Needless Things

2015 Dragon Con coverage continues on the Needless Things Podcast as we look back at the events! In this week’s episode, Phantom hosts a live panel called Toy Stories! Everyone has a toy story. Join Phantom Troublemaker and a selection of special guests as they share reminiscences about the playthings they grew up with. Each speaker will present a tale attached to a specific toy from their life. Members of the audience will be asked to share as well, so be sure to bring that My Pet Monster or Green Ranger with the broken leg or pristine Strawberry Shortcake that you can’t bear to take out of the box. Listen in as Phantom, Michael Bailey, Jay Hornsby, Shaun Rosado, Gary Mitchel, and members of the audience share the stories behind their favorite toys! Be sure to join the new Needless Things Podcast Facebook Group and get in on the conversation for this week’s episode! Let us know what you think! “Procrastibate” by LeSexoflex.com Today's episode is sponsored by Underoos, The Under

2015 Dragon Con coverage continues on the Needless Things Podcast! In this week’s episode, Phantom talks to his co-host, Mr. Beau Brown, who also happens to be the director of the Puppetry Track! The Puppetry Track celebrates puppetry in pop culture and brings the magic of live puppetry to con goers! Featuring special guests Caroll Spinney who played Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch on “Sesame Street”, and Steve Whitmire, puppeteer for Kermit the Frog! Other Guests include Cheryl Henson, Henson Archivist Karen Falk, “Sesame Street” performers Tyler Bunch and Pam Arciero, and puppeteer for Abby Cadabby Leslie Carrara-Rudolph. Listen in as Phantom and Beau talk about what will be happening in the world of puppeteering at Dragon Con this year! Plus – a special interview with Monsterama's Anthony Taylor about this year's Blood Drive! Be sure to join the new Needless Things Podcast Facebook Group and get in on the conversation for this week’s episode! Let us know what you think! “Procrastibate” by

2015 Dragon Con coverage continues on the Needless Things Podcast! In this week’s episode, Phantom talks to Mike Gordon and Mike Faber of the Earth Station One Podcasting Network! A few years ago Mike and Mike invited Phantom onto the ESO Podcast to talk about the Doctor Who story “The Keeper of Traken”. You can listen to that here: Earth Station One Episode 98: Classic British Sci-Fi The next day the guys offered Phantom the co-host spot on a new Doctor Who podcast they were launching – Earth Station Who. While Needless Things had already been an entity for several years prior to this, being on ESW inspired Phantom to start his own show, the Needless Things Podcast. In addition to that, the relationship with ESO opened the door for Phantom to become a part of Dragon Con – whether it was sitting on or hosting panels, creating game shows, or providing media coverage. Listen now as Phantom, Mike Gordon, and Mike Faber talk about their history with Dragon Con and what 2015 has in store for

2015 Dragon Con coverage continues on the Needless Things Podcast! In this week’s episode, Phantom talks to the men behind the magic of the American Sci-Fi Classics Track, Gary Mitchel and Joe Crowe! All media must submit to the Classics Track Countdown! Once a movie has aged or a TV show has been cancelled for a magical ten years, it becomes the domain of the Classics Track. At this point, the constantly evolving, always growing group of Classics Track Irregulars will descend upon said franchise and lavish it with what is, quite frankly, an astonishing level of adoration. There is only one rule in Classics Track: “THERE ARE NO GUILTY PLEASURES” Listen in as Phantom, Gary, and Joe talk about what makes Dragon Con so special, as well as why the Classics Track is the best of all of the fan tracks. Be sure to join the new Needless Things Podcast Facebook Group and get in on the conversation for this week’s episode! Let us know what you think! Today’s musical selection comes from Dragon Con

2015 Dragon Con coverage continues on the Needless Things Podcast! In this week’s episode, Phantom and his co-host Mr. Beau Brown talk to one of the faces of Dragon Con TV, Chris “Crispy” Lloyd! Dragon Con TV has become an indispensable part of what makes Dragon Con so unique and fun every year. From original comedy sketches to short films to panels live from the Con, DCTV broadcasts to all five host hotels 24/7 from start to end. Crispy is one of the faces of DCTV and in this episode he talks about his start as an entertainer, the journey to the DCTV interviewer mic, and shares some of his fondest memories from Con. Listen in as Phantom, Beau, and Crispy discuss the excitement and magic of Dragon Con and look at just what, exactly, makes it so special! Be sure to join the new Needless Things Podcast Facebook Group and get in on the conversation for this week’s episode! Let us know what you think! Today’s musical selection comes from Dragon Con 2015 Guest Performers, Snoot! Check out their we

2015 Dragon Con coverage starts today on the Needless Things Podcast! Sean Patton of SMP Designs and Sara Nicole Pope join Phantom Troublemaker to discuss costuming and cosplay! Costumes are one of the most important elements at Dragon Con or any other convention, but so much more goes into them than just wearing them. Sean and Sara have both been involved with costuming for many years and have unique perspectives on how to design and create geek-oriented gear. From interpretations of screen and comic book designs to practicality and commissions, these two have valuable insight on every aspect of the craft. The gang also touches on the terms “cosplay” and “costuming” and why they are different but not mutually exclusive. Listen in as Phantom, Sara, and Sean discuss one of the most complex and time-consuming arts of the Con!: Be sure to join the new Needless Things Podcast Facebook Group and get in on the conversation for this week’s episode! Let us know what you think! Today’s musical selec

Chris DePetrillo from Figures Toy Company returns to the Needless Things Podcast! A lot has happened – and been announced – since the last time Chris was on the show, so Phantom invited Figures’ Chief Marketing Officer back for an update. Chris had big new about Ring of Honor and Legends of Professional Wrestling, Hanna-Barbera, DC Superfriends, and more. If you love retro-themed toys, this episode is a must-hear! Listen in as Phantom and Chris discuss licensed toys and Figures Toy Company’s slate thus far for 2015! Be sure to join the new Needless Things Podcast Facebook Group and get in on the conversation for this week’s episode! Let us know what you think! Today’s musical selection comes from Atlanta ska legends, The Go-Steadys! “Procrastibate” by LeSexoflex.com Days of the Dead 2012 The Needless Things family would like to express our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Roderick “Rowdy Roddy Piper” Toombs. News of his passing due to a heart attack broke during th

For the first time, Needless Things is going beyond our normal toy talk in our annual look at San Diego Comic Con! This year was so big it required two episodes – one for the toys and one for the various media happenings. Today’s Part 2 focuses on the big movie trailers and reveals that happened this year! Phantom Troublemaker, “Howdy” Mike Gordon, Chad J. Shonk, Nicole Gould, and Ryan Cadaver met up live in the Phantom Zone to talk about all of the movie news. While Starz’ trailer for Ash Vs. The Evil Dead won the show with a unanimous decision, FOX had a hit with Deadpool and Disney scored big time with a behind the scenes reel for The Force Awakens. The gang also talk about Dawn of Justice, Heroes Reborn (sort of), and more! Listen in as Phantom, Mike, Chad, Nicole, and Ryan run down all of the SDCC movie news that’s fit to report!: Be sure to join the new Needless Things Podcast Facebook Group and get in on the conversation for this week’s episode! Let us know what you think! Tod

It is time once again for Needless Things’ annual look at Sand Diego Comic Con! This year was so big it required two episodes – one for the toys and one for the various media happenings. Today’s Part 1 focuses on the toys that debuted this year. Phantom Troublemaker, Mr. Beau Brown, Ryan Schweck, The Belligerent Monkey, and Josh Wilson of The Oncoming Storm Podcast convened to discuss all of the best toys that were shown at SDCC. There were exciting reveals from Hasbro, NECA, Mezco, and newcomer Mondo, but Mattel owned the show with their awesome Masters of the Universe presentation and not one, but two HUGE surprise announcements; one of which is an entirely new license under the Mattycollector “Classics” banner! Listen in as Phantom, Beau, Ryan, Jay, and Josh run down all of the toy news that’s fit to report!: Be sure to join the new Needless Things Podcast Facebook Group and get in on the conversation for this week’s episode! Let us know what you think! Today’s musical selection is

On June 11th, 2015, the world lost a legend – wrestling superstar Dusty Rhodes, The American Dream, passed away. In this episode of the Needless Things Podcast, tribute is paid to the incomparable son of a plumber. Phantom Troublemaker, Revolution SF’s Joe Crowe, Sean Reid, Johnny Danger, and Noel Wood of Dork Droppings remember the American Dream, from the NWA to Sapphire to WCW to NXT. The crew run down their favorite memories of the Common Man, as well as how they first discovered the magic of Dusty. Listen in as Phantom, Joe, Sean, Johnny, and Noel talk about one of the greatest professional wrestling talents of all time! Be sure to join the new Needless Things Podcast Facebook Group and get in on the conversation for this week’s episode! Let us know what you think! “Procrastibate” by LeSexoflex.com

On June 23rd, 2015, Rocksteady’s final Batman game was unleashed upon the world – Batman: Arkham Knight. After a week of playing, Phantom Troublemaker gathered a group of Batmaniacs to talk about the game and the history of the franchise. Phantom is joined by Needless Things Irregulars Ryan Schweck and The Belligerent Monkey, as well as newcomers Mike Nelson and Chris “Crispy” Lloyd. The fellas reminisce about the wonder of Batman: Arkham Asylum actually being a great game, discuss how much the world opened up in Arkham City, and share differing opinions on the quality of Arkham Origins. After a little Arkhamverse history, the crew dives into a discussion of Arkham Knight. There are minor spoilers, but Phantom provides multiple warnings when they’re about to happen. Most of the talk is focused on the gameplay and features rather than plotlines. None of the guys had finished the game at the time of the recording, so plenty of mysteries were still in play. PLUS! As an extra bonus feature after the

Batman fan and memorabilia collector Brad Ladner is attempting to get into the Guinness Book of World Records for having the world’s largest collection of Batman memorabilia. Obviously he needed Phantom Troublemaker’s help. Brad contacted Phantom after the NeedlessThings Toy Panel at Joelanta & the Great Atlanta Toy Convention. He had a massive Batman collection and needed an expert to verify it for submission to Guinness. Obviously Phantom is a toy expert, but just for good measure he wanted a Batman expert along as well, so he teamed up with the ESO Network’s own “Howdy” Mike Gordon to head out to the Stately Ladner Manor and count Batmans. Side Note: Phantom also wanted Mike along just in case Ladner was some nutjob whackadoo that wanted to cut his face off and wear it as a diaper. Before the big count, the guys sat down to talk about the Caped Crusader and his impact on pop culture. Brad also shared the story of attending a relevant movie premiere thanks to a big contest win! Listen

This episode is all about Phantom Troublemaker’s favorite band of all time – Faith No More! Join Phantom, Sean Reid, and Mr. Tibbs of The Mystery Men? as they discuss the history of the band and review the new album. Each of the guys shares his personal story of Faith No More fandom, as well as recollections about live shows, appearances by the band, and thoughts about FNM’s place in pop culture. The topic of their influence on modern rock music, particularly in the late 90s, is brought up and leads to talk of Nü Metal and various acts related to Faith No More, however tangentially. The guys do mostly avoid talk of Mike Patton’s other projects, because that’s a whole other podcast. Or five. Listen in as Phantom and two brand-new Needless Things Irregulars get high on Angel Dust, proclaim themselves King For A Day, and give you The Real Thing on the Album of the Year, Sol Invictus!: Be sure to join the new NeedlessThings Podcast Facebook Group and get in on the conversation for this week’s

It’s a spontaneous episode of the Needless Things Podcast! After watching WWE’s excellent Elimination Chamber pay-per-view Phantom, Mike Gordon, and Jason Frazier engaged in a conversation about possibilities and modern media and pop culture versus what they grew up with in the 80s. It all started with a debate on whether or not any wrestling company could ever again challenge the WWE in the way that WCW did in the late 90s. From there things turned to the modern day cults of personality and if today’s celebrities can compare to the almost mythical status of 80s icons like Mr. T, Hulk Hogan, and Michael Jackson. KISS also factors in, but they don’t fit into the whole 80s thing as well and warranted their own sentence. Join Phantom, Mike, and Jason about forty minutes in to a fascinating talk about the nature of fame, the pitfalls of modern media, and decide for yourself who you agree with! Be sure to join the new NeedlessThings Podcast Facebook Group and get in on the conversation for t

Tiki Zombie creator “Howdy” Mike Gordon returns to the Needless Things Podcast! Phantom and Mike talk about spoilers, the state of DC Comics’ television shows, Mad Max: Fury Road, and more.    Also, Phantom talks about finally getting to see one of his heroes perform live. Marc Maron did a set at the Variety Playhouse in Atlanta on May 16th and Phantom and Mrs. Troublemaker were there. Maron was one of your host’s early comedy heroes and has been a huge influence on this very show. “Procrastibate” by LeSexoflex.com

This episode was recorded LIVE at Joelanta & The Great Atlanta Toy Convention! Phantom Troublemaker is joined by rocker and toy aficionado Ricky Zero from Radio Cult for Needless Things’ first-ever Joelanta toy panel! The topic is licensed toys through the years.    Special thanks to Rudy Panucci of Pop Cult for not only recording video of the panel, but also being a fun and important part of the conversation! “Procrastibate” by LeSexoflex.com   Today’s musical feature is from another one of Ricky Zero’s bands – the Possum Kingdom Ramblers! Their self-titled debut album is available now and features none other than Needless Things’ own Phantom Troublemaker on the cover! Our featured track today is “Bar-B-Que” – enjoy!

Last weekend Marvel Studios released the newest entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe – Joss Whedon’s Avengers: Age of Ultron. Naturally a few of the Needless Things Irregulars had to convene to talk about it. This episode wasn’t planned, but after an onslaught of text messages it was decided that a group conversation had to happen. Age of Ultron was simply too big and too packed with story and action to cover one line of text at a time. Grossing over $640 million as of this writing, the movie has once again shown that Marvel has the public’s attention and knows how to deliver big thrills on a massive scale. Join Phantom Troublemaker, Ryan Schweck, Beth V, and The Belligerent Monkey Jay Hornsby as they discuss one of the biggest superhero movies of all time and each rank it among the rest of the MCU films. “Procrastibate” by LeSexoflex.com   Today’s musical feature is from Southern rock n’ roll monsters Gargantua!

Derek and Ryan from The Casket Creatures visit the Phantom Zone to record a double dose of podcasts!    Over the past few years Phantom Troublemaker has gotten to be pals with the Atlanta horror rockers after meeting them at the illustrious Clermont Lounge where they shared a bill with the legendary Tone Deaf Pig-Dogs. Since then Phantom has emceed shows for the guys and enjoyed general drunken revelry at various cons. Today the guys talk about horror movies, music, and the history of The Casket Creatures, as well as their inimitable brand of live performance.  Be sure you also check out Phantom's appearance on CreatureCast, which was recorded immediately after the Creatures experienced THINGS for the first time!    “Procrastibate” by LeSexoflex.com   Today’s musical feature is from The Casket Creatures' new EP, She Screams - “Zombie Werewolves from Outer Space”! The Casket Creatures on: Facebook ReverbNation CreatureCast

In the second would-be episode of the Phantom & Gary Show (the first ended up being about Leonard Nimoy), the fellas’ impending Star Trek conversation was waylaid by the release of trailers for two massive movies – Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens and Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice.    Once they got over the fact that Star Trek talk was again going to be put off, Phantom realized he had to have a special guest for this episode – the outspoken and knowledgeable Chad J. Shonk, writer of the indy film Dakota Skye and novel Proxy joins the guys to add his own opinion about these striking and opposite trailers to the mix. “Procrastibate” by LeSexoflex.com  

Last weekend Marvel unleashed the newest corner of their Cinematic Universe on Netflix in the form of Daredevil. The show was so dramatically different and so impactful that Needless Things rallied the troops and recorded a podcast! Phantom Troublemaker is joined by Needless Things' Head Researcher Ryan Schweck, The Belligerent Monkey Jay Hornsby, and a new addition to the Irregulars, costume designer Sara Pope!   Listen in as this panel discusses the origins of Matt Murdock and company, Marvel's unique approach to presenting this show, and the surprising standout stars of this triumphant new series: “Procrastibate” by LeSexoflex.com Today’s musical feature is from Andy Samford's Complete Anthology 1998-2006 Box Set, which you can download FOR FREE at ElectricMinnowMusic.com! The track is “Another Way” from Disc 1 of the set.