Billie Rae Bates's Blog, page 7

Terrific TV Toys: Catwoman statue from "B:TAS," DC Direct, 2022

She looks like she just silently slithered out of a billionaire's penthouse pad, her jeweled prize in hand, her sleek cat Isis faithfully at her side. She's Catwoman, and above all else, she's a cat burglar. This new statue from DC Direct captures her spirit, based on artwork by Stanley Lau. She's the Catwoman of "Batman: The Animated Series," clad in gray leotard and dipped in sweet intrigue. Batman always thought he could reform her, didn't he?

See what else is on the Terrific TV Toys playlist.

Loved working with the "Rapture Chronicles" crew once again, and look for another episode soon!

Saturday was a very full day, and this author has been honored to serve as script supervisor on "The Rapture Chronicles" web series. We filmed at two different churches in Detroit, covering several scenes for the next episode of the series. Look for it soon! Learn more about the series, which focuses on the Biblical rapture at the show's Facebook page or the Churchouse Productions site.

BRB, upper left, with actors Lars J Loofboro and Bishop Staten, and in the first row, director and producer Dray Hill with his wife, Monica. Photo courtesy of Dray Hill.

Taking an almost-eerie stroll through Eloise

Historic. Spooky. Ethereal. Abandoned. Even calm. There are lots of words you could use to describe the Eloise facility in Westland, Michigan, commonly known as Eloise Psychiatric Hospital or Eloise Asylum. Many visitors have been intrigued by the history of the huge complex, which once encompassed 902 acres and 78 buildings and now has been reduced to just a handful of buildings on a small parcel. Eloise housed thousands and thousands of patients over its lifetime of operation from 1839 to early 1982, ranging from the poor and homeless to the outright criminally insane. Though the facility was a pioneer in technologies such as the X-ray, it also was known to do treatments such as lobotomy, shock therapy and "hydrotherapy," which this author kinda doesn't even want to know the details of.

I did a tour of Eloise over the weekend and thoroughly enjoyed it. A few years back I worked as an extra in a horror film that was set there and that did some exterior filming there, "Eloise," starring Eliza Dushku and Chase Crawford, and ever since then I, too,  have been intrigued by its history. There's a lot of chatter about paranormal activity at Eloise, and there have been episodes of "Expedition X" and "Portals to Hell" shot there. I don't subscribe to any of that, as a believer in the Lord, but I am still interested in the history of the patients there and how they were treated. A lot of people in Metro Detroit know someone who was at Eloise at some point, and there are some stories.

Here are a few shots I took there on the historical tour, which you can also book at the site's Facebook page. The tour was over three hours, and I really enjoyed it. There are lots more photos on my Flickr channel, and I'm going to be uploading some walking-around video to my secondary YouTube channel in the coming months.

Photos by Billie Rae BatesCopying with credit is OK

Terrific non-TV Toys: Wonder Woman salt and pepper shaker set by Enesco, 2019

We do so much vintage stuff on the Terrific non-TV Toys series, but this time let's turn to something gleaming and new: a delightful salt and pepper shaker set in the shape of Wonder Woman and her arch-nemesis, Cheetah. Rahrrr!!! This was a super-cool gift from Bobby and Jessica.

See the other episodes in the Terrific non-TV Toys series.

Motor City Comic Con: The cosplay -- oh, the cosplay

There was a little bit of everything at last weekend's Motor City Comic Con. Great Batmen, Catwomen, Captain Americas, "Star Wars" folks, Harley Quinns, Storms, and a whole lotta stuff we didn't recognize because we don't watch those shows or whatevs. How about some walking-around video? See what characters you can spot ...

Look for more great video from the con on the BRBTV YouTube channel.

Motor City Comic Con: Jennifer Morrison

She was wonderful as Emma Swan on ABC's "Once Upon a Time." BRBTV saw every episode. Emma was smart, tough, plucky, and the central character to so much that was going on during the series run. So how did Jennifer Morrison feel about that whole "dark swan" turn that Emma did? Does she prefer acting or directing? What about her time on "House" -- how did she have to prepare, and what was Hugh Laurie like? Hear the answers to those questions and more in these clips from her panel discussion at last weekend's Motor City Comic Con.

Look for more great video from the con on the BRBTV YouTube channel.

Motor City Comic Con: Amy Jo Johnson

We know her as Kimberly the Pink Power Ranger on "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers" of the 1990s, as well as from "Felicity" and "Flashpoint" in more recent years. But did you also know she has been working on a comic book? Amy Jo Johnson talks about that, as well as about why she left acting (but still works behind the camera), her fondness for "Power Rangers" costar Jason David Frank (who died in November 2022), and more in these clips from her panel discussion at last weekend's Motor City Comic Con.

Look for more great video from the con on the BRBTV YouTube channel.

A grand return to the Motor City Comic Con

I suppose I could have gotten back sooner, but in more recent years, I kept talking myself out of it at the last second. But yesterday, this author finally made her way back to the beautiful mayhem of the Motor City Comic Con for the first time since COVID. And a grand return it was. Rather exhilarating, to walk around that ginormous convention hall again -- to see even how much bigger the show has gotten in the past few years. I always cover all the shopping, and it took me a lot longer this time. I walked for hours straight. I caught a couple celeb panels. Got some video you'll see this week on the BRBTV YouTube channel. Saw friends. And, I saw lots of delicious TV-show-related toys ...

"Star Trek," "Battlestar Galactica," classic "Twilight Zone," "Starsky and Hutch," any kind of Batman and Scooby-Doo everywhere, the Power Rangers, Muppets and more ...

Photos by Billie Rae Bates / BRBTV Copying with credit is OK; a link would be grand

Terrific TV Toys: Batgirl from "The New Adventures of Batman," McFarlane Toys, 2024

I won't blame you if you've never seen this 1977 cartoon series -- I have a feeling I have seen little or none of it myself. It's "The New Adventures of Batman," delivered up by Filmation, which was certainly riding high in the 1970s. I suspect it was a follow-up to their 1968 cartoon series "The Adventures of Batman," wouldn't ya say? In the 1977 series, though, you heard the familiar voices of Adam West and Burt Ward. It's surprising only 16 episodes were produced of this series. At any rate, McFarlane Toys has released a new line celebrating this cartoon, and the Batgirl of that set is rolling out in the latest episode of T3 ...

See what else is on the Terrific TV Toys playlist.

Terrific non-TV Toys: Barbie carrying case and fashions, Mattel, 1968-1970s

Previously on the Terrific non-TV Toys series, you saw the '70s Malibu Barbie, Ken, P.J. and Skipper dolls of this author's childhood, for better or worse, for whatever weathering these treasures may have endured over the decades, even being simply stored in a box. Then there was the Quick Curl Francie doll on a more-recent episode. So consider the newest episode of the series a conclusion of that Mattel story arc, as we take an up-close-and-personal look at the Barbie-branded doll and fashion carrying case that went with it all -- along with some luscious fashions! This is truly a trip back in time ...

See the other episodes in the Terrific non-TV Toys series.

See the other Barbies that have been featured on the series.