The Tape Store

It's been a while since we've talked about The Muppets (Season 1 Episode 6 to be exact), so this week at The Tape Store we cover the second of what we call the "90s Muppet Trilogy" with Muppet Treasure Island (1996).  We praise Tim Curry's iconic and layered performance of Long John Silver and his deep bond with the young Jim Hawkins (Kevin Bishop), the brief but memorable performances of Billy Connolly and Jennifer Saunders, and our favorite musical numbers that will always be with us.

This week at The Tape Store we discuss a pressing engagement, as in "A Pressing Engagement", the fourth Mighty Morphin Power Rangers episode.  We cover Jason's importance as leader of the group, the questionable bench press record he's trying to break, more Rita Repulsa savagery, the formidable monster "King Sphinx", and we also tackle about one of the mysteries presented by this episode:  Where are Billy and Trini during all this?

We go back to The X-Files at The Tape Store this week and cover "The Jersey Devil" (S1 E5; air date 10/08/1993).  In another "Monster-of-the-Week" episode, Mulder and Scully travel in an unofficial capacity to Atlantic City, New Jersey to investigate the death of Roger Crockett.  We talk about the extensive lengths Mulder will go to discover the truth in a case.  More importantly, in this particular episode, we discuss Scully's struggle to choose between her newfound life of adventure and danger shared with Mulder; and her longing for a life of her own.  

This week at The Tape Store we talk about Roland Emmerich's "Godzilla" (1998).  Brooke celebrates this film, and Toby does his best, since this film really throws out the rich and beloved mythology of one of film history's most celebrated monsters.  This begs the question of whether or not this film is an actual Godzilla film (Toby says no).  We open with a discussion about why mythology is so important to both Godzilla as a character and to the overarching narrative of any Godzilla film.  We then get into the 1998 film, where we praise the performances of Matthew Broderick as Dr. Nick Tatopoulos, Jean Reno as the mysterious Phillipe Roache, Hank Azaria as Victor "Animal" Palotti, as well as Vicki Lewis's portrayal of unsung heroine Dr. Elsie Chapman.  Other topics include the film's struggle to decide whether to be sympathetic to Godzilla or not, and the problem of Audrey Timmonds (Maria Pitillo).

This week on The Tape Store, we go back to Bayside with an episode dedicated to the late Dustin Diamond.  We cover Season 4 Episode 3, "Screech's Spaghetti Sauce" (air date September 19th, 1992), where the gang attempts to hit it big in the food industry with a spaghetti sauce recipe from Screech's grandmother, with disastrous results.  We talk about their new student-produced news show "Wake Up LA", the onscreen chemistry of Zack and Lisa, Screech as an actual brilliant and useful member of the group but with a debilitating flaw, Mr. Belding as a solid administrator and role model, and the infamous Robin (guest star Soleil Moon Frye - AKA Punky Brewster).

It's showtime again at The Tape Store as we return to the Neitherworld to talk about Beetlejuice (1988).  If you haven't listened to our first foray into one of our favorite 80s films, go check out Episode #11 of The Tape Store.  This week we analyze the characters of the Maitlands (Alec Baldwin and Gina Davis), the Deetzes (Jeffrey Jones and Catherine O'Hara), Lydia (Winona Ryder), Otho (Glenn Shadix), and the man-in-stripes himself (Michael Keaton).  What / who is the film actually about?  Who are the protagonists?  Is there a villain, and if so, who is it?  Is Beetlejuice actually bad?  Is there a message in this wonderfully outrageous film?  Tune in as we answer all of these questions. 

The Tape Store Podcast concludes what has been one of our favorite things to talk about thus far, the epic adventure film Hook (1991).  We pick up where we left off last week and continue the tale.  We talk Peter Banning's (Robin Williams) journey to Neverland, the menacing Captain Hook (Dustin Hoffman) in all his glory, Peter's "happy thought" and subsequent "re-transformation", the ULTIMATE WAR, and of course the messages in this film that will always be so meaningful to us and all those who, while growing old, never want to grow up.

This week at The Tape Store we welcome back guest host Jeff Darden for a long-anticipated episode as we talk about one of our shared all-time favorite films, Hook (1991), in the first of a two-part series.  Jeff gives a great story about how the movie came to be from page to film.  We explore the story up to the point right before Peter Banning (Robin Williams) begins his journey to Neverland, and share how each of us as children in 1991 reacted to the film.  This movie is full of great messages and we cover a few this week, particularly the themes of fatherhood, commitment to family, and how fleeting time truly is.  We talk about the tragic moments in the film, as seen in Peter's dedication to his career instead of his family, as well as the magic moments, as seen in the performance of Dame Maggie Smith as Wendy.  There's also the chilling unseen introduction of Captain Hook.  

This week at The Tape Store we discuss VILLAINS from the 1980s.  We submit to you our favorites, who, in our minds, defined what it meant to be BAD in their own interesting, complex, disturbing, and entertaining way.  Tune in as we break down and analyze Jack Torrence (Jack Nicholson, The Shining - 1980), Skeletor (Frank Langella, Masters of the Universe - 1987), John Creese and Johnny Lawrence (Martin Kove and William Zabka, The Karate Kid - 1984), Biff Tannen (Thomas F. Wilson, Back to the Future I and II - 1985-89), and Khan (Ricardo Montalban, Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan - 1982).  Also, just FYI, as we analyze these characters and their story arcs, there will be spoilers if you haven't seen these films.  

In our first episode of 2021, The Tape Store returns to The X-Files with Season 1 Episode 4:  "Conduit" (air date 10/1/93) as Mulder and Scully head westward again, to Sioux City, Iowa, as they investigate the mysterious disappearance of Ruby Morris.  We talk about Mulder's continued obsession and helplessness over his missing sister, Scully's effortless confidence in the face of challenge, what good Science Fiction is (to us at least), and the episode's powerful ending.