TechnoRetro Dads: Rampage with Ralph, Lizzie, George, and The Rock

What do you get when you combine wrestling with genetic experiments in space gone awry and mix it up with some skyscrapers?  Rampage!  And the ‘Dads have more than their share this week with the classic arcade game and the new movie featuring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.  

 

In the NEWS

More sad news as we say goodbye to jazz musician/School House Rock composer Bob Dorough and WarGames soundtrack composer Arther B. Rubenstein.  Their music will live on indubitably.  Labyrinth returns to theaters and will likely make its musical debut on the theatre stage in the near future.  Nickelodeon spends a dime to reboot the ‘80s kids’ game show Double Dare — few details known at the moment, but we’re sure slime will be involved.  Shooting for Stranger Things 3 is underway with a fourth season already confirmed.  Star Wars Resistance will debut this fall on Disney Channel promising that Oscar Isaac and Gwendoline Christie will reprise their roles as Poe Dameron and Captain Phasma.  Han Solo’s Lando Calrissian’s YT-1300 will be on display (at least the interior) over the next few weeks in select cities as The Millennium Falcon Experience travels cross-country to promote Solo: A Star Wars Story.

 

We Love Our Cereal…

…and cereal snacks, be they frozen or refrigerated.  PLUS: Purdue engineering students show off their talents with a Rube Goldberg machine that not only pours a bowl of cereal, but adds the milk in a most imaginative and enjoyable way.

 

TechnoRetro Arcade

Midway Games’ Rampage showed up in arcades, bowling alleys, and skating rinks in 1986 to pockets full of quarters as gigantic beasts George (gorilla), Lizzie (lizard), and Ralph (wolf) begin their 128-day journey across the nation to wrestle skyscrapers to the ground as they eat people, smash cars, and often end up reduced to normal-sized humans sans clothing, sliding off the side of the game screen.  This classic arcade game was a staple of the late ‘80s and early ‘90s when shazbazzar and JediShua were in high school and college.  PLUS: Jovial Jay shares a story about an unboxed, mint condition Robotron 2084 game that was discovered in a warehouse filled with floors of “brand new” video games and pinball machines from the ‘70s and ‘80s.  Oh, to be a millionaire!

 

Rampage

Dwayne Johnson (yes, he even calls himself “Rock” in this movie) and Jeffrey Dean Morgan star in a movie adaptation of Midway Games Rampage in this spring’s Rampage.  Focusing on George, an albino gorilla whose growth is accelerated by secret experiments conducted in space, this popcorn flick is full of action and humor in a movie that’s light on life lessons and heavy on simple fun.  It’s a great catch on the silver screen that doesn’t take itself too seriously.  

 

Feedback

Wes comments on Prince and his guitar collection.  Jeremy the Spider-Pan from The Neverland Podcast provides an update on the TRON ride at Walt Disney World.  Mark All mentions Cheap Trick’s rendition of the Transformers theme and shAbbeyzzar chooses a Cheap Trick theme song for her class assignment podcast.

 

Thanks for tuning in to TechnoRetro Dads, EarBuds!  Don’t forget to rate and review TechnoRetro Dads on iTunes, share us and with us on social media, and join discussions about toys, cereal, games, movies and/or shows from the ‘70s and ‘80s by giving the ‘Dads your feedback via voice mail at [phone] or sending us a message or mp3 via electronic-M to [e-mail].

 

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