The Flopcast

It's just more random silliness, just for you. We imagine a world in which Kornflake is in control (it'll be all Howard Jones concerts, all the time), and Kevin recalls racing a turkey through the mean streets of Chickentown (the turkey won, of course). Then our supercomputer forces us to discuss Capitol Critters (the short-lived cartoon series with Doogie Howser as a field mouse in Washington DC), Arcade (a Tron-like movie starring Q from Star Trek and Ralphie from A Christmas Story - how did we miss this?), and another mystery pop song from the 1980s. Can you guess the song before Kornflake? Probably.

The DragonCon American Sci-Fi Classics Track's "Novelization Readings" panel, including Tron!

And our regular links...

The Flopcast website!

The ESO Network!

The Flopcast on Facebook!

The Flopcast on Instagram!

The Flopcast on Twitter!

Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts!

Email: [email protected]

Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation!

This week's promo: Earth Station Trek!

Another quick random show, including: Happy Birthday to Matthew Broderick (star of Ladyhawke) and Elton John (star of the "Nikita" music video); Kevin has a pile of 80s movie promo buttons ("Free Johnny Dangerously!"); Gloria Estefan is a cat; Madonna is not a mermaid; the American Sci-Fi Classics Track hosts another Battle of the Fictional Bands (former champion Dr. Teeth was excused this time); they're rolling D&D dice on But First, Let's Talk Nerdy; and of course, we're celebrating Pi Day. With pie.

Battle of the Fictional Bands 2022!

But First, Let's Talk Nerdy - the Dungeons & Dragons edition!

And our regular links...

The Flopcast website!

The ESO Network!

The Flopcast on Facebook!

The Flopcast on Instagram!

The Flopcast on Twitter!

Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts!

Email: [email protected]

Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation!

This week's promo: Thunder Talk!

Time for a hugely important correction: Last week we got a couple of obscure Julian Lennon videos mixed up. (The "we" means Kevin. Kornflake was innocent this time...) But it's an excuse to revisit the wonderfully ridiculous "Stick Around" video, featuring cameos by stars from Square Pegs, Family Ties, The Karate Kid, and Saturday Night Live. Then we look at the week that "Stick Around" peaked on the pop chart in May 1986. Julian only reached number 32, while Flopcast favorites like The Outfield, OMD, Whitney, and Janet had top ten hits. If you managed to look away from MTV that Saturday night, your options included Gimme a Break, The Facts of Life... and the 1986 Miss Hollywood beauty pageant. (We checked - the whole thing is on YouTube, and it's hosted by Alan Thicke. You know what to do.) Meanwhile the Brat Pack continued to dominate the big screen, with Ally Sheedy starring in two of the top four movies. (Johnny 5? Yeah, he's still alive.) So pop in a Pet Shop Boys cassette and flop back 36 years with us. Also: World Frog Day is this week. Celebrate by hopping into traffic.

Julian Lennon's goofy fun "Stick Around" video (watch for Jami, Joe, and Michael)...

And our regular links...

The Flopcast website!

The ESO Network!

The Flopcast on Facebook!

The Flopcast on Instagram!

The Flopcast on Twitter!

Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts!

Email: [email protected]

Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation!

This week's promo: DragonCon Report!

This week we let the Chickentown Studios supercomputer randomly determine our discussion topics. (Does this mean we're completely out of ideas? Oh, that happened six or seven years ago...) The result is an even weirder show than usual. Including: The 40th anniversary of Pac-Man Fever; songwriter Carole Bayer Sager's tribute to Mac and Me; Julian Lennon music videos (Correction: Kevin confused "Say You're Wrong" with "Stick Around"); how Wayne and Garth inspired Kornflake to pierce her ears; a 1980s sitcom Kornflake does not remember but hates anyway; Michael J. Fox's stunt double; Sheena's sugar walls; and oh yeah, a mystery date with a bowling chicken. Clearly our little experiment was a huge success, and humans should not be in charge of podcasts anymore.

Eclectic Lee brings you 52 Weeks of Pac-Man Fever! (Also on Twitter!)

And our regular links...

The Flopcast website!

The ESO Network!

The Flopcast on Facebook!

The Flopcast on Instagram!

The Flopcast on Twitter!

Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts!

Email: [email protected]

Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation!

This week's promos: But First, Let's Talk Nerdy! Blurred Nerds!

It's a Tuesday spectacular! This episode was recorded on Tuesday, 2/22/22, so we're looking at the 2nd, 22nd, 222nd, and 2222nd biggest 1980s pop songs, according to the amazing book Ranking the '80s. You'd better believe Billy Ocean is involved, and he's gonna get out of our dreams and into our podcast. Also: A chicken tried to break into the Pentagon; Insane Ian is on HBO; Kevin is on Pop Culture Cosmos (discussing the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame), Earth Station One (discussing comic book trivia), ESO Board Silly (discussing the Olympics), and Earth Station DCU Classics (discussing Beppo the Super Monkey); and Happy Birthday to Jennifer Warnes, queen of the 80s pop duets. Yes, we swear it's the truth, and we owe it all to Jennifer.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Talk on Pop Culture Cosmos!

Comic book trivia on Earth Station One!

And our regular links...

The Flopcast website!

The ESO Network!

The Flopcast on Facebook!

The Flopcast on Instagram!

The Flopcast on Twitter!

Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts!

Email: [email protected]

Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation!

This week's promos: Earth Station One! MarsCon 2022!

Another weird mix of stuff from our latest Saturday morning recording session (for which we keep forgetting the Cocoa Puffs): For National Whatever Day we're celebrating a forgotten 1920s silent movie (and also guys named Mike); a box of wine was shipped to the studio from Washington state (or possibly Mars); Kornflake witnesses the miraculous birth of a shrimp; a miraculous newborn shrimp receives an inappropriate name; we zip through a lightning round of TV talk (covering Derry Girls, Bridgerton, The Book of Boba Fett, Peacemaker, Pen15, and Norwegian game shows); and Kornflake is back on Twitter for an online concert by Jim's Big Ego. Now enjoy, while we spend the rest of our Saturday flopping around doing nothing.

The Flopcast website!

The ESO Network!

The Flopcast on Facebook!

The Flopcast on Instagram!

The Flopcast on Twitter!

Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts!

Email: [email protected]

Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation!

This week's promo: The 42cast!

Just a weird mix of stuff this time: Kornflake learns that a former New England Patriots quarterback (no, not that one) is now in the wine business, and takes appropriate action; a giant Asian sea eagle has been hanging around Massachusetts, and we're trying to lure it to Chickentown Studios for an interview; Kornflake recommends a new webcomic about high school kids in the 80s (of course); and our friends at Rubber Chicken Comics brought an amazing 1974 anti-smoking PSA to our attention, and suddenly it's all we care about. (It's connected to Happy Days AND The Brady Bunch, so, you know...)

Here it is, the bizarre 1974 PSA "Let's Call It Quits"...

Kornflake's favorite new webcomic is Jim & Celeste!

And our regular links...

The Flopcast website!

The ESO Network!

The Flopcast on Facebook!

The Flopcast on Instagram!

The Flopcast on Twitter!

Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts!

Email: [email protected]

Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation!

This week's promos: Epsilon Three! The Watch-A-Thon of Rassilon!

It's a quick but fun show this week, as we review this year's nominees for induction in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Now if it were up to us, the list would include The Monkees, Weird Al, Men Without Hats, Martika, and The New Monkees. (There's a reason no one trusts us with anything.) But the actual list isn't bad! Some of our favorites from the 80s have been nominated again (come on, Pat Benatar and Devo). Dionne Warwick is back on the list too, because that's what psychic friends are for. Dolly Parton is a surprise first time nominee, and we certainly approve. (Why, we pour ourselves a cup of ambition here every week.) But we're probably most excited about Lionel Richie. Get off the floor, get on the ceiling, and let's do this. Hello. It's Lionel we're looking for.

The Flopcast website!

The ESO Network!

The Flopcast on Facebook!

The Flopcast on Instagram!

The Flopcast on Twitter!

Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts!

Email: [email protected]

Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation!

This week's promo: Monster Attack!

We love Canada, and we love goofy public service announcements, so Kornflake has rounded up a bunch of Canadian PSAs to watch and discuss. And while nothing can replace Schoolhouse Rock and Robolar from Mars in our hearts, these videos (mostly from the 80s, of course) are pretty fantastic. They include: anti-smoking cartoon aliens, puppet geese in hot air balloons, puppet mice with a giant mousetrap, Canadian pop stars and hockey players, a freaky bear from space, a mystery in the woods, a beheaded kid (don't worry, he's fine), a depressed television, an angry furnace, an amputated robot (also fine), and an astonishing "Drugs, Drugs, Drugs" conga line. Links to all these weird and wonderful PSAs are in the show notes, so we can all play along together. We might even learn a valuable lesson or two. But probably not.

Here you go, all the Canadian PSAs discussed in the show...

Canadian geese in hot air balloons...

Aliens who hate cigarettes...

Be nice, clear your ice...

Crazed anti-smoking bear with a rock band...

Particip-Action...

TV that doesn't want you to watch TV...

Canadian pop star Luba wants you to break free...

Drugs, Drugs, Drugs conga line...

Puppet mice and giant mousetrap...

Something will happen to you in the woods. We just don't know what...

Boating safety - just pretend you're on the water...

Beware the freaky singing furnace in your basement...

Puppets shouldn't put things in their puppet mouths...

Kid who loses his head...

1970s appliances are very angry about hot water...

And the return of Astar, the frequently amputated robot...

And our regular links...

The Flopcast website!

The ESO Network!

The Flopcast on Facebook!

The Flopcast on Instagram!

The Flopcast on Twitter!

Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts!

Email: [email protected]

Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation!

This week's promos: Thunder Talk! NerdBliss!

Our first Top 4 1/2 List of the year was perhaps inspired by how crazy cold it's been here in Chickentown. The topic is... ice. We have some ice-themed 80s music (remember Australian band Icehouse?), some Karate Kid ice-breaking action, several ice-powered superheroes (from Marvel, DC, and even Pixar), and a bunch more icy oddities. So stay inside and enjoy. Have some coffee. But not iced coffee, unless you're as weird as Kornflake.

The Flopcast website!

The ESO Network!

The Flopcast on Facebook!

The Flopcast on Instagram!

The Flopcast on Twitter!

Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts!

Email: [email protected]

Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation!

This week's promos: The Soul Forge Podcast! Earth Station DCU!