TV tie-in merchandise that makes you say "Huh?"

For reals.
Okay, ewwwwwwwwwww!

Gay Kids Are People Too

Is it any wonder why KIDS ARE PEOPLE TOO was Must See TV for gay kids growing up in the 1970s? In one episode alone - Meet "Superman" Christopher Reeve! See Michael Young "Fly"! Singer Ethel Merman turns "Disco Mama" and Olympic star Cathy Rigby performs some amazing gymnastic stunts! It's The Grown-up Show For GAY Kids! Come on, ETHEL MERMAN DISCO...no straight kid (or adult for that matter) would care about that - but I ran down to Korvettes with my $3.99 to purchase it!

TV tie-in merchandise that makes you say "Huh?"

Um, I'm sort of speechless.

TV tie-in merchandise that makes you say "Huh?"

Joanie does love Chachi...
...but apparently does NOT love wearing a bra.

THE DAUGHTERS OF DARKNESS

DAUGHTERS OF DARKNESS (1971, directed by Harry Kumel) is the oft-told tale of Countess Elizabeth Báthory, the famous Hungarian countess who is allegedly the most prolific serial killer in recorded history and is known as the "Blood Countess". After her husband's death, she was accused of torturing and killing hundreds of girls and young women, with one witness attributing to them over 600 victims, though she was only convicted on 80 counts. She was also accused of witchcraft and pagan practices. She died in 1614. Creepy.
Our cinematic journey begins aboard a train where we see a attractive young couple having sex in beautiful blue light. They finish and then declare their "un-love" for each other. Next they arrive at a majestic hotel, where they appear to be the only guests. We learn that they are on their honeymoon, and she's insisting that he tells his mother about her. Somewhere around here we learn their names are Stefan and Valerie. I do hope mother approves!Two women soon arrive at the hotel, a beautiful young woman named Ilona and an older blonde mystery woman. "Madam" checks in and asks for "the royal suite" and signs in as "Countess Elizabeth Báthory." Turns out that the newlyweds already have booked her favorite room so she settles for the adjoining suite. She comments that the couple are "perfect" and Ilona's already visibly jealous. We notice that Ilona has a slight red bruise on her neck. Meanwhile, Stefan cuts his neck while shaving - and gets miffed at Valerie when she tries to look at the wound. What's up with that, Stef? In bed, Valerie struggles to read the newspaper, but manages to find out about three young girls murdered in Bruges. Bone-chilling!
The next day, the couple having a romantic ride in a canal in Bruges, when they suddenly come upon a crime scene. It's the fourth young woman murdered in a week. A stranger tells Stefan that the girl was found with neck wound - but not a trace of blood! Stefan's interest in the crime scene causes him to violently push Valerie out of the way. On the way back to the hotel, she tells him that she's frightened by his behavior - then she snuggles up to him. We notice that the stranger from the crime scene is on the bus with them. Spooky.
Back at the hotel, it's raining, and Elizabeth is killing time by knitting. Ilona's bored already and wants to leave. Stefan and Val return and Elizabeth greets them and invites them for a drink. She has what appears to be a McDonald's Shamrock Shake, while they have regular drinks. Pierre the concierge  tells them that the Countess once stayed that the hotel over 40 years ago -and hasn't aged a bit! The late edition of the local newspaper features a cover photo of Stefan and Val at the crime scene. Alarming.

The guy from the crowd shows up at the hotel, he tells Elizabeth that he's "just passing by" - turns out he's a retired cop - and he rambles on about ghosts, vampires, etc.. Elizabeth declares that he's distasteful and dismisses him as Ilona dumps Elizabeth's green drink so Stefan will freshen it up for her. Eerie.

While Stefan searches for the bar, Elizabeth tells Valerie the story of her ancestor, the original Countess Elizabeth Báthory, who drank the blood of hundreds of virgins to stay young, then Stefan returns (drinkless?) and Elizabeth caresses him as they recount the historical horror story together. Val freaks out and storms out of the room, Ilona spies on her causing her to scream when she sees someone out on the balcony. Blood-curdling.

Next, Ilona is naked leaning over a bidet and Val is hysterical. Elizabeth offers her drugs to help her sleep - but Val just says no, she just wants to be alone with her husband. When Stef and Val start going at it we see red marks and we also see that Elizabeth and Ilona are watching them! Disturbing.

Next, Stefan finally calls his "mother" - who turns out to be an effeminate older man wearing make-up. "Mother" tells Stefan that it's "unrealistic' that he married a woman - Huh? Then Stef starts beating Valerie as a full-blown thunderstorm strikes the hotel. What a creep! They then wake up naked with him holding a belt, while she has strap marks on her back. Valerie wakes up and sneaks out - to the train station. But Elizabeth follows her to convince her to stay at the hotel and with Stefan. Weird.
Meanwhile, Ilona visits Stefan in his room - and then performs oral sex on him. Back at the train station, Elizabeth gives Valerie a palm reading that includes a kiss. At the hotel, Stefan tries to get Ilona to shower with him, but she doesn't like getting wet, causing her to freak out. While lashing about, she accidentally cuts her hand on his razor - and then falls on it, stabbing herself to death! Hair-raising.Elizabeth and Valerie walk in on Stefan naked on top of a bloody, naked Ilona. The Countess immediately takes charge and orders Valerie and Stefan around. They roll Ilona's dead body down a hill to the beach where Stefan digs a grave with his hands. Elizabeth, wearing a smart black cape, kick's the corpse into the grave, on top of Stefan! Thud!Driving back to the hotel, Elizabeth knocks the cop off his bicycle. Oops!Once back, Stefan sleeps alone while the gals get into some blonde-on-blonde action in Liz's suite. Val is now completely under her control. Oh My.

So, now it's Stefan who's packing his bags and leaving. He demands that Val come with him. Elizabeth shows up in her fabulous glitterball gown and insists that they join her for dinner in her room. Stefan then wigs out again and starts beating Valerie. Elizabeth tries to suffocate him with a punch bowl, which splits in two - cutting his wrists - and then they feed on his blood! Terrifying.

SPOLIER ALERT! After throwing Stefan's body from the hotel roof and into a swamp, they drive away in Elizabeth's vintage car. By dawn's early light, Val begins to lose control of the car, which crashes. Elizabeth's body is flung from the car and impaled on a tree branch, and then engulfed in flames. Uncanny.

A few months later, Valerie is shown hand-in-hand with a young newlywed couple...she's become Elizabeth. Menacing.

A great flick. Wonderful cinematography, gorgeous sets and a fantastic score help you overlook the plot holes (like who's "mother"?) and the sometimes wooden international acting. I'll give it a 10 outta 10 and highly recommend it to fans of horror, lesbians and old hotels.

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.

my "Secret Origin"

A few months ago, someone asked fanboys (of which I guess I am) on the DC Messages Boards to recount their "first time" -meaning their first encounter with comic books. Here at last -because YOU demanded it- is my "secret origin".
I was about 6 or 7 years old - 1970 or 71 and my family was visiting our cousins who lived on Long Island. I was bored with sitting around eating Italian pastries and listening to the adults gossip, so wandered into the basement to find something fun to play with (like my cousin Teresa's awesome Barbie collection). Only this time I found a small cardboard box full of DC Comics. These were the first comics I ever saw. Ever. I remembered they were from the 60s cause of the black & white checkerboard across the covers. As I dug through the pile - my eyes grew wider and my heart raced. Of course I knew who Batman, Superman and Aquaman were from TV, but this was my very first exposure to Green Lantern, Plastic Man, Flash and what was this - THE JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA??? What the...??? Who are all these other guys who are friends with Batman AND Superman - Hawkman, Atom, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter??? It was like I discovered pizza and Christmas all at once. Unfortunately, my aunt or uncle (don't exactly remember which) quickly took the box from me, claiming that they belonged to my cousin who was away in Viet Nam at the time. Everytime I went back to that house, I asked to see that box of comics and they either denied it's existence OR told me that my cousin took them when he came back from the war. What's up with that?

Years later, as an adult I asked my cousin about the comics. He told me they were probably still in that basement and his parents just didn't want me to see them. To this day it baffles me, and makes me wonder why adults would want to deprive a child of something that I was obviously very interested in. I never forgave my aunt & uncle for that, and probably never will. All I ever wanted to do was escape for a little while and enjoy the treasure that I had discovered.

My aunt and uncle are both long gone, but when I do think of them I remember those comics. But at least now I knew who the JLA were - and there was no turning back. Within a year or two I was buying my own comics, not only JLA - but lots of others (including Marvel!)...and I still am. I'm proud to say that I've never hidden my comics from my nephews, but then again the younger generation seems to have no interest in comic books, which saddens me somewhat - but also makes Uncle Doug's "hobby" all the more special.

Our whole universe was in a hot dense state...

What is it about THE BIG BAND THEORY that makes it positively addictive? It it the spot-on casting? The witty geek-centric dialogue? The clever nerd-culture filled plotlines? The aggravating, yet endearingly neurotic Sheldon (Jim Parsons-at times channeling Felix Unger)? The adorably pathetic Leonard (Johnny Galecki)? The polar opposites of undersexed, but sexy Rajnesh (Kunal Nayyar) and oversexed, but unsexy Howard (Simon Helberg)? The sudden intrusion of smarter-than-you-think outsider Penny (Kaley Cuoco)? All the DC Comics references? Or is it the wonderfully ridiculous and informative theme song by Barenaked Ladies? Maybe it's just this photo of Sheldon and Leonard...

Well, whatever it is - it seems to be working for me. The fact that I'm watching a CBS three-camera comedy with a live audience/laughtrack is a scientific miracle within itself! Which causes me to pause and ask, have I finally entered the CBS middle-age demographic? What's next for me, GREATEST AMERICAN DOG?


THE BIG BANG THEORY theme lyrics:
Our whole universe was in a hot dense state,
Then nearly fourteen billion years ago expansion started. Wait...
The Earth began to cool,
The autotrophs began to drool,
Neanderthals developed tools,
We built a wall (we built the pyramids),
Math, science, history, unraveling the mysteries,
That all started with the big bang!


© Barenaked Ladies - The Big Bang Theory lyrics are copyrighted to their respective owners.
The Big Bang Theory song lyrics are restricted for educational and personal use only.

Get ready to match the stars...

THE MATCH GAME is a "definitive" TV classic. I remember many afternoons (when I had outgrown cartoons) sitting in front of of the "boob" tube watching adults like Nipsey Russell, Bart Braverman, Brett Somers, Fannie Flagg, Dick Gautier, Betty White, Patty Deutsch, Joyce Bulifant, Elaine Joyce, Marcia Wallace, Richard Dawson and Eva Gabor play the silliest, most naughty, childlike game on television. And you know what? I laughed my BLANK off then...and I still do today when I watch the timeless and endless reruns on GSN.

I also remember owning the not-as-cool-as-you-think home game. Those folks at Milton-Bradley really knew how to take a fun game show and turn into a BLANK-ing dull board game.

But did you ever wonder what it would be like it today's "stars" like Heidi Klum, Madonna, Chloe Sevigny and Tim Gunn appeared on the panel along with deceased showbiz greats like Paul Lynde, Charles Nelson Reilly, Shelley Winters and Herve Villachaize?

Well wonder no more! Also throw in fun 70s and 80s celebrities like Cher, Charo, Patty Duke, Ricardo Montalban, Lisa Welchel, Miss Piggy and Greg Evigan and there you have...the legendary L.A. sensation...THE MISMATCH GAME with your host Dennis Hensley!


See the parody/homage that has been making studio auidiences lose their BLANK for years - It's the filthiest, funniest, most un-PC game show ever and it's LIVE on stage this weekend! FRIDAY, AUGUST 8 - 8 PM • SATURDAY, AUGUST 9 - 8 PM
 • SUNDAY, AUGUST 10 - 7 PM

Where: The Renberg Theatre • 1125 N. McCadden Place, Hollywood, USA
(One block east of Highland, just north of Santa Monica Blvd.)

Tickets $15 • Call 323-860-7300
or buy tickets online!

SCHEDULED TO APPEAR:


• FRIDAY, AUGUST 8 - 8 PM
 Jack Plotnick as Paul Lynde; Oscar Quintero as Charo; Tony Tripoli as Charles Nelson Reilly; Kate Flannery as Patty Duke; Felix Pire as Ricardo Montalban; Madeline Long as Shelley Winters


• SATURDAY, AUGUST 9 - 8 PM
 Tom Lenk as Heidi Klum; Sam Pancake as Lisa Whelchel; Tony Tripoli as Charles Nelson Reilly; Nadya Ginsburg as Cher; Danny Casillas as Herve Villechaize; Madeline Long as Shelley Winters


• SUNDAY, AUGUST 10 - 7 PM
 Drew Droege as Chloe Sevigny; Ted Biaselli as Miss Piggy; Tony Tripoli as Charles Nelson Reilly; Nadya Ginsburg as Madonna; Patrick Bristow as Tim Gunn; Madeline Long as Shelley Winters



Oh yeah - and audience members can be contestants...and win real prizes!

For clips and more, visit myspace

WRANGLER:Anatomy of an Icon

What do BONANZA, Rose Marie and gay porn have in common? Jack Wrangler of course!

Jeffery Schwarz's WRANGLER: ANATOMY OF AN ICON is a stunning new documentary chronicling the story of Jack Stillman, a Hollywood brat (his dad was one of BONANZA's producers) who went from legit acting (bit parts on THE MOD SQUAD and MEDICAL CENTER) to modeling to being the king of 1970s gay porn to straight porn and back to legit showbiz (producing musical theater). Along the way he found unexpected companionship and love with sophisticated songbird Margaret Whiting (pal of Rose Marie)!



This true Hollywood story is a treat - as entertaining as it is informative. An unfiltered portrait of the blond-haired, blue eyed nice guy who just happened to be a porn star. Featuring some great clips from Jack's films and interviews with folks as diverse as Christine Ebersole, Samantha Fox, Chi Chi La Rue, Gloria Leonard, Rod McKuen, Marc Shaiman, Bruce Vilanch and Carol Woods.

You can catch screenings of WRANGLER: ANATOMY OF AN ICON this month as part of the"TLA Releasing Presents" series :

NEW YORK CITY
August 8-14, 2008
Quad Cinema
34 West 13th St.
New York, NY 10011
www.quadcinema.com

LOS ANGELES
August 15-21, 2008
Laemmle Sunset 5
8000 Sunset Blvd.
West Hollywood, CA 90046
www.laemmle.com

FT. LAUDERDALE
August 22-28, 2008
Gateway Cinemas
1820 E. Sunrise Blvd.
Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33304

Old TV GUIDE ads that make you say "Huh?"

Hurricane DOLLY Sweeps Through Los Angeles!!!

In less than a week after a 5.4 earthquake hit Los Angeles, there suddenly came another unstoppable, unexplainable force of nature - Miss Dolly Parton, performing at the Greek Theater!!!

In all the years that I've been a Dolly fan, I always managed to somehow miss her live shows. Well, this time I was not gonna let her get away. Finally, 32 years after I first discovered Dolly on her first variety series, (the syndicated DOLLY, which aired Saturday nights at 7:30PM on Channel 5 WNEW Metromedia in New York from 1976-77) I was finally going to see her perform LIVE!

Well, perform is an understatement because Dolly transcends just about any other performer I've ever seen (well, maybe not kd lang or Liza, but pretty damn close). It's hard to describe what exactly it is about her. Maybe it's her angelic voice, her honest folksy charm, her self-depricating humor, her sweet homespun storytelling, her ability to play almost any instrument, her heartfelt songwriting or her endless energy and devotion to making her audience happy. Dolly gave us exactly what we wanted: the best of her old hits, a sampling of her new stuff and enough crowd-pleasing antics to keep almost everyone entertained. What's not to love?

Suffice to say, I had a great time, despite the two drunken dancing lesbians who partially impaired my view and the elderly couple who sat in front of me completely stone-faced with their arms crossed the entire show. They looked like they were trapped in hell! I guess their daughter bought them tickets and they thought it was going to be an all-Republican audience. They really seemed annoyed when Dolly made fun of McCain's age. The rest of the crowd was a mix of drunk gays, drunk lesbians and drunk white trash - much like Dolly herself.

Over the years, I've enjoyed most of Dolly's recordings and TV appearances. Her films 9 TO 5 (soon to be a Broadway-bound musical - watch for my review next month!) and BEST LITTLE WHOREHOUSE IN TEXAS (see my review here) are great fun to watch. STRAIGHT TALK would have been better without the wooden James Woods. I remember liking STEEL MAGNOLIAS, but not enough to ever see it again. Maybe someday. I've never seen RHINESTONE, a situation I need to rectify soon. I also regret never watching her one-season 1987 ABC variety hour, also called DOLLY. Not sure why I avoided it, but I recall the critics being pretty harsh. Hopefully this series will turn up on dvd one day.

I've carried this Dolly Dollar in my wallet for 8 years since my trip to Dollywood, it reminds me that somewhere out there among the Red States is a "dry county" where large women and their unexplainably handsome husbands suck down fried green tomatoes while riding rickety rollercoasters and listening to a cacophony of Dolly 's greatest hits. My favorite memory of my trip to Pigeon Forge, Tenn. is visiting a supermarket, where I saw a one-armed man carrying an oversize package of diapers with his one arm, while smoking a cigarette. I thought to myself - that's real dedication.
Anyways, back to Dolly. She looked great, sounded fantastic and was full of so positive energy, it was almost a spiritual experience. Of course she told many of the same breast and plastic surgery jokes we've been hearing her tell for years - but as long as she tells 'em, we'll be laughing with her. The best joke of the evening was when asked "What would you like for people to say about you 100 years from now?" Her reply was "Damn, she looks good!" I Love Dolly Parton!

PS - A compilation of episodes of DOLLY (the 1976-77 version) is now available on dvd from MPI Video as DOLLY PARTON & FRIENDS. Also, a great (and positively creepy) documentary about obsessive Dolly fans called FOR THE LOVE OF ONLY is worth seeing. I swear I am not one of the fans profiled.

MAD MEN gets it right

While watching last week's second season premiere of AMC's brilliant advertising soap opera MAD MEN (yes-just because it's well-written, well-acted and looks better than anything ever on TV, there's no denying that it's basically a soap), a subplot involving a television show that many of the characters were all watching at the same time really appealed to the TV geek in me.

The episode was set on Valentine's Day, 1962 and the program in question was A TOUR OF THE WHITE HOUSE WITH MRS. JOHN F KENNEDY. I had never seen this documentary, only clips from it in other docs or movies set in the 1960s. I did recall that I had an old TV GUIDE with Jackie on the cover - promoting a CBS news special called THE WORLD OF JACQUELINE KENNEDY. Right away I thought that these were one and the same. This special aired on Friday, November 30, 1962 - the day after Thanksgiving. I thought to myself - Thanksgiving? Valentine's Day? Could MAD MEN have actually confused the two or made took artistic license with the date and title of the show for dramatic impact?

Well, as I delved further into my massive TV Guide collection, I realized that it was I who was wrong- A TOUR OF THE WHITE HOUSE WITH MRS. JOHN F KENNEDY was in fact a different hour-long news show that aired on CBS and NBC simultaneously! (AMC's blog site claims that it aired on ABC as well, but according to my TV Guide ABC was airing NAKED CITY with guest Jack Klugman! Hmmm....). So, MAD MEN did their homework after all, which just makes me adore the show even more. The attention to detail in set design, props, wardrobe and hairstyle is a lesson for all those in the industry, raising the bar farther than any period piece TV ever imagined. It's a far cry from when LAVERNE & SHIRLEY moved into the 60s with their 80s style feathered hair!

Those wanting see the entire Jackie Kennedy tour can check it out at AMC's blog,which you can visit by clicking on the "MAD MEN gets it right" title above. I also believe it's available on demand on some digital cable services. I wonder how many networks will air A TOUR OF THE WHITE HOUSE WITH MS. MICHELLE OBAMA on Valentine's Day 2010?

peignot: the best font ever?

What is it about the font Peignot? When used in color on a black background - it just brings me back to the 1970s - possibly the best era ever for pop culture. So much of what we enjoy today can be traced back to the 70s. To me, Peignot will always be the MARY TYLER MOORE font, but also it was used in the incredible opening titles for THE ABC MOVIE OF THE WEEK. Two great pop touchstones that cannot be matched anywhere. This is why I've chosen to base the new look of this blog on the amalgamated look of both these iconic openings.

DOUGSPLOITATION will now look at ALL my pop culture obsessions, not just MOVIES THAT MAKE YOU SAY "HUH". I'll still do movie reviews from time to time, but there's plenty more stuff out there that I feel the sudden need to comment on. This includes websites, dvds, other blogs, live theatre, music, comic books and of course TV!

Well - since we're talking about Peignot and TV let's just say that (THE) MARY TYLER MOORE (SHOW) is the all-time best sitcom ever. No argument there. Despite the recent awkward 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.


Luckily we have the first four seasons on DVD to remind us how great television can be. Hopefully the suits at Fox will one day realize that the rest of the series needs to be made available.
What could possibly be stopping them from releasing more season sets? When crap like PUNKY BREWSTER sells - don't tell me MARY doesn't!

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. A fun, book about the MTM spin-off RHODA is the aptly titled ALL ABOUT RHODA by Peggy Herz, which Scholastic published in 1975. This was written for kids! Imagine a kid's book about THE NEW ADVENTURES OF OLD CHRISTINE being published today? I don't think so.

THE ABC MOVIE OF THE WEEK COMPANION by Michael Karol is a fun, loving tribute to the 90-minute TV-movie series that ran from 1968-1975 and introduced us to such classics as Steven Spielberg's DUEL, GO ASK ALICE, BRIAN'S SONG, THE POINT (featuring Harry Nilsson's "Me and My Arrow"), THAT CERTAIN SUMMER and of course THE TRILOGY OF TERROR!!!
Plus the pilots for THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN, WONDER WOMAN (the Cathy Lee Crosby version), THE NIGHT STALKER, KUNG FU and STARSKY & HUTCH all aired originally as ABC MOWs. Cloris Leachman is the common element that ties these two topics together, with her starring in almost as many MOWs as episodes of MTM! The book is cheap ($11.95) and a hoot to read, plus it has Peignot and a Zuni fetish doll on the cover! You can also visit the author online at www.sitcomboy.com