The Monkees Is Now on Tubi

Long-time readers of this blog know that The Monkees is my favourite sitcom of all time and The Monkees are one of my favourite bands of all time. I am then very happy to report that for the first time ever The Monkees is on streaming. As of August 15, 2026, the entire run of The Monkees is now on Tubi. The Monkees is also available on the over-the-top streaming service Philo and currently airs on the digital broadcast network Catchy Comedy every Saturday morning.

The Monkees debuted on NBC on September 12, 1966 and aired for two seasons. In September 1969, CBS added reruns of The Monkees to its Saturday morning lineup. It remained there until September 1973, when it moved to ABC's Saturday morning lineup. The show finally went into local syndication in the fall of 1975. In 1986, MTV held a marathon of Monkees episodes. The marathon received such a huge response that MTV began regularly airing The Monkees. This saw an upsurge in local stations picking the series up, as well the show joining the Nick At Nite lineup. Since then it has aired on IFC, MeTV, FeTV, and AXS TV. Rhino Home Entertainment released The Monkees on DVD in May 2001 and the first and second seasons as box sets in November 2003. It was released on Blu-ray in July 2016.

Even though I have owned The Monkees on DVD for years, I am still happy to see it added to Tubi and Philo. Each new exposure of The Monkees has created a new generation of fans, from when it aired on Saturday mornings to when it first entered syndication to when it aired on MTV and so on. I suspect that in streaming on Tubi it will create yet another generation of fans. This is good news for me as a life-long Monkees fan, as successive generations of fans mean that the show will continue to air on television, to stream on various service, and continue to remain in print on DVD and Blu-ray.

"Sharp Dressed Man" by ZZ Top

I don't feel up to a full post today, but I will be writing a eulogy for ZZ Top's drummer Frank Beard, who died on August 17, 2026. With that in mind, I will leave you with what might be ZZ Top's most successful single, "Sharp Dressed Man."

The Culture Clash Sitcom That Never Was

Among the many things for which the legendary comedy troupe Culture Clash (Richard Montoya, Ric Salinas, and Herbert Sigüenza) remained remembered is their 1993 sketch comedy television show that aired on Fox stations. It remains historic as one of the earliest shows to showcase Chicano talent. What isn't as well remembered is that Culture Clash almost had a show before the classic sketch comedy show Culture Clash, only it would have been a sitcom.

It was in 1991 that Cheech Marin saw Culture Clash's stage show A Bowl of Beings at the Los Angeles Theatre Center. He then signed a deal with Culture Clash for them to star in their own sitcom, which would be financed by 20th Television (then the syndication and distribution unit of 20th Century Fox Television). A pilot was ordered by the Fox Television Network. The pilot as based on characters that Culture Clash had created on stage, but was written by other people. 

Fox decided against placing the sitcom on their fall schedule, but went ahead and ordered six more scripts. Like the pilot, these were also written by people other than Culture Clash. These scripts were workshopped at a local theatre before Fox ultimately cancelled the project entirely. As it was, it may have been for the best. At the time, Ric Salinas said that Fox was "definitely smart to kill it." The scripts were apparently consisted of banal material and Latino stereotypes.

Fortunately, Culture Clash would find their way to television. While an initial script for a sketch comedy show was turned down by Fox, it was after executives from Fox Television Stations Productions, which produces shows for Fox owned and operated stations, saw one of Culture Clash's performances in June 1992 that they approached Culture Clash about a sketch comedy show. Fortunately, unlike the sitcom, Culture Clash would have the final say as to the sketch comedy show.

While some might regret that the Culture Clash sitcom never came to be given the paucity of Chicano sitcoms on American television, it must be pointed that if it had gone forward we might not have the classic sketch comedy show. Given the sheer brilliance of the TV show Culture Clash, that would indeed be regrettable. Sadly, the TV show Culture Clash remains unavailable on DVD or on streaming to this day.

Tedde Moore Passes On

Tedde Moore, who played teacher Miss Shields in A Christmas Story (1983), died on August 5, 2026, at the age of 79. She was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2009.

Tedde Moore was born on April 11, 1947, in Toronto. Her father was actor Mavor Moore. Her mother was Darwina Faessler Moore. She attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and graduated in 1967. Not long after graduating she went back to Canada and appeared opposite Christopher Walken in the Stratford Festival production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Tedde Moore made her television debut in a an episode of General Motors Presents in 1961. She made her film debut in 1971 in Rip-Off. During the Seventies, she appeared in the movies Second Wind (1976) and Murder by Decree (1979). She guest starred on the TV shows Dr. Simon Locke, Sidestreet, The Littlest Hobo, and For the Record.

In the Eighties, she appeared in the movies The Amateur (1981), A Christmas Story (1983), Overnight (1986), and Rolling Vengeance (1987). She guest starred on the shows T&T and Friday the 13th: The Series. In the Nineties, she reprised her role as Miss Shields in It Runs in the Family (1992--also known as A Summer Story). She guest starred on the movies E.N.G., Road to Avonlea, and Psi Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal.

In the Naughts, Tedde Moore was a voice on the animated TV series Rollie Pollie Ollie. She guest starred on the shows Odyssey 5 and This is Wonderland. She appeared in the movie Focus (2001). In the Teens, she appeared in the movies Down the Road Again (2011), The Anniversary (2014), and High-Rise Rescue (2017). On television, she appeared in the mini-series The Kennedys. She appeared in the TV movies Mistletoe Over Manhattan and Magical Christmas Ornaments.

I have to confess that I am not familiar with Tedde Moore's career. Like many I know her best as Miss Shields from A Christmas Story and to a lesser degree It Runs in the Family. She was marvelous in the role and probably reminded many of teachers they had in school. I also remember her from the mini-series The Kennedys, on which she played the nanny Mrs. Shaw. It was not a big role, but she played it quite well. Regardless, many will remember Tedde Moore warmly for her talent.

Godspeed Reggie Bannister

Reggie Bannister, best known for playing Reggie in the Phantasm movies, died on August 9, 2026, at the age of 80. In 2016, he had been diagnosed with both Lewy body dementia and Parkinson's disease.

Reggie Bannister was born on September 29, 1945 in Long Beach, California. He was only three years old when he sang "If I Knew You Were Coming, I'd Have Baked a Cake" on the Los Angeles area program The Walkin’ Talkin’ Charlie Aldridge Show. He became a folk singer in the Sixties, performing with The Young Americans before joining The Greenwood County Singers. They appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show, Hullabaloo, and other shows, In 1965, he ws drafted into the United States Army. He served as a radio operator and suffered some hearing loss due to exposure to .30- and .50-caliber weapons. He returned to music after his service ended, and would ultimately release six albums.

Reggie Bannister made his film debut in Jim, the World's Greatest in 1975. It as the first film produced, written, and directed by Don Coscarelli, who go onto direct Phantasm (1979). The two would become frequent collaborators, with Reggie Bannister not only appearing in the Phantasm movies, but Don Coscarelli's other movies as well. In the late Seventies, these included Kenny and Company (1976) and Phantasm (1979).

In the Eighties, Reggie Bannister appeared in Phantasm II (1988) and Survival Quest (1989). On television, he appeared on L.A. Law. In the Nineties, he appeared in Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead (1994), That Little Monster (1994), The Demolitionist (1995), Wishmaster (1997), Drop Off (1997), Phantasm IV: Oblivion (1998), and Up Against Amanda (2000).

In the Naughts, he appeared in Bubba Ho-Tep (2002), Wolfsbayne (2005), Song of the Dead (2005), Journeyman (2005), Cemetery Gates (2006), Fallen Angels (2006), Interstate (2007), The Final Curtin (2007), The Rage (2007), Sigma Die! (2007), Necronaut (2007), Text (2008), It Came from Trafalgar (2009), Psychic Experiment (2009), Small Town Saturday Night (2010), The Quiet Ones (2010), Satan Hates You (2010), Sawblade (2010), and Not Another B Movie (2010). He provided a voice in an episode of the animated series Transformers Prime.

In the Teens, he guest starred on the show Zombie Family. He appeared in the movies Abolition (2011), Primitive (2011), Red and Blue Marbles (2011), The Ghastly Love of Johnny X (2012), Bloody Bloody Bible Camp (2012), Disaster Wars: Earthquake vs. Tsunami (2013), Doctor Spine (2015), Phantasm: Ravager (2016), The Obsidian Curse (2016), Bonejangles (2017), and Killer Waves 2 (2020).

Chances are good that Reggie Bannister will always be remembered as Reggie in the Phantasm movies. Indeed, Don Coscarelli based on the character on his friendship with Reggie Bannister. The gun-toting ice cream an would prove to be influential as an ordinary man turned action hero. Reggie pre-dated Bruce Campbell's character Ash form the Evil Dead movies by a couple of years. Arguably, he was the first everyman monster fighter in the history of horror movies. Along with Angus Scrimm as the Tall Man, he was the only actor to appear in every Phantasm move (A. Michael Baldwin was replaced as Mike Pearson by James LeGros in Phantasm II and then resumed the role with the third movie).

Of course, Reggie Bannister played other roles beyond Reggie in the Phantasm movies. One of his best roles was also one of his earliest, the somewhat eccentric teacher Mr. Donovan in Kenny & Company. In Buba Ho-Tep, he played the strict rest home administrator who runs afoul of Elvis (Bruce Campbell). In the short 'One for the Road," adapted from the Stephen King story of the same name, he played Herb Tooklander, who finds himself in 'Salems's Lot. Reggie Bannister was a talented actor and very much a horror icon.

Now on TikTok

I finally broke down and created a TikTok account. My brother has been on TikTok for ages and I also have several friends on it. It then made sense for me to get my own account.

So far I have enjoyed TikTok. I was under the impression that one could only post videos to it, but one can post photos as well. Also, unlike Instagram, TikTok allows for a variety of aspect ratios where videos are concerned. That's good, because I prefer the movie aspect ratio of 1.85:1 or the classic television aspect ratio of 4:3 to the phone ratio of 16:9 that Instagram seems to love.

Anyway, if you want to find me on TikTok, just search for Terence Towles Canote.

The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez (1982)

Gregorio Cortez is a folk hero among Mexican Americans along the Rio Grande border in Texas. In 1901, he was questioned by Sheriff W. T. (Brack) Morris regarding a reported horse theft.  When asked by Sheriff Morris's interpreter Boone Choate if he had traded a horse, Gregorio Cortez  truthfully told him, "No." Mr. Cortez had traded a mare (in Spanish, yegua), which in Spanish is distinct from a male horse or stallion (in Spanish, caballo). Boone Choate misunderstood this, and as a result Sheriff Morris decided to arrest Gregorio Cortez and drew his gun. He shot Gregorio Cortez's brother Romaldo, after which Gregorio Cortez shot Sheriff Morris in self-defence. Gergorio Cortez then took his brother to Kenedy, Texas to seek medical treatment, after which he fled. He was then pursued by the Texas Rangers and other law enforcement in what was the biggest manhunt in U.S. history up to that time. He was captured on June 22, 1901, and tried for murder. He was sentenced to 50 years in prison for second degree murder. This verdict was overturned and he was ultimately tried five more times, with the final trial resulting in life in prison for the alleged murder of Sheriff Robert M. Glover while he was on the run. In 1913,  Governor Oscar Colquitt issued him a conditional pardon.

Even as Gregorio Cortez was on the run, he was becoming something of a legend. He would become a folklore hero among Mexican Americans, admired for his ability to elude the Texas Rangers. The famous ballad "El Corrido de Gregorio Cortez" dates back even as Gregorio Cortez was on the run and transformed Gregorio Cortez into a legend. A study of the evolution of Gregorio Cortez into a folklore hero, With a Pistol in His Hand by Américo Paredes, was published in 1958. The book would serve as the inspiration for the movie The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez (1982).

The origins of The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez (1982) go back to producer  Moctesuma Esparza, who had been active in the Chicano civil rights movement as a teenager in Los Angeles. After receiving his Master of Fine Arts degree at UCLA, he decided to devote himself to making movies that would combat the Latin stereotypes common on film for much of its history. He then brought his idea of producing Mexican American films based on books such as With a Pistol in His Hand to the National Council of La Raza. They helped him raise $1.3 million from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Corporation for Public Broad­casting. Part of this went to buying the film rights to With a Pistol in His Hand. 

To write the screenplay, Moctesuma Esparza hired Victor Villaseñor, who had written such novels as Macho! and Jury. To play Gregorio Cortez, he hired Edward James Olmos, who had appeared on stage in Zoot Suit (as well as the movie version) and the movie Wolfen (1981). It was Edward James Olmos who suggested Robert M. Young as the director. He had directed such movies as Nothing But a Man (1964) and The Plot Against Harry (1971),  and had directed Alambrista! (1977) in which Edward James Olmos had a bit part. He had also made public affairs programs for the TV program NBC White Paper. 

Ultimately, Moctezuma Esparza had to go to work on another project, so that Robert M. Young and Edward James Olmos would be responsible for much of the production of The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez. For the film's cinematographer, Mexican American Reynaldo Villalobos was hired. He had shot both Urban Cowboy (1980) and 9 to 5 (1980). He would work with Edward James Olmos again on American Me (1992). 

The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez (1982) was screened at a San Antonio cinema before it aired as the final episode of the first season of the PBS series American Playhouse on June 29, 1982. The film received largely positive reviews. At the 1983 Sundance Film Festival it won a Special Jury Award. It was added to the National Film Registry in 2022.

The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez does depart from history in that in the movie Gregorio Cortez does not speak English. However, according to records, Gregorio Cortez did speak English, although his command of the language may have been limited. 

One thing that is historically accurate about The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez (1982) is the racism against Mexican Americans that existed in the early part of the 20th Century in Texas. Indeed, the movie challenges the idea of the Texas Rangers as heroic figures devoted to bringing in bad men. Despite their reputation in books, on film, and on television, the Texas Rangers have a history of violence against Mexican Americans. Indeed, it was in 1918 that the Texas Rangers, with local rangers and the U.S. Cavalry, killed 15 unarmed Mexican American boys and men outside Porvenir, Texas, despite having no proof that the villagers of Porvenir were involved in any wrongdoing. 

Although often described as a Western, The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez (1982) is perhaps best described as a period piece. It is true that it features many elements of the Western, such as horses, sixguns, and trains, but it is also set in 1901. Both automobiles and cars appear. Even if one considers it a Western, it is very different from any Western before it. Gregorio Cortez is not only portrayed sympathetically, but is the protagonist of the film. It is the Anglo lawmen pursuing him who come off as villains. Furthermore, Gregorio Cortez is clearly not a traditional Western hero. Beyond being Mexican American, he is extremely gentle with horses, even petting them, hugging them, and talking to them. In the movie, horses not merely transportation to Gregorio Cortez, but living beings to be treated with dignity and sympathy. Furthermore, The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez (1982) does not climax with a gunfight, but with a criminal trial. 

In many ways, The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez (1982) was a pioneering film. Released before such classics as Stand and Deliver (1988) and Mi Vida Loca (1994), The Ballad o Gregorio Cortez pre-dates the films devoted to Chicanos in the late Eighties into the Nineties. It was also one of the earliest independent movies released during the indie boom of the 1980s, pre-dating the Coen Brothers' Blood Simple (1994), Robert Rodriguez's El Mariachi (1993), and Spike Lee's She's Gotta Have It (1996). Whether regarded as a Western or not, it turns the Western genre's conventions upon its head, with a heroic Mexican American on the run and villainous Anglo lawmen. Early in the 1980s indie boom and released before the Chicano movie boom of the late Eighties and Nineties, The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez (1982) is in many ways a remarkable movie.