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Was Twiddle Twaddle the greatest science fiction series of all time? Was it better than ST:TNG? Star Trek Classic? Doctor Who? the Prisoner? BSG? Buffy? Many think so.

David Clink (one-half of Two Old Farts talk Sci-Fi) moderated a panel about the show, back on November 5th, 2022. The guests were Adrienne Kress (the fourth fart?) and Ira Nayman (affectionately known as “The Third Fart”). This episode is a recording of that panel. The panel was held at Astronomicon, in Rochester, New York, run by super fan Wayne Brown.

Adrienne is a huge Twiddle Twaddler! She fell in love with the show watching it in reruns as a kid on Saturday mornings, and it’s still her favourite comfort show to return to time and time again. She also loves to cosplay Furious Francesca (maybe not the best Twiddle Twaddle medic, but surely the most entertaining!)!

Ira Nayman wears a pony tail as an homage to Tony, the cross-eyed mailman, who was a regular in season five of Twiddle Twaddle. Fans of the show will know that his character, like all of them, were killed off at the end of the season because the new show-runner wanted to take the series in a different, more science fictiony direction. Heartbroken, Ira never fully recovered

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Adrienne Kress is an award winning and internationally published author, actor and screenwriter based in Toronto, Canada. Her most recent novels include The Explorers adventure trilogy and the horror novels Dreams Comes To Life, The Illusion of Living, The Lost Ones and the upcoming Fade to Black based in the world of the Bendy and the Ink Machine video game. Her first graphic novel, Ghost Circus, illustrated by the amazing Jade Zhang, will be out in 2025!

Ira Nayman is the published author of eight novels, 25 short stories and 14 collections of Alternate Reality News Service (“When we break the news, it stays broken!”). He was also the editor of Amazing Stories magazine for three years. His dream is to build a time machine so he can go back to 1979 and be a member of the writers’ room for Twiddle Twaddle.

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Troy and David talk about the Batman movie from 1966.

In March of 1966, a decision was made to make a feature film of the TV show. An all-star set of baddies, called The United Underworld, decide to de-hydrate some of the leaders of the free world, and extort the nations of the world to have their leaders returned.

July 30, 1966, released in theatres.
July 4, 1971, premiered on TV.

The Penguin’s submarine.
The Penguin as ringmaster.

Burt Ward doing most of his own stunts in the film.
Bruce Wayne falls hard for Miss Kitka.

Troy and David look at the two iconic, classic scenes in the movie.

1] The scene where a shark takes a bite out of Batman’s leg.
2] Batman trying to get rid of a bomb.

All of this in a universe where everything is labelled.

The famous Dutch angles (when the camera is not level), when you are in the lair of a criminal. Maybe because they are crooked?

“Some days you just can’t get rid of a bomb.”

A bomb with the longest fuse in history.

Troy and David also do their Dream Casting and Schrödinger’s Cast, looking at six roles:

Batman [Adam West]
Robin [Burt Ward]
The Riddler [Frank Gorshin]
The Joker [Cesar Romero]
The Penguin [Burgess Meredith]
Catwoman [Lee Merriwether]

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Troy and David continue to look at the Batman TV series from the 1960s.

They look a the theme song, and the parody.
Here is a link to an article about the parody:

https://ca.news.yahoo.com/the-jokers-still-getting-away-celebrating-50-years-of-jingle-bells-batman-smells-233532830.html

Here is the 5th verse:

Jingle bells, Batman smells
Robin laid an egg
Batmobile lost a wheel
And Joker got away
Jingle bells, Batman smells
Robin laid an egg
Batmobile lost a wheel
And Joker got away

Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Kamakazi / Nick Gagnon

The refrain is sung by Mark Hamill, in an animated episode.

Troy and David look at specific episodes that stand out…

= = = = =

S1, Ep1 = Hi Diddle Riddle
S1, Ep2 = Smack in the Middle

This episode has Jill St. John disguised as Robin.
Robin’s sick burn.

How there was not origin story for the first episode.
We are introduced to many elements that run through the series…

The red phone
The bust of Shakespeare
The bat poles
The batmobile
The Dutch angles
The henchman
The cliffhanger

= = = = =

S1, Ep19 = The Purr-fect Crime
S1, Ep20 = Better Luck Next Time

First episode of Catwoman.
The Batman and Robin relationship
echoes a father son’s relationship.
There are night scenes in this “Evil is as evil does” episode.

= = = = =

S1, Ep27 = The Curse of Tut
S1, Ep28 = The Pharaoh’s in a Rut

Victor Buono is King Tut.
First King Tut.
Great cliffhanger.

= = = = =

S2, Ep17 = Hizzonner the Penguin
S2, Ep18 = Dizzoner the Penguin

The Penguin. runs for mayor.
Burgess Meredith as the Penguin, may be the best of all the actors who have played the role.
Batman wants to run a campaign on the issues.

= = =

And more…

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Batman from 1966. Troy and David look at the series in a 3-part episode. The first two episodes look at the TV series, and the third episode looks at the movie

This is part 1.

The series starred Adam West as Bruce Wayne/Batman, and Burt Ward as Dick Grayson/Robin. other regulars in the series were:

Alan Napier as Alfred
Neil Hamilton as Commissioner Gordon
Stafford Repp as Chief O’Hara
Madge Blake as Harriet Cooper
Yvonne Craig as Barbara Gordon/Batgirl

There were villains, most of whom were played by actors and actresses that people knew at the time, all were celebrities, to some extent. Here is a list of some (not all) of those super villains:

SUPER VILLAINS

Cesar Romero as The Joker
Burgess Meredith as The Penguin
Frank Gorshin (Seasons 1–3) as The Riddler
John Astin (Season 2) as The Riddler
Lee Meriwether (Movie) as The Catwoman
Julie Newmar (Seasons 1–2) as The Catwoman
Eartha Kitt (Season 3) as The Catwoman
Victor Buono as Professor William McElroy/King Tut
George Sanders (Season 1) as Dr. Art Schivel/Mr. Freeze
Otto Preminger (season 2) as Dr. Art Schivel/Mr. Freeze
Eli Wallach (Season 2) as Dr. Art Schivel/Mr. Freeze
David Wayne as Jervis Tetch/Mad Hatter
Vincent Price as Egghead
Carolyn Jones as Marsha, Queen of Diamonds
Cliff Robertson as Shame
Anne Baxter as Olga, Queen of the Cossacks
Milton Berle as Louie the Lilac

BATCLIMB WINDOW CAMEOS

Please go to this web site for more information…
https://www.vintag.es/2019/01/batman-window-cameos.html

1. Jerry Lewis – Appeared in “The Bookworm Turns” (April 20, 1966)
2. Dick Clark – Appeared in “Shoot a Crooked Arrow” (September 7, 1966)
3. Van Williams and Bruce Lee as Green Hornet and Kato – Appeared in “The Spell of Tut” (September 28, 1966)
4. Sammy Davis Jr. – Appeared in “The Clock King’s Crazy Crimes” (October 12, 1966)
5. Bill Dana as José Jiménez – Appeared in “The Yegg Foes in Gotham” (October 20, 1966)
6. Howard Duff as Sam Stone – Appeared in “The Impractical Joker” (November 16, 1966)
7. Werner Klemperer as Colonel Klink – Appeared in “It’s How You Play the Game” (December 1, 1966)
8. Ted Cassidy as Lurch – Appeared in “The Penguin’s Nest” (December 7, 1966)
9. Don Ho – Appeared in “The Bat’s Kow Tow” (December 15, 1966)
10. Andy Devine as Santa Claus – Appeared in “The Duo is Slumming” (December 22, 1966)
11. Art Linkletter – Appeared in “Catwoman Goes to College” (February 22, 1967)
12. Edward G. Robinson – Appeared in “Batman’s Satisfaction” (March 2, 1967)
13. Suzy Knickerbocker (pen name of Aileen Mehle) – Appeared in “King Tut’s Coup” (March 8, 1967)
14. Cyril Lord as the Carpet King – Appeared in “Ice Spy” (March 29, 1967)

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Whether it is True Blood‘s Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer, or Game of Thrones‘ Kit Harrington and Rose Leslie, there have been a number of genre productions, whether it is a TV series or a TV episode, or a movie, where love blossomed between actors on the set. There are also genre productions, like A Quiet Place, where married couples (in this case, Emily Blunt and John Krasinski) worked together. John Carpenter and Adrienne Barbeau worked together, as well.

Here are a few (some already mentioned).

Green Lantern (Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively)

I Know What You Did Last Summer (Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze Jr.)

Once Upon a Time (Ginnifer Goodwin and Josh Dallas)

Fantastic Four (Jessica Alba and Cash Warren)

The series Game of Thrones had a number of LGBTQ+ characters, and was not shy in portraying these relationships. Love knows no bounds. Troy and David do not cover these aspects as much in this episode, but will in a future episode.

Troy and David will look at love on the set, for their St. Valentine’s Day special. This is just a brief overview, and they will hopefully return to the subject down the road.

Highlights of the episode include:

a) The moment that Captain Kirk professed his one true love, the starship Enterprise.

b) Troy asks David which actress was his favourite Cat Woman of the 7 actresses that have been in the role in feature length films.

c) Was there a dalliance between Adam West and Julie Newmar back in the 1960s?

d) If time travel were a thing, would you go back in time to find the first appearance of Superman, in Action Comics, and collect 100 pristine copies?

e) Troy reminiscing about being in a music video, Dream Girl, by the group FM, back in 1987, when he was 22, where he played a roadie, wearing a hat and tripping over ladders. Look for a link to the video on the web site (2of.ca).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSNsLkbYI9k

f) The advantages of working on set with someone you are in love with.

g) Majel Barrett and Gene Roddenberry.

h) Did something go on between Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher, while shooting Star Wars? And what of that love triangle, which had two of the three points in the triangle a brother and a sister?

i) The love triangle between the characters in Buck Rogers (Buck Rogers, Wilma Deering and Princess Ardala).

j) Unrequited love, like in Lady Hawk, Beauty and the Beast, Firefly, Star Trek TNG; Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Vision and Wanda; Iron Man and Pepper Potts; Spiderman; The Hulk.

k) The loves of Superman and Clark Kent, in the series Superman & Lois; Smallville; and, Lois & Clark.

l) The ten most romantic science fiction movies, according to Ranker, is discussed by Troy and David.

m) Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Outlander are briefly discussed.

n) the dynamics of relationships in the reboot to Battlestar Galactica (Adama and President Roslin, Starbuck and Apollo, Baltar and no. 6, among others).

o) Troy and David look at the ten most epic love stories in all science fiction (a list from the Internet that they relate and comment on).

p) from the comic books, Troy mentions The Swamp Thing (Alec Holland and Abigail Arcane) a great but tragic love story.

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Doctor Who may be the greatest sci-fi adventure of all time. The show focusses on a timelord from the planet Gallifree. The main character is Doctor Who, and is often referred to as, “The Doctor.” The doctor goes through regenerations, where he or she can come back as someone else. He or she travels in a machine, called the Tardis, that can travel through space and time.

Doctor Who was first launched in 1963, and is looking forward to a 60th anniversary special in 2023. It began as something of a show for children, but became much more than that. Consider for a moment all the science fiction and fantasy and horror shows that have come and gone in the last 60 years. The only shows that can compete are Star Trek and Star Wars. One may also consider the James Bond films, that began in 1962 with Dr. No, and continues today, as another series that has longevity. And the change in actors during the various Bond films, and the British sense, makes one think of Dr. Who. And Bond, like Dr. Who, was an expert on many things.

One can also think of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson, as characters that have stood the test of time. The connection here, beyond the British one, is that Watson is the character that humanizes Holmes, and is a lens, the connection we have to Holmes is through Watson, and the same can be said for the various companions that have assisted the various Doctors through the years.

Doctor Who has made it into lore, where there are iconic images associated with it, that many recognize, even if you are not a Whovian. Many know that the machine the Doctor travels in is a blue police box, that is larger on the inside. The TARDIS (short for, Time and Relative Dimensions in Space) is iconic. You do not have to watch Doctor Who to be aware of it.

One of the Doctor’s adversaries, The Dalek, are also iconic. There is a wonderful moment in Mr. Bean’s Christmas, where Mr. Bean has a small toy Dalek, and puts it in a manger scene.

Doctor Who had a great run, which ended with Silvester McCoy, and there was a gap, perhaps about 8 years or so, before Doctor Who came back as a TV movie starring Paul McGann. Then there was another long break, of about 8 or 9 years, and then the series was rebooted in 2005, starring Christopher Eccleston, and has basically been going non-stop ever since, with small breaks between seasons, and sometimes breaks between new Doctors. The first episode of the reboot, with Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper, was the most watched Dr. Who episode of all time.

At one point Dr. Who had an annual Christmas episode, which was something many looked forward to.

Troy and David will do their Dream Cast and Schrödinger’s Cast. The Dream Cast is where they take the best actors/actresses of all time, either living or dead, to play the roles. The Schrödinger’s Cast takes the same six roles, but has very unusual casting to fill the roles. Here are the six roles they look at, and the actors that first portrayed them.

Character	Original Star
Dr. Who	William Hartnell
Companion	granddaughter Susan (Carole Ann Ford); Susan’s schoolteachers Ian Chesterton (William Russell) and Barbara Wright (Jacqueline Hill)
The Brigadier [Sir Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart]	Nicholas Courtney
The Master	Roger Delgado
Davros	Michael Wisher
Cyberman	Roy Skelton, Peter Hawkins – Cybermen Voices Harry Brooks, Reg Whitehead, Gregg Palmer – Cybermen

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A Christmas Carol is the Dickens classic novella that has been adapted to the big screen, small screen, stage, and has been referenced / parodied countless times. The Muppets even did a special based on the novel. And, don’t forget Scrooge McDuck!

Many consider the 1951 film version starring Alistair Sim as the best representation of the tale.

Here are some basics:
The published title was: “A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas”

Ghost stories told around Christmastime were fairly common at the time, and very popular. The story was a novella (not a novel). It was first published in 1843.

There were a number of printings, all selling out. Dickens himself read the story to audiences over a hundred times.

The basic story centers around a man named Ebenezer Scrooge, who is visited by the ghost of his former partner, Jacob Marley. Marley tells Scrooge that he will be visited by three spirits, in succession. The three spirits represent stages in Scrooge’s life.

The Spirit of Christmas Past takes Scrooge to earlier, seminal moments in his life, a time when he was happy, but also to a time where he lost that faith and the light he had.

The Spirit of Christmas Present takes Scrooge to things that are going on currently that he is not aware of – how other people live, and how they feel about him.

The Spirit of Christmas Yet to Come takes Scrooge to a time where he has passed on, and again, how others feel about him, how he is treated (in death), and also what may happen to Tiny Tim, if Scrooge does not change his ways.

The novella begins with a great first line: “Marley was dead.” It is considered one of the great opening lines in literature. It brings one immediately into the story.

There have been many versions of the story, and one that both David and Troy recommend, beyond the 1951 film, is the 2009 animated version, starring Jim Carrey.

Scrooged, starring Bill Murray, has a fantastic opening, and is well worth watching, just for that. Look for cameos from Lee Majors; John Houseman; James Farr; and Mary Lou Retton.

Troy and David rate some of the films, and do their Dream Cast and Schrödinger’s Cast. The Dream Cast is where they take the best actors/actresses of all time, either living or dead, to play the roles. The Schrödinger’s Cast takes the same six roles, but has very unusual casting to fill the roles. Here are the roles they look at, and the actors that portrayed them in the 1951 film.

Character	Original Star
Ebenezer Scrooge	Alistair Sim
Bob Cratchit	Mervyn Johns
Tiny Tim	Glyn Dearman
Spirit of Christmas Past	Michael Dolan
Spirit of Christmas Present	Francis De Wolff (as Francis de Wolff)
Spirit of Christmas Yet to Come	Czeslaw Konarski (as C. Konarski)

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Troy and David will be taking a much needed break, and will work in 2-month breaks between seasons down the road.

Their last show was the last episode of season 3, their Top Ten Horror films, dropped on Oct 29, 2022.

At the moment the plan is to return on December 24, 2022, season 4 episode 1, to look at “A Christmas Carol.” The season would end in June 2023, and season 5 would begin in September 2023.

Troy and David appreciate the support of our one listener, Ted from Lindsay, and hope to double our listenership in 2023.

For those Canadian fans that vote for the Aurora Awards, the podcast can be nominated in the Related category. We missed the final ballot by one vote in 2022 (for the work done in 2021), and hope that it can make the final ballot in 2023 (for our 2022 episodes).

Please join our Facebook page, if you have not done so already.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/162942472433479

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Troy and David come up with an agreed upon list, what they think, collectively, are the top ten horror films of all time. They will also go into what did not make the list. On their previous lists, for top SF films and top fantasy films, they had their own top ten lists, and compared them. This time, this is one list.

There have been a lot of great horror films over the years, so it is difficult to come up with a list – this is very subjective.

Early horror classics are notably missing.
Movies from the last 10-20 years did not make the list.
Movies from outside the US, Canada, and the UK did not make the list.

Troy is a fan of the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and that did not make it.

David is a fan of the original Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and that did not make it.

South Korea and Japan are notable for having had a number of great horror films. There are two Japanese films that have become classics of the genre, and were remade. The remakes were very good on their own, but do not, in our humble opinion, reach the greatness of the originals..

Ringu (Japan 1998) = 7.2 IMDB rating
The Ring (US – 2002) = 7.1 IMDB rating

Ju-On: The Grudge (Japan 2002) = 6.7 IMDB rating
The Grudge (US – 2004) = 5.9 IMDB rating

When it comes to South Korea, the top five South Korean horror movies, according to Rotten Tomatoes, are:
[https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/guide/best-korean-horror-movies/]

#5 = GONJIAM: HAUNTED ASYLUM (2018) 91%
#4 = THE HOST (2006) 93%
#3 = TRAIN TO BUSAN (2016) 94%
#2 = THE WAILING (2016) 99%
#1 = SEOUL STATION (2016) 100%

Troy and David will do a deep dive on international horror films in a future podcast episode. There are horror films that have been produced in almost every continent, in many countries throughout the world, and these should be looked at in more detail, on another show.

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The LA Film School has a list of the ten subgenres within horror:

10 SUBGENRES OF HORROR FILMS EXPLAINED
https://www.lafilm.edu/blog/subgenres-of-horror-films-explained/

Demonic Possession (The Exorcist)
Paranormal (Paranormal Activity)
Monster (Frankenstein)
Slasher (Halloween)
Zombie (Night of the Living Dead)
Gore / Splatter (The Evil Dead)
Witchcraft (The Witch)
Vampire (Interview with a Vampire)
Psychological (The Shining)
Comedic (Shaun of the Dead)

With just 10 films in Troy and David’s top ten, some of these categories may have more than one entry in the final list, and some will be missing entirely.

This is the last episode of season 3, and we quickly review the season, at the end of the episode.

We look forward to season 4, after a short break, and the first episode should be available on Saturday, December 24, 2022.

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We are celebrating the 75th birthday of Stephen King with Bev Vincent’s wonderful new book from Epic Ink, Stephen King: A Complete Exploration of His Work, Life, and Influences. 

Our three part series splits up Bev’s six chapters, so we will look at two chapters in each episode.

PT 1 covers 1950 – 1979:

CHAPTER 1: The Future Artist as a Young Man (1950-1969)
CHAPTER 2: The Doubleday Years (1970s)

PT 2 covers 1980 – 1999:

CHAPTER 3: Midas Touch (1980s)
CHAPTER 4: Experimentation and Change (1990s)

PT 3 covers 2000 – 2022:

CHAPTER 5: After the Accident (2000s)
CHAPTER 6: King of Crime (2010 and beyond)

Bev Vincent’s latest work is: Stephen King: A Complete Exploration of His Work, Life, and Influences. 

Bev is also the author of The Dark Tower Companion, The Road to the Dark Tower, and the Stephen King Illustrated Companion.

In 2018 he co-edited the anthology Flight or Fright with Stephen King. He is the author of the Ogilvie Affair and co-author of Dissonant Harmonies.

His short fiction has appeared in places such as Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, Borderlands 5, Ice Cold, and The Blue Religion.

With this appearance Bev joins the Three Timers Club, if you will. The Hat Trick Union. 

Bev was our season one, episode seven podcast guest on: The Dead Zone;
and our season two, episode four podcast on:
On Writing.