At the movies - with Sam Grant

This is Sim Movie Review and I'm your host, Rick Shawn.

Tonight I have three actors who have just finished filming what should be this year's holiday blockbuster, The Well Beyond Time. I'd like to welcome Marta Tomasi, Jack Harkness and Sam Grant to the studio.

Marta: I would like to say for all three of us that it's a great pleasure to be here.

Rick: Not a problem. Now, this movie is set in?

Marta: We filmed most of it in Egypt.

Marta:  My character is Professor Rhonda Masket, and my speciality is ancient languages including Egyptian hieroglyphs. The story starts with me finding a parchment of ancient hieroglyphs tucked in the back of an old book that I just purchased.

Rick: That seems convenient.

Marta [laughs]: We’ll get back to that. I manage to interpret the parchment and learn that there is a hidden treasure within the Sphinx. So I’m determined to find the treasure and retrieve it to put on display in a museum somewhere. I travel to Egypt and set up in the main tourist camp area.

Sam: Now what Rhonda doesn’t know is that my character, Gabriel Spinner, hide that parchment in a book that he knows she has been wanting to buy. He does this because he can’t find anyone else who could read it. [Evil chuckle] Spinner is not about to donate the treasure to a museum, he wants that treasure for his own.

Rick: So, Sam, you are playing the villain again?

Sam: Yes, that's right.

Rick: This is the third movie where you are playing the villain. Aren’t you tired of it yet?

Sam: Actually, it’s the fourth time I’ve been the baddy. But it’s better to be a villain than to be unemployed.

Marta: It’s that laugh of yours, Sam. Sends chills down my spine even when I know you’re not in character.

Sam: I must say is that it’s a good thing black suits me. Every director seems determined to make the villain wear black.

Marta: What else should a villain wear?

Sam: Canary yellow?  Shocking pink? [laughs] I don't know, but when you see someone dressed in black you should run the other direction.

Rick: Well, if Marta is our hero and Sam is the villain, that must make Jack the love interest.

Jack: Sort of. My character is Jonathan Hawk. He does become the love interest because…
well, here’s the clip.

[Clip starts]

Gabriel: So Jonathan, I need you to spy on the good Professor Rhonda for me. You'll be staying in the tent next to hers.

Jonathan: How would you expect me to spy on her?

Gabriel: My personal recommendation would be as her lover. Your looks do have their advantages.

Jonathan: I don't see why you don't do it yourself.

Gabriel: I fear I have a certain - reputation - amongst the academic community.

Jonathan: You mean this isn't your first time?

Gabriel: Correct. Now can I count on you? For an appropriate fee, of course.

Jonathan: Well, I guess that I can.

[clip ends]

Jack: But it doesn’t take long for my character to start falling for her wit, charm and determination.

Marta: It helps that I can read some of the warning signs left in the Sphinx. After I’ve saved his hide a few times, he is a little more reluctant to be a spy.

Rick: My understanding is the on screen romance isn’t the only one.

Marta: That’s true. Jack and I started dating part way through the filming.

Sam: They’ve been appalling. During the love scenes, the director would yell cut and they would just keep smooching. Plus we had to announce ourselves whenever we went around a corner, just in case they happened to be there.

Rick: Not a fan of true love, Sam?

Sam: True love is fine as long as you don’t force everyone else to put up with it. Coming around a corner to find the two of them slobbering on each other was getting old.

Marta: Sam, you are just an old grouch. No wonder you always play the villain.

Rick: So, are there wedding bells in the near future for you, Marta? Jack?

Marta: We haven't made any plans yet.

Jack: But we haven't ruled marriage out either. We both need a bit of time away from the set and the paparazzi before we can decide.

Rick: All right then. One last question for you. I've heard that this movie was cursed. Is that true?

Sam: Well, we did have an unusual number of equipment breakdowns. Almost every day, something didn't work right. Cameras, lights, vehicles and even our phones would just stop working for awhile, and then start working again for no particular reason.

Marta: At least you were out of the worst part, Sam. While you were stalking around outside muttering your plans, things down in the bowels of the set were dangerous. Sometimes the rigs we had set up for traps in the Sphinx would go off when they weren't supposed to. One of the stunt people had to be hospitalised after getting second degree burns from a fire trap.

Rick: Was that the worst injury? I'd heard that there were multiple deaths.

Jack: Thankfully, no one died. The burns were the worst injury anyone suffered on set. But the equipment failures made every day a pain in the backside. We had to do a lot more takes than usual and you had to worry whenever you went near any of the rigs.

Marta: But we are sure that the movie will be fun and exciting to watch.

Rick: Well, what we've seen of the movie looks fantastic. I would recommend that everyone go to see it in the 3D version while they can. I'm sure I'll see you all again when the sequel comes out. Thank you, Marta, Jack and Sam for coming.

Marta: Thank you, Rick. I've had a great time and I'm sure everyone will love the movie.

Rick: Special thanks to our audience. Next week, I'll be reviewing The Fantamic Sims. Be sure to watch.

Hi Mum, It's Sammy (The Return of Clone 63 - Part 9)

Author's note: I realise that there have been no posts in this blog for a year. Surprise! And sorry about the long wait.

That night was probably the least restful sleep that I'd had in years. Snuggling up to someone in a clown get up was just too freaky, and I discovered that I had a hard time sleeping when I couldn't snuggle.

The sun was barely peeping over the horizon when I gave up and got out of bed. It was early than I wanted to be up, but if you can't sleep, what's the point of being in the bed?

"Hey, little guy," I said as I pulled out the holosprite. "I hope you are feeling happy today."

Hi Mum, It's Sammy (The Return of Clone 63 - Part 8)

"Monica?"

"Yes, Pop?"

"Your father and I are planning to spend the weekend at the resort. Would you and Goby keep an eye on your siblings?"

"Pop! I might have plans for the weekend." I noticed the word 'might'. So she probably doesn't have any yet. Perhaps a little cash?

"It's worth 100 simoleons."

"To share with Goby?" Monica did not sound very impressed with that idea.

I had thought 100 wasn't a bad offer for both of them. Well, it is a whole weekend. I suppose I can up the amount. "100 simoleons each, but you better do a good job of it. Both of you," I told Monica.

"Okay Pop. I'll do it." I smiled. Nothing like cash to motive a teen.

Having settled what to do with the kids for the weekend, Jericho and I threw a few things in a bag and headed for the resort. It wasn't long before we arrived. The new house really is quite close to it.

Hi Mum, It's Sammy (The Return of Clone 63 - Part 7)

Sunrise over the ocean, it was always such a beautiful sight.

"Jericho, I had the weirdest dream last night. I dreamt that you and I had gone through this time portal and into the future. Do you think that Goby had anything to do with it?"

I could imagine our son doing something like that, just to test his newfound ability to influence dreams. It had been the most realistic dream. If it had been Goby, he was already an artist at creating dreams.

"Sammy, you might want to check your pockets first," was the mysterious response from Jericho.

I started to checked my pockets and realised that I had on the same black outfit that I'd acquired during the dream. Wait, what?

An interlude - Into the Future with Sam and Jericho

I am not going to try and fit this into the current Sammy story. But here's their first foray into the future.

So the time portal and traveller appear.

He gives an almanac to Jer.

And glitch stops play.

Hi Mum, It's Sammy (The Return of Clone 63 - Part 6)

During my working day, it was all pretty much the same routine. Answer a few calls, reassure old Mrs Wilkins that no one was spying on her (twice), write a few tickets and generally do all the mundane stuff that police are expected to do.

But it's becoming increasingly clear that I must write reports on citizens, if I want another promotion. There's no time to do that during my work hours, I'm going to have to write those reports during my off hours.

To get some information so I could even start a report, I first tried asking questions of the various people I met during the day. All of the answers I got were either vague or evasive. I was never going to write a report based on them.

So I was reduced to digging through someone's trash, just to find something I could write a freaking report on. I don't normally mind dirt but rummaging through trash is taking dirt to a whole new level. One that I'm not comfortable with.

Maybe giving up police work to do more with the resort is a plan. At least I won't have this to deal with.

Hi Mum, It's Sammy (The Return of Clone 63 - Part 5)

It was the nightmare. I'd had the damned thing multiple times, a couple of times a year since the original event happened.

In the nightmare, I was going to be too late.

In the nightmare, I wasn't going to save Jer.

It was based on the worst moment of my life - when Jericho was being attacked. That scene, with Jer flat and motionless on the floor, still haunts me.

Usually, if Jer is in bed, some part of me realises that it's a nightmare. Or Jer, sensing my distress, holds me tightly which helps. The scene plays out as it really happened. Jericho is seriously hurt but alive.

Real Jericho wasn't in bed so in the dream I dive past Chuck and wrap my arms around Jericho.

I do know it's a nightmare. In the nightmare, I also know that he's dying, I hadn't been fast enough to save him.

"No!" I howl to the world as I hold Jericho close. He's about to breathe his last. He's going to die.