The Smeg Hebs are back before breakfast, and this time they've added a new member! Cal, Kieran, and Ralph are joined by Donald as they continue their Red Dwarf retrospective.

4 folk from the islands spend almost an hour arguing over the best episodes, as well as sharing their views on Ace Rimmer, Talkie Toaster, Justice, and ponder the important questions.

After all, what's more of a punishment than being Arnold Rimmer?

Get all of our links here: https://taplink.cc/ohcast

Official OH!Cast Merch: https://oh-cast-shop.fourthwall.com

Email the team: [email protected]

Chapters

• 00:00 Top Episode: Meltdown
• 01:09 Exploring Series Four
• 02:02 Favorite Episodes: DNA and Dimension Jump
• 02:55 Controversial Choices: Camille and White Hole
• 03:33 Character Development and Humor
• 07:26 The Impact of Budget and Set Design
• 33:34 Exploring Episode: Meltdown
• 39:07 Exploring the 'Justice' Episode
• 44:32 The Golden Age of Red Dwarf
• 49:34 Quiz Segment and Personal Anecdotes
• 53:04 Philosophical Themes in Red Dwarf

How many Graeme's with their names spelled correctly can one conversation handle? We don't know, but we had two in this one and it was excellent!

Cal and Graeme are joined by retro gaming freelance writer, Graeme Mason.

Graeme (guest, not co-host) has written some fantastic books on the games we loved and perhaps didn't love quite as much from our childhood - ZX Nightmares, and ZX Dreams. We talk through our respective gaming journeys, memories of Spectrum magazines, and Graeme (guest) fulfilling one of his childhood dreams, before turning our attentions to Graeme's other project - IndieHorrorGamer which does exactly what it says on the tin.

Retro media? Check.

Geek culture? Check.

Must be another OH!Cast!

Graeme's website is HERE

IndieHorrorGamer can be found HERE

Get all of our links here: https://taplink.cc/ohcast
Official OH!Cast Merch: https://oh-cast-shop.fourthwall.com
Email the team: [email protected]

Chapters

• 00:00 Gaming Journey: Arcades to ZX Spectrum
• 03:10 ZX Spectrum and Home Consoles
• 04:05 Magazines and Game Reviews
• 07:31 The Appeal of 'Crash' Magazine
• 23:25 ZX Nightmares: Inspiration and Content
• 28:17 Challenges Faced by Early Game Developers
• 30:05 Evolution of Horror Games
• 32:17 Author's Current Projects and Interests

Our intrepid Star Trek crew are back on OH!Cast, with Cal in the captain's chair again, hosting regulars Rob, Martin, and Eileen to talk about the first cinema outing for Star Trek - 1979's Star Trek: The Motion Picture.

What was the cultural context around the movie, and how does this influence the reception at the time and afterwards? How has social media changed the way we engage with movies, and how we process and absorb information?

The crew look at these as well as digging into the plot and themes of the movie - V'ger's existential question and Spock's internal struggle, fan theories (including the Borg theory), and Dr McCoy's arc.

As always, this summary barely scratches the surface - go listen to the episode then join us on our links below for more discussion!

Get all of our links here: https://taplink.cc/ohcast
Official OH!Cast Merch: https://oh-cast-shop.fourthwall.com
Email the team: [email protected]

Chapters

• 00:00 The Crew's Appearance and Dynamics
• 28:31 Fashion and Nostalgia
• 31:38 Exploring V'ger's Existential Question
• 39:01 Spock's Internal Conflict
• 42:22 Character Dynamics and Relationships
• 47:27 Pacing and Film Conventions
• 50:09 The Impact of Social Media
• 53:28 Fan Ownership and Influence
• 56:16 Cultural Context and Influence on Film
• 01:00:53 The Artistic Vision of Star Trek: The Motion Picture

We went live with Remi a few weeks ago, but tech gremlins prevailed so we rescheduled, and we're glad we did!

Cal and Graeme host as Remi breaks down her history in Strongman competitions (including the famous Arnold Classic), and the wildcard rounds that are always a feature of these events.

We talk conditioning (well, Remi talks conditioning, we're a couple of overweight nerds), and the difference between training for an event every few months compared with being in ring-ready shape every day of the week. From there, we also share experiences of stingers, and that moment when your limbs feel the jolt of searing pain and numbness and how it freaks you out.

Remi details her training at Steve and Colby Corino's Carolina Wrestling Academy, and how hands on The King of Old School is in her training (and it's as good as us older fans would hope!); and also how she turned her own personality up and her filter off to become Remi Gone Rogue.

Follow Remi HERE

and

The Carolina Wrestling Academy HERE

Support Indie Wrestling!

Get all of our links here: https://taplink.cc/ohcast
Official OH!Cast Merch: https://oh-cast-shop.fourthwall.com
Email the team: [email protected]

Brent Forrester is the man responsible for some of the greatest episodes of comedy TV ever, and he's joining Cal and Kieran to talk about it on OH!Cast.

Having been mentored Susan Harris (The Golden Girls, Soap), Brent details what makes comedy good, roundly dispelling the idea that "silly is funny" and outlining the three rules of comedy writing that guide him to this day.

It's a brilliant interview with the man responsible for one of the best jokes ever which we've totally butchered in the episode title .

All of Brent's links are here

Get all of our links here: https://taplink.cc/ohcast
Official OH!Cast Merch: https://oh-cast-shop.fourthwall.com
Email the team: [email protected]

After an earlier failed attempt to talk with Nicholas Vince due to an island-wide power outage, he's kindly agreed to come back and talk with Cal tonight.

Nick is our second Cenobite to join the show, after we spoke to Doug Bradley back in episode 68 a few months ago (yes, I've also just noticed that this is episode 86 and there's a nice symmetry in the numbers).

After meeting Clive Barker in London's Fringe theatre scene, the two hit it off and discovered they shared so many passions, which led to Nick agreeing to don "some makeup" (bit of an understatement) to become the legendary Cenobite, The Chatterer.

Nick breaks down how he became The Chatterer, and the physical limitations the prosthetics forced upon him, and also how the Cenobites bonded on set.

There's a story about a duck pond that you want to hear (I'm not spoiling it here), and one about a child's chance meeting with Doug in full Pinhead costume.

Nicholas Vince can be found on INSTAGRAM

or

on his own website

Get all of our links here: https://taplink.cc/ohcast
Official OH!Cast Merch: https://oh-cast-shop.fourthwall.com
Email the team: [email protected]

Graeme is off galavanting again, so Cal is riding solo as he chats with rising independent wrestling star SOS on The Hebridean Hammerlock.

SOS talks about growing up with a dad who was a huge wrestling fan, and her early introduction to the spectacle of WWE, but not seeing where she would fit in, until she discovered the independent scene.

The Divas era had a particular archetype, and a bigger woman of colour didn't fit it. The indies welcomed SOS with open arms

It's a candid discussion about life, struggles, mental health, and how wrestling as an art form offers escapism and purpose.

SOS explains her character too, and how she undertook research into dissociative identity disorder to respectfully build Skye (the protector), Olivia (the inner child), and Storm (the explosive force) and how she conveys which alter is fronting through body language, movement, and facial expression.

Follow SOS HERE

Get all of our links here: https://taplink.cc/ohcast
Official OH!Cast Merch: https://oh-cast-shop.fourthwall.com
Email the team: [email protected]

Cal and Donald (in his OH!Cast debut) talk to the hilarious but absolutely not a band, Not A Band to find out how a jam session where they were "definitely not forming a band" has led to one of the most popular acts on the retro-media circuit.

Matt, Jay, Ollie, and Alex explain how they accidentally became a band, and what drew them to the fertile lands of TV Themes, game show medleys, cartoon classics, and of course, iconic adverts when putting together their setlist.

If you want clickbait, well, they will even tell you the one simple trick to making sure high notes get hit live!

If pure, unbridled joy were a band, the would be Not a Band, and if you need any more of an endorsement, Barry off Eastenders said they were "BRILLIANT! Book them"

Not a Band's website is HERE

Get all of our links here: https://taplink.cc/ohcast
Official OH!Cast Merch: https://oh-cast-shop.fourthwall.com
Email the team: [email protected]

Cal is joined by Katie Evans - lifelong horror fan, practicing psychotherapist, and one of our most requested guests on OH!Cast.

Over the course of an hour, we discuss the psychology of fear, and why monsters and horror have always been lurking in human storytelling. There's a hit of nostalgia as Cal and Katie remember browsing the video shop, especially when having sleepovers and the rites of passage that certain movies became, and how our early experiences shape our relationship with fear.

Katie explains how Freud, Jung, and modern psychotherapy intersect with Jason Voorhees, Freddy Krueger, Leatherface, and Michael Myers. There's also discussion of the evolution of horror in media, starting with folklore then moving on to the Universal monster movies, cinema censorship, video nasties, and the generational trends in horror.

There's so much packed into this interview, so rather than reading this, go listen to it and experience it for yourself!

Katie's instagram is HERE

Get all of our links here: https://taplink.cc/ohcast
Official OH!Cast Merch: https://oh-cast-shop.fourthwall.com
Email the team: [email protected]

Last time out, we heard about Cal's childhood. In this second part of the interview, it's his older teen years, going to university, living and working abroad before coming home to the Hebrides and creating OH!Cast.

Side B starts with some love for Andy Cairns, Fyfe Ewing and Therapy? - particularly Infernal Love and the sharp left turn the band took after tasting chart success with Troublegum.

Through chatting about music and life, Cal and Graeme touch on emotional themes, but also on the moment where as a man you choose to reject the toxic masculinity and misogyny that was innate to growing up male in the West of Scotland (albeit 300 miles apart) in the 90s/00s.

Latterly, we get to what caused us to be here in the first place - OH!Cast - why Cal started it, what it means to him, and when he knew that he had something good.

It's an honest conversation and helps you get to know the people behind the pod.

Get all of our links here: https://taplink.cc/ohcast
Official OH!Cast Merch: https://oh-cast-shop.fourthwall.com
Email the team: [email protected]