"Video Killed the Radio Star" by The Buggles

It was 45 years ago today that "Video Killed the Radio Star" by The Buggles was released. The song would go to no. 1 on the UK singles chart, as well as charts in Australia, Austria, Belgium, FRance, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. It only went to no. 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, but it would gain everlasting fame in the US as the first video ever played by MTV in 1981. The song was also recored by  Bruce Woolley and the Camera Club at around the same time and appears on their album English Garden. Regardless, it is The Buggles' version that remains famous.

"Video Killed the Radio Star" was written by Trevor Horn, Geoff Downes, and Bruce Woolley (essentially the original members of The Buggles. Trevor Horn took inspiration for the song from two sources. One was the short story "The Sound-Sweep" by J. G. Ballard, which was first published in Science Fantasy Volume 13 Number 39 (February 1960). Teh story concerns a mute boy who hoovers up stray sounds in a world devoid of real music. He befriends an opera singer who lives in an abandoned recording studio. 
Trevor Horn stated in a 2018 interview with The Guardian, "I'd read J.G. Ballard and had this vision of the future where record companies would have computers in the basement and manufacture artists." Another sources of inspiration was Kraftwerk's The Man-Machine. Speaking to the Red Bull Music Academy in 2011, he commented, "It was like you could see the future when you heard Kraftwerk, something new is coming, something different,. Different rhythm section, different mentality."

Sadly, with the advent of AI,it seems as if the future described in "The Sound-Sweep" and "Video Killed the Radio Show" could come true if we allow it to. AI currently has the ability to generate music, even vocals. In 1960 "The Sound-Sweep" probably sounded far fetched and in 1979 "Video Killed the Radio Star" may have simply been considered a catchy tune. Today they are visions of a frightening possible future.

Filmation's DC Comics Superhero Cartoons of the Sixties

In the late Sixties, Saturday morning television was dominated by superhero cartoons. Among these were cartoons featuring characters from DC Comics, such as Superman, Aquaman, and Batman. These cartoons were produced by Filmation, an animation production company founded 1962 that would become one of the biggest providers of Saturday morning cartoons in the Seventies.

Given Saturday morning had become a lucrative time for animated cartoons on television in the Sixties. DC Comics decided to seek out an animation studio to produce a Saturday morning Superman cartoon. They settled on Filmation, a studio that had up until then produced animated commercials, a failed pilot for a Marx Brothers  cartoon, and a few other pilots. The New Adventures of Superman debuted on CBS on September 10 1966.

The New Adventures of Superman drew upon the comic books of the time for its designs. Mort Weisinger, editor of the Superman titles at DC Comics, served as the story consultant, on the show and such DC Comics writers as Leo Dorfaman, and Bob Haney wrote episodes.The New Adventures of Superman marked both the television debut and the first time in animation for many of Superman's enemies, including Lex Luthor, Braniac, Mister Mxyzptlk, The Prankster, Titano, and Toyman.It It also used some of the voice cast from the radio show The Adventures of Superman and and the Fleischer cartoons, with Bud Collyer as Superman/Clark Kent, Joan Alexander as Lois Lane, and Jackson Beck as Perry White and the show's narrator.

The New Adventures of Superman proved to be a hit. In fact it was so successful that Filmation made a deal with DC Comics to develop more of their superheroes into Saturday morning cartoons.  It was DC who requested Filmation create a show based around Aquaman. Filmation made a pilot for the Aquaman series and CBS bought it. It was then that The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure debuted on CBS on September 9, 1967.

The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure not only featured Superman and Aquaman cartoons, but a rotating roster of other DC heroes, including Atom, The Flash, Green Lantern , and Hawkman, as well as the Justice League of America, Teen Titans, and Superboy (which had originated on The New Adventures of Superman the prior year). Aquaman's supporting cast included Mera, Aqualad, and Aquagirl from the comic books. Some well-known actors voiced many of the heroes on the show, including Pat Harrington Jr. as The Atom and Speedy (of the Teen Titans), Marvin Miller voicing Aquaman, Gerald Mohr voicing Green Lantern,  and Vic Perrin voicing Hawkman.

Mort Weisinger once more served as a story consultant on The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventures, while comic book writers Bob Haney and  George Kashdan wrote some episodes. Like The New Adventures of Superman, The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure features supervillains from the comic books, all of who were making their debuts in both television and animation. Among the DC Comics supervillains who appeared in episodes of the show were Black Manta, Evil Star, and The Fisherman, To create the underwater effects for the "Aquaman" effects the animators would rub material like baby oil on a clear piece of acetate. And then the acetate with the baby oil would be put closer to the camera and moved at a different speed from everything in the background.

With the success of The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure, Filmation had plans for more DC Comics cartoons. A whole hour of DC Comics cartoons was planned, with concept drawings featuring Metamorpho, Plastic Man, the Blackhawks, the Doom Patrol, B'Wana Beast, Green Arrow, and the Metal Men. This idea fell by the wayside when Filmation got the animation rights to Batman.

At the time  ABC was still airing the live action TV series Batman, which had been a smash hit in its first season. As it turned out, while ABC, 20th Century Fox, and Greenway Productions held the rights to do a live-action Batman show, they did not hold the animation rights.  Filmation's cartoon The Adventures of Batman went into development while the live-action series was still on the air.  Of course, the live-action Batman would not remain for long. A smash hit with phenomenal ratings when it debuted in 1966. by its third season ratings had fallen dramatically. ABC then  cancelled Batman. The Batman/Superman Hour debuted on CBS on September, about six months after the last original episode of the live action Batman aired.

The Bamtan/Superman Hour consisted of two Batman segments and three segments, two Superman segments, and one Superboy segment. Olan Soule voiced Batman, while Casey Kasem voiced Robin. The two of them would go onto voice the Dynamic Duo in Hanna-Barbera's Super Friends cartoons in the Seventies. Batgirl voiced Jane Webb. The Adventures of Batman portion of the program featured many of the villains who had already appeared on the TV show, including The Joker, Penguin, Catwoman, Riddler, Mad Hatter, and Mr. Freeze. There were also members of Batman's rogue's gallery who made their television debut on The Batman/Superman Hour: The Scarecrow and Tweedledee & Tweedledum. Comic book writers Bob Haney and George Kashdan wrote episodes of The Batman/Superman Hour.

As to Aquaman, the previously aired Aquaman, Atom, The Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkman, Justice League, and Teen Titans shorts were repackaged as a half hour show titled Aquaman and moved to Sunday morning. In the early Sixties, ABC had begun airing children's programming (particularly cartoons) on Sunday morning, and CBS followed suit in 1967. Nearly all of the cartoons aired on Sunday mornings by ABC and CBS consisted of reruns that had previously aired on Saturday morning. ABC and CBS would continue to air children's programming on Saturday mornings until the Eighties.

Unfortunately by 1968 the days of the superhero cartoon on network television were numbered. Action for Children's Television (ACT for short) was an organization formed in 1968, ostensibly for the improvement of children's programming. Among its targets were Saturday morning adventure cartoons, including the many superhero cartoons on at the time. To make matters worse, there was a moral panic over television violence in general that was taking place. Ultimately, the networks felt obliged to cancel the superhero cartoons whether they were still doing well or not. With regards to The Batman/Superman Hour , The Adventures of Superman returned to Saturday morning for one more season of reruns. It was the only superhero cartoon on CBS Saturday morning that season. The Adventures of Batman was moved to Sunday morning. Aquaman was cancelled.

Filmation's DC Comics superhero cartoons were made on extremely low budgets. Like every other producer of Saturday morning cartoons (such as Hanna-Barbera), Filmation utilised limited animation, whereby the number of frames per second to fewer than 24 framers per second standard for film and television. To keep costs down, Filmation made a good deal of stock footage, previously animated sequences that they would use over and over. To this day Filmation has a reputation for the poor quality of their animation.

While Filmation's animation may not be particularly respected, they were known for absolutely beautiful backgrounds that they often used for establishing shots. Filmation's often remarkable backgrounds were in evidence as early as their DC Comics superhero cartoons, particularly Aquaman. It must also be pointed out that Filmation's DC Comics superhero cartoons also stayed very loyal to the Silver Age comic books of the era, much more so than Hanna-Barbera's later Super Friends. And while the stories on Filmation's various DC Comics superhero cartoons may not be of the same level of quality as their later Star Trek and Flash Gordon cartoons, they were still better than much of what aired on Saturday morning at the time.

Ultimately, Filmation's DC Comics Superhero cartoons would have a lasting impact.  One of its biggest impacts was on the character of Aquaman. An obscure backup character during the Golden Age, Aquaman came unto his own in the Silver Age, although it seems likely he still was not as popular as The Flash or Green Lantern. The Aquaman cartoon gave him more exposure than he had ever had in his twenty six year existence. Indeed, without the cartoon, The Flash or Green Lantern might have been the fourth "super friend" on Hanna-Barbera's Super Friends. Filmation's superhero cartoons also marked both the television and animation debuts of several DC Comics characters. The New Adventures of Superman marked the television and animation debuts of Lex Luthor Titano the Super-Ape, Brainiac, Toyman, The Prankster, and Mister Mxyzptlk. While Jimmy Olsen had been on the live-action series The Adventures of Superman, The New Adventures of Superman marked his animation debut. The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure marked the animation and television debuts of Aquaman, Aqualad, Mera, Black Manta, The Fisherman, The Flash, Kid Flash, Green Lantern, Evil Star, Hawkman,the Justice League, and the Teen Titans.

Another way in which Filmation's DC Comics superhero cartoons would have a lasting impact is that many of the personnel who worked on them would later work on other DC Comics cartoons. Ted Knight, who worked extensively Filmation (often as a narrator), later served as the narrator on Hanna-Barbera's Super Friends. Olan Soule and Casey Kasem would reprise their roles as Batman and Robin on  Hanna-Barbera's Superfriends.Vic Perrin, who voiced Hawkman on The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure, later voiced Sinestro on the Super Friends series. Bob Hastings, who voiced Superboy on The New Adventures of Superman, later provided voices for the Super Friends series and Commissioner Gordon on Batman: The Animated Series and other DC Animated Universe shows.

In the end Filmation's DC Comics superhero cartoons paved the way for every other DC Comics animated series ever since. They proved that superheroes could be successful in animation, while maintaining a faithfulness to the source material that would not be matched for years. Filmations' DC Comics superhero cartoons also introduced a whole new audience to DC's heroes, many of who would remain fans of DC Comics for the rest of their lives.

Instagram Should Restore the "Most Recent" Option to Searches

On the evening of August 30 I performed a search on Instagram for the hashtag. #vanessamarquez. I was searching for tributes made to my dearest Vanessa that day, the anniversary of her death. Unfortunately, it appears that Instagram has done away with the option to sort searches by "Most Recent." Using Insatgram's search I was then unable to determine if anyone else had made tributes to Vanessa that day or not.

Adding salt to the wound is the fact that the top results are apparently not sorted by relevance. Scrolling down the results, one will find much more relevant results than those listed at the top. They apparently are not sorted by popularity either. Results with as few as 3 likes ranked above posts with as many as 2397. I have no idea how Instagram's algorithm determined what would be the top results in the search. In fact, it appears to be totally random. Recent posts certainly did not show up near the top. Some of the top poss on the search I performed on August 30 go back as far 2017.

A search on Google reveals that Instagram apparently did away with the option to search by "Most Recent" some time ago. It also revealed that I am not the only one who is unhappy about it. There are complaints about it on blogs, Reddit, and elsewhere on the Web. One post on Reddit made five months ago complained that Instagram had made hashtags useless. I really can't disagree with them.

The good news is that if one wants to search for Instagram posts by chronological order, one still can, although not on Instagram. Picuki is an Instagram viewer that has been around for a while. Hashtag searches on Picuki are still sorted with the most recent at the top. Now the downside of Picuki is that it only searches for posts. If one wants to see Reels, then they are out of luck.

I honestly don't see the logic in Instagram doing away with sorting searches by "Most Recent." It honestly makes no sense to me. To make matters worse, I honestly don't understand how Instagram's algorithm determines what the top post on any given search is. It certainly isn't by relevance and it certainly isn't by popularity. Quite frankly, I think Instagram has rendered their hashtag search useless. I can only hope that Instagram comes to their senses and restores the ability to sort searches by "Most Recent."

Chicano Cinema on Turner Classic Month September 24

Julie Carmen and Chick Vennera in The Millagro Beanfield War

Last month, August, was Chicano Heritage month, a month spotlighting the historical significance of Mexican Americans or Chicanos. The month of August is very significant for Mexican Americans. It was on August 29 1970 that the Chicano Moratorium March protesting the Vietnam War took place in East Los Angeles. It was while covering the Chicano Moratorium March that Los Angeles Times reporter and Mexican American civil rights activist Ruben Salazar was shot and killed by a Los Angeles County deputy.

While Chicano Heritage Month is August, Hispanic Heritage Month (which many prefer to call Latino Heritage Month) takes place from September 15 to October 15. With Chicano Heritage Month having taken place in August and Latino Heritage Month running from September 15 to October 15, on the night of September 24 Turner Classic Movies is showing five movies in tribute to the Chicano community. They include The Milagro Beanfield War (1988), about the conflict between Mexican American farmers and big business; Zoot Suit (1981), a film adaptation of the Broadway play centred around the Zoot Suit riots; Salt of the Earth (1951), the classic film featuring a fictionalised portrayal of the 1950-1952 strike against Empire Zinc; Boulevard Nights (1979), a film about two Chicano brothers, one a respectable citizen with a job and another who is a gang member;and The Cisco Kid (1994), the TV movie that updated "the Robin Hood of the West.."

Below is the schedule for Hispanic Heritage Month: Chicano Cinema on Turner Classic Movies. All times are Central.

Tuesday, September 24:
7:00 PM The Milagro Beanfield War
9:15 PM Zoot Suit (1981)
11:15 PM Salt of the Earth (1951)

Wednesday, September 25:
1:00 AM Boulevard Nights (1978)
3:00 AM The Cisco Kid (1994)

Godspeed James Darren

James Darren who played Moondoggie in the movie Gidget (1959) and starred on the TV show The Time Tunnel, among many other roles died yesterday, September 2 2024, at the age of 88. In addition to acting, he was also a singer.

James Darren was born James William Ercolani on June 8 1936 in Philadelphia. It because of the success of Eddie Fisher, who was also a Philadelphia native that James Darren decided to become a singer and actor. He moved to New York City to study acting under Stella Adler. The owner of a photography shop directed James Darren to Joyce Selznick, a talent scout for Columbia Pictures and David O. Selznick's niece. Mr. Darren then signed a contract with Columbia.

James Darren made his film debut in Rumble on the Docks in 1956. In the late Fifties he appeared in the movies Operation Mad Ball (1957),  The Brothers Rico (1957), The Tijuana Story (1957), Gunman's Walk (1958), Gidget (1959), The Gene Krupa Story (1959), Because They're Young (1960), All the Young Men (1960), and Let No Man Write My Epitaph (1960). He guest starred on the shows The Web, The Lineup, and The Donna Reed Show. James Darren's recording career also began in the late Fifties. His first single, "Mighty Pretty Territory" was released in 1958. While he released several singles from 1958 to 1960, only two of them made the Billboard Hot 100. "Gidget" made it to no. 41, while "Angel Face" peaked at no. 47. His first album Album No. 1, was released in 1960.

In the Sixties James Darren appeared in the movies The Guns of Navarone (1961), Gidget Goes Hawaiian (1961), Diamond Head (1962), Gidget Goes to Rome (1963), For Those Who Think Young (1964), The Lively Set (1965), The Man from the 25th Century (1968), and Venus in Furs (1959). He stared on the TV show The Time Tunnel. He guest starred on the shows The Flintstones and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. He continued recording, and had several albums and singles released throughout the decade. He had his biggest hit in 1961 when his single "Goodbye, Cruel World" went to no. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. His other major hits during the decade were "Her Royal Majesty" (peaked at no. 6), "Conscience" (peaked at no. 11), and "All" (peaked at no.35).

In the Seventies James Darren's career shifted away from film and more towards television. He guest starred on the shows Love, American Style; S.W.A.T.; Police Woman; Baa Baa Black Sheep; The Feather and Father Gang; Charlie's Angels; Police Story; Hawaii Five-O; Vega$, and Fantasy Island. He appeared in the TV movies City Beneath the Sea, The Lives of Jenny Dolan, and Turnover Smith. He appeared in the movies The Boss' Son (1978) and That's Life (1979). He continued to record. releasing two albums in the Seventies. His single "You Take My Heart Away" peaked at no. 52 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1977.

In the Eighties James Darren was a regular on the TV series T.J. Hooker. He guest starred on the shows The Love Boat, Fantasy Island, and One Day at a Time. In the Nineties James Darren had a recurring roles on Melrose Place and Star Trek: Deep Space 9. He guest starred on the shows Raven, Renegade, Silk Stalkings,and  Diagnosis Murder. James Darren would appear in two more movies: Random Acts (2001) and Lucky (2017). He released one album each in the Naughts and the Teens.

James Darren was a talented actor who could play a convincingly play a number of roles. He stood out as the surfer Moondoggie in Gidget and as gang member Johnny Rico in The Brothers Rico. He played rich boy and excessive partier  Ding in Those Who Think Young. Of course, James Darren was a talented singer as well, something that came in useful as Vic Fontaine a hologram of a 1950s style crooner, on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Throughout his career James Darren played a variety of roles and played all of them well.