Autorama 2017: A jump of a General Lee, and so much more!

Whew! This chick finally gets a chance to sort through videos and photos from this past weekend -- what a busy few days it has been, with all kinds of folks visiting from out of town, and all kinds of fun being had! It was centered around Autorama in delightful downtown Detroit, which kicked off late Friday morning with a jump of the General Lee, then continued with assorted "Dukes of Hazzard"-related stuff throughout the event (oh, and there was some kind of car show there, too, right?).

The General Lee jump happened right behind the event venue, Cobo Center, on the riverfront, orchestrated by the Northeast Ohio Dukes with stunt driver Ray Kohn behind the wheel. The sun was shining, the temp was so mild, and the crowd was robust -- lots of people turned out to witness the car soaring through the air above Atwater Street. Look for video of the jump, as well as several other "Dukes of Hazzard"-related goodies from Autorama, on the BRBTV YouTube channel in the next couple days. For now, though, we've got some photos, courtesy of our roving reporter, Jason ...

Photos courtesy of Jason G.; please do not copy without permission.

Terrific TV Toys: Michael Jackson doll by LJN Toys

This author's mom sure could find some great stuff. Take the Marilyn Monroe doll, all outfitted in red, which was my favorite color. Then there's the Elvis doll in his famous gold lame suit -- oh, that was a nice one. But one particular item she bought for me, 'round about 1984, stands out in my mind and is the subject of this week's Terrific TV Toys installment. It's a 12-inch doll like the others, but it celebrates a true pop icon, a megastar of our time, a guy who achieved the superstardom he evidently set out to have: Mr. Michael Jackson, whose fame covered several decades of our pop culture, and who became so many things in our eyes over the years. Back then, though, in the glorious 1980s, he was simply Michael Jackson, pop superstar, not all that other stuff yet.

Can we make a Terrific TV Toy out of an MJ doll? You betcha. One particular TV appearance the pop idol made in 1984 really epitomized his success. There he was, receiving award after award that night, making a glittery fashion statement, with a lovely female fellow superstar on his arm, Ms. Brooke Shields. It was January 1984, and the American Music Awards ...

(You know, there's actually a Brooke Shields doll out there from that same time period. Wouldn't that just be funny to nab that and to totally recreate this iconic TV moment ...)

Are ya going to the jump of the General Lee in downtown Detroit this morning, right before Autorama opens? Great -- we'll see ya there!

Terrific TV Toys: "Dukes of Hazzard" card game by IGI

We know that ole Boss Hogg is always playing games, but have we got one for him!!! This is a card game by IGI, the makers of the long-revered UNO (and believe me, UNO is definitely revered in this household!), and it dates to 1981, the height of merchandising for the beloved TV series "The Dukes of Hazzard." You've got your Bo cards, your Luke cards, your Daisy cards -- just about everybody from Hazzard County is in there! (Can you guess which characters were not included? Special points! There are several minor cast members and one more major one that weren't included, and bonus point if you speculate exactly why, for the more major one!!!!)

It's all there in the latest episode of Terrific TV Toys ...

Terrific TV Toys: Batgirl figure by Vinyl Sugar

Our celebration of Batgirl's 50th anniversary continues this week on Terrific TV Toys. Next up is a figure by Vinyl Sugar, one in their set of Vinyl Idolz.



Next week, we head back to Hazzard County!!!