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Sunday, October 13, 2019

Flopcast 388: He Reminds Me of Frankenstein

It's sort of a Halloween-themed show, but not really! Including: A concert report on super-cool garage pop band Bleached! (Their album Don't You Think You've Had Enough? might be our favorite record of the year...) Another concert report on a Beatles tribute supergroup, with Todd Rundgren, Christopher Cross, Badfinger's Joey Molland, Chicago's Jason Scheff, and Micky Dolenz! (Micky sang "Rocky Raccoon," and no one else is allowed to sing "Rocky Raccoon" anymore.) Kornflake hits the road again, does not find the Swan Boats, but does find coffee approved by the Godfather of Punk! We wish a Happy Birthday to one third of Wilson Phillips! A Halloween edition of the Pudding Pages leads to a discussion of something truly terrifying, the McRib! But nothing is more terrifying than the Top Ten songs this week in 1988! Seriously, it was 31 years ago, and we still wake up screaming...

Sunday, October 6, 2019

Flopcast 387: Hogwash!!

It's time to flip through another issue of the magazine we all bought through our school book club long ago, Dynamite! And this 1981 issue is an amazing one, because the cover features a hero of ours, and someone you've heard on The Flopcast: James "The Amazing" Randi! Did Randi teach any Dynamite kids to avoid being scammed by faith healers and psychics? Let's hope so. Let's also hope the kids kept reading, because this magazine also includes cat cartoons (Heathcliff, Garfield, and those odd B. Kliban cats), the Facts of Life girls, a Disney World tenth anniversary contest, Count Morbida's puzzle pages, how to buy a Speak & Spell, how to write to Donny Osmond, a couple of weird posters, and of course, Dynamite Bummers. This is a fantastic magazine; we recommend that you travel four decades back in time and renew your subscription. Also: The Top Ten songs this week in 1987 (look out, here comes the hair metal), and Happy Birthday to one of our three favorite Van Halen frontmen.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Flopcast 386: Wham Tangent

With our DragonCon coverage out of the way (finally!), it's time to catch up on every other silly thing we've done lately. Kornflake reports on Napkin Poetry with Jim's Big Ego, gum jingles with Marc With a C, Pac-Man Battle Royale at Funspot, and giant bugs at Gillette Stadium. Meanwhile Kevin attended a rare Boston performance by George Hrab (who covered a Wham song!) and spotted an Archie Bunker's Place cast member at Granite State Comicon (alas, no Wham songs there). Also: The Top Ten songs this week in 1986, and (to get caught up) the Top Ten songs last week in 1985. Huey Lewis and Tina Turner are on both lists, and they're happy to be stuck with you beyond the Thunderdome. Plus: Barry Williams has a birthday this week, and we want to build a giant Greg Brady robot. But you probably could have guessed that.

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Flopcast 385: Live from DragonCon - Cousin Oliver Was Framed!

From the American Sci-Fi Classics Track at DragonCon 2019 (just a few weeks ago - we're still sleepy), here's a fun panel called "Cousin Oliver Was Framed: Classic Sci-Fi Sidekicks"! Joining Kevin on the panel are The Fortress of Baileytude's Michael Bailey, novelist and Cop Rock enthusiast Michael Williams, and Classics Track co-director Gary Mitchel! And yeah, we're talking kid sidekicks, as well as our beloved Cousin Oliver from The Brady Bunch, and all those other kids desperately added to long-running sitcoms. (Sorry, Sam from Diff'rent Strokes, but you were a problem.) Our discussion includes: Robin, Wonder Girl, and the rest of the Teen Titans; Indy's Temple of Doom sidekick Short Round; a defense of Wesley Crusher; Twiki the robot sidekick; Marvin and Wendy vs. the Wonder Twins; the weirdness of the Mr. T cartoon; Goonies, Monster Squad, Stand By Me, and the kid adventure genre; a rare sci-fi turn from Molly Ringwald; the horrors of Scrappy Doo; and lots more. Oh, you should have been there. Those who survived the panel received Flopcast Cousin Oliver badge ribbons, as well as a strange desire to wear a bright red and yellow costume and stand next to Batman when the bullets start flying. What could go wrong?

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Flopcast 384: DragonCon 2019 Part 2 - You Get a Spatula!

This week we cover the second half of our favorite and most exhausting event of the year, DragonCon! (If you noticed a shortage of geeks in your area over Labor Day weekend... they were all in Atlanta. And they were all ahead of us in the line at Starbucks.) Including: The Geek Girls Run; Classic Sci-Fi Court (good luck, 1984 Supergirl movie); stars from Doctor Who, Cobra Kai, V, and The Magicians; puppeteer Allan Trautman (from Dinosaurs and yikes, The Letter People!); Tai Chi with Silver Spoons star Erin Gray; our panels on Krypton, Doom Patrol, Pennyworth, Russian Doll, Kidd Video (!), and podcasting for authors; RetroBlasting with 1980s ninjas; a pie-fueled ESO Network gathering; the 30th anniversary of Weird Al's movie UHF; and lots more convention silliness. (Did we find people in costume as the Miser Brothers, the Price is Right yodeling guy, and Toonces the Driving Cat? Yes, yes, and yes.) Also: Ed Begley Jr.'s birthday, and the Top Ten songs this week in 1984. (Prince's "Let's Go Crazy" was at number four... and the future attendees of DragonCon were listening.)

Sunday, September 8, 2019

Flopcast 383: DragonCon 2019 Part 1 - Hulk Salad

It was five weird days with 85,000 weird humans... we have so much to cover from DragonCon that we're splitting it into two episodes! This week's review includes: The DragonCon Newbie Walking Tours; the ESO Network Meet and Greet; Doctor Who's David Tennant; legendary comic book artist George Pérez; Rankin/Bass animation expert Rick Goldschmidt; the Sci-Fi Explosion show (featuring Billy Ocean, believe it or not); the DragonCon parade; the cast of Gotham; unpopular opinions with MST3K's Bill Corbett; our Sci-Fi Legends memorial panel; a Batman-themed Roll-a-Panel; Kevin's other panels on Arrow, Titans, Gotham, the Planet of the Apes cartoon, and Cousin Oliver (!); the Mayor's panel on Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure; robot rock band Cybertronic Spree; late nights with Crusher, Picard, and Good Enough Cosplay; the DragonCon premiere of the documentary Troublemaker (starring our friend Dave); and yes, lots more. And that's just the first half! More DragonCon silliness next week, if we ever stop napping.

Sunday, September 1, 2019

Flopcast 382: Court-Ordered Piracy

Our ten-part 80s celebration continues with a quick look at the Top Ten songs this week in 1982! It's an odd list, with a couple of veteran 60s acts (Paul McCartney and Crosby, Stills, and Nash), a couple of soft rock classics (from Chicago and our true love, Air Supply), and a rather awful song in the top spot. (It wants to reach out and grab you, creepily.) The 80s music talk continues with Kevin's concert report from the Lost 80s Live tour, featuring a fun assortment of one-and-two-hit wonders from our favorite decade: Boys Don't Cry, Real Life, The Motels, When in Rome, The Vapors, and A Flock of Seagulls! (The frontwoman of The Motels is Martha Davis, and we have a shocking revelation about her hat, which just leads to more questions.) Plus: Kornflake on a pirate ship! Also: It's International Enthusiasm Week... but who cares.