Monday, February 24, 2014

HEROES is Returning!


In some of the greatest television news of recent years, NBC is returning HEROES to it's schedule for a 13 episode mini-series! 

As you may recall, I was very unhappy about the abrupt -- and, frankly, unfinished -- way it ended in 2010, so I'm very pleased.  More on that HERE(For more specific detail on the "unfinished business" of HEROES in particular, please read the Comments Section of the post linked-to above.) 

And, HERE is the item on the current revival! 

All Hail HEROES! 


Monday, February 17, 2014

Dan Does Disney Comics… Proud!



…One might even say “Prouder than they DESERVE!”  Given the great quality of Dan’s work, I’d say MUCH prouder! 

Dan Cunningham’s latest installment on “The Life and Times of Disney Comics” has just been posted – and it is AMAZING! 

It’s hard for even me to recall all of the many different things The Walt Disney Company threw at a stunned and confused comics-reading public, over a very compressed period of time – and I was there for all of it.  But Dan’s got it covered – and covered as well as it can possibly be!    


I will say that I’m now of the mind that Disney Comics strayed too far from the “core” of what Gladstone and Western Publishing did previously – and that may have been a large part of the problem.  You decide.   

If you’d like to catch up, you can find Dan’s previous posts at THIS LINK. 

Or, just skip to his latest effort – HERE – and wonder why this material shouldn’t become a BOOK someday!   

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

R.I.P. Richard Bull – The Seaview Doctor.



Actor Richard Bull, best known for the role of Nels Oleson on the popular TV series LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE, passed away on February 03 at the age of 89.   

To me, Richard Bull will forever be the Ship’s Doctor on VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA. 

 
Bull played the seemingly nameless “Doc”, for 27 episodes over the series’ four seasons (1964-1968), though, oddly, was absent from the role for the entire Second Season, save the final episode. 


Another actor, Wayne Heffley, played the Doctor for that season.   And, though “Doc’s name was never spoken over the course of the series, it seems to have been unofficially noted as “Doctor Jamison”.



Richard Bull lent an air of professionalism – and, most importantly, calmness – that counteracted the often bizarre goings on aboard the Submarine Seaview. 


Beyond the expected crew illnesses, and duty injuries, Richard Bull’s “Doc”, employed that characteristic “calmness” in dealing with such challenges as:


Ghostly Possession.

A Werewolf Virus.

Mass-Hypnosis.

Lethal Toys.

Shape-Shifting Devilish Aliens.

Men Mutating into Rock-Like Creatures.

The Unknown Mysteries of the Fourth Dimension.


And plain old, run-of-the mill psychoses. 


He dealt with each crisis as you’d expect Admiral Nelson’s hand-picked Chief Medical Officer to do – swiftly and competently. 


Beyond VOYAGE, the vast list of Richard Bull’s acting credits can be found HERE.  

Rest in Peace, Richard Bull, and thank you for all the great moments! 

 

Sunday, February 9, 2014

R.I.P. Ralph Kiner



Baseball Hall of Famer and iconic New York Mets broadcaster Ralph Kiner died on February 06, 2013 at the age of 91. 


 Kiner took his place among the baseball greats in Cooperstown as a result of a stellar career with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs, and Cleveland Indians, between 1946 and 1955.


But, in New York, he was beloved as a long-time broadcaster for the New York Mets – both on WOR TV Channel 9 and the various radio stations that carried Mets games.  He began broadcasting when the Mets began playing, in 1962, as part of the legendary team of Bob Murphy, Lindsay Nelson, and Ralph Kiner – seen below from left to right, with the great Shea Stadium scoreboard in the background.


Kiner’s WOR TV post-game show, Kiner’s Korner, is permanently etched in the memories of anyone who saw it.  Using the still-new technology of “Videotape Replay” (described literally as such by a superimposed graphic), Kiner would recap the events with two stars of the game in a seated and relaxed atmosphere that is almost inconceivable in today’s world of “Three Questions on the Sideline”, or microphones shoved at players in a locker room. 
 

I really enjoyed Kiner’s Korner, which followed every Mets home game on WOR television starting in 1964, often more so than many of those frustrating early Mets games themselves!   
 

Amazingly, Kiner continued to participate in occasional Mets radio broadcasts into the 2013 season!  And it was always a treat to discover he was part of a game that I’d tune into while in the car! 
Ralph Kiner in 2011

Rest In Peace, Ralph Kiner.  You will always be beloved in New York! 

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Ask and I Shall Receive!


...Or, "Guess Who's Coming to Bat-Dinner"? 

No sooner than I asked about the 1968 Filmation BATMAN animated series in THIS POST, than comes this announcement of February 05, 2014! 

YES!  It's finally coming... on authorized DVD!



And, as if that's not enough to please Silver Age DC Comics Geeks like me, were also getting the balance of Filmation's SUPERMAN. 


Hmmm... Is SUPERBOY still in some sort of litigation?  The SUPERBOY episodes are not mentioned as appearing as part of the SUPERMAN set. 

Oh, well, I can't complain too loudly, given all this great news!  June 03, 2014, is gonna be a great day! 

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

It’s Finally Come to This!



Yes, really... THIS! 

I can't say exactly when, due to some completely unexpected commitments on my time, but I WILL be reviewing this DVD set, and you will all share in the spectacle of my revisiting this rather infamous series.   

Honestly, I have NO IDEA how these episodes, of a series that some folks (myself included) say should never have been made, will play to me in 2014, vs. the horror of seeing some of them in first run back in 1998. 



All I DO remember is that PINKY AND THE BRAIN, having successfully spun off ANIMANIACS, was the SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS of its mid-nineties day, until someone at Warner Bros. somehow thought that pairing them with the ultra-annoying Elmyra from TINY TOON ADVENTURES was a good idea. 

SpongeBob says: Let's have a BIG NARF for the memories of Pinky and The Brain, folks!

That, and the show itself did not last more than a few weeks, before being folded into something they called "THE BIG CARTOONIE SHOW" -- or, as the link reveals, a much more awkwardly expressed expansion of such. 

Shortly thereafter, it was "THAT'S ALL FOLKS" for the once unstoppable Pinky and The Brain -- and pretty much "it" for the great (dare I say unparalleled) run of Sat AM series from Kids WB.  THIS SHOW, excepted. 


The back of the package lists 13 episodes.  I don't remember seeing that many, or maybe I'm just blocking it out. 

This IMDB LINK lists 25 episodes, counting each individual cartoon as an "episode", while omitting "Elmyra's Music Video" from "Episode 9" listed on the box. 

No matter, a sticker on the front cover of the package promises "Over 4 hours of cartoon fun"...


...It remains to be seen how many hours of the show ACTUALLY MAKE UP THE SET. 

Keep watching the skies, because "The Truth Is Out There", and I'll have a review of this set once I work my way through it.  

Meanwhile, your (...er, fond?) memories and reminiscences of PINKY, ELMYRA AND THE BRAIN are welcome in our Comments Section.   ...NARF!