Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Tennessee Shakespeare Festival: Lane Davies chats with BRBTV

OK, can we be a little more excited? Not really! We watched him as Mason Capwell when our beloved soap "Santa Barbara" first hit the daytime airwaves in July 1984, and we continued watching him faithfully for five years, absolutely captivated by his almost-reluctant charisma and Machiavellian charm as the black sheep of the wealthy Capwell family. Quotes of Shakespeare weren't hard to come by in those colorful scenes with Mason, and it's no wonder the actor loves the work of the Bard in real life!

We won't go into all the stage and screen credits of Lane Davies as we continue our weeklong coverage of this year's Tennessee Shakespeare Festival, because frankly, we think we've done that already on this blog! But we will gladly laud the longtime actor, who directed this production of "The Comedy of Errors," and came on-stage to introduce it the night we were there. And we will say we were beside ourselves to sit down and chat with him for a special BRBTV interview, the first part of which we link below ...



In this clip, Davies touches on not only his time on "Santa Barbara" but also on the primetime '80s "Dallas," where he portrayed Craig Gurney, and the current web series "The Bay."



Photos by Billie Rae Bates / BRBTV; copying with credit is OK; a link would be grand!

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Tennessee Shakespeare Festival: Jerry Winsett chats with BRBTV

You've seen Jerry Winsett in a lot of places. You've seen him on some great classic TV shows such as "Mr. Belvedere," "Coach," "Life Goes On" and "It's Garry Shandling's Show." You've also seen him in a rather famous TV commercial, the keystone of the Dunkin Donuts' "Time to make the doughnuts" campaign. He was the guy making the doughnuts who's falling asleep then slapped back awake with a handful of flour.

BRBTV continues its weeklong coverage of this year's Tennessee Shakespeare Festival, which just wrapped up on Sunday, with a look at this seasoned actor and his career.

On the big screen, Winsett has been featured in such films as "Radio Days," "The Chosen," "One Crazy Summer," "The Sicks O'Clock News," "Ragtime," "Almost An Angel," "Tax Season," "Sunset Strip," "Paulie," "Preppies" and "Bastard Out of Carolina." He portrayed Merton the Farmer in the film "Torque," produced by the same production team that brought us "Fast and Furious" and "XXX." But besides that nice screen career, Winsett has done a whole lot on stage.





Winsett portrayed two characters in the festival's production of "The Comedy of Errors." He was the incarcerated Aegeon, and he was a special "surprise" character, shown in the photos here!




Winsett, who's been with the Tennessee Shakespeare Festival since its beginning in 2008, sat down to chat with BRBTV just before showtime on Sunday, July 3. Here's Part 1 of our interview, and we'll be highlighting the second half later this week.


Photos by Billie Rae Bates / BRBTV; copying with credit is OK -- a link would be grand!

Monday, July 11, 2011

Tennessee Shakespeare Festival: Lane Davies directs another fine one

The Tennessee Shakespeare Festival just wrapped up this past weekend, and BRBTV really enjoyed the time there! We made the journey to beautiful Bell Buckle, Tennessee, once again, as we did two years ago. This time, we got a chance to do fresh interviews with director Lane Davies, the original Mason Capwell of our beloved "Santa Barbara," as well as longtime TV actor Jerry Winsett, who took to the stage as Aegeon and a special "surprise" character in this year's production, "The Comedy of Errors." It was the fourth summer for the popular festival, and BRBTV kicks off a full week of coverage of the event with today's overview ...



Davies put a twist on this Shakespearean classic, setting it in 1880s West Virginia, and you'll hear why in our BRBTV interview with him on the BRBTV YouTube channel, along with our fun chat with Winsett, both of which we'll be highlighting this week. The two have known each other a long, long time -- longer than you realize! And you'll hear that mentioned in the interviews, too. Their working association with the festival is a great one, as this year's production attested. Winsett was wonderful in his dual roles.


Davies took to the stage, himself, for this one, albeit briefly -- introducing the play. Davies often appears in these productions, and he told BRBTV he's considering a role in next year's production, the name of which he tips us off to in our interview. We'll post the YouTube video soon ...





The play's opening number was rousing, above, and below, Winsett shone in his own stage time. Look for more photos of Winsett and the rest of the actors later this week, as our coverage of the fest continues ...



Photo at top from the Tennessee Shakespeare Festival website; other photos by Billie Rae Bates / BRBTV

Friday, July 08, 2011

TNT green-lights new "Dallas" series; see a sneak peek on Monday


It's hot baby, and we're just not so sure we can wait until next summer to see it. TNT has just announced today that its "Dallas" redux will, indeed, be a series. After some months of speculation and a touch of uncertainty, the network has ordered 10 episodes.

Read the official press release at TNT's site. The network is giving us a peek at the new series on Monday, during the season premieres of "The Closer," which starts at 9 p.m. Eastern, and "Rizzoli & Isles," which airs at 10 p.m. And you can also see what Steve ("Ray Krebbs") Kanaly says about the new series in an interview over at DallasFanzine.com.

TNT has also established an official site for the series at TNT.tv/series/dallas. The fresh intro -- so reminiscent of the original -- is lush and lovely and goosebump-provoking, for sure. And we have to say ... BRBTV may be purists who frown on recasting, but seeing Josh Henderson as John Ross and Jesse Metcalfe as Christopher in the publicity shots really encourages us. They're not the originals, but just their facial expressions and their stances seem to evoke -- if not embody -- those two little Texan boys we're so anxious to catch up with!

Friday, July 01, 2011

Chatting with Jackson Bostwick

Some kids actually grow up to portray their childhood heroes on the screen! Did you know that? Well, it's true. It happened to Lynda Carter, who for so many fans will always be the Wonder Woman (no matter how many plans they make to recast her in our modern times!). And it also happened to Jackson Bostwick, who portrayed Captain Marvel in the '70s live-action, Saturday-morning "Shazam!" series.

For Bostwick, this role was a dream come true. "He was one of my childhood heroes along with the Lone Ranger, Tarzan, and the Phantom," Bostwick tells BRBTV, "and here it was that I had the chance to portray him."

BRBTV got the chance to chat with this seasoned actor, and in the style of this news blog, we're bringing on the highlights! Look for the full text of the interview in a future BRBTV product (ooops, did we say that out loud?). For now, though, let's talk a little more about this series, launched by Filmation in 1974 in a half-hour format and showing us the young Billy Batson, played by Michael Gray, encountering life's challenges and seeing the moral issues attached to them all, guided by Mentor and the "elders," and able to transform himself into the mighty Captain Marvel with that one powerful word ...

We had to ask Bostwick what part of himself found itself infused into his portrayal of Captain Marvel.

"The child in me that still loves to dream and fantasize," he says. "This especially helped when Captain Marvel flew back at the end of each episode and talked to the kids about what lessons they learned that day."

The show, of course, was based on the well-loved '40s comic book hero, who ranks just about right up there with Superman, Batman and the like, to this very day. The comic book roots of the show were appreciated by Bostwick, who did a lot of reading as a kid:

"Captain Marvel, of course, along with the Phantom, Straight Arrow, Plastic Man, Classics Illustrated (the only ones my mom didn’t throw out while I was at college)," he listed off for us, adding, "Mandrake The Magician, Aquaman and some Donald Ducks."

His favorite episode of this "Shazam!" series?

"I liked them all, but I would say 'The Athlete' and 'The Boy Who Said No,' because of the stunts that were involved," Bostwick tells us. "I had to hang from a helicopter in one and ride standing on the top of the motor home that Mentor was kidnapped in. And in the other one I had to snatch a stuntwoman off a galloping horse as I ran alongside it and it went thundering past me."

This kids' show was not all sweetness and light for Bostwick, however. At the beginning of the show's second season, an injury on the set sent him in for medical treatment. When he didn't show up on the set the next day, a story quickly circulated that the actor was holding out for more cash. He successfully sued.

With the legal matter settled, we were really curious as to whether he would've considered returning to the show. This was his hero, after all.

"As an actor, I never say never, but there were some very hard feelings between my lawyer and the executive producers at that time," he says, "and that’s where the whole 'holding out for more money' fabrication stemmed from. I wasn’t aware of this acute animosity between them until well after the fact. The show wasn’t as much fun as the first season because of the change in some of the crew and key personnel, but I wouldn’t have objected to completing the run."

Bostwick's career charged on, despite his departure from the white and gold cape. In the ensuing years, it was a career punctuated by many projects for Disney, notably.

These days, Bostwick lives in Tennessee and has an official website, JacksonBostwick.com. He's still involved with on-screen work, including the movies "Suitable for Murder" and "Bloody Mary-Lite." He still makes con appearances, and even though he never appeared with her on "Shazam!" he's even made an appearance with the star of the "Shazam!" spinoff "The Secrets of Isis," Joanna Cameron.

Bostwick has been writing a book about his experiences on "Shazam!" It's called "Myth, Magic and a Mortal," and he tells BRBTV that though he's been in contact with a publisher, after consulting with fellow classic TV star Lou Ferrigno he's leaning more toward self-publishing.

Catch the trailer for "Suitable for Murder" on YouTube, and you can see "Bloody Mary-Lite" promoted on the actor's MySpace page and also trailered on YouTube.

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Come say hi to BRB at the Geek Media Expo

It's never too soon to start your travel plans, and the third edition of the Geek Media Expo promises to be a con you definitely want to put on your "to do" list. The event will be delivering the best in programming, panels, events, contests, VIP celebrities, artists, and much, much more.

From the Jedi Obstacle Course to the GMX Geek Comedy Showcase to the Warp Speed Drawing Showdown and exhibits of all kinds of geeky-cool stuff, it all happens October 21-23 at the Maxwell House Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee.

AND ... Billie Rae Bates of BRBTV is on the guest list. BRB will be there signing all three of the BRBTV reference books in print, "Destination: Dallas," "Dynasty High" and "Them Dukes! Them Dukes!", and e-copies of the BRBTV reference books and reports will be available, as well. And who knows, there might be a photo or two from My Mother's Clothing. Take this opportunity to get the firsthand scoop on what's coming up next in the BRBTV product line -- as well as what classic TV stars we'll be talking to next! (We've got our own big "to do" list, and we're going to cram as much of it into 2012 as possible!)

Mark it on your calendar, and we'll see you in Nashville!

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Con appearance update for John Schneider

Our own Bo Duke of "The Dukes of Hazzard," Mr. John Schneider, continues to keep a brisk appearance schedule for 2011. Here's an update, and thanks to Phyllis for keeping us in the know:

June 17-19
Philadelphia Comic Con in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
http://www.wizardworld.com/home-pa.html

July 8-10
Carlisle Chrysler Nationals, Carlisle, Pennsylvania
http://www.carlisleevents.com/ce/events/chrysler-nationals/

July 16-17
The Hollywood Show, Burbank, California
http://hollywoodshow.com/
(Schneider was just added to this bevy of classic TV stars, which we reported on in our May 24 post.)

July 30-31
Marilla Car, Truck and Cycle Show, Marilla, New York
http://www.marillaautoshow.com/

December 10 -- THIS APPEARANCE HAS BEEN CANCELLED
Frank and Son Collectible Show, Rowland Heights, California
http://www.frankandsonshow.net/

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Coy and Vance Duke carve out their own corner of cyberspace

It's bright, it's rather beautiful, and you better believe it's orange. It's the new and thoroughly official website of Coy and Vance Duke -- also known as Byron Cherry and Christopher Mayer! It's a one-pager now, with plans for expansion. So cyber-drive yourself on over and bookmark it to keep updated on these great guys and their personal appearances:

http://www.coyandvance.com

Monday, June 13, 2011

Chatting with Christopher Mayer, part 2

Last week, we gave you some highlights of our long-awaited and soooo-much-appreciated interview with Christopher ("Chip") Mayer, who was Vance Duke on our beloved "The Dukes of Hazzard." This week, we continue that, with an emphasis on Mayer's work on the '80s soap "Santa Barbara," where he was the free-wheeling, morally compromised but overwhelmingly hunky T.J. Daniels, in pursuit of not only the lovely Kelly Capwell but also her mom, Sophia!
 
So what was his most vivid memory of working on that daytime show?

“I think it was just the amount of dialogue," says this actor whose career stretched from 1980 to 2000, "because normally you do a film or a TV show, and it’s an hourlong show, and we would take a week to do that. We would do interiors, with a blue screen behind us with the General Lee and all that … But on a soap, it’s a 3-10 deal. … You go in there, and everybody’s working like they’re hung over. And you do a dry run through different scenes. There was a lot of dialogue, and a lot of choreography. You might have to move to another area and sit down. And if you miss that, you feel like a big screw-up. I wouldn’t look at my lines until the day of the shot. There were days I had like 30 pages of dialogue. The amount of dialogue you had to learn day to day is one of the most challenging things about doing a soap.”

Though he shared his "SB" scenes with multiple Kelly Capwells, including Playboy Playmate Kimberly McArthur and we suspect Carrington Garland (though Mayer thinks he left before she took over the role), he seems most impressed by far with Robin Wright, who originated the character.

“Robin was a hoot. She ended up telling me at one point, I had gotten to be a bit of a maniac then because my first marriage had broken up … She looked at me and she said, ‘You’re too crazy. I’ll tell you what I am going to do.’ This was right at that time the movie ‘Casualties of War’ was being shot with Sean Penn and Michael J. Fox in Thailand. She said, ‘I’m going to go over to Thailand, and I’m going to meet Sean Penn and I’m going to marry him.’ She prophesied that. She’s cool, really cool. It just cracked me up. Only such a beautiful woman could go like, ‘I’m going to go over and meet the president of France and I’m going to …’"

Now, we know why T.J. was interested in Sophia -- for her money! -- but does Mayer think perhaps he was actually in love with Kelly, or was he just interested in her Capwell cash, too?

“I usually go with my own instincts," he says. "Everybody looked at it like, you were supposed to be the Chippendale dancer, the gigolo. But it’s all about the girl. You can find money anywhere.”

Nice.

T.J. was a pretty evil guy, but it must have felt like a juicy role. Were there things he would've changed about the character, if he could have?

“Like that movie ‘The Butterfly,’ if you change one thing, it will have a ripple effect. To be a gigolo was a character they needed to even out or overall texturize the character list. It was fun to do it, because to be an opportunist, you have to have that personality to live in L.A. So it was like I was subliminally culturally acclimating myself." He laughs.

"And there’s more texture to that than just playing romance. So no, I wouldn’t have changed anything.”

Mayer's time as T.J. Daniels was in the late '80s, a few years after he portrayed Vance Duke on "The Dukes." And his career certainly wasn't hurting after that, with a proliferation of roles on shows like "Silk Stalkings," "Baywatch" and "Xena: Warrior Princess." But his priorities began to change, he says, and he turned to construction work for about a decade and a half.

“It was a wonderful, wonderful 20 years. But as I got older and had the responsibilities of being a father, I was looking for something a little more steady.”

Does he have any desire to return to acting? Why, yes, actually. Mayer tells BRBTV he has something in the works right now, and it hearkens to his construction-work days. He has a friend who does what's called "faux finish" work, a painting technique that replicates materials such as marble or wood. The technique is evidently popular in L.A., and Mayer just shot a pilot for a reality show focusing on the work. He gave us the title "Faux-Get About It." The show is being shopped around right now, he says, even though today's reality TV trend doesn't necessarily rank high on his entertainment list.

“If you have a camera on the dash of your Range Rover, you’re not being real!” he quips.

Mayer is also looking into some motivational speaking work nowadays, with his wife Catherine, a Christian like him, upon whom he lavishes kind, loving words (just check his Facebook page!).

And speaking of Facebook, he makes no bones about the fact that it's new to him -- and not entirely comfortable.

“I’m not a computer guy or a Facebook guy or all that Twitter or Skype stuff. When I first set up the Facebook page, I felt like I was walking around with my zipper down. Because I’m super private. That’s not me. I’ve really been off for so long. But now I’m going to try to be more on."

With elements like "The Dukes of Hazzard" on his life experience list, it presents a nice opportunity for the actor.

"It’s a great way to make people smile. It’s fun to be a part of something that still has an intense devotion.”

BRBTV wishes Mr. Mayer only the very best.

Saturday, June 11, 2011

And here's BRB's "Green Lantern: Emerald Knights" interview with Alan Burnett ...

BRB has really loved working for ComicsContinuum.com and its accompanying "Comics Continuum" TV show, which, as we mentioned in our post a couple days ago, has been branching out from Metro Detroit to other areas of the Midwest. Today, in the final part of our series of BRB chats on the "Green Lantern: Emerald Knights" animated feature, it's Alan Burnett of our beloved "Batman: The Animated Series" and so much more ...







Photo by Billie Rae Bates / BRBTV

Friday, June 10, 2011

Bruce Timm talks to BRB, too!

Yesterday, we brought you BRB's recent interview with Andrea Romano about the new "Green Lantern: Emerald Knights" feature movie, released this week from Warner Bros. Animation. Today, we'll hear from Bruce Timm, creator of the Timmverse and such a well-known icon in the Bat-animated world, in this clip from ComicsContinuum.com and its accompanying "Comics Continuum" TV show ...



Thursday, June 09, 2011

Andrea Romano talks to BRB about "Green Lantern" animated movie

We've highlighted on this blog before the work of Billie Rae Bates for ComicsContinuum.com and its accompanying "Comics Continuum" TV show, which originated in Metro Detroit, then extended its reach to northwest Ohio, and is further branching out into Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Peoria, Illinois. Now, in honor of this week's release of the "Green Lantern: Emerald Knights" animated feature to DVD, we bring you three days in a row of BRB fresh TV interviews with three well-known and well-loved veterans of our beloved "Batman: The Animated Series," "The New Batman Adventures" and "Batman Beyond." That would be voice director extraordinaire Andrea Romano, and producers Bruce Timm and Alan Burnett! First up today is Andrea Romano ...





Photo by Billie Rae Bates / BRBTV

Monday, June 06, 2011

Chatting with Christopher Mayer, part 1

He says on his Facebook page that he has "decided to discard Howard Hughes and re-assume Vance Duke," and every fan of "The Dukes of Hazzard" definitely knows the context of that. He's been our Holy Grail for many years of "Dukes" events. He's been the missing signature on the trunk lid of just about every General Lee out there. He's been the only surviving "Dukes" cast member most of us haven't had the pleasure to meet.

But earlier this year he re-emerged on the radar. Christopher ("Chip") Mayer resumed personal appearances with his Duke cousin, Byron ("Coy") Cherry, beginning with the Hollywood Show a few months ago and continuing on with this month's Johnny Cash Music Festival. For BRBTV, Mayer is a double-shot, as not only Vance Duke but also as T.J. Daniels on our beloved soap "Santa Barbara." And he certainly has been our Holy Grail, the interview we've been wanting for years. We're not going to blather on about exclusive-interview-blah-blah-blah, because most folks who use that term "exclusive interview" nowadays have no idea what it actually means in the *real* journalism world. But BRBTV is mighty happy to have connected with the gracious and friendly Mr. Mayer.

As we chatted with him via phone this this past Saturday (morning for him, noon for us! before his coffee, he said, noting that it probably was a good thing!), we touched on both "The Dukes" and "SB." In this two-parter for the BRBTV News Blog, we'll bring you some of that action. (For the whole text of the interview, see future editions of the BRBTV reference guides "Them Dukes! Them Dukes!" and "Send Me to Santa Barbara.") So let's talk this week about "The Dukes" ...


“The thing about the show that’s interesting," he says, "I don’t know if people realized it or not at the time, but it was becoming a sort of cultural phenomenon like ‘Bonanza.’ I had a great time on the show. I did personal appearances every weekend. I was on the set until 9 o’clock every night during the week. Obviously it was of wonderful financial benefit.”

Mayer talked about the audition process for "The Dukes," which found him with a daughter on the way by his first wife, Teri Copley, and in need of some financial security. His manager at the time, Ron Samuels (onetime hubby of Lynda Carter), asked him to try out for the show, the auditions for which Mayer remembers as a worldwide PR blitz in the wake of the departure of John ("Bo Duke") Schneider and Tom ("Luke Duke") Wopat.

“It was insane," he says. "There were producer meetings in the studio, and you’d go back there, and there’d be like four blond guys, and four dark-haired guys. I'd just do the audition and I split. You'd get a call the next week, and you go back, and there’d be like eight other blond guys and eight other dark-haired guys. They finally got down to the final four guys they wanted for each role. … They would take you to the airport, and you get out there, and Cathy Bach was waiting for us there. …You do exteriors out in Valencia, out at Magic Mountain, where they had Hazzard set up. .. Cathy Bach is in a pair of Daisy Duke shorts, and we got to the audition scene. It was kinda bizarre, because the other guys who are going for your role are standing there watching you. … You just snap the ball through it. But it was acting, you know. Nothing remotely realistic. … I guess about four or five days later, I was sitting in my apartment, and my first wife was pregnant with my first daughter Ashley, and my agent says, ‘Are you sitting down? Well, you got it!’”

So onto an amazing journey that would prove more meaningful to Mayer than he realized at the time. And into a world where he will be forever remembered -- replacement or not -- in our eyes!

“When we first did the show, a lot of people thought I should be doing serious acting, not bright colors and notes like it was then," he says. "Now in hindsight, it’s become something that’s very sweet and a cultural icon. Even though we were in a replacement role. It gave me an opportunity to bring my first daughter into the world in something other than a cold apartment.”

And now, so many years later, as we watch our beloved "Dallas" being given a "next-generation" approach, with not only original cast members but an emphasis on the kids of the show that could surely sustain it with a new fan base, and even as we remember Ben ("Cooter") Jones telling us that he once pitched that same next-generation idea to Warner Bros. for "The Dukes," BRBTV had to ask Mayer ... what would Vance Duke's life look like these days?

“I’d have a lot of kids," said the father of three girls. "And I’d be married to a really pretty girl that looked like Cathy Bach."

(Truth be told, Mayer has hooked up with a beautiful actress named Catherine!)

"I’d be in fairly good shape, but maybe have a little more on my waistline," he continues. "I would be somebody who would be involved in the community, maybe something with kids. I would be involved in Hazzard County and helping the community.”

Hmmm ... very nice, admirable traits. So in what other ways might the persona of Vance Duke intersect with the person of Chris Mayer, at least the Vance we knew back in the '80s?

“He was about family, he was about kids, he was about being respectful to women and not treating them like objects. And if you want a fight – hell ya, right now!”

Ahhhh. We love it. Especially the note he adds: “Kids and women are it, man. They’re the hinge on which the gate swings.”

Mayer, a lover of the Lord, is clearly happy with the blessings he's had in his life, and he certainly sees his experience on "The Dukes" as one of them. Chief in all of that, it's clear as you talk with him, is the opportunity to be back on the radar and to make some kind of difference to the people he encounters.

“Television is the opiate of the masses, but at the same time, the way it touches people, it’s such a great thing," he says. "The average person aspires to that. You can go and meet people and shake hands, and I love going out and making people smile, look them in the eye, shake their hands.”

He adds, perhaps not entirely tongue-in-cheek:

“I’m 57 years old now. I want to be a part of it. I’m not MIA. I’ve been in the Dukes of Hazzard Witness Protection Program.”

Tune in next Monday for part 2 of our interview snippets, where Mayer reminisces about "Santa Barbara" and tells us what he's got coming up next (and yes, it's on TV!) ...

Thursday, June 02, 2011

Hazzard County supports the troops this July

The birthplace of "The Dukes of Hazzard," the lovely Covington, Georgia, that BRBTV misses on a regular basis (!), has a Hazzard County-themed event in the works that you won't want to miss. Special thanks to Rose Marie for passing this info along ...

In a benefit for Operation Sandbox, fans of "The Dukes" are gathering items to place in care packages to send to U.S. troops. The event happens on July 30, 2011 from 4-9 p.m. right there on the Square in Covington. You'll see a car show including, of course, plenty of our beloved blazin' orange General Lees as well as other fine classic cars.

Here are the items you can bring for the care packages for our brave military men and women:

Beef jerky
Slim Jims
Coffee
Flavored drink mixes (single packs)
Granola bars
Assorted nuts;
Microwave food (popcorn, Eazy Mac)
Gum
Hard candy
Cracker packs
Cookies
Tuna or spam in foil packs only
Trail mix
Beanie Weenies

Plus the following items in travel size:
Deodorant
Lip balm
Shampoo / conditioner
Writing supplies
Disposable razors
Batteries: AA, AAA and C
New or used DVD movies
Baby wipes
Hand sanitizer

Basically, Rose Marie says, anything is welcome except chocolate and glass.

To learn more about Operation Sandbox and the good work they do for the troops, visit their site at OperationSandboxGA.com.

Friday, May 27, 2011

Catch Signy Coleman in "River Ridge"

We have to say ... Signy Coleman, our own Celeste DiNapoli of "Santa Barbara," is looking just gorgeous in her new web series, "River Ridge." Coleman is executive-producing the soap, for which there is not yet a launch date but which has a trailer online for your viewing pleasure at its official site, RiverRidgeSeries.com.

Coleman portrays one of two rather-tensely-feuding sisters in this drama, which follows the lives of the residents of a fictional small town on the East Coast. And even while she's deeply agonizing in the trailer clip, she sure looks like she's having fun. It's also delightful to see among the cast Shannon Sturges, the blond part of the blond-brunette-redhead trio of the '90s primetime soap "Savannah."

We certainly love the trend of web-based soaps such as "River Ridge" and "The Bay," as it gets our beloved classic TV stars out there and working.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Next Hollywood Show includes Pamela Sue Martin, Monte Markham, Stella Stevens and more

Ooooh, we're a big fan of this show we haven't actually yet gotten a chance to go to! It's the Hollywood Show, and it happens several times a year, always brimming with great classic TV stars. The next one is July 15-17, in Burbank, and here's who's on the roster:

  • Catherine Oxenberg, Amanda Carrington of "Dynasty"
  • Ed Asner, voice of Roland Daggett in "Batman: The Animated Series"
  • Herb Jefferson Jr., Walden in "The Dukes of Hazzard" two-parter "Undercover Dukes"
  • Monte Markham, Clint Ogden of "Dallas" (a rare treat for "Dallas" fans!)
  • Pamela Sue Martin, the original Fallon Carrington of "Dynasty"
  • Ronnie Schell, Frank Armsted of "Santa Barbara," as well as Lester Starr in the "Daisy's Song" episode of "The Dukes"
  • Stella Stevens, Phyllis Blake of "Santa Barbara" and Mama Joe Max in "The Dukes of Hazzard: Reunion!" movie

Saturday, May 21, 2011

John Jakes' third Bicentennnial miniseries serves up a different feast of classic stars

In our March 15 and May 18 posts, we've been following the John Jakes Bicentennial novel series and the TV miniseries adaptations of the first three books in the series. Today we turn our attention to No. 3, "The Seekers," and the 1979 TV movie version of Jakes' 1975 book.

Andrew Stevens is not back as Philip Kent in this one. That's the bad news. BRBTV would have loved to see him, being such big fans of that continuity thing and all, but the producers evidently felt it wouldn't make sense to try to age him two decades for this third installment. Rats. OK, so bye-bye to Casey Denault of our beloved "Dallas."

But "Dallas" still gets some representation, wouldya believe. Enter Randolph Mantooth, who played Joe Don Ford, as the lead character in the first half or so of the four-hour drama, Abraham Kent, son of Philip. Then, as a special treat (and this is the "good news"!), there's Timothy Patrick Murphy, credited as "Timothy P. Murphy" in the opening credits. Our own Mickey Trotter, the troubled youth so wonderfully tamed by little Lucy Ewing. (Of course, we know it was a mutual taming!) Oh, how we loved Mickey Trotter! Cut down so soon, on the cusp of an upturned life, by the horrible boozing habits of Sue Ellen's!!!! Ugh. Anyhow ... Murphy takes on the role of Jared Kent, son of Abraham and the lead character of the second half of the miniseries. As Jared, Murphy is a polite and  honorable young man -- a kid, really, who is forced to grow up very quickly as he encounters some of the many catastrophes of this third, acutely depressing installment in the series. (And if you want to read more about how much of a veritable downer this third book was, read BRB's review on Amazon.) Murphy was just three years away from his stint on "Dallas," and an unfortunate nine years from dying at age 29.

But wait, there's more! Picture George Hamilton, our suave and cunning Joel Abrigore of "Dynasty," as a suave and cunning and just-as-evil Lt. Hamilton Stovall, who has it in for poor young Jared in more ways than one. He's arrogant, he's indignant, he's got a nasty pointed tongue. We just don't like him very much, do we???? And Hamilton shines in the part, years before he tormented Krystle Carrington with her "body double" of sorts on our beloved show.

Throw in other great stars like "Brady Bunch" dad Robert Reed as the heavily accented Daniel Clapper, who befriends Abraham, and Ross Martin of "Wild, Wild West," the exceedingly patient editor at the Kent and Son printing company. A fluffy, strawberry-blond-tressed Delta Burke -- fresh as a daisy -- is the fiesty Elizabeth Fletcher, wife (and stepsister -- don't ask) of Abraham and mother of Jared. She begins the miniseries promising the cunning evil of Ashton Main of Jakes' "North and South" trilogy, but she's cut off too quickly to do much damage. Alas and alack. Jakes himself, an aspiring actor at one time in his life, even shows up as the character Alex Elphinstone. All in all, though the events of the miniseries are gruesome, in terms of classic TV fare, it still gets BRBTV's stamp of approval.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Andrew Stevens takes to the battlefield in John Jakes' "The Rebels"

In our March 15 post, we told you about a pre-"Dallas" Andrew Stevens taking his star turn in the TV adaptation of the first novel in John Jakes Bicentennial series, "The Bastard." Well, BRBTV is blissfully making our way through all eight books of Jakes' fine series, along with the TV versions of the first three books, and we just plowed through the second of each, "The Rebels."

Reprising his role as Philip Kent, Stevens is gentle and distinguished in this 1979 small-screen version of the 1975 book. He does say "aye" a lot, which is annoying, but we can forgive him for that. He spends almost the entire story on the battlefield, fighting for his brand-new country. He's wiser than he was in the first movie, and at turns heartbroken and excited as prescribed by the writers of this screenplay. He has no problem in the role.

The disturbing thing, however, is that while the miniseries of Jakes' first book follows the printed page faithfully, this second TV adaptation takes the author's masterful plot and essentially tosses it out the window. Ugh. Missing in this mangling are a few key characters, along with too many events and twists to list here. Big among them is a different outcome for Philip's new wife Anne: We're not spoiling the miniseries by telling you she dies in childbirth early on. If you read the book, however, you'll be far more horrified at what Jakes does with her.

Plus, whereas the book presents the stories of the two leading men in a parallel but separate fashion until the very end of its 533 pages -- Philip Kent and the Virginia plantation son Judson Fletcher -- in the movie the two meet right away and remain fast friends (something like Jakes' "North and South" series portrayed the friendship of its own two leading men, we note). But this really spoils the fact that Jakes so handily pulls off the technique of making you wonder what the heck these guys have in common (or will have in common) until the very end of the book when he gracefully connects their lives. Still, though the miniseries disappoints anyone who has read the book, one redeeming fact is that both book and miniseries end up at the same place, so at least things are set up nicely and consistently for the third book.

We have to admit that after reading "The Rebels," we were very anxious to see who portrays Judson Fletcher in the miniseries. Judson steals the novel away from Philip, we feel, with his drinking, self-loathing, obnoxious-but-determined-to-do-better characterization. We couldn't get enough of the guy. So when we saw a pre-"Miami Vice" Don Johnson in the role, we were at least glad to see he played Judson's sober moments appropriately stern and self-assured. His character is smart and a bit arrogant despite his failings, and Johnson communicated that, though the direction the character was taken in just -- again -- so deviated from the book.

This second miniseries serves up the other classic TV stars, though not to the degree of the first. Tom Bosley of "Happy Days" returns as Benjamin Franklin. William Daniels, voice of K.I.T.T. in the original "Knight Rider," gets to show his face again as John Adams. And we were rather captivated by "Mission: Impossible"'s Peter Graves' portrayal of George Washington. We have never seen him look so much like his big bro James Arness (one of the hottest. Actors. EVER!!!!!!). He's tall and commanding, with such a similar voice and facial features below his powdery wig.

Country music star Tanya Tucker steps in as a frontierswoman who reluctantly takes in an ailing Philip. She's predictably atrocious, only redeemed a touch by the fact that she gets to sing a few lines from "Amazing Grace." And when her obligatorially sexy character throws herself at to Philip, you see how this poor girl was typecast, being the Lindsay Lohan of her generation and all. This character, which doesn't exist in the book, was clearly thrown in to amp up the sex quotient. Geesh.

All in all, if you take this TV miniseries, produced at a time when miniseries were far more valued than they are now, of course, independently of the book, then you'll be thoroughly entertained. Especially if you enjoy these classic TV stars (Anne Francis, Doug McClure, Kim Cattrall, Macdonald Carey also appear). And if you're curious, you can read BRB's review of the book on Amazon.

Coming up in a few days ... a look at the third movie, "The Seekers" ...

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Make sure you catch Ian McShane this weekend, and read about Catherine Oxenberg's royal experiences in her blog

While his former "Dallas" castmates are shooting brand-new scenes for TNT's pilot project scheduled for release later this year, Ian McShane, who portrayed Don Lockwood on our beloved '80s classic, is doing just fine. That filmmaking love of Sue Ellen Ewing has gone from one good role to another over the years, notably on the series "Deadwood" and "Kings." Now, he's got the juicy role of Blackbeard in Disney's " Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides," opening this Friday. He gets some good star billing in the trailer, so it looks to be a nice thing.

Catherine Oxenberg, meanwhile, that sweet princess of "Dynasty," has got some royal reminiscing you won't want to miss on her blog. Our former Amanda Carrington who married a prince on the show, Oxenberg talks about meeting Lady Diana Spencer back in 1981, as well as her "almost royal wedding" to the guy that Fergie would nab just a few years later, Prince Andrew. Fun stuff.

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Tom Wopat and his band perform live in N.Y. in June

Thanks very much to the web crew at Wopat.com for keeping us informed on the career of our own Luke Duke of "The Dukes of Hazzard" ... This is their latest ...

Tom Wopat and his band will be performing live at the legendary Birdland Jazz Club in New York City on Monday, June 20! Enjoy this intimate setting and hear Tom perform songs from his current album "Consider It Swung" and more. Order your tickets and get more information from this TicketFly page.

Tom appeared recently on "Good Day New York" to talk about his music and performing in "Catch Me If You Can" - watch the video below! And for even more, read this great interview he did recently with BroadwayWorld.com.



Thursday, May 05, 2011

Announcing the BRBTV Report on "The Secrets of Isis"

Ahhh, we love to announce additions to the family. Some people have children -- well, our "kids" are of the published variety! This time around, BRBTV welcomes into its family of products a report on the classic '70s TV show, "The Secrets of Isis."



When Joanna Cameron stepped onto our Saturday-morning small screen in that smart white tennis dress with Egyptian touches, she made history as the first female superhero to have her own weekly live-action series. As Andrea Thomas, she was a kindly high school science teacher. But after discovering the amulet of the ancient goddess Isis on an archaelogical dig, Andrea was able to transform into the powerful heroine Isis with just three magic words, "Oh, mighty Isis!"

BRBTV celebrates this wonderful half-hour kids' series, which was a companion Filmation show for the popular live-action "Shazam!", with the seventh in its series of BRBTV Reports on Amazon's Kindle format. This report includes original feedback from all three of the series' leading stars: not just Cameron as Isis / Andrea Thomas, but also Brian Cutler as Rick Mason and Joanna Pang as Cindy Lee! We also got some great insight from Andy Mangels, the man behind the rather-incredible assortment of features on the DVD set, himself a lifelong fan of the show, and fervent fan Lisa Everetts, who had interesting insight into how this show represented a different era in Saturday-morning kids' television.

Like the other Kindle reports in this series, for a ridiculously low price you'll see a magazine-length feature story as well as detailed (original) episode synopses. Because we've found it's physically impossible for us to watch a classic TV show we love without writing episode synopses. Seriously. We've tried. (Why do you think that "Bionic Woman" first-season DVD set is sitting on our shelf unopened? Talk about a time commitment!)

We so much enjoyed doing this "Isis" BRBTV Report, because we absolutely adored the show back then more than words can express. Watching the episodes again on DVD in the past year or so -- the first time we'd seen them since they originally aired -- was like a sweet trip back in time! We hope you dig this look at the show as much as we did writing it.


Sunday, May 01, 2011

A peek inside the "Archie's Weird Mysteries" trade paperback

We first told you in our December 9 post about the "Archie's Weird Mysteries" paperback coming this August, a compilation of stories from the comic book that accompanied our beloved animated DiC show originally airing on PAX-TV in 1999-2000. Today we're giving you a little look at a few of the stories you'll see in that 128-page book:

- "Shriek," from issue 2, a parody of the "Scream" movies, with script by Paul Castiglia, pencils by Fernando Ruiz and inking by Rich Kozlowski.
Alone in the house, Betty Cooper settles in for popcorn and a scary movie on cable. But her TV starts malfunctioning, and soon a dark, hooded, ghoulish face is talking to her from the screen, looking just like the spooky one in those "Shriek" movies. The next day at school, Archie is determined to investigate. But then the TV ghoul shows up running the halls at Riverdale High! Meanwhile, Archie wants to score an interview with a Hollywood costume designer who's visiting town -- who just happens to be the one who designed that long, ghoulish mask for the "Shriek" movies. The designer quickly becomes embroiled in the kids' investigation of this strange movie ghoul on the loose.

- "UFO Uh-Oh," from issue 7, with script by Paul Castiglia, pencils by Fernando Ruiz and inking by Rich Kozlowski.
In a galaxy kinda far away, a brawny race of aliens named the Brawnux challenge another race of aliens, the brainy Smelltoids, to a baseballl game. Trouble is, the Smelltoids don't even know what baseball is. They gaze into their satellite dish and spy, on Earth, Archie and the gang on the Riverdale High baseball team winning the playoffs. The Smelltoids head to Earth in their ship, finding a snoozing Mr. Weatherbee "guarding" the team equipment. Since the aliens just saw the 'Bee bragging to a reporter about his former glory days in baseball, the aliens nab him and the equipment and head back to their planet to learn the game. That doesn't go so well, since the 'Bee's bragging was just hot air. He talks the Smelltoids into returning to Earth to benefit from the "real" players, and a plan is hatched to put the brainy aliens on top of their game.

- "Bigfoot on Campus," from issue 10, with script by Paul Castiglia, pencils by Fernando Ruiz and inking by Rich Kozlowski.

A new student shows up at Riverdale High, and he has all the girls swooning. He's Sam Squatch, a mammoth of a guy with mounds of wavy hair. The other guys like Arch and Reggie decide if they can't beat 'im, they're going to join 'im -- they borrow some of Sam's magic shampoo to grow their own long, luxurious locks and beards. But then those beards won't shave off, and all of a sudden the girls at school have hairy backs! Yowza! Sam Squatch explains the woodsy encounter that's behind this shampoo -- as well as his own motivations.

The book will also feature Scarlet, the vivacious redheaded vampire who charms Archie, introduced in the TV episode "Scarlet Night" and debuting as a side story in issue 10 of the comics, then moving on to the spotlight in issue 12. She's featured on the cover of the book.


Monday, April 25, 2011

Chat with Tom Wopat live on Thursday

Tom Wopat, our own Luke Duke of "The Dukes of Hazzard," will engage with fans up-close and online this Thursday. Here's the word from the crew at Wopat.com:

"That's right - Tom will be chatting LIVE online with his Twitter followers next Thursday, 4/28! To join in the conversation, just 'follow' Tom on his Twitter page. He will be logging in right after he gets off stage from 'Catch Me If You Can' to answer your questions. Make sure to mark your calendar for 4/28 at 11 p.m. EST / 10 p.m. CST / 8 p.m. PST.

And don't forget to download a free song from Tom here!"

Friday, April 22, 2011

BRBTV Reports on Kindle get an update

Amazon's Kindle just keeps evolving, and we're evolving with it. The six BRBTV Reports, which have all been released in Kindle format, have now been updated to include photos, and in color where available! These updated versions are now at the links below, and all of the Reports received a once-over update of text, as well. For instance, we've got some fun photos of "The Dukes" cartoon star Byron Cherry in that Report, as well as quotes from James Best on the making of the series in an interview from the DVD release a few months back.

And look for two new BRBTV Reports this year, one of which will be released in the next couple weeks and examines a wonderful classic Saturday morning show that hasn't gotten a whole lot of attention over the years!

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Spotted: Leigh J. McCloskey

Sporting Martin Sheen-like hair, all swept back and dapper, Leigh J. McCloskey wasn't hard to spot in this week's episode of Fox's "Bones." Our BRBTV double-shot -- the former Mitch Cooper of "Dallas" as well as Zach Kelton and Ethan Asher of "Santa Barbara" (guess that makes him a triple-shot!) -- was quite smashing as the body in this episode, the set of "bones," if you will.

Leigh played Lee -- Coleman, that is -- the host of a "Mythbusters"-type TV show. Coleman was the one who killed the myth, until the myth apparently killed him! When his body shows up, it appears to have fallen victim to a mythical creature of the woods, the Chupacabra, which he was there to disprove.

The episode features McCloskey in TV clip flashbacks and shifty camera playbacks, so delightful as he stands next to a goat as bait ("Chupacabra" means goat-sucker, didn't you know?) in the dark, creepy woods, looking up at his camera set in a tree and complaining that the creature didn't show. He's obnoxious and arrogant -- so much more Zach than Ethan, "SB" fans will note!

Watch the episode, "The Truth in the Myth," for yourself at the IMDb.