tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3061398142362448372.post5703390481381570103..comments2023-11-25T09:34:32.294-08:00Comments on It Couldn't Happen Here...: Mark Dawidziak on ChopperJohn Scolerihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15830334036783163702noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3061398142362448372.post-72367865555520811542020-11-20T18:02:05.918-08:002020-11-20T18:02:05.918-08:00As much as the the visual effect of the “headless”...As much as the the visual effect of the “headless” motorcyclist is considered a weakness for this episode, I can’t help but wonder, if it doesn’t contribute to the cult status of the series. It’s part of the weird and wonderfully wacky world of The Night Stalker.Toddhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17789679714679061866noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3061398142362448372.post-20086212838511949412012-01-29T06:12:18.159-08:002012-01-29T06:12:18.159-08:00Like I needed another reason to be in favor of par...Like I needed another reason to be in favor of parenthood. Thanks! :-)Matthew Bradleyhttp://bradleyonfilm.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3061398142362448372.post-85895360652276556462012-01-26T14:37:02.487-08:002012-01-26T14:37:02.487-08:00Forget the Kolchak hat - I want a Chopper replica ...Forget the Kolchak hat - I want a Chopper replica extended leather jacket with neck stump!John Scolerihttp://akolchakaday.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3061398142362448372.post-51165932521482104992012-01-26T14:34:55.755-08:002012-01-26T14:34:55.755-08:00Matthew, actually, with "Dark Shadows" g...Matthew, actually, with "Dark Shadows" going down the tubes, Dan's kids suggested making it scary. Dan first tried a ghost (played by Kathryn Leigh Scott), and the ratings bumped up a bit. Then, since the character of Roger Collins' ex-wife, Laura, was returning from Phoenix, Arizona, one of the writers suggested making her an actual phoenix. The ratings bumped up again, and that's when Dan thought, why not try a vampire?Mark Dawidziakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17535425789954062022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3061398142362448372.post-77192467999190704262012-01-26T14:31:34.801-08:002012-01-26T14:31:34.801-08:00David, that Kolchak timeline, while obviously a la...David, that Kolchak timeline, while obviously a labor of love, does contain a spoiler or two, including a key resolution point in the crossover short story I wrote, "Interview With a Vampire?" -- featuring both Carl Kolchak and Barnabas Collins, and written with the permission of both Dan Curtis and Jeff Rice. I'm flattered to have contributed in such a material way to the timeline, but if viewed before the short story, it will go a long way in revealing the story's big secret.Mark Dawidziakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17535425789954062022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3061398142362448372.post-32150945015357459472012-01-26T02:21:54.465-08:002012-01-26T02:21:54.465-08:00Attentive readers will remember my request of Mark...Attentive readers will remember my request of Mark D. for a "Kolchak timeline." Here's one from circa 2000:<br /><br />http://members.fortunecity.com/lost_giant/kolchak1.htm<br /><br />And you, too, can have a Kolchak hat for only $400:<br /><br />http://baronhats.com/kolchak.htmDJSnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3061398142362448372.post-67582453909336422822012-01-25T23:10:17.057-08:002012-01-25T23:10:17.057-08:00How's this for trivia? The night watchman in A...How's this for trivia? The night watchman in Act IV is reading the March 1975 issue of MAD (#173). I actually recognized the back cover ("Who goes up...must come down!"). Thanks to the miracle of the internet, and Doug Gilford's Mad Cover Site, I was even able to determine which article the watchman is chuckling over ("You Know You're Really a Pet Owner When...").<br /><br />http://madcoversite.com/mad173.html<br /><br />Clearly, I have a little too much free time on my hands this evening.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3061398142362448372.post-86835849885583792042012-01-25T16:26:22.618-08:002012-01-25T16:26:22.618-08:00Love the comments from the people involved in the ...Love the comments from the people involved in the show. Thanks so much, Mark. <br /><br />I actually just watched "Chopper" and really enjoyed it. Even the episodes I don't think of as my top favorites are great fun to watch. Ditto with COLUMBO; same thing.Doug Khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10796333627043218622noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3061398142362448372.post-13929499329080788332012-01-25T13:43:00.274-08:002012-01-25T13:43:00.274-08:00Sad but true about today's television marketpl...Sad but true about today's television marketplace, grgstv338. I think they deliberately leave episodes unaired now, to entice people to buy DVD boxed sets of failed shows.<br /><br />Blurring the line between this and your sister Marvel University blog--and not for the first time--I've read that when Neal Adams (ooh, there's a bare*bones link, too!) was trying to get his foot in the door at Marvel, he told Stan Lee, "Put me on your worst-selling book," which at that time, if younger readers can believe it, was the soon-to-be-cancelled original X-MEN. The theory, of course, was that such a book would have nothing to lose, although in this case, the tragedy is that the awe-inspiring issues Adams then turned out with writer Roy Thomas did NOT turn things round, however revered they may be today.<br /><br />Conversely, and bringing us full circle, when DARK SHADOWS faced cancellation after (if I recall correctly) a year or so, Dan Curtis said, "What've we got to lose? Let's throw in a vampire." And the rest is history.Matthew Bradleyhttp://bradleyonfilm.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3061398142362448372.post-71794271641054685732012-01-25T12:59:48.439-08:002012-01-25T12:59:48.439-08:00Thanks again, Mark!
I remember reading an intervi...Thanks again, Mark!<br /><br />I remember reading an interview way back with either Bob Gale or Robert Zemeckis in an old issue of Fangoria in which he outlined their strategy for making a sale: they'd specifically target shows that were on life-support and probably looking for scripts simply to finish out the season, reasoning that there'd be far less competition selling to them rather than a hit show. Zemeckis pretty much repeats that philosophy in what he says is his advice to current prospective writers...<br /><br />... except I'm not sure how viable that strategy would really be in today's market. Back in the 1970s & 1980s, a show could be readily seen to be "playing out the string" - renewal was unlikely but the network would keep the show on for the remainder of the season anyway.<br /><br />These days, however, networks seem perfectly willing to yank an underperforming show - even after only a few airings (sometimes one!); some shows never get any further than producing 6-8 episodes with some never even airing at all.<br /><br />So, I'm not sure if there would even be time to write & submit a spec to the kind of show Zemeckis is recommending a newbie writer target - by the time they submitted it, the show would be off the air!grgstv338https://www.blogger.com/profile/03532739459643834686noreply@blogger.com