Retro Fan #41 November 2025 (magazine review).
As you can tell from the cover of this issue of ‘Retro Fan’, a major article by Herbie J. Pilato is spent on the 1970s TV series ‘Kung Fu’. The article’s problem is that it misrepresents the order of events that occurred after the series. The focus also veers away from the series content and the reaction to it. It’s a unique approach to a martial art typically reserved for extreme circumstances, and we eagerly anticipated Caine’s use of it.
We all know the series’ popularity and even the effect it had on the Eastern American acting community, invariably moving them away from being used as servants and cooks. It will always be challenging to balance these articles, but I believe readers expect a more equitable representation of the series’ content. Despite the article’s intention to serve as a history of the series, I find myself questioning some of the decisions made. I mean, creating a TV series about a fleeing monk who can perform a martial art at that time would have been quite radical, even as a TV film.
In contrast, writer Will Murray’s look at the ‘Nancy Drew’ detective stories from his youth does it much better. I can’t recall either the books or TV series over here, although I do think one of the mixes with the Hardy Boys might have been shown. Hardly surprising that ‘Carolyn Keene’ was a cover name, with Mildred Augustine Wirt Benson writing the majority of the early tales. Only in novels can the age of the characters stay young, and Nancy rarely got higher than 20.
The 1950s TV series ‘Space Cadet’ certainly didn’t get any viewing here, but writer Mark Voger has clued me in enough here with its three lead stars. You have to wonder how it could do so well on a low budget, but it must have caught the children of the era.
Writer Scott Shaw! gives the history of his friend/animator and scriptwriter Floyd Norman, the first Black animator at Disney back in the 1950s. A long list of credits and how he developed over the years. A really fascinating insight.
Writer Lucy Hall looks over her love of the ‘Dark Shadows’ TV series and her favourite 1795 timeline sequence. We might not have had the show over here, but these types of articles have filled me in with a lot of information over the years.
Writer Aaron Sultan is starting a series of articles looking at the various cereal companies and the free gifts, which the Americans call ‘premiums’, that were used to encourage children to urge their parents to buy particular cereals. I can’t recall ‘Cap’n Crunch’ appearing in the UK, but we had so much choice in the 1960s, although our one choice was ‘Sugar Smacks’ simply because of the number of Century 21 series plastic figurines.
Writer Andy Mangels has a look at how Spider-Man’s TV career developed in animation and one live series. When you look at his film career today, it’s hard to believe Marvel had so many problems in Hollywood convincing it of what a hot property it would be. I think the failing of the live-action series starring Nicholas Hammond wasn’t only because of a lack of supervillains but also because he wasn’t very spidery. All that changed with CGI.
Writer Scott Saavedra looks at the evolution of popcorn in America and how much of it was homecooked. At least it progressed beyond one of the early methods, which involved planting it in the ground. Yes, we have popcorn over here, but in the early days in the UK, we never cooked our own.
I know I’m doing a lot of comparison to life in the UK here, but it’s more as a reminder of how much or how little of Americana really reached our shores. It’s also a good sign that I’m thinking as I’m reading, which shows the articles reach beyond being purely nostalgia.
GF Willmetts
February 2026
(pub: TwoMorrows Publishing. 82-page magazine. Price: $10.95 (US). ISSN: 2576-7224. Directly from them, you can get it for $10.95 (US).
Check out the website: www.TwoMorrows.com and https://twomorrows.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=98_152&products_id=1842
