Throwback Thursday: Flash Gordon (1980)

“Flash Gordon. Quarterback. New York Jets.”

Entirely over the top and insanely fun to boot, 1980’s Flash Gordon is loud, brightly colored, and completely bonkers. It features a stellar cast loaded with actors who are well known in the science fiction and fantasy genres and boasts a soundtrack written and performed by none other than rock legends, Queen. The film is based upon the King Features Syndicate comic strip of the same name that was created by Alex Raymond.

In the film, Ming The Merciless has decided to toy with (and ultimately destroy) planet Earth by using a weapon to cause seemingly natural disasters on a catastrophic scale. On the planet, the brilliant and slightly mad Dr. Zarkov determines that an outside force is causing the devastating events and plans to pilot his rocket to their source in order to end the destruction. He tricks Flash Gordon and Dale Arden, fresh from a plane crash, into going with him to the planet Mongo. On Mongo, the trio quickly find themselves at the mercy of Emperor Ming. Ming orders the execution of Flash, the wiping of Zarkov’s brilliant mind, and that Dale becomes his newest bride.

All three of our heroes manage to survive their fates to some degree. Dale uses cunning to slip out of Ming’s clutches. Flash is aided by an unexpected traitor to Ming’s empire. Dr. Zarkov uses his amazing mind to defeat the brainwashing and even enhances his already powerful brain.

As the story continues, Flash attempts to unite the kingdoms of Arboria and Sky City by convincing their respective leaders that combined, they can overthrow Ming and his minions. Prince Barin of Arboria doesn’t trust Flash nor does he trust Vultan, leader of the Hawkmen in Sky City. He and Flash ultimately battle one another in a whip duel. The result of that duel (no spoilers, I promise), leads up to an attack on Sky City and the eventual bonding of Sky City and Arboria against Ming and his army. Will Flash save the day? I’m not telling you. You’ll have to watch the film for yourself!

This film is just fun to watch. It’s crazy and doesn’t really make that much sense but it doesn’t have to in order for the viewer to have a good time. This movie hearkens back to the whizbang days of early science fiction and fantasy where lasers, spaceships, monsters, and other genre tropes didn’t need to be explained. You simply accept them for what they are and move on with the film, book, radio broadcast, etc. The brightly colored costumes and sets also remind me of the days of films shot in Technicolor.

The film’s greatest strengths are found in its cast and the music by Queen. The persistent dunh-dunh-dunh-dunh of a piano gives the entire film a sense of urgency. It seems like the music is always building up to the next big explosion, battle, or fisticuffs. The cast features Sam J. Jones, Melody Anderson, Max von Sydow, Topol Brian Blessed, Timothy Dalton, Mariangela Melato, Richard O’Brien, William Hootkins, Robbie Coltrane, John Morton, Kenny Baker, Deep Roy, George Harris, and many, many more stars that appeared in films that include multiple Star Wars films, Raiders of the Lost Ark, numerous James Bond films, Doctor Who, the Harry Potter films, The Highwayman, Thunder in Paradise, Game of Thrones, The Neverending Story, and countless other science fiction and fantasy films. In other words, if you’ve ever watched a fantasy or sci fi film or television show, odds are that you’ve seen a few of the faces in Flash Gordon a time or two.

This movie isn’t for everyone. It’s probably too much for “serious” fans of science fiction to really enjoy and a tad bit too insane for hardcore fantasy followers. That being said, if you can toss out logic for a couple of hours, I’m sure that you’ll become a fan of this brilliantly crazy film. If nothing else, watch it to hear the great Queen soundtrack!

Thanks for reading my post. I’ll have a few Christmas themed posts next week!

McFarlane Toys DC Multiverse 2021 Justice League Superman

“I just miss him….I miss him so much.”

When the Zack Snyder cut of Justice League was released, fans finally got to see the Big Blue Boy Scout in all of his black-suited glory. Cashing in on the opportunity to sell some toys, McFarlane Toys released the black suit Superman figure and folks like myself ran to the stores to get him. In all honesty he was a bit hard to find, but I managed to get my hands on one of the figures a few weeks ago and am finally getting around to reviewing it.

If you are familiar with any of my other McFarlane reviews, you already know what to expect articulation-wise. The figure features excellent articulation from head to toe. He has over twenty POA. The likeness to Henry Cavill is pretty decent as well. The figure’s cape is soft plastic. I prefer it this way, so I won’t complain about it. It looks good no matter how you pose the figure.

My only complaint about this figure is the massive lack of accessories. Sure, he’s Superman, so I don’t expect him to come with any gadgets or gizmos like I would expect to find with a Batman or Nightwing figure, but I’d love to have at least one other set of hands or possibly a head to swap out on the figure. Instead, we get the standard collector card and a figure base that allows you to have Supes stand or fly. I chose to have him fly on my shelf, and he looks pretty good.

If you’re a fan of Superman, get this figure. If you’re a fan of the Snyder cut, get this figure. The only way that I wouldn’t suggest getting this figure is if you absolutely hate Superman, the Justice League film, or Zack Snyder. Otherwise this is a definite purchase for all of my fellow action figure freaks.

I’ve seen just one Aquaman and two Cyborgs in the wild. I have yet to see a Wonder Woman figure on the shelf nor have I seen any traces of a Flash figure. I’ll probably break down and purchase at least one or two more of this series. I’d love to complete it, but I don’t see that happening because of eBay jerks and resellers. In any case, I want to thank you for checking out my post. I have a cool little Throwback Thursday scheduled for this week and next week will be all about Christmas. See you again real soon.

Masters Of The Universe Revelation: Skeletor

Nyaaaahhhhh!

Behind every great superhero is a super villain who keeps them on their toes. Few super villains have had an impact on their adversary as Skeletor has had on He-man over the years. The duo have been at each others throats since the 1980’s and they show no signs of stopping any time soon. Based upon Kevin Smith’s recent Netflix series, Masters of the Universe Revelation, Mattel’s Skeletor figure is one of the best figures in their Revelation line that I’ve found.

Not only is the box that Skeletor comes in a work of art, the figure itself is great. Many figures in this line feature loose articulation, but not Skeletor. His arms, legs, hands, feet, and head move with ease but also maintain whatever pose I position them in for display. That’s a rarity in this line. I’ve had to readjust my Skelegod figure from this line multiple times as he slowly leans forward every few days.

Skeletor features almost thirty points of articulation (the box has lied about the POA on every figure I’ve acquired in this line). He comes with his iconic ram’s skull staff, his gold staff, and an extra set of hands. He also has a soft goods cape. It’s simple but works with the figure. His chest armor can be removed as well. I’m hoping that a Panthor figure will be released so that I can have him and Skeletor face off against He-man and Battlecat. While the figure looks great for the most part, there is a bit of discoloration on the rear armor plate (see in gallery at bottom of post) and a slight scratch on the same plate as well. Other than those mistakes, the figure is pretty flawless when it comes to paint apps.

Whether you are an old school MOTU fan or you want to introduce the characters to your own children, this Skeletor figure is perfect. Not only does he and the other figures in this line work great as toys for kids to play with, they look pretty sweet on the display shelf as well.

A face only a mother could love.

I have a hunch that these figures will be big sellers for Christmas. The initial line release sold out rather quickly in my area, but the current release seems to be holding on the shelves a bit longer. As Christmas gets closer, I’m sure that they will fly off of the shelves and end up in the hands of kids of all ages.

Thanks for checking out my post. More figure and film reviews are on the way!

NECA Defenders Of The Earth: Flash Gordon

Finally!!!!

I finally managed to get my hands on the Flash Gordon figure from NECA’s Defenders of the Earth line! The figure eluded me for months. Sure, Flash was one of the first figures that I saw on the peg at Walmart, but I decided to wait on purchasing him after I picked up the Phantom and Ming The Merciless. I paid full price for Phantom, less than half for Ming (who was on clearance), and finally found Flash at my local comic shop, Paper Heroes, in Lake Charles, LA.

As you can see in the photos above, the box was pretty banged up. I still haven’t decided whether or not to keep the box or just stow the accessories away in a different container. I open almost all of my figures, so tossing the box isn’t that big of a deal for me. I may clip his information off of the back and keep it just because, but I’m probably going to chunk the box.

The figure itself looks pretty amazing. I only have two complaints but they are both major in my opinion. First, the joints on this particular figure are ridiculously stiff. Flash’s left arm in particular is almost locked into place. His right leg turns in for no apparent reason and no matter how much I twist it out, it slow ticks back in again. My other complaint is the same complaint that I’ve had for both of the other figures released in this line. NECA’s paint flakes right off whenever I remove hands to swap them out and you can clearly see where paint chipped off at the top of the foot. It’s really aggravating, especially considering the fact that these figures retail on average for thirty buck a pop.

Other than those complaints, this figure looks excellent. He comes with three hands to swap out with the pair that is attached to the figure in the box. He also comes with Flash’s sword, a blaster, and two blaster effects that are standard for all of the figures in this line. The sword is especially nice.

NECA recently announced the upcoming release of three new figures of the Phantom, Flash, and Ming based upon their King Features Syndicate comic strips. These are the figures that I’m most excited about at the moment. I’m also waiting to hear if and when the Mandrake The Magician and Lothar action figures will be released from NECA’s Defenders of the Earth line. You can see an image of the three King Features figures below.

I’ve included a few more looks at my Defenders Flash figure below as well. It’s a really nice figure and I’m glad to have it in hand, but the stiff joints and lackluster paint makes me a little doubtful that the upcoming figures will be much better. Oh, well, thanks for checking out this review. I know that I’ve been a tad quiet lately, but that’s about to change! See you soon!

November Noise: Too Mean To Die, Accept (2021)

“The undertaker is a busy man…..”

They’ve been around since 1976 but their latest album, 2021’s Too Mean To Die, shows no signs of Accept becoming a middle-aged metal act about to call it a day. Outside of a few YouTube videos, this album is my introduction to the group and I’ve been listening to them with regularity ever since I purchased the album on a whim.

The band has had multiple lineup changes over the years with only Wolf Hoffmann, the band’s lead guitarist, as the only constant member. The players on Too Mean To Die include Hoffmann, lead vocalist Mark Tornillo, rhythm guitarist Uwe Lulis, bassist Martin Motnik, guitarist Philip Shouse, and Christopher Williams on drums. They sound amazing together. The band has often been referred to as a German AC/DC and this album definitely fits that description. Although I will say that Too Mean To Die sounds a lot more polished and slickly produced than anything AC/DC has ever put out. That’s not a knock on either band, though, as I enjoy listening to both of them.

The album is a straight-ahead rocker for the most part. The title track is a sinister beat down on your ears. The Undertaker opens up quietly and then turns into a slow churning metal burner. Then there are tracks like Overnight Sensation and Sucks To Be You that showcase pounding drums, amazing guitar work, and crunchy vocals. Things slow down a bit with The Best Is Yet To Come, but just a little. Top it all off with the amazing instrumental, Samson And Delilah, and you have an album that doesn’t sound like the sixteenth release of a band that’s north of forty years old and is left with only one original member standing. This album is awesome and I highly recommend it.

Consider this your invitation to check out Accept if you haven’t yet. This band is great. This is also my final entry in the November Noise category for this year. The response has been pretty good so I might bring this category back next year. Let me know what you think about this album and November Noise in general in the comments section. If there’s anything that you’d like to see me cover in December, let me know that in the comments as well.

As always, thanks for checking out my posts. See you again soon.

Throwback Thursday: Wayne’s World (1992)

“Shuh?!?!? And monkeys might fly out of my butt!”

In my teen years, few things made me laugh as hard as watching Mike Myers and Dana Carvey as Wayne Campbell and Garth Algar on their iconic Saturday Night Live sketch, Wayne’s World. The sketch combined two of my favorite things, comedy and metal music. It spawned catch phrases such as “Party on, Wayne! Party on, Garth!” “Schwing!,” and the header for this post about monkeys flying out of butts. The duo were a massive success and it was only a matter of time for SNL to cash in on them on the big screen.

The film version of Wayne’s World was released in 1992. It was the second film to be released based upon an SNL sketch. It became and remains the highest grossing SNL film. It starred Myers and Carvey in their respective roles and added a ton of stellar actors in supporting roles. Rob Lowe co-starred as Benjamin Kane, a crooked TV producer that manipulates and exploits shows similar to Wayne’s public access show in order to make as much money as possible no matter what happens to the actual program. Tia Carrere co-stars as Cassandra Wong, lead vocalist and bass player for Crucial Taunt, and Wayne’s eventual love interest. The rest of the cast includes Brian Doyle-Murray as Noah Vanderhoff, the sponsor of Benjamin’s version of Wayne’s World, Colleen Camp as Vanderhoff’s wife, Lara Flynn Boyle as Stacy, Wayne’s slightly insane ex, and a ton of other actors including Ed O’Neill, Michael DeLuise, Kurt Fuller, Donna Dixon, Dan Bell, and Lee Tergesen. There were also a number of cameos including Chris Farley, Meat Loaf, Ione Skye, and Frank DiLeo. Alice Cooper and his then current band appear in one sequence as well. That sequence spawned the catchphrase, “We’re not worthy!”

In the movie, Wayne and Garth are taken advantage of by Benjamin, who takes full control of their show in order to make money off of it. Benjamin also tries to steal the love of Cassandra by helping her make a music video. He succeeds in breaking up Wayne and Cassandra but Wayne teams up with his friends to win her back by staging a concert for record producer Frankie Sharp and exposing Benjamin for who he really is. All of these events are laced together with hilarious moments throughout the film including the now iconic “Bohemian Rhapsody” ride through Aurora, Illinois, an homage to Lavergne & Shirley, a run-in with the T-1000 (Robert Patrick) from Terminator 2, and the memorable film “endings” sequence that includes a Scooby-Doo ending.

The film was a major hit and so was its soundtrack. The album peaked at number one on the Billboard 200 chart. It featured classic songs such as Bohemian Rhapsody from Queen, Foxy Lady by The Jimi Hendrix Experience, and Dream Weaver (new recording) by Gary Wright. It featured contemporary tracks from bands like BulletBoys, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Alice Cooper. Tia Carrere is also featured on tracks that she performed in the film. Other artists included Black Sabbath, Soundgarden, Cinderella, and Eric Clapton, among others.

The film, directed by Penelope Spheeris, best known for her trilogy of music films, The Decline of Western Civilazation, catapulted Myers into a successful film career. It pulled Rob Lowe back into the spotlight after having almost killing his career in the late 1980’s with a scandalous sex tape. It also brought significant attention to the careers of Tia Carrere and Dana Carvey as well as re-sparked interest in classic rock bands, most notably Queen.

You can’t deny the many things that Wayne’s World did for its stars, its featured musical artists, and pop culture in general. The film’s influence is still felt to this day. A sequel was released the following year but SNL couldn’t catch lightning in a bottle twice, as that movie proved to be a failure. Thankfully, the original film lives on and can be watched on numerous streaming platforms and good ol’ fashioned VHS, DVD, and Blu-ray.

Thanks for checking out my post. I recently shared this film with my son and he loved it. It’s one of my favorite films of all time and I’d love to know what you think about it in the comments section. See you again, soon!

November Noise: Hysteria, Def Leppard, 1987

“If you’re alone tonight…..”

It might sound crazy but whenever I’m having a fit of rage or something has me extremely angry, I put on Def Leppard’s Hysteria album and I calm down. Specifically, the title track for this album puts me in a very calm mood. I don’t know why and I probably never will, but the song just relaxes me. It apparently had some sort of effect on other people as well. Hysteria is Def Leppard’s best selling album and the band released a whopping seven singles from it.

All seven of the singles reached the Billboard Top 100 with Women peaking at #80 and Love Bites hitting #1. Pour Some Sugar On Me topped out at #2 while Hysteria reached #10. Animal reached #19. Rocket made it to #12 and Armageddon It peaked at #3. For those keeping count, that’s three top ten tracks, and six top twenty tracks. Singles were released from the album in three different years.

Fans of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal either loved or hated the album. Some embraced it for bringing metal into the mainstream and others hated that it sounded too much like pop music. For me, Hysteria was an amazing blend of slick production, radio friendly tracks, and just enough rockers to keep me completely enthralled with the band and their music.

Joe Elliott’s voice sounded amazing while being backed up by the guitar one-two combo of Steve Clark and Phil Collen. Rick Savage’s bass kept everything in time along with Rick Allen’s drums which were specially created for him due to the fact that he lost an arm in an accident in 1984. Allen’s accident was the reason that there were four years between Hysteria and the band’s prior album, Pyromania. Sadly, tragedy would strike the band again in 1991 when Steve Clark would succumb to alcohol poisoning. He would be replaced by Vivian Campbell. The rest of the group would remain the same with no member changes since the loss of Clark.

The band’s current lineup from L to R: Collen, Allen, Elliott, Savage, and Campbell.

Hysteria is one of the few albums that I have that I can listen to in its entirety every time. The albums five other tracks (twelve in total) are just as awesome as the singles. My favorite songs on the album include all of the singles and Gods of War and Don’t Shoot Shotgun. There really isn’t a bad track on the album. It’s as close to hard rock and pop metal perfection as you’re ever going to get.

If you haven’t listened to this album yet, purchase it. I have it on cassette, CD, and a digital download. There have been a few different releases of the album over the years including a 30th Anniversary deluxe version. This album is amazing and you won’t regret buying it.

Thanks for checking out my post. I’ll see you all again real soon.

Throwback Thursday: Friday Night Videos (1983-2002)

Cashing In On MTV’s Success

As many of you are aware, I grew up in rural Louisiana with very few options when it came to television. My family could watch local ABC, NBC, and CBS affiliates as well as PBS and an independent station (when the weather was right) that would eventually become a FOX affiliate. Cable television was nowhere in sight for our family, and as a kid growing up in the 80’s and early 90’s, I was very jealous of my friends that lived in town and had access to MTV. My only real option was the NBC late night series Friday Night Videos. Although the series ran from 1983 to 2002, my interaction with it was primarily during the mid 80’s and early 1990’s, when celebrities would host the show.

As a pre-teen and teenager I would loyally tune into the show on Friday nights. Almost all of the music was pop or adult oriented rock, but every now and then a few rockers would slip into the lineup. Most of the hosts were pop stars and television and film celebrities, but a few rockers like David Lee Roth and Ozzy Osbourne did host the show.

I would often record episodes on VHS tapes and rewatch them during the week. One of the episodes that really stuck with me over the years was a Christmas special hosted by the New Kids On The Block. It also guest starred Calvert DeForest (perhaps best known as Larry “Bud” Melman from Late Night With David Letterman) dressed as Santa Claus. It featured a video for the song Just Between You And Me by Lou Gramm, the lead singer for Foreigner who would exit the band in 1990. It came off of his second solo album, Long Hard Look. That video and song were hammered into my brain because of Friday Night Videos and I still sing it to this day.

The series had a number of notable hosts over the years. To name just a few, the show was hosted by Pee Wee Herman, Michael J. Fox and Justine Bateman, Bobby Brown, members of Duran Duran, Madonna, and Johnny Gill. The show would drop the celebrity hosts in 1991. In fact, the 1990’s would see the series shift in format and eventually be renamed Friday Night. This is when I quit watching the series. It became more focused on stand up comedy and would continue to expand on this format until the show was finally cancelled in 2002.

I still have fond memories of staying up late, eating too much, and drinking way too much Coke and Dr. Pepper while watching videos from some of the most popular musical acts in the mid to late 80’s. I also remember my parents fussing at me for staying up all hours of the night just to watch music videos. It was a phenomenon that was completely new to them and they didn’t understand it nor did they want to understand it. Thinking about this show brings back a ton of memories and I really, really miss watching it.

Thanks for reading my post. I think I might just hop onto YouTube and see if their are any episodes of Friday Night Videos available to watch. Do you remember this show? Let me know in the comments.

Outpost: TRF 2021

Taking a trip back in time…..

On the weekend of November 6th, myself and my daughter ventured out to the Texas Renaissance Festival in Todd Mission, TX. Neither one of us are strangers to the event as we have both attended the festival every year since 2007 or 2008 (I can’t quite remember) with myself only missing one year due to work and my daughter missing a few more than me. We hit all of our usual shows including the Clan Tynker Family Circus, Cirque Olympus, the Global Dance Theatre (formerly Gypsy Dance Theatre), and the Great Rondini. We walked the grounds, ate some awesome food, and I had a nice coffee porter from the Brigadoon Brewery known as Contract Killer.

We also decided to check out the joust for the first time in quite a few years. We sat in France’s section as usual and cheered on our knight as he battled competitors from England, Germany, and Spain. There is an amazing amount of athleticism and precision in action when these folks battle and the horses do just as much or more work themselves. Of the two events that the knights competed in, France won the first one and came in second in the second event.

There were a few new pieces added to the Fairy Garden and the Greek Agora and the newest section of the festival from last year expanded even more with new buildings and vendors. I must also add that the weather was perfect. It was cold enough that I had to wear a hoodie with my short pants but as the day wore on, it warmed up but remained cool enough that I didn’t sweat too much in my hoodie.

There was one glaring omission from the festival this year. As some of you may know, Clark Orwick, best known as Smuj, the faceless man that carried around Ded Bob and assisted Bob as he Bobmotized zombies for his show, passed away earlier this year. He was a big part of the festival and one of the funniest acts on the Ren Faire circuit. A new act took his place this year at the Globe Theater that he shared with Clan Tynker, but he was and will always be dearly missed.

  • An early photo of Ded Bob and “Smuj,” aka Clark Orwick.
  • Both Ded Bob photos acquired from the Ded Bob website.

The Texas Renaissance Festival was amazing as always. There are still two weekends left to attend so get out there if you can and witness an amazing spectacle. Attending the festival makes me feel happy, accepted, and like I am back home. I love TRF and hope that all of you get to experience for yourselves.

Thanks for reading my post. I’ve got some November Noise coming up on Thursday and Friday.

November Noise: Vixen (1988)

“I don’t need your shoulder….”

The late 1980’s found me comfortably nestled into a rock cradle. I was listening to bands like Aerosmith, Def Leppard, Mötley Crüe, Bon Jovi, Guns n’ Roses, and more hard rock and glam acts. One of the bands that slipped into my listening queue was Vixen, one of the most successful all female rock bands in history. Their 1988 self-titled debut had two big hits on it, Edge Of A Broken Heart and Cryin’ and a third single, Love Made Me, that also performed very well.. It also featured a solid lineup of supporting tracks that proved to be more than filler.

The album is loaded with some awesome heavy hitters like I Want You To Rock Me, Hell Raisers, and Cruisin’. The album’s three singles and songs like Charmed Life all had radio-ready production and sing along choruses. In fact, the entire album was slickly produced and sounded amazing. That should be a good thing but it was actually detrimental to the band’s image.

As Vixen’s popularity began to grow, so did the ire of their critics. Being an all female band, they were often written off as a gimmick. They were accused of not being able to play their instruments even though the entire band were more than capable of performing all of their songs live. Founder and lead guitarist Jan Kuehnemund has some lethal solos on this album and on later releases by the band. Janet Gardner’s vocals were both emotional and powerful. Bassist Share Pedersen (eventually Share Ross) and drummer Roxy Petrucci provide a rhythm section that could easily hold its own against many of their contemporaries. Still, critics were relentless and tried to credit the album’s producers and songwriters which included Richard Marx, Spencer Proffer, and David Cole, for doing most of the work and for making the “girls” sound excellent. This unwarranted criticism would push the band to write almost all of the songs for their follow up album, 1990’s Rev It Up, and the band scored Top 100 tracks with How Much Love, Love Is A Killer, and Not A Minute Too Soon.

I loved Vixen and still listen to it to this day. The band split up in 1992 and would reappear in different configurations throughout the rest of the decade and well into the 2000’s. Share Pedersen wouldn’t return until a VH-1stint in 2004 and the eventual reunion of the classic lineup in 2012. Kuehnemund carried the flag for the band throughout most of the years following 1992. She joined back up with Petrucci and Gardner in the late 90’s and then continued the band with different members after that. When the classic lineup did finally reunite seriously in 2012, the group was put on hold when it was announced that Kuehnemund had cancer. She would pass away in 2013. The rest of the classic lineup decided to continue on with Gina Stile on lead guitar. Eventually Stile would be replaced by former Jaded guitarist Britt Lightning. Gardner would leave the band on good terms in 2019 and would be replaced by current singer and former Femme Fatale frontwoman, Lorraine Lewis.

Vixen’s current lineup, L to R: Ross, Lewis, Petrucci, Lightning.

I really love Vixen and can’t wait for them to release new music with Lewis and Lightning. The entire band is very active on social media, especially Britt Lightning, and I highly recommend following them. Their debut album was amazing and so were their later releases including their most recent one, Live Fire, which I’ve reviewed on this blog when it was released. I hope to see them play live in the near future as well. They are one of the few bands that I want to see live that I haven’t seen yet.

Thanks for reading my post. Oh, I had a mad crush on Share Ross from day one. I still do.