1994-2001
ReBoot!
... because before there could be any hope
of a true blue AQUA SAGA
(with the likes of Mera, Atlanna, Orm,
Tsunami, Neptune Perkins, Tuatara,
Aquagirl, Aqualad, Vulko, Lori Lemaris,
Lagoon Boy, Indigo/Deep Blue
and Aquaman - of course!)
there had to be something else
that paved the way ~ prepared the
collective consciousness...!!!
AND THAT WAS...
With its extensive cast, all colorful and very much with a penchant
for the aquatic allegory (given that they were all surfing the web,
after all) it is undeniable that these four seasons of ReBoot
inspired both DC *and* LP... me!!!
From the main two Mainframe heroes - Bob and Dot, who so closely resemble
a plethora of power couples of my youth: be it Aquaman/Mera,
Edo/Maria Do Carmo (from Rainha Da Sucata ...!)
or James Bond/Emma Peel (!!!) -
to the assorted supporting cast that covered it all
(and, in time, was extensively echoed in both DC as Marvel books!)
with the likes of AndrAIa , Enzo Matrix, Mouse, Frisket, Hexadecimal
and RAY TRACER ...!!!
Purists of the four-color, two-dimensional fare will say that this
was pilfering extensively from the other two sources;
but the truth is another: if Enzo and AndrAIa never grow up,
Aquaman doesn't start swimming around with DC's Dolphin girl!
If this team doesn't get formed around "Glitch Bob"
there is no Hydro Base in Marvel - with all those misbegotten
mutants there! If those cute (if square) little Binomes don't
start prattling about like they do here - there would have been
no MINIONS all over the place afterwards - likely EVER!
And then the irony: that Dan DiDio - whom we affectionately refer to
as "The Didiot" from time to time - first cut his teeth here
before he went to BYTE into the DCU for about a decade ~
a tumultuous tenure that just recently came to an end.
You'll be astounded to find so many awesome little details
(they are awesome - despite their littleness!)
and concrete proof that YES - the Didiot was one of the
masterminds behind this little masterpiece we love!
It was, of course, a massive collaborative effort ~
and a labour of love at that, first and foremost!
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Labels: Aquaman , Bob , cartoons , childhood reminiscence , comics , luminous connections , Mera , old favorites , super-heroes , television shows
1970-1979
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... ever the prophet: his obsession with a dame by the name of Thibault
was surely about another broad entirely! You see, I happen to know
there was a singer by the name of... Fabienne Thibault.
She was briefly a big deal in the frigorified nether regions
'Monsieur ' here hails from! But he was no Nostradamus, see;
he simply got two Fabiennes (10 years apart) mixed up, that's all!
The second one, with the less than lyrical last name of Larouche,
was the one he was prophesying the rise of --- an obnoxious
soap opera wannabee queen that still toils while stirring up
a storm of stench, turmoil and nonsense on a daily basis!!!
(Clue: she was nicknamed ''Lesbienne Farouche '' LOL)
Year after year she tries ---
only to always be defeated by the superior
TELENOVELA BRASILEIRA!
That's my theory and I'm sticking with it!
(Just like ''frigorified'' is my new word, created now
in lieu of the banal ''refrigerated'' - duh!)
But aaaaall that is another story... of conflict!
You want conflict? Here it is:
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He always stuck it to that darn clown -
and stole the spotlight completely from him too!
What a disappointment to realize that
this cool character... singer, tantrum-thrower, life of the show...
was indeed but a lifeless puppet, in real life!!!
I was heavily into comic-books at that time - of course.
American, European; Belgian, French, Portuguese...
And even infamous material... ''made in QUÉBEC''
The character had briefly popped up there, too -
they'd turned him into a super-hero, also;
"Bionique Tranquille " aux Éditions Héritage
A cheap imitation of Achille Talon
(or Hägar The Horrible mixed in with Beetle Bailey!)
if you ask little luminous me!
(it was more likely inspired by the TV series success
Six Million Dollar Man than actual comic-booky
superheroes - but let's not get into that right now!)
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That was... a mixed success at best.
Obviously (not so for a 4 year-old!) a puppet or not,
he was much better in live-action, on TV!
And as far as the comic-bookies went,
I was always leering towards much more
mature fare already...! Precocious little me
was reading stuff like The Tomb of Dracula ...!
... it naturally led the prone-to thought conundrums kid that I was
to imagine a scenario that would see Tranquille play Harker
to Sesame Street's very own Count...
WHO WOULD WIN?!?
We probably... don't want to find out!
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It didn't hurt one iota that the puppeteer who gave life to
''Mr. T'' here was a comedian that I liked all on his own too;
the extremely funny Roger Giguère - who did the dream job
that I would have loved to do, also!
And that job was to make people laugh - as a TV host
or through characters such as this beloved puppet!
I wanted to grow up and become that guy!
GOD - I loved this silly puppet!!!
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... not exclusively, mind you!!!
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It was nice to see that he was not entirely forgotten -
for a little while, anyway!
He made his first comeback on a game show,
less than a decade after the end of his run:
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A decade went by - until we saw him again!
They took him out of mothballs
for this commercial for... Nyquil!
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He did one or two more commercials that I recall...
Here is the least one of those:
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And there's been nothing since then.
... until I met the real-life Monsieur -
while working in the retail industry!
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Although Jack Somack in 1969
could have been the inspiration, too...!
...unless it is this other puppet dud - selling the pasta sauce
to go with Jack's meatballs there?!?
HUH?!?
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Separated at... confection?!?
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And what of these guys - Jim Henson property?
(with apologies to DC...?!?)
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But all that is yet another story!!!
Labels: advertisements , childhood reminiscence , comics , commemorative , EH , History , luminous connections , Music , old favorites , television shows , tubes français , TV Hebdo , UHF , Ztélé
69 PICTURES OF 1969
Sharon Tate
Diana Rigg
Capucine
Fanfulla
Laryssa Lauret
Vitina Marcus
Charlotte Rampling
Danielle Ouimet
Sharon Tate
Imogen Hassall
Marjorie F Rambeau
Charlotte Rampling
Claudia Cardinale
Virna Lisi
Renée Martel
Lee Remick
Tuesday Weld
Shannon Farnon
Brigitte Bardot
Linda Evans Luciana Paluzzi
Anne Heywood
Linda Thorson
Carol Lynley
Honor Blackman
Shirley Eaton
Stefania Sandrelli
Shirley Anne Field
Linda Evans
Janet Leigh
Marina Vlady Hossein
Nancy Sinatra
Sylva Koscina
Linda Evans
Natalie Wood
Nicole Courcel
Ann-Margret
Katherine Ross
Judy Geeson
Suzanne Pleshette
Lee Merriwether
Virna Lisi
Ann-Margret - redder
Geneviève Bujold
Sophia Loren
Elisa Servier
Andrée Lachapelle
Shirley MacLaine
Honor Blackman
Annette Moore
Diahann Carroll
Brook Bundy
Woodstock Grrl - in the mud *lol*
Melanie Safka
Woodstock Grrl 2 - the hitchhiker!
Sylva Koscina
Woodstock Grrl 3 - the groupie
Ingrid Pitt
Romy Schneider
Soledad Miranda
Betty Mars
Anita Ekberg
Barbara Parkins
Grace Slick
Woodstock Grrl Sally Mann Romano - a close, personal friend of Grace Slick's!
a.k.a. Essy Persson and Anna Gael
And to those wondering out loud
''épa, rapaz - nâo era sô isso que tinha por ai, em 1969 ...!''
HEY... 1969
was a sexy year - right?
... makes sense we showcase the sexiest of the lot, then! Hmm?
You prudes can count your blessings that we didn't end this
with an actual 69 for number 69 there...!!!
But we're not perfect - infelizmente !
We may - MAY - have forgotten someone
of the highest importance there...!
Thus, if there was any oversight at all,
(and it didn't help that we, ah, focused
two or three times on the same... subject, either!
Some of you would say ''ogled at'' - or worse!
Shame on you! Same too - you...! But anyway!!!)
let us simply hope that these other joes
did not make the same mistakes we do:
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Labels: British Pathé , cinema , commemorative , History , inspirations , luminous fotografia , photography , Saudosismo , television shows , Vintage