Episode 47: People of Earth, Attention! Alien Invasions!

via GIPHY

Look out! The aliens are among us! They're after our water, our brains, our lifestyle -you name it! Sometimes they just plain don't like us. They come here in spaceships, or sometimes grow in pods. Sometimes they attack us openly, but other times they quietly infiltrate our society. Those aliens are a tricky bunch. This time on Planet 8, the crew turns our planetary defense system to maximum as we discuss ALIEN INVASIONS!!

via GIPHY

The  alien invasion genre has its roots in both the Cold War and the flying saucer phenomenon, both rising out of the ashes of World War II. But even in more recent times, people continue to be fascinated with the idea of malevolent aliens coming to take over our world. Your Planet 8 crew talks about some of our favorite films in the genre, everything from Teenagers from Outer Space to The Brain from Planet Arous to Attack the Block! to They Live, and a whole lot more. Like, almost anything and everything we can remember!

On the small screen side, we take a look at The Invaders, Twilight Zone, V, and UFO. I told you we were talking about everything!

This time, Commander Larry has the Sensor Sweep, and he shares a Christmas gift he received , the Star Trek USS Enterprise Illustrated Handbook. This book covers the details of the Enterprise from the original series through the movies, and includes the Enterprise as shown on  Star Trek Discovery. Larry says it has a feel similar to the old technical manuals, so it must be pretty good! You can find it at major booksellers or get it from Amazon here.

This is the last time we will bring up the Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards. It was such a surprise to be nominated for  "Best Multimedia Site"  for the Rondo Awards. Thanks to all of you who got us on the ballot!  Chief Engineer Bob's other website, SciFi Japan, is also nominated for "Best Website." There's just a week before the March 29th deadline. If you're so inclined, we'd appreciate your vote. You can find the ballot here. All you have to do is send an email to Taraco@aol.com.  Thanks again for all your support in our first two years of existence!

That's all for us this time. Now we want to hear from you! What's your favorite alien invasion movie or TV show?  Leave us a comment here, or at our other listening posts:

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

Thanks for listening!

Episode 46: Those Creepy TV Movies!

via GIPHY

How many of you remember the movie of the week? Back before streaming or even cable, the network channels had their own special made for TV movies. During the 70s, it seemed like an awful lot of these were horror or monster focused. They varied in quality, but there were a number of really exciting and memorable ones, and that's what we're talking about in this episode! 

We have already covered two of the most famous - The Night Stalker and the Night Strangler, featuring our beloved Carl Kolchak - in episode 22 (check it out here, Night Stalker fans). But we'll look at some awesome...and maybe not so awesome!....made for TV productions.

Chief Engineer Bob uncovers a hidden Rankin-Bass and Tsubarya Japanese film connection, with a trio of films, The Last Dinosaur, The Bermuda Depths, and The Ivory Ape. Yep, we said Rankin-Bass, the company that gave you Rudolph! It's a fascinating story!

Then Karen tells us about Gene Roddenberry's post-Star Trek shift to a dystopian future, first with a movie called Genesis II, then a redo of this film called Planet Earth, and finally yet another version called Strange New World! Certainly not his best work, but interesting to behold.

But on the plus side, we have all time favorites, like Gargoyles, a 1972 film that caused some of us to have nightmares. This film is best remembered for the fantastic make-up on the gargoyles, which was some of the great Stan Winston's earliest work. It certainly scared your Planet 8 hosts as youngsters!

via GIPHY

We all were absolutely petrified by the two-part presentation of Stephen King's Salem's Lot, with David Soul. It scared us to death as kids and really holds up today. And it even has a Star Trek connection!

But our piece de resistance, the film that really gets to everyone who has ever seen it, is Trilogy of Terror (1975), but really we're just talking about one segment, "Amelia," featuring Karen Black and a very frightening Zuni fetish doll. You may never look at your collectible figures the same way again.

 Speaking of collectible figures...Bob handles our Sensor Sweep for this episode. There are a couple of amazing robot toys available only at Walmart right now - walking, talking Iron Giant and Robby the Robot 12" figures for just $19.95! These are made by a company called Goldlok, and Bob's very impressed with the quality. But they are flying off the shelves! So hurry out and get yourself one. Bob also recommends the Funko Pops Speed Racer "Nightmare Speed" figure.

And before we go...we want to thank you listeners again for nominating Planet 8 for "Best Multimedia Site"  for the Rondo Awards. Also, Bob's other website, SciFi Japan, is nominated for "Best Website." We'd really appreciate it if you could vote for us before the March 29th deadline. You can find the ballot here. All you have to do is send an email to Taraco@aol.com.  We're so surprised and grateful to have been nominated. We hope that means we're doing something right!

And if you're in the San Francisco  Bay Area, Bay Area Film Events will be hosting an anime weekend -Animezing! -  at the Balboa Theatre in San Francisco on March 14th and 15th. For more information go to http://www.bayareafilmevents.com/animezing.

So let us know how we're doing, and be sure to tell us what your favorite made for TV movies were. You can leave a comment here, or hit us up at our other spots: 

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

And watch out for possessed action figures!