Blonds named Steve
Real life interlude: For those who've heard, yes, there was horrific Metro train accident here in DC. It's the worst accident I can remember with Metro. I'm fine. A little shaky, but otherwise fine. I've heard from most of DC people I know and they're good too.
Anyway enough of that.
What is it with me and blonds named Steve?
I seem to be keeping quite a collection these days.
First there was Colonel Steve Trevor, Wonder Woman's love interest. I grew up in that confusing period when he was a brunette because of the tv shows or dyed dark haired for Steve Howard when he was back from the dead. But my Steve Trevor is always blond. Even the aging fighter jock in the Perez years was blond, if a bit grizzled.
Then comes Steve Rogers, Captain America. I blame harmonyangel and Ed Brubaker/Steve Epting for slowly pulling me in that direction. I'm reading the first omnibus now. I love the artwork. The story is slow going, because the Marvel universe is still fairly new for me. Throwing names and places and things at me that make me grab my laptop and do google searches randomly. Brubaker explains things, but I still feel like a stranger in a foreign land. And I may have a thing for guys in the costumes with their masks/cowls down. I notice it with Batman too.
And now Netflix hands me the latest Steve -- Lt Col. Steve Canyon played by Dean Fredericks. (Fredericks reminds me more of Steve McQueen than Paul Newman on the blond spectrum.) Canyon was a long running comic strip drawn by Milt Caniff. In 1958, the series became a short lived tv series, 34 half hour episodes. But if you love your Air Force planes, you get tons of great shots. Until recently though it hasn't been available on DVD. Netflix has the Special Edition, which includes four episodes, a trailer and stills gallery. The trailer is a bit of a misnomer. It's more preview clips from the episodes and bits on the restoration process. As a "trailer", though, it misses the mark. But the restoration on the film is great.
The four episodes include some fascinating material. They reused a lot of Air Force archivial footage mixed in with new footage of Canyon and various characters. Steve Canyon is the only regular in the series. Each episode included had him sent to some new base/location for his mission so the supporting cast changes. If I thought watching "Intelligence" was freaky for actor spotting, this one is even weirder. First I halfway thought the girl in the first episode was familiar. Well, it was none other than young Marion Ross, aka Mrs. Cunningham from "Happy Days". The second episode brought Richard Anderson aka Oscar Goldman from the 6 Million Dollar Man/Bionic Woman! I recognized him almost immediately. They also included the original ads and promos with the episodes, so you got your Chesterfield/L&M cigarettes and your promos for "The Untouchables", "Day in Court", "The Real McCoys" and "The Donna Reed Show". And a western called "Restless Gun" with John Payne who I predominantly know from old movies like "Sun Valley Serenade".
One episode is "Operation Mushroom" which is basically a documentary of the h-bomb being dropped in the Bikini atoll. Engrossing but chilling material. It felt a little weird turning it into a vehicle for Steve Canyon.
I do think the other Air Force Steve would have felt right at home in that series. I kept waiting for a dark haired assistant named Diana.
Anyway enough of that.
What is it with me and blonds named Steve?
I seem to be keeping quite a collection these days.
First there was Colonel Steve Trevor, Wonder Woman's love interest. I grew up in that confusing period when he was a brunette because of the tv shows or dyed dark haired for Steve Howard when he was back from the dead. But my Steve Trevor is always blond. Even the aging fighter jock in the Perez years was blond, if a bit grizzled.
Then comes Steve Rogers, Captain America. I blame harmonyangel and Ed Brubaker/Steve Epting for slowly pulling me in that direction. I'm reading the first omnibus now. I love the artwork. The story is slow going, because the Marvel universe is still fairly new for me. Throwing names and places and things at me that make me grab my laptop and do google searches randomly. Brubaker explains things, but I still feel like a stranger in a foreign land. And I may have a thing for guys in the costumes with their masks/cowls down. I notice it with Batman too.
And now Netflix hands me the latest Steve -- Lt Col. Steve Canyon played by Dean Fredericks. (Fredericks reminds me more of Steve McQueen than Paul Newman on the blond spectrum.) Canyon was a long running comic strip drawn by Milt Caniff. In 1958, the series became a short lived tv series, 34 half hour episodes. But if you love your Air Force planes, you get tons of great shots. Until recently though it hasn't been available on DVD. Netflix has the Special Edition, which includes four episodes, a trailer and stills gallery. The trailer is a bit of a misnomer. It's more preview clips from the episodes and bits on the restoration process. As a "trailer", though, it misses the mark. But the restoration on the film is great.
The four episodes include some fascinating material. They reused a lot of Air Force archivial footage mixed in with new footage of Canyon and various characters. Steve Canyon is the only regular in the series. Each episode included had him sent to some new base/location for his mission so the supporting cast changes. If I thought watching "Intelligence" was freaky for actor spotting, this one is even weirder. First I halfway thought the girl in the first episode was familiar. Well, it was none other than young Marion Ross, aka Mrs. Cunningham from "Happy Days". The second episode brought Richard Anderson aka Oscar Goldman from the 6 Million Dollar Man/Bionic Woman! I recognized him almost immediately. They also included the original ads and promos with the episodes, so you got your Chesterfield/L&M cigarettes and your promos for "The Untouchables", "Day in Court", "The Real McCoys" and "The Donna Reed Show". And a western called "Restless Gun" with John Payne who I predominantly know from old movies like "Sun Valley Serenade".
One episode is "Operation Mushroom" which is basically a documentary of the h-bomb being dropped in the Bikini atoll. Engrossing but chilling material. It felt a little weird turning it into a vehicle for Steve Canyon.
I do think the other Air Force Steve would have felt right at home in that series. I kept waiting for a dark haired assistant named Diana.