Saying Goodbye to TV Writer Frank Barron

Death notices very seldom are occasions of joy (we at TVWriter™  know, in theory they never are, but we also have lived for awhile in the real world, where things are different), but all we could think when a friend showed us this one was, “Wow, there definitely are worse lives out there, and worse ways to have lived.”

In other words, we hope our own obits show half as much accomplishment as this one, for a writer who clearly was much too unsung:

Mr. Barron is the figure on the right in this 1950s pic. On the left is Pinky Lee, the star of one of the many shows Barron wrote for.

Frank Barron, the eclectic writing career of a Hollywood character

Not every character in Hollywood becomes famous, but they make their contributions. Writer Frank Barron tried his hand at all sorts of show business gigs, and over the years became one of the threads that connects and enlivens the Hollywood tapestry. read article

Gerry Conway Sees GUARDIANS

by Gerry Conway

Finally had a chance to watch the Russian superhero film “Guardians,” and, wow.

It isn’t very good, but it isn’t very bad either.

It’s like a superhero movie made by people who kinda know what a superhero movie is “supposed” to look like but aren’t quite clear about why. read article

Indie Video: ‘New Eden’

This one’s like Star Trek.

If Star Trek wasn’t really like itself but was instead an offshoot of classic video game TOEJAM & EARL.

Although we don’t think the makers of New Eden have ever seen TOEJAM & EARL. Way too young, you know? read article

When is a Kid Video not a Kid Video?

Creepy video indeed. From the TechCrunch article analyzing the first article below. (Don’t worry, it’ll all be clear if you stick with us.)

When is a Kid Video not a Kid Video?

When you’re watching many a giant “hit” kid video on YouTube!

What the !@#$ are we talking about? This: read article

Whatever Happened to…’Automan?’

Yeppers, that’s Automan (Chuck Wagner) standing between his creator, Walter Nebbisher (Desi Arnaz, Jr.) and his very special – oh, you guessed it – Autocar. (He also had a little Tinkerbelle style sidekick named “Cursor.”

Once upon a time (1983, to be exact) there was a TV series called Automan, starring Desi Arnaz Jr. and Chuck Wagner, and Executive Produced and mostly written by none other than our favorite Beloved Leader, Larry Brody.

The show didn’t last all that long – twelve episodes, to be exact one more time – but over the years it’s become a cult classic because that’s what happens to shows that are way ahead of their time, especially shows that are the first to do something very, very special.

How do we know that Automan is a cult classic? Not from the residual checks that LB isn’t getting, that’s for sure. We know it because here and now, in the otherwise Not So Glorious Year of Our Lorde 2017, cool stuff video graphics software maker Red Giant is giving us – hehehe – this David Hewlett-starring parody: read article