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.

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.

Saturday Morning Cartoons is a term referred to the line-up of cartoons that ran Saturday mornings in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.

Generally these were animated, and many were genre (science fiction, fantasy or horror).

Scooby Doo and The Jetsons were two such shows that were popular. Jonny Quest was another such show. Many remember fondly Spiderman and Rocket Robinhood, despite the poor quality graphics, the backgrounds that were used and reused and reused.

Star Trek had an animated series, that “bridged” (pardon the pun) the gap between the classic series from the 60s and the first motion picture in 1979.

What were your favorites?

The Flintstones? Top Cat? The Jetsons? Jonny Quest?
Beany and Cecil? Masters of the Universe?
Jem and the Holograms? Thundercats?

Do you remember…

Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle? Return to the Planet of the Apes?
Speed Buggy? Jabberjaw?

And do you remember some of the live action series…

Shazam! (with animated sequences)?
The Secret of Isis? Jason of Star Command?

Join Troy Harkin and David Clink as they recall the many shows that comprised the Saturday mornings of our childhood. Maybe some of your faves will be mentioned.!

Mystery Men was a film released in 1999. It is based on a comic book series (1939-1942), and more of a direct connection from a comic book series in the 1980s. From the web site….
http://20yearsb42000.blogspot.com/2021/01/a-brief-history-of-mystery-men.html
“In 1987 the Mystery men made their debut in Flaming Carrot comics #16. This band of unreal heroes was brought together, well because no one else wanted them. Their powers are weird, their tempers are high and their clothing choices are questionable, but that never stopped them from trying to save the world. The roster has included such classic characters as The Shoveler, Mr. Furious, Screwball, Bondo man and The Spleen to name a few.”
Posted by Spyda-Man at 3:30 AM – January 21, 2021

For those who have seen the film, they either think it is a great film or a not-so great film. That phrase, “You either love it or you hate it” was never more applicable. The most notable character appearing in The Dark Horse comic “Mystery Men” created by Bob Burden that was not included in the movie was “The Flaming Carrot.”

So, why watch the 1999 movie?

Because, you may be one of those that absolutely loves it. The main cast and supporting cast are terrific.

Cast (in credits order – from IMDB)

Hank Azaria … Blue Raja / Jeff
Janeane Garofalo … Bowler
William H. Macy … Shoveler / Eddy
Kel Mitchell … Invisible Boy
Paul Reubens … Spleen
Ben Stiller … Furious / Roy
Wes Studi … Sphinx
Greg Kinnear … Captain Amazing / Lance
Geoffrey Rush … Casanova Frankenstein
Lena Olin … Dr. Anabel Leek
Eddie Izzard … Tony P
Artie Lange … Big Red
Pras Michel … Tony C (as Prakazrel Michel)
Claire Forlani … Monica
Tom Waits … Doc Heller
Louise Lasser … Violet
Ricky Jay … Vic Weems
Jenifer Lewis … Lucille

Beyond the cast, there are moments of hilarity. If you are someone who likes the reviewing of Roger Ebert, he recognized its brilliance, but was also aware of its failings:

“Mystery Men” has moments of brilliance waving their arms to attract attention in a sea of dreck. = Roger Ebert
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/mystery-men-1999

Ira Nayman joins Troy and David as their special guest for this episode. Please see his bio below. Ira has made an appearance on TOF in each of its three seasons, and is affectionately known as “The Third Fart.”

ALSO:

Troy and David and Ira will look at recasting the film, with a “Dream Cast” = the best actor or actress, living or dead, to play the roles; and a “Schrodinger’s Cast” = unusual casting. Please note that David mentions three films that have won all four Oscars for Best Film; Best Director; Best Actor; and Best Actress, and he made a mistake. The three films that won all those awards are: It Happened One Night; One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest; and The Silence of the Lambs. David mistakenly put in “As Good As It Gets” instead of Cuckoo’s Nest. His excuse: “We are all getting old.” As Good As It Gets won both feature actor categories (Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt), but best film and best director were both won by Titanic.

Ira Nayman writes humour featuring a heavy dose of satire.

The Ugly Truth, his 8^th novel with Elsewhen Press, was published in June, 2022.

His two dozenth published short story, “Girls Rule the Steampunk World” appeared in Brave New Girls: Chronicles of Misses and Machines.

In September, 2022, Ira will be celebrating the 20^th anniversary of the weekly publication of Les Pages aux Folles, his web site of political and social satire.

Ira was our guest for two previous episodes:

season one, episode five podcast:
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

season two, episode eleven podcast:
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai
Across the 8th Dimension.

Troy Harkin and David Clink (and Lee McCormack) look at Galactic Rock. This three-part series delves into Rock ‘n’ Roll that is “out there” and perhaps even “out of this world” including things that are science fiction, fantasy, horror, and their mashups and subgenres, and will delve into science and space, from the beginnings to present day.

Were you a fan of…

Space Oddity and Star Man (both by David Bowie)
Monster Mash (by Bobby Pickett)
Theme From The Munsters (by Jack Marshall)
The Lonely Man Theme [often referred to as “The Hulk walking away music”] (by Joe Harnell)
The Purple People Eater by Sheb Wooley

Listen in as we look at these songs and much more.

Be sure to check out the entire series:
pt. 1 (available beginning July 9, 2022)
pt. 2 (available beginning July 23, 2022)
pt. 3 (available beginning August 6, 2022)

Troy and David’s special guest for this series is Lee McCormack.
Please see his bio below.

ALSO:

Be sure to check out our Spotify playlist: “Galactic Rock (TOF)”

It includes every song that we mention in our three-part series and many more. It is ten hours long! Shuffle away!

Lee McCormack is a Canadian multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and podcaster.

As a musician he has played in Malhavoc. He’s headed up professional tributes to Johnny Cash, and The Clash. He has also played drums as Ringo in various Beatles tribute bands. In addition to this he’s recorded his own material at the legendary Sun Record studio in Memphis, Tennessee. In 2020 he released the single “Train to Heartbreak” backed with “Every Night’s A Saturday Night”.

Lee has been the host and producer of Tramps Like Us, a Bruce Springsteen podcast, since 2016.

Troy Harkin and David Clink (and Lee McCormack) look at Galactic Rock. This three-part series delves into Rock ‘n’ Roll that is “out there” and perhaps even “out of this world” including things that are science fiction, fantasy, horror, and their mashups and subgenres, and will delve into science and space, from the beginnings to present day.

Were you a fan of…

Space Oddity and Star Man (both by David Bowie)
Monster Mash (by Bobby Pickett)
Theme From The Munsters (by Jack Marshall)
The Lonely Man Theme [often referred to as “The Hulk walking away music”] (by Joe Harnell)
The Purple People Eater by Sheb Wooley

Listen in as we look at these songs and much more.

Be sure to check out the entire series:
pt. 1 (available beginning July 9, 2022)
pt. 2 (available beginning July 23, 2022)
pt. 3 (available beginning August 6, 2022)

Troy and David’s special guest for this series is Lee McCormack.
Please see his bio below.

ALSO:

Be sure to check out our Spotify playlist: “Galactic Rock (TOF)”

It includes every song that we mention in our three-part series and many more. It is ten hours long! Shuffle away!

Lee McCormack BIO

Lee McCormack is a Canadian multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and podcaster.

As a musician he has played in Malhavoc. He’s headed up professional tributes to Johnny Cash, and The Clash. He has also played drums as Ringo in various Beatles tribute bands. In addition to this he’s recorded his own material at the legendary Sun Record studio in Memphis, Tennessee. In 2020 he released the single “Train to Heartbreak” backed with “Every Night’s A Saturday Night”.

Lee has been the host and producer of Tramps Like Us, a Bruce Springsteen podcast, since 2016.

Troy Harkin and David Clink (and Lee McCormack) look at Galactic Rock. This three-part series delves into Rock ‘n’ Roll that is “out there” and perhaps even “out of this world” including things that are science fiction, fantasy, horror, and their mashups and subgenres, and will delve into science and space, from the beginnings to present day.

Were you a fan of…

Space Oddity and Star Man (both by David Bowie)
Monster Mash (by Bobby Pickett)
Theme From The Munsters (by Jack Marshall)
The Lonely Man Theme [often referred to as “The Hulk walking away music”] (by Joe Harnell)
The Purple People Eater by Sheb Wooley

Listen in as we look at these songs and much more.

Be sure to check out the entire series:
pt. 1 (available beginning July 9, 2022)
pt. 2 (available beginning July 23, 2022)
pt. 3 (available beginning August 6, 2022)

Troy and David’s special guest for this series is Lee McCormack.
Please see his bio below.

ALSO:

Be sure to check out our Spotify playlist: “Galactic Rock (TOF)”

It includes every song that we mention in our three-part series and many more. It is ten hours long! Shuffle away!

Lee McCormack BIO

Lee McCormack is a Canadian multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and podcaster.

As a musician he has played in Malhavoc. He’s headed up professional tributes to Johnny Cash, and The Clash. He has also played drums as Ringo in various Beatles tribute bands. In addition to this he’s recorded his own material at the legendary Sun Record studio in Memphis, Tennessee. In 2020 he released the single “Train to Heartbreak” backed with “Every Night’s A Saturday Night”.

Lee has been the host and producer of Tramps Like Us, a Bruce Springsteen podcast, since 2016.

Troy Harkin and David Clink continue to look at large creatures, mostly in movie history.

FROM OUR DESCRIPTION OF PT. 1:

Monsters have been with us for a long, long time.
Some of them are very big.

Troy Harkin and David Clink will look at monster films, from some of the earliest to very recent ones, looking at the largest creatures that have stayed in our collective imaginations, while they spend some time at the cottage, enjoying the lake, and some beer.

And who will win, as the greatest of them all?

And who would win in a fight?
= = =
Godzilla
or
King Kong?
= = =
The woman from Attack of the 50 Foot Woman
or
the rabbits in Night of the Lepus?
= = =
Aragog, the spider in The Chamber of Secrets [Harry Potter]
or
Shelob. the spider in The Two Towers [Lord of the Rings]?
= = =
Troy and David do not ponder these questions.

But they do fend off forest critters as they pontificate about the giants from film, while downing some brewskies.

Monsters have been with us for a long, long time.
Some of them are very big.

Troy Harkin and David Clink will look at monster films, from some of the earliest to very recent ones, looking at the largest creatures that have stayed in our collective imaginations, while they spend some time at the cottage, enjoying the lake, and some beer.

And who will win, as the greatest of them all?

And who would win in a fight?
= = =
Godzilla
or
King Kong?
= = =
The woman from Attack of the 50 Foot Woman
or
the rabbits in Night of the Lepus?
= = =
Aragog, the spider in The Chamber of Secrets [Harry Potter]
or
Shelob. the spider in The Two Towers [Lord of the Rings]?
= = =
Troy and David do not ponder these questions.

But they do fend off forest critters as they pontificate about the giants from film, while downing some brewskies.

In 2019 a film was released called “MidSommar” and it caused quite a sensation. Ari Aster drew inspiration from the 1973 film, The Wicker Man. This film is part of the folk horror tradition.

Here is a bit that Troy put together about MidSommar (with key spoilers and plot points removed):

MIDSOMMAR (history)

Midsommar was written and directed by Ari Aster. It was released in 2019, and was the follow up to his highly-acclaimed debut feature film, Hereditary. Aster, who was hugely influenced by Swedish film legend Ingmar Bergman, was approached by Swedish producers to create a slasher film involving Swedish folk traditions. The director had recently dealt with the trauma of a breakup and found he could work through his pain by dealing with it in his screenplay for Midsommar.

Shot in Hungary outside of Budapest, not Sweden. The Horgan village was constructed from scratch for the film. 

The Film stars Florence Pugh as Dani Ardor, Jack Reynor as her boyfriend Christian.

Dani finds that Christian and his three friends Jack (played by Will Poulter), Josh, and Pelle  (all of them anthropology students) are planning on visiting the Swedish community, the Horga, that Pelle belongs to.

The five Americans make the trip to the rustic village and are welcomed into the community by the Horgans.

They soon discover that the community is not as idyllic as it seems. 

Time Out‘s Joshua Rothkopf wrote, “A savage yet evolved slice of Swedish folk-horror, Ari Aster’s hallucinatory follow-up to Hereditary proves him a horror director with no peer.”

“Ambitious, impressively crafted, and above all unsettling, Midsommar further proves writer-director Ari Aster is a horror auteur to be reckoned with.” – Rotten Tomatoes

Troy Harkin and David Clink will look at the film, with special guest Sandra Kasturi. She was also the guest for folk horror part 1, our season 3 episode 2 installment, which looked at The Wicker Man (1973).

Sandra Kasturi is an award-winning poet, writer, and editor, with work appearing in many places including ON SPEC, several Tesseracts anthologies, and 80! Memories & Reflections on Ursula K. Le Guin.

Her two poetry collections are: The Animal Bridegroom (with an introduction by Neil Gaiman) and Come Late to the Love of Birds (both from Tightrope Books).

Sandra recently won second prize in The New Quarterly’s Nick Blatchford Occasional Verse Contest. She is also the winner of the Sunburst Award for her story “The Beautiful Gears of Dying” and ARC Magazine‘s Poem of the Year Award for “Old Men, Smoking.”