Yesterday I blogged about MAN FROM ATLANTIS - the TV series. Now let's take a look at some cool Mark Harris ephemera.
I believe this psychedelic key art is from the VHS release of the TV-movie pilot. What the hell is wrong with his eye?
This is the cover of a British annual. Notice how the mysterious Mr. Schubert is looking at Mark!
Here's a Tiger Beat Magazine profile of dashing young heartthrob Patrick Duffy! "Here He Is!"
"The Man Who Makes THE MAN FROM ATLANTIS Live". A bit hyperbolic?
Here's a gallery of underwater pulchritude courtesy of the Marvel Comics Group.
A couple of more slabs of beefcake from the Might Marvel Bullpen.
Interesting how Mark only has nipples some of the time. I guess it depends on how cold the water is?
Here's an in-house trade ad ("Mighty Marvel Does It--AGAIN!") and a cast pin-up by future PUNISHER artist Mike Zeck. I think there's a hint of nip there.
And finally - here's a print ad for a Dip Dots Painting Design Book. I guess you could paint your own nipples on Mark using the pink paint. Or not. Well, that's all the crap I have on MAN FROM ATLANTIS, probably more than you ever thought you'd want to see, eh? I'm just waiting for some studio to announce a MAN FROM ATLANTIS feature film. Who would YOU cast as Mark Harris?
MAN FROM ATLANTIS was one of those childhood memories that I thought I would never get a chance to relive. Now, thanks to the like-minded individuals who run The Warner Archive Collection, the adventures of Mark Harris are back to thrill a new generation of underwater adventure fans!
The dvd release of the original 1977 pilot has now been followed by the release of the TV-movie collection and the entire series - truly a dream come true for anyone who remembers this show from it's initial NBC run.
The original pilot aired in 1977 up against SONNY & CHER on CBS and THE BRADY BUNCH VARIETY HOUR on ABC. Talk about your proverbial "Sophie's Choice!" What was a gay 13 year old boy to do??? Especially since VHS and DVR had yet to be invented!
I opted to watch MAN FROM ATLANTIS, because it was the closest thing to Aquaman or Sub-Mariner that I would probably ever see on network TV and I could always catch those dumb old variety shows in reruns. Smart thinking!
I remember sitting on our plastic-covered living room couch, Mego Aquaman by my side as the opening tiles began.
Pretty soon we were introduced to young Patrick Duffy (a very youthful 32 years old) as an amesia victim who washes up on the shore all blue and covered in seaweed. When doctors try to save his life to no avail, brazen young Dr. Elizabeth Merrill (played by Belinda J. Montgomery) steps in realizes what this dude needs is to be thrown back in the water. Before you know it, he begins to heal and Doc Merill nurses him back to health.
The Foundation for Ocean Research decide to call him "Mark Harris" through tests they determine that he has special abilities, such as super strength, the ability to breathe under water and to leap from the water into the air. Basically, they notice his physiogamy is similar to that of a dolphin, so they begin to treat him like one!
See how this scene is faithfully recreated in the Marvel Comics' adaptation...
Dr. Merrill takes a liking to Mark, even though he can't communicate with her. He does hang on her every word and stare deeply into her eyes with his colorful contact lenses.
The Foundation begins to have secret meetings about Mark and how he can be useful to them.
They determine that he can do all their dirty work and since he can't talk back, they'll be very little resistance. He does resist at first, and even escapes, but the good Doc knows just how to reach out to him.
He shares a tender moments with Doc Merrill. Oh by the way, he's got webbed feet and hands! Only his nails are a bit manky. Paging Madge and her Palmolive! Pretty soon we find out that Mark is super-intelligent and speaks English. But he lacks human emotion, you might say he's bit of a "cold fish".
So Mark begins helping out the Foundation and swimming in his tank wearing his skimpy yellow shorts. In fact the camera lingers on his tight little bathing suit quite a bit. Little does he know he's being watched...and not just by gay 13-year old boys (33 years later) but by the villainous Mr. Schubert (played by the immense Victor Buono), who hopes to use Mark for his own evil schemes!
You see, Schubert has a cult of very schlubby people working for him, even a lady who looks like Vivian Vance!
All of Schubert's people wear the same costume. Oh, except for this one guy. Didn't he get the memo?
Well after a lot of boring underwater bullshit concerning bombs and whatnot, Schubert finally tells Mark that he just wants to be "his friend."
His special friend?
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Mark ponders the friendship as he stands there dripping in his tighty yellows.
As Schubert (and the viewers) ponder Mark's buns.
Some crazy shit happens, things blow up, water fills Schubert's secret lair and people drown. Then Mark is given a secret identity...as Stephen Colbert!
After his heroic deeds, Mark is given the opportunity to leave and search for his people.
But it turns out he can't say goodbye to Elizabeth...and thus we have the premise for the weekly series.
And the series of novels...
And the monthly comic book...
And so the saga of the MAN FROM ATLANTIS begins...and I'll be back tomorrow with more Mark Harris and Patrick Duffy goodies. Now eat your kelp!
Hello faithful readers, I may have mentioned in the past that my dear friend Danny occasionally hosts SURPRISE MOVE NIGHT parties at his home. A few transcripts from those events, written by Danny, have appeared on this very blog in the past. This past Saturday we were treated to a special SURPRISE MOVIE MATINEE - and I am turning today's post over to Danny once again to report on the proceedings. Take it away, Danny...Thanks, Dougsploitation! I'm Danny. Seeing as how this was my first surprise movie event in a while, it naturally started off as a disaster! I couldn't get my damn DVD player to work and I had to go to Plan B: the dreaded VHS!!! I put in something called PROTOTYPE X29A... It was horribly unwatchable! Except for the hot Prototype robot costume (which accentuated a hot Prototype butt) there was nothing notable about this feature so we yanked it and recommenced fretting over the faulty DVD player. Guest viewer Tony C. was really helpful here, but everything we/he tried so valiantly just left us more confounded. Then, I realized my "portable porn player" had a cable I could attach to the TV and, VOILA! we had our original intended feature...and the reason we had calamari for lunch...MEGA SHARK VS. GIANT OCTOPUS! Starring Deborah Gibson and Lorenzo Lamas! Yeah, start kicking yourselves now! This movie, brought to us by the notorious folks over at THE ASYLUM, is a treat for all group movie watchers. Queue up your Netflix now! It all starts with pop 80's sensation and Playboy model Deborah Gibson... yes, she did Playboy. Yes, she did! Don't contradict me, I know what I'm talking about! See? It was a nice little spread... In all honesty, I thought it was cute & tasteful. Anyway, she puts on some clothes and plays Q-Bert inside a minisub while listening to whales and other sea life play instruments. The Sea lion played the oboe. She must have been possessed, or something like that, cause every time she handled the controls, her hand would have black fingernails and seemed very man-like, but then all normal again as she played Q-Bert.Meanwhile, a helicopter above drops a flashy coffee thermos into the water which makes the concert go awry and all the whales skedaddle. Then Deborah thinks she hallucinates a frozen mega shark and giant octopus, so she don't say nothing about it.Later the giant octopus angrily attacks an offshore rig in Japan, killing almost everyone onboard and the mega shark eats a plane! (Doug's note: this has got to be seen to be believed!)Back in Long Beach, which in this movie is called" San Francisco", Deborah goes to CSI a whale washed up on the beach. She gets all Sheriff Brody and the head guy says it was done by a propeller- case closed! As a true Playboy model would, Deborah sneaks back and pulls a mega tooth fragment out of the whale. She calls her old professor, Dr. Old Guy and asks his opinion. He tells her it's a mega shark tooth. Then her former classmate, Asian Guy, comes to ask Dr. Old Guy about the giant eye he sketched based on the account of a giant eye witness from the rig. Dr. Old Guy says it's a giant octopus' eye. Lorenzo Lamas then Shanghais the trio and takes them to some super secret naval base thing. He tells them, in the most ass-holey way he can, that they need to find a way to stop these giant mega creatures. Speaking of which, the monsters attack subs that are lit like early 80's music videos. The Asian subs are mainly yellow with a blue complementary light, while the American subs are mainly yellow with a fuchsia complementary light. ANYway... Deborah, Dr. Old Guy and Asian Guy spend a lot of time mixing Easter egg dye in tubes and beakers and, in the most brilliant scene in the movie, Deborah is absolutely crestfallen when she mixes blue and red and gets purple!!To cheer her up Asian Guy says something that really turns her on and they sneak away to do "it" in a broom closet. That is all the inspiration Deborah needs! She realizes that they can lure the giant mega monsters to place that makes them easy to be captured... and they'll lure them with furry moans! Yeah, that stuff that attracts one sex to the other, unless they're gay. I think they intend on using Deborah's furry moans. And to prove it'll work, Deborah mixes a green egg dye with a yellow egg dye and it GLOWS!! That proves it! They lure the Mega Shark to the San Francisco bay, where he'll get stuck between two continental shelves, but things go awry in the music video subs and the plan fails. The shark, angry that he's not going to get it on with Deborah, eats the Golden Gate Bridge ... don't be a tease with a horny mega shark! Meanwhile, Asian Guy reports that things went wrong with the giant octopus, too, but the was no budget to show it, so we just believe him. After Lorenzo Lamas tells them that thousands of people have been killed, in the most ass-holey way he can, he says they're gonna nuke them. Deborah won't stand for it and suggests getting them to fight & kill each other... getting them together with her furry moans, again. The stupid giant monsters fall for the furry moan trick again and fight each other in a quick cut, repeated shot, cgi fight. They die and Deborah & Asian Guy hook up to live in oceanic peace... until Dr. old Guy brings them another case! THE END.
