Proving my lifelong desire to be a hard-hitting journalist, I now present my look at some cutting-edge news makers.
Friday, March 16, 2012
Josie and Pussycats: Behind the Music
I'm repeating this post in tribute to the late Josie DeCarlo, the inspiration for JOSIE.
Proving my lifelong desire to be a hard-hitting journalist, I now present my look at some cutting-edge news makers.
JOSIE AND THE PUSSYCATS was always one of my favorite Hanna-Barbera cartoons, as well as the hippest of the Archie Comics line.
Initially published as SHE'S JOSIE (#1-16) and later just JOSIE (#17-44), the comic book was launched in 1963 as a rather generic high school humor series aimed at young girls.
The strip was created by Dan DeCarlo, artist of Atlas/Marvel's MILLIE THE MODEL and Archie's BETTY & VERONICA.
DeCarlo was also known for his very saucy Golden Age pin up girl art.
Now that's a topic for another post entirely. Josie Jones/James/McCoy, whom DeCarlo named after his wife, made her debut in ARCHIE'S PALS 'N' GALS #23, before SHE'S JOSIE #1 hit the newsstands.
Josie's closet friends included sexy dumb blond Melody Jones/Valentine, snobbish Alexander Cabot III and Alex's bitchy twin sister Alexandra (and her equally evil and somewhat magical black cat Sebastian). The kids seemed to spend a lot of time hanging out at ski lodges or on the slopes.
These three characters would remain with the series through the years, though other supporting characters like Pepper, Albert and Sock would fade away.
The book reflected some of the far-out pop culture art and fashion movements of the day. Hunky blond Alan M. Mayberry made his first appearance in JOSIE #42, attracting the attention of both Josie and Alexandra.
The comic became JOSIE AND THE PUSSYCATS with issue #45 (Dec. 1969) when Josie and Melody teamed with their new friend Val Smith/Brown to form an all-group rock group called The Pussycats - at a time when an all-girl rock group was not very common.
In fact, other than Suzi Quatro's 60s band The Pleasure Seekers and The Carrie Nations from BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS, there weren't many representations of this concept in pop culture.
The real-life Runaways would later fill the gap five years after The Pussycats.
Josie was the lead vocalist and guitarist and Melody the drummer. Self-centered Alexandra was their original choice to be bassist, but only if they decided call themselves "Alexandra's Cool Time Cats".
The gals resisted Alexandra's changes and Val took over as the bassist, and she often played other instruments as well...like the tambourine.
Following in the footsteps of Filmation's music-based THE ARCHIE SHOW, which became a Saturday-morning sensation in 1969, Hanna-Barbera quickly adapted JOSIE into a weekly animated series.
Josie's speaking voice was performed by Janet Waldo (also the voice of Judy Jetson); Melody's voice was supplied by cute DORIS DAY SHOW actress Jackie Joseph; and Valerie's speaking voice is performed by Barbara Pariot. The character of Val is notable for being the first African-American female character on a animated TV series, making her the kivvid equivalent of JULIA. Marvelously mean Alexandra's voice in the cartoons is provided by former Mouseketeer Sherry Alberoni.
In the TV show, Alexander became the band's manager, with Alan cast as their roadie and Alexandra becoming the resident pain in the ass.
Unlike the slapstick comedy used in the ARCHIE franchise, JOSIE episodes were more inline with Hanna-Barbera mysteries and adventures like SCOOBY-DOO and JONNY QUEST, with a heavy emphasis on wonderful and wacky musical montage chase scenes. In fact, Alexander became a Shaggy clone and Alan took on the qualities of Fred from SCOOBY.
Episodes would follow the Pussycats on their world tour, as they visited exotic locations and, usually because of scheming Alexandra, got mixed up in some kind of crazy caper. The show's producers opted to not include Alexandra's Sabrina-like dabblings in witchcraft in the series.
The villain was invariably a diabolical madman who wanted to take over the world, and he would have gotten away with it if it wasn't for that meddling all-girl rock group!
Every episode usually ends with Alexandra getting her comeuppance.
Stories in the comic book soon reflected this darker direction that the characters faced on the TV show.
Meanwhile, a real-life bubblegum pop singing group was put together to record songs for the series.
An accompanying Capital LP featured Kathleen Dougherty (Cathy Dougher) as Josie, Cheryl Stoppelmoor (later Cheryl Ladd) as Melody, and Patrice Holloway as Valerie was released, along with a collection of 45 RPM singles.
Patrice also performed the show’s awesome theme song, which was written by Hoyt Curtin, William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. The song was covered by Juliana Hatfield and Tanya Donnelly in 1995.
The series set in motion a tidal wave of merchandise depicting Josie, Melody and Val.
Books, puzzles, toys, costumes and just about any cheap and/ridiculous item that they could slap a logo on became fair game for Pussymania!
16 episodes of aired on CBS during the 1970-71 television season, and were rerun during the 1971-72 season.
In 1972, the show was revamped and returned as JOSIE AND THE PUSSYCATS IN OUTER SPACE, with 16 new episodes of which aired on CBS during the 1972-73 season that were rerun the following season.
In these new episodes, the band was accidentally launched into space while attending a photoshoot at a NASA-type facility, thanks to that clumsy oaf Alexandra.
Thankfully Val was smart enough to figure out how to drive a penis-shaped rocket.
They spent much of the series trying to get back home to Earth, while performing impromptu concerts for misunderstood aliens.
During this run, ear-wiggling Melody adopted an annoying alien creature named Bleep that only says "bleep" over and over again.
The Pussycats also guest starred on an episode of THE NEW SCOOBY-DOO MOVIES, where dopplegangers Alexander and Shaggy and Alan and Fred got to share screen time.
More consumer products rolled out of factories as reruns of the JOSIE turned up on NBC, USA Network, Cartoon Network and are still seen today on Cartoon Network's spinoff channel Boomerang.
In 2001, JOSIE AND THE PUSSYCATS was unsuccessfully adapted into a live action motion picture by Universal Pictures and MGM. The less said about this film, the better.
Sadly, the regular bimonthly JOSIE comic book was discontinued in the early 1980s, with the characters occasionally appearing in "specials" and other Archie universe titles on and off over the years.
A short-lived New Wave makeover in the 80s and a Manga-style riff on the concept proved to be unpopular with fans of the classic Pussycats.
Yes, that's how I like my Pussycats. Long tails and ears for hats.
Guitars and sharps and flats.
...Come on and watch the good guys win. Josie and the Pussycats. Josie and the Pussycats. Insert familiar Sebastian's cat-laugh here.
Proving my lifelong desire to be a hard-hitting journalist, I now present my look at some cutting-edge news makers.
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
The Boys : The Sherman Brothers' Story
From 2009, in honor of Robert Sherman: I had the opportunity to see a great feature-length documentary film this past weekend. If you're like me grew up in the 1960s or 70s, chances are real good that you’ve been singing along to songs of Richard and Robert Sherman Brothers’ songs. With unforgettable songs tunes from Disney classics like “Chim Chim Cher-ee” and “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” from MARY POPPINS; "Let's Get Together" from THE PARENT TRAP; “I Wanna Be Like You” and "Trust in Me" from THE JUNGLE BOOK and even theme park favorites like “It’s a Small World (After All)” and "In The Tiki Room". Their work beyond Disney, includes the memorable hits CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG, SNOOPY GO HOME and Hanna-Barbera's original CHARLOTTE'S WEB..
While Dick and Bob's songs were cherished by both audiences and Walt Disney himself, outside the public eye, the boys’ personal relationship with each other was far less harmonious. In the film, a wide array of celebrities from Julie Andrews to Ben Stiller, join Disney peers, family and friends, as well as the brothers themselves to tell the story Shermans’ incredible prolific and tumultuous career. It's a powerful story of talent, teamwork, loyalty and estrangement. I highly recommend it to any one who has an interest in Disney, music and dysfunctional families. For more info on the film go here.
While Dick and Bob's songs were cherished by both audiences and Walt Disney himself, outside the public eye, the boys’ personal relationship with each other was far less harmonious. In the film, a wide array of celebrities from Julie Andrews to Ben Stiller, join Disney peers, family and friends, as well as the brothers themselves to tell the story Shermans’ incredible prolific and tumultuous career. It's a powerful story of talent, teamwork, loyalty and estrangement. I highly recommend it to any one who has an interest in Disney, music and dysfunctional families. For more info on the film go here.As a special treat, here's Siouxsie &The Banshee's incredible cover version of "Trust in Me."
Monday, March 5, 2012
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Friday, March 2, 2012
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Monday, February 27, 2012
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Random TV GUIDE Ad - Cheap Processed Meat in a Can
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Random TV GUIDE Ad - Heaven & Hell
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Random TV GUIDE Ad - Western Pantsuit (My 1000th Post!)
Monday, February 20, 2012
Random TV GUIDE Ad - LeVar Burton on DINAH!
Sunday, February 19, 2012
DEGRASSI Anonymous, Part 3: Everybody Wants Joey...
From 2009: For Day 3 of my DEGRASSI memories, I'll take a brief look at one of my favorite characters. Pat Mastroianni portrayed Joey Jeremiah on almost every incarnation of DEGRASSI. As a teen, Joey was a member of The Zit Remedy (along with his pals Snake and Wheels). Their one song "Everybody Wants Something" was prominently featured in many episodes of DEGRASSI HIGH.
Joey returned to TV as an adult on DEGRASSI: THE NEXT GENERATION sporting a sexy shaved head and a smattering of facial hair. It war revealed that sometime after SCHOOL'S OUT Joey married a woman named Julia (the mother of bipolar musician Craig Manning), with whom he fathered a girl named Angela. Julia had died suddenly, leaving Joey a single dad (and available to reunite with Caitlin Ryan).
After dating Caitlin and a woman named Sidney. Longtime viewers had hoped that Joey and Caitlin would eventually tie the knot, but after Kevin Smith's infamous appearance on the series, Caitlin left Canada to further her career. Joey was eventually written out of the show after his stepson Craig left town to become a cokehead rockstar. For some sexy, dirty, reason Pat is pictured above wearing a tee-shirt proclaiming "Future Mrs. Craig Manning." Hmmm...
After Joey and Caitlin left DEGRASSI and the series focused more and more on the newer, younger cast members I became less interested. Finally ditching the show after the horrific DEGRASSI GOES HOLLYWOOD TV-movie. My memories of the original shows and the first years of the revival will keep this DEGRASSI addict happy for years to come. As Zit Remedy sang, "Everybody wants something, they never give up..."
Joey returned to TV as an adult on DEGRASSI: THE NEXT GENERATION sporting a sexy shaved head and a smattering of facial hair. It war revealed that sometime after SCHOOL'S OUT Joey married a woman named Julia (the mother of bipolar musician Craig Manning), with whom he fathered a girl named Angela. Julia had died suddenly, leaving Joey a single dad (and available to reunite with Caitlin Ryan).
After dating Caitlin and a woman named Sidney. Longtime viewers had hoped that Joey and Caitlin would eventually tie the knot, but after Kevin Smith's infamous appearance on the series, Caitlin left Canada to further her career. Joey was eventually written out of the show after his stepson Craig left town to become a cokehead rockstar. For some sexy, dirty, reason Pat is pictured above wearing a tee-shirt proclaiming "Future Mrs. Craig Manning." Hmmm...After Joey and Caitlin left DEGRASSI and the series focused more and more on the newer, younger cast members I became less interested. Finally ditching the show after the horrific DEGRASSI GOES HOLLYWOOD TV-movie. My memories of the original shows and the first years of the revival will keep this DEGRASSI addict happy for years to come. As Zit Remedy sang, "Everybody wants something, they never give up..."
Saturday, February 18, 2012
DEGRASSI Anonymous, Part 2: SCHOOL'S OUT!
From 2009: My disappointment over the shit heap known as DEGRASSI GOES HOLLYWOOD led me back to my DEGRASSI HIGH box set to watch the 1992 TV-movie called SCHOOL'S OUT! I missed this 90-minute special when it first aired because the geniuses at WNET in New York chose to air it only once– on Gay Pride Day 1992 – at a time when attending such events was important to me, being a young gay and all.
So now, 17 years later (in 2009), with the bad taste of DEGRASSI GOES HOLLYWOOD still in my mouth, I decided to give SCHOOL'S OUT a shot.
It all starts out in true Degrassi fashion as class valedictorian Lucy Fernandez (Anais Granofsky) delivers a farewell address to the graduating class. Among the students is Caitlin Ryan (Stacie Mistysyn), who has skipped ahead one year to graduate before her boyfriend Joey Jeremiah (Pat Mastroianni), who has been left back. At Lucy's graduation party we learn that Lucy and Caitlin will be college roommates. 
At the party, we actually see Degrassi students drinking beer and smoking weed - with no judgements. Even some of the good students are getting high. Miss Goody Two Shoes Tessa Campanelli (Kirsten Bourne) thinks that her friends are "so boring" when they are stoned. Meanwhile, Joey presents Caitlin with a friendship ring that he's saved all his pennies for. He implies that it could also serve as an engagement ring, but Caitlin is not ready for that kind of commitment. She also isn't ready to have sex with him!
Joey is crushed and runs out of the party and into Tessa, and he agrees to give her a "ride home". Before he drops her off, he plants a kiss on Tessa's lips. 
They later make a date and Joey gets to second base with her. Luckily he works in the pharmacy and has easy access to Shields brand condoms! So virginal Joey may finally get laid this summer, with our without Caitlin. Later Joey's pals gawky Snake (Stefan Brogren) and lesbian-lookalike Wheels (the late Neil Hope) discuss all matter of sexual hi jinks as they work on Wheel's crappy car. Snake is still a virgin too, but hopes his summer gig as a lifeguard will change all that.
So Joey and Tessa have sex...lots of it...so much for Tessa being Miss Goody Two Shoes! Weed=boring, sex=not so boring! While her and Joey continue to do the nasty, Caitlin goes back and forth on whether she wants to still go away to University with Lucy or stay local and be engaged to Joey. Lucy tries to convince to her choose college, but it looks like Caitlin might be giving it a second thought.
Then Caitlin decides that she will give Joey what he wants for his 19th birthday, prompting Lucy shows her how to put a rubber on a banana (which she calls "Joey"). Then Caitlin puts her hair up and a condom in her purse and before you know it - they've had sex too. After the momentous event, Caitlin cries and Joey gets out of bed...
I'm sure my readers would like to see that again...(Click to enlarge even more!)
Anyways, after the sobbing and the amazing butt shot, Joey climbs into his grampa's boxers.
Meanwhile, Tessa pays a visit to the local Women's Health Clinic. Guess what? She's totally preggers - so she orders up one abortion - to go!!! Later, the whole gang is getting together one last time by the lake...and tensions are growing between Wheels and Snake. Snake is all pissy cause Wheels spent his whole summer drinking beer and working on his shitty car. Their argument includes some un-Degrassi-like words such as "shit" and "asshole." They actually come to blows, and Lucy takes Wheels outside for some air.
Things go from bad to worse when Snake accuses Joey of "fucking" Tessa while dating Caitlin...just as Caitlin walks in! What happens next is the best Degrassi line ever...
Things continue to spiral outta control when Snake has to put his lifeguard training to the test to rescue Allison Hunter (Sarah Holmes) from drowning just as Wheels puts his drunk driving to the test - killing a small child and putting Lucy in critical condition! Holly shit!
Wheels winds up in prison for vehicular manslaughter and Lucy ends up blind in one eye and walking with a cane (as witnessed in the premiere episode of DEGRASSI: THE NEXT GENERATION). The whole story winds up months later at the wedding of Alexa Pappadopoulos (Irene Courakos) to Simon Dexter (Michael Carry). Not attending are Wheels, Lucy and a few others. Snake shows up at the wedding with his new girlfriend, Pam.
The End.
So now, 17 years later (in 2009), with the bad taste of DEGRASSI GOES HOLLYWOOD still in my mouth, I decided to give SCHOOL'S OUT a shot.
It all starts out in true Degrassi fashion as class valedictorian Lucy Fernandez (Anais Granofsky) delivers a farewell address to the graduating class. Among the students is Caitlin Ryan (Stacie Mistysyn), who has skipped ahead one year to graduate before her boyfriend Joey Jeremiah (Pat Mastroianni), who has been left back. At Lucy's graduation party we learn that Lucy and Caitlin will be college roommates. At the party, we actually see Degrassi students drinking beer and smoking weed - with no judgements. Even some of the good students are getting high. Miss Goody Two Shoes Tessa Campanelli (Kirsten Bourne) thinks that her friends are "so boring" when they are stoned. Meanwhile, Joey presents Caitlin with a friendship ring that he's saved all his pennies for. He implies that it could also serve as an engagement ring, but Caitlin is not ready for that kind of commitment. She also isn't ready to have sex with him!Joey is crushed and runs out of the party and into Tessa, and he agrees to give her a "ride home". Before he drops her off, he plants a kiss on Tessa's lips. They later make a date and Joey gets to second base with her. Luckily he works in the pharmacy and has easy access to Shields brand condoms! So virginal Joey may finally get laid this summer, with our without Caitlin. Later Joey's pals gawky Snake (Stefan Brogren) and lesbian-lookalike Wheels (the late Neil Hope) discuss all matter of sexual hi jinks as they work on Wheel's crappy car. Snake is still a virgin too, but hopes his summer gig as a lifeguard will change all that. 
So Joey and Tessa have sex...lots of it...so much for Tessa being Miss Goody Two Shoes! Weed=boring, sex=not so boring! While her and Joey continue to do the nasty, Caitlin goes back and forth on whether she wants to still go away to University with Lucy or stay local and be engaged to Joey. Lucy tries to convince to her choose college, but it looks like Caitlin might be giving it a second thought.
Then Caitlin decides that she will give Joey what he wants for his 19th birthday, prompting Lucy shows her how to put a rubber on a banana (which she calls "Joey"). Then Caitlin puts her hair up and a condom in her purse and before you know it - they've had sex too. After the momentous event, Caitlin cries and Joey gets out of bed...
I'm sure my readers would like to see that again...(Click to enlarge even more!)
Anyways, after the sobbing and the amazing butt shot, Joey climbs into his grampa's boxers.
Meanwhile, Tessa pays a visit to the local Women's Health Clinic. Guess what? She's totally preggers - so she orders up one abortion - to go!!! Later, the whole gang is getting together one last time by the lake...and tensions are growing between Wheels and Snake. Snake is all pissy cause Wheels spent his whole summer drinking beer and working on his shitty car. Their argument includes some un-Degrassi-like words such as "shit" and "asshole." They actually come to blows, and Lucy takes Wheels outside for some air.Things go from bad to worse when Snake accuses Joey of "fucking" Tessa while dating Caitlin...just as Caitlin walks in! What happens next is the best Degrassi line ever...
"Tessa Campanelli? You were fucking Tessa Campanelli?" CLASSIC!
Things continue to spiral outta control when Snake has to put his lifeguard training to the test to rescue Allison Hunter (Sarah Holmes) from drowning just as Wheels puts his drunk driving to the test - killing a small child and putting Lucy in critical condition! Holly shit!
Wheels winds up in prison for vehicular manslaughter and Lucy ends up blind in one eye and walking with a cane (as witnessed in the premiere episode of DEGRASSI: THE NEXT GENERATION). The whole story winds up months later at the wedding of Alexa Pappadopoulos (Irene Courakos) to Simon Dexter (Michael Carry). Not attending are Wheels, Lucy and a few others. Snake shows up at the wedding with his new girlfriend, Pam.At the reception, Snake's future-wife Spike (Amando Steptoe) mentions to Caitlin that her daughter Emma is now in pre-kindergarden (setting the stage for Emma to become one of the central characters in DEGRASSI: THE NEXT GENERATION in 2001). The film ends with Joey asking Caitlin to dance. Awww... What a totally enjoyable and satisfying conclusion to the series and the perfect bridge to the next series. I cannot recommend this highly enough to Degrassi fans everywhere. And if I need to remind you why, there's always this...
The End.
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