Sunday, March 30, 2025

Flopcast 673: Not a Normal Night - TV 1975

Continuing our look back at 1975 (which was just about fifty years ago, according to most historians), let's see what was on television. Specifically we're looking at the prime time schedule for March 30, 1975, which just happened to be Easter night. So the three networks offered a mix of special programming (The Ten Commandments, The Wizard of Oz, and a horrifying holiday Waltons rerun) and typical mid-70s action shows (Six Million Dollar Man, McCloud). Watch closely for special guest stars like John Ritter (pre-Jack Tripper) and Gavan O'Herlihy (post-Chuck Cunningham). Was it the greatest night in television history? Absolutely not. But it was 1975, and it was all we had.

Sunday, March 23, 2025

Flopcast 672: Moonrunners and Supervixens - The Movies of 1975

It's a simple enough show this week, kids. We're just looking at a bunch of movies from half a century ago. 1975 was a game-changing year in film. Early 70s trends like blaxploitation and dystopian sci-fi were about to be swept aside, as a certain giant Spielbergian shark ushered in the blockbuster era. But meanwhile, the year still offered some genuine classics (Dog Day Afternoon, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest), some cult classics (Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Rocky Horror Picture Show), some Disney for the kids (Apple Dumpling Gang, Escape to Witch Mountain), giant spiders, crazy mamas, blazing stewardesses, switchblade sisters, and plenty of Pam Grier. So pop in a Glen Campbell 8-track and cruise over to your local ugly 1970s movie theater. And grab a big box of Raisinets, even though they're lousy.

Sunday, March 16, 2025

Flopcast 671: Listener Feedback - Illnesses and Injuries

As the title suggests, we have illnesses, we have injuries, and we have a quick little listener feedback episode. Including: Blip magazine, Pac-Man high scores, Activision patches, Dig Dug songs, Donkey Kong comics, Mardi Gras chickens, Sewer Sam, An Hour With Bob, Positronic Hypersonic, Sci Fi Journal, Luke Ski's Animation & Stuff Podcast, the Yummy Awards, and pizza pies for Pi Day. Enjoy, as we deal with our various aforementioned ailments. We're podcasting through the pain, just for you..

Sunday, March 9, 2025

Flopcast 670: A Camcorder and a Dream

We're just diving into the bizarre world of Rhode Island cable access television of the 80s and 90s. And our special returning guest is Kevin Cafferty! Kevin was there, and remembers it all. If you were anywhere near the Ocean State back in the day, you never knew what you'd find on local cable TV, but you knew it would freak you out. Including: awkward talk shows, befuddling children's shows, ultra-low-budget sketch comedy, backyard wrestling, high school dances, karaoke direct from Woonsocket, the intense legal drama of Providence traffic court, the Star Trek fan show we loved more than Star Trek, the Kiss fan show that was parodied on Family Guy... and the legend of Daphne's Madhouse. Why would you ever look at mainstream TV again? On cable access, your own neighbors were making the weirdest shows in the world.

Sunday, March 2, 2025

Flopcast 669: Let's Flop Again Like We Did Last Summer

We always enjoy perusing the annual list of nominees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, because it makes everybody angry. And this year we have a special guest: Michael Gordon, host of the DragonCon Report, Earth Station Who, and BatChums podcasts! (Clearly Mike isn't podcasting enough. So glad we could help with that.) The nominees include 70s rock (Bad Company), 80s pop (our girl Cyndi!), 90s grunge (Soundgarden), and lots more, including some long overdue legends (Joe Cocker, Mariah Carey) and some oddball surprises. (Phish? Really?) And we somehow get through the whole list without complaining about the Rock Hall's continued snubbing of Air Supply. But we have not forgotten.

Sunday, February 23, 2025

Flopcast 668: Blip Yip

In 1983, Marvel Comics launched a magazine about video games. This was not a comic book; it was a magazine. (Okay, it was a tiny comic book-sized magazine. Happy now?) It lasted just seven issues, utterly failing to make a blip, even though it was in fact called Blip. So today we're flipping through the first issue of Blip, trying to make sense of it all. On the cover is actor Matthew Laborteaux (Little House on the Prairie, Whiz Kids), looking very upset that we interrupted his game of Tron. Inside we learn the favorite video games of more Hollywood stars, assuming you define "star" as "someone who appeared on The Facts of Life once or twice." We also learn about Missile Command, Centipede, Dig Dug, Pitfall, and Bubble Yum. (That last one might just be an advertisement.) Sure, there were much bigger, much better video game magazines around in the early 80s. But only one was Stan Lee-approved. So stick with Blip, true believers.

Sunday, February 16, 2025

Flopcast 667: Piano People FlopFight - Go-Go vs. Yo-Yo

Recently we braved the lawless wilderness of New Hampshire to see a show called "Piano Men and Women," celebrating the music of Billy Joel, Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Carole King, and more. (We were there because our old pal Mike is the guitarist in this show. Mike has come a LONG way since Sponge Awareness...) So now we're throwing all those classic pop stars into a silly FlopFight tournament of randomly selected competitions. Join us as we debate the merits of, say, Freddie Mercury and Barry Manilow in a snow-shoveling contest. Why, there's even a surprise wild card player who has no business in this FlopFight, but just might win the whole thing. Kids, prepare for some thrilling and ridiculous tournament action. The stakes could not be lower.

Sunday, February 9, 2025

Flopcast 666: New England, V66, and We

Longtime Flopcast listeners (those poor souls) know that every 100 episodes, we celebrate V66, Boston's own music video TV channel of the mid-80s. This time, however, we have a special guest: Eric Green, director of the V66 documentary Life on the V! And because this is episode 666, we're looking at the heavy metal and hard rock bands and videos of the V66 era. It was a time when catchy melodies and goofy visuals helped acts like Quiet Riot and Twisted Sister score huge Top 40 hits. The Kiss guys lost the makeup, Van Halen switched from Dave to Sammy, Aerosmith made their (rap-assisted) comeback, Mötley Crüe freaked everybody out, and Bon Jovi opened the floodgates for a cacophony of hair metal. Meanwhile on the local scene, V66 promoted a video filmed at a Boston-area high school by an unknown hard rock band called Extreme. And as the New England Patriots prepared for Super Bowl 1986, V66 was there with a couple of low budget quickie music videos, including the goofy metal tune "Skin the Bears." (Spoiler: The Patriots absolutely did not skin the Bears.) Also: Kevin finds V66 VJ David O'Leary at a Taylor Dayne show! Eric traces the history of Nirvana in Boston! Tom Bergeron gets in touch with the kids on Rap Around! And if you're in the Boston area, you can join us for a special screening of Life on the V at the Somerville Theatre on February 27th! Kids, it's the 40th anniversary of V66. You deserve a night out, surrounded by Junior Mint-chomping 80s nerds who know how to neutron dance.

Sunday, February 2, 2025

Flopcast 665: Why Are We Still Talking About Ted McGinley?

It's time for another Top 4 ½ List, and it's a dumb one! The subject is "Ace." We're just listing characters (from cartoons, movies, TV, etc.) named Ace. And we probably missed your favorite Ace, so let us know! (Unless your favorite is Ace the Bat-Hound. We assure you, we did not forget Ace the Bat-Hound.)

Sunday, January 26, 2025

Flopcast 664: Somebody Drew This Chicken

Normally we save our "Too Many Comics" reviews for the ESO Network's Patreon supporters. But this one is for everybody, as Kevin and the Mayor flip through the oldest comic book we have here at the studio. And oh yes, it features a chicken. Published by Quality Comics way back in 1946, it's Egbert #4. In the lead story, Egbert the chicken and his fox buddy The Count enter a pie-eating contest. Try to contain your excitement. And because comic books were much larger back in the Golden Age, we also have stories with Nero Owl, Rollo Raccoon, Picklefoot Pig, the Bunny Boys, Beany Bear, and more. (All this for a dime!) Plus: Weird ads for Pepsi, cap guns, and electric football games. Now according to an online price guide, our Egbert comic is virtually worthless. (And you'll find out why!) But come on, it's a chicken comic from 80 years ago, and you can't put a price on this kind of silliness.

Sunday, January 19, 2025

Flopcast 663: Somebody Done 1975 Wrong

As we enter the horrifying year of 2025, we thought we'd roll back half a century and look at the music of 1975. We're perusing Billboard's Top 100 song list for the year, and as you'd expect, it's a weird list. The hippie acts were winding down, disco was ramping up, easy listening schlock was at its zenith, and everybody — literally everybody — was kung fu fighting. It was probably also not a bad year to avoid Chevy vans, and that's all right with us. Anyway, break out your Linda Ronstadt 8-tracks, slip into your Captain and Tennille costumes, and enjoy.

Sunday, January 12, 2025

Flopcast 662: The Super Dictionary - And That's Terrible

If your New Year's Resolution was to strengthen your vocabulary with the help of some DC Comics superheroes, we've got you covered. Yes, we're turning back to The Super Dictionary, that bizarre book of words and definitions for the kids of 1978. Our latest batch of Super Dictionary entries features: Supergirl catching flies, Wonder Woman staggering about in a fog, Black Canary vs. a giant owl, Krypto the Super Dog gobbling like a turkey, Penguin being creepy and weird, and Atom's tiny handkerchief. We also learn a bit too much about Comet the Super Horse, and we review the most notorious entry in the whole book. Yes, it's time to discuss Luthor and his forty stolen cakes. Also: Chickens in the News! Want to stay at a massive rooster-shaped hotel in the Philippines? Yeah, we thought so.

Sunday, January 5, 2025

Flopcast 661: Memorial Show Part 2 - Hi, Bob

We're wrapping up our annual two-part memorial show, covering people we lost in the second half of 2024 from TV (Linda Lavin, John Amos, Bob Newhart), movies (Teri Garr, Shelley Duvall, James Earl Jones), music (Quincy Jones, John Mayall, Kris Kristofferson), and more. (Richard Simmons, Dr. Ruth, Famous Amos, the "You've got mail!" guy... our list has a lot of range.) The egg nog is flowing freely here at Chickentown Studios. Select a huge festive beverage for yourself and join us.