The Classic/Retro Pop Culture Thread

[RJDiogenes]

Sorry to be MIA yesterday. I had some connectivity issues.

Including "Pussy Cats", Nilsson would deliver five of the eight contracted albums for RCA. The final album "Knnillssonn" was released in late July 1977.

That's not bad. I was expecting one or two.

He would spend the remaining years of his life being a devoted husband to his wife Una and their six children, passing away in 1994 at the age of 52 of a heart attack.

That's terrible. I hope they were happy times for them.

Harry was also an early proponent of music licensing, and with the help of his lawyer, negotiated several contracts to have his music licensed for television, movies and advertising, ensuring a steady stream of royalty income for his family after his passing.

I wonder if he sensed the end would come sooner than later.

Tragically, Zak, his eldest son from his second marriage, would pass away in 2022 at the same age as his father, from cancer.

Damn. Poor Una. A nice woman who got lots of tragedy for her trouble.

The U.S. Senate voted, 55 to 21, to make the Tuesday after the first Monday in November—election day in the United States—a paid federal holiday in even-numbered years, starting in 1976. The measure came as a bipartisan amendment offered by Republican Barry Goldwater and Democrat Hubert H. Humphrey, both of whom had lost presidential elections, in 1964 and 1968, respectively. Despite passing the Senate, however, the bill did not make it to a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Wow, I had no idea that such legislation had ever made it so far.

The bipartisan Judiciary Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives voted, 33 to 3, to subpoena U.S. President Nixon to submit the actual tape recordings of 42 specific conversations in the Oval Office, after the repeated refusal by the White House to comply with previous requests.

Amazing. I wonder if I'll live long enough to see such governance return.

Police in The Hague arrested Jacobus P. Phillipps, a Netherlands native who had served as an officer for the Nazi German SS during World War II, after Phillips had spent more than 29 years hiding in his parents' home.

Hey, a Nazi Millennial.

Westar 1, the first commercial geostationary satellite, was launched from Cape Canaveral in the United States by NASA on behalf of the Western Union communications company.

I picture Arthur C Clarke pumping his fist. "Yes!"

"I Won't Last a Day Without You," Carpenters

Karen Carpenter. 'nuff said.

"For the Love of Money," The O'Jays

I didn't recognize the title, but I definitely remember it. Good one, although I don't remember it being quite so long.

"If You Love Me (Let Me Know)," Olivia Newton-John

Classic Olivia at her peak.

"The Streak," Ray Stevens

A classic novelty number.

"Sundown," Gordon Lightfoot

Classic. Beautiful poetry.

 

[DarrenTR1970]

 

[DarrenTR1970]

April 6th was the 50th Anniversary of the release of Procol Harum's seventh studio album 'Exoctic Birds And Fruit'.

Preceded by the single 'Nothing But The Truth'

The album was the second to feature the line up of Gary Brooker (piano, vocals), Mick Grabham (guitar), Chris Cooping (organ), Alan Cartwright (bass), B.J. Wilson (drums) and Keith Reid (lyrics).

The album was recorded during the middle of British Prime Minister Edward Heath's "Three Day Week", a move by the Prime Minister to conserve electricity.

The album was recorded at George Martin's AIR Studio with Chris Thomas again producing. Generators were brought in to help keep the studio running when the power was shut off.

According to singer/songwriter/piano player and bandleader Gary Brooker, the album was recorded in reaction to the two preceding albums which used extensive orchestration. Brooker stated, "We made the live album with an orchestra. We'd then taken the orchestra into the studio for 'Grand Hotel'...we'd had enough of orchestras".

The single would not chart and the album would only peak at #86 on the charts despite receiving favorable reviews from the music press.

 

[Moviefan2k4]

If this thread is just about posting music videos, here's a few of my favorites...

 

[The Old Mixer]

_______

Post-55th Anniversary Viewing

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Gilligan's Island
"Splashdown"
Originally aired February 20, 1967

A downed, unmanned space capsule could be used as an escape vehicle. There's just one hitch: the craft's built for two.

The episode opens with Scorpio 6 launching on what appears to be an Atlas rocket to rendezvous with a previously launched unmanned Scorpio capsule. Calculating that the S6 capsule will be only 155 miles above the island during some of its orbits, the Professor determines that they should be able to send it a signal with the radio's parts. He instructs the castaways to gather materials to build a directional cone, which ends up being a bamboo-tech contraption pedal-powered by four castaways...but the signal isn't sent successfully. For the next orbital opportunity, the Professor comes up with a lower-tech option--spelling out SOS with tree trunks and setting them on fire, for which Mr. Howell is forced to part with some brandy that he's managed to hold onto this long. (The letters seem way too small-scale, and Gilligan, a career sailor, doesn't know what SOS means.) Thanks to a Gilligan mishap, logs are knocked out of place in time for the astronauts, Tobias and Ryan (Scott Graham and Jim Spencer), to see the letters SOL--which they assume is a greeting to Tobias, as that's his first name. After a subsequent report that the tracking stations have lost contact with the unmanned capsule, it lands on the island via retro-rockets. IMDb brought to my attention that this capsule, the Scorpio E-X-1, is the one used on It's About Time, designation and all.


Gilligan and the Skipper initially assume that it's the manned capsule, and the Professor finds that its radio is damaged beyond repair. They try to get the capsule into the lagoon to float it out to sea where it can be more easily spotted with two castaways aboard. The Professor asserts that the Skipper and Gilligan are the ones most qualified to drift in the capsule (One of them's the most qualified to screw up their opportunity, too.), but the other four castaways stow away aboard it by night in separate parties of two. Back at Mission Control, a NASA director (George Neise) calls off the search for the capsule, planning to remotely detonate it to keep its top-secret equipment from falling into enemy hands. The next morning, as the Skipper and Gilligan are trying to move the capsule out, they discover the stowaways. While the Professor is chastising them on shore, the capsule floats out into the lagoon and blows up.

In the coda, Mr. Howell throws a tantrum in his hut over having lost a bunch of cash on the capsule in addition to his brandy.

_______

Gilligan's Island
"High Man on the Totem Pole"
Originally aired February 27, 1967

A look-alike head of Gilligan's on a totem pole convinces him he's descended from headhunters, who later descend on the isle.

The Skipper and Gilligan are lost in the jungle when they come upon a totem pole with a likeness of Gilligan on top. The Professor assesses it to be the work of the Kupa Kai, a local headhunter tribe. Something the Skipper says triggers Gilligan into obsessing over the possibility that he's descended from a native king. The others try to take his mind off of it, including a Ginger seduction attempt. After a mishap throwing a boomerang made for him by the Skipper, Gilligan takes an axe to the pole and chops off the head, which only makes him feel worse. The Professor ultimately succeeds by offering his own neck on the chopping block, proving that Gilligan has no instinct for beheading. Meanwhile, a trio of natives (Jim Lefebvre, Al Ferrara, and Pete Sotos) has found the desecrated totem and are out for blood.

A cheered-up Gilligan goes back for the head and is freaked out to find it on the pole. He then runs into the Skipper and the Professor, who've seen the headhunters. He manages to get to the girls in time, initially thinking they've been beheaded when he finds them in a mud bath; but the headhunters capture the Howells and start to prepare a kettle for them. (Where exactly do headhunters get an iron kettle with a handle?) When the others learn of this, the Professor hatches a plan to have Gilligan impersonate the King Mashuka to scare them off. After the others end up getting captured behind his back, Gilligan sneaks into the clearing to help and makes an awkward entrance while trying to climb up the pole to restore the head again, which causes the natives to think that he's the head. He ends up falling down and they become skeptical, until he dives for cover and the head rolls out from the behind the pole, making the natives think that they've killed Mashuka, which sends them running.

In the coda, Gilligan reveals that he's put a likeness of Mr. Howell on the pole to take the heat off of him.

_______

Gilligan's Island
"The Second Ginger Grant"
Originally aired March 6, 1967

A case of mixed identities adds to the usual confusion when a bump on the head causes Mary Ann to believe that she's Ginger. And that means she starts behaving very sexily.

Speaking of confusion, it seems like we've already had an episode that could just as easily have used this title. This one opens with Ginger putting on a stage show for the other castaways, singing "I Wanna Be Loved By You"...and Mary Ann acting uncharacteristically hero-worshippy about her hutmate, gushing out a wish that she could be just like Ginger. After the show, Mary Ann trips and hits her head on a rock, following which she thinks she's Ginger. This is a lot like a mind-switch episode in that it involves one cast member doing an impersonation of another playing their character.

After examining Mary Ann, the Professor diagnoses that her condition is psychological and encourages the others to play along with her, which includes having Ginger assume the role of Mary Ann. While the Howells are busy conjuring a dark wig from wherever they get all their stuff, Gilligan has to keep Mary Ann occupied by enduring a Ginger-style seduction attempt. There's a cute bit of business in which the other three men effectively put on a runway show as each of them tries to demonstrate to Ginger how Mary Ann walks. Once Ginger is in her role, the other castaways have to endure her lack of culinary skill and she has to contain herself when Mary Ann cuts up all of her dresses to make them fit. Despite these efforts, the next day Mary Ann comes upon Ginger without her wig on and faints.

The Professor finds that Mary Ann's in a state of traumatic shock and decides to risk trying hypnosis...which proves ineffective on her but does work on Gilligan, who was eavesdropping during the session.

Mr. Howell: We've got three Mary Anns and we're fresh out of Gilligans and Gingers!​

The confusion intensifies as Gilligan, who was taking a bath when the Skipper accidentally triggered his conditioning, goes to the girls' hut and runs into Ginger as Mary Ann. Once the Professor undoes the hypnosis on Gilligan, the Professor finally comes up with a resolution--letting Mary Ann try to perform as Ginger. The castaways throw another stage show with her as the star...and Mr. Howell MCing while doing a Sullivan impression. Mary Ann starts off reasonably well, but finds herself getting confused when her lack of experience becomes evident. Eventually she falls backward onto the stage and hits her head again, following which she resumes her normal persona, doesn't remember being Ginger, and wonders why Ginger's done up to look just like her.

In the coda, Ginger tries wearing one of her cut-up dresses as a miniskirt, which Mary Ann finds scandalous.

_______

Gilligan's Island
"The Secret of Gilligan's Island"
Originally aired March 13, 1967

A hieroglyphic tablet that may reveal an escape route prompts a dream sequence in which the castaways are cave people who made the tablet.

Exploring the cave set, Gilligan finds a piece of a stone tablet with drawings on it, which the Professor is able to read because he's familiar with Egyptian hieroglyphics. (The nitpickers on IMDb had a field day with this, as well as the Professor's estimate that the tablet could be a million years old.) He believes that it shows a way off the island, and has the other castaways explore the cave looking for more fragments, which they find. He also has the girls brew some acid, man, which a couple of spoons and a cup sacrifice themselves to save Gilligan from tasting when he thinks that it's soup. The Professor pieces together the fragments and finds that there's still one key section missing. It turns out that Gilligan's been using it as a serving tray for months, but he accidentally drops it, smashing it into small pieces.

The Professor manages to put it back together and determines that the full drawing indicates a time and place on the island where the currents would be favorable to traveling by raft to Hawaii. Having learned from the Professor of a chieftain who wouldn't let the people leave the island, Gilligan has a dream (the last such sequence in the series according to IMDb) in which he's the brave stone-age rebel who made the drawing; Mr. Howell is the chieftain, who's leaning on him about it; and the Professor is trying to invent the wheel. The Skipper recruits the girls to accompany him, Gilligan, and the Professor in their attempt to escape the island, but Gilligan and the Skipper are conked on the head by Howell and bamboo-imprisoned while attempting a nighttime rendezvous. Ginger goes to try to save them via a seduction attempt on "Chiefy Weefey," only to end up fleeing when Mrs. Howell sneaks up and conks Thurston on the head...but after Lovey drags her husband away, Gilligan and the Skipper escape. They and the other three proceed with their attempt by day, but the dream ends when they find their path blocked by a dinosaur.

When Gilligan's back in the land of the living, the Professor breaks the news that he'd mistakenly read the tablet left to right instead of right to left, and that it actually shows how to get to the island.

_______

Gilligan's Island
"Slave Girl"
Originally aired March 20, 1967

Gilligan rescues a native woman from drowning, which according [to] her custom makes her his slave. But soon a fellow tribesman comes to the island and challenges Gilligan for her in a fight to the death.

When Kalani's (Midori) outrigger boat capsizes, Gilligan heroically swims out to rescue her. He does the arm-pumping thing to revive her, and she declares herself to be Gilligan's titular servant in convenient English while worship-bowing at his feet.

Unable, along with the Skipper, to deny that she's there, the Professor recognizes from Kalani's medallion that she's a member of the Matoba tribe, whose language he conveniently speaks. The Professor explains that refusing to honor their custom would be a great insult to them. The others try to bid with Gilligan for her services, but she'll only serve him. Gilligan quickly becomes frustrated with this arrangement when she won't let him do any of his routine chores, but the Professor informs him that the only way to get out of the deal is to lose her in mortal combat...and has to explain to Gilligan what that means. Mr. Howell promptly hatches a scheme to fake-kill Gilligan in a fencing match. Yes, he brought rapiers and fencing outfits with him...which is all the sillier when contrasted with the Professor using his big-ass bamboo stethoscope. As Kalani's bowing at Thurston's feet, three members of her tribe dramatically appear--one of them being her beau, Ugundi (Apollo-to-be Michael Forest), who challenges Howell to a fight to the death.

Thurston tries unsuccessfully to forfeit, then Gilligan comes to and finds himself on the receiving end of the challenge. He refuses to let the others put their lives on the line to save him, but something he says about first killing himself gives the Professor the idea to fake his death (again) with a poisonous plant that, when carefully administered, will cause a death-like paralysis. There's a brief farce when the Howells come in on this mid-plan, assume that the Skipper and Professor are conspiring to kill Gilligan, and try to save him. The paralysis fools Ugundi, who then insists on giving Gilligan a Matoba funeral--which involves burning him on a pyre. The castaways stall for time by having Ginger do a veil dance under the pretense that it's their funerary custom, but ultimately Ugundi lights the pyre and Gilligan awakens. The Matoba then think that he's a fire god, which the Professor uses as leverage to have Gilligan frighten them off the island...an act that's aided by Gilligan's pants being on fire.

In the coda, Mary Ann sends Gilligan fast-mo running into the jungle when she pranks him by declaring herself to be his titular servant.

_______

Sorry to be MIA yesterday. I had some connectivity issues.

Say, did you get tremors from the Jersey quake up there Friday?

Wow, I had no idea that such legislation had ever made it so far.

It boggles the mind that this still isn't a thing. Nobody should be able to wrap themselves in a flag and not support it.

Amazing. I wonder if I'll live long enough to see such governance return.

From the doc about the geological history of the Earth that I was just watching on Story, I think we'll get the extinction glaciers first.

Hey, a Nazi Millennial.

Those are pretty common these days, aren't they?

Karen Carpenter. 'nuff said.

...

I didn't recognize the title, but I definitely remember it. Good one, although I don't remember it being quite so long.

It's the official audio of the album version, and the version that I own. Helps to keep it distinct from the reality show version, minimizing visions of Orange Mussolini.

Classic Olivia at her peak.

She's only just begun, but I know you don't like Mildly Naughty Olivia.

A classic novelty number.

This highlights that the fad was a current thing at the time, but I just can't get into Ray Stevens.

Classic. Beautiful poetry.

Nice early '70s soft rock.

On the subject of classic TV actors who are still with us at very ripe old ages, I just caught this promo on an episode of GI that I recorded in January:

Watch: Dick Van Dyke sings the unheard lyrics to The Dick Van Dyke Show theme song (metv.com)

 

[RJDiogenes]

That's great.

Preceded by the single 'Nothing But The Truth'

That's pretty good.

The single would not chart and the album would only peak at #86 on the charts despite receiving favorable reviews from the music press.

Another one of those amazing bands that never caught on like they deserved to.

If this thread is just about posting music videos, here's a few of my favorites...

Technically, it's a general Retro Culture thread, but we usually stick to the time frames proscribed by Old Mixer, our Mod and Master.

Those are good ones, by 80s standards.

I'm not familiar with these two.

The letters seem way too small-scale

Science is different in the Gilliganverse, although that 155-mile altitude seems to be one thing that's accurate.

Thanks to a Gilligan mishap, logs are knocked out of place in time for the astronauts, Tobias and Ryan (Scott Graham and Jim Spencer), to see the letters SOL

Which pretty much describes the Castaways' situation.

After a subsequent report that the tracking stations have lost contact with the unmanned capsule, it lands on the island via retro-rockets.

Something that's only been perfected in the last several years, by Blue Origins and SpaceX.

IMDb brought to my attention that this capsule, the Scorpio E-X-1, is the one used on It's About Time, designation and all.

Adding support to the theory that those guys landed on the other side of the island where the dinosaurs are.

(One of them's the most qualified to screw up their opportunity, too.)

It would probably be wiser to get Ginger and Mary Anne out there.

the other four castaways stow away aboard it by night in separate parties of two.

The capsule must be bigger on the inside.

Back at Mission Control, a NASA director (George Neise) calls off the search for the capsule, planning to remotely detonate it to keep its top-secret equipment from falling into enemy hands.

"Zero zero zero, destruct, zero."

While the Professor is chastising them on shore, the capsule floats out into the lagoon and blows up.

It's usually Gilligan who saves them from certain doom-- this time they all saved themselves by screwing up.

Something the Skipper says triggers Gilligan into obsessing over the possibility that he's descended from a native king.

More likely some kind of time loop, like Data's head.

The Professor ultimately succeeds by offering his own neck on the chopping block, proving that Gilligan has no instinct for beheading.

That was a great scene.

Meanwhile, a trio of natives (Jim Lefebvre, Al Ferrara, and Pete Sotos) has found the desecrated totem and are out for blood.

So not only have the Castaways never stumbled across this random totem pole, but they've never encountered the natives who perform periodic checks.

He manages to get to the girls in time, initially thinking they've been beheaded when he finds them in a mud bath

This scene is hilarious, but ends about ten seconds too soon.

(Where exactly do headhunters get an iron kettle with a handle?)

From that cargo ship that ran aground during the hurricane.

In the coda, Gilligan reveals that he's put a likeness of Mr. Howell on the pole to take the heat off of him.

Howell is used to being the Head.

Speaking of confusion, it seems like we've already had an episode that could just as easily have used this title.

"The Third and Fourth Ginger Grant."

Mary Ann acting uncharacteristically hero-worshippy about her hutmate, gushing out a wish that she could be just like Ginger.

But Mary Anne, you win all the contests, every time!

This is a lot like a mind-switch episode in that it involves one cast member doing an impersonation of another playing their character.

Which is great. I always love to see these guys show off their acting abilities. When they're known for just one character for a long time, they can be taken for granted.

Gilligan has to keep Mary Ann occupied by enduring a Ginger-style seduction attempt.

Poor Gilligan.

There's a cute bit of business in which the other three men effectively put on a runway show as each of them tries to demonstrate to Ginger how Mary Ann walks.

That was funny.

Mr. Howell: We've got three Mary Anns and we're fresh out of Gilligans and Gingers!

There are worse things.

Mary Ann starts off reasonably well, but finds herself getting confused when her lack of experience becomes evident.

She did pretty well as a Honeybee.

Ginger tries wearing one of her cut-up dresses as a miniskirt, which Mary Ann finds scandalous.

So much for wanting to be just like Ginger. Although those shorts and halter are better than anything Ginger had.

(The nitpickers on IMDb had a field day with this, as well as the Professor's estimate that the tablet could be a million years old.)

I think the Professor knows more than IMDB nitpickers. Maybe the tablet was created by Homo Erectus or something. This could be a great discovery!

The Professor manages to put it back together and determines that the full drawing indicates a time and place on the island where the currents would be favorable to traveling by raft to Hawaii.

A million years ago, when Hawaii was a half mile away.

the Professor is trying to invent the wheel.

They and the other three proceed with their attempt by day, but the dream ends when they find their path blocked by a dinosaur.

I loved that scene, of course.

Gilligan heroically swims out to rescue her.

Definitely a great Gilligan moment.

the Professor recognizes from Kalani's medallion that she's a member of the Matoba tribe

Fortunately unrelated to the Kupa Kai.

Yes, he brought rapiers and fencing outfits with him...which is all the sillier when contrasted with the Professor using his big-ass bamboo stethoscope.

Locally sourced bamboo rapiers and fencing masks would have looked cool.

Ugundi (Apollo-to-be Michael Forest)

I never noticed that.

He refuses to let the others put their lives on the line to save him

Gilligan's not too bright, but he's got the right stuff.

gives the Professor the idea to fake his death (again) with a poisonous plant that, when carefully administered, will cause a death-like paralysis.

Speaking of Star Trek.

the Howells come in on this mid-plan, assume that the Skipper and Professor are conspiring to kill Gilligan, and try to save him.

Nice.

The paralysis fools Ugundi, who then insists on giving Gilligan a Matoba funeral--which involves burning him on a pyre.

Of course it does.

the Professor uses as leverage to have Gilligan frighten them off the island...an act that's aided by Gilligan's pants being on fire.

You did it again, Little Buddy.

Say, did you get tremors from the Jersey quake up there Friday?

I did, actually. The house shook for about ten seconds or so. Sort of like a truck going by, only smoother. Did you feel it?

It boggles the mind that this still isn't a thing. Nobody should be able to wrap themselves in a flag and not support it.

Indeed. It makes no sense.

From the doc about the geological history of the Earth that I was just watching on Story, I think we'll get the extinction glaciers first.

Those are pretty common these days, aren't they?

Well, as loathe as I am to give credit to Millennials, I don't actually think so. Social media presents a distorted view of reality, because it's very profitable to do so.

She's only just begun, but I know you don't like Mildly Naughty Olivia.

Yeah, I don't think that makeover really suited her.

On the subject of classic TV actors who are still with us at very ripe old ages, I just caught this promo on an episode of GI that I recorded in January:

That's adorable. They should have worked those lyrics into the show at some point.

 

[The Old Mixer]

Which pretty much describes the Castaways' situation.

Hadn't noticed that...

The capsule must be bigger on the inside.

I think it was also the same interior as used in IAT. The two pairs of stowaways were bundled up under tarps on either side of the capsule, but it was stretching belief that anyone could hide from anyone else in such a small space.

So not only have the Castaways never stumbled across this random totem pole, but they've never encountered the natives who perform periodic checks.

The pole was initially covered by dense growth.

This scene is hilarious, but ends about ten seconds too soon.

And it was uncharacteristic of Gilligan not to balk at the idea of helping them out of the bath.

From that cargo ship that ran aground during the hurricane.

I was thinking that maybe it could have been a ship transporting sundry TV/movie props...

Which is great. I always love to see these guys show off their acting abilities. When they're known for just one character for a long time, they can be taken for granted.

It was better than when they did an actual mind-switch episode with the actors' voices dubbed coming out of the wrong bodies.

That was funny.

A screencap wouldn't do it justice.

She did pretty well as a Honeybee.

True.

A million years ago, when Hawaii was a half mile away.

Was it? There ya go for the plausibility.

Speaking of Star Trek.

GI did it first!

I did, actually. The house shook for about ten seconds or so. Sort of like a truck going by, only smoother. Did you feel it?

Yep, the initial quake and an aftershock in the late afternoon. That's a good description...for the first one, my initial thought was to wonder if the landlord's washing machine downstairs might be vibrating badly.

Well, as loathe as I am to give credit to Millennials, I don't actually think so. Social media presents a distorted view of reality, because it's very profitable to do so.

I was thinking of the shocking amount of antisemitism being displayed from the left recently, but this probably isn't the place to discuss it. This is an issue that pops to mind when that Clint Eastwood quote comes up...when you see a story about it, it's hard to tell at a glance which direction it's coming from.

 

[RJDiogenes]

Hadn't noticed that...

Now I'm wondering if it was deliberate. There's a lot of other ways they could have screwed up the message.

I think it was also the same interior as used in IAT. The two pairs of stowaways were bundled up under tarps on either side of the capsule, but it was stretching belief that anyone could hide from anyone else in such a small space.

Yeah, I remember the scene. I think they also basically gutted the capsule of anything that could be removed, but it was still not very believable. But then, I don't watch GI for the believability.

The pole was initially covered by dense growth.

Ah, okay. But then that means that the natives don't do wellness checks that often, so it's quite a coincidence that they showed up just then. I don't watch for believability, but I still nitpick.

And it was uncharacteristic of Gilligan not to balk at the idea of helping them out of the bath.

I picture the scene playing out with Gilligan seeing Mary Anne nude, freaking out, covering his eyes, and groping blindly with the other hand to help Ginger. If they weren't in danger, he would just flee.

I was thinking that maybe it could have been a ship transporting sundry TV/movie props...

Even better.

It was better than when they did an actual mind-switch episode with the actors' voices dubbed coming out of the wrong bodies.

You didn't like the voice gimmick?

Was it? There ya go for the plausibility.

Well, I just said that to be funny, but enough would change in a million years that the instructions would no longer be valid.

GI did it first!

McCoy watches Gilligan's Island.

Yep, the initial quake and an aftershock in the late afternoon. That's a good description...for the first one, my initial thought was to wonder if the landlord's washing machine downstairs might be vibrating badly.

It occurred to me for a second that something might be going on in my cousins' shop downstairs. I never felt the aftershock, though.

I was thinking of the shocking amount of antisemitism being displayed from the left recently, but this probably isn't the place to discuss it. This is an issue that pops to mind when that Clint Eastwood quote comes up...when you see a story about it, it's hard to tell at a glance which direction it's coming from.

Yeah, that's true. Both of the dominant ideologies are practically unrecognizable from what they were fifty years ago, or even twenty-five years ago at this point, but neither has exactly changed for the better.

 

[The Old Mixer]

Now I'm wondering if it was deliberate. There's a lot of other ways they could have screwed up the message.

But the gag was to have it spell an astronaut's name. FWIW, when I saw it, I thought of the Sun.

Ah, okay. But then that means that the natives don't do wellness checks that often, so it's quite a coincidence that they showed up just then. I don't watch for believability, but I still nitpick.

Or maybe they go there routinely but the castaways didn't know about it. I mean, I'm at the point where they just found the giant spider in the cave...

Even better.

Of course, a major TV series shooting on location in Hawaii probably wasn't on anyone's radar when GI started in '64.

You didn't like the voice gimmick?

Other than finding the Professor's voice coming from Mary Ann's body strangely appealing, it was disappointing in that we didn't get to see the actors fully switching roles.

Well, I just said that to be funny, but enough would change in a million years that the instructions would no longer be valid.

Looking it up, the island should have been underwater at that point...sea levels were 700 feet higher, and even the Hawiian Islands weren't fully formed yet.

McCoy watches Gilligan's Island.

Now I'm picturing him on a bamboo recliner sipping mint julips with Mr. Howell.

 

[DarrenTR1970]

@RJDiogenes
Have you watched "Equinox" yet? I kinda want to hear your opinions on both versions of the movie.

 

[RJDiogenes]

But the gag was to have it spell an astronaut's name. FWIW, when I saw it, I thought of the Sun.

Yeah, I also thought of the sun and the speed of light.

Or maybe they go there routinely but the castaways didn't know about it. I mean, I'm at the point where they just found the giant spider in the cave...

I'm thinking about how overgrown the totem pole was-- but then, I suppose, things grow fast in the jungle.

Of course, a major TV series shooting on location in Hawaii probably wasn't on anyone's radar when GI started in '64.

I wonder how long Hawaii Five-0 was in pre production. They might have had to delay it because of the loss of all those props.

Other than finding the Professor's voice coming from Mary Ann's body strangely appealing, it was disappointing in that we didn't get to see the actors fully switching roles.

Oh, yeah, I remember you saying that.

Looking it up, the island should have been underwater at that point...sea levels were 700 feet higher, and even the Hawiian Islands weren't fully formed yet.

Yeah, or it could be what's left of a larger island. I don't know how that hot spot tracks with the island's alleged location. Either way, a million years is a long time, even geologically-- the Professor should have know the instructions would be obsolete.

Now I'm picturing him on a bamboo recliner sipping mint julips with Mr. Howell.

What good is the Shore Leave Planet if you can't visit Gilligan's Island?

@RJDiogenes
Have you watched "Equinox" yet? I kinda want to hear your opinions on both versions of the movie.

Er, it's actually still sitting in my Shopping Cart (along with 219 other things). I've been paying off expenses from my Mother's injury and my kidney stones, so I haven't bought much from Amazon lately. I'll probably get gift cards for my birthday, though.

 

[The Old Mixer]

I'm thinking about how overgrown the totem pole was-- but then, I suppose, things grow fast in the jungle.

Yeah, I realized that afterward. It does attest to nobody having visited the pole in some time. One has to wonder if they got some sort of signal when it was uncovered...

I wonder how long Hawaii Five-0 was in pre production. They might have had to delay it because of the loss of all those props.

Jack refused to sign until they replaced his fencing gear and nurse's outfit.

Oh, yeah, I remember you saying that.

Would that have been when we got into a tangent about the Ultra-Humanite...?

Yeah, or it could be what's left of a larger island. I don't know how that hot spot tracks with the island's alleged location. Either way, a million years is a long time, even geologically-- the Professor should have know the instructions would be obsolete.

But he would have been theorizing from early 1960s understanding of geology, which might have been a lot less informed about such things. Tectonic plate theory was just coming in around that time, and the Professor would have been a few years behind on his journals. For a science about things that happen over millions and billions of years, the theories sure seem to get updated a lot.

What good is the Shore Leave Planet if you can't visit Gilligan's Island?

Now I wanna see Emily Banks visit the island...

 

[The Old Mixer]

_______

Post-55th Anniversary Viewing

_______

Gilligan's Island
"It's a Bird, It's a Plane"
Originally aired March 27, 1967

A missing military jet pack washes up on the island, and The Professor tries to figure out a way to use it for their rescue.

What, the Howells didn't bring a jet pack with them?

The episode opens back in the military end of civilization, with an Air Force colonel showing a general (Edward Faulkner and Frank Maxwell) a film of the XJP jet pack--said to have a range of over 500 miles--being tested from a ship in the Pacific. Then they get a message that the jet pack has been accidentally lost at sea. Cut to Gilligan having already found it, trying to explain to the Skipper who Buck Rogers is. The Professor recognizes it as the real McCoy and thinks it can get back to Hawaii.

The Professor's experiments to analyze the fuel are interrupted by pairs of excited castaways. The Howells are there when he determines that the flight would be too risky because the fuel loses its potency with time; so they sneak back in, steal the pack, and try to con Gilligan into volunteering to take the flight in Thurston's place. Mrs. Howell is so convinced by her husband's performance that she blows it, but Ginger and Mary Ann try the same trick, their version involving a seduction attempt while Mary Ann straps the pack on the oblivious Gilligan. The Professor catches them in time to update them on his plan to send the pack unguided on a dummy with a note attached to it. But Gilligan prematurely activates it at the launch site, getting a ride along the ground into the lagoon, following which the Professor determines that it doesn't have enough fuel left to get to Hawaii. (Seems like if it went that quickly, it wouldn't have had a shot.)

The Howells hear on the radio that a fleet of ships will be in the vicinity of the island looking for the pack, so the Professor plans to use the remaining fuel--enough for a fifteen-minute flight--to send somebody up where they'll be spotted. He declares that the candidates will have to be tested to determine which of them can best endure the thin air without getting dizzy, which involves the four males getting in a bamboo cylinder spun by Mary Ann at the pedals. When Gilligan is the only one who walks out unfazed, he's immediately put into makeshift astronaut training, which so exhausts him that he can barely stay awake for the launch. Once he's up in the air with the radio hung around his neck...

...he hears a report that the military has spotted a potentially unfriendly UFO. Not realizing that he's the UFO, Gilligan steers into a cloud...which not only hides him, but seeds a torrential downpour, causing the search to be called off.

The Professor's devising a new plan to synthesize enough fuel to get to Hawaii, but Gilligan, feeling guilty about the failed previous attempt, attempts to use the pack prematurely...forgetting to buckle it on, so that it takes off without him.


Footage of what's supposed to be Gilligan flying over the island features what appear to be evergreen trees.

_______

Gilligan's Island
"The Pigeon"
Originally aired April 3, 1967

A carrier pigeon relays a message from the castaways to its owner, a prisoner who thinks the note's a joke.

Gilligan, the Skipper, and the Professor find a carrier pigeon on the island that's gone off course due to a storm, and see it as their latest opportunity for rescue. The Professor determines that the pigeon first needs to be nursed back to health, which will take two weeks. As usual, the others get impatient and attempt to hasten things themselves, sneaking into the Professor's hut in pairs and feeding the bird. The result is that the pigeon dramatically gains weight overnight, and the Professor declares that it'll now be three weeks of diet and exercise. The day finally comes and the castaways send the pigeon, which Gilligan has named Walter, off with a note. But his keeper, an inmate named Burt (Sterling Holloway), thinks it's a prank being pulled on him by his usual pen pal, Old Lady Hawkins. He sends back a response complimenting her humor, so the castaways send Walter back with another message, this time with a $1,000 downpayment on a $1 million reward from Mr. Howell. While Burt has heard of Thurston Howell III, he still thinks it's a joke and responds again (being under the impression that Howell having been lost at sea somehow precludes him from being stranded on an island). The castaways decide that they'll have to send a photo, so Gilligan goes to retrieve Walter from the cave, only to find...the giant spider (Janos Prohaska in his ickiest uncredited role)!

This gives the Skipper and the Professor something to not believe Gilligan about, but they quickly learn the truth. The Professor brews a potent cider in an attempt to lure out the spider and get it drunk to unconsciousness, but the attempts only result in all of the male castaways finding themselves trapped in the cave. The ladies try to save them by rolling a mirror into the cave, frightening the creature...but Gilligan accidentally breaks it and all seven are trapped. Gilligan attempts to save Walter by releasing the bird from his cage, and the pigeon ends up attacking the spider, frightening it off. The castaways finally send Walter off with the photo, but when he arrives at his rooftop, a guard (uncredited Harry Swoger) notifies Burt that his parole has been approved and he's a free man. Burt releases Walter and all of his other birds without looking at the latest message.

Walter returns to the island, still carrying the picture...which Gilligan initially thinks is of their would-be rescuers.


_______

 

[DarrenTR1970]

If this thread is just about posting music videos, here's a few of my favorites...

Normally I wouldn't jump this far ahead in the listening thread, however, since you brought up John Waite, and we're on the cusp of 1975, which will be our next anniversary listening/viewing, John was the co-founder and lead singer of the Pop Rock/Power Pop group 'The Babys' from 1975 to 1981. They released five albums and nine singles, two of which made the Billboard Top 20. (Both reached #13)

Isn't It Time

Every Time I Think Of You

After The Babys broke up, John would have success with the single "Missing You" and the keyboard player Jonathan Cain would join the band Journey and write the songs "Don't Stop Believin" and "Faithfully".

John Waite and Jonathan Cain would reunite in the late 80s with the band Bad English and their self titled album and number one hit single "When I See You Smile."

 

[Moviefan2k4]

There are over 400 pages in this thread, and I am not going through them to see if this has been posted - the entire process would truly wear me out.

Anyway, I just wanted to share a few videos, of musicians that I first saw when I was a teenager. This was in the "pop music" boom of the mid-1990s, when many then-younger performers got their start. One particular TV show back then was called Summer Music Mania, and these are a few clips from the program. I hope you like them.

 

[DarrenTR1970]

I wonder how long Hawaii Five-0 was in pre production. They might have had to delay it because of the loss of all those props.

Jack refused to sign until they replaced his fencing gear and nurse's outfit.

The "Complete Mission: Impossible Dossier" to the rescue.

Midway through the (fourth) season (1969-1970) (Producer) Stanley Kallis at last saw the light at the end of the tunnel that was 'Mission: Impossible'. CBS's 'Hawaii Five-O' was experiencing growing pains during the second season, and executive producer Leonard Freeman asked Kallis if he'd be interested in taking over. Kallis jumped at the idea, but got a typical reaction from Geller when he broke the news. "You can't do this," said Bruce. "I can't let you go. I don't know what to do if you go. Write yourself a new deal and whatever you want you can have." The last thing Geller wanted right now was another disruption, and he was terrified as ever at the possibility of producing 'Mission' himself. But Kallis would not place himself in further bondage. "This show is not my natural way of life," he told Bruce. "I found out that I could stretch, but now I'm stretched out of shape. This just isn't my work." Geller's reply was typically to the point, "Whose work is it?"

(Here is where I point out that it was at the beginning of the fourth season that Martin Landau and Barbara Bain entered into a contract dispute with Paramount over salary, which ultimately lead to their firing from the show and Leonard Nimory being brought in as 'Paris' and the revolving cast of replacement 'Cinnamon's'. The scripts in production had to be hastily rewritten to reflect the changes in cast. This is the disruption that Geller was talking about.)

 

[Moviefan2k4]

Normally I wouldn't jump this far ahead in the listening thread, however, since you brought up John Waite, and we're on the cusp of 1975, which will be our next anniversary listening/viewing, John was the co-founder and lead singer of the Pop Rock/Power Pop group 'The Babys' from 1975 to 1981. They released five albums and nine singles, two of which made the Billboard Top 20. (Both reached #13)

Isn't It Time

Every Time I Think Of You

After The Babys broke up, John would have success with the single "Missing You" and the keyboard player Jonathan Cain would join the band Journey and write the songs "Don't Stop Believin" and "Faithfully".

John Waite and Jonathan Cain would reunite in the late 80s with the band Bad English and their self titled album and number one hit single "When I See You Smile."

John has been with another singer I like, Alison Krauss, since 2007. I don't know if they have officially married, but in 2006 they recorded a remix of "Missing You" together.

 

[RJDiogenes]

Yeah, I realized that afterward. It does attest to nobody having visited the pole in some time. One has to wonder if they got some sort of signal when it was uncovered...

Hmm. That's a good thought.

Jack refused to sign until they replaced his fencing gear and nurse's outfit.

Would that have been when we got into a tangent about the Ultra-Humanite...?

Not sure. I remember talking about Ultra-Humanite, but not the context (aside from me knowing nothing about him but his name).

But he would have been theorizing from early 1960s understanding of geology, which might have been a lot less informed about such things. Tectonic plate theory was just coming in around that time, and the Professor would have been a few years behind on his journals.

Maybe. The idea had been around for a long time, but was just reaching a critical mass of supporting evidence. Or maybe it was a little bit later. I remember arguing with my 5th-grade teacher about it.

For a science about things that happen over millions and billions of years, the theories sure seem to get updated a lot.

We're living in a Golden Age of science. Prior to the 20th century, most scientific research was done by a relative handful of isolated eccentrics. Now we have tens of thousands of scientists all over the world, coordinating their efforts and using ultramodern technology and computers and whatever. It's amazing.

Now I wanna see Emily Banks visit the island...

I'd go for that. I don't know how true this is, but I saw a YouTube video claiming that Sherwood Schwartz planned to have Ginger rescued at the beginning of season four and replaced with two new female characters. Emily Banks would have been a great choice.

What, the Howells didn't bring a jet pack with them?

If only that cargo ship had supplies for Lost in Space instead of Hawaii Five-0.

the XJP jet pack--said to have a range of over 500 miles

So Hawaii is less than five hundred miles away. Did we already know that?

Cut to Gilligan having already found it, trying to explain to the Skipper who Buck Rogers is.

Interesting choice. Buck Rogers had kind of faded away at that point. Flash Gordon was much better known.

he determines that the flight would be too risky because the fuel loses its potency with time

A very short time apparently. They should have used the exposure to salt water as an excuse.

The Professor catches them in time to update them on his plan to send the pack unguided on a dummy with a note attached to it.

That seems ill advised.

the Professor determines that it doesn't have enough fuel left to get to Hawaii. (Seems like if it went that quickly, it wouldn't have had a shot.)

So we now know that Hawaii is 499 miles, 5201 feet away.

which involves the four males getting in a bamboo cylinder spun by Mary Ann at the pedals.

Fun day for Mary Ann.

Once he's up in the air with the radio hung around his neck...

That's putting a valuable piece of equipment at risk.

Not realizing that he's the UFO, Gilligan steers into a cloud...which not only hides him, but seeds a torrential downpour, causing the search to be called off.

It's really a shame that they didn't make recordings of the writer's room sessions.

Footage of what's supposed to be Gilligan flying over the island features what appear to be evergreen trees.

See? Over a million years, the island has floated to the Northern hemisphere and back.

Gilligan, the Skipper, and the Professor find a carrier pigeon on the island that's gone off course due to a storm

The eighth castaway.

the Professor declares that it'll now be three weeks of diet and exercise.

Rushing things takes longer. This week's lesson from Gilligan's Island.

an inmate named Burt (Sterling Holloway)

Well-known character actor with a long career.

this time with a $1,000 downpayment on a $1 million reward from Mr. Howell.

Does he use it to line the bird cages or am I making that up?

The castaways decide that they'll have to send a photo

So the Professor builds a camera out of bamboo and tree sap.

...the giant spider (Janos Prohaska in his ickiest uncredited role)!

Ah, the beloved giant spider.

This gives the Skipper and the Professor something to not believe Gilligan about, but they quickly learn the truth.

They should know by now.

The Professor brews a potent cider

Which will come in handy as the years grow longer.

The ladies try to save them by rolling a mirror into the cave, frightening the creature...but Gilligan accidentally breaks it and all seven are trapped.

That's seven years bad luck, not that any of them will notice.

the pigeon ends up attacking the spider, frightening it off.

But it's still out there. Somewhere. Lurking. Nursing its spidery grudge. And laying eggs.

Burt releases Walter and all of his other birds without looking at the latest message.

This was a great way to bring in a guest character without having another unlikely visitor to the island.

Isn't It Time

I love this song. I always end up playing it about ten times when it comes up.

Every Time I Think Of You

This is also a goodie.

"Missing You"

Also a good one.

"Don't Stop Believin" and "Faithfully".

More good ones.

John Waite and Jonathan Cain would reunite in the late 80s with the band Bad English and their self titled album and number one hit single "When I See You Smile."

Oddly, while I remember that the band Bad English existed, I don't recall this song.

There are over 400 pages in this thread, and I am not going through them to see if this has been posted - the entire process would truly wear me out.

But you'd be very entertained. It's a great way to spend the rest of your life.

I was well into my 30s at this point. I do recognize the names of the performers, but I don't know any of the songs.

"This show is not my natural way of life," he told Bruce. "I found out that I could stretch, but now I'm stretched out of shape. This just isn't my work." Geller's reply was typically to the point, "Whose work is it?"

It's good to have that level of self awareness.

(Here is where I point out that it was at the beginning of the fourth season that Martin Landau and Barbara Bain entered into a contract dispute with Paramount over salary, which ultimately lead to their firing from the show and Leonard Nimory being brought in as 'Paris' and the revolving cast of replacement 'Cinnamon's'.

While it's nice that we got a variety of characters in M:I over the years, it's a real shame that they lost Landau and Bain. They were unique, and really define the show as much as Peter Graves.

 

[The Old Mixer]

_______

Post-55th Anniversary Viewing

_______

Gilligan's Island
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Originally aired April 10, 1967

Soft plastic that's washed ashore in a crate turns out to be an experimental explosive, which is sneakily seized by a clever monkey.

This one doesn't have a teaser, but the logo is shown in the opening shot after the credits...which is of a government research lab where Mr. Hartley (Bartlett Robinson) brings Agent Michaels (Rudy LaRusso) to see a scientist named Parsons (Kirk Duncan) about Operation Orchid, which involves a moldable plastic that explodes on impact when hardened. Parsons mentions a 25-pound shipment of it having been lost in the Pacific...which Gilligan finds in the lagoon. The Professor figures out the molding part but not the exploding part, and the castaways get to work making desired items from it--a golf ball for Mr. Howell, to use with bamboo clubs (He brought fencing gear but not his clubs?); dishes and jewelry for the girls; nails for the Skipper to repair huts; and fillings for Gilligan when he happens to lose a couple of existing ones. (In the Professor's bamboo dentist's chair, Gilligan has to pedal-power the drill being used on him!) Yet Gilligan's Monkey of the Week (which IMDb identifies as Jocko the Monkey potentially reprising his role as Igor from "Ring Around Gilligan") takes to stealing items or otherwise causing distractions before anyone can do anything that might detonate their new belongings...which includes tossing a couple of items into the jungle where they explode without anyone knowing. Finally, when the castaways are sitting down to a celebratory breakfast for post-procedure Gilligan, Maybe Igor tosses one of the golf balls into the jungle in front of them and they all see it go up. The Professor catches on to what they've got and tosses a plastic cup into the jungle to verify.

Everyone attempts to safely dispose of their items, but while the Professor tries to think of a way to get the fillings out of Gilligan, the first mate has to be careful about what he eats and how...

The Professor determines that he'll have to pull out the filled teeth, but a mishap with his hut-brewed anesthetic puts out him and assisting Ginger instead. Meanwhile, the monkey has been gathering the various plastic items (because nobody thought to just toss them into the lagoon), and ends up throwing them in the hut area in the middle of the night, sending the castaways scurrying for cover in the jungle. Finally Gilligan bravely climbs onto the hut-repair ladder to approach the perched monkey, but sneezes, causing his fillings to blow out and explode without harming him or the monkey.

In the coda, the Professor puts in new fillings made from melted pennies, and the monkey gives everyone a scare when he tosses a regular ceramic plate (something that the castaways supposedly didn't have before the plastic).

FWIW, when Gilligan finds the box, the Skipper does mention sundry junk having washed up on the island before, which could explain some of the castaways' belongings.

_______

Gilligan's Island
"Gilligan, the Goddess"
Originally aired April 17, 1967
Series finale

A king from a nearby island comes to the island in search of a "White Goddess" to sacrifice to a volcano, but the castaways offer Gilligan to him instead to protect the women.

No teaser or in-shot logo for this one. The king is rowed into the lagoon by a pair of large natives, and Gilligan witnesses the girls running from them. In generally good if inconsistent English, the chief introduces himself to the reclining Mr. Howell as King Kaliwani (I asked for Emily Banks and I got Stanley Adams). Thurston tries to haggle for a way off the island and learns that the king is in search of a "white goddess". Kaliwani seems to be taking an interest in Mrs. Howell when Gilligan drops a net on the natives from on top of a hut, but the Howells don't appreciate his heroic effort. The Professor recognizes the natives' outrigger as belonging to the Papuan tribe, and a lighter that he and the Skipper find in it lead to the revelation that the king has regular contact with a ship. In the interest of being rescued, the castaways dress up all the women in gowns to present them as white goddesses; then they learn that the goddess is meant to be sacrificed to a volcano. The castaway men are ready to fight, but are cowed by the natives' potent poison blow-darts.

The Professor comes up with a vague plan to have one of the men pose as a white goddess candidate for reasons, hoping to ultimately spot the ship.


Howell looks kinda like one of the Stones. As everyone is unimpressed with the results, they end up drafting the titular candidate and put him in drag. A humiliated Gilligan, in a conservative skirt outfit, heels, makeup, and wig, has to endure a ceremony, then the king coming onto him in private with a proposal to take "Giliana" for himself and throw a dummy in the volcano instead. The others learn of this and conspire to create diversions to prevent the king from spoiling Gilliana and what passes for their plan. This includes the girls doing a song and dance in USO costumes, and Mr. Howell performing magic with a costume and gear that he acknowledges having brought with him. The king sends everyone out and resumes his advances, so Gilligan proposes a playful game of hide and seek, during which he removes his disguise and slips out of the hut. Finding Gilliana's clothes and wig, the king thinks that the goddess has vanished and he and his henchmen, fearing the wrath of the gods, hurry off the island...though Mr. Howell tries to catch up with them, Gilligan in tow.

The series goes out on an appropriate enough note...


_______

Not sure. I remember talking about Ultra-Humanite, but not the context (aside from me knowing nothing about him but his name).

Actually, I think the UH might have come up when we were discussing bald Blofeld Howell appearing in the spy spoof before the debut of bald Blofeld; though Mary Ann with the Professor's brain was probably cross-referenced.

Maybe. The idea had been around for a long time, but was just reaching a critical mass of supporting evidence. Or maybe it was a little bit later. I remember arguing with my 5th-grade teacher about it.

They were teaching us about it in elementary school by about that grade, roughly eight years later.

We're living in a Golden Age of science. Prior to the 20th century, most scientific research was done by a relative handful of isolated eccentrics. Now we have tens of thousands of scientists all over the world, coordinating their efforts and using ultramodern technology and computers and whatever. It's amazing.

More recent geologic theory seems to be that everything came to Earth from space...water, life, you name it. Like Plot Devices of the Week washing up in the lagoon.

So Hawaii is less than five hundred miles away. Did we already know that?

There was a reference in one of the recent episodes of the island being approximately 300 miles southwest of Hawaii; which is consistent with other range references, like the 150-mile orbit implicitly being closer, and Hawaii being within the range of the jetpack.

That's putting a valuable piece of equipment at risk.

It's the magic radio, it's blessed!

Well-known character actor with a long career.

Best recognized to me as the voice of Winnie the Pooh.

Does he use it to line the bird cages or am I making that up?

You are not.

So the Professor builds a camera out of bamboo and tree sap.

They handwaved right past the photography session.

But it's still out there. Somewhere. Lurking. Nursing its spidery grudge. And laying eggs.

This was a great way to bring in a guest character without having another unlikely visitor to the island.

I should note that while the episode description spoiled it for us, Burt being a convict was apparently meant to be a comic reveal at the end.

Next up...

 

[Moviefan2k4]

"Who's Johnny" is the unofficial theme song for the hit 1986 comedy "Short Circuit", starring Ally Sheedy and Steve Guttenberg. It was written and recorded by American artist Eldra "El" DeBarge, and reached #1 on the Canada Top 100. Personally, I have loved it since my childhood, and I hope you do, too. Check it out - "Number Five Alive!"