Just Beneath the Surface (Episode 18 - Controversial Episodes)

A Japanese man in the 1960s era grabbing a Samurai sword and vowing to kill an American man? Then, the two men talk, their dialogue loaded with ethnic issues ... Do they come to understand each other? But wait, one is revealed as a traitor to his country's cause in WWII.  Plus, there's the fact that the Japanese man was portrayed by a legendary "Star Trek" actor who has spoken about a childhood in interment camps. It's an episode of classic "Twilight Zone" considered controversial, and it was actually banned from airing for decades. Brian and Bruce take on this episode as well as a couple others of Rod Serling's groundbreaking classic TV series regarded as controversial.

Digging into the archives: Mary Ann, meet Gilligan!

This author went fishing through the BRBTV archives recently -- or really, the broader archives of all videos and photos I have -- to find cool stuff for my secondary YouTube channel (subscribe and like and help a sister out, BTW!). Some interesting video clips emerged that have not seen the light of day until now. They're too precious not to post, especially the one dropping today! 

BRBTV contributor Brian, whose photos have been featured in the BRBTV fact book series over the years and whose writing has graced this very blog, enjoys cosplaying. One of his fave costumes is that of Gilligan of "Gilligan's Island," and BRBTV captured the very first time he did this cosplay at a con. This was at the Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention in Hunt Valley, Maryland, in September 2017. He wore it in honor of Dawn Wells, and she was rather enthused to meet him!

Look for a few other recently unearthed video clips in the coming weeks!

Announcing the *updated* print edition of "Destination: Dallas"

I just rewatched the 2012 TNT "Dallas" reboot series, rapid-fire, an episode a day -- sometimes two or three or more episodes in a day. I rewatched it all, and I loved it, and I missed it when it was gone. Why did I do it? Because I decided a few months ago to do something I had been wanting to do for years but just didn't really want to, in a way, because I knew it would be a bit of an ordeal. I decided to finally update the print edition of "Destination: Dallas" to include the continuity of the 2012 series. 

I had done it for the e-book (Kindle) edition a few years back. That was easy enough. That was just copying and pasting some text I wrote and re-uploading. Amazon does the rest. But the print edition ... ugh ... I  had used an older desktop publishing program to set it up (it was quite a few years ago), and the update required setting up the text in a whole different program and totally reformatting everything. Fairly laborious, though, alas, rewarding.

But hey, enough whining! It thus has been done, and I am very thankful. And it was super-wonderful to watch the reboot series again and recheck / edit  my episode synopses. I am an editor at heart, and I can edit something within an inch of its life, and believe me, that hard-copy proof from July / August is full of red. But it means a better product, and I'm glad for that. It is the final-final-final (!) of this book. I really don't like updating these books, because I never want to make a reader buy two versions. But I swear it's final! Pinky-swear or whatever!!!! Even if they were to reboot the series again, or produce some new product of it, I just cannot. I really cannot. (I am smiling as I say all of this!)

Anyway, it's here, my new bouncing baby book, and I hope you will enjoy it. I've gotten some great feedback from folks over the years, and some have even asked if I would update the print edition to include the later series. This print update added 138 pages -- from 312 to 450 -- so it's a monster. And it's still very affordable. I really don't adjust my book prices much -- I'm fond of lower prices. So many, many thanks to all who have contacted me about "Dallas" and the book over the years, and who have been so kind with their content suggestions / contributions! You out there are always welcome to contact me. :)

The Green Hornet rolls again in this podcast -- thanks, guys, for the great chat

This author had the pleasure, a week or two back, to chat with two gentlemen who are keeping the love alive for our wonderful classic character the Green Hornet. And now that interview has dropped. We're talking "The Green Hornet Case Files," a podcast that has been rolling (as in, "Let's roll, Kato") for a year and a half now. And we're talking Greg and Kory -- actually, make that, I'm talking to Greg and Kory -- about all things Green Hornet. 

In their latest episode, we chat about the character through the decades, as well as my research, which I enjoyed greatly, for "Let’s Roll, Kato: A Guide to TV's Green Hornet." What could have helped the "Green Hornet"  1966 TV series succeed to a second season and beyond? We discuss that and more.

You can watch the podcast on YouTube and at the usual podcast locales, Apple and Spotify.

Thanks again, Greg and Kory!

Terrific non-TV Toys: Batmobiles by Hot Wheels, 2014-2021

It's been entirely Batty around here in the two BRBTV collectibles series in the past few months. And we've been doing some crossing over between the two series, which we're about to do again! This time it's Batmobiles by Hot Wheels; there are some great varieties from Batman TV shows as well as movies. So big screen, small screen, the screen in your hand -- whatever the one you prefer, these four-wheeled delights are just so fun. This time for Terrific non-TV Toys, we take a look at some designs from the various Batman movie franchises, then next month on Terrific TV Toys, we'll venture back into TV land.

See what else is on the Terrific non-TV Toys playlist.