Holy 50th Birthday Batman ’66!

Batman 1966 Adam West Burt Ward

The Batman ’66 TV series premiered 50 years ago today!

BAM!  POW!  ZAP!!!

These words first appeared on television screens across the United States on January 12, 1966 as renowned comedian Frank Gorshin menaced Gotham City as “The Riddler“.  Advertised as “in color”, this campy take on the superhero genre was chock-full of pop culture references, celebrity cameos, and social commentary.  The result was a series that became an overnight pop culture sensation leading to the phrase that the top pop culture influences of the 1960’s were “the Beatles, Bond, and Batman.”

The series even spawned a 1966 feature film that pitted the Caped Crusaders against FOUR of their greatest foes!  (Sadly, Julie Newmar was unavailable due to filming commitments and so Lee Meriwether took over the role of Catwoman.)

The series also put forth some of the most memorable super villain performances in genre history.  From the aforementioned Frank Gorshin as the Riddler to Burgess Meredith as the DEFINITIVE Penguin to Caesar Romero’s laughing “Crown Prince of Crime” version of the Joker the series had no shortage of “criminal charisma.”

While many fans today might decry the show as “goofy” or “cheesy” there is an artistic brilliance to the series that cannot be denied.  From its vibrant use of color (in 1968 only 25% of US households owned a color TV), it’s pop culture sensibilities, and the calibre of the celebrity guest villains, Batman was unlike anything that had hit the screens before and it made overnight sensations out of its leading duo Adam West and Burt Ward. Airing two nights a week with each story divided by a cliffhanger, audiences were powerless to resist the power of the Dynamic Duo. Continue reading

RIP John Stephenson – voice of Hawk, Dr. Quest, and more

George Stephenson

Rest in peace, John Stephenson.

General Hawk, General Franks, Dr. Benton Quest, Doggy Daddy, Mr. Slate– these are all characters that were brought to life by the incredibly talented John Stephenson.  The voice actor passed away on Friday May 15, 2015 at the age of 91.

His career spanned an impressive 57 years in the entertainment industry with his first credited role listed in 1953 and his last in 2010.  Before his move to voice acting he was a prolific character actor in the early days of television with appearances on notable series such as The Lone Ranger, F Troop, The Beverly Hillbillies, Get Smart, Perry Mason, and even Hogan’s Heroes. He was also the voice that announced the verdicts at the end of episodes of the popular series Dragnet.

Later, he moved to voice acting and was possibly the most-used talent at Hanna-Barbera Studios providing voices for Fred Flintstone’s boss Mr. Slate, Doggy Daddy, and was the original voice for Dr. Benton Quest on Jonny Quest before the role was assumed by the late Don Messick.  His IMDB page lists over 230 acting credits.

Eventually John Stephenson went to work on many of the Sunbow animated series that fans of JBL are familiar with– providing the voices for such characters as General Hawk (substitute in “The Spy Who Rooked Me”), General Franks, General Flagg, Dr. Lucifer, Granak, Kup, Thundercracker, and Huffer for G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, Inhumanoids, and The Transformers.

In his final years he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and had been living in a retirement home.

Rest in peace, John.  Thank you for all the hours of entertainment you’ve given us. Your talents will be missed.

G.I. Joe: Renegades on hiatus…

Justin over at GeneralsJoes.com has some bad news for fans of the current animated Joe series airing on Hasbro’s HUB network:

G.I. Joe: Renegades

Well, consider the unfortunate news confirmed.  I spoke with Public Relations at The Hub, and they have confirmed that G.I. Joe: Renegades will cease airing original episodes after the summer.  They have declared the series “On Hiatus” in anticipation of the upcoming film sequel.

This sounds remarkably similar to the situation with Transformers: Animated after the third season, as it was phased out in favor for a style closer to the live action Transformers films.  Considering how much stronger fan support Renegades seem to generate, especially when compared to the Rise of Cobra film, this is a disappointing turn of events, to say the least.

Let’s all hope that the next live action film franchise is closer to the spirit of A Real American Hero than the previous film was, so the animation doesn’t potentially suffer for it.  The entire text of the communication from The Hub is below.

You can read the rest of the news, including a quote from Hub’s PR department over at GeneralsJoes.com.

It would seem that the creative direction of the G.I. Joe franchise is once again at the mercy of Paramount Pictures.

(A big thanks to Justin for all of his hard work digging up the facts on this.)

G.I.Joe Renegades Character Bio’s Revealed!

Discovery Channel has released more info on G.I.Joe Renegades with character bio’s and more.  Go on over here to check it out!  WARNING:  Text contains potential spoilers about the series.  G.I. Joe: Renegades debuts on October 10, 2010 on the Hub Network.

(Credit to The Terrordrome and General’sJoes for  the info.)

Hasbro’s HUB schedule posted!

Hasbro & Discovery Channel present The HubThe Hub, the joint venture between Hasbro and Discover Channel, left me a bit perplexed when it was announced.  After all, the only programs I could think of were “G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero” and the original “Transformers”– what was going to occupy the rest of the broadcast day?  Well, according to TFormers.com, the Hub will be occupying quite a bit of my minimal viewing time with ARAH reruns, Transformers: Prime, Transformers: Beast Wars, and one of my all-time favorite sci-fi series Farscape!  Better yet, three of those shows will form a solid block starting at 11pm EST every weeknight!  Add in the forthcoming G.I. Joe: Renegades series and I just might be in TV heaven!

Check out the schedule:

Weekdays (All Times Eastern)

6 AM: Time Warp Trio
6:30 AM: Kenny the Shark
7 AM – Jem
7:30 AM – Saddle Club
8 AM – My Little Pony and Friends
8:30 AM – Strawberry Shortcake

Pre-school (ages 2-5; 9 AM – 1 PM)

9 AM – Peep and the Big Wide World
9:15 AM -SamSam
9:30 AM – Maryoku Yummy
9:45 AM – The Babaloos
10 AM – The WotWots
10:30 AM – Fraggle Rock
11 AM – Romper Room
11:30 AM – The Hoobs
12 PM – Animal Mechanicals
12:30 PM- Bigfoot Presents: Meteor and the Mighty Monster Trucks

Continue reading

Q & A Round 3 2010 Answers!

Hasbro's Q & A sessions

Hasbro returned their answers to your questions from Round 3 of the bi-monthly GIJoe Q&A. 

1) In the past we the fans have been able to utilize the Q & A as a way to express to the Joe design team what characters we would like for them to bring back to figure form, What is the best way for us to get that message out to them now?

A-N/A

2) Is the POC line (or a new theme line) going to continue alongside the Cartoon line until the Joe Movie II line starts?
A-2) The Pursuit of Cobra line will end when the G.I. Joe Renegades line hits stores. Unfortunately it is still too early to discuss a line in support of any possible movie sequel.

3) Can tell us anything more about this new cartoon, like are they going to stick to the core of the original characters or are we going to see more gender and race swapping. Are you going to keep dynamics like Flint & Lady Jaye?

A-3) G.I. Joe Renegades can be viewed as an origins story for the 1980’s G.I. Joe vs. Cobra saga. In this way, the core essence and spirit of the brand and key characters will be clearly recognizable in the show to fans of the 1980’s. But as with most “re-imaginings” there may be some differences versus the 80’s.

Discuss these answers in the forums!