In the Warhol episode, Marion Ross (TV mom of Ron Howard in Happy Days) is a former Warhol superstar, married to stodgy Tom Bosley (TV dad of Ron Howard). Bosley doesn’t know about Ross’ past in underground film, and she’s afraid that they’ll run into Warhol, playing himself, aboard ship. Andy Warhol takes a pleasant cruise on
The Love Boat.
posted by scody
on May 8, 2012 -
41 comments
On May 19, 1984, an unemployed ice cream truck driver named Michael Larson went on
Press Your Luck and over the course of two episodes, took home more money than had ever been won in the history of television: $110,237 -- to the shock of the show’s producers and host, the late
Peter Tomarken. How did he do it? The show’s game board had only 5 patterns of 18 squares, and Mr. Larson had memorized them all. After the show, CBS tried to disqualify him but couldn’t, because Larson hadn’t done anything illegal. But they
did refuse to allow those episodes to be aired in syndication. So, they didn’t re-air until 2003, when the Game Show Network produced a Tomarken-hosted documentary about Mr. Larson’s incredible win:
Big Bucks: The Press Your Luck Scandal.
[more inside]
posted by zarq
on Apr 3, 2012 -
42 comments
Earth, 2147. The legacy of the Metal Wars, where man fought machines—and machines won. Bio-Dreads — monstrous creations that hunt down human survivors... and digitize them!
In 1987, before he created Babylon 5, J. Michael Straczynski was a writer for
Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future, a live-action sci-fi show for kids. 24 episodes were produced. Straczynski wrote or co-wrote 14 of them, including multi-episode plot arcs. A
line of interactive toys brought the battle into kids’ living rooms, and
Captain Power was also one of the very first shows on television to feature computer animation in every episode. But in an attempt to appeal to both children and the adults who watched with them, the campy show included some concepts and scenes critics deemed too violent for children and lasted only a single season in syndication.
The full run of the show has now been uploaded to Youtube. [more inside]
posted by zarq
on Apr 1, 2012 -
28 comments
I catch a lot of flak over my description of the years 1974 to 1983 as the Golden Age of roleplaying games, much of it based on a misunderstanding of my original point, namely that, after this period, tabletop RPGs would never again command the same degree of broad cultural significance that they did during this time. A good illustration of my point is this odd product, from wargames publisher SPI: Dallas: The Television Role-Playing Game. Published in 1980, the same year as the company's more well known foray into roleplaying, DragonQuest, Dallas was designed by none other than James F. Dunnigan, famous as (among many things) the designer of the classic wargames Jutland and PanzerBlitz. [more inside]
posted by Trurl
on Feb 29, 2012 -
26 comments
RETRONTARIO: Yours To Rediscover. "RETRONTARIO was created to celebrate the neglected corners of Ontario’s rich televisual history; to put back into circulation material which rightly or wrongly had fallen into a black hole and was for all intents and purposes, lost."
posted by chunking express
on Feb 13, 2012 -
23 comments
Saturday morning cartoons were once a staple of American television, but by the year 2000
they had all but disappeared. Of course, the Internet
never forgets. Case in point:
Cartoon Network Video -- a free, searchable, ad-supported service that provides hundreds of full-length episodes of classic shows like
Dexter's Laboratory, Cow and Chicken, Courage the Cowardly Dog, Johnny Bravo, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, and
The Powerpuff Girls, as well as current offerings and scads of shorter material. Too recent for you? Then give
Kids WB Video a whirl -- it does the same thing with the same interface, but for older programs like
Looney Tunes, Tom and Jerry, The Flintstones, The Jetsons, The Smurfs, Scooby-Doo, Thundercats, and the original
Space Ghost. If you're in the mood to learn (and don't mind some live-action),
PBS Kids Video has educational fare such as Arthur, Wishbone, and Zoom. And don't forget about
Sesame Street,
The Electric Company,
Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood,
The Magic Schoolbus and
Schoolhouse Rock! Now if only we had some
Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs...
posted by Rhaomi
on Sep 22, 2009 -
160 comments
If you were a North American kid (well, a kid stuck at home, younger than driving age) in the late 70s/early 80s, your Saturday nights were likely spent in front of the television watching
The Love Boat. The show subsequently gained worldwide popularity. Did you know that the
Pacific Princess is still ferrying the lovelorn across the blue abyss, and that she has a
bridgecam? Did you know there were Love Boat
action figures? For your nostalgic pleasure: complete
episode guide, complete
guest star list,
theme song video (variations
1,
2,
3),
lyrics and chords, and
song facts.
posted by amyms
on Mar 22, 2008 -
47 comments
Classic Nick Homepage. The Adventures of Pete and Pete! Welcome Freshman! Mr. Wizard! David the Gnome! Pinwheel! Eureka's Castle! Count Duckula! Danger Mouse! Salute your Shorts! Hey Dude!
They're all here!
Relive your childhood by perusing the pages at the Classic Nick Homepage. Remember whole subplots for shows you can't remember ever having watched! Go that extra step and demand the shows be put back on the air--sign the
Petition! Already 5961 signatures strong, maybe there's a chance that MeFi could help the 80's Nick generation to once again experience the majesty of Artie... "The strongest man
in the world!"
posted by Hammerikaner
on Jul 17, 2002 -
41 comments
