Catch the latest episode of "Fantastic Forum" and join the debate: Broadcast vs. pay TV?

Another episode of the Washington, D.C.-based "Fantastic Forum" TV show has just hit the bricks and is available for viewing online, if ya didn't get to catch its original airing on the East Coast:



This time around, host Patrick Michael Strange and panelists Billie Rae Bates, Maurice James and Zachary Wineland debate the merits of regular broadcast television versus paid services like Netflix and Amazon Prime. The way that we are watching TV has definitely been changing in the past decade, as BRB points out in this episode -- which method of TV viewing do you prefer? This episode, like other recent ones, was recorded at Awesome Con!

As always, if you're on the East Coast you've got many ways to catch this great geeky TV show:

• Manhattan Neighborhood Network, New York, NY; Time Warner Cable MNN Lifestyle channel 2
• PhillyCam,  Philadelphia, PA; Comcast channel 66/966; Verizon FiOS channel 29/30.
• MCM  Montgomery County, MD; Comcast channel 21; RCN channel 21; Verizon FiOS channel 21.
• Arlington Independent Media (AIM), Arlington County, VA; Comcast channel 69; Verizon FiOS channel 38.
• FPA-TV,  Fairfax County, VA; Cox channel 10.
• DCTV, Washington, DC; Comcast channel 95; RCN channel 10; Verizon FiOS channel 10.
• Prince George’s Community Television (CTV), Prince George’s County, MD; COMCAST channel 76; Verizon FiOS channel 42.
• Community Media of Baltimore City (CMBC), Baltimore, MD; Comcast channel 75.
• Herndon Community Television, Cox channel 23, Verizon FIOS channel 28.

Terrific TV Toys: "Price is Right" games and memorabilia

Well, we certainly branch out in this week's episode of the Terrific TV Toys series, venturing into game-show territory. It's "The Price is Right," that beloved old game show that's been on the air so many decades. Andrea Melchiori has always loved the show, and she got the opportunity to actually be in the audience for a taping a few years back.

She reminisces about that trip, shows us her actual nametag and ticket and other goodies from that experience, and also shows us some very cool "Price is Right" games she has snagged at garage sales and secondhand stores over the years. We have played at least the oldest one of the three games you'll see, when we could talk our friend Cousin Don into playing it!!!! He's not fond of this "Price is Right" game, more tending toward Scattergories or UNO or the other games we play. So it's a running joke with us, and that's why we dedicate this episode to him ...

Ever wonder what happened to the Colbys? One viewer offers this resolution ....

Yea, yea, that whole UFO thing went down in soap opera history, for sure, but besides all that, did you ever wonder what really happened to the characters of "Dynasty" spinoff "The Colbys" after its bow-out at just a season and a half?

Christopher Stiles of the U.K., who says he just finished watching both "Dynasty" and "The Colbys" on DVD, ties up loose ends -- and those typical soap cliffhanger endings -- with this narrative. Enjoy!

"One fact that did leave me slightly unsatisfied was that the stories of a number of characters, mostly 'The Colbys' characters, were not given a proper resolution," Christopher says. "Therefore, I've put together a short Colbys 'Epilogue,' which is designed to stay close to what we see on screen but also to fill in the gaps and complete the canon."

....................

Epilogue (after season 2 of The Colbys)

The story of Jeff and Fallon is continued in the eighth season of Dynasty. For the other characters, read on…

* Francesca survived the accident but needed several months to recover from her injuries. Jason took her to Europe to recover as far away as possible from the Colby mansion and its unhappy memories.

* Sable, following Jason’s desertion, became even closer to her twin children, Miles and Monica. Miles was devastated by Channing’s abortion, and Monica made the painful decision to send Scott back to the family that had raised him. The three of them coped with their losses by throwing their energies into their roles on the board of Colby Enterprises. The business therefore thrived despite Jason’s absence.

* Whilst her cousin Alexis was busy campaigning for the governorship of Colorado, Sable had an eye on a possible takeover target: Alexis’s ColbyCo business in Denver, which had been founded by Alexis’ late husband and Jason’s brother, Cecil Colby.

* Alexis discovered and put a stop to this manoeuvre. She had never liked her cousin and decided to exact her revenge by visiting Jason (with whom she’d once had a brief fling) and telling him a secret Sable had confided in her many years before: he might not be the father of Sable’s twins.

* Jason refused to believe it but Alexis was prepared for that and showed him letters (actually forgeries commissioned by Alexis herself) “proving” that Sable had had an affair with one of Jason’s business associates in the early years of their marriage. Jason felt all his previous bitterness towards Sable return, and he refused to have anything more to do with her or with the twins, focusing instead on his new life with Frankie.

* What Alexis didn’t know, and didn’t tell Jason, was that Sable had not had a consensual relationship but had been raped. Sable, shocked at Jason’s behaviour and treatment of the twins, kept this secret to herself.

* Bliss and Kolya lived happily ever after in New York and had four children, all of whom turned out to be good dancers.

* Zach Powers died in suspicious circumstances. It transpired that his former wife’s fortune derived from her involvement with an organised crime syndicate. Zach had persuaded her to double-cross the syndicate, which had led to her death. Zach had saved himself by keeping quiet after Caress Morell was set up by the syndicate as the scapegoat for the murder, but as he now was planning to reveal the truth, there was a price on his head.

* Philip Colby was never seen or heard of again. His fate remains a mystery.

(Continuity note: the story of Sable and Monica continues in the final season of "Dynasty." The following events occur between the end of that season and the "Dynasty Reunion.")

* Having learned the truth from her mother, Monica told Jason that Sable had not been unfaithful to him. A DNA test established that he was the twins’ father after all. Jason begged his family to forgive him.

* They did, but the family was never as close as it had once been Miles and Monica returned to Los Angeles to run Colby Enterprises, and Jason and Frankie remained in Europe.

* Sable, having given birth to Dex Dexter’s child but lost Dex himself to a tragic accident at the Carlton Hotel in Denver, decided to start a new life with her baby back in England. She therefore returned to her birthplace. Her English relatives viewed her return with mixed feelings... as in LA and Denver, Sable would never escape family drama...

There's even some classic television at the Smithsonian

Wow, what a great weekend it was. This author and her good bud Andrea not only did Awesome Con at the convention center in downtown D.C. (see yesterday's post) but we also did some sightseeing around our fair capitol of Washington. It had been a long time since Andrea had been to these sights, and it was just so much fun. We logged 8.5 miles walking in the blazin', throttlin' heat (the kind that closes right around you when you step outside) -- how's that for an Iron Woman Challenge??? Lunch at Hard Rock Café, the monuments including the World War II Memorial and Lincoln Memorial, and a couple Smithsonians. A great day.

And can you believe, we found items at the Smithsonian related to some great classic TV shows???? It made the day even better! Here are some shots from Sunday, starting off with the authentic model of the Starship Enterprise used on the original "Star Trek," at the National Air and Space Museum ...

Next, here's what we found at the Museum of American History ...

Archie and Edith Bunker's chairs were there, of course, but Fonzie's jacket must be in storage. And where's that Farrah exhibit I've been so anxious to see???? Ryan O'Neal donated several items from Farrah Fawcett's belongings a few years ago -- including the famous red one-piece swimsuit from the poster -- and I've never been able to see them on display! Pleeeeezzzz, Smithsonian!

Photos by Billie Rae Bates / BRBTV

Copying with credit is OK; a link would be grand

Some sights and sounds from Awesome Con!

Another awesome year of Awesome Con D.C. It was packed, packed, packed on Saturday -- we waited in line an hour just to get in the door, badge in hand! Wow. We found all kinds of fun stuff, and some of it of a TV nature! From purple Yvonne Craig-inspired Batpurses, to lots of Wonder Woman everywhere, to Shazam and more, here's a tour in photos ...

Velma and Daphne -- second stop in a world tour (first was the Motor City show), aka Andrea and BRB.

Kudos to this Shazam cosplayer -- we posted this one on the SHAZAM ! // ISIS TV SHOW GROUP on Facebook.

Photos by Billie Rae Bates / BRBTV

Copying with credit is OK; a link would be grand

Terrific TV Toys: A dazzling "Dukes of Hazzard" room!

In an episode of Terrific TV Toys last month, you got to see the very artistic and detailed "Dukes of Hazzard" scale models hand-crafted by T.J. of Michigan. This time, we take you inside T.J.'s collection of "Dukes" memorabilia, and boy, is it a doozy. Take a deep breath, then take it all in ...

Fleetwood Country Cruize-In: Dropping in on a couple "Dukes" cast members

This past weekend, the Fleetwood Country Cruize-In event at the Steve Plunkett estate near London, Ontario, Canada, served up another heapin' helpin' of "Dukes of Hazzard" fun. This author took in the show a couple years ago when it hosted several "Dukes" cast members for meet-and-greets, and this year was just as big and fun. I got to chat with Don Pedro Colley ("Sheriff Ed Little") again, first time I'd seen him in a couple years, as well as Sonny Shroyer. They were kind enough to sign some items for friends: a glovebox door for Jason, photos for Mike, and a jacket for T.J.

Terrific TV Toys: Batgirl doll by Hasbro, 1998

Sometimes an action figure is truly more of a doll, as is the case with this week's featured toy on the Terrific TV Toys series, as well as the first episode you'll see next month. It's a two-part series of sorts, a look at two dolls that seem quite a lot alike, since they both portray the Barbara Gordon version of Batgirl as she appeared in "The New Batman Adventures" series first airing in 1996. This one is by Hasbro, and was part of a series for that show.



Stay tuned, because next month you'll see a Mattel tribute to Batgirl, in our continuing 50th anniversary celebration for this beloved character, but for next week, we return to Hazzard County!