Season Two of “Route 66″ series coming in October August 28, 2008
Posted by Ron in Television.add a comment
The complete second season of the original “Route 66″ television drama, co-starring George Maharis and Martin Milner, will be released on DVD on Oct. 21 by Infinity/Roxbury.
The DVD set will contain all 32 of that season’s episodes. It will be digitally remastered in the original 4:3 aspect ratio for the picture. Suggested retail price will be $49.98.
Special features include original commercials and cast biographies (including video clips).
According to the news release:
Guest-starring in the sophomore season is a renowned list of stars, including Robert Redford, Douglas Fairbanks, Robert Duvall, Suzanne Pleshette, Lon Chaney Jr., John Astin, James Caan, Lee Marvin, Martin Sheen, Ed Asner, DeForest Kelley, Marion Ross, Peter Graves, Jack Warden, Tuesday Weld and Julie Newmar, among others. One special episode features several of Maharis’ relatives.
(Hat tip: Steven Vertlieb)
“The Business of Poverty” August 10, 2008
Posted by Ron in Businesses, Television.add a comment
This episode of the PBS-TV’s “Bill Moyers Journal” begins on Albuquerque’s Central Avenue, aka Route 66. In fact, the Route 66 shield can be seen in a couple of shots (one in the screen shot above). The program can be viewed online here.
A podcast of “The Business of Poverty” also can be heard here:
The program’s focus — about BusinessWeek’s expose of companies’ “audacious drive” to extract more money from the working poor — may seem peripheral to the Mother Road.
But it does serve to remind us of Route 66’s darker side — its sharks, its predatory businesses and its dashed dreams. For every Good Samaritan on Route 66, you have folks like Bud Rice gouging travelers and service stations that made unneeded but lucrative repairs (as exposed by “60 Minutes” in 1979).
Route 66 isn’t like Disneyland. It is like America — mostly benevolent, but with a cruel side as well.
(Hat tip: Ace Jackalope.)
Carson Daly gets his kicks August 5, 2008
Posted by Ron in Motorcycles, Road trips, Television.add a comment
Carson Daly of “Last Call With Carson Daly” appeared on the “Today Show” to talk about a Route 66 trip he took on a motorcycle from Flagstaff, Ariz., to St. Louis.
He had a lot of good things to say about what he saw and experienced. You can watch the video by going here.
CarsonDaly.tv also contains photos from Route 66. There are images from the historic Johnnie’s Bar in St. James, Mo., plus lunch/drink stops in Chelsea, Okla., and Springfield, Mo.
CarsonDaly.tv’s webmaster also says there will be a “full length documentary” of the 66 trip.
Here’s a teaser video of Daly’s 66 trip, with lots of footage from the Mother Road. Music is by Tom Petty.
Vol. 2 of “Route 66″ series set for October July 28, 2008
Posted by Ron in Television.add a comment
TVShowsonDVD.com reports that the tentative release date for “Route 66: The Complete 2nd Season” is Oct. 21.
Suggested retail price will be $49.98. That’s all the information available.
On the road with Brad Paisley July 21, 2008
Posted by Ron in Businesses, Music, People, Television.1 comment so far
This is a segment from The Learning Channel’s “Route 66: Main Street America,” from 2000. In it, you see a young country star Brad Paisley performing Bobby Troup’s “Route 66″ on the Rainbow Bridge near Baxter Springs, Kan., and kicking Dean Walker’s feet backwards at Eisler Bros. Store in Riverton, Kan.
“Route 66 in New Mexico” July 19, 2008
Posted by Ron in History, Television.1 comment so far
This broadcast by New Mexico PBS station KNME has been posted on YouTube in seven parts, totaling about 55 minutes.
It’s an exceptional program, with fascinating interviews, well-researched history, fine cinematography and vintage photos and film. It’s fairly new; you can see the Blue Swallow Motel’s newer paint job in it.
I commend it to your attention.
Part 1:
Down memory lane July 5, 2008
Posted by Ron in Music, Television.add a comment
Remember the first season of “American Idol”? This guy, Justin Guarini, finished second, but he’s made not much of an impact in the music industry since.
Notes from the road June 27, 2008
Posted by Ron in Attractions, Businesses, Events, Music, Preservation, Television, Theaters, Towns.2 comments
There seems to be some activity at the long-abandoned old Route 66 town of Spencer, Mo. We heard from Gary Turner up the road at Gay Parita that someone has bought the town’s handful of buildings and plans to revive it with a gift shop and maybe other things. When we drove by on Sunday evening, old-style gas pumps had been installed. With an old iron bridge nearby and an alignment that’s considerably more serene for travelers than the busy Highway 96, perhaps Spencer can again become a destination. Maybe Turner and Spencer’s owner can feed off each other with tourism visits.
- Pending clearance from health officials, the historic Bono’s orange stand in Fontana, Calif., is set to reopen, reports the San Bernardino County Sun. It’s sits on the Bono’s Restaurant and Deli parking lot on Foothill Boulevard (aka Route 66). The orange-shaped stand dates to the 1930s.
- The Route 66 Festival-Hot Dogs and Hot Rods is in Clinton, Okla., this weekend boasts something unusual — the Wiener Nationals dog races on Saturday, in which full-blooded dachshunds participate. Clinton decided to do another Route 66 festival after its hosting of the national festival last year was such a success.
- The village of Gardner, Ill., reports that out of expenditures of about $17,000, the village lost a little less than $500 during the Kicks on Gardner Route 66 event a few weeks ago. That doesn’t sound encouraging, but for a new event, nearly breaking even is quite good. Most new festivals bleed money for the first few years until the kinks are worked out.
- It appears, according to varying news reports in varying cities, that the 14th annual punk-rock Vans Warped Tour has a Route 66 stage. It had one actual stop in a Route 66 town, the first date of Pomona, Calif.
- The Route 66 Rendezvous on Sept. 18-21 in San Bernardino, Calif., needs volunteers. More information here.
- A new theater troupe called the Route 66 Theatre Company has formed in the Windy City. According to Playbill, “artistic director (Stef) Tovar was looking for a way to collaborate on theater pieces with friends in both L.A. and Chicago.”
- Michael Giltz of the Huffington Post, ranting against Hollywood’s questionable pricing and constant repackaging of television shows on DVD, singled out “Route 66,” among others. “When the iconic show Route 66’s first season came out in two parts last October and this February, I objected mightily but the people behind the set (a tiny company) insisted they had to put out the first half just to see if they could justify putting out the second half. The company was so small I relented a little. But now that they’re releasing the first season in one set just four months after putting out the individual volumes, I’m sorry I did.”
“Culinary zen” June 24, 2008
Posted by Ron in Food, Restaurants, Road trips, Television, Web sites.add a comment
Kevin Sheedy of the Wichita (Kan.) Eagle and his wife, inspired by a recent Food Network episode of “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives,” went from Wichita to Stroud, Okla.
Two Route 66 restaurants — Cafe on the Route in Baxter Springs, Kan., and the Rock Cafe in Stroud — were the highlights of their trip.
On the Cafe on the Route:
For lunch, we tried several items featured on the TV show: Apple Smoked Salmon, a seven-ouncer with apples, bacon and chives served with Mandarin orange glaze. I’m no Joe Stumpe or Denise Neil, but I know good food when I swallow it, and this was good eatin’.
For dessert, we shared Fried Cheesecake. In a word, supercallifragilisticexpialidocious.
Amy Sanell, the co-owner with gourmet chef/hubby Richard, and a young waitress made our party feel at home and shared personal details — some astonishingly sad — that you don’t learn from a chain restaurant’s staff on the Interstate.
On the Rock Cafe:
Once again we ordered items that the hefty host sampled on the TV show: a Ruben Sandwich and Jagersnitzal and Spaetzle. What the heck is a Jagersnitzal and Spaetzle? To quote the menu: breaded and fried pork cutlet topped with creamy bacon, onion and mushroom sauce served with small German homemade and hand-cut noodles.
It’s not something you’d expect in a roadside diner, and it’s the kind of food I’d whiz past while scanning the menu, because in general if I can’t pronounce it, I don’t eat it.
In this case, my lack of vocabulary would have cost our tastebuds one heck of a treat. And in some sort of culinary zen, the Ruben and the Jagersnitzal and Spaetzle worked nicely together as we shared our plates.
For dessert, we shared Peach Cobbler with ice cream and Bread Pudding. Cholesterol? Never heard of it.
As wonderful as the food was it might have been topped by the zany characters running the cafe. Welch, who was one of the inspirations for the character Sally the Porsche in the animated movie “Cars,” was the chief jester in a court full of fun folks.
To Sheedy’s dismay, he learned the Rock Cafe was gutted by fire shortly after his visit. But he promises to be back when it reopens, probably sometime next year. You can check the progress of the cleanup and rebuilding here.
Scenes from the Route 66 Festival June 23, 2008
Posted by Ron in Events, Highways, People, Photographs, Road trips, Television, Vehicles.1 comment so far
Here are a few shots I gathered at the Route 66 Festival on Saturday in Litchfield, Ill.
More photographs by other bloggers at the festival can be seen here and here. If you know of more, send me an e-mail and let me know. UPDATE: Here’s more from Denny Gibson.
Here’s the car show, set on a blocked-off section of 66:
Buz and Tod from the “Route 66″ television series also made an appearance in an early 1960s Corvette. They seemed a bit stiff, though.
Hauled on a trailer, straight from Kansas, to the festival was Tow Tater — the inspiration for Tow Mater of the movie “Cars.” The truck can usually be found at 4 Women on the Route in Galena, Kan.
And Tow Mater’s pal, Lightning McQueen (or a reasonable facsimile), also made an appearance.
Getting ready to back off a trailer is Bigfoot, which later squashed a bunch of junker cars as flat as day-old roadkill.
Michael Wallis was at the Authors and Artists display, which was housed in a big Ford dealership next to the Mother Road. Those are replicas of the two giant arrows seen in Twin Arrows, Ariz.
Laurel Kane of Oklahoma chats with Route 66 artist Bob Waldmire next to his Volkswagen Microbus. Waldmire endured two breakdowns en route from Arizona, but made it into Litchfield during the wee hours of Saturday.
“Route 66″ DVD maker sues porn producer June 17, 2008
Posted by Ron in Movies, Television.add a comment
Roxbury Entertainment, the same folks that are re-releasing the original “Route 66″ television show on DVD, has filed a federal lawsuit against Penthouse for using the words “Route 66″ to market a pornographic film and DVD, reports Courthouse News Service.
You can read all the — ahem — dirty details with a copy of the lawsuit here (don’t worry — save for a few clinical details about the porno flick, it’s tame).
Roxbury, as has been reported here, acquired the rights to the “Route 66″ TV show some years ago and is producing a new film based on it. It accused Penthouse of using its “Route 66″ trademark to peddle “grossly inferior products, poorly produced pornography with virtually no storyline, dialogue or acting.”
Penthouse defends its use of “Route 66″ under fair-use laws.
I honestly don’t think Roxbury has a prayer in prevailing in this suit. The porn DVD’s cover art and logo bear no resemblance to the original TV show. Also, it’s my understanding that Route 66 itself is so old, it’s in the public domain.
Besides the fair-use defense, I also suspect that if pressed, Penthouse can also defend its work as satire, thus giving it even more protection on First Amendment grounds.
I strongly suspect that Roxbury isn’t filing the suit to protect its brand, but to provide ink for its product and upcoming movie.
Via TMZ.
Super weird June 7, 2008
Posted by Ron in People, Preservation, Road trips, Television, Towns, Web sites.1 comment so far
From today’s San Bernardino (Calif.) County Sun:
Four Italian men from an international film crew were showered with a superheroic welcome Friday at the San Bernardino headquarters for Juan Pollo Restaurants as they stopped by the corporate offices and museums. Each was dressed as a comic-book hero.Decked in Robin, Captain America, Flash Gordon and Superman costumes, the guys from GoneIn60.com stopped by the museum to film interviews with visitors and Juan Pollo owner Albert Okura for their documentary, “Roast to Coast.” They are documenting their escapades while traveling along Route 66 for international television and their Web site.
The four, with cameras in hand, are asking anyone they encounter to either kiss or lick a 10-pound roast they are hauling on their trip, while making stops at notable cities along the “Mother Road.” [...]
“People may think this is strange, but it’s important to have a mission in life, or life is boring,” said one of the group members who goes by the name Gip. “And you have to sometimes be a superhero in this world.” [...]
From San Bernardino, the quartet is continuing its travels along Route 66 to Amboy, then on to Chicago and New York City on their 21-day excursion.
Regrettably, the Sun didn’t post photos of these goofballs during their visit.
I briefly searched through the group’s Gone in 60 Seconds site. As near as I can tell, it’s an international version of “Jackass,” in which they and viewers can post videos of their dumb dares and pranks.
There’s a reason that one of the “Jackass” principals, Johnny Knoxville, mostly quit that show and got into a more legitimate vocation of acting — he didn’t want to die young. At the least, those crazy stunts hurt worse, and the healing went more slowly, as he got older.
Albert Okura, by the way, is the owner of the Route 66 town of Amboy, Calif. He is slowly restoring the town’s signature business, Roy’s.
“Route 66″ DVD set will be released Aug. 5 May 30, 2008
Posted by Ron in Television.1 comment so far
TVShowsonDVD.com reports today that the Roxbury/Infinity DVD set, “Route 66 — The Complete First Season,” is set to be released Aug. 5.
Earlier, the first-season release of the set had reportedly been delayed to fix technical issues arising in the initial half-season releases of the original “Route 66″ television series, co-starring George Maharis and Martin Milner.
According to the link to Amazon.com, the DVD set will contain eight discs, with a suggested retail price of $49.98.
According to TVShowsonDVD:
Other details such as cost and extras appear to be unchanged. Infinity has previously indicated to us that they intend this release to resolve the various issues that buyers of the previous half-season sets had with the way episodes were presented on those discs.
Upcoming TV drama takes place in Albuquerque May 24, 2008
Posted by Ron in Television.add a comment
The USA Network is about to air a new crime drama called “In Plain Sight,” with the premiere on June 1.
The gist of the story is that U.S. marshal Mary Shannon (played by Mary McCormack) is part of the Federal Witness protection program in the Albuquerque/Santa Fe, N.M., region.
Media Blvd. magazine interviewed “In Plain Sight” creator and executive producer David Maples, who had some interesting things to say about filming the show in the Land of Enchantment:
The other thing is what New Mexico brings to the table is an incredible sense of texture, an incredible feel, a blue sky that just stretches on for what seems like forever. And I think, visually we got something that you haven’t seen on television before.
Now on the negative side, it’s a state that has a brand new film industry and so a lot of the mechanisms that we’re use to dealing with in Los Angeles, like location permits and the number of hours we can shoot in any particular locale and things like that, are still being worked out down there. So there’re a lot of little kinks in the machinery that we would have to deal with on a daily basis.
But most of that and most of the concerns surrounding that would kind of dissolve away when we would look at the footage that we were shooting. And we’d see the desert, and we’d see the mountains, and we’d see the ravines, and we’d see this incredible sort of architecture from the 1960s and the roadside feel of Route 66 that is still there.
And I think that the fun of — and as David said, New Mexico and Albuquerque is very much a character in the show. And it’s a character because it’s vivid and it’s bright and it’s colorful and it’s something that I think gives us a color palate and a look that you haven’t seen. So anyway, there are pluses and minuses to Albuquerque, but I think the pluses outweigh the minuses.
Notes from the road May 17, 2008
Posted by Ron in Art, People, Road trips, Television, Vehicles, Web sites, bicycling.add a comment
- There is a “Route 66, Season 1, Vol. 1″ DVD set on sale at eBay that is autographed by “Route 66″ co-star George Maharis. Proceeds from the sale benefit the Ivanhoe Elementary School in Los Angeles.
- California artist Anthony Ross recently posted a blog item about his exhibit last year at Redlands Community College in El Reno, Okla. Route 66 author Michael Wallis gave Ross a personal guided tour of the Mother Road. There are plenty of photos, including lunch at the Rock Cafe in Stroud, Okla.
- Remember Michelle Thompson, the woman who rode a bicycle from Chicago to L.A. to raise awareness about oral cancer and raise funds for her stricken brother? Alas, her brother died from complications of his illness not long after that. After a long hiatus, Thompson reported recently that her cycling fundraiser raised more than $12,000 for her brother’s family. And here’s a message from Christina, the daughter of Michelle’s brother.
- Jacob Saunders finished his trip on Route 66. Here are his parting thoughts on what was a wonderful blog documenting the Mother Road.
- A writer for the TruckTrend blog, a division of Motor Trend magazine, drove on old Route 66 in a Mini Cooper S and filed this report.
- The Joplin Globe reports that Joplin’s downtown historical district has been nominated by the State of Missouri to the National Register of Historic Places. Route 66 runs through the heart of that area.
“Route 66″ DVDs pushed back to resolve customer complaints April 29, 2008
Posted by Ron in Television, Uncategorized.1 comment so far
TVShowsonDVD.com has interesting news about the upcoming DVD re-releases of the original “Route 66″ television series of 1960-64.
Apparently dates for upcoming releases, including a complete Season 1 and a half-season of Season 2, had been canceled. But those dates apparently will be rescheduled:
Along the course of putting out the first DVD packages, Infinity (and Roxbury) recognized there was some customer dissatisfaction with the half-season sets put out for the first season, and they want to resolve this. To begin with, they are scrapping the half-season concept at this time. As a result, Season 2, Vol 1 is completely canceled. Instead, though, we will get a Complete Season 2 DVD package! It’s currently penciled in for an October release, but that’s not finalized just yet.
In the meantime, the Complete Season 1 DVD IS still coming out. But it’s being pushed back to release sometime in August, in order to give the studio more time to address customer complaints about how episodes were presented on disc in the first half-season sets for that show. There has not been any word yet on whether Infinity will offer any sort of “upgrade/fix” path for people who purchased the original versions and wish to get the corrected versions, but we’ll let you know if we hear anything.
To elaborate a bit: In Season One, Vol. 1, the folks at Roxbury Entertainment faced a deadline crunch and were unable to track down original duplicate film stock of “Route 66″ in time. So a few viewers perceived subpar image quality on a number of episodes. One episode in particular used a set of reels that had about six minutes edited out.
In the Season One, Vol 2, release, a letterbox look was employed to take advantage of the burgeoning high-definition television market. This resulted in the picture being cropped on the top and bottom.
I must admit that the overall quality of Vol. 1 was so good, I tended to overlook what I considered to be minor flaws. I’ve seen other re-releases of movies from decades ago look far worse, mainly because the film stock had deteriorated. In Vol. 2, I didn’t even notice the cropping until someone had pointed it out. Even then, it didn’t detract at all from my enjoyment of the few episodes I viewed.
Still, it appears the complaints were persistent enough (and perhaps Infinity felt its good reputation was at stake) that Roxbury decided to take a step or two back and be a little more diligent. Roxbury’s president said “Route 66’s” DVD sales had exceeded expectations, so lack of revenue shouldn’t be an excuse for skimping on quality control.
“A City at the End of the World” April 12, 2008
Posted by Ron in History, Preservation, Television, Towns.add a comment
This is a 1993 broadcast from PBS station KNME-TV in Albuquerque, split into three parts of eight to 10 minutes each.
The commentary is by V.B. Price, a University of New Mexico faculty member who is an environmental and architectural preservationist.
Because of Albuquerque’s massive growth in recent decades, Price was greatly concerned the city is losing its Southwest personality, architecture and environment to more ubiquitous, boring development.
Fifteen years after the broadcast, Albuquerque seems to be dealing with these issues better than most cities, but it remains a struggle.
It’s not about Route 66 per se, but the program deals with preservation issues that are near and dear to the Route 66 enthusiast’s heart. In fact, these are issues that most American cities are dealing with now.
There are a lot of things to mentally chew on, and I recommend that you check this program out.
Part 1:
Part 2:
Part 3:
(Hat tip: SoyJames at Duke City Fix.)
And now a word from our sponsor … April 12, 2008
Posted by Ron in Television, Vehicles.add a comment
Here’s an ad for the 1964 Chevrolet Impala that ran with the original “Route 66″ television drama.
POPS will be featured in Gordmans ad March 27, 2008
Posted by Ron in Attractions, Television.add a comment
POPS, one of Route 66’s newest icons, will be featured in a national television advertisement for Gordmans, a clothing chain.
The ad will begin airing Monday, but you can view it by going here at Gordmans Web site and clicking on the “Spring Fashion II, On the Road … Oklahoma” icon under the “Television” listing.
According to POPS:
“Gordmans was looking to feature upscale and notable buildings as a backdrop for their commercials,” said Producer Paul Tompkins. “ I previously took notice of POPS and knew it would be a perfect fit for this shoot.”
The commercial features models in young, fresh and hip Gordmans products. The crew has filmed similar commercials featuring landmarks in Memphis, TN and plans to produce up to 12 commercial in other cities nationwide.
The Oklahoma City commercial will air in US markets nationwide and features other Oklahoma landmarks such as the Chesapeake Boathouse, The Oklahoma City Downtown Library and the Oklahoma City Museum of Art.
Photos from the Gordmans shoot can be found here.
Here’s a screen capture of the TV ad:
More “Route 66″ DVDs coming in May March 16, 2008
Posted by Ron in Television.1 comment so far
TV Shows on DVD reports that Roxbury Entertainment will be releasing the entire first season of the “Route 66″ television series in an eight-DVD set on May 20.
The Season 1 set will retail for $49.95, including all the extra features (Corvette overviews, filmographies of the cast, and original commercials).
Also on May 20, the first half-season of “Route 66’s” Season 2 will be released. No details, but the retail price is $29.95, which indicates four discs, like the previous half-season sets.
Kirk Hallam, president and owner of Roxbury, has said that Season 2 releases in May will include some audio commentary by “Route 66″ co-star George Maharis. That hasn’t been confirmed, however.
I just checked Amazon.com, and neither set is listed yet.
