Whether you’re returning from summer camp in hopes of a glorious reunion with your friends, coming home after a vacation at the beach, or just happy to be “Together Again” with your EarBuds after a week of fun and fireworks, shazbazzar and JediShua are serving up seventy-seven minutes of GenX news and discussion and large bowls of tasty cereal for your tum-tums on this Monday morning!

In the NEWS…

• Goodbye, Willie.  Max Wright from ALF succumbs to cancer at age 75.
• Hello, Hamill.  Cast and characters of the upcoming Netflix series The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance are revealed.

We Love Our Cereal…

…and the Roving Spoonster, Shane in GR does, too!

• Keto friendly cereals that will dent your wallet.
• MELK Diner & Cereal Bar closes its doors.
• Fire at the Battle Creek Kellogg’s facility.  What does burning cereal smell like?

Let’s Go to the Movies: The Muppets Take Manhattan

The summer of ’84 continues with cinematic hits like The Last Starfighter and The Muppets Take Manhattan.  But 1979 isn’t without a notable movie from this week — The Frisco Kid may have been the last movie starring Harrison Ford that doesn’t focus on the Han Solo/Indiana Jones icon in its trailer.

TechnoRetro Arcade: The Last Starfighter

JediShua asks which video games would make suitable trainers/testers for potential candidates to save the galaxy in an epic space battle as seen in The Last Starfighter. 

Science Lesson

Loads of cool, geeky stuff is going on in our world these days:

• NASA makes their entire media library publicly accessible and copyright free.
• NASA introduces Dragonfly, the quadcopter concept for a mission to Titan.
• LightSail 2 has begun its mission.

Feedback

Swamp Angel sends in a message for JediShua.

Thanks for tuning in to TechnoRetro Dads, EarBuds!  Go online for more TechnoRetro Dads on iTunes, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, RetroZap.com, or TechnoRetroDads.libsyn.com.  Pick up your TechnoRetro Dads merchandise at TeePublic.  Don’t forget to rate and review TechnoRetro Dads on iTunes, share us and with us on social media, get TechnoRetro merchandise at TeePublic, and join discussions on Discord about toys, cereal, games, movies and/or shows from the ‘70s and ‘80s by giving the ‘Dads your feedback via voice mail at (209) 878-7323 or sending us your mp3dback via electronic-M to podcast@TechnoRetroDads.com.

Whether you’re celebrating Canada Day today or hurriedly getting work done in hopes of a four-day weekend beginning on the 4th of July, you’ve gotta make time for shazbazzar and JediShua before getting to work as the second half of 2019 begins.  The TechnoRetro Dads have a summer-packed show to kick of the month of July with Bernie, Beach Boys, and big boomers!

In the NEWS…

• The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance will have an accompanying comic book series to delve more deeply into the many characters from the Netflix series.
• Don’t forget that Stranger Things 3 is coming to Netflix this Thursday.  Find out how Hawkins, Indiana deals with another attack from another dimension.
• Tickets to Star Wars Celebration Anaheim 2020 went on sale…and were quickly sold out.

We Love Our Cereal…

…and the Roving Spoonster, Shane in GR does, too!

• Two new Cap’n Crunch flavors for your bowl!
• The UK may have lost major holdings in North America, but they get the last laugh by getting white chocolate Coco Pops while the former colonies fill their bowls with empty wishes.
• Evidence of the TechnoRetro Dads’ time-traveling tours is discovered by Austrian archaeologists who dug up three thousand year-old Cheerios (not Oreos, shaz).

Vinyl Scratchback: The Beach Boys

Summer time is a funner time with music blaring from your boombox at the beach — as long as it’s beach music.  And what could be more summer-centric than the tones of The Beach Boys?  From wave-riding songs like “Surfin’ Safari” and “Surfin’ USA” to cruising songs like “Fun, Fun, Fun” and “I Get Around”, The Beach Boys have been an integral part of summer.  But boys will be boys, and therefore had to include songs about the girls like “California Girls” and the wistful “Wouldn’t It Be Nice”.  Rounding out the mix is their huge summer hit in the ‘80s called “Kokomo” (which, evidently, isn’t about white chocolate Coco Puffs).

Let’s Go To the Movies: Weekend at Bernie’s

Richard and Larry discover a discrepancy in their company’s financial records that reveals more than a clerical error.  To reward them for their diligence and vigilance in their work, their boss Bernie invites them to his beach house for the weekend — and plans to have them silenced…forever.  But when Bernie gets on the wrong side of his nefarious partner-in-crime, the hitman is given a different target and the two young employees spend a wild weekend trying to conceal the fact that their boss is dead so that they can enjoy a well-earned weekend on the beach. 

Fireworks!

Pack black powder into a paper cylinder, set it aflame, and watch it smoke, skip, snake, skyrocket, or simply go “BOOM!”  The first week of July is a great time for blowing things up at home, the beach, or dirt roads on the way back from another state with less-stringent laws regulating fireworks.  The ‘Dads and several EarBuds recall their experiences with sparklers, firecrackers, bottle rockets, Roman candles, and more as we celebrate national holidays this week.

Feedback: New Coke and the Cola Wars

New Coke turned Jeremy into a Pepsi drinker.  Norman speaks of the Cola Wars in coded speech.  Myles can’t find New Coke in Canada and needs help.

Thanks for tuning in to TechnoRetro Dads, EarBuds!  Go online for more TechnoRetro Dads on iTunes, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, RetroZap.com, or TechnoRetroDads.libsyn.com.  Pick up your TechnoRetro Dads merchandise at TeePublic.  Don’t forget to rate and review TechnoRetro Dads on iTunes, share us and with us on social media, get TechnoRetro merchandise at TeePublic, and join discussions on Discord about toys, cereal, games, movies and/or shows from the ‘70s and ‘80s by giving the ‘Dads your feedback via voice mail at (209) 878-7323 or sending us your mp3dback via electronic-M to podcast@TechnoRetroDads.com.

Whether you’re looking for sunny days or a funny joke, you can “Catch the Wave” with the old New Coke (and catch up on some exciting news, reviews, and stand-up comedy even if you’re lying down.  Where else can you get 77 minutes of foolish futility to kickstart your work week for zero dollars?  You’re sure to get what you pay for on TechnoRetro Dads this week!

In the NEWS:

• New Arcade 1Up machines coming this year!
• TRON action figures from Diamond Select.

Star Wars Scrapbook

Put down your Coca-Cola for a few minutes and listen to some EarBuds’ scrapbook entries as they go to Galaxy’s Edge (not as far, far away as you might have thought).  Armando and Jack give their thoughts about Smuggler’s Run and more.

History Lesson: New Coke

In the late ’70s and early ’80s we experienced Star Wars, the Cold War, and the Cola Wars.  The Pepsi Challenge had evidently increased Pepsi’s market share of carbonated beverage business and Coca-Cola was feeling it in their wallet.  With the popularity of diet drinks rising, Coke needed to do something to bring more bucks home.  Brilliant minds came up with a solution: cease production of their hundred year-old formula and release a new recipe for the Coke brand with much more sugar and BOOM! New Coke was born.  But long-time Coca-Cola drinkers didn’t appreciate the change to a more Pepsi-like taste.  They wanted the classic taste back.  Seventy-nine days later, Coke announced the original formula would return under the name Coca-Cola Classic and would exist alongside the new Coke (which would carry the Coke name).  Eventually, demand (?) for New Coke waned enough to stop making it altogether — until now.

With the highly anticipated release of Stranger Things 3 coming to Netflix on July 4th, The Coca-Cola Company decided to rerelease New Coke for a limited run to coincide with the new season’s setting in 1985.  Coca-Cola produced 500,000 cans of New Coke which has been available for the past three weeks, and shazbazzar and JediShua have gotten their hands on some.  It’s time for a taste test, EarBuds.  Can you guess the results?  (Video available on YouTube.)

Vinyl Scratchback

What did you do in the ‘80s when you had trouble going to sleep in a quiet room?  Lie down and listen to stand-up comedy, of course!  JediShua and shazbazzar (with input from EarBuds) remember some comedy albums they heard when they were younger.  George Carlin, Robin Williams, Justin Wilson, Laurel & Hardy, Howie Mandel, Eddie Murphy, Sam Kinison, Gallagher, Cheech & Chong, and Steve Martin all make the list as we remember comedy on vinyl.

Thanks for tuning in to TechnoRetro Dads, EarBuds!  Go online for more TechnoRetro Dads on iTunes, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, RetroZap.com, or TechnoRetroDads.libsyn.com.  Pick up your TechnoRetro Dads merchandise at TeePublic.  Don’t forget to rate and review TechnoRetro Dads on iTunes, share us and with us on social media, get TechnoRetro merchandise at TeePublic, and join discussions on Discord about toys, cereal, games, movies and/or shows from the ‘70s and ‘80s by giving the ‘Dads your feedback via voice mail at (209) 878-7323 or sending us your mp3dback via electronic-M to podcast@TechnoRetroDads.com.

As the summer solstice approaches in the northern hemisphere with the longest daylight hours reaching their zenith, shazbazzar and JediShua remember the summers of ’79, ’84, and ’89 with four movies that impacted them in their youth and beyond.  Tune in for 77 minutes of retro joy and techno hope with your EarBuds this Monday morning and get your week off (and summer) off to a great start!

In the NEWS:

• Get caffeinated drinking “Coke with Coffee”.
• Play in the Upside Down with Stranger Things games.
• Experience the return of great LucasArts games.
• Dare to strategize in the new Nintendo Switch adaptation of The Dark Crystal Resistance.

We Love Our Cereal…

…but the Roving Spoonster (Shane in GR) may well have surpassed us this week as he chronicles his experience at the Battle Creek, Michigan Cereal Fest.  PLUS: John Schepler gives us a sneak peek at some new cereals in supermarket aisles and the ‘Dads give their takes on cereals they’ve tasted so far this summer (Fillows, Drumsticks, and Sour Patch Kids).

Let’s All Go to the Movies: Summer Movie Extravaganza

Anniversaries abound this week with four flicks from our youth hitting 30, 35, and 40!  JediShua and shazbazzar remember The Muppet Movie (1979), The Karate Kid (1984), Top Secret! (1984), and Batman (1989) with memories and interesting connections from actors and EarBuds in this banner week for fun summer movies.

Thanks for tuning in to TechnoRetro Dads, EarBuds!  Go online for more TechnoRetro Dads on iTunes, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, RetroZap.com, or TechnoRetroDads.libsyn.com.  Pick up your TechnoRetro Dads merchandise at TeePublic.  Don’t forget to rate and review TechnoRetro Dads on iTunes, share us and with us on social media, get TechnoRetro merchandise at TeePublic, and join discussions on Discord about toys, cereal, games, movies and/or shows from the ‘70s and ‘80s by giving the ‘Dads your feedback via voice mail at (209) 878-7323 or sending us your mp3dback via electronic-M to podcast@TechnoRetroDads.com.

Dads come in all shapes, sizes, and colors (even blue), so shazbazzar and JediShua take time for some Dad-discussions about fictional fathers from Saturday morning cartoons to movies on the big screen with an extended chat about the father who assumed the title of Mom… Mr. Mom, that is.

Saturday Mornings

For kids of the ‘70s and ‘80s, cartoon fathers were part of the cartoon watching experience.  From shows that were #TechnoRetro in the ‘70s like The Flintstones and The Jetsons to The Smurfs, The Chipmunks, The Transformers, M.A.S.K., Dungeons & Dragons, and Ewoks, animated fathers and father-figures on Saturday mornings and weekday afternoons took charge and taught lessons to the TechnoRetro Dads of today.

Let’s Go to the Movies

With a bit more “techno” than there was in the Saturday Morning discussion, Father’s Day is a good time to look at memorable fathers on the big screen like cinema icons Mufasa and Darth Vader, respectable Henry Jones, Sr. and the President of the United States, heroic Chief Brody and Mr. Incredible, and homemakers like Mrs. Doubtfire.  Dads can be funny and strong or scary and cuddly — in the end, these fathers are just like many dads today.

Mr. Mom

Before he took on the Joker in Batman (1989), Michael Keaton battled the stench of diapers, the temptations of neighborhood wives, the public address systems of supermarkets, and the comfort of the couch in Mr. Mom.  After losing his job, Jack Butler earned the title of Mr. Mom in this riotous comedy from 1983 as he made grilled cheese sandwiches with an iron, fed chili to a baby, competed in office olympics, and won his wife’s heart (again).  JediShua and shazbazzar have a blast reliving the laughs this Father’s Day with Mr. Mom.  Who says Dad can’t cook?

Thanks for tuning in to TechnoRetro Dads, EarBuds!  Beware of Gremlins online when logging on to your favorite TechnoRetro websites on iTunes, Apple Podcasts, RetroZap.com or TechnoRetroDads.libsyn.com.  Don’t forget to rate and review TechnoRetro Dads on iTunes, share us and with us on social media, get TechnoRetro merchandise at TeePublic, and join discussions on Discord about toys, cereal, games, movies and/or shows from the ‘70s and ‘80s by giving the ‘Dads your feedback via voice mail at (209) 878-7323 or sending us your mp3dback via electronic-M to podcast@TechnoRetroDads.com.

Gremlins was on the marquis at theaters 35 years ago, but we all wanted a Mogwai in our rooms.  “I promise,” we all begged, “I won’t feed it after midnight.”  Nevertheless, Gizmo remained in our dreams and still looks the same even 35 years later.

In the NEWS:

• Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge is open!
• Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance is coming soon.

We Love Our Cereal…

…but we might like it more if it multiplied with popping-sweet goodness like Gremlins when you poured milk on it.  New cereals like Drumstick Cereal and Fillows get our attention while pizza challenges cereal to a healthy breakfast showdown.

Saturday Morning Crush

Mac from The Sandcrawler let us know about a Twitter thread about cartoon crushes and we discuss some possibilities.  Several EarBuds get into the swing of things with their own suggestions, too.  It begs the question: what will happen when the Gremlins cartoon comes out?

Gremlins

Billy’s dad finds the perfect Christmas present for his son who works at the local bank: a Mogwai he found at a curiosity shop in Chinatown.  But Gizmo, as he called him, comes with three important rules:

1. Keep him away from bright light; sunlight will kill him.
2. Don’t get him wet.
3. No matter how much he cries, no matter how much he begs, never feed him after midnight.

We all found out why these rules were so important in June 1984 when Steven Spielberg presented Gremlins, a horror/comedy that combined with Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom to bring about the PG-13 rating we have today.

Star Wars Scrapbook

June has been a busy month since Star Wars hit theaters a week before.  From Corvette Summer (1978) to comic adaptations and more, shazbazzar and JediShua talk about times they have filed away in the Star Wars Scrapbook.

Feedback

Chris the Arvadinian chimes in on Tim Conway’s passing.

Thanks for tuning in to TechnoRetro Dads, EarBuds!  Beware of Gremlins online when logging on to your favorite TechnoRetro websites on iTunes, Apple Podcasts, RetroZap.com or TechnoRetroDads.libsyn.com.  Don’t forget to rate and review TechnoRetro Dads on iTunes, share us and with us on social media, get TechnoRetro merchandise at TeePublic, and join discussions on Discord about toys, cereal, games, movies and/or shows from the ‘70s and ‘80s by giving the ‘Dads your feedback via voice mail at (209) 878-7323 or sending us your mp3dback via electronic-M to podcast@TechnoRetroDads.com.

If adventure has a name, it must be Indiana Jones.  This week, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade turns 30 and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom turns 35!  

In the NEWS:

• The Muppet Movie returns to theaters
• New Coke returns with Stranger Things 3

SuperFriend: Antony Soehner

The author of Gather the Party, Unite the Party, and Assemble the Party stops in for a chat about Denver Pop Culture Convention, lessons learned in the adventure of writing, and what we are likely to see from him next.

The Temple of Doom and The Last Crusade

Indiana Jones returned to theaters in 1984 and 1989 with a prequel and a sequel to Raiders of the Lost Ark.  Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is set before the events of Raiders as Indy and Short Round end up rescuing enslaved children in India.  We get an even earlier look at our adventurous archaeologist in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade when we see Henry Jones, Jr. as a Boy Scout in the sequel to Raiders of the Lost Ark.  PLUS: shazbazzar and Jedi Shua remember the night they saw Raiders of the Lost Jedi Temple of Doom at Hollywood Studios in 2010.

TechnoRetro Arcade: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

If arcade adventure has a name, it might be Indiana Jones.  In 1985, the arcade adaptation of Temple of Doom hit malls, pizza places, and skating rinks with a fun rendition of the movie that drove the MPAA to invent the PG-13 rating.  Rescue slaves.  Defeat Thuggees.  Return the Sankara stones.  All in the name of fortune and glory (the arcade makes a fortune in quarters by the guy who gets the glory for his high score on the game).

Feedback:

EarBud Jedi Holmes shares the origin story of the Mogwai from Gremlins and reveals Hondo in the next issue of Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge.

Thanks for tuning in to TechnoRetro Dads, EarBuds!  Be sure to check out episodes you may have missed on iTunes, Apple Podcasts, or at TechnoRetroDads.libsyn.com.  Don’t forget to rate and review TechnoRetro Dads on iTunes, share us and with us on social media, get TechnoRetro merchandise at TeePublic, and join discussions on Discord about toys, cereal, games, movies and/or shows from the ‘70s and ‘80s by giving the ‘Dads your feedback via voice mail at (209) 878-7323 or sending us your mp3dback via electronic-M to podcast@TechnoRetroDads.com.

Whether you remember him from The Carol Burnett Show, The Apple Dumpling Gang, or his appearances as Dorf on The Tonight Show or home video releases, if you remember Tim Conway, you remember him fondly.  We remember the laughter and joy he brought us from childhood into the age and size of grown-ups.

In the NEWS:

• TRON goes vertical in Walt Disney World
• Muppet Babies are actual Muppets again
• Comedian Tim Conway dies at age 85 

We Love Our Cereal…

…and new kid-style adult-cereal claims to love us back.  Magic Spoon launches four flavors of “healthy” cereal with a hefty price tag.  PLUS: Toy Story 4 has inspired cereal makers to create Carnival Berry cereal.

TechnoRetro Arcade

CONSPIRACY: The government used unsuspecting video gamers in arcades in the Pacific Northwest in psychological experiments in 1981 through a strange coin-operated game called Polybius.

CONTROVERSY: Polybius is an urban legend that has contributed to countless hours wasted in search of a fictional video game that never really existed.

Which side do you take in the ongoing debate about Polybius?

TIM CONWAY:

From The Carol Burnett Show to Saturday Mornings with The New Scooby-Doo Movies, Tim Conway lent his vocal talent as well as his knack for physical comedy to television screens across America.

But that’s not all!  When families said, “Let’s All Go to the Movies” in the ‘70s, it could have been in anticipation of lots of laughter in response to watching the comedic prowess of Tim Conway in The Apple Dumpling Gang or The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again.

Thanks, Tim Conway, for years of funniness and fond memories!

Thanks for tuning in to TechnoRetro Dads, EarBuds!  Be sure to check out episodes you may have missed on iTunes, Apple Podcasts, or at TechnoRetroDads.libsyn.com.  Don’t forget to rate and review TechnoRetro Dads on iTunes, share us and with us on social media, get TechnoRetro merchandise at TeePublic, and join discussions on Discord about toys, cereal, games, movies and/or shows from the ‘70s and ‘80s by giving the ‘Dads your feedback via voice mail at (209) 878-7323 or sending us your mp3dback via electronic-M to podcast@TechnoRetroDads.com.

Chewbacca immediately connected with audiences, both young and old, when Star Wars first hit theaters in 1977.  Imagined by George Lucas and realized through Peter Mayhew, Chewbacca has continued to be the loyal friend and lovable copilot we always wanted to have.

In the NEWS:

Get scholarly with Gremlins 2.  Willow will likely return in a sequel series on Disney+.  Peter Mayhew, the big-hearted man who gave life to Chewbacca, left this life a couple weeks ago.   In other Star Wars news, Jeff Baucom shared a link to a fan edit of the lightsaber battle in Star Wars: A New Hope and Disney announces release dates for three new Star Wars movies. 

Star Wars Scrapbook

May has always been Star Wars month for fans of the saga.  Pop-culture has saddled the pun-laden “May the 4th” as Star Wars Day, but long before that, May 25th has been considered the more significant day, being the release date of the movie that started it all with Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, Chewbacca, R2-D2, C-3PO, and Ben Kenobi.  In this week’s Star Wars Scrapbook, JediShua and shazbazzar look back at major events in May over the past several decades.

Feedback

A brief note from Kali (“13K”) reminds us of the ever-growing number of EarBuds tuning in to TechnoRetro Dads every week.  Thanks for tuning in, EarBuds, and thanks for your input each week.  Let your voice be heard by calling (209) TR-TRDAD (209) 878-7323 and leaving us a voicemail.  Maybe you have a memory of (or with) Peter Mayhew that you’d like to share with other fans of Chewbacca.  Call soon!

Thanks for tuning in to TechnoRetro Dads, EarBuds!  Be sure to check out episodes you may have missed on iTunes, Apple Podcasts, or at TechnoRetroDads.libsyn.com.  Don’t forget to rate and review TechnoRetro Dads on iTunes, share us and with us on social media, get TechnoRetro merchandise at TeePublic, and join discussions on Discord about toys, cereal, games, movies and/or shows from the ‘70s and ‘80s by giving the ‘Dads your feedback via voice mail at (209) 878-7323 or sending us your mp3dback via electronic-M to podcast@TechnoRetroDads.com.

It’s been an adventurous week with the ‘Dads as shazbazzar took an unexpected trip to Ashland, Kentucky and JediShua battled strange magicks which had cursed his castle in Arvada, Colorado.  So this seemed like a good time to FLASHBACK to seasons 2, 3, and 5 of TechnoRetro Dads in some of the Dungeons & Dragons discussions from the past.

Toys in the Attic

JediShua and shazbazzar first talked about playing Dungeons & Dragons in July 2014.  From their first Basic Sets to their experiences with the “older kids” and Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, shazbazzar and JediShua remember friends like Randy McClure, Jason Fisher, Jeff Grimm, Perry Lipker, and more.  Dungeons & Dragons was nothing like the ‘Dads expected (no one was actually killing anyone), it was all about becoming a different person in a moderated community story-telling adventure where players’ characters interact with foes and friends in a fantasy setting where magic is real, dragons exist, and it’s always good to have an interesting (and interested) Dungeon Master.  And try not to shoot your friends’ pets.

SuperFriend Michael Witwer

After last fall’s release of his second book about Dungeons & Dragons, it seemed fitting to revisit the first two times SuperFriend Michael Witwer appeared on TechnoRetro Dads.  Introducing his book, Empire of Imagination: Gary Gygax and the Birth of Dungeons & Dragons, Mike gives some insight into what EarBuds can expect in the book.  Then, soon after its release, he returns for a more-informed discussion with the ‘Dads after they had both read the biographical history of Dungeons & Dragons.

Saturday Mornings

JediShua and shazbazzar reminisce about watching Dungeons & Dragons, an animated series from the ‘80s that featured a group of kids at an amusement park who were magically transported into the world of Dungeons & Dragons when they rode a specific rollercoaster.  As one of the last cartoons of their childhood, the ‘Dads fondly remember the short series as their imaginations ran wild with ideas of how to incorporate some ideas from the television show into their gaming experiences.

We Love Our Cereal…

…and the younger versions of our kids did, too!  The shazlings and the Shualings join in for a cereal challenge, long ago, as the ‘Dads sat down for a bowl of Corn Pops in a Cereal Challenge from years ago.  Part of the Cereal Challenge was to eat cereal while watching some classic cartoons from the ‘70s and ‘80s.  While eating Corn Pops, the TechnoRetro families tuned in to the animated Dungeons & Dragons cartoon from the mid-eighties. 

Thanks for tuning in to TechnoRetro Dads, EarBuds!  While you’re waiting for a brand-new episode, why not read (or lazy read) Michael Witwer's Empire of Imagination?  But don’t forget to rate and review TechnoRetro Dads on iTunes, share us and with us on social media, get TechnoRetro merch at TeePublic, and join discussions on Discord about toys, cereal, games, movies and/or shows from the ‘70s and ‘80s by giving the ‘Dads your feedback via voice mail at (209) 878-7323 or sending us your mp3dback via electronic-M to podcast@TechnoRetroDads.com.

Share and enjoy.