 Woman on the verge of a service breakdown. 
Let’s not debate it. Jamie Summers was the hottest partly mechanical woman ever to appear on television. Perhaps that has to do with the fact that she was one of the only partly mechanical woman to ever appear on television, but let’s not quibble. The series The Bionic Woman, starring Lindsay Wagner as a tennis pro-turned-spy who had assorted cybernetic body parts, ran on American television for three years from 1976 to 1978, and was syndicated for Japan starting in 1977. She was originally created as a sort of Bride of Frankenstein for Lee Majors’ popular ABC character Steve Austin on The Six Million Dollar Man. At the end of a two-part episode Jamie Summers died, but the character had been so popular that a method was contrived for bringing her back from the dead. A year later—presto!—she had her own series on which she battled a sasquatch, got roughed up by Fembots, and malfunctioned a few times, all while searching for but never quite managing to find that special someone. The Bionic Woman spun off books, board games, and yes, even music, as evidenced by the 45 rpm record sleeve at top of the show’s theme song by Jerry Fielding. We checked out a few episodes of the show online, and let’s just say that while it hasn’t aged well in terms of fx or dramatic content (and it’s exactly the sort of thing our girlfriends laugh at because of all the high-waisted jeans, jumpsuits and feathered hair), there is a sort of sweetness to it all that’s hard (for us, anyway) to resist. Ah, the Cold War. It seems so quaint now. If you have the inclination and the spare time, you can see a clip here.
|
 |
The headlines that mattered yesteryear.
1974—Police Raid SLA Headquarters
In the U.S., Los Angeles police raid the headquarters of the revolutionary group the Symbionese Liberation Army, resulting in the deaths of six members. The SLA had gained international notoriety by kidnapping nineteen-year old media heiress Patty Hearst from her Berkeley, California apartment, an act which precipitated her participation in an armed bank robbery. 1978—Charlie Chaplin's Missing Body Is Found
Eleven weeks after it was disinterred and stolen from a grave in Corsier near Lausanne, Switzerland, Charlie Chaplin's corpse is found by police. Two men—Roman Wardas, a 24-year-old Pole, and Gantscho Ganev, a 38-year-old Bulgarian—are convicted in December of stealing the coffin and trying to extort £400,000 from the Chaplin family. 1918—U.S. Congress Passes the Sedition Act
In the U.S., Congress passes a set of amendments to the Espionage Act called the Sedition Act, which makes "disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive language" about the United States government, its flag, or its armed forces, as well as language that causes foreigners to view the American government or its institutions with contempt, an imprisonable offense. The Act specifically applies only during times of war, but later is pushed by politicians as a possible peacetime law, specifically to prevent political uprisings in African-American communities. But the Act is never extended and is repealed entirely in 1920. 1905—Las Vegas Is Founded
Las Vegas, Nevada is founded when 110 acres of barren desert land in what had once been part of Mexico are auctioned off to various buyers. The area sold is located in what later would become the downtown section of the city. From these humble beginnings Vegas becomes the most populous city in Nevada, an internationally renowned resort for gambling, shopping, fine dining and sporting events, as well as a symbol of American excess. Today Las Vegas remains one of the fastest growing municipalities in the United States. 1928—Mickey Mouse Premieres
The animated character Mickey Mouse, along with the female mouse Minnie, premiere in the cartoon Plane Crazy, a short co-directed by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. This first cartoon was poorly received, however Mickey would eventually go on to become a smash success, as well as the most recognized symbol of the Disney empire.
|
 |
|
It's easy. We have an uploader that makes it a snap. Use it to submit your art, text, header, and subhead. Your post can be funny, serious, or anything in between, as long as it's vintage pulp. You'll get a byline and experience the fleeting pride of free authorship. We'll edit your post for typos, but the rest is up to you. Click here to give us your best shot.
|
|
