Episode 135 - History Repeating

Gorilla Monsoon squares off against Muhammad Ali in 1976, prior to the Ali vs Inoki fight.

It’s our second WON HOF show of the week. We’re happy to have back on the show author and podcaster Brian R Solomon (@brianrsolomon) for another round of discussions about this year’s ballot. We cover a lot of the same topics as we did with Greg on the last show, including measuring tag teams in dog years, not voting for active competitors, judging someone’s entire career regardless of the category in which they are placed and comparisons to both Cooperstown and the Rock and Roll HOF.

We also to talk to Brian about his upcoming book next year on the legendary Gorilla Moonson and what surprised him most while researching the man, in his career, billed from both Manchuria and Cherry Hill, NJ. And since it’s almost Halloween, we also threw out a couple of film recommendations for the season, including Gothic, The Abominable Dr. Phibes and The Black Cat.

Be sure to check out Brian’s podcast Shut Up and Wrestle, especially if you love hearing about the Weston/Apter wrestling magazines, as well as Brian’s great ability to get wrestlers’ children on as guests, as they always have fascinating stories to tell.

Episode 134 - Yippy-Yo Yippy-Yeah

Michael Hayes blinds the Junkyard Dog with the Freebird Hair Cream in 1981.

It’s WON Hall of Fame season and this is the first of our shows examining this year’s candidates. We’re happy to welcome back Greg Klein (@jydbook) to discuss his advocacy of two people in particular, the Junkyard Dog and Houston promoter Morris Sigel. We go over both candidates in detail, including JYD’s drawing power in Mid-South and New Orleans in particular, his time as a main eventer versus his later career, the cultural implications of JYD’s push and his feuds, comparing him candicacy to Paul Orndorff, Sigel promoting Houston for 40+ years, the scope of the Texas wrestling office and how that compares to Roy Welch in the Southeast, wrestlers who got their break in Houston, the Texas Wrestling War and more.

We also go over the rest of the ballot discussing things like “should tag team longevity count in dog years,” lack of footage for pre-territory wrestlers, voting for still-active competitors on the ballot and comparing candidates to their baseball equivalents.

Be sure to check out Greg on some other wrestling podcasts this HOF season. The more discussions on worthy candidate, the better.

Episode 133 - Legend of a Mind

Kevin Sullivan, King Curtis Iaukea and Mark Lewin. Sullivan passed away on August 9 at age 74.

Before we start, an apology for no podcasts during or after the Tragos/Thesz Hall of Fame a few weeks ago. During the travel to the event, we had some weather-related issues at home that necessitated putting any recording plans on hold. But we are now back, although we were it were under better circumstances.

We’re very grateful to Mike Sempervive (@sempervive) to take some time to discuss the recent passing of the great Kevin Sullivan at age 74. There’s no rhyme nor reason for how we talk about the great man’s career: We go from Florida to Knoxville (all six more or times he worked there) to WCW to ICW to Hawaii and all points along the way. We discuss our favorite angles, try to place the Prince of Darkness gimmick in historical context, our favorite angles and promos, including The Dream Mike Davis, the Slaughterhouse, the Varsity Club, the third Head Hunter, the Sheik, Mark Lewin, King Curtis and so much more.

It’s great when Mike has time to fit us in. If we had him on more often, maybe the shows wouldn’t be as long, but the winding road takes us to where we want to be, in the end.

Episode 132 - Furious Anger

Come on, join our convoy. Praetorian Jack (Tom Burke) and Furiousa (AnnaTaylor-Joy) in Furiousa.(c) 2024 WB.

It’s movie time again, as we are again joined by Justin Jones (@xPrimusPilusx) to discuss Furiousa, the latest film in George Miller’s Mad Max series and the prequel to Fury Road focusing on the origin of the character played by Charlize Theron.

As you might imagine, it’s a spoiler-filled discussion of all aspects of the film,so if you’ve not seen it yet, you’ve been warned. We start with our overall thoughts and then break down the story beats, the characters, the acting, the practical stunts and everything else under the hot Australian desert sun.

There’s also some other movie chat, including the issues of presenting historical artifacts through contemporary mores, the sale of Criterion and should we worry about its future and a tease of a future episode detailing the great cinematic year that was 1999.

This episode was recorded on my phone immediately after seeing Furiousa, so we apologize for the dip in audio quality Also, to answer some questions asked in the episode, the actor who originally played Immortal Joe, Hugh Keays-Byrne, did pass away in 2020 and the role was played this time by Lachy Hulme, who also played Rizzdale Pell, Dementus’ chief lieutenant. And “the truck driver” was Praetorian Jack, played by Tom Burke.

Episode 131 - Old Lady McDuffie

The One Man Gang runs Jim Duggan into the ringpost during the UWF Title Tournament in May 1986.

We are happy to welcome back Greg Klein (@jydbook) to the pod for another deep dive involving Mid-South Wrestling, only this time it’s the newly renamed Universal Wrestling Federation and the May 30, 1986 UWF Title Tournament held in the Sam Houston Coliseum in Houston, Texas.

We talk about how we found out about the results originally, watching the UWF TV show in Baltimore. Although Greg spend part of the year in Houston, he wasn’t there for this event.

The entire card and all the matches get discussed, even the ones where we don’t have film. We discuss some of the booking choices and match-ups and who we might have been wanting to back when it happened in 1986.

There’s lots of other stuff in this marathon episode, including other eras of Mid-South, when was the high point of the UWF and we talk about the one time World Class ran Houston. Also, anti-star rating filibustering, Morris Sigel’s Hall of Fame credentials, underrated wrestlers and so much more.

It’s always a great show when Greg is on. If you’re in upstate New York, check out the Cooperstown Christmas concert they are putting on as a fund-raiser to make the movie of the same name.

Episode 130 - Some Jackets Required

Don Fargo and his new Fabulous Fargos (Ken Timbs and Pat Rose) with host Christopher Love (Bert Prentice) from a 1987 episode of World Organization Wrestling

We’re happy to welcome back Al Getz (@AlGetzWrestling) to discuss the latest edition of his Charting the Territories books, this one covering 1971-1973 Gulf Coast Wrestling. We talk about the main players in the territory at this time, including Cowboy Bob Kelly, Bobby Shane, Don Fargo and Rip Tyler, as well as future stars like Kevin Sullivan, Steve Keirn, Ron Bass and Greg Valentine, wrestling as Don’s brother Johnny Fargo. We talk about the towns the promotion ran and some of the interesting ways they crowned champions there (not with belts or trophies).

Then, as we did recently with Beau James, we talk about the travails of being a wrestling historian, covering a business that’s built on a lie. How hard is it to get “accurate” data on things like shows, box office and the like? And Al talk us through his methodology, both online and boots on the ground research.

We chat about Al being inducted into the Tragos/Thesz Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame in Waterloo, Iowa, getting the James C. Melby Historian Award.

The show ends with some quick baseball chat, with the season just a week old and Al’s Atlanta Braves being the only National League East team with a winning record. He also tells us about his first road trip of the year and dealing with weather issues with early spring baseball in the Midwest.

And the next episode of the Charting the Territories will look at Dick the Bruiser’s WWA in Indianapolis coming next week.

Episode 129 - I Am A Rock

Young Tony Schiavone interviews Ole Anderson on WTBS in 1985. RIP Ole Anderson.

We welcome back Beau James (@kingofkingsport) to the show for some wrestling history chat, including looking back at the lives of Ole Anderson and Mike Jones aka Virgil.

We discuss Ole’s long career, as wrestling and booker in both Georgia and Charlotte. We talk about his tag teams with Gene Anderson, Stan Hansen, Ivan Koloff and Arn as a member of the Four Horsemen. We talk about his famous feud with Dusty Rhodes, the ups and downs of Georiga Championship Wrestling and more. Beau also tells us some stories about running into Ole at the Gulf Coast Wrestler Reunions.

We chat briefly about the passing of Mike Jones, his longevity in the business in both WWF and WCW, his internet notoriety and meeting him on indy shows.

From there, we talk about the Iron Claw movie, even though Beau hasn’t watched it yet. There’s chat about dramatic licenses vs historical inaccuracies, Easter Eggs, when can a sad movie have a positive ending and more.

That segues into a long discussion about being a wrestling historian and the problems that can entail, when you research something built on a lie, including primary sources and their trustworthiness, faulty memories and newspaper reporters keeping kayfabe.

We end the show with a talk about Beau’s Southern States Wrestling promotion, their recent Hall of Fame inductions and upcoming shows this spring and summer.

Episode 128 - Hellfire and Brimstone

L: Peter Wyngarde as Jason King. C: Jason Wyngarde and Jean Grey in Uncanny X-Men 132. R: Jason Wyngarde and Diana Rigg in The Avengers. Imitation and flattery, et cetera.

It’s been a while, but we are happy as heck to welcome back writer, journalist and From the Sublime editor Iain Hepburn back to the show for a long chat about some classic British popular culture (and other stuff).

We start with the recent passing of film and tv music composer Laurie Johnson at age 96. Although probably best known for The Avengers (and New Avengers) themes, he had a long career that includes Jason King and The Professionals on TV and films including Dr. Strangelove. We talk about his career and other British TV composers like Ron Grainer (The Prisoner and Doctor Who) and Edwin Astley (Randall and Hopkirk Decased, Danger Man). This leads into a chat about 1960 British shows, the ones that made it to the US and the ones that didn’t and the fun of spotting actors on those before before they were famous.

Then, there’s plenty of chat about Doctor Who and the return of Russell T. Davies to run the show. We talk about how the vast Doctor Who library is now on BBC iplayer, the Tales of the Tardis special featuring classic cast members, modernizing old episodes for a contemporary audience and the hunt for missing episodes. This segues into a chat about physical media, streaming services, the phenomenon of Talking Pictures TV in the UK, preservation and restoration of older programs, how that relates to classic wresting TV shows and more.

There’s also chat about Iain’s magazine From the Sublime, who third/fourth issue is currently in production. We talk about the previous issues and some of the topics, including a Buck Rogers-themed restaurant in Glascow in the 1980s and futbol kit culture, including an unexpected discussion of the NASL and MLS. If you want a copy of From the Sublime and you order from their website, enter “WINTERPALACE” for 15% discount.

It’s always great to talk to Iain about stuff, so hopefully it won’t be more than eight years before he is back on the podcast.

The Plot Podcast - Episode 20 - Oh, Wolfie

Salieri (F. Murray Abraham) in disguise. From Amadeus.

Continuing our podcasts centering on biopics, we turn our attention to one of the best of the 1980s, Amadeus, directed by Milos Forman and adapted by Peter Schaffer from his play of the same name. It’s a look at the life of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Tom Hulce), through the lens of his rival, Antonio Salieri (F. Murray Abraham). We discuss Schaffer’s play, which turned into the film, including all the well-known actors who starred in both the UK and Broadway. We look at the plot of the film, discuss some of the historical liberties taken in play and film, including the question of “did Salieri really kill Mozart?” We discuss the rest of the cast, including some well-known character actors and one young actress who would go on to star in one of the biggest US TV shows of this century.

If that wasn’t enough, we talk about Rock Me Amadeus, the 1985 song by Austrian singer Falco and marvel at not only how many versions of the song there were (over 20) but just how amazingly successful it was around the world.

We might be having a new comics podcast coming soon. Still working on logistics. So be on the lookout for that, maybe, along with some big name guests coming to the main show (fingers crossed).

Episode 127 - Yellow Rose of Texas

Von Erichs vs Freebirds six-man match from 1984 David Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions.

It’s a same day turnaround for this holiday treat, as Justin Jones (@xPrimusPilusx) returns to the podcast to discuss The Iron Claw, the new movie about the Von Erich family, which we saw earlier today.

There are plenty of spoilers (for a docudrama), so if you haven’t seen it yet, save it for after you watch it. Short answer: it’s a good movie, in and of itself, but not great, and pretty good for a wrestling movie. We discuss the whole film, which actors we thought did the best jobs in the main cast, as well as looking at all the actual wrestlers in the movie. (The one everyone is making fun of on social media isn’t that bad.)

There’s also a lot of general wrestling chat: territorial history, foreign menaces as world champion, attendances now and then and how to judge them, the careers of Ross and Marshall Von Erich and more. We also tease which new biopic will probably be the subject of an upcoming pod and will be praised nearly as much as this picture.

Note: we recorded this in the movie theater parking lot, while sitting in the car, and so the quality is not as good as usual. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Episode 126 - Tokyo Giant

Godzilla vs The Marvel Universe. From Godzilla 24 by Doug Moench, Herb Trimpe, et al. (c) 2023 Marvel Comics.

After seven long years, we’re happy to welcome Zander Cannon (@zandercannon) to the pod to discuss the mad monster party, officially known as Godzilla Minus One. We basically go through the entire film plot point by plot point, so if you haven’t seen it yet, save the pod for after you’ve watched it. Short version: it’s as good or better than all the buzz you’ve heard about it. We talk about the main characters, both the humans and Big G himself, compare it to the original 1954 film (with and without Raymond Burr in the American version), the call-backs to previous movies, the drama at the heart of the movie and what very nerdy fan service thing I would have loved to see in the movie, even if most viewers may not have gotten the reference.

From there, we discuss the 1979 Godzilla comic from Marvel. Zander only read a couple issues as a kid, but I reread all 24 issues for the show. So, we discuss the creators and art style, which Marvel super heroes appear in the book and, of course, the giant Mattel Godzilla toy from that era (you know, the one with the spring-loaded fist you could shoot).

That’s a natural segue into Zander’s comic Kaijumax, which finished up last year and the third of three hardcover collections is coming out soon (it may be out when you hear this) from Oni Press. We talk about the evolution of the series over its 30 issues, the lack of monster vs monster splash pages in the series, all the tropes that got turned on their heads in the series and more.

We end with what could a general talk abou the comics industry, largely about original art, prices these days for older pages, creating comics digitally vs the old pen and ink days, color guides and how cool they are to see, retro technology and a bunch of other topics.

It was great to talk to Zander again on the show and hopefully it won’t take seven years to invite him back.

Episode 125 - Sweet F.A.

The famous 1974 photo of Exotic Adrian Streeet and his coal mining father.

It’s always great to welcome back birthday twin Kevin Day (@kevinhunterday) to the show. First up, once I learned Kevin had been a fan of World of Sport wrestling growing up, I knew that would be the subject of his next appearance. Since he was casual fan watching, he brings a different perspective to the business than most of our usual guests, who are historians or competitors themselves. We talk about how it evolves over the 20+ years it was on ITV in the UK and chat about most of the well-known names: host Kent Walton, Big Daddy (no HOF talk here), Giant Haystacks, Mick McManus, Kendo Nagasaki (I explain to Kevin about his Japanese namesake in 80s American wrestling), Johnny Saint, Steve/William Regal, Robbie Brookside, Catweazle and others. But we spent a lot of time talking about Adrian Street. (Kevin was originally going to do the pod right after Adrian’s death earlier this year). We talk about his career in the US and the UK, the famous photo (seen above) with his Welsh coal mining father in 1974, his influence on glam rock, how the character was presented at the time and now in present day and, of course, his infamous showdown with a certain disgraced UK TV presenter.

From there, we discuss Kevin’s new book he co-wrote with former guest Kieran Maguire and their Price of Football producer Guy Kitty called “Unfit and Improper Persons.” We discuss how the book came about as a way to discuss the myriad of issues in the world of football finance without it being just a textbook (since Kieran already wrote that book). Here, the three of them start a fictional football team named West Park Rovers and we follow their journey from pub team to Europa League participant. Along the way, they discuss many of the issues plaguing the modern game: financial fair play, sustainability, accessibility, inclusivity and, of course, amortization. There’s also some chat about Lionel Messi in MLS, David Beckham, Pele, The New York Cosmos, Once in a Lifetime, the NASL, the NFL and other American sports.

Wrapping up, we learned on the Price of Football that both Kieran and Kevin were also gamers and both were playing the new Zelda game, “Tears of the Kingdom.” We heard from Kieran a few months ago about his thoughts on the game and now we hear Kevin’s opinions having finished the game and how it compared to its predecesor “Breath of the Wild.”

And, by happenstance, we recorded the show the night before our two teams played in the Premier League, so there’s some brief chat about the fortunes of our two clubs this year.

I love talking to Kevin about old school British popular culture, as he provides an eye witness account on shows and sports I either watched here in the US on PBS with no cultural context (Monty Python, Doctor Who) or only discovered years later (Randall and Hopkirk, Dad’s Army and Department S/Jason King for example).

Episode 124 - Just Gone Noon, Half Past Monsoon

The Sheik and Princess Salima, also known as Edward and Joyce Farhat.

Who better to have on the show to discuss scary wrestlers for Halloween than the man who wrote a book about maybe the scariest of them all, The Sheik (Edward Farhat)?

I’m happy to welcome for the first time on the show, author, historian and podcaster Brian R Solomon (@BrianRSolomon). Brian’s biography of the Sheik, Blood and Fire, tells the story of how the boy fascinated by Middle Eastern culture in things like Rudolph Valentino’s The Sheik and Michael Powell’s The Thief of Bagdad, would provide the basis for his wrestling persona. We talk about his amateur wrestlingcredentials garnered during World War II and how they were part of his initial pro wrestling career, before he eventually became the Madman from the Middle East. We go over most of his career, both in the US, including his promotion Big Time Wrestling in Detroit and his phenomenal success in Japan, first with All Japan and then a decade later in FMW.

Since Brian is currently working on a book about Gorilla Monsoon, we talk about the similarities, at least being amateur wrestlers who ended up with “foreign heel” gimmicks. We also have a fascinating conversation about early 20th American attitudes toward “exotic” cultures, like the Middle East and the Far East and how that shaped their gimmicks. We also look at how The Sheik, one of the biggest heels in the 1970s, never portayed the kind of anti-American character we associated with people like the Iron Sheik, Adnan Al-Kaissie or Scandar Akbar.

From there, we have a long chat about the candidates for this year’s Wrestling Observer Hall of Fame. Since we both have votes, we go over who we think the strongest candidates should be, even if there’s no guarantee they’ll be elected. We also discuss of the flaws in the system and ways it could be improved.

We also have some chat about wrestling’s place in popular culture in the 1970s and how the bloody wrestling magazine covers played into the seediness of the sport, before it became more sanitized in the 1980s.

Finally, there’s some comics chat, where I recommend some current books Brian might enjoy as a lapsed comics reader.

This was a great show and I hope to have Brian back on the future to discuss some of the things we only briefly mention. Make sure to check out Brian’s books and his podcast, Shut Up and Wrestle, part of the Arcadian-Vanguard network.

The Plot Podcast - Episode 19 - Pulse/Kairo (2001)

Dust in the Wind. What happened to Michi’s (Kumiko Aso) friend? From Pulse (2001).

It’s spooky season, so let’s have a review of famous 2001 J-horror film Pulse aka Kairo [Circuit], written and directed by Kiyoshi Kurasawa.

It’s literally a “ghost in the machine” plot, as it appears a group of Japanese students have found out the dead are trying to come back to our world through … the internet? Luckily, it’s 2001, so it takes a while thanks to dial-up.

While some of the deaths are horrific, none are anything I’d call gory by 2023 standards. And not as many jump scares as you’d expect from a J-horror picture.

And if sounds familiar, it’s because there was a 2006 American remake starring Kristen Bell and one of the guys from Lost who never seemed to become a breakout star. But dont make the mistake of watching the wrong one. The Japanese version is a somber reflection about loneliness and solitude, which certainly hits harder now in a post-COVID world. The other is a horrible remake that took the plot but not the soul of its predecessor. I mean, it’s so bad, that there’s a joke about it in another Kristen Bell movie (Finding Sarah Marshall).

Episode 123 - It's Full of Stars

It was a Starfield wedding and the old folks wished them well.

I’m excited to welcome back Jason Plays (@jasonplaysNMS) to the show to discuss a variety of topics.

First up, Starfield has been out for about a month now and we were both super looking forward to it. How has Jason found the game so far, his likes and dislikes, comparing it to both past Bethesda games and space operas like Mass Effect. I’ve been slow playing, where Jason is on his fourth playthrough, so while there are discussions of characters and missions, a lot of the big spoilers are not discussed, since I haven’t gotten to them yet.

Then, of course, we talk about No Man’s Sky, which dropped an update and expedition right before Starfield’s launch. How did Jason cope with trying to consume and play both at the same time? We discuss the most recent expedition and how it feels like Hello Games just might be making adventures to put a burr in the saddle of speedrunners.

We also chat about the upcoming Metal Gear Solid remastered releases. Jason was a huge Solid Snake fan in the day, so we talk about our memories of the games both good and bad (Raiden, I’m looking at you).

Then we shift gears for a long chat about the James Bond franchise. We discuss our favorite Bond actors and films, the out-of-continuity movies, serious spy films vs funny/campy pictures, other favorite spy properties and more. There’s also a lot of random popular culture chat, including (again) the greatness of Green Acres, the early years of having a VCR, life as a video game streamer and attracing an audience and other stuff.

I want to thank Jason for his time for doing a long episode, especially since we started late, thanks to a seemingly interminable traffic jam on my way home from work, which pushed back the recording time.

The Plot Podcast - Episode 18 - Whose Line Is It Anyway?

A murderers’ row of Whose Line panelists: Josie Lawrence, Paul Merton, Tony Slattery, Mike McShane.

First off, get well soon to When It Was Cool head honcho Karl Stern, after his medical incident, as we know say these days.

Onto the show, a love letter to one of my all-time favorite shows, the original, British version of Whose Line Is It Anyway?, which just celebrated its 35th anniversary.

We discuss the history of the show, first on BBC Radio 4 (of course) and then its debut on Channel 4. Who was in the original pilot along with host Clive Anderson and radio holdover John Sessions? Find out. And how did the show evolve over the years: which segments made the grade, which were forgotten and which were likely added to accommodate the influx of North American panelists over the years? Which now famous personalities appeared on the show when they were relatively unknown, at least here in the US, where the show aired on Comedy Central.

Then, some clips featuring some of my favorite panelists: Josie Lawrence, Greg Proops, Paul Merton, Ryan Stiles, Mike McShane and my personal number one, Tony Slattery.

It was wonderful to relive some episodes that I watched so many times that I can remember some of the bits 30 years later. Thanks for the memories, one and all.

Episode 122 - Hotscakes

The Cary Grant of Pigs, Arnold Ziffel. (c) 2023 MGM.

We’re happy to welcome Daniel Budnik (@dannyslacks1) to the podcast to discuss an underrated comic great of the 1960s, Green Acres. Daniel wrote “From Beverly Hills to Hooterville,” an episode guide and analysis of the three shows created by Paul Henning in the 1960s: The Beverly Hillbillies, Petticoat Junction and Green Aces.

We talk about the show’s origin and how Jay Sommers based on the show on “Granby’s Green Acres,” a radio show with a similar premise back in the 1950. There’s a lot of talk on the show about Sommers and writing partner Chevillat, who scripted almost all of the show’s 170 episodes over six seasons.

There’s lots of talk about the cast, headed by Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor and the various folks that inhabit Hooterville, including handyman Ed (Tom Lester) shifty salesman Mr. Haney (Pat Buttram) and of course, the breakout star of the show at the time, Arnold Ziffel (Arnold the Pig).

We discuss the surreal and absurdist comedy found on the show, which probably goes back to the careers of Sommers and Chevillat, who worked with people in vaudeville, film and radio like the Marx Brothers, Burns and Allen and Laurel & Hardy.

There’s lots of talk about our favorite and/or memorable episodes and bits, including Lisa’s cooking, Oliver’s empassioned speeches about farming and all the metatext in the show.

This was a very fun show to record and discuss such a television classic. We hope to have Daniel back on the show to talk about some of his other areas of research he has done in his books and podcasts, including Supertrain and Time Express, that’s the Vincent Price “Fantasy Island on a train” show whose name we couldn’t remember.

The Plot Podcast - Episode 17 - Enola Gay

On the 78th anniversary of the Atomic Bomb being dropped on Hiroshima, we look at some of the popular culture around that event.

We start by discussing the 1980 song “Enola Gay,” by the 1980s British band Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark (OMD). We look at a brief history of the band, the success of the song both at the time and its historical legacy and a not-necessarily-obvious resonance it had in popular culture.

After that, given the box office success of Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer,” we look some other films that take on the creation of the bomb in 1945. That includes the 1989 films “Day One” starring David Strathairn as Oppenheimer and “Fat Man and Little Boy,” starring Paul Newman and Dwight Schultz (who you may remember from “The A-Team” or “Star Trek: The Next Generation”) as Oppenheimer. We also briefly discuss the 1980 BBC mini-series “Oppenheimer” with Sam Waterston in the title role.

We end with a brief mention of two other foreign language films related to the events: Alain Resnais’ “Hiroshima Mon Amour” from 1959 and Akira Kurosawa’s “Rhapsody in August” from 1991.

Episode 121 - Boys Don't Cry

An ad for the New York Cosmos that ran in DC Comics in 1977.

We are happy to finally have Kieran Maguire (@kieranmaguire) from the Price of Football podcast on the show. Even though he only a few miles up the road in Philadelphia last week, this episode was a Trans-Atlantic recording, done both late night and early morning. While his teaching day job brought him to the States, he managed to get to see his Brighton and Hove Albion squad take on Chelsea in one of this year’s Premier League pre-season matches taking place here. We started off discussing how he found the atmosphere of the match, both on- and off-pitch, desegregated crowds and exorbitant concession prices. That branched out into a general chat about football in England and the growth of MLS, the thorny topic of American ownership of British teams and the old chestnut, promotion and relegation. We also talked about some recent US-related topics that had come up on the Price of Football that related to US sports, like public salaries and agents’ fees.

Believe it or not, I wanted to keep the football chat to a minimum, but it was the first half of the episode. After that, we talked about Kieran’s other great cultural love, music, particularly the 70s and 80s bands in what some call the Second British Invasion. We discuss how the Manchester music scene in the early 80s influenced where he went to university and our mutual love for bands like New Order and Joy Division, OMB, the Smiths and the Cure. Also, some love for the New Music Express, Danny Kelly and Danny Baker, the intimacy of podcasts vs modern radio and more.

We wrap up with some video game chat. Kieran and co-host (and former podcast guest) Kevin Day were both playing the new Zelda game, Tears of the Kingdom. We talked about how he has found the game so far, comparing it to Breath of the Wild, using video games as decompression time and more.

We had hoped to do a separate show with Kevin and pair them together, but scheduling issues kept that from happening. Hopefully, Kevin will be on before or in conjunction with the next Price of Football book, Unfit and Improper Persons, where the guys discuss how to start a local pub team and build it all the way up to Champions League success and what the financial realities are in such an endeavor. And yes, we did talk about how an unlikely Odd Couple of a Crystal Palace supporting comedian and Brighton supporting academic have managed to produce a successful podcast.

The Plot Podcast - Holiday Special - The Force of July

The Force of July, from their Who’s Who entry. (C) 2023 DC Comics

Every year on American Independence Day, I post a picture of The Force of July on social media, both as cheeky humor, but also to make a small comment about 1980s comics and authoritarianism. This year, instead of that, I decided to do an episode devoted to the short-lived DC Comics villains (Yes, if you couldn’t tell, they are the bad guys). We start by discussing their first appearance in Batman and the Outsiders Annual 1, by Mike W. Barr, Jim Aparo and others. We explain the original creation of the Outsiders and their patriotic-themed foes. If you’ve never read this issue before, get ready, because it’s a doozy, straight out of 1984, the novel and Reagan’s America. Then, we talk about the return appearances facing the Outsiders and later the Soviet Super Team, the Peoples’ Heroes. Then, it’s onto the Outisders/Infinity Inc crossover, not only featuring the Force of July, but also (spoiler alert) The Psycho-Pirate (hooray). We end discussing The Force of July appearing in the John Ostrander version of the Suicide Squad comic in 1989, and that can’t be good news for Major Victory, Mayflower, Lady Liberty, Silent Majority and Sparkler. (Yes, those are their names.)

I love C-list super villains and these guys are so of their time, that they are an intersting to examine from a historical and socio-political context. All of the issues discussed in the pod are available on DC Comics Unlimited App, if you want to read them for yourself.

Note: Had some coughing issues while recording. So, if some made it through the edit or it seems more choppy than usual, that’s why. Apologies