The late late movie on cable right now is the 1984 Coen Brothers film "Blood Simple." Even though The I should be asleep, it's no use. I'm hooked. It's a great film, and not really a film that one can have on in the background. 

Missing out on the subtleties (by attempting to write while half-watching) is to miss out on the essence of the film. "Blood Simple" was the first major film release for the Coen Brothers, yet it comes off like the work of seasoned vets. Some of the actors who appeared in the film would turn up in other Coen Brothers films (notably Frances McDormand, who also turned up at the altar next to Joel Coen in 1984). 

In the same manner that Spielberg frequently casts Tom Cruise and Tim Burton repeatedly uses Johnny Depp, the Coen Brothers would develop a group of actors who would rotate in and out of their films. There's McDormand, who would later make her star turn in "Fargo," along with others like John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, and John Turturro. 

Veteran character actor Dan Hedaya's only Coen Brothers film was "Blood Simple," in which he's one of the five main characters. But he has a credit in common with actress Frances McDormant. Both had recurring roles in a popular 80's TV cop drama, although it doesn't look like their characters ever appeared together in the same episode. What was the show?

Following the previous post's theme of bands with the word 'sister' in their name, what do we get if we look up bands with 'brother' in their name? Lots and lots and lots, far outnumbering the sisters. And, whereas several bands with 'sister' in the name were nevertheless lacking any female members, it is also rare to find a band of 'brothers' that has any female members. 

 

The use of 'brothers' appears to be more literally taken, too, with far more actual 'brothers' than there were actual 'sisters.' The Righteous Brothers, The Everly Brothers, The Brothers Johnson, The Allman Brothers, The Isley Brothers, The Neville Brothers, The Flying Burrito Brothers, The Chemical Brothers, and who can forget The Doobie Brothers? 

There are not as many bands from the 80's using the word, though. The Blues Brothers, The Pontiac Brothers, and The LeRoi Brothers come to mind, and it is true that The Jungle Brothers put out their first record in the 80's. But wait, we're forgetting Bros! 

To be fair, most of the civilized world has forgotten Bros, but let's see if our readers remember anything about them. At the heart of the group were an actual pair of twin brothers, their manager had also managed The Pet Shop Boys, and they scored eleven Top 40 hits in their native U.K. before virtually disappearing from sight. Their first big hit was released in 1987, it reached #2 in England and Switzerland and #1 in Ireland. It was also their only entry in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, stalling at #83 (to be fair, they did a little better on the dance charts). Considering the band's eventual fate, you gotta love the title of the song. What was it?