Happy Halloween from BRBTV!

From our home to yours, and in honor of one of our favorite TV shows, the Scoobies of BRBTV wish you a Happy Halloween!!!!

Gavin MacLeod talks about his faith and his time on the "Love Boat"

We just love it when these fresh interviews pop up with the stars we love from classic TV. Gavin MacLeod, aka Captain Merrill Stubing of "The Love Boat," did an interview this week on Detroit's Fox 2. Jason Carr talked with MacLeod about his faith and how that related to the antics on "The Love Boat" and what kinds of roles he's chosen over the years.

MacLeod did the interview live via satellite from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, wearing his typical captain's hat and appearing to be on a boat. So in context! When asked by Carr how he has reconciled Hollywood debauchery with his faith, MacLeod said:

“I was never involved in any debauchery. That word is so repulsive to me, and I was never involved in that. Whatever kind of debauchery is seen on the ‘Love Boat,’ it was all make-believe, you know. That’s one of the few shows in Hollywood, if anybody was messing around, anybody, they weren’t doing it on the ‘Love Boat.’ For one, the guest stars were too old. We were happy they could walk. (Cut to a scene of Joan Collins of "Dynasty" walking with him on the Love Boat deck as she guest-starred in an episode!!!) You know, that’s the way that was. And, I don’t know. I thought the captain was above debauchery. I thought all the regulars, we tried to keep it a very wholesome show, as much as we could. I mean, when you compare with what’s on television today, I mean, it was innocence personified.”

Did MacLeod realize what a cultural institution "Mary Tyler Moore" was becoming when he was playing Murray on the show?

“I don’t think any of us ever realized that. We just went to work every week, and we knew we had wonderful ratings after a while, and all those Emmys coming in and things like that. But I don’t think we ever thought, even Mary, way back then, that we would have … I know we had a great deal to do with women’s lib, because she was really good for women’s liberation and everything. One of the lines, you know, ‘If I’m going to do the same job that he’s doing, why shouldn’t I make the same money that he’s making?’ Which is great. It makes sense. I think she was probably the first one to say anything like that on television. The show was written so well, you know, you had messages but you didn’t even think they were messages, you know?”

Carr also asked, with MacLeod's faith, would he consider a role with some hard-core themes?

“Let some young actor working his way up, or some older actor that hasn’t worked (do it). No, I don’t do that anymore. I’ve reached the point where I’m not really even interested in that anymore. What I’m interested in is getting the word of God out there, to get people saved. To let people know they’ve got a great choice out there, to think about eternity, not about this life we’re going through right now.”

MacLeod has a new book: “This Is Your Captain Speaking: My Fantastic Voyage Through Hollywood, Faith and Life.” We love MacLeod not only for "The Love Boat" but also for his episode of "Wonder Woman," 1978's "The Fine Art of Crime." And we love him even more for speaking out about his faith!

Detroit Fanfare '13: Some bits and pieces and odds and ends

We had a great time at Detroit Fanfare on Saturday, talking to folks here and there and hanging out with our friends at Big Dog Ink, home of Penny for Your Soul and the amazing "Legend of Oz: The Wicked West" series. Thanks, Tom, for the hospitality! And thanks very much to Maurice LaMarche, whom you've heard as the Brain on "Animaniacs" and "Pinky and the Brain," as well as Egon on the various "Ghostbusters" cartoons. Mr. LaMarche was kind enough to sign the beautiful replica of the Ecto car owned by Mike of Motor City Reel Rides. So super cool.

See the action below, as well as some other stuff we encountered as we walked around the show, including the convergence of two of our favorite things in the world, Batman and "The Walking Dead." We've seen Pimp Banes at these shows, we've seen Black Lantern Batmans, we've seen all kinds of character blending, and we thought we'd seen it all ...

Photos by Billie Rae Bates / BRBTV

Copying with credit is OK; a link would be grand

Lynda Carter and others talk about the enduring legacy of "Superheroes"

It's been sitting in our DVR, and we finally took a crack at it last night -- PBS' new documentary series, "Superheroes: A Never-Ending Battle." The three-episode series examines the powerful superhero genre and its legacy, as PBS' description says, and we weren't disappointed with episodes 1 and 2 that we viewed last night. Several comics industry professionals, including titans like Carmine Infantino and Stan Lee, discuss the advent of the superhero with Superman in 1938 and Batman in 1939, then the others that followed through the decades, and how their creation and their action reflected what was happening in the world around them. Lynda Carter talks about her own portrayal of Wonder Woman in the 1970s, with clips of the show. There's Joe Simon, Walt Simonson, Grant Morrison, Geoff Johns, Mark Waid, and many others, with actor Liev Schreiber of "Wolverine" hosting it all.

If it's too late for you to watch it on your own PBS affiliate, run, don't walk, over to PBS' website, where you can now view the three eps (for only a few days, though). Episode 3 for us tonight!

RIP, Lou Scheimer

BRBTV offers condolences to the family and friends of Lou Scheimer, who died at age 84 on Thursday. We have this Filmation Studios leader to thank for our beloved "Isis," as we'll as the fab series that preceded it on Saturday mornings in the mid-'70s, "Shazam." Deadline and the Animation Guild blog have good sum-ups on this man's impressive contributions to our pop culture.

It's a mini "Dukes" reunion in "Return of the Killer Shrews"

John ("Bo Duke") Schneider, James ("Rosco P. Coltrane") Best and Rick ("Cletus Hogg") Hurst share some good old-fashioned "Dukes of Hazzard" humor in their new movie, "Return of the Killer Shrews," from Best's company Best Friends Films.

Learn more about the film at JamesBest.com.

Check out this amazing win for a "Wonder Woman" fan!

It's truly an amazing Wonder Woman costume inspired by the first season of the 1970s TV series starring Lynda Carter, and it was won by a guy who has a vested interest, for sure. He's the artist who crafted the cover of BRBTV's "Superchicks" book on the "Wonder Woman" and "Isis" TV series, and he's an avid "Wonder Woman" fan. Yep, it's Dale Cuthbertson who won this lovely item ...

This Wonder-ful outfit is by costume-maker Gregory Maraio. He's also done replicas of the duds worn by all three Catwomen of the 1960s "Batman" series, as well as Yvonne Craig's Batgirl outfit and others in the DC Universe like Debra Winger's Wonder Girl and Alicia Silverstone's (unfortunately blond) Batgirl from the '90s Batman movie franchise. We're very impressed by them all.

The Wonder Woman costume giveaway was part of the effort to get Lynda Carter on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars. See the Facebook page for more info.

Cuthbertson, meanwhile, has designed not only the "Superchicks" book cover but also the recently re-released "Dynasty High" cover, and others to come! This guy's got talent! And he says that Maraio also made for him the Wonder Woman bracelets, tiara and belt that go with this outfit.

The cape was not included in the above prize, so it's just down to that and the boots and he's got something very rare and cool!!!!