The Flopcast

Okay, it's been a tough week, and we're even more frightened and confused than usual. But we have pizza (watch out for those creepy anchovies), we have root beer (and its tricky pal, Moxie), and we have a bootleg DVD of the ridiculous 1986 made-for-TV movie Combat Academy. (The cast is just amazing... if you think George Clooney never worked with George Jefferson, Cliff Clavin, Klinger from MASH, Doc from The Love Boat, and Bull from Night Court, we have evidence to the contrary...) So this week, we're just chomping on pie and learning why Kornflake is so obsessed with this goofy little movie. Next week: We keep going.

Cover yourselves -- it's time for our annual whining and complaining about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame! However, this year we're thrilled to announce that the nominees are The Monkees, The Go-Go's, Devo, Lionel Richie, "Weird Al" Yankovic, and Air Supply! So this will be... oh wait, sorry... give us a minute to snap back into reality. But hey, even the real list has some fine nominees, like Electric Light Orchestra (yikes, it's about time) and Kraftwerk (we do love scary synthy robot bands). And the long-awaited nomination of Journey means that arena rock is finally on the table! (Someday, REO Speedwagon, someday...) Join us as we look at each nominee, and learn which acts are Flopcast-approved (truly the highest honor in pop music). Also: It's Sally Field's birthday, and we have some weird ideas about how to reboot The Flying Nun.

Since two geeky conventions happened the same weekend, we divided and conquered. Kornflake wandered up to New Hampshire for Granite Game Summit, where she enjoyed a new game called Junk Art (but don't forget the classics, kids; we're still endlessly amused by Hungry Hungry Hippos). Meanwhile Kevin was at Super Megafest, along with the guys from Rubber Chicken Comics, the ladies of Wicked Geeky, Niki Luparelli and the Gold Diggers, "The Mouth of the South" Jimmy Hart, Ralph Macchio (The Karate Kid), David Mazouz (Gotham), Richard Dean Anderson and Richard Grieco (best known for their Facts of Life backdoor pilots), Aileen Quinn (from the 1982 Annie movie, and her fun new band The Leapin' Lizards), and yes, Meat Loaf. Also: Our friends Kyle and Lindsay made a VERY quick trip to Massachusetts (because they were kidnapped by Kornflake) for water aerobics, brunch, and butterflies. (You're all watching Kyle's new cartoon series Mighty Magiswords, right? RIGHT?) And it's National Cookie Monster Day, which is good enough for us.

This week we're rolling (Del Amitri-style) back twenty years to recall the music of 1996. (You can blame Dar Williams; we just saw her in concert celebrating the 20th anniversary of her classic Mortal City album...) 'Twas an odd time in music... while the post-grunge pop charts were dominated by the likes of Celine Dion and those Macarena dudes, some interesting new acts were breaking through too. Some of them stuck around for a while (Alanis Morissette, Blues Traveler, No Doubt), while others had just a hit single and a weird band name (Spacehog, Dog's Eye View... and yikes, Deep Blue Something). The Barenaked Ladies broke into their old apartment, Dishwalla counted blue cars, and Tracy Bonham just kept screaming at her mother. Joan Osborne had some questions about God... but World Pasta Day is this week, and we're more curious about the Flying Spaghetti Monster. So relax at your favorite coffee shop (that's certainly where we spent most of 1996) and enjoy the show. We hope you find it even better than Ezra.

If you're a fan of Wonder Woman and/or potatoes, we have more podcast recommendations; rapper Eminem has a birthday this week (can you guess which one of us is a fan?); in the long-awaited return of "Chickens in the News," we find a chicken crossing the road in Scotland (probably searching for the Bay City Rollers); and we preview next weekend's Super Megafest convention, featuring comedy from our pals Niki Luparelli and Ken Reid, as well as stars from Good Times, Gotham, The Karate Kid, The Outsiders, Annie, Rocky Horror Picture Show, and a forgotten backdoor pilot episode of The Facts of Life. (We still believe that "Tootie's Aunt and MacGyver" could've been a big hit...)

This week we rediscover Big John Little John (a lost classic of 1970s Saturday morning TV, starring Robbie Rist!); during weird trips to the dentist, Kevin gets a flu shot and Kornflake gets a flop wreath (both will protect us through the winter); our new stack of comic books includes Josie and the Pussycats (alas, they're not in outer space... yet), The Simpsons' Treehouse of Horror (featuring Homer as the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man), and Wonder Woman: The True Amazon (by Jill Thompson, who once gave us cupcakes); Would I Lie to You (Kornflake's favorite British game show) is back, with some familiar guest stars; and we end with a "What's in the Bag" segment, compliments of an old friend of the Flopcast who knows what we like. (That'd be chickens and robots, of course.)

It's election season (had you noticed?), and the Mayor of Chickentown buys our votes with magical coffee-themed gifts; in case you're somehow not sick of our voices yet, we list our recent guest appearances on other podcasts (talking about DragonCon, Watchmen, iZombie, and more); Siri teaches us all about crayfish (for one thing, they're not made of crayons -- thanks for nothing, Ms. Russo's eighth grade biology class!); Mighty Magiswords, that crazy awesome cartoon created by our pal Kyle, is now a series on Cartoon Network (we haven't been this excited since Fangface); and it's National Kale Day... but we're just going to stick with our coffee.

It's our annual DragonCon review show, in which Kornflake patiently tolerates Kevin's endless yammering about our very favorite gathering of nerds and/or geeks in hot and sticky downtown Atlanta, Georgia! Featuring: All our crazy awesome friends from the ESO Network, the American Sci-Fi and Fantasy Media Track, the American Sci-Fi Classics Track, and Wicked Geeky; a field trip to the Center for Puppetry Arts (to visit all the Muppets, plus Kornflake's old friend Up-Up from Romper Room); the Cult of the Marriott Carpet; Kevin explaining "filk" on DragonCon TV; panels on Little Shop of Horrors, Watchmen, Gotham, Wonder Woman (with George Pérez!), and mullets; music from Here Come the Mummies, Kirby Krackle, Paul and Storm, Molly Lewis, The Doubleclicks, and Jonathan Coulton; the stars of Mystery Science Theater 3000 (Frank, Trace, and Bill!); the stars of Flash Gordon and/or Manimal (Sam Jones and Melody Anderson!); the one true star of Caddyshack (that'd be the dancing gopher, of course); a mysterious Polaroid fairy; an unexpected banana; and giant space chickens. Yikes, that was not a normal weekend. Also: We're celebrating National Good Neighbor Day (with a little help from Davey and Goliath), and we're drinking Hi-C Ecto Cooler from a plastic tiki cup. Because if nothing else, DragonCon taught us to be classy.

Kornflake is back from Chicago, where she was surrounded by some of our favorite silly people at FumpFest, a whole crazy convention of comedy music! Her adventures included Dementia Water Aerobics, field trips away from the convention for weird theater and weird French toast, receiving more lobster-themed gifts, and smashing up a rental car like she was in Hazzard County. There were also plenty of hilarious performers, of course, including Devo Spice, Carrie Dahlby, Seamonkey, Worm Quartet, The Gothsicles, Rob Paravonian, Tim Cavanagh, Tom Smith, Dino-Mike, Megathruster, 2D6, and FumpFest Guests of Honor Paul and Storm! Kornflake even brought us a special Flopcast interview with The Library Bards, Bonnie and Xander! (And listen carefully for cameos from Jaykitty, Insane Ian, and the great Luke Ski!) We also have a "What's in the Bag" segment (featuring a mysterious liquid Kornflake acquired in Chicago), and we're celebrating National Elephant Day. So come on -- this is the most Fumpfestive podcast you'll hear all day.

It's our convention recovery show! (Because we knew that after FumpFest and DragonCon, we'd need an extra week readjusting to reality...) So this week we're celebrating Scooby Doo (and his tricky pals Scrappy Doo, Scooby Dum, and Davy Jones), we're trying on turkey masks (this is why everyone turns to the Flopcast for fall fashion advice), and we're still obsessed with Shazam and Isis (because we like our Saturday morning TV low budget and forty years old). Next week our convention reports begin. Unless we decide to keep on relaxing. These turkey masks are shockingly comfortable.