In the mid to late 80's as the USA network was gaining its cable footing, they decided to come up with their own schlock movie host. That host was retired superhero Commander USA and his sidekick Lefty (a face drawn on the Commander's right hand with ashes from his cigar). For the whole Saturday afternoon, the Commander would host a mix of B movies and occasionally some old Saturday serials from his secret fortress under a suburban New Jersey mall.
whomod said: I generally don't like it when people decide to play by the rules against people who don't play by the rules. It tends to put you immediately at a disadvantage and IMO is a sign of true weakness. This is true both in politics and on the internet."
This also reminded me of USA's other B-movie haunt, Night Flight. Before Up All Night took over Friday and Saturday late nights on USA, Night Flight was a block of weird cult films, serials, shorts, comedians, and music videos. I remember seeing Fantastic Planet and the 'Warhol' Dracula and Frankenstein films (chill out, Joe. I know they're not really Warhol films) as well as some crazy, risque (for the 50's at least) serials. Not to mention versions of Frankie Goes to Hollywood videos that I don't remember seeing on MTV. They really did push the boundaries of what was allowed on TV for the time.
whomod said: I generally don't like it when people decide to play by the rules against people who don't play by the rules. It tends to put you immediately at a disadvantage and IMO is a sign of true weakness. This is true both in politics and on the internet."
whomod said: I generally don't like it when people decide to play by the rules against people who don't play by the rules. It tends to put you immediately at a disadvantage and IMO is a sign of true weakness. This is true both in politics and on the internet."
Night Flight was a cool show. Definitely had better videos than the stuff on MTV most days.
I seem to also recall them running Japanese "Power Rangers" footage, redubbed with comedic dialogue, ala "Whats Up Tiger Lilly" long before the footage was repackaged for the kids' show over here.
Of COURSE I remember Commander USA! I watched his show almost every Saturday. He's one of the reasons I love horror. Without him, The Devil's Nightmare wouldn't be one of my favorite guilty pleasure films. Damn, I miss the days of Elvira, Commander USA, Night Flight/USA Up All Night, and Saturday Night Dead (TV-38's Saturday night horror offering).
Originally Posted By: thedoctor
(chill out, Joe. I know they're not really Warhol films)
Um, why would I bitch that you called those films by the titles that most people know? Maybe YOU need to chill! (...bitch...)
Uschi said: I won't rape you, I'll just fuck you 'till it hurts and then not stop and you'll cry.
MisterJLA: RACKS so hard, he called Jim Rome "Chris Everett." In Him, all porn is possible. He is far above mentions in so-called "blogs." RACK him, lest ye be lost!
"I can't even brush my teeth without gagging!" - Tommy Tantillo: Wank & Cry, heckpuppy, and general laughingstock
I remember the Commander USA commercial where he informs all us viewers that, in the movies, an earthquake is just a camera man with bad nerves.
whomod said: I generally don't like it when people decide to play by the rules against people who don't play by the rules. It tends to put you immediately at a disadvantage and IMO is a sign of true weakness. This is true both in politics and on the internet."
Holy shit! I completely forgot about Grandpa's Super Scary Saturday.
whomod said: I generally don't like it when people decide to play by the rules against people who don't play by the rules. It tends to put you immediately at a disadvantage and IMO is a sign of true weakness. This is true both in politics and on the internet."
Monstervision with Joe Bob Briggs. He did the same schtick on The Movie Channel.
whomod said: I generally don't like it when people decide to play by the rules against people who don't play by the rules. It tends to put you immediately at a disadvantage and IMO is a sign of true weakness. This is true both in politics and on the internet."
It's 1938 and we gots espionage, Nazis, Japs, Chevy Chase, Carrie Fisher in her undies before we ever got the bronze bikini, and a shitload of drunk midgets trying out for the Wizard of Oz. I remember HBO playing this on a seemingly endless loop for a while. What I don't remember is it actually being any good.
whomod said: I generally don't like it when people decide to play by the rules against people who don't play by the rules. It tends to put you immediately at a disadvantage and IMO is a sign of true weakness. This is true both in politics and on the internet."
Every year around Halloween the school librarian would read this too us. I liked checking it out for the really weird artwork (turns out the guy did a lot of jazz album covers for RCA and Columbia back in the 40's and 50's). I remember it being pretty fucked up for a kids book, which is probably why I liked it. Essentially, this kid is being a pussy when a thunderstorm rolls in, so his grandpa starts telling him truly fucked up horror stories about crazy shit that was supposed to happen to him as a kid. Each story was kind of like it's own chapter in the book.
whomod said: I generally don't like it when people decide to play by the rules against people who don't play by the rules. It tends to put you immediately at a disadvantage and IMO is a sign of true weakness. This is true both in politics and on the internet."
And by 'school librarian' I was of course referring to my high school years. We were the accelerated class that could handle the adult stuff like this.
whomod said: I generally don't like it when people decide to play by the rules against people who don't play by the rules. It tends to put you immediately at a disadvantage and IMO is a sign of true weakness. This is true both in politics and on the internet."
It was like the 50's met the 80's. It's a blow-everything-the-fuck-up action flick with Willem Dafoe as a greaser/biker who kidnaps this chick because.......... well, he kidnaps her. Her ex-military, ex-boyfriend (Michael Pare) comes to save her. Fast cars, lotsa guns, shit blowing up.
It's on Netflix now. And it's still 80's awesome.
whomod said: I generally don't like it when people decide to play by the rules against people who don't play by the rules. It tends to put you immediately at a disadvantage and IMO is a sign of true weakness. This is true both in politics and on the internet."
Liquid Television. One of the few passes I give to MTV for playing something other than videos. A lot of underground animation, puppetry, and even some live action. This is where Aeon Flux and Beavis and Butthead got their start. Also the first place I saw a Bill Plympton cartoon. I remember Grimm talking about how much he liked the 'Dog Boy' serial.
whomod said: I generally don't like it when people decide to play by the rules against people who don't play by the rules. It tends to put you immediately at a disadvantage and IMO is a sign of true weakness. This is true both in politics and on the internet."
I wish I had gotten the chance to watch that while it was still around. MTV was off limits for me at that point. Not totally sure I would have understood it though.
After the success of Conan, a shitload of sword and sorcery movies hit the big screen. This one had a dude with a sword with three blades because that is not at all unwieldy. Also, the two extra blades somehow shot off as projectiles. Not sure how they explain that without compressed CO2 bottles, but whatever.
The king's flunkie turning into a demon is the scene I'll always remember.
Well, that and all the gratuitous T&A.
They promised a sequel that was never made.
whomod said: I generally don't like it when people decide to play by the rules against people who don't play by the rules. It tends to put you immediately at a disadvantage and IMO is a sign of true weakness. This is true both in politics and on the internet."
Plus, he'd have to be a good actor to adequately show the surprise when he goes up against the main foe wielding the octo-blade.
whomod said: I generally don't like it when people decide to play by the rules against people who don't play by the rules. It tends to put you immediately at a disadvantage and IMO is a sign of true weakness. This is true both in politics and on the internet."
whomod said: I generally don't like it when people decide to play by the rules against people who don't play by the rules. It tends to put you immediately at a disadvantage and IMO is a sign of true weakness. This is true both in politics and on the internet."
I loved all these sword-and-sorcery movies coming out in the early/mid 1980's.
Sword and the Sorcerer was one (for all the beloved nudity, the guy with his head splitting open down the middle was one of the most memorable scenes for me (at 2:10 in the above clip).
I also loved The Beastmaster (with Marc Singer, and Tanya Roberts showing her wonderful attributes well in a loincloth bikini. )
Some other movies (though mostly not sword and sorcery) of the era I really enjoyed for their stories as well as their unexpected nudity were Excalibur (1981) Outland (1981), The Emerald Forest(1982), and Greystoke (1984).
Liquid Television. One of the few passes I give to MTV for playing something other than videos. A lot of underground animation, puppetry, and even some live action. This is where Aeon Flux and Beavis and Butthead got their start. Also the first place I saw a Bill Plympton cartoon. I remember Grimm talking about how much he liked the 'Dog Boy' serial.
yep. based on the Charles Burns comics, although I didn't know it at the time. also had cool stuff by Richard Sala and several other underground comic artists.
they also ran some other Mike Judge shorts, including Inbred Jed and the Milton shorts that led to Office Space.
I've recently befriended former Cracked and Marvel editor/writer/artist Mort Todd, who was close to the guy who did the Brad Dharma short on LTV. guy's name escapes me but he's dead now.
in cheerier news Liquid TV is coming back with new stuff for the hulu site.
This also reminded me of USA's other B-movie haunt, Night Flight. Before Up All Night took over Friday and Saturday late nights on USA, Night Flight was a block of weird cult films, serials, shorts, comedians, and music videos.
Remember them showing an edited version of this:
whomod said: I generally don't like it when people decide to play by the rules against people who don't play by the rules. It tends to put you immediately at a disadvantage and IMO is a sign of true weakness. This is true both in politics and on the internet."
It's rather uncanny. Years ago, I wrote a narrative essay on the effects of obligatory social interaction on the ego: the main character ended up losing his sense of self as he was pressured to be concerned with getting compliments and recognition from others. Except, I used Batman.
Bruce was spot on. I'm gonna look up more of his material now.
Pariah also tried homosexuality to see how 'bad' it was.
Several times.
whomod said: I generally don't like it when people decide to play by the rules against people who don't play by the rules. It tends to put you immediately at a disadvantage and IMO is a sign of true weakness. This is true both in politics and on the internet."
Herculoids! Which sounds like a bad sphincter disease when you say it out loud. Loved this show as a kid.
Didn't realise it was 1967. Explains the psychodelic opening.
Used to watch that along with Space Ghost. I remember them even crossing over once or twice. I liked the Herculoids' Tarzan in outer space mix.
whomod said: I generally don't like it when people decide to play by the rules against people who don't play by the rules. It tends to put you immediately at a disadvantage and IMO is a sign of true weakness. This is true both in politics and on the internet."
Ah, the classic cartoon violence of my youth…exploding slingshot pellets, bad guys and misters bursting into flaming debris from laser eye blasts. None of the pansy ass "Cobra parachutes out of the jet at the last minute" stuff for the kids of my generation. Good times.
The cartoons of my kid's generation features enemies that bleed buckets of blood from a simple paper cut. It's also full of long haired boys who are more beautiful than the females, who are all depicted as 11 year old girls with neon colored hair and heaving bosoms.
I swear to god that, until today, I never knew the name of this toy. We had this bastard for years. It might still be boxed up back at my mom's house. They apparently came in a variety of colors, but the one up top was the one we had as it glowed in the dark. It was made of vinyl and was at least a foot tall with suction cups on the front an back. We'd throw it at anything to get it to stick. Bastard hurt if you ever got hit by it. Plus, it was just so damned freaky looking. Like Nosferatu raped a lizard and the offspring stayed up late one night drinking a lot of coffee.
whomod said: I generally don't like it when people decide to play by the rules against people who don't play by the rules. It tends to put you immediately at a disadvantage and IMO is a sign of true weakness. This is true both in politics and on the internet."
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