Episode 8- Captain N: The Gamemaster

We're back with a new episode. It is the very first episode that features fewer than the full lineup of Deathgrippers. But Sean, Andrea and Giancarlo do tell you where Tim is. He's not dead, that much this podcast description can tell you.

In today's episode, we watched the pilot episode of "Captian N: The Gamemaster," which is either a big Nintendo ad, possibly Nintendo's attempt to remake "The Big Chill" with its characters or maybe even Joseph Campbell's response to Star Wars. We explore all of the possibilities! You'll also hear all about the buxom King Hippo, the incredibly annoying portrayal of some Nintendo B-listers, the only slightly less annoying cartoon trope of the villain raising his voice to impersonate the heroine to throw off the hero and the hero buying it, and most amazing of all, Andrea's amazing impression of the amazing Levi Stubbs. And of course, our booking agent, Mort Fisherman, landed us Megaman for the interview segment.

Listen here or head to iTunes to listen/download/subscribe (you should really subscribe)! Enjoy! Also, please tell, like, one other person about us! We'll love you all the more for it.

Episode 7- "Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends"

Welcome back, we sound semi-professional now except for occasional knocks on a microphone from an unnamed person!

For today's episode, we watched "Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends" episode "Video Man". We talked about overly complex death traps, the awful Miss Lion, tight cartoon buns, an important PSA about the scourge of "razorballs", a visit from star of "Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends", Flash Thompson and even more special visit from Droop-fus. You won't know if you don't listen!

Subscribe or download from iTunes or listen right here! The world's your oyster in terms of listening to this episode.

Pop culture's "Do the..." dances

There are two types of people in this world (maybe four): people who like to dance and people who hate it desperately. I don’t understand people who like to dance. All that arm and leg flailing, all that moving around. Not to mention those people watching you while you flail and move; the people judging you, thinking, “that guy looks ridiculous” or maybe “that guy looks like he has neuromuscular disorder.” Can you guess which type of person I am?I admire people who can dance skillfully.

I understand why Gene Kelly would allow himself to be filmed dancing. But the average Joe (I say Joe because I think women seem to innately understand, enjoy and are able to dance without appearing like they have ataxia induced by a brain parasite) dancing escapes my comprehension. But that's just me.

The most mind boggling dances, though, are those big choreographed group dances. You know, like you're at a wedding and some song comes on and suddenly it's like the "I've Got a Lot Living to Do" scene in Bye Bye Birdie (excuse me for watching a lot of TCM. Also, Anne Margaret in that movie… geez. Where was I?) You know the songs: "Electric Slide," "The Hustle," "YMCA," and the song with the guy telling you to "take a walk" and "cha cha" (through laborious research I have discovered its actually called "the cha-cha slide". Also, look at all of those bloody things!) I don't know how people know all the moves. Where do they learn. Even the friggin' "YMCA" is more than just the stupid letters (also, how a song that appears to be anonymous homosexual liaisons at a gym became popular for weddings, parties and the most annoying mid-inning groundskeeping in baseball, I will literally never know). My point is: these group dances are intimidating because it's more than just a dance, it's the same exact dance that everyone is doing. Not only do you have to a) dance, b) dance with lots people able to see you, you also c) have to do it just like everyone else or you stand out and look like a real maroon*.

Old movies have merit, people.

Garbage Pail Kids: Where Are They Now?

Like so many young children in the 80s, I eagerly hopped aboard the Garbage Pail Kid train. Where was it going? I didn’t know. Presumably someplace disgusting that involved a fair amount of word play. And despite having no memory of either playing with or trading them, I recall my stack of Kids being incredibly precious to me. Therefore, it seems a blog entry would be fair tribute for an item that I’ve convinced myself gave me a lot of joy.

While conducting extensive research for this hard-hitting post, I was surprised to learn that the Garbage Pail Kids were the brainchild of none other than Art Spiegelman (specifically the Art Spiegelman who won the Pulitzer Prize). Indeed, before skimming the Wiki page, if you had asked me who created these infamous cards the first words out of my mouth would have been, “Well certainly not Art Spiegelman.” It just goes to show that I’ll never be able to get into the mind of the world’s leading graphic/comic artist for all things Holocaust related.

Anyway, to confirm your suspicions - yes, the Garbage Pail Kids did hold international appeal as well.  And the best part of discovering that fact is learning how the name translated. In Italy, they were known as “The Snotlings.” France went with the more genteel “The Filthies.” And Germany, unforgiving as ever, referred to them as “The Totally Broken Kids.”

Some of the cache they earned aboard obviously stems from the fact that these cards captured their subjects in the prime of their youth. Indeed, we bear witness to a time when they were fresh and full of possibility. I thought it might be a good idea to check in with a few of them and investigate the direction in which their lives went.

Episode 6- Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n' Wrestling

We are back with audio that sounds competent! As we inch closer to professional sounding audio, we bring you the latest Saturday Morning Deathgrip.

The show we watched was 1985's "Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n' Wrestling" which is not as good as we remembered, and most of us didn't remember it being good. In the course of our discussion, we talk about just how terrible animation and writing can be, Sean breaks down the anatomy of terrible sketch, using the show's live-action interstitials as an example, the joys of marching in Tampa, Andre the Giant's carelessness with details while giving rub downs, and the upside-down world of Bizarro Hulk Hogan. We also have a visit from none other than the animated "Rowdy" Roddy Piper. Not the real one. We could not land that guy.

Subscribe or download from iTunes or listen right here! Enjoy! Tell a friend!

1989 Batman - The Warner Bros. Ballcap

For some reason, I used to absolutely love the promos that they had before the main feature on VHS tapes. I can’t tell you how much I used to enjoy the trailers for OTHER Universal Stuidos Monster films before I ended up watching the main movie that I popped in (probably “Frankenstein Meets The Wolfman”). 

I forgot how amazing this poster was. HOW?!

1990s Comic Book Ads- Action Comics #662

When I’m home in Springfield, MA (The 413, baby!), I often don’t bring anything to read. Lucky for me, there is no shortage of books, from Sandburg’s Abraham Lincoln: The War Years (this edition) to the novelization of The Fugitive (this edition- that went through multiple printings, right?). I am never wanting for something to read, and I often do want something to read. 

Along with those books, though, I have my old comic book collection. I collected comics for years. The first comics I remember getting were the Archie Comics TMNT Adventures (which started as a straight comic adaptation of the cartoon and then expanded into its own universe. It was actually pretty good (unless Jim Lawson drew it... grrr). I switched to Superman, Batman and the X-titles in the early 90s, and continued for years (for the record, this stopped me reading DC Comics and this stopped me reading Marvel.)

So, even now, as an adult, I still read comics (Marvel Unlimited is well worth $60/year). But reading my old, actual comics that my mom put in a big plastic container in our basement brings back memories. Those old stories are fun, and I’m a sucker for well drawn comics (Oh yeah? Then why do you have Liefeld-era issues of X-Force? Great question, me.) so I love to pick up my old comics. And, really, nothing takes me back to the late 80s and 90s like the ads in those books. So I decided I would take you, the dear readers of Saturday Morning Deathgrip, on a trip into the deepest, darkest regions of February 1991: Action Comics #662*.

*Incidentally, you can get a nice summary of the story content of Action 662, the story in which Lois Lane finally learns that Clark Kent is Superman here. Bob McLeod’s art is pretty rock solid, in my opinion.