Creature Features

For 14 years, from January 1971 through September 1984, CREATURE FEATURES ranked in the Nielsen ratings as one of the most popular TV shows in San Francisco Bay Area television history. Broadcasted from KTVU Channel 2 in Oakland, California, the Saturday night series was hosted by former TV advertising writer Bob Wilkins for eight years, followed by San Francisco Chronicle entertainment writer John Stanley who kept the series alive for another six.

Forrest J. "Forry" Ackerman was a fixture in the science fiction and horror scene for as long as anyone can remember. Having picked up a sci-fi magazine as a nine-year-old boy, the stage was set for a lifetime of passion for the subject. Starting a sci-fi club led to writing one of the genre's first fanzines. Getting to know writers and artists in the field landed Forry work as a literary agent and he began amassing one of the world's largest collections of fantasy material. A meeting with James Warren would turn into a pop culture- changing event as Forry was asked to head a new magazine and "Famous Monsters of Filmland" was born. He started opening his house to the public in the early 1950's, a tradition he would carry on through three Ackermansions up until 2008. His collections were stuffed to the rafters in every nook and cranny, leaving visitors to wonder where there may be living space. "Uncle Forry's Ackermansions" tours us through all three of his homes.

A full length documentary about San Francisco's famous 10-acre seaside amusement park, Playland at the Beach. Located next to Ocean Beach, it was torn down in 1972 to make way for a condominium development. Gone now for more than 3 decades, it remains one of the city's lost treasures. Includes Laffing Sal, the Fun House, the Carousel, the Big Dipper, the Diving Bell, Dark Mystery, Limbo, Fun-tier Town, and much, much more, all through the eyes of the people that were there. Written by Tom Wyrsch