"The Man Trap"

September 8, 1966

50 years ago on this date, Star Trek premiered on the NBC Network.  Most people know the story of the struggle the show went through to stay on the air, the letter-writing campaigns that were mounted in an effort to save the show from cancellation.  It only lasted three seasons, but it lived on with the fans through syndicated television.  From there, the show spawned numerous spin-off television shows and theatrical movies.  As Star Trek moves into a new generation with a recently released movie and a new television series set to bow in January 2017, John felt it was the time to take a moment a discuss each episode on the 50th anniversary of its airing.  

Joining John to discuss the series is "the next generation" of fandom, Krissy Myers.  Together, they will take a brief look at each episode and offer their immediate reactions to watching each either for the first time, as in Krissy's case, or after numerous viewings, as in John's case. 

First up is the very first episode, "The Man Trap".  The two talk about how Canada was cheated in getting the credit for the actual 50th anniversary of the premiere of the series, how the televised episode differs from earlier drafts (based on John's readings of James Blish's adaptation), and how this felt more like an episode of Lost in Space and not Star Trek.  Take a listen and join in the conversation, letting us know what you think here or over on our Facebook page.

"The Ogg and I/How to Hatch a Dinosaur"

Aired November 2/9, 1967

Vincent Price makes a welcome return to Batman as the villainous Egghead.  He is joined by Anne Baxter as Olga, Queen of the Bessarovian Cossacks.  Together they have plans for Gotham City.  In fact, are there too many plans?  What is the main scheme in this plot?  Who is in charge as it seems to change from episode to episode?  And what is the history of this two-parter in relation to the third episode that will follow in a few weeks' time?

​Joining John to talk about Vincent Price's triumphant and yet not so triumphant return to Batman is author and podcaster, Kevin Lauderdale.

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

 

Kevin Lauderdale has written essays and articles for the Los Angeles Times, The Dictionary of American Biography, Animato, mcsweeneys.net, and teevee.org; and his poetry has appeared in Andrei Codrescu's The Exquisite Corpse.  He has published fiction in several of Pocket Books' Star Trek anthologies, including Constellations, which celebrated the 40th anniversary of the original Star Trek.  His original fiction has appeared in Neo-opsis magazine and Cthulhu Unbound, the cross-genre Lovecraftian collection from Permuted Press.  He is a graduate of UCLA and a card-carrying member of SFWA.  In addition, Kevin is a host of his own podcast here on the network, It Has Come to My Attention and co-host of Mighty Movie: Temple of Bad.  Recently, Kevin took over as host of the old time radio podcast,Presenting the Transcription Feature.  Follow Kevin's exploits through his LiveJournal blog - http://kevinlauderdale.livejournal.com.

We think of Ray Bradbury as a fantasist or a science fiction writer.  But he was equally adept at crime drama.  One of his first sales was “Killer Come Back to Me” to Detective Tales in July of 1944.  Less than two years later, it was adapted for the radio by the “Molle Mystery Theatre.” This hard-boiled noir tale of killers, dames, and stolen identities takes a number of clever twists and turns.  But does crime ever pay?  Then on “Meet Me At Parky’s,” everyone’s favorite Greek restauranteur decides to help out with a teacher shortage.  He may be known for his malapropisms in English, but if he’s going to teach his native Greek nothing could possibly go wrong, right?

Episodes

Molle Mystery Theatre 

“Killer Come Back to Me”

May 17, 1946

3:23

Meet Me At Parky’s

“Teachers Wanted”

November 10, 1946

35:58

Episode 37, Bats and Supes

Scott Pearson and his daughter discuss Man of Steel and Batman versus Superman: Dawn of Justice and how they build the DC Extended Universe. Plus, they’re both excited about the Wonder Woman trailer. 

Segments

Intro :28

First Time Viewer :48

Man of Steel 1:35

Supes—Why So Serious? 1:58

Saving Lois Lane 4:10

Meanwhile, Back on Krypton 6:02

This is a Secret Identity? 8:38

Not So Super, Boy 9:05

A Time for Emo Superman? 11:53

He’s a Wanderer 13:01

Lois of the Arctic 14:10

Zod on Earth 16:33

Ouch, Metropolis 19:03

Final Supes Thoughts 20:27

Batman versus Superman 22:32

What’s Batman’s Deal? 22:45

Clark & Bruce & Lex & Diane 24:12

Adam West Shout Out 26:25

Ouch, Metropolis Redux 27:30

Straight to Kill 28:07

Google Gotham & Metropolis 28:30

Bats, Supes, and Killing 30:08

Building DCEU v. MCU 32:19

Diane’s Laptop 33:42

Wonder Woman Before Black Widow?! 34:58

Wonder Woman & Bats and Supes & Doomsday 36:31

Bats and Supes Make Nice 38:03

Death of Supes and Clark 39:06

Final Bats and Supes Thoughts 40:36

Wonder Woman Trailer 42:44

It's the Labor Day weekend in America and everyone's away for the last hurrah of summer.  In Atlanta, DragonCon is in full swing and John nor Keith could be there.  Keith couldn't be with us on the podcast either, but John worked out a way for him to be on anyway.  Here are two panels from last year's DragonCon featuring Keith.

3:20:  Klingon History - Keith's The Klingon Art of War had recently been published and Keith had written an extensive amount Trek literature featuring the Klingons so it made perfect sense to include him in this panel.  Panelists include Erika Yvette Figueroa and Morgan Skye.

1:00:00 - Keith's , Bone Key, and Heart of the Dragon, are favorites among the 1:00:00 - Keith's Supernatural novels Nevermore, Bone Key, and Heart of the Dragon, are favorites among the Supernatural fans.  In this panel, he and others discuss the themes of the hit CW series.  Panelsists include Maureen Gallagher, Father Brian Small, and Beth Dolgner.

On an all-new edition Dragon Con Double Header edition of The Weekly Podioplex, the box office was breathless as Don't Breathe dethroned the Suicide Squad, and even with a mediocre box office performance, Jason Statham still scored a victory in Mechanic: Resurrection. The next two will test the winning thriller with romance, drama, comedy, and the real life tale of Sully.

In home entertainment, the next two weeks are big with The Jungle Book, Me Before You, Now You See Me 2, and Money Monster dominating the discs. DC Comics delivers on TV with The Flash and Arrow arriving alongside Star Wars Rebels, Grey's Anatomy, and Supernatural. We also get a blast from the past as Charlie's Angels open their investigation and Star Trek boldly goes to a 50th anniversary.

Add in the finest selection of entertainment news from across the internet, and you have a jam-packed new edition of The Weekly Podioplex to tide you over until after the Labor Day weekend, exclusively on The Chronic Rift Network.

Weekly Podioplex Notes for August 30, 2016

Introduction

Opening Clip: Sully

Box Office Report

Top Ten

#1 – Don’t Breathe – [New Release]
#2 – Suicide Squad – [-1]
#3 – Kubo and the Two Strings – [+1]
#4 – Sausage Party – [-2]
#5 – Pete’s Dragon – [-2]
#6 – Pete’s Dragon – [-1]

#7 – War Dogs – [-4]
#8 – Bad Moms – [Even]
#9 – Jason Bourne – [-2]
#10 – Ben-Hur – [-4]

Tops From the Past

2011 – The Help
2006 – Invincible
1996 – The Crow: City of Angels
1986 – Stand by Me
1976 – The Shootist

 

Box Office Premieres for the week of September 2nd and 9th, 2016

September 2nd 

Wide

The Light Between Oceans – [PG-13]

Limited

Café Society – [PG-13]
Morgan – [R]

Brotherhood – [NR]

The 9th Life of Louis Drax – [R]

Equity – [R]
Nam Hai Akira – [NR]
Things to Come – [NR]

September 9th 

Wide

Sully – [PG-13]

The Disappointments Room – [R]

When the Bough Breaks – [PG-13]

The Wild Life – [PG]

Limited

Author: The JT LeRoy Story – [R]
Before I Wake – [PG-13]

Shut In – [NR]

Home Entertainment for the weeks of August 30th and September 6th, 2016

New Releases on DVD and Blu-Ray 

August 30th

The Jungle Book – [PG]

Me Before You – [PG-13]

The Phenom – [NR]

September 6th

Now You See Me 2 – [PG-13]

The Darkness – [PG-13]

Money Monster – [R]

Love & Friendship – [PG]

New Releases on Digital Video

August 30th 

The Conjuring 2 – [R]

September 6th 

Free State of Jones – [PG-13]

TV on DVD and Blu-Ray 

August 30th 

Arrow: Season Four (2015)
Star Wars Rebels: Season Two (2015)
The Night Manager: Season One (2015)
Criminal Minds: Season Eleven (2015)
Grey’s Anatomy: Season Twelve (2015)
NCIS: Los Angeles: Season Seven (2015)
Shameless: Season Six (2015)

September 6th 

The Flash: Season Two (2015)
CSI: Cyber: Season Two (2015)
Supernatural: Season Eleven (2015)
Charlie’s Angels: The Complete Series (1976-1981)

Blu-Rays From the Past 

August 30th 

The Immortal Story (1968) – [NR]

September 6th 

Star Trek: The 50th Anniversary Collection (1966-1991) – [PG]

Podcast Promos

British Invaders

The British Invaders podcast features a lively two-person exchange about different television series, tele-films and mini-series. 

These discussions serve as both an introduction and an entertaining conversation, catering to both those who have seen and those who have yet to see these British science fiction and fantasy shows. Each show is presented in two parts, with new episodes appearing every two weeks. British Invaders covers everything from story-lines to production details to spinoff material. Past topics have included Doctor Who, Sapphire and Steel, Red Dwarf, Day of the Triffids, Jekyll, Robin of Sherwood, and many more.

Quick Flicks

James and the Giant Peach live action remake
The Rogues of The Flash
Brother Voodoo in Doctor Strange
Is Steve Rogers still Captain America?
Rumors of an Indiana Jones comic series for Marvel
Gene Wilder (1933-2016)