No, I wasn't at the beach but let's all take a moment to appreciate the image of Mick St. John (aka Alex O'Loughlin) at the beach in an upcoming episode of Moonlight.

Sigh.

Now, then keeping with my beach theme, I also watched (though I'm not sure why) a 60's surf movie called "Wild the Ride Surf." My husband wanted to check it out because Barbara Eden was in the movie and she is "An Irwin," meaning she once worked for Irwin Allen. Our dedication to the master of disaster necessitates that we watch at least a few minutes of any movie with "an Irwin" in the cast list and so I found myself watching this flick.

The best thing about 60's surf movies are the fake surf close-ups. You know the ones, where the actors lean backwards then waggle their arms as if they're trying to balance on a surfboard. They never look wet. They never look mussed and they certainly don't look like they're on the ocean, or even on the beach. But hey, all of the real footage of real surfers making it look easy, makes up for it (kind of). Terrible movie, by the way, with this strange Disney-documentary-esque voice overs and horrendous dialogue. "Oh look! Who is that, Augie?" "Oh, that's Jody. He's the best surfer in Malibu. But do you think he can make it here in Waikiki?" You know what made the Frankie and Annette surf movies work? They didn't take themselves seriously, that's why they're still a joy to watch. This one, not so much.

Hey! Jared Padalecki may star in the new Friday the 13th movie, which is bad news for me because I'll want to see it in the movies and I'm a chicken. Sadly, it also appears to be filming in Austin, Texas so I won't even be able to cover it as a reporter. Grr.

I'm still on my "I've Got a Secret" binge and today was a real treat. They had Joe Ferko! Yeah, I know, 99% of you are going, who the heck is Joe Ferko? Ferko is one of the most famous Mummer's from the Mummers Parade in Philadelphia. 50 straight years leading his band down Broad Street and he was about to do it again in 1964 when the show was taped. He brought his string band out on stage and he did the Mummer's Strut. There are only a few things I miss about living in New Jersey and The Mummer's Parade is one of them.

Oh dem golden slippers. . oh dem golden slippers. . .

I'm a sucker for soulful puppy dog eyes on a guy.  It's why I was madly in love with Shaun Cassidy as a teen.  Okay, maybe it was the hair, more than eyes.  Soulful, puppy-dog hair.  Whatever it is, Garrett Haley has it on American Idol.  Simon calls it haunted and I think that fits, but in my book that's a compliment not a critique. 

Oh, and how much does this kid look like Leif Garrett?  So much so, Ryan and I both said it at the same time.  Of course, Danny looks like Jessica Alba and talk about eyes -- did you catch that 'oh no you didn't' waggle he gave Simon?  This kid is just too funny.  And then there's the sweet and adoptable David Archuleta.  What's with all these pretty boys on Idol this year!

On the 'gotta go' list - Jason Yeager - I had already forgotten about him by the time they showed the recap of performances.  Sweet voice but no star potential.  After that, Colton Berry - just nothing happening here.  Nice kid but he's not going to make it to the top.

All in all, an interesting night, particularly because of the 60's music choices, some of my favorite songs were in there. . . So happy together. . .

Tomorrow night it's the girls and I'm not looking forward to it as much.  We shall see, we shall see.

I also knocked off several I've Got a Secrets off the DVR.  Why don't they remake this show!  It's so clever.  This week we had a glee club made up of people who, when they sang their last names, formed the words to "In the Good Ole Summertime".  Then there was the woman who's secret was that she had 7 kids and the 3-year-old in her lap was the OLDEST!  Yikes!  Dick Van Dyke dropped by to play a memory game, Carol Burnett played musical chairs with grown men in suits and some guy brought by the cutest little mini goats that he swears are found IN TREES in Africa.  I swear, this old game show is the highlight of my day.

It was country music week on Dance War and since that's my favorite kind of music, I truly loved it!  The adorable Taylor Swift performed her song, "Our Song" and that was a nice bonus.  Once again I was rooting for Bruno's team but they had some pitch issues in Life is a Highway.  I did like the Boots Are Made for walking number, but my favorite was the opening number with the pool table and cues.  Did they say they only had one day to rehearse that number together?  Amazing.  Vote for Bruno because I adore him and Zach!

After the country it was time for Heavy Metal -- this week's episode of The Sarah Connor Chronicles.  First, I gotta laugh -- how many heroes go out on a mission with their mothers?  Then again, on Heroes they do it with their dads, so I guess it's the same thing.  I like the tension in this episode which was really very simple - track down and stop a Terminator from stockpiling the metal needed to create more Terminators in the future.  Cameron was not as robotic as last week and I'm really enjoying the scenes with Agent Ellison.  Those could be boring but I'm feeling this guy.  Mostly, I loved Thomas Dekker's performance in this one.  It would be easy to play him as some punk kid who isn't afraid of anything but he was so scared in the trunk and warehouse scenes - so disturbed by the killings he witnessed.  He had me holding my breath.  And we talk about the scene where he has to take the key off from around the Terminator's neck!  That scene there is why I hate wax museums.  Tell me they aren't going to move all you want, I'm still afraid they're going to when I least expect it! 

More I've Got a Secret and What's My Line last night with a guy who tried to hold his breath while underwater during the entire questioning session and a kid who can balance on one finger!  I wonder if he still can. . . someone needs to find that guy. . . maybe I should start DVRing these old game shows instead of staying up until four to watch them.  But then, they might not be as interesting if I watch them fully awake and with wide-open eyes.

The secret is, I love to watch the old black & white game shows of fifties and early sixties.

Thanks to a bout of insomnia, I've become reacquainted with What's My Line and I've Got a Secret which run at 3 am on The Game Show Network. And I'm here to say, these programs put current game shows to shame! The men are in suits and ties, the ladies in evening wear, it's Miss Francis and Mr. Serf and everyone is well mannered and polite. But that doesn't mean boring. Both shows, What's My Line in particular, is witty in the way of a Noel Coward play.

What I find truly delightful are the types of guests that appear on both of these programs. A 98 year old Indian who was one of three models for the Buffalo nickel, five elderly women who made up the ENTIRE graduating class of their high school, and a real fave - a group of people with obvious injuries who were all hurt engaging in that new fad -- the Twist!

Can you imagine I've Got a Secret today? The solution would more likely be "I've slept with over 100 women" than "I broke the world's record for jumping rope." There's an innocence to these old game shows that I dearly miss on TV today.

Last night, I came in late on What's My Line and the game was already in progress. The contestant was a stately looking woman in a sequin cocktail dress, heels and hair poofed and cemented into place. The panelists were clearly stumped by the woman's occupation and the audience was getting a good laugh. Finally, the host called time and announced with great glee that the woman was. . . get ready. . . a police DETECTIVE! Oh my! How intriguing! An actual woman police detective. Goes along nicely with the sweet young Oriental woman who was on the show last week. She turned out to be a lawyer - prompting the host to say he thought more women should think about going into law as a career.

Times really have changed, haven't they.