Pop Culture Safari!

Pop Focus: James Bond "Dr. No"

As a Bond fan I always self-identified as a "Goldfinger." Not very original, I know, but it's a damned good film -- great action sequences, over-the-top plot, Honor Blackman karate-chopping people, and that car... It's when the elements Bond film franchise really came together.

But, after watching it twice within the past few years, once on a the big screen at a local theater that did a double feature of it with, of course, "Goldfinger," I'm thinking maybe I'm a "Dr. No" guy.

I'd sort of written it off as an early entry -- a little awkward. Sean Connery was new to screen-acting, the producers were still getting a handle on tone and figuring out how to make Ian Fleming's superspy work on screen. But, during both of these recent viewing, I was highly entertained. It's a fun movie, with some good action scenes, some funny lines, great music, lovely on-location stuff filmed in Jamaica and Ursula Andress -- a classic Bond girl. No cool car, though.

So, it was underrated in my mind, but no longer. It's near the top of my Bond list. I still love "Goldfinger" and would probably put "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" at number two. Weird, I know. But it's a great Bond flick -- John Barry is at the top of his game on the soundtrack, I love that cable car scene, and it's the one pre-Daniel Craig film where Bond is humanized. I'll need to do a Pop Focus on that one sometimes, too. Oh, plus Diana Rigg.

But, in the meantime, here's a selection of images and artifacts from "Dr. No." Enjoy!

Dr. No, original hardcover novel by Ian Fleming

Dr. No adaptation in DC Comics Showcase Presents 1963

Dr. No original soundtrack album

Check out the new Jimi Hendrix postage stamp!

Available now at your post office, or here.

Today's best picture ever: Paul McCartney

Vintage ad: Marvel superhero model kits

Fab Friday: Vintage Beatles pics

Today's best picture ever: George C. Scott and Stanley Kubrick

Vintage ad: DC Comics merchandise, 1976

I had that calendar...

Pop culture roundup: Keith Richards' children's book! The Flash! The Real History of Sci-fi! Neal Adams and Batman's pants! Gotham! British sci-fi art!

News of the Unexpected: Keith Richards is co-authoring a book for kids!

The Rolling Stones guitarist has teamed up his artist daughter Theodora Richards on a picture book, Gus And Me: The Story Of My Granddad And My First Guitar, which is based on his own life.
His grandfather Theodore Augustus Dupree, who was known as Gus, was a jazz musician who introduced the young Keith to music.

He said: "I have just become a grandfather for the fifth time, so I know what I'm talking about. The bond, the special bond, between kids and grandparents is unique and should be treasured. This is a story of one of those magical moments. May I be as great a grandfather as Gus was to me."

-----

Here's a look at actor Grant Gust in costume for the upcoming Flash TV pilot, now in production:

-----

"The Real History of Science Fiction," a BBC America four-part documentary, debuts April 19 and features an impressive lineup of talking heads talking about the development of sci-fi fandom, including William Shatner, Nathan Fillion, Steven Moffat, Chris Carter, Karen Gillan, Neil Gaimin, Ursula Le Guin and more. Episodes include: "Robots," "Space," "Invasion" and "Time."

-----

Neal Adams chats about his great covers for the original Batman-Ra's Al Ghul saga and shares this great tidbit:

“You and I are going to play a game,” [Adams] said. “How many pairs of pants does Batman have on this cover?”

“Two,” I answered. “He’s wearing a pair and Ra’s al Ghul is holding a pair. But why is that?”

Adams explained: “It’s because (editor) Julie Schwartz refused to let me have bare legs on Batman. It was OK to do the bare chest, but if he had his pants off that would imply that he had taken his shorts off as well. So you couldn’t do that. So I said ‘But he’s got a costume!’ and Julie says, ‘Nobody will notice.’ And it’s true.”

-----

Here's a logo for and details about "Gotham," the upcoming Batman "prequel" TV series currently in development for Fox.

Although the crime drama will follow James Gordon's turbulent and singular rise through the Gotham City police department, led by Police Captain Sarah Essen (Zabryna Guevara, “Burn Notice”), it also will focus on the unlikely friendship Gordon forms with the young heir to the Wayne fortune, who is being raised by his unflappable butler, Alfred (Sean Pertwee, "Camelot," “Elementary”). It is a friendship that will last them all of their lives, playing a crucial role in helping the young boy eventually become the crusader he's destined to be.

-----

Check out a gallery of vintage British science fiction art.

Pop stuff: Mr. Peabody & Sherman

Mr. Peabody & Sherman
I got a bigger kick than expected from this big screen adaptation of the "Peabody's Improbable History" segments from the Rocky and Bullwinkle shows. Generally, when you take something so short and sweet, and blow it up into full-length feature, you lose the charm of the original, but that's not the case here.

The film moves along at a fast clip, with Mr. Peabody, the dog, and Sherman, his boy, time traveling by Wayback Machine right from the get-go. But, despite being fast-moving, this film is much less frantic and loud than many of today's movies for kids. The tone of the adventures is much like that of the original cartoons, complete with bad puns that make you laugh despite yourself.

Since this is a feature, and since the source material wasn't, we need some back story on these characters to round them out and invest them with some emotional weight. This is done on the fly with a light -- not heavy -- hand. We learn who Peabody is and how he came to adopt a boy, but it's quickly handled so we can do some more time traveling, which is the whole point.

The time travel sequences remind me a bit of Asterix adventures in the way different cultures and historical figures are gently satirized. Plus all the puns. There's some genuinely funny stuff here.

The voice cast is excellent, too. Ty Burrell, the dad on "Modern Family" does a fair job imitating Bill Scott's erudite and elongated speech patterns as Peabody, while his TV daughter Ariel Winter provides the voice of Sherman's initially snotty schoolmate Penny Peterson. Sherman is voiced by Max Charles.

Other voices that pop up include Stephen Colbert as Penny's dad, who looks just like Stephen Colbert, and Leslie Mann plays Penny's mom. Mel Brooks provides the voice of Einstein, Lake Bell is the Mona Lisa, and Patrick Warburton brings his manly tones to the hilariously macho Agamemnon.

Children won't learn much accurate history here and the seemingly obligatory take-home message about family loyalty and acceptance will likely zip right by them, but they'll be amused and entertained by the adventure, and parents will likely get a nostalgic buzz and chuckle, too.

Today's best picture ever: Keith Moon

Vintage ad: DC Direct Currents Hot-Line!

I remember calling this! You'd dial in and here folks like Denny O'Neill and Julie Schwartz telling you about upcoming comics. At the time, the concept of a toll-free number was very novel. You could even call it 24-hour-a-day!