That debate was awful. If it was in some other country and you saw five minutes from it on the news, you'd say, "Thank God that kind of thing doesn't happen in America." I'm sure it gave erections to a lot of folks who've long hated Hillary Clinton and believed every bad accusation against her. Still, I couldn't help but wonder what viewers who aren't already solidly for Trump thought. I would imagine some said, "I don't want to see either of those two people in my government!"

Trump had some better moments than he did in Debate #1 but I think the moments when he looked maniacal probably canceled them out. And of course, the fact-checkers are already busily pointing out statements that are easily disproven, and both sides are claiming that their candidate mopped the floor with his/her opponent.

I may be wrong since I tuned out twice briefly but I think some of the "town hall" questioners actually got to ask questions. Not many but some.

I'm kinda sorry that when Donald promised to appoint a Special Prosecutor to put Hillary behind bars, she didn't say, "Well, Donald. I'll put your mind at ease. If I win, I won't sic any prosecutors on you. I'll let the ones that are already investigating you finish their jobs."

How those who are actually polled (as opposed to flooding bogus online polls) will score this thing, I can only guess. I'd guess Trump will rate higher than last time and might even win a few polls. But he's way behind and he needed more than a small victory tonight. I don't think he got it, especially since he looked childish with that "hate in her heart" line and whining about the moderators. Boy, will I be glad when this thing is over.

Just turned the debate off. I can't watch this kind of thing for very long.

And now for something, etc.: John Cleese will be touring the U.S. next year, hosting screenings of Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Tickets are already on sale for events in Rhode Island, Maine and Chicago and you can find out about this over on Kim "Howard" Johnson's blog.

Now isn't that a lot more fun that watching two people — one of whom will be soon be the most powerful person in the world — having a slap fight on television?

Here's another poll aggregator you can follow. It's the Talking Points Memo tracker and currently it has Hillary way over the 270 mark with 341 votes, Trump at 186 and one "too close to call" state — Arizona — with its 11 votes. If Hillary has a shot in Arizona — and she seems to also have a good one in Alaska — this is not a good sign for Donald.

I'm going to watch the debate in an hour…or maybe on a bit of a delay…but I'm not looking forward to it. This one was supposed to be about Foreign Affairs but I have the feeling it's going to be about Affairs, period. For the record, my horror at the prospect of Trump becoming president is based largely on my belief of what he'd do, not only with his direct actions (which I would expect would only benefit Donald Trump and folks in or above his income level) but also because of the empowerment that his election would bring to those among us who hate racial and religious minorities, as well as women and gays. I think America would be a very ugly place under a Trump presidency.

I also think Hillary Clinton is very much qualified for the job and that all or most of the tales of her supposed lying and dishonesty come from the same place as all those claims that there was incontrovertible proof that she had Vince Foster murdered, inarguable evidence that she committed multiple felonies in Whitewater, outraged demands for her jailing over Travelgate, etc. Not saying she'd perfect but accusations against her have a way of not living up to their hysteria. I don't like her more militant approach to Foreign Policy but I don't think I'd trust anyone who has had their name on a primary ballot in this election. (Bernie Sanders might have but he was too vague about everything outside the U.S. of A.)

So naturally, the recently-released tape of Trump and Billy Bush does not make me any more likely to vote against Donald. I think its main impact is that it gives Republicans who were looking for an excuse to abandon the Trump bandwagon a good jumping-off spot. No one can possibly be surprised that that's who he was a decade ago…or think that he's somehow changed since then.

I have two analogies in mind for all this, both from Watergate. There was a period there when we had a slow, steady drip of ugly revelations about Nixon and an awful lot of Republican office holders decided to distance themselves from him. It wasn't so much that they couldn't defend what had come out. It was that they were afraid of what would come out next week. There can't be a lot of current G.O.P. leaders who are confident that there aren't more ugly Trump tapes in our future or more difficult-to-spin tax forms that will emerge.

The other thought is from when the time was coming that Republicans in the House and Senate would have to vote on the Nixon impeachment. The electorate was split. A lot of Republican voters wanted him tossed out on his butt while other Republican voters demanded he be defended to the death. If you were a G.O.P. Congressperson or Senator running soon for another term, you stood to lose half your support (and therefore, the election) if you voted with Nixon and the other half if you voted against him. I think a lot of current reps facing close election battles have the same dilemma now.

Actually, the nice thing about that tape coming out is that the self-identified Evangelicals, who claim to always support the most moral, God-loving candidate who just happens to be a Republican who wants to protect the interests of the rich — you know, the way Jesus did — now have a problem. They've almost been able to pretend that Trump has ever read the Bible or even knows what's in it. What's on that tape will forever be a little harder to spin.

Going to get ready for the debate. I hope they talk about something other than why what someone did in the past makes them a bad person. Maybe, just maybe they can even squeeze in a little something about how to avoid Nuclear War or sending more U.S. troops off to fight pointless battles.

• The main theme of tonight's debate will be "The bad things you did long ago are relevant and the bad things I did long ago are not!"

• It's getting harder and harder to stay friends with people I like despite their belief that Donald Trump is a good man.

This is the opening of ABC's 1978 "Silver Anniversary" special. It has a snazzy/silly opening song by Barry Manilow that lists the ABC stars…including, for some reason, Joe McCarthy. Stay tuned at the end for one of those great commercials that James Garner and Mariette Hartley were then doing for Polaroid…

Dick Cavett suggests some questions that someone might want to put to Donald Trump and David Letterman speaks of what he would ask Trump if he had the chance now.

Actually, I've been thinking that the political discourse in this country might be better off if folks running for public office or their surrogates weren't interviewed by the hosts of talk shows that are primarily configured for comedy. I know it's good for their ratings but that whole format is calculated to make the guest seem witty and charming…and to get them off the stage quickly.

Only rarely in such a format do we get even a brief substantive discussion about anything that matters. It's hard to do that when you're always six or less minutes from a commercial break, a band is playing guests on and off, and there's a studio audience present which expects to laugh at least once every 60 seconds. Not to compare anyone to Hitler but in that format, Hitler could look like a nice guy as he told some delightful, slightly self-deprecating anecdote and then set up the clip he brought of him invading Poland.

Cavett in his piece says he once said to a politician on his show, "Do you think, now, that perhaps you could come up with an answer at least remotely related to the question I asked?" Not even putative journalists do that and if you're on a talk show, it's real easy to filibuster and run out the clock until the next ad for Bud Lite. The host might be able to slip in a zinger — Letterman did on occasion, as did Cavett — but one is about the limit, especially when you've got Don Rickles in your green room waiting to come on and call everyone a hockey puck. As even Letterman admits, he was not all that well-equipped to cross-examine wanna-be leaders.

I'm sorry Jon Stewart's current plans do not include a weekly interview show…but of course, the people I'd most want to see him question probably wouldn't go anywhere near such a program. Why should they when there are plenty of places that will give them television time and only lob a few softballs?

Last night, I bravely attended a performance of my friend Ken Levine's new play, Going, Going, Gone. This is a brave thing to do because even great playwrights sometimes write poor plays and if your friend does that, you have to either lie or tell him you didn't like what he may have spent a year writing. Fortunately, I didn't have to do either. Ken's play is pretty funny and never for a moment dull.

Going, Going, Gone takes place in a viewing box for press at a baseball game. Four people are up there covering the game and they are played by Annie Abrams, David Babich, Troy Metcalf and Dennis Pearson…and I should say here that the cast is uniformly excellent and one of the reasons I enjoyed myself so much. Each of the folks in the press box has their problems. Each of them comes to terms with those problems in some manner during a very long, extra-innings game. (The game runs something like 18 innings over eight hours but don't worry. The play itself is only around ninety minutes.)

They squabble, they conspire, they laugh, they debate what it means to be remembered in this world and whether you really want to be, they bare their fears and hopes. During those ninety minutes, they cover an awful lot of topics and work through an awful lot of emotions. David's character falls in love (or maybe like) with Annie's. Annie's character confronts the way men treat women who invade a primarily-male workplace, and she also deals with issues she has with her offstage boy friend. Dennis's character deals with the declining call for his profession — writing for print newspapers — while Troy's character, who writes for a website, needles him about his future, and everyone insults Troy's character for his overeating and girth.

But that's far from all of it. I was actually impressed with how many things are happening in that press box…and way, way down on the list is covering the game they're there to cover. You don't have to know a thing about baseball to enjoy the story. The direction by Andrew Barnicle, who did Ken's last play, is sharp and you never lose focus even for a moment amidst all the balks and errors that are these folks' lives.

(Hmm…I just took a look at that review I wrote about Ken's last play and I see I said a lot of the same things I just said about this one. Well, why not? Same author, same director.)

The play is running for the next four weekends at the Hudson Guild Theater near the Hollywood section of Los Angeles. Info and tickets are here…though I'll let you in on a secret. You can save some bucks securing your seats through Goldstar. The theater is not large so expect most performances to sell out.

If you live too far away or can't get there while it's running, don't dismay. I have a feeling this play is going to be around for a while in some form and some localities. Maybe there'll be a production near you before long.

Another report on the French Connection screening I attended last night.

By the way: As we were all sitting there waiting for the show to start, the theater was playing music from the soundtrack to The French Connection, which is very odd in that context. It fits the film perfectly but it really didn't fit the setting of getting seated in a swanky theater. Then just before the proceedings commenced, they switched over to an instrumental of the theme from The Night They Raided Minsky's, which was also directed by William Friedkin. Reportedly, Mr. Friedkin disowned the film which was significantly recut and which underwent major revisions after he was done with it. I dunno how he feels about it today.

• The sad part is that on the Trump-Pence ticket, Trump is the one who has treated women better.

For the NBC's 75th Anniversary Special in 2002, Martin Short and a bunch of his friends perform theme songs from NBC shows. Wonder how many people recognized the I Dream of Jeannie instrumental and therefore understood Mr. Short's best line. Watching the audience is probably more fun than listening to the medley…

• John McCain withdraws support for Trump, says "I like men who don't get captured…on tape."

I just started to write, "In times of tragedy, I should remind you about my favorite charity" but I realized: It's always a time of tragedy somewhere. Even when there isn't a hurricane or an earthquake or a tsunami, there are people somewhere on this planet suffering and maybe dying.

Hurricane Matthew just reminds me to mention Operation USA, which does great work wherever human beings are in need. The charity is not political and I know a few of the folks who run it and so know that very little of what you donate there goes to them or fancy offices or anything. They work hard and put most of the money they receive to very good use. Click the banner below to find out more and to send them some dough.

Last night, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences had a screening of the 1971 film The French Connection and your obedient blogger was in the audience. I'd forgotten how much I liked that movie, especially the second half. The first part, which is mostly about police surveillance is, at times, about as exciting as…well, as police surveillance. But as the various components of the plot come together, things speed up and the storyline becomes very intriguing and you can see why it won its Oscars.

Sitting there in the Academy theater, I kept thinking how much this film would be diminished if I were home watching a DVD. It isn't just the small screen. It's that if I were home, I'd be constantly distracted during the slower parts. Sometimes, it helps to be forced to see a movie the way it was intended to be viewed.

After the film, its director William Friedkin was interviewed by writer-director Christopher McQuarrie. Friedkin was delightful and funny and quite humble for a guy who came on to a long, loving standing ovation. The conversation was recorded for, I'm guessing, some upcoming DVD or Blu Ray release so I'll just summarize a few points.

Friedkin spoke of how the film could not be made today because today, you'd need permits and permissions for something like 95% of all the locations. He said the only time they sought and got permission was to shoot on the elevated trains. The fellow in charge said absolutely no at first, then relented when offered a bribe. He wanted and got $40,000 and a one-way ticket to Jamaica, the latter because he had to quit his job and flee the country after taking the $40,000.

The director also told of doing dangerous things (legally dangerous and physically dangerous) to get certain shots and said he would not do that today, nor recommend. This is an approximate quote: "I've come to realize that no shot in any movie is worth even a twisted ankle on a squirrel."

Gene Hackman was not the first choice to play Popeye Doyle, nor was he even on the first list. Friedkin's first choice was, believe it or don't, Jackie Gleason. Gleason was willing to do it but the studio said no due to the poor performance of Gleason's film, Gigot. (That struck me as odd since Gigot was eight or so years earlier and Gleason had made other movies after that and before French Connection was casting. I'm wondering if what did him in wasn't Skidoo.)

The next choice was Peter Boyle and yeah, I can see him in the role. But Boyle turned down Doyle because, according to Friedkin, "He wanted to do romantic comedies." The director quoted his friend Phil Rosenthal, who was responsible for Everyone Loves Raymond, as saying that every single day on the set, Boyle would talk about the huge mistake he made turning down The French Connection.

After Boyle said no, Twentieth-Century Fox suggested that maybe the film didn't need an established star. Friedkin did an audition with Eddie Egan, the real-life Popeye Doyle, who wound up in the film as Doyle's boss. He wasn't right but Friedkin thought he'd found his guy when he managed to talk writer Jimmy Breslin into auditioning. Breslin, who was skeptical about his own acting, was fine the first day. The second day, he forgot what he'd done the first day. The third day, he didn't show up. The fourth day, he showed up drunk. And that was how Jimmy Breslin remained one of America's great writers.

Soon after, superagent Sue Mengers recommended her client Gene Hackman and he was signed. Friedkin said that Hackman had trouble getting to the right pissed-off level so it was necessary to insult and prod him on the set, pissing him off for real. And there were other great revelations which you'll hear when that DVD or Blu Ray comes out, assuming that's where the video will wind up. (Oh — Freidkin also said that they tried to get Hackman there for the screening but he's retired from acting and "doesn't want to look back.")

Like everyone else in the audience, I had a great time…and why not? A great movie in a great theater. On the way home I was thinking, "They don't make 'em like that anymore…but after The French Connection became a huge box office sensation, they sure tried making a lot of 'em like that without a lot of success."

Author and film historian Bill Warren died this morning following a long, painful illness. He was 73 and he had been suffering from a ghastly array of infections that even a squadron of doctors had been unable to identify. I visited him in the nursing home several times and it just got worse and worse to the point where this past Sunday, he was unable to speak but he waved for me to leave him alone. I was not offended. I understood that he just didn't want visitors to see him like that.

Bill was born in North Bend, Oregon and grew up in Gardiner, Oregon. At an early age, he became fascinated by science-fiction and movies, particularly after seeing The Day the Earth Stood Still. He read avidly and contributed by mail to the legendary Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine, which influenced a vast number of folks who became filmmakers, authors and artists. In 1966, he and his wife Beverly moved to Los Angeles where he worked as an assistant for a time to the magazine's editor, Forrest J Ackerman. I met Bill at Ackerman's famous home, The Ackermansion (the first one) sometime around late '66 or early '67. Bill was, by the way, no relation to that magazine's publisher, James Warren.

Bill wrote for the magazine and for countless publications about film, especially movies of a science-fiction or horror nature. At some point, he began compiling data for a wonderful book he would finally publish in 1982 called Keep Watching the Skies! American Science Fiction Movies of the Fifties. It's the best history of such films and it's been reprinted and updated several times since. The latest edition, which came out earlier this year, can be ordered here. (If the price seems steep, take a look at the page count and you'll understand.)

His other books include Set Visits: Interviews with 32 Horror and Science Fiction Filmmakers and The Evil Dead Companion. He wrote for hundreds of different publications, including several stints as a film critic and his contributions to Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide, plus scripts for Creepy, Eerie and Vampirella. I'm not sure anyone could compile a complete list of his work but everything I know of was done with great passion for film and fantasy, and a fierce quest for accuracy. He was also very active in the local science-fiction community and at conventions…and I really don't know how to wrap this up.

Oh, wait. Yes, I do. I have to write about his wonderful, wonderful wife Beverly, who always took such good care of him — and vice-versa. You can see her faintly in the photo atop this obit. The last few weeks, I've watched her tend to his needs night and day, doing every single thing you'd want someone to do for you if you were in his position…except maybe go home and get some sleep. Bill used to complain to me from time to time that he never made a lot of money writing about science-fiction movies and I don't know about that. I do know he was a very fortunate man to have someone as precious as her in his life. I'm so sorry that life had to end when it did.