Ask the Author: Jon Abbott
Answered Questions (11)
Jon Abbott
Voyage on audio in the car, yeah, you win the crazy Rich, I can't top that... Do you set off fireworks on your dashboard and swerve all over the road? :) I'll let you know about season four in a few weeks when I've watched them again, if I can get the wife away from snooker, formula 1, and NCIS...
Jon Abbott
Hi, Richard. With Voyage, it’s all about the monsters for me. I know some people hated ‘em, including cast members, but if there’s no monster I feel cheated. So I love the silly disembodied brain in the tank and the Plant Monster, Heat Monster, the Mermaid and the Mummy, the werewolves, and Shadowman! My favourites are probably Thing From Inner Space with sci-fi film veteran Hugh Marlowe, The Creature with wild-eyed Lyle Bettger, and Deadly Invasion. I also loved The Fossil Men, but hated that they dubbed Brendan Dillon, so good in Time Tunnel. I even enjoyed The Wax Men and Deadly Cloud more than usual this time, so I am definitely losing any critical faculties I have left as I stumble into old age! I’ve seen all these episodes so many times I don’t even notice the massive plot holes any more unless I read my own book…! I do notice the regular background crew supposedly getting killed and then miraculously coming back to life again though, which happens at least three times in season three… jon, april 23, 2022.
Jon Abbott
I heard it was his favourite. It was "Attack of the Barbarians" where they tried to send grenades back. I love the General's line that "he hates to see good artillery go to waste"! LMAO every time at that. "Revenge of the Gods" had the security man going back and machine-gunning Trojan warriors. No prime directive on Irwin's shows! Watching season three Voyage at the moment...! Cheers, Jon, 20/4/22
Jon Abbott
Hello Richard,
Sorry it took so long to get back to you, lots of stuff going on… I love all the episodes of Time Tunnel, it’s my favourite show ever (closely followed by Lost in Space and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Invaders, Outer Limits, and Man from UNCLE), probably easier to list the two duds, which for me are “Kill Two by Two” and “Invasion”, although even they each have a good scene in them (Nakamura seeing his son, the accidental reveal of the traitor in the Resistance). Also not too keen on “Devil’s Island”, “Reign of Terror”, “Walls of Jericho”, “Idol of Death”, and “Death Merchant”, but still watch ‘em when they come round. Favourite guest performances are Carroll O’Connor, Michael Rennie, Joe Maross as Custer, Robert Duvall, Victor Jory, and John Crawford throughout. Favourite scenes, Halley’s Comet coming through Tunnel, ghost of Nero in Tunnel (absolutely mental), and pirate on the bridge. Best idea: Russian Tunnel in 1956. Favourite ‘straight’ episodes are Pearl Harbour, “Night of the Long Knives”, Custer, and the pilot, favourite silly ones are Robin Hood (the ‘Homing Post’, OMG), the silver aliens and the ghost town, “Chase Through Time”, and Khartoum. Also love Merlin and Marco Polo episodes. See, can always narrow it down to about twenty! No-one nerdier than me when it comes to classic comics and TV. All the best…
Jon, 16/03/22
Sorry it took so long to get back to you, lots of stuff going on… I love all the episodes of Time Tunnel, it’s my favourite show ever (closely followed by Lost in Space and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Invaders, Outer Limits, and Man from UNCLE), probably easier to list the two duds, which for me are “Kill Two by Two” and “Invasion”, although even they each have a good scene in them (Nakamura seeing his son, the accidental reveal of the traitor in the Resistance). Also not too keen on “Devil’s Island”, “Reign of Terror”, “Walls of Jericho”, “Idol of Death”, and “Death Merchant”, but still watch ‘em when they come round. Favourite guest performances are Carroll O’Connor, Michael Rennie, Joe Maross as Custer, Robert Duvall, Victor Jory, and John Crawford throughout. Favourite scenes, Halley’s Comet coming through Tunnel, ghost of Nero in Tunnel (absolutely mental), and pirate on the bridge. Best idea: Russian Tunnel in 1956. Favourite ‘straight’ episodes are Pearl Harbour, “Night of the Long Knives”, Custer, and the pilot, favourite silly ones are Robin Hood (the ‘Homing Post’, OMG), the silver aliens and the ghost town, “Chase Through Time”, and Khartoum. Also love Merlin and Marco Polo episodes. See, can always narrow it down to about twenty! No-one nerdier than me when it comes to classic comics and TV. All the best…
Jon, 16/03/22
Jon Abbott
Hi Richard, pleased to hear from you. Are you based in the U.K. or the U.S.? Just been re-watching Time Tunnel for the zillionth time on Freeview, even though I have them all on DVD (twice), I can't help tuning in. You probably know more than I do, but if you want to do an interview or a Q and A, I assume it's possible on this forum? It may take me a couple of days to respond, but fire away!
--Jon
--Jon
Jon Abbott
Hello Greg, thanks for your interest. No, I'm afraid my books (except for Irwin Allen and Stephen Cannell) are only available through Amazon, through which I self-publish, although some titles can be purchased through them wholesale by bookshops. They are sold on a print-on-demand basis (which is why I don't have any spare copies myself, that's the beauty of it, no unsolds in storage), and as Amazon sell all over the world and have about eighty percent of the book market (I'm told) it *mostly* serves me very well.
Unfortunately, a few months ago, after the title in question had been on sale for about two years, they suddenly arbitrarily decided this book was somehow breaking some unspecified rule of theirs, and removed it from sale (without even telling me! I suddenly noticed it had gone from my author's page). The problem is that they are very difficult to talk to, because when they do this, it's completely random and they refuse to specify what the problem is, so it's virtually impossible to put right. They do not entertain any debate or discussion, that's it. I do a lot of reviews on Amazon, and it's the same situation with those. It's a very sinister form of censorship, because I could go through the whole book with a magnifying glass, removing stuff I thought might have broken the rules, and still not find the offending sentence/s or image. In the meantime, they're making you try and think like they do, so I prefer not to play that game. If I thought something was offensive or unlawful, I wouldn't have put it in the book! As you can imagine, with a subject like Jess and Lina, in the current climate it could be absolutely anything.
If they could specifically point to something, and it was a piddling thing that didn't matter to anyone but them, I would happily remove it. On the other hand, if it was something I felt sufficiently strongly about, I could fall on my sword in the name of free speech. But when no-one can, or will, tell me what the problem is, I am powerless. As they print and distribute the book, I'm stuck in some Kafka-esque limbo. Generally, I'm very happy with Amazon. It's a great system, when it works!
I could, and might, try and resubmit the book again as is, sometime in the future and see what happens, but it could still suddenly disappear again next time they have a 'sweep', or even not be accepted at all next time. All I can say is, periodically check my author's page to see if it's listed, and then grab it while you can!
If it's any consolation, like my other 6 x 9 titles Brass Cheek, A-Z of Bad Girls, Great British Sex Film, and Erotic Horror, the text is taken directly from Strange New World, so you are not missing anything except the colour pictures. These books on specific themes were compiled in response to those who complained about the lack of colour pictures in Strange New World. There seemed to be a market, and there was. If I can't get it reinstated, I guess those who bought a copy have quite the collector's item! In the meantime, so glad you enjoyed Strange New World! It's even stranger now, ain't it?!
--Jon Abbott, March 2021
Unfortunately, a few months ago, after the title in question had been on sale for about two years, they suddenly arbitrarily decided this book was somehow breaking some unspecified rule of theirs, and removed it from sale (without even telling me! I suddenly noticed it had gone from my author's page). The problem is that they are very difficult to talk to, because when they do this, it's completely random and they refuse to specify what the problem is, so it's virtually impossible to put right. They do not entertain any debate or discussion, that's it. I do a lot of reviews on Amazon, and it's the same situation with those. It's a very sinister form of censorship, because I could go through the whole book with a magnifying glass, removing stuff I thought might have broken the rules, and still not find the offending sentence/s or image. In the meantime, they're making you try and think like they do, so I prefer not to play that game. If I thought something was offensive or unlawful, I wouldn't have put it in the book! As you can imagine, with a subject like Jess and Lina, in the current climate it could be absolutely anything.
If they could specifically point to something, and it was a piddling thing that didn't matter to anyone but them, I would happily remove it. On the other hand, if it was something I felt sufficiently strongly about, I could fall on my sword in the name of free speech. But when no-one can, or will, tell me what the problem is, I am powerless. As they print and distribute the book, I'm stuck in some Kafka-esque limbo. Generally, I'm very happy with Amazon. It's a great system, when it works!
I could, and might, try and resubmit the book again as is, sometime in the future and see what happens, but it could still suddenly disappear again next time they have a 'sweep', or even not be accepted at all next time. All I can say is, periodically check my author's page to see if it's listed, and then grab it while you can!
If it's any consolation, like my other 6 x 9 titles Brass Cheek, A-Z of Bad Girls, Great British Sex Film, and Erotic Horror, the text is taken directly from Strange New World, so you are not missing anything except the colour pictures. These books on specific themes were compiled in response to those who complained about the lack of colour pictures in Strange New World. There seemed to be a market, and there was. If I can't get it reinstated, I guess those who bought a copy have quite the collector's item! In the meantime, so glad you enjoyed Strange New World! It's even stranger now, ain't it?!
--Jon Abbott, March 2021
Jon Abbott
As I write about film and TV, the inspiration, if it comes, comes while watching. I don't like a blank page, I like to add, re-read, re-write, and revise all the time. It's tough putting a book to bed sometimes, but when you find yourself taking out what you just put in, you know it's done.
Jon Abbott
I've always got several projects on the go, and I flit around from one to another depending on my mood. That way, there's always something to get on with.
Jon Abbott
Just write. Everybody says that, I know, but if you want to write, you will write, and the more you write, the better you get. Go back to your early stuff and see how bad it is compared to what you're doing now! There's never been a better time to be a writer, all the technology is out there. But don't publish until you're ready. Really ready. Really, really ready!
Jon Abbott
Choosing your own hours, being able to reach people, provide ideas and information... and getting a good response from people who get what you're trying to do.
Jon Abbott
That would be Cool TV. I wanted to find a format in which I could cover Batman and The Man from UNCLE in the same way I covered the Irwin Allen shows, but the two publishers I had interested wanted a different sort of book, so I self-published. One wanted me to write about lots of 1960s shows in brief, the other wanted separate books on all three shows covered, but all these things had already been done. My take on them hadn't. I'm really pleased with the end result and it appears to be selling. I'm now toying with the idea of Cool TV 2!
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