Talkin’ Bout My Generation

Yes. It’s a few weeks before Christmas, the eggnog is fresh out and as much as we want more, there ain’t none on the shelves to be had.  It’s making us feel…Grumpy? Grouchy? No. Grinchy. Join Andre Smith and Doug Abel as we discuss all 3 iterations of the Grinch, from the 1966 cartoon short done by Chuck Jones, to the 2000 Jim Carrey and Ron Howard version, to the most current version done by Doctor Strange…Uh…Sherlock…no…Oh, bloody hell, it’s the Englishman who everyone finds sexy as Khan Noonien Singh in Star Trek Into Darkness. Listen in and comment on this episode, let us know what you think!

1984 – The All Valley under 18 Karate Championships are taking place, and involve a snarky upstart kid from Jersey, who moved to Reseda, and the blonde haired, perfect asshole type you could absolutely hate, coming together in a battle for the Championship. Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence faced off, with LaRusso being the winner in The Karate Kid. But in this new series, we follow Johnny Lawrence, 30 years later, as he decides to open his own karate school and teach kids how to fight. We also get to see the rivalry between LaRusso and Lawrence; LaRusso became a successful auto dealer, and Lawrence, a maintenance man trying to recover his life from what seems to be a drunken haze of mistakes and relying on his verbally abusive stepfather’s money. There’s also Miguel, the young Cobra Kai upstart, and Robbie Lawrence (yep, Johnny’s son!) who follows under Daniel and learns Miyagi-Do karate. So come listen to us as we (SPOILER ALERT! WE GIVE AWAY SPOILERS!) discuss Youtube Red’s Cobra Kai!

Today, Nov 12th, 2018, the comic book world was rocked. Stanley Lieber, aka Stan “The Man” Lee, passed away. It was a blow to many, but me especially. I met the man several times over the course of my visits to Comic-Con and Wondercon, and he was so pleasant. So I wanted to share a quick episode remembering Stan. Excelsior, Mr. Lee!

Week 4 of James Bond January, and we get to the most recent James Bond Film to date, We’re supposed to be introduced to the SPECTRE anti-government group, but instead we’re treated to Cristoph Waltz, and how he sees SPECTRE as being the thing that will destroy MI-6, Bond, and everything else. And who is Christoph? None other than Ernst Stavro Blofeld, who was a major villain in the 60’s, against Sean Connery and others.  Join us this week as we hem and haw about SPECTRE, to our lament.

Week 3 of James Bond January, and we FINALLY get to a great portrayal of Craig as James Bond, in Skyfall. We also get introduced to Q, MI-6’s Quartermaster (in case anyone was wondering what the “Q” stood for), who hands James a gun, a radio, and one of the best lines referring to ridiculousness of some of the franchise’s previous gadgets: “What were you expecting, an exploding pen? We don’t really go in for that sort of thing anymore.” That reference to GoldenEye is not the only reference you’ll find in this film, from the original DB6 to several other classic references – take a listen and you can hear us discuss them on the podcast episode!

This week, coming on the heels of the Casino Royale film and moving into the second week of James Bond January, we arrive at Daniel Craig’s second appearance as James Bond, in Quantum of Solace.  Meh. He finally gets his “Double O” status, becomes the agent MI-6 is looking for, and steps up…Sort of. Just…Listen, and you’ll see what we mean.

They say that every series needs a fresh start sometimes. Well, It’s January, James Bond has returned, and we’re back on to James Bond January with Casino Royale, the “reboot” of the James Bond franchise. We get to see Daniel Craig for the first time as Bond, and they restart the series, sort of. Dame Judi Dench is still M, from the Pierce Brosnan era, which is confusing as hell to me…and…well…Just listen to the podcast. We delve into this quite a bit more. Take a listen, and hold on for the bumpy ride that is Casino Royale.

Scooby Doo, where are you? A Cowardly Great Dane, kids who would just drive from town to town solving mysteries (and yet never seeming to make any money, unless the theories of Shaggy selling weed were true) – it was a great formula.  And they always managed to find their ghost was someone in town who’d had things ruined by them “meddlin’ kids’. Come listen as we discuss a classic that is STILL aired today, Scooby Doo!

Based on a novella by the late Isaac Asimov, Bicentennial Man was perhaps one of Robin Williams’ best films, in my opinion. A robot who was different, who wanted to be human, more and more, and yet was constrained by the 3 Laws of Robotics: * A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.* A robot must obey orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.* A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law. Come take a listen as we discuss this great, often overlooked film.

Mikey, Mouth, Data, Brandt, Chunk, the Fratellis, Andie, Sloth – and of course, One Eyed Willie. This is the group that is out to save their boondocks area of Oregon. Development to demolish their homes and kick them out has been started by the rich folks, prompting the kids to take off on a treasure hunt to save their town. Along the way, they run into counterfeiting murderers who seem to be more bumbling than actual death dealers. Join us this week as we discuss a Richard Donner classic, The Goonies!