The Tape Store

With everyone going back to school around this time, it only makes sense to go back to Bayside.  This week we cover "Save The Max" (air date September 22, 1990), which is arguably one of the most important Saved By The Bell episodes.  We see the gang discover and re-launch the KKTY Bayside radio show, which soon presents them with crucial lessons of honesty and friendship.  Most importantly, we get a glimpse into the past of Richard Belding, AKA "The Big Bopper".

This week at The Tape Store we're back home in Georgia (we miss you Jeff!) and covering the 1996 Disney animated masterpiece The Hunchback of Notre Dame.  We love this one because it has one of Disney's best heroes (Quasimodo) and worst villains (Frollo).  We also love this one because it's one of Brooke's favorites.  We talk about the great music, the powerful and timeless message, and everything in between.

This week at The Tape Store we take the show on the road.  We are recording from Washington State for this episode while on vacation visiting our guest co-host Jeff Darden.  It's a monumental occasion, as Toby is reunited with his best friend for the first time in 10 years.  It also means we're going to do a monumental movie for us and all 80s / 90s kids:  The Princess Bride (1987).  Tune in as we discuss one of the most fun, magical, and quotable movies ever.  

This week on The Tape Store we go back to Jurassic Park as we discuss 1997's The Lost World, directed by Stephen Spielberg.  In this sequel to the legendary film that started it all, we follow our favorite mathematician Dr. Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) as he returns to what he loves the least, the world of uh, dinosaurs.  We talk about how much we love Dr. Malcolm, but also how much we miss Dr. Grant and Dr. Sattler.  New characters are introduced, some great (Roland Tembo played by Pete Postlethwaite), and some not so great, as we discuss the problems we had with Dr. Sarah Harding (Julianne Moore) as a protagonist.  There's also discussion on the deep messaging presented by the Jurassic Park universe, and as always, we uphold and praise the true king of the story, the one who gets the last world in any chapter of Jurassic Park, the T-Rex.

This week on The Tape Store, as we head into July 4th, we talk about the 1996 Roland Emmerich film Independence Day.  We talk about the film's amazing special effects and how we reacted to the movie as young 90s kids.  Also covered is the ridiculous "Welcome Wagon" scene (What were they thinking?), the dynamic duo of Captain Stephen Hiller (Will Smith) and David Levinson (Jeff Goldblum), President Thomas Whitmore (Bill Pullman) as one of our favorite movie presidents, as well as the film's memorable bit roles, like Marty (Harvey Fierstein), Dr. Okun (Brent Spiner), and Marilyn Whitmore (Mary McDonnell).

We go from Bayside to Angel Grove this week at The Tape Store and cover the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers episode "Food Fight" (S1 E6 - airdate September 4th, 1993).  This episode is widely known for featuring one of the more historically recognizable Finster-created monsters, Pudgy Pig.  However, the real villains (according to Toby and Brooke) are Bulk and Skull who, for no good reason, foment a food fight that totally ruins the Cultural Food Festival, a local charity event that was raising money for the children of Angel Grove.

This week we return to the X-Files to talk about the Monster-of-the-Week episode "Shadows" (Season 1 Episode 6; airdate - October 22nd, 1993), where Mulder and Scully head to Philadelphia to investigate the mysterious death of two robbers, and uncover something much deeper and extraordinary. 

Due to technical difficulties we had to release this episode a day late.  We're so sorry guys.  This week we finish Saved By The Bell: Hawaiian Style.  Will our heroes from Bayside High (with the help of Big Bopper Belding) defeat the dastardly Worthingtons and the Royal Pacific Hotel and save the Hawaiian Hideaway?  Will Screech be able to save the land of the Pukuku Tribe?  What will come of Zack's romance with Andrea?  What is up with Brian Hansen?  Will Slater and Jessie end up fighting before the trip is over? Yes to that last one.  We talk about all of this and more as we continue to kick off summer looking back on Zack and the gang and their exploits in Hawaii, 1992.

This week on The Tape Store Podcast, we celebrate the beginning of the Summer months with Saved By The Bell: Hawaiian Style.  In this first part of a two-part series, we find our favorite 90s Bayside kids on a 2-week trip to Hawaii where adventure and shenanigans ensue.  We talk about the magic of Zack Morris that always works when he uses it for others, the wonderful Dean Jones, Mr. Belding's sincere love and admiration for the gang, the importance of the Pukuku Tribe in this story, and how we enjoyed seeing actor Dan Gauthier in yet another great 90s performance.  

We end Star Wars month at The Tape Store this week with the conclusion of Heir to the Empire (Timothy Zahn, 1991).  We get more of the brilliance of Grand Admiral Thrawn, discover the mystery of Mara Jade's obsession with Luke Skywalker, and Lando joins the party too.  Tune in as we bring the first chapter of The Thrawn Trilogy to a close with guest host Jeff Darden.