Television

In an era where the term “lost media” haunts the streaming landscape, rendering entire series inaccessible, the timeless allure of classic television is making a triumphant return. The latest example of this resurrection is none other than “Doctor Who,” the venerable sci-fi institution that has been captivating audiences for an astounding 60 years. For those who have yearned to explore the annals of this iconic series, the wait is finally over as Tubi, in celebration of Doctor Who’s 60th anniversary, has generously made all of “Classic Who” available for free streaming. Before the advent of streaming platforms, viewers were relegated to the whims of television schedules and reruns. Doctor Who, with its remarkable six decades of history, became a symbol of this bygone era. However, Tubi’s bold move to make the pre-2005 reboot episodes accessible marks a groundbreaking moment for fans, old and new alike. Tubi now boasts a library of over 600 episodes, a treasure trove for enthusiasts eager to delve into the roots of the show. The format, characterized by serialized storytelling, weaves captivating narratives across multiple episodes. A notable exception, the pilot episode “An Unearthly Child,” is not available on Tubi due to a rights dispute but can still be found on BritBox. However, the vast majority of these classic episodes were lost to the BBC’s “junking” policy, where numerous episodes were erased and retaped. Thankfully, Tubi has stepped up to the plate, featuring animated recreations of some lost adventures, preserving the essence of the Doctor’s timeless journey. For those unfamiliar with the classic era, these episodes offer a glimpse into the show’s humble beginnings and showcase the birth of iconic elements that persist in the current iteration. Aliens and villains from the classics, such as the Zygons, the Silurians, and the Sea Devils, have left an indelible mark on “New Who.” The 60th-anniversary specials even promise the return of the enigmatic Toymaker, originally featured in a lost First Doctor episode, now reincarnated through Neil Patrick Harris. The decision to make classic Doctor Who episodes freely accessible on Tubi is a boon for fans and a nostalgic trip for those who remember the heyday of the 4th Doctor episodes airing on PBS. Every classic episode, whether standing the test of time or serving as a captivating relic of low-budget science fiction, holds significance in the rich tapestry of Doctor Who. For those eager to experience the excitement of bygone eras or witness the birth of iconic elements that continue to shape the series, the invitation is clear: venture into the archives without any paywall hindrance. Tubi has opened the doors to time travel, and you don’t need a TARDIS to embark on this journey. So, grab your sonic screwdriver and get ready for an adventure spanning six decades of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey goodness.

If you grew up watching 80s cartoons, you probably have some favorite villains you rooted against from your childhood. From some of the cheesiest to the most memorable, 80s cartoon villains left a huge mark on our childhood and are still hugely popular even today. To celebrate the ranking of big baddies, were gonna list the Top 10 cartoon villains of the 1980s.  So, let the countdown Begin!   #10  Miles Mayhem, from the show M.A.S.K. He is the cruel and aggressive leader of a deadly criminal organization named V.E.N.O.M.   Miles actually killed the leader of  M.A.S.K.’s brother, Andy Tracker – so he’s one cold blooded killer. #9  Gargamel, from The Smurfs He’s a evil wizard and the sworn enemy of the Smurfs.  His sole purpose in life is to hunt down all Smurfs and either eat them, turn them to gold, or use them in his potions for making spells.  So, When it comes to hating something as cute as a Smurf, you just have to be evil for that. #8   Mon*star, from Silverhawks He is an evil mob boss that is determined to rule the galaxy and destroy the Silverhawks in the process.  This monstrous feline humanoid  turns all muscle bound and spiked armor plated when he  gets power from the beams of Limbo’s Moonstar.  #7   Hordak, from She-Ra: Princess Of Power Hordak is the leader of the Evil Horde. He is the most powerful of the evil beings in Etheria, which is  Eternia’s sister planet.  Hordak killed King Grayskull and was the former mentor of Skeletor, until Skeletor betrayed him and trapped him in another dimension. He now operates as the evil ruler of Etheria and is the main villain in the show She-Ra: Princess of Power. #6   Venger, from Dungeons and Dragons Also known as The Force of Evil, he’s an evil Demon Sorcerer that has great and mysterious powers.  He is the main enemy from Dungeons and Dragons and later in the series its found that he is actually the son of the Dungeon Master (Spoiler!!).  Venger’s sole purpose in life is the Kill the Dungeon Master and Rule the Realm.  He possibly knows nearly every spell in the D & D RPG books, so this would make him one formidable enemy.  Especially if your playing DnD. #5   Shredder, from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Any villain that can take on 4 martial artist turtles has to be in the top 5.  He had some real flunkies though in Bebop and Rocksteady, so he wasn’t very good at hiring his minions, and he was second in command behind the freak of nature Krang.  But still, he was one evil SOB, and pretty much anyone that comes in his path trembled in fear. #4   Skelator, from HE-MAN and he Masters Of The Universe This bad guy is classic – One of the most well known and  ruthless villains that 80s kids would remember.  Skeletor is just the epitome of a villain.  He had that maniacal creepy laugh that was perfect for his character,   some crazy magical powers,   and was hell bent on the total destruction of He-Man and Eternia! #3   Mum-Ra, from Thundercats He looks unassuming in his weak mummy form until he calls on the ancient spirits of evil to becomes a huge muscle bound monster.  Mum-Ra would kill every Thundercat and eat their souls if given a chance. He’s bound in servitude to four undead evil sorcerers, known as the Ancient Spirits of Evil – so he’s not completely in charge of the underworld.. But close. #2   Cobra Commander, from GIJOE: A Real American Hero When you think of an 80s terrorist that wants to rule the world, kill GI JOES,  and will stop at nothing, Cobra Commander is near the top of the list.   He was great at picking his sidekicks, with having Destro and Baroness at his side, and he runs a huge and ruthless terrorist organization meant to bring terror and destruction upon all of Earth. Before we get to #1, I know there’s some of you that are probably disappointed yours favorite villain didn’t make the list, but maybe it made it in our top #15 through 11. At #15.  Prince Lotar From Voltron,     #14.  Cy-Kill from Challenge of the Go-Bots,    #13.  Dr. Claw, from Inspector Gadget,   #12.  Baron Greenback from Danger Mouse,     and #11.   Doc Terror from the Centurions. And now that we got that out of the way!  Coming in at the #1 spot is: #1 Megatron, from Transformers He’s absolutely ruthless and has a awesome backstory to boot.  Sorta reminds me of Zod from Superman.  Megatrons motto is Peace Through Tyranny, and aside from always taking crap from Starscream, this baddie is ruthless and will stop at nothing to Enslave and Destroy anyone or thing in his path.  Plus, he actually DID KILL Optimus Prime, who is  one of the most beloved cartoon HERO’s of all time.  So, that’s our top 10 villains from 80s cartoons. Let me know which ones you’d pick for your top 5 Villains of the 1980s. You can post them  in the comments section below. And Remember, if it aint Retro, It aint worth reading!

Earlier this year, Disney+ announced they were producing a new TV series inspired by the classic 80s film ‘The Goonies’ that is  titled ‘Our Time’. The storyline centers on a teacher who helps her students recreate the Richard Donner-directed movie The Goonies, shot-for-shot. While its exciting that this show might be made, you might be interested that this new tv series was actually inspired by another movie besides Goonies! Do you recall a pretty well know Movie called Raiders Of The Lost Ark? What ties these two movies together is that back in the mid 1980s, some boys decided to make a shot-for-shot fan film remake of Raiders Of The Lost Ark.  The fan film which many are not familiar with is titled Raiders of the Lost Arc: The Adaptation.  It was finally  released in 1989 after six years of production utilizing anything the creators could find in their backyards, garages, or loaned by friends.  The fan film was later released in 2014 after a Kickstarter campaign, where it went on to receive lots of praise at  festivals and within Indiana Jones fan communities. There’s even a movie about the making of the adaptation called Raiders!, which follows the film creators as they complete the final scene in their film decades later. But getting back to the Goonies show title ‘Our Time’ – this show is going to follow in the same style the Raiders Of The lost Ark fan film did, but this time its being produced by Warner Brothers and will stream on Disney+.  Currently, the series is still under development, and Disney hasn’t made any official announcements about the project. However, the shows writer, Sarah Watson provided some details on the series’ concept and how they got the idea from the Raiders! fan film,  in an interview she did with Variety.com “This is a partnership between me, Amblin, and Lauren Shuler Donner. When I was at Paramount, there were these young boys doing this movie about “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” a shot-by-shot remake. It got some press at the time, and the studio was very upset about it. I thought it was an amazing idea, and it always stood in my head of — how can you take an idea like that and turn it into a TV series? We needed a terrific writer and great partners, so we brought the idea to Amblin and those guys loved it. Sarah Watson is our creator. The series is a story of a town and a family in the lens of “Friday Night Lights,” and within that they tell a story of a shot-by-shot remake of “The Goonies.”  We had to go to Warner Bros., to Toby Emmerich, and ask if we could have rights [to “The Goonies”]. They said yes, obviously, because of Mr. Spielberg and the Donners. We’re now doing this for Disney Plus.” variety.com Although we don’t have much to go on for the Our Time.  Ill link to where you can watch the Raiders!  documentary about the fan film the boys made to tide you over.  Lets just hope Disney and Warner Brothers get going soon on making Our Time..  Cause its time for another Goonies comeback!

If you’re a fan of 80s cartoons and especially if you like ALF, whose real name is Gordon Shumway, is the alien from Melmac that had his own TV show that ran from 1986 to 1990.   You also  might remember there were 2 ALF cartoons that came on Saturday Mornings on the NBC cartoon lineup.   ALF The Animated series and ALF Tales. Well,  Shout! Factory TV , which already hs the ALF TV show on its streaming service recently announced that it will be streaming the cartoon spinoffs starting in July. Also one other thing I thought was funny is that ALF has a twitter account and there is some rumor that ALF might appear in the Guardians Of The Galaxy 3 movie – don’t know if this will happen, but when the director James Gunn was asked about it, he said.. Ya Never Know.  Also one other thing I thought was funny is that ALF has a twitter account and there is some rumor that ALF might appear in the Guardians Of The Galaxy 3 movie – don’t know if this will happen, but when the director James Gunn was asked about it, he said.. Ya Never Know.

The 1980s is known for its pop culture icons, and Max Headroom is right up there with them.   So, I was really excited when I read at deadline.com that Max Headroom is getting a reboot series..   Now, before you guys flip out, its also been announced that Matt Frewer is going to be reprising his role and the iconic Max Headroom character. The show is being developed by AMC Networks, so expect to see it on the AMC channel when it premieres. Other than Matt returning to play Max, there really isnt a mainstay actor that has to be cast to get fans on board with this reboot.  Matt Freyer who played Max and also the TV reporter Edison Carter can have a whole new cast and I think this show will be great. So far, we don’t have a release date for the show or a list of who will be cast but I am very interested to see if they stick with the same plot of the original show or if they will take it in a whole new direction..  With the popularity of social media and the internet, there are a ton of things they could do with Max Headroom that could make this a great show. Im real interested to learn more about this announcement, so when I find out more, ill be sure to let you know…   But until then, if you want to catch up on some old Max Headroom episodes, you can watch the whole series on the streaming service TUBI for free!

If you’re a Beavis and Butthead fan like me, your going to love that on June 23rd the next movie title Beavis and Butthead Do The Universe will be premiering on Paramount +.  I watched the trailer and loved it.  It does a great job of reminding me of their previous movie, Beavis and Butthead DO America!  If you remember back in 2011, there was a revival of the TV show that gave us the 8th season of Beavis and Butthead, but it wasn’t revived for a 9th season which was a bummer – so hearing that in just a few weeks a new B and B movie is coming out is great. I would have preferred it to come out either in theaters or maybe first play on MTV, where the original show was played.. But I guess that’s too much to ask for nowadays.  MTV is just a afterthought for anything great nowadays anyways. “Beavis and Butt-Head Do The Universe” is a Paramount+ exclusive, and will be available on June 23, 2022.  I highly doubt you will be able to see it if you don’t have their paid service, but if I find out different, ill let you know. Heres the synapsis for the movie, which was provided by Paramount. A tale that technically spans two centuries, “Beavis and Butt-Head Do The Universe” promises to sit atop all future lists of the Dumbest Science Fiction Movies Ever Made. The saga begins when Beavis and Butt-Head wind up at space camp through “creative sentencing” from a juvenile court judge in 1998. Mistaking a docking simulator for something else (huh huh), Beavis and Butt-Head excel at it and are asked to join the space shuttle mission in a PR move. After ruining the mission, they are left for dead in space and end up going through a black hole and reemerging back on Earth in 2022,only to discover a very different world – and find themselves considered Buttholes of Interest by the NSA, the governor of Texas, and a highly intelligent version of themselves from a parallel universe. Also they almost lose their virginity, but don’t. From this storyline, it sounds exactly like something any Beavis and Butthead fan will be excited to check out on June 23rd.  Oh, and one more piece of B and B news!   On the same day that Beavis and Butthead DO the Universe comes out, they are also going to start streaming  All 200 restored episodes of Beavis and Butt-Head and the  original music videos from the 1990s show will be included. This is huge!  That was one of my favorite parts of the old show, actually seeing them talk about and make fun of the music videos! This alone might make me resign up for Paramount!