What's Up With This Blog

Hi!  If you follow this blog, you've probably noticed I haven't been updating it much lately.  I'm sorry about that.  I've had a crazy work schedule this month, plus I was in bed with a bad cold for a few days, and as a result, I haven't had much time to spend on "Misfit Robot Daydream."  Hopefully I well get back on track as we head in to March. 

I'm going to be making some minor changes to the things I post.  I'm giving up on posting things on a regular schedule.  No more TV reviews on Mondays, Toy reviews on Tuesdays, and "Thrift Store Thursday" on Thursdays.  I just haven't been able to get those things posted consistently on a regular basis.  So, for now on, I'm just going to post those things whenever I get the chance, no matter what day it is.  Also, I'm combining all of my Toy reviews under a single banner called "Weirdo Playthings."  My reviews of new toys will stay pretty much the same as they have been.  For my thrift store posts, instead of doing one big post with all of my toy haul, I'll be splitting them up into smaller posts with one or two things in them.  That will make it easier for me to post more frequently.  I'm also going to get back to posting more movie reviews, which I haven't done much of the last few months.

I'm currently working on a review of the 1980s Wes Craven sci-fi horror movie "Deadly Friend," as well as reviews for the first few episodes of 1978's Battlestar Galactica, and I should have plenty of new toys to review as well, so I hope you'll keep checking back to see those things in the coming days and weeks!

Thanks for reading this blog!
Joshua "Atomic Robot" Rtymond

The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries - The Secret of the Jade Kwan Yin (1977)

The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries

The Secret of the Jade Kwan Yin

This episode begins in Hong Kong... or does it?  The show starts with "Hong Kong" superimposed on the screen, leading the viewer to think the episode is taking place there.  But then the shot changes to Fenton Hardy looking VERY concerned while watching a report about Hong Kong smugglers on TV.  Was the "Hong Kong" graphic just what Fenton was watching on TV?  Or is Fenton in Hong Kong, watching the local Hong Kong newscast?  It's not clear.  The news is being read with a British accent, and they refer to the United States as "that country," which leads me to believe that Fenton is in Hong Kong.  But later, when the Hardy Boys and Callie arrive at the Hardy residence, they are told by Aunt Gertrude that Fenton is on a missing person's case.  So I guess he's not in Hong Kong?  But if not, why is he sitting around watching TV when he is supposedly out on a case? Wait a minute!  If, when Fenton claims to be on a case, he's really just in some OTHER house, hanging out and watching TV, he must be leading a double life!  He's probably a polygamist or something, with a dozen other Hardy Boys running around!  Holy crap!  THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING!   Or... maybe I'm overthinking this just a tad.  I mean, this is the Hardy Boys Mysteries we're talking about, the scripts usually don't make a lot of sense if you think about them too much.  Now my brain hurts.

Hong Kong?

So anyhoo... the Hardy Boys are out snorkeling on the "New England Coast" (totally not Southern California, no sir) when some smuggler's cruise by in a boat, and drop some contraband package into the water, where it conveniently lands DIRECTLY ON FRANK'S BACK, while he is swimming on the bottom.  Because that's the way the Hardy Boys roll.  Mysteries just fall right into their laps (or in this case, their backs).  So, HOORAY!  The Boys have a mystery to solve!  Meanwhile, two Chinese men in scuba gear watch from the beach, and vow to get the package back.  Think it will have something to do with the news reports that Fenton was watching on TV while he was on his "missing person's case?"  Will that would be TOO much of a coincidence, even for this show, right?

Joe Hardy is Under the Sea

The Boys take the package home and find that it contains a jade statue, which Callie conveniently recognizes as one she has seen copies of in Bayport's Chinatown.   The trio leave the statue at home, and visit Bayport's Chinatown (which looks suspiciously like stock footage of San Fransisco's Chinatown).  There they meet a pretty girl who works at a Chinese Art store, and her uncle, who trains Kung-fu fighters across the street.  They learn that the statue is thousands of years old and is a precious artifact to the local people of Bayport Chinatown.  But before the Boys can return it, their house gets broken into, and the statue is stolen!  Police Chief Collig warns the Boys  to stay away and let the police handle it, but the Hardy Boys ignore him, as usual.

The Jade Kwan Yin

This leads the boys into an exciting adventure full of danger!  They get in a motorcycle chase through the streets of Bayport (which looks suspiciously like the streets of Los Angeles)!  The get caught in a boat rigged with explosives!  They do battle with Kung-fu fighters!

Acme Fishing Boat Rentals?  No wonder it blew up, this boat was meant for Wile E. Coyote!

Finally, they CRACK The Secret of the Jade Kwan Yin wide open!  And I mean that literally.  At the end of the episode, the Hardy Boys have regained the statue, and are being chased by the smugglers through the streets of Chinatown during a parade.  They try to hide under the dragon of some Dragon Dancers, but the smugglers recognize the matching pairs of white Adidas tennis shoes they are both wearing.  Yes, the Hardy Boys wear matching pairs of Adidas, just like Run-DMC, because they are BOMB like that. 




Run-DMC - My Addidas

Were RUN-DMC inspired by the Hardy Boys?

So, to evade the smugglers, the Boys run across the streets, tossing the precious statue back and forth to each other like a football!  Seriously, how crazy is that?  Can you imagine what would happen if they dropped it?  Well, guess what, you don't have to imagine it, because they do!  But it turns out to be okay, because the statue our boy geniuses drop and shatter turns out to be a fake, full of stolen gems!  Everyone has a good laugh at this, including both Fenton Hardy and Police Chief Collig, who were lurking around the parade undercover.  Collig has apparently forgotten that he warned the Boys to stay away earlier in the episode.  HOORAY FOR THE HARDY BOYS!

Rating 2½ Robots (out of 5)

Well, that does it for season one of the Hardy Boys!  Hope you enjoyed reading my write-ups of the show, so far.  I wrote about the two-part season 2 premiere episodes, "The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew Meet Dracula," last Halloween.  Click on the link if you want to read about that.  I'll be returning to write about the rest of the 1977-1978 season 2 episodes of this series later... but next, I'll be jumping forward two years to 1979, and turning my attention to another Glen A. Larson produced show.  So join me next week as I begin my reviews of Battlestar Galactica!  Hope to see you here!

More screencaps after the jump...

Blog Update

Hi.
Just wanted to let everyone know that my blog updates are going to be a bit sparse this week.  I've just got off an eight day work week, and spent most of today in bed sick, so it hasn't left me much time to blog.  I didn't post a TV review on Monday, but I am working on one, and that feature should be back next Monday.  I probably won't post a "Thrift Store Thursday" post this week either, as I haven't had much time to go shopping, and my NEXT day off is Friday.  As for my Tuesday Toy Review, I think I might stop doing doing that on Tuesdays, and just post those any time in the week where I have the opportunity.  I'm also going to try to do more movie reviews,  I haven't done much of those lately, as I've been focusing on TV and toys.  So I might alternate, with a movie review one week, a toy review the next, or something like that.  I just wish I had more spare time to blog, if I did, I would probably post every day.

Thanks,
Joshua

More Batman 1966 Stuff From Toy Fair

There are lots of cool new 1966 Batman toys coming out this year!  Let's check some of them out:

Mattel's Batman Classic TV Toys

Surfboard Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder.  Pictures from Action Figure Insider.

Mattel is coming out with a line of Batman Classic TV Series action figures. So far the following toys have been revealed:

• Adam West as Batman.
• Frank Gorshin as the Riddler.
• Burgess Meredith as the Penguin.
• A two-pack of Batman and Robin with a skyscraper wall climbing accessory.  Robin will ONLY be available in the two-pack.
• Batman in shorts with a surf board!  This might very well be the coolest action figure EVER!
• The Batmobile.

The Batmobile.  Picture from USA Today.

The Penguin, The Riddler, and Batman.  Pictures from USA Today and Entertainment Earth.

There should be at least three more figures revealed in this line, but they weren't ready for Toy Fair, including:

• Cesar Romero as the Joker (it's been confirmed that he will have his mustache).
• The Catwoman, although which actress it will be is unconfirmed.
• Some other, unknown figure (if I had to guess, I'd say it will be a Surfing Joker to go with the the surfing Batman, but we'll see).

There are rumors that Yvonne Craig has not signed off on her likeness rights for a Batgirl figure, but I hope they're not true, or at least that they get the rights worked out in time for a second wave of figures.

This will be a mass-market retail line, not a small collectors only line.  The Batmobile will be exclusive to Toys R Us.  The other toys will be available at Toys R Us and Amazon first, and then later will be released to other stores.  The single action figures are expected to retail at $15.99, and the Batmobile at $49.99.  No word on the price of the Batman and Robin two-pack.

Neca's Giant Batman Action Figures

1989 Batman and 1966 Batman.  Picture from Action Figure Insider.

In the Warner Brothers press release last week, the said Neca was going to be making a 12 inch Batman 1966 action figure.  Well, it turns out that they are actually making an 18 inch figure of Adam West as Batman, as well as an 18 inch figure of Michael Keaton as Batman!  The prototypes look great, but at $85 a pop, I well probably have to pass on them.

Funko Pops and Wacky Wobblers

Funko Wacky Wobblers.  Picture from Action Figure Insider.

Funko POP! Batmobile.  Picture from Action Figure Insider.

Funko POP! Vinyl Figures.  Picture from Action Figure Insider.

Funko didn't have these toys at the show, but they did have previews of them in their catalog.  It's hard to say for sure from the drawing, but that Catwoman Wobbler look like Lee Meriwether to me, not Julie Newmar.

Batman Ken and Catwoman Barbie

Batman Ken and Catwoman Barbie.  Pictures from Action Figure Insider.

Barbies aren't really my thing, but these are pretty cool.  I like that they went with a retro look for Barbie and Ken, almost as if these toys were actually made in the 1960s.




I'll be keeping my eyes peeled for more Bat-Pics and Bat-Info and passing them on as I get them!

First Images of Batman 1966 Action Figures and Batmobile Revealed!

The USA Today and Entertainment Earth have revealed the first pictures from the upcoming line of Batman 1966 Classic TV Series action figures today!  The USA Today has pictures of the Adam West Batman, and the Classic 1966 Batmobile, and Entertainment Earth has pictures of Frank Gorshin as The Riddler, and Burgess Meredith as The Penguin.  According to the USA today, the 6 inch action figures and Batmobile should go on sale in July, with a price of $15.99 each for the figures, and $49.99 for the Batmobile.  And it looks like the Batmobile will be in scale for the 6 inch action figures, too.  Here's some pics:

Batman 1966 Action Figures!

Batman 1966 Batmobile!

Overall, I think these figures look really great.  The articulation on the Adam West looks a little odd, and I'm not sure they've captured his face completely... but it could just be the photo, or maybe this might be a prototype, and not 100% finished.  But if this does represent the finished product, I will still be very happy with it.  I can't wait to see more photos and get more info about these toys!

Thrift Store Thursdays: Batman! Batman! Batman!

Thrift Store Thursdays: Batman!  Batman!  Batman!

Hi Folks!  Joshua "The Atomic Robot" Raymond here, welcoming you to the latest addition of Thrift Store Thursdays, where I share my latest scores of used toys and other pop culture memorabilia from thrift stores, eBay, garage sales, flea markets and wherever I else I find them.

This week I've got Batman on the brain.  Why?  Because we are just a few days away from Toy Fair, where a whole line-up of Adam West/Batman 1966 toys are going to be revealed.  I can't wait to see them!  In the meantime, though, I thought it would be fun to check out some OTHER Batman toys.  Most of these I picked up in a lot on eBay, except for the Super Powers Batmobile, which I purchased separately on eBay, and some of the Happy Meal toys, which I picked up at thrift stores.  Let's check them out...

Batman: The Brave and the Bold Mini Figures

First up is a whole mess of Batman: The Brave and the Bold mini figures.  I think these were originally Happy Meal toys. From left to right we have: Batman, The Spectre, Two-Face, Black Manta, The Penguin, A Bat-Robot, Solomon Grundy, and The Joker.  In the middle is a pile of duplicate figures.

Happy Meal Action Figures, Plus Batmobiles

Here are some more Happy Meal action figures.  These ones are larger, maybe around 3 inches or so.  From left to right: Animated Series Batman, Brave and the Bold Batman, Brave and the Bold (I think) Superman, and Brave and the Bold Joker.  In front of these guys are a trio of Batman: The Brave and the Bold Batmobiles.

Batman Action Figures

From left to right: Some kind of silver knight Batman (with a sword and shield), some kind of weird armor Batman (kind of reminds me of Azrael), A copper colored Batman from Batman (1989) or Batman Returns, and a Batman/Bruce Wayne figure with a removable outfit.

Bruce Wayne Figure With Bat-Armor, and Without

Motorcycles

A trio of motorcycles, featuring a Joker "chopper," A sleek Batcycle, and a Joker motorcycle with detachable sidecar.

The Joker Motorcycle With Sidecar Detached

Penguin Power

Here's a flock of Penguins, featuring a Penguin Umbrella Plane, two animal penguins, and two "The Penguin" action figures with umbrellas.

The Penguin Umbrella Plane

Some Miscellaneous Bat-Junk

I'm not really sure what these two items are.  The green one has wheels on the bottom, like it's supposed to be a car or something.  The black one might be some weird kind of jetpack, maybe.  They both have holes with springs in them on their fronts, suggesting they once shot missiles of some sort.

Batmobiles

Batmobiles!  In the middle is a miniature Tim Burton Batmobile.  On the left is the regular sized Tim Burton Batmobile.  On the right is a Super Powers Batmobile.

Action Features

The Tim Burton Batmobile has a trunk that opens, and some missile launcher looking things on the hood.

Super Powers Batmobile

This Super Powers Batmobile has pop-up headlights, a pop-out battering ram, and pincers that pop out of the rear to capture criminals.  I bought this on eBay, and when it arrived, it was a lot more damaged and beat up than I thought it would be.  It's got a lot of scratches, is popping apart at the seams, it's missing the steering wheel, and one of the windows is broken.  The description on eBay wasn't really deceptive, but they took photos from just the right angles that made it look nicer than it was.  Still, I only paid a couple of buck for it, so I was satisfied with the purchase.  It'll do for now, until I can get a nicer one for my collection.


Well, that's it for this edition of Thrift Store Thursdays.  Check back in the next few days for more info on the 1966 Batman toys.  I'll be writing about them when I get some more info.  Same Bat-Time.  Same Bat-Channel.

Tuesday's Post Delayed AGAIN (Sorry!)

Hi, I'm currently working 7 days in a row this week, which doesn't leave me enough  time to blog.  As a result, my usual Tuesday Toy review had been delayed.  I'm still planning on having mt Thrift Store Thursdays post up on Thursday, and I'm going to try and get a toy review up later this week to make up for not having one today.  Thanks for your patience!

The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries - Wipe-Out (1977)

The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries

Wipe-Out

So, apparently Frank Hardy is a World Class Surfer.

At least he was in this latest episode of the Hardy Boys Mysteries, titled "Wipe-Out."  I guess we can add that to the long list of other skills the Hardy Boys possess, including airplane piloting, dirt bike riding, fingerprinting, criminology, code breaking, and, in the case of Joe Hardy, singing while shaking his hips like a girl.

Frank Hardy Joins the Ranks of Such Legendary TV Surfers as Greg Brady and The Joker

Speaking of Joe Hardy singing,  Shaun Cassidy sang two more songs in this episode.  This is the second episode in a row where Joe has sang.  That's a disturbing trend.  Although I did find it amusing that in this episode, just like in last week's episode, Frank Hardy got up and walked away when his brother started singing.  If they're going to have Shaun Cassidy sing in every episode, at least they can make a joke out of it.

That Overbite Would Be Adorable If He Was Five

In this episode the Hardy Boys travel to Hawaii, where Frank is competing in a surfing contest.  While there the brothers get caught up in a hotel room burglary ring, and must go undercover as criminals in order to crack the case.  During the course of events, Frank surfs, Joe sings, and they both romance some Hawaiian waitresses who apparently have nothing better to do than date mainlanders who are only on the island for the weekend (Here in my home of Las Vegas, we have girls who date tourists, too.  But we don't call them "waitresses."  We call them "prostitutes.").

Frank Hardy is the Meat in a Bikini Girl Sandwich

The episode tries to build some suspense by making it look like the Hardy Boys might have really turned to a life of crime.  Of course this is a bit too ridiculous to actually believe, so really the only suspense was in trying to figure out what their plan was.  But still, even without the suspense, it's still a fun episode full of surfing, singing, sinister characters, girls in bikinis (if you're in to that sort of thing), and Shaun Cassidy in short shorts (if you're not).

Shaun Cassidy's Inner Thigh

Rating: 3 Robots (out of 5)

Shaun Cassidy - Surfin' USA


More screencaps after the jump...