RHODA Returns!

In stores tomorrow: our good friends over at Shout! Factory bring us Season Two of RHODA, the popular MARY TYLER MOORE spin-off created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns. At the request of fans, this season's collection is completely remastered and features all 24 full length episodes!

Guest stars in this season include both John Ritter and Norman Fell , Vivian Vance, Joan Van Ark , Ruth Gordon, Eileen Heckart, Melanie Mayron and Tim Matheson.

It's really good to see our old friend Rho again. And if you are the first reader to correctly answer the trivia question at the bottom of this post, you can WIN your very own copy of RHODA Season Two! UPDATE: We already have a winner!The character of Rhoda Morgenstern first appeared in 1970 as Mary Richards' frumpy and sharp-tongued upstairs neighbor. Since saying to Mary, "Hello, get outta my apartment", Valerie Harper's portrayal has always been one of our favorite TV neighbors. RHODA begins with our heroine returning home to New York after living several years in Minneapolis (where it's cold and she figured she'd keep better).  By the time Rho moved back home, she had lost weight and now dressed in designer duds. The brilliant Nancy Walker and Harold Gould recreated their MARY TYLER MOORE guest roles of Ida and Martin Morgenstern, joining newcomer Julie Kavner as Rhoda's younger, frumpier sister Brenda, a bank teller. (Ignoring Rhoda's other sister - who got married in Episode 75 of MARY TYLER MOORE - which also featured Bret Somers as Rhoda's Aunt Rose).

Ida and Martin were typical Jewish parents. Ida was outrageous, overbearing and manipulative – and she covered her furniture in plastic! And Martin was Rhoda's sweet, dutiful father.

In the very first episode of RHODA, we meet Joe Gerard (the sexy, swaggering David Groh), who seven episodes later would be her husband! The classic hour-long episode "Rhoda's Wedding" aired on October 28, 1974 and featured guest turns by the gang from Minneapolis.

In addition to Mary, Lou Grant (Edward Asner), Murray Slaughter (Gavin MacLeod), Georgette Franklin (Georgia Engel), and Phyllis Lindstrom (Cloris Leachman) all attended the wedding - winning huge ratings in the process.
After the wedding, Rhoda returned to her career as a freelance window dresser by starting her own business called "Windows by Rhoda" with her old high school friend Myrna Morgenstein (the underrated Barbara Sharma).

Like many 1970s marriages, Joe's and Rhoda's did not last, nor did her career as a window dresser. By season 4, Rhoda was divorced and working at a costume company. Perhaps in an attempt to make RHODA different than MARY TYLER MOORE, they may have married her off too soon - and then when they ran out of story ideas for newlyweds - they split them up!

Viewers were unhappy and abandoned the show in droves. What started out a promising run ended mid-way though the show's 5th season when CBS pulled the plug on the show.
Valerie Harper and Mary Tyler Moore were eventually reunited as Rhoda and Mary in an excruciatingly painful two-hour TV-movie for ABC on February 7, 2000. The less said about it, the better.

Valerie received 4 Emmys playing Rhoda, 3 for the MARY TYLER MOORE show and 1 for RHODA in 1975. Julie Kavner also received an Emmy for her supporting role in 1978. RHODA also received two Golden Globe Awards (one for Valerie and the other for the show itself) in 1975.

TRIVIA QUESTION: What was the name of Rhoda's other sister? UPDATE: The answer is "Debbie".

All About Rhoda

The first season of RHODA, the first and best spin-off of the MARY TYLER MOORE show recently came out on dvd. Despite that many of the episodes are the edited syndicated versions and not the uncut network originals, it's really good to see our old friend Rho again.The character of Rhoda Morgenstern first appeared in 1970 as Mary Richards' frumpy and sharp-tongued upstairs neighbor. Since saying to Mary, "Hello, get outta my apartment", Valerie Harper's portrayal has always been one of our favorite TV neighbors. RHODA begins with our heroine returning home to New York after living several years in Minneapolis (where it's cold and she figured she'd keep better).  By the time Rho moved back home, she had lost weight and now dressed in designer duds. The brilliant Nancy Walker and Harold Gould recreated their MARY TYLER MOORE guest roles of Ida and Martin Morgenstern, joining newcomer Julie Kavner as Rhoda's younger, frumpier sister Brenda, a bank teller. (Ignoring Rhoda's other sister Debbie - who got married in Episode 75 of MARY TYLER MOORE - which also featured Bret Somers as Rhoda's Aunt Rose).

Ida and Martin were typical Jewish parents. Ida was outrageous, overbearing and manipulative – and she covered her furniture in plastic! And martin was Rhoda's sweet, dutiful father.

In the very first episode of RHODA, we meet Joe Gerard (the sexy, swaggering David Groh), who seven episodes later would be her husband! The classic hour-long episode "Rhoda's Wedding" airined on October 28, 1974 and featured guest turns by the gang from Minneapolis.

In addition to Mary, Lou Grant (Edward Asner), Murray Slaughter (Gavin MacLeod), Georgette Franklin (Georgia Engel), and Phyllis Lindstrom (Cloris Leachman) all attended the wedding - winning huge ratings in the process.
After the wedding, Rhoda returned to her career as a freelance window dresser by starting her own business called "Windows by Rhoda" with her old high school friend Myrna Morgenstein (the underrated Barbara Sharma).

Like many 1970s marriages, Joe's and Rhoda's did not last, nor did her career as a window dresser. By season 4, Rhoda was divorced and working at a costume company. Perhaps in an attempt to make RHODA different than MARY TYLER MOORE, they may have married her off too soon - and then when they ran out of story ideas for newlyweds - they split them up! Viewers were unhappy and abandoned the show in droves. What started out a promising run ended mid-way though the show's 5th season when CBS pulled the plug on the show.
Valerie Harper and Mary Tyler Moore were eventually reunited as Rhoda and Mary in an excruciatingly painful two-hour TV-movie for ABC on February 7, 2000. The less said about it, the better.

Valerie received 4 Emmys playing Rhoda, 3 for the MARY TYLER MOORE show and 1 for RHODA in 1975. Julie Kavner also received an Emmy for her supporting role in 1978. RHODA also received two Golden Globe Awards (one for Valerie and the other for the show itself) in 1975. 

Who needs The Olympics?

Well, 30 years ago NBC apparently didn't, because they broadcast their own international sporting event - US AGAINST THE WORLD II (The first edition ran the previous season).
Taking a cue from ABC's very sucessfull BATTLE OF THE NETWORK STARS and CBS's CELEBRITY BATTLE OF THE SEXES, the peacock network mounted what they hoped be an annual "event". Imagine an celebrity athletic show hosted by Gabe (WELCOME BAK KOTTER) Kaplan! Among the stars participating - Ed (TONIGHT SHOW) McMahon, Dick (AMERICAN BANDSTAND) Clark, Dan (GRIZZLY ADAMS) Haggerty, Scott (JOANIE LOVES CHACHI) Baio, Jimmie (J.J. on GOOD TIMES) Walker, Gavin (LOVE BOAT) MacLeod, Melissa (LITTLE HOUSE) Gilbert, Ted (MARY TYLER MOORE) Knight, Cloris (PHYLLIS) Leachman, Kristy (FAMILY) McNichol, Connie (ABC MOVIE OF THE WEEK) Stevens, William (STAR TREK) Shatner, Rich (talk show guest) Little, Bo (WALKING TALL) Svenson, LeVar (ROOTS) Burton, Britt (trophy wife) Ekland, Barbara (VALLEY OF THE DOLLS!!!) Perkins, Victoria (DALLAS) Principal, Fionnula (HOW THE WEST WAS WON) Flannigan and Dick (EIGHT IS ENOUGH) Van Patton! Whew!

Wow! All those big stars! All that sweat! I wonder what celebrities the "international" teams featured? I also wonder who looked the better in a Speedo - Dan Haggerty or Dick Van Patten? Well - we know Dick was in good shape because he had just modeled for this great EIGHT IS ENOUGH tie-in product:
I mean, you really have to be in peak athletic condition to A) Fly a kite B) Keep youngest son Adam Rich away from the drug pushers (pictured in the rear) and C) outrun the family of kite-loving bears that you are taunting with your yellow kite. Priceless.

I guess US AGAINST THE WORLD II didn't take off in the ratings because we didn't see a third edition, which is sad because imagine if the show was still on today. Who would be representing the USA in an all-star competition? Cast members of THE HILLS? Hulk Hogan's family? The Kardashians? Maybe we're better off.

Tragic Halloween Costumes (Aaron Spelling edition)

Aaron Spelling was responsible for some of the most memorable TV shows of the 1970s. His ABC shows of this period ran the gamut from crime dramas to romantic comedies. Most were Top 10 hits and were mostly aimed towards "adult" audiences, but a few inspired Halloween costumes.Nothing like dressing up your little girl as Farah Fawcett-Majors, the queen of "jiggle tv". Not sure why Farah's costume isn't branded as a CHARLIE'S ANGELS costume like Kate Jackson's Sabrina. Oddly enough, the horse-faced Kate mask looks more like Tori Spelling!

Wow - a Gavin  MacLeod costume! Well, he didn't get one as Murray from MARY TYLER MOORE, but I wonder what little kid actually wanted to be Captain Stubing from THE LOVE BOAT for Halloween.
And finally, Tattoo from FANTASY ISLAND. What a wonderful way to empower your short child! Wonder if they had a Mr. Rouke get-up for the taller kids?

CARNIVAL OF SOULS

Sometimes when I'm feeling scared I simply remember my favorite things and then I don't feel so bad. So while watching a frightening movie, I sometimes reflect upon my favorite TV show of all time to help me get through it. :)

CARNIVAL OF SOULS (1962, directed by Herk Harvey) is an haunting and mesmerizing film. The story opens with a wild battle-of-the-sexes drag race between a car full of rowdy young men and a trio of sassy chicks. The girls don't fare so well when their car plunges off a bridge into a river. Three hours later, after the rescue team gives up hope, one of the girls, Mary Henry, a church organist (brilliantly played by the beautiful Candace Hilligoss) appears - she somehow survived! This world is awfully big, and girl this time you're all alone.

We are then treated to a magnificent organ concert performed by Mary - who we learn is kinda bitchy for a church lady. She seems to snap at everyone and treats everything around her with indifference. Not to mention that her two friends just died. Well it's you girl, and you SHOULD know it, with each glance and every little movement you show it.

Mary soon heads to Salt Lake City, Utah where a new job playing organ at a church awaits her. Let's just pretend she's going to work at a local TV station as an associate producer for a news show. During her drive she passes a large, mysterious structure by a lake - and she suddenly sees a creepy zombie-like man (we'll just call him "Murray Slaughter") in her passenger window. His image really is quite chilling - much like Gavin MacLeod in whiteface.

As the story continues, we meet Mary's nosy landlady Mrs. Thomas, um Lindstrom (who doesn't mind if Mary takes a lot of baths) and her horny drunken neighbor Mr. Linden, er Rhoda? (who likes his coffee with booze cause it makes him happy). Her interactions with these two are somewhat awkward. Mary doesn't even thank Phyllis for fixing her a meal. What a bitch!

Mary soon meets her new boss, Rev. Lou Grant - and he seems to like her spunk. She asks the minister about the building by the lake. He tells her it was an old bath house (not THAT kind of bath house!) that was later transformed into a carnival, but is now abandoned. He even drives out there with her to see it. Murray begins appearing everywhere Mary goes. The next day, while shopping for a smart little black dress (at Hempel's?) Mary becomes invisible and inaudible to everyone around her in the department store, as if she isn’t there!!! And she doesn't even shoplift! You CAN have a town, why don't you take it?

Mary begins experiencing mood swings as Murray's presence becomes more and more prevalient. No one else can see him, but we can!!! (Unfortunately) When sipping water from a fountain in a park, Mary sees Murray standing over her, drops her purse and runs smack into another man - who turns out to be a doctor - who immediately tries to help her. After unloading her bag of bullshit on Dr. Samuels, he tells her that she should face her fears. Like that carnival pavilion for starters. It's time you started LIVING - It's time you let someone else do some giving!!!

The next night, while practicing hymns alone in church, Mary falls into a trance and her music suddenly transforms from beautiful church hymns to a creepy demonic dirge. Visions of stained glass images give way to zombie-like ghouls emerging from the lake that begin to dance in a ballroom. Murray approaches her, but then Rev. Lou Grant appears suddenly - declaring her music a sacrilege and tells her she has a "lack of soul" and she's fired! Turns out he hates spunk! He then he tells her that the church can help her. She totally dissmisses him and meets up with her horny neighbor for a date. Love IS all around, no need to waste it .

Mr. Linden/Rhoda wants Mary in the worst way - but she just wants somebody around to protect her from Murray. The more Rhoda tries to get close to her, the more she resists. But she doesn't want to be alone. When they are finally alone back at house, Mary freaks out and Rhoda declares that Mary's a crazy chick. Mary then rearranges the furniture in her room to keep Murray out. Just be sure to keep your head, Cause girl you know that's ALL you need.

The next day, Mary decides to leave Salt Lake City, but her car has transmission trouble - so she pulls into an auto body shop where she decides to stay in the car while it is being repaired on the lift. Of course, Murray shows up and she escapes from the car - and tries taking a bus outta town only to find that all of the passengers are zombies!!! Invisible again to everyone, she winds up at Dr. Samuels' office again - only when he turns around he's Murray!!!

She then wakes up in the car - and drives out of the gas station to the Carnival pavilion where she is chased down by the pack of zombie people. The minister, the doctor, and the police all arriving at the pavilion to investigate, but only find her car, her footprints in the sand and no body. GULP!

The film’s final scene, however, shows us what has been Mary's secret all along: She's NOT gonna make it after all ...

This film is amazing. See it. 10 outta 10. Then watch MARY TYLER MOORE to erase the creepiness.

DEGRASSI Anonymous, Part 1

From 2009: My name is Doug and I must confess that I am a DEGRASSI fan. And I am not alone, this Canadian import, in all its various incarnations became something of a cult favorite among my circle of friends and we still talk about it to this day.
I first discovered the earliest show, THE KIDS OF DEGRASSI STREET (produced 1979-86) during my high school years, but really became hooked once PBS began airing DEGRASSI JUNIOR HIGH on Sunday mornings in 1987. During its three seasons, this "kids" show tackled topics such as child abuse, rumored lesbianism, drug addiction, unprotected sex, interracial relationships, alcoholism, teen pregnancy, wet dreams, depression, molestation, gay relatives, animal rights and eating disorders. How could you not love that?
Though I was now college age, DEGRASSI seemed smarter than any kids show I had ever seen and more adult than anything the US networks were showing at that time. The fact that the show didn't talk down to its audience or get all preachy was a refreshing change from what we were used to.Popular characters included the adorable star-crossed lovers Joey Jeremiah (Pat Mastroianni) and Caitlin Ryan (Stacie Mistysyn), unwed teen mom/punk Christine 'Spike' Nelson (Amanda Steptoe), gawky goofball Archie 'Snake' Simpson (Stefan Brogren), mega-nerdy Derek 'Wheels' Wheeler (Neil Hope), future filmmaker Lucy Fernandez (Anais Granofsky) and the Farrell twins (Angela and Maureen Deiseach). There were also some annoying and cheesy characters too, but we tended to ignore those.
DEGRASSI HIGH came along in 1989, and unlike its US counterparts like BEVERLY HILLS 90210 and SAVED BY THE BELL the actors were actually high school age and were hardly teen models. These kids were realistic looking and acting teens. Further topics covered in the two seasons: abortion, sexism, abusive relationships, prejudice, HIV, sexual abuse and suicide.Another aspect of DEGRASSI HIGH was its tendency to show its male characters in various states of undress. Blonde himbo Simon Dexter (Michael Carry) got to reinact the PSYCHO shower scene in an episode called "It Creeps". And popular bad boy Joey Jeremiah took a stroll through the Degrassi corridors sans clothes to raise money to buy a car.After DEGRASSI HIGH ran its course, a controversial 90-minute TV-movue entitled SCHOOL'S OUT was aired and a documentary series titled DEGRASSI TALKS followed (in Canada only).
Almost a decade later, DEGRASSI: THE NEXT GENERATION arrived via the MTV-owned cable network The N. Spike's baby girl Emma Nelson (Miriam McDonald) was now a teenager and soon became the lead character of the show. Spike was now in a relationship with Snake, and the two later married. Joey and Caitlin were also back, and dated for a while. Other characters from the old show made appearances early on, but were phased out as the series continued. The show also inspired a series of manga-style comic books.This version of DEGRASSI has thus far dealt with some heavy topics including online predators, sexual identity, date rape, school violence, cutting, STD's, murder and other heavy topics. In fact a two-part episode about abortion was not aired in the US, and all references to the procedure were edited out of subsequent episodes.

At first I resisted getting into this new version of my old favorite, but the charming and talented cast eventually won me over. Standout characters from the first season included pregnant teen Manuela 'Manny' Santos (Cassie Steele), school mascot and eventual martyr James Tiberius 'J.T.' Yorke (Ryan Cooley), overachiever Liberty Van Zandt (Sarah Barrable-Tishauer), otter-in-training Tobias 'Toby' Isaacs (Jake Goldsbie), troubled Sean Cameron (Daniel Clark), cute goth wannabe Ashley Kerwin (Melissa McIntyre), eventually bisexual bad girl Paige Michalchuk (Lauren Collins), basketball star James 'Jimmy" Brooks (Aubrey Graham) and lovable bad boy Gavin 'Spinner' Mason (Shane Kippel). Joining the expanded cast for Season 2 were bipolar musician Craig Manning (Jake Epstein), self-abuser faghag Ellie Nash (Stacey Farber) and fabulous gay role model Marco Del Rossi (Adamo Ruggiero). Each new season welcomed a new batch of attractive young actors to the show, as older characters began to move on. Troublemaker lesbian Alex Nunez (Deanna Casaluce) and sleazy Jay Hogart (Mike Lobel) began as supporting players and took on more prominent roles in later seasons. The show "jumped the shark" when writer/director Kevin Smith guest starred for a story arc involving his tiresome Jay and Silent Bob characters and a movie shoot at his school with aspiring actress Manny cast in a role. The series still airs, but most of the best of the cast are now gone, as their characters graduated high school and left for college, and a largely generic group of younger characters has taken over.

A new TV-movie called DEGRASSI GOES HOLLYWOOD reuniting the main characters of THE NEXT GENERATION earlier seasons will aired on August 14, 2009 - proving that something jump the shark TWICE!

For more info on DEGRASSI go here.

Tragic Halloween Costumes Megapost

Here's my entire Tragic Halloween Costumes series from 2008 for you to enjoy (again).
Ben Cooper costumes were always the highlight of the season for me. Even as a kid I knew that some of the costumes were pretty lame. For example, take a gander at this Kaye Ballard costume. Kaye, co-star of TV's lost treasure THE MOTHERS-IN-LAW has never looked better with her reverse flip hairdo and big bright smile...Oh wait a minute, why is Kaye Ballard wearing a plastic smock that says "Marie Osmond" and holding a box that pictures Donny, Marie and the dreaded Jimmy Osmond? Oh - because it's NOT a Kaye Ballard costume - it's Marie Osmond!!! Or is it? You decide...

Spooky. To complete the unholy Osmond trinity, here were have the frightening duo of Prop 8 supporter (boo! hiss!) Donny and Jimmy Osmond...Donny (pictured above) also looks a bit like Kaye Ballard...or perhaps even JoAnne Worley! There is something extremely unsettling about this mask - especially grouped with Marie and little Jimmy (pictured below).Jimmy, in the non-Halloween world, was always the creepiest and least talented of the Osmonds - and his Halloween mask has a certain sadness about it. The mask looks like it's saying "I know I'm not as pretty as Marie or as non-threateningly cute as Donny, but please try to look into your heart and try not to hate me - my parents forced me into this. I wish I wasn't born an Osmond, there's just too much pressure. Help."

Long before the madness known as AMERICAN GIRL became our latest national nightmare, young girls (and some adventurous boys) imagined themselves living in the pioneer world of LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE. Yes, there were kids who actually enjoyed making believe they worked the fields in Walnut Grove, taught in a school for the blind and battled the devil incarnate herself, Nellie Oleson. Melissa Gilbert as Laura Ingalls Wilder was extremely cute, but it didn't hurt your teeth to look at her (like many other sugary child stars of the 1970s). She had a sweet, wholesome and believable cuteness that kept us tuning in on Monday nights, even into the 1980s when Laura had a husband and kids of her own.So why then, did they make a Halloween mask that made her look more like, um...Perez Hilton?Poor "Half Pint". Next, let's take a look at some magically themed Halloween costumes. Starting with BEWITCHED's Samantha Stephens herself...Well, looking a bit like a drunken drag queen, Sam came in two un-fabulous versions. Both with garish mustard yellow capes and old school witch hats. Why not make the costume match the famous animated Samantha from the opening titles? Oh Ben Cooper, you were such a tease! Well, at least they got her hair color right, unlike...Jeannie from I DREAM OF JEANNIE! Why on Earth would they give her red hair? And again with the yellow! Yuck! Jeannie was known for wearing PINK, not yellow! It's almost like they went out of their way to make her look nothing like the actual character. And these were official licensed products! Ironically, the mask looks more like Barbara Eden today...Getting back to witches...
Here's Witchiepoo from Sid & Marty Krofft's psychedelic kiddie classic H.R. PUFNSTUF. This costume actually works for me. The mask looks like the character and the trippy graphic is kinda cute, even though the illustration makes her look more like 70s era Bette Midler than Billie Hayes. I think this is the best costume I've come across (so far).

Next we have THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN, who looks more like CBS newsman Dan Rather. Also, the graphic illustration is perversely out of proportion. I did not realise that Steve Austin has elephantitis of the head.
And then there's THE BIONIC WOMAN...which isn't half-bad, but why does she look like she's sleeping? Oh - this must represent Jamie Sommers' in a coma - after her parachuting accident. Wake up, Jamie - wake up!!!
I wonder if Ben Cooper ever made a FEMBOT costume? Now that would have been terrific - especially if it came with the requisite rainbow smock and Ronald MacDonald fright wig!Now let's take a at some Garry Marshall inspired fright masks. No, not a Julia Roberts/PRETTY WOMAN hooker costume, but some 1970s classics from the days when Marshall was behind almost every ABC sitcom. He-ey! Check out this great Abe Vigoda mask...no wait ...it's Henry Winkler as Arthur Fonzerelli...
Why did they feel the need to make Fonzie's ears, nose and chin gigantic??? Moving right along, we have those lovable roommates, LAVERNE & SHIRLEY...Yikes!!!

Actually and sadly, these masks are pretty accurate. But what Laverne without her giant "L"??? Boo! Hey does anybody have a Pam Dawber mask? Nope, just the annoying alien known as Mork from Ork...

Na-No, Na-No...Shaz-Bot! I have nothing else to say. After Garry, Aaron Spelling was responsible for some of the most memorable TV shows of the 1970s. His ABC shows of this period ran the gamut from crime dramas to romantic comedies. Most were Top 10 hits and were mostly aimed towards "adult" audiences, but a few inspired Halloween costumes.Nothing like dressing up your little girl as the late Farah Fawcett-Majors, the queen of "jiggle tv". Not sure why Farah's costume isn't branded as a CHARLIE'S ANGELS costume like Kate Jackson's Sabrina. Oddly enough, the horse-faced Kate mask looks more like Tori Spelling!

Wow - a Gavin MacLeod costume! Well, he didn't get one as Murray from MARY TYLER MOORE, but I wonder what little kid actually wanted to be Captain Stubing from THE LOVE BOAT for Halloween.
And finally, Tattoo from FANTASY ISLAND. What a wonderful way to empower your short child! Wonder if they had a Mr. Rouke get-up for the taller kids?

Who is that masked man? The Lone Ranger? The Red Arrow? The Red Lantern? Nope - it's "One of The Brady Bunch"!!! This has got to be the lamest costume yet. "One of The Brady Bunch"??? WTF? They couldn't make a Greg or Marcia mask - or even a generic set of brunette guys and blonde gals??? I feel sorry for the kids who had to wear this dumb get-up. Even cousin Oliver wouldn't be caught dead in this one.

Hey Mr.Kotter, show you how much we love ya- here's a costume with some badly drawn caricatures of you and your favorite students...

As a bonus we have everybody's favorite sweathog, Vinnie Barbarino as played by everybody's favorite Scientologist–John Travolta!
The mask is not that bad, but once again the costume leaves much to be desired. "BARBARINO" it screams with electrifying Dianetically-inspired red and yellow mortices behind a black & white illustration of Travolta's head. Actually, it's growing on me–it kinda has a pop art appeal, in fact it would make a pretty awesome tee-shirt.

Okay, next here's a duo of Halloween costumes that I guess were progressive for their time. First up - we have David Carradine as half-Chinese 19th-Century monk and martial artist Caine from the cult TV series KUNG FU. Of course as a kid, I thought the character was actually named "Kung Fu" and the costume graphic doesn't dispute that concept. Also, I never questioned why the actor was clearly caucasian - I just took it for granted - I guess bald=Asian, like Yul Brynner in THE KING & I. It's believable that Carradine might be at least half Chinese, right? (In fact, the late Carradine had Irish, English, Scottish, Welsh, German, Spanish, Italian, Ukrainian and Cherokee ancestry - seemingly everything BUT Chinese).

As far as the costume goes, the mask is pretty good - but once again the costume part is pretty bad. Though, much like Barbarino - this would make a hot tee-shirt. If Caine ever travelled through time and needed someone to nurse his battle wounds, JULIA would be the perfect woman for the job!
I really like this costume, mostly because it doesn't say "JULIA" across the front of it. The mask is pleasant enough, though a bit dark compared to Diahann Carroll's skin tone, but I'll let that slide. I do like that it has a white nurse's cap on top and that the "cape" is emboldened with medical symbols, making it very authentic (for a kid's costume). What I also like is that this is actually a costume that could be used year-round whenever kids decided to play doctor - unlike most of the Halloween get-ups which seem so specific. This is totally one of my faves.

Sid & Marty Krofft created some of the freakiest and best-loved kids shows of the 1970s. Because most of their shows featured people in strange costumes - Halloween was the perfect time to celebrate the weird and wonderful world of Krofft. Let's start with the classic sci-fi adventure LAND OF THE LOST. This NBC outing was the saga of a family (Marshall, Will and Holly) who, on a routine expedition, met the greatest Earthquake ever known! Somehow they wound up in a strange world populated by friendly and not-so-friendly dinosaurs, ape-like creatures called Pakuni and lizard-men called Sleestaks. I could go on for days about the show: how Marshall was replaced by "Uncle Jack," and how the big-budget, big-screen adaptation sucked so much. But instead, here is a Sleestak costume:

The mask is pretty good - but too bad the smock isn't as fabulous as the shimmering one worn by the TV Sleestaks. I guess I should stop complaining about these damn costumes by now, but WHY is there a horrible drawing of a Pakuni family rather than a portrait of Marshall, Will and Holly??? Another fun Krofft adventure show was ELECTRA WOMAN AND DYNA GIRL - which aired as part of ABC's KROFFT SUPERSHOW. Electra Woman was brilliantly portrayed by delightful daytime diva Deidre Hall (best known as the sometimes Satan-possessed Dr Marlena Evans on DAYS OF OUR LIVES).
Okay, I have to admit - this costume is pretty good, but I wonder how many little girls (or gay men) recycled the mask and put on a lab coat and green contacts to go as Marlena for Halloween???A lesser known Krofft show was ABC's BIGFOOT AND WILDBOY . Here's the costume...
Bruce Vilanch never looked better.

And finally - just for fun here's the over-the-top Witchie-Poo from H.R. PUFNSTUF again cause I just love Billie Hayes. Check out her cool website! She's adorable and does great things for animals.
So there you have it – the good, the bad and the ugly. But enough about Jimmy Osmond.