The Flopcast

Kevin and the Mayor of Chickentown are celebrating the career of comic book artist Ramona Fradon, who died this week at the age of 97. Ramona was one of the only women drawing comics way back in the early 60s, when she was the premier Aquaman artist for DC Comics, and co-created Aquaman's teen sidekick, Aqualad. Later in the 60s, she also co-created one of DC's oddest heroes, Metamorpho the Element Man. Ramona's 70s comics work included Freedom Fighters (with Doll Man, who wishes you'd stop giggling about his name), Plastic Man (Ramona's art was even seen on the Plastic Man cartoon series), and Super Friends (with your favorite space monkey, Gleek). She then jumped from comic books to comic strips with an impressive fifteen year run on Brenda Starr. And even in recent years, Ramona kept busy with convention appearances and commissions. So we spend the show flipping through a pile of old comics and admiring Ramona's art, but we're occasionally distracted by the ads for Hostess Fruit Pies, Mego action figures, Big Jim's P.A.C.K., ugly Barbie doll knock-offs, and Crazy Crabs. (Yes, back in the day, you could buy actual live crabs through mail order comic book ads. But what we really wanted was Aquaman's octopus pal, Topo...)

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This week's promo: Epsilon Three!

It's time for our annual review of the nominees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame... which means we could start screaming "What about the Monkees?!" at any time. But there are some worthy and long overdue performers up for induction, such as Cher, Mariah, and (finally!) Kool & the Gang. Join us as we go through the whole list for you. (Spoiler: Still no Tiffany. COME ON.) And yeah, if you think Kornflake didn't somehow work a flying cow into the conversation... you don't really know us.

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This week's promo: The 42cast!

After a three year break, we're getting back to The Backs of Life! (As requested by absolutely no one! You're welcome!) Back in 2021, we started reviewing all the "backdoor pilot" episodes of classic 80s sitcom The Facts of Life. Now as we finally revive this very important project, we've brought in a special guest reviewer: friend of the Flopcast, Sci-Fi Explosion mastermind, and certified Factologist Chris Cummins! Kevin, Kornflake, and Chris are looking at the 1988 backdoor pilot episode "Big Apple Blues," in which Natalie moves to New York City to share an apartment with a pack of weirdos, including a pre-21 Jump Street Richard Grieco and a pre-SNL David Spade! Can Natalie make her dreams come true in the big city? Is a margarine spokesperson named King Toast somehow involved? And will it all lead to a successful long-running spinoff series? (Answers: Yes, yes, and absolutely not.) Meanwhile back in Peekskill with our regular cast, Blair has garage sale fever, Pippa might be a robot, and we get a brief but delightful glimpse of Tootie's old roller skates. It's magnificent. Kids, we still have one more Backs of Life episode to go, and we'll try to get to it before 2027.

Watch Sci-Fi Explosion on Twitch!

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This week's promo: Earth Station Who!

It's another goofy random little show this week, including: Kornflake finds an Oompa Loompa at the Chocolate Expo; Kevin finds a rock star at the disco; the secret language of chickens is revealed; we're less than excited about Popcorn Day; and it's almost time to revive our Facts of Life review project, the Backs of Life. Just as Tootie prophesized.

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This week's promos: Modern Musicology! The MarsCon 2024 Comedy Music Track!

It's a surprisingly disco-themed episode, because Kevin, Kornflake, the Mayor of Chickentown, and Ed from Sponge Awareness Foundation all met in the middle of New Hampshire for a spectacular ABBA tribute show. We were there because our old pal (and occasional SAF guitarist) Mike was onstage in the band, delivering killer guitar solos like you never heard back in the disco era. We followed the show with a visit to the Red Arrow Diner, where we hadn't been since Kornflake's notorious tooth incident a decade ago. (Longtime Flopcast listeners remember what happened... oh yes, Mr. T was involved...) Also: A meeting with supercool vocalist Militia Vox, weird answering machine messages with Doornail, Plastic Man vs. the Disco Mummy, and Chickens in the News with the great Luke Ski! So slip into something sparkly and enjoy. You can dance, you can jive, having the podcast of your life.

Dancing Queens is at the Palace Theatre in Manchester, NH through February 11!

Luke Ski's new song "Chicken!" is available at The FuMP!

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This week's promo: Earth Station Trek!

Ready for more vocabulary lessons with the Justice League of America? We're diving back into The Super Dictionary, a 1978 book that attempted to mix learning with superheroes, and succeeded in being completely bizarre. This time we'll look at entries involving: walrus baseball with Aquaman, cleaning an invisible jet with Wonder Woman, nap time with the Man of Steel, people crashing when they try to fly like Hawkgirl, the Batmobile crashing because Robin can't drive, Supergirl weirdly watching kids sleep, Luthor weirdly watching people comb their hair, a stranger in the basement, naked aliens... and multiple entries about Green Lantern's curious obsession with ducks. Study hard, kids, and maybe we'll make you an honorary Wonder Twin. Also: Happy Birthday to Lost in Space's Will Robinson, Bill Mumy! Light a candle on a fish head for Bill.

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This week's promo: Cosmic Pizza!

National Whatever Day involves dancing like a cuckoo; our 2024 health and fitness plan is mostly lo mein-based; the Sid and Marty Krofft Saturday morning shows of the 1970s are now streaming (great news for Bay City Rollers fans like us); we somehow connect the Krofft shows to The Love Boat, the Snow Miser, and Chewbacca's creepy dad Itchy; and we finally share our New Year's Resolutions. Spoiler: They're a little stupid.

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This week's promo: Monster Attack!

Kornflake returns to join Kevin and The Mayor of Chickentown as we finish our look back at those we lost in 2023. Our coverage of the second half of the year includes: sitcom favorites (Chrissy from Three's Company, Bull from Night Court, Kraus from Benson, Chandler from Friends), cartoon favorites (the voices behind Harley Quinn, Solomon Grundy, and some School House Rock classics), musicians (members of The Eagles, Kool and the Gang, The Pogues, and The Association, as well as Tony Bennett and of course, Sinéad), a Smothers brother (who was also The Bear Who Slept Through Christmas), television's original Lois Lane, Lost in Space's original Major Don West, and many more. Then there are a couple of all-time Flopcast favorites who made unforgettable impacts on Saturday morning TV and beyond: Marty Krofft and Paul Reubens. And could the memorial show somehow include some relevant Chickens in the News? Well, sure. It's been a weird year. And it's a long show, because come on.

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This week's promo: Monkeeing Around!

Time to look back on those we lost (from pop culture and beyond) in 2023. This week we're covering the first half of the year, and our list includes people from movies (Raquel Welch, Treat Williams, Alan Arkin), television (Adam Rich, Cindy Williams, Richard Belzer), music (Burt Bacharach, Harry Belafonte, Tina Turner), comics (Al Jaffee, Lee Moder, John Romita Sr.), wrestling (Leaping Lanny Poffo, Superstar Billy Graham, The Iron Sheik), and many more. Kornflake has the week off, but the Mayor of Chickentown is here providing expert commentary. And next week, we'll all be here to wrap up the whole stupid year. Bring very strong beverages.

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This week's promo: Earth Station DCU!

It's a typical holiday episode, in that we're discussing Julia Child, Pop Rocks, and Newsies. But there are some vaguely holiday-themed subjects too, including Kornflake's newfound candy cane addiction, Kevin's recent guest appearance on Gleaming the Tube (discussing old Christmas specials!), and a round or two of the Figgy Pudding Pages. We're keeping it super-short this week and passing the savings on to you. Go do something festive.

Gleaming the Tube - Our Favorite Holiday Specials!

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Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation!

This week's promo: The Watch-A-Thon of Rassilon!