Some great "Dukes of Hazzard" events are on the horizon

Wow, the gang's all there -- really, the whole surviving cast of "The Dukes of Hazzard" --  at the Good ol' Boys Tour in Bakersfield, California, next month. Even Coy Duke and Jeb Duke! What a great idea! And thrown in is a *real* screen-used General Lee, the No. 17 from the series. It all happens April 13 at the Kern County Raceway, then moves on to Irwindale, California, on June 15, then travels to Monroe, Washington, on August 26.

But first, stunt sensation Corey Eubanks will be telling his "Stunt Stories" at Cooter's in Nashville later this month. Proceeds will benefit Final Salute Inc., which provides homeless women veteran and their children with safe and suitable housing.

Images from Cooter's Place

Terrific non-TV Toys: Penguin and Joker figures by Hasbro

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Hasbro created a line of action figures for the DC Comics characters that were rather Mego-esque. They wore cloth outfits like the Megos we knew and loved from the 1970s and '80s (and hadn't seen in years, unlike right now), and they were comparable in size to Megos, maybe 9 or 10 inches rather than 8 inches high. But still not big like a 12-inch action figure. They were different.

Hasbro's line featured Batman and Superman in different incarnations, along with their Justice League brethren like Green Arrow and Aquaman. But there also were villains, and that's what you'll see on the latest episode of Terrific non-TV Toys, the 2001 Joker and 2002 Penguin from this set.

This one comes by special request -- thanks, YouTuber Chema Ramos.

A new demo reel for BRB's acting work!

Now that the third episode of the "Reanimated" web series by Evil Genius Entertainment has been released publicly, this new acting demo reel for Billie Rae Bates can be made public rather than unlisted ... Catch BRB in some fun stuff here, not only "Reanimated," but also "Surprise" by Chedda Boys and "Crystal" from director Michael Sneed. There's a longer version and shorter version ...

Catch BRB in the "Reanimated" web series

In the November 16, 2018 post of this blog, you saw the first episode of the new "Reanimated" web series by Evil Genius Entertainment. Well, now the second and third episodes have been released publicly, so it's easy to enjoy this new zombie saga shot in the great state of Michigan. I had a lot of fun with this, playing a zombie in the second and third episodes, and the military interrogator Blanche Lancaster in the third, titled "27,000 Hours." This is such a great group to work with! Check out their website, buy some swag, support independent film! -- BRB

No worries -- that Bandit car will jump after all!

Well, you've no doubt heard the news by now of the canceled jump of the "Smokey and the Bandit" Trans Am at the Detroit Autorama, a stunt that was supposed to happen last Friday. So great to hear that Raymond Kohn and the Northeast Ohio Dukes will get to jump that car for fans after all -- at John Schneider's Bo's Extravaganza event in Louisiana next month!

Congrats to the NEOD on finding a levelheaded host at last -- our own Bo Duke, of course! -- for this fun stunt!

Terrific TV Toys: Nightwing figure by Hasbro, 1997

OK, you know how they sometimes film a very important TV show episode with multiple endings? Well, this week's episode of Terrific TV Toys is not necessarily any more important than any other episode of the series, but we did shoot it with two different endings. We shot it with the ending you see here, below, and we shot it with an alternate ending that was a bit more ... overt, shall we say, about the characteristic of this particular action figure that's unique and perhaps a conversation-starter. When it came right down to it, this author just could not go with the more-overt ending, just had no peace about it. For one thing, there was the fear that the video might go viral for all the wrong reasons and then this channel and series would be known for that  highly weird episode!!! Ugh ...

Anyhow! Maybe it's a case of overthinking it (and yes, this author could be accused of that!!!), but can you possibly guess, after viewing the video, what the characteristic is? Yep, that's it. Maybe it's obvious. And who knows if this is unusual for action figures, or if it's not. There aren't that many 12-inch (OK, that's an inadvertent innuendo) male action figures in the BRBTV collection. And seriously, you just know a Ken doll ain't got this!!!

But enough about all that! This figure is part of a set by Hasbro from the latter 1990s celebrating "The New Batman Adventures," released while the animated series was airing. It's a fun set, and in this episode you get a glimpse of the two figures previously seen on the series (Batgirl and Harley Quinn), as well as the one to come (Supergirl).

(Thanks for the request, River Vixens!)

Snagged this weekend: An assortment of "Dallas" cars

Who knows if any of these vehicles were ever seen in the original "Dallas" TV series; they don't seem to have been. But maybe they are a bit "reminiscent" of some actual "Dallas" vehicles, like Bobby's little Mercedes convertible, or Jock's Lincoln, or Ray's pickup truck. Whatever. They've got the "Dallas" name on them, and they were purchased this weekend by our buddy Mike.

These diecast Matchbox-sized cars are by Majorette and are from 1981.There are even more in the series than what's pictured here. There's a Ewing Oil helicopter, extra-long Ewing Oil tanker truck, tractor with trailer and more. This is not the same line as what Greenlight Hollywood released a couple years ago, from which BRBTV has a blue pickup truck.

Photo courtesy of Mike; please do not copy without permission.

Terrific non-TV Toys: Batgirl and Oracle figure set by DC Collectibles

This month's Terrific non-TV Toys episode is one that was actually shot last season but pushed off the schedule for something or other ... probably some hot new toy fresh off the shelves that we had to show you sooner. In fact, this episode was pushed a few times. But it was the last one of three Batgirl toys we shot at the same time, the others being the Batgirl of Burnside figure by Jada Toys and the two Funko figures. We had gotten this greeeaaaattt set of Batgirl and Oracle figures at the first time and took it out of the box on camera at about the same time. So here it is, at last!

This set commemorates the Oracle era of Barbara Gordon in the comics, the time period in the 1980s and 1990s, and a little beyond, where she was injured by the Joker and using a wheelchair -- but still fighting crime! She was the amazing computer mastermind Oracle. And this set more specifically comes from the "Arkham Knight" video game of the "Arkham Asylum" series.

(And maybe as you watch the episode, you can answer the question: Does the arrow belong??? LOL.)

Terrific TV Toys: Mego "Charlie's Angels" figure Sabrina

It's time to take a look at the next figure in Mego's new "Charlie's Angels" line: Sabrina Duncan, as portrayed by Kate Jackson on our beloved classic TV drama back in the 1970s. This straight-up, sensible gal took no guff back then, solving the case beside her cohorts Jill and Kelly.



Mego has also released the Kris Munroe doll, which you'll see on Terrific TV Toys later this year.

Terrific non-TV Toys: Queen diecast collector car

There is an object lesson in the life of Freddie Mercury. Probably more than one. He lived life big. He didn’t make apologies for it. And he had the ability to not give a $&#@)* what people thought of him. By some accounts, that ability was not innate. He had to learn it, had to teach it to himself, actually, in response to being a foreigner in England as a teen, one author wrote. But it is a rare and marvelous quality indeed, especially in this Facebook age we live in.

With the recent release of the movie on Queen, “Bohemian Rhapsody,” we turn our attention to a piece of Queen merchandise for the latest installment of Terrific non-TV Toys. This collector car is part of a set released by Racing Champions a couple decades ago. In honor of Freddie, along with bandmates Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon, it comes out of the box for the very first time by a lifelong Queen fan ...

Terrific TV Toys: "The New Archies" production cel

Archie Comics has had several great TV shows over the years, up to and including the current "Riverdale" drama airing on the CW. All the others have been animated (unless you count the 1990 "To Riverdale and Back Again" TV movie special). And sandwiched in-between the Archie cartoons that people remember best from the 1960s and '70s (like "The U.S. of Archie" for the Bicentennial, for us '70s kids!), and the more-recent "Archie's Weird Mysteries," there was a cute little show in 1987 called "The New Archies."

Back in the 1980s there was what we might call a "baby craze" in animation. "Muppet Babies," "Flintstone Kids," "Tiny Toon Adventures," even "A Pup Named Scooby-Doo." The trend was to take well-loved and well-known cartoon characters and making them younger. "The New Archies" was an outgrowth of that, with Archie, Betty, Jughead and Veronica being in junior high school rather than high school. Skateboards and bikes rather than cars. The brainy Eugene rather than Dilton Doiley. Those were the major differences in this alternate take on Riverdale produced by DiC Entertainment for only one season, to the tune of 14 episodes. It's adorable -- catch it on YouTube, because it hasn't yet been released on DVD.

This month's episode of the Terrific TV Toys series features an actual production cel from the "The New Archies." What episode was this cel used for? Well, if you're familiar with the show, why don't you tell us!!!???

Catch BRB's and Will Rodgers' interview on Comic Book Central, talking "Super Friends"

We're in great company, on the Comic Book Central podcast. The likes of actors Levar Burton and Katrina Law, artist Alex Ross, and Mego man Marty Abrams have been interviewed by Joe Stuber for the series, among so many others. And now, with the episode dropping today, it's "Super Friends" voice Louise Williams (Wonder Twins' Jayna) along with Will Rodgers, author of "The Ultimate Super Friends Companion" and myself, BRB! So cool!

Keep up with Joe and Comic Book Central on the Facebook page.

Happy New Year! It's your episode guide to the past seasons of Terrific TV Toys and Terrific non-TV Toys

With a new year will come a fresh crop of episodes for BRBTV's two web series, because we just love sharing this stuff. But first let's take stock of the past year, the grand 2018 and all it entailed for our ongoing examination of cool toys and collectibles from every corner of pop culture.

We're up to 137 episodes now for the T3 series (138 if you count the Christmastime Eggnog addendum), nothing to sneeze at for a web series that has run five years. And in 2019 you'll continue to see one episode a month from each of the two series, totaling 24 for the year again.  Hopefully we can get a friend or two to guest-host, as in the past!

Terrific TV Toys

Season 5

126. Wonder Woman plush toy by Toy Works

127. Justice League toys from Subway

128. Ensign Chekov Transporter figure by Playmates

129. Miss Piggy plush doll by Fisher-Price

130. Scooby-Doo jigsaw puzzles by Pressman

131. Batman Ken and Catwoman Barbie dolls by Mattel

132. Mary Marvel original animation cel

133. Mego “Charlie’s Angels” figure: Kelly

134. “Dukes” diecast cars by Auto World, Tomy

135. Harley Quinn figure by Hasbro, 1998

136. Scooby-Doo Encyclopedia by Capstone / Hanna-Barbera

137. Batgirl PVC diorama and production cel from “TNBA”

Season 4
Season 3
Season 1 and 2

Terrific non-TV Toys

Season 1

1. Batsignal 3D metal model kit from “The Dark Knight”

2. Batgirl figures by Funko

3. Archie Comics plush toys by Mattel, Applause, Kelly Toys

4. Pretty Changes Barbie by Mattel

5. Batgirl of Burnside figure by Jada Toys

6. “Wizard of Oz” Megos Part 1: Dorothy

7. “Wizard of Oz” Megos Part 2: Witches

8. Wonder Woman 14” figure by Mego

9. Darci doll by Kenner

10. “Wizard of Oz” Megos Part 3: The Boys!

11. “Wizard of Oz” Megos Part 4: The Wizard and Emerald City

12. Snoopy figurines by Enesco

Relive some more great moments from A Hazzard County Christmas with ChunkeyMonkey40's new video

Derek, aka ChunkeyMonkey40 on YouTube, really covers it all in this new video on his YouTube channel, chronicling lots of fun moments from the Hazzard County Christmas at the Shiawassee Harvest Church in Corunna, Michigan, a few weeks back ...

Merry Christmas from BRBTV!!!

We here at BRBTV see a world where good things happen. A world where peace can prevail, amid the turmoil. Where even warring factions backbiting at each other can come together to accomplish great things. Where the human spirit seeks joy and kindness and good things, when it comes right down to it. Are we dreaming? Are we being cynical? No, not at all. That's the world we live in, and the shot below, supplied by our friend Bjørn, expresses that so nicely!

You see, even at the Carrington mansion, between these warring factions, peace and joy and the holiday spirit can prevail!!!

Merry Christmas from BRBTV!!

Image courtesy of Bjørn; see more of his "Dynasty" dollhouse on previous posts of this blog.

TGIF! How about some action figure love? This time, it's all sorts of Super Friends ...

With ole Supes perched on top, it's looking like an amazing collection. And Will Rodgers, author of the BRBTV book "The Ultimate Super Friends Companion," has been compiling Super Friends figures from both Mego and Figures Toy Company for the past few years. Good for him that these companies keep releasing great stuff like this! Keep up with Will on his Facebook pages for the two-volume book set and for the great onetime era of Saturday-morning cartoons.

Photos by Will Rodgers

Please do  not copy without permission