JoshuaRed

Aye, ya got me there! I DID take Film courses in college. Don't take my lighthearted rant the wrong way now, I LOVE cheesy 1950s tv. But this xmas episode had me rolling on the floor. It's over the top even for the 50s!

LadyB, I'm fairly certain you'll find ol' Long John at any Best Buy. Huzzah! Here's wot ye do: Go to the DVD area, find the 5.99 or less shelf, and it's right there under "L". Why, I heard about it on this very board from at least two other people who got theirs the same way from other Best Buys around the country...so at this point I'd say it's worth looking into, matey!

So I finally found this 2 DVD set at Best Buy after a month stakeout. What a steal at 5.99! 13 out of the total 26 episodes of The Adventures of Long John Silver! Each one about a half hour, full color. Poor quality though. Not the dvd, but just the fact that it is early 1950's TV and was never intended to be preserved or restored by it's creators. Robert Newton continues to be a joy to behold as our likable scalywag. Unfortunately, as it was for tv, the budget was smaller. Hence, there are precious few seafarin' scenes. (and those that are, are models) Instead, 90% of the episodes occur on the fictional island of "Porto Bello" which the creators placed just northeast of Cuba in the Bahamas. John and his crew are freelancing privateers for the English, and spend most of their time carousing in Miss Purity Parker's "Cask & Anchor" Tavern on the waterfront. Jim Hawkins is there too, who is mysteriously an orphan now, and has come to Porto Bello to live under Long John's care. What about his fortune in Flint's treasure?? The show really plays up Long John's "heart o' gold" aspect, and frequently he gets sucked into doing the right thing to save the town, or to save foreclosure on Purity's inn, etc. Typical 1950's fare. But don't let this deter you. Trust me, it's WELL worth the mere 6 bucks for this collection of formerly lost TV history. Just the show intro alone is worth it. Ha-Harrr mateys!! Personal favorite cheese-factor: The Christmas Episode, where John and Jim give the orphans of Porto Bello a real Christmas at the Cask & Anchor, and they help melt the icy heart of the once-cruel lady that runs the orphanage. How DID they get a fine Douglas Fir to the Bahamas unscathed? How DID they learn about 19th century Christmas festivities in the mid 1700s? How DID they get a complete 20th century Santa costume to amuse the orphans with??

Oh tell me about it - (regarding the annoying cast of Colonial House.) Sheesh! I wish they would quit their whining. Gay guys comin' out, getting all sensitive? Women speaking out of turn? Skipping church? And a defiant feminist as the new governor's wife? Its very disappointing how PBS chose to focus on the 21st century personas questioning their roles, rather than focusing on 17th century LIFE. And how about that Tisdale guy leaving the show because he couldn't handle playing a freeman who was headed down a "slippery slope" into slave-owning? PUH-LEESE!!! Get over yourself already! No African-American out there would accuse him of treason simply because he tried to experience 17th century life. Besides, the way I saw it, he wasn't playing a "Black Freeman", rather just a Freeman who wouldn't really be black. His argument just didn't hold any water in my book. Nobody said you HAD to pretend that you might own slaves, buddy. And the indentured servants on this show are anything but subservient and obedient...so it's not like he was even put in a position to give orders and treat them harshly. And before that gay guy came out, he was talking about how maybe he should keep quiet and not say anything because that is what a 17th century gay indentured servant would have done, and that by keeping quiet he could experience more of what it would really like. When he said this, I was excited. I thought "at last! ONE of these knuckleheads gets it. Props to you buddy." Then an hour later he turns around and comes out. In church no less. In a nutshell the cast just weren't playing by the rules from day 1, and PBS didn't seem too concerned about cornering this behavior, lest they be seen as "insensitive" to cultural needs.

I may be able to help you here. PM me if'n ye be interested.

Hawkyns, just curious - how long have you been reenacting/studying/immersing yourself in the 17th century? Your knowledge and expertise always impresses me, and I aspire to one day reach the level of 100% immersion for days on end.

I think the producers are also going out of their way to portray Maine as being utterly cold, wet and gray nearly all the time....just to add the dramatic flair of "man vs. the elements". In the summer months, even far eastern Maine is beautiful, warm and sunny with days in the 70s-80s and nights in the 60s. And the bugs are only bad in June. Especially high up on a dry hill that's getting the stiff ocean breeze up the channel.

I was going to come post about Colonial House, and someone already took care of it! :) I was thrilled to see they chose to film the series right here in Maine, about an hour from my folks' house. But it does seem like something is "off" about it. I'm not crazy about the participants. A pirate reality series would be great, and I wouldn't be surprised to see one someday. Imagine all the "office politics" on board a ship afloat...combined with challenges to find and "capture" other ships...it would be great!

Marooned on a lee shore, be's I! My Best Buy had this same collection but for Robin Hood. They also had Roy Rogers and Zorro and a few Legends of the West....but no Long John! I'll keep looking.

I think it's safe to say that very few pirates among the 3-5,000 active at any given time during the Golden Age would consider it wise to bury their loot. Especially when most of their plunder was in the form of bulky trade goods. When coin was confiscated from plundered ships and divided among the crew it rarely would have been enough for them to live any real time on, let alone forever. Thus, a steady trickle of moderate coin coming into a pirate's hands would be easily spent here and there on the usual vices. Not to mention that the transient vagabond life of a pirate meant that he HAD to know that there was a very real chance that his first visit to any given island or coast could be his last. Burying 50 lbs. worth of sterling in a muddy hole on the Yucatan coast was a foolish "investment" when he knew there was no probably way he'd ever find his way back to that spot. The only reason I can see for them justifying this would be "If I can't have it...no one can". Nah. So many sailors lived in such miserable squalor that suddenly finding their pocket full of money would be an impossible temptation to resist. Look at today's low level drug dealers. Like pirates, most are young and desperate. When they finally come into money, they spend as fast as they can get. On the same things: booze, drugs, women, or shiny things like jewelry and cars to illustrate to other thugs their prowess and get more women. Just like pirates would have done with the "bling" of their time. I think the myth of buried treasure began when somewhere along the way some pirates needed to hide some loot very short term, perhaps a matter of weeks or months, and the rumor mill got ahold of it. Or even more likely, pirates like Kidd used it as a tool to tempt officials to spare the pirates from hanging.

My favorites are: The Black Pirate (Doug Fairbanks Jr. produced, directed and starred in this gorgeous work of art in the late 1920's. Though it's a silent film, he chose to spend what was then an extravagant sum to shoot the film in an early form of technicolor! He also based the look of the film directly on Howard Pyle's paintings. It's also pretty much the only pirate movie I know of that actually shows pirates pirating a merchant ship! VERY VERY Highly recommended. You can get it on DVD on Amazon.) The Spanish Main AND The Black Swan (Maureen O'Hara in lucious technicolor. 'Nuff Said!) TNT's Treasure Island (Like Hawkyns said...it's the best there is for gritty authenticity. And Christian Bale is the only kid who ever played the role of Jim with any real stones) Blackbeard the Pirate (Robert Newton is a joy to watch as the greasy, nefarious Blackbeard. He sort of plays him as a deranged, darker version of his Disney Long John. The story completely butchers actual history, but it's good fun.) And of course it goes without saying the POTC is right up there too! If only Robert Newton were still alive to do a scene with Depp in POTC 2..... :)

If anyone else here is in the Boston/Northern NE area, you can get 'em at Newbury Comics.

This new forum design is EXCELLENT! What a nice surprise to log in and fine this much more professional, mature look. Thumbs way up to NQG!

What's the series about? Pirates?

Ahoy Black Skot...I wuz born on the 13th too! Tis my favorite number. October 13th to be exact...how bout ye?

I've got the first book in that series. I was very impressed with it. After reading it I emailed Julian himself with some comments and he actually sent me back a real nice message, and signed me up on his e-newsletter. Seems like a stand-up guy! However I confess I slacked off, as I lately fell into tackling the complete Aubrey/Maturin series, which will take some time yet. :)

Picked up this shirt today at HT....gotta love ol' Lucky 13 brand! :)

Nope but Target does..... :)

Most likely they had to call him "Johnny" for legal reasons...in that it's not licensed by Disney. So in essence, if Disney calls for a cease and desist on production, this little company can say "But Eisner! It's not Jack Sparrow®....it's a bust of a guy who looks like Johnny Depp dressed like a pirate!"

Aye, Crimson Pirate is a lot of fun. Very silly movie, but good. You'll get to see the origins of the "walk under the harbor using a dinghy" scene that POTC paid homage to.

Any good extras on the new dvd?

The Black Swan!

This month's issue of Premiere magazine lists their top 100 film characters of all time. Depp's Jack Sparrow is #87 and the only pirate to make the list!! That is pretty major! Depp is also on there in the 60's for Edward Scissorhands. If anyone is interested, Vito Corleone is #1. Well deserving.

That would be.....awesome!!! Gawd I love O'Hara. She was a hottie then and she still is. En fuego! I sit there watching the Black Swan from 1942 and I am stunned at how graceful she has aged....she doesn't look a day over 60.

I picked up the collected reprinted issues 1-3 and #5 of El Cazador yesterday. I'd been on the lookout for it, but finally found it in a small comic shop around the corner. Overall, it's really good. Some downright beautiful artwork! The only real downside is it's falling victim to the usual pirate-adventure clichés, as well as having a supermodel long-legged blonde as a pirate captain. Other than that it's thumbs up from me!