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The whole gang is back together and on the road as Season 5 of THE WALKING DEAD continues. They’ve lost so much, but they keep marching on, and Rick has a good idea why that is. Join Arnold and Scott as Arnold tries to get Scott to say anything about this episode – what was good, what wasn’t so good, and what sort of grade does the Doctor thinks the episode deserves?

Show Music: “Bitter Pill” (feat. Vosmoy) by Still Pluto.

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While 50 Shades of Grey may still be holding the top box office spot, the real news is what happened at the Oscars. Michael Falkner has this, the newest movie releases, and DVD releases on a new Weekly Podioplex.

Comment on the episode or write weeklypodioplex@gmail.com.

Weekly Podioplex Notes for February 24, 2015

Introduction

Opening Clip: Focus

Box Office Report

Top Ten

#1 – Fifty Shades of Grey[Even]
#2 – Kingsman: The Secret Service[Even]
#3 – The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water [Even]
#4 –McFarland, USA
#5 – The DUFF
#6 – American Sniper [-2]

#7 – Hot Tub Time Machine 2
#8 – Jupiter Ascending [-3]
#9 – The Imitation Game [-2]
#10 – Paddington [-3]

(New Release) [Change]

Tops From the Past

2009 – Shutter Island
2004 – Diary of a Mad Black Woman
1994 – The Brady Bunch Movie
1984 – Beverly Hills Cop
1974 – The Towering Inferno

Box Office Premieres for the week of February 27th, 2015

Wide

Focus – [R]

The Lazarus Effect – [PG-13]

Limited

Maps to the Stars – [R]

‘71 – [R]

My Life Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn – [NR]

Everly – [R]

Home Entertainment for the week of February 17^th, 2015

New Releases on DVD and Blu-Ray

Big Hero 6 – [PG]

Whiplash – [R]

Horrible Bosses 2 – [R]

Beyond the Lights – [PG-13]

TV on DVD and Blu-Ray

Sons of Anarchy: Season Seven (2014)

Sons of Anarchy: The Complete Series (2008-2014)

Blu-Rays From the Past

Watership Down (1978) – [PG]

52 Pick-Up (1986) – [R]

Podcast Promos

Cyborgs: A Bionic Podcast

The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman were two of the most influential television programs of the 70's.  During the height of their popularity, Steve Austin (Lee Majors) and Jaime Sommers (Lindsay Wagner) would battle Fembots, Bigfoot, Venus Death Probes, deadly duplicates, foreign spies, and bitter cold to protect the United States' interests through the O.S.I. Every other Sunday, hosts John S. Drew and Paul K. Bisson talk about one episode from either series in depth with another fan of the series.  The podcast looks at the episodes, the pilot movies, and the reunion movies covering them from synopsis to review to a look at the mythology of both series.

Quick Flicks

The 87th Annual Academy Awards

Links

Visit the Chronic Rift site
Leave voicemail toll-free: (888) 866-9010
Send e-mail
Tweet on Twitter:  The Chronic Rift and The Weekly Podioplex
Listen on Stitcher Radio

Leave a review on iTunes:  The Chronic Rift and The Weekly Podioplex

Shop the Rift’s Best Bets or search our Amazon Store.

Shop for Batman (1966) on DVD and Blu-Ray, and Batman: The Movie on DVD and Blu-Ray

Michael’s blog at Creative Criticality

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We lead off with Dragnet.  Jack Webb and Barton Yarborough star as Sergeants Joe Friday and Ben Romero, definitely two of L.A.’s finest.  This time they’re investigating a gang of con artists who prey on the relatives of the recently deceased.  Truly, there is no honor among thieves.  Then it’s a return to the gentle domestic comedy of Fibber McGee and Molly.  Fibber gets a lot more than he bargained for as he grows impatient for the latest issue of his favorite magazine to be delivered to 79 Wistful Vista.  The show had recently switched from a weekly program to daily, and we present this two-part tale back to back.

Episodes

Dragnet

“The Big .38”

October 5, 1950

1:48

Fibber McGee and Molly

“40,000 Copies of Partly True”

“Unloading 40,000 Magazines”

April 22 & 23, 1954

34:46

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A young man must figure out what to do when his friends insist on stealing cars and going on joy rides.

John and Richard sit down to discuss this first episode in the series.  They talk about the production values, the stunts, and the first use of the phrase, "Holy Moley!"  Plus, is Shazam! just a modern day Shakespeare story?

It's all here and we want to hear from you on what you think of the episode.  Write us as ShazamIsisPodcast@gmail.com.

Moral: “It takes more courage to do what is right then to follow along with the crowd.”

Guest Cast

Lee Joe Casey...Rich

Ty Henderson...Kyle

Kerry MacLane...Chuck Wagner

Barry Miller...Mike

RATING

Comment on the episode here or write ShazamIsisPodcast@gmail.com. Take a moment to rate the episode by using our star system at the bottom of this entry.

"Lady Killer," Carlton Harris is back! But this time Jaime Sommers is ready for him! Devising a plan to expose his evil deeds once and for all, she must pretend to be his loyal ally, even if it means going deep undercover and severing her OSI lifeline. It's the Bionic Woman's first solo mission in "Welcome Home, Jaime Part II." Hosts John S. Drew and Paul K. Bisson welcome back Betsy Dodd of Bionic Blonde.com and James Sherrard of The Bionic Woman Files.com.

Purchase the season one Universal DVD release of The Bionic Woman. In doing so, you help support the podcast.

Comment on the episode here or write abionicpodcast@gmail.com or better still use the "Send Voicemail" tab on the left of the page to leave a message via your computer.  Take a moment to rate the episode by using our star system at the bottom of this entry.

Rating:

Bionic Wiki entry

Bionic Blonde entry

James Sherrard is a first generation fan of The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman.A collector of all things Bionic as a child, his interest in the shows was reignited when the first Bionic reunion movie was produced in 1987.The following year he met stars Lindsay Wagner and Richard Anderson for the first time through Lindsay Wagner’s Official Fan Club.In 1998, James reworked the Bionic Woman episode guide booklet that he had produced for the club into The Bionic Woman Files website…the longest running Bionic Woman site on the web!Over the years, James has contributed his Bionic knowledge to various books, articles, websites, and television productions.He has also amassed an amazing collection of Bionic memorabilia, from common toys to one-of-a-kind production items.Most recently, James has contributed to the 2010 DVD releases of The Bionic Woman Season One and The Six Million Dollar Man: The Complete Collection.James resides in New York where he is employed by a non-profit organization.

From Betsy Dodd's page: 

Growing up in a one-TV household, I had 3 brothers who surrounded me in age—who often teased me for being a “sissy”—and who usually controlled the voting majority for which channel to watch. Back in the 70s, our whirling TV dial was pretty much destroyed because we fought over it so often. One night while the substitute pliers were pointed to their choice of The Six Million Dollar Man(again), suddenly there was OMG ...cue angelic chorus... Jaime Sommers, the world’s first Bionic Woman. Yes!!! Score one for us sissies! I was totally hooked. And the love story between Jaime and Steve was the best. Ever. But then they killed her the following week.

Why did I idolize Jaime Sommers so much? Just as the final season was being released on DVD in the fall of 2011, I stumbled onto some internet bionic fan forums and started posting these offbeat episode reviews. I’m not sure, but when some members encouraged me to go start my own blog, I think it may have been the equivalent of being politely shunned by the Bionic Amish community— puritans of the franchise. (Really, I’m kidding. They’re all fun people and super nice. And they even let me use electricity to sign onto the internet.) Once about ten years ago, I belonged to an online fan “cult” that was framed in a similar style of farcical humor about The X-Files, so to me, this is all a completely normal approach to a television drama.

These days, I am a freelance copywriter, graphic designer and video editor living in Tennessee. No, I am not a blonde, but I am threatening to become one soon if these little gray hairs don’t stop surfacing. I must confess I also did not actually keep a diary in the 70s, but wish now that I had, so I could remember the real reason why I missed so many episodes of my favorite 70s show. For now, I’m blaming my brothers. For everything.

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The last of Krissy Myers recordings of Doctor Who actors and directors features actor Dan Starkey of the new series.  He discusses being a Sontaran and the possibility of a spinoff series for his character.

Comment on this episode here or by writing john@chronicrift.com.  Please rate the episode using our star system at the bottom of this entry.

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Aired December 21/December 22, 1966

Maurice Evans is the new guest villain, The Puzzler.  Without even knowing the history of this story, one can see that this should have been a Riddler episode and there are many who feel the character is a poor replacement.  But as you'll see in this podcast, there is a lot to recommend Puzzler as a worthy adversary for the dynamic duo and as one of the better villains created solely for the series.

Of course, that's not to say this episode doesn't have its problems, that include determining if this is an established villain in the Batman 66 universe or someone entirely new, the proper definition of monopoly, and a crazed Santa Claus.

Joining John to time out the beats of this story is author, musician, and podcaster Keith R.A. DeCandido.

Comment on the episode here or write thebatcavepodcast@gmail.com

Get your hands on the Batman 66 series via our link here on Amazon.  In doing so, you not only have this excellent, remastered set that you can watch and follow along the podcast with, but you support the podcast as well.

Comment on the episode here or write thebatcavepodcast@gmail.com. Take a moment to rate the episode by using our star system at the bottom of this entry.

Keith R.A. DeCandido is a writer, editor, musician, podcaster, curator, voice actor, and probably some other stuff, too, but he can't remember due to lack of sleep. In 2009, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Association of Media Tie-in Writers, which means he never needs to achieve anything ever again.

He has written tie-in fiction in prose and comics form for more than twenty different universes ranging from TV shows (Star Trek,Farscape, Supernatural, Leverage, and many more) to movies (Cars, Serenity, Resident Evil, Kung Fu Panda), to games (World of Warcraft, Dungeons & Dragons, StarCraft, Command and Conquer) to comic books (Spider-Man, X-Men, Hulk, Silver Surfer). He is the author of the acclaimed Precinct series of fantasy police procedurals including Dragon Precinct, Unicorn Precinct, and Goblin Precinct, with 2013 seeing the release of Gryphon Precinct and Tales from Dragon Precinct, as well as a comic book and audios of all four novels.

Other recent work includes writing the monthly Farscape comic book with series creator Rockne S. O'Bannon; the SCPD novel The Case of the Claw, a novel about cops in a city filled with superheroes; the Leverage novel The Zoo Job; the comic book miniseries The Fallen; the short-story collection Ragnarok and Roll: Tales of Cassie Zukav, Weirdness Magnet, urban fantasy stories taking place in Key West; and short stories in the anthologies Apocalypse 13, Bad-Ass Faeries: It's Elemental, Defending the Future: Best Laid Plans, Liar Liar, More Tales of Zorro, Star Trek: Seven Deadly Sins, and Tales from the House Band Vols. 1 & 2. He has also contributed to several shard worlds: Steven Savile's Viral (the novella -30-), Aaron Rosenberg & David Niall Wilson's The Scattered Earth (the novel Guilt in Innocence), and Jonathan Maberry's V-Wars (the story "The Ballad of Big Charlie").

Keith is also a longtime editor. He was the supervising editor of the Marvel novels published by Penguin Putnam from 1994-2000 and the monthly series of Star Trek eBook originals published by Simon & Schuster from 2000-2008. His anthology credits range from Imaginings and Liar Liar to the Doctor Who: Short Trips anthology The Quality of Leadership to the Star Trek anthologies New Frontier: No Limits, Tales from the Captain's Table, and Tales of the Dominion War. Currently he edits for clients both personal and corporate via KRADitorial.

Keith is a musician, once the percussionist for the Don't Quit Your Day Job Players (musical guests of Dragon*Con in 1998), currently the percussionist of sometime D*C filk guests the Boogie Knights. His work can be heard on the DQYDJP CDs TKB and Blues Spoken Here and the BK CDs Many a Sleepless Knight and Wasted Days, Wasted Knights.

Of late, Keith has become a serious podcaster -- he's part of the staff of The Chronic Rift, a pop-culture podcast, and has his own 'cast, Dead Kitchen Radio. He also provides voices for the audio dramas The Dome, Gypsy Cove, and the Parsec Award-winning HG World.

On top of all this, Keith is a black belt in Kenshikai karate and a devoted fan of the New York Yankees (in fact, he co-edited the 2013 Yankees Annual for Lindy's Magazines). He lives in New York City with a couple of humans and several animals. Find out less as his cheerfully retro web site of DeCandido.net, which provides links to his Facebook page, his Twitter feed, his blog, his podcasts, and many and varied other things that probably sound cooler than they actually are.

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Here's how Tim describes this episode:

"Blood Red Turns Dollar Green” is a trilogy of books that takes place during the 1970’s and 1980’s as the world of pro-wrestling and pop culture in general went through dramatic sea changes. In those days, pro-wrestling was a world highly protective of its secrets convincing their audience it was a legitimate sport. Paul has masterfully created a bevy of three dimensional characters in a world driven by deception and where greed pushes some people to the most horrible crimes.

Wrestling icons such as Mick Foley, Bret Hart, Jim Ross and William Regal have proudly endorsed this series. However, this novel is not just for wrestling fans as it will open the eyes of people unfamiliar with that world but love a gritty crime story. Paul has become an international hit because he wrote honestly about one of his passions. A great listen for those to endeavor to do the same. Enjoy.

LINKS

Purchase Blood Red Turns Dollar Green
Volume 1
Volume 2
Volume 3

Paul's Website

Paul's Twitter

Comment on this episode here or by writing john@chronicrift.com.

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Did anyone really think that 50 Shades of Grey wouldn't take the top box office spot this past Valentine's Day weekend?  Did anyone realize it would do as well as it did?  Did the counter-programming of The Kingsmen work for movie audiences? Michael Falkner has the answers to these questions, the newest movie releases, and DVD releases on a new Weekly Podioplex.

Comment on the episode or write weeklypodioplex@gmail.com.

Weekly Podioplex Notes for February 17, 2015

Introduction

Opening Clip: Hot Tub Time Machine 2

Box Office Report

Top Ten

#1 – Fifty Shades of Grey
#2 – Kingsman: The Secret Service
#3 – The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water [-2]
#4 – American Sniper [-2]
#5 – Jupiter Ascending [-2]
#6 – Seventh Son [-2]

#7 – Paddington [-1]
#8 – The Imitation Game [Even]
#9 – The Wedding Ringer [-2]
#10 – Project Almanac [-5]

(New Release) [Change]

Tops From the Past

2009 – Shutter Island
2004 – Hitch
1994 – The Brady Bunch Movie
1984 – Beverly Hills Cop
1974 – The Towering Inferno

Box Office Premieres for the week of February 20th, 2015

Wide

Hot Tub Time Machine 2 – [R]

The DUFF – [PG-13]

McFarland, USA – [PG]

Limited

Wild Tales – [R]

Gloria – [R]

Home Entertainment for the week of February 17^th, 2015

New Releases on DVD and Blu-Ray

The Interview – [R]

Dumb and Dumber To – [PG-13]

St. Vincent – [PG-13]

The Theory of Everything – [PG-13]

Birdman – [R]

Life Itself – [R]

The Tale of the Princess Kaguya – [PG]

TV on DVD and Blu-Ray

Game of Thrones: Season Four (2014)

Doctor Who: Last Christmas (2014)

Blu-Rays From the Past

None

Podcast Promos

The SciFi Diner Podcast

In this Science Fiction Podcast, we share interviews, reviews, and opinions on popular and perhaps not so popular Science Fiction TV shows and movies.

Quick Flicks

None

Links

Visit the Chronic Rift site
Leave voicemail toll-free: (888) 866-9010
Send e-mail
Tweet on Twitter:  The Chronic Rift and The Weekly Podioplex
Listen on Stitcher Radio

Leave a review on iTunes:  The Chronic Rift and The Weekly Podioplex

Shop the Rift’s Best Bets or search our Amazon Store.

Shop for Batman (1966) on DVD and Blu-Ray, and Batman: The Movie on DVD and Blu-Ray

Michael’s blog at Creative Criticality