The Sweet - amazing 70's Rock in all it's crazy glory!

Throughout 2014 and 2015, I was obsessed with the Electric Light Orchestra - I just couldn't go a day without listening to some of Jeff Lynne and Co.'s magical creations.  As the calendar was changing from 2015 to 2016, I kept hearing songs from a band called "Sweet" on two of my favorite satellite radio stations in the car - Classic Vinyl and 70's on 7.  They played a song called "Little Willy", and I thought - well, that was a catchy tune.  Then, I heard their two more well-known US hits, "Ballroom Blitz" and "Fox on the Run".  Again, I liked what I heard, but it still wasn't enough to make me go "Holy shit! I need to hear more!". 


However, I then heard their song from 1975 called "Action" - and, yes, the "Holy shit!" moment was had.  I couldn't believe what I was hearing - these guys sounded like a harder rocking version of Queen!  I do love me some crazily overdubbed vocal harmonies!


So, since the beginning of 2016, I moved to get my hands on everything I could from this band called "The Sweet" or "Sweet" (I really don't know what their official name is, so I just call them "The Sweet"...sounds more dramatic with the "The").  Also, before I go into my ramblings, run (don't walk!) to their official YouTube site - it's an absolute treasure trove of awesomeness!  They've recently put up a few videos from a live performance they did back in 1974 on the legendary German music show called Musikladen.  It's.so.fucking.amazing!  Their performance of a song called "No You Don't" is so kickass, I actually got mad at myself for living all these years and only now finding out about this band.


Ok, let my new-fanboy ramblings begin...

Question: Is there a better TV intro. than this one? Answer: No

Grand TV intro's. They're an endangered species nowadays. Maybe a quick flash of the actors/actresses names, the creator's name, title (sometimes), maybe even a licensed song. But I remember a time, a time as a young boy in the late 70's and early-mid 80's when just about every TV show had a full blown intro. with original music and everything. A little 30 - 90 second "welcome back" every week just for Me, the TV viewer.

I wax nostalgic at this time, because, well, it's easier than waxing my truck! (*Pause for uncontrollable laughter*....mmmkay, then). But seriously folks, I wax nostalgic because I realize just how lucky I was to grow up during a time of such great craftsmanship.

No better craftsmanship was displayed than what those gifted editing masterminds forged into the greatest TV intro, ever - The Six Million Dollar Man.

That dang thing just gets cooler and cooler as the years go by! Everytime I see it, I want to drop everything that I'm doing and watch a full episode right then and there. But then I realize - it's not the 70's anymore...and the dang show has yet to come out on Region 1 DVD. Sure, the folks over in Europe get to watch all The Six Million Dollar Man they want on their fancy-Euro Region 2 DVD's, but I, a tax-paying, law-abiding American, cannot yet re-live the exploits of one Steve Austin! Where is the justice in that?...where, I ask you, where?!

I mean, I still have my Steve Austin doll - er - action figure with red jumpsuit! And, yeah, I'll admit it, I still like to look through the little Bionic Eye peephole on the back of his head while making the Bionic Eye's Bionic Magnifying sound! Yeah - I'm still that cool!....and, um, yeah, I'm still that single...*ahem*.

Anyhoo, while I'm on topic, coming in a close 2nd on my "Great TV Show Intro's" list is the one for a little cartoon known as - Battle of the Planets! Between this epic opening and the one for the original (and still superior) Battlestar Galactica, I was able to satisfy my Star Wars pangs during 1978 - a year in which my little 4-year old mind could not yet fathom such great inventions as: Cable TV, VCR's, DVD's, and high-speed Internet, in which I could watch all the Star Wars I could handle.

There are many more great TV intro's I could rave about, from the 70s' Starsky and Hutch, Emergency!, CHiPs, The Jeffersons, Good Times, Charlie's Angels, Fantasy Island, Happy Days, Three's Company, Eight is Enough, Dallas, Buck Rogers; transitioning into the 80s' Dukes of Hazzard, Diff'rent Strokes, Facts of Life, Silver Spoons, A-Team, The Greatest American Hero, MacGyver, Cheers, Family Ties, Growing Pains, etc.

But there's one show that stands out above the rest in this "Best of the Rest" lot...a show that set sail in the 70's and finally docked after many hot-to-trot voyages in the 80's - yes, I think you're expecting them, because - "...they're expecting youuuuuuuu" - The Love Boat!

I mean, c'mon! You get a classic, cheesy theme song (is there a better karaoke song for people who can't sing? - no, because how can you make the song any worse?), and perhaps one of the greatest moments in TV history - the coolest bartender ever, Isaac, whipping out the "six shooters"! Hell yeah! The dual "six shooter" quick-draw is still in my personal repertoire - see a hot chick? "six shooters"; see one of your buds in the pub? "six shooters"; knock over an old grumpy waiter with your cool Euro friends, yet earning a smile from the old gruff at the end? "six-sh-" well, actually, that's a "Mentos Moment", but anyway...

Bring back the lost art of the full-fledged TV intro. Like silence, they're golden...and I'd like to grab me a nugget.