Enjoy Stuff: A TechnoRetro Podcast

Spring is here, and March is all set to go out like a lion with the bombastic retrorific movie adaptation of Ernest Cline’s bestselling novel, Ready Player One.  JediShua and shazbazzar have a few important influences to prepare all EarBuds for the movie release this week!

In the NEWS

Indiana Jones and the Fifth Chapter not only has a release date, but a filming date as Steven Spielberg anticipates his next blockbuster after Ready Player One.  Toys ‘R’ Us is closing, but Kay-Bee Toys is coming back?  Maybe so.  Muppet Babies has returned to TV in a reboot format.  Of course, Ready Player One is everywhere.

 

We Love Our Cereal…

…and peanut butter?  Well, with cereal, we certainly do.  Spread some up on a couple pieces of bread and you will, too!  (Have plenty of milk handy.)

 

Vinyl Scratchback

Ready Player One influences this week’s Vinyl Scratchback with one of Ernie Cline’s audio influences: Rush.  The Canadian Prog Rock band features heavily in all of Cline’s work and plays an important role in Ready Player One with their 1976 album 2112.

 

TechnoRetro Arcade

Wade Watts played Dungeons of Daggorath on a TRS-80 in Ready Player One.  This predecessor of hits like Castle Wolfenstein and Doom earns its place in the TechnoRetro Arcade with its sparse sound effects, basic vector graphics, yet immersive gameplay.

 

Saturday Mornings

Cartoons weren’t the only fare on Saturday mornings.  Sometimes, live-action “cartoons” made their way to American television with shows like Ultraman that captured the imaginations of kids everywhere.  

 

WarGames

David Lightman is an intelligent underachiever who really likes playing video games on his computer.  He will do just about anything to play them — even hacking into Protovision (or some other computer in the Sunnyvale area).  Will he inadvertently cause World War Three?  WarGames capitalized on the Cold War worries of Generation X with a fun and somewhat frightening film featuring Matthew Broderick, Ally Sheedy, John Wood, Dabney Coleman, and Barry Corbin.  An all-time favorite of shazbazzar and one of many rewatchable movies for JediShua, WarGames not only influenced young computer programmers to become hackers, it influenced at least two stories by novelist Ernest Cline, namely Ready Player One and Armada.  JediShua and shazbazzar make a strong case for watching WarGames one more time before heading to theaters this week for Ready Player One.

 

Thanks for tuning in to TechnoRetro Dads, EarBuds!  Don’t forget to rate and review TechnoRetro Dads on iTunes, share us and with us on social media, call-in with HalfBowl of Cap’n Crunch Mystery tips, and join discussion 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 a message or mp3 via electronic-M to podcast@TechnoRetroDads.com. And be sure to watch WarGames one more time before going to the movies later this week!

 

Share and enjoy.

Direct download: TRDads_05.47.mp3
Category:TechnoRetro Dads -- posted at: 6:00am EDT

What do you do when your daughter brings home her first boyfriend?  Well, EarBuds, it’s best to think that question over before it actually happens.  Take it from shazbazzar.  But it’s all going to be alright as we come roaring back after a week filled with fun, friends, and six Star Wars movies playing in the evenings for visiting Spring Breakers at “shaz sha-toh” (chateau).  So pop open a can of 9 Lives and curl up with the cat for a 77-minute blend of past, present, and future with shazbazzar and JediShua on TechnoRetro Dads.

In the NEWS

Stephen Hawking outlives doctors’ expectations by over fifty years.  Ready Player One VR rave was available for test runs at SXSW.  Director Steven Spielberg experienced some anxiety as he attended the premiere of Ready Player One with a few technical glitches.  Flux capacitors are not currently in stock at O’Reilly Auto Parts.  The “Anniversary Edition” of The Dark Crystal is now available on Blu-Ray and 4K.

 

We Love Our Cereal…

…and SuperFriend Jorbex thinks JediShua would love Honey Hooplahs, too — if only because of the awesome name.  In the meantime, Tony the Tiger goes to the dark side with Chocolate Frosted Flakes, and Shua is convinced that shaz would think “they’re great!”

 

Vinyl Scratchback

With a retrotastic movie like Ready Player One coming in less than two weeks, this seemed like the perfect time to speculate about songs we think might be on the soundtrack as well as what we wish would be on the soundtrack.  And, since we’re not making the movie anyway, your opinions are as good as ours, so if you have thoughts about songs that could work into Ready Player One, let us know right away at (209) 878-7323.

 

TechnoRetro Arcade

Ernest Cline has it in his own home.  Wade Watts played it from an entirely different perspective in Ready Player One.  It’s called Black Dragon in Japan.  But you know it as Black Tiger and shazbazzar and JediShua take a few minutes to revisit the dungeons of Capcom and reminisce about the scantily-clad barbarian’s adventure game and how it likely has influenced both the book and the movie, Ready Player One.

 

Black Panther

JediShua gathered his brood for a trip to the local cinema for a MARVELous afternoon in Wakanda watching Black Panther.  Although shazbazzar has yet to see it, Shua’s glowing review of the movie doesn’t really spoil anything (surprised?)!  It’s no wonder this movie continues to impress at the box office this month.

 

Feedback

Isaiah Caldeira lets us know about his interesting strategy for Defender and how it didn’t quite produce the results he wanted. Jeff Baucom follows the rabbit trail from Star Wars actors in Flash Gordon to the Queen soundtrack to Toto’s soundtrack for Dune to the VHS data sheet, PLUS: Dungeons & Dragons, Knight Rider, Cylons, and Boney M!  Jeff proves the value of a well-archived catalog of old podcasts.  Jonathan spots Sean Astin’s buff brother…maybe.  Wes shares pics of his collection in his “space for being creative” as Jeffrey Fischbach shows off a TRON cabinet and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom game.  Lost Boy Eric volunteers to get an annual pass to Walt Disney World to keep everyone up-to-date with the TRON ride’s progress.

 

Thanks for tuning in to TechnoRetro Dads, EarBuds!  Don’t forget to rate and review TechnoRetro Dads on iTunes, share us and with us on social media, call-in with HalfBowl of Cap’n Crunch Mystery tips, and join discussion 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 a message or mp3 via electronic-M to podcast@TechnoRetroDads.com. And be sure to submit your final guesses for the TechnoRetro Dads’ Easter Egg as the TechnoRetro EggHunt concludes.

 

Share and enjoy.

Direct download: TRDads_05.46.mp3
Category:TechnoRetro Dads -- posted at: 6:00am EDT

With just a couple weeks until Ready Player One hits theaters, shazbazzar and JediShua are here with over two hours of hype for the movie with SuperFriend and co-host of TRON: Decoding the Grid JAMIE!  (And, by the way, if you haven’t set your clock forward an hour by now, you’re probably late for work, so…) 

In the NEWS

John Williams will retire from Star Wars after Episode Nine.  Jon Favreau (Pre Vizsla) joins a Star Wars series again, but this time in the role of writer and director!  Disney renews their relationship with McDonald’s with new “Happy Meal” toys for The Incredibles and Wreck It Ralph this year.  The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy gets its sixth installment of the trilogy in a new radio drama on BBC.  Retro posters promote Ready Player One in some cities and more games are available for you to share and enjoy on the movie’s website.

 

Lazy Book Club

Four years ago this month, TechnoRetro Dads aired the first three meetings of the Lazy Book Club with Jamie, long-time SuperFriend and co-host of TRON: Decoding the Grid.  It took three (segments and EarBuds) to cover Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One four years ago, and we’re not sure we could do any better even now!  So if you’re not avoiding potential spoilers and you want to revisit the book with some friends, tune in for two hours of the Lazy Book Club from March 2014.

 

Thanks for tuning in to TechnoRetro Dads, EarBuds!  Don’t forget to rate and review TechnoRetro Dads on iTunes, share us and with us on social media, call-in with HalfBowl of Cap’n Crunch Mystery tips, and join discussion 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 a message or mp3 via electronic-M to podcast@TechnoRetroDads.com.

 

Share and enjoy!

Direct download: TRDads_05.45.mp3
Category:TechnoRetro Dads -- posted at: 6:00am EDT

The final week of the TechnoRetro EggHunt is upon you — at least the clue segment.  So listen closely for hints regarding this week’s Easter Egg and look for more clues in the artwork, guess correctly, and discover the full picture in order to solve the final puzzle and enter the drawing for the Grand Prize to be awarded on the Monday before Ready Player One hits theaters!  But that will pale in comparison to the pure joy of eating Teddy Grahams on terry cloth towels under an umbrella in Cleveland with Dr. Jones.  Even better, however, are 77 minutes of Indy films, Indy games, and Indy tunes.  No, Oscar fans, not “indie” — Indy, and in Indiana Jones.  And we’re loaded with Indiana Jones this week where we’re guaranteed to contain more than 30% Indiana Jones related content or your money back. 

In the NEWS

Dwayne Johnson’s upcoming Jungle Cruise promises to feel as if Indiana Jones might be just around the bend in the upcoming movie with Emily Blunt.  Ready Player Two is under construction as a book before novelist Ernest Cline flips over into screenplay mode again to co-write the expected sequel to the movie.  Neflix teases Lost in Space with a scene of the Robinson family walking onto the Jupiter 2.  PLUS: the end of Wilhelm?

 

We Love Our Cereal…

…and JediShua wants to find more cereals to love.  But he’s really looking for one that could be his king of the Briton cereals.  If you have a suggestion from his list of ten, let us know at our cereal choice hotline (209) 878-7323.

 

Classic TV Tunes

To introduce a new segment to JediShua, shazbazzar hosts a “Name That Tune” game that ends up giving Shua the easy win.  Even better than a successful one-guess-win, though, is John Williams’s repertoire of tunes made for TV, from movies to news to sports to classic series, the Star Wars / Indiana Jones soundtrack composer will surprise most EarBuds with the credits he’s amassed over decades of work in the field.

 

TechnoRetro Arcade

Two games worthy of the name Henry Jones, Jr. are added to the TechnoRetro Arcade this week with Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom from Atari and the Atari 2600 classic puzzle game, Raiders of the Lost Ark (featuring, yep, you guessed it, Indiana Jones).  But there’s even more Indiana Jones in this episode with “The Ballad of Indiana Jones” by High Adventure and a look back at the 1989 movie…

 

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

Rats!  “X” marks the spot — this time — in an on-the-nose reversion to Raiders, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom hits all the right beats for the third movie of the then trilogy of Indiana Jones adventures.  Remember River Phoenix as young Indy?  How about Sean Connery as Henry Jones, Sr.?  Or that sad old knight guarding the Holy Grail?  Or the event that forever scarred Indy with a fear of snakes?  It’s all here in the first Indy film with a PG-13 rating, although Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom earned the addition of the rating to the MPAA in 1984.  Wilhelms and whip-snaps included.

 

Retro Gameshow

Monty Hall continues to be synonymous with wild audiences, kooky costumes, and bad deals.  Let’s Make a Deal was a big deal in the 60s, 70s, and 80s.  It continues even today with Wayne Brady hosting the show.  Mention the word “deal” to a GenXer, and you’ll likely hear, “This deal’s getting worse all the time,” just before a reference to Let’s Make a Deal.

 

Thanks for tuning in to TechnoRetro Dads, EarBuds!  Don’t forget to rate and review TechnoRetro Dads on iTunes, share us and with us on social media, call-in with HalfBowl of Cap’n Crunch Mystery tips, and join discussion 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 a message or mp3 via electronic-M to podcast@TechnoRetroDads.com. And be sure to listen for hints and watch for clues for the TechnoRetro Dads’ Easter Egg as the TechnoRetro EggHunt concludes.

 

Share and enjoy.

Direct download: TRDads_05.44.mp3
Category:TechnoRetro Dads -- posted at: 6:00am EDT

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