BRBTV.com announces classic TV news blog

Fans of several classic 1980s television programs can now keep up with the latest on their favorite show and its stars with a new blog by BRBTV.com.

The BRBTV News Blog, launched in January 2006 and featuring daily posts, covers the '80s primetime soaps "Dallas" and "Dynasty," daytime soap "Santa Barbara" and the action-adventure hit "The Dukes of Hazzard."

"These classic programs have an immense following," says author and journalist Billie Rae Bates, who launched BRBTV in 1998. "I've gotten a lot of emails over the past several years from fans wondering whatever happened to stars like John James of 'Dynasty' or Steve Kanaly of 'Dallas.' Fans are rewatching the episodes on cable channels like SoapNet or CMT, and they're curious to know more."

The blog, Bates says, is actually an evolution of the news pages featured at one time within the individual BRBTV websites. The news pages were phased out when the sites were redesigned and the series of BRBTV reference books released in 2003.

For Bates, 37, of Metro Atlanta, the reopening of a news component of BRBTV.com is a return to her roots. With a bachelor's degree in journalism and English, she got her start in the daily newspaper business, where she worked for 10 years as an editor, writer and graphic designer before heading into similar publishing-oriented positions in the corporate world.

"I've got ink in my blood, to use a cliche," she says. "I poured all of the content and research I had into the (BRBTV) books, but news keeps happening — you can't stop it."

Two of the four BRBTV titles are available in print and sold at e-tailers like Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com: "Dynasty High" and "Them Dukes! Them Dukes!" All four titles are available in an interactive PDF e-book format through the BRBTV.com sites and eBookAd.com.

Beyond the books, though, Bates says she'll keep on bloggin'!

"Nancy Lee Grahn of 'Santa Barbara' making a Vegas appearance, Larry Hagman of 'Dallas' teaming up with Barbara Eden for a stage production — it's all there," she says. "And it's meant to be fun. Just like BRBTV itself."

For more information about Bates or BRBTV, visit www.brbtv.com or www.billierae.com. The BRBTV News Blog is located at http://brbtv.blogspot.com. You can contact the author at BRB@brbtv.com.