The Flopcast

It's a simple plan this week: We're just looking at what was on television in late May of 1981. Including: A bizarre Happy Days musical, a horrifying Waltons episode, Mork in a bubble, skydiving Hulk, something called "Women Who Rate a 10," Bo Duke with amnesia, Daisy Duke on Enos, Batman on Fantasy Island, a Muppet on a medical drama, a dead parrot at Mel's Diner, and way too many variety shows (from Bob Hope, Steve Allen, Robert Klein, the Gatlin Brothers, and the Mandrell Sisters). It all sounds wonderful, doesn't it? You should probably cancel Netflix and invest in a time machine. The Mayor of Chickentown on The Doctor's Beard podcast! And our regular links... The Flopcast website! The ESO Network! The Flopcast on Facebook! The Flopcast on Instagram! The Flopcast on Bluesky! The Flopcast on Mastadon! Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts! Email: info@flopcast.net Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation! This week's promo: Have Coffee, Will Travel!    

As we kick off ten weeks of 80s-themed episodes, we're returning to a goofy little game we invented a couple of years ago. The idea is to pluck characters from randomly selected movies from the year 1980, insert them into other movies, and discuss the ramifications. Potential movies include Flash Gordon, Caddyshack, Popeye, Xanadu, The Empire Strikes Back, and many more. So grab a hideously overpriced tub of popcorn and get comfortable. In all likelihood, this is gonna get weird. The Flopcast website! The ESO Network! The Flopcast on Facebook! The Flopcast on Instagram! The Flopcast on Bluesky! The Flopcast on Mastadon! Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts! Email: info@flopcast.net Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation! This week's promo: Earth Station Who!  

It's the 13th anniversary of the Flopcast! We started this nonsense way back in 2012 (as court-ordered community service, but let's not get into that), and here we are today, as dizzy and confused as ever. And to celebrate, we're doing... not much of anything. Kevin and the Mayor just wander through a few quick little subjects, including: Running a half marathon in Maine; running a 5K in the rain; a visit to the Watch City Steampunk Festival, ruled by our friend Queen Jessica Mercy; the return of our favorite metal band, Anaria; an important ornithological discovery right here at the studio; the Columbo-style antics of Natasha Lyonne on Poker Face; and a pile of new "facsimile" comic books, which allow us to enjoy the first Aquaman story without spending eight zillion dollars. Now it's on to yet another year of Flopcasting. We promise to continue accomplishing nothing. The Flopcast website! The ESO Network! The Flopcast on Facebook! The Flopcast on Instagram! The Flopcast on Bluesky! The Flopcast on Mastadon! Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts! Email: info@flopcast.net Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation! This week's promo: Earth Station Boo!  

It's the conclusion of our FlopFight tournament of Saturday Night Live characters! We have miscellaneous freaks and weirdos competing from 50 years of SNL history. Will it be Wayne and Garth vs. Hans and Franz? Canteen Boy vs. Gap Girls? So many possibilities. But only one shall survive, and they shall look marvelous. The Flopcast website! The ESO Network! The Flopcast on Facebook! The Flopcast on Instagram! The Flopcast on Bluesky! The Flopcast on Mastadon! Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts! Email: info@flopcast.net Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation! This week's promo: Earth Station Trek!  

Let's celebrate 50 years of Saturday Night Live with a big silly tournament of SNL characters. Church Lady vs. Target Lady? Festrunk Brothers vs. Sweeney Sisters? Gilly vs. Gumby? So many weird possibilities, but only one shall survive and advance to next week's final round. Anything can happen, it will be ridiculous and stupid, and we promise not to provide you with any deep thoughts. The Flopcast website! The ESO Network! The Flopcast on Facebook! The Flopcast on Instagram! The Flopcast on Bluesky! The Flopcast on Mastadon! Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts! Email: info@flopcast.net Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation! This week's promo: Cosmic Pizza!  

We're looking back at the comic book scene of forty years ago, and we've brought in a special guest to help: ESO Network Director (and longtime comic book fan) Mike Faber. The big story of 1985 was Crisis on Infinite Earths, but we cover much more, including: The New Teen Titans, Justice League Detroit, the trial of the Flash, Elvira's House of Mystery, Secret Wars II, Heroes for Hope, the silliness of Ambush Bug, the genius of Alan Moore (Swamp Thing, Miracleman), and the independent stuff too (Love and Rockets, Cerebus, DNAgents, Jon Sable Freelance, and those crazy Ninja Turtles). This podcast should be bagged, boarded, graded, slabbed, and thrown on eBay with a Buy It Now price of zero dollars. The Flopcast website! The ESO Network! The Flopcast on Facebook! The Flopcast on Instagram! The Flopcast on Bluesky! The Flopcast on Mastadon! Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts! Email: info@flopcast.net Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation! This week's promo: Monkeeing Around!    

Just a few quick subjects this week: We recommend the improv comedy of Ben Schwartz (Parks and Recreation's Jean-Ralphio!), we look at some Saturday Night Live-related comic books (including when Spider-Man met Belushi), and we take it to the streets. Not because we're Doobie Brothers, but because we're angry. The Flopcast website! The ESO Network! The Flopcast on Facebook! The Flopcast on Instagram! The Flopcast on Bluesky! The Flopcast on Mastadon! Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts! Email: info@flopcast.net Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation! This week's promo: The 42cast!      

If you grew up in or around the bizarro state of Rhode Island, you might remember the Warwick Musical Theatre. For decades, this tent-style venue (with a rotating circular stage in the middle) hosted concerts, comedy, musicals, and even wrestling. (Guess how many times Liberace performed there. No, you're low. Guess again.) And back in the 80s, this is where some of us first saw Weird Al, the Monkees, and oh yeah, Air Supply. So let's take a look at the whole wild history of the Warwick tent, which alas, has been gone for about a quarter century. (These days a giant hardware store is there, in case you need 8,000 hammers.) But in our hearts, Laura Branigan and Billy Ocean are playing there RIGHT NOW. The Flopcast website! The ESO Network! The Flopcast on Facebook! The Flopcast on Instagram! The Flopcast on Bluesky! The Flopcast on Mastadon! Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts! Email: info@flopcast.net Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation! This week's promo: EnterpriseSplaining!    

Continuing our look back at 1975 (which was just about fifty years ago, according to most historians), let's see what was on television. Specifically we're looking at the prime time schedule for March 30, 1975, which just happened to be Easter night. So the three networks offered a mix of special programming (The Ten Commandments, The Wizard of Oz, and a horrifying holiday Waltons rerun) and typical mid-70s action shows (Six Million Dollar Man, McCloud). Watch closely for special guest stars like John Ritter (pre-Jack Tripper) and Gavan O'Herlihy (post-Chuck Cunningham). Was it the greatest night in television history? Absolutely not. But it was 1975, and it was all we had. The Flopcast website! The ESO Network! The Flopcast on Facebook! The Flopcast on Instagram! The Flopcast on Bluesky! The Flopcast on Mastadon! Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts! Email: info@flopcast.net Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation! This week's promo: Earth Station DCU!      

It's a simple enough show this week, kids. We're just looking at a bunch of movies from half a century ago. 1975 was a game-changing year in film. Early 70s trends like blaxploitation and dystopian sci-fi were about to be swept aside, as a certain giant Spielbergian shark ushered in the blockbuster era. But meanwhile, the year still offered some genuine classics (Dog Day Afternoon, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest), some cult classics (Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Rocky Horror Picture Show), some Disney for the kids (Apple Dumpling Gang, Escape to Witch Mountain), giant spiders, crazy mamas, blazing stewardesses, switchblade sisters, and plenty of Pam Grier. So pop in a Glen Campbell 8-track and cruise over to your local ugly 1970s movie theater. And grab a big box of Raisinets, even though they're lousy. The Flopcast website! The ESO Network! The Flopcast on Facebook! The Flopcast on Instagram! The Flopcast on Bluesky! The Flopcast on Mastadon! Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts! Email: info@flopcast.net Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation! This week's promo: BatChums!      

As the title suggests, we have illnesses, we have injuries, and we have a quick little listener feedback episode. Including: Blip magazine, Pac-Man high scores, Activision patches, Dig Dug songs, Donkey Kong comics, Mardi Gras chickens, Sewer Sam, An Hour With Bob, Positronic Hypersonic, Sci Fi Journal, Luke Ski's Animation & Stuff Podcast, the Yummy Awards, and pizza pies for Pi Day. Enjoy, as we deal with our various aforementioned ailments. We're podcasting through the pain, just for you. Positronic Hypersonic! Sci Fi Journal! Luke Ski's Animation & Stuff Podcast! And our regular links... The Flopcast website! The ESO Network! The Flopcast on Facebook! The Flopcast on Instagram! The Flopcast on Bluesky! The Flopcast on Mastadon! Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts! Email: info@flopcast.net Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation! This week's promo: Modern Musicology!      

We're just diving into the bizarre world of Rhode Island cable access television of the 80s and 90s. And our special returning guest is Kevin Cafferty! Kevin was there, and remembers it all. If you were anywhere near the Ocean State back in the day, you never knew what you'd find on local cable TV, but you knew it would freak you out. Including: awkward talk shows, befuddling children's shows, ultra-low-budget sketch comedy, backyard wrestling, high school dances, karaoke direct from Woonsocket, the intense legal drama of Providence traffic court, the Star Trek fan show we loved more than Star Trek, the Kiss fan show that was parodied on Family Guy... and the legend of Daphne's Madhouse. Why would you ever look at mainstream TV again? On cable access, your own neighbors were making the weirdest shows in the world. Kevin's podcasts: Gleaming the Tube and The Best Stuff in the World! And our regular links... The Flopcast website! The ESO Network! The Flopcast on Facebook! The Flopcast on Instagram! The Flopcast on Bluesky! The Flopcast on Mastadon! Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts! Email: info@flopcast.net Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation! This week's promo: The Watch-A-Thon of Rassilon!  

We always enjoy perusing the annual list of nominees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, because it makes everybody angry. And this year we have a special guest: Michael Gordon, host of the Dragon Con Report, Earth Station Who, and BatChums podcasts! (Clearly Mike isn't podcasting enough. So glad we could help with that.) The nominees include 70s rock (Bad Company), 80s pop (our girl Cyndi!), 90s grunge (Soundgarden), and lots more, including some long overdue legends (Joe Cocker, Mariah Carey) and some oddball surprises. (Phish? Really?) And we somehow get through the whole list without complaining about the Rock Hall's continued snubbing of Air Supply. But we have not forgotten. Follow Michael on Substack! And follow Michelle on Substack! And our regular links... The Flopcast website! The ESO Network! The Flopcast on Facebook! The Flopcast on Instagram! The Flopcast on Bluesky! The Flopcast on Mastadon! Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts! Email: info@flopcast.net Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation! This week's promo: Dragon Con Report!      

In 1983, Marvel Comics launched a magazine about video games. This was not a comic book; it was a magazine. (Okay, it was a tiny comic book-sized magazine. Happy now?) It lasted just seven issues, utterly failing to make a blip, even though it was in fact called Blip. So today we're flipping through the first issue of Blip, trying to make sense of it all. On the cover is actor Matthew Laborteaux (Little House on the Prairie, Whiz Kids), looking very upset that we interrupted his game of Tron. Inside we learn the favorite video games of more Hollywood stars, assuming you define "star" as "someone who appeared on The Facts of Life once or twice." We also learn about Missile Command, Centipede, Dig Dug, Pitfall, and Bubble Yum. (That last one might just be an advertisement.) Sure, there were much bigger, much better video game magazines around in the early 80s. But only one was Stan Lee-approved. So stick with Blip, true believers.

Recently we braved the lawless wilderness of New Hampshire to see a show called "Piano Men and Women," celebrating the music of Billy Joel, Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Carole King, and more. (We were there because our old pal Mike is the guitarist in this show. Mike has come a LONG way since Sponge Awareness...) So now we're throwing all those classic pop stars into a silly FlopFight tournament of randomly selected competitions. Join us as we debate the merits of, say, Freddie Mercury and Barry Manilow in a snow-shoveling contest. Why, there's even a surprise wild card player who has no business in this FlopFight, but just might win the whole thing. Kids, prepare for some thrilling and ridiculous tournament action. The stakes could not be lower. The Flopcast website! The ESO Network! The Flopcast on Facebook! The Flopcast on Instagram! The Flopcast on Bluesky! The Flopcast on Mastadon! Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts! Email: info@flopcast.net Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation! This week's promo: Have Coffee, Will Travel!  

Longtime Flopcast listeners (those poor souls) know that every 100 episodes, we celebrate V66, Boston's own music video TV channel of the mid-80s. This time, however, we have a special guest: Eric Green, director of the V66 documentary, Life on the V! And because this is episode 666, we're looking at the heavy metal and hard rock bands and videos of the V66 era. It was a time when catchy melodies and goofy visuals helped acts like Quiet Riot and Twisted Sister score huge Top 40 hits. The Kiss guys lost the makeup, Van Halen switched from Dave to Sammy, Aerosmith made their (rap-assisted) comeback, Mötley Crüe freaked everybody out, and Bon Jovi opened the floodgates for a cacophony of hair metal. Meanwhile on the local scene, V66 promoted a video filmed at a Boston-area high school by an unknown hard rock band called Extreme. And as the New England Patriots prepared for Super Bowl 1986, V66 was there with a couple of low budget quickie music videos, including the goofy metal tune "Skin the Bears." (Spoiler: The Patriots absolutely did not skin the Bears.) Also: Kevin finds V66 VJ David O'Leary at a Taylor Dayne show! Eric traces the history of Nirvana in Boston! Tom Bergeron gets in touch with the kids on Rap Around! And if you're in the Boston area, you can join us for a special screening of Life on the V at the Somerville Theatre on February 27th! Kids, it's the 40th anniversary of V66. You deserve a night out, surrounded by Junior Mint-chomping 80s nerds who know how to neutron dance. Life on the V! Green's Party! And our regular links... The Flopcast website! The ESO Network! The Flopcast on Facebook! The Flopcast on Instagram! The Flopcast on Bluesky! The Flopcast on Mastadon! Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts! Email: info@flopcast.net Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation! This week's promo: Earth Station Who!    

It's time for another Top 4 1/2 List, and it's a dumb one! The subject is "Ace." We're just listing characters (from cartoons, movies, TV, etc.) named Ace. And we probably missed your favorite Ace, so let us know! (Unless your favorite is Ace the Bat-Hound. We assure you, we did not forget Ace the Bat-Hound.) The MarsCon 2025 Comedy Music Track and Fund Raiser Album! And our regular links... The Flopcast website! The ESO Network! The Flopcast on Facebook! The Flopcast on Instagram! The Flopcast on Bluesky! The Flopcast on Mastadon! Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts! Email: info@flopcast.net Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation! This week's promo: Monster Attack!  

Normally we save our "Too Many Comics" reviews for the ESO Network's Patreon supporters. But this one is for everybody, as Kevin and the Mayor flip through the oldest comic book we have here at the studio. And oh yes, it features a chicken. Published by Quality Comics way back in 1946, it's Egbert #4. In the lead story, Egbert the chicken and his fox buddy The Count enter a pie-eating contest. Try to contain your excitement. And because comic books were much larger back in the Golden Age, we also have stories with Nero Owl, Rollo Raccoon, Picklefoot Pig, the Bunny Boys, Beany Bear, and more. (All this for a dime!) Plus: Weird ads for Pepsi, cap guns, and electric football games. Now according to an online price guide, our Egbert comic is virtually worthless. (And you'll find out why!) But come on, it's a chicken comic from 80 years ago, and you can't put a price on this kind of silliness. The Flopcast website! The ESO Network! The Flopcast on Facebook! The Flopcast on Instagram! The Flopcast on Bluesky! The Flopcast on Mastadon! Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts! Email: info@flopcast.net Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation! This week's promo: The 42cast! This week's other promo: MarsCon 2025!  

As we enter the horrifying year of 2025, we thought we'd roll back half a century and look at the music of 1975. We're perusing Billboard's Top 100 song list for the year, and as you'd expect, it's a weird list. The hippie acts were winding down, disco was ramping up, easy listening schlock was at its zenith, and everybody -- literally everybody -- was kung fu fighting. It was probably also not a bad year to avoid Chevy vans, and that's all right with us. Anyway, break out your Linda Ronstadt 8-tracks, slip into your Captain and Tennille costumes, and enjoy. The Flopcast website! The ESO Network! The Flopcast on Facebook! The Flopcast on Instagram! The Flopcast on Bluesky! The Flopcast on Mastadon! Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts! Email: info@flopcast.net Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation! This week's promo: Earth Station Boo!  

If your New Year's Resolution was to strengthen your vocabulary with the help of some DC Comics superheroes, we've got you covered. Yes, we're turning back to The Super Dictionary, that bizarre book of words and definitions for the kids of 1978. Our latest batch of Super Dictionary entries features: Supergirl catching flies, Wonder Woman staggering about in a fog, Black Canary vs. a giant owl, Krypto the Super Dog gobbling like a turkey, Penguin being creepy and weird, and Atom's tiny handkerchief. We also learn a bit too much about Comet the Super Horse, and we review the most notorious entry in the whole book. Yes, it's time to discuss Luthor and his forty stolen cakes. Also: Chickens in the News! Want to stay at a massive rooster-shaped hotel in the Philippines? Yeah, we thought so. The Flopcast website! The ESO Network! The Flopcast on Facebook! The Flopcast on Instagram! The Flopcast on Bluesky! The Flopcast on Mastadon! Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts! Email: info@flopcast.net Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation! This week's promo: Earth Station Trek!      

We're wrapping up our annual two-part memorial show, covering people we lost in the second half of 2024 from TV (Linda Lavin, John Amos, Bob Newhart), movies (Teri Garr, Shelley Duvall, James Earl Jones), music (Quincy Jones, John Mayall, Kris Kristofferson), and more. (Richard Simmons, Dr. Ruth, Famous Amos, the "You've got mail!" guy... our list has a lot of range.) The egg nog is flowing freely here at Chickentown Studios. Select a huge festive beverage for yourself and join us. And our regular links... The Flopcast website! The ESO Network! The Flopcast on Facebook! The Flopcast on Instagram! The Flopcast on Bluesky! The Flopcast on Mastadon! Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts! Email: info@flopcast.net Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation! This week's promo: Cosmic Pizza!  

In Part 1 of our two-part memorial show, we look back on people from pop culture (and beyond) who died in the first half of 2024. It's a long list, so it's a long show. Including: People from movies (Cindy Morgan, Carl Weathers, Louis Gossett Jr., Dabney Coleman, Donald Sutherland), comedy (Richard Lewis, Joe Flaherty, Martin Mull), television (Joyce Randolph, Kevin Brophy, David Soul), music (Melanie, Mojo Nixon, Eric Carmen), comic books (José Delbo, Ramona Fradon, Trina Robbins), and many more. (The inventor of Pop-Tarts? But of course.) Next week: Memorial Show Part 2. Meanwhile this week, we also reveal our New Year's Resolution, which you will never guess. The Flopcast website! The ESO Network! The Flopcast on Facebook! The Flopcast on Instagram! The Flopcast on Bluesky! The Flopcast on Mastadon! Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts! Email: info@flopcast.net Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation! This week's promo: Monkeeing Around!  

Welcome to the Flopcast holiday variety spectacular, in which we sip egg nog and nothing happens. But we do pack quite a few festive subjects into this quick little show, including: Weird 1970s Christmas cartoons! (The Fourth King is an obscure one we'd never seen before. And our favorite, A Cosmic Christmas, is now available from RiffTrax!) A Joan Osborne concert! The Air Supply Christmas album! The Figgy Pudding Pages! Drive-in movie theaters! Weird singing bird decorations! And the opening of a glitter bomb Christmas card, ensuring that Chickentown Studios will be nice and sparkly all year. Okay, get out there and be merry or bright (but not both). It's time for our big holiday nap. The Flopcast website! The ESO Network! The Flopcast on Facebook! The Flopcast on Instagram! The Flopcast on Bluesky! The Flopcast on Mastadon! Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts! Email: info@flopcast.net Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation! This week's promo: The 42cast! This week's promo: Modern Musicology!  

Spinning out of last week's review of The Year Without a Santa Claus, this week we're looking at another classic Rankin/Bass Christmas cartoon that debuted fifty years ago: 'Twas the Night Before Christmas! It's set in the bizarre little town of Junctionville, where humans and mice coexist in a way we can't quite figure out. There we meet a humble clockmaker, a nerdy mouse, a clueless wacky mayor, an egomaniacal vindictive Santa, and a selfish materialistic populace dreaming of a huge Christmas payday, if only their giant musical clock doesn't explode. It's magnificent. We also discuss the whole voice cast, including Jennifer Grey's father, Amanda Plummer's mother, one of the Bad News Bears, Franken Berry, Twinkie the Kid, and (according to Wikipedia) an "owl-faced, portly character actor." So knock back an egg nog or six, let up a little on the wonder why, and give this podcast a try. The Flopcast website! The ESO Network! The Flopcast on Facebook! The Flopcast on Instagram! The Flopcast on Bluesky! The Flopcast on Mastadon! Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts! Email: info@flopcast.net Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation! This week's promo: Earth Station DCU!  

The Mayor of Chickentown is here to help us celebrate the 50th anniversary of a Rankin/Bass animated classic, The Year Without a Santa Claus. It's best remembered for Snow Miser and Heat Miser, of course, but we're here to break down the whole thing. We discuss the goofy plot, the goofier characters, the actors behind those characters, the book that inspired the cartoon, the live action remake, the animated sequel, and more. And while everyone knows that Heat and Snow Miser's mother is Mother Nature, we're going to reveal who their fathers are. (This holiday season, we're trying to be more like a trashy daytime talk show, and we could use your support.) And our regular links... The Flopcast website! The ESO Network! The Flopcast on Facebook! The Flopcast on Instagram! The Flopcast on Mastadon! Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts! Email: info@flopcast.net Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation! This week's promo: EnterpriseSplaining!  

It's the holiday season, which means it's the holiday movie season, which means it's time for us to get to work. Because if you tune your TV to the Hallmark channel (or Lifetime, or Netflix, or anywhere else), you'll be assaulted by dozens of ridiculous new romantic holiday movies. A parade of big city girls will be returning to their quaint home towns to save their families' struggling mistletoe factories, and perhaps fall in love with some flannel-shirted dudes along the way. (And somehow, almost every movie stars Lacey Chabert.) So here on the Flopcast, we try to fix these movies by adding some weird random element. Can Christmas be saved by, for example, a gorilla suit? We sure think so. The Flopcast website! The ESO Network! The Flopcast on Facebook! The Flopcast on Instagram! The Flopcast on Mastadon! Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts! Email: info@flopcast.net Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation! This week's promo: BatChums!  

As usual, we ring in the stupid holidays with a Letters to Cleo concert report, because our favorite 90s Boston band always comes home for Thanksgiving. (Letters to Cleo once performed on Parks and Recreation, and weirdly, just down the street from the concert, we spotted an actual citizen of Pawnee, Indiana. It was either Jerry, Garry, Larry, or Barry.) Then, as we approach the 100th anniversary of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, Kevin and the Mayor look back at some of the odd performances and big freaky balloons in parades past. (The 1974 and 1984 parades included future Flopcast guests! Weird...) Anyway, have a festive holiday, and don't worry about inviting Patty, Marcie, and Franklin. They'll just show up. And our regular links... The Flopcast website! The ESO Network! The Flopcast on Facebook! The Flopcast on Instagram! The Flopcast on Mastadon! The Flopcast on Bluesky! Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts! Email: info@flopcast.net Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation! This week's promo: Modern Musicology!    

Even as we stagger toward a horrifying future, The Flopcast is here with more silly things for you, because we're gonna get through this together. And this week we're celebrating Danny DeVito's 80th birthday (just as we celebrated his 70th birthday about a decade ago), we have a Chickens in the News story about an actual robot chicken... and then we just turn the whole show over to the robots. If you're on the correct side of history, please join us as we resist, persist, take care of each other, and keep going. The Flopcast website! The ESO Network! The Flopcast on Facebook! The Flopcast on Instagram! The Flopcast on Mastadon! Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts! Email: info@flopcast.net Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation! This week's promo: Dragon Con Report!  

Need a break from, you know, everything? We're just hiding behind a giant stack of Dynamite magazines, and you're welcome to join us. We've pulled out a Dynamite issue from 1980 with the hosts of That's Incredible on the cover. (Cathy Lee Crosby looks lovely, while Fran Tarkenton and John Davidson are missing some teeth... our copy may have been defaced decades ago by some kid with a Bic pen.) Inside we can read about New Hampshire's Old Man of the Mountain, Gary Coleman's chihuahua, a Billy Joel album that never happened, a vampire maze, Dynamite Bummers, the Dynamite Duo... and an electronic chicken game. We don't know why they kept making magazines after 1980, when it was done to perfection. The Flopcast website! The ESO Network! The Flopcast on Facebook! The Flopcast on Instagram! The Flopcast on Mastadon! Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts! Email: info@flopcast.net Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation! This week's promo: The Watch-A-Thon of Rassilon!    

We looked at the TV shows of 1974 (fifty years ago!) a few months back with the Mayor, but now it's Kornflake's turn. Our list again includes some of the usual suspects like Rhoda and The Rockford Files... but ultimately we can all agree that the most important show of that year was Hong Kong Phooey. We also take a quick look at some bands that debuted in 1974; some are still favorites of ours (Blondie! Squeeze!), while we're learning about others for the first time, despite some very intriguing band names. Also: We wish a Happy Birthday to Bonnie Raitt, and we welcome two new podcasts to the ESO Network: Have Coffee Will Travel and BatChums! (One of these shows features two guys discussing Batman, but we can't remember which.) The Flopcast website! The ESO Network! The Flopcast on Facebook! The Flopcast on Instagram! The Flopcast on Mastadon! Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts! Email: info@flopcast.net Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation! This week's promo: Tales From Hollywoodland!      

It's the terrifying conclusion of our Halloween FlopFight! Leaping into the tournament this week are characters from Nightmare Before Christmas, Hocus Pocus, Bewitched, Happy Days (what?), and more. Each matchup is drawn randomly, and the exact competitions are randomized too. (So for example, it could be Count Chocula against Jack Skellington, but in a pie-eating contest. Stuff like that.) So anything goes, and special guest Blasted Bill is back to keep things nice and silly. We're also wishing a Happy Birthday to 90s singer-songwriter Sophie B. Hawkins, who has something in common with one of our FlopFighters: a mysterious middle initial. Because a certain Tom Hanks SNL character is also competing. Any questions? Blasted Bill on TikTok! The Mayor talking Doctor Who on The Best Stuff in the World podcast! And our regular links... The Flopcast website! The ESO Network! The Flopcast on Facebook! The Flopcast on Instagram! The Flopcast on Mastadon! Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts! Email: info@flopcast.net Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation! This week's promo: Have Coffee, Will Travel!  

Halloween superfan Blasted Bill joins us for a Halloween FlopFight! We're randomly throwing Halloween characters (from horror movies, cartoon specials, cereal boxes, and beyond) into another ridiculous tournament. Why, the very first match has the Great Pumpkin battling Yummy Mummy! Who will win? That depends on the exact nature of the competition, which is also chosen at random. So anything could happen, and this week's winner shall advance to next week's final round. So grab a ringside seat, grab some fun-size Twix bars, and enjoy. Blasted Bill on TikTok! And our regular links... The Flopcast website! The ESO Network! The Flopcast on Facebook! The Flopcast on Instagram! The Flopcast on Mastadon! Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts! Email: info@flopcast.net Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation! This week's promo: BatChums!

As our Halloween festivities continue, we take a quick look at the horror movies parodied in Mad Magazine in the 1980s. Including: The Shining, Poltergeist, Psycho II, a couple of Alien movies, and Gremlins (with Alfred E. Neuman as Gizmo on the cover). Speaking of Mad and Alfred, we just visited the Norman Rockwell Museum for an amazing exhibit called "What, Me Worry? The Art & Humor of Mad Magazine." And it closes in two weeks, so GO RIGHT NOW. Also: It's World Singing Day. And we are not the world. The Flopcast website! The ESO Network! The Flopcast on Facebook! The Flopcast on Instagram! The Flopcast on Mastadon! Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts! Email: info@flopcast.net Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation! This week's promo: Earth Station Who!

It's Halloween season, which means it's Monster Cereal season! And while we rarely eat the stuff anymore, we do welcome the return of Count Chocula, Franken Berry, Boo Berry, and the new girl, zombie DJ Carmella Creeper. (Sorry, Fruit Brute and Yummy Mummy fans. Those weirdos aren't around this year.) The big news is that the monsters have pets now! Meet the Frightful Friends: Benny the Bat, Igor the Spider, Scratch the Snake, and Meow Berry. (What, no chicken?! Send your letters of complaint to General Mills...) Several Flopcast listeners have even provided photos of this year's cereal boxes, saving us a trip to the grocery store, where we'd just blow all our podcasting profits on Doritos. Also: Happy Birthday to Scott Bakula! He's probably out there Quantum-leaping and Enterprise-splaining right now. The Flopcast website! The ESO Network! The Flopcast on Facebook! The Flopcast on Instagram! The Flopcast on Mastadon! Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts! Email: info@flopcast.net Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation! This week's promo: Earth Station Trek!

With Dragon Con finally out of the way, we can have some real fun! Let's read the dictionary! Specifically we're diving back into The Super Dictionary, a bizarre 1978 book for kids that mixed learning and DC Comics superheroes, and left everyone thoroughly confused. After perusing a few more entries, we have some questions, such as: Is Batgirl a pirate? (Or a mechanic, or a bikini model?) Is Supergirl terrified of mice? And why are Batman and Robin climbing a giant baby? We're equally confused by the villains, as we see Joker planning a dinner party and Catwoman, yes, dusting the tiger. (Not a euphemism.) So join us for a super-weird vocabulary lesson. We promise you will learn nothing. The Flopcast website! The ESO Network! The Flopcast on Facebook! The Flopcast on Instagram! The Flopcast on Mastadon! Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts! Email: info@flopcast.net Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation! This week's promo: Cosmic Pizza!

Let's wrap up our look back at Dragon Con 2024, before we have to creep back to Atlanta for Dragon Con 2025! The final two days of our favorite nerdfest included: Sci-Fi Court! (The Mayor defended Beastmaster, and Kevin defended Wonder Woman. But not the Wonder Woman you're thinking of.) A couple of rounds of Roll-A-Panel, in which a giant d20 determined which movies were discussed! (Don't worry, we did not miss Sheena: Queen of the Jungle.) Celebrity Q&A panels with Giancarlo Esposito, Ming Na Wen, Manny Jacinto, Vincent D'Onofrio, and Mike Colter! Script readings of Three's Company and Out of This World, featuring kazoos, a surprise message from space, and a million Helens Roper! The new Dragon Tales book! Retro arcade games! Barbies! Teeth! And yes, screaming bikini chicken ladies. It was magnificent. See you next year, weirdos. The Flopcast website! The ESO Network! The Flopcast on Facebook! The Flopcast on Instagram! The Flopcast on Mastadon! Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts! Email: info@flopcast.net Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation! This week's promo: Modern Musicology!

The Mayor of Chickentown joins Kevin and Kornflake as our look back at Dragon Con 2024 continues! This time we're covering Friday and Saturday, when the convention was so crowded that we could not have squished one more nerd into Atlanta. Our coverage includes: The Geek Girls Run! The ESO Network's Freaks and Geeks 25th Anniversary panel! More panels on punk rock sci-fi, Office Space, Aquaman, cicadas, and apes! Monty Python's John Cleese! Flute-playing astronaut Cady Coleman! A super-weird (as usual) round of Sci-Fi Explosion! And perhaps a naughty Star Trek puppet show too! It was all quite exhausting, and yikes, we still had two days to go. Stock up on mead and cheese (that's our Dragon Con health plan) and enjoy... Running Geek Girl on YouTube! Felt Nerdy! Sci-Fi Explosion! And our regular links... The Flopcast website! The ESO Network! The Flopcast on Facebook! The Flopcast on Instagram! The Flopcast on Mastadon! Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts! Email: info@flopcast.net Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation! This week's promo: Monkeeing Around!

Here we go with the first of three (yikes, hopefully no more than three) Dragon Con review episodes! This week Kevin and Kornflake go over everything that happened Wednesday and Thursday, as our giant Atlanta nerd festival was just getting started. Including: A meeting of the geeks at Logan Airport in Boston! The Dragon Con debut of our pal Blasted Bill! Our third annual meeting with the Muscovy ducks of Piedmont Park! The Dragon Con Newbie Walking Tour! A disgusting beverage! The Council of Kevins! The Sci-Fi Music Video Book Club! The 120 Minutes dance party! And lots more shenanigans and silliness with the greatest collection of nerds and weirdos ever assembled. And this is only the beginning... And our regular links... The Flopcast website! The ESO Network! The Flopcast on Facebook! The Flopcast on Instagram! The Flopcast on Mastadon! Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts! Email: info@flopcast.net Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation! This week's promos: The 42cast and Monster Attack!

It's Dragon Con weekend, but we didn't forget about a weird Flopcast summer tradition: our annual robot-themed Top 4 1/2 List! And we have a special guest to deliver the list: our old pal (and original Sponge Awareness Foundation member) Jim, finally making his Flopcast debut! Jim has a list of surprise robots from movies and TV; that is, robots that we didn't know were robots until the big reveal. Call them androids, call them simuloids, call them replicants, Cylons, fembots, whatever you like. But they're robots in disguise, and they're out there. By the way, the Chickaphant, an alien chicken/elephant hybrid, is also out there somewhere. Please don't leave the house. The Flopcast website! The ESO Network! The Flopcast on Facebook! The Flopcast on Instagram! The Flopcast on Mastadon! Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts! Email: info@flopcast.net Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation! This week's promo: Earth Station DCU!

Dragon Con is just days away, which means tens of thousands of nerds shall soon descend upon the unsuspecting city of Atlanta. (Actually, Atlanta knows we're coming. They're jacking up the price of giant rum drinks at this very moment...) Kevin and the Mayor of Chickentown will be busy with panels, presentations, and various bizarre Dragon Con events, so this week we're sharing our schedule with you. Including: Panels on Aquaman, Batman, What If...?, and Freaks and Geeks! The Sci-Fi Music Video Book Club! The return of Sci-Fi Court! A couple of Roll-A-Panels! A not-at-all-silly script reading of a Three's Company episode! The Geek Girls Run! Apes! (So many apes...) And lots more weird stuff, of course. Find us there! We'll have shiny badge ribbons for you. And we'll file our full Dragon Con report here in a couple of weeks, assuming we're not trampled by an inflatable T-rex mob. And our regular links... The Flopcast website! The ESO Network! The Flopcast on Facebook! The Flopcast on Instagram! The Flopcast on Mastadon! Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts! Email: info@flopcast.net Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation! This week's promo: The Watch-A-Thon of Rassilon!

Dragon Con, our favorite gigantic nerdfest of the year, is just a couple of weeks away, and we're already exhausted. Today we're looking at Dragon Con's guest list of TV and movie stars, writers, artists, musicians, scientists, podcasters, puppeteers, and miscellaneous weirdos. Including: A trio of Lord of the Rings hobbits, a Monty Python guy, a Robot Chicken guy, a bunch of Fraggles, a bunch of Star Trek actors (including a certain bearded Commander whose birthday we're celebrating), a flute-playing astronaut, Canadian teen pop star Robin Sparkles, and more. We're also thrilled to announce the release of Dragon Tales, a collection of stories and essays all about Dragon Con. (There's even a contribution from Kevin, and believe it or not, it's completely ridiculous.) This is a super-fun book, and all the proceeds go to charity, so we hope you'll pop over to Amazon and order a copy right now. Next week: The dragon talk continues, and it just keeps getting weirder. Dragon Tales - now available! And our regular links... The Flopcast website! The ESO Network! The Flopcast on Facebook! The Flopcast on Instagram! The Flopcast on Mastadon! Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts! Email: info@flopcast.net Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation! This week's promo: Dragon Con Report!

Kornflake returns to wrap up the summer song project we started last week! This time we're covering the 1990s, and selecting the songs we most associate with each summer. So we'll probably cover some Mariah, some Paula, and perhaps a Barenaked Lady or two. Along the way, our 90s memories include Kornflake on the radio requesting a Seal song, and Kevin in a church basement insisting that life is not a highway. Kids, it was a weird decade full of weird summers. We're entering the Smash Mouth era. Cover yourselves. The Flopcast website! The ESO Network! The Flopcast on Facebook! The Flopcast on Instagram! The Flopcast on Mastadon! Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts! Email: info@flopcast.net Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation! This week's promo: Tales From Hollywoodland!

As the Hit Parade podcast recently taught us, each year Billboard declares an official "Song of the Summer" based on chart performance. We're taking a more subjective approach, and choosing which songs we most associate with each summer of the 1980s. Of course you'll find some Go-Go's and some Kenny Loggins on our list (come on, it's us), but perhaps we'll surprise you with a choice or two. And which songs would you pick? What reminds you of the summer of 1984, as you biked through the heat to the arcade in search of Donkey Kong Junior? (Is it Huey Lewis? It's probably Huey Lewis.) Let us know! And prepare for next week, when we'll take on the summer songs of the 1990s. It'll be intense. The Flopcast website! The ESO Network! The Flopcast on Facebook! The Flopcast on Instagram! The Flopcast on Mastadon! Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts! Email: info@flopcast.net Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation! This week's promo: Earth Station Who!

For the first time in four years, Kevin and Kornflake are together at Chickentown Studios! (Kevin brought the coffee, and Kornflake brought the doughnuts, so come on, it's a party.) Kornflake is passing through Chickentown on her summer vacation, so we have a quick vacation road trip quiz! Do we learn anything? Not really. Except that you probably don't want to stay in a yurt. Also: We wish a Happy Birthday to everyone named Greta, and we play a bird-themed round of What's in the Bag! Next week, we'll be recording from separate locations as usual. Our lawyers insisted. The Flopcast website! The ESO Network! The Flopcast on Facebook! The Flopcast on Instagram! The Flopcast on Mastadon! Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts! Email: info@flopcast.net Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation! This week's promo: Cosmic Pizza!

Our five-part New Wave Game was just preparation for this week. Kevin and the Mayor of Chickentown have a full report on the latest (and longest) retro 80s new wave concert to come to town. The eight (EIGHT!) acts were: The Plimsouls, Tommy Tutone, Bow Wow Wow, Wang Chung, Men Without Hats, Modern English, Thompson Twins, and Thomas Dolby! So we melted with you, we wanted candy, we were blinded with science, we got Jenny's phone number, and we may have even Wang Chunged. But let's keep that our little secret. The Flopcast website! The ESO Network! The Flopcast on Facebook! The Flopcast on Instagram! The Flopcast on Mastadon! Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts! Email: info@flopcast.net Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation! This week's promo: Modern Musicology!

Based on the advice of our lawyers, your Flopcast hosts rarely meet up in person these days. But it did just happen, because we both showed up at an odd little event called the Hops and Humorous Arts (or HAHA) Festival. This was an evening of short comedy films, and one of the filmmakers was an old friend from the world of funny music: Tom Rockwell, aka Devo Spice! So we got to hang out with Tom, see a bunch of weird little movies, drink a bunch of weird little beverages, and try (but mostly fail) to play some classic arcade games. Also this week: We wish a Happy Birthday to rock legend Dion, and play a quick round of our silly Ranking the 80s game. The Flopcast website! The ESO Network! The Flopcast on Facebook! The Flopcast on Instagram! The Flopcast on Mastadon! Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts! Email: info@flopcast.net Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation! This week's promo: Earth Station Trek!  

Time to wrap up our New Wave Game and see if anyone survives! We're down to the final three volumes of the CD series Just Can't Get Enough: New Wave Hits of the 80s, and either Kevin or Kornflake could still win. (But come on, our money is on Kornflake...) And we've reached the mid-80s, when there was no shortage of new wave hits in the Top 40. So we're talking about acts like Wang Chung, Thompson Twins, Katrina and the Waves, Animotion, Tears for Fears, Bananarama, and Men at Work. It seemed like nothing was off limits on the pop charts. A musical about chess? Sure. Vietnam-era news clips set to a dance beat? Absolutely. The Dream Academy had a hit that sounded like nothing else. Arcadia had a hit that sounded exactly like Duran Duran, and with good reason. There's even a trio of New England-area new wave bands represented here. (We all know 'Til Tuesday, but do you remember Miracle Legion? How about Rubber Rodeo?) So enjoy one last round of new wave madness, and then we can relax. Just like Frankie said. The Flopcast website! The ESO Network! The Flopcast on Facebook! The Flopcast on Instagram! The Flopcast on Mastadon! Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts! Email: info@flopcast.net Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation! This week's promo: Monster Attack!

We start with a quick report from a local nerd convention, where Kevin met up with some heroes of 1970s kids TV: Our old friends Wesley Eure and Kathy Coleman from Land of the Lost, our new friends Doug and Emmy Jo from The New Zoo Revue... and the legendary Sid Krofft. (We're still sort of freaking out about that last one...) Then Kevin and the Mayor of Chickentown look at the prime time TV shows that debuted half a century ago, in the year 1974. It's a short list (there were just three networks, kids), but it includes some long-running classics like Happy Days, Good Times, Little House on the Prairie, and Rockford Files. It also includes some short-lived shows that few remember, even if their casts included future stars like Jodie Foster, Penny Marshall, and Mark Hamill. And if you're looking for a show about Swedish immigrants in 1850s Minnesota starring Kurt Russell, the android from Logan's Run, and Bobby Brady's brother... we've got you covered there too. The Flopcast website! The ESO Network! The Flopcast on Facebook! The Flopcast on Instagram! The Flopcast on Mastadon! Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts! Email: info@flopcast.net Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation! This week's promo: Epsilon Three!

On the longest day of the year, we made the shortest show of the year. Including: Kornflake likes when Aubrey Plaza is weird, Kevin apologizes to a turkey, a rooster named Earl works at an auto shop, and we launch our new Flopcast "Too Many Comics" bonus episodes for ESO Network Patreon supporters. There, that was quick. Time for the longest nap of the year. The Flopcast website! The ESO Network! The Flopcast on Facebook! The Flopcast on Instagram! The Flopcast on Mastadon! Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts! Email: info@flopcast.net Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation! This week's promo: Monkeeing Around!

The struggle continues, as we're still trying to guess each other's favorite songs from the Just Can't Get Enough: New Wave Hits of the 80s CD series. By 1983, the radio was bursting with new wave weirdos who never would have dented the Top 40 in the pre-MTV era. But suddenly acts like Madness, Nena, and Taco (TACO!) were scoring huge oddball hits. Culture Club was peaking, while Tears For Fears was just getting started. Spandau Ballet delivered a new romantic classic. Big Country turned their guitars into bagpipes. And even a young Tracey Ullman tossed off a gorgeous throwback pop single. Meanwhile some truly goofy (but still super-fun) acts kept a safe distance from mainstream success. (Casey Kasem never had to introduce "Earthquake Song" by Little Girls.) Let's sort it all out and try to score a few more points in this penultimate edition of our silly New Wave Game. Also: A visit to the ukulele festival with the Unlikely Strummers, the Somerville Ukulele Club, and a thousand more ukulele-wielding humans; Lindsay Wagner's bionic birthday; Kevin's parentheses; Kornflake's "eep" words; and Joe's (possibly successful) attempt to swoop in and win the whole game. The Flopcast website! The ESO Network! The Flopcast on Facebook! The Flopcast on Instagram! The Flopcast on Mastadon! Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts! Email: info@flopcast.net Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation! This week's promo: Earth Station DCU!

Another quick fill-in show? You bet! We're flipping through three old comic books that the Mayor of Chickentown actually owned as a little kid, decades before her rise to poultry-themed political bigwig. Up first is The Wizard of Oz, a giant-sized movie adaptation that was actually the first collaboration between Marvel and DC! (Only a flying monkey could bring these rival publishers together.) We also have an issue of Spidey Super Stories, which was published in conjunction with Spider-Man's segments on The Electic Company. And we even have a Casper the Friendly Ghost comic with a creepy Eddie Munster-type demon child on the cover. Plus: Spider-Man goes to the mall! Richie Rich dies! Morgan Freeman as Easy Reader! Irene Cara and Short Circus! Wendy and Spooky! Sad Sack selling Hostess Cupcakes! And more comic book ads for Grit, onion gum, Witchiepoo masks, and The Bad News Bears! Is this whole episode a sneaky backdoor pilot for a Flopcast spinoff show? Perhaps... The Flopcast website! The ESO Network! The Flopcast on Facebook! The Flopcast on Instagram! The Flopcast on Mastadon! Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts! Email: info@flopcast.net Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation! This week's promo: The Watch-A-Thon of Rassilon!