VH1: "Where Are They Now? TV Heroes & Villains"

[Squishy]

Want to feel older than dirt?

From ComicsContinuum:

"VH1 will take a look at actors and actresses who played comic-book characters on television in "Where Are They Now?: TV Heroes & Villains."

The one-hour show will premiere on Monday at 10 p.m.

Featured in the show are Nicholas Hammond from The Amazing Spider-Man; Burt Ward, Eartha Kitt, Frank Gorshin and Lee Meriwether from Batman, Judy Strangis from ElectraWoman and DynaGirl, Joanna Cameron from Isis; Michael Gray and Jackson Bostwick from Shazam!; Lou Ferrigno from The Incredible Hulk; and Dick Durock from Swamp Thing.

Here's how the network describes the show:

"For more than fifty years, comic book heroes have made the leap to the silver and the small screen. In the process, characters like Batman, Spider- Man and The Incredible Hulk -- as well as their evil nemeses-have become part of our popular culture, while the actors who portrayed them have come to embody the super-human qualities of their famous roles. VH1's Where Are They Now?: TV Heroes & Villains tracks down these on-screen comic book crusaders to bring you up to date on the person behind the mask. In exclusive interviews we'll hear what it's like to play a legendary hero -- or a villain bent on ruling the world. We'll learn how it feels to possess super-human power, even if it is only movie magic. We'll also find out where the superheroes of the past have landed and what happens when the tights come off and the world of fantasy is left behind."

[peter johnson]

I've only ever spent time with Mr. Burt Ward.  I found him a very friendly and humourous individual, ready with a quip or a story.
I need no help in feeling older than dirt . . . I just turned 47 . . .
peter johnson

[Scott]

Peter, how have you been? Still doing theater? I heard that the original Batman and Robin will be doing a new movie together of their famous characters.

[peter johnson]

Oh, yeah, still doing theatre -- film, radio, anything I can get --
You can still hear me most Thursday nights -- we do a new one every 2 weeks now -- on www.radio1190.org   "Play With Your Radio -- at 6:30pm Mountain Time.
We got an extra-special one coming up on April 24 with live bands, a live studio audience, etc. & 2 scripts.
New live show this Thursday -- Hope you tune in --
peter johnson

[JohnL]

>Peter, how have you been? Still doing theater? I heard that the original Batman
>and Robin will be doing a new movie together of their famous characters.

Are you talking about Back to the Batcave? If so, I think it already aired.

[Squishy]

Yes, "Return To The Batcave; The Misadventures of Adam and Burt" (as it was ultimately titled) has already aired; unfortunately, it didn't do very well in the ratings, but perhaps it will come out on video.

Is it me, or does the "MSN Butterfly" seem to be based on Patrick Warburton's "The Tick?"

[Squishy]

S***! How did THIS slip under my Bat-Radar?

I hadn't even HEARD of "The Specials" until I glanced at the telly schedule and saw it was already on. Dammit dammit dammit! With a description like "X-Men" meets "Spinal Tap," I was SO into it--but had to stop watching, because I'd already missed the first twenty minutes or so. (Besides: after "Trapped: Buried Alive" and MST3K's "The Touch of Satan," I'm lucky my eyeballs still work.)

It seems to be, unlike "Mystery Men," what I hoped a "Flaming Carrot" movie would be like. Ut!

Scary part: one character is the spitting image of Nightcrawler. Sure, the version in "X-2" has the tail and the facial texturing and weird digits and so on, but "The Specials" did almost the same damn thing on a shoestring.

Anyone seen it in its entirety? Reviews are mixed, but the quotes I read from the IMDB entry (linked above) are pretty damned funny...

[Scott]

Oh, I didn't know the Batman thing played already.

Peter is that a national broadcast? I'm on the East Coast.

[Vermin Boy]

I caught The Specials on TV a few months ago. Not a perfect movie, but a really fun little indie film that I was amazed I hadn't heard of as well. Possibly the most interesting thing is that you never see the heroes in action at all-- the movie focuses entirely on the characters. The ad for the Specials' action figures was one of the funniest things I've ever seen. Oh, yeah, and it was written by James "Tromeo & Juliet" Gunn, back when he was still cool; he has a role, as does his brother Sean (who played Sammy Capulet in T&J).

[JohnL]

I watched The Specials the other night. I liked it, but I couldn't help feeling like these were just a bunch of delusional people who really didn't have any powers at all. I know it was REAL low budget, but it would have helped if they'd shown them using their powers at least briefly (I mean other than at the very end), just to establish their characters.

[peter johnson]

This Specials thing sounds like a hoot -- I have been seeing some VERY awful films recently -- see later post --
Scott, & anyone else, oh, yes, all my radio stuff is internet simulcast, so if you've got speakers on the ol' computer, sure thing you can hear us.
I don't know now if I'm in this week's episode -- we've had SO much snow out here lately -- 51" in Boulder, I am not making that up, you can look it up -- so they're probably running a rerun as it's too hard to get us all into the snowbound studio.
BUT, when it comes back on full-time live, yes, you can always hear it at www.radio1190.org at 6:30pm, Mountain Time, on Thursday nights.  Listen this week anyway, 'cause even if it is a rerun, chances are good it would be one I worked on.
Yours in Radio Prison
peter johnson

[Squishy]

Well, saw the VH1 special; nice to see clips of many of my old favorite superhero shows, but it was depressing to see Jackson Bostwick, the guy who played Captain Marvel, now living the life of Ted Nugent or a character from "The Giant Spider Invasion;" livin' in a backwoods shack, shootin' stuff, and lookin' cranked-up. (Though, in all honesty, the program editor didn't make him look very good; lots of repeated shots of him shootin' his iron agin' and agin'. Yee haw. His list of roles is scary, too. Peek at the IMDB!)

"I love
tick-infested hounds,
slaughterin' deer,
and beer."
--Mike & The Bots

The guy who played Billy Batson is the florist to the Osbournes. (As seen in the gratuitous clip. "Hey, Sharon--it's Shazam!") Burt Ward is an animal rescuer and special effects artist, and "DynaGirl" now only does voice-work because of a stalker (!!!). (A damn shame, because she's quite attractive, and now she looks legal.) Joanna "O Mighty Isis!" Cameron is golfing a lot.  

I never knew Eartha Kitt got blacklisted for speaking out against the Vietnam War; she had to move to Europe, where, in many places, political thought and speech are still genuinely free. (My, how some stuff never changes.)

Wow, we've come a long way from 1977's "Spider-Man," haven't we? Lonnnnng way.

Hopefully, we'll come a lot way with "Shazam!" too.  William Goldman (novelist and screenwriter, author of "Marathon Man," "Magic," "A Bridge Too Far," "The Princess Bride," "Heat," and the screenplays of "Misery" and "Dreamcatcher") will be writing. I have hoped for this one, and have high hopes for it.

[peter johnson]

Re.  Eartha Kitt:  You've heard the old saw:  If the left does it it's a boycott/If the right does it it's a blacklist . . .
I think it may boil down to racism more than politics, plus the vagaries of showbiz.  A similar thing happened to Cliff Robertson over labour issues.  And, of course, the cancelling of the Smothers Brothers.  Anyway, Kitt still works here, as well as Europe.  Re.  Europe being freer -- well, potatoe/potato.  I'm over there quite a bit, & get to read their ongoing intercene squabbles in their local presses. They get overwrought and sensitive about different issues, and people bear the consequences of their actions/positions there too.  Freedom of speech does not imply we all have to like what you say.  Kitt got bit primarily because she confronted Lyndon Johnson personally and wouldn't leave him alone. She was, not without cause, perceived at the time in some circles as a crazed stalker, perhaps dangerous to the President.  She got more flack for her perceived insanity/danger potential than her political views.  It was more a matter of manner than content, not that that excuses her not being hired as much.  Let us now weep for Sean Young . . .
When I knew Burt, he was a stockbroker.  Animal rescue & special effects sound soooo much better!!
peter johnson

[Squishy]

Yes, I've seen that "Mallard Fillmore" cartoon. Very heavy.

Heavy in the same way Bill O'Reilly wailed like a baby about his sponsors being threatened with boycotts--crying censorship--the same week he proudly announced that a similar campaign (spearheaded by himself) got rapper Ludicris kicked off a "Pepsi" TV-ad campaign. Or the way "Dr." Laura's fans were enraged to find her own boycott tactics used against her...suddenly turnabout wasn't fair play after all.

There's a big difference between a boycott by the general public and a blacklist by individuals or tiny groups. It's the same difference as between a public vote and having a candidate selected by politicos in some back room.

[peter johnson]

Oh, gee whiz, that was an old joke long before Mallard . . .
I do get the distinction you're making here, but I'm not sure it always holds true across the board.  But then, what does? . . .
peter johnson