Episode 37- David the Gnome

It's a very special Saturday Morning Deathgrip, as this serves as our finale.

We watched the final episode of 'David the Gnome' in which he and his wife decide that they're too old and need to die. Yep. That happened.

We are also joined by ALMOST EVERY GUEST WE'VE EVER HAD. Our booking agent, Mort Fischerman, decided to sacrifice his spirit in order to revive every guest. If you've ever wondered how Shades from 'Denver the Last Dinosaur' is doing as a human toilet, you can find out. If you wonder how many crime Hugs and Tugs from 'Carebears' can commit, you can find out. If you wonder how loveable Columbo and Columbo Jr are, well, you should already know they're the most loveable.

So tune in, and say good bye. It's a very special episode of Saturday Morning Deathgrip.

Check out this episode!

Episode 36- Talespin

It might be New Years, but according to the Catholic calendar, it's still Christmas until January 4, so we're still celebrating. And how are we doing it? Disney Afternoon-style, with Talespin and the episode "A Jolly Molly Christmas".

Listen in as we discuss such topics as what David Lynch's Talespin would have looked like, the actual failures of the business practices of Higher for Hire, what you call the piece of wood a pontoon boat lands next to (certainly not a dock), and whether certain members of our little organization inappropriately starts words with the letter "p" (yes she does).

We're also joined by lesser-known air pirates, Thoreau and Clip Top, who share with us the various strategies they have as air pirates and the outrageously high number of planes their group goes through each month.

Thanks for listening and we'll see you next year (which is technically this year, but forget that for a moment and pretend it's still Christmas). All the normal stuff about Stitcher, Facebook, twitter, and itunes. Thanks!

And if you want to watch what we watched, check out below:

Episode 35- Batman the Animated Series

I imagine this is Batman's christmas card...

We're back, with SLEIGHbells on. That's right- we celebrate the Holidays (all of them, Christmas, Hannukah, Kwanza, Memorial Day...) by watching a Christmas epsidoe of one of the greatest shows ever produced, Batman: The Animated Series. Call it a present to ourselves, but we just decided to wtach a legitimately good show. And we were not disappointed.

Listen in as the lyrics to "Kiss From a Rose" which totally make sense are dramatically read, while we also,the naming conventions of Gotham City landmarks, the resourcefulness of the Joker, how many Robins there are in the world (of all kinds), and the greatest Foley artist of them all, Priest Isley.

We also are joined by Summer Gleeson, Gotham's number 1 news anchor, though she doesn't appear to know her own name. She does, however, compose a mean romantic Christmas song.

Thanks for listening, and why not say hi to us on Facebook, twitter or via an iTunes review?
And Merry Christmas, in spite of the loss of the Batmobile's wheel, Robin's unfortunate egg laying and the Joker getting away.

The whole episode is available on Amazon Prime Instant Videos, but here's a taste of Mark Hamill at his best:

Episode 34- Life with Louie

No original art this week...
like you care.

Well, it's a tiny bit past Thanksgiving, but that won't stop us from "celebrating" with a Thanksgiving episode of a show none of us wanted to watch: Life with Louie! While none of us could tell you exactly what Louie Anderson's standup involves, we can tell you we thought his voice was already the worst, until we remembered his voice as a child.

In this episode we discuss so much, including how sweet Edie McClurg seems, the oddness of an early 60s-set cartoon that aired in the mid-90s, why someone would agree to let themselves be designed as a cartoon human basketball, just how unlikely it is that you'd be the sponsor of the Santa Claus float in the Macy's Parade (entirely unlikely), and of course how much we hate Louie Anderson's voice.

We also were joined by the titular Louie and, for some reason that is difficult to understand, former President John Kennedy. He was pretty surprised too.

Enjoy the episode and happy belated- Thanksgiving! Thanks for listening, and make sure to give a rating on iTunes. You could also like us on the Facebooks, follow us @SMDGpodcast, or do something You can also listen to us on Stitcher. You can also share the art at our Tumblr.

Feel free to watch a not-so-timely episode of Life with Louie right below. Or don't, as you'll probably be happier that way...

Episode 33- Back to the Future

Great Scott! It's a trite intro!

Yes this month we sat down and brought back from the past... Back To The Future the Animated Series. A show that was made after a great movie, but as we learned, unlike Scott, not all things are great. We also learn that Giancarlo could not be a part of the episode because of an acute case of being lazy, a condition his doctors called, "a waste of their time." We also learn his closest friend in the world is probably a dead confederate general. Is that sad? THAT'S FOR YOU TO DECIDE!

This episode also features our first letter from a fan, which we read aloud and then get all Charlie Rose on your ass by talking semi-seriously about the death of Saturday morning cartoon's and what it use to mean to anticipate television programs versus having them appear whenever you damn well please (lousy generation of tomorrow). 

But more important than anything else in this episode, Tim tells us his opinions on the film Looper.

Now pop open a Tab cola pull out your hoverboards because for where you're going you won't be needing roads...or ears...no I take that back, you do need ears. BUT NOT ROADS!

Thanks for listening, and make sure to give a rating on iTunes. Because you are our density.

You could also like us on the Facebookings, follow us @SMDGpodcast, or do something 
unrelated. You can also listen to us on Stitcher. You can also share the art at our Tumblr.

Good luck finding a place to watch this online... it ain't easy!

Episode 32- Goosebumps

As we come to the climax of this month of terror, we watched the scarily insane "Attack of the Jack O'Lanterns" from the 90s live-action Goosebumps. Actually, Tim might not like our use of the word "climax." There are a lot of things Tim might not like in this episode, seeing as he has the sensibility of a normal human and it's possible that the rest of the SMDGers, in explaining why he's missing this episode, might go a little far... you be the judge, once your ears stop bleeding. For the first time, we have special guest- Sean Duffy (Can't Make This Up podcast) who fills in, and he helps us wade through the bedlam of this episode of Goosebumps and the numerous Shampoolint (check the SMDG archives!) twists that occur at the end.

Listen as we discuss Mr. Duffy's podcast, the grown-up allure of 'Fear Street,' the villainous side to Earthworm Jim and why Canada seemed to produce a lot of horror anthology shows for children.

We also have a two-hander interview featuring some aliens who might not have the best grasp of the English language, but know what they like in a good meal.

Thanks for listening, and why not subscribe and rate us on iTunes, like us on the Facebookings, follow us @SMDGpodcast or at least give Sean's podcast a listen? You can also listen to us on Stitcher. You can also share the art at our Tumblr.

Episode 31- The Real Ghostbusters

As the air turns crisps and people start putting cooky faces on pumpkins, it can only mean one thing- we have to check our episodes from last year to figure out how we do Halloween episodes. And this time, we do Halloween with The Real Ghost Busters (the space is canonical, look it up!) and the episode "When Halloween Was Forever."

In this episode, we are playing a man (or WO-man, as it is) short, but we do our best to make up for it by talking about more nonsense than usual. We discuss the origin of Halloween, how Dan Aykroyd wasn't that fat in 1984, the punctuation needed to find the true meaning of the lyrics of "Walking on Sunshine", how terrible Roger Moore's Bond films are (KANANGA IS INFLATED TO DEATH!!!), whether or not you should be eating Creepy Crawlers (answer: no) and we go in depth on the honors bestowed at the annual Fart Expo (that's why Andrea isn't with us.)

We also get booked with two interviewees, one on purpose, the episode's antagonist and spirit of Halloween, Samhain as well as the easy-to-mistake-for-Samhain, Hollywood screenwriter Sam Hamm. But they get along and it's a terrific interview.

As the episode intro says, if you want to help spread the word of our show, vote for #7 "Wormy Autumn Nights" in the Flophouse Song of the Autumn Contest!

Thanks for listening! As ever, subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher. And you can do the Twitter stuff @SMDGpodcast and Facebook stuff. And I'm sure other stuff not related to this show.

And, as always, you can watch the episode right here! At least until copyright law is exercised and this becomes a dead link!

Episode 30- Columbo Jr

On this week's episode of Saturday Morning Deathgrip, we watched a true rarity- the much beloved but oft forgotten animated gem - Columbo Jr. That's right, Hollywood allowed the fantastic team up of Hanna Barbera and the late, great Peter Falk  and produced a Saturday morning cartoon based on LA's best homicide detective and his precocious nephew.

In this go-round, we talked about what the Harlem Globetrotters really sound like, the ins and outs of pun making, how much baseball Steve Harvey does not actually play, and words that rhyme with "brooms". There are many of those. You know what else can be called "many?" The number of guest stars this episode had- Phyllis Diller, Charles Bronson and even a time-traveling Eleanor Roosevelt- all the kids' faves!

For our interview segment ("Conversations with Stars!") we have our very first four hander, as we were visited by Lt. Columbo, the titular Columbo Jr., Mrs. Columbo and even their dog, Dog (the most adorable of all Columbos and the best at rolling over).  Through some hard-hitting investigative journalism, we learn about gambling mishaps involving the lacrosse team at Columbo Jr.'s elementary school. And we also discover that the Columbos lived next door to a young Steve Wozniak. Just a typical interview in SMDG-land.

Once again, thanks for tuning in! If you're looking to kill some time, think about heading over to iTunes and subscribing to our show. If that isn't time consuming enough, consider writing a review! If time has seemingly stopped, you might as well listen to this episode again on Stitcher. And if you want to complain about why there are so many empty hours in one single day, feel free to direct any rants towards @SMDGpodcast or leave any comments on our Facebook page.

We'd invite you to watch this episode, but for SOME REASON, it's not on YouTube...

Episode 29- Chip 'n' Dale Rescue Rangers

After a short summer break, SMDG is back and we treated ourselves to a cartoon that is made by people who had bother resources and evident desire to make a quality program, the fine folks who brought us Chip 'n' Dale Rescue Rangers, a show that feels like it should have a colon or a possessive in the title, but doesn't! And it's Tim's favorite RR episode, "The Case of the Cola Cult" (it's because of this song right here.)

In this episode, we discover the startling similarities between NBC sitcom Wings and Rescue Rangers, we pitch a second cartoon Earth vs Orphans (the premise of which you'll never guess), the stage magic of Dracula, Andrea's fatigue leading her to say things that do not fit into any sort of context, Giancarlo's love of wearing a bowtie and breakaway pants, and the most Michael Winslow discussion since probably his parents talked about naming him "Michael" or "Foley Artist".

We also are visited by Pop Top, the leader of the titular Cola Cult, and learn about his other dealings with cults, soda-based and non-soda-based. 

Please enjoy before the date on printed on the bottom of this can of podcast! Subscribe on iTunes and maybe write a review! Or listen on Stitcher and do the review thing there! You could also like us on Facebook and follow on Twitter @SMDGpodcast. You can do a lot of things.

And below you'll find the episode, at least until Disney exercises it's copyright!

Episode 28- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

For this week's Saturday Morning Death Grip, to the delight of everyone but a deeply indifferent Andrea, we watched an episode of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, "Convicts from Dimension X." And for that, we can also be considered heroes (though sadly we are not in half-shells). 

Should you decide to hit "play," you'll be treated to VERY accurate impressions of absent co-host Sean, the wonders of animation glitches in which one turtle's voice exits a different turtle's mouth, revelations about how Mickey Rooney was the original Splinter and the origins of everyone's favorite cartoon, Nursing Home X.

As if all that ear candy wasn't enough, our guest this week was none other than Sklarg, a character you totally remember, one of the aforementioned convicts from Dimension X. Listen as Sklarg adds some flair to the SMDG office (hint: it involves bullets) and goes into graphic, unnecessary detail regarding sex on Dimension X. You will NEVER guess what's involved.

Thanks for tuning in! You can enjoy turtle power, by which we mean our show, if you subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher, like on Facebook, follow on Twitter @SMDGpodcast and all of that jazz. Cowabunga, dudes. That phrase seems devoid of all meaning.

Finally, if you have at least 25-minutes (give or take a minute), consider watching the episode of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles posted below.  It just so happens to be the episode we watched!  Double fancy!

Live Show Videos- PLAY ALONG AT HOME!

For our live episode, we watched a lot of clips, and those clips include a lot of visual things that you might not really get just by listening. So a kindly gentleman uploaded all the clips to YouTube and posted them here, with some gentle commentary. The links to the original episodes are in the descriptions, so if you're not terrified by the clips, head on over and have a listen. They're entertaining! I promise!

Bots Masters

Giancarlo picked Bots Masters, and we still talk to him. The rest of are exceptionally kind.

The opening to this show is insane. It is noise, it's chaos, it's supposed to introduce you to the world of the show. Instead, it melts your brain. If you follow any of this, you should seek immediate medical attention.

Episode 27- SMDG Live!

Our long plugged, much anticipated live show came and went on July 12. We had a warm yet intimate (gross) audience come out and join us, and we appreciate it! We were also joined by Pete Lepage (Comic Book Club Live).

This episode's format was a tiny bit different, as rather than review a single episode of anything, we pulled some of the most insane clips from the shows we've reviewed. If you go right here, you can view the clips (at least until the corporate tyranny of rights holders takes them down because we're a really money making operation here, and those clips are pure gold, I tells ya!) You can hear the audio in the episode, but obviously a lot is visual. 

So on this episode, we talk about those clips. We learn Giancarlo might have invented a whole channel in his brain to air Bots Master, Helen Keller is to be envied when it comes to some of these shows. We review how Blondie feels about Dagwood. We had a contest to discover the joke in the live interstitials from Hulk Hogan's Rock 'N' Wrestling. And we found an exclusive outtake from an unused moment in Masters of the Universe.

Thanks, subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher, like on Facebook, follow on Twitter @SMDGpodcast, other social media stuff and whatnots. 
Thanks!

Episode 26- "My Little Pony Tales"

In this week’s episode of Saturday Morning Deathgrip, the gang is once again tortured by another of Giancarlo’s terrible suggestions – My Little Pony Tales.  At this point, we’re relatively certain that Giancarlo’s entire being goes against the Geneva Convention.  And, as soon as this post goes live, we will look into having him charged with some war crimes.

Fortunately, while we’re getting Giancarlo deported to The Hague, you can feast your ears on scintillating discussions regarding horse menstruation, the origins of Plessy vs. Ferguson and the (obvious) sex appeal of centaurs.  You’d be surprised how easy it was for us to string together such seemingly disparate topics (actually, if you’re an avid listener, you would not)!

Additionally, our interview segment features the illustrious Rita HAYworth and Mr. C. Biscuit, the Oprah and Sumner Redstone of the horse and pony media world.  Despite having a bevy of Cable Ace awards under their saddles, they clearly have very little understanding of how the human world interacts with horses.  And, spoiler alert: one of them has major gastrointestinal issues (hint: it’s Rita).

Thanks so much for listening!  Once again, you can stream SMDG via iTunes, Stitcher or our own lovely little website right here. And if our blog and podcast leave you salivating for more, you can follow us on Twitter @SMDGpodcast.

Finally, if you’d like to make the rest of your life seem downright amazing, feel free to watch this episode of My Little Pony Tales posted below.

Episode 26- C.O.P.S.

On this week's episode of Saturday Morning Deathgrip we watched C.O.P.S. and unlike many of cartoons we put ourselves through, this show was surprisingly un-horrible for a change. 

In addition to learning about Empire City and it's cybernetic team of law enforcers, we also learned that Giancarlo doesn't know what the word "slobberknocker" means and joins a long list of many, many other words. However, that is not the only shameful fact that gets revealed, as we also learn that Sean is from Georgia. Also Andrea lets us know she has confidence issues but that hardly seems like a revelation. 

Speaking of hard, our booking agent Mort Fisherman really worked his butt off to travel six years into the future, to the year 2020 (when the C.O.P.S takes place) and brought us back a pair of Empire City's most notorious criminals for an exclusive interview. They tell us all about how blimps come back in a big way and make a pretty unconvincing argument about how the deceased rapper Big Pun was more muscle than wads of fat. 

Somewhere in the middle of all that Tim tries to start his old beef with Giancarlo on why candlepin bowling is better than regular bowling. Knives are drawn and blood is shed but that's what happens when rivalries as deep as this come up to surface. I guess it's safe to say in this kill or be killed world, we could all use a little more C.O.P.S. 

Thanks for listening! As ever, you listen to SMDG via iTunes, Stitcher or even stream it from our very own website.  And, if the blog and podcast aren’t enough, you can follow us on twitter @SMDGpodcast.

If you'd like to learn more about how, in six years, police officers will be sort of also robots click on the video below to find out!

Episode 24- Blondie

In this latest episode of SMDG, Giancarlo manages to trick the rest of the gang into watching a cartoon version of the comic strip Blondie.  We quickly discover why only two episodes were ever produced.  And we come to the conclusion that Giancarlo is never to be trusted again (in fairness, we should have come to this realization years ago).

As Giancarlo tries in vain to defend his choices and Blondie’s artistic sensibilities, we manage to broach the staunch conservatism of Tim’s hometown newspaper, express incredulity at why anyone would draw a depressing comic strip (looking at you Funky Winkerbean) and hear about Andrea’s convoluted attempts to prank an ex-coworker using the U.S. postal service.

And speaking of the U.S. postal service (please take a moment to applaud this segue), our guest just happens to be one Mr. Beasley - the Bumstead’s mail carrier.  How did SMDG land such a get?  Lucky for us, our booking agent Mort Fisherman has a long history with Mr. Beasley (they both sat for the civil service exam at the same time and shared a jelly sandwich on a break).  Anyway, turns out Mr. Beasley has sustained a lot of mental trauma.  Spoiler alert: he might even believe that Jimmy Carter is still president!

Once again, you can continue listening to ol’ SMDG via iTunes, Stitcher or even stream it from our very own website (if you didn’t applaud for the aforementioned segue, please applaud for technology now).  And, if the blog and podcast aren’t enough, you can follow us on Twitter @SMDGpodcast.

Finally, if you want to make Giancarlo happy (so few people do), feel free to watch the episode of Blondie posted below for your viewing convenience and/or horror.  Thanks for listening!

Episode 23- Godzilla

In this latest episode of SMDG, we continue paying homage to upcoming films (we are addicted to homage!) as we subject ourselves to the cartoon version of Godzilla, co-produced by Tim's beloved Hanna-Barbera. The only bright spot is that the show might have helped to curb our aforementioned homage addiction. In other words, Godzilla could possibly be cartoon methadone.

Of course, fear not; we move far beyond the potential palliative effects of Godzilla. Indeed, we address the rumors that Giancarlo may or may not be a phantom of Tim, Sean and Andrea's collective imaginations. Tim and Sean also surprise themselves with the depth of their knowledge regarding the original Godzilla. Not surprisingly, Andrea had even less knowledge than we previously assumed. And, once again, we're forced to lower the bar we set for her (it's now buried underground). Oh, and we cover the glory that is the animated mustache.

By this point of the synopsis, you're probably wondering how the episode could get any better. After all, can you out-gold gold? This was a trick question; you cannot.  However, you can certainly increase your gold supply. And our booking agent Mort Fisherman came straight from the (gold) mines with this week's interview. Indeed, we had the privilege of talking with Godzooky, Godzilla's nephew and a prominent cast member of the show. Join us as we learn how Godzooky segued from Hollywood to a Toyota dealership in Trenton, NJ.

As always, you can listen via iTunes, Stitcher or stream it from this very website (it's like magic except not at all). And we'd be remiss if we neglected to tell you that you can follow us on Twitter @SMDGpodcast, now for the price of free!

And, if you're ready to give up on life, feel free to watch the Godzilla episode below.  Thanks for listening!  

GODZILLA - Ep. 01 - The Firebird (1978) by SUPERTV80s

Episode 22- Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends (plus some X-Men)

In honor of the upcoming films Amazing Spider-Man 2 and X-men: Days of Future Past, we (foolishly) decide to once again test the waters of Spider-man and His Amazing Friends. We were promised a crossover with X-men.  And, as you can imagine, this promise was only partially delivered.

However, we do manage to push through the heartbreak to discuss the type of pants Juggernaut may or may not wear, Aunt May's stress levels while unknowingly hosting the X-Men and whether or not a quickie can cause blindness (we're divided on the answer).

To the great delight and surprise of Sean, Tim and Giancarlo (Andrea remained unimpressed), we managed to nab a visit from Professor Charles Xavier for our "Conversations with Stars" segment. Amid some hard-hitting, Pulitzer-worthy questions, Prof X reveals the real story behind his paralysis, dishes on mutant control of Hollywood and discusses window treatments with Andrea. And Giancarlo manages to invent hand wheelchairs, a creation that even the folks behind the American Disabilities Act would scoff at!

You can listen via iTunes, Stitcher or, if you're feeling saucy, stream the podcast right from this very page (oooh technology!). And, if you're still reading, feel free to email or follow us on Twitter @SMDGpodcast. We'll gladly follow you back!  And our social media etiquette is fit for royalty. Or something.    

Finally, feel free to head over to our website, where you can induce brain trauma by watching this episode of Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends!

Episode 21- Camp Candy

For today's episode we watch the 90's camping "classic" Camp Candy, a show about a camp owned by Canadian comediean John Candy with no explanation as to why Canadian comedian John Candy owns a camp. It's a real doozy! And by "doozy" we mean,  "Uuuuugh."

Join us as we discuss how to actually pronounce M. Night Shyamalan's name properly. Giancarlo pitches his script "Horsey: the Magical Flying Horse" which doesn't get the reception he's looking for, while Tim and Sean might just ruin Giancarlo's chances in Hollywood by suggesting a role for Sarah Jessica Parker (hint: it's the main character in the script "Horsey"). We learn how Harry Nilsson may just sometimes write songs out of passion... passion for paychecks! We also discuss the actual circumstances of John Candy's death, and whether or not it's too soon. Finally, we dive into the topic of  economic factors that explain the disparity between the animation quality in a cartoon's intro versus the cartoon itself, or as Andrea calls it, "yet-another-part-of-podcast-where-I-zone-out."

For our "Conversations with Stars", we get a visit from bad guy #2 (meaning, the henchman) Chester, and we learn about life in modern day Detroit.

SMDG is back baby! Like we are every two weeks. Thanks for listening! Tell your family!

Listen on iTunes, Stitcher or right here, rate, email us follow us @SMDGpodcast. 

And for those following along at home, here it is: Camp Candy episode 1, "Forest's Primeval" 

Episode 20- He-Man and the Masters of the Universe

For today's epsiode, we watched the "classic" animated series, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. And we can all thank Filmation for making the term "classic" hold no meaning for us.

Listen in as we discuss the complexities of smartphone map systems. We also learn about Giancarlo's (not so) secret fantasies about robot horse/non-robot human relations. All of this is in an effort to not really focus on "Origin of the Sorceress," the somewhat confusing and convoluted episode focusing on the beginnings of the "He-Man" character The Sorceress (in case you couldn't guess) and why her nemesis is a giant Moses. Plus, learn what a robot horse not programmed to be sentient thinks, courtesy of the magic of a computer that translates non-sentient horse robot thought into very robot words. It's as good as it sounds, folks.

Plus, in our interview segment, the Sorceress stops by and we even learn that's she's an Eternia ex-pat living in the states and we discover her real name is not Teela-Na as we were led to believe by every single piece of evidence we found. Earth-shaking stuff, folks.

Thanks for listening, and if you like us, maybe you should subscribe or tell someone that we exist. We know we'd appreciate it.

Listen on iTunes, Stitcher or right here, rate, email us follow us @SMDGpodcast. 

And if you want to play along at home:

Episode 19- Snorks

In this episode, we return to the unrelenting mediocrity of Hanna-Barbera in the 80s by watching The Snorks. 

This time around, we talked about a terrible clarinet and snare drum quartet Andrea was in in 6th grade that played Bryan Adams "Everything I  Do (I Do It For You)", Tim and GC play by the syntactical rules of The Snorks while singing the theme to a much better show. If you do'nt know those syntactical rules, don't worry, we help you out with that, just like the shows, by strictly defining when and how to  substitute the word "snork" for other words, actual words. Sean does stuff and then totally does not leave 90% of the way through the recording so he could make his improv practice. And as a group, we do our best to make  some high quality fish/sealife puns, we perform a little bit of Hamlet gets performed, and we discuss how sassy eels that act as wheels aren't sassy the way they would have been if they were on a better Hanna-Barbera show, Thundarr the Barbarian. That's a joke. Clearly we mean the late 70s Fantastic Four. The one with H.E.R.B.I.E.

Thanks for listening. You should snork a snork about this show. And check out the website about the contest. Also "snork a snork" means "tell a friend". 

Listen on iTunes, Stitcher or right here, rate, email us follow us @SMDGpodcast. 

And here is the episode we watched in all of its Hanna-Barbera nonsensical terribleness: