So, upon watching my usual Thursday Night Football game on the NFL Network last night I was a bit startled (in a good way) to see a promo for this:
Well, talk about an early Halloween treat! It looks as though George Romero did a mini-documentary for The Timeline series on the NFL Network called ‘Night Of The Living Steelers’. And it looks to show the connection and correlation between Night Of The Living Dead and the Pittsburgh Steelers around the time the film was made and released. Just seeing Romero walk onto Heinz Field at a game in Pittsburgh from the trailer is enough to make me tune in. ‘Night Of The Living Steelers’ will air on October 5th at 8PM EST on the NFL Network, so do yourself a favor along with me and check it out so you can see George waving that Terrible Towel!
Oh, we all have the one friend who seems to always appear to be the asshole at a function or gathering. I’m sure I’ve been labeled that in the past too. Yep, I just called myself an asshole. But is there anything worse than having an asshole around when you’re being harassed by a bunch of flesh-eating undead ghouls? Yeah, kinda makes things worse. Thanks, Harry Cooper.
For those living under a rock for the past 48 years, I’m talking about THE Harry Cooper from George A. Romero’s zombie classic Night Of The Living Dead played by actor Karl Hardman. I actually just realized btw that the TV show ‘Hangin’ With Mr. Cooper‘ would have been better and way more interesting if Harry Cooper was the Cooper they were talking about. Who cares about a basketball coach who subs as a school teacher when you could have Harry Cooper going off on random people with that mean scowl on his face?
Now when Harry Cooper wasn’t shouting at his wife to get in the basement, he was getting into a poorly choreographed fist fight with Ben. Sure he put a few boards up to try and keep the zombies out, but other than that he was pretty much useless. Which is why it was a real crowd-pleaser after Ben shoots him, that his own daughter gloriously munches on his bullet-riddled corpse. The moral of this story? If you’re an asshole, your zombified daughter will eat you. And Harry Cooper…..you were a real asshole. RIP.
“They’re coming to get you, Barbara!” If only they had come to get her ass sooner. Quick fun fact: Her name was misspelled as ‘Barbra’ in the closing credits . But anyway, yes – I’m talking about none other than the character of Barbara from 1968’s, Night Of The Living Dead. And when she was taken away from us towards the end of the movie, I think a few of you rejoiced with me and gave a high five or two.
To be fair, and before I start bashing her character in the movie, I need to let it be known that this is not a slam against actress Judith O’Dea. She worked with what she was given. And I also need to let it be known that I hold Night Of The Living Dead very high up on the pedestal of zombie movies and horror movies in general. Ok, now that all of that’s out of the way, let’s start the character bashing.
I was fine with how Barbara escaped our lanky zombie friend in the cemetery after her brother Johnny got his head smashed in. And I was even fine with how she went into shutdown mode at the farmhouse soon after our hero Ben arrived. But my God! The moping just went on and on and Barbara was pretty much useless for most of the black-and-white screen time. Her face however, was not useless to Ben’s hand:
(uncomfortable silence)
So anyway – that happened. And unfortunately, it barely snapped Barbara out of her funk. Sure she helped board up some doors and windows, but that was far and between from her yelling about her brother Johnny and how she wanted to go outside and find him. Give it up lady, he’s a walking corpse. Deal with it. We all have, so why can’t you? In the end, irony sets in and it’s indeed walking corpse Johnny that drags Barbara’s annoying ass away as Ben hightails it to the basement. I felt a bit unfulfilled though because after Ben is dead and the credits roll, I wondered if Barbara would be an annoying zombie too? Just one of many unanswered stupid questions that I’ll have to learn to live with.
