List O' Links for Friday, March 29th, 2013--Batman '66 Edition!

Today is Good Friday--and aren't most Fridays good, anyway?--but we can make it a great Friday--the Batman way. Specifically, the Batman '66 way!

DC Entertainment announced earlier this year that they've secured the rights to license a bevy of products based on the Batman TV series and feature film of the 1960s, and as a huge fan of the series, I couldn't be happier. Rumor has it, this could be the key to finally seeing the series released on DVD. One can only hope!

Here is a set of links celebrating the beloved series and announcing the new products soon to arrive in stores--and our hearts.

Graphic designer Dylan Todd created a series of 64 images celebrating the series called The Batman '66 Project. Check it out!

According to this old TV magazine from the 60s, "Batman Helps Bad Men Make Good."

So there was that time The Joker tried to beat Batman in a surfing contest.

Here they are! The first wave of Batman '66 action figures being released this July. Featuring Batman, The Riddler, and The Penguin, plus the best Batmobile ever!

And here's the best news: DC Comics has announced the first ever comic book based on the TV version of the comic book! It will be written by Jeff Parker (whom I interviewed about his Red She-Hulk series for Marvel last September) and penciled by Jonathan Case. The series will appear in digital format first and in print later on. Parker has a collection of the press he's done for the series at his Web site Parkerspace.

Finally, the song.

Have a great weekend!

Tuesday's Overlooked Film: GLOW: The Story of the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling

Tuesday's Overlooked Film this week is GLOW: The Story of the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling.

No, wait. Hear me out.

Yes, I know GLOW: The Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling was trash TV. I know it was used to shill stupid products. I know it was filled with lousy comedy and ridiculous acting and situations. It's all those things.

But it was also big dumb fun. I was probably the perfect age at the time to enjoy it, 6th through 8th grade in elementary school. All my friends watched it and talked about it. It took the things already outrageous about "real" pro wrestling and made it even goofier, funnier, and fun.

But behind it all were real people with real aspirations and goals, people who weren't quite sure what they would do or where they would go with this. That's where the documentary comes in. The film covers the show from the idea phase through production to its TV premiere in 1986 and demise in 1990. You also learn the story of the ladies that played the major characters. The film strips away the glitter, make-up, and costumes to reveal young women who wanted to make their mark in show business, most of whom had no athletic experience whatsoever.

You not only hear their stories during the years the show was on TV, but you also see where they are today. The most surprising moments involve wrestler Mount Fiji, one of the show's good girls and GLOW's equivalent of the WWE's Andre the Giant: a lovable and large wrestler who is the heart of the cast.  When you see her today, wheelchair bound due to severely damaged knees from her time in the ring, in tears over how she misses her old friends, and later on shedding tears of joy when the girls reunite after over 20 years, you can't help but be moved yourself to see the camaraderie these women formed. As wacky as the show was, those experiences bonded them and united them in a way similar to that "sorority sisters," as one wrestler puts it. I finished the film feeling happy for the girls and what they've made of themselves, and realizing that maybe the show wasn't so terrible after all.

The film, coincidentally, is available on DVD and instant viewing starting today. It won the best documentary award at the San Diego Comic Con Film Festival last summer, and has been very successful at various festivals throughout the country (I saw it last week on the cable channel Logo). I know many will be apprehensive to spend time on a film about something so silly, but the people involved in the show and this film will surprise you.

Here is the film's trailer. Check out the film's official Web site here. Thanks!

Tuesday's Overlooked Film: Robin Hood (1991 Fox TV-Movie)

Keeping with Bill Crider's Robin Hood theme of late, this Tuesday's Overlooked Film is the 1991 Fox TV-movie (and theatrical film elsewhere) Robin Hood.

There have been many Robin Hood movies since the dawn of the medium, the Errol Flynn version perhaps the most famous, the Russel Crowe version being the most recent. The version I mention today is truly overlooked, which is a shame, as I found it very entertaining and engaging when I saw it on the Fox network back in 1991, mere weeks before the more famous Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves was released in theaters.

This version has all the swashbuckling you would want, but it also has a bit more grit and muscle to it than other versions I've seen. Maid Marion, played by a then unknown Uma Thurman, is by no means the passive princess you would find in other film treatments. She is a fighter, which is quite refreshing. Robin, played by Patrick Bergen (Sleeping With The Enemy), is dashing, but also has an edge to him. Even Friar Tuck, normally the kindly, wise sage to Robin, is no more than a con man selling phony holy relics in this film (and the source of much of the film's comic relief). Jeroen Krabbé (The Fugitive) makes a formidable Sheriff of Nottingham, and the film even stars The Walking Dead's David Morrissey (The Governor) as Robin's friend and sidekick Little John.

If you were put off by the oh-so-Hollywood Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves released that same year, I highly recommend you check out this delightful screen version of Robin Hood. It's readily available on DVD and Amazon Instant Video. Below is the film's trailer. Enjoy!

List O' Links for Friday March 15, 2013

Faith and begorrah! It's St. Patrick's Day weekend, and whether you're Irish or not (I conveniently am), raise a pint this weekend (responsibly, of course). Before you do, enjoy this week's links!

The many looks of Lucky Charms cereal boxes over the years. Because there's no better way to celebrate Irish history and culture than eating marshmallows and cereal that have nothing to to do with Ireland.

If you need more 80s British pop in your musical diet, Level 42 can help you out with that.

Google announced that it's closing its Google Reader service later this year. Here's an alternative service you can start using now so you don't lose track of your favorite blogs (like mine)--Feedly.

Most people are aware of the demise of the most recent Robin in Batman comics thanks to the mainstream media coverage. In tribute, here are several photos of cosplayers paying tribute to all the Robins that have fought by Batman's side the last 70+ years.

Finally, remembering that my blog handle is about being a radio geek, here is a short Web tribute (in fine 1990s era Web design) to a legendary personality both in Philly and New York, "Jocko" Henderson.

Have a great weekend! Don't drink and drive!

Tuesday's Overlooked Film: The Lords of Flatbush

This week we jump into the Wayback Machine to the 1950s, by way of the 1970s, for Tuesday's Overlooked Film, The Lords of Flatbush.

The Lords of Flatbush is about a group of high school gang members, The Lords, in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn. The gang commit the typical hijinks you would expect from high school boys, trying to score with girls, pranking teachers, with all the trappings of the early rock'n'roll era of the late 50s. The principal actors are Perry King (Riptide), Sylvester Stallone, and Henry Winkler (who, of course, would  become an icon of 50s coolness as the Fonz on Happy Days).

Some of the subject matter is done in later and better films with the same themes (Grease, The Wanderers), but if you enjoy stories told in this era, as I do, the Lords of Flatbush may be worth your time.

Here, the boys take a break to sing some doo wop--then start speaking Spanish all of a sudden. Thanks!

List O' Links for Friday, March 8, 2013

"It's Friday, you ain't got no job, and you ain't go sh*t to do!" So why not spend it with these links?

Ten things you never knew about Barbie.

More cool behind-the-scenes material from the 70s Hulk TV show, courtesy of Al Bigby.

Here are some excellent covers from Detective Comics before the creation of Batman, to remind everyone that the title was really about detective comics.

Salon asks the question "What happened to Orson Scott Card?"

Finally, an article that made the comic book rounds like wildfire this week: legendary artist and writer Jerry Ordway laments his lack of attention from DC Comics and states his desire to be a major force in comics again. I hope someone gives him the opportunity.

Have a great weekend!

Random Images of Awesomeness Part II

I come across a lot of cool images in my Internet travels, so as I've done once before, here is an entire post showcasing them. I won't comment on most of them, except where some explanation may be in order. Enjoy!

 Cosplay of the character Flame Princess from Adventure Time.

Baby Princess Leia. Awwww.

Thanks!

Tuesday's Overlooked TV-Movie: Special Bulletin

This week's Tuesday's Overlooked item is the 1983 TV-movie Special Bulletin.

Special Bulletin is presented not as a fictional movie but as a news presentation (albeit on a fictional network) that is broadcasting a normal day of programming, which is interrupted by a "special bulletin." Terrorists have planted a homemade atomic bomb aboard a tugboat off the coast of Charleston, South Carolina. They are demanding the dismantling of America's nuclear weapons.

The film shows not only the action aboard the tugboat itself and it's fights with the military, but also includes man on the street interviews, test patterns, and other signs of an actual frantic broadcast. The film operates in much the same way as Orson Welles radio production of The War of the Worlds. The TV-movie was one of the earliest productions of Edward Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz, who would go on to create the series thirtysomething, My So-Called Life, and Once and Again.

Here for your viewing pleasure is the entire film. Enjoy!

List O' Links for Friday, March 1, 2013

Welcome to the month that comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. Spring is a mere three weeks away. Melt away the last vestiges of winter with these hot links! They're Lemongrab approved!

It's been exactly one year since we lost Davy Jones of the Monkees. Here, on the eve of northern New Jersey's Monkees Convention, Al Bibgy remembers the short-statured but big-hearted Monkee.

Also from Al Bigby, an article from a 2005 issue of Video Watchdog magazine reviews the DVD box set of the 1967 Spider-Man cartoon series.

Megan Fox has been cast as April O'Neil in Michael Bay's forthcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie, a move that has several fans scratching their heads. Here are 8 other actresses who may be better suited for the role (I like the Emma Watson suggestion myself).

Here is some awesome fan art of Destro and the Baroness from the G.I. Joe franchise. Great work!

Finally, does it seem incompetence is taking over every aspect of our lives? It may very well be, at least judging by the goof-ups and gross mistakes showcased in the great Web site You Had One Job.

Have a great weekend!