MONSTER PARTY

MONSTER PARTY SALUTES A GLORIOUS EIGHT-DECADE CAREER!

JAMES GONIS, SHAWN SHERIDAN, LARRY STROTHE, and MATT WEINHOLD, celebrate the works of one of the most talented and prolific character actors of our age. Take a journey with us into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination. That's a signpost up ahead: your next stop... THE WORLD OF H.M. WYNANT!!!

H.M Wynant is an actor who, although you may not be familiar with his name, you have probably seen hundreds of times. He has an IMDB bursting list of credits and has appeared in almost every radio, stage, television, and film genre. His massive resume features numerous westerns including  BONANZA, WAGON TRAIN, MAVERICK, SHOTGUN SLADE, and THE BIG VALLEY, popular dramas like PERRY MASON, 77 SUNSET STRIP, THE ROCKFORD FILES, QUINCY, DALLAS, and THE WEST WING, the spy shows I SPY, THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E., MISSION IMPOSSIBLE, and GET SMART, and even the somewhat controversial WWII comedy, HOGAN'S HEROES. Yes, he almost sent Colonel Klink to the Russian Front!   Wynant has also worked with a veritable "who's who" of Hollywood legends including Charles  Bronson, John Carradine, Clint Eastwood, Errol Flynn, Samuel Fuller, Clark Gable Katharine Hepburn, Burt Lancaster, Bruce Lee, Sal Mineo, Laurence Olivier, Elvis Presley, Phil Silvers, Rod Steiger, and a whole "Walk of Fame" more! So you better believe he has some stories to share!    But this is MONSTER PARTY, and what guest would be worth his salt with a slew of genre credits?    Wynant drove Ricardo Montalban to suicide in CONQUEST OF THE PLANET OF THE APES, managed to keep a plane in the air while battling supernatural forces in THE HORROR AT 37,000 FEET, helped Mr. Freeze (Eli Wallach) take on The Caped Crusader in the 60's BATMAN TV series, and infamously freed The Devil to wreak havoc in the world in the classic episode of THE TWILIGHT ZONE, THE HOWLING MAN.   Providing us entry into THE WORLD OF H.M. WYNANT is a past guest with an amazing resume of his own. He's an acclaimed author, playwright, graphic novelist, screenwriter, and film director, who happens to have written the definitive Wynant biography, H.M. WYNANT: YOU MUST BELIEVE! Please welcome back... STEVEN PEROS! (THE CAT'S MEOW, FOOTPRINTS (with H.M. Wynant), THE UNDYING, STOKER & WELLS: ORDER OF THE GOLDEN DAWN, GIANT BUG CINEMA, GIANT BEAST CINEMA)   SO GRAB HOLD OF YOUR "STAFF OF TRUTH" AND GET TO LISTENING!

MONSTER PARTY IS HIGH ON BEN COOPER MASK FUMES!

JAMES GONIS, SHAWN SHERIDAN, LARRY STROTHE, and MATT WEINHOLD, celebrate their favorite holiday with another tomb-burner of an event! Hang that crappy spiderweb stuff, put the giant Home Depot skeleton on the front lawn, and get ready for some... HALLOWEEN HIJINKS!

Halloween is a very special time for MONSTER PARTY! It's a time when every monster kid can let their freak flag fly, not to mention allowing you to dress as a vampire and go door to door, begging for food. 

For this episode, we'll explore all the facets of Halloween that make it so wonderful: the golden age of Ben Cooper/Collegeville costumes, the numerous mazes and haunted attractions, spooky DIY home decorations, the pros and cons of various candies, and what scary movies and TV fit the perfect Halloween bill. 

But for an episode this important, we needed a guest who we considered Halloween incarnate. Mr. Halloween, if you will. And we found that guest!

Joining us for all his All Hallows hoopla is a loyal friend of the show, who is a veritable multiverse of talent. He's an award-winning comedian, writer, producer, and podcaster, who has worked on such beloved projects as SUPER ADVENTURE TEAM, THE SIMPSONS, and STAN AGAINST EVIL! He is also the host of the long-form podcast, THE DANA GOULD HOUR, and the genius behind America's most popular talk show, HANGING WITH DR. Z. Please welcome back the always sensational... DANA GOULD! 

MONSTER PARTY WISHES YOU A HAPPY AND SAFE HALLOWEEN! AND IF SOMEONE PUTS A ROCK IN YOUR "TRICK OR TREAT" BAG... YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO.

FORGET YOUR FURBIES, YOUR SLAP BRACELETS, AND YOUR POGS! MONSTER PARTY WANTS YOU TO FIRE UP THE VCR AND GET READY FOR SOME CHILLS!

SHAWN SHERIDAN, JAMES GONIS, LARRY STROTHE, and MATT WEINHOLD, revisit that strange, transitional, hard-to-define decade of film that produced so many fright classics! Put the lotion in the basket and steady your nerves for... '90S HORROR!

The 90s were an interesting time for the horror genre, and unlike the 80s, a bit more difficult to pigeonhole. It was an era that expanded the success of many popular franchises like FRIDAY THE 13TH, PHANTASM, BASKET CASE, HELLRAISER, EVIL DEAD, and CHILD'S PLAY, experimented for better or worse with CGI, and gave us new horrors that still had a bit of that loveable eighties vibe. Yeah, we're lookin' at you FRANKENHOOKER, DEAD ALIVE (aka BRAIN DEAD), and WISHMASTER!

And let's not forget the unprecedented Oscar wins for SILENCE OF THE LAMBS. By introducing elements of the thriller, "Silence" and its descendants/copycats nearly made horror mainstream. But there's so much more to the story than that.

By sheer coincidence, the guest we got for this episode just so happens to be the producer/director of the mega-documentary, IN SEARCH OF DARKNESS: 1990-1994, and a past guest/dear friend of MONSTER PARTY He is also the visionary who brought us the long-form 80s horror documentaries in the IN SEARCH OF DARKNESS series,  IN SEARCH OF TOMORROW: THE DEFINITIVE '80S SCI-FI DOCUMENTARY,  ALIEN EXPANDED, and THE THING EXPANDED! And if that were not awesome enough, he's a multiple RONDO AWARD WINNER, the past executive editor of FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND, and writes the celebrated blog... IT CAME FROM...!  Please welcome back... DAVID WEINER!

NOW PULL YOUR HAIR BACK IN YOUR BUTTERFLY CLIP, STOP FEEDING THAT TOMAGOTCHI, AND LET'S GET TO THIS! 

MONSTER PARTY GETS... WAY OUT! WAY OUT!

SHAWN SHERIDAN, JAMES GONIS, LARRY STROTHE, and MATT WEINHOLD, pack their audio pic-a-nic baskets, for a journey through animation history! Join us for a wacky race into the exciting world of... HANNA-BARBERA!

WILLIAM HANNA and JOSEPH BARBERA were the innovative team behind many of the world's favorite cartoons. Over their long career, they were responsible for such memorable characters as TOM & JERRY, THE FLINTSTONES, YOGI BEAR, THE JETSONS, SCOOBY DOO, HUCKLEBERRY HOUND, TOP CAT, SECRET SQUIRREL, HONG KONG PHOOEY, THE WACKY RACES, ATOM ANT, SNAGGLEPUSS, JOSIE AND THE PUSSYCATS, WAIT TILL YOUR FATHER GETS HOME, and HUNDREDS more! 

HANNA-BARBERA also blazed a trail when it came to producing adventure cartoons. This was the team that brought us JONNY QUEST, SPACE GHOST, THE HERCULOIDS, THE FANTASTIC FOUR, SUPER FRIENDS, SHAZZAN, VALLEY OF THE DINOSAURS, and many other fantastical Saturday morning staples. 

Not satisfied with the status quo, HANNA and BARBERA ventured out into the world of feature films, giving us THE MAN CALLED FLINTSTONE, HEY THERE, IT'S YOGI BEAR!, and the beloved animated classic, CHARLOTTE'S WEB. If that's not enough for you folks, they even tackled live-action with THE BANANA SPLITS ADVENTURE HOUR, DANGER ISLAND, MYSTERY ISLAND, and the under-appreciated live-action/animation hybrid, THE NEW ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN! 

Of course, we don't have the space to list all of HANNA-BARBERA'S achievements. That's what the episode is for. But, speaking of that!

There was only one guest we could have booked for this epic topic. He's a friend of the show, appearing (along with fellow MP friend, CONSTANTINE NASR) on our CHRISTMAS SPECIALS  episode, and has an awe-inspiring resume. He's a two-time Grammy-nominated and Addy-winning freelance writer, editor, and producer with 30 years of magic with The Walt Disney Company and over 40 years of professional writing and production experience! He's the author of MOUSE TRACKS: THE STORY OF WALT DISNEY RECORDS, and the recent (and dare we say, timely) book... HANNA-BARBERA: THE RECORDED HISTORY- FROM MODERN STONE AGE TO MEDDLING KIDS. And be sure to check out his podcast, THE FUNTASTIC WORLD OF HANNA & BARBERA. Please welcome back the also funtastic... GREG EHRBAR!

NOW, GET TO LISTENING... OR MEET YOUR YABBA DABBA DOOOOM!

 

MONSTER PARTY GIVES YOU A BACKSTAGE PASS... TO TERROR!

JAMES GONIS, SHAWN SHERIDAN, LARRY STROTHE, and MATT WEINHOLD, get you feared-up and ready for the upcoming HALLOWEEN HAUNT season, with a celebration of live, in-your-face scares! Reserve yourself a front-row orchestra seat for... HORROR THEATER!

From the days of France's Théâtre du Grand-Guignol, and early productions of Dracula, Frankenstein, and Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, horror-themed theater productions have sent chills up and down audiences' spines. But since those early plays. horror theater has evolved to include such trends as Antonin Artuad's immersive THEATRE OF CRUELTY, one-person performances, offbeat musicals, and the extravagant rock shows of ALICE COOPER and KISS! See, sometimes good things do happen!

Joining us for this episode of footlight frights is the founder of the visionary dramatic company, ZOMBIE JOE’S UNDERGROUND THEATRE, located in the heart of scenic North Hollywood. Starting in 1992, Zombie Joe’s been delightfully blowing minds with inventive and provocative productions, including the mega-popular nightmare-fuel of a show, URBAN DEATH. In 2007, Zombie Joe’s Underground Theatre won THE LA WEEKLY THEATER AWARD FOR BEST ONE-ACT ENSEMBLE FOR EDGAR ALLEN POE’S, “THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH,” and LA WEEKLY’S STEVEN LEIGH MORRIS named ZOMBIE JOE’S “BEST OF LA.” The URBAN DEATH TOUR OF TERROR has also been recognized by horror icon JOE BOB BRIGGS, receiving THE SILVER BOLO AWARD for “EXCELLENCE IN HORROR MEDIA.” Please welcome the man, the legend… ZOMBIE JOE!

THE CURTAIN IS RISING MONSTER PARTIERS! STAY IN YOUR SEATS... IF YOU DARE!

MONSTER PARTY HAS A BUCKET LIST, AND IT'S GETTING BIGGER!

JAMES GONIS, SHAWN SHERIDAN, LARRY STROTHE, and MATT WEINHOLD, have A LOT of toys. And if we're being absolutely honest, we want A LOT MORE! But sometimes, our passion for playthings goes way beyond simply wanting! That's why we bring you this episode/mission statement entitled... I REALLY NEED THAT TOY!!!

I'm sure you all can remember those days as a child when a new toy came out and you pleaded with your parents, "I NEED that!" Cut to the present day where we're bombarded with a seemingly endless onslaught of great collectibles we thought we'd never see produced.  From the fantastic Ben Cooper vintage costume figures from NECA, the countless delights provided by SUPER 7, the ultra-detailed figures from MEGO, HOT TOYS, and MEZCO, and the slew of amazing customs provided by creators like DISTINCTIVE DUMMIES and BRENTZ DOLLS, there's a whole bunch of cool stuff out there that we really need. And that's only the tip of the bucket list! 

Joining us for this possession obsession is a man who has created many of the toys we really need! Aside from being an immensely talented writer, producer, and director, he's the co-founder of, WANDERING PLANET TOYS, responsible for the drool-worthy line of action figures from the classic 1967 Patrick McGoohan series, THE PRISONER. And, If you watch COLLECTOR'S CALL WITH LISA WELCHEL, you'll recognize him as one of their top toy experts! Please welcome our new old friend... GAVIN HIGNIGHT!

LISTEN NOW AND REMEMBER, MONSTER UNDERSTANDS YOUR NEEDS!

 

 

MONSTER PARTY SAYS, "MAKE MINE MONSTERS!"

JAMES GONIS, SHAWN SHERIDAN, LARRY STROTHE, and MATT WEINHOLD, go the source of iconic funnybook frights! Whether you're a "Dracula" or a "Frankenstein", you're bound to love this celebration of abominable antiheroes, that we're simply calling... MONSTERS IN COMICS!!!

As monster kids, we all grew up deeply loving the terrifying but often misunderstood creatures that graced our movie and television screens. But when we couldn't access these screens, due to finances, school schedule, or parental guidance, comic books provided another portal of access to our monstrous friends. Whether it's classic monster heroes like THE INCREDIBLE HULK or SWAMP THING, Marvel horror titles like WEREWOLF BY NIGHT, TOMB OF DRACULA, MAN-THING (giant-sized or normal), or MONSTER OF FRANKENSTEIN, or the hellish creations from Todd MacFralane's SPAWN, these characters always delivered the ghoulish goods.

And monster comics continue their beastly boom! Which leads us to our extraordinary guest!

He's a 2020 RONDO HATTEN AWARD-WINNING ARTIST OF THE YEAR, and his recording-breaking run of collector cards, and comic book covers has received critical acclaim. On top of all that, his current Kickstarter comic book monster mashup, MARK SPEAR'S MONSTERS, has led to pre-orders going through the roof.  And if that were not enough, he also gave us a master class in overcoming the trials and tribulations of making it in the comic book industry. Making his MONSTER PARTY debut, please welcome (we assume you've already guessed it)... MARK SPEARS! (SPAWN, SUPERMAN, GREEN LANTERN: WAR JOURNAL, POWER RANGERS, SAM & TWITCH, MARK SPEARS' MONSTERS TRADING CARDS, SEVERIN FILMS).

MOVE OVER MCU... THE MONSTERS ARE COMING!

 

ONCE AGAIN, MONSTER PARTY DEFIES CONVENTION!

JAMES GONIS, SHAWN SHERIDAN, LARRY STROTHE, and MATT WEINHOLD, return to the SAN DIEGO CONVENTION CENTER for the geek-centric event of the season! So slip on your ill-fitting spandex, and Turtle Wax that Stormtrooper armor. You have an audio appointment with... COMIC CON 2024!!!

As we've said time and time again, THE SAN DIEGO INTERNATIONAL COMIC CON is the birthplace of MONSTER PARTY! It's here that we four monster kids united to do verbal battle with each other over snacks and foo-foo drinks. All these years later, we still haven't lost our urge to make the pilgrimage to San Diego and continue this long tradition. Whether we are bragging about our purchases, bitching about sold out SDCC exclusives, dissecting panel presentations, or praising inventive cosplay (James?), MONSTER PARTY has something kinda sorta important to say!

But what would a COMIC CON episode be without a glorious gaggle of guests? This year, we we were graced by genre paper sculptor extraordinaire, JIMM JENKINS, gaming expert, STEPHANIE BOURDO, THE LEGAL GEEKS' JOSH GILLILAND, and artist/SFX make-up wizard, MARK TAVARES! Believe us, when it comes to post-convention antics, this group wrote the how-to book!

LEAVE ALL THAT HALL "H" TRAUMA BEHIND. MONSTER PARTY IS HERE TO MAKE IT ALL BETTER!

MONSTER PARTY HAS A CLOSE ENCOUNTER OF THE WORST KIND!

JAMES GONIS, SHAWN SHERIDAN, LARRY STROTHE, and MATT WEINHOLD, experience an other-worldly abduction of taste, logic, and talent. Prepare to take an intergalactic trip to worlds beneath your imagination, as we meet the... WORST ALIENS!

Aliens in films and television come in all shapes, sizes, and colors, and it's up to the creative team behind each project to fulfill a sci-fi nerd's outlandish expectations. But sometimes, these artists are not quite up to the task. That's when you get some of the lesser lifeforms in genre favorites, like STAR TREK, STAR WARS, LOST IN SPACE, SPACE:1999, and DOCTOR WHO, as well as numerous other fantastic film flops. We're talkin' space hippies, Muppet rockers, silver bandidos, butt parasites, E.T. ripoffs, L. Ron invaders, and candy-coated creeps, just to name a few!

So what happens behind the scenes to give birth to these outer space atrocities? Is it a lack of a decent budget? Being locked into someone else's uninspired vision? Or is it really that the people in charge simply couldn't be bothered? And does any of that matter? Because for some strange reason beyond our comprehension... some of the worst aliens can be our favorites!

Joining us for this gaudy, galaxy-spanning gabfest is a dear friend of MONSTER PARTY, and someone who knows intuitively how to spot an alien who just isn't "bringing it". She's an award-winning writer, producer, actor, and comedian, but we like to think of her as a transporter-beamed dollop of delight! Please welcome back... SUE MURPHY! (CHELSEA LATELY, CHELSEA, WANDA AT LARGE, WANDA DOES IT, THE ELLEN DEGENERES SHOW, THE SOUP, COMEDY CENTRAL PRESENTS, THE JEFF FOXWORTHY SHOW, STAR WARS: EWOKS)

IF YOU HAPPEN TO BE ONE OF THE WORST ALIENS, DON'T FEEL BAD. REMEMBER, IN SPACE, NO ONE CAN HEAR THE HATERS.

 

IN THIS THUNDERDOME OF AUDIO, MONSTER PARTY HAS ALL YOUR "THUNDER DOS" AND "THUNDER DON'TS!

JAMES GONIS, SHAWN SHERIDAN, LARRY STROTHE, and MATT WEINHOLD, make a spectacle of their latest topic! Get out of those cheap seats and head down to the virtual V.I.P. section for a gladiatorial gala glorifying... ARENAS!!!

When it comes to genre films, an arena can often be the perfect stage for a pivotal moment of drama. Whether it's in a classical coliseum of a sword and sandal fantasy, an alien world where two civilizations battle it out for survival, or an island perfectly suitable for a teenage slaughter, the concept of "bread and circuses" just keeps fighting on. 

In this episode, MONSTER PARTY will explore the various cinematic takes on arenas, in some of our favorite and not-so-favorite films and TV shows. Entering the zone of battle will be the likes of STAR WARS, STAR TREK, THE MCU, THE OUTER LIMITS, THE TWILIGHT ZONE, MAD MAX, LOGAN'S RUN, ROLLERBALL, THE HUNGER GAMES, BATTLE ROYALE, GAME OF THRONES, STEPHEN KING, BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, SPACE 1999, and many more!

LIFE'S ARENA IS HARD. SO WHY NOT LET MONSTER PARTY TURN THAT THUMBS DOWN INTO A THUMBS UP?!