One Eye on the Dark Sky

I made sure I was in front of the television set to see whether Batman and Robin would make it out of that terrible scrape they’d landed in during the previous episode! There I would be, faithfully and eagerly, sometimes with bath towel hanging cape-like from my shoulders, in front of the television, cheering on the dynamic duo.

When I glanced out the newsroom window yesterday and saw the Batmobile parked on Ste-Catherine Street, I had no choice but to rush down and re-live the excitement!

I still have my Corgi Batmobile!

The Batmobile and the Delorean from “Back to the Future” were parked downtown to help promote this weekend’s Comic Con. One of the organizers of the event, Alex La Prova, had been on our show a few days earlier, talking about all the special guests and activities. Alex, in the red T-shirt,  had confessed to me before our interview started, that he never thought it would get as big as it has.

Years ago, while working at a Montreal radio station, I interviewed David Prowse, the man who wore the Darth Vader costume in the “Star Wars” movies. The former bodybuilder didn’t perform Vader’s voice, but he was the man in the costume. I asked him in that 1993 interview, whether George Lucas was very involved in Darth Vader’s appearance and presence on-screen. David replied, “Not at all. Not at all; that was all me. I had no instruction from George whatsoever. I was just basically given carte blanche to do as I pleased. The one thing I decided right from the outset, was, I really wanted to make Darth Vader as menacing and, um, well, really as menacing as possible. And I thought the best thing I can do is the way I move and the way I walk and I really wanted everybody to be subservient to me and I virtually wanted everybody to have to run to catch-up with me as I walked or strode through the scenes. I wanted everbody to be trotting behind me and this is really what established Darth Vader right from the word go.”  David’s at the Comic Con and yesterday, I got a picture with him.

I can't help it, the fun of Batman and Spiderman lives inside me! True, even then, those building-climbing scenes left a lot to be desired but, I still keep one eye on the dark sky, just in case Commissioner Gordon flashes the bat signal.