Recently in Television Category

At the age of 16 Lena Horne became a singer and dancer at the famous Cotton Club working with Cab Calloway and Duke Ellington. By the early forties she was appearing in American musicals though her songs would be removed from films when shown in the south. Still, she became the first African-American leading lady in Hollywood. Despite this she quit her film career because of the inherent racism. By the '50s her civil rights activism and left-leaning politics got her blacklisted. She kept performing on stage and on television and in 1981 at the age of 64 her one-woman show relaunched her to new generations of followers and her fan base only grew till she retired from fulltime performing in the late '90s. She died 9th May at the age 92 still one of the most respected performers of all time.

In the latter part of the seventies animator Art Clokey created a lovable little punk named Gumby. He presented this amiable fellow riding a skateboard, playing on a PC, venturing into fictional realities and leading an alternative rock band; thus making him the precursor to the contemporary hacker/thrasher dude.

Gumby, with his pals Pokey, Prickle Minga and Goo, hung around for over thirty years, Art and his wife Ruth producing all of his adventures, literally by hand. 

Now Gumby is an iconic legend. And he remains, a dude.

In remembrance of Art Clokey, creator of Gumby

October 12, 1921 - January 8, 2010

Son of cult movie legend John Carradine and elder brother of Keith and Robert, who have made some cult movies of their own, David Carradine's career has been one of the supreme freelance individual.

He first came to prominence as a stage actor, which led to his screen debut in Scorsese's Boxcar Bertha ('72). Soon after that he turned up as Kwai Chang Caine in what is still one of the most followed TV shows of all time. Between '72 and '75, David Carradine in Kung Fu did more to turn western audiences onto martial arts and eastern philosophy than any one else, including Bruce Lee. I have the theme running through my head as I write this and a clear image of Carradine walking across desert dunes playing his flute.

At the end of Kung Fu's run Carradine went straight into one of the leading cult films of the seventies and leading cult roles in Deathrace 2000 ('75) as Frankenstein, the leather clad racing driver.

His status as one of the great cult actors of all time was secured there and then. His father, one of the great players of Dracula, would have been proud.

He followed that up with his most acclaimed mainstream role as legendary folksinger Woody Guthrie in Hal Ashby's Bound for Glory ('76) and then did top shelf arthouse in Ingmar Bergman's surreal thriller Serpent's Egg.

His next cult landmark wasn't far away when he did Circle of Iron ('78) in which Carradine plays a persona changing martial arts mystic in a film of eastern philosophies and metaphysical symbolism. It's still considered a kung-fu fight fan's pilgrimage film. One must make their way to Circle of Iron and bow before the screen where presides a cross-legged David Carradine charismatically giving out jewels of knowledge to excel in the kicking of butt.

Cult status aside Carradine was never out of

work in mainstream, alternative, film, TV or otherwise. He obviously enjoyed the work and as he was as willing to be a character actor as much as a leading man there were always roles for him in all manner of television and cinema. He was a dude performer in them all. Notable was Walter Hill's The Long Riders where he joined his brothers Keith and Robert as the Younger brothers in the Jesse James gang. He did a particularly fine character performance in that.

A remarkable trait of Carradine's was to transcend the material he was in, no matter how schlocky. His natural charisma in Larry Cohen's cult monster movie Q -The Winged Serpent ('82) moved that to a higher plain. Warrior and the Sorceress ('84) could have been one of the truly bad Conan the Barbarian rip-offs of that time but Carradine turns in a low budgeteer that rivals Arnie's own for entertainment. And what he did for barbarians he did for near future noir and the Blade Runner rip-offs, especially Crime Zone ('88) which was a surprise success almost entirely due to Carradine's likeability. And when vampire movies became trendy he turned up in the sleeper Sundown ('90).

As I said, he worked continually in all sorts of things in all different level of roles, from commercial villains to arthouse support characters. He even returned to the role of Caine for another successful series of Kung Fu in the mid-nineties. But it's thanks to the Kill Bill films that new generations of filmgoers and cult watchers came to be acquainted with the charms and skills of a great cult actor. And, like me, the old school became reacquainted.

David Carradine often played the role of a legend and there is little doubt that he himself will become one. He was a writer, artist, actor, musician, philosopher and martial arts instructor, but most of all he was an icon for his generation.

David Carradine 8th Dec 1936 - 3rd June 2009

Filling in the Blanc

It is hard to imagine that someone else could take Mel Blanc's crown as the voice-over king. Blanc was born on 30th May 1908 and after a successful career on radio he first voiced Porky Pig in 1937. He kept doing voices for cartoons till his death on July 1989.

It would be crazy to try to list all his achievements as a voice actor so here's a partial list of characters we can attribute his voice to; Porky Pig, Daffy Duck, Bugs Bunny, Tweety Bird, Yosimite Sam, Pepe Le Pew, Sylvester the Cat, Foghorn Leghorn, Henery Hawk, Marvin the Martian, Elmer Fudd, Wile E Coyote, Speedy Gonzales, Tasmanian Devil, Barney Rubble, Dino, Mr. Spacely, Secret Squirrel, Speed Buggy, Deputy Droop-a-Long Coyote, Captain Caveman and Twiki (from Buck Rogers).

And if you know some of these voices (and you should) it is amazing to think that the voice of Tweety is the voice of Foghorn Leghorn and the voice of Speedy Gonzales is the voice of Barney Rubble

It is the hundredth anniversary of the man who was both Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, including when they appeared in Who Framed Roger Rabbit in '89. It is fitting to remember one of the most important figures ever in the history of cartoons.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Birds Of Britain

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wild Things Set Free

Where the Wild Things Are was first published in 1963 and from there has become perhaps the most beloved children's picture book. Certainly, it remains a fond favourite for children who've become adults and reread those ten special sentences to their own children.

But, it's not just those ten sentences that make this book so extraordinary, it is the images that famed designer / illustrator Maurice Sendak has put with them. They may seem simple, well-drafted children book images but they go beyond that. Those simple lines evoke a rich world and dynamic actions, actions parents and children enact as they share the story together.

Being a wild thing. Grrarr!

If you are like me, you are waiting for the Spike Jonze directed, David Eggers written adaptation. But while you are waiting you can check out Terrible Yellow Eyes. It is a site for displaying the works of artists and designers paying tribute to Sendak's original work. Gory Godbey is the administrator of the site and he's doing an excellent job as his tribute is shared by many a talented artist.

Do visit Terrible Yellow Eyes not just if you are a fan of Sendak but if you appreciate modern pop art, cartoon art and the kind of stuff Juxtapoz and Hi-Fructose like to display.  

Astroboy was created by manga legend Osamu Tezuka in 1951 - when World War II was still fresh in memory - as Tetsuwan Atomu or Mighty Atom. Twelve years, and thousands of manga later, Astro became the star of the Japan's first commercial animated television show. Yes, Astroboy is the birth of anime.

The little metal blighter has been around fifty-eight years. Of course, you couldn't tell by looking at him. With a fresh coat of paint he still looks like a mechanical boy of twelve. And in that time he's been in print or on TV somewhere in his, at least, three animated incarnations and even a live TV show made in 1959 a couple of years before the first anime. The live action has the obvious limitations but it still captures enough of that Astro charm.

Adventuring across several generations Astroboy has remained popular. More than popular. He's a multicultural, multigenerational icon of ephemera. Quite regularly I see people wearing an Astroboy t-shirt of some funky design. Who knows how many of these wearers have ever seen the show. It doesn't matter. He's Astroboy. He is because he is.

So what is it now that Astro represents that makes so many use him as an identifier? I think it's because he's the happy zooming rocket boy of a glorious happy future that was a past dream. He is the embodiment of the dream of the flying car and technological luxury for all. He the promise of a fun filled future that would be exciting and entrancing.

But he also, by being a naive little boy who is more than capable of defending himself, represents that attitude that we know better about the realities of the world today but we still have the willing ability to dream. We didn't get our future of flying cars, but we were no more robbed than those who dreamt of wondrous future things in the first place.

Astro is a sympathetic bridge between past, present and future. Today we are the reality biting truth of those long ago dreams that bore little fruit. All the same, we must be grateful that they did try to dream. Astroboy is the good will ambassador to our millennial disappointment. And in this time of war and technological horror - and the religious callousness that controls it, on both sides - the need for sweet and well-meaning symbols like Astroboy is more important than ever.

Of course, a smiling, waving Astro can also just look très cute on a t-shirt.

Viva la Astroboy!

Viva la Astroboy t-shirts!

Journey to the West, better known as Monkey, is one of the great tales of world literature and the Monkey King one of the great heroes of fiction. He's certainly one of the coolest. Being one of a vast many with this belief is largely due to that super-funky '70s TV series Saiyuki, known in English as Monkey, often and affectionately referred to as Monkey Magic! Big in the UK, bigger in Australia than even in Japan, it has maintained and grown a mega-cult following. Really, it's what cult followings should be about.

Monkey has appeared in other forms since that groovy show. One very notable version that I have not seen is a long running Chinese series in the mid-80s called Journey to the West which was very successful in its homeland and garnered praise for being the most loyal of versions.

Not at all a faithful adaptation but one I have a lot of affection for is by Stephen Chow of Shaolin Soccer and Kung Fu Hustle. Released in 1994 as two films, A Chinese Odyssey - Part One: Pandora's Box, Part Two: Cinderella, they quickly became cult classics with Chinese cinemagoers.

The Monkey King doesn't properly appear till the second film, the first being largely slapstick as Stephen Chow's bandit character Joker is caught up in the affairs of demons who have been waiting 500 years for the Monkey King to reappear. Throughout the film we receive clues to what is actually going on, but you need to hold out till the second part for the proper appearance of Monkey as lead character.

For the most part it's a lot of fun, providing you have a taste or tolerance, to the wacky style of Chinese comedy, but when it becomes a full fledged Monkey film it surges with classic Hong Kong operatic bravado. However my affection for A Chinese Odyssey is because of the final act. The last part is not of action or even plot but of character dénouement. Indeed, I can only describe it as The Last Temptation of Monkey and though the whole thing is not faithful to the original texts it made me feel like I had just watched classic Monkey.

That was more than ten years ago, but the Monkey King is making fresh appearances. There's the hugely successful circus opera Monkey: Journey to the West an east/west collaboration with the Gorillaz guys, musician Damon Albarn and artist/illustrator Jamie Hewlett. Planet Blog already talked about this in October last year. But their Monkey seems to be an ongoing project that has since included this cool short film depicting a classic scene from the Monkey story.

The Monkey King also turns up in the Hollywood martial arts epic-let The Forbidden Kingdom. Besides the pleasure of seeing Jackie Chan return to his character of the Drunken Master we have Jet Li in duel roles of the Silent Monk and, yes, the Monkey King himself. Taking into account that this is a Hollywood film with the forced conditions of being so, like an American teen lead, it is still surprisingly better than you'd expect. Indeed, it was not hated in the land that has mastered and creatively owns such cinema.

Meanwhile, back in Japan, the fan following brought about the return of Saiyuki, perhaps in the same manor that returned Doctor Who. This 2006 series is a very respectful revisit to the world of the original Monkey series. It tries for the same humour and general characterization, though smart enough to update it for current audience tastes, although, it maintained the tradition of a female in the role of the boy monk. Still, that may not entirely satisfy tastes for the original, but you can't really and shouldn't go back; retro needs revisioning to succeed as retro rather than retread.

I've not seen any of this new series, except brief excerpts like an amusing one where the new Monkey encounters a character played by Masaaki Sakai, the original Goku aka The Monkey King. What I have seen is the movie. After one season and the ratings being not much better than luke-warm, the network and producers decided not to do a second but to go with a theatrical movie. This paid off with a big hit in Japanese cinemas. In Australia, Madman Entertainment was smart enough to pick up the movie, which they titled Monkey Magic and gave it a decent DVD release.

It has a bit of a slow start and suffers just a little for being aimed at an audience taken for granted has followed the series. However, the beginning meanderings can be used to acclimatize oneself as this is so much like the original Monkey, but different enough, that you need to be able to separate yourself from preconceptions to allow this one to breathe on its own. Especially with Monkey himself. Shingo Katori plays the sage rather differently, making him more like a rock star and emphasizing more crude habits. You might also need to get used to the blond monkey fur.

About half way through the film, the point you're likely to have fallen for the charms of modern Monkey, the film takes off, literally. Though adventures abound, the action you were hoping for finally takes off virtually the moment Goku jumps on his flying cloud (though, in this case a large surfing feather). What follows is a great special effect sequence of aerial combat, exactly the sort of thing you'd want from a Monkey show with new film technology. And when they hit the ground we get the martial arts action you expect and it doesn't let up till the classic style climax featuring Takeshi Kaga, aka Chairman Kaga of Iron Chef, as the villainous demon King Golden Horn.

I'm reservedly enthusiastic about Monkey Magic , but thanks largely to the actor playing The Monkey King, I left this film suitably entertained and my affection for Monkey adventures revitalised. Indeed, I hope Madman pick up the series.

Hmm, in fact I have an urge to watch the flying cloud battle all over again.

Patrick McGoohan will forever be Danger Man and The Prisoner. After turning down the parts of James Bond (prior to Sean Connery) and Simon Templar (prior to Roger Moore) McGoohan turned John Drake (aka Danger Man, aka Secret Agent) into one of the biggest and coolest TV heroes of sixties television. He did this by creating a character complexly charismatic and deeply intelligent who more often used his wits to get out of a sticky situation than his fists or a gun. And he never kissed on screen, which might partly explain his 58-year marriage.

In 1967 he moved on from Danger Man to a mini-series that he largely developed, acting as executive producer and writing & directing several episodes including the contentious final episodes. The Prisoner is the biggest true cult TV show today and certainly worthy of that mantel. Very original, very clever, thoroughly enigmatic and very playful, the series knew how to use paranoia as a multi-layered narrative tool to develop intrigue, satire, intellectual puzzles and social commentary. And the center and drive, the dynamo heart, was Patrick McGoohan as Number 6. He played a character of sharp wit, fierce intelligence and unbreakable of will. And one couldn't help feel the real Patrick McGoohan was not far underneath the ever-cool Number 6 veneer.

But besides all of Patrick McGoohan's cult accolades, he had a long and illustrious career as an actor on stage, film and television. He left behind a huge and loving family. And that is as a good an epitaph as he could have wished for.

Patrick McGoohan March 19, 1928 - January 13, 2009