The Sun Sets on a Solid Site

Some of the material on my weblog is linked to another one called Western Magazine Digest which I’ve had the pleasure of contributing to for a couple of years. WMD, as we call it, is an informative and entertaining online publication covering Western history, fiction, biographies, cinema and trivia— though it unfortunately will no longer be actively published.

The western weblog has been run by publisher Allan Colombo since 2018 and as Al is perpetually working on a dizzying number of projects, he decided it was time to unhitch his wagon and water his horses.

Over the years, Al and an impressive team of contributors have posted articles on just about every kind of western subject and story, fictional or true, under the sun. I myself enjoyed sharpening my writing skills and sharing knowledge learned about that most quintessential of American topics, the Wild West.

One of my favorite projects was a piece where I had the honor of interviewing James Drury of TV’s The Virginian. It became quite popular and incidentally turned out to be one of the actor’s final interviews. Below is a short video in which I discussed that experience.

Fortunately, Al will keep WMD online so we can continue to enjoy it and learn from its countless articles and stories. A matrix on the site helps visitors find topics alphabetically and access those corresponding articles easily. Links to some of my early pieces, such as the Virginian interview, can likewise be found on the ‘articles’ page of my own weblog’s menu.

I may even occasionally continue to post new reviews on the WMD weblog under my WMD Movie Reviews page, much like a prospector checks into an old ghost town now and again.

So be sure to keep visiting Western Magazine Digest and continue to post any comments you may have. You never know what you might come across or may have missed the first time around.

I can attest to WMD’s high quality and well-researched content and I think it capably served its purpose in helping to inform and remind us of those old cowboys and gunslingers and the crucial values that go along with their wild western mystique. Thanks for ridin’ along, folks. Happy trails.

Click for the 'Western Magazine Digest'

Love to hear from you. 

Use the contact form on the right!

Christopher Robinson, Writer Extraordinaire 

Hoo-Ra for Girl Power!

As Filmation wound down its He-Man and the Masters of the Universe series, a ‘back door’ had magically opened up for the hulky hero’s long-lost twin. Now the torch could be ably carried on with She-Ra: Princess of Power and by 1985, sisters were doin’ it for themselves.

Not a completely sloppy imitation, She-Ra had a style and appeal that was all herself, rather than a Xerox copy of her famous brother wearing a pink bow. She lived in another universe on a unique planet of her own, albeit one decidedly more pink and lavender!

Created by Larry DiTillio and J. Michael Straczynski, the spin-off followed the previous winning formula and introduced new characters and premises clearly modeled on the first series. Mattel Inc. similarly went to work on expanding and marketing this new world aimed at a juvenile female demographic.

On an Oz-like planet called Etheria, Princess Adora wields her ‘Sword of Protection’ to defend her people from a ruler named Hordak; a male villain, interestingly. She transforms as needed into the invincible She-Ra while leading a ‘Great Rebellion’ against evil forces known collectively as the ‘Evil Horde.’

Lasting only two modest seasons, She-Ra perhaps relied too heavily on its parent series, only partially reaching its intended target in the end. Its overall scenarios and characterizations seemed to center between powerful and mystical statuesque women with muscular thighs and absurdly infantile cartoon creatures such as ‘Twiggets’, ‘Bee People’ and even a walking, speaking broomstick with a ridiculous face on it called (wait for it...) “Broom.”

So perhaps originality wasn’t She-Ra’s most prominent asset. The short-lived He-Man companion piece served its purpose nonetheless, filling a missing piece in the Filmation world’s puzzle while simultaneously proving that cartoons could balance out any inherent gender disparities with considerable style. In our own world we often dream of a day when pigs fly and talking rainbow-striped unicorns roam the land. For She-Ra and her princesses of power, that was just a typical walk in the park. Powerful, indeed.

Love to hear from you. 

Use the contact form on the right!

Christopher Robinson, Writer Extraordinaire