It Seemed Like a Bad Idea at the Time: The Worst TV Shows in History and Other Things I Wrote
by Bruce Vilanch
Chicago Review Press
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0914091929
$28.99 (heavily discounted at Amazon)

The first entry on this last day of The 2025 PopCult Gift Guide is a last-minute addition, swiped from Mark Evanier’s blog. It’s a book by famed comedy writer, Bruce Vilanch, about his involvement in some of the absolutely mind-boggling worst things that ever happened on television.

It Seemed Like A Bad Idea At The Time is the perfect gift for anybody who loves cheesy TV and also likes to laugh their ass off.

Let’s have the publisher explain…

Bruce Vilanch is known as a go-to comedy writer for award shows, sitcoms, and over-the-top variety specials, but he has also been responsible for quite a few of the most legendary disasters ever made.

Some of his work lives in infamy—The Star Wars Holiday Special, The Paul Lynde Halloween Special, Rob Lowe dancing with Snow White at the Oscars, and The Brady Bunch Variety Hour. How did these ever seem like a good idea?

Well, everyone has screwed up a few times, or had their work screwed up by others. It Seemed Like a Bad Idea at the Time is a lifetime reflection of what Vilanch has experienced, learned, and forgotten in decades of working in show business, specifically the south forty acres known as comedy. It involves very famous people and people who were not very famous but should have been.

It explains to the people in the audience who say to themselves, once they have gotten their jaw off the floor, “’How did this ever get made?”

I have to admit, I haven’t read this yet. I’ve ordered it (it’s way cheap at Amazon as I write this), but you can probably order it from any bookseller. It’s perfect for anyone who ever looked at awful television and asked, “How the hell did that get made?”

Broadway Nation
How Immigrant, Jewish, Queer, and Black Artists invented the Broadway Musical
by David Armstrong (Author)
Methuen Drama
ISBN 9781350428317
$34.95

Today’s second entry in The 2025 PopCult Gift Guide is an in-depth book that reveals the powerful impact of marginalized groups on the evolution of the Broadway Musical.

This is an enlightening book for fans of musical theatre, as well as for people interested in LGBTQ history, the immigrant experience and early Show Business.

Let’s go to the publisher’s blurb…

At the turn of the 20th century, immigrants, Jews, Queers, and African Americans faced exclusion from mainstream American society, with limited employment opportunities. They found their calling in the emerging field of “Show Business”, particularly the burgeoning Broadway Musical. Their pioneering spirit not only seized this opportunity but also continued to shape and dominate the Broadway Musical for over a century, creating an art form that has deeply influenced American culture.

Throughout its history, the Broadway Musical has subtly and at times boldly championed human rights and liberal values, reflecting its creators’ and performers’ diverse backgrounds. Unlike previous works on musical theatre history, this book weaves these diverse threads into a comprehensive narrative, repositioning Black, Queer, and Women artists at the heart of the story, acknowledging their long-standing contributions often overlooked.

Broadway Nation is a valuable resource for both students and anyone seeking a deeper understanding of this beloved American art form. Readers will gain profound insights into the history and transformation of the Broadway Musical over a span of more than a century. Additionally, the book celebrates the remarkable artistry and craftsmanship of key figures, from George M. Cohan to Lin Manuel-Miranda, who have left an indelible mark on this extraordinary cultural phenomenon.

This book works both as an entertaining and informative exploration of the history of musical theatre, and also as a textbook-level overview of how marginalized entertainers helped drag mainstream audiences into a place where they couldn’t help but become more accepting. I’m hoping to provide a more in-depth review in the new year.

You should be able to order Broadway Nation from any bookseller by using the ISBN code, or you can purchase it directly from the publisher.

Wicked Jeff Goldblum
Wicked: For Good the Wizard Fashion Doll
by Mattel
Exclusive to Walmart
$24.97

Okay, today’s first entry in The 2025 PopCult Gift Guide is a no-brainer for any fan of Wicked and Wicked For Good, however, it’s also a great gift idea for any fan of Jeff Goldblum, or for kitbashers or customizers who want a relatively inexpensive base to turn him into a figure from one of his many other film roles.

Let me dip into Mattel’s PR…

Inspired by Universal Pictures’ Wicked: For Good, his Royal Ozness, the Wonderful Wizard of Oz summons you most ceremony-ishly to relive the magic of the film again and again with a doll of Oz’s most mysterious figurehead. Dressed in a removable look with true-to-movie details and cane, this sentimental man can strike amazafying poses with flexibility at the torso, elbows, wrist and knees.

Journey into the beautiful Land of Oz with Universal Pictures’ Wicked: For Good the Wizard fashion doll

Inspired by the film, the Wizard doll wears a removable look with true-to-movie details and cane

Recreate the magic of Wicked: For Good again and again by playing or displaying His Royal Ozness with the flexibility of the doll’s torso, elbows, wrist and knees

Everyone can unlock the magic within and collect their favorite Wicked: For Good characters!

Kids ages 4 years and older can play out thrillfying stories from the Wicked movies

It’s an impressive doll, with decent articulation, a great headsculpt and very ornate tailoring on the clothes.

Of you can strip him, remove the moustache, paint his hair and slap on some spare GI Joe Khakis so he can fight dinosaurs. You probably already know what your gift recipient will do.

Available only at Walmart for just under twenty-five bucks.

SpongeBob Squarepants Movie: The Search for Squarepants – The Flying Dutchman’s Ship Playset
by Funrise
$29.99
Available where toys are sold, or at Amazon

Our second entry today in The 2025 PopCult Gift Guide is the perfect gift for the SpongeBob Squarepants fanatic on your holiday shopping list. I know I have one.

Based on the new movie, The Search For Squarepants (coming to theaters December 19) we have a really cool playset, complete with figures and special features.

I will defer to the product hype:

EPIC MOVIE ADVENTURE SHIP – Massive Flying Dutchman’s ship with authentic “Search for SquarePants” styling featuring hidden wheels that create realistic rocking motion as you sail across any surface – bringing the high seas adventure home

6 EXCLUSIVE MOVIE FIGURES INCLUDED – Complete crew featuring SpongeBob, Patrick, Squidward, the translucent Flying Dutchman, and 2 deep-sea creatures – all styled exactly as they appear in the movie for storytelling adventures

SPECTACULAR GLOWING FLYING DUTCHMAN – Translucent Flying Dutchman figure lights up with an eerie ghostly glow when placed in the crow’s nest, creating spine-tingling atmosphere that brings the legendary ghost pirate to life

ACTION-PACKED HIDDEN FEATURES – Discover secret trap doors, retractable plank, shooting cannon, hidden door reveals, and ghostly activated steering wheel – over 8 interactive elements for endless exploration and surprise

ROCK & ROLL SAILING ACTION – Hidden wheels beneath the ship create up-and-down rocking motion when pushed forward, simulating real ocean waves and making every adventure feel like you’re truly sailing the seven seas

This is a pretty freaking cool playset, even if you aren’t married to one of the most devout SpongeBob fans on the planet. While it should be turning up at all retailers who carry toys in the next week or so, it can be found now at Amazon, if it isn’t sold out already.

One of the drawbacks of assembling a great pop culture gift guide each year is that sometimes you sacrifice the element of surprise to get a really cool gift suggestion.

Beyond The Mark: Ashes of the Hero
by Kevin Gallant
Staten House
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8895875438
$14.99 at Amazon

Today’s first entry in The 2025 PopCult Gift Guide is for a book that has been highly recommended to me by several people, but is one that I haven’t been able to set aside enough time to read yet. So I’m flying a little blind here in recommending a book that will likely be a terrific gift for the fan of dark fantasy and high adventure on your holiday shopping list.

Let me share the publisher’s synopsis…

Flynn, a once-revered hero of his homeland, awakens after five years of forced slumber only to find himself branded as the infamous “Marked Wraith,” a fugitive accused of crimes he doesn’t remember committing. The world he left behind has changed dramatically, filled with new alliances, forbidden magic, and treacherous enemies who want him dead. Alone and hunted, Flynn must uncover the truth behind his lost years, confront those who betrayed him, and find a way to clear his name.

His path crosses with Orion, a mysterious mage looking for her next big score. Reluctantly drawn together, Flynn and Orion must learn to trust one another while facing both their inner demons and the physical dangers lurking in a world filled with deceit and hidden agendas. From blood-soaked battlefields to enigmatic manors harboring dark secrets, the duo must harness forbidden powers to stand a chance against Victor, the ruthless council leader whose ambitions threaten everything Flynn once stood for.

Filled with heart-pounding action, morally complex characters, and a dash of dark humor, Beyond The Mark is a tale of redemption, betrayal, and the fight for freedom in a world where loyalty is fleeting, and the truth can be as deadly as the lies.

Will Flynn reclaim his lost honor, or will the darkness within consume him? Find out in Beyond The Mark, a gripping debut that’s sure to leave you breathless!

Beyond The Mark: Ashes of the Hero is available from Amazon, and it’s a thick volume of top-notch adventure fantasy that is great for the fiction reader on your shopping list.

Today’s new Radio Free Charleston was not an episode of the show I enjoyed putting together. If you’ve been reading PopCult for the last few days, you know that Lee Harrah died on Thanksgiving night.

When one of your best friends dies, and said friend was not only a fixture of the local music scene, but also a trusted partner in radio and video hijinks, you pretty much have to do a tribute show.

I am interrupting the planned “Best of 2025” series of RFC shows to dedicate this show to Lee. This is Lee’s episode of Radio Free Charleston  that you can hear today on The AIR.  To listen to The AIR, you simply have to point your cursor over and tune in at the website, or you could just stay here, and  listen to the cool embedded player found elsewhere on this page.  

You can hear Radio Free Charleston Tuesdays at 10 AM and 10 PM, with boatloads of replays throughout the week.

This episode is a mix of Lee’s music with three bands, Stone Ka Tet, The Ghosts of Now and HARRAH, combined with some of his favorite artists, and three episodes of the show we did together, Word Association with Lee and Rudy. I hope that the many people who knew Lee will enjoy spending just a litle more time with him, and those who didn’t can get just a hint of what he was like.

There was nobody like Lee Harrah.

Also, throughout the week, you can hear, in the RFC Daily timeslot at 5 PM Eastern time Tuesday through Friday, instead of RFC, you will hear a mix of Harrah’s Hard & Heavy and Word Association with Lee & Rudy. These were the shows Lee did for The AIR back in 2016 and 2017, before life got in the way.  Sunday at 9 AM, and runing until 8 PM, you can hear a marathon of Lee’s shows, along with his episode of Six Degrees of Separation.

We don’t have links this week, but here’s the playlist…

RFC V5 250

The Ghosts of Now “Deathburn”
HARRAH “Nothing Me”
The Ramones “Rock n Roll High School”
Creedence Clearwater Revival “Green River”
Iron Maiden “Can I Play With Madness”
Type O Negative “Love You To Death”
Stone Ka Tet “Adam’s Song”
Word Association “The Hulk”
HARRAH “Blood Moon”
The Ghosts of Now “Alaska Looks Like Arizona”
Lemmy & Friends “Back In The U.S.S.R.”
Tina Turner “Get Back”
The Beatles “Now And Then”
Stone Ka Tet “River Low”
Word Association “George Romero”
HARRAH “Pay The Piper”
Stone Ka Tet “Patton’s Blues”
Ozzy Osbourne “Crazy Train”
Iron Maiden “Hallowed Be Thy Name”
Word Association “Great Albums”

You can hear this episode of Radio Free Charleston Tuesday at 10 AM and 10 PM on The AIR, with replays Wednesday at 9 AM,  Thursday at 2 PM, Friday at 9 AM, Saturday at Noon and Midnight, Sunday at 8 PM and  Monday at 11 AM, exclusively on The AIR. We bring you a marathon all night long Saturday night/Sunday morning.

I’m also going to  embed a low-fi, mono version of this show right in this post, right here so you can listen on demand.

After RFC, stick around for encores of last week’s episodes of  MIRRORBALL at 1 PM and Curtain Call at 2 PM.

At 3 PM  The Swing Shift is an encore of two recent episodes.

 You can hear The Swing Shift Tuesday at 3 PM, with replays Wednesday at 8 AM, Thursday at 9 AM,  Friday at 10 AM and 8 PM and Saturday afternoon, only on The AIR . You can also hear all-night marathons, seven hours each, starting at Midnight Thursdays and Sundays.

Our second entry today in The 2025 PopCult Gift Guide is for the Original Cast Album for BOOP! The Musical.

This is a wonderful gift for anybody who enjoys classic Broadway musicals, and for fans of Betty Boop. This will also be a great gift for anybody who appreciates incredible musical theatre talent, because it is the recording debut of Jasmine Amy Rogers, who is destined to be one of the all-time greats of the stage.

Melanie and I saw the original Chicago production of BOOP! in December, 2023, and this is what I wrote at the time:

…as it is, BOOP! is nearly perfect. The songs are catchy as hell. The story is fun. The stagecraft is amazing. And Jasmine Amy Rogers, who plays Betty Boop, will likely come out of this role as a major star. She really IS Betty Boop, come to life.

The show is about 90% perfect. I’m sure the producers will tinker with the pacing and I hear that the composer, David Foster, has two new songs ready to plug into the production. At this point, it seems that this show just needs minor tweaks to become a major hit.

So much of BOOP! is simply stellar. Bob Martin contributes a clever book that weaves romance, spectacle and interdimensional travel into a thrilling and delightful story. Susan Birkenhead’s lyrics and David Foster’s music manage the difficult feat of capturing the Golden Age Jazz sound of the original Betty Boop cartoons while still projecting a contemporary vibe.

Jerry Mitchell, who directed and choreographed this show has conducted a symphony of pop culture visuals and dance numbers that pay tribute to the original cartoons as well as remaining strikingly original.

Speaking of strikingly original, the scenic design by David Rockwell and the projection design by Finn Ross help immerse the audience in a world based on classic Fleischer animation in the beginning, and then a full-color astonishingly surreal New York City in the “real world.”

The show transferred to Broadway this year, and for reasons having nothing to do with the quality of the show, it did not last.

I was flabbergasted.

Part of the blame lies with the now-demoted New York Times critic who wrote a hatchet-job review that made little sense.  Part of it was likely due to the Broadway Wing’s Tony Committee continuing their annoying trend of overlooking shows that began with out-of-town tryouts. Part of it has to do with the strange trend of almost every musical that opened this year closing their doors early as audiences stayed away.

All I know is BOOP! The Musical is one of the best, most-entertaining musicals I’ve ever seen, and it’s a crime that it didn’t find more success.

Having said that, there are plans to take the show on a national tour next year. London’s West End may also beckon. And we have this killer Original Cast Album, available as a CD, or on deluxe colored vinyl.

And it would make a great gift, even if you just buy it for yourself.

Chitty Bang Bang Magical Car 1:45 Diecast Model
by Corgi
Around $50 from hobby retailers or Amazon

The first entry today, in this bonus week of The 2025 PopCult Gift Guide, is a pretty freaking incredible diecast model of a car from one of the most fondly-remembered children’s movies of the 1960s. It’s an amazing replica of the original toy, and this is basically the car that was sent to subscribers of The Corgi Model Club back in April, only in a newly-designed box.

This is a great gift for diecast collectors, fans of the original movie, fans of the movie’s star, Dick Van Dyke, who turns 100 next week, and fans of the author of the children’s book that’s it’s based on, Ian Fleming.

Yes, the original children’s book was the work of the creator of James Bond. Hell, the screenplay for the movie was written by Roald Dahl.

Corgi originally released the lovable magical car from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang as a diecast model in November 1968. With this model you can fly through the nostalgia that was every child’s delight growing up by collecting this iconic 1:45 display model.

At nearly six inches long, the model is the perfect size as a desk or shelf ornament. And it makes a perfect gift for any person who loves Chitty Chitty Bang Bang!

This model comes in sturdy display box with clear window so that it can be kept as a collectible or taken out of the box to display or play.

Corgi is a premier line of highly detailed die cast products that has been arround for over 50 years and features aircraft, space crafts, tanks, trucks, emergency vehicles and buses. I wrote about them a couple of times this year, and I’m a huge fan of the Corgi Model Club.

You can find this great replica at many online diecast hobby stores, and also at Amazon.

I’m still reeling from the death of my friend, Lee Harrah last Thursday.

So late Saturday I sat down and pulled a piece of black canvas board that I’d bought for him, but never got to give him, and did a quick acrylic painting.

It’s based on a screen grab from video I shot of him performing at The Sound Factory in Charleston several years ago.

Lee was at home on the stage. While he was perhaps overly passionate in life, on stage he could be explosive, filled with rage, powerful and…also peaceful. Ultimately, it was where he was happiest. I chose to depict Lee in a rare moment of peace, between the power.

It was a brief moment of him in Dr. Banner mode, between smashing the stage as The Hulk.

I can hear him in my mind looking at this, tearing up, and saying, “Dammit, Rudy.”

If you want to see this image larger, click HERE.

Today at 5 PM on The AIR , in the RFC Daily timeslot, we will bring you an encore of Lee’s 2016 interview on Six Degrees of Separation. That will be followed by nearly an hour of Lee’s music. Tomorrow, the planned Radio Free Charleston “Best of 2025” show will be bumped to next week as I put together a tribute show to Lee with his music, his favorite music, and some episodes of Word Association with Lee and Rudy.

Later today we continue The 2025 PopCult Gift Guide.

Meanwhile, over in radioland, Monday beginning at 2 PM on The AIR, we bring you a classic episode of Psychedelic Shack, and then at 3 PM we do the same with Herman Linte’s weekly showcase of the Progressive Rock of the past half-century, Prognosis.  You can listen to The AIR at the website, or on the embedded radio player elsewhere on this page.

Psychedelic Shack can be heard every Monday at 2 PM, with replays Tuesday at 9 AM, Wednesday at 10 PM, Friday at 1 PM,  and Saturday at 9 AM. You can hear Prognosis on The AIR Monday at 3 PM, with replays Tuesday at 7 AM, Wednesday at 8 PM, Thursday at Noon, and Saturday at 10 AM.

Tonight at 9 PM we bring you our newish Monday night line-up featuring two hours each of Curtain Call and Beatles Blast, plus six hours overnight with an assortment of our programming from Haversham Recording Institute.

Thanksgiving is over and done with.  The 2025 PopCult Gift Guide is beginning its last week.  December begins tomorrow.

We are officially in the Christmas season.

To kick things off, we are going to bring you an encore of last year’s visit to one of the first-ever Spirit Christmas stores, which was located in Erie, Pennsylvania. Now, we actually went to another one this year, just South of Pittsburgh, and you’ll get a photo essay from that sometime after we wrap up The Gift Guide, but now we’re going to revisit our first visit to the first year of Spirit Christmas as we plopped our sizable footprint in the metaphorically virgin snow of specialized holiday mass-market retail.

Above you see a not-safe-for-work video travelogue, wherein you humble blogger wanders through the Spirit Christmas Store in Erie for about fifteen minutes, making snarky comments (many of them off-color) while shakily shooting video of the massive holiday retail overload.

I’m sure all my readers are familiar with Spirit Halloween stores, which move in like a hermit crab and occupy vacant storefronts for a few months each year to hawk their fine Halloween wares.

Last year they took baby steps toward bringing the concept of seasonal retail to Christmas. They only opened ten stores, nationwide. This year they opened over 30, and while the one in Pittsburgh was our target, we also happened across one in Canton, Ohio, on the way there (we didn’t go in because we were too tired at that point–PopCulting can be hard work).

What you see in the above video is lightly edited.  I sped up some of the dead spots but didn’t edit them out completely. I’m also uncensored, so maybe you don’t want to blast this loud at work. There’s one f-bomb, and a harshly-scatalogical reference to poo a couple of times. There are also some major-league obscenities displayed on the ugly sweaters and one reference to buttplugs.

In all fairness, we were pretty much caught up in the irreverent spirit of the store, which had more cynical, goofy, alcohol-fueled and profane celebrations of the holiday than wholesome or religious ones.

As we revisit this first volley of weaponized holiday cheer, please remember that it’s all meant in the spirit of good fun and if you are offended by any of it, after reading this, then I am so sorry you are offended by that.

Following a post-Gift Guide vacation while we run to Chicago for a few days, I will return with some fresh photo essays and video from a November trip that included Sir Troy’s Toy Kingdom, a different Spirit Christmas store and the majesty of Kraynak’s.

But even while I’m gone, there will be fresh content in PopCult every day, including five more days of The 2025 PopCult Gift Guide.