Category:
Television

Frontier Circus




In 1962, variations on the popular Western genre reached new and unlikely permutations.

Wikipedia entry here.

Posted By: Paul - Sat May 13, 2017 - Comments (3)
Category: Animals, Clowns, Fairs, Amusement Parks, and Resorts, Regionalism, Television, 1960s

The Vidifont Titling Device

How did TV put a caption on the screen in the Sixties?

Graphics, including all title graphics (i.e. "President Lyndon B. Johnson” or "Walter Cronkite”) were set in type or drawn by graphic artists. The graphic was photographed using 35-mm film, the film developed, and a 35-mm slide generated. The time to generate a slide exceeded one hour. The slide, when used, was placed in a special projector, scanned by a television camera, and keyed into the studio video feed. This method was known as ‘Superimposition’. Since the news department had to be prepared to identify any speaker who might appear before the cameras during the convention, Bass was faced with creating in excess of 4000 slides in advance for each convention. If an individual who was not a delegate or an alternate was called upon to give a seconding speech or to participate in an interview, a title slide probably would not be available. Bass was seeking an instantaneous, graphics-quality titling capability solution to the problem. The goal was to produce graphics that could be transparently mixed with artwork created using traditional methods.


Imagine then the delight when the Vidifont device was invented.



Original ad here.

Posted By: Paul - Fri Mar 24, 2017 - Comments (0)
Category: Technology, Television, 1960s, 1970s

Guestward, Ho!



Continuing our look at really dumb and inept TV shows.





Wikipedia page.

Posted By: Paul - Tue Mar 14, 2017 - Comments (2)
Category: Ineptness, Crudity, Talentlessness, Kitsch, and Bad Art, Stereotypes and Cliches, Television, 1960s

Fred and Barney Meet the Thing





A mashup no one ever asked for.

Posted By: Paul - Tue Mar 07, 2017 - Comments (1)
Category: Ineptness, Crudity, Talentlessness, Kitsch, and Bad Art, Television, Comics, Cartoons, 1970s

Follies of the Madmen #303

image

Yes, Dumont TV is as destructive and unstoppable as an atomic explosion.

Original ad here.

Posted By: Paul - Wed Feb 08, 2017 - Comments (1)
Category: Business, Advertising, Destruction, Television, 1940s, Weapons

Follies of the Madmen #302



TV in the teepee. What could be more natural?

Posted By: Paul - Thu Jan 26, 2017 - Comments (4)
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, Stereotypes and Cliches, Television, 1950s

A Cosmic Christmas



Hideous aliens learn and reveal the true meaning of the holiday.

Hope all WU-vies experience the same!

Posted By: Paul - Sun Dec 25, 2016 - Comments (0)
Category: Aliens, Holidays, Television

Why Can’t My Teacher Look Like Mr. Novak?



image

I like the bits of "Monster Mash" stuff that are gratuitously inserted.

Of course, students lusting after teachers is now the stuff of prison sentences.

Understand the central reference here.

Posted By: Paul - Wed Nov 30, 2016 - Comments (2)
Category: Education, Music, Television, Sex Symbols, Teenagers, 1960s

Paul Starr, Space Agent



More info at the YouTube URL of this clip, as well as here.

Posted By: Paul - Tue Oct 18, 2016 - Comments (3)
Category: Puppets and Automatons, Television, Science Fiction, 1960s

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Who We Are
Alex Boese
Alex is the creator and curator of the Museum of Hoaxes. He's also the author of various weird, non-fiction, science-themed books such as Elephants on Acid and Psychedelic Apes.

Paul Di Filippo
Paul has been paid to put weird ideas into fictional form for over thirty years, in his career as a noted science fiction writer. He has recently begun blogging on many curious topics with three fellow writers at The Inferior 4+1.

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