Back In The Day Show

Disable call waiting and tell your mom not to pick up the phone, ’cause you don’t want to miss our latest digital transmission coming in at a blazing 14.4k baud rate. This time we remember our favorite retro computer games. It begins with educational games like Number Munchers, Word Munchers, the classic Oregon Trail, and of course, Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? We can still hear the modulated sounds of the Apple IIc rattling around in our brains. We also recall a few other favorites, like Solitaire, Mine Sweeper, and Microman, thanks to good ol’ Windows 3.11. After we’re done with 2D gaming, we do a line of our 3D / first-person-shooter gateway drug, Wolfenstein 3D–a true classic. Next up is the quintessential 3D FPS to which we sacrificed hours and hours of our early adolescence, Doom, and its successor, the aptly-named Doom II. We mention a few other games, such as Heretic, Hexen, Rise of the Triad, and Quake, but Doom is really where the addiction began for us. So insert floppy disk 1, and get ready to install one hell of a podcast.

Download the mp3 (33:59 / 15.5MB)

related links:
Tricks of the Doom Programming Gurus
Doomworld

corrections: Rob was actually introduced to the wonderful world of computers in 1st grade, not 2nd grade. Thanks, Mrs. Davis! Also, just to clarify, Wolfenstein 3D was produced by id Software and published by Apogee; Doom was produced and published by id Software.

Special thanks to OC Remix, N-JekteD, and Evil Horde for some great video game music remixes.

There are many things I’d rather see than the new Karate Kid movie, but if this junk were real, I’d pay to see it twice, get all my friends to see it, Netflix it, purchase the DVD, purchase the special edition DVD, and purchase the soundtrack.

This time on the Back in the Day Show, we discuss 80s movie remakes, sequels, prequels, reboots, rip-offs, and any other term you can think of to describe Hollywood’s constant recycling of movie franchises. Some we’re looking forward to (The A-Team, TRON: Legacy), some we’re not (The Karate Kid), and some we just have to ask why (Short Circuit)?. Granted, sometimes with the right director/actor/screenwriter combination, a reboot of an old movie–from the 80s or otherwise–can produce outstanding results: Batman Begins, Ocean’s Eleven, Cape Fear, etc. Most of the time, however, Hollywood picks up a beloved franchise, takes a massive dump all over it, then charges movie-goers ludicrous ticket prices to watch the destruction of our childhoods: Transformers, G. I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, Wargames: The Dead Code. But what can ya do? I’ll tell you what you can do. You can join Chris’ new Facebook group, “Stop F’ing With My Childhood,” and commiserate with us, that’s what. And of course you can listen to this podcast as we champion or oppose various 80s movie remakes currently in multiplexes or soon to be. Our advice to Hollywood: either stop the remakes or cast Dave Chappelle as the lead role in all of them.

update: Rob has seen Tron since the recording of this podcast and is looking forward to the sequel.

Download the mp3 (44:08 / 20.2MB)

Special thanks to 8bitpeoples, RushJet1, and Anamanaguchi for some great chip-tunes.

Sorry for the delay, folks, but I’m happy to say that the latest edition of the Back in the Day Show is finally here. And just so you know, this episode was recorded back in February, but with the arrival of our new baby boy, I had no time to edit the audio and, consequently, we had to put the show on pause for a little while. With that said, there is a bit in the show that references Valentine’s Day that may seem a bit dated, but hopefully will still be entertaining. I call it my “Top 5 Retro Gaming Breakups” as a foil to the more traditional view of Valentine’s Day. We also discuss an interesting experiment by Rinry Game Game, called “How Tough Are NES Games.” I mentioned this video in a blog post a while back and thought it would be cool to talk about on the show. Next up is Stump the Chad. Will Chad make up for the question he missed last episode? We’ll find out. As an additional challenge, Josh attempts to solve a Rubik’s Cube before the show ends. Stick around to find out whether he is victorious or fails epically. Finally, we walk through our G. I. Joe Hall of Fame once again to reminisce about our favorite Cobra Vipers. Thanks again for your patience. Enjoy the show!

Download the mp3 (51:44 / 23.7MB)

Special thanks to 8bitpeoples and Mr. Spastic for some great chip-tunes.

Do you like playing retro video games, but wish there were a community with which to share your experiences? If so, check out the Vintage Game Club. Here’s a description from their own website:

“We formed the Vintage Game Club in 2008 as a place where gamers could play through and discuss games that are out of the release-driven spotlight: older games that we feel still have something to teach us, that we either never got around to playing when they originally came out or that we’d like to re-experience in the company of others.”

Michael Abbott, a theatre professor at Wabash College and author of the Brainy Gamer blog and podcast, runs the forum with his co-moderators. I meant to mention this a while back, but since they’ve recently rebooted their format, it seems like now is as good a time as any to bring it up. Check it out and see what you think. My username is 8bitaddict. Maybe I’ll see you there.

It’s been a while since we last posted up a new podcast (like two months), but there’s a good reason why we’ve put the show on pause. Ashley and I just had our first baby, and he’s pretty awesome. Needless to say, with all that goes along with being new parents, extra time is a rare and precious commodity. Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to devote much of it to the podcast, but don’t worry. As soon as things settle down for us (hopefully in a few weeks), we will post some new shows. Remember, a pause is inherently a temporary thing, and we’re looking forward to getting back into the game very soon. In the meantime, we thank you for your patience. Thanks again for listening. More to come soon…

Here’s a warning to directors, tread lightly and try not to F these up. In my experience, you can tell a lot about the success or failure of a movie from it’s cast, crew, writers and director. So before these potential failures are released, you can have a good idea of the quality to expect. It’s like when G.I. Joe was released in 2009, it starred Brendan Frasier, so I knew automatically it was going to suck, hard. Here’s a short list of remakes from the 80s and my predicted rating. (Some of these go back farther than the 80s and some may not ever be made, regardless of these tiny details, here are my thoughts.)

Clash of the Titans

The original Clash of the Titans movie was a bit campy, but for 1981 it wasn’t too bad. If you can get past the stop motion clay animation and the sorry excuse for special effects, you’ll love the movie. Now that well done special effects is no longer an issue, I think the remake will be pretty good.

Louis Leterrier is the new director, he also directed The Incredible Hulk, you know the better version with Edward Norton. We’ll see if he can translate the awesomeness of the original into this remake with infinitely better special effects. Sam Worthington is getting a lot of hype for his recent work in Terminator Salvation and Avatar. His performance will probably be more of the same, so not overly thrilled, but not completely let down either. If he keeps it up, he’ll have starred in more 3D movies than 2D ones.

Predicted Rating - 3.5/5

Tron Legacy

I’m a HUGE Tron fanboy. When the footage from Comicon 2008 hit the video blogs, I watched it over and over. I love Tron because there really weren’t many movies about computers that went into much detail. The Tron Legacy trailer looks amazing and I have very high expectations.

Joseph Kosinski hasn’t directed a full length film yet, but I’ve seen his portfolio and I see his attention to detail, which goes a long way for me. Plus the fact that everything he’s ever touched is visually stunning. Add that with some great writers, Adam Horowitz and Richard Jefferies of Lost fame and Daft Punk with the soundtrack you will probably get a masterpiece. Needless to say, I can’t wait!

Predicted Rating - 5/5

Predators

I was very worried when I heard about this. Until I saw the trailer I thought, “Here we go, another notch down for the already failing franchise.” Several A-list actors step up and give me a good feeling that Predators is going to take us closer to the original iteration with the governors Arnold and Ventura.

From what I can tell, the plot entails gathering all the bad asses of earth and dropping them on an earth like planet so the predators can have an ultimate game of hunt the humans. Go watch the trailer and you’ll be as excited as I am.

Predicted Rating - 4/5

Ghostbusters 3

I love Ghostbusters, the original. Peter Venkman is still to this day one of my favorite all time characters. Bill Murray was as awesome back in the day as he is now. They’re trying to drum up the original cast for part 3 and most of them are on board. To me, it looks like a pathetic attempt to use the brand for a last ditch effort to make a little more money. Maybe that’s not the case and maybe they’ll do good by the brand.

Undoubtedly, the new movie will have much better special effects and with everything going 3D these days, it will probably be visually impressive. Ivan Reitman may do a good job with holding the new movie to certain standards if he’s smart. I’d like to see a little bit of horror and comedy in the next Ghostbusters, just to keep it real.

Predicted Rating - 3/5

Taxi Driver

Scorsese + DiCaprio seems to be a winning combination. I loved the original Taxi Driver and I live in a world where Scorsese does no wrong. DiCaprio is also on the top of my list of impressive actors. His versatility is immense and he never lets me down. I know Scorsese won’t let anything bad happen to this brand. I’ll be looking forward to this one if it’s ever made.

Predicted Rating - 4.5/5

In the wake of Super Bowl XLIV and looking ahead to March Madness, we regroup to talk about our favorite sports video games. Chris couldn’t make it, but he’ll be back with us soon. Coincidentally, our good friend Pat lends his voice to the discussion. Here’s just a few of the games we mention: Baseball, RBI Baseball, Bases Loaded, 10-Yard Fight, Tecmo Bowl, Double Dribble, Jordan VS Bird, NBA Jam, Blades of Steel, Track and Field, World Class Track Meet, Mike Tyson’s Punch Out, Pro Wrestling, WWF Royal Rumble, T & C Surf Designs, and more. We comment on the rudimentary, yet endearing, NES sound effects, advancements in graphics and game-play, how to cheat at Track and Field and World Class Track Meet, and the ridiculousness of a fishing video game. You get all that and more in this edition of the Back in the Day Show. Enjoy.

Correction: The umpire sound effects that we mention in the beginning of the show actually come from the NES game, Major League Baseball, and not RBI Baseball.

Download the mp3 (40:34 / 18.6MB)

Check it out–our first podcast of 2010. We kick it off by discussing our memories of the 1985 movie, Teen Wolf. The entire crew is here, except Chris, who has been taking care of more important matters… like getting married. Congrats, bro! Coincidentally, our good friend, Patrick, steps in to reminisce with us. Here’s just a sample of what we cover: everyone’s distaste for the overall “sweatiness” of the movie, Josh’s explanation of said sweatiness as a result of the general “hotness” of the 80s, previous-show sound clips of the girls’ predicting what the movie is about, coach Bobby Finstock’s useless advice, Rob’s explanation of the parallels between Teen Wolf and the Spiderman origin story, Chad’s theory behind the demise of Scott Howard’s mom, a healthy dose of show outtakes, and so much more. Now give me… a keg… of Back in the Day Show.

Download the mp3 (34:46 / 16.3MB)

Now, we at BITDS were very excited when we heard they were making a G.I.Joe movie. (Sadly, to be disappointed).  When I heard they were making a movie about my favorite TV show growing up, the A-Team, I was very excited.  I actually came up with a treatment in college.  Now sit back and enjoy the Trailer for the up-coming A-Team film.

No, I’m not talking about how difficult some games are to play. I covered that in a post entitled, “10 Stupid-Hard NES Games: Then and Now.” I’m talking about the physical resilience of the cartridges themselves. The producer of this video aims to explore just that in a very interesting experiment.

Here it is, the last BITD podcast of 2009. The whole crew joins in as we kick off the show with the 1982 movie, First Blood (AKA Rambo). We go over Ashley’s copious, yet hilarious, notes and learn how accurate the girls’ preview of the movie was. One thing they learned? There was no bandanna. The conversation may be a little late for Veteran’s Day, but it’s always a good time to totally Rambo a podcast. Next up, Ashley and Hannah give us the funniest preview of Teen Wolf you’ve ever heard. Then we bring you the latest news about what’s going on in the retro scene. We report on Doctor Octoroc’s upcoming album, Super Mario Bros. Wii, Excitebike World Rally, and celebrate the 22nd birthday of Mega Man. Once you’re caught up on the news, we pose another Back to the Future trivia question to our resident Back to the Future expert, Chad. Then we round out the show with the latest poll question and reminisce about our favorite 80s action movies. Thanks for listening, and Merry Christmas. See you in 2010.

Download the mp3 (1:15:59 / 34.8MB)

Another example of the effect Mario has on our culture.

I’m just now finding this website that let’s me play classic 80s arcade games online. I just got to round 6 on Duck Hunt and realized I needed to get back to work. Anyway, when you get a break or finish working, check out this website for classic 80s arcades.

We’re planning on discussing the Rambo movies on the next podcast, so with that in mind, here’s the next Poll question: Who’s your favorite 80s action movie star? To cast your vote, hit the link below or view the poll on the sidebar on the right side of the page.

Read more…

This is the Halloween Multi-Treat Bag Edition of the podcast. Inside, you’ll find a delectable variety of quality goodies with which to satisfy your nostalgic cravings. All six of the crew members–including Ashley and Hannah–are present as we remember the 1984 blockbuster, Ghostbusters, in honor of Halloween. Then, having not yet seen the 1982 movie, the ladies chime in on what they think First Blood is about, which produces even more hilarious results than the infamous Terminator preview. Next up, will we ever perplex our resident Back to the Future expert? Is there no limit to his uncanny knowledge of the BTTF Trilogy? And if so, will Chris and Josh gleefully make fun of his ineptitude? Find out in round two of our newest segment, Stump the Chad. Following that, it’s *GASP* Listener Feedback? Awesome! Our plans for world domination are slowly coming to fruition. And speaking of world domination, the results of our most recent poll question prompt a discussion of a ruthless dictator, evil terrorist, ex- car salesman. Yep, it’s the head snake himself–Cobra Commander. Enjoy the show, and Happy Halloween!

Download the mp3 (56:30 / 25.9MB)

Pacman reminds us that it’s still tough out there in the job world. For all those who don’t need a reminder, stay strong and hang in there.