Announcing "Superchicks: A guide to TV's 'Wonder Woman' and 'Isis'

How many different outfits did Lynda Carter wear as Wonder Woman?

What kind of car did Andrea Thomas drive?

And just how many times did each of them make that amazing transformation?

They remain icons to this day … two powerful females who led the charge for chick empowerment … Ask anyone who was a kid in the 1970s, and they'll remember these two female superheroes who were the first to star in their own live-action, weekly, American television shows: Lynda Carter's Wonder Woman and Joanna Cameron's Isis. With a magical spin and an "Oh, mighty Isis!" they enchanted viewers everywhere, Wonder Woman in primetime and Isis on Saturday morning, showing that a hero could be strong, smart, and yes, female.

In the fourth print volume of the BRBTV fact book series, author Billie Rae Bates examines both of these groundbreaking television shows that she watched and loved in their original airings. From the 1975 debut of each through their seasons and syndication and the fantastic fandom beyond, "Superchicks" offers a delightful romp through jam-packed action of "Wonder Woman" and "Isis."

Superchicks: A guide to TV's Wonder Woman and Isis compiles the feature stories from the two BRBTV Reports on Kindle for these two shows, and adds a whole lot of content to them: cast list, character guide, detailed original episode guide, interviews with cast and crew, a guide to each show's merchandise, and more. For this volume, the author spoke with the big three stars of "Isis," Joanna Cameron, Brian Cutler and Joanna Pang Atkins, as well as "Wonder Woman" executive story consultant Anne Collins-Ludwick, stuntwoman Jeannie Epper and several others who appeared on-camera during the series.

Topped off with a beautiful cover by talented artist Dale Cuthbertson, "Superchicks" aims to please fans of these fab shows! BRBTV has been a solid reference source on classic television shows since 1998, and "Superchicks" joins a print-book series that includes guides to "Dynasty," "Dallas" and "The Dukes of Hazzard."

Paris Themmen talks with BRBTV at Steel City Con

Everybody knows Paris Themmen as the darling little Mike Teevee in 1971's "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory," but do you know where you can see him in front of the camera these days?

Themmen has held a variety of roles over the years beyond the screen and stage: real estate agent, financial adviser, Walt Disney Imagineer, and world traveler(!), but he's got a fun little gig on the side right now. Tune in and find out what that is, as he chats with BRBTV at the Steel City Con near Pittsburgh in December 2012.

(And special thanks to our fine and trusty camera man, James!)

Announcing the Kindle edition of "Dynasty High"

It was October 2003 when the very first edition of our BRBTV reference guide to the TV show "Dynasty" was released. It was an Adobe PDF e-book, and it was followed the next July by a print edition. And from there, the content continued evolving. We kept watching those beloved episodes; we kept talking to those involved in the show. Fast-forward to now, December 2012, and we're happy to release the next evolution of this BRBTV fact book, the Kindle edition.

"Dynasty High" just happens to also be the very first installment in our fact book series, and truth be told, it was the very first BRBTV product to ever be released. So as technology changes, and reading habits change, our products move along with that.

To develop the "Dynasty High" Kindle edition, we started with the full contents of the second "Dynasty High" print edition, and we added a whole lotta stuff:

• Interview with Pamela Sue Martin, aka the original Fallon Carrington
• Interview with Stephanie Beacham, aka Sable Colby
• Interview with Terri Garber, aka Leslie Carrington
• Interview with Jeannie Epper, stuntwoman for Linda Evans
• Interview with writer Camille Marchetta 
• Interview with David Baker, stablehand on "The Colbys"
• Boosted episode guide, with the rewatching of Seasons 1 through 7.5 of "Dynasty" and most of "The Colbys" episodes
• A feature on the shows' various locations
• A closer look at the Filoli estate
• Boosted and updated actor bio information
• An at-a-glance character chart
• Boosted and updated merchandise guide

Holy cow, that's a lot of stuff. (And the interviews are our own -- but we don't use the term "exclusive interview," because Billie Rae Bates of BRBTV is a genuine journalist who knows the true meaning of that term, not the meaning it has devolved into in the Internet age. OK, enough about that!)

We've added so much stuff for this Kindle edition, that we can't leave the print edition as-is. Look for a third edition of that in 2013.

The price of this one is low, just $6, because we're not much into that gouging thing. We put our content out there because we want to share it with other fans. BRB is a fan of the show first and foremost, herself. That's why she does this crazy thing. We hope you enjoy.

This is the third product release of a four-product-release year, so stay tuned ... We've got one more biggie before this month closes ... And it's PRINT ...

Tom Wopat releases new album

From the web folks of Tom Wopat, our own Luke Duke of "The Dukes of Hazzard" ...


We are excited to finally unveil what Tom has been working on for the past few months -- his brand new album!

That's right -- on February 12, 2013, Tom's eighth studio album, "I've Got Your Number," will be released! Backed by a 30-piece orchestra, with this album Tom fulfills his desire to focus on what he describes as "the “orchestra/big band hybrid of the ‘60s and ‘70s.” “Like the Bobby Darin stuff,” he says. “Frank Sinatra did big band then too, everybody did. And we really wanted to go for that -- in the standards as well as the contemporary tunes. We’ve evoked the spirit of the New York supper club era and the cool vibe of the 'Mad Men' days. The recording swings hard and there’s a lot of really fine music.”

The album romps through a wide breadth of songs, ranging between selections from the American Songbook to unique versions of songs by popular artists including James Taylor, Paul Simon, Judy Collins, Bruce Springsteen and more. Plus, the album includes two brand new songs written by Tom himself! Visit http://www.tomwopatofficial.com to read the full press release with more details about the album.

AND - we couldn't tell you about the record without letting you hear some music! Just click HERE to listen to the song "The Good Life" now! Make sure to leave a comment on Youtube to let Tom know what you think!

Stay tuned for much more information, including details on how to order your copy. We'll be putting together some fun packages! And make sure to take a look at the tour dates below to see if Tom is coming to your city soon.

Sincerely,

Wopat Webcrew


UPCOMING APPEARANCES for 2013
January 8 - Green Valley Recreation Center - Green Valley, Arizona
January 11 - The Smith Center / Cabaret Jazz - Las Vegas, Nevada
January 12 - Livermore Valley Performing Arts Center - Livermore, California
February 15 - Choctaw Casino and Resert Centerstage - Duront, Oklahoma
February 16 - UCO Jazz Lab - Edmond, Oklahoma
March 1 - Del E Web Center - Wickenburg, Arizona*
March 2 - Chandler Center for the Arts - Chandler, Arizona*
March 23 - Palm Springs Art Museum / Annenberg Theater - Palm Springs, California
April 5 - Ruth A. Knoll Theater - Hartford, Wisconsin
April 6 - Middleton Performing Arts Center - Middleton, Wisconsin

*Performing with John Schneider!

Stephanie Beacham tells BRBTV she'd love a "Dynasty" reboot

Ever since TNT scored a hit with its reboot of our beloved "Dallas" this past summer, rumors have been swirling about the same treatment for "Dynasty." And why not? "Dynasty" provides plenty of fertile next-generation ground to plant some seeds on and captivate younger viewers as well as reel in us '80s kids so easily ... L.B. Colby, Danny Carrington, Krystina Carrington, Lauren Colby, the surrogate son of Adam Carrington ... we're wondering where they all are and what they're doing right now! And we want to see our original faves, even if John Forsythe is no longer among them.

One of those original faves would love to see this kind of reboot, too. BRBTV had the chance to chat with Ms. Stephanie Beacham, aka Sable Colby, via phone a couple weeks ago, and the subject of a "Dynasty" reboot naturally came up, as it had when Beacham attended a tribute event for the late costume designer Nolan Miller just a few days earlier ...

"Please, please, please, may it happen?" she sweetly enthused to us. "But it's up to so many more people and fates than I can affect by just hoping. It would be a blast. That's all I can say."

Stephanie Beacham, center, with "Dynasty" creators Esther and
Richard Shapiro at the tribute event for Nolan Miller.

Beacham said, "I just adore Esther and Richard Shapiro, and I would love to work with them again. Joan and I are friends and we would have so much fun."

So what's standing in the way? "Just as Esther had to fight to have middle-aged women on the screen to begin with, when she started 'Dynasty,' she doesn't want to do anything unless, I guess, unless the original people are at least featuring in it. Can't you imagine the fun of Joan and me in the back of our fortresses being the powerhouses behind it, having all the lovely young girls and boys lying around? But you need those two old bats! Or as Joan calls us, the 'Dynasty' dames."

Indeed we do need you. Just as TNT's "Dallas" wouldn't have been "Dallas" without the Big Three, Larry Hagman, Patrick Duffy and Linda Gray, "Dynasty" couldn't possibly be "Dynasty" without Joan Collins, Stephanie Beacham, and whoever else they can possibly get involved! Heather Locklear, anyone? We saw that recent photo shoot with Entertainment Weekly -- our Sammy Jo is still stunning. And just as, with the recent death of Hagman, his spectre will remain all over that show as it continues on through its second season, we will be seeing the shadow of Forsythe strongly in any reboot attempt of "Dynasty."

So we had to ask Beacham, what would Sable be doing right now, in 2012?

"The same as Alexis," she told us. "I don't think it's changed. Of course, the economy has changed, but the rich only get richer, don't they? They wouldn't be trusting anyone else. I think Sable would've gotten stronger. Because she was always someone that sort of needed a man, if you know what I mean. Probably now she would just leave all the advice from everybody and just be herself."

The last time we saw our beautiful English-accented vixen, there was that rather un-pretty balcony scene, in the series' final episode in May 1989 (Beacham wasn't featured in 1991 reunion movie). At the time of the finale, Sable was pregnant with what Alexis fondly termed a "change-of-life baby" with Dex Dexter, her own ex-husband. So add that to the next-generation mix ... a 22-year-old offspring of Sable and Dex ... out there somewhere, doing who-knows-what ...

"That would at least give one young would-be Sable a door, wouldn't it? Some young incarnation," Beacham muses.

Still so beautiful: Beacham with Joan Collins, center, and Collins' sister Jackie.

And Beacham wouldn't miss a chance to work with her friend, Joan Collins, who served as a co-hostess at the Nolan Miller tribute. She has worked with Collins recently, in this year's seriously fun Snickers TV spot. BRBTV had to ask how that diva-happy half-minute came together.

"That just came about. I think Joan suggested me," she said. "How much fun was that? Have you seen it? It was heaven, complete heaven! And it's based, as you know, on the other ones. And I'm playing the Liza Minnelli part, the kicker. I think Joan's fabulous in it, and I thought we did a grand job, and everybody was so pleasant. I think we're both keen that there should be a collaboration of some sort, and that was just a hint of it. I think that we both feel that there's more mileage in us."

You better believe there is. Now the question is ... who else is listening?????

Watch for the full text of our interview with Stephanie Beacham in the upcoming Kindle edition of our reference guide "Dynasty High." Beacham also has an auction coming up of some of her "Dynasty" and "Colbys" memorabilia, including some scripts. Look for more info on that on this blog, and keep up with Beacham (and see photos from her most recent work on "Trollied") on her official Facebook page.

Photos courtesy of Stephanie Beacham / Emily Danyel;

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