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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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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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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“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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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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Greetings, Programs!

Jet-setting JediShua landed in Atlanta last week for a conference that concluded with a couple days of games, comics, rollercoasters, and reptiles with shazbazzar and shazzyLuke.  Ride along in shazbazzar’s Mazda 3PO for a rare road trip that reeks of nostalgia as the ‘Dads roam around North Georgia meeting friends old and new. 

The first stop on this road trip was in Loganville for a few hours of truly TechnoRetro arcade gaming at Flashback Games Retro Arcade.  With something for everyone, from cabinets to consoles and more, this arcade truly takes you back to the best days of ‘80s arcades with classics like Space Invaders, Missile Command, Donkey Kong, and Ms. Pac-Man.  Consoles and games covering decades of home entertainment are available, as well.  And of course, Star Wars, TRON, and Joust are all there and set to “free play” for hours of enjoyment.  

But the fun doesn’t stop there!  The next road trip stop took the ‘Dads to Six Flags over Georgia for some rides, games, and SuperHero capes as JediShua sees the Superman ride close up and wanders into a Monster Mansion.

Then the trio take a trip to Titan Comics and Games in Smyrna for some comics and collectibles that bring back the joys of their childhood with memories of ‘80s comic shops before meeting up with SuperFriend Steve Glosson for pizza and another few hours at Flashback Games.  Topped off with a tour of Repticon in Lawrenceville (“Snakes. Why did it have to be snakes?”), shazzyLuke schooled the old guys on the world off reptiles, amphibians, arachnids, and sugar gliders.

The sound quality is lacking, but the fun never ends in this whirlwind tour of Atlanta for high speed action and arcade games in this Hub of the South (and shazzyLuke caught loads of Pokemon, too).  Come along for the ride on this road trip that will not be soon forgotten.

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Greetings Programs!

Part of being a kid in the ‘70s and ‘80s was imagining ourselves as Super Heroes from comic books or cartoons.  We tied blankets and towels around our necks, wore our underwear on the outside of our pajamas, proudly displayed our Underoos undershirts on our sunken chests, and even donned masks as we jumped out of swings, exhibited superspeed by running in slow motion, and performed many other mighty acts worthy of these classic characters.

This week, shazbazzar and JediShua mix Spider-Man with Batman, the Hulk with the Flash, Captain America with Shazam, and Magneto with Titanium Man.  Yes, it’s unlikely, but with some cool tunes that match these cool toons, even Rocket Raccoon soon will swoon.  (No, I didn’t use a rhyming dictionary for that — I’m just that good.)

Mondays can be super when you’re joining your EarBuds for pop-culture songs about familiar and obscure Super Heroes and Villains punctuated by a few actual show themes.  

If you’re looking for the original versions of the songs on this Awesome Mix from TechnoRetro Dads, here’s a list of the song titles and artists heard here:

“Spider-Man” Ramones (1995)

“Web-Slinger/Hope Bringer” Kirby Krackle (2012)

“The Ballad of Barry Allen” Jim’s Big Ego (2003)

“Nobody Loves the Hulk” The Traits (1969)

“Ring Capacity” Kirby Krackle (2010)

“Catch Me Now I’m Falling” The Kinks (1979)

“Lifespan (Rocket’s Song)” High Adventure (2015)

“Iron Man” Black Sabbath (1970)

“Batdance” Prince (1989)

“Brainiac’s Daughter” The Dukes of Stratosphear (1987)

“Sipping” from Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog (2008)

“Magneto and Titanium Man” Paul McCartney and Wings (1975)

Don’t be stingy; share and enjoy.

Greetings, Programs!

Forty-five years ago today, JediShua took his first breath into a larger world.  Celebrate with TechnoRetro Dads on 7/11 as the older ‘Dad spins another year on the turntable of life on this JediShua Day!

SuperFriend Aaron Goins, cohost of Star Scavengers: A LEGO Star Wars Podcast, joins shazbazzar and JediShua for a peek into the latest LEGO Star Wars creation, The Freemaker Adventures.  Then the conversation moves upstairs to the attic in hopes of retrieving some LEGO bricks and reliving our own LEGO adventures of the past with our earliest memories of the building blocks from Billund as well as our ongoing fascination with the ever-popular creative toys.  From gas stations to tump trucks to space men minifigs and, of course, Star Wars sets, these three ‘Dads revel in the days of multi-colored, interlocking plastic bricks and the promising possibilities they represent.

HISTORY LESSON
Timetravel through the annals of fictional and film history this week with Aaron Burr, Agent K, Agent J, Alexander Hamilton, Billie Holiday, Billy Dee Williams, Billy the Kid, and the balding Captain of the Enterprise: Jean-Luc Picard.  

BIRTHDAY SURPRISES
But that’s not all!  Celebrities, characters, friends, and EarBuds join in the fun for 77 minutes of celebrating 45 years of JediShua on this 7/11 special occasion: JediShua Day!

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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.

Greetings, Programs!

In commemoration of the foundation of the country, TechnoRetro Dads celebrates with this special episode from Canadia, by Canadians, for Americans…and anyone else who wants to tune in.  For Canada Day, Chris Hamilton and Mike MacDonald invade from the Great White North to confiscate the mics from shazbazzar and JediShua and create a Strange Brew of CanadianRetro memories that even Yanks can appreciate (however, shazbazzar does not appreciate the insinuation that he is a “Yankee”).  From Rick Moranis to Bryan Adams to John Candy to Rick Moranis (again), Chris and Mike complete the circle with some expected favorites and some surprises (What?!  I never knew that _______________ was from Canada!  How did they let him cross the border?)

Since most of North America is celebrating holidays anyway, why not bookend this weekend by celebrating our nations’ foundations?  So grab a hockey stick, pull out the Burger King Empire Strikes Back tumblers, put your feet up, and enjoy the polite tones of Canada.  After all, you have all weekend to wait for another regular episode of TechnoRetro Dads.

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