The Black Hole

True story: Last winter I finally convinced my mother to give Gus the Star Wars guys from my childhood. They had spent most of my adult life in a JC Penny shirt box in my brother’s basement, and I will admit it’s been a little nerve-wracking to watch our four year old monster pummel them, bury them in sand, and contort them into horrible positions.

In the box of “guys” was an odd man out – a Black Hole action figure. Do you remember The Black Hole? If you do you’re my age, and you probably remember it as Disney’s creepy answer to Star Wars.  My brother Paul and I loved it growing up, and somewhere along the way the movie went out of print and became forgotten to an entire generation.  I guess that’s why they never made a prequel.

So Gus was fascinated by this guy, who clearly didn’t belong. Who was this outcast?!  We went to our neighborhood video store (which used to be a family-owned shop and is now a weirdly monolithic franchise) and – with my kids in tow – asked the clerk if they had The Black Hole.

“Is it a porno?” he asked.  The kids are standing right next to me.

“No, it’s a kids movie.”

And he checks the computer, only to find they don’t have it. We went home and watched the movie online. Gus thought it was weird and lost interest by the end (probably for the best). Nova fell asleep.  I learned a lesson about taking the kids to the video store, I guess.  I also learned that I’m still afraid of Maximillan.

So the real highlight of today’s post is the Black Hole storybook record. Unlike the Star Wars records I’ve posted (here and here), this one has the film’s cast. It’s a great interpretation of the story, and it kind of captures the Buck Rogers radio program excitement. I really loved this album when I was a kid, and I think part of that is because it’s less weird than the movie. We should probably serialize this rather than post it all at once, but I’m not patient enough for that. Here’s The Black Hole:

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