Pop Culture from an Alternate Dimension

      I have been doing a lot of DC comic characters so here's one for the Marvel fans. In 1977 CBS aired a pilot movie of Spider-Man that turned into a series that lasted two seasons. They aired two pilot movies of the Incredible Hulk that became a series lasting five seasons. They tried again in 1979 with Captain America. Two pilot movies were made with Reb Brown as the titular character, but it was not picked up as a series. Here is the DVD cover of the series that could have been.

  Today is Valentine's Day. Playlists of love songs will be recommended to you. Couples will send each other a playlist they collated for each other. Lovers will be listing to "their song". THIS is for the rest of us, songs that chronicle a break-up. From growing apart to moving on. If you feel like crying while listening to it, go ahead, let it out.  Put your earbuds in and listen to it here: Broken Hearted - YouTube

       In 1997's Spice World movie George Wendt ( Cheers ) and Mark McKinney ( The Kids in the Hall ) play two Hollywood types pitching a movie for the Spice Girls called Spice Force Five . What if that movie was made? I combined elements from Spice World  and the music video "Say You'll Be There" to make this version. Spice Girls - Say You'll Be There (Official Music Video)

       Soundtracks filled with popular music didn't start until the 1950s and rock 'n' roll. Before that, it was either musicals (where people sang their thoughts) or something like The Big Sleep , which had a score by Max Steiner and Lauren Bacall singing a song to patrons at a club. What if it was done the modern way but with songs from 1945/1946? For the opening credits I would have "Dreams" from the Pied Pipers. When Carmen Sternwood comes down the stairs and tries to sit on Philip Marlowe's lap while he is standing, I chose "Temptation". After Marlowe talks to General Sternwood and before he talks to Vivian Rutledge I have "Warm Mood". The scene with Dorothy Malone in the bookstore across from Geiger's would end with Stan Kenton's rendition of "Cocktails for Two". About 28 minutes into the film Marlowe returns to Geiger's house to look for clues which I have underscored with "Mysterioso". Bogart sitting ...

      Before January was through, I wanted to add one more pairing of the World's Finest. Sadly, we could have never had a meeting of the television versions. George Reeves played the title character in The Adventures of Superman from 1952 to 1958. Adam West was Batman on the television series from 1966 to 1968. As fun as it would have to see these two paragons of virtue join each other, Reeves died seven years before the West series started.       Apparently, I'm not the only person to think about this. Look at Alex Ross' interpretation of the meeting.   

       The first live-action adaptation of Batman was a 15 chapter serial in 1943. It did so well that another one was made a few years later. Superman had a popular serial in 1948 and a sequel two years later. The producer of these serials was Sam Katzman, who knew how to make movies cheaply and turn a profit. What if, instead of a sequel, he decided to put the heroes together in a serial to get more people watching. Around that time Superman, Batman and Robin palled around with each on the covers of World's Finest comics but not in the stories inside. However, starting in 1945 Batman and Robin did join Superman on his radio show so it would have been a treat for the kids (and some adults) of time to see them fighting together on the screen. Fun fact for fans of The Flash: an actor named Wally West is in the serial "Atom Man vs Superman". You can see what the original serials looked like here: Batman And Robin (1949) Episode 1 Batman Takes Over Atom Man vs Superman ...