A young man, on his way to a factory to assess its efficiency, causes a car crash. The factory owner, who ran the business with his wife and her brother, has been killed in an accident, though whether it’s the same accident is left unclear. The film explores the unforeseeable ramifications of the twin tragedies.

Four employees of Island Fisheries come to a sun-scorched, isolated island to negotiate fishing rights with the sullen, paranoid islanders who have good reason to be afraid. Soon after the arrival of the four, a mysterious force the islanders thought was chained forever in the dark basement of the foreboding old Counting House is once again on the loose, savagely killing its women. Caught in a power struggle between rival island factions over how to stop the killing, the mainlanders are jailed. They manage to break out, but with a vigilante mob on their heels, can they reach the boat in time? They do, only to confront the mysterious, terrifying force.

Emma is an unemployed housewife, whose children have grown up and moved out. When she finds out that her husband is looking for his sexual awaking, doing this by having an affair with another woman, Emma takes over a neon-lit sex-shop that she turns into an erotic boutique for women. This journey leads her into an adventure with a group of other women who are all looking for their own sexual awaking.

Tina may be new to the district attorneys office, but she’ll have to hit the ground running to survive.

Detective Callow explores the gray area between good and evil while investigating a botched home invasion by low-level criminal Donny and his ruthless crew. As he interrogates Donny, they unravel the twisted motives behind what should have been a simple job.

Counting for Thunder is inspired by the three years when Phillip Irwin Cooper, unlucky in work, money and love, went home to the Gulf Coast of Alabama to help out with a family crisis. Working through his past with his complicated family, some old high school chums, and the desperate and hilarious southern characters who grace his hometown, Phillip ultimately finds his own voice as his mother is regaining hers for possibly the last time.

PROGRESS Title Match: MARTY SCURLL (c) vs MARK HASKINS, TIMOTHY THATCHER vs JACK GALLAGHER, JAMES DAVIS vs TOMMY END, MIKEY WHIPLASH vs RAMPAGE BROWN, JACK SEXSMITH vs BUBBLEGUM, THE SOUTH PACIFIC POWER COUPLE vs 'FLASH' MORGAN WEBSTER & POLLYANNA, THE ORIGIN (Gibson/Mastiff) vs O'CONNOR & COFFEY vs SWEET JESUS (Mambo/Eaver) vs THE DAZZLER TEAM (Allen/Black Jr)

An American institution turns fifty, and the disc release to mark the event is a very long (almost six hours) compendium of uncut historical segments from the show, without overdubs — Disc one features musical highlights and disc two dramatic and comedic highlights. It’s terrific background material, especially the music disc with the favorite characters both human and muppet. Plus some of my nostalgic favorites — it helps if you once had a baby or toddler in your lap, clapping along with you for these things. I can’t think of a better way to honor the show, and am ready for a followup, with more favorite segments.