Friday, July 29, 2016

Terrific TV Toys on Wheels: The Mystery Machine!

We'll celebrate the closing of July with another installment in Terrific TV Toys on Wheels, a sort of subseries to our regular show, Terrific TV Toys. This comes from an event earlier this month, the Fourth of July parade in Northville, Michigan, where a replica of a very recognizable TV star car made its debut, to the cheers of a bazillion little kids who certainly know their Scooby!

It's the Mystery Machine, fresh out of the shop with a brand-new paint job and some mechanical work, and it really rode the parade in style! In fact, it even had a very huge stuffed Scooby-Doo in tow that you'll recognize if you've seen other episodes of the T3 series. That's Buckzilla right there in the front seat with BRB of BRBTV, cosplaying Daphne Blake, and her hunky driver! You can call him Fred!




Stay tuned ... Next week, T3 continues the Bat-Blitz of 2016 with a special variant series by Figures Toy Co.!

Thursday, July 21, 2016

Terrific TV Toys: J.R. Ewing ornament by Hallmark

That ole J.R. Ewing ... he sure can wheel and deal himself in and out of any situation, can't he? Well, can he also finagle himself a prime spot on your Christmas tree this holiday season? Hallmark is hoping so, because they just released a Keepsake Ornament featuring that scion of Southfork Ranch, and it's the subject of this week's episode of Terrific TV Toys.

The firm figurehead of the classic primetime soap "Dallas" is perched right there on this ornament, in all his glory, and he'll play the theme music from "Dallas," to boot, when you push the button on his base! See this brand-new Hallmark ornament, just hitting stores this month, up-close and personal ...


Thursday, July 14, 2016

Terrific TV Toys: '66 Alfred figure by Figures Toy Co.

He can dust like nobody's business, and he's very good at telling Bruce and Dick -- in code when Aunt Harriet is around -- that the Batphone is ringing. He's Alfred, and his faithful service at stately Wayne Manor is a thing of beauty. His action figure by Figures Toy Co. is rather lovely, too, and it's the subject of this week's episode of the Terrific TV Toys series. It rounds out series 4 from the company ...



Next week, we return to Southfork Ranch for a special "Christmas in July" ...

Monday, July 11, 2016

Check out the trailer for John Schneider's new film, streaming on Thursday

We've always known our Bo Duke had talent. We watch John Schneider dominate his scenes on Tyler Perry's "The Haves and the Have Nots" each week on OWN right now, but of course, back in the day on "The Dukes of Hazzard" he thrilled female hearts everywhere with his talent and charisma. Schneider is making movies these days out of a studio in Louisiana, inspired by folks like Perry, and his latest, "Like Son," is being released online on Thursday.

We just watched the trailer, and we have to applaud Schneider if for nothing other than the quest to produce a film that actually says something and doesn't feel obligated to just flash a bunch of pretty 20-somethings at us like so many other movies these days. We don't necessarily need the eye candy, and some of us moviegoers want to feel something and learn more about ourselves as human beings. This one looks good, and this author will definitely watch it.

You can catch the trailer now on the official "Like Son" website, and stream the movie in a few days.

Friday, July 08, 2016

Terrific TV Toys: '66 King Tut figure by Figures Toy Co.

"How'd ya get so funky???? Must've done the Monkey ..." 

If you know what that comes from, we're scared for you. And if you don't, well, just Google this guy named Steve Martin ...

Anyway, we know how popular King Tut has been over the years. Egypt's boy king whose tomb was discovered in 1922 has always intrigued us in the modern culture. And King Tut was the inspiration for a villain created just for the 1960s "Batman" TV series starring Adam West. This portly patriarch was portrayed by Victor Buono, and to great effect. This week's installment of the Terrific TV Toys series shows you the action figure for this character crafted by Figures Toy Co. as part of series 4 of their collection for the show. Enjoy!

Wednesday, July 06, 2016

"Arrow" and "Flash" stars converge on Heroes and Villains con in New York

Many thanks once again to guest blogger Brian Lombard, filing this fab report from the field after meeting cast members from a couple of our favorite shows this past weekend at the Heroes and Villains Fan Fest ...
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While many Americans were spending the holiday weekend in their backyards or at baseball games, fans of the TV series’ “Arrow” and “Flash” descended on the Big Apple for the Heroes and Villains convention. Both casts were well represented, and they were joined by actors from their sister shows “Gotham” and “Legends of Tomorrow.” I love all of these shows, so my attendance was a foregone conclusion.

I always love the opportunity to get a star’s autograph, and this convention offered plenty of opportunities for that. First on my list was Neal McDonough, known in the “Arrowverse” as the evil Damien Darhk. I’ve been a fan of his since I saw him get assimilated by the Borg back in “Star Trek: First Contact,” but I always like to ask the stars about their lesser-known roles. Or at least ones that aren’t generally asked about at sci-fi conventions. With that mind, I asked him about “Walking Tall,” a film he made with Duane “The Rock” Johnson in 2004.

“That was fun,” McDonough said. “Duane is such a nice guy and we just had so much fun making that movie.”

Remembering that Damien Darkh seems to have an extraordinarily long life span, I asked McDonough just how old he’s supposed to be anyway.

“158,” he quipped, with a wink in his eye.



Next up was John Barrowman, perennial villain/ally/villain Malcolm Merlyn. Before “Arrow,” Barrowman made his name in the “Doctor Who” spin-off “Torchwood,” a series I know nothing about. I noticed he was wearing a Superman ring on his finger, and I decided to comment on that instead.

“Nice ring, Mr. Barrowman.”

“Thank you. You don’t know how many people like my ring ….. Brian" (reading my name on the post it note).

“Well, I didn’t want to bore you with another 'Arrow' question you’ve heard before.”

“Not at all. I’m just delighted I could throw a double entendre at you and it went right over your head.”

Nervous chuckle. “Thanks, Mr. Barrowman. I really enjoy the show.”



The other thing I like about these shows is the opportunity we get to have our photos taken with the stars. Budget be damned, there were two I simply had to have – Danielle Panabaker, aka Caitlyn Snow from “The Flash,” and a duo shot with “Arrow’s” Stephen Amell and David Ramsey. Unlike many conventions I’ve been to in the past, the photo sessions were very well-run and efficient. The lines moved very quickly and I had my prints in less than a minute. That said, you have to respect the actor’s time, and not bog them down during this process.



Once the photo ops were over, I went back for a few more autographs. I’m a big fan of Captain Lance, so I made my way to meet his alter ego, Paul Blackthorne. He was away doing his own photo ops at the time, so I was now first in his line, which quickly grew and grew. Fortunately we didn’t have too long to wait.

When he returned, I introduced myself and he thanked me for coming. He seemed the jovial type, so I asked him if Captain Lance was planning to attend any more of his daughters’ funerals next season (two girls with three funerals between them). He had a laugh at that, and said “God, I hope not. I don’t think his heart could take it. Been down that road too many times!”



I thanked him and quickly moved on to my final get of the day, Willa Holland, aka Thea Queen, aka Speedy. I met her, I got her autograph, and it was all very impersonal.

All in all, a fantastic convention.



Brian Lombard, shown above with Stephen Amell and David Ramsey, is quite fond of television both classic and modern. Check out his book "Bradypalooza: The Unauthorized Guide to TV's Favorite Family" on Amazon.



Photos courtesy of Brian Lombard;
please do not copy without permission.

Monday, July 04, 2016

Happy Fourth of July!


Well, here's what our Fourth looked like. We hope it was a happy, safe holiday for you! And look for an upcoming episode of the Terrific TV Toys series -- specifically another installment of the subseries "Terrific TV Toys on Wheels" dealing with the above subject!



Friday, July 01, 2016

Terrific TV Toys: '66 Mr. Freeze figure by Figures Toy Co.

It's TGIF, and this week, that means Thank Goodness it's Frozen ... And we don't mean Elsa and her gang! We're talking about a guy that was put on ice long before they were, Mr. Freeze, that villainous specimen of winter wonderland, that frigid furtherer of frostbite ...

This week's episode of Terrific TV Toys shows you the Mr. Freeze figure that's part of the fourth wave of "Batman" '66 figures by Figures Toy Co.



Happy Fourth of July from BRBTV!