From snowstorms up north to the feel of summertime in the south, the past week of the Winter Olympics have challenged both athletes and couch potatoes in more ways than one. But we’ll never ask you to choose between watching skiing or going skiing.  We will never push you into a conundrum of choosing between mowing the lawn and keeping up with the figure skating finals.  You can take TechnoRetro Dads with you wherever you can take your ear buds, EarBuds, as we remember Saturday morning cartoons enjoyed with a bowl of cereal, revisit the arcades of our youth, and reminisce about the best parts of being kids in the ‘70s and ‘80s.  So whether you are Farmers or freelance photographers, we’re your friendly neighborhood podcast — even if you don’t remember the glory days of GenX!

In the NEWS

As we anticipated, the upcoming incarnation of The Greatest American Hero features a female lead as Hannah Simone is cast as the next unlikely superhero to wear the red pajamas. We wonder who her counterpart will be. Before V was for vendetta, the Roman numeral signified visitors from another planet who have come to earth to feast on human flesh.  Creator of the original mini-series, Kenneth Johnson, will be directing a big screen adaptation of the iconic ‘80s TV show.  Whether Dar or Freddy Kruger will appear in the new version is unknown at the moment.  Doc Brown could soon find a replacement for the demolished DeLorean from Back to the Future 3 in Humble, Texas as brand new DMC-12s begin rolling off the assembly line next year.  Built from unassembled original parts from the early ‘80s, these DeLoreans will combine the classic look with updated and upgraded engines and electronics assembled on “x” frames.  Do we want them?  Yes!  Can we afford them?  Uh…no.  WarGames is making a comeback through a new game about hackers produced in collaboration with Eko.  Matthew Broderick?  We doubt it.

We Love Our Cereal…

…and so do burglars in Richmond, Virginia. Olivia Davis came home recently to discover her apartment had been ransacked, her toilet paper had been stolen, and someone had been eating a bowl of Cap’n Crunch on her bed…and left before finishing the bowl!  When the criminal is this smooth (or maybe not-so-smooth), there’s only one person we could call to make sense of this crime — Steve Glosson.  The host of the Big Honkin’ Show joins shazbazzar and JediShua to investigate the details of this very strange tale of missing cleaning supplies, tables of wigs, and a half bowl of Cap’n Crunch cereal.

TechnoRetro Arcade

Seems like sequels are the rage in early ‘80s video games.  Last week, we talked about Ms. Pac-Man.  This week, the success of Centipede gives rise to Millipede, a faster, more intense version of the rollerball shooter with more arachnids, insects, and dangerous mushrooms that might put you in a panic if you’re not expecting the onslaught of tiny creatures attacking your bug blaster in this fun and frenetic game that will get your heart racing.

Saturday Mornings

He’s orange.  He’s striped.  He loves lasagna.  He’s the iconic fat cat with a very Presidential name.  He’s Garfield.  If you’re a child of the ‘80s, you remember him, not only from the funny pages of your local newspaper, but from Saturday mornings on CBS from 1988 to 1995.  Garfield and Friends featured not only Garfield and Odie, but also several friends from the farm as Jim Davis’s creation gets animated on a weekly basis in this cartoon.  JediShua does discover that Garfield was inspired by the creator’s grandfather, a cantankerous man named James A. Garfield Davis.  Does the “A” stand for “Andrew”?  We just don’t know.

Feedback

Isaiah Caldeira tries Steve Glosson’s chocolate super cereal surprise and enjoys watching Animaniacs.  Jonathan Bell geeks out with his TechnoRetroGrandDad on the Input Junkie podcast.  Dave Atteberry sends us pics of his “super” man cave and we’re amazed because it’s spectacular.  The talents of Jimmy in Georgia and Uncle Ben Foster are on display with Jimmy’s Dungeons & Dragons art and Ben’s pen-and-ink drawings and musical repertoire.  Chef Armando is thoroughly enjoying The Toys that Made Us on Netflix and Twitter.  Jason from The Colony, Texas shares his thoughts and Darth Taxus embraces Flash Gordon with his whole family.  Michael Goldtrap tastes Nutter Butter cereal.  Jeffrey Fischbach suggests names for the Pac-Fam and The Neverland Podcast solves the mystery of Ms. Pac-Man’s name.  Ahh-choo!  

Don’t forget to rate and review TechnoRetro Dads on iTunes, share us and with us on social media, and lend your voice to our discussion about toys, cereal, games, movies and/or shows from the ‘70s and ‘80s by giving the ‘Dads your feedback via voice mail at (209) 878-7323 or sending us a message or mp3 via electronic-M to podcast@TechnoRetroDads.com. And be sure to listen for hints and watch for clues for the TechnoRetro Dads’ Easter Egg with the ongoing TechnoRetro Egg Hunt.

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