The Flopcast

Our game show-themed FlopFight concludes next week, but first, let's take a quick intermission! Go hit the lobby and grab some unreasonably priced Junior Mints! And for your entertainment while we're waiting for the carnage to resume, this week we have: Cider Monday (a holiday for bizarre apple people); Kornflake's latest (and most ridiculous) lobster trap tree visit; Letters to Cleo and Gigolo Aunts live in Boston (because apparently it's 1993); the East Cambridge Chicken Run (one mile, hundreds of chicken suits); and the WKRP in Cincinnati turkey drop, as weirdly presented by the American Sci-Fi Classics Track.

Oh, Hello Boston radio!

The American Sci-Fi Classics Turkey Drop!

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Email: info@flopcast.net

Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation!

This week's promo: Epsilon Three!

Direct download: Flopcast_603.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:40am EDT

Kornflake is back! And Ed, the other half of the Sponge Awareness Foundation, is back too! Because Ed thought we should have a game show-themed FlopFight, and it's not like we had anything better to do! So here we go with another ridiculous tournament, and this time the players are the hosts of classic game shows like Jeopardy and Tic Tac Dough, as well as related game show characters. (Could a Press Your Luck Whammy get to play? Could a Muppet be involved? Can anyone stop Regis?) And because it's a FlopFight, each round involves weird randomly selected competitions like running a marathon or boxing a kangaroo, so anything could happen. (Sure, Vanna White can turn letters, but would she make a good chicken farmer?) This week's winner advances to the final round, unless they get gonged by the Unknown Comic or something. So gather at your backyard Thanksgiving table for pretzels and popcorn and jelly beans and toast, and enjoy our latest FlopFight! It's like a Monty Hall Problem for your soul.

And our regular links...

The Flopcast website!

The ESO Network!

The Flopcast on Facebook!

The Flopcast on Instagram!

The Flopcast on Mastadon!

Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts!

Email: info@flopcast.net

Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation!

This week's promo: The 42cast!

Direct download: Flopcast_602.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:07am EDT

It's the quick fill-in episode to end all quick fill-in episodes! With Kornflake still unavailable (busy at a lobster-and-British-comedy convention, we assume), there's nobody left in the studio except Kevin and a few stray rubber chickens. So we just have a bunch of podcast recommendations for you, because somebody out there must have more going on than us. There are the other fine shows of the ESO Network, of course, including two new ones: 3 Fries Short (all about Stargate) and Tales From Hollywoodland (with special guest STEVE GUTTENBERG)! Beyond ESO, we also recommend: A Podcask of Amontillado, Bizarre Albums, Built to Go, Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend, Mallwalkin', The Dana Gould Hour, TV Guidance Counselor, Decoder Ring, Dreamland, The Funny Music Podcast, Gilbert Gottfried's Amazing Colossal Podcast, Gleaming the Tube, Hit Parade, The Hustle, Luke and Carrie's Bad Rapport, The Real Brady Bros, The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe, Strange Animals Podcast, and Who Cares About the Rock Hall. We could go on, but that should get you through the week. And if you'd rather rip out those earbuds and read something instead, we're also enjoying the new book Galloping Around the Cosmos. It's a collection of essays about growing up with Star Trek, and several of the authors are friends of the Flopcast. It makes us want to break out our old Mego Enterprise playset. Next week: We'll either get back to our usual silly business, or we'll turn the whole show over to the chickens.

The Flopcast website!

The ESO Network!

The Flopcast on Facebook!

The Flopcast on Instagram!

The Flopcast on Mastadon!

Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts!

Email: info@flopcast.net

Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation!

This week's promo: Earth Station Who!

 

Direct download: Flopcast_601.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:07am EDT

For our big milestone 600th episode, we're doing... well, not much of anything. It's just Kevin and the Mayor of Chickentown goofing around while we await the triumphant return of Kornflake. Topics include: A correction from last week's show about mall sticker girls! (Oh yes, we heard from the mall sticker girls... they were most displeased...) Weird stuff you could order from the ads in Action Comics issue 600! (Would anyone like a Flexagon? Or perhaps a Roomerang?) How to turn invisible for five dollars! The 600th most popular song of the 1980s! (Is it by Hall and Oates? OF COURSE IT IS.) The 600th biggest movie of all time, when adjusted for inflation! (Hint: It's from the 80s, and it did not involve Eddie Murphy or Billy Ocean, but we drag them into the discussion anyway.) So grab 600 cups of coffee and enjoy. We promise this is the 600th most important podcast you'll hear this week.

And our regular links...

The Flopcast website!

The ESO Network!

The Flopcast on Facebook!

The Flopcast on Instagram!

The Flopcast on Mastadon!

Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts!

Email: info@flopcast.net

Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation!

This week's promo: Cosmic Pizza!

Direct download: Flopcast_600.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:50am EDT

Let's go to the mall! But one specific mall that isn't there anymore! (Well, it's sort of still there, but not really.) We're joined by Gleaming the Tube's Kevin Cafferty to look back on the Lincoln Mall in Lincoln, Rhode Island (frighteningly close to Woonsocket). It wasn't the biggest mall, it wasn't the best mall, but it was our mall. And our Lincoln Mall memories include: Waldenbooks, our primary source of X-Men comics, Bloom County collections, and Tolkien; sketchy sausage samples at Hickory Farms; failed attempts to meet girls at the movies; the freaky pet store; the inexplicable organ store; the restaurant no one went to (Roast House); the restaurant everyone went to, because there were two of them in the same mall (Papa Gino's); the neverending weirdness of Spencer Gifts; and the glory of the Dream Machine video arcade. Also: Andre the Giant eating spaghetti! The sticker girl phenomenon! Our first comic book shop experiences! Our first dishwashing experiences! Record store employees with attitudes! Randy the Talking Reindeer! The Challenge of the Checkers Champion! A mall visit from Spider-Man! A ring of car stereo thieves! Rhode Island's own John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band! And yikes, so much more... Even if you never visited the Lincoln Mall, we know there's a mall or two in your past, so you can relate. In a way, we're all still lost among the overflowing bins of cheap junk at Kay Bee Toys.

Kevin's podcast about movies with skateboarding, Gleaming the Tube!

And our regular links...

The Flopcast website!

The ESO Network!

The Flopcast on Facebook!

The Flopcast on Instagram!

The Flopcast on Mastadon!

Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts!

Email: info@flopcast.net

Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation!

This week's promo: Modern Musicology!

 

Direct download: Flopcast_599.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:00am EDT

It's Halloween season, so we have another terrifying Flopcast for you, starting with some follow-up from last week's Monster Cereals Taste Test. We received a LOT of feedback (from BOTH of our listeners) on Carmella Creeper, since we were wondering if Carmella is indeed the first female cereal mascot. (This somehow leads to our learning way too much about Wheaties. Sorry.) We also just discovered a new monster cereal spin-off product: Monster Mash Spooky Berry Fruit Snacks! All your favorite cereal monsters (even Frute Brute and Yummy Mummy) are represented in chewy candy form, but we might be too frightened to taste-test them during the podcast. Also: Kevin just got back from Vermont, so we break out our handy Vermont Monster Guide and learn all about the Pigman. Plus: It's TV Talk Show Host Day. The Pigman doesn't have his own show yet, but we can dream.

The Flopcast website!

The ESO Network!

The Flopcast on Facebook!

The Flopcast on Instagram!

The Flopcast on Mastadon!

Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts!

Email: info@flopcast.net

Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation!

This week's promo: Earth Station Trek!

Direct download: Flopcast_598.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:55am EDT

Longtime listeners may vaguely recall our legendary Monster Cereals Taste Test, which happened ten years ago this month! And now it's time to do it again, because there's a new monster cereal in town. Frankenberry, Count Chocula, and Boo Berry have been joined by Carmella Creeper! Carmella is a zombie, a DJ, and a girl! (Finally!) And apparently she is Frankenberry's long lost cousin! (Weird!) So we're taste-testing the new caramel apple-flavored Carmella Creeper cereal, as well as the freaky Monster Mash combo cereal, and a bonus wild card non-monster Halloween cereal too. We're chomping on everything, so you don't have to. But we still miss Frute Brute.

The Flopcast website!

The ESO Network!

The Flopcast on Facebook!

The Flopcast on Instagram!

The Flopcast on Mastadon!

Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts!

Email: info@flopcast.net

Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation!

This week's promo: Monster Attack!

 

Direct download: Flopcast_597.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:00am EDT

Hang onto your milk money, because we're celebrating National School Lunch Week with a Kornflake Cafeteria Quiz. (Would she eat a Tater Tot? We're still not sure...) Then it's time to dive into another issue of Dynamite, the magazine for weird kids of the 70s and 80s. And we're looking at a Dynamite from 1978 that was provided by our pal Chris from Sci-Fi Explosion! Alfred E. Neuman is on the cover, because the lead story is about the 25th anniversary of MAD magazine. (And yes, someone baked a nightmare-inducing Alfred E. Neuman birthday cake.) Also in this issue: The Dynamite Duo (you know, legendary superheroes Dawnstar and Nightglider), bizarre ways to ruin your bicycle, International Pickle Week, the zombie kites of Nantucket, Count Morbida's puzzle pages, Magic Wanda's awful magic tricks, advice for witches, Dynamite Bummers, and a horse. Enjoy.

Watch Sci-Fi Explosion on Twitch!

And our regular links...

The Flopcast website!

The ESO Network!

The Flopcast on Facebook!

The Flopcast on Instagram!

The Flopcast on Mastadon!

Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts!

Email: info@flopcast.net

Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation!

This week's promo: Monkeeing Around!

Direct download: Flopcast_596.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:43am EDT

With our Dragon Con coverage finally out of the way (more or less), it's time to focus on what really matters: National Microwave Oven Day. Get ready to party, kids. We also have concert reviews on a couple of music legends: Bruce Springsteen (who never made a music video with dancing turkeys) and Peter Gabriel (who totally did). Plus: Yetis, ALF lunch boxes, and Chickens in the News! Did ancient chicken ancestors lay eggs or not? Let's find out. And then let's see if Peter can work this into his next video.

The Flopcast website!

The ESO Network!

The Flopcast on Facebook!

The Flopcast on Instagram!

The Flopcast on Mastadon!

Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts!

Email: info@flopcast.net

Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation!

This week's promo: Con Guy!

Direct download: Flopcast_595.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:09am EDT

Okay, let's wrap up our coverage of Dragon Con 2023! (Because come on, if this recap goes on much longer, we'll have to include Dragon Con 2024...) Kevin and the Mayor of Chickentown (reporting from Maine in the middle of a hurricane) are here to run through every crazy thing that happened over the last two days of the convention. Including: Bionic fun with Lindsay Wagner and Lee Majors, the Battle of the Mad Scientists, the Battle of the Fictional Bands, Christmas Con (with Robot Santa and horrifying holiday Spam), an ALF script reading (with Chris from Sci-Fi Explosion as ALF!), a Wonder Woman script reading (with Kevin as Steve Trevor, the Mayor as Etta Candy, and Joe in a gorilla suit!), panels on Stargirl and Titans with the American Sci-Fi and Fantasy Media Track, more hot Manimal talk with the American Sci-Fi Classics Track, and the upcoming Dragon Con-themed benefit book Dragon Tales! (Kevin wrote a chapter for this book. And it's quite silly, believe it or not.) Plus: Our favorite costumes, including a bizarre giant rubber chicken, a Weird Al group with tiny accordions, an eerily accurate Wilford Brimley, our friend Martha as Booster Gold, a million Mrs. Ropers, and a billion Barbies. We are officially exhausted. See you next year, nerds.

The Flopcast website!

The ESO Network!

The Flopcast on Facebook!

The Flopcast on Instagram!

The Flopcast on Mastadon!

Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts!

Email: info@flopcast.net

Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation!

This week's promo: Earth Station DCU!

Direct download: Flopcast_594.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:08pm EDT