The Flopcast

Grab a bowl of Frankenberry, because we're flashing back to Arisia (our favorite local science fiction convention), where Kevin moderated a panel called "Cereal and Cartoons: Saturday Mornings Revisited"! Joining Kevin on the panel were filmmaker Kevin Cafferty, Andy Hicks (of the Coal Hill A/V Club podcast), and Karen (of the Foxes in the Hen House podcast)! Among the topics discussed: The Superfriends, Pee Wee's Playhouse, ALF, Captain Bob, Weird Al, Josie and the Pussycats, The Brady Kids, School House Rock, Time for Timer, Gilligan's Planet, Mr. T, Thundarr the Barbarian, Turbo Teen, Kidd Video, Cadillacs and Dinosaurs, Garfield and Friends, Galaxy High, Hanna Barbera, Filmation, Sid and Marty Krofft, the Friday night preview specials, the Saturday morning TV comic book ads, the continuity errors of Tom and Jerry, the horrors of candlepin bowling, and the eternal curse of Scrappy Doo. And folks, that is not a complete list. Not even close. Listen carefully, and you'll hear Kornflake and the Mayor of Chickentown in the audience too. (Warning: One of them may have been wearing a rubber chicken costume.) This was a crazy fun time, and this is why you all need to hitchhike to Boston and join us at Arisia next year. And that's one to grow on.

Direct download: Flopcast_312.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:08am EDT

It's a quick show this week, but we still knock out three classic Flopcast segments for you, right before our big nap. In Chickens in the News, a rubber chicken museum is coming to Seattle (compliments of the mad geniuses at Archie McPhee), and yeah, we're sort of freaking out. Then in our Pudding Pages segment, we remember Liquid Paper, because why use autocorrect when you can clumsily paint over your mistakes and make a huge mess instead? And for National Whatever Day, we're wishing a happy birthday to Kate Pierson of The B-52s. We are pretty big fans of both rock and lobsters, so why not.

Direct download: Flopcast_311.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:00am EDT

The stupid snow is melting, and we're starting to leave the house again, so we have a trio of concert reports for you this week. First, just ahead of their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, Bon Jovi came to Boston to see and/or rock a million faces, including ours. (But we're even bigger fans of the opening band: our local power pop heroes, Sidewalk Driver.) Next was Juliana Hatfield, celebrating the release of her remarkable new album of Olivia Newton-John covers. (Just imagine... "Physical" and "Xanadu" performed live by a Boston alt-rock legend... it was magic. And yes, she also played "Magic.") And finally, we witnessed a surprisingly awesome show from perhaps the soft-rockiest dude in the history of soft rock... Christopher Cross. (We found him at a frighteningly smoke-filled casino in Connecticut, which is indeed located about halfway between the moon and New York City.) Also: Happy Birthday to Rick Moranis. From the Great White North to Gravedale High to Bedrock, he is our Keymaster.

Direct download: Flopcast_310.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:46am EDT

Join us as we flop back 42 years and flip through a 1976 issue of Dynamite! This classic magazine for kids was a staple of school book clubs from the mid-70s through the early 90s, and we recently acquired a big stupid stack of them. For this week's show, we selected an issue of Dynamite with Fonzie on the cover, because of course we did. Inside we found a Henry Winkler interview (obviously), as well as an article about skateboarding, a weird (and probably fake) advice column, instructions for a magic trick that won't work, instructions for a gymnastics move that will kill you, an address to send a birthday card to Horshack, a celebrity look-alike contest ("Who do you look like? Cher? Edith Bunker?"), Count Morbida (a goofy pink vampire) and his puzzle pages, and of course, Dynamite Bummers. If you missed 1976 the first time (or just forgot most of it), this is your big chance to celebrate the Bicentennial, vote for Carter, and party at the moon tower. Meanwhile here in the modern world, we're celebrating National Grilled Cheese Day... but that just leads to bizarre school cafeteria memories from long ago. Okay, distant past, you win.

Direct download: Flopcast_309.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:43am EDT

It's the long-awaited return of a classic Flopcast segment, the Top 4 1/2 List! And it's an extra-stupid one, because the subject is simply... Peter. Yeah, we're listing our favorite Peters from music (yikes, lots of musicians are named Peter), sitcoms (don't play ball in the house, Peter), cartoons (including a seasonally appropriate Rankin Bass special), and peanut butter brands (hint: not Skippy). Plus: We're celebrating National Read a Road Map Day (why not), and the Mayor of Chickentown joins us with a report from (Re)Generation Who, a Doctor Who convention in Baltimore, Maryland. (Was everyone at the convention named Peter? Let's say yes.)

Direct download: Flopcast_308.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:57pm EDT

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