Enjoy Stuff: A TechnoRetro Podcast (technoretro dads)

The incomparable pairing of Paul Hogan and Linda Kozlowski began thirty years ago today (at least, here in the States) when Mick “Crocodile” Dundee attracted the attention of roving reporter Sue Charlton, boosting Australia’s tourism dollars and sales of bowie knives skyrocketed.  Ryan Stampfli joins shazbazzar and JediShua to revisit the classic 1986 Aussie film, “Crocodile” Dundee.  With ABLE from TRON: Uprising wielding an antenna like a boomerang and a kangaroo shooting back at drunk drivers with amazing accuracy, this adventure comedy is as good today as it was at the box office when it became the second top-grossing movie of 1986 in the United States. 

Get out your duct tape and open your Swiss Army knife because MacGyver is back on the air (with the original series playing on NetFlix).  Lethal Weapon and Lost in Space get reboot treatments as well.  Transformers are represented on TV again as Dan Shaffer lands a spot on The Voice.  Think Geek opens another brick-and-mortar store — this time in Oklahoma City.  The Dark Crystal and The Golden Girls get exclusive treatments at NYCC, and the ‘Dads make plans for custom figures (think Holiday Special).

Pumpkin Spice continues to dominate cereal aisles as the seasons change around the globe.  Football players not only eat cereal, but get their own brands in Denver, Cincinnati, and other cities boasting NFL teams. Magically delicious eclairs keep the cereal-to-doughnut craze going strong with Lucky Charms.   

The man of steel and stone-carved creatures feature heavily in fictional history with Superman Returns, Man of Steel, and Gargoyles.  PLUS: Phileas Fogg embarks on a world-wide tour encompassing the globe in less than three months.  All this in this week's TechnoRetro Dads History Lesson.

So drop off your dirty dishes at Natalie’s Platter Palace, grab your bowie knife, tip the bellboy, wash your backside, spread up a Vegemite sandwich, and tune in to TechnoRetro Dads.  If you get a chance, tell us your #TechnoRetro memories in your best “Crocodile” Dundee voice via electronic-M (podcast@TechnoRetroDads.com) or via voicemail at (209)TR-TRDAD.  We want to hear from you!

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Direct download: TRDads_04.25.mp3
Category:TechnoRetro Dads -- posted at: 5:30am EDT

Jack Burton gears up for adventure and excitement with his friend Wang, a Mannequin, a Tibetan Monk, and Azmorigan from Star Wars Rebels in John Carpenter’s Big Trouble in Little China. This cult classic from 1986 continues to entertain fans and first-timers in a wacky sci-fi action flick that keeps audiences guessing about what will come next.  Kurt Russell channels John Wayne to create a convincing Han Solo(ish) hero for this cornball excursion into the underworld of Little China to rescue not one but two green-eyed ladies from the clutches of a two-thousand year-old demon worshiper and his minions. Joe “Joey-Wan Kenobi” Tavano from RetroZap.com and Brews & Blasters joins shazbazzar and JediShua for a rousing discussion (and distractions) of this fun-filled film.

PLUS: Discover Star Trek connections with Jason Swank of Rebel Force Radio. Find out how Captain Kirk pronounces “sabotage”. Unveil the links between Big Trouble in Little China, The Golden Child, and Conan the Barbarian.  

In the NEWS…  
JediShua goes bonkers for a newly announced Netflix talk show with his hero Bill Nye.  Paul Meyers depresses shazbazzar with news about more TRON experiences on the other side of the globe. Rogue Friday will have a Midnight Madness at Toys ‘R’ Us.

Feedback
We open the mailbag for a couple of messages from EarBuds Armando and Chris.  And with more messages coming up next week, send us your #TechnoRetro memories via electronic-M (podcast@TechnoRetroDads.com) or via voicemail at (209)TR-TRDAD.  We want to hear from you!

Travel back to the ‘80s this week with Calgon, the California Raisins, Kool Aid, Mutual Fidelity Insurance of Sacramento, Star Trek II, TRON, Zuckuss, and 4-LOM (pronounced el-oh-im).  Your Monday morning will be better because you’re listening to TechnoRetro Dads.

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Direct download: TRDads_04.23.mp3
Category:TechnoRetro Dads -- posted at: 5:30am EDT

Since 1971, no childhood has been complete without meeting the gentle spirit in the strange and sadistic candy man as portrayed by Gene Wilder in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Although the 2005 remake (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) is noted for being more faithful to the Roald Dahl novel, and Johnny Depp’s performance was intriguing and enjoyable, Gene Wilder will always be the face and voice of Willy Wonka for generations. This week, we remember the Music-Maker and the Dreamer of Dreams with his “Pure Imagination”.

Come with me and you'll see
In this world of Pure Imagination,
Our friend Gene has defied expectations!

If you think a smile is paradise,
Go into show world and show it —
Grin from ear to ear and grow it.
You can change the world, if you just know it.

There is no one I know
Who compares with Gene's imagination.
He’s the kind who’ll be kind ‘cause he wants to.

If you want to view paradise,
Simply look around and view it —
Anything you want to, do it.
Want to make the world?
There's nothing to it.

There is no life I know
To compare with Pure Imagination.
Living there, you’ll be free
If you truly wish to be.

In the NEWS…  
Marcia Brady puts on her dancing shoes to compete on Dancing with the Stars. NetFlix announces season two of Stranger Things. SuperFriend Michael Witwer becomes a dad — again!

We Love Our Cereal…
Go cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs while bouncing here and there and everywhere with Disney’s Gummy Bears in this week’s edition of the Cereal Gourmet.

SuperFriend Dave Dollar from The Deucecast…
The Deucecast Movie Show is striving to find the best movie year ever in an ongoing tournament, but Mikey, Pinky, and Dave have run into a snag: the vote is split (2:2) between 1982 and 1995. We invite D$ to make his best argument for 1995 over 1982 (even though we all know he has no argument) and announce the tie-breaking listener vote. JediShua and shazbazzar strongly endorse the candidacy of 1982 for this round in the tournament because of the longevity and significance of films such as TRON, E.T., The Dark Crystal, The Secret of NIMH, The Last Unicorn, Poltergeist, and many, many more. Vote this week on their Twitter feed, then watch their Facebook page and TheDeucecast.com for other voting opportunities. #Vote1982.

There are surprises around every corner on this week’s show with memories of innocence and the days of youth and an unhealthy dose of sugary sweetness — just what you need on Labor Day!

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Direct download: TRDads_04.22.mp3
Category:TechnoRetro Dads -- posted at: 6:23am EDT

Thirty-five years ago, Andrew Wyke (Sleuth) ruled Olympus, much to the chagrin of Professor McGonagall (Harry Potter) and that Bond Girl, while Michael Kuzak (L.A. Law) battled various Ray Harryhausen creatures to save Vicky Gordon (The Adventures of Black Beauty) from Ymir (20,000 Miles from Earth).  Clash of the Titans (1981) appealed to our appetite for more mythological movies while we awaited the third movie in the Star Wars saga.  JediShua and shazbazzar remember and revisit this classic movie from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and talk a bit about the more recent reboot as well as the short-lived line of toys.

 

In the NEWS…  

Weird Al voices the titular character in the upcoming Disney XD series, Milo Murphy’s Law.  Various rumors surround the Beastmaster reboot.  Star Wars Rebels Season 2 hits stores tomorrow.  The story behind the Curious George books is in development.  And SuperFriend and Concept Artist Paul Bateman introduces us to the most amazing D&D map ever created!

 

We Love Our Cereal…and shoes

Kith your hunger good-bye with a shoe full of cereal on Broadway in an upscale shoe store/cereal bar.  The ‘Dads heap tablespoons of stereotypes on the Millennials who, according to a recent study, find eating cereal to be “too much work” (Inside Indiana Business).
PLUS: Lucky Charms teams up with the Wacky Races for colorful fun for a dose of Saturday morning nostalgia in this week’s edition of the Cereal Gourmet.

 

Flashback Games TechnoRetro Flashback

Play Donkey Kong, Jr. with shazbazzar and JediShua at Flashback Games Retro Arcade & Grill as you celebrate the 25th anniversary of the initial release of Super Nintendo in America.

 

Fully Fictional History Lesson

Doc Brown and the townsfolk of Hill Valley (1885) feature heavily in this week’s History Lesson alongside Skynet and a legendary wizard’s first day at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

 

Feedback

New EarBud Hasan lends his thoughts about Transformers and school supplies in an electronic-M.  The Ska Geek, LionsForge, RaisingFangirls, and Chef Armando tweet #TechnoRetro greatness on social media.  Let us know what you’re thinking, too by sending us your messages via electronic-M to podcast@TechnoRetroDads.com or calling us at (209) TR-TRDAD or (209) 878-7323 right away!

 

Don’t miss out on the myths and mythters in this limping and lisping epithode of TechnoRetro Dads.  Remember the past and look forward to the future while laughing at the present in your Millennial Falcon or riding Pegasus the winged horse.  Just don’t look at Medusa’s Eyes! 

 

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Direct download: TRDads_04.21.mp3
Category:TechnoRetro Dads -- posted at: 5:00am EDT

Almost forty years after Disney introduced an invisible animated dragon into the small New England town of Passamaquoddy with snake oil salesmen and sloshed singing, Pete’s Dragon is rebooted with a friendly, fuzzy dragon in a lumber town in the northwest.  Chris Hamilton from Star Wars KidsCast joins shazbazzar and JediShua to remember the 1977 Disney musical.  But that’s not all!  From Falcor to the EberSisk, the ‘Dads fly through some of the most memorable dragons on screen over the past five decades.  Put on your purple wings, grab your Tic-Tac-Toe stick, and warm up your vocal chords for a time-traveling trip back in time to a memorable (whether cherished or not) movie from the minds of ‘70s kids.

 

In the NEWS…  

Ready Player One is in the news with a signature version of the book and pictures from the set of the movie in Birmingham (England, not Alabama).  John Williams confirms he’s working on Star Wars Episode VIII.  Clancy Brown wants to play an Egyptian Spanish peacock in the rumored reboot of Highlander.  The Batman animated movie with the voices of Adam West and Burt Ward is coming this November.  

 

We Love Our Cereal

USA Gymnasts will soon appear on boxes of Kellogg’s Special K while ice cream is flavored with cereal milk, and it sounds like it will be “licking the cone good!”  PLUS: a new segment is introduced as two captains team-up for a classic combination of great tastes in your bowl on your TV in the Cereal Gourmet.

 

Next week we will feature some feedback from EarBuds, new and old, so send us your messages via electronic-M to podcast@TechnoRetroDads.com or voice mail to (209) TR-TRDAD or (209) 878-7323 right away!

 

Your day won’t be draggin’ when you remember your favorite dragons from days gone by! 

 

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Direct download: TRDads_04.20.mp3
Category:TechnoRetro Dads -- posted at: 5:30am EDT

Lunchboxes, backpacks, Trapper Keepers, pencil cases, ornamental erasers, and a Little Professor calculator are but a few of the things you absolutely had to have when you went back to school after a summer of fun in the sun.  Start your work…er…uh…school week off right with 77 minutes of TechnoRetro Dads as we take a trip back in time to our own school days with essential supplies from the annual “Back to School” sale.

 

In the NEWS…  

Continue your education after school with an updated version of the ‘70s classic edutational PBS program The Electric Company, now on HBO (alongside Sesame Street) with a new cast featuring schools of superheroes.  Play Dungeons & Dragons online with your friends via Roll20 — a fully interactive and graphically-enhanced way of playing hundreds of classic role-playing games on the GRID (thanks for the heads-up, Sheldon).  The middle school kids from Hawkins may make their way into an 8-bit video game to bridge the gap between the first and second seasons of Stranger Things (thanks, Ryan, for this bit of info).  And, of course, everyone watched the Olympic Games in Rio last Thursday night to see Michael Phelps win another gold medal (while millions awaited the premiere of the latest Rogue One trailer).

 

We Love Our Cereal

We finally review and rate Tiny Toast according to the TechnoRetro Dads Official Cereal Connoisseur Rating System and find both flavors curiously sweet (shaz thinks they taste like Monster Cereals).  And speaking of Monster Cereals, in an election where you can actually vote in support of a candidate rather than against the one you feel is less qualified than the other, General Mills offers voters a real option online at MonstersVote2016.com.  Plus, Darth Taxus tweets some pics of new cereals hitting stores this month.

 

Back to School (1986)

JediShua and shazbazzar revisit Rodney Dangerfield’s Back to School (PG-13) featuring Sally Kellerman, Burt Young, Ned Beatty, Keith Gordon, M. Emmet Walsh, Sam Kinison, Robert Picardo, Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., and Robert Downey, Jr.  A wealthy clothing entrepreneur decides to venture into the realm of academia as he enrolls in college with his son (that guy from Christine) and a young Tony Stark.  The laughs still resonate, but the color is certainly “off” in the vintage ‘80s style.

 

Celebrate the beginning of the school year with TechnoRetro Dads this Monday morning! 

 

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Direct download: TRDads_04.19.mp3
Category:TechnoRetro Dads -- posted at: 5:30am EDT

“We got Decepticons at the gates!  Decepticons in the air!  Decepticons inside the walls!  Decepticons, Decepticons, Decepticons!  If we beat them off the walls, they’re still in the air.  If we shoot them out of the air, they’re still at the gates!  So where does that leave us?  Nowhere, that’s where!” (Blurr)

After two seasons on television, in the midst of a wildly successful line of toys in stores, Hasbro and Marvel do the unthinkable — they kill off several Transformers in Transformers: The Movie.  Even the leaders of the Autobots and Decepticons aren’t spared from landing in the junkyard.  The death of Optimus Prime is the stuff of geek legend, and JediShua was there to experience it all!  On the thirtieth anniversary of the release of Transformers: The Movie, Steve Glosson travels through time and space from the GOLiverse to join TechnoRetro Dads to rewatch, relive, and…  Wait a second!  Not everyone saw Transformers: The Movie in 1986?  Tune in as TechnoRetro Dads meets Geek Out Loud for discussion of the cartoon, the movie, and the toys that transformed metallic vehicles into one of the most popular franchises from the ‘80s onward.

 

In the NEWS…  

Harry Potter has a Cursed Child in a new book, Oregon Trail leaps from the digital realm to a tabletop near you, and Halloween decorations hit stores.  PLUS: shazbazzar and JediShua get ducky with Richard and Sarah on Skywalking through Neverland as they remember thirty years of Howard the Duck.

 

With jokes, music, vocalized sound effects, and more, your Monday will be fun today with 86 minutes of nostalgic memories of 1986.

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Direct download: TRDads_04.18.mp3
Category:TechnoRetro Dads -- posted at: 5:30am EDT

When there’s something strange in the neighborhood, which Ghostbusters are you gonna call?  The latest version of Ghostbusters landed in theaters with controversy stirring up sufficient public intrigue and curiosity among moviegoers.  While the reviews of this movie are mixed for multiple reasons, shazbazzar and JediShua talk about the various incarnations of ghost-busting movies and TV shows from the past forty years (and maybe more, if you count Mickey, Goofy, and Donald) as they take on traffic and revisit the “remakes and reboots” discussion again.  Is the “original” Ghostbusters really original or was it a tribute to The Ghost Busters TV show from the ‘70s?  Which 1986 cartoon series really was the “real” Ghostbusters?  Do you like brownies and refried beans?  The ‘Dads try to make sense of it all as the third week of Ghostbusters has slowed online accusations from all sides of fandom to a trickle.

In the NEWS…  
BBC America announces Douglas Adams’ own Sherlock Holmes is coming to television soon with Dirk Gently.  Sega enters this year’s gift-giving for gamers competition with their minuscule Sega Mega Drive going head-to-head against the previously announced retro Nintendo system.  ComicCon reveals cool virtual reality games, Star Trek Discovery, and exciting peeks at the upcoming Kong: Skull Island.

Flashback Games TechnoRetro Flashback
Listen in as shazbazzar and JediShua take turns on the classic 1983 Star Wars arcade game at Flashback Games in Loganville, Georgia.  You can almost feel the controller when you hear the music and sound effects and buttons clicking on the stand-up cabinet as the ‘Dads play a couple of rounds of one of their favorite arcade games.  Listen in for more gaming flashbacks in future episodes, as well.

So plug in your earbuds, EarBuds, and join in the conversation about Ghostbusters and more on this week’s TechnoRetro Dads.

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Direct download: TRDads_04.17.mp3
Category:TechnoRetro Dads -- posted at: 5:30am EDT

Greetings, Programs!

Two Hundred Forty years ago, our fathers brought forth upon this continent a new nation.  Three days ago, Canadian 'Dads overran our feed with a Canada Day special.  Today, we invite you to round out the National Day celebrations with 76 minutes (Get it? 1776 instead of 1977?  I knew you would.) of Independence Day, Fireworks, and the Fourth of July.

In the NEWS:

Hannah John-Kamen is cast in Ready Player One as an unknown character, listed on IMDB as F'nale Zandor.  JediShua and shazbazzar consider the possible implications of a name like "finale's ender" on the identity of the character this young actress will portray.  Archaia is set to publish a new Labyrinth book this September, focusing on some of the characters from the thirty year-old Jim Henson feature.  Rogue One brings The Clone Wars back in focus with Saw Gerrara, a revolutionary leader from Onderon from season five.  Maybe Hondo Ohnaka can supply him with weapons once again...

FAMILY CIRCLE

Twenty years ago, aliens invaded our planet, devastating population centers in hopes of eradicating us from existence.  With the help of Bill Pullman, Will Smith, Jeff Goldblum, and Cousin Eddie, we were able to fight back and defeat the city-destroyers with a well-placed virus in their mother ship.  This week, shazbazzar and JediShua share Independence Day with their kids in celebration of The War of 1996 and in anticipation of watching Independence Day Resurgence later in the day.  The story, effects, and characters are not diminished by the years that have transpired -- the next generation is as impressed with the movie as we were twenty years ago.

TOYS IN THE ATTIC

Sparkling, spinning, and explosive fun is always a part of July 4th, and shazbazzar and JediShua reminisce about fireworks shows they watched when they were young as well as revisit the various kinds of burning, smoking, and flaring fireworks they would set off on their own.  

Finishing off this patriotic episode with JOKES, a HISTORY LESSON, and some School House Rock tunes, TechnoRetro Dads hope you will have a fun, fulfilling time with family and friends on this Fourth of July.

Direct download: TRDads_04.13.mp3
Category:TechnoRetro Dads -- posted at: 6:00am EDT

Greetings, Programs!

They’re big, scaly, and breathe fire.  They growl, slumber, and lumber about on the ground.  Some can fly.  Some can talk.  They hoard treasure.  They live in caves, caverns, and dungeons.  They’re multicolored ducks on your Atari.  You guessed it.  They’re DRAGONS.  And if they live in your neighborhood, you probably want a Dragonslayer.  Thirty-five years ago, Disney and Paramount teamed-up to create an imaginative tale of swords and sorcery with damsels in distress in a muddy medieval realm with the most impressive dragon ever seen on screen.  With Peter MacNicol, Caitlin Clark, Ralph Richardson, and Ian McDiarmid, Dragonslayer introduced new faces to the screen and included some of our favorites.  JediShua and shazbazzar invite their families to watch this nearly-forgotten classic as well as remember their introduction to Dragonslayer in the FAMILY CIRCLE.

After two long months, the ‘Dads finally mix their “Draggin’ Milk” with Kellogg’s Apple Jacks and review the EarBuds’ responses to the latest CEREAL CHALLENGE.  Discover the origins of the name change from “Apple-Os” to “Apple Jacks” as well as the story behind the two kids which graced the front of the cereal box for decades.

In the NEWS, George Lucas is named Executive Producer of another Indy movie. No, not an independent film — Indiana JonesBuck Rogers gets the Blu-Ray treatment.  The Dark Crystal action figures finally get produced over thirty years after the movie’s release.  

JediShua and shazbazzar listen to your FEEDBACK about magicians, comic conventions, TRON, and Raiders of the Lost Ark toys.

Be sure to check out JediShua’s own dad’s Dragonslayer artwork on Facebook and Twitter, hear more of Wooden Robot’s hard-rockin’ ‘80s stylings with Dragonslayer on BandCamp.com, and review TechnoRetro Dads on iTunes for your chance to win a signed copy of Ernie Cline’s Armada and voice your opinions about General Mills Tiny Toast in our online survey.  As always, you can be a part of TechnoRetro Dads by leaving a message at (209)TR-TRDAD or with an MP3 sent via electronic-M to podcast@TechnoRetroDads.com.

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Direct download: TRDads_04.12.mp3
Category:TechnoRetro Dads -- posted at: 6:00am EDT