A Brief History Doctor Who, a pinball machine designed by Bill Pfutzenreuter (Pfutz) and Barry Oursler, and released by Midway (under the Bally brand name) in September 1992, is based on the television series of the same name. In January 2016, FarSight Studios created a Kickstarter campaign here in the hopes of raising funds to make a digital version of the table available for their various versions of The Pinball Arcade. Digging Deeper This campaign is the fifth one started by FarSight Studios in order to raise sufficient funds to digitize notable pinball machines. The previous four campaigns (all of which I have personally contributed…
Browsing: Cinema & TV
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A Brief History On January 17, 1949, American television audiences were treated to a new form of entertainment, the situation comedy, or more familiarly known as the sitcom. Digging Deeper The Goldbergs, a show about a New York Jewish family living in a Bronx tenement. The main character was the matriarch, Molly Goldberg, played by actress Gertrude Berg. The show had been a radio program from 1929 to 1946, at first weekly but due to great success becoming a daily show in 1931. The public was already familiar with the premise of the show and the characters, so taking to the television…
A Brief History On January 14, 2005, the big budget Hollywood film, Alexander, starring Colin Farrell in the title role made its debut in Italy, after having opened previously in November of 2004 in the U.S. A lavish film with a budget of $155 million, the film was successful in that its box office worldwide was over $167 million, but was it real history or just Hollywood? Digging Deeper Released in the original theatrical form, DVD versions were later released as “Director’s Cut,” “Final Cut,” and “Ultimate Cut” giving movie and history buffs an opportunity to sample different versions of…
A Brief History On January 5, 1956, producers and editors of the major Hollywood motion picture, Alexander the Great, starring Richard Burton in the title role, were hard at work preparing the movie for its March 22, 1956 release, cutting its running time from over 3 hours to 135 minutes. Digging Deeper The film is of course about the great Macedonian King and conqueror who ruled an enormous empire carved out of the Middle East and Mediterranean by his own leadership between 336 and 323 BCE. During his reign, Alexander defeated the great Persian Empire and all others that stood in…
A Brief History On October 11, 1975, television audiences in the United States experienced one of those magic moments when an icon was born, as the comedy skit show, Saturday Night Live (SNL) debuted with George Carlin as host. Digging Deeper Carlin, one of history’s great comedians, and originator of “Seven words you can never say on television,” died in 2008 at age 71 of heart failure. His guests on that epic night included singer Janis Ian, singer Billy Preston, and comedian/actor Andy Kaufman. Kaufman went on to make a total of 16 SNL appearances, but tragically died in 1984 at…