Attack of the 50 Ft. Monster Mania!
I shoulda saved this one for the Halloween season, but whatever. Here’s Attack of the 50 Ft. Monster Mania, a monster movie doc that premiered on AMC back in ‘99:
It covers a LOT of ground, and in particular some very old ground. A documentary about scary movie monsters is my favorite kind of background noise.
If you don’t have time for this one tonight, bookmark it for later. It’s so worth watching. Pleasant, breezy, informative and spooky — it hits all the right notes.
Batman 1989 News Reports!
Here’s a cool collection of news reports from 1989, all about Tim Burton’s Batman:
If you’re too young to remember the Batman blitz, MY GOD was it huge. You can’t compare it to today’s movies, because it went so far beyond financials and praise. If you were a kid in ‘89, your whole life practically revolved around Batman. It just did.
PS: Me and Jay covered Batman 1989 in one of my favorite Purple Stuff episodes, so after you’re done with this, go listen to that!
The Milkman Cometh!
Just a quickie tonight, as I’m currently boxing up Funpacks. Soon as I’m done, I can get to work on some new articles and — finally — the latest episode of The Purple Stuff Podcast.
Here’s another episode of Tales from the Darkside, and I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I think it’s an episode I… haven’t seen before? Wow, is that even possible?
From the show’s third season, it’s The Milkman Cometh, about a magical milkman who can get you anything you want… so long as you’re willing to pay the price.
(There’s some ‘80s star power hiding in this one, too. I SEE YOU, Robert Forster! You too, Chad Allen!)
…and because I know that old TFTD episodes don’t give you guys much to talk about, I’ll go ahead and add a survey:
We’re almost at that point in June where school takes a break for the summer.
Share some summer vacation memories, in the comments!
How did YOU pass the time?
Harry and the Hendersons!
Here’s the first episode of Harry and the Hendersons, from 1991:
Yes, they really did make a weekly sitcom out of the movie.
In the television series, Harry (essentially Bigfoot, in case you didn’t know) keeps on living with the Hendersons, in a house that looks unsettlingly similar to Hayden Fox’s.
The characters are the same but the actors are all different. Most notable is Bruce Davison taking John Lithgow’s place and doing a pretty good job of it.
My strongest memories of this show:
1) At least where I lived, the series aired on Saturday afternoons. I was happy to have something to watch during those bleak hours, but the fact that I was watching TV on a Saturday afternoon at all meant that I was also absurdly bored. Check my old article, Saturday Television of a Misspent Youth, for more about that.
2) The series somehow lasted for three seasons. As I recall, Harry often became a footnote in his own show near the end of it. I can’t remember any episodes where he didn’t appear, but I distinctly recall a few where his appearances were hilariously quick and inconsequential.
