Episode 25: Big Bug Attack!

They're creepy! They're crawly! And oh yeah...they're gigantic!! We're talking about those irradiated, mutated, and sometimes prehistoric giant bugs that have been freaking us out on movie screens for decades. Come join the Planet 8 crew as we explore the films that feature these weird and wonderful critters.

We'll focus on classics including Them!, Tarantula, and Mothra, but also touch upon a few others. Well, maybe not touch upon them - we'll poke them with a long stick.

And what would you do if attacked by a 50 foot spider? Or a 20 foot ant? Have you given it any thought, friends? Maybe you should! The crew delves into the science of big bugs, discussing Professor Michael C. LaBarbera's paper, The Biology of B-Movie Monsters, and Professor Andrew Fraknoi's class on the Science of Science Fiction, to see what a real giant insect would be like, and what vulnerabilities they'd have. Finally, we face our fears and reveal what giant insect we'd be the most frightened of! 

Your crew -Larry, Karen, and Bob

For our Sensor Sweep, we shamelessly plug our Tee Public shop, where you can purchase nearly anything -t-shirts, hoodies, hats, mugs, tote bags - with one of the Planet 8 logos (we have two designs now!) on it. We originally made a small number of tees and hats for ourselves, but we had so many requests from friends and family that we decided to open it up and see if anyone else wanted to show off their Planet 8 love. We get a part of the proceeds from each purchase and will use this to fund more equipment, products, and trips to conventions, where we can interview cool people we know you want to hear! If you do get something, send us a picture! We'll post it! We really appreciate your support, in whatever form, and we love hearing from you, which brings us to the next part of our message. Besides this site, you can chat with us at:

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/Planet8Cast
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Thanks for Listening!

Episode 24: Something about The Thing

No fewer than three major science fiction films have sprung from the original novella "Who Goes There?" by legendary science fiction author/editor John Campbell. And all three have been titled "The Thing" - well, the first one was actually titled "The Thing from Another World," but most fans just refer to it as "the original Thing." All three have similarities - the remote, icy outpost, the dangerous alien loose among an isolated group of people, a heightened sense of paranoia and suspense. But they have their differences, particularly between the first film and the later two.

Join the Planet 8 crew of Larry, Bob, and Karen as they discuss each film, what they enjoy about each one, what they think makes each one stand out, and their first experiences with each. The films are:

• The Thing from Another World, 1951
• The Thing, 1982
• The Thing, 2011

What's the thing about The Thing? It's got a certain special something...

We'll focus mostly on the 1951 and 1982 films. Both had excellent casts, ensembles that worked well together and really sold the story, despite how fantastic it might seem.

We'll also look at the effects, the limitations of the '51 film (and poor James Arness in gobs of make-up), and the insane practical effects of Rob Bottin in the '82 version.

The third film (2011) was actually a prequel to the '82 version. It covered a lot of ground concerning what happened at the Norwegian camp before the start of the previous film. Was it successful? The crew has differing opinions on that.

Just for fun, we also speculate on how the Planet 8 team would react to an invasion by the Thing. Who would survive? And who would decide to wipe out the team to protect humanity?

As an added treat, Larry and Bob interview science fiction and fantasy artist extraordinaire, Bob Eggleton. Mr. Eggleton is  illustrating a new version of Who Goes There -a novel-length version that's never been published before. It's going to be part of a book called Frozen Hell, which will also include a number of short stories by other authors continuing the story of The Thing. The book is a kickstarter project assembled by John Gregory Betancourt, who manages Campbell's literary estate. You can learn more at the kickstarter page here.  Mr. Eggleton shares news about this project, as well as his own personal thoughts on the Thing films.

Bob Eggleton and friend

And for the Sensor Sweep -completely off-topic -Engineer Bob talks about the new BluRay for Tetsujin 28 -aka Gigantor. It's a great anime series that you should definitely check out if you're not already a fan! You can find it at Amazon and other locations where videos are sold.

That's all the things we have to talk about this time, friends. You can comment here, or go to our other hangouts:

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/Planet8Cast
• Facebook: www.Facebook.com/Planet8Podcast

Thanks for Listening!