I'm back from my Secret Mission and no, I can't tell you what it was. It was nice though to not look much at the news for several days. If you wake up each morning with a clenched face wondering, "What has he done today?", you might want to try it. Tomorrow, of course, we may find out just who gets the honor of being the first person indicted by special counsel Robert Mueller. My money's on Flo from the Progressive Insurance commercials. She's really getting on my nerves.
Jon Maki writes to tell me that back in 1986, there actually was a short-lived sitcom based on Fast Times at Ridgemont High…
It didn't air on Saturday mornings. I believe it aired, for its brief run, on Wednesday evenings and it was on CBS. It was just called Fast Times, with Ray Walston and Vincent Schiavelli both reprising their roles from the movie. Dean Cameron, who played a lovable stoner goofball in several teen movies in the '80s, had the role of Spicoli. Also of note were a young Patrick Dempsey and Courtney Thorne-Smith. I remember it being not entirely terrible, but I would have only been 13 or 14 at the time, so who knows how good it actually was? (Mostly, I think I just liked it for Claudia Wells, who filled in for Phoebe Cates, although, there was, of course, a significant lack of bikini-top-removing with her version of the character.)
I have no memory of this at all…but as you note, they didn't produce it for Saturday morning.
Entertainment Weekly has an article up about the new attention being paid to Jack Kirby for his part in creating all those popular characters now appearing in popular movies. One quibble: The author says "After returning home from the war, Kirby teamed up with Stan Lee and Marvel owner Martin Goodman, and together they came up with the Fantastic Four and birthed the Marvel Universe as we know it." That makes it sound like Jack did that while taking off his uniform and returning to civilian life. Jack came home from the war in 1945 and the Fantastic Four started in 1961.
Other than that, good article…as are most of those that quote me.
One more thing and then I'm heading for bed: My friend radio-guy Paul Harris recently had the unpleasant shock of tuning in his own station and hearing one of his colleagues giving much glory and air time to an alleged psychic. Actually, all psychics are alleged because there's no such thing as an actual one. I am amazed that anyone with an I.Q. higher than their inseam measurement ever falls for the claims of psychics but then I look at who won the Electoral College and I scale back my amazement.
Paul debated with himself long and hard and finally decided he had to say something on his own show about this and every other con-artist who claims to have psychic abilities. You might want to give it a listen.