Hi my name is Robin Ryder. My nickname is Range Ryder after a character
Murdock played on the A-Team episode "When Ya Comin' Back Range Rider".
I took that nickname because I liked the word play on my last name and
as a child of the 60's I grew up watching all those western serials on
Saturday afternoon tv--not to mention the ones that were on at night...
you could say "my heroes have always been cowboys..."
I'm an archaeologist and since the 1970s have done a fair amount of work
or work related travel in a lot of different places (Peru, India,
Mexico, Jamaica, Barbados, Virginia). When I was a kid I always wanted
to be a cowboy or an astronaut (I did grow up during the space race
after all) or a bartender or a truck driver or...well you get the
picture...I wanted to have adventures! So I became an archaeologist LOL
When the A-Team was being made I watched the show because I liked the
action/adventure/humor aspect, but also the way the guys could always
come up with a way out of anything using whatever materials were on
hand. There were also a number of episodes that appealed to the yippie
in me, I loved "There Goes the Neighborhood" which poked fun at all
kinds of things--survivalists, music stars, Mr. Rogers, dumb criminals,
drug dealers... another episode that I consider a favorite is "Where's
the Monster When You Need Him?" because, well, it was hard to grow up
when I did and not like science fiction and monster movies--stuff like
The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, all those Japanese monster flicks.
"Monster" is a wonderful episode that shows how the special effects on
the show were done, in the guise of the making of a monster movie. It's
a show within a show.
I've been married for 17 years, have a stepson, a daughter-in-law, a
granddaughter and another grandchild on the way. What I do for a living
is run a university based archaeological research center and teach
archaeology. Things I like include listening to rock and roll and jazz
music, martial arts (I studied Wah Lum Kung Fu- a northern Preying
Mantis style- for a number of years), kayaking, snorkeling, backpacking
and camping, traveling, and playing folk music with a group of friends-
we've gotten together once a month to play/sing/eat good food/drink good
wine/enjoy each others company for nearly 20 years...well, I could go
on, but you get the picture.
Favorite tv shows: well, of course I like the A-Team, also Star
Trek--having been a fan of the show when it was being made, it took me a
while to warm up to Next Generation, but I finally did. Especially when
they introduced the Ferengi, started bringing Q back regularly and gave
Worf a bigger part. Don't generally have favorite actors, but do have
favorite characters: Xena, Gabrielle--cause you just have to love a
short, good-looking, blond haired woman who isn't presented as either a
petite doll or a ditz, I mean, Gabby is smart and she can kick butt just
watch her with that stick and she's got a sense of humor..., Murdock,
BA, Worf, Q, The Ferengi, Londo on B5, Hollywood Hulk Hogan.....In
general I guess you could say I like the trouble makers...
