More TV-related toys show up at your friendly neighborhood Elks Hall

Every time you go to one of those little toy shows at the neighborhood Elks Hall, you can find treasures related to great classic TV shows. This past weekend's show in Royal Oak, Michigan, was no exception. What it lacked in volume it made up for, for the most part, in intrigue. Take the "Welcome Back, Kotter" goodie below. If only it were the 25 cents marked on the box! Evidently that one was a nice little garage sale find the vendor was trying to turn around.

Then we go and spot a Cher dressing room just like what you got to see in the S2E10 of Terrific TV Toys, as well as a Sonny doll and Cher doll, below.

"Dukes of Hazzard" wallet? Precious!

We've been talking a lot on the Terrific TV Toys series about "Batman: The Animated Series," especially since the popular '90s show just had a silver anniversary. There are a ton of figures out there from the series, and above is a couple of carrying cases for them.

Not TV, but still so cool: I've seen this Emerald City playset by Mego a few times at local toy shows, and I'm always tempted by it. I have the set of Wizard of Oz figures, except for the Wicked Witch and the Wizard. The vendor was asking $140 for the whole set, including the four figures in box (the top two were Dorothys). The playset was just missing the yellow brick road, but did have the crystal ball / globe, which is evidently pretty rare.

And here are a couple more dolls this author also has from her childhood ... Mego's 12-inch Farrah Fawcett (wearing a vintage '70s Barbie dress), as well as the Darci doll by Kenner. They were marked $55 each.

Photos by Billie Rae Bates / BRBTV

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Terrific TV Toys: "Star Trek" claw-game plush, part 2

Last week you saw five "Star Trek" plush crew members from the original 1960s series, part of a set by Toy Factory from 2013, and rescued out of the claw games at the grocery store or mall in that same year. This week we continue that story with the other four members of that crew, including two characters from "Star Trek: The Next Generation."

Remember this star car on classic TV?

Behold the latest acquisition, arriving just last weekend, to a large collection of star cars located in particular place in Metro Detroit ... Do you perchance recall seeing this beauty on 1970s television? And do you remember the beauty driving it? There's a big hint in the photos below, in a doll that you've seen on a previous episode of the Terrific TV Toys web series ...

 

 

Yes, it's the 1976 Ford Mustang Cobra II that Farrah Fawcett drove as Jill Munroe on "Charlie's Angels," first airing in 1976. You'll see that it's in pretty good condition and has some nice touches throughout, particular in its Cobra imagery ...

 

This car is going to get a little TLC, then you'll be seeing it at car shows in Metro Detroit soon, along with other star cars like the General Lee, KITT, Monkeemobile, A-Team van and all that jazz!

Photos by Billie Rae Bates / BRBTV, and Mike

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Does the new "Dynasty" delight? Dare I say ... sure.

Say what you want -- I'm signed on. The CW's "Dynasty" remake premiered last night, and in the first few minutes, the word that came to this author's mind was sassy. It's a sassier, smoother version of the original, with all the updated production values you'd expect from the three additional decades of technological advancement. And that sass -- did we mention that sass? Is it a parody? Hmmm. So then the kicker line of Blake's, at the tail end of the opening, brought another word to mind ... outrageous. It's a bit outrageous. It doesn't care if it's funny. It doesn't care if it's serious. It doesn't freakin' care what it is and how you take it. It just is. That's the impression I was left with.

Elizabeth Gillies as Fallon is in full command, as we would expect and hope. No disappointment there. My favorite thing, though, by far, was seeing Nick Wechsler as Matthew Blaisdel. He rocked big and wide on "Revenge," which some have compared to a modern "Dynasty," and I loved him on "Roswell" back in the early 2000s. Great actor who's a fine match to the original Matthew, Bo Hopkins. Grant Show is quite a different brand of Blake, but we'll see how that goes. Just being a "Melrose" alum rates him high in this soap fan's book. He's getting on in years now, but still so smokin' hot. And then they throw in a new but still much-put-upon Joseph. Nice, and nicely played by Alan Dale. The new Jeff Colby, Sam Adegoke, and his sis on the show provide a fine addition of color. Much needed.

Last night's pilot basically recreated the events of the original "Dynasty" pilot, with some twisting. I'm assuming there will be divergence in plot lines as the episodes progress? I really didn't read much of anything at all online about this series, because I wanted to discover it as it went along, just like with the original. And yes, you'll eventually be seeing an update to the Kindle version of "Dynasty High," because I'm just plain addicted to this stuff.

So yea ... now we just await ... ALEXIS. Bring 'er on.

Terrific TV Toys: "Star Trek" claw-game plush, part 1

Ever play those crane games, or claw games, at the grocery store or mall? You know, where you put a couple quarters in and guide the mechanical claw over to the toy of your choice? You've seen quite a few claw-game prizes on past episodes of Terrific TV Toys (namely, stuffed Scoobies!), but this week, we turn our focus to one half of a full set of larger "Star Trek" plush. The set of nine was released into the claw games in 2013 by Toy Factory. In this episode and next week's episode, you'll even get some fun shots of their captures (and attempted captures)!



Stay tuned next week, when you'll see the other four plush in the set.

Terrific TV Toys: Batgirl 1960s figure by Funko

The merchandise for the 1966 "Batman" TV series keeps streaming onto store shelves and into online carts, and this summer Funko released yet another Batgirl figure celebrating Yvonne Craig's portrayal of the iconic character. This one is small -- only 3 or 4 inches high. Looking at it, though, I love to think about the influence of that purple sparkly Batgirl costume in other incarnations of the character in comics and TV shows over the decades, so let's talk about that a bit, shall we?

"Star Trek," "A-Team," Fonzie and more at the Flat Rock Speedway yesterday

It's a show so big it's quite overwhelming, and it happens once a year around the track. It's the Flat Rock Speedway flea market, just downriver from Detroit, and it was yesterday. It's friggin' hard to leave that place without some kind of purchase, and we really didn't see anybody who did so. In fact, a lot of the items carried out were bigger in size. Anyway, this author found a few treasures, including a metal '80s "A-Team" copter with three figures inside for Mike, honorary procurement chief at BRBTV (nice to procure something for him once in a while). We saw some other stuff related to great classic TV shows that was just as tempting ...

These photos were all from the same booth, and believe me, this vendor loved "Star Trek." There were all kinds of great "Trek" things, as well as a nice overall Mego collection.

Until next year!

Photos by Billie Rae Bates / BRBTV

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Terrific TV Toys: "Batman: The Animated Series" yoyo and frisbee

It was only a couple decades ago (only the '90s, ya know, which seems like yesterday!), but memories fade. And this author knows for sure she got the "Batman: The Animated Series" yoyo featured on this week's installment of Terrific TV Toys in the '90s when the series was still in its original airing on television. And I was thinking the Frisbee came with, but now I'm not so sure! Anyway, get up-close and personal with these two unique items (just try and find them online right now!) from a beloved animated series ...

Bjørn continues to amaze us with his "Dynasty" wardrobe and memorabilia collection

Readers of this blog know Bjørn of Norway and his incredible collection of "Dynasty" merchandise, as well as his scale model of the Carrington mansion (see October 25, 2014, May 24, 2014 and September 20, 2013 for instance). Bjørn has just shared some more photos with BRBTV, and wow, can anything be more amazing for a "Dynasty" fan??? There are lots of original costumes below, as well as one Nolan Miller Collection replica costume (yes, it's that very famous gunmetal lame' gown worn by Alexis in so many publicity shots).

Among the jewels pictured below are quite a few pieces of the costume jewelry worn by the ladies on the series. Baubles of every variety, to match every color of gown! My, my!

Bjørn was also the subject of this online media story on his collection (sorry, there doesn't appear to be an English translation, but you get the picture -- a lot more pictures, actually!). And here is a video featuring him and his collection.

Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Con: Ponch and Jon, Gilligan and more

Lots of great stars of classic television came out once again for the Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Con, just ending its three-day spin in Hunt Valley, Maryland, yesterday. Where else can you meet the two stars of "CHiPS," Erik Estrada and Larry Wilcox, as well as Bobby Ewing of "Dallas," Patrick Duffy, Shirley of "Laverne and Shirley," Cindy Williams, Mary Ann of "Gilligan's Island," Ms. Dawn Wells, plus even a Gilligan cosplayer! That's quite a cross-section!

You may know Larry Storch from "F-Troop," but I know him from a little live-action Saturday-morning show called "The Ghost Busters," created years before the more-famous 1980s movie and having absolutely nothing to do with it. I faithfully watched that little show every week, and I had to ask Mr. Storch about it. Seems he does have other folks who remember it -- and had a couple photos from it to sign on his table! The series has never been released on DVD, but you can find a few episodes on YouTube.

Brian Lombard, my buddy from Virginia, showed up in this Gilligan outfit, which really thrilled Dawn Wells, whose line he was waiting in here! Brian is the author of the "Bradypalooza" book on "The Brady Bunch" and has contributed photos to BRBTV projects over the years. We were thinking he might be the first cosplayer at this event, which tends to skew to a slightly older crowd than the standard con, but then we came across this "Blues Brothers" bro among the vendors upstairs -- whom I also encountered last year, who did have his regular hat on but then channeled a bit of the Skipper ...

All in all, a great show once again. For three years in a row, I've been showing up on the last day of the show, Saturday, and it's still been hoppin,' and you always see great TV-related merchandise among the shopping, too, which is super-cool.

Photos by Billie Rae Bates / BRBTV

Copying with credit is OK; a link would be grand