Planet 8 Podcast

 It's November, and here in the States, that means we're getting ready for Turkey Day! But on Planet 8, with our love of all things sci fi, fantasy, and horror, we have a love of a different kind of turkey: those films that many, especially those in the mainstream, consider to be bad films. And truth be told, a lot of these films might not be the greatest films. The production values might be poor, or the acting might not be spectacular, but for us, for the fans, we find something about them that we enjoy.Your Planet 8 crew will take turns discussing some of our favorite turkeys. We'll cover films from far and wide, including Japanese monster films, a Star Trek movie (which one could it be??), several super-hero films, and of course, the requisite B-movie monster flicks. It's a nice mix of genres, as well as films from the 60s to recent years. Some of these films we consider misjudged, while others may indeed be turkeys, but we love 'em just the same!For our Sensor Sweep, Chief Engineer Bob describes his

 In this Halloween episode, we take a look at the scary animation, films, and park attractions of Walt Disney. Typically we think of Walt Disney features as being funny  family-fare, but there were quite a few memorable frightening moments or characters in Disney features. We're fortunate to be joined by the hosts of the Walt Disney Family Museum official podcast, Bri Bertolaccini and Chris Mullens, who share a ton of amazing stories and details with us! So get comfy as we take you on a tour of Disney frights, from the Skeleton Dance to Pinocchio, from Sleeping Beauty's Maleficent to Dr. Syn, all the way to Disneyland's famed Haunted Mansion. You'll be covered in goose bumps when we're done!You'll also be itching to visit the Walt Disney Family Museum! Our two guests Bri and Chris not only host the WD-FM podcast, they are also part of the team at the museum too. So for the Sensor Sweep, they share what's going on at the museum, which is located at the Presidio in San Francisco. Currently, the museum

 Here on Planet 8 we've dug deep into the lore of many creatures of the night. But this episode is the first time we've tackled that Egyptian menace, the Mummy! The Mummy arose from the popularity of the exploration/plundering of Egyptian tombs, especially King Tutankhamun. The discovery of King Tut's tomb was also associated with a curse, which fueled many imaginations and stories. The idea of a curse, or at the very least vengeance visited upon those who violated the tomb, became the basis for Universal's The Mummy in 1932, as well as most of the mummy films that have followed.Your intrepid Planet 8 crew will take a journey through the history of mummy films, from the Universal films to the Hammer series, some independent films and TV productions, and then back around to more modern times with the mummy revival in the 90s with the Brendan Fraser films, and finally, the nail in the sarcophagus, the Tom Cruise film in 2017. The Mummy is a unique monster and there's a lot to appreciate in this genre

 It's time for another Planet 8 Top Ten -only this time, it's a Top Ten times two! That's right, in this episode, we're giving you not one Top Ten list, but two Top Ten lists! And our subject this time around is near and dear to our hearts, and we hope to yours too: Robots! Sometimes friends, sometimes foes, these mechanical beings have always fascinated people. In this episode the Planet 8 crew shares their favorite robots, with a twist: we have one top ten list of giant robots, and a second top ten list of human or nearly human-sized robots! We hope you'll enjoy the lists and the discussion around the selections. We think some of them will surprise you!For our Sensor Sweep, decidedly non-robot related, is a limited edition Creature from the Black Lagoon 1/3 scale bust sculpted by Jeff Wehenkel and painted by Michael Reagan. Bob was lucky enough to get one at Creatures-Con recently. Sorry folks - no links for these! They're all gone!That's all for this time. Let us know what robots are in your top ten!&

 This episode our guest is Frank Dietz, who has had an amazing career in show business as a screenwriter, Disney animator, actor, and more. Frank shares his experiences in Hollywood with us. Frank is a wonderful storyteller. Sit back and enjoy!For our Sensor Sweep, we shine a light on Frank's web presence. His web site, Sketchythingsart.com, is where you can find his art, screenwriting, and other work, as well as a calendar of his events. He can also be found on social media - Twitter and Instagram - at TheFrankDietz. You can always reach Planet 8 at one of our many outposts below:Twitter: https://twitter.com/Planet8CastFacebook: www.Facebook.com/Planet8PodcastInstagram: http://www.instagram.com/planet8podcastYouTube: https://youtube.com/Planet8podcast Thanks for listening!

 In this episode your Planet 8 crew will discuss and review the newest entry in the Predator film franchise, Prey!  Prey was released on Hulu this month and did not have a theatrical release. It is set in 1719 and pits a predator against a young Comanche woman. It's a thematic departure from more recent efforts in the Predator series and a breath of fresh air. We'll talk about what we liked, what we didn't like, and how it compares to the original Predator -the only yardstick that truly matters.Oh, and in case you wondered -the dog doesn't die!Now on to the Sensor Sweep: this time Chief Engineer Bob has a double header: He scored this fantastic Zuni Warrior from the infamous Trilogy of Terror TV movie at Creatures-Con, and then got this Shin Godzilla that lights up while he was hosting Godzillafest a week later. Talk about lucky!What did you think of Prey? Be sure to let us know via one of our communications channels:Twitter: https://twitter.com/Planet8CastFacebook: www.Facebook.com/Planet

In this episode we celebrate and explore the films of legendary film-maker, John Carpenter! Carpenter is such a unique director, a man who has always done things his own way, with a real talent for story-telling. The Planet 8 crew will start by discussing Carpenter's early life and how he became a film-maker.We move on to a discussion of the qualities that define John Carpenter's style. Obviously we'll talk about his work with his film soundtracks, but there are so many other aspects to a "John Carpenter film" - the 'slow burn' or building of suspense, his use of unusual camera angles or long takes, his distrust of authority figures, and so much more.As we go through Carpenter's style, we'll talk about his films, lingering on some of our favorites, including The Thing (we dedicated a whole episode to it -you can hear it here),  Halloween, The Fog, Escape from New York, They Live, and Big Trouble in Little China. But we also talk about some of his films that aren't on our favorites list too, just to balan

 The latest entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is here -Thor: Love and Thunder - and your Planet 8 crew has a lot to say about it. And it ain't necessarily good. Much like the previous Thor film, this newest look at the God of Thunder takes a decidedly goofy slant. It's a little too goofy for our taste.Beware -there are spoilers ahead! Not to say there aren't some interesting or exciting things in the film. There are. But the whole film feels so unbalanced that it's hard to appreciate  Christian Bale's performance as Gorr the God-Butcher, or Natalie Portman's appearance as Jane Foster, aka the Mighty Thor. Both of these characters have serious stories behind them; Gorr is a deeply grieving man, Jane is battling cancer. But they are undercut by the  absurd situations and performances that surround them.We're not against humor. The Marvel films have always had humor in them. But typically it's been relegated to wise-cracking, not slapstick and utterly ridiculous situations. While some co

One of the most anticipated TV series in years has just concluded its first season, and there's been a lot of talk about it, especially between the members of Planet 8. We're talking, of course, about Obi-Wan Kenobi, the latest Star Wars show on Disney Plus.Picking up threads from the prequel trilogy and the Clone Wars series, the show follows up on a downtrodden Obi-Wan Kenobi, years after the devastation of the Jedi Order and the fall of the Republic. Obi-Wan lives an unremarkable life on Tatooine, making a living harvesting meat from gigantic desert beasts, and living in a cave not far from the Lars homestead, where he can watch over the young Luke Skywalker. However, through a turn of events, Obi-Wan is called back into service, and must ultimately confront his former friend and now greatest foe, Darth Vader.One of the problems of doing a story like this, where you're dealing with events that take place in a character's past, is you know they can't be killed off or face serious physical jeopardy, so the f

 They said it couldn't be done. They said we would never make it. They said hot dogs are sandwiches. But despite the nay-sayers, and against all odds, we made it to our 100th episode! When we started the Planet 8 podcast, we had no idea we would reach this kind of milestone. But here we are. Despite the hiccup of Recon Officer Karen getting hit with Covid right before we were going to record our 100th episode, and having to delay a couple of weeks, we bounced back to bring you this episode, where we celebrate this milestone by throwing a party in the Planet 8 Officer's Club.  It wouldn't be a party without guests, and we have quite a guest list! Through the miracle of science, we're able to reach through time and space and bring to Planet 8 a collection of actors, artists, and more who have all contributed to our love for science fiction, fantasy, and horror media. We discuss why we would want to have them at the party and what we'd talk to them about. Who would each of us invite? You'll h

 Unfortunately part of your Planet 8 crew has been struck down by the Covid virus, causing us to delay our 100th episode! We hope you will enjoy this encore presentation of Episode 13, Road to Apocalypse, from November 8, 2018. We'll be back on the 22nd with episode 100!

 We're back with a spoiler-filled discussion of Marvel Studios' 28th film, Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Surprisingly, Bob and Karen both liked this movie more than Larry did! But we all enjoyed it. As usual, this film is bursting at the seams with guest appearances and all sorts of craziness. We'll do our best to examine the story and characters and share our thoughts on some of the plot points.A big part of this movie is Wanda Maximoff, aka the Scarlet Witch, and it definitely helps if you've seen Wandavision before you plop your butt down in your seat to catch this film. Wanda's past and her motivations are at the center of the movie. We had a lot of feelings about this and her eventual fate.This is not to say our titular hero doesn't get his fair share of time in the spotlight. This may be one of Dr. Strange's best outings in the MCU, showing him in a more nuanced light. Of course, we get more than one Dr. Strange, as we are voyaging through the multiverse, and it's enlightening and enjoy

 There's never been a time like this: no less than five Star Trek series on the air at the same time! You would think Trekkies (trekkers?) would be rejoicing. But, not so. While some fans are enjoying these new iterations of Star Trek, other fans are gnashing their teeth. In this episode, the Planet 8 crew, along with our guest Lord Blood-Rah, discuss the state of Star Trek - what it has meant to us, what it is now, and where we hope it is going.For all four of us, our love of Star Trek started with the original series. We grew up watching Kirk, Spock and crew on their adventures. Through them, we felt excitement and wonder, and learned about loyalty, duty, friendship, mercy, and more. Classic Trek offered up morality plays that deeply imprinted on our minds. Our expectations and definitions for everything Star Trek flows from the first series. This has been an issue with every new Trek series that followed. People forget, but even when The Next Generation premiered, fans denounced it as not being "

 This episode we discuss some of our favorite science fiction and fantasy film scores. There have been some truly amazing and memorable scores, music which helps define the films and give them their identity. These scores are inseparable from the visuals and they invoke the story just as much.  Each of us shares three film scores and describes just what it is about that score that we find so fascinating.Bob's picks:The Bride of Frankenstein by Franz WaxmanForbidden Planet by Bebe and Louis BarronMothra by Yuji KosekiKaren's picks:Star Trek The Motion Picture by Jerry GoldsmithPredator by Alan SilvestriThe Omega Man by Ron GrainerLarry's picks:Superman by John WilliamsStar Trek II: The Wrath of Khan by James HornerThe Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers by Howard ShoreFor our Sensor Sweep we continue the theme with Chief Engineer Bob providing info on sites where soundtrack albums can be purchased - we are all big fans of physical media! Check out these sites:IntradaLa La Land RecordsWaxWorks RecordsMo

 On this episode we look at a genre and a sub-genre within that - Blaxploitation horror films! Blaxploitation was a genre that existed for only a short time in the 70s, but had a major impact. Together with our guest, Lord Blood-Rah, we'll discuss the origins of the genre and then take a look at several horror films that spun out of it.Blacula (1972) is probably the best-known of these films, and it's a well-done vampire story. William Marshall plays Prince Mamuwalde, who is turned into a vampire by Dracula himself. He awakens in modern day (1970s) Los Angeles and discovers what he believes to be his reincarnated wife. Of course, carnage ensues! It's a terrific, even scary film and you should see it if you haven't.It was followed up the next year by Scream Blacula Scream, which saw Blacula brought back to unlife by means of voodoo. Blacula once again stalks LA, but he tires of being a vampire and seeks a cure via voodoo priestess Pam Grier. Definitely the most unusual of the films we cover is Ganja

 This episode is a fuel-injected suicide machine! We're traveling not too far into the future, to the world of Mad Max! We've been big fans of both Mad Max and The Road Warrior, and we'll discuss all four of the films, and of course get into some of the back story about how the film series originated.Coming out of Australia in 1979 as the brainchild of George Miller and Byron Kennedy, Mad Max was a mind-blowing blast of action, featuring wall to wall high speed stunts the likes of which audiences had never seen before. It was the first film of a very young Mel Gibson, starring as Max Rockatansky, a good cop who goes on a mission of vengeance on the road after his family is killed by a motorcycle gang. Made on a shoestring budget, the film was a worldwide hit, which paved the way for a sequel.The second film, known worldwide as Mad Max 2, but as The Road Warrior (1981) in the states, moved the story much more clearly into a dystopian future. Max wanders the wastelands aimlessly, searching for gas to keep

We're back with more talk about all the shows we've been watching. There are so many great shows out now- and so many platforms. It's hard to keep up with it all. But between the three of us, we manage to see quite a few genre shows. We'll share our thoughts on shows such as The Walking Dead, Raised by Wolves, Peacemaker, Star Trek Prodigy, Cowboy Bebop, Hellier, Servant, Tetsujin 28,  Superman and Lois,  and the conversation may wander into a few odd places as we go!We also talk about what shows we are most looking forward to, which of course includes the upcoming Star Wars Obi-Wan Kenobi series, Marvel's Moonknight show, the new Godzilla show on Apple TV,  and numerous films too.Our Sensor Sweep focuses on the famous Rondo Awards. Sadly, Planet 8 did not get nominated in the podcast category this year. But friends of the show Lord Blood-Rah and Mr. Lobo both got nominated for best horror host, so please consider supporting them. Chief Engineer Bob shares a few other ideas for picks. Remember

 This episode, your Planet 8 crew is rejoined by our good friend Lord Blood-Rah to take a long, last look at The Book of Boba Fett. The second live action Star Wars series was rather uneven, but did provide some cool moments. We'll discuss how we felt about Boba Fett prior to the series, and then dive into the details of the show. While we varied in our interest in Boba prior to the start of The Book of Boba Fett, we all agreed that he's always been a cool looking character. Of course, he was originally designed as a new type of super stormtrooper, but budgetary concerns resulted in the solo bounty hunter we got in the original trilogy.In the new show, we get a reborn Boba Fett, who was both intriguing and a little confusing. The flashbacks, with Boba living with the Tusken Raiders, was one of our favorite parts. But his motivations were still somewhat fuzzy. A plethora of guest stars graced The Book of Boba Fett. Some we had seen before, others were new (at least to the screen). We talk about

 This episode we are going back to one of our favorite places, a little world known as the Planet of the Apes! But this time, we're going to explore...Beneath the Planet of the Apes!Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970) was the second film in the original Apes franchise, and it went down quite a different path than the first. The Planet Ape -I mean, 8 - crew, along with our special guest, Lord Blood-Rah, will discuss all the myriad details behind how the film came to be made, as well as walk through the storyline. There were a number of ideas thrown around in the initial stages of the film, which involved bringing back Rod Serling and author Pierre Boule, but none of these really stuck. It was only when British poet and screenwriter Paul Dehn was brought in that the plot solidified.Making a sequel back then was unusual and seen as a shoddy money-grab, and Apes star Charlton Heston really didn't want to do it. He was ultimately convinced to do a cameo appearance, so a new lead had to be found, and James F

 One of the staples of many science fiction movies and TV shows is the spaceship. Not merely a vehicle, the spaceship seems to take on a personality of its own through a combination of unique design and the way it is perceived by the characters around it. It can be home for some, or a fighting machine, but a character's spaceship often defines them. Your intrepid crew had so many ships to choose from, over the many decades of sci fi films and TV shows, we each made our own top ten lists, and then through arcane methods, pulled together a combined list from our many picks to create quite a varied group of ships. Who made the list? What ship is our number one pick? You're going to have to listen to find out!!But - we will say that our oldest ship is from the 1950s, a number of ships are from non-American productions, and only one pick on our list was on all three of our individual lists! So give it a listen and let us know your thoughts. We will also go over our individual lists too.Our Sensor Sweep f