Farewell Ed McMahon - My Ed Story
It is very sad for me to report that former Tonight Show and Star Search star Ed McMahon has passed away. He most recently came back into the limelight due to his financial crisis, his home in danger of being foreclosed on. He went on several of the Entertainment Tonight type shows pleading his case for housing reform to help others going through the same thing.
My Ed McMachon story takes place in 1997 or 1998, I was working for Universal New Media in Burbank at the time, and we were doing “Real Interviews” - typing up interview questions as Ed McMahon answered them, and also broadcasting in Real Audio.
At the conclusion of the interview, Ed proclaimed, “I give Troy Rutter 4 stars with a bullet!” Which was a great honor for me, since I always wanted to be on Star Search. From that one hour long interview, I was able to glean that McMahon was a person of highest integrity, and just a nice person.
Thanks Ed, for the great memory!
Here is the official chat transcript, sadly the audio no longer works;
The 10 Best 80’s Science Fiction Shows
Recently I have been viewing a few of my favorite TV shows from the 1980’s via all sorts of outlets, and I have compiled my list of 10 best science-fiction TV shows of the 1980’s. Hope you enjoy.
10. The Powers of Matthew Star
I only vaguely remember this show, but I remember an episode where he saves people by astral projecting inside a building that is about to blow up. Anything with telekinesis and psychic powers were always on the best list.
9. V
Ok, this should really rank hire for me on this list, since I still want a Visitor’s uniform. As a kid, the eating of the guinea pigs and mice was a big draw, as were the scenes when the Visitors get their face clawed off. I remember meeting Faye Grant once and almost having a heart attack.
8. Airwolf
I would have thought Airwolf would be higher on my list, but while I really enjoyed the show, the others on the list had more “fun” - Airwolf was pretty serious. Except for the episode where Chad Allen played an Amerasian vietnamese kid - things that make you go huh?
7. The Wizard
Maybe not science fiction in the traditional sense, but definitely “science” and “fiction.” A four-foot-tall inventor who develops toys for the handicapped is recruited by the government to create new gadgets. The series has him traveling all over the world using his gadgets to get out of sticky situations.
6. Misfits of Science
TV’s answer to “The New Mutants” - the Misfits were a ragtag gang of mutants each with a “special” power. One could shrink down to only a few inches high by giving himself a Vulcan neck pinch, another was telekinetic, and another could throw electricity from his hands.
5. Automan
Automan and his trusty companion cursor were TV’s answer to the hit movie Tron. In one of the most bizarre scenes from the pilot, Automan asks his creator to “step inside of him” so they can walk through a wall.
4. Mr. Merlin
I only recently found episodes of this TV show online, and they feature a laugh track and Dutch Subtitles, which I don’t remember from the original airings. A teenager removes a crowbar from a bucket of cement and becomes Merlin the Magician’s new apprentice . Features a nifty staircase into nowhere, as well as a spooky owl.
3. Otherworld
It took me years to find anybody with these on tape/DVD, but I eventually found them. A family visiting the Great Pyramids is suddenly thrown into Another World, and are chased across the planet by a real meanie. The episode where the teenage son becomes a Zone Trooper was my favorite.
2. Fantasy Island
The new YouTube TV Shows area says this is a drama, but it is science-fiction to me. My favorite episodes were the ones that features Mr. Roarke using his special psychic power out in the open.
1. Voyagers
Take a cocky time-traveler and pair him with a needy, book-smart kid and you have the basis for hands-down, my favorite SF series of the 1980’s. I still want an Omni replica, but can’t bring myself to spend the $$$ on it.
Well, those are my favorite 80s SF TV shows - what are yours? Agree or disagree?
Weigh In - April 20, 2009
130.2 lbs - loss of 2 lbs.
Nothing extraordinary to report. 2 is better than nothing. 
Technorati Tags: the-diet
lb - The Final Battle
If you hang out here long enough, sooner or later you will read a post about “The Diet.” The original diet talk was started in 2006 (has it really been that long?) by this post by Colin Devroe. During the first incarnation I lost about 15 lbs, but just like Oprah and so many others, I gained it back.
But now, it takes a different turn.
See, this isn’t just The Diet Part Thrice - for me, it is something more.
Between the last couple of times I tried to restart the-diet, I noticed a severe lack of energy. I went to the doctor, and the end result was this: I was put on blood pressure medicine (for it being too high) and was told to lose weight. This was last year.
I was supposed to go back in February, but since I hadn’t lost the weight I canceled my appointment. Now it is in late May. So I really need to show some kind of progress. Whether it is 10 lbs, 15 lbs, or 30 lbs, I need to do this. I hate being on meds at my age. I hate still having no energy.
So with Colin’s and yours help, I am trying to get to 210 (20 lbs) by the end of May for my appointment. By then, that should help install some habits that can lead me to additional loss until I finally get to a weight I can be happy with and maintain.
I will keep the blog updated on my progress, as well as a little widget thing over on the right as soon as I can add it.
So to my friends - please stop telling me “you don’t need to lose any weight” and “you look fine” - no I don’t. But that’s going to change.
Technorati Tags: Colin Devroe, the-diet, diet, exercise, fitness
A Nice Family Gathering in Ames
The Ames Community Theater production of A Nice Family Gathering premiered last night and runs for the next two weekends. It is written by an author who made a visit to the theater a couple of years ago, Phil Olson, and takes place in Minnesota.
I’m not going to give the whole premise here on my blog, that is what the Ames Community Theater web site is for, but if you are looking for a fun comedy to watch with a small audience of around 120 people, then we would love to see you. The play is about a family whose patriarch dies and comes back as a ghost to watch one last Thanksgiving.
I helped with a few of the minor things such as taking publicity photos, updating the web site, publishing the newsletter, and little things like that.
So come on out one of these weekends and tell em Troy sentcha.
