It's a report from the field: Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Con '19

We love the Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Con here at BRBTV but didn't manage to make it this year. Our pal and fellow author Brian Lombard was there, though, and caught some great photos.

You know, it used to be, a couple years back, that Brian in his Gilligan costume was the only cosplayer at this event! This one is more an autograph show, after all, and it skews to another generation, so it's much more about the great celebs of classic TV shows and movies who appear. But look what's happened ... folks are getting into the spirit, so to speak ...

Photos by Brian Lombard; please do not copy without permission.

Yabba, dabba, doo! It's a great time at the Monroe Pop Fest!

Got the chance yesterday to take in another show that's been going on for a few years that I had not been able to make it to in the past, the Monroe Pop Fest south of Detroit in Michigan. This was a great comic con with special celebrity guests from the screen and the comic book page, and lots of great vendors (shopping ... we love the shopping ... yummy ....). Pals Andrea and Don were there, and we cosplayed the Flintstones for the first time, and we actually got third place in the costume contest! Yay! (And yes, there were other entries -- probably 30 or so!) It was a fun day.

 

Special thanks to T.J., owner of the Hazzard County Sheriff's car above, for snapping this one! T.J. had a great display of "Dukes of Hazzard" collectibles at the event; see the photos further below ...

 

Some "Terrific TV Toys" were available, like this set of Charlie Brown figures from the Great Pumpkin special, just in time for Halloween.

 

Not sure what a Demogorgon from "Stranger Things" was doing there, but it was super-cool!

The League of Enchantment hosted a panel talking about bullying and why it's not cool, assisted by actor Michael Foster, right, who grew up in Monroe but now lives in Hollywood and has appeared in "The Walking Dead" and much more. The League is a group of cosplayers who have formed a nonprofit group to work with hospitals, Make-a-Wish and other organizations to bring joy and hope to kids. These are real heroes! You can see this panel on the League's Facebook page.

 

Another great entry in the cosplay contest! A whole Poke-family!

T.J. has some great "Dukes" memorabilia!

After the show, the Flintstones had lunch at the Bedrock Quarry Bar and Grill in Monroe. If that isn't fun, well, then, what is????

Four "Dukes" display photos courtesy of T.J. Bethards;

bottom two photos courtesy of Don Covell Jr.;

other photos by Billie Rae Bates / BRBTV

Take a jaunt through the "Star Trek" exhibit

Captain's Log, Stardate ... well, we don't know, but we do know that our latest mission was to explore the new worlds of the "Star Trek" exhibit at The Henry Ford museum in Dearborn, Michigan. This fantastical universe of "Trek" costumes, props and information was well-worth the visit. It was at the beginning of September, just one day before the exhibit closed (this summer got away from us, didn't it???). It was fascinating, Captain. Just fascinating. And now we've got your walk-through, in case you weren't able to catch it yourself, or you just want to relive it ...



And we've got a few great photos courtesy of Mike. On the way to the museum, I was telling him, "I hope they have some real costumes and stuff used in the series." Boy, did they!

 

Yea, so happy to become a Borg, yea, that's me ...

And by the way, we've decided September is "Star Trek" Month here at BRBTV. We showed you a set of "Trek" Hot Wheels cars on last week's ep of Terrific TV Toys. Look for a Terrific non-TV Toys episode in the next couple weeks on the same theme!

Photos by Michael Knight / Motor City Reel Rides

Please do not copy without permission

Terrific TV Toys: "Star Trek" cars by Hot Wheels

Vroom-vroom ... Can you just hear that Baja Breaker speeding across the planet in Alpha Centauri! Well, no, you can't, because it didn't happen ...

In our continual love of all things classic "Star Trek," we simply couldn't resist this set of six Hot Wheels cars when they were released a few years ago. This author snapped them right up off the store pegs. It took a few trips to multiple stores, but I eventually got 'em all.

And that was actually the second set of Hot Wheels "Trek" cars I saw -- there's another set of two years earlier that you'll see on a future episode of Terrific TV Toys. But for now ... from the Baja Breaker to the Volkswagen T1 Panel Bus and more ... let's take a closer look at these mini-vehicles carting around the classic crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise ...

Catch episode 2 of "The Rapture Chronicles" with BRB as Francine

For the past few years this author has been having fun with some acting gigs on the side, but I have always wanted to become involved in a screen project that is Kingdom-serving. Enter "The Rapture Chronicles" by producer / director / writer Dray Hill, which I am so thankful to be a part of.

This is a web series designed to change lives, depicting the reality of the Rapture event that all believers know is coming soon. Each episode shows a few characters from various walks of life, in various stages of faith (or lack thereof). Some share their beliefs in the Lord; others might not want to hear it. It's real life. I love it, and I love working with this group.



For some, the Rapture event mentioned in the Bible might be fantasy. I play a character who thinks it's sheer fantasy. Francine is a tough cookie, and her doubt and sarcasm about these Biblical issues definitely took me out of my comfort zone. You'll see what happens, as the episode dropped today both on Facebook and via the YouTube above.

You can also see the interview I did on the role:



Catch up with the first episode and so much more at the Facebook page for the series, as well as the web page at ChurchouseProductions.com, which features photos and links to interviews with the other great folks involved in the series. And watch for future episodes -- this one is hot! Episode 1 jumped to more than 100,000 views on Facebook in just a couple months.

What a nice time at the Hot Wheels show in Marysville, Michigan

It's a show I had my eye on for a few years, and this year, this author finally got to check it out. It was the Hot Wheels Weekend in Marysville, Michigan, all tucked up on the east side of the state near Port Huron and Canada and oh, that big lake called Huron.

Lots of classic cars of every era and variety were there, even a 1930 Model A Ford that the famous John Dillinger once made a getaway in. Super-cool.

Paul Michael Glaser of "Starsky and Hutch" and Butch Patrick of "The Munsters" were the guest stars, and they had nice displays complete with vehicles.

I got the chance to chat with Mr. Glaser a bit -- what a nice person he is. And thanks so much to Motor City Reel Rides for posting photos.

Motor City Reel Rides, by the way, has a great new calendar out for 2020 that features photos of many (well, 12) of their beautiful star cars ...

Yes, that's even the beautiful Farrah car from "Charlie's Angels," which you've seen profiled on this very blog. There are two versions of this 2020 calendar, and they're only $10 each. Contact the group at its Facebook page.

And you've gotta love Mike's shirt he had custom-made -- I want a dress of this material!

Photos by Billie Rae Bates and Motor City Reel Rides

Terrific non-TV Toys: Scarlett O'Hara Barbie doll by Mattel

We venture into "Gone With the Wind" territory in the latest episode of Terrific non-TV Toys, into that Civil War era South, for one round with the formidable non-Southern-belle Scarlett O'Hara. She's resplendent in red -- well, burgundy, actually -- in the amazing velvet and feather gown her husband Rhett Butler forced her to wear to Ashley's birthday party in that famous scene. Mattel celebrates that scene in this 1994 Barbie doll from its Hollywood Legends collection. This is an out-of-the-box experience -- she gets some oxygen after 25 years.

Check out new playlist of some of BRB's acting clips

This author has been enjoying a few acting gigs the past few years. Not to take over the world or anything -- just to goof around with it a bit. To prove that it can be done. A personal challenge and all. And fulfilling a childhood dream. Blah-blah-blah, whatever, it tends to be fun! And some of the fruits of that labor can be seen on a new playlist on my second YouTube channel, which I've just basically been using for demo reels and stuff.

This new playlist starts with the role of tough interrogator Blanche Lancaster in Evil Genius Entertainment's "Reanimated," then goes into a few other assorted roles, like a rather-evil nun in "SeVen" and the MedGuard member Denna McClure in "Anders Dark," which you can see in both trailers for the web series, but a little bit better in the second trailer.

Soon to come: episode 2 of "The Rapture Chronicles," where I have been truly blessed (thank-you, Dray Hill) to play the thoroughly unsaved Francine O'Neill. Uncomfortable, but, I pray, effective!!! That's coming in September.



On Vimeo, you can also check out "Surprise!", where I am Mary, and "A Taste of Honey," where I was thrilled to play the deliciously evil mom Louise Patterson. Embedding that one below, too ...


A TASTE OF HONEY from Nikoleta Vatiqi on Vimeo.

Thanks for watching and indulging this silly girl!

Enjoy your Friday! TGIF!!

Terrific TV Toys: Supergirl "S:TAS" figure by Hasbro, 1999

We've been examining, on the Terrific TV Toys series, a set of 12-inch action figures released by Hasbro in the late 1990s celebrating the animated series of the Timmverse, more specifically "Batman: The Animated Series" and "The New Batman Adventures" with Batgirl, Harley Quinn and Nightwing. Now, we turn our attention to Supergirl, who first appeared in the "B:TAS" spinoff "Superman: The Animated Series." She's dated 1999 and so girlish and full of life, as you'll see in the latest episode ...

An update on Tom Wopat's appearance schedule

Kimberly of the Tom Wopat Dedication Fan Club has it covered, as far as appearances for Mr. Tom Wopat, our own Luke Duke of "The Dukes of Hazzard." In our May 30 post, we gave you some of Wopat's summer schedule from the fan club page, but now it's time for an update, cuz' there's a lot more stuff coming up ...

Midwest Mopars, Sioux Empire Chapter

Sunday, September 1, 2019

Misquamicut Fallfest 

Saturday, September 14, 2019

Nostalgiacon 2019 

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Sammy Hagar's High Tide Beach party 

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Hazzard RUN 2019 

Saturday, October 5, 2019

Supermegafest Comic Con 

Saturday, November 16, 2019

And, as we mentioned last week ...

A Christmas Concert 

Friday, December 6, 2019

Plus ....

Cooter's Place in Luray, Christmas concert 

Saturday, December 21, 2019

Wounded Warrior Project Show 

Friday, March 6, 2020

Shiawassee County = Hazzard County???? A "Dukes" Christmas comes to Corunna, Michigan, once again

Well, he said it, during the Hazzard County Cars and Stars event at the Owosso Speedway in this author's hometown a couple weeks back, Mr. Tom Wopat of "The Dukes of Hazzard." He just happened to mention (and you can see it yourself in ChunkeyMonkey40's video coverage of the event) that he would be returning to these parts -- mid-Michigan and the greater Owosso / Corunna area -- this Christmas for another holiday concert.

Last year, the Hazzard County Christmas concert was a wonderful time, so we look forward to it again this year! Kimberly already has an event created for it on Facebook. The dates are December 6-7. Ya know, when I was a little kid watching the show, I really wanted to go live in Hazzard County. Now, thanks to Pastor Steve Rau, he's plumb-near turning this county where I grew up into Hazzard!!! (Weeeellll ... OK, let's make it "Hazzard North" while Covington, Georgia, can be Hazzard South ...)

Watch this space and the Facebook event page for more details!

Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Con celebrates 14 years

George Chakiris of classic "Dallas." Loni Anderson of "WKRP." Angie Dickinson of "Police Woman." Richard Thomas of "The Waltons" and so much more. Lots o' great stars of classic TV shows we know and love are coming once again to the Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Con in Hunt Valley, Maryland. You've seen coverage of this great show on this very blog in the past (for the past few years, actually). It's a nice time, and this year it's even sponsored by MeTV -- one of our fave networks! Woot-woot, for sure.

It happens September 12-14, 2019, at the Hunt Valley Delta Marriott Hotel.

Check out the new "Dukes" event coverage playlist on YouTube

Years worth of great "Dukes of Hazzard" events, all in one place. Now you can click on the new BRBTV "Dukes" event coverage playlist on YouTube and see great clips from waaaaayyyy back in the day, as well as just the other day!

This author has had the privilege of attending so many wonderful events over the years, and I think you'll enjoy these captured moments. From the '09 Hair Dare Dukes Days in Canada and even the Professional Stuntman Invitational in North Carolina, where you'll see the  jump of an "A-Team" van, all the way up through last weekend's Hazzard County Cars and Stars in Michigan, there's tons of great stuff here. These videos are designed as either relive-the-moment opportunities or live-it-if-you-never-got-to-in-the-first-place. Sooo ... Yeee-haaaa!!!!

Hazzard County Cars and Stars: Some track action

You've gotta love a "Dukes of Hazzard" event with a "Dukes"-style re-enactment. This author has loved the talents of folks like the Northeast Ohio Dukes and the Hazzard County Stunt Team at their own stunt shows, and last weekend's Hazzard County Cars and Stars event at the Owosso Speedway in Michigan seemed to take a page right out of that playbook. In a sweet little show around the racetrack, that ole rascally Rosco was chasing them Duke boys, and then the General had car trouble, and you just know where that's going. Cooter and Daisy get in on the action, too. What fun! And with a real Duke in on the action to boot -- Byron Cherry lends some comedy to the scene.

Right before that in this third part of our video coverage of Saturday at the show, you'll see the parade of cars around the track, led by the General Lee. This lineup came from a car show down the road in downtown Owosso.

Hazzard County Cars & Stars, Part 2: Tom Wopat

You can tell the wind was starting to pick up later in this second part of our video coverage of this past weekend's Hazzard County Cars and Stars Concert at Owosso Speedway in Michigan. Then the rain came, and Tom ("Luke Duke") Wopat of "The Dukes of Hazzard" brought his concert to a close. But before that, it was some great music, as always.

Tom sang some classics like "Yesterday," as well as his own original songs, including one, as he tells the story, he was inspired to write after shooting a Syfy movie in Thailand. You'll see him introduce event host Pastor Steve Rau here, as well.

Thanks so much, Pastor Steve, Owosso Speedway, Tom Wopat, and Byron Cherry for giving fans this great event. Tune in tomorrow for the last of our three-part coverage -- a sweet little car chase around the track.

Hazzard County Cars & Stars, Part 1: Byron Cherry

Did you know Byron ("Coy Duke") Cherry of "The Dukes of Hazzard" has a new movie role coming up? It has a couple very special "Dukes" connections -- namely the director! Byron tells us all about it in the first of three parts of our special video coverage of the Hazzard County Cars and Stars Concert at Owosso Speedway in Michigan this past weekend. This author was there with buds Andrea and Don, and even my fellow vlogger Derek (ChunkeyMonkey40) in a vlogception! It was a blast to see Byron again, as he's always the life of the party. Here, he signs photos for fans and even FaceTimes with the mom of one attendee.

Byron also got to take part in a car chase around the track that was straight out of Hazzard County! You'll see that later in the week on this same BRBTV channel ...

Terrific non-TV Toys: Betty and Veronica dolls by Playing Mantis, Part 2: Betty

She's the girl next door (literally right next door to Archie). She can fix cars, she has a cute little ponytail, and she seems to have nothing but patience when it comes to her best friend Veronica Lodge. She's Betty Cooper, and she's the focus of the latest episode of Terrific non-TV Toys -- at least these delightful dolls are. They were released by Playing Mantis back in 2000, and you can see two out of the three Veronica dolls in the set in the previous episode of non-T3.

Byron Cherry and Tom Wopat shine at Hazzard County Cars and Stars event

When we say hot, we mean hoooooottttt! As in blazin' hot! We were actually just a little thankful for the rain that came later in the afternoon to cool things off a bit. Nevertheless, we soldiered on, those of us who attended the first-ever Hazzard County Cars and Stars Concert at the Owosso Speedway this weekend in a sweet little town that you may not have heard of, but that this author is actually from. In fact, I grew up a mile down the road from the speedway. That town is Ovid, Michigan, and who would've dreamed that two stars of one of my all-time favorite TV shows would come there to visit? Yes, they did, and it was delightful.

These photos are from yesterday, when Tom ("Luke Duke") Wopat and Byron ("Coy Duke") Cherry of "The Dukes of Hazzard" signed photos for fans. Tom said he didn't mind the intense heat, as he snagged himself a hotdog from the concession stand, and Byron was his always-friendly self, there to meet with fans no matter the circumstances (I'm thinking of one particular Georgia event years ago when he was sick as a dog but still showed up smiling!). In the afternoon we were treated to a car chase with a General Lee, Rosco's sheriff's car, and a yellow Plymouth Road Runner (Daisy-inspired), in a "Dukes" scene featuring Byron and a few friends who are avid "Dukes" fans -- Brian, Kristy, T.J.  It was adorbs. Then Tom took to the stage and gave a wonderful concert.

The event is continuing on today. Watch this space this week for video coverage of yesterday's fun, and you can see lots of posting from the event at the speedway's Facebook page.

There's my buddy Derek -- aka ChunkeyMonkey40 -- above. I bet he will have some great video from the weekend.

Photos by Billie Rae Bates / BRBTV

Copying with credit is OK; a link would be grand

Terrific TV Toys: Alfred Hitchcock figure by Super7

He was a master of the macabre, an expert in the darker side of human nature, and a director and filmmaker with such a delightfully sinister sense of humor. He was Alfred Hitchcock, and he's celebrated in an action figure -- believe it or not -- by Super7, part of their ReAction Figures line. It's the latest item examined in the Terrific TV Toys web series.

Announcing the fifth Kindle edition of "Dynasty High"!

Alexis gets a new face -- that looks just like darling daughter Fallon. Liam and Fallon are off again, then on again. Culhane and Fallon are off, Culhane and Kirby are on ... Who can keep up? Well, you can, actually, when you get the fifth Kindle edition of the BRBTV guide "Dynasty High"!

The latest e-edition, released this past week, chronicles the above moments and so much more as it adds in the second big season of the CW's "Dynasty" reboot. You won't get the reboot continuity in the print edition -- only in the Kindle edition, because frankly, that's all this author can keep up with!

Relive the fun moments of the reboot's second season, or read them for the first time if you weren't able to watch. The Kindle edition remains at the same low price as before, $6, or you can borrow it for free under Amazon's Kindle Unlimited program. BRBTV hopes you enjoy!