Imponderable Prompts - Which TV Show from the 70s is Your Favorite? - Part 1

Last night, my friend, John, asked me this question:

I was thinking about TV shows from the 70's lately ... which would be your favorite?

To which I quickly replied:

 A more refined prompt is required...and more time to comply with the request. ; )

Seriously, that's such a loaded question!  Sure, some favorites quickly sprang to mind, but to commit them down as favorites, or even to pick one as "my most favorite" is near impossible.  We've got to have some defined parameters first:  

Having been born in 1970, I've got the whole decade to consider.  And a lot of shows from the 60s were rerun in the 70s, when I first saw them. (Lost in Space) Do I include those for contention?  What about shows that originated in the 60s, but were still running in the 70s? (Dark Shadows) Or ones that started in the 70s that I might have still enjoyed in the 80s? (I'm looking at you, David Banner.) Are we talking childhood favorites, or ones that I discovered later in life?  Do I divide by genre (sitcom, drama, or adventure...)?  What about Saturday morning versus Daytime versus Primetime? Do I include British shows like Doctor Who or The Tomorrow People, etc.?

Whew, this is going to be tough, but a fun challenge nonetheless...

Comics Covers Sunday Returns: Spider-man/Superman & Superman/Spider-man

Today, for you, it's Sunday (but for me it's Friday morning).  And it will take great restraint to schedule this to post later, instead of just posting as soon as I finish it.  However, tradition demands it, because we're bringing back an old Comics And... staple -- "Comic Covers Sunday"!  This feature was originally created by Lee, whom I actually ran into in person a few months ago at our LCS, Cosmic Comix.

In honor of our feature founder, here are a couple of links to some of those bygone posts, one of which features my first comic (and a few of my guest posts in the same vein):

Warning: clicking these links could take you down a rabbit hole worse than being on Facebook!

Comic Covers Sunday 

Comic Covers Sunday: My First Comic

Comic Covers Sunday: DIC Honorable Mentions

Comic Covers Sunday: Frank Miller 

Comic Cover Sundays: Star Trek Fotonovels  (update I now have all of them)

Comic Covers Sunday: Judge Dredd 

Facing Shadows

Now, I'm not promising this will be a regular feature again, but if you want consistent cover coverage, I'd direct you to the excellent 13th Dimension site, which I visit nearly every day and where they often feature cover-themed posts like these.  I credit them for the re-inspiration of this reinstatement.  They've also covered (no pun intended) some of the covers I'm sharing today, but I'm going to add my own analysis and opines...

Unless you've been hiding under a rock or no longer frequent your LCS, you're probably aware of the Marvel/DC and DC/Marvel cross-over of Spider-man/Superman and Superman/Spider-man coming out in late March (DC) and mid-April (Marvel).  And there are a ton of covers, some exclusive, ranging from $7.99 to $8.99 a piece.  So I've got to be judicious on which one to get.  Let's delve into ones I'm considering and a few that I'm not.

MARVEL/DC: SPIDER-MAN/SUPERMAN #1 MARCOS MARTIN VARIANT

Found in the Wild - signs of progress on the health front

 I was out searching for a Valentine's Day card for my wife at Giant, when I saw THIS!!

Now, Cap'n Crunch Berries is my second-favorite breakfast cereal after Fruity Pebbles, but it's not wise to partake of them at my advanced age and slower metabolism.  But if I hadn't made a conscious effort to eat a little bit better this very week (no dark chocolate for several days now), I might have gotten this anyway just for curiosity's sake.  I think it is hilarious and ingenious that they've turned RFK Jr's dye bans into a marketing campaign!  They need public opinion to tell them what they think the flavor tastes like when there is no color to suggest it to them. Priceless.

Of course, it's still super bad for you to eat all that refined sugar, but why poison yourself with dyes in the process?  Bravo, Secretary Kennedy!  Progress for sure.  I wonder what color it is "naturally", grey?  Kids might stop eating this kind of cereal if it now looks unappealing.  At least I got to enjoy it back in the day.

UPDATE: I just noticed that the expiration date is 2026 May 17, only 3 months compared to probably several years before.

Super7's ReAction+ Micronauts Figures - Wave 1 & 2

 

This week my Super7 ReAction+ Microtron arrived from Amazon, completing my assemblage of Wave 1 and 2 of this line, which only started just under a year ago.  I initially only purchased Biotron, since this smaller version would scale nicely with my original magno Baron Karza.  And I have to admit, he looked great on the shelf next to my Marvel Comics Micronauts Omnibuses.  Before Christmas, I saw Baron Karza go on sale for ~$13 (I think), down from the normal $20 to $25, but I passed on it in case someone in my family got it for me for Christmas.  Well, he quickly sold out at that price, and before you knew it, he was commanding higher than the retail price. However, I found a normal-priced one from the BigBadToyStore and ordered him and his arch-rival buddy (the good guy), Force Commander.  Then Microtron went on sale for $19 (he's currently slightly less), so I scooped him up. 

Now that I've opened them all up, what's my verdict?

IRON MAN 3 (2013) and the Backwards Appreciation Phenomenon (BAPH)

 

Wednesday, a week ago (Feb 4), my wife and I got to rewatch Iron Man 3.  It was the concluding part of our Trevor Slattery/faux-Mandarin backstory review (in reverse) following our completion of the excellent Wonder Man Disney+ show.  Since I was taking the next day off to visit my mother in my home state, we amazingly finished it in one sitting! (If you're 55+, you may appreciate how rare that can be, which is why I like to still watch movies in theaters where you're forced to see it through without pause.) And I really, really enjoyed it, much more than I remember upon seeing it the first time back in 2013. (Doesn't look like I even blogged about it.)  Well, I'm contributing this increased favorable opinion to BAPH (pronounced "BAFF"), the Backwards Appreciation Phenomenon. 

(Add it to your lexicon folks, you won't find it in Websters...yet.  Because I just coined it as a term, but the concept has been around for decades.)

The Conquering Crown - Conan the Barbarian #26, #27 & #28 - A Review

 

"There is nothing wrong with your [screen device].  Do not attempt to adjust your picture..."

I repurposed the old Outer Limits intro because, believe it or not, we're actually going to discuss a comic on Comics And... today!  Three comics in particular, one of which came out less than two weeks ago!  A stellar installment in Titan Comics' excellent Conan the Barbarian series, going on just over two years now.  The fact that I'm still getting it speaks to how much I enjoy it, and these issues...Well, you could say they're a crowning achievement.  Sorry, I just had to go there.  

Speaking of crowns, as you see on the cover of #28, it's no spoiler that Conan gets the Crown of Aquilonia, but this is a tale about how it could have happened.  I say "could have" because this is a fill-in tale crafted from pieces of various Robert E. Howard stories.  One that has been told at least a couple of times before, as the well-written/researched text piece in #28 relays.

Re-POST Link due to the Winter Olympics

I have several posts brewing in my mind this week, and was up early this morning with time to work on them, but then I put on some Winter Olympics while drinking my hot fizzie (Nuun, Electrolyte Drink tabs dissolved in boiling water)... 

Now, I'm not much of a sports person, with the exception of playoff major league baseball, whenever my "home" team, the Kansas City Royals, is competing.  However, I'm a sucker (as in "sucked in") for Olympic sports, specifically "winter" Olympic sports.  There is something comforting and cozy about watching these events snuggled under a blanket while being stuck inside because of the intense cold weather (the real feel is -1 right now).  Or perhaps, it's because traditionally, you are at home when the games are on, versus the summer games, when you could be traveling or doing something outside yourself. So, it's partially nostalgia and the opportunity to watch with family. Whatever the reason, I'm drawn to all the interesting alpine and sled events, not so much the figure skating (and definitely NOT the hockey - Sorry Canadians).  Maybe I'm also influenced by all those epic ski chases in Bond movies?

And it's always better to watch the events LIVE, which you can do for $11/month on Peacock Premium right now.  $11 for 16 days of content is a good deal, especially if you can bypass the overly packaged, highly USA-biased, summary evening coverage. I certainly want the US Team to do well, but you shouldn't ignore the other athletes.  And it's more exciting when the events unfold in real time.

Man, I thought this would be a quick post, but I'm battling Grammarly (which isn't even enabled), trying to avoid all the underline colors that it's warning me about in my sentence compositions!  The orange ones are the worst, because they're not technically wrong, just not what Grammarly's AI would do, I guess.  I'm writing this you 'bot, not you!! (Sadly, it still is influencing me somewhat...)

Anyway, I wanted to share a link to an old post related to a previous Winter Olympics (again from 16 years ago).  You can find it here.

See you sooner than you may think...possibly.

Wonder Man (2026) - A Review

 

My wife and I finished Wonder Man yesterday, which dropped last Tuesday.  We did it in three viewings (1st: episodes #1-2, 2nd: episodes #3-6, 3rd: episodes #7-8).  Honestly, we probably would've completed it the second night, but other things had to be attended to.  We both thoroughly enjoyed it that much, and it helped that some episodes were pretty short (most are around 35 minutes, but one is only 26).  I'd say, "Watch it, you won't be disappointed", but really that depends on what you like to watch, not my opinion.

TARZAN Lord of the Jungle (#11) - Edgar Rice Burroughs

 

It's a testament to my commitment to my craft and mission (kidding) that I actually finished this novel in what had to be one of the most difficult times of my life in recent memory.  Based on my last Tarzan post, I was almost a third of the way thru #11 in early December, which means I probably started it in late November. And I finally reached the end this past Tuesday (Jan 27), approximately two months later.  There was a long pause amidst Christmas, my mother-in-law's celebration of life service, New Years, and lots of "time off" [NOT a vacation] that included cleaning and packing not only my entire collection but also helping with the rest of the contents of my house as well.  As I mentioned yesterday, there are still things to be done, but not nearly as much is left, so I can enjoy a slight reprieve. That said, my thoughts on this novel will be a bit briefer than normal due to the long time span.

16 YEARS LATER

Today, 2026 January 30th, marks the 16th anniversary of my premiere posting on Comics And...Other Imaginary Tales.  I recommend reading the preamble (at least) from my initial offering, which can be found here, as context for today's post.

As this milestone "sweet sixteen" anniversary approached, I have now reached Season 5 of Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda, which I began watching back in early November, the day before my Planet Earth/Dylan Hunt post.  I finished the eighth episode (s5.8) yesterday.  It's been a great series so far, which I've enjoyed immensely (especially Harper and Rommy), but a friend warned me at the start that an abrupt change in direction occurs in the fifth season.  After a brutal Season 4 finale, the status quo has been entirely upended as we encounter characters days, months, and years after we've last seen them, displaced in time and space.  They've been living (and surviving) during this time, having undergone major changes along the way (and some regressions as well).  This all reminded me of DC Comics' "One Year Later" event from twenty years ago (2006).

Maybe DC got the idea from Andromeda, since Season 5 began in 2004.  Regardless of where it originated*, it was a pretty nifty publishing endeavor (I hesitate to use the term "gimmick").  After the big (miserable) Infinite Crisis event, DC dropped readers into each title, picking up with the characters "one year later".  And a year in a comic book character's life is a looooong time in normal publishing.  The character may be barely recognizable or their status quo has undergone tectonic shifts, leaving readers to ponder why and what caused this to happen to their "lives".  Creatively, it allowed DC to mix up or establish new creative teams to move the needle on a character's story that otherwise would've taken years to achieve normally.  It's both familiar and nouveau at the same time, with the ongoing story and the backstory unveiling simultaneously.

*Actually, Marvel did it first with Secret Wars back in 1984!  Think Amazing Spider-Man #252 with the first appearance of his black symbiote suit or She-Hulk unexpectedly joining the FF in #265. (See my MMW post from last July for stories from that era, ironically not long before Marvel announced the cancellation/indefinite hiatus of the Marvel Masterworks line.)

[This is different from a hard reboot ala New Earth (post-Crisis), or a soft reboot like One More Day where they de-aged and de-married Peter Parker to make him sexually promiscuous and ruin his character for all time, as it happens in continuity.]

I co-opted DC's "One Year Later" label above for this comparison reflection on where I am...16 years later.