Billie Rae Bates's Blog, page 28

Tune in to the Pop Ninja podcast this week where BRB, Lisa and Patrick discuss "Isis," "Dallas" and more

Kids of the '70s, teens of the '80s, even kids of the '80s and '90s, Gen-X-ers, Y-ers and whatever else, this is a crazy conversation for you .... I got the chance to join Patrick Bennett (see Monday's post) and Lisa Everetts for the second episode of the "Pop Ninja" podcast, and it was a tremendous amount of fun. In fact, we could have talked at least a couple more hours about all the TV shows we love.

The episode dropped this morning on Buzzsprout. If you're a fan of "Dallas," "Dynasty" or "The Dukes of Hazzard," there's plenty of that in there!

Patrick and Lisa have lots of other guests planned for the coming weeks -- actors from your favorite movies and shows included, such as Brian Cutler and Joanna Pang of the aforementioned "Secrets of Isis" and Adrienne King from "Friday the 13th." 

Thanks so much to Patrick and Lisa for the chance to chat!!!

The Green Hornet inspires this Louisiana filmmaker

"I’m a huge fan of that character. I mean huge!!" says independent filmmaker Patrick Bennett of Louisiana, whom you met last week on the brand-new "Pop Ninja" podcast with Lisa Everetts. Patrick is such a fan, actually, that the GH character has inspired his work.

"I love the two cliffhanger serials they made in the '40s," he says. "One with Gordon Jones and one with Warren Hull. Just last month I put together a serial version costume of that character. Maybe someday I’ll wear it to a con."

 

"I loved the ‘60s series, too," Patrick says. "I get all those Dynamite comics and I listen to an episode of the old Green Hornet radio show every day while I’m driving to work. I’m such a geek. LOL. I’m looking forward to the animated TV series Kevin Smith is producing. I did a YouTube show a couple months back where a friend and I reviewed the two serials and the TV show."

 

Patrick produces an event every year called the Calcasieu Serialfest there in Louisiana. Last month marked the seventh one. "It’s a Saturday of serial chapter screenings, serial cosplay, etc.," Patrick explains. "This year I made some COVID masks to give to attendees to wear during the event that look like the Green Hornet mask from the early comics and radio show program. I also made up some Green Hornet buttons that look like the radio show premiums they would give away in the ‘40s. I love me some Hornet."

      

 

Learn more about Patrick's Calcasieu Serialfest at the event's Facebook page. 

Follow the "Pop Ninja" podcast on Facebook, as well.

 

Photos courtesy of Patrick Shawn Bennett; please do not copy without permission. 

Catch the brand-new Pop Ninja podcast

Patrick Bennett and Lisa Everetts are fans of a lot of great TV shows, movies and other stuff in our pop culture. If you've seen the BRBTV "Superchicks" book, then you might recall Lisa as the avid "Secrets of Isis" fan who met star Joanna Cameron in real life and remains friends with her. Lisa's interview for the book expanded on our dearly departed '70s-'80s Saturday-morning kids' programming, the phenom that us Gen-Xers remember so well. 

Well, now Patrick, who's an independent filmmaker in Louisiana, and Lisa, who owns a bed-and-breakfast in Pennsylvania, are teaming up to present a new podcast: "Pop Ninja," a discussion of all kinds of great stuff. The podcast promises "a trip back in time to the pop culture of the '70s and '80s." The inaugural episode is up right now on Buzzsprout, so check it out!

Stay up to date on the Pop Ninja Facebook page, and check out the Pop Ninja YouTube channel, where you can watch "Cliffhangers: The Serial Talk Show." Patrick loves the old-time serials like "Green Hornet" -- more on that later on this very blog!

Terrific non-TV Toys: Batgirl on scooter, DC Artists Alley series, 2019

BRBTV's Backlog of Batgirls continues. We're not anywhere near done yet. This time, it's a cute little Batgirl on a scooter straight from DC's newer comic book series. She looks like a figure, but she's actually a statue. She's part of DC's Artists Alley series, a tribute to the comic con experience.

Hazzard Fest features Luke, Daisy, Coy and more

This year of 2020 can't be a total wash, ya know? We've seen events canceled one by one in the past few months, events that, if you would have asked us back in March when this pandemic hit full force, we would have thought, oh, surely things will be better by then! But nope, a couple great car shows this summer were canceled around these parts, the Motor City Comic Con, even the Monroe Pop Fest scheduled for next month, which BRBTV really enjoyed last September! Bummer that it has to happen this way, but safety first. And we'll look forward to a much better 2021!
Meanwhile, though, the folks in Hazzard County still have this one on the books for early October. Let's pray it can happen! We just had Bo's Extravaganza a few weekends ago, so maybe this one will fly, too. It's a great lineup: Tom ("Luke Duke") Wopat, Catherine ("Daisy Duke") Bach, Byron ("Coy Duke") Cherry of "The Dukes of Hazzard," plus show mechanic Tom Sarmento, who now has a new book out. And there are lots more great celebs -- see the list below. Concerts, comedy, wow, a really nice lineup. I'm thinking about it -- are you?? Tickets are here.

Batman, Superman and friends shine in this Metro Detroit figure collection

Special thanks to Bill of Metro Detroit, along with Mike, for these photos of Bill's collection of DC Comics-related stuff. He's got a great set of superheroes, and those statues of the female DC characters are amazing. And can you see that pricetag on the Hall of Justice? Wow, we've got to work on that time machine ...






Photos courtesy of Bill; please do not copy.

Screen-used TV treasures abound in online auction this month

Have you been in the market for an "Airwolf" model miniature? Maybe Claire Bennet's cheerleading outfit from the original "Heroes" (save the cheerleader, save the world)? How about Dean Cain's Superman uniform from "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman," the very outfit he so famously and protectively folded his arms across his chest in, time after time? "I Love Lucy," "Lost," "Marcus Welby, M.D.," "Sleepy Hollow," "Smallville," all kinds of "Star Trek" ... so many great TV shows represented in the catalog for this month's online prop auction by Prop Store of London and L.A. (see Propstore.com). And it's movie props, of course, too, but oh, boy, we love that TV stuff! The "Trek" and "Star Wars" stuff  just goes on for days.

The auction happens online and in person at the Petersen Automotive Museum in California.

Check out the full array of listings that go up live August 26 and 27:
https://content.propstore.com/auction/EMLA+LA/EMLA-LA2020_Catalog_OnlineView_B2.pdf?_ga=2.214181783.180733806.1595887109-1827870685.1595887109

Terrific TV Toys: Batgirl figures from "DC Super Hero Girls"

Aaaaaannnndddd .... we're back! After quite a long hiatus, really. The "Terrific TV Toys" series returns for its seventh big season! OK, make that a seventh small season, since it will be just a few episodes before Season 8 begins in January. But still, there's some cool stuff you're going to see, especially since it continues the "Backlong of Batgirls" launched a few weeks ago on the sister series "Terrific non-TV Toys."
The smart, savvy, so sweet "DC Super Hero Girls" series premiered on Cartoon Network just last year. But previously, it was a web series with a slightly different look and approach. Then, the "DC Super Hero Girls" web series featured a heapin' helpin' of both male and female figures from the DCU, teenaged and facing all the pitfalls that attending high school includes. The latter incarnation on TV focuses mainly on a core set of the female figures and how they secretly fight crime together as best friends.

For the earlier web series, a set of dolls hit the store shelves and were pretty popular around Christmastime a few years back. Though we can call them "figures," the market for these was clearly little girls. Little girls who could dream of someday becoming a superhero! So let's take a look at two Batgirls from that original "DC Super Hero Girls" set ...

Next month, you'll see two Batgirl dolls from the newer (TV) series.

Coy Duke gives us a peek at the "Dukes" fun at Bo's Extravaganza

Special thanks to Byron ("Coy Duke") Cherry of "The Dukes of Hazzard" for sharing these two snapshots with BRBTV. He had all kinds of fun at Bo's Extravaganza a couple weeks ago, it's plain to see! The event was hosted by John ("Bo Duke") Schneider in Holden, Louisiana.




And heads-up: Byron will be appearing at Hazzard Fest in Bulls Gap, Tennessee, on October 3, along with Tom ("Luke Duke") Wopat, Catherine ("Daisy Duke") Bach, Tom Sarmento, Cindy Wills and others.


Photos courtesy of Byron Cherry; please do not copy without permission.

"Collector's Call" comes to Metro Detroit to profile an amazing collection of star cars

Coming up on the next episode of "Collector's Call" ... an eye-popping assortment of star cars! And that's what it will be, this weekend on the half-hour original MeTV series on collectibles of all sorts. Who could have guessed that after all kinds of episodes about Coca-Cola goods, comic books, and "Wizard of Oz" memorabilia and the like, that host Lisa Whelchel, whom this author loved so much on "Facts of Life" back in the day, would come to Michigan and shoot so close to home ... in both geographic location (just down the road) and in friendly relations, featuring two of my friends, Mike and Mel (second from right and far right below, respectively) ...



Whelchel and the "Collector's Call" crew were in this expansive car room to examine cars from classic TV shows and movies like "The Monkees," "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!", "Knight Rider," "The Blues Brothers," "National Lampoon's Vacation" and much more. (No, that's not actually Chevy Chase standing behind Lisa below, but it sure heckin' looks like it!) There is one vehicle featured here that is screen-used; can you guess which one? If you are a regular viewer of the Barrett-Jackson auto auction, then you can probably answer that question. The rest of these cars are loving replicas. This is the collection you'll see with Motor City Reel Rides.









Each star car in this room has its own corner of memorabilia, and that is another amazing part of this collection. Ten cars are featured in this "Collector's Call" episode, but the collection goes way beyond that, as you can get an idea of in the photos at the Motor City Reel Rides Facebook page. Other star-car owners join in when Mel and Mike go to car shows like the Woodward Dream Cruise and  Cruisin' Hines, so this goes way beyond Metro Detroit. Some travel from other parts of Michigan. And, many of these cars are available to appear at special events like weddings.

The episode airs this Sunday, August 2 on MeTV.



Photos courtesy of Motor City Reel RidesPlease do not copy without permission