We Hide Our Bottled Water in Episode 292!

4/28/2025

Sure, but where can I play my DVDs?

We considered calling episode 292 Bad Karaoke: Port of Call Galveston, but smartly decided against it. Just listen to some Glen Campbell and forget we even mentioned it.

Triples and doubles! And this isn't related but it came up when Adam searched for that sketch, so enjoy!

We know that when we look something up on the podcast that you don't believe us, particularly as it pertains to foreign phone number formats. Stay skeptical, listeners!

We Change the Format on a Whim in Episode 291!

4/14/2025

IN: Atari 7800+, OUT: DSV DVDs

Chances are that a major change in the direction of the podcast in episode 291 won't turn you off. After all, you've hung in with us for this long! We considered becoming a SeaQuest DSV video game podcast, but decided it might be a little too niche.

Project X has Miles Teller, so Tony has probably watched it.

Here's info about Zool: Redimensioned, Atari 7800 merch (plus, at time of press, a steep discount for the 7800+ on Woot.com) and a way to (re?)create a console that is impossible to find.

ThaBeast721 is beating every N64 game ever. Funny how something that sounded like Heaven in high school actually sounds a lot like Hell 20 years on. Keep living the dream (nightmare) kid! [Sounds like someone misses rating NES games... -Editor Adam]

If you don't know why Paul discussed white wine in relation to shrimp, here's a BEAVER BOYS EMERGENCY primer.

We Eat Food in Unintended Ways in Episode 290!

3/31/2025

Easter sandwich

If you have a friend, family member, co-worker, etc., who isn't familiar with the Gobeski/Wallace Report, episode 290 would be a great entry point. It's got taste tests, Doug recounting a personal crusade and an unexpected guest! This is what we do best, people, with no movie-watching as prerequisite!

If you need a refresher: Doctor Mordrid. And if you need another refresher: High Scores Arcade.

Maybe Doug is responsible, maybe he isn't.

James Bond is dead; long live James Bond (as a shuffling corpse).

You'll have to wait until next time for our podcast rebranding to hear more retro gaming talk, but for now here's info about Akka Arrh.

If you like our podcast, there is a nonzero chance you will like Hundreds of Beavers. In fact, we'd wager it's a pretty high percentage chance!

We Somehow Know EXACTLY What Animal This Is in Episode 289!

3/10/2025

ALL animals are cryptids

The Sci-Fi Shuffle is back and slightly less depressing when we watch the 2023 animated film Nimona. It's a great movie that doesn't deserve to be buried in the Netflix Content Swamp, so check it out! And be sure to tune in next time when we watch The Core, a movie that was only depressing if you had a financial interest in it back in 2003!

We're not so embarrassed to be confused during the recording about the fate of Annapurna Interactive, since it turns out to be extremely confusing.

Don't sleep on Julio Torres' Fantasmas. It also turns out Torres wrote one of Adam's favorite SNL sketches. The sequel (also on YouTube if you care to look) isn't as good, but Adam did like the bit where it turns out the Avatar 2 logo is still Papyrus, just now bold.

Here's info about the song "The Tra La La Song (One Banana, Two Banana)". We're sure the Chloë Grace Moretz connection is coincidental. But that must mean it's a good song for beating up henchmen!

The Cheddar Goblin almost seems extraneous in the Mandy cinematic universe, but maybe that's why he's so great!

We Customize our Fight Sticks in Episode 288!

3/3/2025

Only SIX buttons?

Multiple Michaels (Michaelses?) show up in episode 288. And yet none of them appear on this Wall of Michaels! There's always next time.

Adam would like to revise his PB&J M&Ms review. The more you eat the more it tastes like peanut butter and chemicals. It's not great. He still presumably ate the whole package, though as he states in the episode in his defense, they WERE in front of him.

You can purchase A Game About Digging a Hole on Steam, though we're holding out for the forthcoming Chip Hole mod.

So Kevin can acquaint himself, here are links to the Nick Bronson: Dinosaur Hunter radio-drama and condensed epic Twitter thread.

We Struggle to Come Up with More V Words in Episode 287!

2/10/2025

Varicose...? Verisimilitude...? Oh wait, VIRAL! I can use THAT one!

It's really not necessary to know who Guy Fawkes is in order to enjoy our Sci-Fi Shuffle episode about V for Vendetta. In fact, it's probably detrimental if you want to be on the wavelength of the movie anyway!

Amber Elby is back on the podcast! She mentions the original version of the screenplay, which you can find here. Her play, Puck, in Epilogue, is also premiering soon! Check out @puckinepilogue on Instagram or buy tickets for the Brighton Fringe festival performance!

Some misrepresentations of films are quite fascinating, while others are just banal in their stupidity.

Since we mentioned it, here's "The Veldt" by Ray Bradbury, for your reading pleasure.

While not all shrink-wrapped manga is inherently naughty, we all know what Paul meant.

Natalie Portman's Shaved Head sings "Beard Lust" (what a fun sentence)!

We Mourn David Lynch and Our Dwindling Possibilities in Episode 286!

1/27/2025

So many missed opportunities...

Even though Charlie sees doors closing in episode 286, Paul thinks that's a good thing. After all, that's less decisions you have to make! Bring on Pandemic 2.0! (Editor's note: we do not endorse bringing on another pandemic.)

The banning of delicious red dye number 3 is the definition of government overreach. But you can draw your own conclusion about the ratification of the ERA.

We think there's a little bit of Luddite in all of us!

But in all seriousness, the passing of David Lynch is truly sad. By all accounts a super nice, generous guy! We make reference to The Straight Story during the episode. And, incidently, Un Chien Andalou and Meshes of the Afternoon, neither of which he was involved in, having not been born yet. He was also not in Corner Gas, but maybe he should have been...?

In case you were curious about Daryl Hannah's "butt hair".

We think we may have linked to Underneath a Steel Sky before [I know this is an error, but I've decided to let Charlie's incredible mistake remain as a monument for all time. -Adam], but it can't hurt to do it again!

Oh yeah, Charlie remembered a Pandemic Purchase! He bought Bill and Ted Face the Music digitally the day it premiered and watched it precisely once. It was fine.

We Demand Better Bits in Episode 285!

1/13/2025

A nice friend, and nothing more

Another year, another broken resolution in episode 285. This may be the earliest we've had to give up on our aspirations, but don't worry! We'll still have plenty of bits of varying quality (except for Paul, only the best bits from him).

Apparently we can be forgiven for claiming Doug's Butterscotch Scoop Snickers bar log was a Walmart exclusive, as the press release didn't come out until after we recorded. Here's the outdated link Adam found regarding the one-time Walmart exclusivity, although it refuses to tell us about the different meanings of the word "scotch". But don't worry, you can find that here and here, respectively.

Chocolate bloom is real, and it's disgusting! But it's non-toxic, so just shove it down your gullet without swallowing like Kevin does.

As in the podcast, we refuse to touch this topic comedically. But you can read about The Feast of the Circumcision and even the the Holy Prepuce on your own time. Knowledge is power, after all!

OK, we're going to be honest. We don't remember what Doug was talking about when referring to a Pepsi design manual. But here is one, though outdated. A new update straight from Doug!

For those who are passionate about movies, but don't want the swears (or just want a channel that plays movies all the time, the way television used to be), watch Movies!

Adam couldn't find an acceptable video that covered what you needed to know from Discovery season 2 before watching Strange New Worlds, so this link will have to do.

Charlie missed out on Pico Park and all of those sweet, sweet achievements.

If you wanted some supplemental materials for your Anime 201 course, here's some reading about cours.

We Look to the Future by Commemorating the Past in Episode 284!

12/31/2024

Arli$$ and Black Adam in their places of honor

Here at the cusp of a new year, we do what all good people do, and that's look forward to 2025 by discussing a bunch of stuff that happened in 2024. Time may move forward, but our memories only go the opposite direction!

Looking at the news coverage of the accident Doug mentioned, it's no wonder he was stuck for so long! And here's some info about the other news item Doug brought up.

If you too would like to hear chiptunes played on analog instruments, then The 8-Bit Big Band is what you're looking for! If, for some reason, you want the opposite, we've got you covered there too.

Saving you the trouble of manually typing in search terms yourself, here's info about Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble and Infinity Nikki!

All right, fine, we know you don't want to type these in either, so here's info about those movies Adam named: Demon Pond, Yojimbo, Good Morning, and The Boss Baby. And as a bonus, here are the Criterion essays for those first three movies, plus a bonus 2nd essay for Good Morning! (Alas, The Boss Baby isn't in the Criterion Collection...yet.)

And while Christmas may have come and gone this year, that doesn't mean we don't still have the memories and photos. Especially if you were looking for photos of one of us dressed up as a giant green bear. (And assuming, of course, that you're not looking for the hottest novelty hit of 2007. Although if you are, we're here to help.)

We Break Out the Christmas Spirit Oil in Episode 283!

12/23/2024

Well, torsos are more of a BIRTHDAY gift

Santa's back! Or is it more appropriate to point out that Santwo is back?! But unfortunately, no Carlos Santuna. For that, you'll have to listen to our last Christmas improv episode.

We Work the Dreaded 10-Hour Day in Episode 282!

12/2/2024

He's been playing Mario Party for 10 hours straight, won't someone please help?!

Hey, we actually got a blog post up on the day it was supposed to be up! Hooray! Celebrate with us by listening to our latest Sci-Fi Shuffle episode, this time about 1927's Metropolis! This time around we've got special guest Amber Elby on! It's been a while since she's been on the show, but since she picked V For Vendetta as the next film, she'll be back sooner than you'd expect.

Does the Rock pee in a bottle? Yeah, that happens.

Adam brings up Doctor Who so much that even HE makes us cut some of his asides during the episode. But in this case, this one was topical, so if you want more information here you go!

OK, Charlie admits he laughed at a joke about Orion pheromones without understanding it. But if he only chimed in when he was on the ball, it wouldn't be a very interesting podcast, would it?

Here's a story confirming what Amber says about the scrapped Metropolis TV show. Of course, the real reason it shut down was that showrunner Sam Esmail bought an iPhone, signed up for a free year of Apple TV+, and realized it was not a real streaming service that existed.

We Explore a Pink Disturbia in Episode 281!

11/18/2024

Paul don't mind

It's a good thing we recorded episode 281; if we didn't, Paul might not have remembered to bring his Austin Powers in Goldmember HD-DVD on the cruise! Can you imagine being at sea for weeks without it? Perish the thought!

Where does the Dad Rock end and the comedy begin? It's impossible to tell; it's Tim Heidecker.

There's no better confirmation of LBJ's Fresca love than the website for his presidential library. Also of note: "We do not know President Johnson's favorite color. When asked, Lady Bird Johnson remembered that he did not like the following: purple or 'muley' colors, such as green, brown, beige, and gray."

Please, please, please let some 10 year old destroy this guy at a computer game on Facebook Live.

That which has shoes must have feet. And other things too?

Exhibit A

Exhibit B

Exhibit C

A temporary delay

11/11/2024

Craiyon.com's best effort at what Charlie might look like

No, we haven't quit; Charlie's just dealing with the one of the worst illnesses he's experienced in quite a while, so he's been laid up in bed for a couple weeks now. But don't worry, we'll be back as soon as he's well enough for us to tape a mouse to his hand and make him edit!

We Don't Need Eyes to See in Episode 280!

10/21/2024

Look, I agree green is a weird color to be going through those conduits, but at least it's not RED, and I'm confident it never will be red. I vote we stay.

We have a terrifying entry into the Sci-Fi Shuffle rotation just in time for Halloween - it's 1997's Event Horizon! We don't think it's caused any nightmares among us yet, but then again we haven't woken from hypersleep yet.

The trailer for Event Horizon does really feel more it's teasing a movie like Alien rather than a horror movie. [Charlie, are you trying to argue that Alien is somehow not a horror movie? -Adam]

This episode inspired Kara and Charlie to start a "Sam Neill Scares" mini-movie-marathon for October. So far it's been In the Mouth of Madness and Dead Calm. Both were worth watching, for completely different reasons!

But maybe don't watch In the Light of the Moon (Ed Gein). I mean, what a BORING subject! It certainly didn't show up on Variety's list of Best Horror Movies of All Time, the way Event Horizon did.

Here's a Youtube video of Glen Schofield, creator of Dead Space, talking about (among other things) the influence of Event Horizon.

The Event Horizon TV show is "in the works", so anyone who was in the movie and isn't already busy is bound to show up!

And courtesy Adam, a song:

We Annoy Our Neighbors in Episode 279!

10/7/2024

The signal is coming from INSIDE THE HOUSE!

We don't guarantee that episode 279 will cure your sense of existential dread, but it can't hurt!

Doug mentioned a Nature article about LLMs which you can read here.

We didn't really come up with the names of Jeopardy celebrities during the episode, but James Holzhauer was the guy jumping around looking for the Daily Doubles (not at SporcleCon), and Amy Schneider was the semi-recent big money/long streak winner (WAS at SporcleCon).

We're sure you can find links to reviews of UFO 50 if you desire, but here's their website!

Here's the unplayable game Adam was referring to. Relatedly, you can read a brief history of unbeatable games (although somehow they left out Impossible Mission for the Atari 7800). And then theres's always Aliens: Colonial Marines, although that at least has an easy (and incredibly embarrassing) fix.

We Definitely Wear Real Pants in Episode 278!

9/23/2024

A real Rorschach test of what anime you've watched

The leaves are falling from the trees and their poisonous spores are being released, so that means we're at the end of Sci-Fi September. For this episode, Doug chose the 1984 animated classic Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. Of course his favorite part of this environmental/pacifist fable is the part where the God Weapon blows stuff up, but there's no accounting for taste!

Would YOU like to watch the bastardized 1985 version of Nausicaä? Fortunately the Internet Archive has you covered. And here's a list of all the cuts, along with the bad-ass poster (emphasis on "bad").

Doug talks about a prequel film, which appears to be a reference to this – which you can watch here.

Michael B. Jordan, the ultimate multi-hyphenate: actor/director/Bleach completionist.

We Brush Up On Our Superlatives in Episode 277!

9/9/2024

LEFT: Accomplished documentarian RIGHT: Dedicated martial artist

Adam (rightly) calls out Charlie in the 12th installment of our Sci-Fi Shuffle and declares that Charlie's REAL favorite movie is the supremely dumb 1989 movie Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure. Charlie simply must concede this fact.

A couple notable facts we didn't fully touch on in the episode: Dan Shor, who plays Billy the Kid, also played Ram in Tron! And for those of you who don't have a crush on Jane Wiedlin, here is an actual explanation of who she is.

As we mention in the episode, many of the scenes in the film were filmed in the Phoenix area. Unfortunately, however, the Circle K is no more.

A Mario Bros. anime? What the heck is Adam talking about? Glad you asked!

We Have Indistinct Hypnotic Powers in Episode 276!

8/28/2024

You like water, we like land. Let's split the difference and fight on the side of a boat!

We close out Phase 4 of the MCU and module 2 of our Merry Marvel Movie March with a review of the 2022 film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. It's a wonder James Cameron didn't try to sue Marvel for the character design in this film. Is it because they don't have tails? Can we create a character that looks like Garfield but without a tail and rake in cash without consequence? Note to self: register domains garfieldwithouttail.com, .biz, etc. [Charlie, I don't think James Cameron has a lock on "blue people". And anyway, the Atlanteans of the comics were blue long before Cameron made Avatar, so if anything Marvel should have sued Fox. -Adam]

Why Disney is not your friend: exhibits A and B, for those students of history mentioned last time.

And a quick elaboration from Kevin regarding his very spicy take:

So is Kevin still a monster? I guess that's up to you to decide!

We Eat Lots of Mexican Food in Episode 275!

8/12/2024

It can be both!

ShenaniStarTrekza will have to wait, since this one was officially dubbed Shenanimarinararizarara.... or something like that. Whatever! It's less about the name and more about sucking that sweet tangy sauce through a mozz straw.

For future historians using the Gobeski/Wallace Report as their primary source, this link may be help explain the Windows outage. This and this may also help.

It's just the same music.

Bad news for anyone visiting High Scores Arcade to see if they can beat Adam's high score at Frogger; they reset the scores every night! WHY BOTHER?!

There are of course multiple interpretations of Kamala is brat, especially if you only read NYT explainers or scroll TikTok with the sound off.

Serve the curve.

Paul's Co-workers are Wrong in Episode 274!

7/29/2024

Schrodinger's Long John

Our sincerest apologies that episode 274 is up late, but we were so worked up about the idea of an "unfilled Long John" that we JUST COULDN'T. Also, Charlie was very ill and Adam is participating in a Shenaniganza so we have those excuses too. But you'll hear all about that in next episode to be sure!

...that's all for now. Sorry, I guess Charlie is still ill and doesn't have the energy to write more. Please try to contain your disappointment.

We Have Some Surprise Guests in Episode 273!

7/15/2024

Slight episode spoilers in image

We assure you no squirrels were harmed during the production of episode 273. That happened WELL before we recorded this. But of course, that's to be expected when they come in close proximity to Charlie.

One of the downsides to the Age of Constant Surveillance is that it's difficult to hide excess inventory from investors.

Al Michaels was "skeptical" of the use of his voice for AI commentary, which is exactly the word we use before seeing a giant paycheck for doing absolutely no work. But it is safe to say that his acquiescence will suspend the weight of the Olympic broadcast, much like the 27,582 galvanized carbon steel wires in each cable holding up the Golden Gate Bridge.

Here's a Wikipedia article for Under Night In-Birth, in case you though Paul was speaking in tongues when he talked about it during the podcast. And another about the movie Invincible, lest you think Charlie ONLY speaks in non-sequiturs.

The origin of the Johnson rod.

We Do a Little Soul Searching in Episode 272!

7/1/2024

You know, maybe if we want individuality we could mix up the wardrobe a little. Just an idea!

Our Sci-Fi Shuffle continues our "Dark" movie theme with the 1998 film Dark City. Roger Ebert liked it. Like REALLY liked it. And he's not wrong!

We once again recommend you check out Brandon at Random Reviews, especially if you're looking for more Dan Hess The Holiday-related hot takes!

R.I.P. Donald Sutherland. Although his son was in the movie we watched for this episode, he himself has not appeared in the Sci-Fi Shuffle yet. But we suspect it's only a matter of time.

*URGENT EMERGENCY ALERT*
We have a Sci-Fi Shuffle update! Adam went ahead and identified the issue of Dr. Strange in Dark Star. It's Dr. Strange #176, cover date Jan. 1969! Now you can inform all of you friends and family who were, until now, listless without that bit of trivia to tether them to reality.
*END OF URGENT EMERGENCY ALERT*

We Try Fufy Soup in Episode 271!

6/17/2024

Hard to open, but worth the effort!

This may be the last time you see us reference Joe Piscopo, and here only to say that we will not be celebrating his birthday anymore. He knows what he did! Since you can only go FORWARDS, we needed to create something even more spectacular to celebrate June birthdays. Behold: Campbellushi Day!

Bruce Campbell does a Stephen Colbert impression.

Jim Belushi hits Stephen Colbert in the ear.

Look, the AI art stuff is really funny to see and really hard to cut from the podcast when Kevin won't stop sending it to us. And at least it was on topic this time!

The future is now

We Joke About Beheadings in Episode 270!

6/3/2024

The beheading bit is definitely part of his tight five set

We're back from a mysterious absence with a new installment in our Merry Marvel Movie March with a review of the 2022 film Thor: Love and Thunder. What caused the time gap? Well, we will say that it's partly due to the cruel vengeance of nature, and partly (mostly) due to Charlie. But he sings some songs in this episode, so all is forgiven... right...?

LOTS of comic references in the show this week, and they are as follows: Knull,Eternity, One Above All and Heroes Reborn.

As we mention in the show, even Chris Hemsworth has regrets about the tone of the movie. And it's not clear whether Chris Hemsworth was actually skipping leg day for this role, but it turns out you can give people crap regardless!

If you too would like to be arm-deep in space spiders, may we suggest Deep Rock Galactic?

We Let You Know What We Think in Episode 268!

5/6/2024

Technically edible when congealed and passes muster at TSA!

If you're like most of us and have pored over The Tortured Poets Department, listen to our impromptu review in episode 268. If you are a non-Swiftie like Kevin and Charlie, maybe re-evaluate your life choices!

The original Fallout games were full of dark humor, but not all of it made the final cut.

We can't really find the Calico Cut Pants sketch from I Think You Should Leave in an easily accessible form. Maybe you should just go on Netflix and watch the whole series again to find it? That's what we did!

Can't get enough of Paul's Metamucil story? It's also in episode 65!

We Hang Out in Space in Episode 267!

4/22/2024

Come on, you can do it! Only 20 more minutes of this!

We've got more Sci-Fi Shuffle this week, and Doug has chosen the decidedly not-2010's film Dark Star. If you haven't watched the movie yet, make sure to prepare for the segment on our show called "Which Parts of This Movie Were Added to Artificially Pad Its Runtime?"

It's worth noting that even before Dark Star, John Carpenter was already involved with the Academy Award-winning short film The Resurrection of Broncho Billy, which you can watch here.

Even though no one seems to know the Doctor Strange comic that appears in Dark Star, IMDb did identify the DC romance book!

Here's the credit sequence from the movie, mainly so you can listen to "Benson, Arizona". If it were in the Merry Marvel Movie March it would definitely have a chance of placing high up in the Merry Marvel Movie March Song-Off!

Physicians Put Us on Blast in Episode 266!

4/8/2024

Let's just save ourselves both the embarrassment and skip the scale today

In episode 266 we ask, "What's the point of treating a medical condition without a healthy dose of judgment?" As a follow-up, suffice it to say that we haven't needed to avenge anyone's death...yet.

Depending on your nerd strengths, you can try Cinematrix or Tradle. Or use them to reduce your nerd weaknesses!

We End the Madness in Episode 265!

3/26/2024

We know this shield we're making will repel Charlie, but maybe not the Scarlet Witch

Merry Marvel Movie March Madness ends appropriately this year: with the 2022 mind-bending Sam Raimi film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness! But I guess we only really deal with two other universes? Since we don't spend nearly enough time in the Splatooniverse. But really, who would want to go to those alternate realities, especially when we could have one-eyed Sam Raimi monsters and zombies?

Not a lot of stuff to say this time around that we don't already mention in the episode, other than that the comic backstory of Wanda and Vision's kids is far weirder than the podcast might lead you to believe.