Max Headroom Christmas Special (1986)

 

Wait-wait-wait-wait WHAT? Max Headroom had a Christmas special?

Yep! And I'm as surprised as you are!

I knew Max Headroom had released a Christmas music single, "Merry Christmas, Santa Claus," back in the day, because I saw it on the shelf at Tower Records in Philadelphia in 1986 and contemplated buying it (I didn't). What I didn't know was that the song was part of a full Christmas TV special.

The Max Headroom Christmas Special debuted in the US on Cinemax on December 18, 1986; it was later shown in the UK on December 26 of that year under the name Max Headroom's Giant Christmas Turkey. The show features Max, played by Canadian comedian and actor Matt Frewer, being Max--singing, talking to friends and celebrities, including Robin Williams and Tina Turner, and being his usual zany, stuttering self. Rocker Dave Edmunds also appears.

Oddball specials such as this are one of the things that keep me blogging all these years. I love finding this strange, forgotten stuff and sharing it with others, especially when it's something I didn't know existed before.

Enjoy! You can also watch the special directly on YouTube here.

This is the last weekend before Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, so make it a jolly one! And starting this Sunday night--Happy Hannukah!

December's Underappreciated Music: Shirley Ellis, "You Better Be Good, World"

December's Underappreciated Music is a Christmas tune, but an unusual one.

"You Better Be Good, World" is recorded by Shirley Ellis, who is most famous for "The Name Game." This song, however, is much heavier in tone. The music is literally offbeat, if upbeat, and the lyrics are a bit foreboding, warning the human race to get its act together for Christmas and the new year, and not let "the hydrogen bomb go boom boom." Shirley is direct and to the point!

Considering the harrowing times we're in, this song from 1965 is unfortunately still timely today. I wouldn't recommend this song be added to your Christmas party playlist, but it is worth a listen for its bold take on a holiday tune.

Enjoy! Don't let the hydrogen bomb go boom boom!

Spider-Woman, "Dracula's Revenge"

HOLY HANNA, HALLOWEEN IS A WEEK FROM TONIGHT! We only have that long to get our Halloween on. "The clock is ticking--it's almost time!"

Today I present an episode of the short-lived animated series Spider-Woman, which aired for one season on ABC's Saturday Morning schedule starting in the fall of 1979. In this episode, Spider-Woman faces off against Dracula himself (a major Marvel Comics villain in the 70s), who has been freed from his tomb by dimwitted villagers. Dracula exacts his titular revenge by turning people into vampires--NOT by biting them, but by shooting lasers from his fingers.

Wait, it gets better.

Later, the Wolfman appears and turns people into werewolves--by shooting lasers from his eyes.

Wait, it gets better.

Frankenstein's monster also appears and turns people into monsters just like him--by shooting lasers from his neck bolts.

It doesn't get better than that!

The episode is as ridiculous as it sounds, and that makes it well worth the 20 minutes. Enjoy!

Elves Horror Movie from 1989

Why yes, there was a horror movie in the 80s about killer elves around Christmas. Why yes, it did star Dan Haggerty, TV's Grizzly Adams. Why yes, I do have the entire movie embedded below for your viewing enjoyment. Why yes, it is a bad movie. Why yes, it is still worth seeing once. Enjoy!

Tuesday's Overlooked TV: Automan

This week's Tuesday's Overlooked TV doubles as a tribute to the late Glen A. Larson, who passed away Friday, November 14th at the age of 77. Larson created some of the most popular action/adventure series of the 70s and 80s, including the original Battlestar Galactica, Knight Rider, The Fall Guy, BJ and the Bear, Quincy, M.E., and McCloud, among others. One of those "others" is this week's installment.

Automan starred Desi Arnaz Jr., as a computer programmer who creates a super-sophisticated hologram for use in solving elaborate crimes. The hologram was played by Chuck Wagner, who wore a special suit which special effects teams highlighted with starry imagery to give the illusion of a computer generated figure (except for Wagner's head). Automan was accompanied by a 3D cursor that could created any number of weapons, vehicles, or other tools that were needed. Adventure ensued.

The premise is certainly incredulous, but for the early 80s, the effects were unusual and exceptional, especially for TV. However, the expensive costs of the series combined with lukewarm ratings (not terrible, but not spectacular either) led to the series' premature demise, being canceled after 13 episodes.

It was corny, it was wacky, it was kitschy--so of course, I enjoyed it. I was also 8 at the time.

Here is the series' opening sequence, followed by an hour-long featurette starring Arnaz, Wagner, and other cast members reminiscing joyfully about their experiences making the show. This was featured on a DVD release of the series in the UK, the only nation in which the series is commercially available on DVD.

Thanks!

2014 Peugeot 208 Official Commercial featuring classic Hanna-Barbera Wacky Races

This, my friends, is the new Best Thing Ever.

List O' Links for Friday, March 7th, 2014

Hello one and all! With more seasonable temperatures than we've been getting lately expected this weekend, hopefully we'll be able to thaw out a bit from this cruel winter. Get warm and cozy with these fun links!

Here are 31 reasons why my hometown of Philadelphia is the most underrated city in America. Woo hoo!

There is a new theory surrounding the identity of the character of Andy's mom in the Toy Story movies, and it's an intriguing one. What do you think?

The recent controversy surrounding a possible feud between 12 Years A Slave director Steve McQueen and screenwriter John Ridley reminds me of a slightly similar situation a few years back. Learn about TV writer Jeffrey Lieber, the unsung creator of the series Lost.

This blog was McDonald's Talk Central for awhile, so here's a throwback to that era. Here are Pop Rewind's 7 Missed McDonald's Items. At least some of it is better left in the past.

If you're a fan of classic Top 40 radio like I am, you may enjoy, or may have already heard, this hilarious audio, the famous (among radio fans) NINE tape. This recording, never intended for public listening, is a spoof of the tightening of Top 40 formatics that was happening in earnest at the time the tape was made, the early 1970s. Enjoy!

Finally, the University of Pennsylvania discovered an unusual item in their archives--centuries-old plans to launch warfare by strapping small animals with rocket packs at their enemies. History, folks.

Have a great weekend!

Two Obscure Cartoons from the 60s That Are So Bad They're Awesome

I have to thank my good friend Peter Carley for bringing these two cartoons to my attention. He had posted last week the news about an upcoming movie based on the Hot Wheels toy franchise manufactured by Mattel. I commented that I thought it was a major stretch to base a movie on something like Hot Wheels. Peter in turn pointed me to a precedent to basing a media product on Hot Wheels.

And here it is...



Oh good Lord.

Hot Wheels, featuring the racing exploits of high school student (really?) Jack "Rabbit" Wheeler, aired for two seasons on ABC Saturday mornings starting in the fall of 1969. Two of the voice actors featured on the series were Casey Kasem and, of all people, Albert Brooks! (Un?)fortunately, the cartoon has never aired since, nor has it ever been released on home video.

But that's not the only gem I discovered from this conversation.

A buddy of Peter raised the stakes of bad cartoons by posting this glorious discovery:



Yes, that was Super President, the cartoon about the President of the United States having super powers. Powers that, apparently, were anything the writers wanted them to be if they moved the story along. At least it had awesome voice work by Paul Frees. The series aired on NBC from September 1967 through December 1968. The series was canceled due to criticism that portraying the US President, even a fictional one, as a superhero sent a bad message to the rest of the world. The series was produced by Depatie-Freleng animation studios, which produced the Pink Panther cartoons among many others; the studio would be acquired by Marvel Comics circa 1980 and become Marvel Animation Studios.

Just when I think I've learned about every TV cartoon series that existed, fun stuff like this comes along out of the blue and amuses me to no end. Great stuff!

Tuesday's Overlooked TV-Movie: Poor Devil

Sorry for missing a post yesterday, but I took the day off with my family for a recent tradition. On Columbus Day, we go to our local pumpkin patch and pick our Halloween pumpkins for the year. The kids also took a hayride, walked through a corn maze, and then we all went to lunch afterwards. A great time was had by all!

But now it's time to get back to business with this week's Tuesday's Overlooked--the TV-movie Poor Devil.

The devil in question is played by Sammy Davis Jr, who is trying to get in good with his boss Lucifer (played by Christopher Lee) by attempting to corrupt the soul of a straight-laced accountant played by Jack Klugman. The film was meant to be a pilot for an ongoing sitcom, but lack of interest killed the project. Davis was no stranger to devilish goings-on, as he was briefly involved with an L.A. satanist cult. Weird, but true. Read about it here.

And right here is where you can check out the entire film. Thanks!

Tex Avery-Walter Lantz Cartoon "SH-H-H-H-H-H"/The Laughing Record

TV historian Kliph Nesteroff tweeted an offbeat audio recording last night dating back to 1923. Titled "The Laughing Record," it features nothing more than a trombonist attempting to play a sorrowful song but unable to do so as he and his female companion keep cracking up laughing.

This reminded me of an old cartoon, produced by Woody Woodpecker creator Walter Lantz, in which a nervous man goes on a vacation on doctor's orders to relax at a quiet retreat. The man's vacation is disturbed, however, by his raucous neighbors in the adjoining room who are playing a trombone and laughing loudly.

I looked up the cartoon on YouTube, and not only does the cartoon follow the same conceit as "The Laughing Record," the cartoon uses the exact record as the soundtrack! The record even receives a credit in the cartoon's opening! I love when connections like this reveal themselves.

Here for your pleasure is the cartoon, produced by Lantz and written and directed by Tex Avery (his last theatrical cartoon), titled "SH-H-H-H-H-H," followed by the original "Laughing Record," complete with a link to download the public domain recording for your own collection. Enjoy!

Tuesday's Overlooked Film: Hello Down There

 

This week's Tuesday's Overlooked Film is the 1969 aquatic comedy Hello Down There.

Hello Down There stars Tony Randall as Fred Miller, an engineer who designs an underwater home for his company. To prove its feasibility, he moves his wife (Janet Leigh) and children into a prototype, named the Green Onion, to live there for thirty days. His teenage children (along with a very young Richard Dreyfuss) belong to a rock group that gets the attention of a record exec (Roddy McDowell) who is so impressed with the group that he books a television appearance for the band on The Merv Griffin Show from the Green Onion with the real Merv Griffin in tow!  Add to the story a rival engineer (Ken Berry), a fight between sharks and dolphins, a pet seal, and Jim Backus, and you get an offbeat late 60s romp of a film.

As silly as the description sounds, it's actually a fun film--at least my boyhood self thought so back in the day. The film was once released on DVD but is unfortunately out of print, but you might be able to pick this up on the secondary market.

In lieu of the actual film, enjoy this clip of Dreyfuss lip synching to a voice that sounds nothing like him (the voice of big time music producer Jeff Barry, to be exact). Enjoy!

Tuesday's Overlooked TV: Justice League of America Unaired Pilot

 

Fresh from a long holiday weekend, Tuesday's Overlooked TV is also an infamous one--the unaired pilot for the live action Justice League of America series.

The pilot, in the form of a 90-minute film, follows a young meteorologist who develops the superpower of control of ice and cold. She is then recruited to be a member of the Justice League, which consists of Green Lantern, the Flash, Fire (a character familiar to League fans of the 80s and 90s), the Atom, and Martian Manhunter (played by the always intriguing David Ogden Stiers). Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman are conspicuously absent. The team bands together to fight a weather powered villain played with campy malevolence by Miguel Ferrer.

It's easy to see why CBS passed on the project. The costumes and special effects look awkward, and the performances aren't exactly Peabody-winning caliber. Suffice it to say, it definitely looks like an action/adventure TV show of the late '90s that you might find in syndication (where I wonder if it might have had at least minor success). Although this never aired in the US, it did air in many other countries, and can easily be found on bootleg DVD at comic cons and Internet retail sites.

Better yet, watch the entire pilot right here.  Thanks!

List O' Links for Friday, April 26, 2013

It's Friday, it's the last day of the work week, and you've got a computer in front of you. Don't let it go to waste! Put that nasty work aside and check out some fun links!

The producers of the San Diego ComiCon have announced the 2013 Eisner Award Nominees for the prestigious comic book and graphic novel awards.

With our troops still stationed in Afghanistan, they have enough to worry about in regards to dangers from their surroundings. But what about the danger they put themselves in by making bad choices? Fortunately, they have a hero to watch over their own carelessness--Bagram Batman!

What happens when you wring out a wet washcloth in zero gravity space? This awesomeness!

Hollywood can't help but remake itself over and over again. Here are 13 unnecessary remakes of 80s movies currently in development.

DirecTV has announced a new 24-hour channel for dogs. No, not a channel about dogs, a channel with dogs as the intended audience. Draw your own conclusions.

Finally, two talented youngsters perform a sweet version of the Beatles' "Let It Be." Nice.

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: Gremloids aka Hyperspace

This week's Tuesday's Overlooked Film is the 1984 Star Wars spoof Gremloids.

Gremloids, released as Hyperspace in the US, is about a Darth Vader-like villain, lovingly named Lord Buckethead, who erroneously traces rebel transmissions to the planet Earth. Upon visiting the planet, he decides to take over. It's up to a ragtag band of misfit characters, played by comedians such as Paula Poundstone and Chris Elliot, to take down Buckethead.

Beating Spaceballs to the punch by a full two years, Gremloids went nowhere at the box office but is a cult favorite today. And you have to love the poster image above, complete with the sexy damsel, overbearing villain, and--are those jawas with laser guns? Awesome!

Here is the film in its entirety. Enjoy!

Tuesday's Overlooked Film: Wizards

This week's Tuesday's Overlooked Film may not be overlooked by most animation fans, but it's brand new to me--it's Ralph Bakshi's 1977 fantasy Wizards.

I learned of this film's existence thanks to the pop culture blog The Retroist, which today celebrated the announcement of an impending soundtrack release. I've known of Bakshi of course, first by hearing of this more adult-oriented animated films such as Fritz The Cat, then learning of his involvement, much to my surprise, with the classic '60s cartoon TV series Spider-Man and The Mighty Heroes, two of my favorites.

Wizards is the story, set in a dystopian future Earth (is there any other kind of future Earth?) about two elderly wizard brothers, one good, one evil, who are at war with each other. Along the way, there are fairies, elves, a half-ostrich-half-camel, and trippy animation so far out it makes Nelvana's 70s output look like 60s Hanna-Barbera.

According to an interview quoted in Wikipedia, Bakshi made this film to be one of his more "family oriented" films. In Bakshi's mind, this is family oriented:

Joel Schumacher would be proud.

Thanks to the blessing that is YouTube, I can see this film for the first time in its entirety, and so can you. Enjoy!

Late Night Blogging From My Smartphone

I'm blogging from my mobile phone, just because I can.

And here's a picture of my dog Candy sitting on our loveseat, just because.

I now return you to your regularly scheduled Saturday night.

List O' Links for Friday, February 1, 2013

Just like that, the first month of the new year is over already, and we begin the shortest month of the year. We'll be singing "Auld Lang Syne" all over again before you know it. At least I have some fun links to pass the time until we get there.

Here are the 50 most essential science fiction novels according to this guy.

Chris Sims went to the Waffle House last weekend, and this is what he saw.

The Video Game Critic is a great site of extensive video game reviews. Not only do they review the latest and greatest games, they also review classic games--even for the Atari 2600!

If you're a fan of classic oldies music of the 50s and 60s like I am, there's a fine radio station in northern New Jersey  that plays a great selection that you almost never find on terrestrial radio anymore--WMTR 1250 AM.

Finally, a personal link for me--here is a recording of my beautiful daughter Megan singing "Castle on a Cloud" from Les Miserables. I love you, Meg! Best of luck in your dance competition tomorrow!

Have a great weekend!

Batman is Minding His Business

Happens all the time to the Caped Crusader!

Tuesday's Forgotten Film: Cruel Jaws

We're well into the summer season now, which means many of us are getting deep into our usual summertime activities, such as the beach, camping, sports--and sharks.

Yes, summer is the season of the shark, thanks to Jaws and other shark-related fare such as Discovery Channel's Shark Week. But not all shark projects are created equal.  Case in point--this week's Tuesday's Forgotten Film, Cruel Jaws.

Released in 1995, Cruel Jaws is arguably the worst shark film ever made. That's saying something, considering how many God-awful shark movies exist, as anyone with SyFy on their cable system will admit.  But even in this crowded genre, Cruel Jaws is a standout, not just because the acting is terrible (which it is), and the story is stale and tired (which it is), but because it blatantly, callously, shamelessly, and most of all, obviously steals footage from previous shark movies.

The original Jaws? Yep. Jaws 2? Yep. It even steals the orchestral score of other films, including Star Wars. Star Wars music? In a shark film? Yep.

The one film whose footage gets devoured by Cruel Jaws the most is a movie I've written about before, the 1981 film Great White, aka The Last Shark. What is ironic is that Great White itself is a blatant rip-off of Jaws. Cruel Jaws is a rip-off of a rip-off! And the shark from Great White isn't even a scary looking shark.

That shark has about as much bite as Jabberjaw.

The auteur behind this travesty is Bruno Mattei, who is notorious for this sort of thing. Cruel Jaws was just another in a line of Mattei-created films that stole footage from existing movies, which has made him somewhat of a cult film lover's hero (or fool, depending on your point of view). Mattei is so brazen that he actually released the film under the title Jaws 5 in some countries!

Here is the film's trailer, followed by the film in its entirety. See how many scenes and music clips from other movies you can recognize. It could make for a great drinking game--"If you see the shark from Jaws, take a drink. If you see the shark from Great White, do two shots." Enjoy--you lush you.