Totally Rad Christmas!

What’s up, dudes? What if Kevin McCallister had a mullet and was super into Rambo? Now we’ve got “Dial Code Santa Claus” or “Deadly Games” or “Game Over” or “3615 code Père Noël”! Yes, this many-titled French film is bonkers, and I’ve got Jeff and Jay from Horror for the Holidays with me to talk about it!

Thomas is an incredibly intelligent young boy whose mother is a wealthy store manager. On Christmas Eve, he makes contact with a vagrant (escaped mental patient?) through a pre-internet Minitel. Subsequently the vagrant poses as Santa, and even goes so far as to get a job at the manager’s store. He’s summarily dismissed after slapping a child.

Eventually, wanting revenge and to play with Tommy, he hijacks a store can and drives to his house. Tommy, with an out of control mullet and a Rambo attitude, has to defend his house and his diabetic grandfather from the psychotic Santa. He “Home Alone”s his house and with his technological genius, sets up traps to counter the dog-killing intruder. Cut to a Bonnie Tyler song.

Trapdoors? Check. Flocked beard? Got it. Grandpa hiding in a suit of armor like Gossamer from Looney Tunes? For sure! So grab your arm band, load a toy grenade with gunpowder, and stop wacko Santas with this episode on “Dial Code Santa Claus”! Or “Deadly Games,” or…

Horror for the Holidays
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What's up, dudes? Horror expert Matt McGrath from Nostaljunk joins me to talk the blatant cash grab that was the awesomeness of "Friday the 13th!" When Camp Crystal Lake is going to reopen, a group of unsuspecting teenagers are brutally slaughtered one by one! Randy teens? Check. Copious amounts of gory death? Yup. Twist ending? The twistiest! So grab your machete, hop in a canoe, and drift to the center of the lake with this episode!

Nostaljunk
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What's up, dudes? Remember Dumbo? Well, he had an early Disney Channel Show, and I've got Mike Westfall from Advent Calendar House and Thom Crowe from ‘Tis the Podcast with me to break down the (quasi-) Halloween episode! Yes, it's "Dumbo's Circus!" Dumbo and friends get into a spooky mood!

Lionel, dressed in a Cobra Kai skeleton costume, surprises Dumbo and Sebastian while they're doing chores. The creepy attire spurs Dumbo and gang to put on a spooky circus show. Meanwhile, Rinkum and Barnaby are delivering a package and get lost in the woods when their package rolls down a hill.  All the friends put on monster costumes, including a vampire, Jacob Marley Ninja Turtle, banana sheet ghost, and Hamburglar witch. They break up into pairs to head into the deep, dark woods to get supplies for their performance. Barnaby and Rinkum happen upon several of the friends in their macabre garb and are frightened, until they realize the spooks are merely Dumbo et al. After joining them, they do a Thriller  dance to end the show!

Spooky costumes? Check. Misunderstanding? Yep. Blatant ripoff of Michael Jackson? Definitely! So grab your costume, put on your chains, and dance along to this episode all about "Dumbo's Circus!"

Advent Calendar House
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'Tis the Podcast
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What’s up, dudes? They say the sequels are never as good as the first. I think The Empire Strikes Back proves them wrong…but Band Aid II doesn’t. I have music journalist Alex Rawls from The Twelve Songs of Christmas and My Spilt Milk with me to talk all about the second version of the charity song done in 1989! Spoilers: it’s not as good as the first, but it’s still fun!

On Friday, December 1, 1989, Bob Geldof called Pete Waterman to ask if he would consider producing a new version of “Do They Know It’s Christmas.” Waterman was part of The Hit Factory, a production team made up of himself, Mike Stock, and Matt Aiken. They were known for hi-NRG or Eurobeat style, with tempos usually somewhere between 102-140bpm, four-to-the-floor kick drums, staccato hi-hat, and bass lines frequently looped with fast eighth or sixteenth notes doubled at the octave. In fact, they produced 13 UK #1 singles and 3 US #1s. Waterman even postponed his wedding and rallied several artists together.

Subsequently, on Sunday, December 3rd, the assembled artists recorded at PWL Studios in South London. Bob Geldof and family were present. On Tuesday, December 5th, the updated version was played for the first time on London’s Capital Radio, 95.8 Capital FM. Advanced sales reached 500,000 copies, and the single was officially released on December 11th. It spent 3 weeks at #1, though Band Aid’s original hit spent 5 weeks at #1 and sold over 2 million copies (which was approximately $24million in sales).

Kylie Minogue? Check. Bros? Yep. Cliff Richard? A little out of place, but he was definitely there! So grab your denim jacket, put on an uptempo kick drum backing track, and jam out to this episode all about Band Aid II!

The 12 Songs of Christmas
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What’s up, dudes? It’s a “Family Matters” Christmas with Matt Eurich from the TGI Podcast !” Yes, the show focuses on Harriette Winslow, elevator operator and head of security for Larry and Balki’s newspaper, and her family. Of course, it came to be known for breakout character and über-nerd Steve Urkel!

In the season 2 episode Have Yourself A Merry Winslow Christmas, the Winslows are thrilled to learn the Urkels will be away for Christmas. Unfortunately, Steve ends up staying and annoying the Winslows, especially Laura, whom he fancies. When he accidentally breaks her grandmother’s ornament, she berates him and throws him out of the house.

Meanwhile, Rachel enlists Carl’s aid in finding Freddie Teddy for little Richie. He subsequently gets trampled Cabbage Patch Kids-style and is unable to find the doll for her. Afterward, Laura of course changes her mind, and reconciles with Steve, inviting him to spend Christmas with her family. On Christmas Day, Richie finds the Freddie Teddy that Santa delivered, and this “Family Matters” Christmas ends happily ever after.

Funky Franky? Not quite. Fuddy Duddy? That’s not it either. Freddy Teddy? Yep, under the tree. So grab your genuine canvas wallet, tape it to your heart, and Have Yourself A Merry Winslow Christmas!

TGI Podcast
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What’s up, dudes? Spooky season is here! I’ve got Michelle Kidwell from Michelle’s Spooky Library and Anthony Caruso from ‘Tis the Podcast with me to talk the Halloween episode 'Hallowinnie' of the sitcom “Free Spirit!” It’s the 1989 sitcom about a good witch who becomes nanny(?)/housekeeper(?) to a divorcé and his 3 kids. Oh, and there’s Christmas in it too!

Jessie is waiting to see if she’s been accepted into the popular girls group the Debs. Meanwhile, Rob's girlfriend has just dumped him, and his dad is eager to win a costume contest at his firm's Halloween party. Jessie, in order to impress the Debs, holds her own Halloween party. It all goes wrong when Jessie is turned invisible and Winnie can't undo the spell. Apparently, there's so much magic being tossed around on Halloween night that Winnie's power is diminished and running haywire. Luckily, while invisible, Jessie sees the Debs' true colors, and, after Winnie finally fixes her spell, decides to dump them. They also fly their brooms across the moon. It's a Halloween tradition, after all.

Corny jokes? Check. Zatanna-inspired costume? Yep. California raisin mistaken for rabbit droppings? Definitely! So grab your broom, put on your mask, and fly into this episode all about Halloween on "Free Spirit!"

'Tis the Podcast
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What’s up, dudes? They’re heroes in a half shell, and they’re green! That means it’s the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! I’ve got Tim Williams from 80’s Flick Flashback, Nicholas Pepin of Pop Culture Roulette, and Laramy Wells from Moving Panels here to talk with me about the mutated ninja Michaelangelo. Yes, it’s his Christmas adventure “The Christmas Aliens!”

In this one issue micro-series, Michaelangelo is exploring the streets of New York during the holiday season. He stumbles upon a stray cat that he names Klunk. Mike decides to do some last minute shopping and heads downtown, which is teeming with fellow shoppers. With a  precarious disguise, the ninja goes into a toy shop and amuses himself with different items—much to Klunk's dismay. Unsurprisingly, the scaredy cat runs off into the alley, and Mikey goes to find him, discovering some thugs hijacking a truck. Or course, the vehicle is full of "Little Orphan Alien" dolls which are going to be donated to an orphanage. The crooks don't care about good will toward men, and they knock the driver unconscious and steal the truck, dolls and all.

Meanwhile, Klunk cries out and the burglars hear him. Consequently, the street toughs spot Mikey and open fire on him with their handguns. The ninja takes out most of the hoodlums, who freak and flee in the truck. He manages to hop inside the back of the vehicle as it speeds away and get the better of the thieves, deciding to drive the truck to the orphanage himself. Unfortunately, despite his good intentions, the police are looking for the vehicle and when they spot it, a chase ensues. Mikey manages to elude the police, but not before he accidentally destroys public property. Once he's escaped the fuzz, he stashes the truck away in an alley. The toys will be impounded as evidence, so the orphans won't receive them in time for Christmas. Mikey gets his brothers to distribute the toys to the orphans. 

‘80s punks? Yep. Lots of snowfall? It’s Christmas, after all. Armed robbery? Of course! So put on your Santa suit and mask, grab your nunchucks, and stop some crime to this Ninja Turtle Christmas episode!

80’s Flick Flashback
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Pop Culture Roulette
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Moving Panels
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 What’s up, dudes? It’s time for another Christmas-adjacent episode! This time, I’ve got the Saturday Morning Mafia with me to talk about “The Princess Bride!” Yep, it’s Christmas time, and Columbo—erm, Peter Falk—reads his sick grandson a fantasy story. There’s fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles... in other words, it doesn't sound too bad.   

Westley the farm boy falls in love with Buttercup. When he goes off to seek fortune to marry her, his ship is lost at sea. Years pass, and Buttercup is now betrothed to Prince Humperdinck. Suddenly, she’s kidnapped by a giant, a Spaniard fencer, and a criminal mastermind. A mysterious man in black eventually rescues and reclaims her, and reveals himself to be her Wesley.

Unfortunately, it’s all a plot to start a war, and Buttercup’s murder will be the inciting scapegoat. Consequently, Westley is mostly killed, and the Spaniard and giant revive him with help from a disgraced Billy Crystal…I mean, Miracle Max. With their assets combined, they bluff their way into the castle, get revenge on all the baddies, and escape to live happily ever after. Oh, and there’s some kissing in it too.

Fred Savage? Yep. Andre the Giant? Got him. Masters of the Universe toys and Santas in the background! Inconceivable!! So grab your sword, put on a holocaust cloak, and hop in your wheelbarrow to this episode on “The Princess Bride!”

Christmas Clatter
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The Wonderful World of Nothing

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What’s up, dudes? Merry Dinosaur Day! Shawn Robare from Cult Film Club, Crestwood House, and Plastic Rocket Pop and I talk the 1987 cartoon “Dinosaucers!” It’s good dinos versus evil tyrannos as two dinosaur alien factions fight for freedom!

It’s Dinosaur Day on Reptilon, and the Dinosaucers are set to return to their home planet for the celebration. The Tyrannos decide to spoil it for Bonehead by telling him Stego-Claws isn’t real. Consequently, the dejected dino refuses to go back home for the holiday. Luckily. He’s visited by the actual Stego-Claws who takes him and David on a trip to deliver presents on Reptilon in his sledosaucer pulled by Rude Ralph the red-nosed rhamphorhynchus.

The Tyrannos ambush the trio at Stego-Claws’s workshop. Using furball elves and Bonehead’s devolved pachycephalosaur self, the trio escapes and delivers presents to good dinosaucers. At another house, they again encounter the Tyrannos, and again, with Stego-Claws’s magic, they defeat them. Bonehead and David return to Earth, and, with renewed belief, Bonehead joins his friends for Dinosaur Day.

Stego-Claws? Check. Rude Ralph? Yep. Saucertoe? Well, they don’t have missiles on Reptilon! So put your finger aside your snout, hop in your sledosaucer, and fly to this Dinosaucers Christmas episode!

Cult Film Club
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 What's up, dudes? There’s more than meets the eye here with illustrator and podcaster Jerzy Drozd as we talk all about Transformers UK comics Christmas issues! From Starscream to Optimus Prime, we get into all of it, and deck the halls with boughs of Hot Rod…waitasec…. Yes, it’s Transformers Christmas miracle edition! 

In Transformers #145 from 1987, Starscream feels homesick, which shows that even evil robots can get the Christmas blues. As he ponders his plight, a young boy tries to teach him the meaning of Christmas. He encourages the Decepticon to explore emotions and actions of goodwill, even convincing him to help a bus full of elderly folks. Unfortunately, Streetwise the Autobot attacks him, thinking his intent is for ill. The boy admonishes Streetwise for his unprompted cavalier assault, and the Autobot watches helplessly as the Decepticon rescues the stuck bus. Streetwise apologizes and escorts the bus to safety, leaving Starscream ultimately to reflect on the experience. Turns out, he didn’t like helping, but he thoroughly enjoyed humiliating his enemy.

In Transformers #198 from 1988, a newly resurrected Optimus Prime, now a Power Master, mulls over his attachment to Earth with indifference. As he isolates himself to think, the other Power Masters see on the news a town destroyed by giant robots. Inevitably suspecting Decepticon involvement, thee heroes investigate, only to find the culprits were Autobots overindulged in Christmas shenanigans. Of course Optimus Prime finds them all, and renews there commitment to protect the citizens of Earth. Indubitably, it’s a glorious day!

Giant robot fights? Yep. Good versus evil? Got it. A story about nothing? Only a very Seinfeldian one! So hop in your robot buddy and roll out to this episode on Transformers Christmas comics!

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