Riding the Retro Metro: Wednesday Apr.12, 1978!

Redartz: Excellent; you're just in time for our latest retro road trip ! Grab a seat and hang on, we're headed back to the Spring of 1978; a heady time indeed.   The US Senate is debating returning the Panama Canal (to Panama, of course), Volkswagen has just started manufacturing cars in the US, and Woody Allen's "Annie Hall" has won big at the Academy Awards. Also, a certain trio of singing brothers are on top of the world. and they're on top of the  US Billboard Hot 100:  The Bee Gees, with  "Night Fever"

Rounding out the top five: 
2. The Bee Gees, "Stayin' Alive"
3. Eric Clapton, "Lay Down Sally"
4. Barry Manilow, "Can't Smile Without You"
5. Yvonne Elliman, "If I Can't Have You"


The brothers Gibb are responsible for three of the top five songs this week (writing and producing Yvonne Elliman's song); they seem to be giving the 1964 Beatles some competition in the area of chart domination. However, some other residents of the top 40  hold more interest for me. Among them:   Jackson Browne, "Running on Empty"- a great song proving that the singer/songwriter is alive and well in the disco era. Andy Gibb, "Love is Thicker Than Water"- yes, another Gibb brother. But this song is really sharp, a bit more soulful than some other Gibb compositions, in my opinion. John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John, "You're the One That I Want"- a dynamic duet from the two stars of that other popular film out now: "Grease".  Sweet, "Love is Like Oxygen"- yet another cool offering from the British glam gang; and one of the more unusual metaphors you'll hear for love...

Tops in the UK:  Brian and Michael, "Matchstalk Men and Matchstalk Cats and Dogs" (love that title)

Yes, there are plenty of riches on the music charts today. But this high schooler wants to know about tonight's tv; what say you? And since we have the schedule right here, let's have a look...

US Television Schedule:
 ABC:  Eight is Enough, Charlie's Angels, Starsky and Hutch

 

Being a red-blooded American teenager, I never miss "Charlie's Angels". Farrah Fawcett, Jaclyn Smith and Kate Jackson star, and of course everyone has their favorite Angel- mine is Kate. No contest. And lots of folks follow up with Paul Michael Glaser and David Soul as "Starsky and Hutch". Also featuring the two cops' favorite informant, the inimitable "Huggy Bear", and a bright red Ford Gran Torino.

Cast of "Good Times"

CBS:  Good Times, Syzsnyk, The CBS Wednesday Night Movies
Just what exactly is "Syzsnyk", anyway?

 













 


NBC:  The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams, Black Sheep Squadron, Police Woman
My parents liked to catch "Grizzly Adams", and sometimes Black Sheep Squadron. When I occasionally declined to watch the Angels, I'd watch the Squadron. Robert Conrad stars as the leader of a group of WWII fighter pilots. I have a good friend who is absolutely nuts for this show...












BBC1:  The Wednesday Film: Track of Thunder, Miss Scotland 1978, The Budget, The Hong Kong Beat, Sportsnight

BBC2:  Mr. Smith Propagates Plants, Newsday, Brass Tacks, Call My Bluff, Midweek Cinema: Broadway Melody of 1940


Oh, by the way, it's Wednesday: new comic day! And since we have plenty of change (unfortunately thirty five cent comics prohibit the purchase of more than two books for a dollar, but so it  goes), lets check out the Spinner Racks:

Oh, I have to pick up a bunch of these. Starting with the two Treasury editions (that Batman collection is a gem, a couple of great Neal Adams tales just as a start). In Avengers we're continuing to see the members disappearing; that book is incredible lately. Then I'll take the first issue of DC Comics Presents: Superman teamups, starting with a race against the Flash-  a good start, and Garcia-Lopez art too. Red Sonja has a great cover, but so does that Showcase with Hawkman by Kubert. Showcase was a cool 'tryout' book in the Silver age, and I'm enjoying the 70's incarnation as well. Defenders has Spider-man; that has to be good reading. Finally, "Doorway to Nightmare" is a treat for the eyes, and those Kaluta covers grab me every time. It's nice to pick up something a little different now and then.

Well, my funds are now shot, and time is about up for today. Anyway, I need to get home and finish up some homework; don't want to mess up graduation next month with unfinished projects. So it's back on the retro and forward to our future present once again. Hope we roused a few memories, and a few smiles. Until next trip, adios!

Two Questions: Ampersand Cops and Character Choice Flops!

Martinex1: Hope you all are having a great week! Today let's dive into two series of questions that have been floating around in my head - one focused on comics and the other on television!  I am curious to hear what you have to say.  Cheers!


Martinex1: (Editor's Note):  This week, for the first time in 63 attempts we had a suggestion for our Tuesday Follow the Leader discussion that conflicted with a column we had planned.  Our friend and frequent commentator Colin Jones said, "Who were the most annoying Bronze Age characters that should have been killed off (permanently)? I'm mainly thinking of comics but you can also include TV shows, Cartoons, film, etc."    He then went on to mention some of his least favorites... "Aunt May, Odin, The original X-Men, Magneto, Red Skull (etc)..."


While today's column does not go so far as to want characters to die, we are asking a question (#1 below) that  discusses characters we don't like and the impact of not liking that character.   Although, not exactly the same query, I thought it was close enough in spirit that we might share our general dislike about certain characters in one column rather than two so we don't repeat and offend all of the BitBA fans.  Our posts are usually planned well in advance (well at least an hour or in this case about a week).  We appreciate Colin offering up a different topic on Tuesday. 


So in the spirit of Colin's original comment if you would like to discuss actually killing off annoying characters, please do so.  Here in it's entirety... are the questions for today's post as we originally intended.



Question #1:  We have discussed before how a change in a creative team has prevented us from buying a comic book (or after a small sampling we changed our purchasing decision). But what about a character change?   Has a change in roster on a team or the inclusion of a certain character (or dismissal of another) caused you to remove the comic book from your "buy" list?  And vice versa has a certain character being included caused you to try a title you had not before?

For me, there were a few characters that just rubbed me the wrong way.  I did not jump ship when Angel replaced Cyclops in the X-Men (probably because Byrne and Claremont were still involved) but I did not like that development.  I understood Cyclops leaving after the Dark Phoenix events, but it really felt like they had to shoehorn in an "original" member and the Beast was taken.  Angel never did anything in that run and eventually disappeared.

The New Defenders did not seem like the classic Defenders I knew, so I did not pursue any of the issues with the Beast, Angel, and Moondragon.  But even before that revamp, I skipped every issue that included Daimon Hellstrom.  I just do not like the character and seeing him in the corner box just made me spend my money elsewhere. That combined with Nighthawk not being shown assured my disdain.  Nighthawk was the opposite for me; generally if he showed up I was interested.

Revamping Alpha Flight seemed like a huge misstep.  I never picked up any of their Volume 2, but even prior to that when the team included Box and Talisman, I started to drift away because they did not interest me.

And though an Avengers fan, that roster change in issue #211 really ended my interest for a long while.  And even when I perused future issues, Starfox was somebody that added to my dislike.  The roster below would have been cool but the lothario from Titan irritated me.

Books like Marvel Team-Up and Marvel Two-In-One could be hit or miss; again certain characters in the corner box assured my buying or refusal to buy.  My quarters were too hard earned then and I had to be selective. Here are some I skipped even though the issues themselves may have been spectacular (and in the case of Red Sonja - a classic).

So who don't you  like as a character?  Who drives you away from  a purchase?  Is it a headliner or even a supporting cast member that makes you gag?  Who makes you choose Richie Rich rather than a super-hero mag?



Question #2: Bronze Age television seemed to be rife with police procedurals and detective dramas; we have opined in the past about some of the greats like Columbo and The Rockford Files. But there seemed to be a subset of these shows that starred a seemingly mismatched set of partners.  Of the "partner investigator" shows, which were your favorites and why?  Who got the chemistry just right?

dis

All in the Game: The Milton Bradley Company!

Martinex1: Milton Bradley, the man, was born in 1836 and died in 1911.   He was an entrepreneur and very inventive game designer.  His claim to fame during his life was the creation of the Checkered Game of Life in 1860.  It was precursor to the Game of Life which came 100 years later in 1960 and featured some of the quirky things that many of us remember from our childhood: a clicking spinner, little plastic cars, pink and blue pegs representing people and a winding path through life's big events.   In between, the Milton Bradley Company was formed and was led by a myriad of presidents over the decades.   It had its ups and downs, nearly going bankrupt during the lean depression era and rebounding significantly in the late 1950s and 1960s with the advent of television and the licensing of such characters.   For me, the below symbol was almost as significant as the Marvel and DC logos.

So many childhood hours were spent playing the games from a battered stack of boxes hidden in a basement closet.   Every rainy day, every cold winter night, inside with the siblings, outside on the porch - we played board games with an enthusiasm that I can barely understand today.   From the early kindergarten days of  Chutes and Ladders or Candy Land, to much more strategic play, Milton Bradley seemed to be omnipresent.

Stratego was a grade school favorite with the Spy and Bombs always carefully planted.   Do you remember these boxes?  I sure do.   I still play this with my boys; the game now has better graphics on the pieces but it is exactly the same - simple and fun.

Easy Money was a Monopoly (Parker Brothers) knockoff, but I enjoyed the variation.  And around the 7th Grade this became a frequently played game.

How about these games that had aspects of board games, but took it to another level of skill, steadiness and cunning?

Twister of course had to be very profitable, didn't it?  It was just a sheet of plastic!  I had the children's animal version as well.

Ice Cube?  This was a close friend's favorite but I remember very little.

Battleship got a lot of use at my house.   Pulling all of those pegs out after a game, however, is no fun.  Even to this day,  I dislike resetting after a game of Battleship.

Hangman seems to have similar stylings, but I've honestly never played this version. 

How about these?   Even the classics made a comeback in the Bronze Age with Checkers and Parcheesi.

I wish I had Supercar, but alas it was not to be.

For all of us that are nostalgic for the Bronze Age (all of us... right?), there were these fantastic games.

And for the comic book lovers and super-hero fans, Milton Bradley had quite a share of licensed characters starring in games of all sorts. From card games with some cool art to board games with super stars, Milton Bradley had it all.  And they seemed to roll out new games constantly!

Spider-Man had a board game that I always wanted.   I loved the cover with Thor, Subby, the Hulk, and Iron Man lining up to have a shot.

Captain America had two games over the years.  On the first and original, the good Captain featured the Mandarin and the Destoyer on the game board; that seemed pretty odd.  In the second, the Falcon and the Avengers made appearances.

And there were many more featuring Marvel and DC characters.

Milton Bradley had many games that I did not know even existed.  There are dozens of them that I never came across, but through the wonder of the world wide web I can explore like a ten year old drooling over the department store catalog toy section.

So which games did you enjoy from the Milton Bradley family?  Did these photos bring back memories from neighborhood tournaments?  Or were you game averse and had other interests?  Pull up a chair and share your thoughts.  At the very least, please pipe in if you ever played Starsky and Hutch!  Cheers!