Enjoy Stuff: A TechnoRetro Podcast

The Christmas season has officially begun.  Black Friday has passed, Cyber Monday is in full effect, and radio stations and TV channels are filled with holiday music and holiday specials. From National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation to A Charlie Brown Christmas with a plethora of movies featuring Santa Claus, elves, and reindeer, the season is in full swing for the next four weeks.  And we’ll be revisiting some of our favorites as well as some newer fare, as well. 

 

In the NEWS…

Ferris Bueller gets a video game casino style. It looks like Legendary Films is planning for a long run of new Dune movies and television shows.  The long-awaited sequel to The Dark Crystal is coming very soon, but in a format we weren’t expecting, but makes a lot of sense.  Lost in Space gets a doctor.  And, of course Star Tours is getting another upgrade this year with the release of Rogue One (by the way, did you get your tickets, yet?).

 

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

What could be more #TechnoRetro than some Rankin/Bass TV specials?  The holidays are incomplete without watching at least one of the toe-tapping, stop-motion musical features that have graced television screens for half a century.  We go back to watch Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer replete with violence, greed, and annoying sounds from the heroes of the movie.  Follow the sadistic Hermy the self-proclaimed dentist and the glowing schnoz of Rudolph as they embark on a journey that leads them to the freakshow called the Island of Misfit Toys as the backstory to the familiar song is told by folk artist Burl Ives as Sam the Snowman. 

 

Toys in the Attic

With Christmas just around the corner, we’ll be recalling some iconic retro toys that kids have been getting under their trees for decades.  This week, we look at water games like the TOMY Waterful and wonder how the electronic age will adapt to these often challenging games that predate GameBoy and other handhelds.

 

Review us on iTunes to be entered for a one of two free copies of Empire of Imagination: Gary Gygax and the Birth of Dungeons & Dragons from author Michael Witwer.  Let us know about your memories of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer or other Rankin/Bass specials via voicemail at (209) 878-7323 or electronic-M to podcast@TechnoRetroDads.com.

 

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Direct download: TRDads_04.34.mp3
Category:TechnoRetro Dads -- posted at: 6:57am EST

With Thanksgiving approaching, we would like to say, “Thank You,” to all our EarBuds, SuperFriends, and contributors to TechnoRetro Dads.  We’ve had a lot of fun releasing podcasts and hearing back from you over the years.  Thank you for your support.

On this Monday sandwiched between Life Day and Turkey Day, shazbazzar and JediShua are feeling somewhat musically inclined (but you’ll have to be the judge of that) as the ‘Dads talk turkey, TV, and more.  Preparations are being made for family gatherings, and the Cranberries are at the top of everyone’s playlist (or, at least, they should be).  Just make sure you don’t get the canned cranberry sauce, because that would be bad.  Very bad.

 

In the NEWS…

JediShua discovers a new game: Battlestar Galactica Squadrons.  It looks like it may blend the original series with the remake — we’ll soon find out.  And the search for Mark Hamill has succeeded — the Master has been found on Comic-ConHQ.com with a geektastic program where he visits pop culture collectors’ hoards and documents their collections on Mark Hamill’s Pop Culture Quest.  The first episode has already dropped, but to watch it, you have to subscribe to the online channel.

 

Thanksgiving Specials

Halloween specials are many.  Christmas specials are legion.  But Thanksgiving specials…well, they’re kind of forgettable, and there aren’t too many, anyway.  Garfield’s Thanksgiving gets the ‘Dads talking about T-Day cartoon specials featuring Underdog, Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Animaniacs, and a surprising comic strip adaptation: B.C.: The First Thanksgiving.  That’s something we’re not sure anyone has ever seen!

 

Toys in the Attic

The Toy Hall of Fame has recently perused their large list of 2016 nominations and has welcomed three new inductees to the Toy Hall of Fame.  Dungeons & Dragons, Fisher Price Little People, and the swing have all earned their places among the iconic playthings of childhood (Who are we kidding?  We still play with toys!).  Some nominees who didn’t make the cut this year were Transformers, Care Bears, and bubble wrap.

Listen for your chance to get a free copy of Empire of Imagination: Gary Gygax and the Birth of Dungeons & Dragons from author Michael Witwer.

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Direct download: TRDads_04.33.mp3
Category:TechnoRetro Dads -- posted at: 7:30am EST

Thirty-Eight years ago, television audiences were invited into the quirkier side of life in that galaxy far, far away on the Star Wars Holiday Special.  Fortunate fans were welcomed into Chewbacca’s home to wait with his wife, son, and father for him to come home for Life Day, a celebration of joy and peace among Wookiees.  On 17 November 1978, before most homes had VCRs to record this one-time broadcast, eager Star Wars fans tuned in for an unexpected combination of aliens, stormtroopers, comedy sketches, musical numbers, and the heroes of the movie that captured the consciousness of the world over the past eighteen months.  The resultant two-hour special left some fans befuddled, some frustrated, and some gleeful just to see more adventures of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Princess Leia, Chewbacca, C-3PO, and R2-D2.

 

The Star Wars Holiday Special is a tribute to the late 70s, preserving the flavor of popular television shows and the gaudy glam of disco culture.  Featuring well-known television stars Harvey Korman, Art Carney, and Bea Arthur, what worked well with audiences week after week on sketch comedy shows has been widely panned among viewers since then.  Perhaps it brought the Star Wars galaxy just a little too close to our own.  Musical guests Diahann Carroll and The Jefferson Starship lit up the imagination through sight and sound with their “in universe” performances — one of which, at least, seems entirely inappropriate for family viewing and will make you squirm in your seat.

 

Since first seeing it, shazbazzar and JediShua have held a special affection for the Star Wars Holiday Special, resulting in annual tributes to this memorable moment of our childhoods.  This year, the TechnoRetro Dads Holiday Special remixes segments from the 2014 Holiday Special into a TechnoRetro Special Edition that shows other homes were experiencing the same anticipation and anxieties about friends and families arriving in time for Life Day as Malla, Lumpy, and Itchy experienced in their home.  Hopefully, the dialogue will be easier to understand than the grunts and growls of the Wookiees on this special.  Reprising their roles from the earlier version are Sheldon and Chase Norton, Mike MacDonald, Chris Hamilton, Joe Tavano, the Shualings, and musical group High Adventure.  Additionally, the shazlings join in to prepare a meal with help from Steve Glosson, Scott Ryfun lends his voice to the mix, and a few more songs by High Adventure find their way into the story prepared especially for our EarBuds for this Life Day Celebration.

Direct download: TRDads_Holiday_Special_2016.mp3
Category:Holiday Special -- posted at: 7:04am EST

SuperFriend Sheldon and his trusty sidekick ShutterSpeed chase down the elusive Cinnamon Toast Crunch donuts from Country Style in Canadia.  Tune in for the hunt for delicious cereal covered pastries on today’s TechnoRetro Dads!  

 

In the NEWS…
JediShua looks forward to the opening of the Star Wars costume exhibit at the Denver Art Museum and chaperones his students as they get cultured with storytelling music featuring some of the Oxygen of Star Wars (Star Wars Oxygen is, or should be, a Trade Mark of Rebel Force Radio) with the “Imperial March”.  Discover the meaning behind the newly discovered ‘droid ND5-XGL and why we think that’s not a good thing.  PLUS: Young Justice finally gets a third season!

 

We Love Our Cereal
JediShua and shazbazzar fill your big breakfast bowl with the last box of Project 19 before a recently discovered #Retrospective of Disney Puppet Cereal. Star Wars cereal boxes continue to be hunted down by collectors of cardboard #newstalgia with Rey on Star Wars cereal and many more Star Wars crossovers with General Mills (of course, there are boxes of Cinnamon Toast Crunch involved).

 

History Lesson
TechnoRetro Dads have the ABCs in this week’s totally fictional History Lesson with Aliens, Lord Blackwood, James Cole, and Delta Fraternity all playing a part in this week’s history and future history that all EarBuds need to know.

 

Feedback
What’s better than Mr. McFeely making a speedy delivery to Mr. Rogers?  Tweets, posts, voicemails, and electronic-Ms from EarBuds!  We weren’t able to open them all, yet, but we will be sure to get to more of your Feedback over the next couple Mondays. Thanks for sending in your responses to the show as well as sharing cool #TechnoRetro pics and news for us to peruse.  Keep sharing your feedback on Facebook, Twitter, electronic-M (podcast@TechnoRetroDads.com), or voicemail by calling (209)878-7323. We want to hear from you!

 

Share and Enjoy.

 

Direct download: TRDads_04.32.mp3
Category:TechnoRetro Dads -- posted at: 6:26am EST

Travel through time with shazbazzar and JediShua as they celebrate thirty-five years of Time Bandits with Fidgit, Randall, Strutter, Wally, Og, and Vermin. Star Wars costumes were back in full force last week,  

 

In the NEWS…

Sequels and reboots take center stage this week on TV and at the movies as rumors persist about Sky High, Halloween, Friday the 13th, Willow, The Incredibles, Muppet Babies, Wayne’s World, Paddington, and Captain Planet. Although sequels and reboots are nothing new in any sense of the word, some of these #TechnoRetro classics are sure to tickle the fancies of many EarBuds!

 

Time Bandits

Terry Gilliam and Michael Palin teamed up to make a “kids’” movie from a smallish perspective in 1981’s Time Bandits. Led by Randall (David Rappaport), rogue employees of The Supreme Being (Ralph Richardson from Dragonslayer [1981]) use a stolen map to travel through time in pursuit of wealth and the most fabulous thing in the world.  With Fidgit (Kenny Baker), Wally (Jack Purvis), Og (Mike Edmonds), Strutter (Malcolm Dixon, and Vermin (Tiny Ross), this little gang of time-traveling bandits encounter young Kevin (Craig Warnock) in an orchestrated effort to conquer Evil (David Warner from TRON [1982]). With cameos by John Cleese, Michael Palin, Sean Connery, Shelley Duvall, and Katherine Helmond, and Jim Broadbent, this satiric comedy is unsurprisingly like many Monty Python offerings.  JediShua and shazbazzar have long been fans of this movie and continue to sing the praises of Time Bandits, regardless of its potential to “freak out” young viewers in the early ‘80s.

 

Star Wars Scrapbook

Trading cards have been staples of TV and movie franchises for decades. Join Steve Glosson (Geek Out Loud, Big Honkin’ Show) and shazbazzar on the streets of Rome, Georgia for the second part of their recent trading card discussion as they play “need ‘em got ‘em” with the Star Wars: Rogue One Mission Briefing trading cards. Where else can you find two grown men getting giddy over pieces of cardboard in public?  Nevermind — that’s not unlike many other episodes of TechnoRetro Dads.  The discussion goes well beyond simply talking about the cards, though; shazbazzar and Big Honkin’ Steve talk about the saga itself and some of the scenes depicted in these cards.  For more of this discussion with Steve and shaz opening a box of TRON cards from 1982, check out episode 197 of Geek Out Loud this week. 

Pull out your trading cards before the Time Bandits make off with your collection  before you can say, “SARK really is Evil!”  And be sure to send us your feedback on Facebook, Twitter, electronic-M (podcast@TechnoRetroDads.com), or voicemail (209-878-7323). We want to hear from you!

Share and Enjoy.

Direct download: TRDads_04.31.mp3
Category:TechnoRetro Dads -- posted at: 5:30am EST

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