#chuck coleman

[evening-primroses]

"I'LL BE YOUR ALEC SCUDDER

I THINK THAT'S WHAT YOU WANT ME TO BE

I'LL BE YOUR ALEC SCUDDER, BABY"

[evening-primroses]

maurice (1987) dir. james ivory // mr. e. m. forster, sir by chuck coleman // maurice (1914), terminal note by e. m. forster

[leiteemanuelle79]

The best and worst episodes of The Wonder Years (in my opinion)

The Wonder Years is one of my favorite shows, and I think the season 6 is one of the best, but while watching it, I got really disapointed at the show, and then satisfied again with the next episode, here is why:

In case you wanna (re)watch it:

The series depicts the social and family life of a boy in a typical American suburban middle-class family from 1968 to 1973, covering the ag

The Worst Episode

S06E17 - Eclipse

My problem with this episode is its shallowness, the whole plot is based on a game, Winnie gets all upset (as usual) like, she begs him to tell what's wrong with her, and when he does she gets mad, makes no sense, but y'know that's Winnie. Chuck "nearly gets murdered" (not to mention the fact that we don't know how the door was locked, how come three people close and open the door three times, and when Chuck does it it's locked, did somebody lock it? We don't know), but yet none of that matters, it's all a bunch of information and tennage drama that doesn't connect with anything, no one grows, except for Mary Jo Genero, she's definetly the best character of the episode, but still, why make up all those crazy stories. I think the central problem is that the episode doesn't know what it is about, it's just confusing.

The Best Episode

S06E18 - Poker

I feel like this is the successful version of the previous episode, there are a lot of similarities, like the fact that there are a lot of characters, the thought of something crazy happening, in this case the possible fatherhood of Chuck (weirdly or not, it's Chuck who's in the strangest position in both cases, since the bizarre thing about the last one being his nearly death). There's also a unaccepted kid (on episode 17 being Harlam and on this one being Paul) who gets accepeted by only one of the group (episode 17: Mary Jo; episode 18: Kevin). But yet, what makes this one of the best episodes I've ever watched in my life, and the other one a disgust?

'Poker' is about friendships and adolescence, things so simple and yet, so relatable, the thought of them as elders playing on the same table, which represents how we feel like time is infinite when we are with people we like, and like nothing will ever change. Every character has their moments, and they are the driving force of it all, there's no trip, bus or possible explosions, it's just a house and five teenagers. There is no hurry to tell the story, which makes an infinetly better pace, we see each character worry about simple things, like a grade, or the fact that they don't want to take Paul to the trip, and also care about each other, like by calming Chuck and Randy down, of course in their own way.

As a teenager I can tell you, 'Poker' is a masterpiece about adolescence and friendship and I will always remember it.

Piece! :)

[twyrewatch]

Episode 111: Poker

It's Poker Night for Kevin and the guys - Jeff, Paul, Chuck, and Randy are all headed over in hopes of winning a few hands. It's an interesting night, as we see everyone's personalities on display in comparison to each other. They're about what you'd expect - Kevin's impatient, Paul is cautious, Randy is straightforward, Chuck is spastic, and Jeff is cooly confident. We get to see what the guys might be like in their 70's in one of the better fantasy sequences of the show, and they're pretty much the exact same. We haven't seen much of Paul this season, and we're starting to see why - he's annoying the rest of the guys with his stuffiness. In fact, he's so stuffy that the rest of the guys don't want him to join them on their planned ski trip and want Kevin to break the news to him. Paul's not the only one affected. Chuck's a nervous wreck, even more so than usual. Turns out that hes concerned about Alice, and he fesses up that they're doing the complete opposite of fighting - a moment that's prefaced with majestic music and back slaps, broken up by Paul's admonitions that he'd better be using protection. Paul goes further and starts spraying deodorizer when Jeff lights up a cigar, while Randy breaks down and admits he might have to repeat junior year due to his lowly math skills. Chuck's so broken up that he starts crying... but it's not over Randy's math, it's over the fact that Alice might be pregnant. Oh, and it looks like Jeff's been cheating at cards.

Image from ovguide.com The guys are all on top of each other, and Kevin's starting to get annoyed with all of them. In fact, they're all getting annoyed with each other, period. Then they run out of food, and it's pretty much the end of the world. Since Kevin can't trust any of them, they all pile into the Chongmobile for food. While in the store, Kevin and Paul start having it out over each of them changing, and not really being in the same group of friends any more. Everyone's tired of the BS, and they head back to Kevin's house for the be all-end all poker game. Dollar ante, and poker faces all around. Everyone's out for blood. It's cutthroat. Brutal. The bets keep escalating until it's time to call; the guys go around the table and Jeff folds, leaving Randy the big winner. He lets out a whoop with a big smile, and the tension around the guys suddenly starts going away. Things get even better when Alice calls looking for Chuck, to give him the news that she's not pregnant. Everyone leaves happy, and when Kevin cleans up, he looks at Jeff's cards and realizes that he folded on purpose to allow Randy the win. Then, Kevin keeps looking at Jeff's cards and realizes that he had FIVE kings... the lousy cheat. But he redeemed himself by allowing Randy his moment, and as usual, all's well that ends well... for the most part.

[twyrewatch]

Episode 105: Alice in Autoland

Alice and Chuck have been dating for 3 months, and have broken up 27 times. It's pretty amusing to the guys, as Jeff and Paul comment in the distance as they have yet another fight during a party... and make up again. Kevin would probably be making comments too, if he wasn't broken down yet again on the side of the road with Winnie giving him repair advice. Jeff takes great delight in making fun of Kevin's car problems at school, which is pretty much the only thing he has to distract him from Chuck and Alice being way too affectionate. Alice overhears, and mentions that Kevin should go see her dad, Pistol Pete Pedermeir, local car selling celebrity.

Image from tvrage.com Kevin tags along with Alice and Chuck to the car dealership, and Pistol Pete unsurprisingly isn't interested in helping until Alice gives him that "please Daddy" look that all daughters are born with the ability to whip out at a moments notice. Pete tells Kevin to come back the next day, but that might not be so simple since Alice once again dumps Chuck, potentially putting Kevin, as Chuck's friend, on the outs. Chuck wants Kevin to forget about the car as a sign of solidarity, sending Kevin off to talk to Alice, which is always a treat with her grating voice. Kevin ends up on the outs with Alice too, until Winnie passive aggressively insults Kevin and his car. Even the kitchen help makes fun of the Chongmobile! Desperate, Kevin agrees to go to the lot with Alice to salvage his manhood and dignity. At the dealership, Pete comments about Kevin being a much better guy than that twitchy one Alice used to hang with, and leads Kevin to a red convertible that we all know he will NOT end up with. He tries to get it out for a test spin alone, but after another face from Alice (sadface this time) the two end up going for a cruise, and Alice puts the moves on Kevin in a hilarious way. He attempts to worm his way out, but Alice misunderstands him and hugs him just as Chuck pulls up in true sitcom manner. Kevin immediately starts yelling out that Alice means NOTHING to him, NOTHING is going on, resulting in a bawling Alice and a pissed off Chuck. So, surprise surprise, no car for Kevin. Plus Chuck wants to kill him. Chuck's slamming his books into his locker over and over again the next day at school, and Kevin's sure he's in for it... until Chuck goes on and on about how Alice gave him the whole story about how Kevin ALWAYS had a crush on her. Kevin plays along to spare Alice's feelings, and earns himself a punch in the face from Chuck as thanks. Chuck and Alice end up back together (AGAIN) and Kevin ends up broken down on the way to the party with Winnie (AGAIN). We'll see more of Chuck and Alice's completely dysfunctional relationship in other episodes this season, almost always for comedic relief. Everyone seems to always have that one slightly *different* couple in their circle of friends, and Chuck and Alice pretty much managed to be THAT couple for the entire school.

[twyrewatch]

Episode 87: Lunch Stories

This episode of "The Wonder Years" is actually a bit of a change of pace, in a nice way - the bulk of the episode takes place in semi-real time over the course of one of Kevin's lunch periods. There's a few subplots that all take place at the same time, and make for a pretty enjoyable episode.

Subplot One involves Chuck freaking out over wanting to ask out Sheila, a clarinet player, while the guys razz Paul over wearing a suit for his debate that day. Alice Pedermeir is at the next table, freaking out over a report she never did... which Ricky realizes HE hasn't done either. So now both start freaking out, and Ricky attempts to write a 1000 word essay during lunch. Seth Greene and his group of hooligans want to bring Kevin with them to see "The Devil in Mrs. Jones", while skipping the afternoon. Kevin's a great guy... and also a guy with a car, hence the invite. Kevin's not interested, but you can sense that he's going to get sick of the guys and their usual schtick and go with Seth and his guys (Subplot 2)

Subplot Three involves Wayne being bet by someone to go find out Maniac's real name in exchange for $20. Maniac is a crazy looking guy with stringy hair that everyone is apparently terrified of. Wayne offers a free can of soda, but no dice. Winnie also somehow talks Kevin into donating blood after school (Subplot Five, kinda). Going back to Subplot One, Chuck's still freaking out over Sheila, and eventually heads over to her table to ask her out after the guys give him crap. Chuck of course cannot do it, and spazzes out, and we see his telltale eye tic go nuts. While the guys are laughing at him, Paul drops Sloppy Joe all over his suit, leading to even more laughter. 

Image from myepisodecalendar.com

Sheila walks by the table, and Chuck somehow manages to muster up the nerve to stand up and ask her out. Surprise surprise, she says YES! Until, Chuck's nervous excitement causes him to start shaking uncontrollably, and Sheila finds ways to decline every single time Chuck offers for their date. Ouch. Crash and burn. Instead of consoling Chuck, Paul forces Kevin to act as a human shield so he can go clean his pants in the bathroom. Seth and his boys take that chance to hit up Kevin again for the movies, and after Paul makes some goody two shoes comments about school, Kevin decides to go to the movies.

Image from tvrage.com

It's a great plan, to just waltz out of the main doors of the school, until of course they get caught by a teacher and Seth immediately points the finger at Kevin. As he tries to stammer an excuse, Winnie comes down the hall and asks Kevin if he's ready to donate blood, getting all the guys out of trouble. Back in the lunchroom, Wayne in desperation offers Maniac $10 to tell him his name... which ends up being Florence. Just as Wayne's about to go collect on his bet, Florence pulls a knife and tells Wayne he'll kill him if he tells.  So now Wayne's out $30 - $10 to Maniac/Florence, and $20 on the lost bet.

Just as the lunch bell rings, Ricky finishes his report, but sadly Alice didn't and is sure she's going to fail and never go to fashion school and end up a meth addict. Ricky pulls a solid, and gives Alice his report for her to use instead. She's happy, Ricky's happy that he helped, Wayne's out a bunch of cash, and Chuck already has a crush on someone new. 

And so ends lunch, and this episode. Like I said - it's a bunch of little subplots rolled into a short timeframe, and it pays off really well for a good change of pace episode. 

[a-slice-of-ear-pie]

Visit Original Link

'The Aida Song' by Chuck Coleman, from 'People, Places, and Flings'

Released 2003

This is so much like ‘Scenes From An Italian Restaurant’ by Billy Joel. For me it’s got a similar, ‘raconteur’ feel, as well as the flow from calm to uptempo and back to home base - not to mention the piano licks that wraps it all together. Honestly, I can never get bored of listening to this tune.

And also if anyone has lyrics for this song that would be wonderful. I can’t find them, or understand everything he’s saying.

[a-slice-of-ear-pie]

Visit Original Link

‘Mr E. M. Forster, Sir’ by Chuck Coleman, from ‘People, Places, and Flings’

Released 2003

Such a clever and cute song. I wish this guy was more well known, I can’t find much info on him. But I love love love this song because a.) the melody is simple and cute, and b.) Hello! E.M. Friggen Forster. My favorite author. (seriously, read ‘Maurice’; ‘A Passage To India’. But especially ‘Maurice’, it’s so radical if you consider the time period it was written in).