Top 5 at the National Videogame Museum

I don't like video games.  It's not that I dislike them, I just lost interest in them at some point as a teenager.  Outside of of a couple of apps on my phone (do those count as video games?) I haven't given them much thought.  But a recent trip to Frisco led to a stop at the National Videogame Museum and memories of joy sticking and button pushing came flooding back.  So here's my Top 5 Picks of Things on Display at the National Videogame Museum:

5.  Oregon Trail

There are plenty of older systems set up and ready to be played by museum visitors.  The one that caught my eye was perennial Middle School time killer, "Oregon Trail."  It took my right back to the days of tapping Y or N, buying dry goods and tack, and dying of dysentery.  Good Times.

4.  1981 Journey at Reunion Arena Ticket Stub

This one might be a little bit of a cheat.  There's a room in the museum that's made up like a kids bedroom in the 80s.  There's lots of attention to detail including this ticket stub for a Journey concert on Nov 8, 1981 at Reunion Stadium.  There's a lot of nostalgia in this tiny paper square.  There's also some Rangers and Cowboys stuff on the wall.

3.  Video Game Cereal

I remember a couple of these from childhood but some are more recent.  Pac-Man Cereal and Nintendo Cereal are the ones that ended up in my bowl on Saturday mornings.  I'm surprised that there's only been about half a dozen video game-based cereals so far, but sometimes it's the obvious tie-ins that are never quite so obvious.  

2.  Super Mario Movie Props

Nothing adds gravitas to a museum exhibit like a Certificate of Authenticity.  And it turns these seemingly mundane plumber's tools into a museum-worthy exhibit.  The 1993 movie was a critical and commercial failure and it's a little surprising to some of its props under glass but I guess this is definitely the right place to display them.

1. Texas Chainsaw Massacre Atari Game

If you think that The Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie might not be the most appropriate concept to base a kids' video game on, you're not alone.  This was released in 1983 and since the player plays the part of Leatherface (with the goal of murdering as many tourists as possible), it was very controversial and sales reflected that.  It has a cult following online but it's since it sold so poorly, it's an incredibly rare find.  Loved seeing it on display.

There's a lot more to see at the museum, including an arcade stuffed with games (including the original Star Wars game that I used to play every year at the Fort Worth Livestock Show) so when you get the itch to pump some tokens into some retro consoles, head to Frisco.

The Unfortunate Roles of Kris Kristofferson

 
Brownsville, Texas native Kris Kristofferson is a multi-talented superstar of stage and screen.  Singing, songwriting, acting...he's a definite triple threat.  That being said, he's not going to hit a home run every time.  He's got some real head scratchers on his IMDb page.  So with all due respect to the legendary highwayman, I thought I'd take a look at some of his more unfortunate roles.  

The Donny & Marie Show

In the late 70s two of the most popular things in showbiz were variety shows and Star Wars.  It didn't take long for the two of them to be combined.  One of the most popular shows, "Donny & Marie" dipped their toe into the Star Wars pool with singing, dancing and the corniest jokes ever heard in a galaxy far, far away.  Kristofferson appeared as Han Solo in a sketch and sang a song along with his pal Chewbacca.  It remains one of the stranger scifi/country music combos in history.

Blade 3 (a.k.a. "Blade Trinity")

Don't get me wrong, I love the Blade movies but they make questionable choices with Kristofferson's character.  He plays "Whistler," who is the mentor/tech support for Wesley Snipe's Blade, the Vampire Hunter.  In the first movie, Whistler is killed off to give extra motivation to Blade.  The first part of the second movie is spent bringing Whistler back to life.  Then, once again, Whistler is killed off at the beginning of the third movie to give extra motivation to Blade.  What a ride, huh?  So Kristofferson was kind of wasted in the third film by having his character play a role that had already been done (and undone).

Big Top Pee-Wee

Pee-Wee's Big Adventure is one of the best movies of all time but the follow-up was...not.  Instead of being an actual sequel, it essentially just took Pee-Wee, and put him in a different scenario with no real connection to the previous movie.  In "Big Top" he lives on a farm, longs to join the circus and leaves his fiance for someone he just met.  It's not great.  Kristofferson does just fine as the circus' ringmaster but the movie itself just can't compare to the original. 

Planet of the Apes (2001)

Well after the original series of Planet of the Apes but before the most recent set of films, there was the 2001 "Planet of the Apes" remake/remix/whatever.  While it was kind of fun to see Kristofferson running around in a loincloth fighting gorillas, it was also kind of sad seeing him do that.  The movie was a failure because it was such a mess and it's now just a footnote in the franchise's history.

Luckily, the overwhelming majority of Kristofferson's work is fantastic and definitely worth a watch (or a listen).  But the next time you want to kick back with a movie night, consider watching one of his misfires instead of "A Star is Born."  Maybe you'll like them more than I did.

Marvel Does Dallas

I'm on the lookout for folks you remember these 80s comics and are willing to talk to me about them!

Big Boy in Big D

Previously:

Texas Stranger  - -  The Red Headed Stranger  - -  Tour of Duty

Even if you haven't eaten at a Big Boy's restaurant, you're probably familiar with its mascot.  The pudgy guy with the checkered overalls and pompadour is seen outside his namesake restaurant hoisting a big burger and beckoning hungry travelers to stop in and take a load off.  Restaurant names tend to vary with geography (Bob's Big Boy, Frisch's Big Boy, or in this instance, Elias Brothers' Big Boy) but that smiling face always remain the same.

What was also common, at least in the old days, was the "Adventures of Big Boy" promotional comic book that was available in the restaurant.  Since Big Boy restaurant were sometimes marketed as a spot for folks on the road, the comics usually dealt with topics or travel or travel destinations.  Today we take a look at Big Boy's journey to Dallas!

It was 1980, there had been a big art theft in Big D and Big Boy had been called in to investigate.  Is Big Boy some kind of detective or criminal investigator?  I have no idea.  I don't really know much about the character but I would guess that he's pretty much whatever a particular issue's story wants him to be.

So as our hero, along with his girlfriend Dolly and his dog Nuggets, wait for their plane at the airport, the case is pretty much cracked right in front of them.   A suspicious cowboy hat wearing traveler essentially confesses to the crime as the gang looks on.  This all happens on Page 2.

So it seems that Big Boy and his crew were called in by his police contact, Captain Crockett, who they meet up with when they land (at DFW, even though they call it "Dallas Airport"...at least it mentions that it was the largest airport in the country at the time). 

So they meet up with their police connection and follow the art thief to downtown Dallas.  The gang decides to split up, as crime-solving groups tend to do, and after a brief stop at the Dallas Farmers Market, they head to...

Dallas City Hall still had that "New City Hall" smell at the time.  It's also the location where the art thief hid the painting.  So apparently he stole it, then hid it, then flew somewhere else, then flew back to Dallas to retrieve it.  Or possibly, his accomplice stole it, hid it and he came to town to retrieve it.   These are the questions the comic brings up but doesn't answer. 

The exact hiding place was underneath the sculpture outside the building...which the comic attempts to draw.  Here's what it looks like in real life:

As our art thief grabs his purloined painting, Nuggets the dog gives him a a round of barking.  And the chase was on!  Like any man of action, Big Boy solves his problems with a tackle that would make a Dallas Cowboy envious.

And there you have it, case closed!  There wasn't a lot of story in this story but there was at least an attempt at some graphic representation of a few Dallas landmarks.  It's an odd addition to the many movies, TV shows and comics that take place in Big D but I'm sure it was a welcome one for kids in the 80s as they wolfed down their burger and fries. 

Crazy in Dallas

Previously: 

Mad About Dallas  - -  Mad About Walker

Everyone remembers Mad Magazine and their ruthless skewering of popular culture.  Many people may even remember Cracked Magazine, the shameless rip-off of Mad.  Fewer people may remember  the other scores of parody magazines that were looking to get caught up in the wave of Mad Magazine excitement (and maybe pick up some sales along the way). 

 One of them, Crazy Magazine, was published by Marvel Comics and hung in there for a decade by making fun of the day's most popular movies and TV.  And nothing in 1981 was more popular than Dallas...which eventually saw itself in the Crazy cross hairs. 

If you remember my blog entry from awhile back about the Mad Magazine Dallas parody, you'll notice some similarities, even down to the art style and panel layout:

So you get the standard introductions of characters (and caricatures), with the theme for this "story" being that J.R. is out to get everybody and everybody is out to get J.R.  So what we get are several pages of J.R. being mean to people and those people trying to kill him.  If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

 The caricatures are all pretty good with the exception of Cliff Barnes.  I don't know if it's the weird angles or if Ken Kercheval is just difficult to draw in general but I don't think the artist nailed it on this one.

 J.R. continues his reign of terror against the Ewing clan, even going so far as to blackmail Jock for control of Ewing Oil.  And clearly Bobby isn't dealing well with the stress.  At this point how could J.R. top himself?  Is there no evil deed he wouldn't consider?

I guess we all knew J.R. is capable of quite a bit of mischief but destroying the world seems a little extreme.  I mean, I couldn't say for 100% that he wasn't capable of it...but I'm pretty sure.  Anyhoo, this little yarn ends with J.R. escaping the doomed earth in a rocket ship.  Once again, he comes out on top. 

It's probably not the best parody you've ever seen but "Crazy Magazine" never really reached the heights that "Mad Magazine" did.  Still it's always nice to see a little piece of memorabilia from the Dallas TV juggernaut.

Jobe to the Future

Previously:

Top 5 at the Alamo Gift Shop  - -  Pee-Wee Visits the Alamo

"Amazing Stories" was an ambitious mid-80s attempt to capture a little Twilight Zone lighting in a prime time bottle.  As with any anthology, there were hits and misses but it's widely regarded as a show that was "pretty good."

The third episode of the series caught the attention of a young "me" since it featured a world famous landmark I had recently visited...the Alamo!  The legendary Texas battle site was having a bit of a Hollywood renaissance with Pee-Wee's Big Adventure and Cloak & Dagger making use of the location and now it was time for a small screen adventure.

The elevator pitch for the episode is: a fifteen year old volunteer from the Battle of the Alamo is transported to present day (A.K.A. 1985).  And that's also pretty much a summary of the episode too.  It's not what you would call a very plot heavy entry into the time travel genre.

The story begins during the battle (and uses footage from the John Wayne Alamo movie from 1960) and our hero Jobe (Kelly Reno from the Black Stallion movies) name checks fellow Alamo heroes William Travis and Davey Crockett and is given instructions to take a note to "General Lefferts" on "Shuttlecock Road."

While this is going on, Jobe keeps seeing 1985 tourists pop up in the mission, seemingly unaware of the carnage surrounding them.  He even hears some unfortunate news about the ultimate fate of the Alamo defenders from a tour guide (who probably hasn't gotten to the part about adobe or corn yet).

Sure that's a freaky thing to see but Jobe's a total pro and is determined to deliver the note.  But now it's his turn to time travel on his way out of the Alamo.  After a quick visit to the 1985 gift shop he's kicked out by one of the staff.

If I were to ask you, does that door look familiar?  You'd probably say, "Yeah, that's the door to the Alamo."  But you'd be wrong.  And I'd really stick it in your face in the smuggest way possible.  And then you would walk away from me and I'd be left alone once again with my useless trivial knowledge.

That being said, the Alamo doesn't allow people to film there.  So any time you've seen a movie or TV show at the Alamo, you've seen a sound stage.  This particular faux Alamo door was built for the film "Cloak & Dagger":

And at this point, just as Jobe must come to the realization that he's in another time (which he never really seems to do), we must realize that this episode is passing off Los Angeles as San Antonio.  But at least they make an effort to hide it.  Check out this matte shot:

Well now it's time for some fish-out-of-water shenanigans as Jobe hijinks his way across pseudo-San Antonio in the 80s, while encountering tons of sights and sounds that should freak him out but never really do.    It wasn't too long before it was time for a a classic trope:

Yep, out-of-towner guy meets hip guy.  In this instance the "hip guy" is a break dancer who tells Jobe that he digs his "funky cap."  Just as Jobe seems mildly curious yet mostly uninterested in the future things he see, the people he meets seem to feel relatively the same way.

I guess seeing somebody walking around San Antonio dressed in buckskins is like seeing someone dressed as a Disney princess in Anaheim.  After awhile it just becomes a fairly common part of your work week.

After some additional fun involving bus rides, pay phones, a stolen horse and a police chase, our hero finally gets to his destination.  There was no "General Lefferts" involved with the real Alamo and the real San Antonio doesn't seem to have a "Shuttlecock Road" so don't feel obligated to go on your own Jobe-esque quest the next time you're in town.

The fictional Leffert had a fictional descendant who runs a fictional antique shop where Jobe finally ends up to deliver the note.  Mission Accomplished!  With that done he returns to the Alamo and presumably his own time.  But before he gets there he gets directions from this helpful citizen:

So does this mean that Jobe survived the Battle of the Alamo and had kids?  It's not really clear and I'm not anticipating a follow-up any time soon so we'll all just have to write our own Amazing Stories fan fiction...as usual.

So once again our beloved Alamo has made its presence felt in popular culture and we all plan our next family road trips to the real San Antonio.

Top 5 Things For Sale at Corpus Christi in the 80s

Previously:

Sam Houston Statue Gift Shop

Texas Treasures Store  - -  Alamo Gift Shop

The Legend of Billie Jean was a teenage rebel movie that was smack dab in the 80s.  It was released in 1985 and takes place (and was filmed in) in the Corpus Christi/Padre Island area.  Helen Slater stars as a well meaning teen who (after an unfortunate chain of events) has taken just about as much crap as she's gonna take and goes on the run from the law with her friends and kid brother.

According to IMDb, the entire film was shot on existing practical locations so you get a good look at that area of Texas in the 80s.  And since the kids always need provisions, you also get a good look at some of the old products that were on the shelves at the time.

So instead of the usual gift shop browsing I thought I'd take a look at what I thought were the Top Five Things For Sale in the movie...or rather the Top 5 Things For Sale Corpus Christi in the 80s.

5.  Gasoline

Any rebellious road trip requires frequent fuel stops.  Movies like these can be snapshots into the culture of the time and one of the things I always keep an eye out for is gas prices.  In the movie gas clocks in at $1.05 per gallon, which seems a little high for '85 but South Padre is a tourist spot so things can get a little pricey.

4.  Almost Home Cookies

Like a lot of discontinued food items, Almost Home Cookies have a bit of an online following.  They were billed as a "homemade" style cookies and were one of the first "soft baked" cookies on the market.  A lot of people forget about the stranglehold that crispy cookies used to have on the market and these were meant to push back against that crunchy agenda.

3.  G.I. Joe Solid State Deluxe Walkie Talkies

This must have been product placement because these babies get a nice close up.  The gang needed to communicate with each other and in 1985 you needed a wheelbarrow to carry around what passed for a cell phone so walkies were the next best thing.  Like most kids of that era, they came in handy when outwitting authority figures.  Another great character touch in the film is the I.O.Us the gang left behind when they needed to "acquire" supplies...so, ya know...they mean well.
 
 2.  LaserDisc Players

The Lasers Disc format came and went in what seemed like a hurry.  People will swear that they were only around for a year or two but they actually hung on for several years and made an appearance in the movie.  Billie Jean and friends essentially invent social media by recording messages on a "Betamovie" camera and sending them to the media, thereby gaining "followers" of their exploits.  So maybe Laser Discs and Beta tapes weren't particularly prophetic but people's reactions and the cultural influence of self-created media definitely was. 

1.  Matchbox City Garage  

I guess Matchbox didn't have deep pockets like Hasbro because these things were stuck in the background.  For a young boy in the mid 80s there was nothing better than rolling your toy cars around a beauty like this.  Hot Wheels had a similar model but the City Garage has a little more charm if you ask me.

Honorable Mention:  These Wig Holders

These things caught my eye and while they're not technically for sale (the wigs are though) I thought I'd give them a participation trophy.  Mainly because they reminded my of the neck work done by stretchy superheroes like Plastic Man and Mr. Fantastic from the Fantastic Four.  I've seen plastic heads that hold wigs before but never the stretchy neck variety.  And now you've seen them too.

So that's a lot of nice finds for a movie I had never heard of until a few months ago.  Surprises are nice but surprises involving laser discs, G.I. Joe and cheap gas are the best.

My Spidey Sense is Jingling

 Previously:

Peter & Frank Do Dallas    - -    The X-Men Visit the State Fair
Houston Heroes  

Spidey Visits Dallas  - -  Check Please  - - Texas Marvels

It's that time again and that time of year again...we're long overdue for another look at when our favorite comic book superheroes visited the Lone Star State to punch, fly, swing and smash their way across familiar landmarks in the search for justice.  And with the holidays fast approaching, it's only fitting that this time your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man spends "Christmas in Dallas"!

This one was another freebie from the Dallas Times Herald and the once great newspaper gets a cameo on the first page by setting the scene and kicking off the story.  A mysterious and sinister set of hands peruse the news of the day in a conspicuously evil manner...

This issue is a sort of sequel or follow-up to a previous story where Spider-Man teamed up with the Dallas Cowboys and Dallas millionaire Stanley Mudge.  On this particular yuletide season, Mudge is throwing a party to raise money for orphans and wanted to treat his old pals J. Jonah Jameson and Peter Parker to the festivities.  He and his son Mark (also from the previous story) even show up to the airport to greet the traveling New Yorkers.

Don't forget about that anti-gravity device...it might be relevant down the line.  So while the gang heads back Mudge's ranch, those sinister hands from the first page reveal that they belong to none other than the Kingpin!  The sinister crime boss frequently finds himself to be Daredevil's perennial punching bag in Hell's Kitchen but he's come to Texas to pick on someone his own size:

What?!?  He cold cocks Santa?!?  Now that's how you establish evil intent from an antagonist.  Although there is the possibility that the unconscious Kris Kringle is just a Santa impersonator.  The story never really makes it clear.  But what is clear is that he was on his way to the Charity Ball and that the Kingpin (who has been steadily climbing up the rankings on the naughty list for many years now) will be taking his place...and it won't be to spread holiday cheer.

Well things go pretty much how you'd expect them to go.  The Kingpin attacks.  His henchman take hostages.  But before the rich party goers were able to be ransomed off, Spidey swings into action!  Even Mudge pitches in with the help of the new version of his anti-gravity invention (remember that thing from before?).

Looks like the Christmas party can resume.  Alls well that ends well: J. Jonah gets flummoxed, Peter gets a free ride home in Mudge's private jet to spend Christmas with his aunt and, I assume, a lot of money was raised at that charity ball for the orphans and whatnot (remember that thing from before?).

While it was a fun adventure, I have to say I was a little disappointed with this one.  Dallas (and by default, all of Texas) was really only a part of the story in name only.  Not even a quick skyline panel.  But at the time it was free so I can't really be too hard on it.  And in the spirit of the holiday season I'll leave you with a present...the Spider-Man Christmas Tree Word Hunt that was toward the back of the book!  Happy hunting! 

Sea of Good Cheer

1979 was a heck of a year.  From the introduction of the Happy Meal to the premier of the Dukes of Hazzard, the year was chock full of cultural touchstones.  Two fo the biggest at the time were The Love Boat and the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders...so it was only a matter of time before the inevitable happened:

Yes, not only did the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders guest star on the Love Boat, but they were featured in a two part episode right int he middle of sweeps!

The two-parter also featured Hollywood icons Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Ginger Rogers as well as television icons John Hillerman ("Higgins" from Magnum P.I. and a native Texan), Larry Linville (from M*A*S*H), Natalie Schafer (Mrs. Howell from Gilligan's Island) and Bill Daily (The Bob Newhart Show, I Dream of Jeannie)...not to mention a young Jackie Earle Haley!  Whew!  Now that's a sweeps lineup!

The gals are aboard the Pacific Princess to perform at a charity show to benefit orphans or something.  And while they are there they a few of them get caught up in some romantic hijinks.  It is the Love Boat, after all...

One of the stories involves Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader Wendy who's mother is getting married and is meeting her new stepfather for the first time.  The plot of this one involves the mother, Helen, thinking her fiancee and daughter share a mutual attraction and that they plan to run away together.  This is resolved by the two of them telling her it's not true...so I guess that's kind of a story, right?

Wendy is played by Gaye Carter, a real life Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader.  This seems to be her only acting credit and she now works in real estate.  So if you've always wanted to buy a house from a former member of the world's most famous cheer squad, then that seems to be an option now.

Another of the stories has another cheerleader, Stacy, being stalked by a guy whose only interest seems to be stalking her.  He bought a ticket to the cruise to be near her which seems like it would make this a dramatic subplot for the show but, no, it's played for laughs and those crazy kids end up together in the end.

Stacy is played by Tami Barber, another real life squad member.  She also played the recurring role of "Bev" on Dallas (the TV show, not the city) but, other than a few small roles here and there, that seems to be about it for her acting career.  I'm not sure if she made it to the real estate game or not.

Both gals did a great job and I was genuinely surprised to find out they weren't professional actors.  Other stories in the episode involved a jewel heist, a guy hiring actors to pretend to be his family and a sparring couple who realize they were meant for each other.  It was a busy cruise.  But enough of that, let's see the show!

Thanks for the memories, gals!  We'll see ya on the sidelines!