Chip Carter's Blog

That’s what I say, at least. Despite the wealth of action figures I display, I have only three bobbleheads. That right there should disqualify me. Anyway, The Office Book of Lists is on sale! Head to your favorite bookstore and purchase numerous copies! It was a lot of fun to write this, though a bit […]

The 1950s and 60s curdled some prime frommage for the members of the Superman Family. I love collections like this, that lean into the nuttiness and give the same weight to a story where Lois goes undercover as a housemaid (I assume that’s the plot, I haven’t even opened my copy yet) as her becoming […]

So, I’m not about to get into a debate of who’s the better captain (we all know it would have been Nog, eventually, but let’s sidestep that argument :)) I grew up with Original Series and I still love it (and all Star Trek) passionately. When TNG debuted, I had my doubts – like many people. I kept coming back to it and then, like many of us Trekkies, by the third season, I was hooked. I can’t even tell you how much money I…

I don’t obsess about Xanadu like I used to. “Time to watch Xanadu again!” Over the years, it pops up and I get a twinge of nostalgia. Songs or dialogue hurtle me back to  the pimple-faced, gay 15-year-old, who meticulously cut out the silhouette of Olivia Newton-John from the back of the soundtrack, and taped inside my locker door. Or breaking off from my classmates during spring break in Myrtle Beach to throw on some parachute pants and a Members Only jacket, and visit a…

It’s the season finale and Linda Gray shines in some moving monologues and crazy-eyed drinking!  Let’s not waste any time! Why did I go to so many charity functions? We pick up a few days after the end of Part 1. J.R. drives to the sanitarium to see Sue Ellen. When the doctor lets him in Sue Ellen’s room, it’s clear what to doctor told J.R. is true – she is resisting treatment and she is pissed. So pissed, she hurls a glass at J.R.!…

At last, we reach the end of the 1940s episodes. I for one was super glad for the 30 year time jump. I was done with Nazis and the lack of any real super villain (not that we we get those in the next two seasons, but there are some  … attempts). Time for our Wonder Seriousness power! This did bring back Wonder Girl and the delightful Carolyn Johnson as Queen Hippolyta one last time, and I wish they had made the leap to the…

Whoo-boy! Sue Ellen heads to the sanitarium for the first time. Lucy kicks drugs after one heartfelt talk with Bobby. Miss Ellie reads J.R. for filth. It’s a doozy of an episode, so let’s dive right in! Breakfast of Champions Sue Ellen pulls into a parking lot of the clinic and pulls out a flask before her OB-GYN appointment. Holy Crap. That is some next-level drinking there. But that’s all we need to see for now.  We cut to The Store where Lucy is buying…

Ahhh! It’s not a Dallas or Wonder Woman recap! What is going on? I started writing about the Costumed Adventurers in college. They were called the Hero Brigade then, and EVERY! SENTENCE! ENDED! WITH! AN! EXCLAMATION! MARK! Gimmicks. They’re exhausting. I think about 10 years ago, I dusted them off, got rid of the INSANELY OFFENSIVE characters that my college self thought were edgy and cool, and because Moulin Rouge was swirling around in my brain, I somehow made it a musical. I’ve been thinking…

Ahhh, that title does NOT mean what you think it does. No mafiosos are attempting to kill any former presidents. A bushwacker is in fact, an outlaw who swore allegiance to neither side during the Civil War and united in bands to prey on both sides. So, who are the bushwackers in this episodes? The answer will NOT surprise you! Yeah … it’s this kid. This episode is the feel-good episode of all feel-good episodes. I think part of the problem with the first season…

Ahhh, Ray Krebs. Your tangled love life is a mess, but in Donna Culver’s debut, we see the bright shining hope for your future. Not today, of course. She’s still a Culver and won’t be your wife for a while. But this episode introduces one of my favorite characters and actresses (until I discovered she is a gun-nutty board member of the NRA … Why, Donna? Why?) and it’s a low-key episode for the most part but packs an emotional punch. Can. Not. Be. Bothered.…