Here’s some hilarious clips featuring the 1978 Fantastic Four animated series with a cameo by none other than the master of magnetism himself. The show only lasted 12 episodes, no doubt due to the lack of the Human Torch — after all, he’s the only member anyone really liked. While there had been a long-running rumor that network executives were worried about kids immolating themselves, the fact of the matter was that Johnny Blaze had been licensed to NBC at the time for a potential pilot that never got picked up. Of course, with amazing scripts like The Menace Of Magneto here, I’m sureno amount of “flame on” could have saved it, and can someone please tell me why every 70’s cartoon villain felt the compulsive need to narrate everything?
Posted by Michael Pinto on Feb 27, 2010 in Star Trek
I came across this amazing video from back in the day showing quite a bit of behind-the-scenes work that went into Star Trek: The Motion Picture back in 1978. The film would be released in 1979 to mixed reviews, but while it wasn’t Star Wars you have to admire the amount of work that went into this film. You also get a glimpse into how making a special effects film was different then: Read more…
I for one didn’t mind the original Battlestar Galactica series, there was s little sci fi on television (and so few choices in retrospect) that a fanboy had to be grateful for what he got. In fact looking back at it there was a high level of craftsmanship given that Galactica was a TV show and not a film. The Cylons are a good example of this: They’re clearly lifted from the Star Wars stormtroopers, but there’s been enough added to make it different. Even the red light swaying back and forth is a nice little touch, they could have just have easily skipped that given the budget. Read more…
What do you want for Christmas? The Ronco Pottery Wheel of course! The Ronco commercials hit their hight in the 70s and was often parodied in Saturday Night Live sketches during that era.
Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 6, 2008 in Television
The cult classic TV show Quark is now available on DVD which is great news for fans of the talented Buck Henry who was co-creator of the original Get Smart show along with Mel Brooks. The 70s were a good time for both science fiction and sitcoms — and Quark put the two together in a very clever way. Now to be fair Woody Allen tackled the genre with the film Sleeper, but Quark was more of a parody of existing shows and movies from Star Trek to Star Wars which made the show a fanboy favorite years before Spaceballs:
