Who will dare to enter the haunted house first?
Why is there an arcade and theater in there?
What is a “fun scare”, anyway?
Will JediShua ever wear pants?
While all the answers to these pertinent questions will not be solved in this episode, you’ll have a ghostly good time wondering who is holding Jovial Jay’s hand. 

TechnoRetro Arcade: Horror or Horrendous?

From the pre-digital days of arcade games to full-scale cabinets and even home consoles, Jovial Jay, JediShua, and shazbazzar share some TechnoRetro games you might remember.

Let’s All Go to the Movies!

The Professor of Film, SuperFriend Jovial Jay, lends his cinematic expertise to the show (and adds at least some credibility to all the silliness) by explaining why some horror/suspense/thrillers stand the test of time and introduces his “31 Days of Horror” series on RetroZap.com. 

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.

What do Frankenstein, a French octopus, and frightening frogmen from the Soviet Union have in common?  They are all mentioned on this week’s TechnoRetro Dads.  Tune in for 77 minutes of fun as September ends and the month of monsters begins. 

In the NEWS…

• The answer to everything is solved!
• TR3N may be in the news?
• Captain Kirk celebrates Kringle Klaus.
• Triple Force Friday is days away.
• Casting news from Jurassic World 3.

We Love Our Cereal!

Halloween cereals are spotted in Walmart (with “Spooky Marshmallows”)!

TechnoRetro Arcade: King of the Monsters

Somewhere between Street Fighter and Rampage lives a NeoGeo game from the early ‘90s that pits enormous beasts (with odd names) against each other over a backdrop of Japanese cities.

Let’s All Go to the Movies!

Sticking with the theme of monsters, shazbazzar and JediShua look back at some movies from the ‘80s and the monsters that might have plagued our nightmares (or just lived under Fred Savage’s bed).

TechnoRetro Feedback

• Ska Geek recalls the Time Killers arcade game.
• Fettmatic and Michael Nipp mention more time travel movies/shows.
• Shane in Grand Rapids finds a VW camper that reminds us of the A-Team van.

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.

Although we’re all a bit down about losing musical icons like Eddie Money and Ric Ocasek, this morning also features some good news about a specific SuperFriend and some exciting TechnoRetro shows on NBC’s streaming service, a peek at some spooky cereals, terrific (or terrible) autumnal jokes, timely arcade games, informative science lessons, and feedback.

In the NEWS:

• SuperFriend Michael Price receives an Emmy for writing “Mad about the Toy” episode of The Simpsons!
• The Far Side is returning.  The time is near.
• Peacock to stream TechnoRetro shows like Battlestar Galactica, Punky Brewster, Saved by the Bell, and A Brave New World.

We Love Our Cereal…

…and so do Disney and Funko.  Maleficent, Oogie Boogie, and four more Disney villains get mini-pops in the continuing Funko cereal series this October.

Vinyl Scratchback

Eddie Money and Ric Ocasek debuted in the ‘70s with hit tunes and continued their popularity into the ‘80s and beyond.  With recent news about their recent deaths in mind, we remember some of their hits from our youth.

TechnoRetro Arcade

• Hologram Time Traveler
• Time Pilot

Science Lesson

JediShua teaches various theories about time travel and how they work and how they don’t work.  You can decide which theory or theories you think might be possible.

Feedback

Jovial Jay discovers digital assistants’ rap crossover.  Onkl Mawks has an entire collection of Elton John records for shAbbeyzzar.  And Wes loves to ride his Mongoose (bicycle).

Traveling through time is a weekly event for shazbazzar and JediShua, but we never realized just how many movies (and how many genres) feature time travel in some way or another.  Thankfully, Jovial Jay lends his expertise in cinematic time travel to reveal the many movies and many means of traveling through time since film projectors brought motion pictures to life on the big screen. 

In the NEWS…

• The highly anticipated Muppet project for Disney+ will not be seen any time soon.
• HGTV takes time travel to a new level with A Very Brady Renovation.
• Comparative sales of vinyl records and compact discs look like something straight out of 1986.

Let’s All Go Back to the Movies!

Jovial Jay joins shazbazzar and JediShua for a more expansive look at movies featuring time travel.  Whether the film was fantasy or a science-fiction story, the sheer number of movies that deal with traveling through time in some manner or another is almost enough to power a flux capacitor!  JediShua, shazbazzar, and Jovial Jay discuss this timeless trope in various decades and genres with special attention to some favorites from EarBuds.

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 it was your first Bike, a Bicycle Race, a Huffy, Murray, Kent, or Free Spirit, kids loved and lived on their bikes in the ‘70s and ‘80s and we all remember taking off the training wheels, sliding into skids, popping wheelies, and telling Mom to “Look! No hands!”  It’s all about bicycles this week, EarBuds!

We Love Our Cereal

Cool cereal stories this week!

• You could turn up your Snap, Crackle, and Pop to eleven with this amplified cereal bowl.
• Tony the Tiger teams up with the Sun Bowl for a stadium-sized part of your nutritious breakfast.

Let’s All Go to the Movies…on our bikes!

Whether it was Breaking Away, American Flyers, BMX Bandits, Rad, or Quicksilver, the pedals pushed the gears to the limits in some fun and memorable movies from the ‘70s and ‘80s featuring bicycles.

Toys in the Attic: Bikes

We remember riding our bikes in the driveway, around the block, at the playground, the park, and even down to the crawdad hole.

TechnoRetro Arcade

Bikes are for fun.  And they’re even fun at the arcade (if yours doesn’t get stolen when you’re inside shoving quarters in the machines).  Sometimes, even simulating working on your two-wheeler in the classic Paperboy cabinet.

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.

Before (or after) he was a spokesman in Coke commercials, spinning tunes as a virtual VJ, or even a TV talk show host, Max Headroom was the iconic example of artificial intelligence (well, perhaps computerized charisma) brought to “life” by a scan of Edison Carter’s brain and 3D imaging of Matt Frewer’s head and shoulders.  This week’s episode is a tribute to Max Headroom with a lot of excitement about upcoming Star Wars opportunities in the near future.

In the NEWS…

D23 has happened without TR3N news, any mention of The Black Hole or Something Wicked this Way Comes remakes, reboots, or sequels, but lots of Star Wars updates which may or may not include the following TechnoRetro Facts:

• See Jefferson Starship on the Galactic Starcruiser as you travel through hyperspace to Galaxy’s Edge.
• The Rise of the Resistance ride is coming soon to Walt Disney World and Disneyland complete with Force-wielding kids shoving aside stormtroopers with their minds.
• See how a squid-headed Quarren meets with danger in our first real look at The Mandalorean.
• The Rise of Skywalker seems to present multiple opportunities to walk over rises in topography to reveal various vistas with the heroes of the sequel trilogy.
• Although we still don’t know if Ewan McGregor will portray Carl Jung on film, we are fairly certain he will reprise his role as Obi-Wan Kenobi in an upcoming series on Disney+.  James Arnold Taylor is rumored to appear as either OB-2 or OB-6 in the new show.

Max Headroom: 20 Minutes into the Future

JediShua and shazbazzar watch the complete Max Headroom TV series from 1987 and explain the origin(s) of this iconic computer-generated character who continues to be a familiar face (and simulated stutterer) more than thirty years later.

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.

From the second episode of TechnoRetro Dads until just a couple weeks ago, shazbazzar and JediShua have been covering news and rumors about The Dark Crystal from movies, books, toys, and games.  For 82 minutes this Monday morning, relive the past through six seasons of TechnoRetro Dads and take another look at the only official appearance of Thra onscreen before The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance emerges on Netflix this Friday.

In the NEWS…

• Space: 1999 radio drama
• A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy TV series
• Masters of the Universe by Kevin Smith
• Custody battle between Disney and Sony over Peter Parker
• The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance
• FLASHBACK through the archives of The Dark Crystal in the NEWS from 2013-2018 

At the Movies: The Dark Crystal

JediShua and shazbazzar watch The Dark Crystal again this week and focus on the “hero’s journey” and the characters from the world of Thra.

Family Circle: The Dark Crystal FLASHBACK

Two families in two different cities across the country watched The Dark Crystal “together” on Skype.  Then the TechnoRetro Dads talked about their experiences with the movie as kids and as fathers.  The initial discussion from April 2013 has been remastered (from available recordings) for this exciting episode.

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.

When you need someone to falsely support your delusions, when you wear boxer shorts appropriate for work (remember it’s called underwear for a reason), when everything is controvurtial, even if you’re a Streamer (our official designation of Generation Z), TechnoRetro Dads wants you to dream big — but not right now.  It’s Monday morning and you’ve got to go to work/school so kickstart your week with 77 minutes of fun and fandom.

In the NEWS…

• Will Star Wars Resistance return for another season?
• Will Ewan McGregor make our dreams come true and play Obi-Wan in a series?

We Love Our Cereal

• The Addams Family teams up with GM’s Monster Cereals.
• Fruity Pebbles might make a neat marshmallow treat.
• Boxes of cereal marshmallows are spotted at FAO Schwartz.
• Lucky Charms marshmallows get Jet Popped.

At the Movies: Dreamscape

Dennis Quaid, Kate Capshaw, Max Von Sydow, Christopher Plummer, and Eddie Albert meet together in their dreams in the second PG-13 movie, Dreamscape.

Vinyl Scratchback: Music of Your Dreams

Musical groups from the ‘70s and ‘80s were living the dream with nocturnal themes:

• Eurythmics — “Sweet Dreams”
• Van Halen — “Dreams”
• Heart — “These Dreams”
• Tom Petty — “Runnin’ Down a Dream”
• Dan Hartman — “I Can Dream about You”
• Moody Blues — “Your Wildest Dreams”
• Hall & Oates — “You Make My Dreams”
• Fleetwood Mac — “Dreams”
• George Harrison — “Dream Away”
• Aerosmith — “Dream On”
• Blondie — “Dreaming”
• Cheap Trick — “Dream Police”, “All We Need Is a Dream”, “I Must Be Dreamin’”, “Mandocello”

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.

While some aspects of ‘70s and ‘80s pop-culture is undoubtedly lost on those who didn’t experience the Cold War, wear brightly-colored JAMZ and Bugle Boy jeans, or remember when phones were attached by wires, the movies, music, and TV shows of that era can still elicit deeply emotional responses that transcend the generation gap.  If only the whole world could just sit back and enjoy stuff for 77 minutes every Monday morning…

In the NEWS…

• The Matrix returns to theaters for its 20th anniversary.
• The Black Hole will finally be released on Blu-ray.

We Love Our Cereal

The Roving Spoonster reports bowls full of delicious news worthy of Saturday mornings!

• Jurassic Park’s Dr. Ian Malcolm Pop Cereal
• Good Guys cereal (from Child’s Play) is real!
• St. Paul, Minnesota gets a new cereal bar.
• Discover what it’s like to be Cinnamon Toast Crunch!
• Froot Loops Birthday Cake — how sweet.

At the Movies: 

Three great movies hit theaters on the same day thirty-five years ago.  (One fun one showed up a week and five years later.)

• Peter Weller is Buckaroo Banzai in The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai across the 8th Dimension.
• Henry Thomas gets involved with Russian spies (Hmmm… Stranger Things?) in Cloak & Dagger.
• C. Thomas Howell goes wild when Russians kill his father in the first movie with a PG-13 rating: Red Dawn.
• John Candy is Uncle Buck.  Watch and laugh.

TechnoRetro Arcade: Crazy Climber

This vertically scrolling game pits a skyscraper climber against flowers, bird droppings, girders, and giant apes.  Nope, it’s not Donkey Kong.  It’s not even Krazy Kong.  It’s Crazy Climber, and it deserves its moment in the limelight. 

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.

Although MAD will cease its magazine’s regular publications, the satirical wit will remain with us with decades worth of art and humor.  The ‘Dads remember their experiences with zany humor from the artists and writers of MAD and the strangeness of “Weird Al” Yankovic on UHF and his decades of musical comedy and parody.

In the NEWS…

• Star Trek: The Motion Picture returns to theaters.
• The C64 reboots nostalgia for Commodore owners.
• Upcoming Dungeons & Dragons movie finds directors.
• MAD Magazine shuts down after nearly 7 decades.

In the Magazine Rack: MAD

JediShua and shazbazzar remember the clips, quips, and snips of pulp as they recall their own experiences with the satirical publication: MAD.  First published in 1952, the magazine has entertained and influenced generations with adolescent humor and cultural commentary.

At the Movies: UHF 

George Newman has lost yet another job due to his preoccupation with his imagination.  Does he get mad?  Maybe.  Does he despair?  A bit.  But then his aunt finds a career opportunity for her favorite nephew.  She insists that her husband hires George to manage his recently-acquired UHF television station.  Watch “Weird Al” Yankovic, Victoria Jackson, Kevin McCarthy, and Michael Richards on their mad trip through manic mishaps as they try to make or break the success of a small TV station just trying to garner viewers and generate ad sales.  It’s UHF from 1989!

Vinyl Scratchback: “Weird Al” Yankovic

From his early days of parodies and filks on The Doctor Demento Show to polka medleys and original comedy songs, “Weird Al” Yankovic consistently hits listeners’ funny bones and pinches the nerves with his catchy tunes and accordion-based numbers like “Yoda”, “Another One Rides the Bus”, “I Lost on Jeopardy”, “Smells Like Nirvana”, “Fat”, “Eat It”, “Word Crimes”, and “The Saga Begins”.  Whether you simply enjoy laughing at the weirdness, singing along in the family minivan (or station wagon), or writing your own parody creations after being inspired by Weird Al’s ingenuity, you’ll enjoy sharing memories with shazbazzar and JediShua as they recall “Weird Al” Yankovic’s albums. 

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.