Our regularly scheduled program this week, Zardoz, has been postponed until next week, as the bossman will be going on a Top Secret/Hush-hush mission. So, not one to keep a livetweet slot empty, he gave me the keys to the #Bond_age_ offices again to do with as I will (he really should stop doing that; I never clean up afterwards). My mind immediately flooded with ideas. Mexican Wrestling! A DVD Theatre livetweet! A Who knows what?! Being as indecisive as I am, I thought I’d take the easy way out and put it up to a vote. So I did, and my fellow livetweeters responded. They voted for who knows what, which meant I had to figure out exactly what what was (does that make sense? I feel it should, but what do I know?) As usual, youtube had the answer: TV shows. It was time for me to do another #Bond_age_TV. But which program?
I wanted to choose a program that fit the #Bond_age_ mold. I’d considered the classic Columbo episode Identity Crisis, which featured Patrick McGoohan in one of his best villain roles, but didn’t like the versions on youtube. I quickly whittled my choices down to three: the Tony Curtis/Roger Moore show The Persuaders; The Robert Wagner series It Takes A Thief, and Magnum P.I. With these three choices, I asked my fellow livetweeters to once again vote, and vote they did. The winner was Magnum P.I with 43% of the votes. So I’m pleased to announce that this Wednesday’s livetweet will be the Magnum P.I two-parter All For One. Magnum, T.C., Rick and Higgins travel to Cambodia with an old war buddy to rescue some American POWs. This episode guest stars Robert Forster, so already makes it a winner in my book. So please join me tomorrow night at 9 pm EST for #Bond_age_TV Happy Fun Time!
As you know, I’ve put The Avengers and Hawaii Five-0 on semi-permanent hiatus. It was a hard choice to make, as those shows are near and dear to my heart. Unfortunately, they never really picked up any traction, so I decided it was best to give them a rest. They may be back someday, but for now, Remington Steele will pick up the #Bond_age_TV banner. This, however, left me with a problem: how to fill this week’s #Bond_age_ slot? Well, not one to rest on my laurels, I thought an experiment was in order, and so I finally felt the time had come to try out a genre I’ve been wanting to try: the Mexican Wrestling film.
Luchadores are to Mexico as James Bond is to Britain; they’re icons. And none are as iconic as the legendary Luchadore El Santo. First wrestling in 1942, El Santo (The Saint) proved to be not just a strong wrestler, but a cultural phenomenon. He brought Lucha Libre to untold levels of international exposure. When not wrestling in the ring, El Santo could also be found on TV and in the movies. His career led to an explosion of Mexican Wrestling films (including one of my all time favourites, La Mujere Murcielago). This week’s #Bond_age_ feature is from the latter part of his career. El Santo finds himself working for Interpol, seeking to stop a group of Nazis from harnessing the secret of mind control. He finds himself dealing with various dangers, including girls in bikinis and sharks! The fun starts at 9 pm EST this Wednesday, and it will be using the #Bond_age_ hashtag. Feel free to also include #ElSanto in your tweets. Fair warning: the movie isn’t dubbed, and there are no subtitles. I think, though, the pictures will speak for themselves. I hope you’ll join me!
It’s been awhile, but #Bond_age_TV is back tomorrow night with another Avengers/Hawaii Five-0 double feature. First up will be The Avengers, in an episode called The Master Minds. A series of thefts baffles the government, especially as it appears that well-respected members of that very same government are caught red-handed. Steed and Mrs. Peel are called in to investigate. Will they get to the bottom of it? Find out at 9 pm EST tomorrow in the first half of our programming.
Then, at 10 pm EST, Hawaii Five-0 is featured with the episode Twenty-Four Karat Kill. McGarrett and Five-0 learn that somebody is smuggling gold into Hawaii, and they’re determined to put a stop to it. The episode is the one where Jack Lord first utters the catchphrase “Book ’em, Danno.” So come join the fun and enjoy the Hawaiian scenery as we watch a piece of TV history. Both programs will be livetweeted under the #Bond_age_TV hashtag. Be here! Aloha!
This week’s regularly scheduled Avengers/Hawaii Five-0 event has to be delayed for technical reasons, but I don’t look at this as a disappointment. Rather, I’m taking this as an opportunity to spotlight two other titles that I think deserve a spot here at #Bond_age_ HQ. This Wednesday’s livetweet is all about the coolness. Before Bond hit our screens in 1962 and made spying the coolest profession on Earth, detectives made living look glamourous. Danger, excitement and beautiful women were the expected norm for the life of a detective. In 1958, perhaps the coolest of detectives appeared on US TV. His name was Peter Gunn, and he was the brainchild of Blake Edwards, the man behind The Pink Panther. Portrayed by Craig Stevens, Gunn was the epitome of cool. Always well-dressed, Gunn’s bad side was always a bad place to be. The show was also one of the first shows in TV to use jazz for its musical scores, including the very memorable Peter Gunn theme, all done by musical legend Henry Mancini. Peter Gunn can rightly be called a James Bond prototype, and #Bond_age_TV is happy to feature the pilot episode for Peter Gunn , called The Kill. Crooks are trying to move in on Peter’s favourite hangout, Mother’s, and he’s having none of it. Will they regret it? Find out in the first part of this Wednesday’s livetweet.
The #Bond_age_TV Cool Detectives Livetweet Event!
The main feature for this Wednesday’s livetweet includes perhaps the Granddaddy of all cool detectives, Dick Tracy. Beginning as a comic strip in 1931, Dick Tracy was a detective who went up against mobsters and other assorted regular criminals. Gradually, however, strip creator Chester Gould added new elements which would turn his strip into a pop culture juggernaut over the next several decades: technology and grotesque villains. Before Batman and Bond, Dick Tracy ignited the imagination with tech like the 2-way wrist radio and villains such as Flattop, Pruneface, and The Blank. Dick Tracy eventually found his way from the comic strip to first the radio, and then movie serials and feature films. This Wednesday #Bond_age_TV will be showing the 1945 film Dick Tracy, Detective. Tracy is up against a vicious criminal by the name of Splitface. Who is he, and how does he choose his victims? To find out, join me this coming Wednesday for #Bond_age_TV, starting at 9 pm EST!
This week’s scheduled programming has to be postponed, so in its place I’m pleased to present a special presentation of one of my favourite films from the 1980s: 1982’s T.A.G. The Assassination Game. The movie stars Robert Carradine and Hollywood badass Linda Hamilton in her first starring role as a pair of college students who get caught up in a live-action game sweeping the campus. In the game, students attempt to assassinate one another with rubber tipped darts, in order to move up the ladder and win the game. Unfortunately for them, one of the other contestants is determined to eliminate the competition permanently. The film is directed by Nick Castle, best known as The Shape from John Carpenter’s Halloween. It’s a fun time, and it’s the subject of this week’s #Bond_age_ livetweet. The fun starts at 9 pm EST, so please join us!
