One of those things I have an awareness of if not intimate knowledge, "SCTV" aired in the 70s and 80s and gave rise to a number of talents.

Perhaps my favorite aspect of this "Patty Duke Show" parody of theirs is the refrain; the insistent guitar twang that follows "'Cause they're (insert occupation here)!" always makes me laugh.

Undercover Blues (David Newman)

Married spies Jeff (Dennis Quaid) and Jane (Kathleen Turner) just want to vacation in New Orleans with their baby girl. Unfortunately, all manner of ne'er-do-wells refuse to give a moment's peace. Decently entertaining action-comedy gets most of its juice from the bantering of its engaging leads, but ultimately, it's Stanley Tucci who steals the film as the vicious-yet-hapless assassin, Muerte.

There are still many David Newman scores that have yet to see official release and this is top of the list for me. Truly a flavorful score, from its whistled main theme to the clever orchestrations (some Spanish guitar here, a typewriter there).

Undercover Blues
composed and conducted
by
David Newman
1. Main Titles 1.23 2. Walking with the Newmans 0.32 3. "My name is Muerte!" 0.07 4. Stroller vs. Knife 0.35 5. Curious Hobo 0.13 6. "It's a bad world." 0.39 7. A Fair Fight 0.35 8. An Intruder? 1.04 9. C-22 0.58 10. Chopper to Novachek 0.34 11. Foster's Home 0.25 12. Off the Chain 0.42 13. Candid Camera 1.57 14. Muerte Returns 0.55 15. The Next Table 0.09 16. No Sudden Moves 0.26 17. Food Fight 0.40 18. Making Out 0.56 19. Pillow Talk 0.33 20. A Cold One 0.11 21. Tired? Very. 0.51 22. Another Visitor 0.25 23. Buried Treasure 0.30 24. Toy Alligator 0.23 25. The Specialist 0.37 26. Jane's Probe 0.52 27. Extraction 0.10 28. "He's empty." 0.27 29. At the Zoo 0.10 30. Alligator Pit 1.00 31. Rope of Clothes 0.50 32. Dress-up 0.24 33. The Pick-up 1.21 34. Muerte Hangs Out 0.36 35. "I love you very much." 0.58 36. Jeff Sneaks Out 0.24 37. "Follow that cab!" 0.24 38. Louise Walks 0.59 39. The Tracker 0.40 40. Confronting Jane 1.22 41. On the Docks 0.28 42. "Good morning, Mr. Blue." 0.27 43. Catching Up 0.54 44. "You know what to do." 0.59 45. Escape and Gunplay/Mud Fight 5.15 46. Coup de Gras 0.07 47. Last Flight 0.20 48. Setting Sail 0.43 49. Muerte Overboard 0.07 50. End Credits 2.51

I'm in the process of transferring my current screenplay to my laptop, as the internet on my old computer has crapped out and I've got a couple of contests to try and win.

Watching "Once Upon a Time" (don't laugh). Snow and Charming were flung into the air, unable to ask a special tree a question. The reason it didn't answer them is because she is with child.

I know the child turns out fine, but was this not hashed out in the story conference?!

Thanks to a tweet from Jaime Weinman, I stumbled upon this promo reel for ABC in 1982.



A few things:

• I'm pretty sure that that's Chuck Connors at 0:55. 
• Sheriff Teasle and Col. Trautman in cheesy, short-lived sitcoms...must've been super-jarring to a post-First Blood audience (they sure as hell were to me). 
• I'm pretty sure they hadn't yet shot Ron Glass's scenes for "The New Odd Couple" at the time this was edited.
• Did they really think that viewers wouldn't have recognized that clip from The Howling in "Ripley's Believe It or Not"?
• I would totally watch "Matt Houston".