Get ready for THREE times the slow-motion running to that 'dee-dee-dee-dee' sound.

This is Bionic Showdown (I'll stick with this truncated version), a 1989 TV Movie that was also a Backdoor Pilot.
I guess this is Pilot Wings too, eh?

In 1987 (about a decade after the Shows ended), a TV Movie reunited the 2 Stars.  It was a hit and this Sequel was made.
This was setting up a new TV Show (which I'll get to), but that never came to pass.

It goes in the Failed Pilot Section of my mind alongside The Greatest American Heroine and Kung Fu: The Next Generation.

Even if this didn't go anywhere, should you care?  Well, yes.  A future Star and Oscar Winner is the subject of said Pilot attempt, so let's bend right into...

Lee Majors is going to spend the whole time working up the nerve to ask her to marry him, which sets up the 1994 follow-up (of sorts).

Elsewhere, a young woman named Kate (who was paralyzed due to an unnamed disorder) was chosen to be the next 6 Million Dollar Person.

This is...is that...yes, it is indeed Sandra Bullock.

A mysterious man attacks the OSI base and takes some intel.

As such, our Leads are under suspicion and therefore escape the facility.

A bomb- seemingly designed to kill Steve- seemingly paralyzes their Boss' son, which sets up a B-Plot.

The Bionic Stranger (not his official Title) breaks in and kidnaps the Boss, who recently quit when they wouldn't bionically enhance his son.

Bullock is a longtime friend of the Son, which sets up their romantic B-Plot.

Not all irony is funny, kids.

The OSI figures out that the Intel is related to the World Unity Games, an Olympic-style event.

It is Geraint Wyn Davies, so he's obviously the bad guy.

In spite of being attacked on the first Night of the Games, Kate still keeps working.

Meanwhile, the other Bionic folks try to find the missing Boss, who was kidnapped by two That Guy Actors.

She ultimately sees Davies plan in motion (a bomb and he has the detonator), so she jumps into action to stop him.

Oh right.  
The End.

A pretty enjoyable TV Movie, even if it relies pretty heavily on nostalgia.

As it stands, it is a decent adventure that will please fans of the Show and leave them wanting more.
Kudos to the Internet for someone saving this Newspaper Article about the Film using a real Hospital for Bullock's Bionic Installation Scene...

Did they spell it 'Bulloch?'

Is this only available to stream due to Bullock?  Probably.  Should you see it for that?  Yes.

 Are you a fan of Ghost Stories?
What about Vincent Price?
Bert I. Gordon Films?

Well, I'm into all of that, so I streamed...

We first see this House, which I assume is about to be stomped by Godzilla.

Price appears twice here, which is weird.

First as himself and then he appears as a Poltergeist (not that one) who wants to tell us some Ghost Stories- Famous ones at that!

See you at the End and never before, Mr. Price.

He'd start to see weird things in the coming days, as his Fiancee and her Sister (played by Bert's Daughter).

Nobody else does.

As he learns that Vi, now a Ghost, will not leave him be, another wrinkle appears.

Why can't you trust this guy?

He's also a Ghost!

He's Lloyd the Bartender from The Shining!

He's killed in this one, so is this canon to the King Tale?

Carlson can't seem to make his troubles go away.

Vi grows in power and vows to stop his happiness!

Now here's the real twist.

This is just 1960's Tormented (also by Bert I. Gordon).
He just got Price to shoot the Intro and tried to resell this as a TV Show.

As a Film Buff, I should have seen through this.

Speaking of teases, the same Producer wanted to make a Show where famous Voice Actor Paul Frees interviews...Adolf Hitler?!?

Too soon?  Yes.

A Film so nice that Bert I. Gordon tried to sell it twice!  Honestly, it is pretty decent, but just know that this failed piece of TV History is a Copy-Paste job.

 Prepare to feel old- this Show turns 40 this year!

I was planning on waiting until September for this one- it debuted on September 17th- but my upcoming Birthday seems like a good excuse to do it early.

This is The Transformers, as all of the Marketing lists it.  This is not a full Mandela Effect, as the bumpers DO include 'The' on them, but other parts- like the opening Credits- don't.
I guess they can transform too apparently.

Like other Sunbow Shows, this one began with a multi-part Episode/Movie.

After too many Films, multiple other Shows and a million toys since, how does the original hold up?

Did they ever make toys based on these versions?

They each get in their separate spaceships and do battle as they leave Cybertron.

Both ships crash on Earth a million years in the past (of 1984) in a big heap.

For some reason, the ship's systems come to life after all these Centuries and restore...the Decepticons?

They don't wreck the Autobots, instead choosing to start a new plan to collect energy to fly home to CyberTron.

Their plan involves attacking an Oil Platform, bringing our 2 Human Heroes into the mix.

It is nice to see a Father and Son work together...but is Spike old enough to be working on that?!?

The duo work with the Autobots, while the Decepticons keep seeking out energy.

So, Soundwave transforms back to his Alt-Mode...

...and is suddenly small enough to fit in Spike's hand and LIGHT ENOUGH FOR HIM TO PICK UP.

How?
HOW?!?

The Autobots finally get an edge near the end of Part 2, finding a mine full of gems that the Decepticons are making into energy.

They send Spike's Dad and Bumblebee to leave a bomb, but, of course, trouble occurs.

They manage to get out and seemingly trap the Decepticons...for about 2 minutes.

Time for Plan B, which will involve a trap and some Holograms.
Good thing that is one of your guys' specialty!

Things actually don't go our Heroes' way (again) and the bad guys get away.

The End.

A fun trio of Episodes, even if adult me can't help but nitpick.

I will note that I'm reviewing the 25th Anniversary DVD and they have the Bumpers intact.
Thanks for including that, folks!

I liked enjoying the old stuff after so many damn Michael Bay Films.  Here's to more of this and no more of that.

 A while ago, I found a cheap copy of a great Film on Blu-Ray.  You can probably guess which one it was.

One of the reasons that intrigued me about it- besides the Movie being great- is that it had the TV Pilot for the Show on it.

There was a TV Pilot?!?
How did I not hear about this?

Oh, nobody bought it...and it was only first available on the Blu-Ray in 2003.
That makes sense.

Let's see what we missed out on with...

If you were in charge of picking up the Pilot or not, you'd better- it was only 2 years earlier!

*I apologize in advance for no Screen Caps.  It's only on my Blu-Ray and I can't Screen Cap from it ATM*

Who shot him?  Well, that mystery isn't addressed in the Pilot, so...

This hour long- with the commercials included- Pilot sets up alot of Story for you to follow...

A would-be Actress- Melissa George- shows up and gets involved with some people.

In a curious bit of ironic Casting (in hindsight), Kiefer gets info from a young Actress who's hooked on the new Heroin that he's trying to track down the source of.

So, in 1999, she's a lady hooked on drugs, while in 2008 she's a Wife trying (eventually) to stop her Husband from creating/dealing drugs.

We also get the Hero Cop story from the Film- to be fair, they are both adapting the Book- and it sadly doesn't get too far in this format.

He meets Melissa after his big moment and...no more story after that.

We also set up the Villain of the Show in the form of Eric Roberts in a tense meeting between him and Kiefer.

A woman's body is found with the Heroin on her and 'To Be Continued.'
Awkward.

This, oddly enough, gets a bad rap from many people.  Some say that it is just a rehash of the Film.

At least they tried again 20 years later and... nope, not picked up again!

Like I said, it's a good Pilot that sadly has no closure in any regard.  I still recommend getting the Film- and this Pilot by default- on Blu-Ray, since, you know, both are quite good.

 You've got to love a Show like this when the Title has a double meaning...and no meaning. 

 This is Poltergeist: The Legacy, specifically its Pilot.  The Title makes you think something obvious- a follow-up.  

With the real Franchise Star sadly dead way too early, this must be about her Family.  Wait- didn't her Family dump her on someone else in the 3rd Film?  Isn't her Sister off in College (Movie code for also dead IRL)?  Which Family is the Star of this Show?  

None of them!  

Instead, this is the tale of a group of paranormal experts dealing with threats around the World.  The name of the group- the Legacy.  

Great- more people who get into Paranormal Investigative College on the backs of their rich Parents!  

No, the name is because it is apparently a family thing to be part of the group.  That literally only affects/relates to the Lead, but alright.  

The Plot here involves some mystical artifacts that, conveniently, relate to his Father's death.  Can he get The Legacy together to save the World?  Let's see.

In the Opening, a Father and Son try to find an evil box.  The former does, but is tempted into opening it, releasing a CGI Skeleton that kills him.

Now his barely-a-teen Son is in The Legacy?  We're boned.

Quick technical note: I have the Pilot on VHS (as mentioned) and Season 1 on DVD.  The Screen Caps are from the latter.

I'm not sure if keeping them all in one place is a good idea though...

Over in Ireland, a Widower and her Daughter go to an Antique Shop.  The latter feels 'drawn' to a box, which the Shopkeep happily sells her.

The problem- it won't open...yet.

It does open and possess him with the spirit from the box.  It needs to possess the girl, however, as her innocence will empower it.

The Shopkeep (William Sadler and his dodgy Irish Accent) uses his powers to kill one of the team (said image is on the VHS Box Art) and sleep with the Mother.

After he's bested, the spirit is still loose.

On the plus side, their teammate gets to make one last appearance as a spirit.

It all leads to a big, kind of silly finale in which an evil Child is born and the boxes are open.

Our sword-swinging Hero manages to save the day with the girl's help, setting us up for 4 Seasons (3 on Showtime and one on Sci-Fi).  The End.

A pretty good Pilot, but it definitely has some issues.  For starters, the MacGuffin isn't that creative.  Boxes that contain evil spirits- meh.  

It's not great, but it shows potential.  Hopefully the rest of the Series delivered more than, well, this morphing effect...

It has some strong moments, but definitely feels like a Pilot that is laying things out.  I have the whole of Season 1, so maybe I'll explore a bit more.

 As part of my Make-Up March, I finally cover a TV Experiment that I came across Months ago.  Today seems like a good day to do it.

In 1983 (great year), The Greatest American Hero ended.  Whether you believed it or not, he was not walking on air anymore.

In 1986, a new Network- NBC- was interested in a Revival.  

If you believe William Katt, he turned down a full-time return due to his work on Perry Mason TV Movies.  

Whether that is true or not, that led to this mostly-forgotten Pilot...

The catch: he lost the Instruction Manual (twice!), so him and his companion (Culp) have to wing it.

Jumping ahead to this Pilot (finally!), Katt is discovered in Public as a Super-Hero and his work turns from heroism to promotion.  He's also missing his trademark frizz.  

Thankfully, he knows a woman who fits the bill.

Culp is annoyed that he was overlooked for the suit. 
Let's be honest though- he would flown right to Russia and started WWIII!

Katt and his lady friend (Connie Seleca) bow out at this point, leaving our Heroine to train with Culp.

We get some wacky hijinks as she learns all of the suit's powers- including invisibility and flight- while Culp doesn't seem happy.

I guess they ran out of time and money, so...um, enjoy this build-up to nothing.  The End.

For as obscure as this is, it is funny to see how close we came to getting it back.  In 2018, there was a Pilot produced for a Female-led Greatest American Hero Reboot.  ABC passed on it, as did Fox in 2014 AND 2015.  So much for walking on air!  

After all, the Franchise as a whole is still remembered enough to this day to get amusing fan art like this piece from 2014...

A fun, but ultimately-empty experience.  I like the idea here- teaming up the hippy lady with Culp- and it could have gone somewhere.  On its own, it is a strange oddity.