Bob Wilkins Star Trek TOS Interview Episode

[Rebel Scum]

Bob Wilkins was the host of a San Francisco bay area show called Creature Features showing two movies back to back on Saturday night and later Friday nights too from 1971 to 1979. The movies shown were horror, science fiction, monster, kaiju. I watched Creature Features every weekend when I was kid.

Bob Wilkins was big Star Trek fan and interviewed William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Nichelle Nichols, George Takei, and some Trek fans for this episode.

If anyone's interested fast forward to the 46 minute mark and enjoy.

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[ZapBrannigan]

I've never heard of Bob Wilkins, but he sounds a lot like a young Bruce Dern (Silent Running).

 

[Rebel Scum]

He was locally popular bay area TV show host with a dry sense of humor showing lots mostly B grade movies. One of his running gags was how awful the movies were (he was being factious) and would sometimes have a TV guide handy pointing out alternative viewing options. Lol.

That aside he was very knowledgeable about and interested in horror, science fiction, comics, plugging local fan events and conventions, and had a wide variety of famous and not so famous guests.

Edit: For example he does an interview with Gary & Meredith Kurtz and one of two of their two daughters that were Jawas in Star Wars and she brought and wore the costume she wore in the movie. Fast forward to the 1 hour 10 minute mark.

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[Nerys Myk]

Bob and Creature Features were a staple growing up. Was introduced to many classic genre films via his show.

 

[Rebel Scum]

Bob and Creature Features were a staple growing up. Was introduced to many classic genre films via his show.

I saw my first Godzilla movie watching Creature Features. And all the Universal classic horror movies and Hammer horror movies, among many others.

 

[DarrenTR1970]

I know his successor John Stanley because he wrote the 'Creature Features' movie guides that were a staple of my teenage years.
Once the VHS boom started and horror/sci-fi/fantasy movies started appearing on rental store shelves, I would consult the books and his reviews for recommendations for movies to rent.

 

[Rebel Scum]

I know his successor John Stanley because he wrote the 'Creature Features' movie guides that were a staple of my teenage years.
Once the VHS boom started and horror/sci-fi/fantasy movies started appearing on rental store shelves, I would consult the books and his reviews for recommendations for movies to rent.

IMHO, John Stanley was an excellent choice replacing Bob Wilkins when he decided to leave doing Captain Cosmic for a season. He really knew what he was talking about.

 

[Nerys Myk]

IMHO, John Stanley was an excellent choice replacing Bob Wilkins when he decided to leave doing Captain Cosmic for a season. He really knew what he was talking about.

I prefered Bob. Though I have to admit, I was spending more time across the dial watching SNL by then.

 

[Rebel Scum]

I prefered Bob. Though I have to admit, I was spending more time across the dial watching SNL by then.

I agree, I preferred Bob as a host too but at least Bob chose a good successor. By '80 I had other interests. Now it's a cherished memory.

Just throwing this out, if anyone has a horror host they watched when they were a kid please post.

 

[DarrenTR1970]

Seattle had Nightmare Theater, which was a little before my time.

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We also had children's morning show host J.P. Patches.

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[Rebel Scum]

Seattle had Nightmare Theater, which was a little before my time.

That's before my time too. It's interesting how both shows are tied together by Joe Towey. I looked up both shows on Wikipedia. They were very popular. Local programming creating a loyal following.

Horror hosts aren't as prolific today on TV but still exist like Svengoolie for example. Almost a bygone time, the entertainment landscape changed.

 

[Donald G]

I agree, I preferred Bob as a host too but at least Bob chose a good successor. By '80 I had other interests. Now it's a cherished memory.

Just throwing this out, if anyone has a horror host they watched when they were a kid please post.

In my market, the local horror host was Doctor Madblood, who passed away last February. The mid-seventies incarnation had a country counterculture rock and roll deejay stoner vibe, probably because the supporting cast were of a certain age back then and had connections with WNOR AM and FM.

 

[Maurice]

He was locally popular bay area TV show host with a dry sense of humor showing lots mostly B grade movies. One of his running gags was how awful the movies were (he was being factious) and would sometimes have a TV guide handy pointing out alternative viewing options. Lol.

That aside he was very knowledgeable about and interested in horror, science fiction, comics, plugging local fan events and conventions, and had a wide variety of famous and not so famous guests.

Edit: For example he does an interview with Gary & Meredith Kurtz and one of two of their two daughters that were Jawas in Star Wars and she brought and wore the costume she wore in the movie. Fast forward to the 1 hour 10 minute mark.

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Bruce "Kevin Riley" Hyde appears between 25:40 and 33:21.

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[Rebel Scum]

Bruce "Kevin Riley" Hyde appears between 25:40 and 33:21.

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I forgot to mention that, thank you.

In my market, the local horror host was Doctor Madblood, who passed away last February. The mid-seventies incarnation had a country counterculture rock and roll deejay stoner vibe, probably because the supporting cast were of a certain age back then and had connections with WNOR AM and FM.

Wow, Doctor Madblood had a long overall run, 1975 to 2007. That's impressive. I'll look it up on YouTube later and check it out. I'm sorry to hear about his passing.

What did you like about it?

 

[Donald G]

I forgot to mention that, thank you.

Wow, Doctor Madblood had a long overall run, 1975 to 2007. That's impressive. I'll look it up on YouTube later and check it out. I'm sorry to hear about his passing.

What did you like about it?

It wasn't a consistent run. WAVY (local NBC affiliate) canceled it in the early eighties. After that, he went to WHRO (local PBS station) for a time, with a different format, then there was a one-off Halloween special back at WAVY in the mid-eighties. He would also host those early eighties 3-D showings of "Gorilla at Large" and "Revenge of the Creature" IIRC for the local Christian station, Pat Robertson's flagship station WYAH (as it was then).

In 1989, a revised version of the Madblood gang got together for a new series for the then-Fox affiliate WTVZ. IIRC, by the late nineties WTVZ had become a WB station, and by that time, WTVZ had reduced him to once a month at 3:00 am. In the early 2000s, a new station WSKY had started up just on the other side of the North Carolina border. For the first few years at SKY-4, the weekly schedule had reinvigorated the gang, but everything comes to an end.

After losing the SKY 4 timeslot, it was back to WHRO for annual "Halloween Howls." Over time, those become painful to watch. The gang had gotten real, real old and they host segments increasingly became depressing examinations on mortality and nostalgia. The last two I watched online were painful. Age had caught up to the host such that the energy, voice, comic timing and delivery were gone.

My favorite incarnation was the the one from my childhood, the seventies version, with the young energetic version of the side characters and stupid, sometimes risque, jokes, followed by the late eighties/early nineties version.

If you're going to seek out clips on Youtube, I'd suggest the "Wonderman" one or the clips from "The Umpire Strikes Back." (Update: a barely watchable 27 minute VHS off-air rip of the Umpire Strikes Back does exist on Youtube. The first several minutes alone are funnier than the better looking excerpt clips on the official channel.)

 

[Rebel Scum]

My favorite incarnation was the the one from my childhood, the seventies version, with the young energetic version of the side characters and stupid, sometimes risque, jokes, followed by the late eighties/early nineties version.

If you're going to seek out clips on Youtube, I'd suggest the "Wonderman" one or the clips from "The Umpire Strikes Back." (Update: a barely watchable 27 minute VHS off-air rip of the Umpire Strikes Back does exist on Youtube. The first several minutes alone are funnier than the better looking excerpt clips on the official channel.)

That's so cool. Had I been living in that broadcast area back then I would've been an avid fan.

I watched Wonderman last night. It's all in good tongue in cheek fun. I think the cast members were partaking and getting a kick out of cracking each other up ("I can't fly"). LOL.