Terrific TV Toys: Fembot doll by Kenner

Every good female hero needs a bad female villain, and for Jaime Sommers, "The Bionic Woman," that was the Fembot. On the classic 1970s TV series, this was a robot with a decidedly feminine flair. The androids were introduced over a story arc that spanned "The Bionic Woman" and "The Six Million Dollar Man." Never watch the shows? Consult the Bionic Wiki and you can read all about those lovely but deadly creatures.

As Kenner was cranking out the cool toys in celebration of the two shows in the '70s, it certainly bet wisely on a Fembot doll. This is a nice one. Billie Rae Bates of BRBTV shows you her own copy of the Fembot from childhood, which has all parts except (we figured after this video was shot) the little stun gun. (See the Fembot's packaging and details at BionicWomanFiles.com.)

Motor City Comic Con: BRB in costume!!!!

We had to round out our coverage of this year's Motor City Comic Con, which you've seen on this blog over the past couple weeks, with something a little goofy. Billie Rae Bates of BRBTV had the privilege of experiencing for the very first time that whole concept of con cosplay at this event. She was interviewed by a few different folks on the convention floor that day, because this costume got quite a bit of attention -- there seemed to be no one else at the con wearing this one! One of the folks who interviewed her was Mac Kelly, who once hosted the nationally syndicated "Wolf Man Mac's Chiller Drive-In" TV show and who was at the show with Joseph Johnson of ONTV. Thanks, guys, for this great clip, and this is wonderful coverage of the show!

Motor City Comic Con: Terry Kiser

Terry Kiser liked BRB's hair. We're talking the hair she wore on Friday of this year's Motor City Comic Con, a look that friend James once politely referred to as "Swiss Miss" (she's got the red plastic Swiss Miss mug, too, so look out!!!) Yea, the braids over the top of the head. Kiser was a bit bummed she wasn't wearing it in this interview on Sunday, after he saw it on Friday. We're pretty sure it will catch on, but in the meantime, it definitely has one fan in this actor, star of just about every classic TV show you could ever name if you spent all week trying ... except one. Can you guess the one? Hint: It's one of the very shows BRBTV has had the pleasure of covering for the past decade and a half.

Mr. Terry Kiser was kind enough to talk to not only Billie Rae Bates of BRBTV at said comic con, but also buds Andrea Melchiori and Don Covell Jr.. And when we say he was charming, we mean it. He was just adorable. Once BRB got to chatting with him, and had a look at the photo offerings at his table, she gained a whole new appreciation of his body of work. Kiser has a distinctive look about him. The eyes, the mannerisms. You've seen him in lots of things. Notably, he was in "The Six Million Dollar Man," "The Bionic Woman," and at least one of their reunion movies. How did he like that Bionic thing, we had to ask at the outset????

"I liked it at a lot," Kiser said. "I ended up being best man at his wedding." Really? "Yes, Mr. Lee Majors and Faith Majors. When I first came out to Hollywood from the New York stage I guest-starred on 'The Six Million Dollar Man.' And he was very gracious to me, because I was dying on his show, and I was dying like I was in New York, watching the balcony of 1,500 people. I died big," he said with a flourish. "And he said, 'Get down, it's television.' So I appreciate that wonderful gesture by Mr. Lee Majors, and he has been a friend ever since."

One of Kiser's episodes of "Six Mill" also starred Cathy Rigby, popular gymnast of that era. "She was very nice. She was a lovely lady," Kiser said. "This was kind of her first acting debut, so she was very nervous. But we were very gentle with her. And she was polite. Very nice lady."

Kiser's memories of "The Hardy Boys / Nancy Drew Mysteries" series were not quite as pleasant, when thinking of the producer, but, he said, he turned out to be that producer's "good luck charm." "So every time he did something, he put me in it," he joked. "So that turned out to be good."

Kiser did a fun episode of "Three's Company," portraying, as he said, "a head of the mafia trying to eat spaghetti like his mother used to make. And so they made it very hot, and it turned out to be the longest take in television history without saying anything." What? Really???

We had to ask Kiser, given his resume spanning the decades, how he feels television has changed over the years. "I'm not proud of this, but I haven't watched television in 30 years," he said. "I'm a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which I vote for the Academy Awards, so they send me movies. So I get like 75 movies a year. So between movies, and I love sports, and a little bit of news, that takes up my time. So I admire the makers of television series, but there are too many commercials for me now." Yea, surely the hour of television is shrinking in actual story minutes all the time. "And a lot of our cable and Netflix and things like this are changing this."

We had to ask about the "Weekend at Bernie's" movies, where Kiser got to "play dead." "It was a very live experience," he joked. "I was very happy that none of the checks bounced. That was very thoughtful of them. No -- it was a wonderful experience. Here you play a dead guy and you're recognized all over the world, which is kinda kooky. But I was very proud of that movie, because it wasn't schtick; it was real, honest-to-goodness comedy, out of situations. And so you could watch that movie 100 times and you'll still laugh. Like slipping on a banana. The ninth time is funnier, watching some guy slipping on it, than the first time. So yea, 'Bernie' 1 and 2, thank-you."

And that single classic TV show he wasn't in? It was "The Dukes of Hazzard," we jokingly note. OK, maybe that wasn't the only one, but it sure seemed like it! Kiser had no idea why he never got to do that show -- he said he would've loved to have driven the car!

"I love acting," he said to sum up his longtime career. "And so every time I'm on a set, I feel happy and it's a good experience."

And with that, BRBTV has just about have wrapped up our coverage of this year's Motor City Comic Con! There's just one more installment, in two days, and it's a special one ...

Screenshots by BRBTV;

copying with credit is OK; a link would be grand

Motor City Comic Con: Robert Hays

We learned one thing about Robert Hays at this year's Motor City Comic Con. Well, perhaps we learned a lot of things (we got to hear his great Helen Hayes story, for instance). But the first thing we learned about Robert Hays of the "Airplane" movies is that you can't take him too seriously! We had a great time doing this interview -- Billie Rae Bates of BRBTV and friend Andrea Melchiori -- as Hays discussed "Airplane," his much more recent project "Sharknado 2," and more. We're so glad to share it with you, in our continuing coverage of the event from the weekend before last ...



Thanks to Don for the assist with the camera!

Motor City Comic Con: H.M. Wynant

BRBTV was thrilled to discover the golden nugget of Mr. H.M. Wynant at the Motor City Comic Con the weekend before last. Not only has he been in a couple of the classic TV shows we cover, but he's been in a ton of other great classic television. Billie Rae Bates of BRBTV got the chance to chat with him on camera, and he talked about portraying Donna's literary agent Ed Chapman in the original "Dallas" series, as well as appearing in one of the best episodes ever of "The Twilight Zone" -- "The Howling Man," plus much more! Our BRBTV coverage of the con continues with this latest interview ...

Latest from "Dynasty" collector Bjørn is a very glamorous gold

In our September 20, 2013 post we told you about a "Dynasty" fan who has an amazing collection of items from the series -- wardrobe and otherwise. Well, Bjørn has made a new acquisition, and it's simply lovely. When we first saw this one, it reminded us of Fallon's red sparkle dress we love so much from the show (see the BRBTV "Dynasty High" guide for an interview with the owner of that precious piece). This dress is so much like the red one, except in glittering gold. So divine!

Bjørn tells BRBTV that this one is quite identical to the red sparkle dress except for the slit in the front. This gown was also worn by Sally Field for the PR for "Soapdish." Bjørn is actually looking for more photos of the dress -- if you've seen any, please comment on this post!

"I have also gotten Emma Samms' Fallon opening credits and PR shots in red dress necklace, and the pearls Blake gives Krystle when she loses the first baby," he tells us. Again, we're in awe!

 

Images courtesy of Bjørn; please do not copy without permission.

Motor City Comic Con: Jane McNeill

This author has had the great pleasure to talk to seven cast members (and three zombies) of AMC's wonderful "Walking Dead" series, so far, and that's mostly in just the past few weeks (look for the upcoming "Dead" interviews from Washington, D.C.'s Awesome Con on episodes of the "Fantastic Forum" TV show). At this past weekend's Motor City Comic Con, it was the lovely Jane McNeill that Billie Rae Bates of BRBTV got to chat with (along with Scott Wilson and Kyla Kenedy off-camera).  BRB and friend Don asked her about her experience on the "Dead," as well as the weekend's event, which was a first of a kind for her.

"It is not the first time I've been in Detroit," she told us, "but it is my first comic con, or convention. I've kind of done an appearance or something before, but I've never really done one of these, so it's been kind of exciting and different."

The role of Patricia on "The Walking Dead" was her first TV role. Nothing like starting things out with a bang! "I had started acting again in 2009 and I had an agent," she said, "and I had worked with a casting director and trained to be on camera, because I never really had done that. I quit acting for 15 years. Anyway, several auditions had come and gone, but this one came up and I just felt like I knew that character really well, even though I knew nothing about the show. And I mean literally nothing."

"I didn't even really know it was about a zombie apocalypse, to be honest with you. I just felt like I knew Patricia. It was the scene where I was stitching up T-Dog, and I worked with a bunch of nurses at my day job, so I kind of saw her as this one nurse in particular that was a friend of mine. So that was a sort of jumping-off point. And then I didn't hear about anything for three weeks, so it was just another one of those that came and went. And I was on a trip with my family and I landed in New York, and my agent called and said you have it, you have to be there Tuesday."

So be there, she was! "I live in North Carolina," she said, "so I was in New York, and then the flight was canceled, they lost my bags, I had to rent a car and drive to Georgia with nothing. I was completely wigged out. And the first day on set, I'm at the farmhouse, you know, to meet everybody, and they just kind of plopped me down, and I'm looking around like, omigod, and Andrew Lincoln comes over and kisses me and hugs me and says welcome, and I'm like, I think this will be OK."

Look for the video of our interview, as well as other video from the con, on the BRBTV YouTube channel.

Screenshots by BRBTV;

copying with credit is OK; a link would be grand

Motor City Comic Con: Richard Anderson

The first thing we had to ask Mr. Richard Anderson at this past weekend's Motor City Comic Con in Novi, Michigan, is if he owns one of the 12-inch Oscar Goldman action figures Kenner did in the 1970s, to run alongside the popularity of "The Six Million Dollar Man" and "The Bionic Woman" TV shows on which he starred. Yes, he told us, he does. "And were you at all surprised that it's wearing socks?" we asked. "Very surprised," laughed the actor who became notorious on the set for not wearing socks himself. "What else do you have to say?" he quipped.

The actor, who took time out from signing at his table to talk to Billie Rae Bates of BRBTV and bud Andrea Melchiori, both lifelong fans of the two Bionic shows, elaborated a little more about how that no-socks thing came about in one scene of "Six Mill."

"The plane flew in. They opened the doors and several people come out. I think they cut to it. When I came out, I didn't have any socks on. So I came out, with just the feet, and it felt good, I did the scene without socks. And that next day, the place went crazy. They said you better come down for this new TV show ... And they said, how we gonna do this? They finally came up with the idea that you've got to mix in comedy, too. So I said I don't know how you're going to do that, too. Well, just do it, you know? It will get people more interested in the show."

Andrea asked Anderson what it was like to have to fight his "pal" Steve Austin on the episode of "Six Mill" with the Fembots, as well as about the Venus space probe and its different colors -- was it repainted for a later episode? Anderson wasn't sure about the probe, and laughed about the fight scene with Steve. He didn't mind having to go hand-to-hand with his pal. "I'll tell you, that guy can fight," he said of actor Lee Majors. All in a day's work, right?

We asked him if it was "The Big Valley," of which he did several episodes, where he and Lee first met, and he said yes. "That was a well-made show," he said. "It had Barbara Stanwyck. I'll tell you about Barbara Stanwyck. I came in a half-hour late. She was on the set. She saw me, and she said, 'Do you realize there are no scripts anywhere?' She wanted me to know she knew all of her lines. One of the best-known actresses."

He of course also worked with Linda Evans on that show, then worked with her again decades later on "Dynasty," when he played the legislator with an edge, Buck Fallmont. "I was only supposed to be on for one episode," he told us about the role of Buck. "I ended up being on there for two seasons."

When we asked about his experience working on the movie, "Tora! Tora! Tora!" Anderson kindly took out his wallet and took out two very well-weathered snapshots of the 1936 car he purchased while working on the movie." "I still have it," he said. He keeps it at the garage of a hotel on the West Coast.

Anderson told us one of his secrets -- seven hours of sleep. He goes to bed around 11 p.m. and gets up at 6 a.m. and says that works well with the sun's rising and setting and helps keep him in good health. OK, we've taken it under advisement! This classic actor was such a gentleman. We thank him for talking with us!

Screenshots by BRBTV

Copying with credit is OK; a link would be grand.