Billie Rae Bates's Blog, page 15
August 4, 2022
Terrific TV Toys: Snoopy PVC summer figures, Whitman's / others, 2000-2012
Snoopy on motorcross? Snoopy playing tennis? Snoopy as the Masked Marvel? He's the star of the show, as we look at three of the classic Peanuts primetime TV specials (and the novelizations of them, actually), and we examine our next batch of Snoopy PVC figures. We've looked at the PVCs themed for Valentine's Day and Easter already earlier this season, and we've got Halloween and Christmas later this year, but there are lots of these wonderful figures that are not themed around a holiday. So we're throwing these into a general sports / summertime vibe bucket!
See what else is on the Terrific TV Toys playlist.
July 29, 2022
Card-carrying Angel? Sure, why not!
Special thanks to Miguel, honorary procurement chief of BRBTV, for securing this simple but fine piece, an official "Charlie's Angels" fan club card. With a shot of the three original Angels -- Jaclyn Smith, Farrah Fawcett and Kate Jackson -- and in the name of the Charles Townsend Detective Agency, it's all official-like, ya know?
July 27, 2022
Announcing the third edition of the e-book version of "Destination: Dallas"
Weeeellll ... we've got to blame our friend Patrick Shawn Bennett of the Pop Ninja podcast for this one. He traveled to Southfork Ranch in Texas recently and got some great new photos that he offered up for this blog, and it really got this author to thinking ... maybe I should include these in the e-version of "Destination: Dallas." And so here we are, unable to resist the temptation. The third edition of the e-book is still in full-color throughout, and it includes a few other updates here and there, as well (like our friend Josh Eilberg's amazing photos of the Southfork reunion events), and still for the same low price, $6. The print edition of the book remains the same, but who knows -- maybe I'll eventually find enough hours in the day to update that one with the continuity of the newer TNT series and all that. It would be pretty time-consuming. But for the time being, I hope you enjoy this up-to-the-minute e-edition update.
July 19, 2022
Terrific non-TV Toys: Batgirl Artists Alley statue (iridescent), DC Collectibles, 2019
We're knocking out a backlog of non-TV-related collectibles here at the BRBTV headquarters for the Terrific non-TV Toys series, and after focusing on vintage Archie earlier this month, we now turn to modern stuff for several episodes. This Batgirl PVC vinyl statue is part of an "Artists Alley" set by DC Collectibles, featuring various color schemes for the ladies of the DCU we know so well. This one is dark and iridescent, glimmering in a rainbow of colors along her lean, curvy lines.
July 15, 2022
Happy Friday! We're talkin' classic TV again on the Pop Ninja podcast
It was a great time once again on the Pop Ninja podcast, and this time around, this author got to chat about classic cop TV shows, more specifically "Adam-12" and the eternally lovable "Columbo." In the first part of this episode, part of the podcast's third season, Lisa and Patrick discuss some of the great cop movies of the '70s and '80s, then Patrick and I switch it over to the TV "channel." Be sure to listen for the secret code word and PM it to the FB page and you could win your favorite cop movie on DVD! Here's the link to the podcast:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1265612/10952366-pop-ninja-podcast-season-3-episode-5
July 9, 2022
Hello to our friend Jim in Boss Hogg's Caddy
You might recognize this wonderful piece of machinery as a replica of the Caddy that Boss Hogg drove on "The Dukes of Hazzard." Well, hello to our friend Jim of Jim's Creations, an artist whose talent has been profiled on this blog and in the BRBTV books. He's driving this car today at the Swap Meet and Car Show in Chatham, Ontario. Wish we could drop by!
July 5, 2022
Terrific non-TV Toys: Archie bendy figure and fan club items, 1988-89
Since there's a backlog of non-TV-related collectibles here at the BRBTV headquarters, we're going to knock out several episodes of the Terrific non-TV Toys series before we get back to some Terrific TV Toys stuff. So this month, for the first of two episode of the non-TV variety, we return to Riverdale. Specifically, we've got some vintage items from the 1980s celebrating the Archie Comics lore. This bendy figure by Jesco was purchased recently but dates to 1989. And this little geeky kid once joined the Archies Fan Club and has most items from that still around.
See the other episodes in the Terrific non-TV Toys series.
And this geeky girl hasn't just written letters to Archie Comics over the years -- read about the interview and friendship with longtime Archie artist Dan DeCarlo.
July 1, 2022
Just Beneath the Surface: Taking on the Twilight Zone episode "Howling Man"
Our friend Brian and his friend Bruce have dropped another episode of the "Just Beneath the Surface" web series, this time discussing the classic "Twilight Zone" episode "The Howling Man," which this author has always loved. If you want creepy, this TZ episode is creepy. And I actually got to talk to the star H.M. Wynant at the Motor City Comic Con a few years back. Bruce and Brian disagree on the merits of this episode, and you'll find out why as you listen in ...
June 27, 2022
Green Hornet and Lone Ranger star in exhibit at San Diego Fair
Special thanks to Mary Kay Johnson, granddaughter of Green Hornet creator George W. Trendle, for sending along these photos of items exhibiting at the San Diego Fair (formerly the Del Mar Fair) at the Del Mar Fairgrounds in California. The theme of this year's fair is "Heroes Reunite!", and how appropriate it is to include the Lone Ranger and his nephew, the Green Hornet. The fair is going on now through this weekend.
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From the Trendle family:
G. W. Trendle (1884-1972) owned the first radio station in Michigan – WXYZ “the last word in radio” and knew children needed heroes so he created some: The Lone Ranger (1933), The Green Hornet (1936, descended from the Lone Ranger's brother who owned a silver mine and made The Lone Ranger’s bullets), and Challenge of the Yukon (1938, which became Sgt. Preston of the Yukon on TV in 1955).
The Green Hornet was also made into serials for movie theaters in the 1930’s. The Green Hornet’s car – The Black Beauty – was the first super car with radar, a drone, and rockets.
Ned Jordan Secret Agent (1939) was an undercover FBI agent.
Bob Barclay - American Agent (1950) was a CIA agent in Europe with the cover of a newspaper reporter. But the U.S. government asked that the program be discontinued when newspaper staff in Europe were arrested by governments who thought all the stories were true and all newspaper correspondents were spies!
In 1949 The Lone Ranger became a TV series, followed by Sgt Preston in 1955, and The Green Hornet in 1966.
The message in all of these is “one person can make a difference.” At a time in history when only Caucasians were portrayed in stories, these scripts had major characters that were of other ethnicities: Native American, Asian, , Eskimo, Irish, and Black.
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Photos courtesy of April Johnston and Mary Kay Johnson; please do not copy without permission.
June 21, 2022
Terrific non-TV Toys: Daphne Barbie doll by Mattel, 2001
Anticipation was pretty high for the first live-action Scooby-Doo movie, released in 2002 and featuring Matthew Lillard as Shaggy, Sarah Michelle Gellar as Daphne, Freddie Prinze Jr. as Fred, and Linda Cardellini as Velma. Mattel did a series of dolls as part of the merchandising effort for that big-screen release, and the latest episode of the Terrific non-TV Toys series highlights one of those dolls. It's Barbie as the beautiful Daphne, clad in fuchsia satin and accompanied by our favorite Great Dane. This is an out-of-the-box experience, so you can check out each and every accessory -- even the ones that fly across the room. LOL on that ...
