Five Random Action Figures, Part 41!
Welcome to the latest edition of Five Random Action Figures. I hope you appreciate the seasonally-appropriate setting in these photos. You owe me 10 ounces of sweat and 12 ounces of bug spray.
King Sphinx
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (1993)
King Sphinx is an interesting cat. If you’re like me and you only casually followed Power Rangers, you might’ve assumed that he was a major recurring villain during the first few seasons. In fact, not counting happenstance cameos, King Sphinx only appeared on the “proper” series once!
So, why do we have such strong memories of King Sphinx? As it turns out, he also appeared in the initially-unaired pilot episode, which was later released as The Lost Episode.
Since that pilot served as the inspiration for so many different MMPR-related products, King Sphinx turned up on everything from window clings to storybook covers. For that first year or so, he was on as much stuff as Goldar.
Speaking of Goldar, King Sphinx kinda looks like his final evolution. Or like King Tut mixed with a Terror Dog. I’m cool with either. Read More…
Dino Drac’s July Funpack is here!
Dino Drac’s July 2017 Funpack is a very special edition, and not just because it includes a rubber shark head.
July’s box marks the three year anniversary of Dino Drac’s Funpacks — which means that you have effectively extended this site’s shelf life for three full years! (Assuming you are or have been a subscriber, that is.)
So uh… wanna go for four?
If you’re new to this Funpack biz, they’re $25 a month (including shipping) and you can cancel via Paypal at any time. For as long as you remain subscribed, you’ll keep getting new boxes of old nonsense each and every month!
The July 2017 Funpack includes everything from old advertising mascots to even older Superman trading cards, and even a bag of cheese curls fronted by a menacing bee.
If that’s all you need to hear, skip to the bottom for ordering info. Otherwise, keep reading to learn about everything you’ll receive in this month’s box! Read More…
Opening a box of Gremlins Cereal from 1984!
I know I’ve written about Gremlins Cereal several times before, but I swear, I have a really good reason to do it again.
See, that isn’t any ordinary Gremlins Cereal box. No, that one is STILL SEALED.
…or at least, it was until a few hours ago. As soon as I cracked that sucker open, the birds chirped louder and it completely stopped raining. If you’re in the New York metropolitan area: You’re fuckin’ welcome.
I know you’re dying to see what 33-year-old corn looks like, but first let me remind you what Gremlins Cereal was, and why it was so important to the kid version of me.
Released in 1984, Gremlins Cereal was one of the first cereals I absolutely had to have. I was barely old enough to string coherent sentences together, but I somehow still communicated my intense need for this cereal.
I didn’t see Gremlins until it hit videocassette, but I was still obsessed with that movie from Day One. I’d watch the TV spots and struggle to comprehend the blithe cruelty of a world that’d put something so adorable (Gizmo) in the same place as something so terrifying (Gremlins).
The point is, I was eating Gremlins Cereal months before I’d ever even seen the movie. Gizmo’s hold over me was just that strong. Excluding the model swimming pool from Christmas Vacation, I can’t think of another fictional movie “item” I’ve ever wanted more. Read More…
Five Retro TV Commercials, Part 19!
Get set for another edition of Five Retro TV Commercials, because I know you’re dying to see Charlie Brown sell life insurance. You’re so ironic.
Nickelodeon Sweepstakes Promo! (1986)
Here we had Nickelodeon bragging about its many on-air giveaways. If you shipped out 6000 skateboards or whatever, you’d brag too.
There are serious treasures hiding in here. Let’s start with the offbeat series of prizes Nick chose to feature, which included a goddamned Rock Lords figure. The fact that Nickelodeon’s in-house graphics team spent two weeks making a Rock Lords figure fly out of a cartoon cash register will forever be my happy thought.
Then there’s a message from a lucky girl who won one of Nickelodeon’s Super Toy Runs, where kids went to Toys “R” Us and took home as many free toys as they could demonstrably eat. Or something to that effect.
(That shot of her surrounded by ‘80s toys is glorious, even if I don’t understand why she wanted 10 identical Lights Alive picture makers.)
We were also reminded that some kids won an opportunity to run through the Double Dare obstacle course, a prize that by 1986 standards may have been even more falsetto-worthy than a toy store shopping spree. Read More…