This week, I had the honor of speaking to Scott Holcomb, who was Hideo Takamini in the 1986 film, Spacecamp, one of my favorite films, and one I watched over and over as a kid (not seen it?  I was not able to find it streaming anywhere, but you can find it on Youtube, e.g. here).  I stumbled on Scott's contact info when I was making the first wave of Spacecamp Lego minifigures as a fundraiser for Spacecamp scholarships.  I have since decided to make a second wave (since I gave away and sold all the others I made and wanted to keep at least one!) but this time, added Hideo Takamini as a bonus figure.  More of this project in the next week or so.  That said, I was really stoked to talk to Scott.

Aside from geeking out about Spacecamp as a movie, there's something more serious I always really wanted to ask someone about.  Problem was, I never could quite put my finger on how to articulate it as a kid.  But it had to do with something that always kind of bothered me about the film, even in childhood (and I say that as megafan who made my parents borrow the VHS tape from the local grocery store again and again for months until my father finally found me my own copy).  There was this scenario in the beginning of the film where one of the characters, Kevin Donaldson (Tate Donovan) switches ID badges with Hideo Takamini (Scott Holcomb) in order to be on the same team as another camper, Kathryn Fairly (Lea Thompson).  It happens in the blink of an eye, but even as a kid, it made me wonder.  Why did the writers stick in a ruse like that?  Why not just have Kathryn and Kevin be on the same team to begin with?  I guess the point was to set up romantic tension right from the beginning, this being a teen movie and all, but did they really need to do it at someone else's expense?  Why pick on the Asian guy with glasses?  Did we (I say this as an Asian guy who wore very similar aviator glasses to Hideo Takamini's as a kid) really need further reminders we weren't one of the cool kids?  This always kind of bothered me, though it took me until adulthood to finally be able to formulate my thoughts on it articulately, and we dig into it in the episode.  

... more at https://13thhr.wordpress.com/2025/05/19/the-thirteenth-hour-podcast-510-welcome-scott-holcomb-from-spacecamp-1986/

... All that said, it was great to be able to talk to Scott about all this.  We managed to squeeze the conversation in his work day (Scott is a science teacher), and I'm glad we did!  Thanks, Scott, for coming on the show and helping young people discover more about themselves and their world through science.  We need it more today than ever!

If you are a Spacecamp alum, Scott wanted me to make sure to let folks know about the yearly summer reunion in Huntsville (this year, 7/11-7/12).  I am planning to have my Spacecamp Lego figures done before then, where they will be donated for a silent auction to help raise money for camp scholarships.  

You can learn more about the US Space and Rocket Foundation here.  You can make donations to support the camp and its work under the "give" tab on that page.

Thanks for listening!

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