maybe it’s because i was in the hard rock cafe hotel and david bowie was unfortunately in gold mirrored glory in the bathroom (truly disturbing) or maybe it’s because i’m feeling a bit nostalgic (or at the very least uber-un-productive/un-motivated) but i just spent the last 15 minutes trying to track down the pbs/library videos that were so fucking awesome when i was a kid.
i couldn’t think of the name, and it has been driving me absolutely batshit bonkers. i was too little to catch the seasons on tv when they originally aired, and they stopped airing them when i was just 5, but i used to rent video after video of “faerie tale theatre” from the woodruff public library all the damned time.
i’ve always been a big fan of fairy tales and mythology and folklore and such, so these were definitely a big treat — extra bonus, they had the real story of the little mermaid.
At a time when most other shows for children were either low-budget productions or product-inspired cartoons that were little more than half-hour commercials, this program set out to produce high-quality classic entertainment that children would enjoy. Hosted by Shelley Duval, this program featured some of the best-known stars in Hollywood performing adaptations of traditional stories.
seriously, it was awesome without being a cartoon. and so many famous folk were in it, i don’t know where they got their budget from. motherfuckin’ david bowie as the emporer in the nightingale…i’ve never forgotten that. he was, is, and always will be one creepy motherfucker.
i am so stoked that it’s available on dvd now…the complete collection! i must seriously consider making this acquisition, because i know there were a bunch of stories i missed when i was a kid. i mean, the library only had so many…and vhs tapes get old and busted quickly. i can’t remember my favorite now…vincent price in snow white was fucking unbelievably awesome.
who knows, maybe i’d watch them now and think: ‘wow, uber-lame!’ maybe i wouldn’t. but it definitely was something highly enjoyable from my childhood. and there’s not a lot of stuff like that, really.
except maybe…snorks. those were fuckin’ weird.