Hey, you know what's almost as scary as nuclear power? Genetic engineering! That's right, the Godzilla franchise moves onto another hot-button bit of science-fear that could only come from the late eighties! Some classic mad science is afoot, and G-Force partners Science Man and Japanese Peter Falk are on the case! But will they be able to defeat the machinations of Saradian Shia Lebeouf? And what about all these psychic children??? Moose tries to keep track of the plot devices, Quark recalls her love of Galaxy Quest, and everybody jams out to dope beats from Dragon Quest composer, Koichi Sugiyama. The Heisei era rolls on, and it's only getting sillier!

Movies discussed:

GODZILLA VS BIOLLANTE (1989)

Written and directed by Kazuki Omori
Produced by Shogo Tomiyama and Tomoyuki Tanaka
Story by Shinichiro Kobayashi
Starring Kunihiko Mitamura, Yoshiko Tanaka, Masanobu Takashima, Megumi Odaka, Toru Minegishi, Yasuko Sawaguchi, Toshiyuki Nagashima, Yoshiko Kuga, Ryunosuke Kaneda, and Koji Takahashi
Music by Koichi Sugiyama
Cinematography by Yudai Kato
Edited by Michiko Ikeda

What's that sound? It can't be... but it is! Yes, Godzilla is back, and someone must have soaked him in vinegar and maple syrup for a couple days because he is BIGGER THAN BEFORE here in the Heisei era! Your hosts dig into the first Godzilla movie released in major US theaters since '54, and despite some pretty wild differences, it's a heck of a flick! Moose gives a brief synopsis of the revamped Halloween film series continuity, Quark reveals she's never seen Ducktales, and we all thank Raymond Burr for taking a very important stand. Not even a locked metal shutter can stop this train, folks!

(Thanks to 2 Mello for the use of his track for our new intro/outro! You can find him on Twitter @mellomakes, Bandcamp at 2mellomakes, and Soundcloud and Youtube as 2Mello!)

Movies discussed:

THE RETURN OF GODZILLA (1984)

Directed by Koji Hashimoto
Produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka
Screenplay by Shuichi Nagahara
Story by Tomoyuki Tanaka
Starring Ken Tanaka, Yasuko Sawaguchi, Yosuke Natsuki, Keiju Kobayashi, and Kenpachiro Satsuma
Music by Reijiro Koroku
Cinematography by Katsumi Hara
Edited by Yoshitami Kuroiwa

GODZILLA 1985 (1985)

New footage credits:

Directed by R. J. Kizer
Produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka and Tony Randel
Written by Lisa Tomei. Uncredited: Tony Randel and Straw Weisman.
Starring Raymond Burr, Warren J. Kemmerling, James Hess, Travis Swords, and Crawford Binion
Music by Christopher Young
Cinematography by Steven Dubin
Edited by Michael Spence

Your lovable cohosts are between eras, and so return with the first installment of their side-gig: Shin Podzilla! Your source for Godzilla-adjacent materials and other kaiju ephemera! And where better to start than one of the more famous off-brand (and off-model) bits of Godzilla canon, the pretty awful Hanna-Barbera cartoon! Moose and Quark cover a pair of episodes, including "The Breeder Beast" and -- okay no forget that, you wanna talk about Superman movies for half an hour? Because that's what we're doing. Can you believe how no one has gotten that character right on film in over forty years?? What's that about?? Oh, and I guess we talk about this lousy cartoon, too. Listen, neither of us are Hanna-Barbera scholars, so if you're a big Scooby-Doo or Yogi Bear fan, we apologize. Hopefully you can agree this is a lesser entry in the canon.

Discussed in this episode:

GODZILLA (1978)

Developed by Dick Robbins and Duane Poole
Directed by Ray Patterson and Carl Urbano
Music composed by Hoyt Curtin

SUPERMAN RETURNS (2006)

Directed by (ugh) Bryan Singer
Starring Brandon Routh, Kate Bosworth, and (double ugh) Kevin Spacey

MAN OF STEEL (2013)

Directed by Zak Snyder
Written by David S. Goyer
Starring Henry Cavill, Michael Shannon, Kevin Costner, Diane Lane, Amy Adams, and Laurence Fishburne

It's been a long time, gentle listeners, but make no mistake: Moose and Quark are back in the kaiju-sized saddle again with their longest episode yet! In this feature-length Showa sendoff, your lovable hosts cover the Mechagodzilla duology as it swings from one tonal extreme to the other -- from summoning giant lion-dogs by singing their own theme music, to doomed lovers commiting ray-gun-based suicide to save the world, this final set of films from the 70's is a real journey. Moose digs on some bombastic tunes and even more bombastic pyrotechnics, Quark wonders at the magnetic properties of space titanium (completely different from regular titanium!) and our hosts summarize their feelings on the Showa era of Godzilla films and their artistic, cultural, and historic value. Right after ranking which of the many alien races is the coolest, of course. Are you ready to mumble? 'Cause we sure are!

Movies discussed:

GODZILLA VS MECHAGODZILLA (1974)

Directed by Jun Fukuda
Screenplay by Hiroyasu Yamamura and Jun Fukuda
Story by Shinichi Sekizawa and Masami Fukushima
Starring Masaaki Daimon, Kazuya Aoyama, Akihiko Hirata, and Hiroshi Koizumi
Music by Masaru Sato
Cinematography by Yuzuru Aizawa
Edited by Michiko Ikeda

TERROR OF MECHAGODZILLA (1975)

Directed by Ishiro Honda
Produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka and Henry G. Saperstein
Written by Yukiko Takayama
Starring Katsuhiko Sasaki, Tomoko Ai, Akihiko Hirata, Katsumasa Uchida, Goro Mutsumi, Tadao Nakamaru, and Toru Kawai
Music by Akira Ifukube
Cinematography by Sokei Tomioka
Edited by Yoshitami Kuroiwa

This week, your hosts only cover one movie, but oh, what a movie it is! We introduce the best, strongest, and most amazing character in the entire Godzilla franchise that isn't named Godzilla! That's right, y'all -- it's Jet Jaguar's time to shine! Moose color commentates a kaiju big battle, Quark learns the sordid history of the Jet Jaguar design contest, and we all enjoy the relationship of our two gay dads, Goro the Science Guy and Rex Dart, Eskimo Spy. Rev up your Baby Riders, folks, because Robert Dunham and the Seatopians are out to getcha!

Movies discussed:

GODZILLA VS MEGALON (1973)

Directed by Jun Fukuda
Produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka
Screenplay by Jun Fukuda
Story by Shinichi Sekizawa
Music by Riichiro Manabe
Cinematography by Yuzuru Aizawa

Starring Katsuhiko Sasaki, Hiroyuki Kawase, Yutaka Hayashi, Shinji Takagi, Tsugutoshi Komada, Hideto Date, Kenpachiro Satsuma, and Robert Dunham

It's time for us to save the Earth this week on PODZILLA 2000 as your plucky hosts dig into some very silly entries in the Godzilla canon! A giant biomechanical monster shows up to smash Children's Land on behalf of giant cockroaches, and somehow that's not the weirdest movie we watched this week! Quark meets her new favorite character in Corncob Hippie, Moose has childhod nostalgia flashbacks, and both our hosts experience the most bonkers Godzilla scene yet! Remember kids: give a hoot! Don't pollute!

Movies discussed:

GODZILLA VS HEDORAH aka GODZILLA VS THE SMOG MONSTER (1971)

Directed by Yoshimitsu Banno
Produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka
Written by Yoshimitsu Banno and Takeshi Kimura
Music by Riichiro Manabe
Cinematography by Yoichi Manoda
Edited by Yoshitami Kuroiwa

Starring Akira Yamauchi, Toshie Kimura, Hiroyuki Kawase, Keiko Mari, and Toshio Shiba

GODZILLA VS GIGAN (1972)

Directed by Jun Fukuda
Produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka
Written by Takeshi Kimura and Shinichi Sekizawa
Music by Akira Ifukube and Kunio Miyauchi
Cinematography by Kiyoshi Hasegawa

Starring Hiroshi Ishikawa, Tomoko Umeda, Yuriko Hishimi, Minoru Takashima, Zan Fujita, Toshiaki Nishizawa, and Kunio Murai

Our hosts return from a long absence for an episode jam-packed with three movies! Or, well, two and a half. Listen, sometimes you have to know when to tap out, okay? From a giant lobster impaling a pair of humans with its giant claws to the far more terrifying visage of Godzilla's misshapen progeny, ending with the catharsis of a big ol' Avengers-style throwdown at the foot of Mt. Fuji, this episode is a genuine emotional roller coaster! Truly, the Godzilla series of films touches upon every genre of film—including "bad."

Movies discussed:

EBIRAH, HORROR OF THE DEEP (1966)

Directed by Jun Fukuda
Produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka
Screenplay by Shinichi Sekizawa
?Music by Masaru Sato
Cinematography Kazuo Yamada

Starring Akira Takarada, Kumi Mizuno, Chotaro Togin, and Hideo Sunazuka

SON OF GODZILLA (1967)

Directed by Jun Fukuda
Produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka
Screenplay by Shinichi Sekizawa and Kazue Shiba
Music by Masaru Sato
Cinematography Kazuo Yamada

Starring Akira Kubo, Tadao Takashima, Bibari Maeda, and Akihiko Hirata

DESTROY ALL MONSTERS! (1968)

Directed by Ishiro Honda
Produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka
Screenplay by Takeshi Kimura and Ishiro Honda
Music by Akira Ifukube
Cinematography by Taiichi Kankura

Starring Akira Kubo, Jun Tazaki, and Yoshio Tsuchiya

In this episode your beloved hosts only cover a single movie, but what a movie it is! Invasion of Astro-Monster has it all -- doomed love, goofy-looking aliens, a toymaking poindexter, a bunch of big monster fights, Rodan, and two daring heroes named Glenn and Fuj! Moose falls in love with production design, Quark feels bad for a pair of giant monsters, and our heroes don't hate the token American for once. Now join us as we journey into another dimension, or the future, or blow ourselves up, or whatever!

Movies discussed:

INVASION OF ASTRO-MONSTER

Directed by Ishiro Honda
Produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka
Screenplay by Shinichi Sekizawa
Music by Akira Ifukube
Cinematography by Hajime Koizumi

Starring Akira Takarada, Nick Adams, Kumi Mizuno, and Akira Kubo

Big G is back, but that doesn't mean he gets top billing! It's a big ol' monster bash-em-up in this episode as Godzilla, Mothra, Rodan, and King Ghidorah all smash into each other, while the humans deal with giant eggs, nasty businessmen, tiny faeries, assassination plots, and Venusian princesses. Buckle up, folks, because this is where things get wild! Our hosts discuss the relative size of eggs, Moose revels in the Crossfire-style debate between Godzilla and Rodan, and Quark laments how unfair that one fisherman gets treated. (He didn't even get to keep the bracelet! What's up with that?!)

Movies discussed:

MOTHRA vs GODZILLA (1964)

Directed by Ishiro Honda
Screenplay by Shinichi Sekizawa
Starring Akira Takarada, Yuriko Hoshi, The Peanuts, and Hiroshi Koizumi
Music by Akira Ifukube
Cinematography by Hajime Koizumi

GHIDORAH, THE THREE HEADED MONSTER (1964)

Directed by Ishiro Honda
Screenplay by Shinichi Sekizawa
Starring Yosuke Natsuki, Hiroshi Koizumi, Yuriko Hoshi, and Akiko Wakabayashi
Music by Akira Ifukube
Cinematography by Hajime Koizumi

We here at Podzilla 2000 Inc. would like to apologize on behalf of the nations of Japan and the United States for this episode. Prepare for bizarre carnie sideshows, incoherent editing, hilarious scene transitions, and a whole lot of talk about narcotic persimmons. Oh, and racism. So, so much racism. But hey, Godzilla is back! That's... that's something!

Movies discussed:

MOTHRA (1961)

Directed by Ishiro Honda
Screenplay by Shinichi Sekizawa
Cinematography by Hajime Koizumi
Based on a story in Asahi Shimbun by Shin'ichiro Nakamura, Takehiko Fukunaga, and Yoshie Hotta
Starring Frankie Sakai, Hiroshi Koizumi, Ky?ko Kagawa, and The Peanuts

KING KONG vs GODZILLA (1962)

Directed by Ishir? Honda
Written by Shinichi Sekizawa
Music by Akira Ifukube
Cinematography by Hajime Koizumi
Starring Tadao Takashima, Kenji Sahara, Y? Fujiki, Ichir? Arishima, Mie Hama, Shoichi Hirose, and Haruo Nakajima