Assignment Earth

Nicholas, the runaway

I believe I’m going to have to hire the vocal coach who worked with Larry Hagman when he went out to Hollywood to start “I Dream of Jeannie”. Perhaps an elocution or diction expert. My youngest boy, now 2, is talking at an accelerated rate every day.   And to my horror, is talking more and more like my mother (whom he stays with during the work day).   While I’m grateful she looks after him I think I need to give her a gag order not to speak to, or around, either of my children.   He’s picked up more and more of her West Texas twang then I would like.    He’s started to say phrases like “I cain’t do it, Dad.    I wont to get out of my high chair, Dad.     I don’t wont to, Dad. I cain’t and I wont. When he asks to stay in the bathtub a little longer the word STAY has 14 syllables in it.

My mother’s a good woman, a sweet woman, but she’s from Snyder Texas.   Powers Booth is from Snyder.   Lee Horsely is from Snyder.   That weepy eyed Brad Maul from General Hospital, or One Life Live, or some annoying ABC soap is from Snyder.  Tommy Lee Jones grew up close to there.  Dan Blocker grew up close to there.   Those people are allowed to speak that way but not my son.   It’s really not fair.   He doesn’t know he’s doing it and has no defenses yet.

I’m getting on it.   And I guess I should have said, yes, Larry Hagman is from Texas.   Weatherford, I believe, near Dallas.   I’ve heard Hagman lately.   He seems to have not had a relapse after all these years.   I’ll find his coach.

Last week was my tenth wedding anniversary (July 15th) and today is my birthday July 24th (Lynda Carter, Summer Glau, Anna Paquin, Ruth Buzzi and me – wish us all Happy Birthday!).

Been a pretty good few weeks and summer so far.   Ah, summer.   Now there’s a whole other blog entry!

Nicho and Gram

My little Nicho just turned 2. Happy Birthday to my boy.

David Carradine - French Riviera

In ’89 my college band went on our second trip to the French Riviera in the City of Nice to perform in their version of Mardi Gras, known as Carnivale.   In the week we were there we played many concerts and marched in many parades  - every day.   And most of the time several of each a day, several times a day.   It was a wild experience and that alone is worth it’s own blog entry.   However, every afternoon of that week we marched a 2 to 3 hour long parade called the Festival of Roses parade.  And along that route we marched, lined with hotels, was a room three floors up with an American flag draped over the balcony railing.  Somebody, whoever was in that room, would wave to us everyday.   It was on the third or fourth day a woman called down to us.   We walked over to the hotel and she said she was David Carradine’s wife and he wanted to meet us.   She yelled down, “Hey, cowboys!”  ”This is David Carradine’s room.   I’m David Carradine’s wife.  Come on up”

*Now a note on her, as I remember it, she said she’d written the theme song to the TV show The Fall Guy.  At any rate, about 5 or 6 of us went up and as we got to the lobby doors a stringy haired, scratch voiced, hippie looking woman let us in.   She said, “I told David the cowboys (our band uniform is cowboy garb) were here. And he said, $#*! honey, have ‘em come on up!”

So we did.  I mean, after an invitation like that…

We got up to his room and he greeted us in a white bathrobe and was drinking something clear the whole time (gin, vodka…I don’t know….I didn’t really know my liquors at the time.).   I remember looking down and seeing his bare ‘ kung fu’ feet.   They were big and I thought “Wow! That’s David Carradine’s kung fu feet.” While we were there he also put in his false ‘kung fu’ teeth in front of us too.   Now here’s the part I regret.   As I said we were in uniform, and it’s stated in the rules of our group that you will never drink or smoke in uniform.   Well, I don’t smoke, and as I said I didn’t even really know gin or vodka back then, but how many times do you get to drink with David Carradine in the luxury suite some movie company is putting him up on the French Riviera?!   I was with others who turned him down.  I was disappointed that the majority spoke for me.

Oh well. He was very cordial to us.   The allure of our western outifits aside, he seemed genuinely interested in who we were and in just talking to some Americans.  We talked Kung Fu, the western movie he did with his brothers “The Long Riders”, the movie he was doing there in France (I think he was playing a jewel theif or something), his dad John Carraddine.  Other things.   In general he was a nice guy.

Some other band members went back to see him later and he sat down with them and played them a song on the guitar.  From my friend’s accounts it was a bluesy number called ” ‘Cause I’m Evil” with that title coming up in the refrain every time.   I don’t know if they were in uniform but they had a drink with him.  As well they should.

One final note.   I’m not in the picture above.   I was taking the shot.   And I can’t find the ones with me and him together right now.  My brother Michael’s on the far right.   That’s close enough isn’t it?  But rather than waste more time looking for those…and before the anniversary of his death (June 3, one year ago) goes too far by…here’s to David Carradine…..in or out of uniform.

In the summer of 2000 we went to New York and had a great trip.    Did a lot of things.    Basically met the entire living cast of the original Batman series.    I remember Thelonius Monk’s widow died that week.  Read it in the Daily News at 3:00 in the morning in the bathroom of the room I was sharing with three other people.  Ate a lot of great places.  Saw The Producers.  Stood my ground in Harlem visiting a restaurant we’d seen on Food Network when we got an unfriendly welcome from some of the locals.   Made a lot of memories.   Lotta things went on that trip.  But the highlite of those two weeks was our last task; the holy grail of quests…a trip to the Frank Frazetta museum in East Stroudsberg, Pennsylvania.

We rented a car after two weeks of shows and restaurants and this was the capper to our trip.  We got lost along the way and I called the house.   Frank himself answered the phone  and tried to give us directions.   I think I heard Ellie in the back ground helping him.  We made it there and it was just as idealic and peacefully otherwordly as I dreamt it would be.

We didn’t get to meet Frank that day but Ellie greeted us and let us in the front doors of the museum.   This woman, his wife, was the model for many of his women through the years in his work.  When I met her I said, “So, you’re the girl I’ve been seeing all these years”.   She pointed a finger and went “Ah ah.”   And laughed.   The museum and the Frazetta’s were great.   So cool to see all his original works right there on the walls.

Frank was one of the great ones.   I hope the children get their stuff together now that he and Ellie are gone.   I heard the news May 11, the day after he died, during my lunch.  In Robert E. Howard/Conan fashion I raised a glass to his shade.   It was tea but I made a toast to him.

Here’s to Frank.

Frank Frazetta 1928-2010

Tie into computer and further working our way into the Gary Seven vaults.

Along with extra music there were many extra unused images we simply couldn’t fit.   Of the many manipulations we did there wasn’t really a place in some instances or we had plans of using it later on.   We had images of Roberta in front of the Kremlin.  (Images my brother Michael’s still mad at me for not using.)….Gary Seven in Paris at the Louvre (with, as a joke, Michael placing himself in the background)

I had plans of Gary Seven doing many things we never got around to – or let’s face it, don’t have the time or maybe resources to do.  Having him jump off scaffolds in a “Mannix” type of way, putting him in casinos, at prize fights,…whatever. Explosions and scenes of dessert forts blowing up (evidently from a Peter Sellars movie that some guy in England recognizes and keeps writing me about), and fire balls coming from cave entrances.   All manner of things.

To do all this we had many background images that my friend, “Clifford’s got it” Hale, snatched for me to give us a believable setting to work in.   My eyes to this day scour the back ground sets of old shows such as “Wild, Wild West”, “Hogan’s Heroes”, “Combat”, “Time Tunnel”, Batman” and “The Monkees” to name a few, envisioning  new scenarios to put our hero in, and enlisting the help of my image pick pocketing partner once again.

I really wanted, and always believed we could, manipulate the images from Gary Seven’s sole appearance (as brief as they are) to make more situations and scenes for him to operate in.  I wanted to see him as much as possible.  Kind of like he was doing his own stunts.  Cliff was able to do some nice manipulation of images for us but he suggested we’d need ILM to do all I asked for.

“What you ask for is impossible”.   “No!  There is no try.   Do, or do not”. That’s where my brother Michael came in.

Michael, a musician, and aspiring full time artist (check out some of his stuff – http://www.supervisor194.com/michaelindex.html) set out to make a few fight scenes for us. There was a classic fight scene in the Assignment: Earth episode where Mr. Seven took on a room full of five guys, including Spock and Scotty, and beats the devil out of all of them.   I thought it crucial we use this material that was already there for us.  Long story short, after a lot of thought, I just had a feeling, “You Only Live Twice” (my all time favorite Bond film) might work. The fight moves in the movie match up almost identically to the fight choreography the Star Trek guys had done.   Or close enough.   He had to reconstruct parts of Lansing’s body that were never there – obscured by the transporter console the whole time.  It goes by quickly.  It works well, I think.

Just for kicks I think we used a dungeon scene from a Monkees episode and a torch from a Star Trek episode.   Or maybe it’s the other way around.  One scene’s torch made a better flickering effect than the other…I can’t remember.   Either way, geeky stuff and fun for us.

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The only shot I really didn’t get was my Orson Wells-ian approach to one scene I saw as I was writing the music.

Near the end of the second theme I saw a shot of Gary Seven in my head…

<- close up Gary Seven – he looks up into camera -hair blowing in wind- you realize as camera pulls back he’s on top of a sky scraper holding Isis – camera pulls back farther and farther, out of New York city, up through the sky, pulling back to reveal image of Earth, and even further back into space.>  We cheated a bit.  Still think it can be done my way.   Again, maybe some day.

On a side note I found a film editor through a friend who helped us put it all together and ended up doing the above mentioned shot in a clever way and much easier than what I had envisioned.   But the interesting thing about this guy – Bill Davies is his name – is that he is probably the world’s leading authority, and runs a website about, the only live action movie Dr. Seuss was involved in.   A movie called “The 5000 Fingers of Dr. T”.  I had no knowledge of this crazy, way out there, movie at the time and was surprised I didn’t because it really is a musician’s film.  Lotta music. Some of them jazz standards today. It’s very typical Dr. Seuss and, in my opinion, probably the truest transfer of any of his works, or maybe I should say, the look and feel of the man’s mind, to film.   Kind of a cult film and now I’m a fan.   If you don’t know it visit Bills’ site at Bill\’s Tribute to \”The 5000 Fingers of Dr. T\”

The Gary Seven project – the what, the who, and the why are already documented on our website http://supervisor194.com/about.html but there are some extras I had plans of sharing some day that just had no place on the site.

Along with our two themes I used and recorded with live musicians, Gary Seven Theme 1 and Gary Seven Theme 2 (which is actually the third one I wrote.)  There were additional theme songs I wrote but eventually made the decision against.   I didn’t have them recorded with real musicians when I recorded the two used on the YouTube clips.  These are only midi files using instrument sounds from the computer that approximate real instruments.   So keep that in mind.   I’d like to record these some day.

On a side note, I’ve written and or have ideas for incidental music that would have been in the show such as lead in music from the top of the show and commercials, sexy music that most assuredly would have been there for female guest stars and Terri Garr, etc.

Not to be confusing but the working title of this was Gary Seven Theme 2…being the second theme I wrote.  But as I was finishing the third theme I decided the two were too similar, the latter version was better… and it had a little more substance.  This version somehow struck me as a little more action oriented than I think the show would have been or more appropriate for a show revolving around a guy and a talking car.   Or, I don’t know,… maybe it would have worked.

(unused) Gary Seven 2

Yeah, I like that descending chromatic harpsichord line.  (It kind of became a running joke with myself after a while)

Writing three or four themes in February I was still into writing TV spy themes full bore up until March.

There was one I had in my head and finally had time to put down on paper at spring break that month.   This one, I must admit, I really like, but it’s not exactly a Gary Seven theme.   I see it more as a mix between mundane, every day private detective, and sci fi, out of this world, interloper.   For some reason I see Lansing as more of a Jim Rockford type in a rumpled sports jacket who falls into the extra terrestial world.   And this would have been a show that pre-dates both “The The Rockford Files” and “Kolchak: The Night Stalker”.

Here is the theme song for the untitled detective/scif show with Robert Lansing.

I call it “Another Spy Show”

* Bonus   –  This is a theme song written deliberately to sound very stereo-typical sci-fi show-ish.  Since the sound card in my computer doesn’t have a theremin sound sample, and I’ve never known anyone until now who actually owns one (Nicky, your buddy Darian? Someday, maybe) it also is just a midi file.  Again, maybe someday. (And yes, I found a way to weave that harpsichord line in there again)

My then, 2 yr old son, used to cry at this one.   He had a thing about high notes.   Maybe he was right.

I believe this probably would have been a BBC production.

stereo-typical sci-fi theme

Ok, I think all three would sound better with live musicians.

Dr. John Campbell died Wednesday, March 4, 2009 (my brother’s birthday).   At the time of this writing, tomorrow (March 7), will be the anniversary of John’s service last year.  And on this, the eve before, we are about to celebrate my brother’s 40th birthday at dinner.

John was a colleague of my Dad’s at Hardin Simmons, a professor of mine, and frequent collaborator on many a wedding and church service.  John Campbell was a great musician.   I have good memories, mostly of the performances we did together.

I remember during my piano proficiency Dr. Campbell asked me, “do you need to warm up before you start?” Copping a bit of an attitude (it was my second or third time taking the proficiency) I said,( probably a bit flippantly), “I don’t know how to warm up on piano”. To which he good naturedley said, ” Well, Who does really?”

I remember once he and I had to play “The Royal Fireworks” for a wedding.   The music was transcribed by the groom who was a bit haughty and snooty. Since he had played trumpet in high school he took on the task of picking and arranging the music himself.   He evidently didn’t know his rules of transposition very well as he transposed the organ part two steps down instead of trasnsposing my part part one step up.  We didn’t discover this until the night of the rehearsal.  While it was going through my head if I could work to that new key John closed his eyes, paused for just a moment, and said “I got it”, and reworked his part on the spot. That’s a pro.  That’s a gift.   That’s a musician.

There’s a reason my Dad really respected him so much. (My Dad could be a little snooty himself).

The above picture is at Hardin Simmons Logsdon Chapel during a Sunday morning service he and I played there.  Dr. Campbell and I also played the very first wedding held there, I think in ’91.  They didn’t even have a real organ at the time.  I think the bride requested something ridiculous like the Widor Toccata.  Yes, I think it was the ‘Widor’.  They had set up a, – not even full size keyboard, with no pedals for the involved pedal work that piece requires.  I remember him just shrugging his shoulders and going ahead best he could.  Two yrs later we both played the very first wedding there with the newly installed (real, and full size…pedals and all) organ. I take pride in both of those things and having done them with John Campbell.

I think of that, and him, every time I go to Abilene and drive past the chapel with that great window.

Here’s to John Campbell.   Here’s to my brother Michael’s 40th birthday.

There was an episode I really liked of the original Star Trek called “Errand of Mercy”.   It’s an episode where Kirk and Spock beam down to the peaceful planet of Organia, whose people, they’ve come to warn against the threat of invasion by the Klingon Empire.  Their people are represented by Ayelborne (pictured center), Claymare (left) and Trefane (far end of table).  They are ‘The Ruling Council Elders of Organia’.

The strength and unity of these councilmen is one of the fun things about this episode.  The whole episode we think it’s a very primitive, peaceful planet.  People wearing simple robes, still tending flocks, horse drawn carriages, rooms lit by candles.  A very neat and complete picture of this world.   Except of course, at the end, we find they’re not primitive at all.   They are actually a race of people who have evolved millions of years ago, as Ayleborne explains, “beyond the need for physical bodies”, and into, as Spock puts it…..\”Pure Energy\”

This episode I’ve found brings a lot.

. . .Defiant Kirk operating in another role other than Captain – any episode he did this was always cool            to me (the chameleon in me I guess)

. . .Brief ‘Kirk Fu’ moments (any episode with this is a plus)

. . .Another insight into the mental capabilities of Vulcans.

. . .It introduces us to the Klingons for the first time in the franchise (John Colicos as the Klingon                    commander – the best).

. . .It established a long running reference point in the series of the ‘Organian Peace Treaty’ for years to           come.

And……

. . .It even became the source material for Information Society’s – \”What\’s on Your Mind?\” sampling Spock’s line “Pure Energy” for their top 40 dance mix tune I remember first hearing by the pool in the summer of ’88 (and as I was proud my favorite series was the source material, I remember feeling almost positive I was the only one if the water who knew where it was from).    Hmmm, I’ve always wondered what Nimoy made from having his voice sampled.   Surely they had to pay him something for that.

I’ve wondered what their world might have been like those millions of ages ago.   I’ve wondered what Ayelborne, Claymare & Trefane were like.

Borrowing a 6 or 7 note cluster they used as a sting in this episode – I distilled it down to 4 notes and based my piece around it.   (You’ll hear this ‘sting’ – this cluster, coming back from commercials – and then they used it a lot in the rest of the series episodes)

I tried to show what the planet would have been like at the beginning  – progressing through the ages -  and all the way to when the race eventually evolves into “pure energy” with a little effect at the end the instrumentalist do to illustrate that.

It’s a small chamber group.  The instruments making up this piece are:

Flute, Clarinet, Bassoon, French Horn, and Harp.

This was performed by members of the faculty of an orchestra camp I teach at every summer.  And because I’ve found that college music professors are very picky about being recorded (even in this instant YouTube, Internet age) I won’t list any of the performers names (at least at this printing date- I might change my mind later).   Even though they all played well and any potential employer or orchestra would be silly to take a summer camp recording and hold it against anyone.   And so there, and like that, even.

Here’s “Ayelborne, Claymare & Trefane – subtitled (The Ruling Council Elders of Organia)“

Well, once again I don’t consider any of these ‘B’ celebrities, because if they’re interesting to me they’re on my ‘A’ list.

I was on my way to the Dallas Comic Con; excited to be indulging in a child hood hobby and excited that I lived in an area I could exercise that little used part of my life.   Before I made this trek this day, the people I’d told about it to, had chided me and had mockingly suggested I get Chewbacca’s autograph. (Not knowing he was really going to be there – it was just the cattiest thing my brother’s could say in light of my recent Frank Gorshin encounters) And with that challenge…I decided I would.

Most of the Star Trek TNG cast was there save for Patrick Stewart.   I took great delight in getting as close to them at their signing tables and walking right past them.   I wasn’t interested then or now in getting their autographs.   They weren’t my heroes.  Sorry, not my show.   It was the original show for me.  And as I made my ceremonious boycotting walk past them I turned around and seated right behind me was Peter Mayhew – Chewbacca himself.

Now there was someone worth my time.  One of the nicest most sincere people I’d ever met.  Talks a bit like, in my opinion, Alfred Hitchcock.   We chatted a while.   Turns out he lives in Granbury, TX with his wife. And aside from doing conventions has settled into a quiet life of making furniture.   Good soul.   Nice person.   As he put it to me…“I’ve finally found a place…where I belong.”

I can respect that.

‘A’ Lister to me.   Take that, doubters and nay sayers.

An "A' Lister to me

I next, talked to Kevin Conroy who voiced Batman on the popular cartoon of the 90′s, and Arleen Sorkin who voiced Harley Quinn, The Joker’s sidekick in those same cartoons.

Kevin Conroy was a nice guy, a Juliard acting school grad, who had what some actors would be envious of….a niche in a field and genre that many would love to be in.  As a person interested in voices, we talked about how he kept that gruff, low delivery (because he doesn’t speak that way in real life) throughout a recording session.   He admitted it was rough at first until he learned ways to do it differently.  We spoke of our mutual admiration of Mark Hamill’s voice work on other characters and the Joker to his Batman.   Talk about voice work.   His Joker has range.  Kevin Conroy may not have been on stage doing “Streetcar Named Desire” or whatever… but he was working.

I can respect that.  And …’A’ Lister to me.

I’d first become aware of Arleen Sorkin in ’84.  She played Calliope Jones on ‘Days of Our Lives’ which I was watching back in high school to have something  in common with the frenchhorn section at school I was interested in.  And when I say I was interested – I really was interested in them all.   I called them my harem, as we spent a lotta lunches and Friday nights going out.   Did any of that get me anywhere?   Not really, or very superficially.   However, I kept up with ‘Days’ off and on for a few years after that.

Arleen Sorkin was/is a beautiful woman and she smelled great too ( I remember that – and for that alone – ‘A’ Lister to me.)   She was also very nice…kind of shy even.   I remember her years ago on some comedy show where she had an act with two other girls called “Three ladies in high heels”…or something.   The act was forgettable but she wasn’t.  She’s a kind of  fun, quirky personality with a unique voice.   On ‘Days of our Lives’ she played “Calliope Jones”  - a weirdo eccentric who never really seemed to have any purpose on the show, other than to be weird.

She was the love interest to a character named Eugene played by John DeLancie, who later to my surprise, went on to star as the villain ‘Q’ on the new Star Trek a few years later.   Eugene, also an incredible weirdo on the show, also seemed to serve no purpose.   He was at the convention too that day by the way, and no – I didn’t get his autograph either.  I respect the fact that his father played oboe with the Philadelphia orchestra, but even as he may be ‘Q’ to TNG fans,  he’s still Eugene to me.

Arleen Sorkin, Kevin Conroy - 'A' Listers and me