Redartz: Welcome, all, to another eclectic excursion on the Retro Metro! Today we slip back 40 years to 1977: disco is heating things up at the clubs, Jimmy Carter is mellowing out the White House, and comics are now 35 cents US (so now you can no longer get three for your dollar, bummer). Your humble host is a busy high schooler, but not so busy as to lose track of the current pop culture. To wit:
A widely watched show these days is "Starsky and Hutch", a kind of buddy cop show. One of the stars is actor David Soul, who is adding to his resume as a pop singer. And, I might add, a successful one:
Billboard Number One Pop Hit: David Soul, "Don't Give Up on Us"
2. Thelma Houston, "Don't Leave Me This Way"
3. Glen Campbell, "Southern Nights"
4. Eagles, "Hotel California"
5. 10cc, "The Things We Do for Love"
With the exception of 10cc, each song in the top 5 this week will end up hitting the number one position.
It seems every one of my friends has the Eagles' "Hotel California", either on record or 8 track (which is how we usually hear that song, as we cruise around our small mid-western town after school). Great song, and a great album.
Across the Atlantic, another terrific song is getting a lot of airplay. I'm wishing ABBA had the popularity here that they seem to have everywhere else on earth...
Tops in the UK: ABBA, "Knowing Me, Knowing You"
And now we turn our attention to tonight's tv offerings. We grab our dog-eared copy of TV Guide , open it up and find:
US Television Schedule:
ABC: Welcome Back, Kotter; Three's Company, Barney Miller, The Tony Randall Show, Westside Medical
CBS: The Waltons, Hawaii Five-O, Barnaby Jones
NBC: The Fantastic Journey, NBC's Best Sellers
BBC1: Tomorrow's World, Top of the Pops, The Rockford Files, Taste for Adventure, She's Our Queen Too, You Know; Omnibus
BBC2: News on 2 Headlines, Having a Baby, Newsday, Shepherd, Who Was Jesus?
Three's Company draws a lot of viewers, and I watch from time to time. Yet it seems a bit cheesy to me. On the other hand, Barney Miller is always a winner. Excellent ensemble cast.
My folks always tune in Hawaii Five-0 and Barnaby Jones; I will sit in with them sometimes. Barnaby does have a catchy theme song.
Now that show on NBC, The Fantastic Journey: never seen it. Which is a bit surprising, it appears to have some sci-fi aspect...
One of the shows scheduled this evening is Welcome Back, Kotter. By coincidence, that is also represented on the comic spinner rack this week. Let's wander over and see what else is out today:
That Avengers issue is yet another fine effort from Jim Shooter and George Perez. How that book can keep up such a level of quality is beyond me. Great stuff (and an amusing cover). Daredevil has a pretty solid issue this time around, sadly Spider-Man kind of left me cold.
A first issue of note this week is Star Wars. Apparently this will be released as a movie soon by George Lucas (the fellow behind "American Graffiti"). The comic is pretty sharp; one wonders if the film will make much of a splash...
And with that pondering note, we bid goodbye to 1977 and return to the digital age. Hope you enjoyed the trip today; keep your ticket stub for the next ride on the Retro Metro!
