Esther Williams (1921-2013)

3:30 or 4:30 - The Afternoon Movie Rocked!!!

From 2010...

Growing up in New York, we had the WABC 4:30 MOVIE, while folks in L.A. had KABC's 3:30 MOVIE. Same concept, different time, different coast. The 4:30 MOVIE was best known for it's amazing opening titles sequence and it's theme weeks: PLANET OF THE APES week, Super-Hero Week, Disaster Movie Week, Sci-Fi Week, etc. Sure, most were "edited for television" 90-minute condensed versions of two-hour films, but remember this was way before Blu-ray, before DVD, before VHS, before Laser Disc, before BetaMax, before Satellite, before pay-per-view... even before Cable TV. This was the only way to see movies...other then at the movies. They often mixed in TV-movies to make thing interesting. So here's a typical line-up..."Close Encounters of a Strange Kind" week - THE GARGOYLES starring Cornell Wilde, NIGHT SLAVES starring James Franciscus, THE OMEGA MAN starring Charlton Heston, THE STRANGE WITHIN starring Barbara Eden and the one, the only PSYCHO! A 109 minute film, chopped down to 72 minutes to fit a 90-minute time slot? Blasphemy! Wonder how much of the shower scene made it to broadcast.

Jean Stapleton (1923-2013)

Steve Forrest (1925-2013)

Gonna Party Like It's SPACE:1999

From 2009...

I've never been a real sci-fi geek, but I know what I like. In terms of films, I always preferred LOGAN'S RUN over STAR WARS. So freeze me in carbonite. On TV, I liked the original STAR TREK, but can say I've ever even watched any of the revivals. I just never found them that appealing. Sorry. I'm not saying they're bad, I just didn't feel the need to watch 'em. I also can honestly say I've never watched any of the BATTLESTAR GALACTICA shows - old or new. I know how the recent show is supposed to amazing and all that, and I may get around to watching it one day - but I just don't have the bandwidth right now. I did absolutely love V - at least the miniseries before it became a weekly, but the upcoming ABC revival doesn't sound like it will interest me much. I mean once you know that they're lizards, what's the point?

As a kid, I was quite a bit obsessed with the short-lived British import, SPACE: 1999. My recollections of the show are a bit cloudy, but I do recall that I loved the way it looked, but was a bit bored by the talkiness of the show. After all I was 11 years old at the time.

SPACE: 1999 ran for two seasons from 1975-77. In the show's storyline, there is a totally catastrophic nuclear/lunar accident that takes place on September 13, 1999 (10 years ago tomorrow!) that knocks the moon out of its orbit and flings the inhabitants of Moonbase Alpha into the far stretches of outer space. Then the fun begins!

The first season opening title sequence is one of the best in all TV history.

For some reason they decided to mess with greatness and create another totally awesome open sequence for season two. Still great, but not nearly as powerful as the first.

Then-married US TV stars Martin Landau and Barbara Bain (both of MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE fame) headlined the show in an attempt to make the show seem more "American".

The show was produced in the UK by sci-fi powerhouses Gerry and Sylvia Anderson (THUNDERBIRDS, UFO, etc.) and distributed internationally by Lord Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment.

Who doesn't get douche chills when they hear or see the famous ITC logo animation?

The syndicated series aired on Sundays at unusual time period of 6:30 PM on WPIX in New York for the two original seasons, with reruns airing in various time slots over the next few years.

Also starring were in season 1 was Barry Morse and the stunning Catherine Schell joined the cast as the fabulous shapeshifting alien Maya in season 2.

Guest stars included international names like Christopher Lee, Joan Collins, Peter Cushing, Judy Geeson, Ian McShane, and Sarah Douglas.
SPACE:1999 was visually the coolest TV show up till that time, with sets, costumes and special effects on par with feature films of that time period.

It would be interesting to watch a few episodes today and see if it's held up or not - if not, I'll always have my memories and YouTube clips.

Joyce Brothers (1927-2013)

Jeanne Cooper (1928-2013)

Ray Harryhausen (1920-2013)

Another World 49th Anniversary: The Romance Novels

Today is the 49th Anniversary of ANOTHER WORLD, that soap that I followed for most of it's 35 year run on NBC. Today I present several romance novels inspired by the series.

The first, Another World by Kate Lowe Kerrigan was published in 1978. With an amazing new logo and wonderful cover art, this novelization was successfuil enough to spawn a sequel.Published later that same year, Another World II picked up right from where the first ended. It went back to press with a new cover for it's second printing.
Classic.In 1986, a line of novels called Soaps & Serials was launched and Another World was included in the line-up. The 14-book series adapted storylines from 1967 to 1976. Each book had it's own subtitle.

When Felicia Gallant came to Bay City - she brought her history of being a romance novelist along with her. Among her fictional titles were the classics : The Bride of Bombay, Doctor's Desire, Ebony Heartbeat, Embers in the Snow, Fallen Females, Gardenias for Gwendolyn, Gone with the Dawn, The Heart That Heals, Into the Fire, The Lady and the Laborer, Lust in the Kremlin, The Manly Heart, Moonlight Desires, Paradise Delayed, Passion's Progress, Savage Love, Torrid Tundra Nights and White Snow in Hell.  In the real world, actress Linda Dano teamed with writer Rebecca Flanders to create Dreamweaver, a Harlequin Romance. A novel idea!

Deanna Durbin (1921-2013)

The Virtue of Vera Valiant

Here's a post from 2009 - with a few edits:

A long-forgotten, short-lived soap opera parody from the 1970s. This was Stan (The Man) Lee's daily comic strip answer to Norman Lear's brilliant MARY HARTMAN, MARY HARTMAN late-night syndicated serial.

This rare 1977 collection (the first of two) featured strips from October 1976 to January 1977. It was MARY WORTH, BRENDA STARR, REPORTER and WINNIE WINKLE all rolled into one with a satirical touch. Drawn lovingly by Frank Springer, the series daly never caught on–probably because readers had no idea it was all a parody! This is from the paperback introduction:

Here's a sample storyline from 1977 when daytime TV executives are hoping to turn Vera's real-life tragedies into plotlines for a 'reality' soap opera!

Talk about predicting the future! Who knew back then that most TV by the year 2009 would be 'reality' soaps? If only THE REAL HOUSEWIVES was more like The Virtue of Vera Valiant and less like, um crap. Here a reminder of what made MARY HARTMAN, MARY HARTMAN so great:

Ruby

Here's a re-post from 2009... My friend Jeff came by recently to treat me to a movie called RUBY (1977, directed by the late great, underrated Curtis Harrington). This is a film that I've been dying to see for ages, but for some reason or another I never did. Well, I'm glad to say, RUBY was worth the wait!

RUBY stars the awesome Piper Laurie (best known as CARRIE's mother and a star of David Lynch's TV classic TWIN PEAKS) in the role of a lifetime. Marketed as a horror film to capitalize on Laurie's CARRIE success, RUBY is more of a "slightly less than grand" guignol melodrama with some thrilling and hysterical twists. Harrington's other big films, the Shelley Winters double feature WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH HELEN? and WHOEVER SLEW AUNTIE ROO? are camp classics and his TV films HOW AWFUL ABOUT ALLAN  and DEVIL DOG: HOUND FROM HELL are also fun. I also recently watched THE KILLING KIND and look forward to seeing the rest of his work. I'm never disappointed by Curtis Harrington!

In RUBY, Harrington blends elements of SUNSET BOULEVARD, BONNIE & CLYDE and THE EXORCIST and it somehow all works! As Ruby, a former moll who runs a dying drive-in theater, Laurie not only chews the scenery - she practically digests it!!! This woman is having a great time onscreen, and you can't help but love her.

I don't want to give too much away because I think people need to see RUBY, but take a gander at the trailer and I'm sure you'll be seeking out RUBY before too long.

Seeing that just made me just wanna watch it again...and again. This is what movies should be like.

Jonathan Winters (1925-2013)

Annette Funicello (1942-2013)

Roger Ebert (1942-2013)

Carmine Infantino (1925-2013)

Dougsploitation: The San Francisco Treat!

A re-post from 2009 (in honor of Doris Day's 90th birthday!) As a child I fell in love with the city of San Francisco. Not even knowing where exactly it was on the map, I often declared that it was a place that I wanted to live. I think my first exposure to the city by the bay was a famous commercial for a noodle product.
Over the years many TV shows I watched were set in the city of cable cars, including several seasons of THE DORIS DAY SHOW.Every week when I saw this classic opening, I knew it was where I wanted to live.
A few years later, PHYLLIS moved from Minneapolis to SF–therefore making my desire to live there even greater.Another TV show from the 1970s that fueled my desire was the Quinn Martin production, THE STREETS OF SAN FRANCISCO.
Many other dramas also took place in SF, notably cop shows like IRONSIDE and McMILLAN & WIFE, soapy shows like FALCON CREST and HOTEL and doctor shows like TRAPPER JOHN, M.D. and PRESIDIO MED. Did anybody ever watch that last one?
Other famous sitcoms that were based in the city included TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT, MY SISTER SAM and FULL HOUSE (which to this day, I'm proud to say, I've never seen one episode of!)
But the show that really pushed me over the top was the original 1993 PBS adaptation of Armistead Maupin's TALES OF THE CITY. Having read the first five books, I was already in love with Maupin's wonderful cast of characters. But seeing them come to life in the city that was a much a character as the people themselves drove me to move to the city in 1995, making it my home for six years.

Since then, there were 2 very good TV sequels for Showtime, plus a dreary film adaptation of Maupin's tangental spin-off, The Night Listener. A 6th Barbary Lane novel, the wonderfully melancholy Michael Tolliver Lives was published in 2006.

Followed by 2010's lovely Mary Ann in Autumn.

All this SF talk really makes me miss the city by the bay. Oh, by the way, if you're wondering...nobody in San Francisco eats Rice-A-Roni. Ever.

Jess Franco (1930-2013)

Harry Reems (1947-2013)

Return to THE WONDERFUL LAND OF OZ

To celebrate the opening of Disney's OZ: THE GREAT AND POWERFUL, I've decided to re-post a look at a little-known sequel to THE WIZARD OF OZ that my good friend Danny wrote way back in 2006. Take it away, Danny...

It all started innocently enough with a wonderful dinner from Kung Pao Bistro, then something went horribly wrong!!!!

For the next 70 minutes I was horrified to be watching THE WONDERFUL LAND OF OZ, a 1969 "sequel" to THE WIZARD OF OZ directed by Barry Mahon, also known for such classics as SANTA AND THE THREE BEARS, SANTA AND THE ICE CREAM BUNNY

and I WAS A MAN: THE TRUE STORY OF ANSA KANSAS, AN HERMAPHRODITE (It's true - look it up on IMDB.com).

If I was naughty as a child, surely this movie was my comeuppance!!!

It was just awful! The cardboard sets, the bad lighting, the horrible singing, the crappy story, the abominable acting and the purple papier-mache cow couldn't keep me from admitting that it was leaps and bounds better than Disney's Broadway crapfest known as TARZAN.

Anyway, this surreal movie goes beyond any description, but here goes; imagine THE BRADY BUNCH is putting on a fundraiser show in their backyard.

They've chosen to do THE CRYING GAME using leftovers from Alice's old crafting night class, Carol's discarded wardrobe and costumes from an abandoned AUSTIN POWERS sequel.

And since there are so many Brady kids, they have to just throw in some other characters, including the lying translator for Cindy to play. The Story, well it's the CRYING GAME , you know, for kids.

Um, this kid, Pit (the writer/director's son) makes a Pumpkinhead, it scares the witch (who looks like a DAWN OF THE DEAD background actress) who uses her magic powders to bring it to life.

Then they sing a song. Badly. Then the witch tells Pit she's gonna turn him into a stone statue so he sings a song about not wanting to be a statue. Badly.

With the help of Pumpkinhead (read: African American slave), he escapes and goes to the Emerald City where the gay Scarecrow rules, but the cattle call girls from the abandoned AUSTIN POWERS sequel led by a drum majorette, attack the City and take over, but regret that none of them knows how to make breakfast.

Anyhoo, Tip, his slave ; gay fag friend go to the Tin Woodsman, who's getting a hot lube/rub job from some smokin' chicks, for help.

Then, they meet up with Glinda who sings a random song decently, then takes them all back to the witch to get her help in finding Ozma, the princess and rightful heir to the stool, I mean throne.

So the witch brings the whole crying game thing in by revealing that Tip isn't really a boy, he's Ozma, a girl! Just like Ansa Kansas, only opposite! The wizard transexualized him so that Ozma would not be found. Glinda says she's gonna bring Ozma back and Tip is all, "But I don't wanna die!" and well, maybe the ACTUAL DIALOGUE would explain it best...

GLINDA: "It is not exactly that you are going to be a girl. You're going to remain Tip. The girl is Ozma. You are not exactly Ozma now, you have grown into an adventurous boy. When I transform you, Ozma will be the girl, and Tip will be your spirit, a wonderful, adventurous spirit, that will float out into the land beyond, and become a part of every little boy."

Ozma comes back and the AUSTIN POWERS rejects go to Denny's for a hearty breakfast.

Oh yeah, there was a disturbing purple cow that was late on ALL of its cues. I imagine the director (sic) saying, "Moo! That's all you have to say! One word! When he stops talking, you say "Moo!" Alright, I get that you may not be able to tell he's actually talking, but when his lips stop being slightly open, you say MOOOOOOOO!!!"
This movie should be avoided at all costs. Doug (who watched it WITH Danny) rates this a 3 outta 10. Only true OZ completists and Sam Raimi need to see it - if only to see how NOT to make an OZ film.