Season 12, Episode 7

🥣 Show Description: Remember your first happy hour? Saturday mornings—when you’d wake up with the sun, grab a bowl of chocolatey cereal, and lose yourself in a world of cartoons, commercials, and pure, unfiltered joy. We’re still chasing that feeling, one episode at a time.

This week, we welcome back a true legend of the modern Star Wars galaxy—the voice and soul of Ahsoka Tano herself, Ashley Eckstein! As the Her Universe Fashion Show celebrates its 11th year at San Diego Comic-Con 2025, Ashley returns to Saturday Morning Cereal for a special third appearance (hat trick unlocked!).

We first spoke with her way back in 2019—before the Dark Times—then again during the pandemic with a massive three-hour Clone Wars retrospective (yep, it’s still in our feed). Now, she’s back to talk geek chic, the evolution of fandom fashion, and reflect on the lasting legacy of Ahsoka Tano—the padawan who walked away and inspired a generation.

From Jedi ideals to runway rebellion, this joyful and inspiring conversation taps into everything Ahsoka represents: strength, individuality, compassion—and the courage to forge your own path. Whether you walk the light side, the dark side, or the catwalk, this one's for you.

So—who do you wear: Jedi or Sith?

Join hosts Grim Shea, Marke, Retro Cool Nerd’s Jimmy “The Gent” Leszczynski, and Johnny Heck as they keep the cereal frosty and the fandom strong.

📲 Follow us: @StayClassySDCC, @SDBatMan66,

🌐 Visit mattypradio.com for our full archive and the geeky stuff we care about.

🎧 Listen on Spreaker.com or wherever you get your pods!

Show Description: Remember your first happy hour? Saturday mornings—when you’d wake up with the sun, grab a bowl of chocolatey cereal, and lose yourself in a world of cartoons, commercials, and pure, unfiltered joy. We’re still chasing that feeling, one episode at a time.

This week, with Comic-Con eating up all the bandwidth and no major capes or cowls grabbing headlines (wink wink, hi Superman), we decided to take a step back and do what all great fandoms do when the hype meter’s rising—head to Disneyland. But for co-host Grim Shea, this trip was more like hyperspace travel—he hasn’t been in over 20 years. That means no Galaxy’s Edge, no Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run, no Rise of the Resistance, no Oga's Cantina, and no overpriced blue milk. 

Join hosts Grim Shea, Marke, and Jimmy “The Gent” for this hostfull episode, as they relive the magic (and the mayhem) of Disneyland’s ever-expanding Star Wars galaxy—what’s changed, what’s still worth the wait, and how the single rider line might be fandom’s last great cheat code (especially for all you Solo’s). 

Strap in—this ride’s going straight into the Saturday Morning Cereal time capsule. 

🎧 Now streaming on Spreaker and wherever you get your pods. 

📲 Follow us @StayClassySDCC @RetroCoolNerd 

🌐 Visit MattyPRadio.com for full episode archives, guest lists, and blog posts about the stuff we care about.

🎧 Show Description:
Remember your first happy hour? Saturday mornings—when you’d wake up with the sun, grab a bowl of chocolatey cereal, and lose yourself in a world of cartoons, commercials, and pure, unfiltered joy. We’re still chasing that feeling, one episode at a time.

Join hosts Grim Shea, Marke, Jimmy “The Gent,” and Johnny Heck as they launch a brand-new chapter of Saturday Morning Cereal—now on Spreaker and wherever you get your pods.

In this hostfull episode (no guests, just your Saturday Morning squad), we pay tribute to the cinematic legend, Gene Hackman. From Superman to Hoosiers, from The French Connection to The Royal Tenenbaums, Gene helped shape the movies that raised us. To honor the man, we roll up our sleeves and draft The Gene Hackman Movies We Grew Up With—one pick at a time.

It’s a nostalgic, heartfelt, and slightly competitive look at the films that made Hackman a household name and a generational icon. So pour a bowl, press play, and let’s Hackman it up.

Remember your first happy hour? Saturday mornings—when you’d wake up with the sun, grab a bowl of chocolatey cereal, and lose yourself in a world of cartoons, commercials, and pure, unfiltered joy. We’re still chasing that feeling, one episode at a time.

This week, we’re kicking off our Spreaker premiere with a true legend of Saturday morning animation: Michael Hirsh—the creative force behind Ewoks, Droids, Babar, Beetlejuice, Franklin, Little Bear, and many more. He also introduced American audiences to The Story of the Faithful Wookie, the animated short that debuted Boba Fett in the now-iconic Star Wars Holiday Special.

What’s it like to help shape a generation’s imagination? We ask him—and he tells us.

Join hosts Grim Shea, Marke, Jimmy “The Gent,” and Johnny Heck as they launch a brand-new chapter of Saturday Morning Cereal—now on Spreaker and wherever you get your pods.

Plus, check out Michael Hirsh’s new memoir, Animation Nation: How We Built a Cartoon Empire—a fun, insightful look at how passion, creativity, and a little cereal-fueled magic can build something unforgettable.

Take some time this week to remember your original happy hour: Saturday mornings as a kid, waking up at dawn, jumping on the couch with a bowl of chocolate cereal, turning on the ‘toons, tuning out the outside world, and working your way into a sugar hangover before noon. This week we start a new end of year tradition as we celebrate 40 years of 1984 movies with “Our Best, Year of Movies Draft”.  That’s right. 1984 is maybe the most consequential year in movie mania history as it's the beginning of the GenX blockbuster era . The Terminator, The Karate Kid, SixteenCandles, Ghostbusters (heck, even Indiana Jones makes an appearance), are but a few of the 1984 monster hits that informed what Hollywood would become for 40 years! But because we couldn’t possibly talk about all them, we decided on an fantasy league style draft where our hostfull panel will draft their “Starting Five” best movies of 1984. Hard choices will have to be made but there are no winners or losers, just lively conversation and good cheer! Join Grim Shea, Marke., Johnny Heck and Retro Cool Nerd’s Jimmy “The Gent” Leszcynski as they dig deep into the nostalgia well to draft their best 1984 movies.

Take some time this week to remember your original happy hour: Saturday mornings as a kid, waking up at dawn, jumping on the couch with a bowl of chocolate cereal, turning on the ‘toons, tuning out the outside world, and working your way into a sugar hangover before noon. It’s all Frights and Delights tonight, as we get you into a Boo-Berry marshmallow mood for this special time of year. That’s right, go out and buy your seasonal monster cereals while you can find them, cause it’s time for our “cerealized” version of a Halloween Special, The 9th Annual Franken Berry Season Primetime Special!  This year, we get WEIRD with our guest, the writer and director of future cult classic, Tim Travers & The Time Travelers Paradox, Stimson Snead. Going all the way back to maybe the worlds first science fiction, the mad scientist has been an integral contributor to our pop-culture. From Frankenstein to Dr. Jeckle to Back to the Future’s Dr. Brown and this Tim Travers dude, the mad scientist has been a stand in for a god complex in an unpredictable world. Hosted by Grimtales Shea, Markeeeekaghost and Johnny The Hacker we  ask…Would you if you could? Could you if you should? We’ll never know but we just can’t get enough of their madcap hijinks and the pop-culture that they create! Now go grab a buddy and a Monstermallow cereal and watch a scary movie in the dark, it’s Franken Berry Season y’all!

Take some time this week to remember your original happy hour: Saturday mornings as a kid, waking up at dawn, jumping on the couch with a bowl of chocolate cereal, turning on the ‘toons, tuning out the outside world and working your way into a sugar hangover before noon. This week we present a SDCC24 roundtable conversation with UFC and WWE champion, multi-ESPY award winner, Olympic judo medalist, Hollywood actress, and now graphic novelist RondaRousey. That’s right! THE RONDA ROUSEY actually went to San Diego Comic-Con 2024 and no, it wasn’t to kick ass and take names but rather to discuss her debut graphic novel Expecting the Unexpected and her journeys after stepping out of the ring and into the world of comic books. Eisner Award winning artist MikeDeodato, Jr. (Avengers,TheFlash) and AWA Chief Creative Officer AxelAlonso also join the roundtable to celebrate the book’s launch and the innovative creative process behind this powerful project. Join hosts Grim Shea and Marke as they get back in the swing of things and kick off our 12th season with a world champion premier guest! Created by Ronda Rousey & AWA Studios, EXPECTING THE UNEXPECTED tells the story of a pregnant assassin balancing creating life and taking them. It’s funny, it’s touching, it’s full of action – it’s totally Ronda! “Conceived”/penned by Rousey, edited by Alonso with art by Deodato, Jr., the graphic novel draws on Rousey’s incredible career in the ring and pairs it with Deodato’s martial arts background to create the most accurate and action-packed fight scenes in comics!

The Saturday Morning Cereal Show: The show that celebrates the themes of Saturday morning TV that not only we grew up with but that grew up with us, reminds you to take some time this week to remember your original happy hour: Saturday mornings as a kid, waking up at dawn, jumping on the couch with a bowl of chocolate cereal, turning on the ‘toons, tuning out the outside world and working your way into a sugar hangover before noon. This week, it's No Badge Required as we “take it outside” of San Diego Comic Con with special guest, composer JoanneHigginbottom (SamuraiJack, Primal, CriminalMinds). It’s July. It’s San Diego. It’s Comic-Con! And this is absolutely not a San Diego Comic-Con preview show! That’s right, instead of talking about what may happen at Comic-Con 2024 we are going to talk about what does happen, outside of the San Diego Convention Center every year, with a spirited walk down memory lane to discuss our favorite outside installations and exhibits that we’ve seen over the years. To lead our "no badge required" conversation, we crack open the SDCC23 audio vault, to debut our 1-on-1 interview with composer Joanne Higginbottom recorded on the day of her rock star performance alongside fellow composer Tyler Bates and a live orchestra at the Genndy Tartakovsky Musical Experience. This concert was held at the Adult Swim Festival On The Green carnival installation outside of SDCC featuring the music from Adult Swim’s shows Primal and Unicorn: Warriors Eternal. Join Dan “Grim” Shea, Marke., and Johnny Heck as they host our season 11 finale and rock out with their comic-con’s out…side!

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…Take some time this week to remember your original happy hour: Saturday mornings as a kid, waking up at dawn, jumping on the couch with a bowl of chocolate cereal, turning on the ‘toons, tuning out the outside world, and working your way into a sugar hangover before noon. This week, we celebrate May the 4th and the silver anniversary of The Phantom Menace with writer, podcaster Marc Bernardin. Snap hiss back to a more civilized time. A time before, the internet, podcasts, reaction videos and the scummiest & villainous of them all the  “Fandom Menace”. Star Wars had been out of theaters for 15 years. GI Joes, Transformers, TMNT and even The Power Rangers had taken over toy shelves across the USA. And then came a movie that changed it all… Meet Joe Black. Well, not exactly Meet Joe Black but rather the world debut of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace trailer and we haven’t stopped talking about Star Wars since.    Have you accepted Jar Jar Binks as your holy savior? Join Grim Shea, Marke, Johnny Heck and The Retro Cool Nerd Jimmy Leszczynski as they blast back to 1999 and where they were physically & psychologically for the theatrical return of Star Wars. Recorded live from the Golden Apple Foundation booth at WonderCon 2024, our guest Marc Bernardin is a monster of modern fandom. He’s written for LA Times, Hollywood Reporter, Entertainment Weekly and staff writer for Alphas, Castle Rock, Treadstone and Carnival Row. He’s co-hosted Batman Beyond with Kevin Smith and The Battlestar Galacticast with Tricia Helfer but he comes to use as a comic book writer on the new Mace Windu series for Marvel. And if his cred couldn’t get any more incredulous, he’s also written for DC & Image Comics where in 2018, he won an Inkpot Award by CCI. I have a good feeling about this!

Take some time this week to remember your original happy hour: Saturday mornings as a kid, waking up at dawn, jumping on the couch with a bowl of chocolate cereal, turning on the ‘toons, tuning out the outside world and working your way into a sugar hangover before noon. This week, we talk sci-fi and 80’s catch phrases with our guest, director and producer Richard Bakewell. What if the past you remember didn’t really happen? That’s the simple premise of filmmaker Richard Bakewell’s character-driven, science fiction drama, ROSWELL DELIRIUM, which centers around a young woman who survives nuclear disaster and alien encounters, only to slowly discover that the events she remembers are distorted by her traumatic experiences. It’s an award winning sci-fi movie that gets meta with 80’s catch phrases and an 80’s TV and movie star cast including Anthony Michael Hall, Lisa Whelchel, Dee Wallace, Sam Jones, and Reginald VelJohnson, playing characters in an 80’s alternate reality dystopia. Join Dan “Grim” Shea, Marke., and the “Retro Cool Nerd” Jimmy Leszczynski as they unpack what it is to be a sci-fi movie and remember, poorly, a few of those “Silly Rabbit, Trix are for Kids” 80’s catch phrases. Check us out MattyPRadio.com