Riding the Retro Metro: Wednesday Apr.12, 1978!

Redartz: Excellent; you're just in time for our latest retro road trip ! Grab a seat and hang on, we're headed back to the Spring of 1978; a heady time indeed.   The US Senate is debating returning the Panama Canal (to Panama, of course), Volkswagen has just started manufacturing cars in the US, and Woody Allen's "Annie Hall" has won big at the Academy Awards. Also, a certain trio of singing brothers are on top of the world. and they're on top of the  US Billboard Hot 100:  The Bee Gees, with  "Night Fever"

Rounding out the top five: 
2. The Bee Gees, "Stayin' Alive"
3. Eric Clapton, "Lay Down Sally"
4. Barry Manilow, "Can't Smile Without You"
5. Yvonne Elliman, "If I Can't Have You"


The brothers Gibb are responsible for three of the top five songs this week (writing and producing Yvonne Elliman's song); they seem to be giving the 1964 Beatles some competition in the area of chart domination. However, some other residents of the top 40  hold more interest for me. Among them:   Jackson Browne, "Running on Empty"- a great song proving that the singer/songwriter is alive and well in the disco era. Andy Gibb, "Love is Thicker Than Water"- yes, another Gibb brother. But this song is really sharp, a bit more soulful than some other Gibb compositions, in my opinion. John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John, "You're the One That I Want"- a dynamic duet from the two stars of that other popular film out now: "Grease".  Sweet, "Love is Like Oxygen"- yet another cool offering from the British glam gang; and one of the more unusual metaphors you'll hear for love...

Tops in the UK:  Brian and Michael, "Matchstalk Men and Matchstalk Cats and Dogs" (love that title)

Yes, there are plenty of riches on the music charts today. But this high schooler wants to know about tonight's tv; what say you? And since we have the schedule right here, let's have a look...

US Television Schedule:
 ABC:  Eight is Enough, Charlie's Angels, Starsky and Hutch

 

Being a red-blooded American teenager, I never miss "Charlie's Angels". Farrah Fawcett, Jaclyn Smith and Kate Jackson star, and of course everyone has their favorite Angel- mine is Kate. No contest. And lots of folks follow up with Paul Michael Glaser and David Soul as "Starsky and Hutch". Also featuring the two cops' favorite informant, the inimitable "Huggy Bear", and a bright red Ford Gran Torino.

Cast of "Good Times"

CBS:  Good Times, Syzsnyk, The CBS Wednesday Night Movies
Just what exactly is "Syzsnyk", anyway?

 













 


NBC:  The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams, Black Sheep Squadron, Police Woman
My parents liked to catch "Grizzly Adams", and sometimes Black Sheep Squadron. When I occasionally declined to watch the Angels, I'd watch the Squadron. Robert Conrad stars as the leader of a group of WWII fighter pilots. I have a good friend who is absolutely nuts for this show...












BBC1:  The Wednesday Film: Track of Thunder, Miss Scotland 1978, The Budget, The Hong Kong Beat, Sportsnight

BBC2:  Mr. Smith Propagates Plants, Newsday, Brass Tacks, Call My Bluff, Midweek Cinema: Broadway Melody of 1940


Oh, by the way, it's Wednesday: new comic day! And since we have plenty of change (unfortunately thirty five cent comics prohibit the purchase of more than two books for a dollar, but so it  goes), lets check out the Spinner Racks:

Oh, I have to pick up a bunch of these. Starting with the two Treasury editions (that Batman collection is a gem, a couple of great Neal Adams tales just as a start). In Avengers we're continuing to see the members disappearing; that book is incredible lately. Then I'll take the first issue of DC Comics Presents: Superman teamups, starting with a race against the Flash-  a good start, and Garcia-Lopez art too. Red Sonja has a great cover, but so does that Showcase with Hawkman by Kubert. Showcase was a cool 'tryout' book in the Silver age, and I'm enjoying the 70's incarnation as well. Defenders has Spider-man; that has to be good reading. Finally, "Doorway to Nightmare" is a treat for the eyes, and those Kaluta covers grab me every time. It's nice to pick up something a little different now and then.

Well, my funds are now shot, and time is about up for today. Anyway, I need to get home and finish up some homework; don't want to mess up graduation next month with unfinished projects. So it's back on the retro and forward to our future present once again. Hope we roused a few memories, and a few smiles. Until next trip, adios!

Riding the Retro Metro: Destination Dec. 9, 1981

Redartz:  Good day, and welcome to another excursion back into our collective past. Today we depart our time-travelling public transport and find ourselves at Wednesday, December 9, 1981. As we look around and get oriented, let us see what's going on:

Blaring from radios everywhere is the current number 1 song on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100: Olivia Newton John with "Physical":

Olivia is in the middle of what will be a 10 week run at the top of the chart. "Physical" will be named Billboard's number 1 single for 1982. The video is pretty popular as well; music videos are getting a lot of attention these days. There is a club that my art school friends and I frequent that shows videos of the new bands from the UK on Friday nights. One memorable example was "Girls on Film" by a group called Duran Duran.

 

Rounding out  the top five hits:
2. Foreigner- "Waiting for a Girl Like You"
3. The Police- "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic"
4. The Commodores- "Oh No"
5.  Earth, Wind and Fire- "Let's Groove" 


I'm in college now, and my tv viewing has decreased a bit (I'm spending a lot of evenings in the photolab), but I still like some entertainment to unwind. On schedule for this evening:

"The Greatest American Hero"

ABC:  "The Greatest American Hero", followed by "The Fall Guy" and "Dynasty"
CBS:  "Mr. Merlin", then "WKRP in Cincinnati", "Nurse" and "Shannon"
NBC:  "Real People", "The Facts of Life", "Love, Sidney" and "Quincy, M.E."

BBC2:  Showing "Life on Earth", "M*A*S*H*", and "The Borgias"

Personally, I often catch "Greatest American Hero"- it is, after all, right up any comic book fan's alley. Still love WKRP, and must admit to watching "Real People" from time to time.

 And a big thumbs up to PBS for showing David Attenborough's excellent "Life on Earth" on this side of the Atlantic. You'll never catch me watching "Dynasty", though- not a fan of the soaps. What are you going to be watching ?













Hey, tomorrow is new comic day! I'm pretty excited, as this is shaping up to be a great month for comics. On the racks today:

That JLA Anniversary issue is bound to be a classic. That wraparound cover is beautiful, and what an array of talent inside! I've also been loving Roger Stern's work on Amazing Spider-Man, here we have the Black Cat returning. On the down side, this month's Avengers is helping convince me to drop the title. However, I'll be replacing it with Marvel Fanfare. Also noticing now the increasing variety of independent comics available at our local comic shop, such as Kirby's "Captain Victory". Hard to afford many on an art student's budget, but I try...

Well, as we see, pop culture has a lot to offer in 1981. Pretty good time to be out and about. Thanks for joining the tour, come back again for our next trip back!