A Brief (?) History of SF Productions--Part 3
We're now in 1979, as the history of SF Productions rolls on. I was a voracious TV watcher--listen to the "Vast Wasteland" podcast for evidence of this. So, the announcement of the Fall TV schedule was a big event to me--I was always on the lookout for the TV Guide Fall Preview issue at the checkout. (I still have a collection of TV Guide Fall Previews going back to this time). So, I took the schedule and wrote up the names on big sheets of paper ala the network grids, and Eric and I came up with show concepts based on the names alone. I also decided we needed a fake network, and so I took the N fron NBC, the B from ABC, and the S from CBS, making the NBS Network. (A quick Google check shows an NBS TV network in Japan, and the name was used on the "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" series a few years ago--still waiting for my royalty check, Mr. Sorkin).
We also had an episode of "The Eppi Show"--a politically incorrect "rally" with us making crowd noises. Eppi would continue to make appearances, and even made some future SF members hesitate when I wanted to schedule a taping. More on this later.
We then launched "The Eric Fenton Talk Show", where Eric just talked. Some of it was music, some of it was diatribe, and some of it suggested I remove all sharp objects from the room. We followed that up with a rather lame recording at a Halloween party I hosted. However, this tape is significant in that it's the first time we hear from other people--a future "Bored" member (Bill Bagley) and another who later drifted away (Russ Holmes). I met Bill in 8th grade Spanish class, and he ended up as the best man at my wedding. Russ was very much into military history, and we both built WW2 ship and plane models. No idea what happened to Russ.
Up next--Star Trek, Star Wars, the Olympics, politics, and a clip show.
Meanwhile, here's some bad impressions from Mark Saylor and myself.