Hogan's Heroes Seasons One and Two

Another show that I enjoyed watching in the 1960's was Hogan's Heroes. I even enjoyed the reruns but at some point, like on most childhood favorites, I started wondering why I liked this and stoped watching it. Years later when they started bringing it out on DVD I really wanted the first two seasons. Well I actually only wanted the first season. For some reason I had this memory of William Christopher, who played Father Mulcahy on M*A*S*H, as Carter in the pilot episode. Of course everyone knows Larry Hovis played the part but I really believed that William Christopher played the part. Well he didn't. He did play on the show as a allied solider that they helped to escape but never as part of Hogan's gang. Hovis was in the first episode but not as Carter. He too was an allied officer that Hogan's men helped escape. Then in the second episode he was back as Carter. I guess someone on the show liked him. The first episode was filmed in black and white. Back then it saved money to film in black and white as color was expensive. You didn't want to spend that money unless you had a show that was going to be a series and not just a failed pilot. As I mentioned with Bewitched they should colorize the pilot so it can be included in a better syndication package for the series.

I later bought the second season as it was full of extras. For some reason it was left off of the first season. Perhaps it was because of the extra cost to get them as season two cost more. It had variety show apperances that the cast memebers made and and apperance that Bob Crane and John Banner did on the Lucy Show. It also had the audio of Bob Cranes old LA radio show where his guest was Dickie Dawson and they talked about the TV pilot they had just filmed. That was of course Hogan's Heroes.

What surprised me most was that Sgt. Schultz and Colonel Klink were usually in on what they were doing. Mostly Schultz. I remembered them as not knowing anything but Schultz did know. He just didn't care. All he wanted to do was his job and then go home at the end of the day. Klink helped him out but he was in the dark more often then Schultz. I had to wonder how dumb Klink could be. Hogan was always listening in on what was going on in Klink's office or apartment without Klink knowing. Suddenly Hogan would burst in and practically tell that he heard everything and soon Klink was volunteering to help Hogan and never asking how Hogan knew what was going on. How dumb can you be Colonel Klink?

I really enjoyed these two seasons of the show but I doubt I will get the rest. Unless some one wants to send me a free copy to review. The series was a one joke show but it was fun to watch and see how they could make the same plot seem new and fresh all the time. They kept this going for 6 or 7 years so they must have been good at it. The cast members were all severly typecast. Bob Crane tried for a movie career but that never took and he spent the rest of his life doing dinner theater. John Banner was cast in a new TV show the Chicago Teddy Bears but the show didn't do well and Banner died a couple of years later. Werner Klemperer became a guest conductor. Ivan Dixon became a respected TV director and we all know that Richard Dawson made a TV career out of getting families to feud.

Bewitched Season One in Color

Well I have lately been watching Season one of Bewitched on DVD. I have not seen season one before. When I was old enough to know what I was watching on TV they were already into the color episodes and I believe it was the last two years that Dick York was playing Darren. So to see this season was watching a new series.

Now I use to be an oppenant of colorization. I was reminded of this when I was having a conversation with my cousin Steve. I had just watche these new colorized episodes and while I had not seen them before I was over taken by a wave of nostalgiza as they looked like I remembered seeing Bewitched. I voiced how come they don't do this more often and he said something like "it ruins the beauty of the black and white film and destroys the effort that the lighting director made to try and get it just right." That reminded me of something that I would have said years ago. However, I have now see from the other side. With the exception of when they sequed from one scene to another you could not tell this had ever been in black and white. It looked like it was in the old technicolor and I know this would help get the series in more markets when in syndication. So why not do this with more of the older series? Half the episodes of F-Troop were in black and white. I think the series would be seen more if the whole series was colorized. The only series I don't think it would work with is the Munsters. Too many people have seen Herman with a pale white face for years. Seeing the green face may have a bad effect and turn viewers off. Also, fans of I Love Lucy may not like it as that is an iconic series. Still if you don't like seeing your favorite old series or movie in color you can always turn down the color on your TV set.

When I do get to see the color episodes I hope one of the extras are the short introductions that they had just before the show would come on. It was usually Elizabeth Montgomery in front of a plain background. She would say "Stay tuned for Bewitched. Next! In color!" This was a turning point in pop culture as it shows what point that TV went from all black and white to all color. It was also a way to sell the new color TV sets. I know a man who as a child would see those and he would tell his family to hurry into the living room to watch this show because it was in color. Then seeing how disappointed he was when seeing that it was still in black and white they had to get a new color TV.

If anyone reading this knows if those are used as extras on any of the sets please let me know and which one it is on so I can get it.

Thor and Hostess In the storm meets its Master

It's Saturday and time for Hostess commercial starring Thor!

Super Stan?

By the late 1960's Stan Lee had become a celebrity and was being asked for personal apperances and his autograph. By 1976 he was starting to surpass himself as he was on his way to becoming a Marvel icon as Super Stan. Take a look at this 1976 ad for cups from Superhero Merchandise. The cup on the far left is that of Stan the Man Lee as Super Stan. I tried to find another photo of it close up but this is the only one I could find. When was Dr. Stranges sidekick Cela so big that she could get her own cup?

Patrick Owsley

For those of you who love comic and cartoon art here is a wonderful site by artist Patrick Owsley. The above art of the Monkees is one of his. I love the Monkees too Partrick. You can go to it by click here and get the art above if you click here to go to E-bay.

Logo submissions

If you want to become a member of S.O.M.E. and like to make logos then here is how. Submit a logo for this site and I will use it for a month if I like it. However it must contain the Monkees. After all this is for Society Of Monkees Enthusiasts . So e-mail your submissions and I will look at them. Thanks.

Star Wars Mad Magazine Cover From 1978

I recently found this and forgot I had it. As this year is the 30th anniversary of the release of the first Star Wars film I thought you might like to see the cover of this 1978 issue of Mad. As you can see on the inside they have fun with Three's Company. Usually the artist of this magazine are able to do wonderful caricatures of celebrities but for some reason they can't seem to get John Ritter right. At times he looked ok but usually it didn't look like John Ritter to me. One that they did get right was Henry Winkler who they used as their Mad interviewer of a ghost writer. I always loved Mad but I don't see it for sale much these days.

Hostess saves the day

Here is an ad for Hostess fruit pies. Hulk against the Phoomie Goonies? Even with the name the Phoomie Goonies you know even Irving Forbush could beat them. Perhaps this was a dig at the old Marvel club FOOM.

Religious Affiliation of Comic Book Characters

I have linked to this site before but I didn't see the photos that they now have on the site. It is called The Religious Affiliation of Comic Book Characters. This is there group of Baptist superheroes. Near the center of the group is one of my favorites, drawn by the great Jim Apro, Black Lightning. I found it hard to believe that Ghost Rider was any religion other then Atheist. Apprently Johnny Blaze said he was Baptist in one story. If you have your body possessed by a demon it is pretty good sign you aren't a Christian. However, just cause you are born into a religion doesn't make you a Christian unless you accept Jesus Christ into your heart.
Anyway if you have ever wondered what faith your favorites were you can get a hint by looking at this site. Who knew Jimmy Olsen was Lutheran?

Two societies of friends

Ok I am still taking time off to work on a project but I keep seeing on Aquaman Shrine that Rob has friends that are members of F.O.A.M. I believe that it stands for Friends Of Aquaman. Well I would to start something like that for my sites Black Lightning Limited and On My Mind. So for Black Lightning Limited I am starting B.lack L.ightning A.ppreciation S.ociety T.eam (BLAST) and for On My Mind, since I am a big Monkees fan, I am starting S.ociety O.f M.onkees E.nthusiasts (SOME.) The rules are that you have to submit to me something interesting for either Black Lightning or the Monkees that I can post on my site. In return I will give a link to your site. However, there is one rule, your site must be G rated. Free of curse words and naked drawings & photos of people. So e-mail me any Monkees or Black Lightning items that you have and maybe it will appear on my site.

Time Off

Well it is really fun to do these bolgs but I have to take some time off for a project that I am involved in. I don't know any exact date that I will be back on but I will be checking in from time to time and when I have something worthy to post I will. If you have anything that you want to have me add to this blog or promote on this blog then please e-mail me and I will do my best to do so. If you ever see the book posted above then you can be assured that I am taking some time off. So as long as you see this book above then you know I am still busy on my project. Why am I showing this book cover for It's That Time Again? Well for those who don't know I have a short story in here and it is my first published story. It also has a story in there that my cousin Steve wrote. You can buy the book below if you so wish.

A Marvel Doc Savage In House Ad

Now this is what I call an in house ad! Most books just show you a cover of the book but this makes you see what the story is like. Now Marvel doesn't own the rights to Doc Savage anymore. Don't look for the Essential Doc Savage to read the story. The only way you will be able to read it is to find a back issue.

Another Tribute to Peter Tork

The song featured in this tribute to Peter is Come On In also produced by Mike as was yesterdays song. If either of these songs were released Peter's musical future with and without the Monkees may have been a little bit different. He had a better voice then Your Auntie Grizelda ever led us to believe.

A Tribute to Peter Tork

Here is a video tribute to Peter Tork that I found on You Tube. The song is called I Don't Think You Know Me At All and was produced by Mike Nesmith. It sounds pretty good but needs to have a few things fixed. If they had fixed them and released this song I am positive this would have been a hit for Peter or at least a popular album cut. Come back tomorrow to see another video tribute to Peter Tork.

The Monkees and I Didn't Know You Had It In You Sally, You're A Real Ball Of Fire

Well I finally got to listen to the new Monkees song. Now these days it is a real treat to listen to any new and previously unreleased Monkees song as Rhino seems to be near empty on that material. I couldn't wait to listen to it and went to the turn table on my stero and to my shock found that the 45 adapter was gone. It was a long time since I had listen to a 45 so I don't know how long it had been missing. I tried going to stores to get a new one and was prepared for stunned and shocked looks that a person in the 21st century would still need one. Of all the store I went to only one person gave me an odd look and had to think for a moment of what a 45 adapter was. Another kid of around 15 or 16 had never heard of a 45 adapter. Anyway none of the stores had one. When I got home my wife had found the adapter in the basement. In just a few seconds I listened to this 38 year old song that had not been released until now. Since I had read that the insturmental part had been finished in 1966 (the vocals were done in 1969) I was expecting it to sound like Teardrop City or I'm a Believer. Instead it sounded more like Tapioca Tundra only not as good. Micky's vocals were so nasal that I had to listen very close to tell it was him. The sound was so completely different that my wife had to ask me if it really was the Monkees. There were certain vocal inflections that assured me it was Micky. So I told her it was the Monkees and I had not been taken. The filp side was an alternate mix of Daydream Believer. I have heard that so many times that I thought I wouldn't like it but in comparison to the newest find in the Monkees vault the new Daydream Believer was a pleasant listening experience.

So I am happy to have this rare song in the Monkees history. However, it was an expensive record to buy since I had it purchase the two new CD's to get it. Still I probably would have wound up getting those anyway later on. If anyone else got this please leave a comment and let me know what you thought about it.

This Day In Music History: The Beach Boys and I Get Around

July 4th 1964, on this day in music history, the Billboard chart was topped by America's Band, the Beach Boys with I Get Around. The Beach Boys lived and promoted the American dream and often preformed on theFourth of July.

As many people know the Band was from California and originally consisted of the Wilson Brothers, Brian, Carl and Dennis, their cousin Mike Love and Brian Wilson's high school frined Al Jardine. When the Wilson boys parents were on vacation in Mexico the boys went to see music publishers Hite and Doreen Morgan about recording a song. The five boys had formed a group and were always singing on weekends at the Wilson house and felt ready to record.

Now here is where I have heard two versions of the story. The Morgans only wanted original material so the boys sat down right there and wrote the song Surfin' in their office and recorded it two days later. However, another story I read was that the song lyrics were written by Brian as a poem in his English class and later the song was finished in the Morgans office. I don't know which one is true but I am guessing it was the second one.

The group needed a new name. They were currently called the Pendletones but a promotion man, Russ Regan, for Candix records suggested the name the Beach Boys. The name stuck and Surfin' became a local hit.

Later, with the Wilson brothers father, Murray, acting as their manager they were signed to Capitol records. They had many hits for Capitol but never a #1. Brian had co-written a #1 hit for their friends Jan and Dean with the song Surf City but the Beach Boys always came up short. Until they recorded I Get Around.

I believe the beginning of the end of the group actually started duing the recording session for I Get Around. Sure the group lasted for decades and had many hits over the years but this was a family band. It was during these recording sessions where Brain and his Dad got into an arguement in the recording studio. Brian shoved his Dad and Murray left the recording studio never to return. Later, in tears, Brian apologized to Murray saying he only wanted to make I Get Around sound perfect.

The song was also the first of many hits overseas. When Mick Jagger returned to England he bragged about the Beach Boys on a British TV show. This helped push I Get Around to the top ten in England. It was the first time the Beach Boys had a top ten hit there.
If you want the 45 pictured above you can buy it here.

Happy 4th of July from On My Mind

I know it isn't the bicentennial but these, espically the Captain America one, were two of my favorite comic books to come out of 1976. Back then it was a happy ocassion of the 200th birthday of our country that reminded us to be patriotic and not a sad reminder like 9/11. So happy 231st America. Long may our flag of freedom wave.

New Monkees 45

Just wanted any Monkees fans who ordered the new CD's being released from Rhino and hoped to get their unreleased 45 "I Didn't Know You Had It In You Sally, You're A Real Ball of Fire" that I got the 45 in the mail today. Whew! Talk about a run on sentence. Anyway I haven't had time to listen to it yet but wanted to let you know if you haven't gotten it yet that it is on its way. The above photo is of the one I got today. It was a bit bent but I can live with that to hear a new Monkees song.

Charlton Comics in house ad

Here is a 1973 in house ad from Charlton Comics. Hmmm! I wonder what books were selling well for them in 1973?

Vixen

How close was Vixen to getting her own series at DC in 1978? Close enough that they were advertising Vixen #1 on their Daily Planet page. This would have been another way to introduce more minority characters to the DC universe as they did with Black Lightning a couple of years earlier. Today she is a fairly popular character after having been a respected member of the Justice League but still does not have her own series. Maybe someday she will. What else was going on for DC characters in 1978? Well, according to Fred Hembeck, the Superman sereis of films was doing quite well and maiking Wonder Woman jealous. When will she get her own movie? Warner Brothers only seems to have faith in Superman and Batman. Marvel knows that movies about Daredevil, Ghost Rider and other minor characters can help boost sales of their books. The major characters will almost always be money makers. So DC lets see something like Hawkman, Atom, Creeper, Aquaman, Hawk and Dove, Vixen etc. at the local movie theaters.

Another Marvel In House Ad

Rest In Peace Sal DiTroia

I just found out from a friend of this site Laura that the guitarist Sal DiTroia passed away of a heart attack on June 22, 2007. He worked with many great artist of his day and can be heard on recordings from The Monkees and The Archies to Barbara Streisand and Burt Bacharach. Sal was the lead guitar player on The Monkess hit "I'm A Believer." You can visit his site if you click here.

Saturday Morning Shoe Store

Remember when you would order things from your comic book that you could sell to family and neighbors to make some extra spending money? Things like flower seeds, greeting cards, shoes. Shoes!!!??? Yes that is what this ad from a 1965 issue of the Amazing Spider-man is asking kids to do. Take your Saturday morning, the golden time to watch your cartoons, and sell shoes. Why would you buy your shoes from the kid next door who probably had to learn how to take your measurements and then mail them to a company and then mail him the shoes a few weeks later when you can get them at the store? Plus if something was wrong with the shoes who do you return it to? Well the kid who sold them to you who probably didn't know what do to and got stuck with a whole lot of shoes. Greeting cards and flower seeds I understand but I don't understand selling shoes in comic books.

Marvel In House Ad

Man from U.N.C.L.E. coming to DVD

Well Anchor Bay thought they had the rights to the Man from UNCLE but they didn't. Now Time Life does and they are releasing it the way they did there award winning Get Smart collection. It is to be every season in one boxed set and will only be available on line at Time Life and throught TV commercials. Later in the fall of 2008 it will be released through retail. Robert Vaughn, David McCallum, Richard Donner, Joseph Sargent and others are contributing to the extras. Mr. McCallum has even donated some of his home movies that he shot behind the scenes from the series. I hope they also include the made for TV reunion movie. The above cover is not what is to be used on the set. I just saw it at this site and had to show it. You will have to wait to get the DVD set from Time Life as it isn't on their site yet. If you want anything else from them you can click on the link at the right.

One More Day of What?

Ok Marvel I have had it up to here with what you are doing to one of the greatest superheros ever created. I am of course talking about Spider-Man. For the few who have not heard Marvel is coming out with a Spider-Man story line called One More Day. It seems that they don't want Peter to have a public identity or to be married and Aunt May will be well again. The only good thing to come out of this is that Aunt May will be well again. However, it wasn't that long ago that Peter and MJ got back together and more recently they had him go public with who he really was. Why the sudden change? I think the people who run Marvel are addicted to controversy but that is another story. I was looking forward to stories that showed how he now had to live with everyone knowing who he was. Suddenly Marvel changed its mind and now some cosmic force will have Peter and MJ single and no one knows who he is.

Years ago they killed off Aunt May. But NO! That was someone hired to act like her and spy on Peter. Then they killed his wife. But NO! She was still alive but wanted to be seperated for awhile then they got back together. Now for the good of the country and the world he revealed he was really Peter Parker. But NO! Now cosmic forces will now say that didn't happen and he isn't married. MARVEL COMICS MAKE UP YOUR MINDS!!!!! Why would Spidey want one more day with you? Does he want one more day of his life being treated like a yo-yo?

DC In House Ad for Batman and the Outsiders from 1983

Here is a DC in house ad for Batman and the Outsiders from 1983.

We Want a Black Lightning TPB!

Our good friend and Black Lightning's Dad, Tony Isabella, sent me an e-mail to tell me of this site where his friend Alex Ness mentions that DC should put out two volumes of Black Lightning's adventures in trade paperback. I mentioned it once here on this site so you know I completely agree. Maybe we can help get something started in that direction. Perhaps we can do a letter campaign to DC Comics like Rob at Aquaman Shrine has done.

Marvel In House Ad from 1965

Another Marvel in house ad from 1965. Wish I would hove bought those back then. You won't find any Marvel T-shirts for $1.50 anymore.

Another Marvel In House Ad

The real first couple of TV

For those of you who read the comments when they appear, you may have read what my friend Keith said about the posting below no who was the first couple to share a bed on TV. He said it was the 15 minute show Mary Kay and Johnny that starred Mary Kay and Johnny Stearns as themselves. According to the site Keith pointed me to as well as the site imdb. The program was the first in many areas. They were the first real life married couple on TV. They were on the air before "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet" and before "I Love Lucy." They had one of the first ads on the air with Anacin that had the outline of a man taking their product to get relief.

Back then there was no way for advertisters to know if anyone was watching. Anacin decided to offer 200 mirrors to the first 200 people who wrote in to tell what they thought of that weeks episode. This would tell them if anyone was seeing their ads. To be safe they ordered 400 mirrors so no one would be disappointed. They got 8,960 letters.

While "I Love Lucy" was the most popular show to have a child born on the same day as the fictional character gave birth it was not the first time it was done. Mary Kay and Johnny did it first. Since their show was aired live the story centered around Johnny pacing in the waiting room.

I know Keith said he didn't like to correct me on my site but to Keith and anyone else I have to say that it is all right to do so. This way we all learn something.

The above photo is a publicity shot of Mary Kay and Johnny.

Who really had TV's first Full/king sized bed for couples on TV?

You know for years TV fans like I have heard that the first show to have a full or king size bed in a married couple’s bedroom was Mike and Carol Brady on the Brady Bunch which premiered on Sept. 26, 1969. However, a few years ago it was revealed that it was really Herman and Lilly Munster of the Munsters which premiered on Sept.24, 1964. Then I watched the DVD of the first season of Bewitched which premiered on Sept. 17, 1964 and what did I see in the first episode? A king size bed in the bedroom. Sure they were on their honeymoon but by the third episode they were at home and it had one in that episode too. So to me the title goes to Darren and Samantha Stephens of Bewitched. At least they are nice cross over between the Bradys and the Munsters.

Earth Invades!

After seeing this article in USA Today about the new movie Terra I was reminded of this short story that I posted some time ago. For those who have not read it I am posting it here again.

A WAR ON A WORLD

By Ricky Louis Phillips

For centuries the people of this planet thought that they were the only people in the universe. They lived. They loved. They laughed. They played. However, their quiet existence was about to be interrupted.
On a quiet summer’s evening a young scientist, Dr. Jordan Ellis, is taking home his pretty lab assistant Laura Thompson.“It’s nice of you to drive me home Dr. Ellis.”“It’s the least I could do. I made you work late and you missed your ride. Oh! Please don’t call me Dr. Ellis. I prefer Jordan.”“About the project that you’ve just started. What is the importance of it?”“The government has me exploring other methods of fuel for transportation. I sent a satellite into space to capture solar radiation. What we’re working with now is the material that the probe captured. I hope to use the power from the sun to power cars, rockets and other methods of transportation.”“What have you found about the radiation?”“ So far the radiation that it came back with doesn’t seem to be harmful to plants or humans. That’s on the positive side. On the negative side it doesn’t act as propulsion for cars either.”“Well everything exist for a reason. There must be a reason why that radiation exist.”Suddenly a loud explosion rips through the air. The two are so startled by it that Jordan runs into a ditch on the side of the road. He stops the car and they get out. Jordan inspects the car while Laura looks around for the source of the noise.“Well the car doesn’t look too bad.”“But where did that noise come from?”“That sounded like a sonic boom. Either something entered or escaped the atmosphere traveling faster then sound.”Jordan looks around the horizon then suddenly points to the east.“Look over there.”“What is that? A shooting star?”“I don’t know. Let’s follow it and find out.”They get back into the car. Jordan maneuvers the car back onto the road. They head east, in the direction of the star. Their anticipation is high and they cover many miles in what seems like only seconds. They come upon a deserted field. They get out of the car and climb to the top of an embankment. When they look out on the field they see a huge round silver metal object. It sits there still and silent. It is clearly out of place and yet in a strange way it seems like it should be there.Laura leans toward Jordan.“What is it?”“I don’t know.”“Maybe it’s some sort of shuttle.”“There’s an Army base not far from here. Maybe they’ll know.”Just then they hear a rumbling behind them. They turn and see a cloud of dust coming down the road. They climb down the embankment. As they reach the road the dust settles and reveals a group of Army jeeps and tanks that have stopped not far from their car.An officer gets out of the lead jeep. He has three stars on his helmet. He is obviously the man in charge as he starts shouting orders.“Sgt. James! Move those tanks into position.”Jordan approaches the man.“Excuse me sir…”“Just a minute. Lieutenant Overstreet! Get those men up on that ridge.”“Excuse me Mister…”“Sharp! GENERAL Sharp. What do you want sir? Do you live nearby?”“No I work nearby. This is Miss Laura Thompson my assistant she lives near here. I’m Dr. Jordan Ellis. I was giving Miss Thompson a ride home when we saw the craft come down.”“ You both saw it?”“Yes!”“Well this could be a dangerous area. You better leave.”“General I’m working with the government and I have a security clearance.”The General gets a look of disgust, as he now seems to have a government official on site that may out rank him. He calls for the Sgt. and points to a deserted old log cabin.“Sgt. James! Take Dr. Ellis and Miss Thompson to that cabin. I’ll phone headquarters to check on his security clearance and talk to them later.”The minutes pass like hours. Jordan, Laura & Sgt. James exchanged small talk. Jordan hoped the Sgt. would reveal something about the ship. However, he was a good solider and revealed little about himself and nothing about the ship.Finally the General arrived. He marched right up to the Sgt.. The Sgt. stood at attention and saluted the General. General Sharp returned the salute.“At ease Sgt.! You can return to your unit. I want to talk to Dr. Ellis alone.”As the Sgt. leaves the General pulls Dr. Ellis aside but motions for Laura to stay where she is.“Well Dr. you do have security clearance.”The General smiles as he says “But I can’t tell you anything unless I want to tell you. You have the lowest level of clearance.”“Well General tell me whatever you can so I can help.”The General smiled.“I can’t tell you anything.”“Nothing!”“No! But I don’t mind if you help.”“Can’t you tell me what that ship is of where it is from?”“No!”“How can I help if you won’t tell me anything.”“Not won’t Dr. I can’t cause your level won’t allow it.”“General you need to tell me something. At least to let me get started.”“I am going to give you some information. However, you can’t tell anyone. Not even Miss Thompson.”“OK!”“That ship is not from our planet. We aren’t even certain it’s from this solar system. It just showed up on radar and headed straight here. By the time we could gather any information together it landed.”Dr. Ellis looked concerned as his mind processed this information.“If they aren’t from this solar system, then they have either been traveling for years or…”“Or what?”“Or they may have been traveling faster then the speed of sound.”“That’s crazy. Nothing could travel that fast.”Suddenly the General’s radio come to life.“General Sharp! You need to get back here ASAP!”“What is it Lieutenant?”“There’s some activity coming from the craft.”The General gets in his jeep and starts the engine. Dr. Ellis and Laura get in the back and they drive back to the embankment.As they move across the bumpy terrain Laura moves closer to Jordan. She puts her hand on his shoulder and whispers to him.“So what did he tell you?”“I can’t tell you now cause I promised I wouldn’t. But I did get a lesson on who’s in charge here.”They come to a stop in front of the Lieutenant. The General gets out and they exchange salutes.“What’s going on here Lieutenant?”“Like I said sir. There’s something going on with that ship.”All eyes turn toward the spaceship and the see a tall cylinder is now extending from the top.“What is that General?”“It looks like a long range weapon.”“Maybe it’s a communication device.”The General gives Dr. Ellis a stern look. Then he notices the Lieutenant looking at the Dr. and wondering who this civilian is.“Lieutenant Overstreet this is Dr. Ellis and that pretty young lady is his assistant Miss. Thompson. The Dr. was in the area and is helping us on an advisory level.”Suddenly there is a humming noise and they all turn toward the ship. The cylinder is humming and starting to glow red. The louder the noise gets the brighter the cylinder gets.General Sharp throws off his helmet and grabs his head. Laura looks at him and sees pain on his face. The others don’t immediately notice, as they are too busy looking at the glowing cylinder.“What’s wrong General?”“I suddenly have a splitting migraine.”Just then the humming grows louder and the color of the cylinder has changed to a glowing white.The General is now screaming in pain. He is joined by the Lieutenant. Both men fall to the ground. They lay there screaming. Holding their hands to their ears as if trying to stop hearing the hum. The louder the hum gets the louder they scream. Jordan then notices that wails and screams are coming from all around but not everyone is affected.Then suddenly all the screams stop. The hum from the cylinder continues for a moment but then it stops. Jordan quickly checks the General while Laura checks the Lieutenant. The two officers stare blankly at them. Jordan and Laura are sad to admit that both men are dead.Jordan hears the sound of a jeep. He looks up to see headlights on the horizon. Coming down the road is Sgt. James. The jeep comes to a halt behind the General’s and the Sgt. jumps out. He sees the two men lying still on the ground. He looks at Jordan.“Are they?”“I’m afraid so.”The Sarge kneels over his fallen friends. His face is battle hardened and shows no sign of emotion. However, Jordan notices a tear run down the right side of the Sarge’s face. This gives him an uneasy feeling. The Sarge stands.“They were good soldiers as well as good people. Sharp came off hard and tough but he had to in order to get results. As hard as Sharp was so was Overstreet. But he had more compassion. They were the best commanding officers I ever had.”“So what do we do now?”The Sgt. looked Jordan straight in the eye.“They killed everyone above the rank of Sgt.. We must attack.”“You see this as an act of war?”Sgt. James can’t believe the question he was just asked. He has a look of surprise as he responds.“YES! I also take it personal that they killed two of my best friends.”“But…”“No buts. You’re just here as a civilian advisor. I am now the ranking officer here and in command.”As the Sgt. goes over to radio orders to the troops Laura talks to Jordan.“Well that went well.”“I know. I prefer the way the General told me who was in charge.”The Sarge gets on the radio.“This is Sgt. James of A company calling B company. Over!”“This is B company Sgt.. Over!”“To who am I speaking?”“Corporeal Dent sir!”“Well Corporeal get me your commanding officer.”“As of a few minutes ago, I am the commanding officer.”“Well I’m the C.O. here so on my signal both companies will fire at the ship. Now…FIRE!”With the command given the Army lets loose a barrage of firepower on the ship. The occupants of the interplanetary craft opened up their gunports and fired lasers in defense. It was a long battle with neither side gaining any ground.While all this was going on Dr. Ellis found pieces of metal that broke off the ship. He took them back to study in his lab. In his lab he makes a great discovery. He goes back and approaches Sgt. James with his discovery.“What is it Dr. Ellis? I’m busy trying to save the planet.”“I think you may be able to do that with these.”He takes out of his pocket a small black rock and a piece of metal.“How are those going to save us?”“This rock was exposed to what I call radiation X. The only reaction that the rock, which is from our planet, had was that it turned black.”“So how is that going to help?”“By itself it won’t. I exposed this piece of metal from the ship to the rock that was full of radiation X. After that this metal, that before I could easily bend with just two fingers, suddenly became super strong. I couldn’t bend it at all.”The Sarge picks up the metal and tries to bend it but can’t.“Is this change permanent?”“No it only last for ten minutes after each exposure.”“So why would we want to make that ship or the people inside it stronger?”“”It’s only for ten minutes and it may give them so much power so fast that they can’t handle it and they defeat themselves.”“That’s a long shot Doc.”“Have you got a better idea? Besides the battle is a stalemate. If we try this and it works you’ll get promoted and go down in history as the man who saved the world.”“You mean you’ll go down in history.”“You’re the one making the decisions. I’ll just be along for the ride.”The Sgt. paces as he thinks this over. Finally he stops and looks at Jordan.“Well nothing gets done by playing it safe. Have you got a plan?”“I think so. Have any of them come out of the ship?”“Yeah! Sometimes to fight or make quick repairs. We still don’t know what they look like. They wear a silver protective suit that covers them from head to toe.”“OK! Here is my plan. I’ll make bullets out of this rock. You give them to your best sharpshooters. Tell them just to shoot them in the arms or legs. That way if one lives we can examine him.”As fast as he can, Jordan heads back to the lab. There he makes the bullet shaped rocks and drives back. He gives them to the Sgt. and he distributes them to his sharpshooters.“All right men when I give the signal everyone fire on the ship. Except those with the special bullets. Only they can shoot when the men inside come out. However, only shoot them in the arms or legs.”There is a tense moment as they wait for the signal to fire.“Ready…Aim…FIRE!”Almost every solider with a rifle, machine gun, tank or any type of weapon fires upon the ship. However, a select few sit in place and wait. They don’t have to wait for long.The door to the craft opens. Out steps a group of men in skintight silver suits. They raise their weapons and start firing. They hardly get off a shot when one of them drops his weapon and screams in pain. Some of the men in silver stop for a moment. They seem surprised as the man falls down in pain. You can tell this doesn’t happen often.The man screams again. He has been holding his arm the whole time but lets go of his wounded arm and uses his one good arm to take off his helmet. For the first time Jordan and the others see what they look like. Jordan stares as if in a trance and whispers to himself.“They look just like us.”The man in silver starts rubbing his eyes as if they are burning. He stops and looks to a comrade for help. However, his friend in the spacesuit starts to glow red hot. The man inside starts to scream but is cut short as the heat from the other mans stare turns him to ashes.The other men in silver back away, firing their weapons as they go. But it grows more intense as the chilling scene is repeated over and over. Men grabbing their arm or leg after being shot and setting anything they look at on fire.Suddenly the shooting stops and the fires are dying out. None of the silver clad invaders are left alive. Sgt. James orders the men to move in on the ship. They begin their approach when the ship starts to hum. The door closes. The landing gear retracts. The ship rises and hovers in mid-air for a moment. It then flies straight up for about a mile. Then starts’ picking up speed till it is gone from sight.Jordan, Laura and Sgt. James stand next to each other looking to the sky.“Well Doc your idea did it. We won.”“I told you God made that radiation X to exist for a reason.”“Yes. He knew it would help us defeat them. But I wonder where they are from?”In space we see the ship. It has left the atmosphere of the planet and is on its way out of the solar system. This is the last time the occupants of the ship will see this solar system with the blue sun. Yes it is a bright, blazing, blue colored sun.Inside the ship is Captain Jackson Beck. He is communicating his report home on the latest mission.“Captain Beck reporting star date 11 15 25. The mission is a failure. Science Officer Ross Peters and I are the sole survivors of the mission. We landed and waited for the planet officials to show. The Army arrived first. We singled out any high-ranking officers to communicate our message of friendship hoping it would be a story they would believe. That way we could make this a peaceful take over of the planet. We raised our communication pole to talk to them with telepathy. However, the telepathic waves were too strong for their brains and accidentally killed them. We wanted a peaceful take over but from there it was war. The enemy was holding it’s own in the battle till they brought out a secret weapon. They planted devices on us that made us become…well the best description is living lasers and we started destroying ourselves. After the landing party was destroyed the enemy started advancing on to destroy the ship. I didn’t want the ship in the hands of the enemy so we took off. Beck out!”“It will take the message about a day to reach home Captain.”“Good Mr. Peters. It will reach Earth before we do. Let’s head home.”With the command given the ship picks up speed and in the blink of an eye it is gone.

Marvel In House Ad

Davy Jones on the Rock and Roll Hall of fame ban

Here is a video of Davy talking to Bill O'Reilly on the hall of fame ban.

Cincinnati and Summer of Love Reunion Concert

For those of you ready to remember the Summer of Love from 1967 then you may want to take a trip to Cincinnati this August. The Cincinnati Enquirer reports that local band Haymarket Riot is reuniting and being joined with other local bands for Summer of Love reunion concert. One of those local groups is the Lemon Pipers who had a national hit with "Green Tambourine." Over the years I have heard this song but never new that the group came from just across the river from my home. The concert is on August 18th at 8pm and cost only $15. You can go to http://www.summeroflovereunion.com/ for more info and click on the article below to read more about it.

Changes at Rhino

I got this e-mail from Kent of Forgotten Hits and The60sshop@aol.com this weekend. I am reprinting it here with Kent's permission. I would have posted it earlier but I was busy this weekend and didn't get around to it till today.

Just got this from one of my readers ... it won't go out in FORGOTTEN HITS until this weekend's COMMENTS PAGE ... but feel free to post if you like as a follow-up to my earlier RHINO comment. (This came from CLARK BESCH who has written the liner notes to a NUMBER of notable reissues ... really makes you wonder where RHINO's head is at on the corporate level. Of course we don't know ALL of the details ... but SOMEBODY should snatch THIS guy up STAT!!!!!)

Kent

I guess I missed this in past 2 weeks, but in mid May, Bill Inglot and 20 others were fired in a downsizing measure at Rhino. It's just another sad commentary on getting a company to the top, then being turned on. Certainly, Rhino's had less new product of late (still some great stuff, tho), but still a BIG leader in the industry and I have nothing but compliments for doing so many rare discs up right. Unfortunately, to add to this, Bill's father passed away this past week.

All of us stereophyles have had MANY issues dealing with Bill's mono ethics, but the positives are about 99 to 1 IMO as to the great product Bill produced during his time there, including new stereo product. In all actuality, aside from Bill Buster's product at Eric, most of the big time oldie reissue labels have reverted to mono somewhat if originally that way on vinyl, so Bill wasn't the only one. Unlike some, I actually prefer mono to stereo sometimes myself, so i can see both points of view. many mono originals don't have same stereo mix or tape used when stereo is used on Cds. Whatever, when you saw the name Bill Inglot on a Cd, you knew it was a quality sounding disc, something that cannot be guaranteed still today. in the 80's, it was especially a blessing to see his name, when so many Cds were scratchy vinyl issues.

Bill was the innovator in CD reissues. It's a sad thing and I hope Bill lands with a company that uses his amazing sound skills to good use. We can only hope that Cary at Varese is safe! A note to Bill Buster at Eric and Bob Irwin at Sundazed:
Don't sell the farm!
(submitted by CLARK BESCH / WLSClark)

My Two Cents: Fantastic Four Rise of the Silver Surfer

Well I got to see the new Fantastic Four movie this past weekend. I have since read some reviews of the film. Most of them negative and if I had read them about the first film I might have agreed. The first film was just ok for my taste. I didn't think that the first film did well enough for a sequel but I am glad that it did as this movie was a rarity. It was one of the few sequels that is better then the first film. Now much has been made in the tabloids of Jessica Alba loosing too much weight. I have to agree with that as when I first saw her in the movie I didn't know who she was. The effects are not of the Saturday morning variety as some reviews have suggested. They really made me fell as if I was with the Silver Surfer. The only problem I had was when Galactius showed up. He was not shown as an alien who is as big as a solar system. He was shown as a lot of wind like he was just a big storm. I couldn't wait for him to show and was disappointed when he did.
I loved how this was about two comic book stories combined into one. The first was when Mr. Fantastic and the Invisable Woman get married. I loved Stan Lee being turned away at the door because his name was not on the guest list. That happened to him and Jack Kirby in the comic book as well.
The other was when Dr. Doom tries to steal the power of the Silver Surfer. He is of course successful. However, when they learn that the surfer is not the biggest threat to the planet and he is willing to help them stop Galactius they have to stop doom and get the Silver Surfer his power back. They get into the Fantasticar to follow he nearly defeats them but realize that they can't while attacking one at a time so the combine their four powers into Johnny and he defeats Dr. Doom. Then the Surfer flies to battle his former boss. Once he is successful our four friends know that all is well. Reed and Sue finally get married but in Japan instead of New York.
The photo of the Fantastic Four Annual is the one where they got married in 1965. If you wish to buy it you can click here to go to the auction site where the auction ends today.

A letter from my Dad again

Below is a letter from my Dad that I posted before back in November of 2005. On this Father's Day I would like to share it with you again for those who have been reading since day one and for those that have started reading since that time.
When my Dad was sick and knew he may not make it he wrote me this letter.
To My Son,
Ricky you were the finest son a man could ever want or hope for. You were honest, thoughtful, trusting, generous, never a problem and more things that showed me you loved your fellow man as God would want. Rick always believe and trust in God. Never let anyone tell you any different or try to come between you and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Study your Bible and draw even closer to God through prayer and service to Him. Remember your teaching's of the Bible and always try to live up to them. The Lord will be with you always. Remember and take care of your Mother. She loves you deeply. I love you son. See you in Heaven. Dad

I love you and will see you in Heaven one day too Dad.

This Day In Music History: Gogi Grant and The Wayward Wind

This day in music history, June 16, 1956, the #1 song in the country was “The Wayward Wind” by Gogi Grant. Gogi was born Audrey Arinsberg on September 20, 1924 in Philadelphia. Her family moved to Los Angeles when she was 12. She always loved singing but never thought of it as a career. She was thinking of being a teacher or a commercial artist. All that changed when she entered a local talent contest at the Macambo nightclub. The orchestra leader at the club introduced her to a voice coach. Later she made a demo tape of the song “I’m Yours” at the Gold Star recording studio. Stan Ross was the studio owner and he set up an interview for her with a talent agent for MCA. However, the agent and Gogi agreed that she was not ready. A few days later Mr. Ross told Gogi that MCA wanted her. She left behind her demo and when the head of the music department returned from vacation he heard it and gave orders to “Find that voice.” It seems that she didn’t mean to leave it behind and they didn’t know who it was for three days.
Through MCA she signed with RCA records but none of her songs charted. Then Dave Kapp left RCA and started his own company. He was able to sign Gogi to a label called Era Records run by Herb Newman. During all of this Gogi had gone by her married name of Audrey Brown. Later her manager had her change her name to Audrey Grant. Later Dave Kapp had her change her first name to Gogi. He said that it came to him in a dream but some people doubt that is true. You see Kapp ate lunch at Gogi’s La Rue and some think that is where her name came from.
Some writers met with Gogi and showed her a song that was selected for her and played other songs that they had written. One of them was “Suddenly There’s a Valley.” She told them she liked it and wanted to record it. They were surprised as they thought it was more for a male voice. They let her record it and Gogi went on tour to promote the song. By the time she got to her first city on the tour there were 5 covers of the song. She said “If I hadn’t gone on that publicity trip, I would have lost that record.” It charted at #9. The follow up to that record was “Who Are We.” While recording it Herb Newman showed her a song he wrote in school with Stan Lebousky. They also thought it would be a good song for a man to sing. But, with some changes in the lyrics made, Gogi Grant recorded “The Wayward Wind” in the last 15 minutes of her recording session. “Who Are We” only reached #62 but “The Wayward Wind” went all the way to #1.

Troubles with Rhino

Kent of The60sshop@aol.com saw the post on the trouble I had with ordering from Rhino's site on the new Monkees CDs and sent me an e-mail. He gave me premission to post it so I will with only some minor editing. Thanks Kent.

Hi Rick!

Saw your post about problems ordering from the RHINO Website. I've had the exact same problem trying to place orders for my last four or five purchases dating back to well over a year now. It NEVER seems to be working properly!!! And then when you call, the "customer service" person almost seems to have a snotty, sarcastic attitude about it. (I cannot help but wonder how the REAL powers that be would feel about how many potential orders they're losing due to this problem ... in three cases, I simply went and purchased the product somewhere else instead!!! With the "bonus" MONKEES single, I didn't have that option so I just went ahead and dealt with the customer-servicely-challenged on the phone! (lol) I addressed this problem recently in FH, too ... it's a REAL shame because (as we all know) RHINO has done an INCREDIBLE job of making this great music available to us ... yet how do you get to the RIGHT people to make them aware of the problem???

Thanks Kent. If you had trouble ordering from Rhino any of their items we need to send mass e-mails to customer service and mass calls to them. Perhaps this will get their attention. If that doesn't work then we need to find out who is at the top of Rhino these days and write to them directly. As Kent said how many orders did they miss from those not persistant enough to get the items they wanted? How many went to another internet site or a local store where they had to pay a little more for friendly service? The gentleman I delt with was very business like but not real friendly. Let Rhino know how you feel.

Silver Surfer Coin

It seems that the Government put an ad on the back of some new quarters for the movie Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. It was released without the premission of the US Mint as they do not allow advertising on money. They didn't let most of the quarters out but some did and made there way to e-bay. You can get this one if you click here.

Another way to order the new Monkees Single

If you saw my last posting on pre-ordering the new editions of Headquarters and PAC&J LTD. to get the new single "I Didn't Know You Had it in You Sally" you may have had trouble ordering on the internet. I did as I kept getting a security certificate violation. I e-mailed Rhino's customer service and asked them why I was having this problem. The response I got back was that I should try again and if I still had a problem I should call them. I tired again but still could not place the order. So I called (888) 440-4232 as their e-mail suggested. It was there I had no problem placing the order. Just an FYI to all Monkees fans.

New Monkees Single

This just in from The Monkees Home Page and Rhino.com. On July 10th Rhino is releasing double editions of mono and stero versions that Rhino have been remastered and a new Monkees single that was finished in 1969 but never released. Here is what The newsletter from The monkees home page had to say.
HEADQUARTERS:Presented in both original mono and stereo mixes, this landmarkrecording has been newly mastered. In particular, the stereo mix issourced from a different tape than the 1995 Rhino CD. As for thebonus tracks, they hail from a variety of sources. Let's run themdown and explain.Disc One:"All Of Your Toys" (stereo remix) ­ this is a newly created stereomix compiled by resynching the various stages of the production multitracks. This resynching allowed for greater separation of theinstruments in the mix and fuller fidelity."The Girl I Knew Somewhere" (version one, stereo remix) ­ The MichaelNesmith sung recording of this song appears on this collection forthe first time in stereo. This new mix was achieved by resynchingvarious stages of the production multi tracks allowing for adifferent and longer mix."A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You" (stereo remix) ­ This is perhapsthe first complete stereo mix of this track that has ever appeared.Previous stereo mixes lacked the final overdubs heard on the single.They're all here in wide stereo and superior fidelity."She Hangs Out" (single version ­ stereo remix) ­ The legendarywithdrawn version of this song appears on this collection for thefirst time in stereo! Listen out for some extra studio chat and acool vocal ad lib at the end from Davy and Jeff Barry."Love To Love" (stereo remix) ­ This fresh remix of "Love To Love"features a better representation of what appeared on the originalmono mix."You Can't Tie A Mustang Down" (stereo remix) ­ This remix featuressome previously unheard vocal work from Davy and appears in fullfidelity stereo."If I Learned To Play The Violin" (stereo remix) ­ All the elementsof this track were resynched for a first time true stereo mix with alonger fade."99 Pounds" (stereo remix) ­ A first time true stereo mix for thisChanges album track!"The Girl I Knew Somewhere" (single version ­ stereo remix) - This isa newly created stereo mix compiled by resynching the various stagesof the production multi tracks. This resynching allowed for greaterseparation of the instruments in the mix and fuller fidelity, as wellas a nice long fade."Randy Scouse Git" ­ This is one of the alternate takes thatpreviously appeared on the Headquarters Sessions set."Tema Dei Monkees" ­ A new stereo mix of the raw multi-track. Youhear every last little bit of Italian that Micky muttered at theMarch 1967 session.Disc Two:"All Of Your Toys" (mono mix) ­ This is the original mono mix made inearly 1967 for the aborted single release of "Toys." Note that thismix lacks some of the final overdubs that are heard on Disc One'sstereo remix."The Girl I Knew Somewhere" (version one, mono mix) ­ This newlydiscovered original Mike sung mono mix from 1967 is previouslyunissued."A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You" (mono single mix) ­ Forty yearsafter it was first issued, "A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You"appears for the first time on CD in it's original hit single mono mix!"She Hangs Out" (mono single mix) ­ The legendary withdrawn versionin its original mono mix from 1967 (with a bit of pre-song warm-up)."The Girl I Knew Somewhere" (mono single mix) ­ The original mono hitsingle version!"Nine Times Blue" (demo) ­ Nesmith's '67 solo demo newly mixed andmastered."She'll Be There" & "Midnight Train" (demo) ­ newly mixed in stereo."Peter Gunn's Gun" - A vintage Headquarters jam, newly mixed."Jericho" & "Pillow Time" (demo) ­ both appear as heard on the rareHeadquarters sessions set.PISCES, AQUARIUS, CAPRICORN & JONES, LTD.Presented in both mono and stereo mixes, this landmark recording hasbeen newly mastered. In particular, the stereo mix is sourced fromthe first generation original stereo master mixes. Also of note, themono mix has never appeared in full on CD. As for the bonus tracks,they hail from a variety of sources. Let's run them down and explain.Disc One:"Goin' Down" ­ the original stereo mix from 1967."Salesman" ­ a new stereo mix featuring a longer fade, Nez'scigarette rolling rap, plus some previously unheard chat and vocals."She Hangs Out" ­ a new stereo mix of the four track master prior tothe addition of Shorty Rogers' brass arrangement. Features a longerintro, a longer outro and other anomalies."Love Is Only Sleeping" ­ a new mix of the version that appeared onthe '95 CD with some extra studio chat."What Am I Doing Hangin' `Round?" ­ features a never before heardlead vocal performance from Michael Nesmith (and a longer ending)."Star Collector" - a new stereo mix of the four-track master prior tothe addition of the Moog synthesizer overdubs. Features a longerintro, a longer outro and other anomalies ­ this is the longestversion ever!"Riu Chiu" ­ the original television recording featuring all fourMonkees on vocals appears here for the first time on CD.DISC TWO:"Special Announcement," "Salesman" (alternate mix), "Cuddly Toy"(alternate mix) ­ these tracks are the original 1967 mixes as theywere set to appear on an early line-up of the album. By programmingyour CD player, you can recreate the original sequence for theoriginal sequence."Goin' Down" ­ the original hit single mix (albeit with a longerfade)."The Door Into Summer" (alternate mix) ­ the previously issuedalternate mono mix from 1967 featuring a different vocal performancefrom Nesmith."Daily Nightly" ­ a previously unissued mono mix of this song lackingMicky's Moog synthesizer overdubs."Star Collector" ­ a previously unissued long mono mix of this songfeaturing Moog aplenty!And what about the single?If you buy both CD's from monkees.com or rhino.com you get a free 7-inch vinyl single (a limited edition of 2500) of two unissuedtracks. "I Didn't Know You Had It In You Sally" was taped for thegroup in February '67, but Micky didn't lay his vocal on the tracktill '69. The flipside is an alternate mix of "Daydream Believer"before the addition of brass and strings. It features a cool extendedending. The single comes in an old-fashioned picture sleeve that issure to delight.
So order now. You can go directly to the page to order them if you click here.

Monkees Documentary Part 4

Monkees Part 4 Documentary.

Monkee Documentary Part 3

Here is Part 3 of the Monkees Documentary.