We've been poking through our stack of old Dynamite magazines again, and we fished out a good one. This issue is from 1982, and the cover features Aileen Quinn, star of Annie. Inside we learn that Annie auditions were held in Boston! We should have slipped into a curly red wig and tried out. Also: Weird sherbet recipes! The Mayor at the Baseball Hall of Fame! The Dynamite Duo at summer camp! A futuristic flying monkey known as the Flunkey! How to eat a taco! The secret history of the popsicle! Darth Vader's birthday! Facts of Life underwear! Styx vs. Air Supply! An angry Star Trek fan! Dynamite Bummers! And lots more early 80s silliness. Dynamite was the best. It hasn't been published since the early 90s, but we're still trying to renew our subscription.

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This week's promo: BatChums!

Say, what was on TV fifty years ago this week? Let's check our local listings and find out. Okay, the answer is: Lots of sitcoms, lots of variety shows, and about 6,000 detective shows. But as we go through the week, we'll also find: Weird cartoons about Noah's Ark and the Easter Bunny! Carl Reiner as an angel who grants wishes! Joanie loves Potsie! Gerald Ford loves truckers! A pilot about pilots! Helen Hunt is shipwrecked! Tony Orlando meets the cast of Hee Haw! Gilbert Gottfried meets Bea Arthur! Bob Newhart meets the Winter Warlock! And much more Bicentennial television weirdness! If your all-time favorite shows are Jigsaw John, The Blue Knight, and Bronk, this was your week.

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This week's promo: The Watch-A-Thon of Rassilon!

In yet another Flopcast Top 4 1/2 List, we're counting down our favorite movies about bands. And since we've ruled out documentaries and biopics, that leaves movies about fictional bands. Some of our picks are obvious, as Jake and Elwood get the band back together, some wacky Irish kids bring soul to Dublin, and Eddie, you know, cruises. But one or two lesser known films also make the list. (Did anyone besides us see Still Crazy? Come on, get on that.) If this isn't enough fictional band action for you, go see our friends at Dragon Con's American Sci-Fi Classics Track, where this subject is an ongoing obsession. Meanwhile, enjoy, and remember: This podcast goes to eleven, but then immediately sinks back down to about a three.

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This week's promo: Tales From Hollywoodland!

A few weeks ago, we reviewed the 1925 silent black and white version of The Wizard of Oz, and it was... not great. So this week, we're watching the 1939 version, which has sound and color (you know, mostly), and is arguably the superior film. And we're here to talk about it. Our discussion includes: Professional show chickens, crullers, how people are still suckered by psychics, Dorothy's red hair, professional show crows, Martin Short as a picket fence, the Tin Man's Boston accent, "Existential Blues" by Tom "T-Bone" Stankus, a scarecrow with a gun, fake owls, and Huey Lewis. If this is all too much for you, just click your heels 251 times and download a different podcast.

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This week's promo: Cosmic Pizza!

While poking through a box of old magazines at Rubber Chicken Comics, we found something called Superstars of Soul. It's an odd little educational workbook from 1986, and it taught vocabulary and reading comprehension to the kids while they learned about their favorite soul acts. So we're flipping through the whole book today, and our conversation includes: Chaka Khan on The Love Boat! Prince punching a guy! Coffee for the Pointer Sisters! Jeffrey Osborne meets the Big Blue Bug! Hall meets Oates in a freight elevator! And lots more. (Is this just our excuse to talk about Irene Cara for two episodes in a row? Perhaps...) Also: Kevin is talking Scooby Doo on A Podcask of Amontillado, and we're celebrating Pi Day with an irrational pie.

A Podcask of Amontillado - the Scooby Doo episode!

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This week's promo: Modern Musicology!

In the wake of last week's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame episode, Kevin and the Mayor check out documentaries about two of the nominees: Luther Vandross and Jeff Buckley. (Kevin also stumbled upon a 1985 movie starring Tatum O'Neal and Irene Cara that we suspect has never been seen by anyone else ever.) And we brave the mean streets of Allston, Massachusetts (featuring poorly shoveled sidewalks and drunk college kids) to see a couple of wonderful bands: Foxy Shazam (those glam rock maniacs responsible for the Peacemaker opening theme song) and Descartes a Kant (a Mexican quartet with Devo-style costumes and a super-cool retro-futuristic concept album). Plus: The Mayor is a guest on a couple of other podcasts (The Doctor's Beard and The 42cast) to discuss Doctor Who, Witchblade, and perhaps other nerd stuff.

The Mayor on The 42cast!

The Mayor on The Doctor's Beard!

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This week's promo: Legends of the DCU!

The new list of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominees was just released, and as usual we spend a whole episode kicking it around. And once again we're joined by writer, publisher, and podcaster (BatChums, Dragon Con Report, Earth Station Who) Michael Gordon! Join us as we recall seeing INXS live, wonder if this will finally be Mariah's year, and try to figure out what a "sussudio" is. Of course, Air Supply still has not been nominated. And that's why we're furious.

Find all of Mike's projects here!

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This week's promo: Dragon Con Report!

Back in the 70s and 80s, the television broadcast of The Wizard of Oz was a hugely anticipated annual event. The kids had their Wizard of Oz dolls from Mego, and their Wizard of Oz comic book from Marvel and DC, just to get them through the long year between viewings. But that was the classic movie from 1939. Have you ever seen the 1925 version? Kevin and the Mayor just did, so we're here to file our report for you. This is a bizarre little silent slapstick comedy, and it features a Buster Keaton-type Scarecrow, a Dorothy played by a lady actually named Dorothy, Oliver Hardy (pre-Laurel) as the Tin Man, an unhealthy dose of blatant racism, and a vomiting duck. It's not great, but it is a curiosity. And since it's silent, you don't have to worry about the duck breaking into "Over the Rainbow."

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This week's promo: Have Coffee, Will Travel!