Wednesday, October 11, 2023

Hazzard Fest: Another look inside Cooter's Garage!

There was so much cool stuff to see inside Ben ("Cooter Davenport") Jones' scale replica of Cooter's Garage from "The Dukes of Hazzard" at his Cooter's Place in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, that we just had to hit you with some more great photos from our roving reporter Jason.













Photos by Jason; please do  not copy without permission.

Tuesday, October 10, 2023

Thanks, Byron, for the kind hello!

I love it!!!! Byron ("Coy Duke") Cherry of "The Dukes of Hazzard" sends his sweet greetings from last weekend's Hazzard Fest in Newport, Tennessee. Special thanks to Jason for recording this!

Hazzard Fest: A look inside Cooter's Garage

Ben Jones, who portrayed Cooter Davenport on "The Dukes of Hazzard," has a mind-blowing collection of "Dukes" memorabilia, and he's always willing to share it with fans at his Cooter's Place locations in Virginia and Tennessee. Our roving reporter Jason got to stop by the Cooter's Place at Pigeon Forge to behold the to-scale garage recreation. 

"I was really impressed by the garage set and the amount of detail they did," Jason says. "I recognized some of the posters and testing equipment they had on the show. ...  If you look at the desk you see a pic of Cooter's daughter, and that car pic on the wall I recognize." Fantastic photos! Thanks, Jason!







Photos by Jason; please do not copy without permission.

Monday, October 09, 2023

Hazzard Fest: Jeff Altman, Byron Cherry and more

Jeff Altman, who portrayed Hughie Hogg, Boss Hogg's nephew on "The Dukes of Hazzard," was there at Hazzard Fest this past weekend, complete with a convertible white Volkswagen Bug just like on the series. So cool. He was kind enough to pose with our roving reporter Jason, who offers us these additional photos from the event (see our earlier posts for more!). And there's our friend Byron ("Coy Duke") Cherry! Miss you, Byron!!!!








Photos by Jason; please do not copy without permission.

A little more Hazzard Fest: the "Fall Guy" truck

This author sure wishes she could still take in those "Dukes of Hazzard" events that used to be so prolific in the South, particularly in Georgia but also in Tennessee, where the latest one just occurred this past weekend. Hazzard Fest has wrapped up in Newport, Tennessee, and our roving reporter Jason has supplied us with some great glimpses from the event. We tack on a couple more photos from Jason now, of a "Fall Guy" truck owned by our buddy Kevin in Tennessee. 

There were actually multiple "Fall Guy" trucks at the event, celebrating another popular show from this glorious TV era, this one starring our beloved Lee Majors. "This was a used truck from the show," Jason tells us. "The engine was set back farther so the jumps wouldn't destroy the truck. Meaning the weight of the engine in its stock location would cause the truck to land heavier and destroy it."



Photos by Jason; please do not copy without permission

Saturday, October 07, 2023

Uncle Jesse says hey, and we-love-it-we-love-it!!!

This cosplayer is great -- we're thinking we really would love it if he actually was our Uncle Jesse! Thanks so much to Jason for grabbing this clip for us yesterday at Hazzard Fest in Newport, Tennessee.

More shots of Hazzard Fest, which charges onward today!

We love that our buddy Jason is in Tennessee having a great time at Hazzard Fest. We also love that he's giving us a peek at the event with these great photos. There are cast members there (BRBTV has always wanted to meet Jeff Altman, who played Hughie Hogg with such great enthusiasm on the series!) and lots of other "Dukes of Hazzard" fun.








"That Elect Hughie poster is cool, looks period correct," Jason says. Somebody drummed this up for their General in honor of Jeff Altman, meeting and greeting fans at the event.

Who is with our roving reporter Jason? Why, it's ChunkeyMonkey40, aka Derek, avid "Dukes" researcher and YouTuber! He's not chunky or a monkey, but he sure creates some awesome "Dukes"  content on his channel.

This awesome Uncle Jesse cosplayer recording a greeting for us -- see today's other post!


Here, Jason is with the "Gingerbilly."




Photos by Jason; please do not copy without permission.

Friday, October 06, 2023

The view from Hazzard Fest: Thanks, Jason, for this first look!

Our roving reporter Jason is on the scene when this author can't be, at the Hazzard Fest happening this weekend in Newport, Tennessee. And now he's filing his first report, so to speak ... He spotted the first "Dukes of Hazzard"-related car at the Cracker Barrel, of course! These folks are from Canada, Jason learned. More fun to come!










Photos courtesy of Jason; please do not copy without permission.


Wednesday, October 04, 2023

Terrific TV Toys: Batman Beyond figure by Hasbro, 1999

The "Batman Beyond" animated series of 1999 presented a futuristic view of the Caped Crusader, set 50 years ahead of the events of the original "Batman: The Animated Series" of 1992. Besides the scary fact that we're three-fifths of the way to that "Batman Beyond" timeframe here in real life, the series still holds up as a fun alternate-universe sort of view of the Dark Knight. 

In the second season of the T3 series, you saw a set of fast-food toys celebrating the series, and now we turn our attention to a 9-inch figure released by Hasbro as the show was airing, a rather Mego-esque approach years after Mego's original heyday and years before Mego rebooted and started producing all kinds of great figures again. I guess that makes this figure even more futuristic, right?

See what else is on the Terrific TV Toys playlist.

Wednesday, September 06, 2023

Terrific non-TV Toys: Superman Red and Superman Blue figures by Hasbro / Kenner, 1998-99

Some of you out there will have no idea what this Superman Red and Superman Blue business is, and some of you will be like, "Oh, yeah, that's right -- I remember when they did that in the comics." And actually, this DC Comics storyline for its flagship character (well, I guess he probably shares that mantle with Batman) actually goes back further than you thought. To the 1960s. This author was surprised by that when doing the research, and you'll get a little history lesson in the latest episode of Terrific non-TV Toys.

See the other episodes in the Terrific non-TV Toys series.

Friday, August 25, 2023

From the VHS vaults: Some early hosting and interviews

This author was digging out the VHS-to-digital video converter a week ago to transfer a video from a rather old crime scene for the latest true-crime book project. And while I was at it, I was thinking, you know, I've got all those old VHS tapes that are deteriorating more by the year that I should probably transfer, too. I didn't necessarily want to spend the time on it, but hey, none of us have as many hours in the day as we would like, right? There's stuff in those tapes that is highly original and preservation-needy.

So on I charged, all this past week, reviewing video after video. And I decided to queue them up in my other YouTube channel, the one I've used for just playlists of other people's videos until now. (The one that nobody knows about -- five subscribers right now, LOL.) It's my author YouTube channel that's more geared to the non-BRBTV stuff. So anyway, the first one has dropped, and others will follow each Friday. 

I cringe a bit. Maybe I'll go hide in a cave next Friday, because that installment will be the very first episode of the very first TV hosting gig I ever had. It's rough in parts. It's 1990s. But it's all in good fun. 

This first clip is a promo interview for a book-signing I was doing for my first novel back in 2005:

Saturday, August 19, 2023

Area 52 Diner serves up some saucy, spacey surprises



If you find yourself in mid-Michigan anywhere near Highway M-52 and a place called Owosso, make sure you grab some lunch at the Area 52 Diner. This author has been down this stretch a zillion times, having grown up just a few miles down the road, but imagine my surprise rolling through there on the way to my brother’s place, traveling from Metro Detroit, and seeing that this eatery has reopened under a new name. When did that happen??? (About three months ago, our waitress said.) But this restaurant, which I am pretty sure my parents and I went to after church on Sundays many eons — and no doubt many name changes — ago, not only reopened under a new name but with the coolest theme ever. The photos will say it all!











Saturn’s onion rings, a black-and-white sci-fi movie playing above the counter, flying saucer lighting, and more. Somebody’s got a sense of humor. Love it. New favorite place. (And oh, yeah — the food was good!)


Photos by Billie Rae Bates / BRBTV

Copying with credit is OK; a link would be grand





Tuesday, August 08, 2023

Check out an eye-popping "Dukes of Hazzard" collection at Jon Holland's new YouTube channel

Our buddy and fellow author Jon Hollard, a longtime "Dukes of Hazzard" collector and historian, has started up a new YouTube channel to share the love. You can schedule an appointment to see his "Dukes" museum in Williamsburg, Virginia. We've gotta swing out that way one of these days!

Wednesday, August 02, 2023

Terrific TV Toys: Scooby-Doo toothbrush set, Meijer, 2020ish

Scooby-dooby-doo, let's brush those choppers! The latest episode of the Terrific TV Toys series gives you a gander at a pair of battery-operated toothbrushes from the Midwest retail chain Meijer, but there were other sets released under other labels. These are oh-so kid-friendly, but hey, us bigger kids can love 'em, too!

 

See what else is on the Terrific TV Toys playlist.

Monday, July 17, 2023

Even “The Twilight Zone” has Christmas

It’s Christmas in July over there at the “Just Beneath the Surface” web series. The latest episode discusses the only Christmas episode of the classic “Twilight Zone” series, “The Night of the Meek.” Tune in as Bruce and Brian debate the episode’s ending, the episode’s message and even the production values …

Wednesday, July 05, 2023

Terrific non-TV Toys: Malibu Skipper by Mattel, 1970s

Skipper has arrived! You've seen her big sis, Barbie, as well as Ken and PJ. Now it's time to take a look at the Malibu Skipper from the 1970s, the fourth part in our miniseries on the Malibu dolls. Like the others, this one was a doll of this author's childhood, and boy, I loved this girl. Especially with all the fashions that you'll see in this episode. And it's not the last you'll see of the vintage Barbies -- there will be a future episode on a '70s Barbie vinyl doll case and another array of fashions, so stay tuned for that.

See the other episodes in the Terrific non-TV Toys series.