THE FLINTSTONES turn 50...

In honor of the occasion, here's something I first posted a couple of years ago.

Presenting FLINTSTONES Bubble Club Fun Bath (that's a mouthful!) - which I guess was some sort of bubble bath potion that sold for 39 cents. This chlorinated soap was so powerful it even washed the ginger right outta Pebbley Poo's red locks and made her into a bleach blonde!Well, Pebbles seems to be having a gay old time while the world's strongest infant, Bamm-Bamm merely looks embarrassed - or like he just made some bubbles of his own. What's the most disturbing about this package is the SPECIAL PICTURE OFFER that is featured on the back of the box. What kind of perverted pictures are these bubble bath manufacturers foisting upon their customers? I don't know - but if the title of this book tells us anything...I'm calling Bedrock Dept. of Social Services.What was the witch going to do with all that jizzle anyway? And did Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm fill their buckets with it? THIS JUST IN - For those of you who think the above book cover is a fake, here's another edtion of the same book that I just found online: Apparently I'm not the first blogger to come across this oddly-titled children's book. Colleen Kane over at Baton Rogue is the New Bklyn blogged about it last year. She even pictures a THIRD edition of the book featuring a MORE GRAPHIC cover which shows the man-ish "witch" and Bamm-Bamm stirring up a bucket of green goo. Witch jizzle? Ewwww...To cleanse of palate of such putrid pre-historic pornography, here's something adorable...
Doesn't that just melt a wicked witch's jizzle-free heart? Also available on vinyl.As a friend of teen-age Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm, Bad Luck Schleprock would say, "Wowsie, wowsie, woo-woo."

The Best Night of TV on TV

Thursday nights on NBC are still the best night on TV, well except for THE APPRENTICE. The line-up featured here was the beginnings of what would eventually become "Must See TV". FAME, based on the great theatrical film, was  canceled by NBC, but then had a long life as a weekly syndicated series. A short-lived revival, FAME L.A., surfaced in the 1990s and a new theatrical disaster was released a year ago. See my review here.

CHEERS went on to become a long-running hit for NBC and Paramount, spawning two spin-offs, the underrated THE TORTELLIS and the overrated FRASIER. Rumor has it that Kelsey Grammer wants to revive the character in new series.

TAXI had just moved to NBC after several successful seasons as the jewel in ABC's crown. This was it's final run.

HILL STREET BLUES begat NYPD BLUE which begat HOMICIDE: LIFE ON THE STREET which begat LAW & ORDER, which begat SOUTHLAND, etc. etc.

Tony Curtis 1925-2010

Greg Giraldo 1965-2010

Gloria Stuart 1910-2010

I've still never seen TITANIC.

Cosmic Invaders Weeeek!

Another star-studded weeeek on THE 3:30 MOVIE. I can tell THE STRANGER WITHIN and DON'T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK were included here, but I'm not quite sure what the other three titles are. Hmmm - me thinks I need to consult my local listings in this particular week's TV GUIDE.

Betty reads TV GUIDE

A fall preview issue, no less! Betty's always had good sense and her hysterical performance on this week's excellent second season premiere of COMMUNITY was more proof that this lady's still in her prime. Hope she's with us for as long as humanly possible.

Eddie Fisher 1928-2010

Jackie Burroughs 1939-2010

"Mother Mucca is an old motherfucker!"

My 3rd Anniversary, Mary's 40th

Yes - I began blogging 4 years ago on September 19, 2007 and (THE) MARY TYLER MOORE (SHOW) premiered 40 years ago on September 19, 1970. To celebrate both occasions, here's a re-edited re-post of a very early blog. In fact, it was the first DOUGSPLOITATION post.

Let's just say that (THE) MARY TYLER MOORE (SHOW) is the all-time best sitcom ever. No argument there. Despite the terribly awkward 2008 OPRAH reunion (which, I must admit, skillfully recreated sets from the show) and the horrendous MARY & RHODA TV-movie (which skillfully created a constant feeling of nausea), nothing can ever erase the warm memories of Mary's office life at WJM, and her cozy apartment in the snow-covered Lindstrom house at 119 N. Weatherly in Minneapolis.

We have the first six seasons on DVD to remind us how great television can be. Hopefully Fox will  be releasing the final season soon.

For a great guide to the MTM show, seek out LOVE IS ALL AROUND: THE MAKING OF THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW (1989) by Robert S. Alley & Irby B. Brown. This book has been in my collection since it was published, and I cherish it almost as much as the show itself.

Also, another great resource for Mary info is MTM: QUALITY TELEVISION published in 1984 by the British Film Institute, which looks at the entire MTM Studio production history, including other great classic shows like THE BOB NEWHART SHOW, RHODA, PHYLLIS, LOU GRANT, WKRP IN CINNCINNATI, NEWHART, THE WHITE SHADOW, HILL STREET BLUES, ST. ELSEWHERE and REMINGTON STEELE. 

Plus forgotten gems like THE BETTY WHITE SHOW (remember UNDERCOVER WOMAN? the show-within-a-show starring Betty as a 'Pepper Anderson' knock-off), THE TONY RANDALL SHOW and THE DUCK FACTORY. The book also covers pilots and TV-movies made by the company as well, as flops like Mary's two variety shows. 

Sitcoms come and go. Some are good, some are great but none will ever match the magic that was the world of Mary Richards.

AS THE WORLD TURNS 1956-2010

Rima, the Jungle Girl

BACK ISSUE magazine just ran a great article on RIMA, THE JUNGLE GIRL, similar to this piece I posted back in March. Here it is again, cause I did it first. 

Comic book fans were treated to a one-page reappearance of Rima, the Jungle Girl in the pages of THE FIRST WAVE a six-issue DC Comics miniseries. THE FIRST WAVE by writer Brian Azzarello and artist Rags Morales is set in an alternate universe that brings together "the first wave" of pulp fiction heroes (Doc Savage, The Avenger and The Spirit) with such DC stalwarts as Batman, The Black Canary and The Blackhawks. Coming along for the ride is the aforementioned Rima, the Jungle Girl.

But who EXACTLY is this Jungle Girl and where did she come from?

Look no further than the 1904 romantic novel, The Green Mansions by W.H. Hudson based on a South American legend about a lost tribe of mountain-dwelling caucasians.

In the novel, Rima is called "the Daughter of the Didi" and considered an evil spirit who has magical powers. She is eventually burned alive by the tribesmen. Yikes! Luckily the character lived on after the novel.

Rima first came back to life in a 1951 CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED adaptation of the novel.

The character was depicted as a beautiful blonde. Not sure if she made it out alive.

A MGM film adaptation of GREEN MANSIONS followed in 1959.

The film was directed by Mel Ferrar.

Beautiful, dark-haired screen goddess Audrey Hepburn was cast as Rima in the film.

Anthony Perkins was cast as her lover.

The film is not as fondly remembered as Hepburn's other work.

Though it was translated into French.

 

Out of print for many years, the film is now available on dvd through the Warner Archive Collection.

Rima turned up next as the star of her own DC Comics series, RIMA THE JUNGLE GIRL in the 1970s.

The series ran for only seven issues, but is well-remembered by fans of the jungle adventure genre.

The series began in May 1974.

The book featured art by the talented Nestor Redodno.

And was graced with gorgeous covers by legendary Joe Kubert.

Rima never interacted with any other characters in the DC Universe in comics.

The series ended in May of 1975, and we thought we saw the last of Rima.

That was until 1977, when Rima showed up on TV!

Yes, Rima joined the cast of Hanna-Barbera's ALL-NEW SUPERFRIENDS HOUR!

Rima appeared alongside new created-for-TV and much-maligned heroes like Apache Chief and Black Vulcan.

But Rima also got to co-star with some of the A-Listers in various episodes - like Wonder Woman and Batman!

And, now over 20 years later Rima will once again be part of a storyline involving Batman!

I'm truly looking forward to the next exciting issue of THE FIRST WAVE and the further exploits of Rima, the Jungle Girl!

TV GUIDE September 1984

Every September I get a little nostalgic for the old TV GUIDE magazine, you know the one that came in digest size and had good, intelligent articles in the two color sections and exhaustively complete TV listings and crazy black & white display advertising sandwiched in between. Supposedly there is still some sort of weekly entertainment magazine that goes by the name "TV GUIDE", but strangely it is very hard to find in Los Angeles. Go figure. Anyways, in celebration of 25 years since September 1984, I ran this smattering of unusual print ads from my collection last year at this time. And now I run them again. Who better to host an important Special Report about heart disease, cancer and auto accidents than Tony Randall, star of THE ODD COUPLE, THE TONY RANDALL SHOW and LOVE, SIDNEY? Tony sure looks serious in the ad, he must have just lost a round on PASSWORD or some other game show where he was known to be a very competitive player.
Peter Popoff was a popular TV evangelist minister and "faith healer" in the 1980s, until he went bankrupt in 1987 after he was exposed as a fraud. How can that be, when that lady in the ad looks so, um, healed.
The 1st Annual MTV VIDEO MUSIC AWARDS - when the music industry was all about white folks over 40 (and Tina Turner). And nobody wore a disgusting dress made outta meat back then.
"Miss Continental" wasn't even a TV show, but yet they took out this ad - making me wish it was a TV show!!! I wonder if it's still around? I just did a Google search for "Miss Continental" and all that came up were websites for drag competitions. Oh well.
This ad freaks me out - it's like the who's who of conservative America gathered in one place to celebrate liberty??? What the fuck? If you cared about your family, country, financial future and religious liberties you'd have watched this.
A SALUTE TO LIBERACE with David Bowie and Elton John. Nuff said.
Oh no, WELCOME TO THE FAMILY sounds like some sort of cult recruiting program, but it's really about "love, laughter and trust–cementing the bonds between parents and their children." You know, family values. Host Gary Collins has been charged with three counts of "driving under the influence" since 2002. Performer Barbara Mandrell later became an unwelcome stranger in a town where corruption ran deep and tempers burned hot!
Then she co-stared with DUKES OF HAZZARD star Tom Wopat in this TV-movie about the whole sordid experience.