1. Godfrey Reggio PSAs – As if you needed further proof that Godfrey Reggio (Koyaanisqatsi, Powaqqatsi, Naqoyqatsi) was in a class of his own and a little more forward-thinking than most, here are some PSAs he made in 1974 for the New Mexico Civil Liberties Union. The campaign starts with some ‘teaser’ pieces focusing on different elements of his message, then (around 3:45 in the video) things become more clear. All done in Reggio’s signature style, the concerns raised 40 years ago are pretty chilling.

I wonder what it would have been like to be a television viewer in New Mexico in 1974 and see this campaign play out.

Pretty sure that this is the first blog to have Godfrey Reggio and Howard & Nester in the same post. FIRST OF MANY. Anyway, Howard & Nester was a comic strip that appeared in early issues of Nintendo Power. The comics featured Howard Phillips, CEO of Nintendo of America, and his fictional child-friend (not creepy) Nester. The comics usually took place in the world of a NES game and would serve as an opportunity to give a hint about that game. I would be remiss if I didn’t include this one, created by Bill Mudron to commemorate the last issue of Nintendo Power. For kids like me who grew up on Nintendo Power and then turned into dads themselves, it hits really close to home;

3. The Golden Palace – You probably don’t think it’s possible to improve upon the rock-solid formula for senescense-related sitcoms laid in place by TV’s The Golden Girls. You’d be right, but that didn’t stop CBS from trying. In 1992 CBS took NBC’s successful series and smudged it up a bit, plucking Blanche, Rose, and Sophia from their cozy Miami home and turning them into hotel investors on Miami Beach, an obvious move for these old ladies. Don Cheadle and Cheech Marin were added to the cast as hotel staff. The whole idea was quickly exposed as a terrible one, and The Golden Palace was cancelled after one season. Sophia moved into a retirement home, where she would go on to make cameos during Empty Nest. Rose and Blanche disappeared, never to be seen again. Awful show. Here’s an episode:

Here’s an ad for it, right alongside an attempt to cash in on Newhart nostalgia:

4. Turbografx Infomercial – There’s nothing I don’t love about this Turbografx infomercial from the late 1980s, which is apparently targeted at retailers instead of consumers. This thing looks like a parody of itself with its overuse of MOVING GRAPHICS, REACTION SHOTS and ENTHUSIASTIC NARRATION. It also still makes me kind of want a Turbografx 16 and the handheld counterpart.

This guy will sell anything! This is great:

-ds