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Post by berkley on Feb 22, 2021 22:28:29 GMT -5
I did watch some roller derby on tv as a kid in the 70s and still remember some of the names - Paul "the Bear" Rupert, Skinny Minnie Miller, ... hmmm, I thought there were a few more I remembered but those are the only two that come to mind right now. I'm also picturing a blonde woman in a white uniform who seemed to be one of the stars but can't come up with a name. For a while around 1972 or so the kids on my street used to play Roller Derby during the winter. Without roller skates, we'd make a ring in the snow and run around it, bumping each other into the snow as we saw the pros do on TV. (I guess we could have done it with actual skates, but we'd have needed a much bigger space and preparing an ice rink is a lot more work than an oval in the snow!) Come to think of it, a lot of our games were inspired by TV... we also role-played at Daktari, Batman, Tarzan, Land of the Giants, Space 1999... But back to Roller Derby; I was mildly curious to see the movie Rollerball on account of having seen Roller Derby on TV, but never got around to it. I wanted to see that too and still have never got round to it.
The short-track speed skating that was introduced into the Olympics a few years ago - probably quite a few, by now - is almost a step in that direction I remember thinking the first time I saw it. There's lots of physical contact and jostling for position, though of course no real over the top stuff.
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Post by codystarbuck on Feb 22, 2021 22:32:14 GMT -5
I did watch some roller derby on tv as a kid in the 70s and still remember some of the names - Paul "the Bear" Rupert, Skinny Minnie Miller, ... hmmm, I thought there were a few more I remembered but those are the only two that come to mind right now. I'm also picturing a blonde woman in a white uniform who seemed to be one of the stars but can't come up with a name. For a while around 1972 or so the kids on my street used to play Roller Derby during the winter. Without roller skates, we'd make a ring in the snow and run around it, bumping each other into the snow as we saw the pros do on TV. (I guess we could have done it with actual skates, but we'd have needed a much bigger space and preparing an ice rink is a lot more work than an oval in the snow!) Come to think of it, a lot of our games were inspired by TV... we also role-played at Daktari, Batman, Tarzan, Land of the Giants, Space 1999... But back to Roller Derby; I was mildly curious to see the movie Rollerball on account of having seen Roller Derby on TV, but never got around to it. You haven't seen Rollerball? You need to get on that; really good film. It really presages corporate involvement in people's personal lives, as well as their become a law unto themselves. At the same time, it can be seen as an allegory of Imperial Rome, as Rollerball is the gladiatorial spectacle designed to take people's minds off of how crappy their lives are, compared to the elite. Within the story, the game was meant to illustrate that individual action was meaningless in the face of a combined team; but, the hero, Jonathan E (James Caan) keeps disproving that. It's like Michael Jordan on the Chicago Bulls....one guy can be the difference between good and greatness. Lot of good character actors, including John Houseman, as the head of the Energy Corporation (which is headquartered in Houston and Jonathan E plays on the Houston team), Shane Rimmer (several James Bond films, plus some voicework and appearances in Gerry Anderson shows), Moses Gunn (Little House on the Prairie and many tv shows and movies), John Beck, Robert Ito (Quincy) Ralph Richardson, Maud Adams, a younger Pamela Hensley (Buck Rogers) and Burt Kwouk (Bond films, Pink Panther films). The cast and stunt men would actually play games, in between shooting and the action proved so popular, director Norman Jewison was approached by promoters to acquire rights to create real leagues around this, which horrified him, as the whole point was the brutality of contact sport and how it has been used to distract subjugated people from their plight and crush heroes. Jonathan E refuses to retire and excels at a support where the individual isn't supposed to matter and becomes a rival to the power of the corporations. The media made it sound like it was extremely violent; but, in reality, it was no worse than actual hockey and football games, until the final match, when they are out to kill Jonathan E. Love that film, as you can probably tell. The poster art was done by Robert Peake, who is one of the commercial illustrators I enjoy and whose painting style was a big influence on Howard Chaykin. |
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Post by berkley on Feb 22, 2021 23:55:33 GMT -5
Wasn't there another one too around the same time - another roller-derby based SF movie, but lower-budget, more of a B-movie or even more down-market?
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Post by Rob Allen on Feb 23, 2021 0:05:59 GMT -5
I remember Roller Derby. I'm pretty sure it was Roller Derby, not Roller Games. The top team was the San Francisco Bay Bombers. Some of the top players I recall are Charlie O'Connell, who retired and was replaced by Bill Groll; jammers Mike Gammon and Tony Roman; blocker Gill Orozco, and pivot men Cliff Butler and John "Porky" Parker. On the women's side I remember both Joan Weston and Ann Calvello.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 23, 2021 0:55:12 GMT -5
One of the best television themes of the 80s and can't wait to dig into this.
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Post by brutalis on Feb 23, 2021 6:59:20 GMT -5
One of the best television themes of the 80s and can't wait to dig into this.
Such good stuff. So sad that the Denzel movies and the new Latifah series totally go the action route over the cerebral. |
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Post by Prince Hal on Feb 23, 2021 11:30:02 GMT -5
I remember Roller Derby. I'm pretty sure it was Roller Derby, not Roller Games. The top team was the San Francisco Bay Bombers. Some of the top players I recall are Charlie O'Connell, who retired and was replaced by Bill Groll; jammers Mike Gammon and Tony Roman; blocker Gill Orozco, and pivot men Cliff Butler and John "Porky" Parker. On the women's side I remember both Joan Weston and Ann Calvello. That's the one I remember, too, Rob. Played on Channel 9, WOR-TV, IIRC, where I also caught the likes of Gorilla Monsoon and Haystacks Calhoun on the wrestling show.. |
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Post by codystarbuck on Feb 23, 2021 14:11:24 GMT -5
I remember Roller Derby. I'm pretty sure it was Roller Derby, not Roller Games. The top team was the San Francisco Bay Bombers. Some of the top players I recall are Charlie O'Connell, who retired and was replaced by Bill Groll; jammers Mike Gammon and Tony Roman; blocker Gill Orozco, and pivot men Cliff Butler and John "Porky" Parker. On the women's side I remember both Joan Weston and Ann Calvello. Yeah; that's Roller Derby. The San Francisco Bay Bombers were perennial champions and Weston & Calvello were the top female stars there. Roller Derby had the following teams: San Francisco Bay Bombers Los Angeles Braves New York Chiefs Brooklyn Red Devils Jersey Jolters Philadelphia Panthers Washington-Baltimore Jets Chicago Westerners (later the Midwest Pioneers) Roller Games had: Los Angeles Thunderbirds Philadelphia Warriors New York Bombers Texas Outlaws Detroit Devils Northern Hawks (aka Chicago Hawks) Bothe leagues went under between 1973 and 74. In 1974/74, there was a short-lived International Skate Conference, with a mix of some of the Derby skaters and Games skaters; but, many of the Derby skaters quit, because they didn't want to jazz it up as much. That incarnation is gone by the end of 75. The International Roller Skate League starts in 1976 and that was the one syndicated through the mid-80s and on ESPN. That was done by 1987. The RollerGames concept, with the figure-8 track, was in 1989-90. Roller Jam in 1999-2001. From what I have seen on the net, it sounds like there was a mix of touring and home arenas and touring as sets of teams, using different team names, depending on where they were. |
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Post by codystarbuck on Feb 23, 2021 14:27:25 GMT -5
One of the best television themes of the 80s and can't wait to dig into this.
Good stuff. Fun part, now, is noting all of the famous actors who had early roles on there: Christian Slater, Kevin Spacey, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, David Allen Grier, Lori Petty, Luis Guzman, Sam Rockwell, Stanley Tucci, Chris Cooper, Charles S Dutton, Ving Rhames, Tony Shalhoub and Giancarlo Esposito. Adam Ant played a villain, Robert Mitchum did a few episodes, when Woodward suffered his heart attack, Telly Savalas did one, JT Walsh, William H Macy, Richard Jordan, Michael Moriarty, Olympia Dukakis, Ron O' Neal, Ed O'Neil, David Straitharn, Oliver Platt and even an interesting appearance from actor/model/raconteur/gay rights activist/journalist Quentin Crisp. William Zabka played his son and Melissa Sue Anderson a newly discovered daughter. Robert Lansing as Control and Keith Szarabajka as Mickey Kostmayor; just an excellent cast and regularly great guest stars. Makes a great companion to Woodward's classic British tv series, Callan, where he is an agent for a "dirty tricks" counter-espionage unit, reporting to Hunter. Callan was a petty crook, forced into service, is payed low wages, heavily stressed, and usually expendable. He has to rely on low end criminal and snitch Lonely, a Cockney (played by a Scot) with horrible BO, but an ear for things and able to get his hands on things. Different characters, but a similarity in attitude and Woodward plays their moral outrage similarly. You could almost see McCall as the retired David Callan, except McCall is more refined, has a certain level of wealth and was more of a classic intelligence officer. |
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Post by brutalis on Mar 14, 2021 12:06:00 GMT -5
Had fun talk last night over the phone in reminiscing over the Mission Impossible series. Haven't seen it in years as MeTV ran it late at night when they had it. Is on my want to get DVD list one day. Lots of memorable TV stars and creative stories. It really pissed me off when Tom Cruise made Phelp's the bad guy in the 1st movie and haven't watched any of those movies since. It
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Post by berkley on Mar 14, 2021 14:56:10 GMT -5
That's a show that I haven't seen since it first aired in the 60s. I was a young kid at the time so my memories of it are very hazy, but it's definitely one of the shows I look forward to watching again some time.
edit: I just looked it up on wiki and it says Mission Impossible was on the air from 1966 to 1973, which is much later than I'd thought.
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Post by Mister Spaceman on Mar 14, 2021 16:46:18 GMT -5
Afternoon syndication programming in my 1970s childhood was dominated by the likes of Star Trek, Gilligan's Island, and The Brady Bunch. But the classic TV show that I still watch regularly, more than any other, is The Andy Griffith Show (seasons 1-5 only, thanks). Well-written, character-driven humor, often with life lessons that felt earned and never didactic. Plus, how could you not love a show that featured a die-hard Captain Marvel fan? Shazam!  |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 14, 2021 17:42:16 GMT -5
Antenna TV and Me TV are the stations I watch the most when I am home alone.
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Post by codystarbuck on Mar 14, 2021 19:45:58 GMT -5
Had fun talk last night over the phone in reminiscing over the Mission Impossible series. Haven't seen it in years as MeTV ran it late at night when they had it. Is on my want to get DVD list one day. Lots of memorable TV stars and creative stories. It really pissed me off when Tom Cruise made Phelp's the bad guy in the 1st movie and haven't watched any of those movies since. It Not only that, but they kill off the original team; or rather, would have, if they had done cameos. As I recall, several of them turned them down. Loved MI. It was still in prime time, when I was a little kid and a local station had the earlier syndicated episodes. I'm partial to the early 60s seasons, with Cold War stories, rather than the "syndicate" episodes, that were more common in the later years. Loved Laundau & Baines and missed them when they were gone. Nimoy's Paris was a decent substitute for Rolly, but they never quite cracked another Cinnamon. Greg Morris and Peter Lupus were always favorites; but, they got all of the grunt work. Still recall Lupus playing superman in Air Force recruiting ads.  |
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Post by codystarbuck on Mar 14, 2021 19:49:59 GMT -5
ps Love the first season episode, where they use a circus cover to break out a cardinal, from an Eastern Bloc prison, the pilot, one where they fake a train journey, recall another involving an underground nerve gas lab, where Paris is exposed, in disguise (think it was Nimoy and not Landau) and anything where Barney has to disable or bypass an elaborate security system (usually crawling through ventilation shafts, using mirrors on electric eyebeams and crawling under laser beams.
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