World Watch One

Zine
Title:	World Watch One
Publisher:	Banzai Institue for Biomedical Engineering and Strategic Information, Team Banzai, The Blue Blaze Irregulars
Editor(s):	Denise "Catnip" Tathwell, Lori "Illinois Kate" Oberscheven, Diane "Hollywood" Wickes,' Terry "Silver Fox" Erdmann, Fern "Sunshine" Marder, Carol "D.J." Walske (original B.B.I. Directors) and others
Type:
Date(s):	1985-present
Frequency:	irregular
Medium:	print
Size:	8 x 11
Fandom:	Buckaroo Banzai
Language:	English
External Links:
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World Watch One is a Buckaroo Banzai newsletter. It was first published by The Blue Blaze Irregulars, an Official Buckaroo Banzai Fan Club, in 1985. At its height, it had over 7000 members.

The founding B.B.I. Directors were Denise "Catnip" Tathwell, Lori "Illinois Kate" Oberscheven, Diane "Hollywood" Wickes, Terry "Silver Fox" Erdmann, Fern "Sunshine" Marder, and Carol "D.J." Walske. These people were employed by or associated with the film's production company, 20th Century Fox, and had the company's blessing, though they produced the newsletter in their own time - in the office on Sunday afternoons.

When the rights to the film reverted from 20th Century Fox to Sherwood Productions, the demise of the newsletter was announced - this was, however, premature. The newsletter went through a number of changes over the years, and almost as many editors. The complex history is detailed on the fan-run FAQ site, on a page titled "Was there an official Buckaroo Banzai newsletter?"

Issue 1

The inaugural issue of World Watch One was published in August 1985.

front page of the August 1985 issue

The Letter from the Directors began thus:

Greetings and salutations!

The successful test of the Oscillation Overthruster, along with the release of the documentary/dramatization "The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai", has once again put Team Banzai in the spotlight. The Institute has been inundated with correspondence from honest folk across the nation seeking additional information, memorabilia and admission to the Blue Blaze Irregulars. Dr. Banzai has asked us to take some of the heat off Mrs. Johnson, a request we feel honored to oblige. Thus, having been granted Class B/Grade One Security Clearances by Reno and Perfect Tommy, operation of The Official Buckaroo Banzai Fan Club will be administered through the offices of Twentieth Century Fox (our thanks to these good people for their cooperation) by the six of us in our spare time. Now, we're busy people here, and volunteers to boot, so if The Blue Blaze Irregular Newsletter is a bit irregular, we trust you'll understand.

Contributors as listed on the front page:

• Hikita, Lectroids, Sidney & Peggy [illustrations] (p. 4, 8, 10 & 12) by Earl Mac Rauch
• Lectroid Cartoons (p. 5, 6, 12, 14 & 16) by Cory Edwards
• Jet Car Spec Drawings (p. 7) from Perfect Tommy, Buckaroo Banzai
• Tour Bus Cartoon (p. 9) by Hollywood
• Lectroid (p. 11) from Yoyodyne Propulsion Systems Files
• Trivia Quiz (p. 15, 16 & 17) by Doreen Hughes
• All other illustrations courtesy Banzai Institute Graphics Group and W.D. Richter

Other content:

• Letter from the Directors
• Letter to the Blue Blaze Irregulars from W.D. Richter
• Various updates on the cast and creatives involved with the "documentary/dramatization", as well as "news" on the film's characters
• Info on related merchandise and the novel
• Bulletin Board ("KITTENS - All colors. Just ask. Please - Perfect Tommy")
• The Blue Blaze Irregulars - Member Questionnaire ("Remember, your response is a vote for Buckaroo Banzai Against the World Crime League!")

Issue 1.5

A supplementary issue of World Watch One was published in December 1985.

Contents included:

• Letter from the Directors
• Updates on cast and creatives
• Bulletin Board, including a listing for the fanzine The Penny Paradox
• A listing form for the BBI Directory, to enable fans to contact each other

The lengthy "Letter from the Directors" included the following support for independent fanworks and fan contributions to the newsletter:

We've heard rumors of B. Banzai publications other than our own, and will gladly print the addresses of any we discover so that you may contact them directly (if you know of any, please drop us a line). If you'd like to submit material to WW1, we'll accept it in almost any form, provided it's brief, readable and Reno doesn't think it's too dirty. We promise to read everything, but we don't promise to print it.

Issue 2

The second full issue of World Watch One was published in April 1986.

front page of the April 1986 issue, 25 single-side pages, stapled in the corner

From the editorial:

We are pleased to include two contributions from W.D. Richter in this issue of WWI(2). One is his long-awaited revelation of the real reason(s) for the watermelon's presence in the basement lab of the Banzai Institute. The other is a STRIKE TEAM ALERT for mobilization on behalf of a project which Richter, Earl Mac Rauch and Dan Lupovitz are even now developing for ABC-TV. "Heroes In Trouble" is the spirit of the Banzai universe reincarnated in a different form. Are you ready for initiation into yet another world from the minds of W.D.R./E.M.R.? Write on! You'll find the call to action on the next page.

Needless to say, we here at the Institute are saddened at the prospect of being relieved of the duties we've been performing on your behalf, and in the name of Team Banzai. However, we find comfort and inspiration for the future in more of Rawhide's dying words. Our comrade (so it is recorded) asked Reno to tell the story of Aristippus, a companion of Socrates, who spoke of a visit to the house of a courtesan. When one of his young companions expressed an embarrassed reluctance to follow him in, the older man counciled the youth, "It's not the entering that is troublemaking, but being unable to come out." We always return to the real world from our daydreams. Hopefully, we bring back with us ideas for deeds and actions which bring both worlds together and make them better to be a part of.

We'd like to express our appreciation to all of you who wrote to thank us for our work here at the Institute. Please don't forget that we still have another newsletter to compile for you, and keep those contributions coming in! Continue to bring those irregular Blue Blazes to our attention, and us to theirs, so all who want to participate in this planet-wide daydream can have the opportunity to do so. It's not over yet--saddle up!

Contributors:

• Team Banzai Illo, Uniform Illo by Jeff "Hudd" Huddleston (p. 4, 9)
• Lectroid Cartoon by Theodor "Birdy Feel" Schwartz (p. 5)
• Lectroid Cartoons by Cory "Johnny Fedora" Edwards (p. 6, 16, 17)
• Team Banzai March Tune Graphic by Sunshine and D.J. (p. 5, 8, 19)
• Team Banzai Cartoon by Hollywood (p. 11)
• Crossword Puzzle by Pat "Cincinnati Kid" Grant (p. 12)
• Buckaroo Banana Cartoon by Jim "Judge" Emelander (p. 13)
• Yoyodyne Complaint Form, Ben Hanoi Xan Graphic by Steve "Clyde Von Drake" Lee (p. 20, 22)
• Sting Concert Report by Faryl "English Beat" Reingold (p. 20)
• Yoyodyne Propulsion Systems Logos, "Reel Sune" Graphic from Yoyodyne Propulsion Systems Files (p. 7, 20)
• All other illustrations courtesy Banzai Institute Graphics Group, W.D. Richter

Other content includes how to tie a bow tie, and a number of possible answers to the age-old question "Why is there a watermelon there?"

Towards the end is a full-page listing for the fanzine The Cavalier, which was independently and unofficially created by some of the B.B.I. Directors, including Fern "Sunshine" Marder and Carol "D.J." Walske.

Halted in June 1986

The official fan club that published this newsletter announced it would close down due to a change in ownership at the highest level. The founding directors anticipated that "World Watch One" would cease after three issues, and made the following statement.

From issue two:

In July of this year, all rights to "The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai" revert from Twentieth Century Fox back to the film's original production company, Sherwood Productions, now Gladden Entertainment. Since Fox will no longer be connected to "TABB," and Gladden Entertainment" (now involved in several new projects) has no pans to begin production on "Buckaroo Banzai Against World Crime League" in the near future, the Banzai Institute of West and East Coast Offices will close at the end of June. Our final newsletter, World Watch One (3), will be mailed at that time, along with the Blue Blaze Irregulars Directory. Correspondence received after June will be replied to, albeit on a more "irregular" basis, but no new activities will be undertaken on behalf of the Blue Blaze Irregulars.

Now, the good news...

With over 5,000 of you out there, we can see that our funeral, too, will indeed be a big one! You will find these pages packed with contributions from your fellow BBIs; anecdotes, puzzles, cartoons and drawings, product information, Bulletin Board entries and lots of answers to the question, why is there a watermelon there? Although the BBI offices are closing, there are many Irregulars out there who want to keep the fun going with newsletters, fanzines, parties and other activities. We hope that the BBI Directory will bring you folks together through the mail and help to begin friendships which will prove as rewarding as those we ourselves have found through our work for the Inst'itute. We'd like to see this enthusiasm continue in many forms for a long time to come.

Many of you have expressed interest in forming your own local chapters of Team Banzai. Do it! Several groups across the country are already involved in group activities ranging from community service to just plain partying. You can even create your own Banzai memorabilia (such as patches, stationary, rubber stamps, etc.) using the graphics in these pages, as long as you do not charge money for your creations. Just remember, whatever activity you undertake in the name of Buckaroo, "don't embarrass us."

Issue 3

The third issue of World Watch One was published in November 1986 and contains 28 pages.

first page of issue #3

This issue announced that the newsletter would continue, though with a change in funding: costs of printing and postage would be borne by the company Starland which had exclusive rights to sell Banzai merchandise.

The Letter from the Directors included more support for fanworks:

We are pleased to notice activity on the fanzine front. Besides The Cavalier, another new fanzine titled World Watch Wire is supplying an outlet for fiction based on the world of Buckaroo Banzai. Other publications are printing "TABB" fiction as well; check the Bulletin Board for further information. Also, don't forget to let us know if you're aware of "TABB" fan fiction that we don't know about, so we can spread the word.

This issue contains a fan directory:

We are pleased to include in this mailing the first edition of the Blue Blaze Irregulars Directory. There are now over 7,000 BBIs out there, and anumber of you expressed interest in networking with your fellow teammates around the world, Please let us know of any errors you find, and changes or additions to be incorporated in the next edition. Have fun, and write on

From the editorial:

Salutations, Blue Blaze Irregulars!

We know, we know...

Some six months ago, we said in black and white print that World Watch One (3) would be mailed in June. We even said "Believe it! We even meant it. We even believed it ourselves. Well...

We could tell you that during the time that Rawhide was recuperating from the effects of his near-demise, the Institute went to wrack and ruin without his quiet supervision. No one paid the bill for the postage meter, so we couldn't send mail out. The Institute Saab was towed away because no one renewed the registration. The print shop almost folded because no one ordered more dry ink and Xerox paper. We still couldn't get bottled water at the House, and if Mrs. Johnson hadn't taken over ordering groceries, the entirety of Team Banzai would probably have starved to death.

However, what really happened is that the Directors and their trusty Interns have had a summer alot like the forty-eight hours depicted in "The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai," and have been playing catch-up since July. Our most humble apologies to our homeland and loved ones. We are back on the stick now. We hope. On to business. There seem to be a lot of you out there who only read the cartoons in this thing, and thus missed our Team Banzai Flash explaining plans for the continued existence of the Banzai Institute and the Blue Blaze Irregulars.

Go back and look at your copy of WWI(2) again, folks, We will continue to compile the newsletter and answer mail from the offices of Twentieth Century Fox. However, our printing and mailing costs and labor are being assumed by Steve and KathE Walker of Denver, official licensees of Buckaroo Banzai merchandise

and loyal BBIs who want the fan club to continue. Since they are supporting the Blue Blaze Irregulars through profits made from the sale of Team Banzai merchandise, we here at the Institute urge you to check out their ad in the back of the newsletter and rush out now in a buying frenzy.

Also from the editorial, join the roster:

In order to ensure the most complete roster possible, Steve Donnelly and KathE are updating the mailing list. Enclosed with the newsletter, you will find a pre-addressed postcard. To re-up your membership in the Blue Blaze Irregulars, simply fill out the postcard and return it to the Denver Offices. You will be included in the computerized ranks of the BBIs from the information on vour card. If you do not return your postcard, you will be dropped from the BBI roster. Write the Denver Offices today, so we can be certain of sending your copy of World Watch One (4) to the correct address.

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Later Issues

front page of the March 2019 issue, drawing by Mark Texeira

Issue #4 was published in Fall 1987. The editors were Dianne "Hollywood" Wickes and Steve "Clyde Von Drake" Lee.

Issue #5 was published in Winter 1988-89. The founding Directors had all moved on by now, and the new editors were Alan "Dragon" Smith and Nancy "Abacus" Smith.

Issue #6 was published in Spring 1990, and edited by Alan "Dragon" Smith and Nancy "Abacus" Smith. Honourable mention goes to the BBI activity Down Under in Australia, including the newsletter The Banzai Bulletin published by Geoff "Downtown" Tilley.

Issue #7 was a Twentieth Anniversary Edition published in Fall 2004, edited by Dan "Big Shoulders" Berger and Alan "Dragon" Smith. The two editors unfortunately parted ways, with each of them going on to develop separate editions of the newsletter.

Issue #8, the Chicago Bureau Edition, was published in April 2006. It was edited by Dan "Big Shoulders" Berger, with support from Sean "Figment" Murphy, Amber "The Ice Queen" Richter, and Scott "Camelot" Tate.

Issue #9, the Underground Edition, was published in Spring 2006, and edited by Alan "Dragon" Smith and Nancy "Abacus" Smith.

Issue #10, the Underground Edition, was published in Spring 2008, edited by Alan "Dragon" Smith and Nancy "Abacus" Smith. This was the first issue to make the shift from paper to pixels.

Issue #11 was the 25.75th Anniversary Issue, published in June 2010, with two parts developed in collaboration. The Chicago Bureau Edition was edited by Dan "Big Shoulders" Berger, Steve "Rainbow Kitty" Mattsson, Sean "Figment" Murphy, and Scott "Camelot" Tate. The Underground Edition was edited by Alan "Dragon" Smith and his team. Mention is made of Sean "Figment" Murphy's wonderful Buckaroo Banzai FAQ site.

Issue #12 was published in October 2016, by the Chicago Bureau, edited by Dan "Big Shoulders" Berger and his team.

Issue #13 was published in September 2018, by the Chicago Bureau. It was edited by Dan "Big Shoulders" Berger and his team, now including DeWayne "Buckaroo Trooper" Todd.

Issue #14 was published in March 2019, by the Chicago Bureau. The cover featured a new sketch of Buckaroo Banzai by Mark Texeria, the artist for the original Marvel Comics adaptation of TABB.

Issue #15 was a bumper 35th anniversary issue published in August 2019, by the Chicago Bureau. The editing team has expanded again to include Steven "Green Town" Silver and Charley "Mrs Trooper" Todd. Content includes an interview with Bev Beej Larkin about the fanzine The Penny Paradox (p. 14-15).

Issue #16 was published in August 2020, by the Chicago Bureau - homebound due to the COVID-19 pandemic.