Category Archives: General

Adam West, Batman’s Bright Knight

Adam West was fond of saying that the 1960s were about the three Bs; Beatles, Bond and Batman. While that may be an over simplification, I am overly simple. So I’ll go with that.

I’ve curated a short video list of Adam West performances below that are well worth your screentime.

The mere idea that William Shatner AND Adam West could have starred together in weekly series of Alexander The Great in 1963 should have been sign of big things to come. Big camp 1960s things.

The Last Precinct was a little seen police sitcom that had a short run in 1986 and was a good vehicle for Adam West’s surreal side. A side that would be explored in full as Lookwell and Mayor Adam West.

Ty Lookwell, as the capsule description from 1991 states, was a “washed-up TV action detective hero who falsely believes he can solve crimes in real life.”

I enjoyed the obvious serious psychological issues that Lookwell has and how the voice of the Shakespeare statue he regularly visits helps him (accidentally) solve the case. How this would have been treated with Robert Smigel (Triumph The Insult Comic Dog) and Conan O’Brien (everything good in this world) writing the ongoing series would have been a festival of wrongness to say the least.

Lookwell was green lighted and was due to go into production for NBC, but the pilot didn’t do well with audiences and the network never took the series up.

Enjoy these few snippets of Adam West. We can all take the advice of Ty Lookwell when being unceremoniously removed from the police commissioners office, as he admonishes a junior police officer for not recognising him from his 70s detective show;

“Maybe if you watched more television, you’d be better at your job.”

To the Batpole…

The Last Precinct

Lookwell

Alexander The Great

They May Be Drinkers Robin..

The Batusi

Batman surfs

Mayor Adam West and his cat launcher

Some more of Mayor Adam West

Great interview with Adam West from 2016
http://www.gilbertpodcast.com/adam-west/

That time I thought I was a crime fighter

Australia’s Scorched Earth Plan- Sue Rosen

In 1942 the Japanese invasion of Australia seemed imminent and inevitable. Scorched Earth plans to deny the Japanese invaders were drawn up across Australia and Sue Rosen uncovered the very detailed New South Wales Scorched Earth plans that had been forgotten and misfiled at the end of the Second World War.

The plans drawn up included everything from starting aggressive bush fires to hinder the Japanese and using sharpened Ironbark as improvised bayonets to making sure no soldier of Japan captures your tennis shoes.

December 1941, Australian Women's Weekly, What To Do in an Air Raid. This advice also holds good when your housemate has a rave at your share house.
December 1941, Australian Women’s Weekly, What To Do in an Air Raid. This advice also holds good when your housemate has a rave at your share house.

Sue Rosen’s Scorched Earth page with extra details and maps

The Dynamic Hepnotics are back (one show only)

The Dynamic Hepnotics cut a rug across Australia & New Zealand in the 7 years they played across your wide brown land. And they are returning for 3 shows only. 1 in Sydney, 2 in Melbourne.

These days they are busy people with busy music careers, so I put my foot in the door of the lead singer and all round playboy, Continental Robert Susz, at his swanky Kings Cross apartment. An apartment that Adam West himself would be jealous of.

Join Continental Robert and myself in the Suszland music room for wine, music, gossip and Undercover Elephant.

If you don’t go to their upcoming shows you truely are a burden to society.

Get up offa that thing!

The Dynamic Hepnotics official site and tickets to their shows.

Continental Robert Susz site

Soul Kind of Feeling clip (see if you can spot Dave Wray/Frank Bennett)

Get all their remastered tracks at iTunes or Bandcamp

Become a Patreon of Planet Maynard and be a big shot podcast Producer, you’ll love it.

Robert Susz boxing in 1970s
Robert Susz boxing in 1970s. “I stopped boxing because I didn’t like getting hit.”

What Double J Should Sound Like turns 150

The latest What Double J Should Sound Like has the groove brought to you by myself and DJ ADHD. Here’s a list of the tunes you’ll find inside episode 150.

Episode 150 track list

Go Home Productions – Essex Doves (David Essex vs The Doves)
La La Land cast – Another Day of Sun
CCS – The band played the boogie
James Brown – Get up offa that thing
Shellyann Orphan – Shatter
Coach Dave Daubenmire – Cropped Hair Wide Bottom Girls
Band of Holy Joy – Route of Love
Scott Edgar & The Universe – Trapped in a Constable
Cut Slash Kill (Philip Brophy) – The Many Deaths Of Andy Warhol
Ru Paul – Back to my Roots
The Evolution Control Committee – DJ Pantshead – Fock It
Alison Moyet – Invisable
The Cure – The Walk (Razormaid mix)
Tlot Tlot – Box O’Gods
Pulp – This is Hardcore [Tipsy’s Swedish Erotica Remix]
DJ Paul Holden interview

Planet Maynard wins podcast award!

Planet Maynard wins the Cast Away Australian Podcast Award on Saturday night for Comedy & Entertainment, surprising his parents, his neighbour and his agent.

Saturday night the “who’s who” of “who’s that?” in the Australian podcasting scene turned out for the inaugural Cast Away Australian Podcast Awards, after welcoming a large group of podcasters on the mini red carpet Maynard thanked the holy trinity in his acceptance speech, Adam Curry, Tim Ferguson & John C Dvorak (the Holy Ghost).

The other shortlisted podcasts in the category The Ginni Show & We Facted Up were strong competition as they seem to know what they are doing.

Maynard’s acceptance speech went something like this:

I never thought I’d be accepting an award from an ABC employee.

ABC management told me my podcasts were “over produced and self indulgent”. Have you heard the 702 Drive show?

I’d like to thank the Holy Trinity; Adam Curry, Tim Ferguson and the Holy Ghost, John C Dvorak.

The Ginni Show and We Facted Up are both really good shows which makes this award even more surprising.

Thanks also to The Skeptic Zone, What Double J Should Sound Like, my Patreon supporters & Byson & Hume for keeping Planet Maynard’s lights on.

We all know why we podcast. Bicurious males and chicks dig podcasters.

My advice for podcasters everywhere? Two things, never throw away your archives, ever. And always try to enter an Awards show the first year it’s held.

Full list of finalists and winners so you can have your own awards night

Totally 80s Tour, Part 3 – Limahl

Final part of the backstage antics during the Totally 80s tour across Australia last winter. Limahl has a drink and tells us what it was like working with Georgio Moroder to produce the song Never Ending Story.

In fact let’s all have a few drinks and meet everyone backstage.

In this show you will hear from:

Paul Lekarkis (just back from shopping)
Dave Schulz, Chris Olivias, Terri Nunn of Berlin (they have sock envy)
Ivan Doroschuk (very elusive)
Dave Sterry Real Life (he knows where the bodies are buried)
Johnno Smallman (artist liaison, I’ll let him explain it)
Katrina of The Waves (poodle and pub talk)
Martika fans from Portland in Victoria
Paul Gray (our musical director and Mr Waa Waa Nee)
Simon Shapiro (bass player and Mr 1927)

Slight mix up backstage by Maynard, holding Kamahl album, with Limahl on Totally 80s tour.
Slight mix up backstage by Maynard, with Limahl on Totally 80s tour.

B*Witched back to tour Australia

Keavy Lynch is touring Australia with B*Witched, Atomic Kitten & East 17 and having a great time.

B* Witched sold over 3 million albums before being unceremoniously discarded by Sony music. Keavy talks about the busy C’est La Vie days as well as the B*Witched return and her work with veterans suffering from PTSD.

B*Witched, Atomic Kitten, S Club 3 & East 17 tour dates here

BWitched Atomic Kitten S Club 3 East 17 tour poster
BWitched Atomic Kitten S Club 3 East 17 tour poster