Wednesday, May 31, 2006

Game Show Alert: Game Show Marathon

A new game show is premiering tonight, and this one looks to be something special....

CBS will air what it's calling the "Game Show Marathon" on Wednesday nights for the next couple of months. Unlike most "marathons" on TV, this isn't a bunch of reruns strung end-to-end. Instead, this is a celebrity event that revisits many classic shows, with carefully re-created sets and classic sound effects. One-time talk show host Ricki Lake will be the host.

Tonight, the celebrities will play "The Price is Right," which admittedly shouldn't be too hard for CBS to pull off, as the show is still going strong on their morning schedule, and they no doubt are just using the existing set and props. No "re-creation" required. Future weeks will be more ambitious. The games to be played include (in order of when they'll be played): "Let's Make a Deal," "Beat the Clock," "Press Your Luck," "Card Sharks," "Match Game" and "Family Feud."

I'm sure that it's no coincidence that most of these shows were on CBS at some point in their histories (the only exception being "Let's Make a Deal," which ironically has aired on both of the other "Big 3" networks, but not CBS). In any event, it will be on at 8:00 pm in most areas. Check it out!

UPDATE: 6/2/06 - I apparently was wrong. It's not just Wednesday nights, but Wednesdays and Thursdays. Sorry if anyone missed last night because of me!

Monday, May 29, 2006

Rare Transformers Auctions: The Half-Way Point

The Laser Cycle Jazz auction has closed. Final value: $1358.33. Winning bidder: Delphan Rane (the same guy who's won all four of the previous auctions, for a grand total of $12,408.33).

You know, when I decided to start featuring these auctions, I really had no intention of making this "the Delphan Rane show." We are now half-way through the Hartmans' promised cycle of 10 auctions. The Stunticons will start next week. Whether Delphan will continue his streak (perhaps he'll actually have a right to claim he's "not rich" by the time it's all over. He's paying what can only be considered a huge chunk of change for anyone...) is anyone's guess.

One more thing that's worth mentioning is that one of the reasons that Hartmans are selling off these rare figures is to help pay for debts incurred back at BotCon 2004, which I attended since it was in Pasadena (virtually in my backyard!). If the current patterns continue for the next five auctions, the Hartmans will have made roughly $23-24,000 (after taking out eBay and PayPal fees). I truly hope that this will enable them to settle any remaining debts.

Friday, May 26, 2006

Transformers Updates

Yesterday was a big news day for Transformers fans. The folks at Fun Publications have unveiled pictures of the first of this year's BotCon exclusives: pre-Beast Wars Optimus Primal. It is a recolor of the Cybertron figure Crumplezone with a new head added to make it look more like Primal. Have a look at the first ape version of Optimus Primal (there was a bat version that's mostly forgotten today) and judge for yourself whether or not the new exclusive captures the essence of the character.

Also released, but to members of the Transformers club only, were pictures of several toys in the upcoming "Classics" line to be sold in stores by the end of the year. These are updated versions of some of the best remembered characters in the original Transformers series of the 1980's. (UPDATE: Hasbro has released pictures of these [adding one more] to the general public)

One last bit that surfaced yesterday, albeit illegally (and therefore I won't provide a link to the source, as I don't wish to give the thief too much additional publicity) is what appears to be a test shot of upcoming BotCon exclusive pre-Beast Wars Rattrap. If this truly does represent the toy we'll get at the convention, Rattrap is a repaint of the Cybertron toy Ransack.

As is typical of the Transformers fandom, opinions vary wildly on all these toys. Some love them, some hate them, some love some of them, but hate others, and so on....

As for me, I'll look forward to adding some of these to my collection (and no doubt, in the case of at least some of the BotCon exclusives, I'll look forward to selling some to offset the costs of going to the convention in the first place!).

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