More game shows I miss...

The 80's definitely had the best game shows, but there were some good ones in the other decades too. Here's three that I miss...

Monopoly: It ran for only 13 episodes in 1990. Every episode was rushed as the gameplay took every last second of each episode to complete (I'm sure there was some editing involved to help this happen). I remember reading that the host was originally supposed to be Peter Tomarken (from Press Your Luck). But for whatever reason, they ended up going with Mike Reilly (a former Jeopardy contestant). He did a great job and it's too bad the show didn't last.

Second Chance: This was the original version of the 80's classic Press Your Luck. It was produced by the same company and was very similar to its predecessor. Jim Peck was the host of this one and the whammies weren't in it - it was devils instead. It aired in the spring of 1977 on ABC.

Greed: A Chuck Woolery hosted game from 1999. I auditioned to be on this one, but didn't make it. I was asked two questions in the course of the audition. One I got right - the other, definitely not. They wanted to know what Telly Savalas kept putting in his mouth on Kojak. I had no idea. Knowing the show was on FOX, I answered with something edgy. The answer was something very un-edgy - a lollipop. Oh well. I still loved the game show and even went to a couple tapings (the set was just as scary looking in person as it seems on TV). The Terminator segments were sometimes uncomfortable to watch, but that was Greed.

Cave home on eBay...

If you listen to the Retro Show on Star 102.5 regularly, please don't leave. I want you to stay in Buffalo forever.

But if you don't, check this awesome home out. It's actually a cave house in Missouri and it's for sale on eBay!

The cost - only $300,000.

The benefits - you'll never pay for air conditioning (or heating if you like it a little cold). That's all part of the natural package. And loud neighbors definitely won't be an issue.

I would love to live in a house like this. I go to Mammoth Caves in Kentucky just about every other year and I've been to Meramac Caverns (not too far from this cave house) a few times too.

If I had the money and actually wanted to live in Missouri, I'd love to live somewhere like this. The picture of the back chamber (below) would sell me on it. But I love the northeast and even this wouldn't convince me to leave.

Check out a news story on the cave home, then go make a bid! Hurry though - the auction ends March 11th.

Tonight at 10:43pm...

Tonight will be the closest this strange green comet (Lulin) will get to Earth in the next million years. It won't appear this big obviously, but you might be able to see it with the naked eye if you're away from city lights. If not, check it out with binoculars or a telescope.

The Baltimore Sun has the best description of where to look for it tonight. Halfway up in the southeastern sky you'll see Regulus (the brightest star in the Leo constellation) and Saturn. Just below and to the right of Saturn, you'll see Lulin.

Let's hope for starry skies tonight!

Prince's Oscar Party...

You're invited!

But don't bother showing up in person. I'm sure security will escort you away pretty quick.

What you're invited to do is see what you missed. Prince will put highlight clips from his Oscar party on his website. So when Monday rolls around, check out all the fun and craziness that a Prince party is sure to be filled with.

Last year, Prince jammed with Stevie Wonder and John Legend. This year - who knows...

Casting call for World's Strictest Parents...

While I wait for the casting call for Solitary 4.0, here's a reality show you might be interested in applying for.

It's The World's Strictest Parents from the producers of Supernanny and The Real Housewives of New York City (that should give you a little idea of what you'd be in for if you try out for this).

They're looking for real-life out of control 15 - 18 year olds & strict parents. The plan - to have the crazy teen live with the strict parents for two weeks. I'm thinking some houses are going to get destroyed in this one.

Check out the application here. Good luck...

Restaurants that should be in Buffalo...

Yesterday, me and Air Gordon were talking about some restaurants that really need to be in Buffalo. Here's some that would make me so happy if they would come here...

CiCi's Pizza: I hear commercials for this all-you-can-eat pizza place all the time. But is there one anywhere near Buffalo? No. The closest one is in Erie, PA at 4045 Butler Road.

I finally got the chance to eat at one about two years ago when I visited my cousin in Virginia. It was awesome. They had tons of different pizzas to choose from (including dessert pizzas) and salads too. I want that here!

Sheetz: OK, I know, it's a gas station. But inside the store there's a 24-hour Made To Order food section. And they make the most awesome hamburgers. And then there's the two hot dogs for 99 cents. Or the breakfast stuff - Shmuffins, Shmiscuitz, or Shmagelz. And don't ever forget the no-bake peanut butter cookies for dessert! One of the many highlights of going to Knoebels amusement park is eating at Sheetz on the way there and back.

Once again, the closest one for us is in Erie, PA. Why can't they expand just a little ways down the road to Buffalo? I'd eat there so often that just what I'd spend would make it worth it for them to come here!

Fazoli's: A fast food Italian restaurant! They used to be around western New York, but no more. Now the closest one is 183 miles away in Howe, Indiana. I would order the sampler platter every time I went there (with meat lasagna, spaghetti with meat sauce, fettuccine alfredo, and ziti with meat sauce) - mmmmm. Please come back Fazzoli's!

Jack In The Box: I lived on Jack In The Box food the last couple years I was in Los Angeles. The Jumbo Jack, Bacon Ultimate Cheeseburger, fries, and a milkshake was usually what I'd get.

It' a really long day trip if you want to eat here. The closest ones to Buffalo are in North Carolina, Tennessee, or Illinois.

Tommy's: The full name is actually The Original Tommy's World Famous Hamburgers. This was also somewhere I'd eat when I was in Los Angeles. Now In-N-Out was good in L.A. (they had the famous not-on-the-official-menu protein style burger - instead of a bun, the burger is surrounded by a giant bun-sized chunk of lettuce). Fatburger was good too. But Tommy' s was my favorite of the bunch. The prices were more reasonable and I thought the burgers were far better.

It's pretty much a plane ride to get to Tommy's. There's a bunch around the Los Angeles area. There's also one a little closer in Henderson, Nevada (near Las Vegas). If you're near one, go - your stomach will be very happy.

Arthur Treacher's Fish & Chips: Remember the triangular pieces of fish and the giant french fries (chips as they call them). Yummmm! I remember the chips being a lot wider than they are in the picture actually. Sadly, the closest Arthur Treacher's is 2-1/2 hours away a little north of Syracuse. But it's not too far out of the way if you're going to the State Fair later this year!

Feel free to comment and suggest other awesome restaurants that should be in Buffalo. I'm sure I've missed some.

Carrie Underwood freak-out...

Carrie's been dating hockey star Mike Fisher of the Ottawa Senators. For some unknown reason, she doesn't want you or anyone else to know that.

Monday night, she was at one of his games and Canada's TSN Network caught some video of her and put it up on the Jumbotron.
A brief freak out followed. See the 7-second video here.

Also in the Star Report, I mentioned a petition for ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition to come to Buffalo and help out the family who's home was destroyed in the recent plane crash. Go here to sign it.

American Idol & Miss Piggy...

It usually takes until about the top 12 when it finally becomes easy to distinguish who's who. But one Idol contestant is already standing out as an attention hog. Tatiana Nicole Del Toro.

And now, fitting for her, someone has gone and turned her into the ultimate attention hog in this new YouTube video.

Obscure 80's Song #08

Had to pick this one for today because it's goodbye to the 80's After Work. But don't worry - the 80's aren't going goodbye completely - don't worry about that. Starting tonight at 6pm, it's the Star 102.5 Retro Show - with 70's, 80's, and 90's music all by request!

And for those of you who remain as obsessed with the 80's as I am, check back here soon. I've been working on something for over a year now and I'm hoping to launch it within the next month or so. I'm sure you'll love it if you love the 80's as much as I do.

For now, go see Night Ranger's Goodbye video and get ready for the Star 102.5 Retro Show starting tonight at 6pm!

Obscure 80's Song #07

It's strange how a video can completely change what your original perception of a song is.

I always thought this song was about sitting in your car near a river as you ponder your life. But watching the video, that apparently isn't the case at all.

Is it about a drag race or a roulette game? You decide as you see the video for Sitting At The Wheel by The Moody Blues...

Obscure 80's Song #06

For Valentine's Day, I had to find something that has to do with love (or losing love). This is the first song that popped in my head.

It's Raining Again was a hit for Supertramp in 1982 and has an awesome video that goes along with it. Go see it here.

Obscure 80's Song #05

(I originally wasn't going to post anything today. But then I figured that if you knew someone involved with the crash last night, it might be a good thing for you to have a little diversion from all the sadness. My heart goes out to all the families affected by the crash of Continental flight 3407.)

The Sun Always Shines On T.V. was the follow-up to a-ha's huge hit Take On Me. It just barely made it to the top 20 in 1985 and unfortunately that was the end of a-ha on the US top 40 charts.

The picture disc really was shaped like a sunburst, which is pretty cool.

The music video continues the story that was started in the Take On Me video. Go see Morten and his comic-reading girlfriend's fate here.

And listen to Star 102.5 Monday starting at 6pm for something different. Yes, the 80's After Work is done.

Beginning Monday, it'll be the Star 102.5 Retro Show. You'll hear stuff from the 70's, 80's, and 90's all by request. That'll be every weeknight at 6pm with me, John Anthony.

Why the change? Well, I'm constantly getting requests for 90's songs (and sometimes 70's songs). But because they weren't 80's, I couldn't play them. Now I can.

So think up some retro requests over the weekend and then call me on the Star lines weeknights at 6pm at (716) 644-1025. You can also e-mail me your retro requests (and listen live online) at mystar1025.com.

And keep checking back here throughout the weekend for a few more obscure 80's favorites...

Obscure 80's Song #04

Wot's It To Ya was Robbie Nevil's 3rd hit in 1987 (following C'est La Vie & Dominoes). This was my favorite song from him. I especially loved the remixes on the 12" single.

Chances are, if you've got kids, they know his music even if they don't realize it. Robbie co-wrote the Hannah Montana theme and three of the songs on the High School Musical soundtrack.

Obscure 80's Song #03

Stand & Deliver was Adam & The Ants' biggest hit. Yeah, Goody Two Shoes is more well known - but that was just Adam Ant (without The Ants).

The song and its elaborate video came out in 1981, the same year MTV started. But HBO is where I remember seeing the video constantly (during their intermissions and on Video Jukebox).

Obscure 80's Song #02

Today, it's Go West and We Close Our Eyes.

This is true 80's pop music. I remember the group coming to the Ocean Club in Rochester and I was so psyched to see them. Unfortunately for me, I was three weeks shy of turning 18 and couldn't get into the club. And even worse, I found out about the concert that night, so there was nothing sneaky I could do in such a short time. They did sound good from the parking lot though.

Their first big single (big in my mind at least) was We Close Our Eyes. They had other bigger hits, especially in the early 90's, but this is my favorite from them.

Here's the video. Also, check out the Total Overhang Club Mix. I was completely obsessed with 12" singles in the 80's and this was one of the better remixes.

Obscure 80's Song #01

Everyday this week, I'll post an obscure song from the 80's - something I think should have been a much bigger hit than it was.

Today's obscure hit is from German synthpop group Alphaville. Forever Young was a hit by Rod Stewart, but Alphaville's song is completely different (and far better).

It never made it to the top 40 in the US. I just don't understand how that happened, as this is easily one of the best songs of the 80's (if not of all time).

Here's the 1984 video. I don't even remember MTV showing this. So it wasn't just radio that ignored the song.

Laura Branigan must have loved it though! A year after it was released, she did a remake of it. Check out this video of her performing it live in the 80's.

Dancing With The Stars - Season 8

The new season of Dancing With The Stars debuts Monday, March 9th at 8pm on ABC.

ABC has now announced the cast for this season...

SINGERS: Belinda Carlisle (80's music goddess), Jewel (pop / country singer), Lil' Kim (rapper) & Chuck Wicks (country singer)




ACTORS & ACTRESSES: David Alan Grier (hysterically funny comedian / actor) & Gilles Marini (from the Sex & The City movie)




REALITY STARS: Denise Richards (from E!'s Denise Richards: It's Complicated) & Steve-O (from MTV)




SPORTS STARS: Lawrence Taylor (former New York Giants football star), Shawn Johnson (2008 gold medal gymnast) & Ty Murray (rodeo star)




OTHER: Nancy O'Dell (from Access Hollywood) & Steve Wozniak (co-founder of Apple)




REPLACEMENTS: Holly Madison (from the reality show The Girls Next Door - replaced Jewel) & Melissa Rycroft (from the reality show The Bachelor 13 - replaced Nancy O'Dell)

More Land Of The Lost movie clips...

I just got around to watching 30 Rock which had the so-called extended Land Of The Lost clip. It was just a little different from the commercial that aired Sunday. 30 Rock was worth it though - that's a great show! I can't believe it took me this long to start watching it.

Anyways, the commercial mentioned a Land Of The Lost section on NBC.com. It's kind of hard to find, but of course I kept searching until I found it.

There's also a link there to the Subway page that has the full movie trailer. Is that a broken Ferris wheel in the background? (Leave it to me to focus in on that.)

I can't wait to see this! But I think I might already know one thing about the movie based on all the previews. It needs more of the Sleestaks and their pylons. But maybe they're saving those scenes for the movie itself.

We'll find out June 5th...

A few more 80's game shows...

Bullseye: Ran in syndication from 1980 - 1982. The main game was kind of boring, but I absolutely loved the bonus round (Bonus Island). And the set was exactly what I expect from a game show - neon lights, big colorful moving parts, and giant projector windows. This was one of the first game shows to have such an incredibly elaborate set.

Animal Crack-Ups: Ran on ABC from 1987 - 1990. The show aired Saturday mornings for most of its run. Alan Thicke (the dad on Growing Pains) was the host. He also wrote and performed the theme song for the show as well. My favorite episode was the one where the cast of Growing Pains played. I've got that on tape somewhere, but couldn't find it online.

The $1,000,000 Chance Of A Lifetime: The million-dollar game show giveaways didn't start with Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. They started with this show in 1986. It only lasted a year and a half and the grand prize was given away nine times during the show's run!

Sleestak: Then & Now...

We're now exactly four months away from the release of the Land Of The Lost movie!

I'm still sad the 90's remake was cancelled. And I'm even more traumatized that it hasn't been released on DVD yet. But hopefully, that'll change after the movie comes out and breaks box office records (in a good way).

Will Ferrell and Anna Friel are technically the stars of this new remake. But in reality, the Sleestak will be the true stars of the movie.

So how have the Sleestak evolved since the 70's? Let's see...

In 1974, the Sleestak were mostly green (except for Enik - always the outcast) and didn't like the light. They became less sensitive to light in the third season when the show changed dramatically. They remained terrifying throughout.

In 1991, the Sleestak were seen outside during the day quite frequently chasing the Porters around. Only three Sleestak appeared in this series (Shung, Nim, and Keeg). The best picture I could find is of Shung on one of the 90's video covers for this series.

Now for 2009, the new Sleestak (click on the picture for a preview of the movie)...


**UPDATE 6/5/09: Check out my interview with Marty Krofft here. He talks about the new movie and how Land Of The Lost came to be originally. He also reveals which of his shows might be made into movies in the future.