The Bloody Pit #201 - Blake's 7 (1978-1981)

Author John Kenneth Muir returns to the show to discuss another science fiction television show! BLAKE’S 7 aired in Britain from 1978 to 1981 and was a major hit but was not renewed for a fifth season. That the show remains beloved decades later points to the typical short sighted BBC decision making process in such matters. With the recent announcement of Blu-Ray releases we decided that the time was right to talk about the show and our years long love of it. Since Mr. Muir has written a book on the subject, he is the perfect person to speak to about the show which was sold as ‘The Dirty Dozen in Space’. If you’ve never seen the series, we try to avoid most spoilers but a couple of things do leak through as we go along.

 

Our conversation starts with how we each discovered the show and our initial reactions to the ‘anti-Star Trek’ with the adult nature of the storytelling being our main focus. We discuss the dystopian universe presented and give a brief overview of the ‘rebels vs the federation’ structure of the story. The dark and often cruel tone of the characters and the events they have to deal with is a topic we return to throughout the episode. We also fit in an examination of some of the classic science fiction tropes that the show uses and the creative spin the writers employ to include them. We had a great time digging into BLAKE’S 7 and we hope you will enjoy what we have to say even if you’ve not yet seen the series.

 

Mr. Muir mentions his recent web series near the end of the episode and if you are curious this is the FaceBook page for it and here is the production’s website. Check it out!

 

If you have any comments about BLAKE’S 7 or anything else we touch on thebloodypit@gmail.com is the place to send them. Thank you for listening! 

Video - Captain Kangaroo's 'Merry Merry Merry Christmas' Album

People of a certain age (in other words, old folks like me) will find this to be a trip into holiday music past. If you have no idea who Captain Kangaroo was I wish you did. Still, you might enjoy this record regardless of your familiarity with the characters from the TV show. 

Happy Breakaway Day!

On this day in 1999 (in a fictional universe) the Earth's moon was blasted out of orbit and began a mad journey through the cosmos. To commemorate this science fiction event you can watch an episode of the show or go over to the Gerry Anderson website for the festivities. Enjoy! 

The Bloody Pit #167 - PUFNSTUF (1970)

 

For this very special episode five people have gathered to discuss an influential part of their childhood – H. R. Pufnstuf!  In particular we examine the movie that grew out of the children television show’s immense popularity – PUFNSTUF (1970). So, grab your magic flute and come to Living Island for an adventure you’ll never forget – no matter how hard you try. Wild, man!

I am joined by Beth, Troy Guinn, John Hudson and Steph to talk about the biggest hit of Sid & Marty Krofft’s many Saturday morning TV programs. Each of us relate our history with the various shows and what we thought of them as kids before diving into the specifics of the big screen version. We dig into the Krofft brothers’ background as puppet performers, their early successes on the stage and the genesis of Pufnstuf as a character. We take note of a fun Universal Horror related song from their early 1960’s adult puppet show and then turn things toward the amazing songs created for the film. We talk about the cast with Jack Wild’s place in the hearts of young girls becoming a subject of some amusement while Billie Hayes’ immortal Witchiepoo is lauded as the best reason to watch either the film or the television show. Favorite lines of dialog are quoted and we wonder aloud if some of the best bits were adlibbed by Miss Hayes or not. We also talk about Mama Cass Elliot’s excellent performance as Witch Hazel and single out her song as a highlight. This really is a delightful movie!

If you want to share your own memories of the old Sid & Marty Krofft shows thebloodypit@gmail.com is the place to send them. We hope you enjoy this slightly chaotic trip into Saturday mornings past. Thank you for listening! 

Video - Rare TV Episode of Robin Hood (1953) - "The Abbot of St. Mary's"

Will wonders never cease? Although Patrick Troughton is my all-time favorite Doctor Who I had no idea this existed. I’ve had a lot of fun watching him in his many Hammer film appearances and looking for him as a supporting player in dozens of other movies over the span of his career but this early lead role is a complete surprise. He seems to have played Robin in all six episodes of this 1953 production but this brief snippet is all that remains. Damned shame as I would gladly pay to see the entire run out of curiosity at the least. Amusingly, Troughton also popped up on the later show The Adventures of Robin Hood (1956-1960) as a guest playing different characters in several episodes. Check out this piece of BBC history!

What I Watched in June 2022

I didn’t get out to a theater last month which was not my plan, really. I wanted to go see the Bob’s Burgers movie but the timing was off and then I was out of town for five days to attend Monster Bash so some things fell by the wayside. So, I thought I’d let you folks know about the odd home viewing that has become the norm at Casa Bloody Pit of Rod.

  

Sprinkled in among the various movies is a steady stream of television both old and new. The older stuff is currently mostly from the 1960’s with me using various DVD sets to catch up on and revisit classic series of interest. There is no real plan for this viewing. I also add an old serial to the mix to have something shorter and (often) stranger to keep the evenings slightly off balance. The most recent of those was the 15-chapter Batman & Robin serial from 1949 which proved to be mad fun. Strange to know that it was the first Batman chapter play in 1943 that introduced the concept of the Bat Cave to the hero’s universe. Any way…

The various 60’s shows we’re going through include (in no particular order) -

  

1. The Wild Wild West

2. Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea

3. Star Trek

4. Get Smart 

5. Doctor Who

6. Fireball XL5

7. Thunderbirds

8. Frankenstein Jr. and The Impossibles

I need to pull out the 1966 Batman show and start a full watch of The Twilight Zone too. I’m hoping to add in some 1970’s stuff soon as well to change up the feeling a bit but The Time Tunnel will also be making an appearance soon as well. I wonder if I can make my way through the Logan’s Run TV series again soon. We’ll see. 

The List

GHOST TOWN RENEGADES (1947) – 5 (Lash LaRue B-western)

REVOLVER (1973) – 8 (rewatch)

AGONIZANDO EN EL CRIMEN (1968) – 4 (early Naschy role)

THE PANTHER WOMEN (1967) – 6 (fun, silly Mexican masked wrestler film)

CHALLENGE THE DEVIL (1963) – 3 (dull, silly mess with Christopher Lee)

MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE (1971) – 6 (rewatch)

LOVE SLAVES OF THE AMAZONS (1957) – 4 (sub-par jungle adventure)

GUNS. GIRLS AND GANGSTERS (1959) – 7 (sharp heist tale with a young Lee Van Cleef)

THE NIGHT OF THE EXECUTIONER (1992) – 6 (rewatch)

SANTO IN THE BORDER OF TERROR (1969) - 4

Video - The Metamorphosis of Space:1999

 

Gerry Anderson expert Chris Dale takes us through the complete story of how the hit show Space:1999 transformed from season 1 to season 2; the how, the why, the what and "what were they thinking?" Even if you're not much of a fan of the series this is a pretty interesting look at how things can go wrong on television productions.

Video - Fantastic Voyage 1968 Animated TV Show!

Until yesterday I had no idea that this existed! The show was apparently rerun in the 90's on the Sci-Fi Channel but I never caught it. I'm not sure what I might have thought of it then but now I'm just glad to have had it brought to my attention. Not that its great, but I love finding bits of odd pop culture that have been hidden from me. I wonder how many of the 17 episodes I'll be able to find on YouTube? 

Video - The World Beyond (1978) - TV Series Pilot

I don't know how but I completely missed this when it aired on January 27, 1978. I would have been nine and fully into my obsession with Kolchak: The Night Stalker, so this would have attracted me like a fly to honey. I have no memory of it and, now that I've watched it, this terrifying tale certainly would have haunted my dreams for a long time! This is the second of two pilots made for a series that never got picked up. The first was called The World of Darkness and aired in 1977 but I can't find it on YouTube - yet! I would love to know why this excellent show didn't go to series for at least one season. I guess by the end of the 1970's there was less of an interest in supernatural/occult investigator TV shows. That's a shame because if they had been able to maintain this level of quality it would have been incredible. 

Check this out. It's a fantastic piece of hidden 70's TV history and a fine way to get some creepy thrills for fifty minutes. I wonder if we'll ever see a cleaned up, remastered version of this because it deserves to be seen by more people. 

Revisiting Blake's 7

Over the past few weeks I’ve been doing a quick rewatch of the second season of Blake’s 7. I’ve found interesting details I had forgotten or missed on previous viewings making the project a real joy. It was fascinating to see the increasingly manic push Blake was making to locate Star One in hopes of finishing off the Federation. Somehow, I had completely forgotten the Travis subplot in the season’s final episode and was shocked to realize just how nihilistic the character had become. Along with somehow blanking out the fate of Travis I had also forgotten the entire alien invasion part of the story! It has obviously been far too long since I’ve rewatched this series and so I jumped right into the first episode of the third season and plan to keep slowly working my way through to the end of the run. Glad I bought the DVD sets years ago as I’m really getting my money’s worth out of them.

 

The Bloody Pit #141 - Space: 1999 with John Kenneth Muir

John Kenneth Muir has been writing about film and television for more than twenty-five years. His published works range in subject matter from the horror films of various decades and books focused on individual movie directors to in-depth tomes about several different science fiction television series. His first published book was about a much maligned Gerry Anderson produced science fiction show from the 1970’s called Space: 1999. The two seasons of that show have recently been released on Blu-Ray by Scream Factory, reigniting my interest in engaging with its highs and lows. Forgotten by most but beloved by many Space: 1999 has always been an odd series that is somewhat difficult for a broad audience to embrace, but its finer points are extraordinary, its special effects are superb and the production rarely lacked ambition. It is a television program ripe for rediscovery even in this age of endless streaming possibilities.

 

Mr. Muir and I discuss the show from the perspective of a novel he wrote several years ago called 'The Forsaken' that uses the first season episode ‘Space Brain’ as a starting point. Along the way we talk about our own history with Space: 1999 and how our opinions have changed over time. The stark differences between the first and second season are debated and we certainly engage in the age-old conversation about favorite and least favorite episodes. The scientific implausibilities inherent in the show’s set-up are hashed over with a number of details explained about how various writers acknowledged the biggest one within the body of their scripts. We discuss the philosophical approach taken by the show’s creators and how it differs from what people expected from sci-fi TV in the 70’s – and possibly today. We do get off track at one point and talk about a few horror movies, but we are soon back onto MoonBase Alpha – I promise!

 

If you have anything to say about Space: 1999 or any other subject we talk about in the show thebloodypit@gmail.com is the place to send your emails. We’ll be thrilled to hear from you. Thank you for listening to the podcast. 

John Kenneth Muir's Blog!

Podcast Apple LINK 

MP3 Download LINK 

'Handmade Horror' Prints for Christmas!

All I'm going to do it point curious gift buyers to this online store so that you can see the astonishing mash-up of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and John Carpenter's THE THING (1982). Someone you know will love and appreciate these mad but funny images. 

Perfect for the holidays!

 

Check it out!

A Peanuts Halloween Gallery

It's time for the annual viewing!

 

Video - The Metamorphosis of Space: 1999

This well produced video from the Anderson website does a good job of explaining what happened to make the two seasons of this 1970's television show so different from each other. I think the narrator puts it quite with this quote -

"Nowhere in the Gerry Anderson story is the power and influence of the American market more keenly or more tragically felt than in the story of Space: 1999’s transformation from Season one to Season two." 

Space: 1999 Comic Book Cover Gallery

The artwork on these covers were sure to make them leap off the spinner rack when I was a lad. Well - if they turned up on my local drugstore spinner rack, anyway. 

1976 British TV Debate About the Paranormal

This odd bit of television history is far from the usual kind of thing I would post here but I found it oddly compelling. Most of the members of the public represented on this show seem sincere about their odd beliefs while a couple are clearly happy just to be on TV to soak up the attention. But this short conversation does present a wide range of ideas about unexplained phenomena which I think serves as a snapshot of where the thinking was on the subject in the 1970's. It is quite interesting in a typically British way. 

UFO (1970) - Art For Comics, Video Releases and Compilation Films

I'm taking a run through this Gerry Anderson series with an eye to finally seeing the entire thing. Now I wish I could lay my hands on the various comic strips and text stories that were produced as well! Time to hunt. 

Ultraman 55th Anniversary Commemorative Video

Has it been 55 years? 

"In 1966, Ultraman alighted on planet Earth and became the gold standard of Japanese Tokusatsu television. Ultraman is loved by fans across generations and around the world, and the series has received a great deal of support over the past 55 years.

And now…

Go Beyond

In 2021, Ultraman will continue on to the next stage!" 

I can hardly wait to see what they have cooked up! 

The Bloody Pit #117 - GARGOYLES (1972)

American genre TV movies of the 1970’s hold a fascination for me. Growing up they were often the big event of the week and the major topic of discussion for kids at school for a long time after their premiere. In some cases, these movies have lived on in the larger public consciousness with reruns adding to their fanbase as it can take more than just excited playground conversations to grow their legends. In the past few years more and more of them have made the jump to Blu-Ray with lavish care taken to bring these sometimes difficult to find tales to a new audience. The biggest of the decade’s TV films are well represented, especially the fantastic and groundbreaking one-two punch of THE NIGHT STALKER (1972) and THE NIGHT STRANGLER (1973) or even the excellent failed pilot THE NORLISS TAPES (1973). But there is much more of interest to horror fans seeking obscure telefilms than just Dan Curtis productions and, in this episode, we dive into a discussion of the fun CBS creature feature GARGOYLES (1972). There is much to talk about!

John Hudson and I tackle the film from several angles starting with our own histories with it. John got to see it on it’s premiere and has some holdover nostalgia for the movie while I caught up to it much later. We both still love the monster design, the desert southwest setting and the fact that very little time is wasted getting into the meat of the story. John has some information gleaned from the DVD director’s commentary track that sheds some light on the production and answers a couple of minor questions. We lament the lack of a certain actor’s voice and find ourselves still impressed with the ambition of the film. I openly wonder about the dropped idea of the Satanic element of the backstory and do a little guesswork on some missed opportunities that the restrictions of television in the 70’s might have made impossible.

 

If you have any memories tied to this mad monster film tell us about it at thebloodypit@gmail.com or over on the show’s Facebook page. What was your favorite TV movie from your childhood? Thanks for listening! 

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Direct MP3 Download LINK 

Made For TV Horror - DARKROOM (1981)

Although the past decade has seen a resurgence of the anthology horror film there haven't been nearly as many new television series that follow the multiple stories per episode format. That is a shame as I think these kind of shows allow for a couple of fascinating programming possibilities. There is the ability to put together two or more different stories that share a theme or even a star. I could even envision a series that occasionally featured multiple stories by the same famous author as an event episode. Also, it would be possible to use a later story to soften the harshness of the preceding tale with a humorous final play to make the darker opening punch seem less rough. The options seem limitless especially with the more permissive standards of cable and streaming we have now.

 

But if you are interested in past attempts to bring this type of show to the masses I am happy to say that NBC has made the short-lived 1981 anthology horror series DARKROOM available to stream from their website. If you have a Roku TV or another streaming device you can watch episodes of this rare little gem on the NBC app and see what worked and didn't in this show. I can't claim every episode was great but when you see Robert Bloch and Brian Clemons' names attached you know the right people are in there pitching! I'm going to be rewatching episodes for the rest of October to discover if my positive memories are accurate or not. Fingers crossed! 

Darkroom on NBC