Disney On Ice presents Disneyland Adventure

With Disney On Ice in town and a friends birthday it proved a timely excuse to go and check out the action. It was my first Disney On Ice since the 90's. The shows theme was a day in Disneyland. No one could argue with that. Our overworked hosts, Mickey, Minnie, Donald & Goofy decided to take the day off and check out the attractions in the park. Naturally, Donald got into mischief and ended up closing down a number of rides. The attractions included, a visit to The Enchanted Tiki Room, The Jungle Cruise, Space Mountain (including a very well-executed high wire appearance by Buzz Lightyear), Big Thunder Mountain, The Haunted Mansion, The Mad Tea Party, a Main Street Parade, It's A Small World, Pirates of the Caribbean, and an Electrical Parade.

Disney characters and artwork © Disney/Pixar characters © Disney/Pixar

Naturally nothing runs smoothly, the evil Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty (who was mysteriously absent) made a timely appearance putting Donald & Minnie into a deep sleep.
Maleficent must have extraordinary powers as my friend had dozed off a few times during the first half. With no idea how to help, our friends call upon The Incredibles to help save the day.

On a technical standpoint the show was faultless. Great sound, lighting and choreography all helped keep the pace moving. Naturally, using the resort as it's setting gave the creators unlimited licence at incorporating a myriad of characters into the show. It was interesting seeing how the younger kids reacted to some of the older, less known, Disney characters. When Baloo (from The Jungle Book) appeared during The Jungle Cruise, a child behind us commented, "Who's the bear"? Our personal favorite was when Chip & Dale appeared and a child screamed, "Look! it's ALVIN!". Pluto and Donald received a good reaction, Goofy got a larger slice of the adoration pie, Mickey and Minnie's entrance was almost deafening. Daisy Duck, surprisingly, got deafening silence. Snow White & Cinderella received favourable applause and screams as did Buzz Lightyear & The Incredibles.

Disney characters and artwork © Disney/Pixar characters © Disney/Pixar

A personal highlight was seeing how the creators captured the fun of The Haunted Mansion on ice. The ballroom scene was captured perfectly, even Madame Leota made an appearance. Disneyland Adventure opened originally in 2005 and it's still running today proving that Disney along with Feld Entertainment know how to do it right.

Holy locations Batman!

Batman. From comics, to television to movies, we’ve seen it all. For me there is only one Batman. Adam West. The camp 1966 TV series was my first introduction to the Caped Crusader. Everyday after school I’d rush home to see who the new villain was. Would Batman & Robin ever escape the nefarious plans of (insert your favorite villain)? Of course, but never in the cliffhanger episode, but always in the second episode. Everyone remembers The Penguin, The Joker, Catwoman & The Riddler, but for me it was all about Ma Parker, Egghead, King Tut, Marsha, Queen of Diamonds, The Siren…the more outrageous, the better. Here's a screencap of one very memorable cliffhanger, Batman & Robin being turned into giant Frosty Freezies!


It was my introduction to the acting talents of many a famous guest star, Ethel Merman, Victor Buono, Vincent Price, Van Johnson, Eartha Kitt etc. My mother would recognize the villain and tell me of some movie she’d remembered seeing them in. It made them seem all the more interesting.

So…some thirty years later I was able to finally see the George Barris built Batmobile. It’s in immaculate condition after all these years. Evidently, there were a few Batmobiles built, some for the TV series and some would be shipped out for promotional duties. I managed to see Batmobile one and two when I was in Hollywood. Pretty awesome. At the time of writing an original Batmobile is up for auction in Palm Springs.


There were two other locations I can finally cross of my “things to see” list. The exterior of Commissioner Gordon’s office. It featured in every episode with Batman & Robin racing up the stairs. However, it wasn’t Adam West & Burt Ward but their stunt doubles. It was also seen as the courthouse for the 1980’s sitcom, Night Court.

The familiar view from every episode, and below the facade in 2009.

The actual exit from the Batcave was another location I had to visit. Although I’d planned to visit the location, plans changed, and luckliy for me plans changed again after a friend drove me up to the site. Thanks Randy!. The cave has been used in a variety of different productions and naturally nothing survives from it's days on Batman. However, when I was there, a kid asked his father "is this really the Batcave"? I laughed. It's legacy lives on!

The exterior of the cave in 1966 and below in 2009.

Just outside the cave was the Gotham City 14 miles sign.


Although not technically Batman footage, Batman also used some stock footage of the New York World’s Fair in it’s pilot episode, luckily I managed to snap a today photo when I was there some 44 years later.

Above in 1964 and below 2009.

Batman locations can be found all around Los Angeles. The exterior of Commissioner Gordon’s office can be found on the Warner Bros Studios backlot. The Batcave is up in Griffith Park, the original Batmobile can be currently seen in the George Barris Showroom in North Hollywood. Batman filmed at three different studios over it's three years on TV so there's more to uncover but that will come in part two.

Here's to the Bunch

Back on September 26^th, The Brady Bunch turned 40. I’m old enough to have watched the Brady Bunch in its original once a week airing. However, I don’t recall waiting a full week between episodes. I do vividly recall the Brady’s in full syndication. Monday through Friday I would laugh along enjoying the antics of, what I thought at the time, was the traditional American family.

As I grew older so did the Brady’s. Remember 1977 when the Brady’s had their own musical variety hour? Then, as time passed, the Brady girls got married and scored another series. Skip forward a few years and it was a TV movie that reunited the Bunch, A Very Brady Christmas. Following this, you guessed it, another series, The Brady’s. No matter where I was in my life or what I was doing the Brady’s were there.

There isn’t many TV series that can claim so many reincarnations. With the Brady’s celebrating 40 years it was only fitting that I visited the Brady Bunch house in North Hollywood. The exterior of the house was only filmed once and used countless times on nearly every episode. I also visited Stage 5 at Paramount (where the Brady’s filmed the interior of their shows.)

The 40^th anniversary was officially recognized, not by a reunion special but by a new book, Love to Love You Brady’s – The Bizarre Story of the Brady Bunch Variety Hour. I was memorized by it. With only 9 episodes in total, who would have thought so much went on behind the scenes?! The book was written by Ted Nichelson, Susan Olsen (Cindy herself) and Lisa Sutton. It’s worth every cent.

du pont presents the wonderful world of chemistry

"With Antron and Nylon and Lycra and Orlon and Dacron, the world's a better place. You know we all have a smile on that started with Nylon and stretches across each happy face."

The cast take us through a song and dance of duPont plastics found in the home.

These were the opening lyrics to a show presented at the New York World's Fair in 1964/65 by DuPont. There are some things in this world that astound me and this show is one of them. The presentation, The Wonderful World of Chemistry, was a ground breaking 28 minute musical by Michael Brown. The musical was performed no less than 48 times daily. The show featured 4 live dancers (2 male, 2 female) a narrator and three, 7 feet high projection screens. However, the show was seen in 2 rooms simultaneously thus bringing the cast to nine at any one time. The projection screens allowed the narrator and dancers to interact with filmed performers. The narrator and Mrs Weston would interact, the narrator on stage and Mrs Weston projected on the screen. (Mrs Weston was performed by Flying Nun actress, Marge Redmond - who at the time was married to Jack Weston). With Mrs Weston having filmed her sequence previous to the fair the narrator had to have split second timing for visual gags to work. The shows energenic chreography was by Buddy Schwartz and Ellen Martin and captures the sixties in dazzling movement.

Mrs Weston was projected on a screen and interacted with the live narrator.

The musical performers are best remembered today for a rose passing sequence: One of the filmed performers handed a rose to the live person, who then in turn passed it to another filmed person, who passed it to a live person, who passed it to a filmed person. The whole sequence was split second timing. This sequence was followed by a fashion parade with live cast dancing and interacting with filmed casts. The fashion parade fetured gowns by designers, by Donald Brooks, Oleg Cassini, Ceil Chapman & David Kidd of Arthur Jablow.


At the 1939 Worlds Fair duPont unveiled Nylon to the world, in 1964 it unveiled Corfam. The shows finale was all about Corfam. Corfam shoes had the ability to reshape themself to new after being worn. Corfam was discontinued by duPont in 1971.

The enthusiastic Corman Shoes finale

The show still holds up well when viewed today. I imagine somewhere in the duPont vault lies a pristine copy of the show. It should be remastered for a whole new generation to learn about the wonderful world of chemistry.

Psycho House & Bates Motel Timeline

I'll try and keep it up to date as much as possible, with time permitting.

Upon completion of filming Psycho, Universal Studios, wasted no time putting the standing exterior sets to good use. In fact, Hitchcock, himself, used his house and motel facade in his own TV series. Using the former PsychoHouse group at yahoo and countless emails from eagle-eyed viewers we have managed to locate some obscure appearances.

1959 The Psycho House is constructed mostly from stock units originally used on Colonial Street. The Bates Motel is also constructed on the backlot in a vacant area off Laramie Street, next to (the then) Singapore Lake (which is now used as 'Jaws' on the tour). Originally the house was constructed with only 2 walls - the left and front facade.

December 1959 Filming commences for Hitchcock's Psycho. The Psycho House and Motel are left as 'standing sets' after filming completes.

1960 The house is used for exteriors in 'Boris Karloff's Thriller' TV program, "The Purple Room" starring Rip Torn, Richard Anderson and Patricia Berry. This is probably one of the first uses after Psycho.

1960 The house is seen in the TV series, The Quest in the episode, Whispering Smith.

1960 The Bates Motel features in the TV series, Thriller, the epsiode, The Big Black Out.

1960 The house features in background shots of the TV series, The Deputy, the epsiode, Palace of Chance.

1961 The house appears in the TV series, Thriller in the episode, The Hungry Glass.

1960 - 1962 The Tall Man was a TV series which ran from 1960 till 1962 that aired on NBC. As it was filmed in Universal's western section of the backlot the Psycho House was a familiar backdrop.

1961 The "Psycho" house was used in the episode, Masquerade, part of the "Boris Karloff's Thriller," Tom Poston and Elizabeth ("Bewitched") Montgomery played a couple whose car breakdown leads them to an old house...

1961 Again the house features in Thriller, the epsiode, An Attractive Family

1961 The house is used in Wagon Train, episode titled, Eleanor Culhane.. Flint McCullough finds his former girlfriend living alone in the house after she has become isolated from the town because they believe her husband has become a murderer. The episode starred Robert Horton and Felicia Farr.

1962 The house features in two episodes of Laramie, titled, The Runt and Hour After Dawn.


1962 The house features in two episdodes of Frontier Circus, titled, Coals of Fire and Mr Grady Regrets.

1963 The Bates Motel features on the show Arrest and Trial in the episode, Who's Little Girl Are You?.

1963 The House appeared in an episode of "Alcoa Premiere" from 1963 called "The Town that Died."

1963 The Motel appeared in an episode of "Kraft Suspense Theatre" in 1963 called "Are There Any More Out There Like You?" with Robert Ryan and Katharine Ross.

1963 A third wall is added to the right hand side of the house during this period. Possibly so the house could be used from the reversed angle for use in Westerns. The house still has no rear wall - and would remain so until the house was "boxed in" in 1982.

1964 The Bates Motel appears in the Ann-Margaret movie, Kitten With A Whip.

1964 Universal Studios open the studio tour on July 15th. One of the key attractions is the Psycho House. The Bates Motel is bypassed and is not seen by the original tour.

1964 The house features in the Yul Brenner western, Invitation To A Gunfighter.

1964 The exterior of the Bates Motel's office appears in the Ronald Regan film, The Killers.

1965 The exterior of the house was featured in the Alfred Hitchcock Hour, "An Unlocked Window." Several nurses are trapped in the house with a psycho on the loose trying to get in. It has a very "Psycho" twist at the end.

1965 The original Bates Motel exterior is used in the Alfred Hitchcock Hour, "Off Season." This was the final Alfred Hitchcock TV show ever made, and starred John Gavin.

1965 The house features in The Virginian, episode,” Farewell To Honesty”.

1966 The house is featured in The Virginian, Men With Guns, guest starring Telly Savalas.

1967 The house features in the western TV series Laredo, "Small Chance Ghost".

1971 "Night Gallery" episode, A Question Of Fear, Leslie Nielsen spends the night in a haunted house on a bet. For this, the Psycho house exterior was used.

1971 The house features in episode 14 of Alias, Smith & Jones, titled, Never Trust an Honest Man.

1972 Emergency! use the house in the episode. Brush Fire. John and Roy rescue an elderly woman and her sister living in the house.

1976 The house features in the television mini-series "The Captains and the Kings." It was for this production a veranda was added making the home appear larger. It remained attached to the house until the house was demolished in 1980.

1976 The house features on an episode of the Six Million Dollar Man called “A Bionic Christmas Carol.”

1977 Universal Studios airs a 25 minute TV Special about the Universal Studio Tour, called, Catch Hollywood In The Act. Hosted by Richard Anderson (Oscar Goldman on the Six Million Dollar Man) it features footage of the backlot including the Psycho House, Jaws, Airport 77 Theatre, Runaway Train, Collapsing Bridge, Doomed Glacier, Parting of the Red Sea, makeup demonstrations, special effects stages and interior sets from the Bionic Woman.

1977- 1979 The Psycho House features in 3 episodes of The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries. The Mystery of the Haunted House, The Mystery of the Hollywood Phantom and The House on Possessed Hill.

1980 The house features in the Get Smart Movie, The Nude Bomb. (Maxwell Smart becomes a tour guide at Universal Studios.)

1980 The house features in the TV show, The Misadventures of Sherrif Lobo, in the episode, The Haunting of Orly Manor.

1980 The original Psycho House is dismantled around December 22nd 1980 with the Motel following shortly after.

1982 Jamie Lee Curtis hosts a movie, Coming Soon. The Psycho House is seen at the Universal Studios Mill before being moved to it's new location on the backlot. Interestingly the house is in mid-production with half the roof missing.

1982 It's decided to move the Psycho House to a new location on the backlot. Psycho II director Richard Franklin said at the time, "they built a tour around it, so we had to move it to a remote location". The house was rebuilt and placed opposite where the log cabin sits today. Only thirty feet of motel was built. The rest was done as a matte painting.

1983 A TV special, Australian Movies To The World, features a brief segment hosted by Psycho II director, Richard Franklin - he tours the inside shell of the Bates House and talks of directing Psycho II.

1983 The house is featured in the movie, D.C. Cab.

1984 Knight Rider episode titled, Halloween Knight which has a Psychoesque storyline.

1984 A two part episode of TV comedy, Diff'rent Strokes, Hooray for Hollywood, features the Psycho House with Arnold getting lost on the Universal Studios backlot and who opens the Psycho house door? Frankenstein of course!

1985 The Jan Michael-Vincent series, Airwolf, features the house in episode 15, Santini's Millions on 2nd February.

1985 The Psycho House is moved to it's current location on the backlot. The Motel is fully rebuilt for Psycho III.

1986 The House and Motel feature in an episode of Amazing Stories, Welcome To My Nightmare (filming must have coincided with Psycho III as Cabin one is fully dressed).

1987 With the Bates Motel TV Pilot in production, the Motel now has BATES MOTEL painted in white letters along the roof and the Motel is transformed with a more modern appearance. A cement rendered wall is placed around the Motel.

1988 Universal builds a new Psycho House and Motel in Florida for Psycho IV.

1990 A Bud Light beer commercial uses the house in a promotion.

1991 Murder She Wrote films an episode directly involving the House and Motel titled, Incident on Lot 7.

1995 The cement rendered wall surrounding the Bates Motel (from the TV Pilot) is removed.

1995 Janet Leigh hosts a segment titled, Celebrity Homes for E! Featured is the exterior and interior of the Psycho House.

1995 Universal Studios commissioned a parody of 1950s corporate/industrial films for Seagrams using the talents of Trey Parker and Matt Stone, Angela Lansbury is seen painting the Psycho House.

1997 The house features in a few episodes of the TV soap Bold and the Beautiful.

1997 Filming commences for the Gus Van Sant Remake. During the filming of Psycho 98, the original house is masked with a new house used in the movie.

1999 Universal Studios, Florida, dismantle the house and motel built for Psycho IV The Beginning, to build an extension to a children's play area.

2000 Janet Leigh returns (along with journalists) to the Bates Motel for Psycho's 40th anniversary.

2000 Whoville from The Grinch That Stole Christmas is filmed partly behind the Psycho House. After filming is complete the Whoville Houses are moved behind the Bates Motel.

2000 The Bates Motel is seen in the movie, Big Momma's House, where it's portrayed as the Cactus Motel.

2001 The Backlot Murders (filmed on the Universal Backlot) uses the Psycho set as part of the movie.

2001 The red letters (Motel) that sat on the Bates Motel roof in the 1998 remake are removed.

2001 The house appears in a black & white television commercial for DiGiorno Pizza.

2001 The House is briefly featured in the Frankie Muniz comedy, Big Fat Liar

2002 The House featured in the Psycho 98 remake is removed.

2004 The house has a refurbishment.

2004 During 2004 the church seen in the original Psycho is demolished by the Universal backlot department - a restructure of Circle Drive necessitates changes to the backlot and it’s decided the church isn't worth saving.

2005 With the Region 1 DVD re-release of Psycho II and Psycho III, the Bates Motel is refurbished. A number of set pieces make a familiar return, the icebox from Psycho III, Marion Crane's car (complete with body in the trunk), a suitcase, mop and bucket sitting on the Motel's veranda and a cardboard cut-out of Norman Bates stares from the window of Cabin 1.

2005 The Motel and house are filmed as part of the TV series, Fear Factor.

2008 Puddle of Mudd feature inside the Psycho House for their single, Psycho.

2008 Universal Studios host Halloween Horror Nights and offers guests a rare night view and a chance to walk past the Psycho House and Bates Motel.

2008 The Universal Studios Tour now features a Norman Bates look-a-like stepping out of Cabin One, carrying a body to the trunk of the car, noticing the tram, he raises his knife and walks slowly towards it. If Norman is not at the motel a cardboard cutout of Anthony Perkins stands looking out the window of the Motel Office.

2010 Jonas LA film a segment of the show on the Universal Lot using the Psycho House and steps as a background.
© copyright - not be used without written permission

google earth

I'll admit it. I'm an armchair traveller. It's cheap, and I can go anywhere in the click of a mouse thanks to Google Earth. I'm addicted to it. It's fun cruising down a street and checking out the world that's outside my door.

But how recent are the street views I'm looking at? When I was in in LA in 2005 (Sunset Blvd to be precise), I saw a billboard for a show called The Triangle. It sounded good so as not to forget the title I snapped a photo. So this morning I noticed the same billboard in 2009. It got me wondering how often it updates. At the same token it was thrilling, if only for a second to see the same billboard.

vintage games

There was something simple about the old board games of the 1960’s. They didn't require electricity or plugging in to the TV, you didn't need super human co-ordination. You simply had a dice or a spinner (if the game was slightly deluxe.) You'd roll the dice and move your plastic marker across the board. Fun huh!?

Games got slightly more sophisticated as time progressed. You'd place a balloon under a box and start to hammer nails in. Sounds stupid but it made an enormous amount of money. Imagine building a mouse trap as the game goes along and in the end catching a plastic mouse! Oh the frivolity.

Games were manufactured by Ideal, Milton Bradley, John Sands to name a few. Those companies ruled when we were kids. The box graphics are what grab me today. The art on KerPlunk and Poppin Hoppies are fantastic. Christmas morning was always special when you spied a big box under the tree. You knew Santa had delivered another fun high class game to your home. I got the games alright but with mother cooking the Christmas lunch, father working in the shed - a game requiring 2 or more players, the games got pushed aside. Maybe I would have been better off with a computer game?