LOST IN SPACE / "The Hungry Sea" - 1965

The clock on the Dungeon wall sez it's time for an adventure in space with our good friends, the Robinsons, Major West, Dr. Smith and their robot pal.

The Robinsons and Major West are out exploring the planet they're on and things are getting crazy. The temperature is dropping like a stone, and it's like -150 degrees. Dr. Smith is arguing with the robot on its analysis of the drop in temperature, and is bad mouthing the Robinsons to boot. He's very aloof in this one with little regards for his crew mates.

It's freezing cold, and their rover must cross a frozen sea to get to their destination...

They get across the ice okay. but the temperature is now on the rise and they have to remove their winter gear, it's getting hot now.

After Dr. Smith is unable to get a message to the Robinsons about the weird orbit of the planet they're on, he sends the robot out to locate the family and give them the unsettling info.

The Robinsons and Major West are having dinner when...

The robot shows up, and not trusting anything Dr. Smith has to say, or what info the robot has brought them, Don fries the robot's circuits with his ray gun! Bad move. Smith and West are real dicks in this episode, and John is at odds with the major, big time.

Even though the robot is out of commission, John is able to get a read out about the orbit of the planet, an elongated orbit like a comet, which explains the extreme changes in temperature.

It's getting hotter, and John says they have no choice but to put up heat shields to protect themselves from the scorching heat when they pass by the planet's sun!

They all cover up with more heat shields as the sun passes by...

I mean, it's HOT AS HELL!

After the worst is over, the crew barely survive the ordeal. The top shields are burned to a crisp but luckily they took the brunt of the extreme heat.

They have to get back to the ship but the ice is now water and they have to battle a storm and a giant whirlpool to get through to the other side.

The radar device has malfunctioned so Don goes out to fix it in the storm. He fixes it but falls off into the water. John tries to rescue Don but he cannot find him. Luckily, Don was barely able to hang on and he gets back inside the rover to everyone's delight.

The crew heads back to the ship and all is okay after locating a spot on the planet that is safe for them to live.

Back at the ship, the robot plays "There No Place Like Home" as Dr. Smith sadly sings along, an interesting end to the madness.

But wouldn't you know it, there is a missile headed right for them, if you believe the radar screen, looks like music notes to me.

And to find out what happens next, you'll have to wait a whole week to find out what's going on with the Lost In Space gang!

A-Go-Go '67 - "Pop Yeh Yeh" (1967)

This Saturday Night Special is all about the music, just like it should be, and a very cool Malaysian film from 1967 titled "A-Go-Go 67."

And the coolest thing about it is, you can watch it in the comfort of your home for free

by just clicking right HERE!! 

 

"A-Go-Go 67" was made in Singapore, and this video is not in English, but thankfully, and fortunately for me, the whole movie was explained in detail in 2014 on a blog run by musician Todd Stadtman called "Die, Danger, Die, Die, Kill!" which probably saved me five or six weeks of research!

My job is just to let people know this stuff is out there, and boy is this out there!

 

It's 1967, and the youth of Malaysia just want to make music!

Some of the older folks just don't get it!

This movie is almost two hours long, and most of it is music featuring all the well known bands of that time like to start with, "Les' Coasters."

Most of these band names I've got figured out, and with some help from SCB, I now know that this group is called The Blue Beats.

This one is a little odd too. I think it's Perrindu. I love the set, they had this real Shindig/Hullabaloo thing going on!

I think this band was D'4 Ever. Some of these groups were just studio musicians, but with different front persons, you know, kind of like in America at the same time.

But you gotta love the band names like The Young Lovers.

 

The WHO didn't want to "F F F F fade away" in 1965, and neither do the RR YY TT HH MM NN BOYS in 1967.

 

At least they were still doing steps back then. 

I really hated it when bands stopped kicking in unison!

I've got two pics of this group called The Hornets, because besides the steps, I had to include a shot of the lead singer! What a great name!!

Another great name, The Night Shadows.

It gets a little bit tricky right about here, they break to a pool party, and then come back to this group, and I can't read the name on the drums, but this is another fun "Shindig" type set.

 

I had to stare at this a long time, but I finally decided the name of this band was The Hooks, which is really another cool name.

A lot of the music is very similar, with a lot of surf guitar/astronauts sounds, but with pop vocals, and it's all pretty good, including this band called The Mods.
 

Besides the music, there is a story, but who really cares?

Just go enjoy the music, and fast forward through the rest if you want!

THE ASTOUNDING SHE-MONSTER - The Trailer - 1957

 Like I said, these trailers have a tale to tell, and it's about getting people to want to go and see the movie they're selling. Horror movies are extra thrilling for the kids, but how many times were they disappointed after watching the whole picture, like this one...

Now, this would perplex even an astronomer, so, kids were left only with their imaginations to figure out what it means. What do you think?

This sounds ominous, an unknown power radiating brilliant light, what in the heck could it be!

And it causes a brutal death, I'm getting scared, I don't want to die!

Here's the Astounding She-Monster crashing through a window, a wonderful low budget way to get the viewer's attention! Wow, she's crazy enough to do that! And what else is she capable of doing to get our attention?!

Now we know who she is, an Astounding She-Monster from space, beyond outer space, wherever the Hell that is.

This is the really scary part... There's no escape from her clutches!

Oh no, she's trying to play tag with the rest of the cast and they run away like school kids who don't want to be 'it.'

No escape from terrifying thrills, so, you'd better come and see this thing, or else!

Come and meet the Astounding She-Monster from space, beyond outer space, and shake her hand, there's a nice brutal death awaiting you!

THE JACKSONS TV SHOW - "Episode 01" (1976)

"The Jacksons" was a TV show that was on for two seasons or twelve episodes from 1976 to 1977, and makes for a perfect Weird Wednesday presentation for many reasons!

 

The Jackson 5 had recently parted ways with Motown Records, and their career was a bit on a wane, and I think this was Poppa Joe's way of trying to get them back into the mainstream, but they kind of missed the boat!

As for the family, the lineup was kind of quirky! Randy Jackson was the youngest brother in the family, and while he played congas in the band, he wasn't a real member until brother Jermaine dropped out in 1976, and stayed with Motown while the rest of the gang moved to Epic Records

After changing record labels, the group also changed their name to "The Jacksons" instead of "The Jackson 5" because as ridiculous as it might sound, Motown still owned that name.

Sigmund Esco "Jackie" Jackson is the oldest of the brothers.

Toriano Adaryll Jackson aka Tito Jackson, was the second oldest son, and was one of the founding member of the band. Tito performs these days as a damn fine blues musician, and you can check out his style right  HERE!!

 

Marlon Jackson was the fourth born son in the Jackson Family. He was born after La Toya. Besides being an original member, he has also been an actor and a Producer.

Michael Joseph Jackson was the fifth of the sons born, and is undoubtedly the most famous of the group!

This show follows the same tired format of variety shows of the era, and except for The Jacksons performing, could just as easily been hosted by Carol Burnett or Donny and Marie. Out of twelve episodes, only one featured another black performer, and that was Redd Foxx. Although there were a ton of awesome black performers during this period, many of them were on Motown Records, and that just wasn't gonna happen. In fact, that's why the last brother Jermaine never appeared on this show, because he was still with Motown.

This is Maureen Reillette Jackson, also known as Rebbie Jackson, the oldest of the Jackson Siblings, and maybe the least known of all the kids. Despite her Father's objections, Rebbie chose to have a family of her own, instead of being part of the Jackson ensemble, but she did appear on this show. After her kids got older, Rebbie did have moderate success as a recording artist is the 80's.

Here's La Toya Jackson,  the second oldest daughter! This variety show pretty much introduced La Toya to the world, and the rest is history.

Last but not least, here's little Janet Damita Jo Jackson, who was only ten years old at the time, and I don't think Janet needs any further introduction.

The guest star on this first episode of the show was Sonny Bono who looks like a guy right here that you wouldn't want to take any candy from.

One of the sketches included a version of Paul Simon's "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover."

This way of leaving your lover was to "Buy her a plant, Grant," a woman eating plant!

The highlight or low point of this show, however you want to look at it, is a version of "Love Can Keep Us Together" by Captain and Tennille with Janet Jackson doing her impersonation of Tennille.

Sonny Bono performs, and the Jacksons are relegated to a second role as background singers.

Other less than soulful performers who appear on other episodes are the likes of Carroll O'Connor and Dom DeLuise etc.

The Jacksons keep it lively with lots of song and dance numbers, but they sure did manage to miss the mark with their musical guests. Can you imagine how cool this show would have been if Marvin Gaye, Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Al Green, Parliament, Earth, Wind & Fire, or any other number of fantastic musicians who were around at the time would have appeared? This is a nice piece of television and music history, but unfortunately, that's about it !