When funding for the Apollo missions dried up, after the last trip to the moon aboard Apollo 17 in 1972, NASA was given the unique opportunity to put Skylab into orbit with its remaining budget. The space station was actually built from the 3rd stage of an extra Saturn IV rocket and was huge compared to anything else that had been in space before.

This footage from NASA shows the inside of Skylab and the famous video of Pete Conrad 'exercising' in space by running around the station (in true 2001 style.)

Skylab is unfortunately best known for burning up and crashing into the Australian outback in 1979 at this point. (The US government was fined $400 for littering.) But, it was quite an achievement for its time and set records continuously for the amount of time man spent in space.

Permalink    Labels: Lost Classics, Space

Made by Pierre Letarte in 1972 for the National Film Board of Canada this 30 minute documentary follows the formation of the first Quebec Nordiques team formed for the WHA. Absolutely amazing time piece that shows how the logo and uniforms were created and includes a number of interviews with the players that were coached briefly by Maurice Richard.

Permalink    Labels: Documentaries, Hockey, History, Lost Classics

Like anyone who grew up in the eighties I watched an absurd amount of Scooby Doo. Somehow I've managed to avoid buying all of it on DVD, which is probably a good thing since I don't have any kids to blame such a purchase on.

As I remember it, and I'm pretty sure I saw all of them at some point, this one was the creepiest of the lot. You more than likely remember it as well since it's hard to forget. This is the one with the sanitarium, the mad doctor, the organ playing with the dancing dogs etc. It is from, if you keep track of these types of things, The Scooby-Doo Show, Season 1 and aired in 1976. This was episode number 7.



You are probably not supposed to, but if you really want to you can download a small version of it as an .avi here from Ovi...for umm educational purposes.

Permalink    Labels: Lost Classics, Mystery

One of those films that nobody seems to have heard of and fewer have seen. Starring Charles Bronson as a bare knuckle street boxer during the depression in New Orleans, and James Coburn as his loud mouth, con-man, manager type. One of the better movies both did towards the beginning of the end of their careers. Bronson did this just after the original Death Wish and Coburn went on to do Cross of Iron just a year or so later. Worth a watch if you can find it, it's available on DVD but probably needs to be ordered. The trailer below doesn't quite do it justice...

Permalink    Labels: Lost Classics, Movies

Peter Tomarken must have been losing it a bit in this no whammies spin battle from 1984. (Apparently it is referred to as The Famous Spin Battle. Who knew?) This is about as good as it got for 80's game show television...even without the Big Bucks.

Permalink    Labels: Whackiness, Lost Classics

I am just as perplexed that everyone else hates this movie as I am by how funny I think it actually is. Normally one would assume that the majority (say 98% of the people who have seen it) would be right, but I'm not going to buy that. No, they are wrong and we 2% are right. They just didn't get it. "Man oh man do I hate them fancy lads.."

Permalink    Labels: Lost Classics, Movies