the final choice of this top 10, I'm picking my favorite directorial effort of Redford's. He didn't act in this one because he focused all his energies on the beautifully filmed and lavish spectacle that tells the story of the infamous Twenty-One game-show scandal of the late '50s. Robert does an incredible balancing act between the three leads -- Rob Morrow, who is investigating the fixing of game shows; John Turturro, a contestant who benefited from said fixing but harbored resentment when he was told to take a dive; and Ralph Fiennes, the bright-eyed handsome successor who got swept up while becoming the show's biggest winner. Add to this an incredible performance by Paul Scofield as Fiennes' father, who can't understand the country's fascination with game shows nor his son's fatal mistake. 

I could go on, Three Days of the Condor was next, but ... Afghanistan banana stand.

Hackman was THE man

I love acting. The idea of it, the craft behind it, the way it is immortalized and how it can hit home. When the Golden Globes aired in January, I had this fleeting thought about being able to talk with every single person at every single table about a project they did that means so much to me. So the concept of saying "favorite actor" is something I don't take lightly. Gene Hackman just may be my favorite actor of all time.

The way he got inside his characters, good or bad, happy or most often sad, has always resonated with me. There was always more to a Hackman character than what was on the printed page. He was able to just go deeper in both dramas and comedies, and even in a superhero franchise. So picking just 10 favorite movies is an impossible task. These are my 10 today (with an addendum from Sestra Leah), tomorrow the list could surely be different. I suspect it will change every time I watch a movie he was in. 

 1. The Royal Tenenbaums (2001): I'm very confident about making this Wes Anderson film my top choice. This is a performance for the ages, a real standout amongst the idiosyncratic beings that tend to saturate Anderson's quixotic universe. In Hackman's hands, title character Royal Tenenbaum was not only the fulcrum of that family, but he also gets to the core of the writer/director's vision. The character was so inherently flawed, his decision-making faulty and his heart sometimes inscrutable. But because of Hackman's performance, you just keep rooting for Royal, even when he says and does really appalling things. That sounds like a daunting task, and over the years, we've gleaned that it wasn't an easy shoot for the parties involved. But what they gave us must have fed off that antagonism, it serves the film and perhaps makes it even more than it would be otherwise. There's chemistry between Hackman and every other actor in the film -- from the splendid Anjelica Huston as his estranged wife, Etheline, to the endearing Kumar Pallana as his plucky pal, Pagoda. Even scenes of Royal running around town with grandchildren Uzi and Ari (Jonah Meyerson and Grant Rosenmeyer) rise above the garden-variety nature of such cinematic montages, with a callback to that scene eventually putting the perfect bow on this gift that keeps on giving. Three more Hackman performances were released after The Royal Tenenbaums, but I consider it his crowning glory.

2. Superman: The Movie (1978): Hackman is the Sestras' Lex Luthor. The my "fill in the name of a character who has had many incarnations" sentiment is one that gets wildly argued and defended in modern-day culture. We first saw Hackman in Superman, and he was everything to the film and the ongoing franchise. When you have Christopher Reeve being so stalwart and true as both Kal-El and Clark Kent, you need a villain who is exactly the opposite. Hackman's Lex Luthor was over the top, sure, but he really needed to be. If he was just a bad guy doing bad things, yeah, you'd root for the superhero but you might not actually be invested in him. Lex even tortures the people closest to him -- Otis (Ned Beatty) physically and Miss Teschmacher (Valerie Perrine) psychologically. He's a comic book villain come gloriously to life in technicolor, and he set the stage for all the baddies who invariably came after him.

3. Hoosiers (1986): Sports movies are a dime a dozen, especially ones of the underdog variety. But this one rises above the rest and it's largely due to Hackman. His coach Norman Dale has a checkered past and he doesn't want to run the high school basketball team the same way it's always been done in the small town of Hickory, Indiana. These aren't recipes for success, but definitely a blueprint for a good movie. Dale incrementally makes headway -- starting to win games helps, of course -- but the road to the state championship doesn't gloss over the details and it makes every shot even more meaningful.

4. The Conversation (1974): Surveillance expert Harry Caul is another perfect outlet for Hackman's talents, because there's a lot of internalization involved in the story. The wiretapper is hired to monitor the convo of two people walking through a busy New York City park, but through the painstaking process, he starts to piece together parts of a murder plot. With his own personal history weighing heavily upon him, Caul grows more and more concerned about his role in the outcome of the job. It's a gritty '70s movie that will unsettle you at the very least.

5. I Never Sang for My Father (1970): A lot of us may face heartbreaking realities with parental units as we get older. Hackman's performance as Gene Garrison is not only recognizable in that regard, but also offers a measure of comfort and validation of your own feelings. The film's early squabbles over a parent's need and desire to be independent hit close to home as we look to provide care for those who once did so invaluably for us. The late quarrels with dad Tom Garrison (Melvyn Douglas) make me thankful my main parental relationship has been nothing like that, and ultimately this is just a searing story in which the ultimate truth is about being mindful of the overlap.

6. The French Connection (1971): Hackman won the first of his two Academy Awards for playing Popeye Doyle, and it was the ideal matchup of actor and character because Doyle is a dedicated detective with a heck of a lot of baggage. He breaks rules, he drinks a lot, he's not exactly politically correct -- even in the '70s when that wasn't quite as triggering as it is now, it was pretty evident that Popeye isn't exactly a police poster boy. It's another dynamic Hackman performance, and it comes complete with an edge-of-your-seat car chase that was unconventionally filmed without the proper permits, and even to this day, elicits a lot more fear and excitement than those of the CGI variety.

7. The Birdcage (1996): I'd include Hackman just for the outrageous sight of him dressing as a drag queen, but it's everything that gets his Senator Keeley to that moment that makes it even more fun. See, the embattled conservative politician has traveled to Miami with wife Louise (Dianne Wiest) to meet the future in-laws -- so they think -- of daughter Barbara (Calista Flockhart). Little does he know (or really suspect) that Armand (Robin Williams) and Albert (Nathan Lane) are gay and Albert is masquerading as the mom of Val (Dan Futterman). Yes, chaos ensues to the point that the only escape is to become everything his narrow mind was against.

8. The Poseidon Adventure (1972): Disaster movies were all the rage in the '70s, and this one predates Titanic on the sinking vessel front. A luxury liner on its final voyage is befelled by a mammoth tidal wave that literally turns everyone's world upside down. As Reverend Scott, Hackman is the only one with the foresight to know the only chance of possible rescue will come by passengers making their way to the ship's hull. Only a handful of fellow travelers -- including Susan (Pamela Sue Martin), Belle (Shelley Winters) and Rogo (Ernest Borgnine) -- agree to this plan and they make their way through the doomed ship, dwindling in numbers while facing various perils.

9. Marooned (1969): I like a good space movie. This is almost one of those, bolstered largely by an all-star cast. We know the reality of Apollo 13, but what's only been hypothesized about is what if a rocket that needs to fire for the craft to return home just doesn't do it? Buzz Lloyd (Hackman), Jim Pruett (Richard Crenna) and Clayton Stone (James Franciscus) are the spacemen left in space -- and Gene has the meatiest role because Buzz understandably gets more unhinged as time goes by and the futility of rescue or repair becomes apparent. Space program chief Gregory Peck seems cool as a cucumber, of course, he's home on terra firma, so he can do things like worry about the future of the space program, even before the astronauts' fate has been sealed.

10. Loose Cannons (1990): Including this one as a guilty pleasure, not because it's among the best movies Hackman was ever in, but because I do enjoy watching it. Again playing a cop, Mac Stern is forced to team up with Ellis Fielding (Dan Aykroyd), a detective who developed extreme dissociative identity disorder after an undercover drug operation he was part of went disastrously wrong. The flick is mainly an opportunity to show off Aykroyd's penchant for impressions of pop-culture characters, but it's Hackman's reaction to him -- as well as Dom De Luise as turned witness Harry Gutterman -- that makes it such a treat. It's a crime this buddy cop movie couldn't get arrested.

Ten movies -- not really enough to explain the scope of my affection for Hackman. It's the tip of the iceberg. I didn't even get to Mississippi Burning and Scarecrow, Downhill Racer and Twice in a Lifetime, Night Moves and The Package. Even when Hackman was not the center of attention, he commanded it. He upped already respectable antes on (off the top of my head) Young Frankenstein, Postcards from the Edge, No Way Out and Unforgiven by giving them extra gravity and resonance. He made everyone around him better. I'm off to watch more ... so I can revise this list tomorrow.

And here's Sestra Leah with more on Hackman's Superman stature:

On a larger scale, Gene Hackman’s Luthor is our generation’s Lex. It probably helped that I didn’t read a Superman (or Action Comics) comic book prior to seeing the Superman movie in 1978. (The same strategy later worked for me with “my” Batman in 1989.) When I first saw Lex Luthor, it was Hackman in his 1970s-suited attire. Luckily, he’s not supposed to be a fashion icon, he’s a criminal mastermind! I enjoyed watching his Lex Luthor get thwarted time and again. He truly seems surprised when he loses. It’s probably good he doesn’t have sway over throngs of followers in the movie, but you’d think he could convince more than a bumbling fool and a lovestruck bombshell to be his accomplices. You don’t even get to see the worst of Luthor in the original cut of Superman. Did you know he tried to kill Eve Teschmacher by feeding her to a lion? If someone ever claims they tried to kill you because they "love you," run! Too bad she didn’t keep running; Eve ended up helping Lex escape from prison in Superman II. (Sorry, Otis.)

We missed out on what Hackman could have brought to the table for Superman III, thanks to the behind-the-scenes shenanigans between producers Alexander and Ilya Salkind and director Richard Donner. Gene (and other actors) took sides in the drama, which resulted in several of his final scenes in the original Superman II being “played” by a stunt man. Speaking of Superman III, instead of Lex, we were stuck with Robert Vaughn’s Ross Webster, a two-dimensional character created solely for the movie, even though there were more than 40 years of comic book villains to choose from. It’s like the Salkinds (and replacement director Richard Lester) knew they made a mistake. Hackman was somehow convinced to come back to the franchise for Superman IV. Sure, it’s not at the top of anyone’s list but it brought “our” Superman and “our” Lex Luthor back together for one last over-the-top adventure. I’ll take that pairing over Brandon Routh/Kevin Spacey, Henry Cavill/Jesse Eisenberg and (probably) David Corenswet/Nicholas Hoult any day of the week. Plus, it gave us the pairing of Hackman and Jon Cryer (think teenage Otis) who would end up playing my second favorite Lex Luthor on the CW’s Supergirl TV series. I hope Jon intentionally followed Gene’s lead.

Should we be calling Teri Garr queen of the thankless part?

Teri Garr was a recurring presence in favorite flicks of the Sestras. 

Part of the reason probably is because she's in movies we revisit over and over and over again ... possibly in the triple digits ... and the other is because she was so unique as an actor and a person that if Hollywood needed a "Teri Garr type," it had to go to the actual Teri Garr. She could do so much with a word or a look, and there was no one like her.

So picking our favorite Teri roles is something of a formidable task. Do we pick them for the project? She impacted every one of them for the better. (For example, The Conversation. She had one incredible scene with Gene Hackman that added texture to a striking film.) Or do we pick them for performance? Because there are a heck of a lot of those to choose from. One of us came thisclose to picking her M*A*S*H episode as one of the more memorable paramours of Hawkeye Pierce (Alan Alda).

In the end, we just went with our respective hearts, choosing ones that we think of when someone mentions the amazing Teri Garr. We avoided overlap to get more entries onto the list. But for two people who love ranking things, it was too much of a chore to play favorites, so we're going in chronological order instead. 

Sestra Leah:

Tootsie (1982)
Out of the five movies/TV shows I’m reviewing, I saw this one last. Last Sunday, to be exact. And it was the very first time I watched it. Teri Garr received an Academy Award nomination for her role as Sandy Lester, a struggling actress living in New York City. Sandy attends her acting classes, goes to auditions and runs lines with her bestie, Michael (Dustin Hoffman), who ends up winning the soap opera role that Sandy did not get. Of course Michael, who goes by Dorothy Michaels for this acting gig, doesn’t want Sandy to know so he seduces her to cover his tracks. Gullible Sandy then falls into a relationship with Tootsie -- I mean Michael -- but he’s an awful, neglectful boyfriend who happens to be in love with someone else (Jessica Lange) so it implodes. I guess a certain peace is reached because Michael raised funds for his roommate’s off-off-off-off (so many "offs") Broadway play and there’s a role for Sandy. But her devastation over Michael’s actions is apparent.

Mr. Mom (1983)
This was on cable a lot in the 1980s, and I do mean a lot. I started crushing on Michael Keaton because of Johnny Dangerously so it was easy to watch this one frequently. Keaton and Garr play Jack and Caroline Butler, a married couple and parents to three entertainingly exhausting children. He’s a carmaker; he makes cars. (His words, not mine.) She’s a stay-at-home mom who -- luckily -- has a college degree. When Jack gets laid off, Caroline steps up and brings home the bacon (tuna?). They both endure amusing fish-out-of-water moments before overcoming their issues and getting their way-too-tidy happy ending. Garr and Keaton are clearly comfortable around each other. When the characters are happy, stressed, angry or just plain ol’ discombobulated, you can relate because it feels genuine. But Garr gets to give Keaton one of my favorite examples of “stink eye.” After Jack tries but fails to impress Caroline’s boss Ron Richardson (Martin Mull), Caroline kisses Jack goodbye and gives him quite the exasperated stare. I’ve used that look a few times in my lifetime. 

Firstborn (1984)
Here’s another frequently aired movie from 1980s cable and it’s an interesting follow-up to Mr. Mom, in which Garr played the “perfect” mom. Here Garr is Wendy Livingston, divorcee and flawed mother to teenager Jake (played by Christopher Collett) and pre-tween Brian (Corey Haim). To cope with the knowledge that her ex moved on without her, Wendy hooks up with a crazy drug dealer named Sam (Peter Weller). Things go south very quickly as Wendy chooses Sam and cocaine over her sons and Jake reluctantly becomes the parent to Brian and Wendy. Too bad Jake and Brian’s absentee father is no help. Sure, Wendy eventually sides with her boys to get Sam out of their lives, but we know her path to sobriety will be a rocky one, if she even tries at all. I almost want a sequel to learn Wendy’s fate. Maybe it’s addressed in the movie tie-in novel that I own but have still never read.

Let It Ride (1989)
After Sestra “asked” me to save Close Encounters of the Third Kind for her to review, I told her I’d cover Garr’s other movie with Richard Dreyfuss. It doesn’t seem to be common knowledge they did two movies together. I don’t even remember Let It Ride getting released in theaters, just on video. Garr and Dreyfuss play Pam and Jay Trotter, another couple in a troubled marriage. Unfortunately, Jay likes to gamble, even though it could mean the end of his relationship. Pam should have been a detective because she baits Jay perfectly during her interrogation until he realizes just how screwed he is. Of course her emotions get the better of her, and it’s amazing her phone still works after the beating she gives it. (It’s a good thing cell phones weren’t as prevalent back then.) Pam gets to say all of the things to Jay that Ronnie Neary never got to say to Roy in CE3K. Unlike Ronnie, Pam doesn’t leave Jay, who buys her love back with a necklace. At least Pam gets the happy ending with Jay (depending on your definition of “happy”) that Ronnie never got with Roy.

 

Friends (1997-98)
Did you remember that Garr had a guest-starring gig on Friends? Here’s a little character back story: Series regular Phoebe Buffay (played by Lisa Kudrow) had a very traumatized childhood which she disclosed a bit at a time over the course of the show and often with a sense of humor. Phoebe’s mother Lily committed suicide and her father, Frank Buffay (Bob Balaban), abandoned Phoebe and twin sister Ursula. In the third-season finale, Phoebe reached out to Lily’s best friend Phoebe Abbott (played by Garr) who revealed she, not Lily, gave birth to the twin girls. (She, Lily and Frank were in a throuple.) In the fourth-season premiere after the initial shock wore off, the Phoebes started to bond. We saw Teri one last time in the 11th episode of the fourth season. Her comedic timing was pretty spot-on during her three episodes. And if for some reason you didn’t enjoy her arc, imagine Garr (as Ronnie Neary) and Balaban (as Close Encounters' David Laughlin) consoling each other after Roy Neary leaves on the mothership.

 

Sestra Paige:

Before I start, just a few words about Tootsie for a second. Jessica Lange won the best supporting actress Oscar for that 1982 movie. Problem was she was more deserving of best actress for Frances, but was blocked there by Meryl Streep for Sophie's Choice. So Jessica got best supporting actress and Teri's best chance for the little gold man fell by the wayside. Personally I think Garr was better in Tootsie than the Oscar winner. 

Also I didn't want to leave out some of my favorite Garr moments -- she was one of David Letterman's all-time favorite guests. So I'm going to sprinkle in some videos between my picks, because whenever I think of Teri, I think of these. Dave had a crush on her, and he didn't hide it well. It was so charmingly awkward that all their interactions reflected that fact.  

Young Frankenstein (1974)
It's my favorite Mel Brooks movie for a reason -- and that reason is the unparalleled cast bringing Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley's creation to life. (Putting Shelley's surname in the credits is one of the early jokes, right?) Gene Wilder is brilliant as the title character, the grandson of the doctor depicted in early Frankenstein film incarnations. Apparently he looked exactly like Grandpops, judging by the portrait hanging in the Transylvanian abode. Every single actor on the canvas garners laughs -- Garr's first one comes from a roll in "ze hay." She plays Inga, called upon to assist the good doctor in and out of the operating room. I think it was this film that really got me into studying Teri's reactions, what was expressed on her face serves as subliminal dialogue. The other actress I appreciate in this manner -- Madeline Kahn -- also rocks in this movie and I really enjoy the fact that, although they might be considered on-screen rivals, they don't need dialogue to drive home that point.

Oh, God! (1977)
In 1977, Teri Garr played the frazzled wife twice. In both, her character's husband experiences something beyond belief. Beyond what a normal woman trying to keep her home in order in the '70s could comprehend anyway. I don't think there were a lot of support groups ready, willing and able to help, and if there were, how would she have found them without social media? But I digress. In Oh, God! (which came out a couple months before my favorite film of all time), John Denver (Jerry Landers) plays an assistant supermarket manager approached by God (George Burns) to spread the good word. Not in a bombastic way, just through basic human kindness. Problem is wife Bobbie (Garr) and the world at large might have been more ready to believe in the appearance of extraterrestrials. Well, not quite (see below), and these filmmakers tweaked their ending (how did they know when it came out first?) so both of Teri's characters wouldn't be filing for divorce. 

Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
Sestra made a few references to it -- kind of like when Richard Dreyfuss' Roy Neary has those subliminal impressions but doesn't know the full picture until he sees Devils Tower on the screen. Roy's moment of clarity only comes after Ronnie Neary (Garr) and his kids have cleared out, though. Close Encounters is a very divisive movie, if you can't get past the fact that Roy bails on his family, you're probably not going to buy into his ultimate journey to meet the aliens. I get that, and one of the reasons it's the case is because of Teri's work. She went all in on the '70s wife and mother, even shopping for the Neary set. The actress didn't bat an eye in the movie's most emotional scene when Adrienne Campbell (Silvia Neary) wouldn't stop complaining about a fly in her mashed potatoes during filming. "It's all right," Garr says as Ronnie in the take that made it into the final cut. That kind of poise solidified her place in "a wonderful film" -- those are Teri's words, said to me a decade ago.

After Hours (1985)
So much happens just because poor beleaguered Paul Hackett (Griffin Dunne) wants a plaster-of-Paris bagel-with-cream-cheese paperweight in downtown Soho. Well, that and a date with Marcy (Rosanna Arquette). After Hours is populated with a ton of eccentric characters played by quirky actors with Garr's kind of caché. It might been tough to make a memorable impression in such circumstances, but not for Teri. She specialized in lonely hearts, and waitress Julie might just have been the loneliest lonely heart of them all with her retro wardrobe, beehive hair-do and vintage record collection. Paul's ill-fated date with Marcy might have seemed like the opposite of a meet-cute, at least until Julie tries to seduce Paul with a cross between The Monkees' "Last Train to Clarksville" and Joni Mitchell's "Chelsea Morning." Then she has one of those meltdowns that can only happen when someone hurts your feelings after you've passed the breaking point. 

Dick (1999)
One of my favorite films of all time is All the President's Men, so picking a flick that flips the script of history is akin to saying the moon landings didn't happen. But Dick leans so far into alternate reality that it doesn't come anywhere close to initiating that kind of response in me. Kirsten Dunst (Betsy Jobs) and Michele Williams (Arlene Lorenzo) vibrantly portray the teens who find their way into the White House. Arlene even crushes on President Richard Nixon (Dan Hedaya). The girls uncover through a series of wacky circumstances instigated by yummy-looking (and dosed) brownies that he's not a dreamboat and become the impetus for his downfall. Garr plays Arlene's mother, Helen, and it's picture-perfect casting. The fact that she references the era's Reese's peanut-butter cup commercials -- "Your peanut butter is in my chocolate ... Your chocolate is in my peanut butter" -- is like hitting the mother lode in a Walgreens' post-Halloween candy sale.

 

It's only love ... love ... love for Tina

It's always a blow to lose an icon, someone beloved who we've appreciated since childhood. And that hits harder for some celebs than others because we haven't realized their impact on our lives until hearing the sad news. That's what it was like with Tina Turner.

Tina's an absolute legend in our time and a queen. She had legs and she knew how to use them. Her lore features tales about how she influenced others -- she brought out Mick Jagger's trademark strut and swagger when they played on the same bill in the '60s -- and how other icons assisted her -- as the story goes, David Bowie abetted her '80s return to superstardom by ensuring she wasn't dropped by Capitol Records. But those stories, embellished upon over the years, remain totally befitting of Tina's stature.

Upon watching the wonderful 2021 documentary Tina, it's evident she could never get totally free of the metaphorical shackles placed upon her during her relationship with abusive ex-husband Ike Turner. She was asked about it all the time in interviews. Tina thought writing a book on the subject would put an end to such questions, but because legions of women who had gone through similar circumstances identified with her, Tina still was besieged by the media for comments about what she went through. The trend continued with the release of the Oscar-nominated biopic, What's Love Got to Do with It, and again when Tina: The Tina Turner Musical hit Broadway.

With that in mind, the Sestras are presenting five favorite moments and five songs that remain ingrained in our brains by the indomitable force of nature who was born Anna Mae Bullock but whom the world came to know for being, in her resounding words, simply the best.

Sestra Paige's five seminal Tina moments:

1. River Deep, Mountain High
Phil Spector wrestled control from Ike Turner to fulfill his vision of putting Tina on top of his trademark Wall of Sound production for "River Deep, Mountain High" in 1966. It was baffling to the legendary troubled producer when the song didn't hit big in America, only climbing to No. 88 on the charts, although it was hugely popular in England and the rest of Europe. Following that, a disillusioned Spector withdrew from the music industry for a couple of years. Time has been much more kind to the song, and it now rightfully looms large in Tina's legend. Twenty-one session musicians, including Darlene Love, Glen Campbell and Leon Russell were recruited to produce the massive orchestration. In Tina, she recalled the glory of finally being able to sing in a completely different manner than what she was doing on the Chitlin' Circuit. Years later, she told Rolling Stone that during the recording she belted out the song about 500,000 times, ending up drenched in sweat and singing in her bra because her shirt was soaking wet. We can hear, and feel, all of that in the finished product.

2. The Acid Queen
The first time I saw The Who's Tommy in the '80s, I was like, what the heck is going on here? And the second, and the third, until I guess it eventually clicked for me. But what I recognized straight away was what a force Tina was as the Acid Queen. That much was undeniable. And perhaps it did serve as the gateway for eventually understanding the entire rock opera. With a queen that dangerous yet that seductive, one would be pretty much powerless to resist, right? Tina really gave everything she had to the role, she was fearless no matter what was asked of her -- and some really peculiar things were asked of her. And it was equally unsurprising that a decade later, she would wind up being crowned yet again when a whole new generation of fans was enchanted when Tina took on her role of Aunty Entity in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. Just in case you didn't know, there were two versions of her namesake's song, one for the Tommy soundtrack and one rerecorded for her album Acid Queen.

 

3. The Prince's Trust Rock Gala (10th Anniversary)
My tastes started shifting away from American Top 40 in the late '80s, and around this time, I found two Prince's Trust concerts on VHS. The 1986 show had a cavalcade of stars -- Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton, Elton John, Phil Collins, Mark Knopfler, etc. -- for the 10th anniversary of the charity event. Tina's the one blowing everyone else away. The video starts with her belting out "Better Be Good to Me" with the all-star band, and it's a performance of unrelenting power. Then Tina performs "Tearing Us Apart" with Clapton -- one of my all-time fave E.C. songs. She awakens the often-reserved Eric, inspiring him to impassioned vocals and solos. Tina returns at the end of the show to sing "Get Back," and the camera catches McCartney's view. Joy and perhaps a modicum of intimidation spread across his face as Tina struts and ponies across the stage in her black tank top, shimmery red mini-skirt and high heels. Which musician would be fearless enough to share the microphone with Paul? Tina, of course! Her vocals pretty much bury everyone else's, and at one point, Paul cheekily warbles, "Tina, I hear you!"

 

4. Break Every Rule Tour
The Tina moment in time I'd most like to revisit is the one I'm least able to do. I saw Tina play live once -- on Nov. 14, 1987 at the University of South Florida Sun Dome. I was living on campus at the time, so it was just a stroll up the street to see the legend. Tina's dream was to sell out football stadiums (something women were just not doing in that arena) -- and she set a world record a couple months later when 188,000 fans turned out for her Rio de Janeiro show. In Tampa, she sold out a basketball arena, and all I remember is that it was glorious. The setlist was: What You Get Is What You See, Break Every Rule, I Can't Stand the Rain, Typical Male, The Acid Queen, Girls, Two People, Back Where You Started, Better Be Good to Me, Addicted to Love, Private Dancer, We Don't Need Another Hero (Thunderdome), What's Love Got to Do with It, Help!, Let's Stay Together, Proud Mary, Show Some Respect, It's Only Love, Overnight Sensation, Nutbush City Limits and Paradise Is Here. But I've taken some solace in the fact that her Live in Europe release the following year largely includes the setlist in the same running order. I bought that on cassette when it came out, so it was as long ago as it feels.

5. Ally McBeal
I am a huge Ally McBeal fan, and truth be told, Season 3 wasn't the strongest of the show's five seasons. But one major selling point for the schizo middle season was "The Oddball Parade" with Tina's appearances at the law firm's favorite watering hole anchoring one of the episode's stories. Not only was Tina performing at the bar for a few nights, but there was also a contest to be her backup dancer at the final one. Tina opens the show with a soulful version of "A Fool in Love," and then Ally (Calista Flockhart) and Elaine (Jane Krakowski) prep for the auditions. One would think there's no way hyper-talented songstress/dancer Elaine would lose out to Ally, but the show's not called Elaine Vassal, is it? There are some fun cutaways to Tina during the auditions, which utilized "Proud Mary" riffs to weed out the competition, and Tina chuckles heartily at some of the more outrageous contestants. Eventually, Ling (Lucy Liu) helps Elaine save face, and even though Ally doesn't get to be buddy buddy with Tina, she does live out her dream ... until she starts having McBeal-ian fantasies during Tina's otherwise jaunty performance of "When the Heartache Is Over."

Sestra Leah's five favorite Tina songs:
I don’t have a personal memory of Tina Turner. I didn’t see her perform live in concert. I didn’t meet her at comic cons celebrating Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. Most shockingly, there are no Tina songs soundtracking key moments in my life. But Tina entertained and inspired people; her decades-long legacy is a true example of that. 

 

1. It’s Only Love: I find it amusing that my favorite Tina song is actually a Bryan Adams song. It's included on his 1984 album Reckless, which was released six months after Tina’s comeback album Private Dancer. There’s a live version that was recorded during Turner’s Private Dancer Tour in 1985 that gives me goosebumps. “Tryan” (or “Bryna?”) are having so much fun during that song. If they toured together when I was an adult, then I’m sorry I missed it.

2. Let’s Stay Together: Tina included a cover of Al Green’s classic love song from 1971 on the Private Dancer album. I used to wonder whether she was singing it to/for someone specific. Have you read the lyrics? They’re desperate, emotional, optimistic and pessimistic at the same time. I hope she just sang it because she loved Al’s song. That’s why I sing it.

3. We Don’t Need Another Hero (Thunderdome): I was late to the Mad Max party. Really late. Like “Fury Road looks go so I’ll start watching them” late. Fury Road was released in 2015. I finally started watching the four movies in 2020. (Blame COVID. Or thank you, COVID. Your call.) The third movie, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, was released in 1985 with Tina curiously cast as a ruthless ruler in a post-apocalyptic world. (And her name Aunty Entity sounds so benign.) The soundtrack consists mainly of Maurice Jarre’s movie score, but Tina sang this song which played over the end credits. Of course, it ended up being one of her most popular chart hits and still gets frequent airplay. Fun fact: Tina’s saxophonist is Tim Cappello, who most Gen Xers recognize from 1987’s The Lost Boys, in which he performed a live version of The Call’s "I Still Believe." Definitely my favorite scene in that movie.

4. Typical Male: Tina definitely seemed to favor the same writers when she got onto the Capitol label. Terry Britten and Graham Lyle received writing credit for "What's Love Got to Do with It," "We Don’t Need Another Hero (Thunderdome)" and this song, which was included on Turner’s Break Every Rule album in 1986. (They wrote a bunch of other Tina songs, but that’s for someone else’s list to cover.) This is a nice feel-good tune which will have your head bopping and your toe tapping before you even realize it.

5. I Don’t Wanna Fight: In 1993, Tina’s story was released as a major motion picture starring Angela Bassett as Tina and Laurence Fishburne as Ike. The movie, What’s Love Got to Do with It, performed well at the box office and resulted in some well-deserved acting awards and nominations for its stars. Since it's based on Tina’s autobiography, her input and cooperation were essential. She sang this song for the movie which, surprisingly, was not originally written for her. Doesn't it feel like the perfect ending to that chapter of her life? This song reminds me of "Layla" by Derek and the Dominos. To simplify its history, Eric Clapton wrote it about Pattie Boyd, a woman he loved who was married to his friend, George Harrison. You can hear the desperation and pain in the lyrics in the 1970 recording. Flash forward to 1992. A more mature, world-weary Eric Clapton performed "Layla" live for MTV Unplugged. That version shows how Slowhand evolved and the tale just became a mellow, matter-of-fact bookend to his life’s trauma. The following year, in 1993, Tina accomplished the same vibe with "I Don’t Wanna Fight." She not only survived, she persevered.

X-Files S11E10: Our final 'Struggle'

Sestra Amateur: 

Well, we made it! A little more than seven years, 217 episodes, two movies and an X-Fest that resulted in the epic cover photo on the Sibling Cinema Facebook page. At times it was a … struggle … but this was quality time with my Sestra, so it was totally worth it. 😊

How does it end for FBI Special Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully? "My Struggle IV" already has a giant negative against it; "My Struggle III" (Season 11, Episode 1) revealed Cigarette Smoking Man to be William’s father, not our long-suffering hero, Fox. Some of you may be surprised to see me writing something positive about Mulder, whose actions I’ve called on the carpet more times than not. But at least he loves Dana and had a consensual sexual relationship with her. Cancer Man’s actions toward Scully over the course of this series are beyond reprehensible. 

I can’t even imagine the existence of a fan base that “ships” Scully and CSM. (Skullsmoking? Cancerly?) William’s paternity is a plot twist “worthy” of a writers’ strike scab. (Need examples? Think of your favorite show’s storylines from the 1988 and 2007-'08 TV seasons. Some never survived. RIP Pushing Daisies.) But The X-Files' creator himself, Chris Carter, has the sole writing credit on "My Struggle III" and "IV." How did he plan to fix this mess? Did he think he would have the time and broadcasting ability to right (write?) this wrong in Season 12? Well, let’s jump in and see what Carter does. Or did.

There’s a frantic pace to this episode. I know it was written that way but after lollygagging in bottle episodes since "Ghouli" (S11E5), which advanced William’s story, this feels unnecessarily forced. As I mentioned earlier, we’re not off to a great start. I’m currently enduring what will hopefully be the final voiceover of the rewatch. Teenaged William is the offender this time. He’s explaining his psychic connection to birth mother Dana, his happy childhood, his growing powers. From visions, William knows CSM is his father. At least he despises the old man even if he doesn’t really know why. Meanwhile, drama is playing out between Cancer Man and his eldest son, Fox, but we’ll come back to that. Instead, we flash back to Agent Mulder hunting down William in a cheap motel in Norfolk, Virginia.

At FBI Headquarters, Assistant Director Walter Skinner is having a bad day. Deputy Director Alvin Kersh is giving him an earful about Mulder encouraging Tad O’Malley’s conspiracy theories. (You remember Tad, don’t cha? Played by the always-entertaining Joel McHale, we last saw him in S10E6's "My Struggle II"). Kersh is being his usual rigid self; he wants the X-files closed – again! – and Team Sculder fired from the FBI – again! (I know James Pickens, Jr. is capable of so much range. I never understood why XF writers chose not to take advantage of it more often.) 

Cancer Man taunts Walter on the phone about releasing the contagion unless Skinner finds William. Finally, Scully corrals Walter, begging for his help because Mulder and William are being pursued. Dana takes credit for the alarmist comments attributed to Fox on O’Malley’s web show. Flash back even further and we see Team Sculder are receiving information from former ally Monica Reyes about William’s whereabouts. Monica hangs up then pleads ignorance when CSM asks her whether she has any information about his son. Maybe we’re finally seeing the real Monica Reyes again. I certainly hope so.

Mulder attempts to locate William but gets accosted by Mr. Y’s security team. Remember Mr. Y? He was working with Erika Price (Barbara Hershey) in "My Struggle III." Surprisingly, Fox gets the jump on them and holds Mr. Y at gunpoint. The man claims people will kill to have what William has. Then Mulder kills another guard and – before he can obtain more information – Mr. Y. Dana’s investigation leads Fox to a convenience store in Tennessee. Someone puts a tracker on Mulder's Mustang while Fox follows his next lead: William hitched a ride with a trucker.

Scully calls O’Malley to tell him about the impending unleashed virus. He, of course, wants her to go on the record. Mulder finds the 18-wheeler but William is gone. Probably because the kid terrorized the truck driver. I think that’ll be the last hitchhiker he ever picks up. Dana tries to warn Fox about the future but he’s obsessed with finding “his” son. Meanwhile, the man who was tracking Mulder stumbles across William and offers him a ride. William heads to his ex-girlfriend’s house. You'll remember her from "Ghouli." Actually, there are two ex-girlfriends; William goes to see Sarah Turner while Fox ends up at Brianna Stapleton’s house. Brianna isn’t very helpful but Sarah agrees to meet William (aka Jackson) at a nearby motel. Mulder gets to Sarah’s house, and when he tells her he's William's father, she gives him her ex’s hiding location. 

Fox arrives at the motel in Norfolk and hugs the boy after saying he's William’s father. Meanwhile, Erika finds what’s left of the tracker who gave William a ride. Kind of looks like William did more than scare his driver this time. William expresses his frustration to Mulder about the future. The kid thinks his own death will prevent it from happening. Unfortunately, that’s when Erika and her men break into the motel room. Mulder nobly tries to save William but the teen can take care of himself. He explodes Erika and her three henchmen with his mind. (The cleaning deposit is not going to cover that.) William takes off and a devastated Fox calls Scully. Instead of firing Dana, Skinner drives her to Norfolk.

You’ve got to give O’Malley’s followers credit; he already has video footage of the bloody motel room slaughter. Back in his car, Mulder calls Sarah to help him find William. She directs him to a sugar factory near the docks. While Team Sculner head toward Mulder, Walter tells Dana the truth about William’s father. Mulder flies past them with Scully and Skinner in hot pursuit. After they arrive at the factory, Dana searches for Fox and her son while Walter investigates an occupied vehicle nearby. Scully finds Mulder; Skinner finds Cancer Man and Reyes. CSM makes Monica speed toward Walter and he shoots at the driver. Yes, Skinner killed Reyes. (So much for her redemption. Who’s going to tell John Doggett?) The speeding car then careens into Skinner. Congratulations, Mr. Carter. You managed to make a bad storyline much, much worse.

Back to the Sculder drama; Fox tries to convince Dana to let William go. Actually, it’s William glamouring himself as Mulder. (Remember, he can look like anyone.) Fox arrives and the chase continues. Meanwhile, Cigarette Smoking Man, barely fazed by the car crash, picks up Skinner’s gun. During the chase, William changes back into Mulder. That’s when Cancer Man finds him and holds “Fox” at gunpoint. William keeps up the charade until CBG Spender shoots him in the head. “Mulder’s” body falls into the water while the real Fox shoots his father several times then pushes him into the water. (Right, because measly bullets are going to kill a man who was literally blown to pieces and still came back to life.) Scully finally catches up to Mulder. They cry over William for about 12 seconds, then Dana reveals she’s pregnant. But William’s not actually dead. He doesn’t even look like he took a bullet to the head. Guess he'll get his wish to be left alone. Now will somebody please go check on Skinner?!?!

Sestra Professional: 

It's all come down to this. Or more appropriately, it's all come down to this?!?!

When The X-Files started, Dana Scully was a beacon. In the Clarice Starling/The Silence of the Lambs mold, she exhibited smarts while being able to hold her own in an environment largely dominated by men. Not only did she inspire women to get into her chosen field(s), be it medicine or law enforcement, she sparked the rest of us to follow in her "little feet" -- Mulder's words from S3E13's "Szyzygy," not mine -- to have faith and do what's right. In the end, "what's right" wasn't done by her.

This may be your last good chance: Monica Reyes has gotten the short end of the stick as well. When we blogged the final episode of the original series run, I said I found her to be the most standup character of the entire series. She told the truth in "The Truth" (S9E19) no matter what it was going to cost her, because that's who she was as a person. We've never gotten a satisfactory answer about why she worked for the Cigarette Smoking Man. And to me, this oversight is just as egregious. I can't forgive or overlook these offenses because the insipid "My Struggle" saga tainted one of my favorite shows of all time.

But back to Scully, this woman is so attuned to her son that she foresaw the pandemic through William's eyes. That was a lot more on target than the purported alien invasion of Dec. 22, 2012, once allegedly soooo important to the series but never referenced again after that date passed. And now our big finale starts with a voiceover by Jackson/William. I could buy this particular bit of business if there was a revival/reboot centered around his antics, but as a capper to our 11 years/two movies of pain and suffering, uh, nope.

I had some payback to pay back: And somehow Dana gets pushed to the side as "My Struggle IV" largely becomes about fathers and sons. We've already seen the Fox/CGB dynamic play out many times. Not to mention Kersh calling for Mulder and Scully's badges and Skinner trying to cover for them ... nice to see you guys, but yeah, another big ol' yawn. Apparently Chris Carter's at the bottom of his writing bag of tricks (it wasn't that big to begin with). Now he's got Mulder shooting guns more than shooting off his mouth. Talk is cheap in the finale.

Except where Dana's concerned, because she gets to play whistleblower and give Tad O'Malley the exclusive he's been jonesing for since we first heard of him. Although that wasn't real, that was what the future might be, right? Now I'm all mixed up. Oh well, nevermind. Meanwhile, William's got his own soap opera going on with two girls willing to cover for him as much as they can, even though they both seem to know things aren't going to pan out with him. Our only smile of the episode probably is David Duchovny's daughter, West, as Sarah's friend saying the line: "I don't believe you're his father."

Death will hunt you down: I guess I just don't understand the point of chasing the kid when they know they can't contain him and he'll just make them implode or explode. They must have been just hoping against hope for containment. Baddies like Mr. Y and Erika Price didn't display much personality, but they used to come across with more definition in the days of the Well-Manicured Man. In fact, I think we got better motivation from Season 1 Monsters of the Week. There was no investment in these people, so we aren't bothered when their heads get squeezed like grapes. (That last bit is not of my invention, but from a review I read at the time that seems to be lost in the ethers. It's still in my mind, though. Maybe it's the Mengele Effect ... or the Mandela Effect.)

Sestra Am rightfully points out that we indeed didn't get justice for Monica, nor any justification we were looking for in regard to her uncharacteristic flip to the dark side. Those of us who care about such things probably still think CSM was holding the welfare of John Doggett over her head, because personal safety wasn't something the show's more forthright character seemed to be more concerned about. I might kind of buy it if her rationalization was still Mulder and Scully, as her impassioned speech during "The Truth" showed how outraged she was at the treatment they were getting after all they did for humanity. And no one thinks Skinner's really kaput, right?

It's more than impossible: As for Mulder-CSM's final standoff, apparently no one but Fox thought CGB wouldn't shoot his first-born son. And as Sestra Am pointed out, no one's going to buy his death from a few bullets and a push off a pier when ultimate evil survived inflagration from a rocket. These things are no more or less believable than Dana and Fox getting a second chance at having a kid. A normal one at that. So with that eye-rolling plot device, the Sculder story comes to a conclusion. Except our heroes don't even get the last shot of their show, because there's William's noggin emerging from the water. So a pandemic is still on the way, and unlike the 2012 alien invasion, that one actually happened.

How to get past all of this? I'll start with rewatches that don't include the Season 11 "My Struggle" components. I have so many great memories associated with The X-Files -- among them, attending the X-Files Expo in Miami in 1998, going to see Fight the Future in the theater and having pizza afterward to discuss every little moment, the frenetic "It's Krycek!" phone calls during the commercials of the original airing of "S.R. 819" (S6E9),  podcasting with the dedicated denizens of X-Cast and meeting so many fellow X-Philes at the X-Fests, the fun of getting autograph additions for the "yearbook" (my copy of The Complete X-Files) and the ultimate capper, seven-plus years of this rewatch blog with my amazing Sestra (she's a pro!) 

The X-Files' future remains up in the air, but we will be back. Perhaps that revival/reboot will come to pass, but we'll definitely have a rewatch blog for the spinoff Lone Gunmen series. The truth is out there, and we want to help find it.

Guest star of the week: Disappointment in the last show was all about the story, not the performances, but seriously, what a waste of Oscar nominee Barbara Hershey as Erika Price. Still, William/Jackson was set up well to be the centerpiece of a reboot, and Miles Robbins seemed more than up to that task. With very little to go on, he became part of this franchise and a possible face for fighting the future.