Billie Rae Bates's Blog, page 16
June 14, 2022
Linda Gaye Scott dishes on “Green Hornet,” “Batman” and more
BRBTV knows her as the beautiful blond alien-seeming creature clad in shimmering gold on the classic “Green Hornet” two-part episode “Invasion from Outer Space,” but since she’s been doing her podcast, we feel like we know her a whole better. With her gentle voice, Linda Gaye Scott invites you into the “Bumpy Road” of her world as she talks about her various roles over the years, her childhood in Hollywood, her parents, her school embarrassments, her bonding with Bruce Lee, the family’s chance roadside run-in with Frank Sinatra … all kinds of different stuff. If you are a fan of classic Hollywood, then similar to the autobiography of Yvonne Craig (which we also recommend), you will dig these fireside chats. There are lots of places to tune in:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lindas-bumpy-ride-on-bumpy-road/id1591376249
https://www.lindagayescott/podcast
https://rss.com/podcasts/lindagayescott/
https://www.audible.com/pd/Podcast/B08JJP3FYR#episode-list-preview
Linda Gaye Scott as Vama on “The Green Hornet,” 1967.
June 7, 2022
Terrific TV Toys: Riddler and Creeper figures by Kenner, 1998-1999
Kenner had a great run through the 1990s with action figures from the "Batman: The Animated Series" and "The New Batman Adventures" shows, and you've seen a few of them already on the T3 series. Now we turn our attention to the Riddler and Creeper figures by Kenner. The Riddler is part of a "Mission Masters" subseries Kenner released at the time, and he is officially the "Rumble Ready Riddler." The Creeper evidently had some kind of "Dynamic Decoder" / "Crime Solver" component that this author was unable to locate in the gizmos box downstairs, plus his microphone is missing. But hey, besides that these two are intact!
See what else is on the Terrific TV Toys playlist.
June 1, 2022
Southfork Ranch photos, part 2!
On Monday, we stepped inside Southfork Ranch, courtesy of our friend Patrick Shawn Bennett of the Pop Ninja podcast. There were a lot of great photos there, but here are a few more ...
Look for a new Kindle edition of the BRBTV book "Destination: Dallas" that will include a bunch of Patrick's photos and other updates!
Photos courtesy of Patrick Shawn Bennett; please do not copy without permission.
May 30, 2022
Fresh photos from Southfork Ranch (even with cows!)
Well, I have to admit when I first saw the first photo below I had to wonder if it was a postcard picked up at the Southfork Ranch giftshop and not an original photo taken by my friend Patrick Shawn Bennett of the Pop Ninja podcast. The shot is so iconic -- so "picture-perfect"! But hey, that's just Patrick's talent for capturing the moment, because indeed, these are all Patrick's own photos, and he kindly offers them for this blog. He got a chance to tour Southfork a week or so ago.
"I liked that they used the interior of it on the reboot series," he says. "That patio table is the original from the ‘70s where they would eat breakfast and argue." Yeah, and there's the famous pool that Ken ("Cliff Barnes") Kercheval was all too familiar with, along with Mary ("Kristen") Crosby. Super-cool. Thanks, Patrick!
There's so much good stuff here we've got to run this in two parts -- part 2 coming Wednesday!
Photos courtesy of Patrick Shawn Bennett; please do not copy without permission.
May 24, 2022
Terrific non-TV Toys: Snoopy ceramic musical stein, 1971
Here's quite the vintage piece, dating back to 1971, one of a set of three by Schmid featuring our beloved Peanuts characters. This ceramic musical stein is a bright orange and depicts that crazy beagle as the World War II flying ace. So does it play its song ("Fly Me to the Moon") after all these years? Well, it did, when this author first got it. Watch the latest episode of the Terrific non-TV Toys series to see how this mug is holding up ...
May 18, 2022
Catch the latest episode of "Reanimated"
Well, that evil Dr. Sworski has the upper hand no longer, as the action moves along in the apocalyptic zombie series "Reanimated." In previous episodes, we saw that the doctor had escaped a certain death at the hand of his former partner (turned "undead") and had insinuated himself into the company of a local farmer and his young associate. Blanche Lancaster, played by this author, was rescued from a helicopter crash only to find wake up inside her worst nightmare -- the evil doctor is not only alive, but must be the one to save her life. So now, in episode 6, the group is gelling together, reuniting with others who had gotten separated. They try to decide what to do with the doctor, now that all has been revealed, but danger closes in, as always ...
May 14, 2022
Come get your photo with the Mystery Machine and Scooby!
Happening right this moment: If you're anywhere near Metro Detroit, hop on down to the Motor City Comic Con and visit the Mystery Machine and a whole bunch of Scoobies ... In fact, if you are a viewer of the Terrific TV Toys series, then these Scoobies will look familiar to you. They've been featured in episodes of the show over the years. See the playlist that focuses on Scooby-Doo! These BRBTV-provided plush Scoobs are part of the display of Motor City Reel Rides at this weekend's con in Novi, Michigan.
Photos courtesy of Motor City Reel Rides; please do not copy without permission.
May 10, 2022
Terrific TV Toys: "Dukes of Hazzard" sleeping bag, 1980
For your next camping trip, or perhaps when you just need an extra blanket around the house, it's this delightful vintage piece, a sleeping bag celebrating "The Dukes of Hazzard." This 1980 item, produced right when a slew of "Dukes" stuff was hitting store shelves to capitalize on the show's success on CBS, features Bo, Luke, Daisy and the gang and is the focus of the latest episode of the T3 series ...
See what else is on the Terrific TV Toys playlist.
April 22, 2022
Behold these wonderful custom Wonder Woman dolls ...
... and we'll call them dolls, OK? They are Barbies or patterned after Barbies, after all! Special thanks to Martin, who is kind enough to share with us his collection of customized Wonder Women. And how lovely they are.
First up here is his custom of the 13-inch Tonner Wonder Woman doll. Then we have customs of the 2004 Wonder Woman Barbie, followed by customs of the 1999 Wonder Woman Barbie (which you can also see in her original form in this episode of the Terrific TV Toys series).
"Wonder Woman is my favorite comic character," Martin says, "but I'm also into DC Heroes in general. I started doing Wonder Woman custom dolls probably about 10 years ago. I started doing them because nobody was doing Wonder Woman the way I wanted to see her presented. The Barbies are beautiful but their bodies didn't look muscular enough for an Amazon warrior."
Indeed, in these customs you see a more realistic look. "The action figure companies like DC Direct, Sideshow and Hot Toys made Wonder Woman look strong," Martin says, "but the action figures lacked beauty. The faces looked harsh and unattractive in my opinion. I kept thinking - why is it so hard to make a large, somewhat muscular female figure with a drop-dead gorgeous face and hair? So, I took the Barbie world and the action figure world and merged them together to make my idea of what a Wonder Woman doll or figure SHOULD look like. Strong and beautiful at the same time."
"I also do other characters, and I'm in the process now of doing several of the really popular DC figures, both male and female," he continues. "I mostly like the classic versions."
Martin also shares photos of his Power Girl, Zatanna, and Black Canary. "I'm really good at styling the hair (tooting my own horn, lol). All doll collectors have seen promotional photos of dolls where the hair looks so beautiful but then after you get the doll, the hair looks nothing like that. It gets all tangled and flat from being in the box. I would love to work with actual toy companies with styling doll hair."
Photos courtesy of Martin; please do not copy.
April 19, 2022
Terrific non-TV Toys: Marilyn Monroe musical figurine, 1982
Why, of course she plays "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" -- what else would a porcelain musical figure of Marilyn Monroe play, especially when draped in this divine white gown? She's lovely, though a little worse for wear. A bit loose in parts. She is from the '80s after all. She's an item once belonging to this author's mom, and we take a close look at her in the latest episode of the Terrific non-TV Toys series.
