Adventures In Cloning

Nothing much to do and "nothing on" teevee the other night, so I ventured off to the Albany Public Library's new branch on New Scotland Avenue, in search of a movie (DVD) to watch. One would think that the facility would be well-stocked with motion pictures. That's not the case. Hundreds of DVD's, most of them I'd already seen or they were so passe!

The Pine Hills Branch, even when they were in cramped temporaty quarters at the Elks Club, always has a unique selection of movies... that's where I found gems like "No Country For Old Men," "The Island" and various Asian films not generally available, not even at a Red Box! But back to New Scotland: just before they left School 19, they showed some promise in acquiring interesting movies on DVD. Now it seems they have three times as many, but the gems and rare finds are gone.

I searched high and low and managed to find just ONE picture that I'd seen several years ago: one I knew my house guests hadn't seen and would appreciate: Adventures In Babysitting!

Adventures in Babysitting (also known as A Night on the Town in certain countries) is a 1987 American comedy film written by David Simkins, directed by Chris Columbus, and starring Elisabeth Shue, Bradley Whitford, Maia Brewton, Anthony Rapp, Penelope Ann Miller, Keith Coogan, and a brief cameo by blues singer/guitarist Albert Collins. Although it is set in Oak Park, and Chicago, Illinois, with much of the action taking place in the city itself, the movie was filmed primarily in Toronto.

I'd gone through about seven DVD movies friends lended since the beginning of the month with no problems. But Adventures In Babysitting was manufactured with that annoying copyguard feature, meaning I had to make a copy of the disc on my laptop before we could watch it. To make a long explanation short: My DVD player is wired into the TV through the old VCR, because the TV I'm using now relies on a converter to receive DT signals. There is no channel input for the DVD player, but the VCR inputs through Channel 3. You get the picture? The DVD goes into VCR AV-1 and passes through the unit to TV Channel 3, but the VCR circuitry picks up the Copyguard signal and thinks somebody is trying to copy the DVD, rendering the picture unwatchable, hence the need to copy the DVD on the laptop, watching the sheep eat popcorn, so that I can watch the "clean" DVD through the VCR. WHEW!

If you've never seen AinBSitting, it's a treat... (look for Vincent D'Onofrio) and you'll then be ready for the sequel!!!

Tags: Adventures In Babysitting, Adventures In Babysitting