Space:1999 article from Starlog #2

From issue #2 of Starlog, from November 1976 when that awesome mag was in its infancy, comes this article on "Space:1999," looking back on the problems of the first season, and what was planned for the second. Bringing on Fred Frieburger as producer may have at first seemed like a great choice to punch up the action and drama, having the third season of "Star Trek" on his resume; but they should have noted that he was more responsible than anyone else for that show's drastic decline in intelligence during the third year.

First, a great cover painting...

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From the same issue, a short writeup on Space actor Nick Tate, as he talks at a convention about the changes coming in the new season.

And, here is the back cover of the issue, advertising the soundtrack for the series.

It's still hard for me to believe that we have passed the year that the show was set in, by 13 years now. Back in the mid-70's it seemed so futuristic and far off! And we still have no moonbase.

As a bonus, here is an article from the prior issue of Starlog, #1, that also talks about the upcoming changes from an earier perspective.

Batman OnStar Magazine Ad

Below is an awesome painting of Batman that was an ad in a May 2000 magazine for the OnStar automobile emergency service. The suit is screen-accurate, based on the one from Batman Forever. I just don't make the connection between pushing a button on your dash to call for help and "becoming Batman." They also did a series of TV commercials that were very memorable (and better than "Batman and Robin"). You can view a compilation of all of them on this Youtube video.

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on it again once it opens to view it full-size.)

"Criminals, beware... I'll squeeze your gonads until they burst like rotten figs!"

Below is the cardboard box top for the plastic figures of Batman and the Joker that held candy, that came out in 1989. I ate the candy and saved the toys; it would been too weird to do it the other way around.

Is it wise to accept pill-shaped candy from Jack Nicholson's Joker?

The Big Bang Theory Promo

No, this entry is not about Sheldon's popular show; rather, it's a 1988 cable trade magazine dual ad for both the "War Of The Worlds" series and "Star Trek: The Next Generation." Although the ad touts the high numbers for the new "WOTW" series, you may remember that it only lasted for two seasons before being cancelled, whereas "ST:TNG" went for all seven before the studio voluntarily ended it. The magazine was an over-sized publication, and it took six page scans to get the entire two-page spread (the painting for which is quite spectacular), which I then pieced back together. Most of the time the scans here are larger than the actual item featured; but this one is close to the actual size of the original. By the way, I did post this in one of my other blogs awhile back, here, since it spans ST also.

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you may have to click it again to view full-size.)

Bonus: A full-page ad from my 1967 issue #2 of Charlton's "Blue Beetle" comic, advertising their various superheroes. Cool!

Amazing Spider-Man #42

Comics were the first thing I collected as a kid that I actually kept, and I still have each one I bought growing up. Sadly, not very many of the pre-1970 issues are in good enough shape to be worth much to a collector; but they are worth a lot to me for the memories they invoke. This time we look at my dog-eared copy of "The Amazing Spider-Man" #42, published in 1966, in which Peter meets Mary Jane for the first time, and she utters the famous line "Face it, Tiger... you just hit the jackpot!" I'm guessing MJ didn't have a problem with self-esteem or confidence.

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you may have to click it again to view full-size.)

Below is the first page, a great full-page drawing of Spidey as he seemingly robs a bank. Spidey's life is the manifestation of the saying "no good deed goes unpunished."

And lastly, the final page with the famous last panel, as Peter's jaw drops and his pants get tight. Notice that he is not looking at her face in that scene.

From the same issue comes the ad below for the Marvel super-hero cartoons that were playing at the time, the fondly-remembered short episodes that it was a stretch to call "animated." Today we would label them "motion comics," which are comic panels with some elements that slide around the screen, and limited arm and leg motions, accompanied by dialog, music and sound effects. "When Captain America throws his mighty shield!" (Click here to visit a page with the audio.)

For more information about this issue, with a comprehensive review, visit this site:

http://www.samruby.com/AmazingSpider-ManA/amazing_spiderman_042.htm

Batman Magic Photo Kit

From one of the late 1960's comics in my collection, comes this ad for a mysterious "something" that makes photos. For years I wondered what it could be... it surely wasn't a camera.

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Some of the mystery may now finally be dispelled, at least for me, as in researching this item I found this comment on another blog that featured the same ad...

Andy Vaughn on August 23rd, 2007
I had the Batman Photo kit in the younger days. It consisted of 6 negatives with scenes from various Batman stories of the day (I remember a couple of them were Batman fighting the Bouncer). Several pieces of photo paper, and a hard plastic sheath were also included. You would take the photo paper, and place a negative over it, then place both in the plastic sheath which you would then hold up to a light source for 5 minutes. After that, a picture would appear from the negative onto the paper. It was really neat, and I remember playing with it for hours. However it was lost somewhere in time. Sure which I would have kept up with it!

And there you have it.

Superboy TV show ad

From a 1991 cable TV trade magazine comes this large format ad for the third season of "The Adventures of Superboy" TV series, starring Gerard Christopher who replaced John Haymes Newton in season two. Sadly, the second and third seasons have not been officially released on DVD, and considering the ongoing legal battles over the character, are not likely to in the near future.

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"V - The Final Battle" 1984 TV Guide article

Back in 1984, one of the most anticipated events on TV (at least for me) was the sequel to the highly-rated "V" saga. The article featured this time is from the May 7, 1984 edition of TV Guide, revealing the makeup technique used on the memorable scene where the Visitor is revealed to the rest of the world.

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It was then that "John" realised he should have disguised himself as someone more beloved than TV's Karl Maldan.

Below, the TV Guide Close-Up on the return of the popular V epic.

Below are some splash ads for the miniseries.

1975 "Space:1999" Premiere Review

Below is an article I clipped from the September 11, 1975 edition of the Miami Herald. I lived in Ft. Lauderdale at the time, and although I was a fervent dyed-in-the-wool Trekkie, I enjoyed other good sci-fi series also. This is one of several articles I clipped about it, and I'll post more in the future. The author was withholding judgement on it until he saw more, and I'm sure he felt as I did that it was too dry and hard to follow. It's significant that it took bringing in the man that screwed up Trek's third season, Fred Frieberger, to bring it at least up to a level of action and characterization to improve the second season. Even then it never equalled or surpassed Trek as it's promoters bragged it would; at least in my opinion. Although the effects were superb, I enjoyed the earlier effort "U.F.O." more.

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Below is an earlier article, clipped from The Macon telegraph, about the upcoming show. It was this one article that, more than any other, predjudiced me against the new program. Replace "Star Trek"? Never! I would have been more open to it if every article about it didn't compare it to Trek. Here's an article from my other blog that does the exact same thing on a bigger scale.

Below are a couple of ads, one for an interview with the stars and another for the show itself, taken from the same publicity photo.

1966 comic book ads

The first things I ever collected were comics, and looking through those earliest ones I bought as an 8 year old (that I still have) I am amused and taken back in time by the ads themselves. I liked "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." but this ad about a pen that "let you see through walls" was a bit deceptive. It doesn't mention that you must first have a hole in said wall or door to use the pen!

Below is a time capsule of all the shows I liked to watch on Saturday mornings in 1966, spent in my pyjamas and nursing a bowl of cereal ( I liked "Ka-Boom" cereal, remember that one?).

60's Space On The Brain

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I'm still wondering what a "drogue" chute is.

Continuing with the look back at the period in American history when visiting the moon was still an unrealised goal... above, a space-themed cartoon from the pages of The Saturday Evening Post, Jan 29, 1966. UPDATE: thanks to a comment about the "drogue" chute, I looked it up, and the cartoonist had his terms right! Here's the Wiki entry on it.

Below: Space was all the rage in the 60's, as this far-out, spacey ad from the same Post issue for a new refrigerator shows. Mod for the "now" generation, baby!