Nolan,
Hi, I'm currently doing research on the tradition of horror TV show hosts
and their variances throughout the eras and regions of the country for a
college project. I was fortunate enough to spend a portion of my childhood
watching "Creature Feature with Dr. Paul Bearer" in the '80s. He was the
longest running of horror TV show hosts in the country.
That show in
particular was going to be a main focus for a college final and I was
writing in hopes that you could somehow assist me in obtaining some copies
of a few of the host segments (preferably from the '85-'89 era) from Creature
Feature for my research and college presentation. I've tried contacting the
station directly as well as paulbearerproductions.com to no avail. Sadly,
I'm running out of resources. Any help in any way you can provide will be
much appreciated and appropriately credited.
Thank you!
Jeremy Harrison
Nolan,
I just came across your website. I have a question for you. Is there any way to get Creature Feature episodes on DVD??
Thanks for your time.
"Jinx"
Thank you both so much for writing! I sympathize with your plight but, unfortunately, I myself don't have any playable VHS recordings. Channel 44 doesn't have any master tapes of Creature Feature---they were trashed when UPN took it over. The late Dick Bennick (Dr. Paul Bearer) himself kept some tapes of his "bumper spots" but those are now in the hands of a private collector. HOWEVER---those tapes have been transferred onto VHS and are available as "The Lost Tapes of Dr. Paul Bearer" (or similar title) on eBay from time to time. In fact, many complete episodes of Creature Feature are available on eBay from various collectors.
Jeremy, I'm sorry to hear that paulbearerproductions.com hasn't answered your email. They were involved in a resurrection (so to speak) of Creature Feature in 2004. The affair was artistically very interesting, but commercially unviable (I presume) as no more episodes were produced. The website is obviously still active, but poorly maintained, and there may be nobody home.
Anyone reading these letters is encouraged to write in to me and we'll see what I can do about obtaining an episode for Jeremy, hopefully in time for his college presentation.
By the way Creature Feature fans....the inimitable ED Tucker is right now finalizing what should be a very popular addition to the Crazed Fanboy Creature Feature Database: a listing of all known exisiting Creature Feature episodes, starring Dr. Paul Bearer, taped by and traded by fans!
Should be interesting! Stay tuned. ---Nolan
To Mike Smith:
Hey, Mike, great review of "Click". If you ever get a
chance,read "The Fermata" by Nicholson Baker. Pretty similar
story. Very similar,in fact. That book would make a killer
movie.
Hope all is well with you!
Rich Sousa
To send an email to Letters to the Editor write to: Crazedfanboy1@aol.com. Any emails sent to this address will be assumed intended for publication unless you specifically instruct me not to. I can and do respond privately, if that is your preference. Frequently, it's both ways.---Nolan