Halloween-A-Thon 2011: When Michael Comes Slashing Home Again, Hurrah, Hurrah

In 1978, John Carpenter released what many, including myself, feel is the greatest horror film of them all. He took a self-penned screenplay, added virtually no budget and an up and coming actress who happened to be the daughter of two gigantic film stars (including the original slasher chick, Janet Leigh!) and turned it into the greatest horror franchise the world had seen up to that point. Of course I am talking about Halloween. It was great when it first came out and to this day. The sequels don't hold up to the original. There are really only two that matter. The second one as it is the continuation of the first film and the seventh which brought back the original character of Lori Strode played by the pre-Activia Jamie Lee Curtis. The great thing about Halloween H2O (the seventh film in the series) is that it acts as if Halloween 3 through 6 doesn't even exist. (In my mind, they don't).

I was hopeful that the series would end with H2O but unfortunately, the greed train pulled in and another sequel was made followed by a "re-imagination" (I hate that term) of the original by Rob Zombie. I've only seen a tad of that film and I really can't say anything too bad because my good friend and boss, Micky Dolenz was part of it. I can say that it is not the original. There will never be another "Halloween". For today's treat I bring you the soundtracks to Halloween and HalloweenH2O. The music for the original was written by John Carpenter on a little Casio keyboard and is legendary. It's minimalism at its finest! Here is the 20th anniversary edition of that soundtrack that was released in 1998, the same year H20 was released. Enjoy!

Halloween OST

Halloween H2O OST

Halloween-A-Thon 2011 Begins!

It's October and that means blogs all over the internet are counting down the days until Halloween! We here at the World of Wonder are no exception. Seeing as how a lot of the back pages of the blog have been wiped away or a lot of my sharities have been removed by the facist rapidshare corporation, I've decided to mix some old with some new this year. Some of the Halloween goodies I will be sending your way have never appeared on the World of Wonder before, while others will make a very welcome return. The first post of "Halloween-A-Thon 2011" is an old friend that has been wiped off of the blog. We are pleased to welcome back Paul Lynde's Halloween Special!


I know that over the last few years this has been a hot commodity that almost every blog has posted it so I figured I would keep the tradition going by posting it here. If you have never seen the special, you need to run out to the store and get your copy right now. It is a classic and features a list of guest stars that would rival any episode of The Love Boat! It's also historic in that it features the first television appearance of the band, KISS. Here is the original television soundtrack to "The Paul Lynde Halloween Special". Enjoy!

Paul Lynde Halloween Special OST

The Last of the Hulk Cards

Here are the last five packs of the Incredible Hulk series of trading cards from 1979. I was going to space them out over a few more posts but October is upon us and I want to get into the usual Halloween theme here at the World of Wonder. So, without further ado, the remaining packs of this great series of cards (plus a few bonus items) are presented for your pleasure. Enjoy!

The Incredible Hulk Trading Cards Packs 9 & 10

The Incredible Hulk Trading Cards Packs 11, 12 & 13

"HULK TRADE CARDS!"

Here are the next two packs of Hulk trading cards. I hope you are enjoying the way I have it set up so that if feels like you are actually getting the old packs and finding the cards that you need to complete the set. Of course, it would be much easier for me to post the whole set as one big download but where's the fun in that?! The other upside is that you don't have to worry about getting any doubles. And if you want to trade with someone, you can just copy the file and send it rather than give away your prized possession. Here are packs 7 & 8.

The Incredible Hulk Trading Cards Packs 7 & 8

Within Each of Us, Ofttimes, There Dwells a Mighty and Raging Trading Card.

Here are two more packs of the trading cards from the classic television show, "The Incredible Hulk". As you open them up and collect them, you might notice that most of the cards come from the first season of the show. There are a few from the second season but most of them are from the first season. Not only that, but they come mostly from certain episodes. There are scenes from the pilot, the 747 episodes and the Times Square episode. Plus there are the ones from where David Banner goes through hypno therapy and confronts the Hulk in his hypnosis. Interesting choice of episodes. Here's packs 5 & 6. Enjoy!

The Incredible Hulk Trading Cards Packs 5 & 6

ANGER! DANGER! TRADING CARDS!

Here are the next two packs of cards from "The Incredible Hulk" set. These cards were originally released in 1979. They are still a much sought after set to this day. A collectible shop in a mall not too far from where I live sells the original wax packs. While most cards from that era are selling for a dollar or two a pack, these sell for $5 a pack. If I needed them, I probably would spend that much. Here are packs 3 and 4 and remember to keep a look out for those bonus cards and stickers!

The Incredible Hulk Trading Cards Packs 3 & 4

Don't Make Me A Trading Card . . . You Wouldn't Like Me As A Trading Card

Since I received that great e-mail from Kenneth Johnson a few posts back, I thought it fitting to serve up the next set of trading cards to you. This time, as you may have already guessed, it's The Incredible Hulk set from 1979. The set features 88 cards and 22 stickers. In keeping with the original packs, I have included 7 cards in each pack but instead of just one sticker I am giving you two! Woo hoo! And to keep the math straight and not have any doubles, I've included bonus cards from other trading card series featuring the Hulk throughout the set. Keep an eye out for them! Here are the first two packs! Enjoy!

The Incredible Hulk Trading Cards Packs 1 & 2

Bake The Hall In The Candle of Her Brain

Yesterday, my son and I were out driving around listening to "The Muppets Present: The Frog Prince." It captured my little two year old's ear and he eagerly awaited every new track. Just to be sure that I wasn't imagining him paying attention to the story, I asked him about it later on in the day and he recounted the whole plot and even a few items that I had forgotten. It brought a smile to my face to know that he was enjoying what was coming over the sound system. It also furthered my happiness in knowing that we have the old fashioned audio stories to listen to rather than having a DVD player in the car. Here is that same audio that we listened to yesterday (that he is still talking about today). It's a combination of the original soundtrack album and the soundtrack from the actual television special from 1971. Here is "The Muppets Present: The Frog Prince". Enjoy!

Jim Henson's Muppets Present: The Frog Prince