Yet another name that has been used in the Barbie line more than once. The name was used for Midge's soon-to-be-born daughter in the Happy Family line, but the name had been previously used for an African American friend of Skipper's in the Teen Skipper line of 1996. This is said to be the same character in Barbie's current friends line. She has been in the line since 2006, after Christie disappeared for the umpteenth time. Nikki's last name has been changed from Watkins to O'Neill, and she is said to be Christie's sister, as O'Neill has also been given as Christie's last name.
I'm beginning to wonder why Nikki was not referenced in the live action film, since she has been in many of the animated Barbie films.
Let's take a look at Barbie's old friend who caused controversy when she was packaged as pregnant, as already noted in the Alan entry.
Midge dates back to 1963, as one of Barbie's first female friends. One of the ways she originally looked was like this:
Midge had been out of the line for years before being reintroduced in 1988 in the annual Barbie beach line. It was in 1991 that she and Alan were married. A wedding set was produced with Barbie as the maid of honor and Ken as the best man. A ring bearer named Todd and a flower girl named Kelly were also in the wedding party. It is not certain who this character Todd is supposed to be, that if he is Barbie's brother Todd who has occurred twice during the doll's history.
An originally planned family set shown in promotional booklets of Alan and Midge with a twin boy and girl was never produced. This was supposedly inspired by the Heart Family which had been cancelled in 1990. Some thought a Midge and Alan family line would be more successful since they have clear ties to Barbie, unlike the Heart Family. The controversial "Happy Family" line did not surface until 2002.
What might have been (above) vs. what actually was (below).
Here is a video on Midge's controversial history:
After her family line was discontinued, Midge disappeared until 2013 appearing in the web series Barbie: Life in the Dream House. The series ended in 2016, and Midge dolls stopped appearing once again, except for reproductions.
Skooter, an early friend of Skipper's (pictured below), was often thought to be Midge's sister. The two had some resemblances, but were never said to be sisters. Some have thought Skooter could also be Allan's sister and that Ricky could be Midge's brother, though many have thought Allan and Ricky looked like brothers. Again, none of this was never said to be true. Midge did, however, have a sister namedLila, who was featured in the Wee Friends line. And apparentlyanother sisteras well.
Allan and Midge (top row) and Skooter and Ricky (bottom). Any resemblances?
OK, how do you feel when a book being made into a movie or TV series gets a movie tie-in cover? And if it's the only one you're able to find in stores right before the film/series is released?
In 2011, as the film of Something Borrowed was nearing release, I went to find the find the book at Barnes and Noble. I don't recall if it was the only cover available, but I ended up getting the one with the movie poster. If that was the only one available at the time, then I had to take what I could get. I know it would still be the same book. In many cases, the movie cover actually has more artwork than the original cover, as is the case below.
When the new Dune movie was about to be released, many people on Facebook were saying that they wanted to find a copy of the book that didn't have the movie cover. That, however, was the only one I could find. My mom had read Dune back in the 1980s before the first film came out. While book hunting at thrift stores and monthly library book sales, I kept an eye out for a used copy of Dune, but to no avail. I ended up getting the movie cover book from Target. Again, sometimes you have to take what you can get.
I managed to find a used copy of Gone Girl sometime in 2013 before I learned of the upcoming movie. At the same time and place, I found a copy of Orange is the New Black after the series had premiered, but with the original cover. There was more than one movie tie-in edition for this one.
Well, tomorrow is halfway through April, and halfway through the A to Z blogging event. I've got my posts scheduled for the this week through Friday. This will work well tomorrow and Tuesday as I prepare for my exam. I've taken tomorrow off to relax as I begin to drink the cleansing stuff. I now have to get an EKG, the order for which will be available tomorrow. I have to be at the hospital at 6:30AM on Tuesday (the procedure is at 8). I'm preparing to go one day without dairy or solid food, and I can see myself feeling dizzy. I don't know how often I'll be on my computer the next two days, but will check in to see my posts and other stuff when I fell up to looking.
The weather in my area was warm last Thursday, then rain began again on Saturday. It's been pretty dreary and tiring. Not sure how the rest of the week or month is going to be. Not feeling like spring around here.
Lawyer is one of the Barbies depicted in the movie, as seen above. But did you know that there has never been an official doll called "Lawyer Barbie"? I did not know until I saw this short video. Amazing. Though the Legally Blonde 2 inspired doll does fit well with the Barbie pink theme. This article (warning: contains spoilers) says that the concept of Legally Blonde was taken a step further in the Barbie movie.
When I first searched for "Lawyer Barbie"dolls on Amazon, the results were those seen here. It was not until I looked on Youtube and found the video linked above (I could not find a way to embed it into my post). Again, it's strange that Barbie has never been officially depicted as a lawyer, out of all the careers she has had. This would be a perfect fit.
A discontinued Barbie line doll, Kira was one of several dolls in the line that attempted to capture Asian representation. Kira was introduced in the late 1980s, replacing a previous Asian character Miko. The two dolls used the same face mold. In Europe, Kira was called Marina. Kira's exact nationality has been debated.
Kira was discontinued in the early 2000s. A new Asian doll, Lea, took her place. Lea was phased out in 2006, leaving the line without any Asian characters, but was reintroduced in 2014.
A character in the Barbie line who is not well remembered. The aforementioned Francie wasn't the only cousin of Barbie's to have her own line. In 1989, Jazzie, Barbie's Cool Teen Cousin was introduced. Jazzie was something of a spiritual successor to Mattel's Starr line from a decade earlier. Starr was a high-school themed line that had no ties to Barbie. Starr had a boyfriend and two female friends, a car and several fashion sets. Only one doll of each character was made and the line lasted about two years. Starr's boxes were white with a notebook-paper design.
Jazzie's line was similarly packaged in white boxes, and she also had a boyfriend and two female friends. A Volkswagen Cabriolet (which the Heart Family also had) and a Burger King playset were also released, as well as several fashion sets (only for the girl dolls). Jazzie was launched in five different versions during the first year of production, along with her three high-school friends. Jazzie came as a basic high school doll, as well as in Teen Dance, Cheerleader, Work Out, and Swimsuit themed outfits. The different dolls' outfits could be changed into more than one different look.
(From left) Jazzie, Chelsie, Stacie and Dude in the original white packaging.
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Some Jazzie dolls and outfits.
Jazzie used the head mold of one of Starr's friends, Kelley (this was also used for the Caucasian Mrs. Heart dolls). Jazzie's boyfriend was named Dude, and he used the head mold of Derek from the Rockers line. Her girl friends were red-haired Chelsie (with the head mold of another of Starr's friends, Tracy), and African American Stacie. Stacie used an often-used head mold that will come into discussion later.
Chelsie and Stacie are two more names that have been thrown around in Barbie's world. The name Chelsie also appeared in the Barbie Generation Girl line. The differently spelled Chelsea was one of the dolls in the My Scene line, and that same spelling is used for the name of one of Barbie's current sisters (originally named Kelly). The doll Stacey (note spelling) was a British friend of Barbie's produced from 1968 to 1971, and another of Barbie's current sisters is named Stacie. Confusing, eh?
But let's get back to Jazzie. During her second year of production, her friends were discontinued and her white boxes were replaced with the hot pink color associated with Barbie. Soon Jazzie's own line was cancelled and she was absorbed into Barbie's annual swimsuit line (the same had been true of Francie), making three more appearances before disappearing altogether.
Jazzie's new pink packaging
Jazzie's first appearance in the Barbie swimsuit line.
(from left): Ken, Barbie and Jazzie in the Sun Sensation line.
Glitter Beach Jazzie-- the last Jazzie doll produced.
This was another line that came out way too late for me. I might have wanted it. So many things I learned about later in life.
