Christmas through the decades : The 70s

[palitoy]

History Channel aired this special last night here and well, there was lots of great eye candy.

http://www.history.com/shows/christmas-through-the-decades/videos/christmas-through-the-decades-the-70s

I took some photos of my screen because I saw some familiar Mego stuff:



I have a really crappy version of this photo, so nice to finally see it. Obviously it takes place before Kenner gets going.




That's a carded Ming from the Flash Gordon the other kid is holding. There is a carded 8" figure in red on the other side but I couldn't figure it out.



Oh hai Mego James Bond.

[Hedji]

Someone should do a book on this topic.

Sorry I don't have cable. I'll have to search this one out.

[palitoy]

Someone should do a book on this topic.

I still want to revisit that subject.

[drquest]

Man I'd love to be in that toy aisle.

[Goblin19]

Watched it. It was really interesting. Stayed up too late because of it.

[Werewolf]

Super cool.

[TrekStar]

Is that a Stretch Monster in the box I see? Humongous bucks today.

[Mikey]

1/4 caught this show the other day

Thanks for grabbing some great captures B.

[MIB41]

DVR'd it last night. Will definitely catch it tonight.

[MIB41]

Finished watching this. Overall a fun documentary but a little uneven in focus. They spent most of it in the last three years of the decade with toys and the Iran Hostage ordeal. Having lived it, I thought they pretty much overlooked allot of 70-74. Surely they could have covered a bit more than Nixon and the energy crisis for that period. Mego pretty much got passed over. Too bad since they did so many great things with celebrities in a high profile way like Ali and Farrah.

[Werewolf]

I would have liked more history, background info and development of the toys themselves and less celebrities.

[Ranger 3]

The really skipped the whole Kenner Bionic line- would have liked to see more of that. But I guess it is really the same story as the Star Wars line, and the SW stories has the 'empty box' story with it.

[palitoy]

Also Steve Austin wasn't a hot toy in 1978, that was the end of the line.

I enjoyed half of it greatly, the other half was filler and the celebrities added absolutely nothing. The toy expert was the only interesting thing. Anson Williams regaling us about how he loved his Evel Knievel toys was odd, wasn't he like 30?

[hobub]

What though, no Megos? Everyone I knew from back then remembered them. But they are so overlooked. I would think at least the WGSH would have made more an impact than just to have a small cameo in the movie "The Toy" at the end of their run.

And to think, how many times was it suggested to the big toy makers to bring them back before the powers that be (our generation) was finally old enough to be the powers that be and actually have it done. Famous covers, Hasbro, Mattel, And finally -- Paul aka EMCE and then FTC with their mammoth attempts. You can't say they weren't popular with 70s kids or the 70s kids would have never resurrected them from the antiques stores, basements and attics.

[hobub]

Maybe one of you ambitious members who do blogs and write articles out there can get with the History Channel and produce a special on the history, the brainchild, the trailblazing, licensing, the rise to the top, the fall from and demise, then finally, the legacy, of the "World's Greatest Toy Company of the 1970s". Now that would be cool to watch.