Steven Helmer Publications

Synopsis: When Mayberry learns one of their own may be a direct descendant of a Revolutionary War hero, the town is excited by the news. But, when the descendant turns out to be the town drunk, Otis Campbell (Hal Smith), Mayor Pike (Dick Elliott) wants Andy (Andy Griffith) to arrange for someone else to accept the plaque on Otis' behalf so Mayberry doesn't suffer an embarrassment.


Review: I had planned on mowing the lawn yesterday afternoon. But, since it was raining, I wound up doing my laundry instead. While waiting to switch it over from the washer to the dryer, I put this episode on. Overall, I thought it was a decent one.

The main story, to be honest, was a little predictable. Despite Barney (Don Knotts) thinking he was the descendant, I wasn't really surprised when it ended up being Otis, mostly because he seemed like the most ridiculous choice. And, when Mayor Pike insisted Andy find someone to pretend to be Otis, I figured he wouldn't follow through with it.

One…

I had originally planned on making chili in the slow cooker yesterday. But, I realized I didn't have enough time at lunch to do everything I needed to do and, calling an audible, wound up picking up a ham steak instead. I needed something to go with that and, after some consideration, picked up a bag of these sweet potatoes.

I'm actually not a big sweet potato fan. However, my wife loves them so, on occasion at least, I'll pick some up for us. The thing I found I liked about this particular brand, however, was the fact I could make them, in the microwave, without taking them out of the bag. And, since they were on sale, I thought that convenience would make them worth the money.

I did wind up making these last night as planned and, cooking wise, it was as easy as I anticipated. It took about 8 minutes in our microwave and the potatoes were ready to be eaten (the ham steak was done by then too).

As far as taste goes, as I said, I'm not a big sweet potato fan so I can&#…

Synopsis: A new doctor (George Nader) comes to Mayberry and, because he is spending so much time with Ellie (Elinor Donahue), Barney (Don Knotts) and Aunt Bee (Frances Bavier) manage to convince Andy (Andy Griffith) he is in danger of losing her to another man.


Review: After 15 years of marriage, my wife and I have an unspoken rule - don't air our dirty laundry. This is because we know there will be plenty of people who will try to give us unwanted advice and the loudest of that advice will likely come from people who are single.

That rule came to mind when watching this episode at lunch yesterday. For everything there is to like about Sheriff Andy Taylor, there are plenty of negative things that offset that. And, one of those things is he tends to take bad advice from people who really aren't qualified to give it in the first place.

In this case, it was both Barney and Aunt Bee, both of them single and both making things out to be much, much worse than they are to the point An…

Synopsis: Three months after getting married and moving to London with her new husband, American Kit Preston is walking home in a thick fog when an unseen man threatens to kill her. At first, she is convinced it is just a sick prank. But, the man begins to make obscene phone calls to her with promises she'll be dead by the end of the month. As the calls begin to take their toll, she finds nobody around her believes her because they think she is just making the whole thing up so her workaholic husband will pay attention to her.

Who's in it? The movie stars Doris Day, Rex Harrison, John Gavin, Myrna Loy and Natasha Parry.


Review: I've reached that time of the year when I have an excessive amount of vacation time that needs to be used by the end of the year and, to burn it off, I begin working some half days. I did this yesterday and, after mowing the front yard, wound up watching this movie while waiting to pick up my oldest daughter after school. Overall, I have to say I real…

Synopsis: Rick's (Andrew Lincoln) plan to re-build a bridge is in full motion but, while progress is being made, tensions predictably rise between the Saviors and the rest of the survivors, especially since many of the Saviors seem to be abandoning the project. Things come to a head when a botched attempt to lure a walker herd away from the camp results in them overrunning some of the workers.


Review: As I mentioned yesterday, my wife and I skipped watching this episode Sunday night so we could watch a movie instead. But (partly because I forgot the Packers were playing on Monday Night Football), we got caught up on it yesterday evening.

Overall, I did find I liked this episode. There's still a little too much talk/drama on the series, especially between Rick and Daryl (Norman Reedus), who really just need to duke it out for a few rounds instead of shunning each other like a couple teenaged girls. But, there was also just enough action, especially after the walkers caused their…

Synopsis: After learning he and his pregnant girlfriend, Samantha, are going to have a boy, Will Younger flies from Seattle to Chicago to ask her father for permission to marry her. His visit does not go well and, the next morning, an unknown event knocks out power and cell phone service for the entire country. As society begins to disintegrate around them, Will and Samantha's father, Tom, begin a 2000-mile drive from Chicago to Seattle with no knowledge of what happened or if she is even still alive.

Who's in it? The movie stars Theo James, Forest Whitaker, Kat Graham, Nicole Ari Parker and Grace Dove.


Review: There were brand new episodes of Doctor Who and The Walking Dead on television last night. But, I was kind of in the mood for another movie and wound up scrolling through our choices on Netflix. My wife and I both thought this one looked interesting and decided to give it a chance. Unfortunately, it wasn't as good as I was hoping it would.

OK, actually, to be fair, t…