Planet 8 Podcast

Happy Halloween! We hope you all have been enjoying this spooky season. for this year's Halloween episode, we decided to go with a film (and film series) that is close to Commander Larry's heart: from 1979, it's Don Coscarelli's Phantasm! Phantasm was the little independent film that defied the odds and became a cut hit with fans (especially when video tape became a thing). Phantasm was a bit horror, a bit sci fi, a bit suspense, a bit action film, it covered a number of genres all in one. Fans could relate to brothers Mike and Jody, and their friend Reggie, while all being afraid of The Tall Man and the silver spheres. In this episode, we bring on special guests, good friends of the show Ray and Gail Orwig to discuss this amazing film and its sequels. Be sure to hang on past discussion and Sensor Sweep to hear some special treats!
Our Sensor Sweep shines a light on the work of the Orwigs, who have written three books that reveal the filming locations of many science fiction films and TV shows. Their newest book, Where Hollywood Shot the Monster Movies: More California Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Film Locations, 1916-1970, joins their two previous ones, Where Monsters Walked and Fantastic Serial Sites of California, all availble at your favorite bookseller. You can also check out their Facebook page, Where Monsters Walked, at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61594010164049. 
Bob shared a book from Image 10 that goes well with Halloween, it's Night of the Living Dead: The Official Story of the Film. It's a great hardback book with lots of fantastic photos from the film and behind the scenes info. Bob also showed his X-Plus Rodan figure, which was very cool.
Karen was happy to share more Micronauts from Super 7! She got the new Acroyear figure and is quite happy with it.
Finally, Commander Larry shared a little gift Karen had sent him: a Universal Monsters coloring book! He also had a Funko Pop Hedorah Target Exclusive, and some Hallmark ornaments.
Let us know your thoughts about Phantasm, and what you're doing for Halloween! 
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BOY........
 

It's October, and that means we're celebrating Halloween all month long at Planet 8! In this episode, the Planet 8 crew discuss their favorite films based on Stephen King books or stories. Over the last six decades, "Stephen King" has become synonymous with "horror," and 80 plus films and TV programs have been made from his works. It wasn't easy to pick just one film each, but we managed! Listen in to find out which ones we chose.
On the Sensor Sweep, we have some awesome goodies! Karen picked up a fabulous new book from Taschen, on the Making of 2001: A Space Odyssey. It's full of great behind the scenes photos and art. Bob had a couple of cool books from Insight Editions: the Mondo Art of Godzilla, and Classic Monsters, Modern Art. He also showed off his custom painted Jet Jaguar figure. Finally, Larry shared his colossal USS Enterprise cutaway poster from Factory Entertainment.
We hope you're having a terrific Spook-tober! Tell us your favorite Stephen King movie (or book)!
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"Sometimes, dead is better."

Does your mind ever wander? Do you ever find yourself pondering those big questions in life? Things like, "Was the Robot's name really Robot?" on Lost in Space? Or maybe, "Is Superman really as fast as The Flash?" If so, this is the episode for you! Your Planet 8 crew tackles a number of (Geek) life's most puzzling questions...and we hope you enjoy our answers!
The Sensor Sweep is highly literate this episode. Bob shares a book titled Inspired Enterprise, about the connections between Star Trek and NASA. Karen has two books: one from our good friend Billy D. over at the Magazines and Monsters podcast. He sent her a hefty tome called A Pictorial History of Horror Movies by Denis Gilford. This is a classic book on the great horror films.  The other book is one Larry also shared - Star Trek IV the Making of the Classic Movie by The Tenutos. It's a detailed look behind the scenes of "the one with the whales." Larry also shared a special coloring book from his family friend, Lomika Sojourner, How's Life? Color It, available here. It's a delightful adult coloring book that may help you when adulting is just a bit too much!
 
Let us know your answers to our many questions this episode. You know where to find us.
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"Always more questions than answers, there are." - Yoda

In this episode, your Planet 8 crew discusses some of their favorite kaiju films! We're talking Godzilla, Gamera, Mothra, all of the great Japanese giant monsters you know and love! We'll each bring up three films that are special to us and talk about them in detail. And of course, Chief Engineer Bob, our resident kaiju expert, has a lot to say about all of them!
This time our Sensor Sweep starts with -surprise - updates on Godzillafest! There are a ton of Japanese actors who will be attending, some great artists like Art Adams and Matt Frank, the game rooms, one for video games and pinball, the other for trading cards, and of course the dealers' room.  And Sunday morning, there will be a Godzilla/Hello Kitty swap!  Be sure to get tickets now! Check it out at Godzillafest.com.
In the rest of the Sweep, Karen shares a 40+ year old Bulmark Godzilla figure that has a secret base in his tummy! She also shares John Byrne's X-Men Elsewhen book. Larry offers support for a local comic store, The Comic Shop, which has been robbed several times and is struggling financially. They have a GoFundMe to try to keep their brick and mortar store going. If you are so inclined, please help them out. Comics stores are an endangered species! Larry also shares some interesting molds he got from Bell Plastics Shop in Hayward CA. They make all sorts of things including large promotional figures like you would see in front of restaurants -think Bob's Big Boy.
 
That's it for us. Let's hear from you about your favorite kaiju films. Which ones have stuck with you over the years? Were any of our picks your favorites too? Let us know!
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Oh no, there goes Tokyo! Go go Godzilla!
 

Way back in January 2021, your Planet 8 crew did an episode called Hidden Gems, where we covered films we each loved, but had not been well-received at the time of their release. Well, five years later, we're doing it again! This episode, we're taking a look at films we hold dear, but didn't do well at the box office, or weren't critical successes (or both). Here's our selections:
Karen: The 13th Warrior
Bob: Matango (aka Attack of the Mushroom People)
Larry: Batman v. Superman Dawn of Justice
That's about as diverse a grouping of films as you could get! We'll discuss why we love the films, provide some background, and explain the fate of each. Have you seen all of these films? Do you like them? What do you think -are they gems, or are they trash? Let us know! 
Our Sensor Sweep shines a light on what we're up to and what we've been purchasing. Karen shares a couple of gaming books - the Planet of the Apes roleplaying game Solo adventures book, and the Shadowdark roleplaying game book. Maybe she'll even get to use them some day! Bob is super busy with Godzillafest , coming in September. But he's had time to get a Bandai Godzilla figure as well as an Ultraman 60th Anniversary book. Larry just had his birthday and shares a number of cool gifts, including a Dr. Zaius mug, a Valley of Gwangi soundtrack CD, a Gill Creep figure from Coffin Creeps, and a 'Patty' bigfoot footcast from Coral Palms Cottage on Etsy. If any of these things sound interesting to you, be sure to check out our YouTube video!
We hope you enjoy this episode. Let us know some hidden gems of your own!
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One man's trash is another man's...hidden gem!
 

It's a Brand New Day for Spider-Man, and your Planet 8 crew is here for it! We've been there for all of Spidey's previous cinematic adventures, so we couldn't by-pass his latest. And what an adventure it is! Finally - we get Spider-Man fighting crime in New York City! But he's still dealing with the fallout from his last film (which was released five years ago!). The three of us all give this film thumbs up, and we go over all of the characters and moments we love.
But don't worry - we also talk a bit about the things that didn't sit so right with us. There weren't many things that fell into this category, but there were a few. And where can Spider-Man go from here?
After that, we swing into our Sensor Sweep, where Chief Engineer Bob shares the latest news about Godzillafest, which will be happening September 18-20 at the Holiday Inn Golden Gateway in San Francisco, California. Tickets are still available! Check it out!
Commander Larry, the birthday boy, shared his custom Blacula 8" figure, from Brent Z. It's amazing! And Karen shares a graphic novel, Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, which was the basis of much of the recent film,and has beautiful artwork.
Let us know how you enjoyed the new Spider-Man film. What were the highlights to you? You can tell us here:
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With great power comes great box office!

This episode we're trying something a little different: we're sharing some of our favorite tunes that have a horror or sci-fi feel. How do you define that? Well, if you listen to our picks, you'll see we all had different ideas of what that means! But we hope you are entertained by the nine songs we present in this new experiment. 
Our Sensor Sweep is a hodge podge of artifacts and events. Godzillafest is almost here! Bob gives an update on the movie festival July17-19 at the Balboa Theater in San Francisco, as well as the full-blown Godzillafest Convention in September. Get your tickets now! You can also see Bob on the Distance Nerding podast, in case you can't get enough of our Chief Engineer! Karen shares a fantastic Creature from the Black Lagoon mug that Larry gave her as an early borthday gift. And Larry shares swag he picked up at Universal Studios.
Give this episode a listen and let us know some of your favorite songs that you feel have a horror or science fiction connection or feel. We're curious what you all might come up with! Thanks for listening!
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Oh no, there goes Tokyo, go go Godzilla!

The 1950s was the decade of the teenager. Along with rock and roll and fast cars, another thing teenagers were obsessed with were movies. And the studios recognized this and began making films tailored to their interests. American International Pictures, or AIP, was particularly astute at making films that struck a chord with young audiences. In 1957, they made a trio of films that combined the teen-age craze with another, that of monsters, producing "I Was a Teen-Age Werewolf," then later that year, "I Was a Teen-Age Frankenstein," and "Blood of Dracula." Each film featured a teen-age character who turned into a "monster" of some type, not from the typical supernatural cause, but from a pseudoscientific one. This episode, your Planet 8 crew, along with our guest Lord Blood-Rah, discuss these films and how they express old themes in new ways for a growing demographic in the 1950s. And of course, we also jabber about the make-up, Whit Bissell, having an alligator pit in your house, and a bunch of other crazy stuff.
For our Sensor Sweep, our good friend Lord Blood-Rah has a live event coming up this fall that you'll want to know about: November is the Out of the Cellar film festival! Film-makers will be challenged to complete a short film in 48 hours, and the resulting films will be shown at the festival. Check out Lord Blood-Rah's Events page to learn more. 
Bob is still working hard to make sure Godzillafest in September and the Godzilla Film Fest in July both go off without a hitch! You can learn more and buy tickets at the website here.
Larry has become the proud owner of a Twiki robot. And Karen found some old Star Wars pictures. So check it out.
Let us know what you think of these films. When did you first see them? How do you think they hold up?
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Don't be square - be were!