Episodes
Wednesday Sep 18, 2013
Needless Things Podcast Episode 12 - The GI Joe: A Real American Hero Panel
Wednesday Sep 18, 2013
Wednesday Sep 18, 2013
This is the big one, Phantomaniacs.
You’ve heard the action figure panel. That one is really my pride and joy because it is the first Dragon Con panel that I was responsible for. Obviously I love action figures and toys and it was a blast to blather on about them with Gary and Geena for an hour. I’m pretty sure we’ll do it again next year in some form.
You’ve heard the He-Man panel. That one was special because me and Beau got to do our Needless Thing in front of an audience and… sometimes my phrasing is really bad. Gary was with us on that one, too, because Gary is awesome. But the awesomest awesomeness was the fact that we got to talk with William Stout. That made that panel extra special. And I’m so glad I got to record it. I learned my lesson about recording panels after being on a fantastic Elementary panel at TimeGate with (dude) and it having a single shred of evidence from it.
But now it’s time for my passion. It’s time for the panel about the toy line and cartoon and comic book that ruled my childhood above all others. Yes, even above Star Wars.
The GI Joe panel wasn’t technically mine to run like the others, but I felt just as proprietary about it. Much like Beau and the Masters panel, I knew I had a valuable resource to tap for the Joe panel – Gnoll. That guy knows 80s pop culture like you wouldn’t believe. And Hasbro properties are a specialty of his.
Joining us were Award-Winning Bobby Nash and the walking Trivial Pursuit: Nerd Edition known as Gary Mitchel.
Guys – this panel was electric and it wasn’t just us (thought we were probably important). We had an unbelievable audience for this one. Despite the fact that it was 7 PM on the final full night of Dragon Con, the room was packed – literally standing room only – with enthusiastic Joe fans. In all honesty the whole thing was pretty emotionally charged for me. To be sharing that space with the talent at the table and so many fans was a powerful thing. And we had a great discussion about GI Joe. Check it out.
“Procrastibate” by LeSexoflex.com
“GI Joe: The Movie Theme” by Robert J. Walsh & Jon Douglas
-Phantom
Sunday Sep 15, 2013
Sunday Sep 15, 2013
By the Power of the American Sci-Fi Classics Track… I HAVE THE POWER!
Fabulous powers were revealed to me when I held aloft my mic and started running my mouth about dork shit.
Seriously – that’s how I got the panel gig. I’ve told the story before here on Needless Things, but after working with the fantastic American Sci-Fi Classics crew (and publicly referring to them as “fantastic” many, many times) last year at Dragon Con I was invited to more panels this year. And my casual aside mentioning how much I’d like to run a toy panel at Dragon Con was taken seriously. I basically got an e-mail a few months ago that said, “Here’s your toy panel and a list of others you might want to participate in. Oh, and you should probably just run this Masters of the Universe panel, too.”
Mrs. Troublemaker has said I’m pretty much insufferable since then.
The first thing I did was ask if I could bring my Needless Things Podcast co-host Mr. Beau Brown. I know Masters well enough to on for an hour (or more), but it’s Beau’s franchise. Masters of the Universe is his thing. I knew he would not only have all of the facts, but would probably be thrilled to have an opportunity to talk about He-Man at Dragon Con.
Then I got the other essage asking if we should have William Stout on the panel.
Oh, fuck. I know people – myself included – use this term all the time; but shit just got real.
Just meeting the man behind the one thing about the 1987 Masters of the Universe movie that is unassailable – the production design – would have been hugely exciting. But Beau and I were going to get to be on a panel with him. To just chit chat about Masters. The mind boggles.
Boggle no more, because here for your listening pleasure is Masters of the Universe: 30 Years of the Power LIVE from Dragon Con in its entirety.
“Procrastibate” by LeSexoflex.com
“He-Man and the Masters of the Universe Theme” by Shuki Levy (I think)
Remember - you can download the Needless Things Podcast from iTunes and listen in on Stitcher!
-Phantom
Tuesday Sep 10, 2013
Needless Things Podcast Episode 10 - The Toy Panel
Tuesday Sep 10, 2013
Tuesday Sep 10, 2013
I am so frazzled I'm not even sure what to write at the moment.
I'm getting over Con Crud, which I think delayed my, “Holy shit that was a busy and productive Dragon Con and how did I get so much done and FUUUUUUUU...” reaction. I was diagnosed with Acute Pharyngitis (which translates to “sore throat and tons o snot”, which is a palindrome) and basically spent all of last week laying around watching Sons of Anarchy and not thinking very much.
Now I am thinking again. I am planning panels for next year. I am planning panels for other conventions. I am thinking about how flat-ass broke I am and being thankful that there was this crazy glut of toys right before Con (this always happens for the back-to-school season) so I have enough toys to review to keep me going through November. I am also thinking about 31 Days of Halloween, which starts very soon and which I have no posts banked for. Argh. But I have already made arrangements for some Guest Posts and of course we'll have a new, spookily appropriate Best Cartoon Ever (of the month) from Kalan.
For now, I'm just going to focus on Kung-Fu Grip: Action Figures of the 70s – 90s and Beyond! panel that I put on at Dragon Con (it's kind of hard to not hashtag that).
I
was joined by Gary Mitchel and Geena Phillips to discuss the modern
history of action figures. In and hour. As Zach Oat told me, “it
seems daunting.” Yes, it was. But I went in armed with visual aids
from Diamond Select Toys and a ton of vintage stuff from Billy's
Toys & Comics and that helped a lot. The room was packed and the
audience was fun; ready for a panel about toys. I think ready for a
lot
of panels about toys. We gave them as much as we could in the time
that we had. I hope you enjoy hearing it now!
“Procrastibate” by LeSexoflex.com
“Batman: Brave and the Bold Theme” by Andy Sturmer
-Phantom