Pheaturing Phile Alum Robert A. Medeiros From The Clarences

Rabbit. Get on board for a magical trip. And where we land this time is anybody's guess. Welcome to the Phile, kids. Get onboard, it's "The Great Space Coaster Month" on the Phile! How do you like the new logo? I think it's pretty cool, but I betcha Baxter will be mad someone took the Coaster. If you don't know what "The Great Space Coaster" was, it was a half hour children's program that featured three friends who loved to make music. They lived in a fantasy land full of talking animals. They sang and would show short cartoons and musical numbers. The show debuted in 1981... that means I was a teenager when it was on. When other teens were out doing teen stuff, I was home watching a kid's show. I believe the show was shown in the morning on Saturday's. Anyway, all this month I will be interviewing people that were involved with the show and they'll be lots of stuff in the Phile that "TGSC" fans would know. It'll be fun.  Okay, so last entry I was sick and couldn't finish. I am still not feeling good but I won't do a half ass entry again. So, where were we? Life of Pi took home four Oscars. It's about a young boy trapped at sea on a small boat with a man-eating tiger. Yet with all that, it’s still a better way to travel than a Carnival cruise. Jennifer Lawrence won for best actress and worst stuntwoman. There was one glaring omission in the “In memoriam” reel: Lindsay Lohan's career. Didn’t that die last year? The Oscars was so long that by the middle of the show the audience was begging Daniel Day-Lewis to free them. I think one of the reasons that Lincoln did not win as best picture is that it's full of inaccuracies. For example, Abraham Lincoln was never married to Mary Tyler Lincoln. The best picture was called Argo. It was about a heroic Hollywood producer. Wow, how did something like that ever win? First lady Michelle Obama won an Academy Award for best bangs. You know, I was thinking... I don't know why the Oscars needs a best actor and actress category. You don't separate best director and best directress.  Pizzas in Denmark have been discovered with horse meat. Pizzas with horse meat. How fast does THAT get delivered to your house?  The company that owns Olive Garden announced that its revenue has dropped 5 percent in the last quarter. Which explains their new promotion: limited bread sticks.  Tonight my wife is going to see Bon Jovi in concert in Tampa. That's one guy who always sells out... take a look.

That's making me hungry. Not Bon Jovi, but the ice cream.  I was at the store the other day and I saw this...

Only in America. I wanted to buy it as well.  A Tampa man was swallowed by a sink hole that opened up in his bedroom. He is in a better place now, that place... not technically Florida. And you thought YOU had a bad morning. Well, good news is, they fixed the problem.

Well, as this is "The Great Space Coaster" Month it made me think of roller coaster's. I love roller coaster's but with my arm the way it is, I don't think I will be able to ride one in a long time. Anyway, a lot of roller coaster's now there's a camera that takes a photo of you riding it. so, when you get off the ride you can buy the photo. So, this month I will show you some pictures of actual people on actual coaster's.

Man, Baxter would never allow that to happen on the Space Coaster.  Alright, let's see who got a one-way ticket to the end of the line.

Bonnie Franklin
Jan 6, 1944 - March 1, 2013
That was it.

Van Cliburn
July 12, 1934 - Feb 27, 2013
He won the first quadrennial International Tchaikovsky Piano Competition in Moscow at age 23, which means there is absolutely no chance he ever got laid. Have a little respect.

C. Everett Koop
Oct 14, 1916 - Feb 25, 2013
Flew.

Who likes comic book's apart from me? Once in awhile I like to invite my good friend Jim Mello to the Phile to tell us what good comic book's are out there this week. So, please welcome to the Phile again my friend Jim Mello in a pheature we call...

I'm your host, Jim Mello, three time Comic's Gladiator Arena Battle Champion and I'll be giving you the low down on what's going on in this week of comics. There will be spoilers. If I miss anything you find important, just yell about it and we can send another email. If that's all, our first guest is...
Batman Incorporated #8
So, Grant Morrison already spoiled the big spoiler about this. In fact, he promised we would, paraphrased: "Cry and cry and cry and cry." And with that in mind: The siege of Wayne Tower continues with Talia keeping' Bats occupied while the rest of the family is occupied by her goons. Damian shows up and he has a touching little moment with Nightwing before they enter the fight together. Bats breaks free just in time to find Damian stabbed, shot, and beat to death. It's a regular Rasputin sort of execution. Well, I didn't cry, but Damian did have his cool moments and I guess for that it is worth it.
Guardians of the Galaxy #0.1
It's awesome! I'm stoked like a hobo on the freight train to Bindle City! Great little first issue showcasing the childhood origins of Peter Quill a.k.a Star Lord. This is, however, almost exactly like the recent Nova issue, i.e... boys with fraternal issues go to space. This, however, has 20x better art. I highly recommend this book.
Rocketeer: Hollywood Horror #1
The latest Rocketeer mini features a meta-commentator, parallels to The Thin Man, and Cthullu. It's a fun book. Probably not the book to kick down the door for anyone looking to get into the character however.
Uncanny Skullkickers #1
The Skullkickers are back with more long-form gags, literal sound effects, and general skull kicking. An Elf and time-traveling dude are shipwrecked on a deserted island where they have to fight everything and it's funny. Can't really explain it better than that. If you haven't tried this little title out, it's good for a laugh. I would very much recommend to customers seeing as you really don't have to know anything about the book to just pick it up and read it. Alright. That's it. That's all.

Thanks, Jim. You can visit Jim at the Coliseum of Comics in Orlando.

Alright, today's pheatured guest is a Phile Alum who is making his fourth visit to the Phile. He was last on the Phile on the 7th Anniversary entry where he mentioned I should dedicate a month to "The Great Space Coaster". Being a big fan and surprised he mentioned it, here we are. So, I thought it would be cool to invite him back to the Phile to kick off "The Great Space Coaster" Month. So, please welcome back to the Phile... the always entertaining... Robert A. Medeiros from The Clarences!

Me: Hello, Robert, welcome back to the Phile for "The Great Space Coaster" Month. How have you been?

Robert: You are so nosy, Peverett! How is your healing coming along?

Me: Slowly but surely. On Match 12th I go in for a procedure to get my arm moving more. Thanks for asking. Okay, so, I remember watching "TGSC" and wondered if anybody else I knew watched it. Did you watch "TGSC" every week?

Robert: What are you rambling about now?

Me: Robert, "The Great Space Coaster" Month was your idea. On the 7th Anniversary entry I mentioned theme months on the Phile like Star Wars Month and you mentioned I should do a "Great Space Coaster" Month, and here we are. Did you just come up with that on the top of your head?

Robert: Nope, behind my right knee.

Me: Did you think I would really do it?

Robert: What do you want? A pat on the head?

Me: No, but that would be nice. So, over the month I am gonna be interviewing some people involved with "The Great Space Coaster". What do you remember about the show, Robert?

Robert: Oh, I remember Henrietta Hippo, Diaper Man, Roosevelt Franklin, Wendy & Marvin, Hadji & Electra Woman.

Me: Uh... I... um... think you got the wrong show. "TGSC" ran from 1981 to 1986, so when I was watching it I was about 13 and 14, which is a little old to be watching that show, but I loved it. How old were you when you were watching it?

Robert: I started watching in 1981 at the age of 56.

Me: Holy crap, I was my son's age. He would never watch a show like "TGSC". LOL. But I loved the Muppets, and this was pretty close to them. I didn't know until recently a lot of the people involved with "TGSC" also worked on the Muppets. Anyway, what made you watch the show?

Robert: The man who lived under my bed made me watch. If I didn't, he told me he would kill my family.

Me: Robert, you lie. Who were your favorite characters on it, Robert? Do you remember the characters on the show?

Robert: I remember Gary Gnu, Baxter & the guy who looked like Donny Most. By the way, what the heck was Baxter supposed to be?

Me: He was a clown. I am gonna be interviewing Gary Gnu perhaps. What should I ask him?

Robert: Tell him for me that he was a bad mofo! Loved him! Also, ask him why the staff were always talking crap to him.

Me: Do you remember Knock Knock? Do you have a favorite Knock Knock joke?

Robert: Knock, knock. Who's there and why the heck are you knocking on my door after 10pm? You know what? I just thought of something... "Three's Company" should of ended every episode with a knock knock joke. They liked to sing about "come and knock on our door"...

Me: On the show they had animation segment from Italy called La Linea. Have you seen the recent car company, I don't know which one it is, that La Linea is in?

Robert: No. However, have you seen the recent commercial with La Linea & Sh Shirley in it?

Me: Uh...no. When I watched "TGSC" I had a crush on Fran, played by Emily Bindiger, who will be a guest on the Phile Sunday. Did you have a crush on her as well?

Robert: No. She was cute. However, back then, I was all about Trini on "3-2-1 Contact", Princess Ardala on "Buck Rogers In The 25th Century", Annalisa Bortolin who did the voice of Sally in the late 70's on the "Peanuts" TV shows & Penny from the "Plastic Man Comedy/Adventure Show" cartoon.

Me: I see. I think The Clarences should record the theme song to "TGSC". Do you play that in your shows, Robert?

Robert: We will be! We used to do the "3-2-1 Contact" theme song.

Me: Have you seen "The Family Guy" spoof on the intro to "TGSC"? I think I got a picture of it here.

Robert: Just looked it up on YouTube... love it!

Me: Jim Martin, who worked on the show, he was Gary Gnu, has started a preservation effort to preserve the show. Did you donate, Robert?

Robert: I liked him when he was in Faith No More.

Me: Um... wrong guy. Would you like "TGSC" to come back with new episodes?

Robert: No. Let it be. Not into remakes.

Me: I disagree. I'd love it to come back and I would love to produce it. Do you have any merchandise from the show? I looked on ebay and "TGSC" stuff is going for quite a bit.

Robert: Nope. Do you have any?

Me: I have a Gary Gnu t-shirt that says "Fear the Beard" and I ordered the album of the TV show from eBay, but still waiting for it. You created your own character, right? Super Shark. On the Phile's 7th anniversary I mentioned my character Feargal the Shark and you mentioned Super Shark. What does he look like?

Robert: A cartoon shark with a mask and cape.

Me: Did you ever write Super Shark stories?

Robert: Yep, I did a free monthly Super Shark comic book for two and a half years back in the early 2000's.

Me: While you are here I have to mention The Clarences, your band. Who is in the band with you currently, Robert?

Robert: The Clarences? They're terrible! However, they do have two lovely and talented backup vocalists: Leslie Outhier & Erin Shannon!

Me: Will you be releasing any new music? Please say yes.

Robert: You are so politely bossy, Peverett! Yes!

Me: You give the songs you record away for free. You should put the stuff up on iTunes!

Robert: No, they charge for songs. I don't believe in selling anything I do. Just get it into the hands of the people!

Me: Have you heard my band Strawberry Blondes Forever song "Bicycle of Oppression". Feel free to cover it at The Clarences shows.

Robert: What a shameless plug, Peverett! Great song! Then again, I would not expect anything less from you, Mr. P.!

Me: You are a huge Kiss fan, right? In August Kiss are gonna be having a three day Kiss event deal here in Orlando. You need to come here and we'll go to the show, and convention.

Robert: I would love to! You're not going to trip and break something again, are you? Can dress you up, but, can't take you anywhere, young man! You better be able to walk with platforms!

Me: Um... Robert, thanks for choosing "TGSC" and thanks for being back on the Phile to kick it off. Wanna mention your websites?

Robert: There you go again, being all bossy!

Me: I'll have you back here soon, Robert. Take care.

Robert: Thank you, Jason! You rule! Hope you are healing fast! THE PEVERETT PHILE rules!!!!! You are a true original. You do soooo much for so many people. Love ya', buddy!

Me: Thanks, Robert.

There you go, this entry of the Phile done. Thanks to Jim Mello, and Robert A. Madeiros. Also thanks to Tanslin Media. The Phile will be back on Sunday with Emily Bindiger who played Fran in "The Great Space Coaster" and on Monday it's Christine Alger, one of the organizers of the great Orlando convention MegaCon. So, spread the word, not the turd. Don't let snakes and alligators bite you. Bye,
love you, bye. Strawberry Blondes Forever!