A podcast that looks at vintage Saturday morning cartoons through the eyes of people way older than the intended audience, still captivated by the glorified toy adverts that we love so much. Starting with The Transformers - 1984!
The end of an era, the beginning of a new golden age, you might call it a REBIRTH! The G1 Transformers cartoon comes to an end, but not before a few dozen new characters are thrown at us! Covers the episodes 'The Rebirth, parts 1, 2 & 3'
Ellie Collins joins Steve and Jason to discuss a classic (albeit somewhat different from how we saw it in the UK back then), with mutant rats, ninja turtles, and Uncle Phil! Covers the five-part opening miniseries 'Heroes in a Half-Shell'.
If these are the real Ghostbusters, who were those guys in the movie? When did Slimer join the team? What happened to Dana and Louis? Well, one of those questions will be (sort of) answered as Jason and Steve are joined by special guest Cooper Berryman. Covering the episodes 'Ghosts R Us' and 'Killerwatt'.
Robyn Watts returns to the podcast to discuss a Disney classic. How did such a great cartoon with two very familiar voice actors pass Jason by completely? It's a mystery! Covers the five-episode opening mini-series 'Awakening'.
Zoe and special guest Conrad Westmaas join Jason to discuss a cartoon character who could well be the greatest, and fantastic. Yes, it's Danger Mouse! Covers the episodes 'Rogue Robots', 'Who Stole The Bagpipes', 'Trouble with Ghosts' and 'Chicken Run'.
Zoe, Drew and Anita talk with Jason about the 1982 animated adventure movie 'The Flight of Dragons', and ask how a movie with such gorgeous animation and a top-class voice cast get such little attention over the years?
Pete Lambert comes up from the depths to discuss how a 30-storey high sea reptile that was conceived as the personification of nuclear destruction became an all-American hero in the 1978 cartoon series 'Godzilla'. Covers the episodes 'The Firebird' ad 'The Eartheater'.
Paul Monk joins Jason to discuss the antics of the Drak Pack, three teenagers trying to make up for the evil their ancestors did in those classic horror movies. And all apparently without any conspicuous level of intelligence.... Covers the episodes 'Color me Dredful' and 'Mind Your Manners, Dr Dred'.
Steve and Jason question the motives of a small mystical being using captured children to sort out the mess in his realm of Dungeons and Dragons. Covers the episodes 'The Night of No Tomorrow' and 'Eye of the Beholder'.
A bank holiday bonus: Jason Thompson and Steve Walker discuss the recent 40th anniversary screening of 'More Than Meets The Eye' and 'Transport to Oblivion', with the voice actors reading in the first episode dialogue alongside.
It's the end, and the greatest Autobot of them all has returned for the finale! Can Prime cure the hate plague with 80s music? How does one earn Galvatron's respect? And what other franchises can be pulled into the discussion? Find out as we cover 'The Return of Optimus Prime'.
Will Perceptor lose face? Will Ultra Magnus entirely forget what his vehicle mode is for? Will Rodimus finally stop bleating about how hard it is to be a leader and find his confidence (again)? Let's find out...
More focus on the new guy, Computron, as he encounters a cad who believes 'Money is Everything', and a last hurrah for the Dinobots as they answer the 'Call of the Primitives'. And is this really the origin story for Unicron?
Jason Thompson and Steve Walker find that they're Only Human, then go on the hunt for Grimlock's New Brain!
Jason Thompson and Steve Walker decide whether to Fight or Flee when faced with a Dweller In The Depths
Jason Thompson and Steve Walker face The Ultimate Weapon (it's either love or a static gun emplacement) before tuning in to The Big Broadcast of 2006!
Jason Thompson and Steve Walker cock their ears to hear Carnage in C-Minor and sit down to enjoy the Quintesson Journal!
Jason Thompson and Steve Walker find a Ghost in The Machine! Can they download anything from the Webworld to help?
Jason Thompson and Stuart Webb visit a Madman's Paradise and wake up to a Nightmare Planet! Worst package holiday ever.
Jason Thompson and Steve Walker are disturbed by A Thief in The Night and throw a Surprise Party!
Jason Thompson and Steve Walker find that Forever is a Long Time Coming and exhume Starscream's Ghost!
Jason and Steve W cover Chaos and Dark Awakening from season 3 of The Transformers. We get some crazy old war stories in Chaos and in Dark Awakening, he's got the touch, he's got the power, but it's a very cold touch!
Jason Thompson and Steven Alexander reach the thrilling end of The Five Faces of Darkness! Then it's time for the deadliest kind of Jar... The Killing Jar! Steven now upset he didn't go a "Wreck-Jar" pun.
Jason Thompson and Steven Alexander continue Series 3 of The Transformers with the Five Faces of Darkness parts 3&4! Galvatron is back from the dead and bent on mass murder! Can the Quintessons really be the ones who invented the Transformers? No, seriously, can they? I mean, what the actual flipping heck? What even IS this?!
Jason and Steven A return for Season 3 of The Transformers, where they face The Five Faces of Darkness (Pt 1 & 2). Following on from the Cybertron-shattering events of The Movie, how will the cartoon series progress? What next for our new heroes, Ultra Magnus, Rodimus Prime, Kup, Blurr and Wheelie??? WARNING Contains Science
Jason Thompson and Ed James put on the special headgear to enter the world of M.A.S.K! But will they be working overtime? Or will they find that illusion is the ultimate weapon?
Jason Thompson and Paul Monk discuss FANGFACE! Sherman "Fangs" Fangsworth was a normal boy until struck by the curse of the Fangsworth family. Now every time he sees the moon - or a picture of a moon - or a circular light - he becomes FANGFACE! The werewolf. He teams up with his teenage friends to fight crime and to never, ever mention a certain brown dog and his shaggy friend...
Jason and Steven discuss The Secret of the Sword with special guests Zoe Baker and Robyn Watts! It's the SPECTACULAR He Man and She Ra crossover story, introducing Etheria and the Evil Horde!
RIYE 53 Zoe and Jason return to Rainbow Land... For the very last time! Jealousy strikes The Most Magnificent Horse in the Universe and the Dark Princess returns to become Queen of the Sprites! Join us in bidding a fond farewell to Rainbow Brite and the colour kids, the Sprites and the sinister plans of Murky and Lurky (who we love really)!! Covers The Rainbow Brite cartoon from 1986, the episodes "A Horse Of A Different Colour" and "Queen of the Sprites"
RIYE 052 - Jason and special guest Lucy McCaul go pre-hysterical for Captain CAVEMAN!!! (And, of course, the Teen Angels) - the classic Hanna-Barbera cartoon from 1977. How do Cavey's mystery adventures compare with the classics like Sherlock Holmes or Hercule Poirot? How many times can Taffy say "Zowie!"? What crazy creature will come out of Cavey's club next? And how realistic a portrayal of corporate insurance fraud will this cartoon present? Covers The Kooky Case of the Cryptic Keys, The Mixed Up Mystery of Dead Man's Reef, What A Flight For A Fright and The Creepy Case of The Creaky Charter Boat
RIYE 51: Jason and Zoe return to cover Rainbow Brite - "Chasing Rainbows" and "Murky's Comet"
JASON THOMPSON STEVEN ALEXANDER with STEVE WALKER and ZOE BAKER IN.... THE TRANSFORMERS THE MOVIE
Jason and Zoe return to Rainbow Land for Rainbow Night and Star Sprinkled! If Rainbow Brite deals in rainbows, Moonglow is queen of the night sky. But when Moonglow is captured by Murky and Lurky, it's up to Rainbow Brite to save the night! Star Sprinkled introduces Plock who - in the most tragic thing that has ever happened - persuades Twink to hand over the rights to the Colour Cave, depriving Rainbow Brite of her Star Sprinkles! Join Rainbow Brite, Twink, Murky and Lurky on more fabulous adventures in Rainbow land!
Steven Alexander, Jason Thompson and special guest Drew Wagar travel back to the 31st Century to join Ulysses 31 on his quest to find his way home! This could be the greatest children's cartoon of all time. Updating Greek myths and legends into a sci-fi setting, it is epic in scale and limitless in scope. The soundtrack is one of the greatest, coming from Shuki Levy and Haim Saban. We all love Ulysses! This podcast covers the first two episodes, Vengeance of The Gods and The Lost Planet. Featuring The Giant Cyclops! Surrealism! Zeus, King of All The Gods! The greatest beard in all of television! And a god-slaughtering little red robot named Nono... Drew Wagar is the author of several best-selling science fiction, space opera and fantasy novels, including several video game novelisations. https://www.drewwagar.com/community/
Jason and Zoe B continue with Rainbow Brite! This time they're watching "Invasion of Rainbow Land" and "Mom". In "Invasion Of Rainbow Land", Rainbow Brite continues to show off her terrifying god-like powers, bringing dead things back to life and spreading color through the Universe. But when a girl named "Wajja" arrives in a spaceship, Rainbow's supremacy is challenged, because Wajja sucks the color out of anything she touches! We've all had times when we've been embarrassed by our families. But when Murky's "Mom" turned up, embarrassment is ramped up through all the colours of the rainbow! What is Murky's full name? Can Lurky cut it as a butler? And will Mrs Dismal and Rainbow Brite become bestest pals forever?
Jason, Steve A and special guest Mark McManus join The Defenders of the Earth in their quest to defeat the Merciless Ming! We look at the DVD bumper movie compilation "The Story Begins", which comprises episodes 1, 2, 11, 4 and 5 of the series for some reason! The theme tune sure is awesome! Is Zuffy the worst comic relief character since Bat-Mite? What are the back-stories of Flash Gordon, Mandrake The Magician, Lothar and The Phantom? Can Lothar cope with The Phantom having almost exactly the same skillset as him, but all done with the POWER of TEN TIGERS? Is Mandrake the most powerful character in the series? And what do you mean, Flash Gordon approaching? Featuring OCTAN! Some sort of Ice Robot! Comic book heroes from the 1930s! MING THE MERCILESS! And Endama, Wizard of Weather!
Jason, Zoe and Steve A take on the RAINBOW BRITE movie - Rainbow Brite and the Star Stealer! It's back to 1985 and the wonderful, colourful world of Rainbow Brite as she comes up against the villainous Spectra! (Not that Spectra. Or that one.) Is this film as bad as it's 0% rating on Rotten Tomatoes suggests? Are diamonds people too? Will Murky and Lurky get properly involved in the action? How does the physics of the Rainbow Brite universe actually work? (Only joking, we can't answer that one) And where can we go to get Spectra's look? Join us for the TREMENDOUSLY exciting Rainbow Brite movie! It's fun for all the family!
Jason and special guest Simon Hart tackle THE BATTLE! OF! THE! PLANETS!!!! With Rage of the Robotoids and Strike at Spectra. The Athletic Robotoids are up to no good! Comparing lip gloss notes and trying to work out what was cut out of each episode, Jason and Simon are inseparable on this podcast! They have been watching Battle of the Planets and warning against surprise attacks by alien galaxies from beyond space! Wherever that is! Jason's astronomer side curls up and dies repeatedly at the improbable planets! Will they be able to Strike at Spectra? And does the episode even depict a Strike at Spectra in any way? Featuring Jason! Keyops! Princess! Tiny! Mark! Zoltar! And, drawn largely in crayon, 7-Zark-7!
Jason and Zoe take another trip to Rainbow Land and face The Mighty Monstromurk Menace! Murky is back up to his tricks with unbreakable glassware and random kidnappings. With important lessons on how to survive river rapids, which Colour Kid is which and a giant personal avatar with matching moustache, this is a great opportunity to break out your giant water pistol! Join Murky & Lurky, Rainbow Brite, the Colour Kids, the Star Sprites and on this thrilling adventure!
Jason and Christopher Marlow review the opening episodes of the Thundercats! (Which includes the one where they don't have any clothes!) Featuring! Lion-O! Panthro! Cheetara! Tygra! Wily-Kit and Wily-Kat! And everybody's favourite, Snarf. We're growing up fast, because the Ever Living Source Of Evil is on his way - it's Mumm-Ra!!!
Jason and Zoe take another trip to Rainbow Land and face Peril In The Pits! If you've been shot with the Gloom Gun this is a sure-fire way to fill your day with Rainbows! Rainbow Land has begun, but this was the very first Rainbow Brite cartoon. Rainbow Brite wants to be noticed, Brian wants to wash the rainbows out of his clothes and Murky could do with some better help - but who's going to tell the loveable Lurky? Join Rainbow Brite, the Colour Kids, the Star Sprites and... er... Brian on this thrilling adventure!
Jason and Steve A look at the G1 TF episode B.O.T., the Transformers Public Service Announcements and a retrospective on the show so far! In B.O.T. some genius kids build a genius robot - B.O.T. - but sadly don't get B.O.T. to write the episode. Swindle swindles, Brawl brawls, Blast Off stays put and the other Comabticons fail to make an impression! We also look back at some amazing Transformer Public Service Announcements and discuss the first two years of the Transformers cartoon as a whole. What were the highs and lows? Who were the best writers? And which of the writers has an awesome secret we looked up on their Wiki page? Featuring DEFENSOR! BRUTICUS! A final bow-out for Ironhide and Gears! A total disregard for scale! Irresponsible children getting into trouble! Donald F Glut! And the spiralling slope leading us to THE TRANSFORMERS - THE MOVIE! And the Bloopers at last! https://youtu.be/Ys0nrwfBl3Q - Transformers PSAs
Jason and Steve A look at the G1 Episodes of The Transformers - The Revenge of Bruticus and Maquerade! In The Revenge of Bruticus we argue about whether Transformer episodes are better if you watch them 100 times on VHS, Jason explains how far you can see into space and we demand a BRUTICUS HATES YOU ALL greetings card. In Masquerade, Megatron is building some kind of terrifying weapon... but who can possibly guess what kind it will be? Optimus Prime finds a good use for those giant foam hands you get at football stadiums and Mirage makes another appearance... or does he? Featuring BRUTICUS! MENASOR! Some other combiner team we forgot was there! Sideswipe saving the Earth! The Insecticons on the rampage! Camouflage paint! And not the Constructicons!
Stuart Webb and Steven Alexander look at the G1 #Transformers episodes "Cosmic Rust" and "Starscream's Brigade!" In Cosmic Rust, Perceptor faces his arch-enemy, The Stunticons give Megatron the brush-off and Stuart declares that we can no longer mock the science of the show! In Starscream's Brigade, Jazz and Cliffjumper get in trouble with the Combaticons, Starscream has dark plans for Jazz and Cliffjumper, and Wheeljack invents the matter duplicator, winning the war and everything forever! Featuring! Jazz and Cliffjumper! Brawl, Blast-off, Vortex, Swindle and Onslaught! Jazz and Cliffjumper! And Professor "Brian Cox" Perceptor!
Steve W, Jason and Steven A look at War Dawn and Trans-Europe Express from the original G1 1985 cartoon of The Transformers! Who is this jolly Orion Pax from the Happy Days of Cybertron? Why are his lips so luscious? What is a Silverbolt gonna do in a Golden age? Back on Earth, the race is on! The prize could be more than a mouldy orange, or maybe not? Will Megatron gain control of Earth's weather? Featuring! Orion Pax! His girlfriend! His best mate! Augie Cahnay! Bumblebee! Bluestreak! And, once again, MENASOR!
Steve W, Jason and Steven A chat about Part 2 of The Key To Vector Sigma and Aerial Assault from the G1 Transformers Cartoon! The Autobots are in trouble, will vaguely remembering what some Earth jets look like be able to save them? And will they be able to combine their strengths to save the day? And could this be the end for Omega Supreme?! Megatron turns his attention to the Middle East oil fields, perfect if you're about to construct a huge, stupid purple griffin. Who is this Merv anyway? And can Fireflight be bothered to show up? Featuring! The Aerialbots! The Stunticons! The Combaticons (shsshh no, not yet) Merv The Griffin! And Devastator, we wish!
Steve W and Jason tackle Hoist Goes Hollywood and Part 1 of The Key To Vector Sigma! Hoist's trip to Hollywood nearly breaks everyone, even Dirge. But don't worry - we'll find it in the edit! Meanwhile Megatron decides to bolster his impressive army of jet planes with a handful of cars. There's one big one and four small ones - but what could it mean? Featuring - Moist! Kablooeee - Warpath! Harold Edsel! Karen Fishook! Alpha Trion! And introducing - The Stunticons!
Transformers - "The Search for Alpha Trion" and "The Girl Who Loved Powerglide"! The female Autobots arrive and they're immediately awesome! Exactly how long does it take to find Alpha Trion? How much of a bruiser is Astoria Carlton-Ritz? And have we finally cracked which Conehead is which? Steven and Jason look back at this Transformers cartoon from 1985. Featuring - Alpha Trion (if you can find him)! Chromia! Elita-1! Powerglide! And Cupid's Arrow!
Steven and Jason look back at the Transformers Cartoon from 1985! What's the most elaborate way to capture an Autobot? Why did we think this was an episode of GI Joe for a moment? Will New York survive another visit from the Transformers? And get ready to dance away your blues at the Dancitron, I hear the owner is a real Scream! Featuring Optimus Prime! Tracks! Blaster! Soundwave! Starscream! And Recoloured Raoul! Covers the episodes of G1 Transformers, "Prime Target" and "Aut0-Bop"
Steven and Jason look back at the Transformers Cartoon from 1985! Is Seaspray more than just a bunch of mechanical parts? Why is Optimus Prime too big? What's colder than liquid nitrogen? And when are you going to give me some STRATEGY??? Featuring Seaspray! Cosmos on his backside again! Alana! Astrotrain! Blitzwing! And the ASTROFORCE!!! Covers the episodes of G1 Transformers, "Sea Change" and "Triple Takeover"
Steven, Jason and special guest Chris Chapman look back at the Transformers Comic from 1986! Why is 2006 now so long ago? What was the issue that hooked Chris on the Transformers comic? Is this the best ever Galvatron story? Are the Autobots totally useless without their leader? And who is the Gummi Bear of the Autobots? WRECK and RULE! As we set course for - TARGET: 2006! Featuring GALVATRON! Covers the Transformers UK Marvel Comic - Target: 2006