Friday, December 31, 2010

CMT rolls out the "Dukes" and "Dallas" episodes in fab form this weekend

It would be enough for our friends at CMT -- who showed the great wisdom to bring "The Dukes of Hazzard" back to the airwaves a few months back -- to just offer up a "Dukes" marathon. But then those programming experts had to go and throw in a "Dallas" marathon, too -- proving that as a cable network, they definitely get the BRBTV stamp of approval!

"Yee-haw! CMT loves all you die-hard Dukes fans!" their social media rep emailed the other day. Yea, Chris, we believe you. Because CMT is rolling out the marathon today, starting at 1:30 p.m. Eastern and running until 3 a.m. So grab that jug of moonshine and ring in the new year right!

THEN ... (and especially for the many "Dukes" fans we've met over the years who crossed over into the "Dallas" realm, sticking around another hour when the show originally aired on Friday nights on CBS in the '80s) catch the "Dallas" marathon, beginning tomorrow at 2 p.m. Eastern and running until 3 a.m. (We think you can successfully give a "yee-haw!" to that one, too.)

"To add to the excitement," Chris at CMT says, "we are giving away a special guitar autographed by John Schneider!" You can enter to win on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TheDukesRideAgain?v=app_28134323652.

And check out CMT's official Dukes Ride Again Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/TheDukesRideAgain

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Lane Davies talks about his work on "The Bay"

OutTakes host Laurie Baker just did a fresh interview this evening with Lane Davies, our own Mason Capwell of "Santa Barbara," on BlogTalkRadio. In the chat, Davies talked about his new gig on the brand-new web soap "The Bay," as well as how he first met Gregori J. Martin, producer of the series, which is now in its 10th webisode.

"I was actually hooked up with Gregori by a reporter," Davies said, explaining that he received a call on his cell during a show night at last summer's Tennessee Shakespeare Festival (see our BRBTV glimpse of the fest in the July 21, 2009 post). "She told me a bit about Gregori and what was involved. ... I thought, this sounds like a fun thing. So there we are."

So what's happening with Det. Mackenzie Johnson, the "Bay" character that Davies is taking over from former fellow "SB" cast member John Callahan? "I can't reveal too much, it being a soap, without spoiling some stuff. Suffice it to say, he's sorta tied in, in several ways, with several storylines, and being a cop gives him opportunity to throw his weight around."

Though the series also includes another former "SB" cast member, Nicolas Coster (Lionel Lockridge), Davies said he hasn't shared any scenes with him yet. He is intrigued, however, with this whole web soap thing, seeing it as a sign of changing times.

"I think it's clear to anybody that's really paying attention that there is a conversion on the way between the web and television. ... It's all going to be one giant entertainment information world. Your television will just be a giant computer, as they are now, for all practical purposes. It will no longer simply be cable and network. ... The future of television is converging with the Internet. It's a much more cost-effective way to get a show off the ground."

How does the experience compare to the regular soaps in which he spent so many years? "It's way more like shooting an independent film," he said. "For one thing, we're not shooting nearly as much material in one day. We're shooting single camera as opposed to multiple cameras."

The Southern Davies says the commute to California for shooting hasn't been that bad. "Now that both boys are in college, I'll be spending a little more time on the West Coast anyway."

Great -- more time there. But how about more time in these little episodes we get only once a week? Well, the cast and crew of "The Bay," he said, agree that more material needs to be posted. "There was a time when people would go to the movies on Saturday afternoon and see an installment of 'Superman.' ... You'd have to wait a week to see what happened, and it kept people going to theaters." But fret not -- there will come a time soon, as more money comes in for the show, Davies said, when more episodes will be posted per week.

Davies also reminisced, with the help of submitted fan questions, about his days on "SB." BRBTV's bud Tracy, in Davies' hometown of Dalton, Georgia, asked how much of his witty banter with the Julia Wainwright character was ad-libbed.

"We rarely improvised once the cameras started to roll," he said, "but we were given a fair amount of freedom with tweaking scripts. ... We sorta knew the characters better than they did, because we'd been playing them so long. ... I was always inserting Shakespeare and other literary references."

Speaking of Shakespeare, what's coming up for Davies in this summer's festival in Tennessee?

"I will direct 'The Comedy of Errors.' I probably won't be in it, because it just sorta exhausts me too much to do both. Unless it's a role I've done before, I'm very shy about directing myself."

Hear the whole interview, now archived, at BlogTalkRadio. The next episode of "The Bay," meanwhile, will be posted on Thursday, January 13.

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Update on the Archie's Weird Mysteries compilation paperback

Mr. Paul Castiglia has updated BRBTV on the trade paperback compilation of the Archie's Weird Mysteries comic book series, which we told you about on December 9.

"I have some additional details on the stories that will be inside," he says. "Among them will be the 'Scream' parody from issue #2, the Bigfoot ('Sam Squatch' story), the intergalactic baseball game story and some Scarlett material. There should be some others as well, space permitting."

Castiglia blogged about it all at his Scared Silly blog, where you'll also see some fab art of the Scooby-Doo crossover (the characters match, in a truly uncanny way!).

Thursday, December 09, 2010

Archie's Weird Mysteries gets compilation paperback

Many thanks to the author himself, Mr. Paul Castiglia, for the heads-up on this one:  Those juicy, spooky stories you loved in the Archie's Weird Mysteries comic book title, based, of course, on our beloved "Archie's Weird Mysteries" animated series, are going to be collected in a trade paperback. The 128-page volume doesn't release until August 2011, but you can sneak a peek here:

http://www.amazon.com/Archies-Mysteries-Archie-Friends-All-Stars/dp/1879794748/ref=sr_1_8?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1291558314&sr=1-8

Castiglia tells us he doesn't know yet exactly what stories the book will include, but we'll be waiting with baited breath ... werewolf bait, perhaps ... or maybe vampire ...

Wednesday, December 01, 2010

BRBTV birthdays for December

- Forry Smith, the dashing Reese Walker on "SB," turns 58 on December 1.
- Charlene Tilton, little Lucy Ewing of "Dallas," turns 52 on December 1, though reports sometimes conflict on her age.
- Nicolas Coster, the unforgettable Lionel Lockridge on "SB," as well as Lyle Sloan and Joe Morris on "Dallas," and even Ezra Bushmaster in "The Dukes of Hazzard: Hazzard in Hollywood" TV movie, turns 77 on December 3.
- Morgan Brittany, who also was unforgettable as the Bobby-stalking Katherine Wentworth on "Dallas," and who played Mary Lou Pringle on a 1980 episode of "The Dukes of Hazzard," "The Hazzardville Horror," celebrates her birthday on December 5, this year turning 59.
- Gunnar Hellström, who not only played Rolf Brundin on "Dallas" but also directed some episodes, was born on December 6, 1928 and died on November 28, 2001.
- Tom Fuccello, who was Sen. Dave Culver on "Dallas," was born on December 11, 1936, and died on August 16, 1993.
- Sheree J. Wilson, our own April Stevens Ewing of "Dallas," is the same age as our little Lucy (apparently!), turning 52 on December 12.
- Thaao Penghlis, who was Dr. Micah De Angelis in the tail-end of the run of "Santa Barbara," turns 65 on December 15.
- Helen Slater, who voiced Talia on "Batman: The Animated Series," turns 47 on December 15.
- Christopher Cazenove, rugged and angry bro to Blake Carrington as Ben Carrington on "Dynasty," was born on December 17, 1943 and died on April 7, 2010.
- Brad Pitt, who was a very youthful Randy, boyfriend to Charlie, in one of his very first roles, on "Dallas," turns 47 on December 18.
- Karen Moncrieff, who played Cassandra Benedict on "Santa Barbara," turns 47 on December 20.
- Jared Martin, our own Dusty Farlow of "Dallas," turns 69 on December 21, according to the IMDb, although sources are conflicting.
- John Callahan, who was Craig Hunt on "SB," turns 57 on December 23.
- Susan Lucci, the evil Hillary Taylor in the latter years of "Dallas," has a birthday on Saturday, December 23, as well, turning 64.
- Dane Witherspoon, who originated the role of Joe Perkins on "Santa Barbara," turns 53 on December 27.
- Terri Garber, who was the feisty Leslie Carrington on "Dynasty," as well as Suzanne Collier on "SB," turns 50 on December 28.
- Barbara Carrera, who played the evil Angelica Nero on "Dallas," turns 65 on New Year's Eve, December 31, although sources have conflicted on that one, too!

Happy birthday to all, whatever age ya are!!!!!