PopCereal

Donny Osmond Brings Xmas Delights

2011-12-04T10:59:00.001-05:00

Okay PopCerealites, commence to squealing in delight and flinging Tiger Beat mags all across your bedrooms. Donny has offered up a free brand new Christmas song, still in its Christmas wrapping, all ready for you to download. Go here!

Here's some old school Osmonds for you to enjoy while you wait for Donny's email reply...

Movies That Made Me a Monster Kid #4: Trilogy of Terror

2011-10-24T12:00:00.001-04:00

Let me first confess that Dan Curtis is my hero. Dark Shadows made a huge impact on my monster kid life (more on that another time), but his TV movies were also a great influence on the kinds of movies and programming that I would grow to love, as well as on the kinds of stories I would like to write.

Welcome to My Nightmare!

Trilogy of Terror, as a whole, is burned into memory, but it was one particular segment in the movie that was particularly seared into my monster kid psyche -- "Amelia."

Each of the three stories starred the incredible Karen Black. Black was a mainstay in my childhood. One of the few actors for who I recognized being there throughout my life. I was always impressed with her -- mosty because of this very movie, in which she plays the eponymous character in each of the three segments. In "Julia," Black plays a homely English teacher who becomes the target of one of her student's advances. The boy is looking to find new territory to conquer, other than the usual cast of female students. So, he sets his sites on the "she must be hot under those glasses and librarian clothes" teacher. It turns out, she is a lot more wild than anyone expected. In "Millicent and Therese," Black plays sisters -- one meek and mild, the other crass and wild. The last, and most widely talked about, is "Amelia" (sometimes referred to as "The Zuni Fetish Doll"). Black plays Amelia, a grown woman who is trying to cut the apron strings to her overbearing mother. Eve though she's moved out, and has her own career, her mother still has a strong hold on her. After a day of shopping, Amelia decides to brush off her usual dinner with Mom, for a night of solitude. As if triggered by her guilt for lying to her mum, a Zumi fetish doll, that she's bought as decor for her new apartment, comes to life and attacks Amelia. I remember being riveted, watching this segment, not only because the Zumi doll was so freakishly scary, but mostly because the attacks were terrifyingly brutal.

Waiting for Mum to visit

The image of the Zumi fetish doll would soon become iconic for 70s TV horror movies. But the image that slayed me was that of Karen Black, crouched down on the apartment floor, stabbing a large butcher knife into the floor, the insane look of the Zumi doll cast across her face

True story -- this insane pose was mimicked, one dark and scary night, by my sister, who bore more than a resemblance to the young Karen Black. Ruined me for life!!

Films that Made Me a Monster Kid #3 - The Bad Seed (1956)

2011-10-19T14:42:00.002-04:00

This was the movie that got me to be frightened of creepy little kids. Heck, I was just a kid when I saw it, so the damage has been long standing. It also gave me an appreciation for chilling movies that didn't dabble in th supernatural. Little Rhoda Penmark (played superbly by Patty McCormack) was just what the title says -- a bad seed. She didn't have the devil in her. She wasn't swarmed by demons. She was just the world's most insane little brat.

Some trivia: The song that little Rhoda plays on the piano was the very first song I ever learned to play. Us siblings would play the song with a blank stare in our eyes, to creep other people out. It worked...

Film's That Made Me a Monster Kid #2: 13 Ghosts (1960)

2011-10-12T10:11:00.000-04:00

This movie showed me the sweet sweet joys of being terrified. Oddly enough, I watched this movie on a quiet, tranquil Sunday morning. Sunday morning TV, when I was a kid, was very laid back. We'd watch the local morning show, called Shhhhh, and then some Laurel & Hardy, and Davey & Goliath. This one morning, for some reason, the wiseguys at the local TV station decided they'd put a creepy, ghost story on, for all the kiddies to watch, before their moms and dads got up for church.

I was mesmerized!

Until that cobwebbed covered ghost squished a victim in the killer canopy bed!! The unique look of those ghosts was never really duplicated in other films -- I'm not sure why. The corpse-like features and cobwebs, sometimes cloaked in the traditional clothe. I thought they were creepy then, and still do! The Zemeckis/Silver remake of 2001 was a fairly unfrightening, overindulgent, effects-laden attempt to bring horror into the big budget blockbuster world. After seeing that flop, I was really wishing that Ghost # 7 would drop the dynamic producing duo into a hole filled with acid. Sizzle!

Films that Made Me a Monster Kid #1 - The Tingler

2011-10-06T15:39:00.000-04:00

BadRonald here, popping in for a visit on this festive Halloween Season. I'd like to share with you some of the movies and shows that helped shape me into the freakazoid that I am today. Props go out to the likes of Vincent Price, William Castle, Dan Curtis, the Hammer gang, and so many others. Lemme start with a real creeper...

The Tingler, no doubt, is my earliest movie memory. I don't remember what age I was, probably 4 or 5. However, I remember sitting there in front of the old Black&White, completely scared out of my trousers. The most vivid memory is the scene with the deaf, mute girl in the tub (hot dog!), about to be attacked by the huge killer bug.

You see, the premise -- as set up by Mr. William Castle in his preamble -- was that if you see the Tingler coming at you, you just scream, and that will chase it off. Well, Miss Prettylady couldn't scream, so all she could do was leave me with the terrifying image of her and her gap-mouth silent scream! Thanks lady! Now naked ladies in tubs make me scared and silly willy.

This film was the very start of my life as a diehard horror fan. And it also introduced me to my first favorite movie star -- Vincent Price.

Saturday Morning Review: Sigmund and the Sea Monsters - Season One DVD

2011-09-02T13:56:00.000-04:00

Talking about friends, friends, friends...

It's oft been said that today's kids demand more from their entertainment. This usually comes from producers and promoters, and all the others who profit from children's' entertainment... as well as the parents who consume it. They would have us all believe that our little Dakotas and Skylars and Hunters would never be caught watching the stuff we used to watch, because it's so simple and booooring. Truth be told, kids are gonna watch what ever catches their eye, be it a black and white cartoon of Popeye, a Punch and Judy puppet show, or a flip book cartoon. And truth be told, it's the parents who are demanding more from their kid's entertainment. They want to see stuff in the programming that they can relate to, or that makes them laugh. And the producers are all too obliging, because they know who's buying the stuff --it's the parents, not the kids.

I like to prove the theory of theirs wrong. I regularly my li'l Pop Cereal flakes with a good dose of retro kid fun. And truth be told... they love it. Sure they love their My Little Pony and their Little Bear and Yo Gabba Gabba. They also love them some Groovie Goolies, and Double Deckers. And now their latest demand is for more Sigmund and the Sea Monsters.


Whattaya mean I can't watch Hannah Montana!

Sigmund and the Sea Monsters was an early 1970s gem from those boys of Saturday Morning weirdness Sid & Marty Kroftt. It told the story of a young sea monster named Sigmund Ooze (played by the legendary Billy Barty), who ran away from his cave, because his family disowned him for not being mean enough. He befriends two California boys, Johnny and Scott (Johnny Whitaker and Scott Kolden), who he attempts to scare as they play out on the beach. The boys hide Sigmund in their cool backyard clubhouse, not only from their nosy housekeeper Zelda (the fabulous Mary Wikes), but from the dysfunctional Ooze family. It seems that every time Sigmund's family get themselves into a bind, Big Daddy and Sweet Momma send out their remaining bumbling boys, Blurp and Slurp, to go fetch Sigmund to help straighten it all out.

Has Selena Gomez gotten a good look at my hair do?

The stories are simple and the dialogue is fun and unoffensive. The adventures are straight forward and loaded with silly slapstick action. A lot of the acting is corny, but that was the style of the Saturday morning program back in that era. It was all just plain fun. However, there was the right amount of cultural referencing to make it contemporary. Like Big Daddy's parodying Archie Bunker with the voice and mannerisms -- and a good ol' Stifle it!" every so often. The comic action is absolute fun for the kids, and there are little tidbits of frights every so often, to make it exciting.

Zelda's cooking seafood tonight. Better hide!

All this simple fun has made this DVD set a "demand" for my kids. They ask to watch it several times a week. They make up their own li'l Sigmund toys to play with, alongside their store bought Little Pony's, and they've even announced that they'll be Sigmund for Halloween (but then again, they've changed costume ideas like five times since).

PopCereal Press: Peanuts Returns

2011-08-29T11:10:00.000-04:00

For Immediate Release:

HAPPINESS IS A MONTHLY
COMIC BOOK SERIES, CHARLIE BROWN!

READ THE ALL-ORIGINAL
PEANUTS #0
INTRODUCTORY ISSUE
THIS NOVEMBER FOR ONLY $1
&
THEN GET PEANUTS #1
THIS JANUARY!

ISSUE #0 FEATURES A NEW
ORIGINAL STORY & A SNEAK PEEK
AT THE NEW KABOOM! SERIES
LAUNCHING THIS JANUARY!

August 24th, 2011 – Los Angeles, CA – Happiness is a monthly comic book series, Charlie Brown! PEANUTS debuted at BOOM! Studios' all-ages imprint KABOOM! this past spring with the first PEANUTS graphic novel HAPPINESS IS A WARM BLANKET, CHARLIE BROWN. Now, thanks to a recently signed partnership with Peanuts Worldwide, Snoopy and the gang are back in a monthly comic book series kicking off this November with a special #0 — for only a buck —featuring a new original story and supplementary material that will provide a sneak peek at the series launching in January!

“We were honored to publish the first PEANUTS graphic novel HAPPINESS IS A WARM BLANKET, CHARLIE BROWN this past spring and now we are doubly honored to publish a new PEANUTS monthly comic series,” BOOM! Studios Founder and Chief Executive Officer Ross Richie said. “The team at PEANUTS have entrusted us with these characters and we aim to do everything we can to honor the memory and the characters of Charles Schulz.”

"It's a daunting task to follow in the footsteps of a master," BOOM! Studios Editor-in-Chief Matt Gagnon said. "But with the team we have assembled and the guidance of the folks at Peanuts Worldwide and Charles M. Schulz Creative Associates, we're confident that we'll be delivering to fans the best PEANUTS monthly comic book series anyone could imagine."

Launched this past spring, KABOOM! is the brand new name for BOOM! Studios’ three year old all-ages imprint previously known as BOOM Kids! This year has seen KABOOM! launch with the premiere of the PEANUTS graphic novel, followed closely by an all new original series by fan-favorite Roger Langridge entitled SNARKED, and this month will see the release of Scholastic’s WORDGIRL.

PopCereal Remembers... Don't Be Afraid of the Dark (TV 1973)

2011-08-26T11:24:00.000-04:00

Don't Be Afraid of the Marketing Schemes!

The remake phenomenon has taken another, odd twist this week. It used to be that older films were remade to try and bring the classic story into a more modern age, making accessible, once again, to a new generation. Lately, tough, the remake has become more a marketing scheme, trying to get the audience who grew up with the original movie or TV program to crawl back into their childhood clothes and enjoy another romp with their favorite characters (albeit a newer trendier, more adult oriented romp). But with Guillermo del Toro's newly produced remake of the TV Movie of the Week classic Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, the original audience for this movie are way way out of the standard money-spending target audience range of 15-35 year-olds. But, even with that said, I'm not sure the original audience is even much interested in seeing this movie remade.

But, maybe that's just me. The plot of the movie is surely a creepy one: young bride in a new home starts hearing and seeing little creatures after opening a sealed up fireplace. The movie was truly frightful for me when I saw it at 12 years-old. And truth be told, it still was fairly chilling having seen it a few times as an adult. But, do I need to see it remade? No, not really. Especially, seeing the trailers which make it look like so many of the other spookers about houses possessed. The trailer actually looks like the American remakes of some of the better Spanish thrillers.

The fun part about the original Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, as well as many of the TV thrillers of that era, is that the setting of the story was decidedly ours. The world was that of the everyday. And the people who lived in them were all people who were familiar to us. When the creepy things came out, they came into our world. In the original TV movie, Sally Farnham (played by Kim Darby) was just like any other young newlywed, with the same joys and troubles any of the viewers would experience. That is, until she dabbles in places where she shouldn't. And then, the creepers come into her world... our world. This is what made it so frightful -- that these little unseen creepy creatures, who no one knows of, and no one sees, could somehow come get us. It sent shivers down our spines to think that one day, when all is fair and bright, that suddenly we are sneaked up on by the unknown. What's worse is, who would ever believe you when you try and explain?

All of this "our world" stuff seems to have been drained from today's thrillers. The world we enter in today's horror is their world -- the world of the creepers. The contemporary setting in these films are not so normal anymore, but ripe for sorrow and hurt, and the players seem resigned to the notion that misery is just around the corner. Contemporary horror seems so filled with dark and dankness that when the thrills and creepers finally arrive, the audience is already so overwhelmed with dread that the madness needs to be escalated by use of loud noises, thunderous clashes of music, and explosive violence. Yes, many times that recipe has proved effectual, but more than often it hasn't.

For me, however, I think the horror works better when our world of everydayness is suddenly invaded by the creepies.

PopCereal Remembers... Winter of the Witch (1969)

2011-08-15T21:08:00.001-04:00

Have yourself a tasty helping of blueberry pancakes. Magical blueberry pancakes!!

If this looks familiar, you're a PopCereal Flake

If you were a television nut in the 70s, like I was, then you may remember this childhood treat -- Winter of the Witch. It's a tale of a boy who moves to a new house with his mother, only to discover they much share it with a crabby old witch. The witch makes life miserable for the boy, until he learns about the one thing that will make her happy... making blueberry pancakes. And not just any blueberry pancake -- they're magical (or rather, trippy!)

Many have seen this in school, maybe in their Social Studies class, but I remember it as one of my beloved afternoon/weekend specials.

PopCereal Blogger Alert! Freckled Derelict

2011-07-31T10:56:00.000-04:00

Holy Batsnap!! I came across this blooger by way of a link from Vintage Books My Kid's Love (who, by the way, you should be following too!) and went bananas poring over the fantastic collection of retro reads and oddities.

On her Golden Gems blog, there is a catalog of golden olden illustrated kid's books. Not just discussed, but for full viewing! There are also brilliant scans of vintage paper product, like Valentine cards and record albums. What a treat.

Over at Plenty 'O' Fun, there's more retro fun... and plenty of it, just as promised. I love the groovie collection of romance comics, and TV related goodies. Then at Fresh Meat, the Freckled Derelict displays her own works of fab vintage style works -- which is an unsquare treat for PopCereal kids!

Now, go have fun!

PopCereal Remembers... Taco Flavored Doritos

2011-07-22T13:02:00.001-04:00

Do you remember when Taco flavored Doritos where the ONLY Doritos?

If you remember that, then you probably get called a dinosaur or old fogey... like I do.

Like any PopCereal family, we loved our snacks. Popcorn was the ultimate TV time treat, but potato chips sure hit the spot on Sunday afternoons with the football games. Being from western NY, we got addicted to Bison Sour Cream and Onion dip with our chips -- so, when flavored chips came about, we dug in as fast as we could. [Not sure if Bison reaches out past the East Coast, but you folks are sure missing a treat, if'n you haven't tasted it.]

I'm not gonna lie when I tell you that I remember the moment I was introduced to a bag of Taco flavored Doritos. My Dad bought them for our weekend treat. And more, he introduced them as a chip that didn't need a dip! Trust me, this is a big thing, because the only variety of chips in these days were plain or krinkle cut!!

A few years later in the early 70s came the Nacho flavored Dorito. It was like gold had struck!! Bags of Nacho Doritos couldn't stay on the shelves long enough -- which was fine with me. I still loved the Taco chips. Oh, I learned to love the Nacho, but the taco still had my heart. Apparently, I wasn't among many, because the Taco flavored Dorito became all but extinct. It came back in various recipe changes, or as part of special mix bags. But, it looks as thou the silent legion of my youth has called out, and demanded the return of the Taco!!

I can only hope that this "limited" batch becomes a regular item.

POPCEREAL NEWS! Planet of the Apes back on comic stands!

2011-07-12T16:26:00.000-04:00

Boom Studios has been putting out a number of great titles. But this one blasted me off to outer space!!!

POP REVIEW: Home for the Holidays (TV 1972)

2010-12-22T09:59:00.000-05:00

I've got your present for you. It's a pitchfork!! In your back!!!

The four Morgan sisters reunite, after nine years, as they visit their ailing father. There is the youngest, Christine (played by a young Sally Fields, fresh off her run as The Flying Nun), an naive innocent college girl, who still depends on her big sisters; Jo (Jill Haworth) the feisty socialite, Fred (Jessica Walter, who was killer in Play Misty for Me, just a year earlier) along with her bottles of vodka, and Alex (Eleanor Parker) the older, mother-hen spinster.

Don't look at him, whatever you do

They've been summoned to their childhood ranch estate by their father (the ever enjoyable Walter Brennan), who is convinced that his new wife (the creepy Julie Harris) is trying to poison him. Her first husband died under mysterious circumstances, and now the sisters are worried that she is targeting their father's money. To make matters more difficult, there is a terrible December thunderstorm a-brewing. Trapped in their secluded childhood home, the sisters keep an eye open for their suspicious stepmother, and open some scabbed over wounds from their own dysfunctional past.

Killer Graphic Tee

Oh... and let's not forget the maniacal killer, dressed in a yellow rain slicker and boots, and red rubber gloves, carrying a pitchfork!

Produced by the dream team of Aaron Spelling and Leonard Goldberg, this TV Movie is already a must see. But then you throw in John Llewellyn Moxey -- the best TV Movie of the Week director ever(!), well, then you just have a hit on your hands.

Oh yeah, Michael Myers. I got your number.

I can still remember the first time I watched this Yuletide creeper. It's probably the first slasher flick I ever watched. Sadly, though, in the pantheon on modern horror, there is no mention of this small screen gem. Halloween has already been established as the original slasher flick, and has been widely credited for setting the standards and motifs. Horror buffs will also look back a couple years previous to Black Christmas, and credit that film for establishing the guidelines for all others. But, no one ever talks about Home for the Holidays. Clearly, HFTH is well set in the Made for Television vein, with the old fashioned "ladies in distress" theme, and Gothic thriller overtones. It doesn't compare to the youthful. angsty and lusty predecessors, with their shocks and sex. But, check out the killer donned in the slasher style garb!

If we all know one thing about slasher flicks, it's that the killer is always masked, his/her identity hidden from the viewer. HFTH has that motif down pat, and it predates Halloween by a half dozen years (Black Christmas by two years).

Actually, this argument is somewhat of a moot point, seeing that the Italian Giallo pictures had killers running around in rain slickers and gloves long before Spelling and Goldberg decided to make this film

Best of TV That I Watched in 2010

2010-12-21T14:13:00.001-05:00

I don't watch a crud load of TV, meself. I'm way too picky (and, yes, uppity), and don't just veg on "whatever's on." I also don't like to get into a bunch of shows that have endless mythology and loads of twists and secrets to uncover throughout 5 seasons. I guess it's because I come from the old school 70s TV world, where the show's adventure of the week wrapped itself up at the end of the hour. Sure, they have their ongoing quests -- Land of the Giants crew had to get the hell outa Giant Land; The crew of the Star Trek needed to get home; Starsky had an insatiable journey to date and fall for every Mob boss' daughter -- but these goals weren't the main focus of every episode... Or, any, if that!! What was of utmost importance was telling a great tale in that one hour each week.

I do get into some of the serialized shows, if'n they're well written, and the great characters arcs are worth the wait (or weight) of the story arcs. And, especially, if you get a beginning/middle/and end form each episode. These TV shows with season long story arcs are also a lot more tolerable when their seasons run is 6 to 13 episodes.

There were a number of shows that I didn't get to watch, that I wish I did get to watch -- but, that's what NetFlix is for. Then, there were shows that I didn't care to watch, no matter who said it was brilliant or wonderful. But, this list is a list of the shows I did care to watch, and thought were absolutely wondrous.

11.) SURVIVORS/THE WALKING DEAD

I put these two together, because they have similar themes and equally moving writing.

10) THE INCREASINGLY POOR DECISIONS OF TODD MARGARET

So so so wrong and politically incorrect. I'll often laugh, and then look around to make sure I've not been seen.

9.) JUSTIFIED

Timothy Olyphant is part Dirty Harry grit, part John Wayne swagger.

8.) THE IN-BETWEENERS

An insanely filthy little bugger of a comedy. Picture the boys from Porkys in a British prep school.

7.) DR.WHO

I have never been a big Dr. Who viewer, but for some reason, I decided to watch this latest incarnation of the series... and I love it!

6.) MEN OF A CERTAIN AGE

Ray Ramano takes his Ray Barone character and moves him to a dramedy. Thank God that Andre Braugher is back on TV!!

5.) MY LIFE AS LIZ

I haven't watched anything worth while on MTV since Austin Stories, but followed the buzz to this winner of a show. Part John Hughes smartness, part My So Called Life angst.

4.) SKINS (BBC)

The show lost a little flare after the original cast moved on, but there is still the solid, unapologetic writing.

3.) RAISING HOPE

One of the best sitcoms since Roseanne. I haven't laughed this hard at a sitcom in a long time.

2.) LOUIE

I didn't much care for Louis C.K.s (yes the title spelling "ie" not "is") HBO show, but it did demonstrate Louis' irreverence. This new FX show is plain killer. Risky, vulgar, bombastic, thoughtful, and full of genuine pathos. Oh yeah... and hysterical.

1.) MAD MEN

Hands down, my favorite show on television for the past few years. It gives wide berth to serialized plot cliches. The characters are the most unique, unpredictable, and solid of any show going. The acting, writing, and directing is just brilliant.

As I said before, this list is culled from the shows I watch. There are programs like Breaking Bad, Dexter, or Boardwalk Empire that are tops on other critic's list that I just have not gotten to see. And then there are other list toppers that I just don't get, like Lost (yaaaawn), Pretty Little Liars (seriously -- it made several lists!!), and Friday Night Lights ( I've only watched one episode of this supposed touching family drama, that of which portrayed the rape of a young student with copious and gratuitous close ups of the female victims flesh and curves. Way to demonstrate the pain and humility of rape -- with a li'l old fashioned T&A!!)

And, then some shows just fell short. Sorry Modern Family. Sorry Big Bang Theory. Sorry Amazing Race and Survivor...

As a side note, I'd like to beg the networks (cable included) -- please let Marshall Herskovitz and Edward Zwick create more programs for television. They are sorely missed.

Don't Be Afraid of the TV!

2010-10-14T16:35:00.001-04:00

What were you watching this week, 37 years ago?

Like a step into the Time Machine, I can tell you exactly what I was doing 37 years ago this week. I happened upon a bunch of old TV Guides at a household sale I was helping out with. Amongst the many issues, which spanned the decades of the 60s through to present day, I found one dated Oct. 6-12, 1973, and took a look see to find if I could recall what I watched on the tube that particular week. I almost spit out my Fruity Pebbles when I came across the listings for Wednesday night, October 10.

And that's exactly what this 11 year old kid was doing that very night. It would become one of my all time favorite TV Movies. What a blast.

Then, a flip of a couple pages brought me to Friday night, Oct. 12. This is the the treat that was in store for a creepy little kid, who was looking for more Halloween season treats:

Surprisingly, the write up doesn't mention that this little monster flick was produced and directed by Dark Shadows creator Dan Curtis. Jack Palance seems an unlikely candidate for the role of the Casanova of all monsters, but I don't know that I even recognized him back then. I may have seen him in some westerns or something, but hell, it didn't matter. The guy was absolutely creepy (but not as creepy as the 1968 version of Dr. Jekkyl & Mr. Hyde, also directed by Curtis).

I think maybe I'll put my DVDs of these movies in the Time Machine and experence them all over again.

Get On Board: The Double Deckers!

2010-10-13T11:37:00.000-04:00

Best Clubhouse Ever!!

I've said it before, and I'll say it again -- One of the coolest shows ever.

I got my early Christmas present -- a DVD package from Second Sight in the UK, with 17 fantastic episodes of The Double Deckers. Not only have I been enjoying this blast from my childhood cathode ray past, but my two little girls are digging it just as much (although my youngest thinks Doughnuts and Brains are ridiculously silly).

The Double Deckers originally aired in the UK in 1971, and then enjoyed a syndicated run in the US for several years after. This show was a fantastic mix of comedy and adventure, featuring a group of children who do a bit of detective work, a bunch of singing, and find themselves knee deep in hilarious hi-jinx. Most memorable for me was the fuly loaded double decker London bus clubhouse.

Not visible from the London street, the kids had to enter with a secret password and a combination, which would set of a Rube Goldberg-like series of contraptions that would unlock the secret door in the wooden fence facade. Then, once inside, the bus held a cache of cool rooms and high-tech trinkets. Man, did I ever wanna live in that bus!!

I'm always on the lookout for DVDs like this, because I really enjoy sharing the kind of entertainment I enjoyed as a kid with my kids. Not only out of nostalgia, but really for the wholesome, good humored fun. There's not a whole lot on the TV these days that doesn't depict kids as egomaniacal whiners, and tech-needy twits, or parents as soooo-cool and trendy hipster wannabes, and who can be just as sexy as their kids (oy!). It's either that or the so-wholesome-it-shrinks-my-teeth Barney episodes, or the redundently-challenged (but admittedly cool) monsters of Yo Gabba Gabba.

Besides, the title song is so catchy! My oldest is even teaching it to her kindergarten friends!!

Dear Santa -- Get Me the Double Deckers!!

2010-09-03T11:30:00.004-04:00

Just learned that The Double Deckers is on DVD in the UK. Lets hope it makes it across the pond to the US!!

Check it out at Second Sight.

Goodbye Mitch Miller!!

2010-08-11T21:09:00.002-04:00

Mitch Buddy!! Gonna Miss You...

bad ronald is watching!

2010-04-27T23:42:00.001-04:00

Go check out the new blog by PopCereal -- Bad Ronald. He watching..... movies.

He's a pretty creepy guy, and he likes to watch... horror movies. He reviews them, too. As well as comics, TV, paperbacks. Anything horror. Catch up on the latest horror news, while your there.

happy earth day!

2010-04-22T18:16:00.000-04:00

Keep America Beautiful or Make an Indian Cry

And Please, Give a Hoot!

Make America Sparkle City!

who cares about summer!

2010-03-05T23:20:00.003-05:00

One of the finest times of the year for little Mr. Miller was, undoubtedly, the Fall Season of television. I could barely contain my joy whenever that Fall Preview issue of TV Guide was awaiting me in our mailbox. And the impending end of summer never seemed so horrible when it meant that all three Major Networks would soon be airing their Fall Preview Shows.

The Fall Preview seems to be a lost art these days, what with the new show seasons being scattered out along September through November. And with new shows debuting in mid-winter, spring, and even summer!

Mr. Miller here would sit there in front of the tube, with a pad and pencil clutched in my hungry fist, waiting to scribble down the names of the shows and the night and times they'd be airing. Then I'd go to my room and plan out my schedule for the upcoming months.

1971 was a pretty good TV season for ABC. They aired new seasons of The Brady Bunch, The Partridge Family, Bewitched, Monday Night Football, The Courtship of Eddie's Father and Love, American Style. They debuted Longstreet, Getting Along, Owen Marshall, Shirley's World and The Man and the City.

There's also a really great promo in the preview show for the ABC Evening News, complete with some wild psychedelic 70s graphics.

It may be a far fetched claim to many ears, but with only 3 Networks airing original programs, there was easily more good quality, fun stuff to watch back then, on any given night, than there is with 200+ channels today. And you can take that to your Mickey Mouse Gumball Bank.

stan the man

2010-03-05T11:19:00.005-05:00

Good news for all you Silver Age comic freaks... our man Stan is back!

STAN’S BACK REVEALED

Posted using ShareThis

good eats!

2010-02-27T09:48:00.003-05:00

Having gone Manly Gaga over the Double Deckers on my last post, Mr. Miller realized that I had jumbled my memories of that show with another show that was on at the same time?

After going through all the youtube videos of Double Deckers, I realized -- hey! wasn't this an awful lot like Mulligan Stew?

Well... yes... and no. They were both shot on film -- yes. And they both had a gang of kids -- yes. And they had a lot of action take place in somewhat urban locales -- yes. But, only Double Deckers had goofy, wild, kid adventures, and Mulligan Stew was more like a glorified segment of Sesame Street or Zoom!, with lessons and music.

Compare with the links from Mr. Miller's previous blog entry...

Both shows were highly entertaining, and full of great kid-friendly action. Mr. Miller really wished they had shows like this these days for his mini-Mr. Millers to enjoy.

Meanwhile, they can watch these links...

come on board

2010-02-19T23:19:00.004-05:00

Holy chimollies!! This one took me by surprise. I haven't even thought of this show in decades, but instantly remembered it all once the moment I clicked play and the junk yard doors opened up to reveal the kids dancing in front of their awesome double decker bus.

HERE COME THE DOUBLE DECKERS originally aired in Great Britain, but then was picked up by ABC for their Saturday Morning lineup. I was just fascinated with the show I guess because I dug the idea of being a kid who has a double decker bus for his hangout.

The logline from IMDB reads: The adventures of a gang of seven kids whose clubhouse is an abandoned double decker bus in a London junkyard. Usually involves a bit of singing, a bit of dancing and general fun times.

There's a call for the show to be rereleased for Saturday Morning fans at the fan page for HERE COME THE DOUBLE DECKERS.

There are also episodes of the Brit kid comedy on youtube (God bless 'em). Start your Saturday Morning off with "The Pop Singer."

A bit o' trivia... the show features Peter Firth as one of the kids. Not the biggest name in the world to be dropping, but he did make a splash in several prominent films and productions.

Now, enjoy part 2 of "The Pop Singer":

where's the leg warmers at!

2010-02-06T09:00:00.007-05:00

I’ll tell you this much, Mr. Miller enjoyed the chance to once again watch a PYT prancing around in clinging high waist jeans, a plaid blouse and rockin’ a feathered Farrah hair-do. It brought me back to my days (the 70s, that is).

I was hoping to catch a glimpse of some leg warmers and a pair of lady workboots, too, but no luck this time.

Can't be too picky...

80s fashion isn’t the only retro-action going on in Dark Sky’s much anticipated THE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL. Writer/director Ti West (previous of the THE ROOST) not only modeled his film after the pre-HALLOWEEN/FRIDAY THE 13^TH era of 70s horror, but he also physically placed the story in the early 1980s, before the modern age of communications – you know, back when you used to have to let the phone ring a dozen times before anyone would answer. No cell phones, no Internet, no texts messaging, and barely even an answering machine could be had. What’s a girl to do when she’s stranded in a creepy old house out in the middle of nowhere? Why, snoop around, from room to room, until you find trouble!

After committing to renting an apartment she can’t afford, Samantha (played by relative newcomer Jocelin Donahue) finds a babysitting job posted on a job board outside her dorm. When she arrives at the creepy old house on the outskirts of town, she questions her good luck. Her paranoia is fueled once she meets the people inside: the insanely tall and quiet Mr. Ulman (played by the insanely tall and quiet Tom Noonan – the original Hannibal Lector from MANHUNTER), and his wife (cult icon Mary Waronov). It isn’t enough that they’ve lured Samantha out there under false pretenses – it’s not a baby she’s being asked to sit for, but an elderly mother locked away upstairs – or that the well-weathered Mrs. Ulman tries to seduce her, but there have been reports on the radio of weird goings on around the area. But none of that is cause for concern after Samantha is offered a couple hundred bucks for the job. Bad idea!

Up to this point West keeps the pacing admirably old school. He expresses his appreciation for Polanski’s genre films, and he’s attempted to model his own after ROSEMARY’S BABY and REPULSION. But the pacing of those tap more into the inner turmoil of the characters, whereas HOUSE rather adeptly reflects the pacing of many of the other suspense flicks from the era. Films like PLAY MISTY FOR ME , or TV movies like BAD RONALD and THE SCREAMING WOMAN that would offset the approaching nastiness by grounding the first act in real world minutia, instead of pouring on the gloomy foreshadowing .

It gets fairly tedious in the middle act. The characters, though well played, never develop beyond their archetypes, and, let’s face it, the fear of murderous cults and Satanic slayings may have added to the audiences unease back in the days of the Manson Family and Son of Sam, but it doesn’t really work up much but nostalgic spookiness for todays audience. Fear not horror fans (and gore fans, you get the payoff you deserve in thecrazy, bloody climax.

It’s a treat to see a film that isn’t afraid to be just plain creepy. There’s none of the not-so-clever twists or any over analysis of stuff that doesn’t need analyzing. THE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL is great late-night viewing, just like you used to enjoy.

And check out the great 70s style zooms and freeze frames in the HOUSE trailer! This flick is sure to be a treat for all fans of retro horror.

christmastime is here!

2009-12-17T15:11:00.003-05:00

Don't know about you ladies and gents, but Mr. Miller is puttin' this at the top of his Cul Yuletide Presents list.

From the press kit: "Are you tired of the same old Christmas TV specials? Popular culture author and researcher Joanna Wilson has written a new book, The Christmas TV Companion: a Guide to Cult Classics, Strange Specials and Outrageous Oddities that will add a twinkle to your holiday viewing entertainment. She has collected the most unusual, overlooked and often bizarre episodes with a Christmas theme to add to your regular holiday TV schedule.

We all look forward to watching Christmas specials on TV. But, our best Christmas entertainment doesn’t need to depend on whatever happens to air in a particular year. There’s a lot more interesting Christmas programming out there than what actually broadcasts. You can choose and control your viewing schedule according to your own unique tastes. For TV junkies and pop culture aficionados, this book offers suggestions as well as commentary for an expanded array of holiday material. The Christmas TV Companion includes science fiction episodes, macabre Christmas-themed installments, off-center animated programming, extraordinary musical experiences from variety series, and a miscellany of dark-themed installments and stylized films that are surprisingly antithetical to traditional Christmas. The listings are specially selected for their unusual interest as well as their accessibility. There is something here for every TV viewer looking to watch something different this holiday season.

Loaded with pop culture references, Wilson’s book is an engaging survey of fascinating Christmas programming from television and film history, as well as the cutting-edge, irreverent material of today. The book is filled with summaries and commentary written with the enthusiasm of a true pop culture lover. Wilson’s passion for this unique subject is infused with humorous dry wit and insight which is contagious for her readers.

Not only does Wilson uncover interesting cult themed chapters of the most unusual Christmas material, but she also makes the book a practical guide. She includes family-friendly suggestions for each themed chapter for children to participate along with adults. And, there are nine Make Your Own Marathon (MYOM) recommendations to help one schedule their own holiday viewing. Of the nine, there are MYOM lists for each themed chapter (i.e., sci-fi, macabre, variety, animation, and dark). Have you ever considered watching a Star Trek-inspired Christmas marathon? There are also MYOM lists between each chapter that provide additional unique viewing opportunities. For example, Wilson compiles a marathon on the coolest and hippest of our culture who appear in Christmas material. Did you know Steve McQueen stars in a Christmas episode of the classic TV western Wanted Dead or Alive?

Another example of a MYOM features overlooked Christmas specials of the past that deserve a second chance for a wider audience. Additionally, the book’s appendix offers readers some guidelines for creating their own holiday viewing marathons on a theme befitting their own tastes.

The Christmas TV Companion provides every TV junkie and pop culture fan a new source of Christmas joy. Readers will be surprised at the depth and breadth of the amount and diversity of Christmas material produced for film and television in the past six decades. These installments are accessible because the book is organized into chapters by themes or genres familiar to TV fans.

Wilson’s book is a one-of-a-kind assemblage of pop culture research and commentary. It is sure to be a must-have Christmas book for every TV junkie and pop culture fan.

Author Joanna Wilson is a bona fide popular culture expert and researcher. She draws upon her education in film and philosophy to create insightful commentary on pop culture of all kinds. The Christmas TV Companion was carefully drawn from research materials Ms. Wilson has gathered for a larger, forthcoming project: a more comprehensive TV encyclopedia of Christmas-themed episodes, specials and made-for-TV movies which is due for release in 2010. This is her first book.

The Christmas TV Companion: a Guide to Cult Classics, Strange Specials & Outrageous Oddities
by Joanna Wilson"

Go here to the website get it for me, Santa... er, for yourself, I mean.

"but where are the lumps...?"

2009-11-10T15:52:00.003-05:00

Kickin' off the Turkey Season with a favorite commercial from back in the day. Not necessarily a Thanksgiving TV ad, but it's about gravy... and that spells turkey to me.

"it's whisky, I can taste it... it's whisky!"

2009-11-05T14:38:00.002-05:00

Oliver Reed is one of my favorite actors. Even in my early childhood I remember knowing who this ballsy Englishman was. He first came to my attention after watching a TV afternoon matinee of the Hammer classic Curse of the Werewolf. I was a tremendous Hammer fan, and the regular Hammer cast members were pretty much an automatic on the list of actors-I-think-do-clearly-rule. But there was something else about Reed that drew me to him. He was intensely frightening, but at the same time a gentlemens' gentleman.

In a random youtube search for Shelly Winters (it's fun to random search on youtube!!), I came across this bizarre exchange between Ms. Winters (another of my favorite actors -- thus the random youtube search) and Mr. Reed. It happened on the Late Show, where both were guests of Johnny Carson's. Neither had worked with the other, nor had they met previously. But, the fireworks were almost instantaneous.

How could they NOT rub each other the wrong way? She was a very vocal feminist from way back, and he was a firm and outspoken believer that the woman's place was in the kitchen.

What's most enjoyable about this videotaped tiff between egos is the ferocity that juxtaposes the civility. Winters whole persona is one of crassness -- her roles are littered with woman who speak their minds -- but she is still apologetic for her exuberant interruptions. And Reed is simply the typical English gentleman, who can shush her without ever uncrossing his proper legs. In a pop culture world riddled with celebrity feuds between adults who shoot out insults that would make a 7th Grader roll her eyes, it's great to see a couple egos be genuinely entertaining while bickering.

scarecrows are creepy

2009-09-20T15:08:00.011-04:00

Easily, one of the most treasured memories of my childhood was of the Disney flick The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh -- aka Dr. Syn Alias the Scarecrow.

Scarecrow was one of those TV memories I held onto tightly-- vivid images of the Scarecrow, his face covered by a very creepy sack-mask, riding atop his horse, chasing through eerie moonlit English countrysides. I'd only watched the program once, but man did it stick with me for a long long time.

In the early 60s, NBCs Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color (aka The Wonderful World of Disney) ran The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh for the first time as a 3-part miniseries. Then, over the next several years, released the program again as a theatrical release (as Dr. Syn Alias the Scarecrow) and as another freshly edited 2-part TV miniseries.

It wasn't until the later 90s that I was able to catch another glimpse of the sinister sack-faced man of my nightmares, when after loads of tooling around on the Internet, I found some other Scarecrow lovers who had copies of the Dr. Syn Disney movie. It wasn't the miniseries, but heck, it was something! And I absolutely appreciated seeing Patrick McGoohan dawn his scarecrow mask, once again.

Then, by all coincidences, I discovered, via a website dedicated to all things Dr. Syn, that the Disney Channel was going to re-air the miniseries in its original 3-part glory!! I was never a fan of Disney (I actually despised them when I was a little tyke), but man, was I pleased with them that day. I ran out and got the digital cable, so we could get the Disney Channel, and hooboy, I was in heaven. Color me Disney!

The nightmarish landscapes and bleak lighting really attracted me. It was programming such as this (along with Dark Shadows, Land of the Giants, The Avengers, etc...) that began to shape my tastes for the macabre and off-beat. I was already a fan of the bizarre and the macabre, having been a fan of Vincent Price and Hammer Horror, and even though there was no supernatural goings-on in Scarecrow, I still enjoyed the hell outa the program for its Halloween-like atmosphere. And those masks! Man o man!! Dr. Syn's scarecrow sack was brilliant, with the Frankenstein stitching and oddly shaped eye sockets, but the mask that really sent the chills up and down my squirmy spine was the owl mask, worn by one of Syn's cohorts. Jeezymaude that thing was creepy. I wanted so bad to have one for Halloween, with all the feathers and the little pointed beak. Something about it really blew me away.

It wasn't until I started looking for copies of the TV program on the Internet that I discovered Dr. Syn, the Scarecrow, was based on a series of books by author Russell Thorndike. And you know what else I found out? That I didn't give a hoot about that!! I wasn't big into swashbuckling stuff (give me a scary pirate like Blackbeard over a Scarlet Pimpernel anyday), so Dr. Cleggs legendary swordplay wasn't lighting me up like the monstrous masks worn by McGoohan and gang.

For a real treat, check out this comicbook over at Beware, There's A Crosseyed Cyclops In My Basement!!!

This little gem below is from the fine folks over at The Give-A-Show Blog. Go give 'em some love!!

Have a groovy day, cats!!
Mr. Miller

why i didn't care to go see star wars that summer ( or why i love sorcerer)

2009-08-25T10:16:00.010-04:00

The Summer of 1977… That was the summer when everything changed. After those few sunny, splendid months movies had changed forever. Marketing changed. Even the movie goers changed – a whole new generation of fanatics were born, sprung from the fertile imagination of one filmmaker. A generation of fans so enthusiastic, so rabid that they would one day, and forever after, alter the way movies were brought to the screen (or not brought to the screen). That was the summer of Star Wars. And it was the worst thing that happened to me.

I can’t say that I hated Star Wars, ‘cause I didn’t, really. It’s more a kill-the-messenger kinda thing. After that first outer space cowboy chase, or that iconic bzzwert of the light saber ©, I could see that filmmaking would become something different, pushing style over substance. I saw the writing on the wall… or rather, the writing on the screen, scrolling off into space.

I may have been just a 14 year-old kid from upstate NY, with only a couple short hairs in the armpit worth of life experience, but the one thing I definitely did know about was the movies. I watched them since I was a squirrel nut. Every day I was in front of the boob tube, watching something or other. I read about the movies, too. I may not have seen all the movies that I knew about, but I read about them. I knew every player from Lillian Gish to Bogart to Burt Reynolds. I even knew who the producers and directors were, and some of the writers, too. Oscar night was up there with Christmas and Halloween on my list of days that I would enjoy the hell out of.

The movies that made an impact on my youth weren’t the usual kid fare, either. Screw Disney. The hell with Benji. Wizard of Oz was fine and good, but what really tweaked me was a clandestine viewing (on the Starz channel at some family friends house) of Rosemary’s Baby and Lina Wertmüller’s The Seduction of Mimi . These were the kind of movies I could really enjoy, filled with rich, deeply etched characters, and stories that seemed to unfold around you. I really did love movies. And, with all the hyperbole surrounding Star Wars —the figurines, the behind-the-scenes stories – I can remember recognizing that the movies that I enjoyed, the stories and characters, were all in danger of being blown out of the universe like a Death Star.

What really drove this point home for me was the conundrum of another movie that came out that same summer. William Friedkin’s Sorcerer.

You couldn’t find two movies more opposite each other than these two. They were like chicken wings and caviar – not even on the same menu. One was from the new kid on the block, unproven, but bold, the other from the old guard, trusted and respected. And what was most telling was the treatment of these two directors and their films. Lucas couldn’t have been more loved if Santa Claus himself made him newly in charge of Christmas. He seemed to have the magic marketing touch, which pleased studio suits and the consumers nicely. Friedkin, on the other hand, a multi-Oscar winner, fresh off the success (and controversy) of The Exorcist and The French Connection, an auteur filmmaker deeply invested in the industry, couldn’t catch a break. He’d thrilled people with his notorious car chases through the streets of NYC, and pissed people off with his blasphemous religious horror flick (to which they still seemed to swarm to), but with Sorcerer, everyone seemed to shun him.

So, while every other kid across the country – and many a man-child, too – were crawling out of their Star Wars bed sheets to go to their umpteenth viewings of Princess Leah’s cinnamon rolls, I was, myself frequenting the local bijou. I saw Sorcerer three times during the one week run at the Westmar Cinema, and I was mesmerized (and that may have been due to the hypnotic soundtrack by Tangerine Dream). I was already a fan of Roy Scheider and his shark-battling, good-guy toughness, but geezus! that insane scene with the ten ton truck trying to make it’s way over a ramshackle rope bridge, as a driving rain storm rocked it from side to side – as the girls like to say these days… OMFG!

Let me try and capture the excitement for you. We’re deep in the jungles of South America, the skies have opened up like the day Noah built his arc, and a band of fugitives are maneuvering through the trees in a fifty ton truck, carrying cases of volatile TNT which, if jostled just enough, could blow them all to China in tiny bits. They’ve already lost one truck off a cliff-side dirt road, and endured everything from murderous bandits to fallen trees. Now they’ve come upon a most insurmountable obstacle: a dilapidated, narrow rope bridge that spans a raging river. The choice is there is no choice – they need to cross. So, Scheider takes the wheel, steering the five hundred ton behemoth over splintering boards and frayed rope. The temptation would be to gun it, but that would mean certain death. Shrewdly, and begrudgingly, he crosses slowly, inch by excruciating inch. Co-hort Paco Raba has the treacherous task of guiding him, placing himself precariously seated on the wavering overpass. The truck trudges along, splintering boards, the wheels turning with painful precession, compensating for wind and fear. The monsoon winds are so perilous that the truck doesn’t sway so much as swings widely, so widely that it comes within a degree of vertical, tossing Paco around and threatening to spill everyone into the river. The entire event takes only minutes of screen time, but gauging by the amount of sweat that’s soaked into the fabric of your theater seat, it feels like hours.

Had this scene been created by a team of tech-heads with computers, instead of filmed on location, the impact, the suspense would’ve never been as palpable. The beauty of it is that it’s all real – the truck, the bridge, the water, the motion, the peril. There’s no CGI strings attached. Sure, the action is controlled by stunt people, but the point is, it’s corporeal. It’s organic. You feel every ounce of sweat and fear, because the thing is happening before your eyes, not in some controlled digital dimension.

It’s this scene on the bridge that would proscribe my aversion to CGI or other big bang effects. The thing is, that stuff doesn’t move me. I can’t get revved up watching a pair of motorcycle dinks, speeding down a digital city street, bumping each other off the road. I don’t get blown away when Bruce Willis ducks down as two CGI’d cars narrowly miss him, flying over his head in perfect sync, because, to me, there’s no real danger. The more real they make it look, the less real it plays.

Hell, I’m a student of the Evel Knievel class of bone-breaking stunts. So, knowing that they’ve spent three months digitally maneuvering the hairs on an green ogre’s head to flop and flow like real natural hair—that ain’t filmmaking to me. You think Friedkin stopped camera because he noticed that Scheider’s thinning hair wasn’t flitting about properly? When did spending millions of dollars, and gallons of soy lattes, on getting the topography of the ocean floor excruciatingly perfect, so much so that it looks exactly like the real thing, become a part of story-telling? How did the exact replication of our daily minutia become filmmaking?

I know I’m being a royal buzzkill, but, for me, I go for the old school. I like the clunky effects designed by craftsman – they’re real, they’re there. They serve the actors well, ‘cause they have to react to them. CGI has it’s uses, no doubt, but when the emphasis centers on how the movie looks, instead of how it feels, the suspension of disbelief is about as stable as a suspended bridge with a five hundred ton truck on it. The more real they make the images, the less real it becomes.

In film, it’s the imagination that makes it real.

Oh, I did eventually see Star Wars, and I gotta say it was one of the most memorable nights of my life. Seriously! I remember it vividly, ‘cause I saw it in NYC on a visit with my oldest brother. We saw it in Manhattan on the very night that the Son of Sam was caught: August 10, 1977.

That occasion actually meant more to me than that Star Wars movie ever did. I mean, that’s just me.

(originally printed in Penny Blood Magazine, January 2008)

Written by Barry Meyer

Ye Ye!

2009-07-11T12:35:00.004-04:00

There's one thing that Mr. Miller here really enjoyed as a little sprout, and that was girls singing some really sugary, candy-sweet, bubblegum music. Miss Petula Clark was always a favorite of mine, with her love of the Downtown escapades and all. And also the former Mrs. Andy Williams, Claudine Longet -- she's half the reason why I loved to watch the Andy Williams Show (well, beside the funny chap in the bear outfit)!

Other mod chicks that I dug were Mia Farrow (Rosemary's Baby changed my life!), Goldie Hawn, and Twiggy with her big innocent eyes.

Now, with YouTube and record sharity sites, my world of mod girls and 60s pop music has opened up. Here's one song that has me banging my cans all around the room...

France Gall -- der Computer nr 3

Here's a translation from Google. I thought about tightening the lyrics up, and trying to make them flow better, but the loose translation sounded pretty funny:

The computer No. 3
I am looking for the right boy,
and love is guaranteed for both here.
The computer
knows
for every man the right woman
and happiness is at the moment
from its register.

Indeed, one of many millions,
of waiting for me somewhere.

(Gross: einszwoundachtzig, collar: 39, Shoe size: 46, stop!)

The computer No. 3
I am looking for the right boy,
and love is guaranteed for both here.

Lange, I was lonely tonight 'I'm in love,
and the only question is so
because the technology and science
and electrical brains there.

The computer No. 3
I am looking for the right boy,
and love is guaranteed for both here.
The computer knows exactly
for every man the right woman
and happiness is at the moment
from its register.

Indeed, one of many millions,
of waiting for me somewhere

Isis... I Love You

2009-07-08T15:20:00.006-04:00

You know that old standby about little boys and how they hate girls - yuck!! I was always puzzled by that. I mean, I realized that I was suppose to hate them, having been told so by just about every kid character on TV. Beaver hated 'em. Opie couldn't stand 'em. Bobby Brady stood clear of 'em. So, what the hell was wrong with me? Why wasn't I like them? Why wasn't I a member of the He-Man Woman Haters Club?

Thank goodness I never got that membership card in the mail, 'cause I never would've paid any mind to the awesomeness that was Isis.

Saturday Mornings were already a little slice of heaven for this kid. But when Joanna Cameron popped on the screen scene, this boy became a man! The mini Superhero skirt outfit. The toned arms. The shapely legs. Wait a minute... can someone please, please explain to me what exactly it is that a boy is supposed to find gross about all of this!! "Cause, man! I was in love.

Even with the saucer sized spectacles on, as Isis' normal-person person, science teacher Andrea Thomas, still the girl has got it all sewn up and ready twirl.

Of course, there were a load of other interesting things about the TV program. There was Bigfoot, Andrea's cute student friend Cindy, fast cars, criminals on the run, Cindy and her jeans, mystery, adventures, and Cindy's molar exposing smile.

Boys, it's time to drop the facade. Go get the DVD Box Set a BCI Eclipse/Navarre.

Oh Zephyr winds that blow on high, watch this clip or you'll just die!

oh woa is turkey day

2008-11-21T12:16:00.005-05:00

Geezy Maude! What's happened to Thanksgiving? It's become like the Rodney Dangerfield of holidays -- no respect. The leaves hadn't even begun to turn color and the brand name stores have already begun to set up the Christmas displays. The Xmas TV ads could barely wait until the Halloween candy bowl was emptied before airing (I am NOT looking forward to the tenth year in row of the peanut M&M fainting at the sight of Santa).

Poor Turkey Day. The gravy-laden holiday has become the equivalent of the guy who gets dumped by the girl who says "We can still be friends..."

Well, I'm gonna do my part to bring some PopCereal fun back to the day of parades, football, food and sofa lounging. So, enjoy these cartoons and music, and whatever else I can scrounge up.

Happy Gobbles,
Mr. Miller

First up (courtesy of Shadowboro at YouTube), Huckleberry Hound tangles with a clever turkey and some indians:

An' the Gobble-uns 'at gits you

2008-10-22T10:14:00.003-04:00

There was a poem that my Mom and Dad used to read to us kids when we were little that scared the living daylights out of us. It's called Little Orphant Annie, written by James Whitcomb Riley. My Mom became the expert reader of this particular poem, punctuating the eerie words with her own spooky, deliberate pace.

Have a read and tell me that your skin don't start to crawl. If it don't, well... then it's on too tight.

LITTLE ORPHANT ANNIE

by: James Whitcomb Riley (1849-1916)

INSCRIBED WITH ALL FAITH AND AFFECTION

To all the little children: -- The happy ones; and sad ones; The sober and the silent ones; the boisterous and glad ones; The good ones -- Yes, the good ones, too; and all the lovely bad ones.

ITTLE Orphant Annie's come to our house to stay,
An' wash the cups an' saucers up, an' brush the crumbs away,
An' shoo the chickens off the porch, an' dust the hearth, an' sweep,
An' make the fire, an' bake the bread, an' earn her board-an'-keep;
An' all us other childern, when the supper-things is done,
We set around the kitchen fire an' has the mostest fun
A-list'nin' to the witch-tales 'at Annie tells about,
An' the Gobble-uns 'at gits you
Ef you
Don't
Watch
Out!

Wunst they wuz a little boy wouldn't say his prayers,--
An' when he went to bed at night, away up-stairs,
His Mammy heerd him holler, an' his Daddy heerd him bawl,
An' when they turn't the kivvers down, he wuzn't there at all!
An' they seeked him in the rafter-room, an' cubby-hole, an' press,
An' seeked him up the chimbly-flue, an' ever'-wheres, I guess;
But all they ever found wuz thist his pants an' roundabout:--
An' the Gobble-uns 'll git you
Ef you
Don't
Watch
Out!

An' one time a little girl 'ud allus laugh an' grin,
An' make fun of ever' one, an' all her blood-an'-kin;
An' wunst, when they was "company," an' ole folks wuz there,
She mocked 'em an' shocked 'em, an' said she didn't care!
An' thist as she kicked her heels, an' turn't to run an' hide,
They wuz two great big Black Things a-standin' by her side,
An' they snatched her through the ceilin' 'fore she knowed what she's about!
An' the Gobble-uns 'll git you
Ef you
Don't
Watch
Out!

An' little Orphant Annie says, when the blaze is blue,
An' the lamp-wick sputters, an' the wind goes woo-oo!
An' you hear the crickets quit, an' the moon is gray,
An' the lightnin'-bugs in dew is all squenched away,--
You better mind yer parunts, an' yer teachurs fond an' dear,
An' churish them 'at loves you, an' dry the orphant's tear,
An' he'p the pore an' needy ones 'at clusters all about,
Er the Gobble-uns 'll git you
Ef you
Don't
Watch
Out!

For extra creepy value, here's a youtube video (from the folks at poetryanimation) of Riley reading the poem himself, with some bizarre animation that just plain adds some spooky ambiance.

Go ahead... try to get some sleep now...

Georgie treats!

2008-10-18T10:17:00.002-04:00

While I'm searching for my Georgie filmstrip, here is a fantastic copy of a 45rpm of Georgie, from the wonderful folks at Mostly Ghostly Music Sharing Blaaahhhggg!!!

Please, check them out. They have a crud load of Halloween related shares. You'll flip yer can when you see what they have!!

where are you Georgie??

2008-10-18T10:09:00.002-04:00

I've had some requests to repost the Georgie filmstrip. I'd love to repost it... heck, I'd love to watch the thing again!! Problem is, I'm having trouble finding the file (rapidshare has deleted the old link, as well). If anyone has a copy of the file, please let me know so I can repost it.

Thanks!

When Ronald was Bad

2008-09-24T17:33:00.003-04:00

Bad Ronald (1974)

There was a time when some really great movies were on the tube, back when three networks had to compete with the thousands of movie theaters and bigger stories.

Starring Scott Jacoby -- who, if you were around anywhere in the 70s, you'd recognize this kids face -- as Ronald, a lonely, weird, creepy kid who accidentally kills a neighbor girl. His mom (Planet of the Apes Kim Hunter) decides to board up the downstairs bathroom and hide her boy inside, until the heat is off. But then she goes off and dies, leaving the kid inside the walls. And then, another family moves in (I guess a big house with only one bathroom and three girls didn't bother them) and Ronald goes from bad to worse.

This movie is a must-see. Check it out here:

Cultra Rare Videos

a hootenanny good christmas

2007-12-11T11:20:00.000-05:00

Santa stopped by from the North Pole to deliver this little Christmas present to all you kiddies!

Paul & Paula - Holiday for Teens

before MTV was emp-TV

2007-12-05T12:21:00.000-05:00

Remember when we could celebrate the Holiday spirit without all the irony?

Billy Squire sings in the MTV studios

Hall & Oates make rather merry

Paul McCartney simpling having a wonderful Christmas

the ghost of christmas sharity's past

2007-12-03T09:02:00.000-05:00

Mr. Miller here wanted to drop a quick post in for all you kids, with some links to past
PopCereal holiday shares. Please enjoy, and have a happy!

Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol film strip

Kenny and Corky 45rpm: Nuttin' for Christmas and Suzy Snowflake

Mitch Miller and The Sandpipers (featuring Bob Keeshan) 45 rpm: A Merry Merry Merry Merry Christmas and A Happy Little New Year

For your viewing pleasure... one of Mr. Miller's favorite Christmas ads: The Staples Snobot finds his jealousy chip.

once again, here are the Rhodes Kids!

2007-11-26T11:10:00.000-05:00

Santa loves Rock-n-Rhodes music!

Starting out the Christmas sharitys for this season is an old chestnut that yours truly, Mr. Miller, simply adores. It's easily one of my top twenty favorite Christmas LPs, and one that sits in the stack of records on the ol' console stereo spindle -- Rock-n-Rhodes Christmas by The Rhodes Kids. It's an album that I've shared before, but hey, when it's this good, then you just gotta make sure it gets out there!

From the size of those collars one could easily determine that these cats were happening straight out of the 70s, all polyester clad and uncoifed. The Rhodes Kids had their brush with fame and fortune, but unfortunately never rose to the bubblegum level of teen idol fame of similar family acts, like the Cowsills or the Partridge Family. It's not that they didn't have their opportunities. They were plastered on the pages of Tiger Beat and Sixteen, they played in the same Las Vegas venue where Elvis was playing, they took a spin on the stages of the Mike Douglas Show, The Merv Griffen Show and American Bandstand, and they played Disneyland (with Pat Boone) and Disney World.

Their biggest break was being the featured gig on a 1975 episode of The Wonderful World of Disney which promoted the hotly anticipated opening of Disney Worlds's Tomorrow Land. The program was hosted by Lucie Arnaz, and also featured Lyle Waggoner and Tommy Tune. The Kids were introduced to the PopCereal world in the same TV program as Space Mountain is given it's big promotion -- what a dream gig, eh!

As far as bubblegum pop goes, Won't You Be My Friend is about as light as cotton candy, and twice as sweet. It's no Sugar, Sugar, but it ain't without it's catchiness. Mr. Miller here has yet to dig up any more Rhodes Kids LPs, other than the Xmas one, so it's hard to get the real feel on these kids. But, if Mr. Miller only had this Xmas LP to go by, then I gotta wonder why the Kids didn't have teen girls swarming them everywhere they went.

Rock-n-Rhodes Chritsmas is sprinkled with catchy original bubblegum pop tunes, like Santa Loves Rock-n-Roll Music, as well as some tasty takes on old standards, like Jingle Bells. And what's really great about these kids is that they have some real talent. They didn't wear the rock-n-roll family guise as a come on, these kids were real hard working musicians with an obvious trunk full of musical skill -- if you have a chance, check out the linear notes and you'll see that the older Rhodes kids, Gary and Ron, split the vocal arrangement duties on the album. The result is not just a cool holiday album, but a sack full of some real catchy kernals of popcorn that ping around inside your head long after your egg nog buzz has melted away.

For a more intimate account of the brief pop life of the Rhodes Kids check out the interview with Ron Rhodes (the accomplished author), and an email response from the Donny Osmond of the group, Mark Rhodes, sent to the King of Jingaling over at the fabulous Christmas website FaLaLaLaLa (if you're liking the Christmas music this time of the year, trust me -- you don't wanna miss this website!). By the by, the sharity of this tremendous Xmas LP is straight from The King himself, since Mr. Miller's digatized version of the LP is vastly insuperior.

Enjoy!

goggle gobble says the turkey, in the gravy dark and murkey

2007-11-20T14:12:00.000-05:00

Well geezymaude! That's what I get for moving from one state to another and searching out new modes of employment and inviting a new little baby girl into the world -- no time to post, is what.

Mr. Miller here was none too happy about missing out on all the Halloween sharing tricks or treats, but I hopes to make it up with the upcoming Christmas holiday. To kick it off all proper like, here's the man Johnny Cash to lead us in a Thanksgiving prayer.

Remember when holidays were all about entertaining the kids? What ol' Mr. Miller here wouldn't give to have a cartoon line-up like this on the tube on Turkey Day Morning.

Okay, listen up class. Today we're going to watch a film that will teach you all about the true spirit of Thanksgiving. Albert, get the lights please.

To part with, Mr. Miller here wants to give a word of caution to all you Black Friday hooligans... watch yer step!

PopCereal wishes all you turkeys a Happy Thanksgiving. And don't forget to pop another hole in the ol' belt strap!

Gobble

jason of the star command

2007-05-06T13:32:00.000-04:00

Check it out Popcereal kiddies! Another classic Saturday morning live action show has been released on DVD. Grab your sugar cereal bowls and comic books and gather around the tube -- it's time for Jason of the Star Command!!

JASON OF STAR COMMAND -- The Entire Series (BCI Ecplipse)

Working from within a secretive section of Space Academy, a daring soldier of fortune named Jason (Craig Littler) joins with his friends to combat the sinister forces that conspire to dominate the stars. Jason is aided on his missions by Commanders Carnavin (Star Trek’s James Doohan) and Stone (John Russell), computer expert Nicole (Susan Pratt), strong alien Samantha (Tamara Dobson), eccentric scientist Dr. E.J. Parsafoot (Charlie Dell), and two robots, Peepo and the portable W1K1. Together they face the evil machinations of Dragos — the self-proclaimed "Master of the Cosmos" — and his alien minions aboard the Dragonship.

JASON OF STAR COMMAND was a hit when it aired on Saturday mornings, beginning in 1978 on CBS. The most expensive children's show on television, the series utilized sets and props from its predecessor, SPACE ACADEMY (also released on DVD by BCI), and featured veterans of Star Trek among its cast, plus special effects personnel who had created the visuals of Star Wars! With its action-oriented serialized plots and a memorable space-age villain in Dragos, JASON OF STAR COMMAND was a hit for two seasons, and entertained audiences worldwide in syndication thereafter.

And some interesting trivia – featured guest star Rosanne Katon did a centerfold spread in Playboy Magazine just prior to the debut of this Saturday morning program. The show’s Producer Lou Scheimer was terrified that with one of its stars doing girlie mags, his kid show would be ruined. Oddly, CBS (who ran the program) didn’t seem to mind much.

Even odder is that the new king of ghoulishness Sid Haig, from Devil's Rejects and House of 1000 Corpses fame, was the regular bad guy Dragos. Geesh, with Playboy girls and serial killers running amok, Mr. Miller wonders if his Saturday mornings were really that wholesome afterall.

Check out what else was on the Saturday morning schedule, along with Jason:

collect your paycheck!

2007-02-28T12:42:00.000-05:00

Mr. Miller here was not what you'd call a raving fan of Mr. Johnny Paycheck. Sure, "Take This Job and Shove It" was a perfectly pitched anthem for the pissed-off working man in the 1970s (I wasn't exactly a working man in those days, just an average teen washing dishes and stuff like that -- but the angst wasn't lost on me). And i couldn't help but appreciate the "outlaw" antics, his surly wit and overall drunken persona.

The thing is, I never felt the need to dig into his discography to have a listen at much more than what I'd already heard -- that was until after he blew off a free outdoor concert with BR549 because he was too shitfaced to crawl outa bed. Mr. Miller and his buddies all thought that he was worth a listen to after that stunt.

Here's Mr. Paycheck's first LP The Lovin' Machine (1966). It was the age of theNashville sound, and a jokester like Paycheck would seem an ill fit. But the rebel rouser had a proven background in Country music, having played back-up for other stars and penning a hit for George Jones. On this first album you'll hear the crass wit behind "Take This Job..." (even though that was written by David Allen Coe), but surprising is his turn as country crooner, trying to belt out the ballads in a George Jones drawl.

Here's a copy of The Lovin' Machine that's been tooling around online (I'd love to give credit to the original poster of it, but it's been around the bend a few times, and that info is unavailable).

Download it here!

welcome to space academy

2007-01-23T13:14:00.000-05:00

To anyone who was a member of the Saturday Morning Cartoon generation, Filmation is surely a brand name that can flip a couple cans. Filmation founders Lou Scheimer and Norm Prescott were responsible for the most recognizable cartoon and live action children’s hits like The Groovie Goolies, Isis, Fat Albert, He-Man, and Archie. Not only were these shows popular on weekend television, but many of the show’s characters crossed over to become celebrated Top 40 hit-makers.

Thank the Gods of TV that many of these funtime programs are resurfacing on DVD.

I have to admit that I was not a regular fan of Space Academy when it originally aired (Saturdays mornings from 1977 to 1979). Frankly, by the time this show came on I was starting High School and had other, more pressing, matters on my mind (girls just don’t dig a guy who sits at home watching cartoons). The fact that the show starred perennial 70s kid actress Pamelyn Ferdin didn’t make it any more appealing to me. You may remember her as Felix Unger’s whinny little daughter, or the whinny girl on Lassie, Sigmund and the Sea Monsters, Sealab 2020, or a thousand other TV shows and movies. Now, in nostalgic reflection, I kinda dig her – maybe that change of heart came about when she played a whinny victim in the first Toolbox Murders.

Other notable actors on Space Academy are Brian Tochi, who played the Asin dude in Revenge of the Nerds and the Police Academy flicks. And, of course, there was Jonathan Harris, who is best remembered as Dr. Smith from Lost in Space. For fans of the flamboyant and dastardly Dr. Smith, Harris’ turn as the more sedate Commander Isaac Gampu must have surely been a disappointment, for this role as the Academy leader lacked the twitchy charm of dubious doctor.

This Saturday morning treat was sort of like Star Trek for the junior set. The racially mixed teenaged cadets of the academy were culled from the most brilliant and talented of the young Earthlings of the 33rd Century. Under the tutelage of Commander Gampu and his robot Peepo (voiced by Lou Scheimer’s daughter Erika), telekinetic siblings Laura (Ferdin) and Chris (Ric Carrott) join forces with, Tee Gar (Tochi), a martial arts expert, Paul (Ty Henderson) the doubting Thomas of the group, and Loki (Eric Greene) a playful alien orphan who can turn invisible, to explore the Universe. And just as Kirk and his crew did, the youngsters constantly happen upon a planet or space ship where the inhabitants force the cadets to mull over some very complicated ethical and moral conundrums.

And just as Jonathan Harris traversed many a planet where the vegetation was always sparse and usually shoulder height, so to the young cadets journeyed. For me, this is the beauty of shows like this – the simplicity. Even though the show was decked out by the same special effects team from Star Wars (which premiered the same year as SA debuted), it still maintained a low-budget, staged personality – which, for my moneys worth, is what makes these make believe shows seem oddly more believable.

BCI Eclipse, for the past couple of years, has been releasing the Filmation catalog for all of us hungry PopCereal eaters. Look for Space Academy at their website, or your local video mall.

And while you're at it, check out these handy sites for more on SA.

70s Live Action Kid Vid

Welcome to Space Academy

Pamelyn Ferdin's Official Website

SPACE ACADEMY:
THE COMPLETE SERIES
COLLECTOR'S DVD SET
Released by BCI Eclipse / Ink & Paint
In Stores January 16, 2007.

SPACE ACADEMY: The Complete Series includes special features produced by Andy Mangels:

• Four discs, all 15 episodes

Bonus material includes:

* 35 minute Documentary, "Back to School with Space Academy"
* Audio Commentary tracks for two episodes
("Phantom Planet, "Countdown")
with Lou Scheimer - Executive Producer,
stars Ric Carrot, Brian Tochi, and Eric Greene,
and Special Effects Supervisor Chuck Comisky,
hosted by Andy Mangels
* Behind-the Scenes photo gallery
* Cast Reunion photo gallery with interview clips
* Memorabilia photo gallery with interview clips
* Promotional photo gallery
* Booklet with Episode Guide and Trivia
* All 15 Scripts (DVD-ROM)
* Series Bible (DVD-ROM)
* Easter Eggs
* Trailers - Ink & Paint Previews

a special christmas treat!

2006-12-20T12:54:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas to all those of the Saturday Morning Generation (and everyone else, no doubt)!

Beep!
For our final installment of Christmas offerings, Mr. Miller has wrapped up a real neat treat for all you PopCereal kids to go silly over.

Beep!

If there is one thing that you ever needed to know, or cared to know, about Mr. Miller, it's that he absolutely loves Charles Dickens story "A Christmas Carol." Ever since he can remember, the 1951 Alastair Sim version of the story was a regular event at the Mr. Miller household. The local PBS station would run the holiday movie twice a year, with the first airing on Christmas Eve, and the second on Christmas day afternoon.

Beep!

Another little secret about Mr. Miller is that he's also fond of filmstrips.

Beep!

What we have here for your final PopCereal Christmas present is a recording of a filmstrip version of the great Dickens classic A Christmas Carol, produced by the Listening Library, Inc, out of Greenwich, Connecticut. They've been providing schools and other organizations with filmstrips, audio books and other audio-visual goodies for decades now, and it's always a happy day when we find one of their gems.

So, for your listening and viewing pleasure, PopCereal presents the filmstrip version of Dickens A Christmas Carol (catalog #SFX5), which includes a pdf file of the accompanying guide booklet.

So, go download it and enjoy your holidays!!

rapidshare this download

or download at mediafire

Oh... and please be patient with the download. After all it's a double length filmstrip with audio read along, running nearly 40 minutes, so it'll take several minutes of your time to obtain it. We promise you -- it's weel worth the wait.

Have a merry!!
Mr. Miller

what a couple dummies!

2006-12-15T12:25:00.000-05:00

For your Christmas cheer, Mr. Miller has found a fantastic little 45 record from a pair of knuckleheads called Kenny & Corky. We haven't been able to dig any background up on these guys, but we can vouch for they're hilariousness. Side one is the dummy duo singing that bad boy standard "Nutin' for Christmas." What's so fun about this rendition is that as the mischievous troublemakers recount their terrible antics, they do it with such glee, chuckling hysterically at their naughtiness.

On the flip side the pair of pals show their more tender side, singing that sweet little chestnut about "Suzy Snowflake."

Go download the record and sleeve covers and give 'em a listen:
Kenny & Corky 45 record download

capatain kangaroo vs. mitch miller!

2006-12-11T14:40:00.000-05:00

Here's a weird one, kids... Mr. Miller here had recently posted a download to a Mitch Miller & the Sandpipers 45 record featuring two nifty little holiday songs "A Merry, Merry, Merry Merry Christmas" and "A Happy Little New Year."

Gosh almighty, when Mr. Miller was given this record, he nearly flipped his can! Never had he heard these sweet little melodies before

Until...
Check out this great download over at Check The Cool Wax. It seems that Captain Kangaroo does the same songs on the Mitch Miller 45 record... the EXACT same songs!

Mr. Miller first discovered this when he got a mix CD from a friend (the very same Christmas that he got the Mitch Miller record and put it on his own mix CD) with Captain Kangaroo doing his version of "Merry Merry Christmas." He thought it was odd that the Captain's song virtually matched Mitch Miller's version -- only the Captain did a tiny intro on his record.

Then after we got a comment in the ol' mailbag pointing out the similarities, we thought we'd better do some look-seeing around the Internets. What we found was that The Sandpipers and the Captain and Mitch Miller were well linked up, as you can see on this record sleeve art we found on esnarf.

Here... have a closer look.

Oddly, there's no mention of Bob Keeshan on any of the Mitch Miller & The Sandpiper records. Hmmmm... makes you wonder. I think Lumpy Brannum was behind the whole thing...

If anyone know more about this coincidink, please feel free to contact PopCereal. Mr. Miller here is just dying to hear all about it.

merry, merry, merry, merry, happy

2006-12-07T19:23:00.000-05:00

Mr. Miller here may be a bit partial towards Mr. Mitch Miller, cuz, afterall, the man had a TV Special on the very night I was born!!

Download it here: http://www.mediafire.com/?0mqdo4544th

pulp santa

2006-12-01T19:43:00.000-05:00

Hey kids! Go on over to Senses Working Overtime for some great Christmas comics and game books.

weird harold told santa to "stuff my - blank -!"

2006-11-29T19:15:00.000-05:00

What PopCereal flake wouldn't want his stocking stuffed with this?

BCI is putting this out in time for Christmas.

hey hey paula!

2006-11-28T19:42:00.000-05:00

Here's another jolly Xmas find for you PopCereal nuts. Mr. Miller found this LP at a nifty little record shop in New England a couple years back.

This hip shaker comes from the dynamic duo known as Paul and Paul. Sure, they're a couple square pegs, but on this Christmas LP the kids show us all how to have a hootenanny good time!!

For your listening pleasure, Mr. Miller has slapped this disc on the ol' turntable and with the wonder of Digi-rama, he's made it available for download!

And here's a link to another download option:
rapidshare

them muppets sure know how to celebrate xmas

2006-11-27T14:25:00.000-05:00

One of Mr. Miller's favorite television Christmas specials (and subsequent holiday LP) was John Denver & The Muppets: A Christmas Together. We've found someone by the name of Lemurlady over at youtube.com who is posting segments of the program. Thanks Mrs. Lemurlady!!

have a merry youtube

2006-11-20T20:04:00.000-05:00

Yes, the Christmas season has hit youtube already. Here's a clip from what looks like a Kristy McNichol TV special, singing and dancing with Karen Carpenter.

And now a word from our sponsors...

tis the reason

2006-11-20T12:01:00.000-05:00

We've been very lax these past few months here at PopCereal, what with all the other duties of life mulling about (yep, that ol' excuse). I can only convey to you my sincerest of apologies and promise that we will try a lot harder to bring you more original content (along with stuff cribbed from other sites that we desperately feel you should go look at!).

To make up for lost time, we're going to dive headlong into the Season of Seasons! Yes, Christmas shouldn't start until after Thanksgiving, I know, but we just can't help ourselves. I fully understand that Turkey Day just doesn't get the respect it's due (for crimeny sakes it's pretty much the forgotten holiday, being wedged between Xmas and Halloween), and we plan to rectify that one day. For now, though, here's the first of some Yuletide recordings for you to feast upon.

This fantastic record was found by Mr. Miller in a Holiday bin at the world famous WFMU Record Show a few years back, and ever since then he's had it on the top of his "must hear every year" list. It's a well polished bubblegum ball of sugary pop Christmas songs, with that sound that could only have come from out of the 70s.

The Rhodes Kids had a small amount of fame back in their day, with a guest appearances on an episode of The Wonderful World of Disney and a TV variety special Welcome to Our World, but who the hell knows where all these teen popsters go to after their brief stint in Fameland.

We haven't been able to find out a whole lot about the traveling family band's whereabouts these days, but Mr. Miller was able to dig up an interview done by one of the eldest Rhodes kid, Ron, who has been keeping very busy with his own ministry and writing books. Check out the interview where Ron talks about the days of Tigerbeat and Mike Douglas.

And then go download their fantastic Christmas LP. Mr. Miller guarantees that you'll dig it!

download it here: Rock 'n Rhodes Christmas

A MY BAD ADD:
The rip you are about to download (and the cover scans) has come to you by the courtesy of none other than the King of Jingaling over at Falalalala. His rip is far better than the one from Mr. Miller's LP, so we're happy to share it -- thanks to the King. Please visit him, and visit him often.

a halloween filmstrip adventure

2006-10-30T14:54:00.000-05:00

For a Halloween treat I am reposting an old favorite of mine GEORGIE (he's the original friendly ghost).
As a 70s kid I couldn't get enough of books about ghosts, ghouls and goblins, from Spooky Tricks to How To Care For Your Monster, I was all about monster books. One of my favorite series featured a friendly little ghostie by the name of Georgie. Naturally, the Halloween adventures were my favorite, but the first of the series was spook-tacular! I found this filmstrip and cassette tape combo on eBay last year and flipped my can!! Take a listen to this encore posting and tell me you ain't happy.

download it here: http://rapidshare.com/files/1330664/Georgie_PopCereal.wmv.html

2006-10-26T19:25:00.000-04:00

The Cube (1969)

Jim Henson fans, go find this treasure!!

For old school television nuts (like me), Jim Henson’s The Cube has been something of a Holy Grail. Before the days of the Internet, a video freak would really have to hunt through every video store backroom VHS bootlegger to find themselves a copy (of a copy of a copy…) of this highly original TV production. Thankfully, with obscure video and DVD outlets all over the web, we video hounds can hang up the leashes and press the play button on the DVD remote.

The Cube was an hour long teleplay, created by Jim Henson, that aired only twice as part of the 60s weekly anthology series NBC Experiment in Television. It featured Richard Schaal (Chuckles the Clown from Mary Tyler Moore) as an unwitting every-man who finds himself trapped in a stark white, cube-shaped room. With no knowledge of how he got there or of how he can escape, the Man is visited by a parade of strangers who enter through hidden doors and hatches that are, he discovers, not accessible to him. Each visitor poses something of a conundrum for the Man, never being able to provide him with answers to where? what? or why? but instead piling on even more questions, mostly about philosophical uncertainties of identity, time, and about reality versus illusion.

Henson (creator of the Muppets) directed the trippy teleplay from a script co-written with longtime Muppet’s writing pal Jerry Juhl (Emmet Otter’s Jugband Christmas). In nostalgic retrospect, The Cube is an excellent example of the type of creative and thoughtful (as well as thought provoking) programming that used to be available to television audiences. It’s also a dismal reminder that the writing on today’s television is no longer in the hands of skilled scribes who have honed their craft through years of work and practice, but rather by sycophants who want to show off their hip pop culture references and (not really so) clever dialogue. If only TV Land (the cable channel, that is) would forget trying to latch onto the unreachable IPod audience and turn everyone else on to the long lost television shows like The Cube.

one good place to find this (in B/W and in Color) is at A Different City

a friday the 13th treat

2006-10-13T13:44:00.000-04:00

Happy Friday the 13th everyone! There's nothing like an extra day of doom and gloom in the month that harbors Halloween. To celebrate the excessive creepiness I wanted to steer you towards some great links.

Over at Tomb it May Concern David has a couple excellently warped and twisted -- not to mention bloody -- monster finds. Two full comic books based on the stories of Frankenstein and Dracula!

And as a bonus, here's a link to the fantastic site Bubblegum Fink, where the curator likes to make his own bubblegum cards out of the craziest movies. They've done them for Logans Run, A Clockwork Orange, and a bunch of other cool flicks.

Here's his latest, appropriatly designed from the slasher classic Friday the 13th!

Enjoy! And may all your good luck be bad on this most gruesome day.

groovie goolies get together on DVD

2006-10-10T12:33:00.000-04:00

PopCereal freaks surely have spent a Saturday morning or two enrapt by the monster mayhem of the Groovie Goolies. And now we men-children can further draw back into our childhood cocoon full of sugar cereal fantasies with the release of an all new DVD collection of the ghoulish Saturday Morning fav cartoon. Just in time for Halloween!

press release for The Groovie Goolies DVD release:

ONE OF THE GROOVIEST CARTOONS FROM THE ‘70S COMES TO DVD AS NAVARRE CORPORATION’S BCI INTRODUCES

“GROOVIE GOOLIES”
The Saturday “Mourning” Collection

Available October 24th For $29.98

Los Angeles, CA – They were the grooviest, most eclectic array of animated monsters ever to hit the small screen in the early ‘70s. Now, thanks to BCI, a wholly owned subsidiary of Navarre Corporation, the latest series from the Filmation catalog will be available on DVD with the release of “Groovie Goolies.” 16 digitally remastered episodes will be released on October 24th under BCI’s Ink & Paint brand, and from media company and underlying rights owner, Entertainment Rights Plc (“ER”), at a suggested retail price of $29.98.

“As evidenced by our previously announced lineup, Filmation released some of the most memorable animated series ever to hit television in the ‘70s and ‘80s,” said Jeff Hayne, Director of Acquisitions, BCI. “The Groovie Goolies were one of the most unique casts of characters on Saturday mornings, and we’re glad to offer this series not only to those of us that remember it on television, but to a whole new generation.”

“Groovie Goolies” features a cast of legendary monsters who get themselves in all sorts of wacky predicaments, as they joke, dance and sing their way through each episode. The hyper-colorful series stars the residents of Horrible Hall; Frankie, Wolfie, Drac, Mummy, Hagatha, Bella LaGhostley, Boneapart and a wealth of other animated tributes to classic monster movie icons. In each episode, the Goolies offer an abundance of goofy gags in “Weird Window Time,” a segment reminiscent of the classic “Laugh-In” series. Each episode ends with an original Groovie Goolies rock song presented in the form of a wildly animated music video. This show inspired many famous “Goolians” including Rob Zombie, Alice Cooper, and wealth of Hollywood’s top award winning costumers, writers and make-up artists.

Special features include:

“Goolians”—brand new, 45 minute “docu-comedy” created by producer and voice over artist Wally Wingert (Family Guy, Invader Zim) and Daniel Roebuck (Lost, The Fugitive), featuring interviews with Alice Cooper, Forrest J. Ackerman, Ron Chaney, Lous Scheimer, Oscar® winning make-up artist Bill Corso, “Goolie” head writer Jack Mendelsohn, and more. Includes new original rock song “True Blue Goolian,” and a music video with the Sacramento punk band “The Groovie Ghoulies.”

Audio commentary tracks for two episodes, featuring producer Lou Scheimer, “Goolie” head writer Jack Mendelsohn, Filmation historian Darrell McNeil, and Hollywood monster expert Bob Burns. Hosted by Wally Wingert

Image gallery featuring original model sheets, animation cels, storyboards, backgrounds and PSAs

“Goolie-Get-Together Sing-a-Long”

Candid story from producer Lou Scheimer about “The Creation of Filmation”

Trivia and episode guide

DVD-ROM extras, including scripts and the original Series Bible for “The Kookie Spookies”

don't get him started

2006-09-26T14:42:00.000-04:00

Don’t Get Me Started – A Conversation with a B-Movie Star
Bruce Campbell talks about why he’s happy not to be a part

of the plasticized world of Hollywood
By Barry Meyer

(from Penny Blood Magazine)

Ever since the Hollywoodland sign sprang up on the Los Angeles hillsides, millions of starry-eyed hopefuls have swarmed to the sunny coast for a self-entitled shot at fame and fortune. Young ingénues eagerly don their finest mid-drift baring blouses and hunky hopefuls strap on their most indulgent slacks, all in hopes that one day their images will be hung in lights and their faces will be lathered across the pages of the top running gossip rags (preferably the photos would be of them canoodling gap-mouthed and wild-eyed with Tom Cruise – that goes for both ingénue and lad).

And then there is that strange breed of actor who steps earnestly and coolly over the gold-plated sidewalk-stars and cemented handprints, searching the strip for some cheap cigar-chomping B-movie producer who appreciates the… uh… less refined aspects of contemporary moviedom.

Well, okay… there aren’t many of that breed in existence, because, let’s face it – who strives for the Bronze Medal? Who would endeavor to eek out a career filled with relative obscurity? Who would choose B-movie notoriety over a lifetime pass to every Paparazzi encrusted red carpet stretched out across the sunny 31st state (that’s California)? There aren’t many who would willingly schlep all the way to the land of glitz and glamour just to steer clear of the beautiful self-aggrandizing herd of Oscar-clingers playing box-office bingo. That is, unless your name is Bruce Campbell.

If you’re scratching your head and wondering “just who in the hell is this Bruce Campbell?” then I can only suggest that while you were clawing your way through the newsstand shelves for the latest on Britney & Kevin in Us Weekly or OK!, you may have unwittingly clutched onto this little mag instead (in that case, run to the nearest TV set and sanitize yourself with an episode of Access Hollywood). But for those of us, the luckily initiated, the mere mention of Mr. Campbell’s name could send us into foot-stomping squeals of delight as we rush down to the local 2nd run movie house, or set us off blissfully Goggling our laptops for “Ash” “chainsaws” and “Ellen.” For us fans of the oft-canceled television show and humble B-movie fare, Bruce Campbell is a living legend.

Like Vincent Price before him, Campbell embraces the unfettered freedoms of the small cinema. For Campbell, the small cinema is home; a place where studio heads, and other assorted stuffed-shirts, are less likely to intercede; a place where Bruce can do what Bruce wants to do; where he can be the big chin in the small pond. Sure, he enjoys the fresh faces on young directors and producers full of eager imagination. But mostly, the Indie world is one where Campbell knows he can be his most creative. And like B-movie legend Vincent Price, Campbell has become one of the most fascinating and recognizable faces on the Cult movie scene.

No doubt he has the chiseled-jaw looks and the smoothly-toned wit of a classic Hollywood star – which would indubitably qualify him for Harrison Ford-like stardom – but Campbell wants as little to do with big Hollywood as he can possibly get away with. He’s not one for the brand of snobbery that’s bought with a home in Beverly Hills, or the spurious Royalty that’s procured with frequent visits to the Oprah stage. Even though he collects a pretty paycheck from the Hollywood Bank of Suspended Disbelief, Campbell keeps a healthy contempt for Hollywood. And with a reproachful tongue planted firmly in cheek, he’s able to spit out the uproarious fictional autobiography Make Love the Bruce Campbell Way which details the challenges of being a cult artist in a plastic-coated world.

Penny Blood: You've become quite the hyphenate these days: actor-producer-director-writer-documentarian. I can go on.

Bruce Campbell: Well… you know… just trying to keep the wheel in the air. It's just sometimes opportunities come up. The longer I stick around in this business, the more I find that I can do some of that stuff myself – I don't need to have all these other people hanging about. You know, I've worked with plenty of hack directors, so why not be my own hack director? I've read lots of shitty dialogue, so why not write my own shitty dialogue? If I'm staying in that low-budget world, you usually don't have that many people with that much experience. So, I found that "Alright, step aside, I'll do it myself." (laughs)

PB: Might as well cut out the middle-man and take control yourself.

Bruce: Pretty much. The writing thing presented itself. I did the first book (If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a "B" Movie Actor) and that allowed me to do a second book. It's an opportunity that allows me to stay at my home in Oregon more often.

PB: That second book "How To Make Love The Bruce Campbell Way" is out as a book-on-tape (actually a book-on-CD).

Bruce: Yeah, that's a good one for those long commutes.

PB: Six CDs worth of drive time! Is the audio production ver batim from the book?

Bruce: It sure as heck is! That's the one thing we wanted to do is not to give the people some pared down, cheese ball version of the book. This is it! You could sit down and read along in the book - if you really wanted to.

PB: Besides being a straight read from the book, the audio production is done like a radio play, with sound effects and voice actors.

Bruce: Exactly! That's why the tagline of the CDs is "You've read the book. Now hear the movie."

PB: Very clever.

Bruce: Here's what I want to encourage people to do… you know, in this high tech society - where everyone has all this great gear now - sit down and crank it up! That's what I have to say. Like an old radio show, just sit down and get comfortable for a few hours a night… or however you wanna do it. You know, now people just download it. But however you do it; it's all good by me.

PB: Are you a fan of those old time radio programs?

Bruce: Yeah! Sam Raimi and I used to have a show on Friday mornings in high school. We would do recordings at his house, because his dad had a pretty cool cassette deck. Other friends would have little bits of equipment and tape we could use; and we'd buy patch cords and figure out pretty much how to do stuff. So, now these CDs are just a higher version of all that.

PB: You and your friends also did your fair share of Super 8 movie making, too.

BRUCE: Yeah! A bunch of Super 8 amateur movies. That's the stuff that really got us going. We'd just hit the end of high school and we said "Holy shit! We have to do something for a living!"

PB: And you chose film.

BRUCE: Yes. Crazy as it is.

PB: Were you a big movie geek when you were a kid?

BRUCE: I was a movie fan, but I'd have to say that I was more interested in doing it than watching it. I've got friends who are far more interested in watching it, and they're encyclopedic in their film knowledge. But, I couldn't tell you who won what Academy Award and in what year – I don't care about all that. You know, when I saw a movie for the first time, I said "I wanna be doing that - not watching it!" I wanted take a more proactive roll.

PB: In your movies and writing, though, you certainly demonstrate an admiration and an appreciation of those films you grew up watching. Stuff like the action and Sci Fi flicks from the 50s and 60s - your enjoyment of those comes out in The Man with the Screaming Brain (Campbell’s feature film directorial debut).

BRUCE: Yeah, I've been injected with the cheese ball miasma – what ever that means. It's just that I like stuff that's alternative. I don't wanna see anything that I can see on an airplane. [deadpan] But that's just personal taste.

PB: You weren't quit in the Star Wars generation, were you?

BRUCE: No, no. I was a little older. I'm more like mid-1960s kid. I was like ten years older than that generation. Some kids had that as their first "big movie" experience in '77 or when ever that was. My time was the mid-60s seeing the "big" movies in a small downtown Detroit theater.

PB: Star Wars was a very important movie to many, but to some, like myself, it ushered in a new wave of moviemaking that emphasized style over story. I suspect you may have felt the same way.

BRUCE: Yeah, that one did kinda change everything - didn't it? It got us into the blockbuster world. Between – what that and Jaws, you know.? But the great irony is, that all those rebel filmmakers—George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Coppola – all three of them single-handedly created the blockbuster. Between The Godfather, Jaws and Star Wars, they basically ruined the business for what they all originally set out to do. It's pretty hilarious how the big wheel of Karma turns. Now these guys couldn't even make an independent movie. Heck, they wouldn't even know one if it bit 'em in the ass! Can you believe that George Lucas - the guy who gave us Jar Jar Binks is the same guy who brought us American Graffiti? I can't believe it's the same guy who did both movies.

PB: That's quite a contrast.

BRUCE: Yeah. Some big changes going on in that life.

PB: Do you like indie movies better?

BRUCE: I like indie movies, but I like the indies with the small eye. I mean, everything these days is an "indie" movie. But, let me tell you this: you're not really an indie movie if you have a release date. If you're financed by a Fortune 500 company - bullshit! You're not an indie. If it's your dad's money, or your family's money, or a relative’s, or an LLC, or limited partnership - great! That's an indie. That means you're whippin' it out and puttin' it right on the line.

PB: How about the no-budget indie stuff that comes out straight-to-video?

BRUCE: [Sighs] My beef with that is that when you get into the low end of moviemaking, there's too much parody. You know, it's like “just show me what kind of movie YOU really wanna make. Don't just make fun of horror films. Don't just make fun of Sci Fi films…” I don't like movies where the filmmaker doesn't respect what they're doing so much that they'll say "Aw, we'll do the stupid stuff, the audience will love it."

PB: Like you said before, that there are people who like to watch movies, and those who want to make them. I find that so many of the no-budget stuff is made by those kinds of people who should -

BRUCE: - who should just be watching. Yeah.

PB: A lot of the stuff turns out to be rip-offs of Evil Dead. Badly lit, terribly mic'd, flustered rip-odes to Evil Dead, where a bunch of kids find and old book and open it, and everything goes bloody. Ever come across any of these?

BRUCE: [Knowing laugh] Horror goes in all directions. It's changed a lot, too. In the Evil Dead days, there were lots of chainsaws and monsters running around. Beheadings and stuff like that. Now we're doing this Japanese obtuse shit that's just… You know, a PG-13 horror film is NOT a horror film. You can actually only make a horror film, in my opinion, as an R-rated movie. That means, "Kids beware! This movie is so scary that you can't go see it." To me (an R-rating) just makes that movie ten times better, 'cause, "Hey! Guess what? We're not screwing around little kid! You can only come see this when you're ready!!" It just makes it better for the movie. You know, if you make a comedy, it should be funny. If you make a Sci Fi film, it should be, you know, Harlan Ellison. Just go for it! So, that's my beef with the low low budget stuff. With the big budget stuff - here's what kills me… I used to apologize for being in the B-Movies because they're low budget and people usually don't have that much experience, and usually they're not as good as the A-Movies; but now all the A-Movies are trying to be the B-Movies! If you're gonna dress up like a bat and fly around Gotham City - you're a B-Movie! Batman Begins? I mean, who are they kidding? Batman begins again and again… It's obtuse. You know, you have the Japanese style horror where you have a strange sequence, followed by a creepy shot, followed by a weird, you know…

PB: … a weird long black-haired, creepy little girl…

BRUCE: … and then the credit roll. And, you're like, "What?" There's no point in something like The Grudge where someone picks up a chainsaw and says "Let's Go!" They miss the entire point of it, that they never let the hero do shit. It's like, why am I following this mousy chick around for no reason? Give me something. Give me something! Unfortunately, that stuff is doing well now. But, that too shall pass. And it's because they can do that stuff PG-13. A producer explained it to me very succinctly. He said "If you can go PG-13 instead of R, then you've just made 10 to 20 million more at the box office." And I'm like "Okay. You're a pussy!" Whatever…

PB: Then they turn around and finance their next big PG-13 drag.

BRUCE: Yeah! They're already working on a sequel. You know, when movies become about the numbers, I lose all interest. The higher the budget, the less I'm interested. It's more formulaic, more marketed, more tied in. They won't put in certain material because it might offend people. Movies need to be outrageous.

PB: Like Bubba Ho Tep.

BRUCE: Now, to me, that's the kinda thing I'm drawn to.

PB: "Cause, first off, it's a story. Not only a good one, but a real bona fide story.

BRUCE: Movies like Bubba could also fail horribly if you don't get the tone right, as well. That could've been a winky winky Roger Corman thing, like, [Elvis voice] "C'mon baby! C'mon Mummy! Let's go." You know that kinda messing around the whole movie. It could've gone Troma, real easy.

PB: Yeah, but you had a great director.

BRUCE: Don (Coscarelli) is an interesting, meticulous kinda guy. He's great, because there are so few meticulous people in the low budget world. In the low budget world it's like "C'mon, c'mon, let's shoot it already!"

PB: And how many horror movies can give you a lump in the throat at the end?

BRUCE: Exactly. Well, it's not really a horror film. It's a story about two old guys – and oh! There's a Mummy.

PB: Another good director you've worked with is Lucky McKee in The Woods. What's going on with that film?

BRUCE: That film is done. It's way done. In fact it's too done. It's so done it's just been sitting on the shelf - I don't even know when it's coming out. I think they've done all they can with it.

PB: Is it gonna be a good one?

BRUCE: I haven't seen the final version. I've seen a version, but not the final. It's really adult, very creepy. I can't say that a monster goes running around for the whole last act, but with Lucky - he's a very bizarre director. So, the movie is gonna turn out to be very disturbing. And it's in that classic 60s style. It even takes place in the 60s. I love that! You get the Cary Grant haircuts and the horn-rimmed glasses and the big cars. It's great. It reminded me of when I was a kid. I was sitting there ready to shoot a scene, and all the controls in the vehicle looked familiar to me, from when I used to ride in those things as a kid. The shapes of the buttons and - man, if you hit your head on that dashboard, you'd be dead!

PB: Is there still talk of an Evil Dead sequel, or remake, or whatever it is?

BRUCE: We don't really talk about the sequel too much, 'cause Sam (Raimi) is too busy right now. It would all be kinda moot. But I think we're gonna do a remake. It'll be a whole new story, though. It won't be with Ash (Campbell’s character), though. It'll be the evil book, and it'll affect a whole new group of people in a different situation. More like a reinvention. A lot of people, they got really crabby on the Internet when they first heard that type of stuff. But, we would never do anything to insult them. The trick is to take that premise - and we think it's a scary premise - and use some cool modern day FX… so we won't have green garden hoses in the shots. We wanna make a flat out, scary-ass, un-rated horror film.

PB: So, you're not doing the Lucas thing and just adding upgraded CG FX to the original film?

BRUCE: If we went back to Evil Dead and got rid of all the wires and the pipes and the tubes - what fun would that be?

PB: Right. It would just destroy the magic of it all.

BRUCE: I agree.

PB: It seems to me that the more CG FX there are, the less magic there is in the movies?

BRUCE: Right. You know, my feeling on that is that we're just in a masturbatory stage. And because we can do it, we do it. I think that will eventually settle down and we'll figure out what we can really use this stuff for. I mean, Forrest Gump was, I think, some of the best use of special FX.

PB: Right, 'Cause the stuff was used in support of the story.

BRUCE: There are some people in America today who still believe that Gary Sinise has no legs! To me, that's using FX to help tell a story. You get this cool effect where you can follow this feather as it floats from the sky all the way down to this guy’s feet. You, know, I love that!! It works because it makes things seamless. It's not just there because it can be.

PB: Some movies seem to have the FX as their central premise. As if to say, "Forget story or characters. Take a look at this!"

BRUCE: Which is why I think that things like that Polar Express movie didn't do too well. The characters in that just looked too creepy.

PB: They looked downright disturbing.

BRUCE: The children looked like they had those dead shark eyes. Like "Yiieeeee."

PB: That movie reminded me of those Coke commercials from a few years ago, with the creepy looking polar bears. The ads were supposed to be for Christmas, but jeesh! It looked like Halloween.

BRUCE: That's funny.

PB: Speaking of creepy... Sam Raimi was a silent producer on The Dead Next Door [which is purported to be the most expensive super 8 flick ever made]. Where you involved in that movie at all?

BRUCE: Oh yeah! I did all the sound for it. Yeah, I think I owed Sam some money, so he said "You have to go finish the sound for this movie."

PB: Now, that flick is a good example of a no-budget movie that works.

BRUCE: When that movie was done... that movie was shot in super 8, and that is what fascinated Sam, I think. He wanted to see if you could really make a feature in super 8. I mean, 'cause we never made one to sell one. We always did super 8 to just make a movie. We knew that we'd always have to go to 16mm, or 35mm to make a real movie. But, in this case, I think he saw that "Hey, this kid [director/writer/star JR Bookwalter] really wants to do this. He's got a high-budget idea, and he's got all these people ready in Akron, Ohio." So (Sam) really thought they could do it. It turned out to be his Heaven's Gate though. It was the most expensive super 8 ever made.

PB: It sorta went out of control after a while, you mean?

BRUCE: Yeah. When they shot it, it turned out that their sound was so shitty, that they could not use a single bit of original production sound. That entire movie had to have every voice looped; every footstep redone... everything. It's like, when Sam gave it to me, he gave me a silent movie. Really, we had such low budget editing facilities that we couldn't even edit dialogue. So, when you looped it, you had to get it just right. It was a very strange, strange scenario.

PB: So, you had all the actors in to redo it?

BRUCE: I knew a bunch of actors, and we just all got together and we redid it. It was actually a really fun experiment, 'cause it wasn't my movie, and I couldn't give a shit one way or the other. But it was like: how can we pull this off when we have no money, and we have no sound whatsoever? Normally with a movie you get decent production sound, and you're just enhancing it; adding cars and crickets and stuff, and the dialogue is in pretty good shape. This production had zero. Yeah, I re-voiced that whole movie with the main character.

PB: That sounds like a lot of work.

BRUCE: It was horrible! Especially when it's not in your cadence. I can voice myself, because I know how I talk, but someone else...

PB: Bookwalter has recently re-mastered that movie for release from Anchor Bay -- did you know that?

BRUCE: Really! For Anchor Bay? Jeezus.

PB: As a big change of pace, you did a role on Homicide, which was a straight up piece of acting. Any chance you'd want to tackle more dramatic roles like that? That was some piece of work, that role.

BRUCE: That was just an oddity, only because I had a deal with NBC, and they had to kinda use me...

PB: Yeah, and they really used you in a good way.

BRUCE: They did. You know, I got this call... It was one of those classic cases where the producer calls and – you know, as an actor you're sorta told what is gonna happen – so this producer calls up and says "Hey, what story do you want to do?" "Whattaya mean, what story do you wanna do?" He goes, "You ever thought of something you might want to play?" or that type a deal. I went "Cripes! I never thought of it. Let me call you back." So, I called him back in a week and I pitched this sorta Simpson-esque scenario where this guy got away with -- I mean, you know this guy's fuckin' guilty of murder, and he gets off. And then this cop takes it into his own hands and whacks the guy – and he gets caught. (The producer) was like "Great! We'll do it." I was like, "What!" Next thing I know, there was a full script for a two-parter. It was great. That's not the way it's supposed to happen, you know? That's how you'd imagine it to work out for you in the film world, that you'd have this great report with producers and directors, where it's all free flowing. But, usually it's so regimented.

PB: Well, that sorta brings us right back to you "How to Make Love the Bruce Campbell Way,” doesn’t it?

BRUCE: Oh, that thing! Yeah.

PB: It's obvious in there that you like to skewer Hollywood.

BRUCE: I do. It needs it. Needs it desperately.

PB: Yeah. But you do it in such a clever way. You're not outright sadistic, and you don’t do it in an angsty, call-you-nasty-names type of way. It doesn't seem as though you don't like Hollywood, but rather you have this friendly disposition towards it.

BRUCE: Yeah... I liken it to an uneasy association. Because I still have to venture out there, every so often, to get money. But then I can go away again. I don't know... there's a lot about it that if average people knew more about it, they just wouldn't be all that impressed. It's a group of people, where in it you have a lot of hard working, capable people, and then you have this fringe element of like twenty-five percent of them who are just wannabes. It's just an industry that attracts wannabes; gold diggers. Like "I'm gonna go be rich!" With Hollywood, you can be rich and famous – you get both, so it draws this certain percentage of the population that are really just morons. Because there is money to be made, you have this group of people who are the money-managers of Hollywood – which represents the studio folks, agents, people who really control where the money comes and goes, the distributors, getting into the business side of it. So, it's a really freaky clash of talented people, hard-working people, and... morons. And there’s a bigger clash between art versus commerce, because all filmmakers are trying to make a cool movie, and the producers are trying to make something that makes them money. It's just that they sometimes have different agendas. And you have to reconcile that. That makes Hollywood a horrible, almost irreconcilable situation. Whenever a good movie makes it out, I'm like "Wow! That one actually got through." And if it makes money -!

PB: That would be a double-whammy. Was there any point where you just got fed up with it?

BRUCE: I only got real fed up with it when I was on the verge of my first divorce. I was thinking about how do I keep the marriage together? Let me do something else if this is part of the problem, because, I was traveling a lot –you know, a lot of the usual clichés. Other than that, I've just felt that now it's changing so quickly that people in the film business, they kinda got to stay loose these days. Remember how feature film actors used to laugh at television? Now look at who's the star of every show.

PB: And it's not just TV. Look at Broadway.

BRUCE: (laughing) Yeah! Broadway's hysterical, because, by god, you’re gonna have either a film or TV star in everything now.

PB: It used to be that the actors would clamor to get off the stage and onto the screen. Now it's the other way around. Now movie stars can get a nice long cushy gig, and get pampered and score a stay in a posh New York City hotel suite.

BRUCE: They know they'll get taken care of for two months. It's an easy eight week gig, and they know things can only get so bad. It's just typical! When things get more expensive, (the producers) need more of a guarantee. They're gonna do the big shows with the well-known actors – granted. The best Petri dishes are always the Off-Broadway, the funky theaters, the weirdo movies that play in Art Houses. To me, if you're really gonna look for originality, those are the places to go. If you look towards the mainstream entertainment, it's not gonna be all that original. It's gonna be derivative. They're looking to do something that's similar to something that already worked. They're just gonna keep doing Damn Yankees with a different guy. It'll never leave Broadway.

PB: Or you can do what Mel Brooks did. Make a movie and then turn it into a major Broadway production, and then turn around and make a movie of the play.

BRUCE: He's the most brilliant of all! He's got everybody fooled. But, I actually think it'll work, in some weird way, because not enough people have seen the original movie. Even though I think (the original) is kind of a brilliant movie, and it's one movie I wouldn't mess with, it's just gonna be so different. Look at the casting. You've got [in a flamboyant manner] Nathan Lane, of all the big Hollywood goofballs. Oh! But Uma Thurman has to be in the movie, though. Was she ever on Broadway, before?

PB: Don't think so.

BRUCE: Yeah, funny how that works, huh? "Yeah, that Broadway chick was funny. But we need someone bigger."

PB: I guess that sorta sums up the career of a B-Movie star.

BRUCE: That’s right.

PB: Thanks for talking with us, and good luck with the book-on-CD.

BRUCE: Right. In parting I guess I'd tell everyone to "Listen up!"

Bruce Campbell’s audio production of his second book How to Make Love the Bruce Campbell Way is available in bookstores and on the Internet now.

halloween is just super duper hehehehe!!

2006-09-24T12:07:00.000-04:00

If there is one thing that the newer generations have sorely missed out on (besides Disco) is the television variety show phenomenon. Yeah sure, Jessica and Nick tried to revive the form with their insincere cut-n-paste Christmas show, but they couldn't even come close to the cheeseball shenanigans of those iconic 70s programs.

The holiday seasons were an especially great time for the variety show lover. Year after year we were treated to Perry Como and his Christmas presence. Donny and Marie, Andy Williams, Mac Davis, Carol Burnett, Sonny and Cher, and a host of others sang and jested their way through the 4th of July, Easter, Halloween and Thanksgiving, as well. But, the best holiday programming came from the offbeat sources...

Like Paul Lynde and his zany Halloween TV Special

To see more Paul Lynde holiday (and non-holiday) clips, head on over to this fantastic Paul Lynde Fansite.

superman is a superdick!

2006-09-21T11:51:00.000-04:00

Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive... bitchier than a diva supermodel with an aerodynamic cell phone.
Geesh! Whoda thunk that the superstar superhero had such a mean streak!

Check out Superdickery to see their gallery of Superman comic covers that show Superman in a less than heroic light. There's the one where the superhero threatens to leave Lois Lane floating in outerspace unless she marrys him. Then the one where he lets a boy dangle precariously from atop a building as he counts out his stolen cash. Then there's the one where Batman lays dying in a hospital, and Superman has his respirator pulled, muttering "What's one Batman, more or less?" And there's a crudload of covers where Superman is a superdick to his little buddy Jimmy Olsen -- threatening to toss him in jail, busting up yet another adoption attempt.

This is one side of Superman you don't get to see in his movies.

Also, check out the other weirdo comic cover gallery that are just too bizzaro for words.

end of summer means new cartoons!

2006-09-10T19:12:00.000-04:00

Summer's over, kids. "Oh crap," you say? "The fun's over," you cry?

Yes, the summer sun may be setting a lot sooner these days, and the girls are wearing a lot more, as well. And, yes, school is beginning... But! Let's not forget that it's time for the new Fall Saturday Morning line-up!!

Forget Shazam and the traveling Winebago, I only endured that half cartoon half live action bit to get to the Isis segment of the show. Man, what a doll!

And of course there was Kukla, Fran and Ollie. That was my guilty pleasure through the 70s. Even when I was too old for puppet shows, I still tuned in to KF&O for the off chance to see "Skinny and Fatty" one more time.

Don't ask me why, but I was a big Hudson Brothers fan. Actually, I probably got to enjoy the Bros. from all of their variety show exposure, so when the Razzle Dazzle Hour came to Saturday morning TV, I was well initiated. But what really hooked me was Rod Hull and his sadistically aggressive Emu puppet.

Check out these other sites for some more great Fall Saturday Morning line up ads:

http://www.tomheroes.com/Comic%20Ads/comicads.htm

http://www.juggalos.net/80sComicBookAds/partone/index.html

oh no! there goes tokoyo!!

2006-08-23T19:42:00.000-04:00

Oh, how Mr. Miller loves to find comics to read online!

Here's a site (that was pointed out by the Bubblegum Fink) that has a whole run of the Marvel series of Godzilla comic books. Check 'em out at: XYZ Cosmonaut

quazy for quisp!

2006-08-05T11:20:00.000-04:00

Summer time and the munching is easy.

I haven't been very active with this site as of late, due to the fun of summer. But I did want to show up once in a while to point out some sites I've seen. (Stay tuned for some great LP sharities in the future, along with some comic books)

A favorite of the Saturday morning generation was easily Quisp cereal. Sure, you've got yer Cap'n Crunches of the cereal world, but nothing beat that quazy qookie Quisp martian. And as it so happens, the Quisp advertisement campaign was designed by the same people who came up with the Cap'n Crunch ads -- Jay Warden of Bullwinkle fame.

"Vitamin powered sugary cereal Quisp for Quazy energy." That was the motto behind Quisp cereal, whose mascot was voiced by Daws Butler (the voice of Yogi Bear). The cereal had a fairly short shelf life (even shorter was the companion cereal treat Quakes) first landing in local grocery stores in the mid-1960s, only to be zapped out of wide distribution by the 1980s. Don't fret o downhearted Earthniks! You can still buy boxes from the Qusip website, or at a handful of local grocers -- listed on the site as well.
A complete Quisp profile can be found at the Quisp Cereal site

silly just got sillier

2006-07-22T19:23:00.000-04:00

The Silly Record is back (again)... not that it ever left our minds. A very silly soul named Kerry has kindly shared her own recording of the LP we love to giggle with.

Kerry's dub is a bit more clean sounding then the one I offered earlier (and is still available here: PopCereal: i am silly), but Kerry warns that there may be a couple Moonie Goonie skips. Hey, it's worth a listen, though -- right? You can never get enough of the Boodlehiemer, I say.

Go fetch it here: http://rapidshare.de/files/26676893/SillyRecord.mp3.html

name that movie!

2006-07-03T11:44:00.000-04:00

Do you think you know what movie this still frame is from? Huh! Wassat!! The character has been rendered invisible!! Oh No!
The clever "Boyz" over at FilmWise have devised a devious little game they call Invisibles. What they do is use modern technology from their labs on Mars (Mr. Miller is only guessing on that) to erase the physical bodies from the movie still -- as you can see above -- and then asks you to wrack yer brains to figure out what movie the dang thing is from. Clever indeed!

another great gold key comic book!

2006-06-30T11:24:00.000-04:00

Mr. Miller knows you PopCereal flakes love your comic books, so he keeps a hard lookout for any copies online.
I ran into this little nugget today -- a downloadable copy of a hard-to-find Gold Key edition of the Twilight Zone from February 1963. Go have a look!!

Lazar's Corner of Lounge Music: The Twilight Zone Comic - Gold Key

it couldn't have been tori?

2006-06-24T11:30:00.000-04:00

Well, if that don't beat all!! Not a good year for keeping my entertainment idols around. Don Knotts, Darren McGavin, Buck Owens -- Dan Curtis!! And now Aaron Spelling. Can the weekend for a kid from the Saturday Morning generation get any more lousy?

I don't know if you've seen any of the other posts here at PopCereal, but yours truly Mr. Miller, here, is a big fan of 70s TV. Especially the Made For TV Movie. Like many other kids of my day, I was great friends with the family TV set. Good pals we were. Still are. Oh, we had some good times, we did. Loads of laughs, plenty of thrills, and yes -- some tears, as well.

One of the shows that my ol' pal introduced me to, back in 1968, was The Mod Squad.

Spelling's name in the producer slot didn't mean much to me then, but this show was just the beginning for me. The Made for TV Movie soon came into my life -- movies like Crowhaven Farm, The House That Would Not Die, A Taste of Evil. It was love at first fright. Funny thing was, the more of these movies I watched, the more I started noticing this weird name.

Aaron Spelling.

Of course, as a teenage boy springing through puberty in the mid-70s, Mr. Spelling fast became a real true hero. Whenever in need of some shapely bodies to drool over, or an extraordinary face to fall in love with, my man Aaron came through, time and time again.

Shows like Charlie's Angels, Love Boat and Fantasy Island had enough T&A imagery to fill my hormone cluttered mind for years. I had not a clue to who this Spelling guy was -- TV producers didn't have much celeb cred as they do these days -- but, I was indebted to him.

So, thank you Mr. Spelling for filling my life with gluttonous amounts of trivial fun, T&A, and pop culture trinkets -- for all this we forgive you for introducing the boob tube world to your daughter (pun intended).

Good-bye Mr. Spelling.

Mr. Miller

more gold key comics online!

2006-06-13T19:31:00.000-04:00

It looks like we have some other Gold Key comic book fans out there!

Check out Senses Working Overtime for two great titles. They have 2 PDFs up for downloads

"hey good lookin'..."

2006-05-26T19:26:00.000-04:00

A PopCereal pop quiz for you. Off the top of your noggin, rattle me off a line of dialogue from any TV commercial from 30 years ago. No fair chanting "Where's the beef?" or "I can't believe I ate the whole thing" 'cause, well, by design those taglines and slogans were made to stay locked within your brain matter for a half life of a million years.

There's one line that I know of that's been stained on my brain since my youth:

"Hey good lookin'! I'll be back to pick you up later."

No doubt that if you're a Saturday Morning kid like I was, then you'll remember that familiar and hammy refrain, along with the images of the black dude jive-turkeyin' his way down the street and the "professional entertainer" precticing her guitar while singing into their Mr. Microphones.

Mister Microphone has got to be the cheesiest commercial I've ever seen. And that's a good thing! How else would Mr. Miller have remembered Mr. Microphone unless it had a cheez factor of 108? Leave it to Ron Popeil to hotwire our memory, once again, with one of his pop culture inventions. I don't know that I knew one person who actually owned a Mr. Microphone, but damned if it wasn't on many a top 10 list come Christmastime. Right along with the Pocket Fisherman!

shalalalalalala! let's dance!!

2006-05-19T15:10:00.000-04:00

Fans of the incredibly poppy bubblegum songs sung by their favorite Saturday morning cartoon characters are gonna flip their cans when they see this site. Mondo Daddykin has only been up and at 'em for a few days shy of a month, but man do they have a cereal box load of goodies already!

The mysterious Daddykin has amassed a trunkload of mp3 files of everything from the all-too-common Archie songs to the jeez-I-forgot-about-those-guys collections of songs from The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan, The Incredibles and The Groovie Goolies (just to name a thimbleful). He's also given us a little insight into the background of some of the artists who created the bubblegum juice.

Sadly, for PopCerealites across the continent, there has been no official collection of the terrific pop songs we all heard on those Saturday mornings programs of yore. But Mondo Daddykins has done us all a huge amazing service by copying the songs off of his old VHS tapes (old school) and transferring them to the digital universe (new school) for all of us to once again dance to (school's out for summer). I had been wanting to do just what Daddykins has been doing, but now I don't gotta. Thanks to our new PopCereal hero -- Mr. Mondo Daddykins!

Now, go enjoy yerselves!
~Mr. Miller

mark evanier and the chan clan

2006-05-02T10:30:00.000-04:00

Wow! I feel like I've found the niftiest prize ever at the bottom of a box of Quaker Quisps! I checked out the comments section and found a link to my Charlie Chan comic book article: Goodbye, Charlie! It's at a blog/website of Mark Evanier.

Now, maybe yer wondering, just who is Mark Evanier? It's an understandable question, unless you're an avid comic book nut. And I don't claim to be one of those, myself. I'm just a reader. Anyway... the name Mark Evanier is very importante to me because he is the very guy who wrote the Charlie Chan and the Chan Clan comic book that I featured here! Very cool.
Gold Key comics didn't really take to crediting their writers and artists much, so I was fortunate that Mr. Evanier came across my article and was able to give us all a heads up. Here is some of the Mr. Evanier's background and a bunch of insight into his work on the Chan comic (as well as a little flogging for the cumbersome download)-- all straight form his blog:

"A website called PopCereal likes to scan old Gold Key comics and offer them for your downloading pleasure. They're currently featuring The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan #1 from 1972 and I'm going to suggest two reasons why you should not download it. One is that the way they have it set up, it'll take you an awfully long time. Secondly, it's not a very good comic...and I oughta know. I wrote it.

It was, in fact, the first comic book script of mine to see print in this country. Previously, I'd written lots of comics published overseas and about a dozen scripts for Gold Key. As you may know, comics are not always published in the order they're written and if you're working on a book that's in no danger of cancellation, it's not uncommon to try and get way ahead. The first things I did for Gold Key were Disney comics that didn't come out until more than a year after I wrote them.

The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan was a TV show that Hanna-Barbera produced for the CBS Saturday morning season that commenced in September of '72. As I later learned when I worked for H-B, there was always at least one "trouble" show that Joe Barbera would sell to one of the networks and then no one, including Joe, could figure out what to do with. Some years, they had way more than one...

So the show was in trouble before it even debuted. Gold Key was then doing the comics based on H-B properties and had first refusal on the new ones. When they were offered The Chan Clan, they refused. The editor there, Chase Craig, was in close touch with writers and artists who worked at H-B and he'd heard about the problems the show was having and how those working on it didn't have much hope for its success. But the studio put some kind of pressure on Gold Key and one day, Chase was ordered to hurriedly get a first issue written and drawn. I got the assignment because I was, he felt, his fastest writer...and I also happened to walk into the office that day.

The show was still a few months from debuting on TV. Chase handed me a pile of storyboards and told me to read them all to get a feel for the property but to write an adaptation of one in particular. I don't think this was an episode by Jamie Farr [yes, the MASH guy. ed.] and his then-partner, Eddie Carroll. My recollection, which may be faulty, is that Norman Maurer wrote it. Anyway, I was assigned to adapt it and later on if the comic continued, there would be original stories conceived fresh for the comics. As Chase explained to me, he preferred to launch a new H-B book in this manner. The studio had approval rights and the people there could get pointlessly picky about the material...but they rarely bothered looking at any issue after the first few. Therefore, it simplified the procedure to do the first issue as an adaptation and maybe the second. They couldn't very well complain that a plot taken from the show was inappropriate.
I wrote the script in one day, as I recall. It was drawn by a wonderful artist named Warren Tufts who is probably best known for his long-ago newspaper strip, Casey Ruggles. Tufts was much admired as an adventure artist but he was a slow, meticulous worker who never felt that the financial rewards matched the hours he put into his art.... Tufts accepted the assignment without seeing the property because he figured it would go fast. When you drew a Hanna-Barbera comic book, you got a packet of model sheets with key poses of the characters and you could usually trace a lot of drawings right off the model sheets. Wherever possible in Chan Clan, Warren did that. I picked a panel at random to post above next to the cover image, then realized they both have the same pose of the honorable Mr. Chan, certainly copied right off the models. But the comic had so many characters in it and they had to be in so many poses that weren't in the model packet that Warren hated the job...though he did stick with it for all four issues of the comic book. I was luckier: I only did the first issue before Chase decided my services were needed more on Bugs Bunny.

Like I said, don't bother downloading the comic. It'll take you forever and you won't see either Tufts or me at our best. But having it online got me to thinking about what went into it. And I also recall the day when I was up in the office and someone handed me a printed copy -- the first comic book script of mine to make it to print in English. You never forget your first time...even if it's The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan."

I want to thank Mr. Evanier for giving us this insight to his wonderful work (even if he doesn't think it's so great himself).

Please check out his site: News From ME to read the complete thoughts of Mr. Evanier.

the amazing chan and the chan clan

2006-04-20T15:48:00.000-04:00

Here's another Gold Key comic book for you PopCereal kiddies.

The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan was a Saturday Morning favorite of Mr. Miller's. The show premiered in 1973, featuring not only the popular literary detective Charlie Chan, but his entire Chan brood. It was the first time that Chan was animated, but more importantly, it was the first time that Chan -- who is Chinese -- was was ever portrayed by an Asian actor. The previous film versions featured white actors with make-up. Keye Luke, who you may recognize as Master Po from the King Fu series, played the voice of Chan. And joining him was another popular 70s name, Jodie Foster as Anne Chan the baseball cap wearing tomboy.

In 1973 Gold Key started printing the exploits of the junior sleuth. Here you have your own pdf version of the #1 issue of The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan

robert culp the super dad

2006-04-20T15:13:00.000-04:00

Mr. Miller just loves him some old 70s TV Movies of the Week. If you were a kid in the 70s, no doubt you'll remember this kinda stuff:

The ABC Movie of the Week trailer (linked from TV Party)

One of Mr. Miller's favorite childhood pasttimes was watching every TVMOW (TV movie of the week) that he could fix his eyes to. For years and years Mr. Miller had a burning memory of one particular TV flick with some angry dad trying to defend his wife and kids from a gang of muscle car riding punks who had invaded their neighborhood and nearly ran over the family pooch. And with the help of the trusty Wayback Machine (otherwise known as the book Movies Made for Television: The Telepicture and the Mini-Series 1964-1979 by Alvin H. Marill) PopCereal was able to figure out just what that movie was.

It was titled Outrage, and it featured the smotth and volatile Robert Culp as a regular old Joe just trying to bring up a family in a nice quiet suburban 'hood. The movie originally aired on Wednesday night, Novcember 28, 1973. The story was written for TV (based on real life events) by William Wood, and was directed by Richard Heffron. Other notable cast members, besides Culp, were Marlyn Mason playing Culp's wife, Nicholas Hammond as one of the punks, and the familiar droopy-faced character actor Ivor Francis as Judge Cox.

By the time 70s television had gotten a hold of the “scare film” they’d brought it full circle from propagandized civic “lessons” to exploitative social studies. What was once a tool used to scare the crap outta the masses and keep them in step with the idealized suburban image (especially during War time and throughout the burgeoning era of the middle class) the scare film had now evolved into something more of an over exaggerated social lesson rather than a social rule.

In Outrage, chisel-chested Robert Culp plays an upper middle class family man who is just trying to give his family a safe and easy lifestyle in the hills of California. When a gang of local punks start wrecking havoc with the neighborhood, Culp tries to take the civil high road and implores the parents of the kids to keep them in line. Naturally the mothers only see their children as angels, and the fathers chalk it all up to boys being boys. When the authorities are called in to help, Culp finds that their hands are tied by the usual bureaucratic red tape. But when the punk’s shenanigans turn violent, and the lives of his family are threatened, Culp has to take action himself, turning into a one-man vigilante.

Culp just can’t go wrong doing his usual charming-guy macho act as he takes on TVs original Spider Man, Nicholas Hammond as the head rich-boy punk. There’s a lot of generational gap “those kids these days” attitude in 70s television, as well. But these made-for-TV lessons became a lot less conservative than their “duck and cover” predecessors. In the hands of the more liberal-minded Hollywood producers, subjects like the teenage delinquent became more humanized. They weren’t just troublemakers who needed to be whipped into submissiveness by their dutiful parents. No, in the made-for-TV land of movies, the kids were merely the end result of a community that had failed them. Maybe the kid’s parents didn’t love them enough, or maybe their teacher didn’t listen to them, or maybe it was peer pressure and all that brain-rotting rock music… or maybe they just needed a good old fashioned ass kicking from the likes of Robert Culp.
Check out adifferentsity.com to find more of these fantastically kitchy 70s TV movies.
Check out A Different City to find more of these fantastically kitchy 70s TV movies.

keep the Gold Key thing going

2006-04-14T20:16:00.000-04:00

Nice!

Mr. Miller wants to keep the Gold Key thing going, so he wanted to drop a link to a fan-franken-tastic website called Hunter's Planet of the Ape Archive. Mr. Miller nearly spit his King Vitamin's all over the computer screen when he ran into this site. It's unbelievable!! This guy has got more POTA crud than anyone I've seen -- and it's all there for us fans to download.

One of the many kazillion treats that Mr. Miller found on Hunter's site (including scripts, a Power Record gallery, magazines... it just goes on!!) was a .pdf version of the Gold Key comic: Beneath the Planet of the Apes. Mr. Miller thought you popcereal kiddies would love to get a look, so he's giving you this link-a-doo to check out the fabulous ish.

So, git-along over to Hunter's Planet of the Ape Archive an enjoy yerselves.

gold key was like saturday morning comic books

2006-04-13T13:14:00.000-04:00

Any good PopCereal kid worth his Sugar Smacks will surely recognize that familiar Gold Key comic book logo. For Mr. Miller here, those Gold Key treasures were like Saturday morning comic books, with all the bubblicious goodness of your favorite retro-cartoons. To sweeten the cereal bowl, many of the titles put out under Gold Key in the 70s were from the Saturday morning stable of cartoons, such as The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan, Wacky Races, and of course Scooby Doo.

the gold key story

The Western Printing and Lithographing Co. -- headed up by Disney marketing genius Herman "Kay" Kamen -- built a solid reputation putting out comic book versions of familiar newspaper comic strips. Using his pull at his former employee Walt Disney Studios, Kamen acquired the rights to characters from Disney cartoons in 1939. Soon he snatched up the rights to characters from Warner Bros., Hanna-Barbera and Walter Lantz, as well, and, along with adaptations of popular movies and TV shows, released them all in comic book form through Dell. These comic books experienced tremendous sales, but when the contract with Dell expired in 1962, the WPLC launched their own imprint -- Gold Key.
Throughout the 60s and early 70s, Dell grew in popularity, and with sales in the millions they created their own original charactersand titles, such as Turok, Son of Stone; Wacky Witch; and Space Family Robinson (which was to be the pre-cursor and inspiration to Lost in Space). But by the 80s the comic book biz, in general, was in a slump, and Gold Key couldn't keep sales up. They made a last ditch attempt to increase the visibility of their titles by marketing themselves in non-traditional outlets, like toy stores. But by 1981, Gold Key was done. What titles were left over from Gold Key were put out under the Whitman imprint (mostly known for coloring books), and Gold Key became a thing of PopCereal past. Ironically, with a licensing genius like Kay Kamen as the company's creator, Gold Key failed to license their own original characters. So with the eventual demise of Whitman comics in 1984, kooky characters like Baby Snoots and The Little Monsters were gone forever.

the little monsters

With the 60s monster craze in full force, Mr. Miller took to everything creature related like Dracula to a blood bank. And to add more voltage to his neck bolts came the Gold Key comic book The Little Monsters, a gruesome clan of monster misfits who lived in a creepy castle and who slept on beds of nails. Following on the rotted heels of cartoons like Milton the Monster and Melvin Monster, but knocking on the crypt door before such TV notables as The Addams Family and The Munsters, The Little Monsters were unleashed upon the public within an issue of The Three Stooges (#17 to be exact). From then on Mr. Miller here was hooked on the misadventures of the monster kiddies 'Orrible Orvie and Awful Annie Monster, and their monstrous parents Mildew and Demonica.

Issue #12 (1970) finds our frightening fiends in all sorts of monster sitcom-like trouble. The generation gap hits the Monster household when Scarella, the cute "scream-aged" ghost next door starts dating, then a robotic witch comes to life to stir up trouble, and finally little 'Orrible Orvie comes up with a perfectly demented solution to help his Dad, Mildew, build a moat around the castle. Also, there's the dimwitted tale of a criminal Bat, named Batty, as well as some jokes, riddles and scary tales... Oh, and some really cool 70s style comic book ads.

Download and read issue #12

thank you mr. curtis

2006-03-30T09:18:00.000-05:00

My my! What a year it's been, so far, for Mr. Miller losing some of his most favorite 70s-style celebs.

First, one of Mr. Miller's favorite female stars Shelly Winters took her final plunge to that great boat in the sky. She was followed shortly thereafter by Grandpa Al Lewis. Then there was the one/two punch of Darren McGavin and Don Knotts, two of my all-time favorite TV (and movie) stars -- McGavin starring in one of my top-five favorite TV shows Kolchak: The Night Stalker; and Knotts starring in one of my most favorite sitcoms The Andy Griffith Show.

Jack Wild as the Artful Dodger in Oliver!.

I guess I should add a sad three to that one/two punch for Jack Wild, who died after suffering a miserable illness. I became a big fan of his when I first saw him play the Artful Dodger in Oliver!, and then grew to love him even more when he starred in the Saturday morning PopCereal fav, HR Puffenstuff. Last week brought news that the world of Honky Tonk had lost another cowboy of high distinction -- Buck Owens. Next to Johnny Cash and George Jones, this puckered-face hillbilly had the most spins on Mr. Miller's country-fried turntables. Now that Buck is gone "who's gonna mow yer grass?" (Hear Buck done Moog style)

And then....

This weekend Mr. Miller was floored to hear that his ultimate TV hero had passed away.

Mr. Dan Curtis.
Sure, Curtis was strictly a behind-the-scenes kinda guy, producing and directing and stuff like that. But, to Mr. Miller here, he was the man who almost single-handedly shaped yours truly into the creep-lovin', monster-huggin', spook movie freak horror fan than he is today (the rest of the credit goes to Vincent Price and Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine). Yep, Mr. Miller here was one of those little varmints who ran home from school to watch the weirdest of weird daytime TV programs Dark Shadows. I was just turning five when the show started and I've been hooked ever since. Curtis further compounded my jittery nature by producing and directing some of the creepiest TV movies EVER: The Norliss Tapes, Scream of the Wolf, Turn of the Screw, just to name a few.

Dark Shadows trailer

But the real damage came when his Trilogy of Terror premiered.

My older sister and twin brother and I were like a little gruesome trio. We'd head down to the corner store to buy whatever candy our meager allowance would allow us, and then head home to park are carcasses in front of the TV to watch the Saturday afternoon Monster Movies (that was the actual name of the broadcasts on our local station). On the weeknights, though, my Mom would join the mix to watch the TV Movie of the Week. We loved all the mysteries and suspense stuff, but the night Trilogy came on, we were all riveted.

Karen Black in Trilogy of Terror

Karen Black had been a favorite of ours, since my sister bore a slight resemblance, so to see her get her creep on was amazing. But the topper of the night came during the final scene of the third story in the trilogy, when Ms. Black, after being chased by the maniacal killer Tiki doll around her apartment, suddenly became possessed by the dolls savageness. She coolly calls her nagging mother on the phone to invite her over for a visit, then turns towards the camera, hunkers down in a crouch and then repeatedly plunges a huge butcher knife into the floor in anticipation. Brrrr! For months after that our older sister would torment my brother and I by greeting us in the kitchen in that exact same crouched position -- knife in hand. Needless to say, when she was the babysitter, we were well behaved.

Kolchak has a stake well done

Two other Curtis-helmed TV Movies were also held in high regard by yours, Mr. Miller. The Night Stalker and The Night Strangler have been tops on my list, so you could well imagine how flipped out Mr. Miller was when they made a TV series out of the main character in those two movies -- Kolchak; The Night Stalker. By then I was creeping into my teenage years, so this weekly dose of monster shows simply put the nail in the coffin, making Mr. Miller an official creepy kid.

So, thank you Mr. Curtis for making this boy happy.

i heaerby award you the "boodle"

2006-03-19T16:02:00.000-05:00

Hey folks, I just wanted to share this note with you. The man, the myth, the silly-one -- Mr. Stoo Hample, himself, stopped by PopCereal and saw how much fun we were having with his old LP. He left some kind words behind in the comment section of Mr. Miller's Silly Record post...

"DEAR MILLER-TYPE PERSON: IT IS I, STOO HAMPLE, HIS OWN PERSONAL SILLY SELF, REOPORTING IN AFTER HAVING STUMBLED SERENDIPITOUSLY UPON YOUR SITE THIS AYEM WHILE SEEKING WAYS TO AVOID THE DEPRESSINGLY SILLY NEWS IN THE SUNDAY NEW WORK TIMES. ZOWIE KAPOWIE! IT MAKES MY PLUPPY HEART GO PITTYPAT WHEN I COME ACROSS SILLY RECORD PASSION. AS A MATTER OF FACT, BECAUSE OF YOUR ARTICLE & THOSE ON KIDIDDLES PLUS NEW ONES ON MY AMAZON PROFILE, I'M GONNA SEE IF I CAN FIGURE OUT A WAY TO CONVINCE A RECORD COMPANY TO REISSUE THE SR IN CD FORM. MEANWHILE, I HEREBY AWARD YOU THE "BOODLE" FOR MAKING ME FEEL LESS SILLY FOR HAVING CREATED ALL THIS NUTTINESS. STAY SILLY! "

He musta been awful excited, 'cause he wrote it all in caps! Thanks for stopping by Stoo. And thanks for being so stupendously silly!

bide your time

2006-03-15T09:01:00.000-05:00

Just a quick one to keep things fresh here. Mr. Miller, here, has lost someone very important in his life, so he's had to take some time off. In the meantime, though, he wants you to bide your time by checking out this amazing site full of The Avengers stuff.

http://theavengers.tv/index.htm

When you get there, click on the Avengers on the Radio to hear some terrific original broadcasts of the South African produced radio shows. It doesn't have Patrick Macnee or Diana Rigg in them, but Donald Monat and Diane Appleby do a smashing good job. Creep-out fans will love the episode titled The Joker for its spooky old mansion and sadistic killer appeal.

someone get the lights

2006-02-22T15:12:00.000-05:00

Mr. Miller here is gonna take you back for a spell, to a time long past. Hop in the Long Gone Machine and set the dials for the 3rd Grade.

“Someone get the lights,” the Teacher says. The classroom goes dark. You flick the chrome toggle switch and the fan whooshes on. Then the powerful light beams across the room onto the large white screen pulled down over the chalkboard by the Teacher. The heat from the lamp sends a rush of warm air on your face, cutting some of the chill in the winter air.

The screen lights up with satin whiteness, awaiting what is to come next. Then you hear it. Like a siren call it beckons you…

BEEP!

… start the filmstrip!

Yeah, remember filmstrips? I don’t know about you, but for Mr. Miller, here, these junior still frame not-quite-movies were the highlight of his Grammar School years. Other than Battle Ball (that’s what we called Dodgeball in my nape of the woods) those hours spent in the dark, listening to the hum of the projector and taking in the audio and visual delights were simply a beloved slice of adolescent heaven. Actual movies – moving pictures – were great mind you, but something about the frame by frame viewing of a filmstrip, the narrator's deep-voiced recounting of a chapter in History or his whimsical telling of a storybook tale seemed to spark Mr. Miller’s kid-sized imagination.

But let me add that, though I love the filmstrip (worship it on certain days) you simply need the audio part of the whole shebang to have a truly complete filmstrip experience. Mr. Miller hated it when the filmstrip only came with a little booklet from which the teacher had to read aloud from. He felt, well… cheated. It was like it was same old daily drag, listening to Teacher prattle on with her lesson of the day in front of the classroom.

Most importante! Filmstrips must always have an accompanying record or tape!!

check out my filmstrip find of the story of Georgie

If you want some more filmstrip fun, check out Get LoFi

And if anyone out there is a fan of filmstrips, let Mr. Miller know who you are. I'd sure like to see what you've got.

it's a mad house

2006-02-14T13:29:00.000-05:00

I lost my Planet of the Apes cherry when I was just 7 years-old, to a 75 foot wide movie screen down at the local Central Drive-In. It was the summer of ’68 and I had seen enough trailers and TV ads, magazine covers, comic book spreads, and an endless supply of Apes cameos on TV to set my imagination spinning into overdrive. My little brain was on fire with the thought of a planet full of monkeys who acted and spoke just like humans did. I had to see this movie! And there’s no better place to watch Planet of the Apes than at a drive-in. At that same drive-in was the place I saw all the subsequent Apes flicks, as well (all except for Battle for the Planet of the Apes, which I saw at the matinee in East Aurora, NY while visiting cousins).

After seeing the flick, I was hooked for life. I tried to get a hold of as many POTA knick knacks as I could. I never had the chance of owning or listening to the Power Records audio versions of the hit movies, but a couple years back at the WFMU Record Fair in NYC I had the great luck of coming across an LP that contained four tracks of Apes plays that were previously used as Little Power Record 45s.

Sure, they're not the masterpieces that the films were, but for fans who go apeshit over Apes, they're well worth a listen... oh yeah, I guess they're supposed to be fun for kids, too, on account 'a that they're made for them.

If you're really into POTA, check out this site.

download the Power Record LP that you've been eyeballin' up there (along with the cool cover art) here: http://www.yourfilelink.com/get.php?fid=25857

if saturday morning was the buffet, then friday night was the appetizer

2006-02-09T13:17:00.000-05:00

For yours truly Mr. Miller, here, there were three events throughout the year that would absolutely flip his can when he was a kid:
1.) Christmastime
2.) Halloween Night
3.) The new Fall Season of cartoons

scan from DCs Ghosts issue #44 (December, 1975)

For kids growing up in the 60s and 70s (and even into the 80s) Saturday mornings were king. It wasn’t even that you got a break from the slavery of school and homework. Man, it was the cartoons! Yeah, remember when Saturday mornings meant cartoons? None of this Good Morning America leftover stuff, or 30 minute infomercials (hell, the Popeil Pocket Fisherman only needed 30 seconds to get your can to the local Big N). Back then, Saturday mornings belonged to kids!

The first taste of Fall Season on TV would come in the last couple of weeks of summer, when the latest comic books would hit the stands. There in the center spread would be a two page ad that listed the Network’s new Fall cartoon lineup.

scan from DCs Ghosts issue #32 (November 1974)

A kid couldn’t wait until September rolled around after reading these ads. Sure, the ninth month inevitably meant that school was back in session, but those are the lumps you had to take in order to get to the new cartoons on Saturdays. And if Saturday was the buffet, then Friday night was the appetizer.

The Networks knew that cartoons meant millions of cereal loving, toy building, candy munching kiddies were at the disposal of their advertisers, so they did all they could to make sure they were watching. So when the new Fall Season was set to roll, the kiddies were treated to a sneak peek look at the coming Saturday schedule on a special Friday night show. These Friday night previews were plain mint! Imagine watching cartoons at night time. Man!!

These shows would have catchy names like ABC Funshine Saturday Sneak Peek or maybe just something plain like the CBS Saturday Preview Special. Most likely, they’d be jam packed with the Primetime stars of the moment, from shows with high kid-recognition – like Lee Majors from The Six Million Dollar Man, or Dukes of Hazard’s baddie Boss Hog. Sometimes they’d go for the pretty boy hearth throbs like Scott Baio, or old stand-bys like the perennial teenager Dick Clark.

ABC Saturday pix from X-entertainment

Yeah, nothing said kids more than Saturday mornings. Now, with cartoons on the tube nonstop for 24 hours a day with their own blessed channels, who needs Saturday mornings? And for that matter, who needs the Friday night Saturday Sneak Peeks? These folks seem to think that Saturday’s need to be returned to the kids.

If you want a sneak peek at a Sneak Peek, check out this article. Or if you want a good look at a bunch of comic book cartoon ads, check these out at toyadz.

i am silly

2006-02-01T14:10:00.000-05:00

Like Bit-O-Honey to teeth, there are some things in your childhood bag of goodies that stick to the pop culture capsule of your mind. Whether it’s a song, a show, the taste of a certain pizzeria pizza that you can’t get anymore… there are just some things that are destined to remain only in the back recesses of your brain. For yours truly, Mr. Miller, that bit o’ popcereal* stickiness was The Silly Record.

I’m not quite sure who it was in my family that first brought home that side tickling disc of 331/3 vinyl silliness; all I know is that from then on we had it on near permanent loan-out from the local library. The head librarian only allowed one renewal per loan, so we’d have to wait for her to put in back in the record bin before we’d be able to snag it for the third go-around. Don’t know why we never bothered to try and find a copy at the Big N around the bend. Mr. Miller was just a wee one at that time, so I didn’t know consumerism from the Apollo 11. I was just in it for the ride.

In case you’ve never had the pleasure, The Silly Record was the vinyl companion to The Silly Book, written by comedy writer and performer Stuart “Stoo” Hample. Now, Mr. Miller never heard of this The Silly Book until he started researching The Silly Record a few years back. And then, coincidences of all coincidence, he found a copy sitting on a dusty shelf at an antique store in Cold Spring just a couple summers ago. Man, was Mr. Miller one happy cat!

In case you’ve never had the pleasure, The Silly Book was published in 1961. As the Candlewick Press recounts its history: “first-time writer Stuart Hample worked on a manuscript with legendary children's book editor Ursula Nordstrom. Legend has it that at their initial meeting, Stuart Hample said to the editor, ‘You wouldn't be silly enough to publish anything I'd write.’ Ursula Nordstrom returned with the dare, ‘You couldn't write anything silly enough that I'd publish.’ Never one to balk at a challenge, Stuart ("Stoo") Hample surpassed all expectations with THE SILLY BOOK, and the rest is history.”

Following the success of his best selling book (and a best selling Boodleheimer doll – check out the LP cover to see what a Boodleheimer is) Hample teamed up with veteran composer George Kleinsinger and rookie voice-over artist and TV writer Frank Buxton (voice of the Batfink cartoon) to put together an audio version of his silly stories and songs. The rest is popcereal legend.

Mr. Miller, along with his brothers and sister and Mom and Pop, would sit around and listen to this wonderful record, reciting every line with great enthusiasm. It wasn’t long before catch phrases from the LP began creeping into our daily dialogue. “Cheese please, Louise,” “Me too. Me three. Me four. You four what? I four-got,” and of course “You are silly, we are silly, all of us are silly willy. All of us but cousin Milly.”

Ever since I got on the Internet some ten years ago, yours truly Mr. Miller has been searching for a copy of this much admired LP. Copies are very rare, and I’ve only heard of people finding one here and there for sale. I’ve never seen one myself, but I’m still looking. Luckily, though, I was able to score a recording of the LP. On the Kididdles website there used to be a message board where fans of kid’s music would discuss their favs from long past and present. One member (I’d love to give him credit, but have since forgotten his name) owned the LP when he was a kid, and made a cassette recording of it when he went off to college. Since then his mother had – as mothers do when their kids leave the nest – tossed out all the junk in his room. All he had left of his prized memory was a muffled recording of his scratchy record album. And he kindly offered a CD copy of it, free of charge, to anyone who wanted to hear the beloved album once again. Naturally, Mr. Miller here jumped at the chance like a gapped-tooth boy at a candy apple on a stick.

Take a listen and tell me you don’t let out a giggle… “not even a little bittle?”

http://rapidshare.de/files/12394360/sillylp.rar.html

UPDATE!!
Scratch that last link, kiddies. It's a dead one. Try the lovely folks over at Forbidden Ctypts Music:

http://www.forbiddencryptsmusic.com/sillylp/

* popcereal is defined by this website and its curator to be that certain bit of socially transmitted trivial behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions, and all other products of human work and thought beloved by the generation of the Saturday morning cartoon

What is PopCereal?

2006-01-31T15:11:00.000-05:00

PopCereal (pōp sērē el) n. 1. the certain bit of socially transmitted trivial behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions, and all other products of human work and thought beloved by the generation of the Saturday morning cartoon

let's go!

2006-01-21T10:55:00.000-05:00

Hey cats! Not much to look at now, I know. But Mr. Miller will be loading you up with some trivial retro pop culture really soon. In the meantime, lemme tell you what this is all gonna be about. I'd like to share my thoughts with you on retro pop trash, like 70s made for television movie, paperback books, retro fashions, LPs, Mallo Cups and Bottle Caps... all that kinda horse puckie.