WKRP in CIncinnati: The Complete First Season on DVD

WKRP in Cincinnati is so funny that it is hard to believe that so much controversy has surrounded it since it began in 1978. When you view the DVD of its first season you are completely won over by the charm of the cast. This is the show that made stars out of Loni Anderson, Howard Hesseman, Tim Reid, Gary Sandy, etc. The show had a rough start as it was almost never made when they figured in the cost to play current pop rock hits on TV. To cut corners they video taped the episodes instead of filming them. This move allowed them to pay for the rights to the music so they appeal to the demographics that they wanted to show to reach. While this show was a bridge between music and television audiences a few years before MTV became the video music juggernaught that it is to this day you must remember that first and foremost it is a sit-com. Its main thing was to make you laugh. I found myself laughing out loud on every episode of this DVD set. It was like a reunion with old friends from college or a station I use to work at.
Yes I did work for a brief time in radio. I got my degree in radio, television and film production and part of my inspiration was from WKRP in Cincinnati. If you have ever wondered what it was like to work at a radio station no matter what decade then you should see this show. WKRP is very close. I remember my Dad asking me when the series was on the air if this was what it was like at a radio station. When I told him it was he said that there must never be a dull moment there.

The show is well packaged with a full cast photo on the cover. The two cases that house the three DVDs have all 22 first season episodes and are packaged in two bright and colorful cases. Both have one of two items that will forever be identified with radio broadcasting...a microphone and a headset. The artwork on the DVDs is colorful as well. Disc one is made up to look like an old record album. Disc two is that of a yellow sunburst and disc three is black with a rainbow of colors behind the shows logo. While all three are eye catching and make some nostalgic for the late 70’s and early 80’s I think they should have made all three look like record albums. It would keep more in tune with the radio station theme.



The controversy over the music rights hits here with the DVD sets as some jokes fell flat, at least to someone who saw it originally on CBS, as they could not afford the video rights for the songs. For example, two of my favorite episodes are “A Date with Jennifer” and “I Want to Keep My Baby.” In “A Date with Jennifer” Les Nessman (Richard Sanders) ask Jennifer ( Loni Anderson) out and she says yes. When Les finally works up the nerve to go through with it he starts getting dressed and, on network TV, you heard the song “Hot Blooded” by Foreigner. On this DVD set the song is replaced by a generic band singing a similar song that is in the same key. In a recent interview Hugh Wilson, creator of the show, thought that was a shame as they had that song in mind when they wrote that scene. However, he also said he hope that the show could stand without the music as just a good sit-com. It does.
In “I Want to Keep My Baby” Dr. Fever (Howard Hesseman) finds a baby left on the stations doorstep. He tries his best to take care of the baby while trying to get the Mother to come and take it back. Finally, he does give it to family services to find it a good home. On CBS the end of the show had him say that he had a bundle of joy that brought a smile to his face and he passed it on to others to bring a smile to their faces. Then Dr. Fever, who was known to not play current hit records, took out James Taylor’s newest album and played his hit song “Your Smiling Face.” Program Manager Andy Travis (Gary Sandy) gets so excited about it that he runs down the hall shouting “He’s playing a hit record! He’s playing a hit record!” Not only is that song replaced but Andy’s scene is edited out. It makes sense in a way. How would it look to have him say it’s a hit when the audience knows it isn’t? Still it is a show about a fictional radio station so perhaps in WKRP’s world the replacement song could have been a hit in their world. Those two songs aside the show is charming and well written and so funny you don’t care that they could not include your favorite songs. Even with the replacement songs you still get the emotion that was meant to be conveyed in the scene.
The good thing about this was that many episodes that were edited to make room for local commercials when it went into syndication are now back to include all the scenes that were edited out. With the exception of editing Andy's scene out in the previous mentioned episode.

Here is an example of a scene that was edited back into the show. In the episode “Hold Up” a remote from a stereo store is being hijacked by an out of work DJ. Mr. Carlson and Andy started to drive there to help Dr. Fever. When Andy reminds Mr. Carlson that the man has a gun they do a U-turn in the middle of a four lane street. I remember laughing at that when it was on CBS. When I saw it in syndication that scene was edited out. I was happy to see that this set had put it back in the episode so that it was now complete.
One reason I buy old shows on DVD is for the special features. While there aren’t as many as I would like on this one I still was not let down. The featurettes “Do My Eyes Say Yes?” and “A ‘Fish Story’ Story” are priceless as they tell what happened behind the scenes of certain episodes. “A ‘Fish Story’ Story” validated what I had heard before. The episode “Fish Story” was written by Hugh Wilson as a way of getting back at the network for asking him to do more slapstick.

Here is a list of the episodes and the special features on this boxed set.

Disc One

- “Pilot (1)”o Commentary with Creator Hugh Wilson and Cast Members Loni Anderson and Frank Bonner

- “Pilot (2)”

- “Les On A Ledge”

- “Hoodlum Rock”

- “Hold-Up”

- “Bailey’s Show”

- “Turkeys Away”o Commentary with Creator Hugh Wilson and Cast Members Loni Anderson and Frank Bonner

- “Love Returns”

Disc Two

- “Mama’s Review”

- “A Date With Jennifer”

- “The Contest Nobody Could Win”

- “Tornado”

- “Goodbye, Johnny”

- “Johnny Comes Back”

- “Never Leave Me, Lucille”

- “I Want To Keep My Baby”

Disc Three –

- “A Commercial Break”

- “Who Is Gordon Sims?”

- “I Do, I Do… For Now”

- “Young Master Carlson”

- “Fish Story”

- “The Preacher”

- “Do My Eyes Say Yes?” Featurette

- “A ‘Fish Story’ Story” Featurette

The show was very funny. It made stars of the entire cast. While Howard Hesseman and Tim Reid went on to other hit shows like Head of the Class, Simon & Simon and Sister, Sister, Loni Anderson, WKRP in Cincinnati’s biggest star didn’t. Her shows like Easy Street and Partners in Crime came and went very fast. She was in a modest hit movie with her then boyfriend and now Ex-husband Burt Reynolds when she was cast in “Stroker Ace.” Her other movies didn’t fare as well. Finally she did wind up on a cable show playing Tori Spellings mother on “So NoTORIus.”
WKRP in Cincinnati is a charming show. This DVD is very well put together and done so with a lot of care. It accomplished its goal in making me laugh. Not many shows do that nowadays.

So yes the old gang is back. Andy is always worried about the ratings. Bailey is being her sweet self. Johnny is entertaining his "fellow babies." Venus is watching his "children." Les is stil trying to win his coveted Silver Sow and the Buckeye Newshawk awards. Beautiful Jennifer is the voice of reason and always being hit on by married Herb. Mr. Carlson is still trying to figure out what is going on and they are all afraid of Mama. I could go on about how wonderful the cast, this show and this DVD set is. I loved every minute of watching it. I can’t wait for season two and hopefully this will make enough money to have them put out the first run syndication series they did with WKRP nine years after it left CBS.

You can get the set if you click on the banner below.

This Day in Music History: West End Girls by Pet Shop Boys

On May 10th, 1986 the song West End Girls by the Pet Shop Boys was the #1 song in the USA on the Billboard charts. Its rise to the top started when Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe met in a stereo store in London, England in 1981. Neil was there because they were making a lead to plug his synthesizer in to his hi-fi system. Chris was there to get a stylus for his record player. They started talking about keyboards and synthesizers and met again a couple of days later at Neil’s house and started writing songs.
Neil had a degree in history, played Cello, had been in a theater group and was part of a rock band called Dust. He had also been an editor for Marvel Comics in their London office. His job with Marvel was to anglicize the dialogue.
Chris had studied architecture and played trombone and piano. He had also been a member of a band called One Under the Eight.
They did some early recordings at Neil’s apartment and at a friend’s studio in Camden. Neil at the time had a day job as editor of the British magazine Smash Hits. In 1983 he was sent to New York to interview the Police. While there he met his favorite producer Bobby Orlando. Mr. Orlando was impressed with him and agreed to produce a session with him and Chris. The session resulted in the first version of West End Girls in 1984. It was a big hit in France and Belgium. While not released in the US, some LA DJ’s got an import and it became a local hit in Los Angeles.
Their relationship with Bobby Orlando went bad. However, due to contract obligations they could not record for another producer for a year. In 1985 they signed with the Parlophone label in Britain. They released a single called Opportunities (Let’s Make Lots of Money). It didn’t.
Next they went into record a new version of West End Girls with producer Stephen Hague. Since most people outside of France and Belgium had not heard it the song would be new to them. It was released in October of 1985 in England and went to #1. Later in May of 1986 it held the same position in America.
At that time they were the third British male duo to top the American Billboard charts in and 18 month period.
The duo had a hard time with the name they chose as they were told it was a New York slang for some sexual innuendo. Neil Tennant said they named themselves after some friends who worked in a pet shop. He said “If it has got that slightly dubious connotation then it’s quite amusing but it’s certainly not deliberate.”

Secrets of Isis On DVD

Yes the Saturday morning series from the 1970's will be on DVD July 24th. If you can't wait to see what it will look like then here is the cover art for the DVD Package.

The Fugitive On DVD

For fans of the old TV Show The Fugitive your wait for it to come to DVD is soon to end. It comes out on August 14th. The only problem is that it will be a split season. However, Dr. Richard Kimble is on the run again. This show began other types of shows like "Run For Your Life" and "The Incredible Hulk" being the most successful of the post Fugitive shows where the main character is wanted for a crime he did not commit. Click here to pre-order The Fugitive season one Volume One. If anyone wants to send me a DVD of this to review I will give a review.

This weeks Hostess Ad

Ok I have not put my request for prayers for my friend Beth at the top. I will put updates here as I know them for those that are praying for her. If you wish to read what I have written about her you can scroll below. Till then I hope you enjoy this old Hotess ad.

Beth Donovan Needs Prayers Again

Back in December of 2005 I asked that readers of this blog pray for my old high school friend Beth Donovan as she was dying of cancer. Prayer worked that time as Beth lived longer then the Dr. said and beat the odds. That time is over as I recently heard that the cancer has come back. They only give her 6 months. Please pray that Beth beats the odds again. She needs all the prayers she can get. I will keep this at the top of the blog at all times so please scroll down if you wish to see if there is anything new. Not long ago I asked anyone reading this site to pray for an old high school friend who has cancer, Beth Donovan. I am asking that you continue with those prayers. Beth is someone who, at least to me, stood for all the good things of high school. You may have had to go to my school to understand. Our class was very cliqueish. If you weren't in their group some kids wouldn't have anything to do with you. I was not that way and, as I told my wife, neither was Beth. She was friendly and outgoing. She always had a smile for everyone. Beth never said anything bad about anyone that I know of. I remember going to her house with others from a school club to work on a club project and having alot of fun. Beth was one of our senior class officers, a straight A student and elected most versatile. Basically Beth was a nice, smart and friendly person. I never heard her use bad language or any rumors about her doing anything bad.Recently I did hear that she was fighting cancer. Now I have heard that she has given up and has come home to die. Pray that she continues to fight and God keeps her with us. With the world in the shape it is in today, we need more people like Beth Donovan. Beth if you are reading this I want you to know that my wife, myself and alot of other people are praying for you.

Joe Sinnott's Captain America

A couple of years ago I wrote to Mr. Joe Sinnott when I found his address and I told him how much I have enjoyed his art work. It was just a nice letter to let one of my favorite artist know the joy that he brought to me. I never expected to hear from him. However a few weeks later I got this drawing of Captain America signed by Mr. Sinnott himself. I didn't ask for it he just sent it out of the goodness of his heart and his way to say thank you. He is very perceptive as my three favorite Marvel heroes are Spider-Man, Nova and Captain America. I didn't tell him this in the letter and still he sent me one of my favorites. I treasure this piece of art very much but I have never been able to find the right frame for it. One day I will. Just thought I would share this with you all and publicly thank him here on my site. He has his own site and you can go to it at Joesinnott.com

Herman's Hermits on the Danny Kaye Show

Here is a video of Hermans Hermit's on the Danny Kaye Show. The quality isn't very good but it is nice to see. The disco dancer in the middle looks like he's going to hurt himself. In his introduction of Peter Noone and the group Danny shows, with the expression on his face, that he doesn't seem to care for the pop rock music. I found that odd from a man known for his musical talent ranging from classical to jazz. In the interview he seems quite fond of Peter but I wish they would have talked to the other Hermits. I always thought they got the short end of the stick in terms of popularity. Still Peter is quite a likable chap and a good actor and singer.

This Day in Music History: Herman's Hermits and Mrs. Brown You've Got a Lovely Daughter

On this day in music history, May 1, 1965, the #1 song in the country was Mrs. Brown You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter by Herman’s Hermits. This was the third song in a row to reach #1 on the Billboard charts from a group from Manchester, England. The ones that preceded it were Freddie and the Dreamers with I’m Telling You Now at #1 from April 10, 1965 to April 23 and Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders with Game of Love from April 24, 1965 to April 30, 1965.
Herman’s Hermits was a huge success on both sides of the ocean. There lead singe was Peter Noone who was born on November 5, 1947 in Liverpool. He attended the Manchester school of Music and studied music and drama. It was here that he was discovered and found work as an actor. He was cast in roles and TV shows Knight Errant and Coronation Street. He started playing music with a Manchester band called the Heartbeats. Producer Mickie Most signed the group to a contract and produced all of their hits. They changed their name to Herman and the Hermits and later to Herman’s Hermits.
The roster of the group changed and the members of the group when this song reached #1 were Derek Leckenby, Peter Noone, Keith Hopwood, Karl Green and Barry Whitwam. Eventually most of the studio music was only recorded by Mr. Noone and studio musicians. The real group only played the songs when on tour.
In 1965 they had 3 songs in the top 30 for 6 weeks. It wasn’t planned that way. As the song Can’t You Hear My Heartbeat was moving down the chart MGM records released the song Silhouettes. Radio stations played it but they also played the album cut Mrs. Brown You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter and were getting a bigger response. It forced MGM to release that song as a single as well. Anticipation for the record was so high that it entered the charts at #12. The highest chart entry of any record. The group and the song were so popular they starred in a movie with the same name.
Their first song was a remake of the Goffin and King his I’m Into Something Good. It was the only #1 song for the group in England and the only #1 hit for Goffin and King in England.

Green Arrow the Movie

I was searching internet for info on Black Lightning to see if there was anything I would want to pu on my other site Black Lightning Limited. What I found was there is a possible interest in Green Arrow the Movie. Apparently it would revolve around Green Arrow going to prison for a crime he didn't commit and he has to use the help of various DC villains to break out and prove himself innocent. It sounded like a good idea to me at first but then I read somewhere that he really is only Green Arrow in the first few minutes of the film. I don't think it will be much fun to see him as Oliver Queen breaking out of jail. With out the costume and the bow and arrows all you have is "Prison Break: the Movie." If it is made then it may star Matt Damon as I have read there is a rumor that he has signed to star in Green Arrow the Movie.

This Day in Music History: Elvis Presley and Heartbreak Hotel

I can’t believe that I let this one get by me. However, since it was #1 for 8 weeks I feel safe in saying that on this day in music history Heartbreak Hotel by Elvis Presley was the #1 song in the country in 1956. It began its 8 week run on April 21, 1956. This song took Elvis from being local hit to a national phenomenon. He was able to build upon the foundation that Bill Haley and the Comets set up with Rock Around the Clock. Elvis began his recording career when he stopped by the Memphis Recording Service to record two songs for his Mother. Eventually this all led to him getting signed to Sun Records that was owned by Sam Phillips who also owned the Memphis Recording Service. Mae Axton, Mother of Hoyt Axton, worked for Col. Tom Parker and when he took over managing Elvis she told him that he needed a million seller and I’m going to write it for you. Mae, Elvis and Tommy Durden wrote the song together. It was written after Tommy showed Mae a newspaper article about a man who killed himself left a one line note that said “I walk a lonely street.” Mae put the Heartbreak Hotel at the end of the lonely street and in about 22 minutes they had finished writing a #1 song. The song was released in January of 1956. Elvis made the rounds of TV shows like Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey’s Stage Show to promote the song. However, it was not until April 3, 1956 when he was on NBC’s Milton Berle show with one-quarter of the USA’s population at that time. Eighteen days later it was the 10th #1 song on the Billboard charts and by the end of the year was rated as the years #1 single.

The Adventures of Superman Network Promo

Here is a rare Network promo for The Adventures of Superman. I am sure that this would have made many 10 year old boys in the 1950's eagerly wait till the latest episode. However, viewing this from the 21st century it almost comes off as comical. Still it does make one from that era wish for a more simple time when you always knew good would win over evil on television.

Intro to Rocket Robin Hood

Booksteve knows I am a big fan of the old Rocket Robin Hood series. He sent me an e-mail that directed me to this video introduction of the series. It was nice to see the animation again but I wonder if there were two openings as this is not the one that I recall. The one I remember ended with them singing "Hooray for Rocket Robin Hood." This one does not end that way and the song is completely different. Anyway it was a nice gesture and nice to see the merry men again.

The Amazing Adventures of Super Ads

There have been many ads over the years in comic books. They have ranged from conservative to just plain weird. Everyones favorite weird (or at least close to weird) ads have been the Hostess ads like the one with Superman that you see above. I love Hostess cupcakes but I never thought they had such a powerful taste that it could save the world. If you notice in that last panel Superman tells the store manager to send the bill to Clark Kent. He has done this in hie regular comic book adventures as well as his old TV show "The Adventures of Superman." Didn't anyone ever wonder why Clark was nice enough to pay for all the damage that Superman caused? You can't be too bright if you live in a comic book type world.
The second ad I don't recall seeing before but it still seems vaguely familier. Spider-man is asking Marvel comic book readers what Ads they like to see in their comic books. Marvel must have been doing awfully well at the time. I don't know of any company that would turn down anyone willing to pay money to advertise on their product. Unless it was for some moral reason. The Spider-Man ad I noticed Invincible Super-Blog.

This Day in Music History: B.J. Thomas and (Hey Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song

On this day in music histroy, April 26, 1975, B. J. Thomas had the #1 hit in the country with (Hey Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song. It is the second longest titled song to have hold the #1 position on the Billboard Charts. The longest titled song belongs to the Stars On 45. It was a record that had people singing a medley of older songs and it had every song that was part of the medley in the title. The title is too long for me to put in here now but when I showcase that song I will have to use the entire title.

B.J.'s song was written by Chips Moman and Larry Butler. Mr. Moman said that there was no inspiration for the song. It was not written about anyone who did either of them wrong. Also, it was not written with B.J. in mind. They had no certain singer in mind. The only reason Mr. Thomas recorded it was because he was offered the song first.

According to his autobiograpy, Home Where I Belong, Mr. Thomas doesn't even remember the recording sessions. In the book he admits that he was heavily addicted to drugs and his lack of memory is probably due to that. He was spending upwards of $3,000 a week on his habit. He says "It's a wonder I'm still alive considering how many times my bodily functions quit and someone had to revive me."

His marriage to his wife Gloria was nearly dissolved when he went to see her and his daugther in Texas. During their seperation Gloria became a Christian after becoming friends with two missionaries who lived nearby. In his book B.J. tells how he became saved on January 28, 1976. B.J. had hit rock bottom and Gloria took him to her friends Jim and Micah Reeves. After talking with them B.J. privately prayed for 20 minutes and gave his life to Christ at midnight. When he was done he looked up at the clock and he said "the memory of seeing that secondhand sweep by the 12 will never leave me."

His life became drug free. He started recording Gospel albums and won four grammys for his Gospel music. Becoming a born again Christian failed to get him secular work but he did release secular albums in 1983 and 1984 with the release of the albums New Looks and The Great American Dream.

Rest in Peace Brant Parker

I know I said I was only going to be blogging once a week but I may do more from time to time and when I heard about this I had to tell you. I really can't believe this has happened. I just found out that on April 18th, only a few days after we heard of Johnny Hart's death, his co-creator on the Wizard of ID, Brant Parker, also died. Brant I found out was ten years older then Johnny and he discovered him when he judged some artist at Johnny's high school. He was so impressed with his art that he arranged a meeting and later they created the Wizard of ID. Hart wrote the strip and Brant did the art. A few years ago Brant retired and gave the strip to his son who continued the strip with Mr. Hart till his death. I tried to find strips that were in tribute to Mr. Parker but only found this one. If there are others please let me know. The above strip is by Brant Parker's son.

Spider-Man Fig Newton Ad

Remember this fig Newton ad from 1984? If you mailed in 3 proof of purchases youi got a special comic book that reprinted the origin of Spider-Man and Dr. Strange. Of course you had to have it in by December 31 of that year and the books it came out in were published in October and November. They never give you time enough to buy the producet to have the correct amount of proof of purchases to get the item you wanted. I gave up trying after awhile. Many collectors would want that special comic book but wasn't this like the one millionth time they reprinted Spider-man's origin? By that time even non-comic book readers knew he was in high school and bitten by a radioactive spider.

I am going to try a different approach to my time blogging. I have five bolgs that I either run or help out on. They are Black Lightning Limited
,Custom Slipcovers my wife and Mother in Law's business, For God So Loved,My Page On My Space.com and On My Mind. While I love doing these it does take up alot of my time each day. As I am still able to pay my bills the finances are still getting tighter in my household. So to free up some time that will either be spent more time with family and helping around the home or hopefully doing something that adds to help the finances I will only be blogging once a week on the sites. Hopefully this will sole all problems. If any of you care to donate to this site you may do so by clicking on the Paypal box below. If you are seeing this on a site not dedicated to pop culture in general I am sorry but it helps to only write it once.

Justice League of America #8

With the title of this being the Lightning Saga begins I can only imagine that BL will have a big part in this story line. This first part he actually has little to do. By the second page he is taken out by the Karate Kid. The JLA team up with the JSA as Starman and Karate Kid have shown up from the future but both seem to have memory problems. Others from the Legion of Superheroes are also in this time period but missing. Staman mentions something about his dream girl so don't be surprised if one of them is ...Dream Girl. As you can see in one scene above Hawkgirl mentions that she and Black Lightning don't seem to have any business being there. I don't agree but that sounds like BL may not be in the JLA very long. I hope I am wrong. Anyway this is the lateste on Black Lightning.

Micky Dolenz In Japan singing "To Be or Not To Be"

Here is Micky Dolenz on a show in Japan singing his single "To Be or Not To Be." The quality is not very good but it is rare to see this video. Enjoy!

DC Digest Ad

Yes in the 1980's DC comics tried to conquer the digest book dept. These were the books that sell at the check out counter in department stores and mini-marts. At the time the price for them was less then $1 and for the amout of stories inside it was a pretty good deal. Most of the stories were reprints but if you never read them before then its new to you. Archie comics had the best success with them and Harvey comics had some success. It is a money making part of the publishing market as it is based on last minute impulse buying. It's greatest success, till they changed format, was TV Guide. This was one of DC comics failed marketing attempts. It only lasted a few years. It took Archie years before it had any success in this part of their publishing history and now that part nearly supports their company. Perhaps DC should have stuck it out. However, I am glad they didn't. It is disappointing to me that the only Archie comics I see in my area are the digest. I would hate to have seen that happen to Superman and his company of friends.

Big Jim Ad

Remember this ad for the action figure Big Jim in the early 1970's? It had you fill out an easy crossword puzzle and then you would be entered into a drawing for the grand prize of $100 in Big Jim toys. I don't know of anyone who ever won the prize or even cut out the crossword puzzle and sent it in. To this day you can find in any quarter box or dollar box comic books from the 1970's with the puzzle filled out but no attempt to cut it out for the $100 prize. I guess we loved our comic books too much. Big Jim was one of my favorite action figures along with Matt Mason, Captain Action, Spider-man and Johnny West. The one thing that amazed me about Big Jim was when you flexed his arm you actually saw his bicep grew. No other action figure did that. Sorry for the ad being cut short but space on my scanner is limited.

DC in house ad

Here is a DC in house ad from 1974.

This Day in Music History: David Soul and Don't Give Up on Us

David Soul is a show business veteran known for his acting. However, his real ambition was to make his name in the music business. He was born under the name of David Solberg on August 28, 1943. His Father was a Lutheran minister who worked for a refugee organization in Germany and that is where he was raised. His love of music can be traced back to his mother who was a classical concert singer.
David moved to the Midwest where he made his living as a folk singer and he was an opening act for many top groups like the Byrds and the Doors. He sent a photo of himself wearing a ski mask that covered his face to the William Morris Agency. They were interested and he got booked on the Merv Griffin Show and other talk show and musical variety shows. Though he may have wanted to be known for his music he was really becoming known for the ski mask that he always wore. Finally he discarded the mask on another appearance on the Merv Griffin Show. A casting director saw him on the show and cast him in the TV series Here Come the Brides as Joshua Bolt. The show ran from 1968 to 1970. In 1973 he was cast in the Dirty Harry sequel Magnum Force. He was the villain opposite Clint Eastwood. David was the crooked cop who went around killing criminals who, even though they were guilty, the courts could not prove they were guilty so they got away with their crimes. In other words David Soul was playing an early version of the Punisher.
The producers of Starsky and Hutch remembered him from the movie and sent him a script. He went in to read for the show. He hoped he would get the part of Starsky as that part was more colorful and he really wanted it. Sadly they told him they had him in mind for Hutch. That is now the role that he is most famous for. Starsky and Hutch ran from 1975 to 1979 and was a huge hit for ABC.
Though he was a big star on TV David did not give up on his musical career. Larry Uttal was the president of Private Label records and promised him that they would take David serious as a musician. So David signed with Private Label.
After he released his first album for them Mr. Uttal had David meet with producer and songwriter Tony Macaulay. After their conversation he agreed to record a couple of his songs. One of those was Don’t Give Up on Us. It was on a Thursday when David learned the songs and they were recorded that weekend. Only a few of his first albums had been released but they were called back so Don’t Give Up on Us could be added.
Mr. Soul is said to have not been concerned with making hit records. He just was concerned with make good music and having fun recording them. However, Private Label was eager to have hit records and promoted the song to #1 for one week beginning on this day in music history, April 16, 1977. After this none of his songs broke into the top 40 in the States. His chart history in Britain was different. Not only was Don’t Give Up on Us #1 in England but he also had top 20 hits with songs like Going in With My Eyes Open, Silver Lady and It Sure Brings Out the Love in Your Eyes. Mr. Soul said the only problem with Don’t Give Up on Us had been with his vocal quality. I don’t agree. It was a tender love song and he sang it tenderly as it was required. I think the reason he never had another hit in his own country is because he is stereotyped as a tough cop on TV but he sings tender love ballads on the radio. Some people just can’t bring the two together in their minds. No matter if you love the song or hate the song, it was still a #1 hit in 1977.
If you click on the video below you can see a documentary on David Soul and his music.

Ephemera A Collectors Blog

If you like collecting of anything you will enjoy Ephemera a blog dedicated to collecting. On this site you will find articles on comic strips, like the Prince Valiant one above, booklets, advertising, interviews with successful collectors etc. Marty runs a great site and I think readers of this site will really enjoy it. You can click on the title above or on Ephemera or on the perm link to the right.

Creator Rights

Recently Gary Friedrich sued Marvel for using Ghost Rider in a movie saying he owned the rights to him since 2001. While I can’t comment on the specifics of this case it did make me think about creator rights. Now in the comic book industry the battle for creator rights started heating up in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s. I don’t want to discuss the history of this. You can find that anywhere on the internet as well as what I do want to talk about. I want to talk about the injustices that have been done to creators since then. Sure when the battle for their rights had ended many old time artist got their original art back and some of them got credit on the books of the characters they created as well as some cash back that was long over due. There were even companies that started publishing books that were creator friendly who let them keep their rights from the first issue. How many of those companies are still around today? There are a few when the dust finally cleared but not as many as there was when it started. The ones that are still around are owned out right or in part by the major companies. But, as Peter David would say, I digress. It seems to me that I am always hearing that the major companies are always using legal maneuvers to dodge paying the creator the money that is owed to him. I don’t know if this is the case with Mr. Friedrich but it may be and it has happened before. From Siegel and Shuster’s Superman to Steve Gerber’s Howard the Duck to Tony Isabella’s Black Lightning being replaced by Black Vulcan in the Superfriends and up to today. Another example is Marv Wolfman who actually created Nova as a fan in an early fanzine. When he brought it to Marvel he made a few changes and that was where he made his mistake. While in my mind and the minds of many comic book fans he is the true and sole creator of Nova and should have all the rights. However, the legal system said that there were enough changes that it was now considered a new character and considered a work for hire so that all rights to the character belong to Marvel Comics. Even the late and great Archie comics artist, Dan DeCarlo, was suing Archie for his creator rights on Josie and the Pussycats before he passed away. They had just made a movie out of the characters and Mr. DeCarlo said he created them on his own. He was on a cruise with his wife, Josie DeCarlo, and she put on a cat outfit that inspired him to create Josie and the Pussycats. He was still employed by Archie at the time but when he sued them as the movie went into production Archie comics fired the man after 4 decades of faithful service to them. Now from a business standpoint I understand how you would not want to keep an employee who is suing you but it isn’t a nice thing to do. You could work it all out if you would just communicate. Don’t slam the door in their face. Better yet the company should just pay the creator for their creations. Many of them have been loyal and faithful to the company for years and want to continue the relationship. If you pay them it is a win/win situation. The company makes money and so does the creator. The best part of all is that the company can avoid bad publicity nasty lawsuits that will cost them just as much or more to defend then if they paid the creators. Anyway that is my two cents on the situation.

Tributes to Johnny Hart

Here are some tribute cartoons to Johnny Hart that I saw on Creators Syndicate and one from Church Mice. I hope they don't mind that I borrowed them for my readers to view. According to Creators Syndicate his strips BC and Wizard of ID will continue. The Hart family will pick their favorite BC strips to be published in tribute. The top strip was drawn by Johnny Hart's grandson.

Isis On DVD

This just in. It looks like The Secret of Isis the Complete Series will be released on DVD July 24, 2007. Not much more info then that but I thgought you would like to know.

Black Lightning looks into Marvels future

In Justice League of America #173 the JLA asked Black Lightning to join their team and he turned them down. In looking back on that issue the two panels above show BL talking to Inspector Henderson of the Metropolis Police Department. In those two panels they discuss the vigilante law that may go into effect. Black Lightning isn't worried because that would stop Superman as well and he knows Metropolis won't let that happen. In a way this DC comic from 1979 sees into the future what would happen at Marvel with their Civil War Mini-series. Having the heros register and unmasking was a way to curb their vigilante ways. It was just what I thought of when I recently read this book.

Showcase Presents the Haunted Tank

I have just read Showcase Presents the Haunted Tank. It was a fun read as I never read the Haunted Tank while growing up so all the stories were new to me. However, there are a few problems with this series. First I don't understand why a military genius like Col. Jeb Stuart was chosen by the writer to be the focal point of the series. He was a leader in the South in the Civil War and they lost the war. I would have chosen a Northern military leader to guide the tank and its crew. I know the tank commander and the tank itself were named after the Col. and that is why he was guarding them. Still the writer could have changed the name to something like U.S. Grant or another military leader. At the start of the series the says that tank comander Jeb Stuart Smith and his three friends Rick, Slim and Arch grew up together and played on Jeb's farm. I know that there are farms in the North but I and most people I know usually think of the South when farms are mentioned. So for more then half of the book I thought I was reading the war stories of 4 southern boys and a ghost. Suddenly the ghost seems angry that he is guarding 4 northern boys. What gives? I know that writers back then treated comic books as if they were not going to last and be thrown away but when put together there are continuity errors. Don't take this as I didn't like the book. I did and I will buy the second volume. I just noticed these errors and wanted to mention them. The stories were well written otherwise and the art is top notch.

Rest in Peace Johnny Hart

I have always been a fan of BC and Wizard of ID by Johnny Hart. I always found them very funny. Espically Wizard of ID. My local papers don't seem to carry Wizard of ID anymore but they continue to carry BC. Many people got to not care too much for them because of Mr. Hart's Christian point of view. Most of the time, from what I have read, Mr. Hart was telling the truth. Like what was in this Easter Sunday strip that you see above that was published this past Sunday. I remember reading an interview with him. According to what Mr. Hart said in the interveiw it was when he was at the peak of his popularity with his two strips that he was invited to partys that many celebrities where attending that he thought he had it all. He was at that time not a practicing Christian. He was having work done on his house by two contarctors and they were listening to a Christian radio station. He heard the sermons and music and after they left he started listening to the station and before long he was a Christian. Anyway Mr. Hart is with his maker now. May he rest in peace.

Happy Easter

Wishing you all a Happy Easter in our risen Lord Jesus Christ. If you would like to read an original story that was written for my other site For God so Loved you can click here. It is a science fiction story mixed in with the events of the Bible. Hope you enjoy it and again Happy Easter to all from On My Mind.

This is Tom Jones on DVD

Earlier on this site I mentioned Tom Jones Variety series called This is Tom Jones. It was hit show where he had guest ranging from Peter Sellers to Herman’s Hermits to Edward G. Robinson. It was quite a popular show in the early 1970's and now Time Life has it available on DVD. You can get to their site to look it up if you click on the button below. It will be available in late may but you can preorder it now.

For God So Loved

Over time I have gotten e-mails from things I subscribe to and e-mails from family and friends that were to be uplifiting and to teach me things. I have put some on this pop culture blog On My Mind and may still put some there but now I will put some on at For God So Loved.
Stop by once in awhile and check out on or around Easter Sunday. I hope to have an original story on that site for Easter.

Metal Men movie

Everyone is talking about the possible Metal Men movie. Well we all know how this works. Get word of mouth going on the project before you sign a cast so it seems like there is interest and big stars will want to sign on for the film. Will there be a movie? I doubt it but I would be interested in seeing it if it does come out. Actually I would like to see a Metal Men cartoon series. I have always thought they were taylormade for the cartoons. Maybe Cartoon Network will do one if the movie is a hit.

I wonder what stars would sign on to have their faces hidden under the metal? As far as who will play Doc Magnus I would like to suggest Kurt Russell. Anyway that is my 2 cents on the subject.

This Day in Music History: The Beatles and Can't Buy Me Love (43rd record setting anniversary)

When you of great Beatles songs you think of "Something", "Yesterday", "In My Life" or "The Long and Winding Road." However, there is another song that deserves to be mentioned on the list of great Beatles songs. That song is "Can't Buy Me Love." What is so great about this song? Isn't it just a nice little pop tune? Actually, it has one big thing that would make it added to the list of great Beatle songs. It was #1 on this day in music history, April 4, 1964 when the Beatles set a record that has never been broken. That week the Beatles estabilished the biggest domination of the top 5 in the history of the Billboard charts. What helped this happen was when Capitol records made the Beatles a hit in America other smaller labels, like Swan and Tollie, who held the American rights to their other songs jumped on the band wagon by releasing them. So the top 5 this week was held by the songs as follows.
1. Can't Buy Me Love
2. Twist and Shout
3. She Loves You
4. I Want to Hold Your Hand
5. Please Please Me

It also helped the Beatles set other records. One was the greatest monolopy of the top 100. By April 11 they had 13 songs in the top 100. Can't Buy Me Love also achieved the biggest leap to number 1. It debuted at #27 and the next week it was #1. The song helped the Beatles achieve the most consecutive number one singles. Ath the time the record was held by Elvis with 2 consecutive #1's but the Beatles had 3 with IWant to Hold Your Hand, She Loves You, and then Can't Buy Me Love. With all this the last record it set should come as no surprise being largest advance sales. The song was not available on any album at that time. Capitol records only released it as a single. So the sales # of 2,100,000 should not have surprised anyone. With all it achievedfor the Beatles it should be considered their greatest song of all.

Lose Weight with help from Ayds!

Yes this diet candy was sold for years to help people lose weight. It sold very well but once the Aids virus start this product was doomed. I think they stoped making this product then. Perhaps they just changed the name.

Johnny "Double No-Hit"

Today is Opening Day for the baseball season. My favorites and my home town team, the Cincinnati Reds, have always been the team to open the season by playing the first game of the season. In past years other teams have tried to sneak in the day before or even a few hours of minutes before to claim that they played the opening game that year. Those teams need to get back to the real world. No matter what the baseball season doesn’t start till the Cincinnati Reds play their first game. It is a long standing tradition. Today I want to tell you about an old Cincinnati Reds pitcher. His name was Johnny Vander Meer. Vander Meer was from Midland Park, New Jersey. Most people there were Brooklyn Dodger fans. On June 15, 1938 some of them for a brief time became Cincinnati Reds fans. Five days earlier Vander Meer had beaten Boston, then known as the Boston Bees 3-0. He was a rookie and pitched a no-hitter. His second game was against the Brooklyn Dodgers. History was about to be made. A crowd of over 500 people were there that night and it included Johnny’s parents. The game was going well for Vander Meer and by the fourth inning the Reds were leading 4-0. By the 6th inning no Dodger had gotten farther then 2nd Base. Even faithful Dodger fans were starting to root for the Reds and the rookie pitcher as he was on the verge of pitching a second no-hitter in a row. That would be a feat that no one had ever done up to that time. During the 7th inning he walked the first two batters and the fans switched back to the Dodgers. Johnny worked his way out of the situation.
In the 8th inning he struck out Woody English. The second batter grounded out. Then the third batter was struck out. When the 9th inning of the game came and Johnny walked out to the mound the crowd gave him an ovation. Vander Meer and the crowd was starting to feel the tension. Every pitch created a sense of excitement in the air. The first batter hit the ball up the first base line. Johnny fielded it himself and tagged the runner out. Babe Phelps the catcher was up at bat. A record was on the line and the young Cincinnati pitcher walked him but Phelps was a slow runner and was taken out for a pinch runner. Despite his best efforts Vander Meer could not get the ball over the plate and walked the next two batters. Now the bases were loaded. The fans were on the edge of their seats and despite the late hour all the fans stayed to see if history would be made as they hoped. Everyone hoped except the Dodgers themselves. Dodger center fielder Ernie Koy hit a grounder up the 3rd base line. It could have been a double play to end the game but the 3rd baseman was cautious and threw slowly to home plate to get the out but by that time Koy was on first base.

Shortstop Leo Durocher he was considered a weak hitter but would come through under pressure. The crowd leapt to its feet when he hit the first pitch like a shot down the first base line. However, it curved foul and went into the stands.
Durocher stepped back to the plate. Johnny let loose with a fast ball and Durocher hit it to center field. Reds outfielder Harry Craft was there and caught the ball to end the game. Vander Meer had put the Dodgers away with a score of 6-0. When he completed this incredible feat he earned a nickname as Johnny “Double No-Hit.”

I found this to be a very interesting story. The first time I read it was in the book “Strange But True Baseball Stories” by Furman Bisher. It was published by Scholastic Book Services in 1972.

Happy April Fool's Day

Just wanted to say Happy April Fool's Day! Oh! Your shoes untied. Ha! Made you look.

This Day In Music History and The Bangles and Eternal Flame

Songwriter Billy Steinberg had been a fan of the Bangles since their first album. After a Bangles concert Billy met with Susanna Hoffs and she agreed to write with him and his other writing partner Tom Kelly. After their first time of writing together none of the songs were recorded but a relationship was established. Later their first recorded effort was done not by the Bangles but by Belinda Carlisle on her first solo album self-titled Belinda. The song she chose was called "I Need a Disguise."
When they wrote "Eternal Flame" Tom and Billy said they wanted to write something that sounded like a Beatles melody. Susanna is a fan of 60's music and loves groups like the Beatles, The Monkees and the Byrds. Billy said that "Eternal Flame" to him sounds like the Beatles meet the Byrds.
The inspiration for the song was part of the eternal flame that burned in Graceland for Elvis and a childhood memory of Susanna's from when her sunday school class was showed a red light that they were told was called the eternal flame.
The song almost didn't make the final cut for the new album. Most of the songs were geared to sounding like a rock and roll garage band as the group wanted to show off thier songwriting and musicianship skills. Suddenly here is the beautiful ballad and it needed a different production style.
The first single from the album was "In Your Room" and it peaked at #5. "Eternal Flame" was the follow up and on this day in music history it reached #1 on the Billboard charts for 1 week. After this the group said they were going on hiatus. Not long afterward the hiatus was officially announced that it was really a break up.
You can click on the You Tube link below to view the music video.

Green Arrow Straight Shooter

While searcing the internet for Black Lightning material I came across this book. I have not read the book myself as this is the first time I have seen it. From what I have read the story line is pretty good and it revolves around a monster that inhabits a construction site. This is a reprinting of Green Arrow issues 26-31. I thought Black Lightning would be a co-star in the adventure but as it turns out it is only a cameo. If you are interested in the book You can go here if you wish to buy Green Arrow Straight Shooter