Atomic TV

Atomic TV 2007 Airdates

2007-03-20T08:54:00.000-07:00

Community Media of Baltimore City
Comcast Channel 75

Friday, February 23rd, 2007
11:00 - 12:00am "Underdog Battles Satan Claus"

Saturday, February 24th, 2007
11:00 - 12:00am "Underdog Battles Satan Claus"

Friday, March 9th, 2007
8:00 - 9:00pm "Atomic TV Cocktail Hour, Pt. 1"
11:00 - 12:00am "Atomic TV Cocktail Hour, Pt. 2"

Saturday, March 10th, 2007
8:00 - 9:00pm "Atomic TV Cocktail Hour, Pt. 1"
11:00 - 12:00am "Atomic TV Cocktail Hour, Pt. 2"

Friday, March 16, 2007
8:00-9:00 pm "Atomic TV Cocktail Hour, Pt. 1"
11:00-12:00 am "Atomic TV Cocktail Hour, Pt. 2"

Saturday, March 17, 2007
8:00-9:00 pm "Atomic TV Cocktail Hour, Pt. 1"
11:00-12:00 am "Atomic TV-Cocktail Hour, Pt. 2"

Monday, March 19, 2007
12:00-1:00 am "Turning Japanese Part 1"

Friday, March 23, 2007
1:00-2:00 am "Turning Japanese Part 1"

Saturday, March 24, 2007
1:00-2:00 am "Turning Japanese Part 1"

Monday, March 26, 2007
1:00-2:00 am "Turning Japanese Part 1"

Friday, March 30, 2007
8:00-9:00 pm "Turning Japanese Part 2"

Saturday, March 31, 2007
8:00-9:00 pm "Turning Japanese Part 2"

Friday, April 6, 2007
8:00-8:30 pm "You Asked for It, Part 1" (edit)

Saturday, April 7, 2007
8:00-8:30 pm "You Asked for It, Part 1" (edit)

Monday, April 9, 2007
1:30-2:00 am "You Asked for It, Part 1" (edit)

Friday, April 13, 2007
8:00-9:00 pm "You Asked for It, Part 1"

Saturday, April 14, 2007
8:00-9:00 pm "You Asked for It, Part 1"

Monday, April 16, 2007
1:00-2:00 am (no idea which episode aired)

Thursday, April 19, 2007
3:00-4:00 am (no idea which episode aired)

Friday, April 20, 2007
8:00-9:00 pm "Black History Month" (edit? only ran 1 hour)

Saturday, April 21, 2007
8:00-9:00 pm "Black History Month" (edit? only ran 1 hour)

Monday, April 23, 2007
4:00-5:00 am (no idea which episode aired)
11:00 pm - 12:00 am "You Asked for It, Part 1"

Saturday, April 28, 2007
2:00-4:00 am "Black History Month"

Sunday, April 29, 2007
2:00-4:00 am "Black History Month"

Monday, April 30, 2007
1:00-2:00 am (no idea which episode aired)
11:00 pm - 12:00 am "You Asked for It, Part 1"

Atomic TV DVD: "Tribute to Natty Boh" plus "The Atomic Cocktail Hours"

2007-03-09T11:52:00.000-08:00

Community Media of Baltimore City
Comcast Channel 75

Friday, March 9th
8:00 - 9:00pm Atomic TV Cocktail Hour, Pt. 1
11:00 - 12:00am Atomic TV Cocktail Hour, Pt. 2

Saturday, March 10th
8:00 - 9:00pm Atomic TV Cocktail Hour, Pt. 1
11:00 - 12:00am Atomic TV Cocktail Hour, Pt. 2

Resistance is futile, so Atomic TV has decided to jump on the Lounge-a-palooza bandwagon, pledge allegiance to the Cocktail Nation and embrace Swankness in all its fez-hatted, zoot-suited, retro swing silliness... First up is a vintage commercial break paying homage to our legendary local blue-collar brew, Natty Boh. Then we drop by our fave watering hole, Henninger's Tavern, where owner Kenny Vieth spoils us with food and drink while we we enjoy “incredibly strange space-age bachelor pad exotica” music videos by Combustible Edison, Korla Pandit, Martin Denny, Spike Jones & His City Slickers, a rare Raymond Scott Quintette film appearance, 1940’s “Soundies” music shorts, the hepcat hokum of Baltimore’s own Swingin’ Swamis, Don Knotts as "The Love God," tributes to patron Saints of Swing Dean Martin and Buddy Love and assorted clips from drinkin’ flicks! Time flies when you're having rum, so “drink up and be somebody!”
(DVD-R, 2 hours, 30 minutes)

SNEAK PREVIEWS

Don Knotts is "The Love God?"

"The Love God?" movie trailer
[Google Video] [YouTube] [Videobomb]

Atomic TV's Tribute to Natty Boh

Gluttons for punishment can put on their beer goggles and view the blurry-ass video encodes posted over on YouTube:
Atomic TV's Tribute to Natty Boh Part 1 (YouTube)
Atomic TV's Tribute to Natty Boh Part 2 (YouTube)

Related Links:
National Bohemian Blog
Natty Boh Gear
Beer Collections: National Bohemian
Tom Warner's Accelerated Decrepitude: You Gotta BOH-lieve

Underdog Battles Satan Claus Redux

2007-02-23T08:07:00.000-08:00

Saturday, February 24th at 11:00PM
Community Media of Baltimore City Ch. 75

Tom Warner: Man About Town

2007-01-04T08:56:00.000-08:00

"Warner, a trim blond with a well-groomed mien more befitting a GQ editor than a librarian cineaste, organizes several film programs a year..."

Happy Holidays from Atomic TV

2006-12-05T10:33:00.000-08:00

Suzanne Muldowney, better known as "Underdog Lady," sings "Silent Night" accompanied by "The Awkard Sounds of Scott & Skizz" at the 2006 Mayor's Christmas Parade in Hampden, Maryland.

Meanwhile, over at Accelerated Decrepitude, Atomic TV's Tom Warner files his first-hand report along with photos of the much heftier Underdog portraying the "Fairy of the Golden Snow."

Managers Corner by Skizz Cyzyk

2006-12-04T14:00:00.000-08:00

Baltimore Orioles manager Earl Weaver colorfully answers questions from baseball fans.

Michael Nesmith - Cruisin'

2006-03-12T21:50:00.000-08:00

[Quicktime MP4] [Videobomb] [YouTube]

Another classic music video from the pre-MTV era, I guess I first saw this video on Don Kirschner or some other late-night music show. I love how in the olden days the plot of a music video actually followed the song's lyrics. Plus how can you beat a line like "Trying to make connections with their blemish-free complexions"?

Butterfly Ball (sung by Ronnie James Dio)

2006-03-07T21:32:00.000-08:00

[Quicktime MP4] [Google Video] [VideoBomb] [YouTube]

When we first saw this bizarre cartoon in the mid-80's during Night Flight's "Cult Classics" we swore it was Sabbath's Ronnie James Dio singing... and it took us over 20 years to confirm the fact. A very trippy cartoon that was very fitting for USA Network's late-night stoner programming... back in those days we would finish our night shifts at Friendly's and then rush to the liquor store to buy cheap cases of RWB -- "Red, White and Blue" beer. We would then ingest all sorts of goodies, legal and illegal and topped off with 6-foot Wawa subs affectionately known as "babies," hunkering down in a hazy bliss for another weekend Night Flight all-nighter. --Scott Huffines

Natty Boh "Draw Me A Beer" Commercial

2006-02-18T14:29:00.000-08:00

[Quicktime MP4] [Google Video] [YouTube]

Another classic National Bohemian ad from the Atomic TV archives. Question: Who voices the characters and what other cartoon characters did he voice?

Related Links:
National Bohemian Blog
Natty Boh Gear
Beer Collections: National Bohemian

National Bohemian "Lord Baltimore" Commercial

2006-02-18T11:09:00.000-08:00

[Quicktime MP4] [Google Video] [YouTube]

What's Happening magazine has been nice enough to mention Atomic TV and our Natty Boh commercials so we bumped this video back to the top. -- Scott

"National Beer, National Beer, you'll like the taste of National beer." Sing along to the jingles associated with old Natty Boh, now brewed by the folks at Pabst. Most people associate it with the one-eyed Mr. Boh, but there was a whole cast of characters in the Land of Pleasant Living. Don't forget: "There's Chincoteague oysters and crabs and clams, and fried chicken and Virginia hams, and while we're singing, we're proud to say, it's brewed on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay."

--Tom Warner

Atomic TV presents the first of a series of National Bohemian ads you can look forward to viewing over the next few months. This clip features "Lord Baltimore" extolling the virtues of National Beer.

Related Links:
National Bohemian Blog
Natty Boh Gear
Beer Collections: National Bohemian

Corn Mo is the new Tyler Durden

2006-02-16T13:09:00.000-08:00

DeansPlanet.Com "Have no Fear... Underdog is Here!"

2006-01-30T08:45:00.000-08:00

Doc: I understand that you have a movie coming out. Tell us about the movie, how did it come about, and did you enjoy making it?

Suzanne : The movie is called “My Life as an Underdog. ” It's about my life, and about my career as an improvisational dancer. It shows some of my performances, topics I was the first to use for dance, and flashbacks to significant life experiences. Sometime in the late eighties I met a still photographer, Christine Back, in Cape May, NJ. She photographed me for several years, but eventually felt that still photos did not convey my message adequately. Around 1996 she introduced me to Yugoslavian-born filmmaker Boris Gavrilovic, who felt that a moving picture worked better than still shots in telling my story. For the most part, I enjoyed making it since the characters/topics I used, and my original dances, would be preserved on film as proof positive. Unfortunately, we also caught some bad moments because of discourteous audiences.

Read more...

Crispin Glover: "Clowny Clown Clown"

2006-01-07T15:17:00.000-08:00

[Quicktime MP4] [YouTube]

From Atomic TV Volume 6: "Scott's Obsessions": I've had a quite unhealthy obsession with Crispin Hellion Glover ever since his appearance as knit-cap-wearing Layne in "River's Edge." Rumor has it that in post-production they had to go back and film additonal scenes with Glover popping pills and falling asleep at traffic lights in order for movie-goers to make sense of his quirky character. The Glover-obsession clincher was when I saw the "I'm strong... I can kick..." David Letterman appearance and from that point on I was a fan for life. When I opened my store, Atomic Books, I contacted Volcanic Eruptions (his mom) so that Crispin's book "Rat Catching" would be one of the first books I could proudly display on my counter. Counter. Prominently displayed. Not hidden spine-in on a bookshelf. A few years later I went to Washington D.C. to see a workprint of his retard-and-naked-palsy-man film "What Is It?" along with his "Big Slide Show" presentation. Utterly amazing. And as the years have passed Glover has continued to take on quirky roles without ever cheezing out, even in "Charlie's Angels" he played a weirdo. Perhaps his most mainstream role was in "Where the Heart Is?" but Uma Thurman was in that movie, and she was nekkid, so I gotta still cut him some slack. Crispin Glover has remained my hero for almost 20 years, and when I met him he wasn't a dick, which gives him even more bonus points. A true gentleman.

Related Links:

"This is the shit! This is the Killer Buzz! It's Grape Ape's words so you know it's true!"

2006-01-05T22:48:00.000-08:00

[Quicktime MP4 - finally Ipod-friendly!] [Google Video] [YouTube]

From Atomic TV Volume One: Meet Grape Ape, a hippie burnout who survived an atomic blast to become the Magilla Gorilla of rock and roll and Spokesperson for a Lost Generation, as he expounds on Led Zeppelin and proves that rust never sleeps, it creeps...

Devo's "Gut Feeling" by Blister Freak Circus

2006-01-04T23:50:00.000-08:00

[Quicktime MP4 Ipod-friendly repost] [Google Video] [YouTube]

"Gut Feeling" by Blister Freak Circus
from Atomic Books' "Q: Are We Not Kiss? A: We Are Devo!"
Memory Lane, early 1990's

Peruse the City Paper nightclub listings and you are likely to find a plethora of hipster-ironic musical mash-ups with clever names like "Johnny Clash's Planet of the Apes 80's Flashback" or "The White Strokes versus Wu Tang & Wang Chung."

But in the early days of Baltimore hipsterdom this was not the case.

That is until the tax man came knocking at Atomic Books' door.

A $5,000 tax bill loomed large. How was Huffines to pay? A book sale? Although during the 90's Baltimore was referred to as "The City That Reads," the fact was, no one read. Of course they occasionally bought books -- but only to decorate their living spaces with. What was he to do?

Suddenly a light bulb appeared above Huffines' head, a 150-watt illuminated marquee scrolling a message: "Put on a show, Little Rascals style!"

And since Kiss and Devo were his favorite bands he decided: What better way to beg for money than to force feed the grunge-loving public the music of his youth? And thus was born:

"Q: Are We Not Kiss? A: We Are Devo!"

The show was a rollicking success, even garnering a coveted City Paper "Best Of" award. Huffines and Warner videotaped the event, utilizing antique VHS cameras the size and weight of cinderblocks. They stored the tapes away never knowing that they were Atomic TV's legacy, their Dead Sea Scrolls, their Book of Genesis.

Many years passed.

And so these tapes sat, deep in the Atomic TV archives until one day the spectre of unemployment revisited Scott Huffines and gave him time. Time to panic and time to worry about his future. But eventually he grew bored and nostalgic, as men in their 40's often do, and he used this time to review hundreds of unlabeled videos, trying to make sense of his past.

He is still confused.

Sit back and enjoy one of Atomic TV's earliest clips, our own "Cavern Club" footage.

-- Scott Huffines

We're Number 1!

2005-12-31T07:36:00.000-08:00

And if you don't think so, then Louis Fowler (left) thinks you're full of number 2. In his review of holiday TV fare for the ROCKY MOUNTAIN BULLHORN, media maven Louis Fowler named Atomic TV's "Underdog Battles Satan Claus" the best Christmas special ever! We've been Fowler fans since the days when Atomic Books carried his zine DAMAGED and he was recently named Best Local Radio Personality for his latest venture, the radio program DAMAGED HEARING. That he named our humble holiday hodge-podge ahead of Pee-Wee Herman's Christmas Special (an all-time fave) and the legendary "Star Wars Holiday Special" was an additional honor, for this is rare company indeed. See Louis' full review here: Santa Claus Conquers the Airwaves.

Check out these Louis Fowler Links:

Jack La Lanne's Twist-a-Way Twister Solves the World's Problems

2005-12-21T09:57:00.000-08:00

[Quicktime MP4] [YouTube]

Jack La Lanne's message for world peace:
"How would you like to give ONE present that will satisfy everyone... and make them terrifically happy? Well I have just the thing for you... just the present... The new-and-improved Twist-a-Way Twister that will help every man, woman and child and give them so much pleasure and fun and get them in condition at the same time."

Underdog Lady in "The Tootsie Roll Incident"

2005-12-13T13:54:00.000-08:00

[Quicktime MP4] [Google Video] [YouTube]

Underdog Lady takes a brief respite from her battle with Satan Claus so that she can stock up the secret compartment in her cape with treats tossed to the ground by the Tootsie Roll Trolley.

Yes, the first Atomic TV DVD is now complete and available from Atomic Books:
The Atomic TV Holiday Special: Underdog Battles Satan Claus!

"Underdog Battles Satan Claus!"

2005-12-09T15:54:00.000-08:00

[Quicktime MP4] [Google Video] [YouTube]

Making it to the parade in the nick of time, Underdog shines in her 11th consecutive holiday march, only to confront her greatest challenge yet... SATAN CLAUS, a Y2K-obssessed messenger of doom who taunts Underdog and terrifies parade goers with his prediction that the world will end New Year's Eve when Dick Clark drops the ball in Times Square. Will this be the last Hampden Parade for Underdog? Or will she defeat the powers of darkness in time to enjoy a tasty roast beef sandwich? Watch and find out in our wildest Christmas Special ever!

Atomic TV Fans Are The Greatest

2005-12-06T08:45:00.000-08:00

Eebmore: "All your claims will blow up in your face. Begone!"

"Finally. Sheesh. I’ve been waiting literally years for Tom Warner and/or Scott Huffines to get around to digitizing and uploading clips from Atomic TV. Apparently, the original tapes are being digitized and converted to DVD, with a Christmas
special to be released on December 9th. I’m assuming the DVD will be sold at Atomic Books (in store and online order?), although I really don’t know."

"Unpainted Huffines" weighs in: "Oh Lord, does it hurt! We are S-L-O-W-L-Y struggling to get a dvd together for the holiday season... we're stuck on a few things but we are trying to get this freakin' dvd together for the few fans that we do have. Actually we have more fans than we realized. Last weekend I made a rare venture downtown and was queried by fans at Holy Frijoles, Club Charles, the Ottobar and the Rendezvous. "Are you still on public access?" (That should be our new slogan.) Fans do seem to be watching -- as of today we have over 100 subscribers to our vodcast, and there'sbeen over 1000 downloads. Not bad!"

"Santa Claus Goes Straight to the Ghetto"

2005-11-25T18:26:00.000-08:00

[Quicktime MP4] [YouTube]

During the holiday season of 1997, I had a sudden epiphany while listening to James Brown's "Santa Claus Goes Straight To the Ghetto." White Christmas? Bah humbug! Suddenly I had visions dancing in my head, not of sugar plums but of billy clubs, Rodney King, rioting, looting, and arson. And of a guy dressed in red with a big sack...named Fat Albert! Like Dylan's lyrics, not sure what it all means, but here it is for your bemusement.

-- Tom Warner

"Heat Miser/Cold Miser" by The Krudz

2005-11-25T08:55:00.000-08:00

[Quicktime MP4] [YouTube]

Are The Krudz the worst local Baltimore band ever? Nepotism rules supreme in the Atomic Universe, so I let my brother's "band" join in the Xmas festivities in this clip from the Atomic TV 1997 Holiday Special: "Holiday at Ground Zero."

The Krudz soon went on the play the Kiss/Devo show only to fade into obscurity.

--Scott Huffines

WHAT IS ATOMIC TV?

2005-11-23T10:30:00.000-08:00

Short Answer:
Atomic TV is "A Media Maxi-Pad absorbing the continual flow of Pop Culture." It is bio-degradable and thus may be flushed down any toilet.

Long Answer:
ATOMIC TV is the red-haired, freckle-faced stepchild of Baltimore Public Access TV's programming family, a breech baby painfully squeezed out of the birthing canal of that negligent mother we call City Cable. Cloven-hoofed and horn-rimmed, this Hell-spawned birth defect had its butt cheeks dutifully slapped by the attending programming authorities upon its debut in 1997 before the bloody mess was handed back to its deadbeat biological fathers, TOM WARNER & SCOTT HUFFINES, its dangling umbilical cord quickly hooked up to coaxial cable for instant reception into the cable community. Often imitated (see LOST AND FOUND VIDEO), rarely surpassed in ineptitude, it remains another chapter in Baltimore's cultural Hall of Shame, alongside our Holy Trinity heritage of Homicide, Heroin and STDs. An archaic medium in these fast-paced days of High Tech Vodcasting and Broadband Video Streaming, it still has its appeal to our peers in the Great American Economic Underclass. In other words...it's free! It airs on Baltimore City Cable Channel 75. Despite Freedom of Information requests by the public, its exact broadcast time has not yet been declassified by the authorities. Stay tuned and stay the course. If you don't have TiVo, we suggest staying up 24/7 to insure you don't miss a thing.

--Tom Warner

Awards:

1997 - Best of Baltimore (City Paper)

1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 - Cameo Award for Excellence in Arts & Entertainment (Baltimore Cable Access)

2000 - Nation's #2 Best Public Access Show (GEAR Magazine)

Related links:
Mayor's Office of Cable & Communications (MOCC)
Baltimore Update (Public Access TV Forum)
Baltimore Grass Roots Media
Baltimore Public Access Channel 75's Random Schedule

Underdog Sings "Silent Night"

2005-11-21T16:53:00.000-08:00

[Quicktime MP4] [YouTube]

Distraught over the loud noises of Garage Sale's secular rendition of "Silent Night," "Underdog" enlists the band to join her in a sacred rendition of the Christmas hymn.

Garage Sale's "Silent Night"

2005-11-20T11:43:00.000-08:00

[Quicktime MP4] [YouTube]

Garage Sale tosses away the sacred and goes for the profane with their secular rendition of "Silent Night," only on Atomic TV! Plus, "Underdog Lady" critiques the band!