Area 57

There are scores of TV pilots announced annually but very, very few of the ones actually shot ever see the light of day. Most often, this is a good thing, as in the case of the aborted Fox revival of MISTER ED from 2004 that featured Sherman Hemsley as the horse and virtually nothing but off-color jokes! Even the writer/producer committed suicide! What were they thinking?

Today, though, we're talking about one of those that might actually have worked given time. AREA 57 was a 2007 sitcom pilot with a sci-fi twist. Like this year's WONDER WOMAN, it got some big buzz but then was not picked up.

AREA 57 tells the story of a new man assigned to a top secret military base (a la Area 51) where he is dumbfounded to discover that the US government has been holding a captured alien for observation for four decades. Just as he's finally about to see his new charge comes word that the alien has died. The base is to be quickly torn down and all the men reassigned, much to their joy. Then our hero accidentally revives the alien, thus endearing himself to no one.

When the two finally do meet, we see some vague binding but the alien is a trickster who loves to play havoc with his captors, thus setting up the type of relationship that would presumably continue as the series progressed.

The worst part of AREA 57 was, perhaps surprisingly, the alien. The casting of Paul Ruebens as the alien was considered quite a coup and the man who made Pee Wee would certainly seem a good choice. But he doesn't nail it. The alien makeup is only slight, making him look like a bald, slightly deformed human. His smugness and odd delivery was on the right track but needed refining if we were to sympathize with him at all.

What does work are the other three main members of the cast. The protagonist, a fresh-faced military man all neatly trimmed and clean shaven is, in spot of the resemblance...NOT this guy (Russell Tovey from the BBC's BEING HUMAN).

In fact, he is THIS guy---Matthew Lillard! Shaggy from the Scooby-Doo live action films! As John Lovitz' Master Thespian used to say, "ACTING!" Lillard brings the right amount of naiveté and charm to his role but doesn't really offer much in the way of military authority.

On the other hand, Bruce McGill as the base's General is perfect. He's gruff but absent-minded, eccentric, oblivious and long-accepting of his fate--similar to M*A*S*H's Col. Henry Blake. I kept looking at this actor and his oh-so-familiar and comfortable face but I couldn't place him. Finally I looked him up. Oh my gosh! D-Day from NATIONAL LAMPOON'S ANIMAL HOUSE!

Finally we have GLEE's Jane Lynch in the role of the General's aide. Continuing the M*A*S*H connection, her character is essentially Radar, anticipating and protecting the General so he can pay more attention to his golf game.

Would AREA 57 have been a good series? Obviously there's no way to tell. I definitely would have ordered a second pilot and retooled the alien makeup and characterization. If it had been successful, though, would we have had Ms. Lynch on the mega-popular GLEE? Would we have had GLEE? Would we have had the stage revival of Pee Wee Herman that Ruebens achieved last year? Things, as they say, happen the way they're meant to happen...and AREA 57, the series, was simply not to be.

Review-Flesh by Skip Williamson

The "ME DECADE" wasn't called that by accident. Around here, as a teenager, it seemed pretty normal to me but in grown-up circles all across the land, the seventies were most certainly crazy, hedonistic times.

Artist/designer/cartoonist and underground comix pioneer Skip Williamson has written a memoir of surviving the decade where excess was expected and applauded in spite of its inherent dangers. Not for the faint-hearted and most definitely NSFW in these more conservative times, FLESH follows Skip out of the undergrounds and into big business, working at GALLERY, HUSTLER and, most importantly, PLAYBOY. There's no build-up, no back-story and no preparation. We take whatever our preconceived notions of the protagonist might be--if any--and then get to know the real Skip as we read along.

We see Skip working at GALLERY, originally a note-for-note rip-off of PLAYBOY. We follow the folks behind GALLERY through some shady Chicago shenanigans. These end up with strip club owner Larry Flynt being brought in to save the mag but ending up creating his own skin-mag, HUSTLER, instead…and taking Skip to be HUSTLER's first Art Director…briefly. All along the way, there are more and more shady characters, perhaps perpetuating the myth that everyone in Chicago business or politics has mob connections…or perhaps proving it not to be a myth after all!

And there are drugs. Lots of mind-altering substances of one sort or another. And sex. To read this, one might think that it was almost expected that men and women would just casually sleep with one another in the seventies. Well, in some circles, it kind of was! Again, hedonism was the order of the day--Disco, Cocaine and casual sex was everywhere--not just in New York and Hollywood! When reading about the seventies, one should never be judgmental. It might have looked more like today than the sixties--in spite of the leisure suits---but it was very much a different world.

Women play a major role in Skip's story and, in some cases, his descriptions are quite creatively pornographic. There's also unvarnished reports of startling violence, a somewhat bitter rant on the worthlessness of people and a uniquely insider view of the workings of PLAYBOY in that weird time between its biggest success and its later attempts at a comeback.

Speaking of PLAYBOY, Hef is one of the few characters, Skip himself included, who comes across relatively unscathed in FLESH. Among the other cast members of Skip's life in the seventies who put in appearances are Harvey Kurtzman, Robert Crumb, Jay Lynch, Grass Green, Bette Midler, Barry Manilow, Stiv Bators and Deborah Harry. Not a one of them is as interesting as some of our hero's lesser-known but often more-screwed-up pals and co-workers.

FLESH is only available as an E-book for Kindle but at only $2.99. There are unfortunately a lot of typos and misspellings in some areas along with some repetition that a good editor would have caught. It's a quick read, though, and well worth the price. The flaws actually add to it in a way, making you feel like you're just sitting around with the man who brought the world Snappy Sammy Smoot while he regales you with sordid but true tales of debauchery and survival as only a truly good storyteller can relate them.

What's that you say? You don't have Kindle? Neither did I but Amazon has FREE Kindle apps that one can download for Mac, PC, IPhone, Blackberry or other forums! That's FREE! And the books are inexpensive. If E-books are truly the wave of the future, may I suggest you try them out with Skip Williamson's FLESH!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=sa_menu_karl3?ie=UTF8&docId=1000493771

Review--One From the Hart-Stefanie Powers

Longtime readers will recall that the very first celebrity I ever wrote a fan letter to and heard back from was Stefanie Powers. That was in 1972. I had enjoyed her on THE GIRL FROM U.N.C.L.E. in the sixties and then followed her as she guest-starred in just about every TV series I enjoyed during the period immediately after that.

Recently I picked up a used copy of Ms. Powers' memoir, the rather obviously entitled ONE FROM THE HART. It's not a bad book per se...but perhaps a better title would have been THE WILLIAM HOLDEN STORY.

Stefanie took up with the older actor, Holden, in the early seventies and they bonded over a love of wild animals and Africa. While there is no doubt that the relationship radically transformed who she was, there are times here where one learns much more about William Holden than about Stefanie Powers. Holden's alcoholism was a continuing issue and eventually drove an insurmountable wedge between them but, even after his death, our heroine managed to carry on his conservation efforts in Africa.

Oh and there's also quite a bit about her life and a comparative little about her career before and after William Holden...but not as much really as you'll find on her website.

ONE FROM THE HART--If you're a Stefanie Powers fan, it's a quick read that you'd probably enjoy but I definitely recommend if you're a fan of William Holden.

Captain Marvel, Jr. Ad--Miscolored

Memo from 194o-something:

Attention all Fawcett colorists! Please read our comics from time to time in order to determine what color costumes to give to which Marvels. For the record...Junior's should be BLUE. Thanks!

June Update--Booksteve's Rarities

It's almost halfway through the month and it occurs to me that I've yet to point out some highlights from the June update at BOOKSTEVE'S RARITIES.

SPECTRE (1977)

Stars Robert Culp, Gig Young and Majel Barrett. Renowned criminologist and occult investigator William Sebastian recruits his old friend, Dr. Hamilton, to aid him in his current case. The sister of a prominent British businessman, believes her brother is dabbling in the black arts. Rare made-for-TV movie.

MR. LUCKY: The Television Series

This seven-disc box set does not offer every episode (we’re missing two), but it‘s as close as we can get to offering you the complete TV series. Created by Blake Edwards, with Henry Mancini’s music, the same men responsible for PETER GUNN, it will come as no surprise that this was also a spin-off of a character that was featured in a former PETER GUNN episode. We now offer 32 of the 34 episodes ever produced! $35

1953 FORD ANNIVERSAY SPECIAL

On June 15, 1953, the Ford Motor Company celebrated their 50th Anniversary with a television special. A wide variety of musical and comedy performers include Mary Martin, Ethel Merman, Kukla, Fran and Ollie, and Marian Anderson. This program aired on CBS and NBC, marking how special and spectacular the automobile firm wanted this to be!

THE TAXI BOYS: The Complete Series

All ten classic film shorts from the Hal Roach film studio. Masters of slapstick, Ben Blue and Billy Gilbert, star in a series of comedies from 1932 to 1933, which are just as hilarious (if not funnier) than Laurel and Hardy and The Little Rascals. This two-disc set contains all ten shorts.

What Price Taxi? (1932)

Strange Interlude (1932)

Hot Spot (1932)

Taxi For Two (1932)

Bring ‘em Back A Wife (1932)

Wreckety Wrecks (1933)

Taxi Barons (1933)

Call Her Sausage (1933)

The Rummy (1933)

Thundering Taxis (1933)

ELMER, THE GREAT (1933)

One of the few Joe E. Brown films not yet on DVD. Elmer does not want to leave Gentryville, because Nellie is the one that he loves. Even when Mr. Wade of the Chicago Cubs comes to get him, it is only because Nellie spurns him that he goes. As always, Elmer is the king of batters and he wins game after game. When gamblers get into the picture, and the World Series begins, the comic situations get more comical. This was Gale Gordon’s first film, and watch out for a young Jane Wyman, also un-credited, as a game spectator. This was her second film.

DOG EAT DOG (1963)

This Yugoslavia movie features Jayne Mansfield (yes, it’s English dubbed). Three thieves rip off a shipment of used money being sent back to the U.S. As they are escaping the robbery, after having taken a hostage, they wind up on an island in a hotel with an apparently crazed manager and a building full of demented residents. Mansfield was four months pregnant with her daughter Mariska Hargitay at the time this movie was made.

Silver Age Sub-Mariner Splash Page Sundays # 17

It's the summer of '69 and this issue's splash has a very cinematic look. Imagine the opening shot of the villain with his narration whilst you hear others speaking in the background. Then, slowly, the camera moves in on them and we see it's Namor and Dorma in the throne room discussing court intrigue.

Art here is credited to Marie again but also co-credited to one Jay Hawk. Hawk was, in actuality, Jack Katz, a veteran comic artist with a unique scratchy style and recognizable faces on most of his characters. The blue guy here, at least, would seem to have a Katz face.

Jack would never really make it in mainstream Silver Age comics or beyond but he would become a pioneering independent comics publisher when he serialized his own sci-fi epic graphic novel, THE FIRST KINGDOM starting in the mid-seventies.

No idea why he used a pseudonym here but Esposito, as inker, continued to use his also. What, no one wanted to be associated with Subby?

Worst Comic Ad Ever?

"Okay, these comic strip-stye ads are hot right now so we want to try one. Make sure you hire an artist who can't draw, preferably a twelve year old. Make sure they're terrible at faces, perspectives, proportions and especially fashions! Oh! And the lettering! Please be sure to get someone to letter it who squeezes way too many words into each panel! THAT should get the public's attention!"