Article When worlds collide: Retro tech in movies

[sysop]

From my retro tech blog...

... I really get a kick when hobbies that I enjoy come together; like when you're watching a movie and you see real-world technology of the time appear in a scene. It's even better when they're actually using the tech the way it was intended to be used and not as just a prop.

... In the very classic Canadian comedy movie, Strange Brew, Bob and Doug find their way into the villain's lair. In the corner of the room sat a PET and dual floppy disk drive. The PET seems to be running a simple program that scrolls a bunch of repeating text on the screen. Doug pushes a few buttons, which results in a floppy disk being forcibly ejected out of the unit. Unbeknownst to him, the disk contains the plans of the villain to take over the world.

I remember another Canadian production, "Friday The 13th", which was a television series from the 90s, using a similar setup for a scene shot in a science lab. I'll have to go find that episode to get a screen capture of it. But I do recall there being a PET and a dual disk drive next to it.

You can read the entire article here:
Retro Tech Blog...

[sysop]

Last night we were watching a recording that I found of a 1985 T.V. movie, "Murder In Space", produced by the Canadian First Choice Superchannel pay T.V. company.  The movie isn't all that great, but the "hook" with this movie is, the ending that reveals the murder (or murderers) was held back.  You were supposed to use the ballot, contained in Prime Time Magazine (the guide that you got as a subscriber to the channel), and submit your guess as to who were the culprits.  

Anyway, it's not too far into the movie when our trusty old Commodore products start to show up.  First, are consoles of 1702 video monitors and later, the C64 breadbin.

   

Notice, the video cable is plugged in and looks like it's properly connected to the monitor, but no power cable.  And, it appears as though they have some odd looking cable coming out of the expansion port.  Strange, but fun to see, none-the-less.  

Here's the promo teaser that was published in the June issue of Prime Time Magazine for the event: