In what is not your usual edition of Oddservations, not that it's really about anything specific, I'd simply like to introduce the "fruits of my labor", namely a brand-spanking new Dr. Paul Bearer database dedicated to the Tampa Bay area. Actually, the new database covers much more than just Creature Feature and the good Doctor. It is shaping up to be the most comprehensive, accurate, and pain-staking chronicle of the Tampa Bay genre scene ever recorded (I think, anyway...). Dr. Paul Bearer and Creature Feature are dearest in all our hearts, but as you peruse the new database you'll find a plethora of info cataloging ALL of Tampa Bay's forays into the wonderful world of horror, sci-fi, and fantasy films that helped shape all our lives and began a lifelong interest in the fantastic. Fright Theatre. Terminus. Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. Shriek Theater. Shock Theater. Pre-DPB horror host Shock Armstrong. They're all here for you, baby.
What exactly is the database? It is a living, breathing record of ALL the horror, sci-fi, and fantasy films broadcast in the Tampa Bay area from the glorious 1960's to the not-so-glorious, horror-challenged '90's and beyond. The database is by no means complete (most entries are from '73/'74), but at least it's a start. I couldn't have tackled the database without the immense aid of the League of Extraordinary Dr. Paul Bearer-loving Gentlemen, namely Nolan Canova, Will Moriaty, Ed Tucker, and above all, Lonnie Dohlen.
The idea for the database began months ago, when two events birthed its inception: my dinner with Will, Nolan, and Ed Tucker and the day Nolan and I met up with Lonnie Dohlen at the St. Petersburg Main Public Library. The latter event's terrific trio began the grueling task of spooling at least a dozen reels of microfilm up and suffering eyestrain as we looked up every single movie that was broadcast on such shows as Creature Feature, Fright Theatre and others. We agreed that we should all take time to chronicle the movies for the entire run of the show (from the early '70s to the mid-'90s), and this is what has resulted.
I created the database based on the web template Nolan created, which itself was based on Will Moriaty's original La Floridiana entry (in PCR #220 which listed the first episode of every Fall season of Creature Feature and its ilk over a twenty-year period), and simply organized everything for easier readability. There were lots of surprises along the way, including the humorous "descriptions" of the genre movies specified in the St. Petersburg Times "TV Dial" insert (my source material); for example, the writer described "The Man with the X-Ray Eyes" as "An odd film for Milland" and even suggested you "don't bother" watching the classic "Destroy All Monsters"! She must have been a Katherine Hepburn fan.
While taking a trip in time back to the '70s, via St. Petersburg Times microfilm, I additionally cataloged the great drive-in movies exhibited with regularity during that time (William Grefe's "Impulse", "Sugar Hill", "Black Belt Jones", "Five on the Black Hand Side") and hope to add that to the database too (or create a new one). Dittos with ancient TV shows ("The Evil Touch" hosted by Anthony Quayle 1973-74; a supernatural-themed show featuring witchcraft, monsters, ghosts, and possession).
The database appears to be fairly accurate, however if there are conflicts or corrections, please let me (or Nolan) know ASAP. One contention is if the show Terminus, which is chronicled in the database, indeed ran through the 1970s. Any info/contributions are greatly appreciated.
Hope you enjoy this unique venture into the local horror darklands. This has been a labor of love and we won't rest until every film is lovingly counted.
- Andy Lalino
"Oddservations" is ©2004 by Andy Lalino. The Oddservations banner is a creation of Andy Lalino. All other graphics are creations of Nolan B. Canova. All contents of Nolan's Pop Culture Review are ©2004 by Nolan B. Canova.
