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[JohnIan101]

Past Tense


Another brand new entry! This week we get a TV movie that got turned into a single short television series in "Powderkeg"...



I have no stats, this was a made for TV movie, backdoor pilot for CBS. And unless I'm mistaken, this is the very first television movie appearing as a Past Tense. I CAN tell you, this aired on April 16th, 1971.

Since this was released on a Friday, I'm gonna go with what titles were released on March 26th, new releases day. When it streeted, it was with "The Borgias: The Second Season", "Lincoln", "Star Trek: Enterprise - Season One" and "Killing Them Softly".

This came in a regular DVD case, matted wraparound with no insert. I added an index card with the air date and network info.

- - -



This was an Amazon exclusive, one of their M.O.D. (manufacture on demand) DVD-R titles. An official release that came out on March 29th, 2013 for $9.98.

Oh man, this... is a disservice to the show. Such a half-a$$ effort that Amazon should be ashamed.

The cover reads: "Digitally Remastered", pardon? No, no it is not. In fact this looks like it was taken from a second or third generation VHS copy. Not a joke. The image quality is crap on a cracker.

Before I got into this, let me set the stage for his movie and subsequent series which is also on DVD (three discs) and so much better. Released by Timeless Media Group on May 14th, 2013 for $19.95.



"Bearcats!: The Complete Series" is out print since Timeless Media Group no longer exists. And is NOT complete since the set is missing pilot movie. Just be clear, yes - their hair was 1970s style as well as were some of the fashions, just a bit. Not fully authentic which is how period TV was back then.

At its core this is a modern-western; the year is 1914, Hank Brackett (Rod Taylor) and Johnny Reach (Dennis Cole) are partners. They are freelance adventurers (soldiers of fortune would be more accurate) who will do the jobs which are impossible, they get it done. Their exploits come at a price... they want to be paid with a blank check. They will fill in the numbers on what they feel their job was worth.

These men are the last line when all else have failed. If you need to put a dollar amount to your woes, you don't call them. No horses used, but horsepower - the gimmick is the duo ride around in a Stutz Bearcat sports car ('14). The movie...

The men are hired by a railroad magnate after one of his trains is hijacked while coming from Mexico. Taken by "The Morales Gang", former revolutionaries gone bitter. Lead by Chucho [Morales] (Fernando Lamas) who wants his brother released from jail in exchange for the train and their seventy-three hostages; his brother (Michael Ansara) is going to be executed (hung) in days for his crimes in New Mexico.

Among the captives is the daughter of the tycoon's friend who was killed in the heist. It's a complicated tale of them using their car and a bi-plane to halt the train. Even going so far to blow-up a bridge. A story that's more complicated as it goes, there are people sabotaging their efforts.

The actress, Luciana Paluzzi who plays Juanita Sierra-Perez is a Bond girl. She was a femme fatale in "Thunderball" (1965); she was the S.P.E.C.T.R.E. agent Fiona, the girl on the lethal motorcycle hunting 007.

Story wise, a solid popcorn flick, like the later series (thirteen episodes). The car used in the pilot was the real deal; a genuine Bearcat goes for $150,000 - 200,000 today. It was assembled through a Hollywood movie car rental agency. Today that TV movie car is held in a private collection in California.



For the later series, they couldn't rely on a single car that might break down - it was fifty-seven years old after all. Two full sized replicas were created by George Barris, the mocks had hand built chassis with 1960s Ford engines and transmissions. Should be known, Barris is the guy who made the Batmobile for the 1966 "Batman" series and Munster's car on "The Munsters" (1964).

His autos are iconic.

Anyhow, I have so little data to work with. I can tell you, "Powderkeg" had a limited theatrical release in the United Kingdom; a 1972 double feature with "The Chastity Belt ".



See that? That's the menu screen on the Amazon exclusive, the picture quality is very good. Too bad that's not the quality of the movie. It appears that image was sourced from a promotional image.

No options other than 'Play'. Does it have chapters? Yes - three of them. Which have such odd placements, like they didn't know what they were doing. Surprise!

It has a run time of 93 minutes. As as you can see, zero extras. The original CBS 'Sunday Night Movie' opening would've been nice.

Nope.

So I'm not going to do any kind of image enhancements - zero. Why bother? *throws hands in the air*



*long deep sigh* Yup that's how it looks. The image is either too dark or over-exposed. And you can see the cassette image line on the second picture. Can it get worse? Yes. Yes it can!

They have tracking issues - the picture jumps, jitters like it has A.D.D.. Plus the movie is presented in weak, window box, a frame around the video. I can say the audio is decent, if that counts for anything. Hint... it doesn't.

Here's another bit of trivia; that bi-plane is a Curtiss JN-4 that didn't fly until 1915. Yeah, they weren't sticklers to history.



Above is a snap from the later TV series. As you can see the picture quality is decent for forty-nine year old show. It is quite serviceable as was the series. I liked it, part of my collection. Which is a story. I was lost in 2015 or so on Amazon; a link to a link and so - seeing what the site would offer as recommendation. I ended up on the complete series page, caught my attention. Sounds interesting, made a mental bookmark and moved on.

It wasn't until April of 2017 that I bought the show and July 2020 when I purchased the pilot. What stands out for me is the time when they modded their car to become a machine gun, the spinning rear wheel. That Bearcat gets pretty much modded for each episode. So what would I do here (pilot) if I could?

I would have the movie transferred from original film reels, not a cassette - remaster it... but I want more. Want a recording of the original broadcast with the original Sunday promo (can be a tape) - do the best that could be done on that, picture quality.

And here's the thing. You have the option to watch the movie by itself, seamless branching or as the 1971 two hour telecast. Using the tape find the commercials which aired and remastered them too, adding them to the appropriate spots. Just like how it aired. How sway would that be? *nods*

One last bit of before I close. The M.O.D. was made for Amazon by TGG Direct, LLC. Oh yeah, the disc has pressed art which mirrors the menu screen, like it was a real DVD (not a printed label sticker). TGG Direct isn't known for quality DVDs (transfers). There you go.

Sorry about this being late, I forgot. Should've been posted on the 13th. Anyhow, I'm a bit fuzzy on what is coming next time; August 27th, 2020. Have an idea, but I'm waiting for an item to arrive before I announce; let alone start the write-up. If it can happen in August - it will NOT be a Past Tense, but something different. Something I've been wanting to do for over a year, concept. Call it quality filler.

[JohnIan101]

Best Buy - August 18th, 2020


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