Tag Archives: Documentary

The Retrospective in Biography: WWE Legends

12 Jun

downloadBy Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Please check local listings for a repeat schedule.

A&E Network and WWE Studios are partners in Biography: WWE Legends (formerly known as World Wrestling Federation), a new run of biographies about the legends of wrestling. The decision on who to first focus on must’ve been tough. To see true alumni, namely Hulk Hogan, interviewed about their time with the talents from the past two decades, made for a great retrospective.

There are eight specials and the last documentary about Bret Hart aired last weekend. To binge watch these two hour specials isn’t possible, but to watch them over successive days than wait reveals a lot more about the sport turned entertainment spectacle. Although each piece doesn’t get into the most guarded secrets or details that can be read from a Wikipedia styled biography, I found the series to be a terrific primer to get newcomers and the curious up to date on the talents who became Stone Cold Steve Austin, “Macho Man” Randy Savage, “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, Booker T, Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart, Mick Foley and Ultimate Warrior.

Not all of these people stood out, but I did find Booker T’s charm a total gem in the spotlight about him. From those who are still living and are looking back, they’re not talking about all the demons they faced or go into huge lengths about their youth which led to them wanting to partake in wrestling as a proper sport (the part of their life I’m really curious about). Randy perhaps had the most problems to deal with. Not even The Undertaker can exorcise them.

We get a fairly good nostalgia trip and history about what this sports entertainment business is about, even before it became a crazy arena spectacle. One nice mention is in how the South East of America operated as fiefdoms, before it eventually became one huge brand. These documentaries doesn’t always reveal how much of an influence WWE is in other media (missing the boat on crossover into comic books and cartoons) and this segment can use an expansion.

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The Paranormal Network is about Cryptids & Mythology Too!

10 Jun

By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

New Episode(s) Available Every Week
With the next Mytheries June 28 and That Bigfoot Show July 12

The Paranormal Network is growing there’s two programs worth checking out. The parent company. Joblo.com, shuffled their paranormal subjects under the new banner. I still argue cryptozoology is its own discipline, since it deals with beings that have left a trail of alleged evidence behind. However, it should be noted that this channel is still growing. There’ll be regular weekly content and of the five different shows, all of them stand out in their own unique way.

That Bigfoot Show is a short format style video blog about cryptids in context with the world of pop culture. Taylor James Johnson certainly knows his stuff. These segments have a Pokemon GO vlogger vibe as he’s in the field, on hikes in various woods, and perhaps hoping for that once-in-the-lifetime chance to catch the giant. His dialogue isn’t scripted. On any stumbles or need to edit his talk, television, cinematic or comic book b-roll is placed over his talking head moments.

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How to Get to Watching Sesame Street’s Fantastic History on VOD

1 May

Friday Film Review--"Street Gang: How We Got To Sesame Street" | KPCWBy Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Coming to VOD on May 7
Pre-order on Amazon USA

Nearly everybody has watched the educational program Sesame Street, and it’s pretty much in everybody’s childhood for some length of time. It was a product of Joan Ganz Cooney and Carnegie Foundation vice president Lloyd Morrisett. Through many meetings with child educators and psychologists of the 70s, they had a solid idea on what to construct. Many talents worked behind the scenes–namely puppeteers Jim Henson, Caroll Spinney, and Frank Oz (to name a few) and important to this series success is writer/director Jon Stone. In front of the camera, the list is enormous.

Marilyn Agrelo‘s excellent documentary, Street Gang, is a fascinating look from this series humble beginnings to where it is now. The breadth of information compressed to 107 minutes is very comprehensive. If there’s anything missed, it’s only because it didn’t fit into the narrative about what made this show special to children and adults alike.

No show is without some controversy; maybe the play on a Beatles song was too much. At least it’s humorously addressed.

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Spider-Mable is Web Slinging to VOD April 27th!

15 Apr

By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Coming to iTunes, Bell, Shaw, Telus and Vimeo beginning April 27th, 2021 in Canada.

Organizations like the Make-a-Wish and The Children’s Wish Foundation of Canada always wants to help children stay positive amidst any crisis. Sometimes they are fighting for their own health like Bat-Kid from 2013 and they make the news because they have a desire to do more than just fight crime for a day. There’s even a documentary made about him by Warner Bros. Pictures, the parent company to DC Comics.

Not every story gets told. Across the country, the most recent hero is 10-year-old Orlando, Florida resident Gaige Pike who is ROBOgaige. In Chicago, Christian Clark’s alter-ego is SuperBlack. who fought villains alongside Batman. Even tweens can dream; before Bat-Kid came along in San Francisco, the Emerald City of the Pacific Northwest knew Erik Martin as Electron Boy, who helped Spider-Man fight crime. There’s no doubt more, and they all make the local media reports to show the encouraging power of the human spirit is everywhere. 

In Canada, Mable Tooke is a cancer-fighter and a selfless 6-year-old patient whose desire to help others even while she is in the battle of her life proves even more children can be heroes for a day. It’s less about who the person wishes to become, be it a well known comic book hero or something invented, but more about what they represent. Each Make-a-Wish hero inspires others to stay strong as treatment of their ailment is ongoing. To know this young girl’s journey means following her struggles in the documentary SpiderMable, which won the Best Canadian Film title and the “Best of the Fest” Audience Award at the NorthwestFest International Documentary Festival in 2020 and more recently, the Edmonton Film Prize.

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Daring to Crack Into Linnea Quigley’s Paranormal Truth

7 Apr

vlcsnap-2021-04-06-18h52m52s752By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Maha Films
Coming soon to
Amazon Prime & Tubi

Horror icon Linnea Quigley doesn’t always get to the Paranormal Truth in this new pseudo-documentary series. When considering these types of programs don’t always include a disclaimer the ideas presented are for entertainment purposes only, viewers should be reminded the ideas presented are just theories. A few episodes do offer valid reasons on why these horrors are relevant in pop culture, but not all of them are conclusive. I particularly found the revelation of why some people have adopted a vampiric lifestyle and why we love zombies in film more engaging. The episode about the history of witchcraft is honest than construed (to note: the best look into the origins of this practise is the first episode of Mystic Britain).

It’s tough to be current even when recent research doesn’t have the answers. Not even Paul Beban‘s Paranormal Declassified (2020) have revelations–their best episodes include Cattle Mutilations and the Skinwalkers. On the opposite side of this world is the search for Bigfoot. This show suggests “most recent” sightings occur in Ohio. Paranormal Truth alleges that there are some investigators who would rather hunt down and kill one–which can curse them for life–instead of studying them proper like Jane Goodall.

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