The Flopcast

We're still in social distancing mode here in Chickentown, of course, as we cross one cancelled event after another off the stupid calendar. (Specifically, Pee Wee Herman and Diane Birch are keeping their distance from us this week.) But that means more TV talk (Lost in Space, Shrill, Picard, Taskmaster, and the upcoming cartoon Solar Opposites) and even more online concerts (Taylor Dayne is telling it to our hearts, straight from her living room). Also, National Handmade Day is this week, and is NOT cancelled, so Kornflake is gonna macrame like it's 1979. And in our Chickens in the News segment, we discuss new fossil evidence of a giant prehistoric chicken that dressed like Lynda Carter and killed all the dinosaurs. (Disclaimer: We just kind of skimmed the article.)

Direct download: Flopcast_412.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:33am EDT

Remember what the world was like two weeks ago? Yeah, things have changed. But that's when Kevin took a quick trip to Las Vegas to visit our dear friends Brittany and Martha of Good Enough Cosplay! So they're on the show this week, discussing murderers and ice cream bears, strippers and showers, turkeys and taxes, Black Widow and Hawkeye... and their upcoming podcast: But First, Let's Talk Nerdy. Kevin and Brittany also ran a 5K race in the Vegas desert, and the results will shock you. (Yes, rubber reptiles and tiny trash bins were involved.) Also: Online concerts, Mystery Science Theater 3000 Live, where to find the new Kornflake & Jacob album, a Kornflake Book Club update, and Happy Birthday to Martin Short. Why not celebrate by dressing like Ed Grimley? It's not like you're leaving the house.

Direct download: Flopcast_411.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:55am EDT

Kornflake has returned from Minnesota with a full report on MarsCon, home of our beloved Dementia Track of comedy music performances! And this was the busiest MarsCon ever for Kornflake! In addition to her regular Dementia Water Aerobics classes (keeping nerds in shape and exhausted since 2013), she (along with Jacob Haller and Doornail) was scheduled for her own comedy music concert! And... Kornflake and Jacob released a whole new album of original silly songs too! Also on the MarsCon Dementia schedule: Mikey Mason, Devo Spice, Marc With a C, Michael William Hunter, the great Luke Ski, Lauren Mayer, TV's Kyle and Linzilla, Brett Glass, Karl Brown, and Beth Kinderman and the Player Characters! Plus: Dementia Smackdown Wrestling, fun with the AED, emergency pool repairs, the Space Oddity Music Club and Brew Pub, and the dangers of partying with Klingons. Also: National Awkward Moments Day, a Kornflake Book Club update, listener feedback from our 1980 TV episodes, and Happy 99th (!) Birthday to the Mad cartoonist with a snappy answer for every stupid question, Al Jaffee. Be safe and be silly, kids.

Direct download: Flopcast_410.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:33pm EDT

Kevin and the Mayor conclude their look back at the TV shows that debuted in 1980! It was the year of Tom Selleck in Hawaii and Tom Hanks in drag. Deputy Enos left Hazzard County for Los Angeles. The biggest stars in country music shared a stage with the Krofft puppets. Future stars like Martin Short and Linda Hamilton popped up in shows nobody remembers. (Our apologies to all you diehard fans of I'm A Big Girl Now and Secrets of Midland Heights...) We also had Ted Knight, Ann Jillian, Shaun Cassidy... and a short-lived reality show that introduced the world to a certain Mr. T. Want more? Okay, how about... the Solid Gold dancers! You're working on your time machine right now, aren't you? See you forty years ago.

Direct download: Flopcast_409.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:00am EDT

While Kornflake is off entertaining the nerds of Minnesota at MarsCon, Kevin and the Mayor discuss obscure TV shows from forty years ago. (We're quite timely around here.) Specifically we're looking at shows that debuted in the year 1980. And it's a weird list. Weirder than you think. Including: Spinoffs of 70s hits that flopped in the 80s (Flo, Sanford, Beyond Westworld, Galactica 1980), a pair of long-running PBS shows (3-2-1 Contact and Mystery!), a don't-try-this-at-home reality TV classic (That's Incredible!), a late night SNL-inspired sketch comedy series (Fridays), a few painful reminders that variety shows were just about dead (The Tim Conway Show, The Big Show, and the notorious Pink Lady and Jeff), and a few short-lived oddities that nobody remembers. (Goodtime Girls, anyone? Me and Maxx? No?) And we're only halfway home; we'll get through the rest of the list next week. So come on back to 1980 with us, vote for Carter, and enjoy.

Direct download: Flopcast_408.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:51am EDT

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