Motor City Comic Con: Rachel Skarsten

One of the guests of the Motor City Comic Con that BRBTV had the pleasure of talking to this past weekend was the stunning Rachel Skarsten, who played Dinah Lance / the Canary on the "Birds of Prey" TV series that aired in 2002, chronicling the adventures of the Huntress, Black Canary and the wheelchair-using Barbara Gordon as Oracle. The show, which only lasted a season, also starred Dina Meyer as Oracle and Ashley Scott as the Huntress. Skarsten was just a young teen when she first got the role of Dinah.

"We filmed the pilot when I was 16, and then the show got picked up, and I turned 17," she told us. She learned a lot from that role, and she got a lot of support from her two costars.

"Actually specifically both Dina and Ashley were just really really lovely to me. I had many sleepovers at Ashley's house when I missed my mom."

If "Birds of Prey" had gone into a second season, how did she see her character of Dinah as evolving?

"I think there was a real innocence to Dinah," Skarsten said. "I would've loved to have seen her come into her own more."

Has she read any of the Birds of Prey-related comics? Well, actually, she what she has read are Archies comics, believe it or not, particularly after she lost her father. Reading the tales of the teens of Riverdale were a great comfort to her at that time, she said.

How does her portrayal of Canary differ from how the character has been portrayed more recently on the CW's "Smallville" and "Arrow"?

"I never saw the Black Canary on 'Smallville,'" she said, though she has watched a few episodes of "Arrow" and loves Katie Cassidy's performance as Dinah Lance.

"I feel that we took her back. She had really just discovered her powers. And really was becoming a woman, too. Whereas most of the other portrayals, they're a little bit older than I was. They're either just more self-possessed as females, whereas for me, Dina was actually a lot like myself." Dorky, she said. Dorky, really? Yes, she said it!

Skarsten currently plays Tamsin on "Lost Girl. She does have a film project coming up that she couldn't talk about. We should see it in early 2015, she says.

Thanks to Mike for the great photos!

Motor City Comic Con serves up the great stars once again

What a great first day at the Motor City Comic Con in Novi, Michigan. BRB and buds Andrea and Cuz Don talked to a bunch of great folks, saw some pretty fun stuff. And it's only Friday! Scott Wilson of "The Walking Dead" (and those fab "Shiloh" movies!!!!) swung by to say hello to his friend Robert Hays, above, and we chatted with Hays on camera, as well. Look for that video on the BRBTV YouTube channel soon. We also interviewed H.M. Wynant, who has the privilege of being the star of one of the greatest episodes of "The Twilight Zone" ever, "The Howling Man." Here are some other images from a pretty big opening day at an event that we've seen grow immensely in the past decade ...

Photos by Billie Rae Bates / BRBTV

Copying with credit is OK; a link would be grand

Terrific TV Toys: Oscar Goldman doll (with exploding briefcase!!!)

Need to send a message to mission headquarters? Look up the perp hideout on the map? Check the specs of your Bionic charges in their secret files? Access something in the safe? You can do all that and more with the amazing (exploding!) briefcase! But only if you're Oscar Goldman. If you're someone else, you better watch out!

In honor of Richard Anderson's appearance at the Motor City Comic Con this weekend, the next installment in BRBTV's Terrific TV Toys (*of a vintage nature) series takes a look at the action figure he inspired ...

Terrific TV Toys: Steve Austin doll by Kenner

(Or should that be, "Steve Austin action figure by Kenner"? Because many folks out there consider them action figures. But to this little girl they were dolls!)

The Terrific TV Toys series by BRBTV continues with another figure from Kenner's 1970s Bionic line, Steve Austin, "The Six Million Dollar Man," as played by Lee Majors (who, incidentally, is appearing at the Motor City Comic Con this weekend!).



As with BRB's Jaime Sommers doll, this is not the original Steve Austin doll released by Kenner. The first one had a completely red outfit. The one you see above was released a little later and might even be a little harder to find. It was labeled as having a "Biosonic arm."

Also in this video, you'll see Steve's "Critical Assignment Arms" playset.

Next up, Oscar Goldman and Fembot!!!

Terrific TV Toys: Jaime Sommers doll by Kenner

It's goofy, and it's certainly geeky, but that's kinda what we do. BRBTV is forging onward with this new video series celebrating the toys that celebrate and once ran alongside of the classic TV shows we love. We've showed you the four Mego supergals owned by Billie Rae Bates of BRBTV as a child. Now we focus on the Bionic set of her toys, looking first at the Jaime Sommers doll from the 1970s, perhaps in part to honor Lindsay Wagner's appearance at this weekend's Motor City Comic Con.

"The Bionic Woman" debuted on January 14, 1976, starring Lindsay Wagner. She had already appeared as Steve Austin's girlfriend on "The Six Million Dollar Man." Now she had her own show. And Kenner, being as wise as they were, also having success with their "Star Wars" line at about the same time, promptly added a Jaime Sommers doll to the Bionic line.



This is not the original Jaime Sommers doll -- that one wore blue jeans and a white sporty top, and debuted earlier. What you see above is the figure with the action-packed mission purse, and in this video you'll see each and every item in that purse (we think it's all basically intact -- even though BRB was a tyke at the time), as well as a whopping 10 Jaime fashions that were sold separately for the doll. Did we say 10? Yes, that T-E-N. (And Mother got a pretty good deal on them at the time, too.) Yowza, those gowns are beautiful. All nylon and polyester, as the fashions of the age were. Lovely!

Announcing the Kindle edition of "Them Dukes! Them Dukes!"

BRBTV has had the privilege and the pleasure to attend a great many events over the past several years celebrating "The Dukes of Hazzard." These have been fan events -- DukesFest and beyond -- in different locales around the country (but with a heavy concentration in the South, of course). In addition to some of the greatest friends in this author's life, another thing gained from attending all those events is a whole heapin' helpin' of photos. Fun, fun photos that take us right back to the event as we look through 'em. And what to do with all these photos we've compiled since launching the current print edition of "Them Dukes! Them Dukes!" reference guide in 2006? Well, put them in a Kindle e-version of the book, of course! Along with a bunch of other stuff!

The brand-new full-color Kindle edition of "Them Dukes! Them Dukes!" features all of the content of the current print edition, plus other great goodies:

• Interviews with Byron Cherry, Christopher Mayer, Don Pedro Colley, and others involved in making the series (and that could be the very last interview ever done with Mr. Mayer -- we are blessed and thankful to have had that chat)
• A huge section covering some the aforementioned “Dukes” events over the years
• Boosted episode guide, actor bio information, and merchandise guide, as well as added features such as the Hazzard County Business Directory and an expanded “Meet Some Lees” section

On a letter-sized page in Microsoft Word, this Kindle edition measures out at more than 450 pages. Yikes. (We thought it would crash the Kindle system, but it seems to be moving along OK ... )

And yes, we're thinkin' what you're thinkin', if what you're thinkin' is, wouldn't you make a new print edition out of that, too? Well, yes, we are, and it's scheduled for release this summer, and it will include a brand-new cover by talented Baltimore artist Dale Cuthbertson, who illustrated the covers of the "Dynasty High" and "Superchicks" BRBTV books.

The Kindle edition of "Them Dukes! Them Dukes!" is a cool $6, available in a flash for your Kindle or other compatible device. And the title is part of Amazon's Matchbook program, meaning you can get a good deal between the print and e-versions.

BRBTV profusely thanks all the good friends who have helped with the content and review for this new Kindle edition: Brian, Paul, Derrick, Andrea, Cuz Don, Jim, Jason, Will, Billy, Zealand, Richie, Kevin, Natalie ... along with the many others who've helped contribute photos, fun and laughs over the years. This author is blessed to have you in her life. And we hope you enjoy this update. As we tend to say, it's a labor of love.

It's true Bionic beauty at the Motor City Comic Con

Brace yourself, because it's the bold, beautiful, Bionic Big Three at this month's Motor City Comic Con!

This is a con we've loved for many years, a show that always offered a nice blend of guests from the comic book industry and the TV and movie spheres, long before it was cool to do so. And this year, the folks at Motor City are serving it up again! Lee ("Steve Austin") Majors, Lindsay ("Jaime Sommers") Wagner and Richard ("Oscar Goldman") Anderson of "The Six Million Dollar Man" and "The Bionic Woman" are leading a star-studded guest list that will converge upon the Suburban Showplace Collection in Novi, Michigan on May 16-18.

Jason David Frank, the Green (then White) Ranger of the original "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers," will be there, as well as Herb Jefferson Jr., shown at right, Ernie Hudson, and other folks who've been on lots of TV shows we've loved over the years.

Billie Rae Bates of BRBTV will be roaming the floors, hopefully knocking out some good on-camera stuff with folks like last year. And on Saturday .... hmmm ... she's going to get her very first (firsthand) taste of cosplay. Do you know who she'll be dressed as???? You'll just have to come out and find out!!!!

Images courtesy of Motor City Comic Con;

copy at your own risk

Catwoman stars in the fourth episode of Terrific TV Toys

Meow!!! She was a catty, cunning villainess, but she got to hang with the heroes just the same. At least in the childhood doll collection of Billie Rae Bates of BRBTV, she did. She's Catwoman, more specifically the Mego 8-inch version of Catwoman, and she's bold and in your face in the fourth installment of the BRBTV video series, Terrific TV Toys (*of a vintage nature).

At the point this action figure (doll!) was released in the mid-1970s, the Catwoman character had been featured in the late-1960s "Batman" live-action series (portrayed by three different females), as well as Filmation's 1968 cartoon, "The Batman/Superman Hour."

Take a trip back through time as we take a look at this vintage piece from the 1970s ...

Look for future installments of the video series, tripping into the toys that go with great classic TV shows such as "The Six Million Dollar Man," "The Bionic Woman" and "Charlie's Angels"!