Wednesday, April 22, 2020

Episode 49: Welcome to Thrillville

Will the Thrill and Monica Tiki Goddess
Many years ago, in a magical land called Oakland, California, your Planet 8 crew frequently came together in the Parkway Theater for a fantastic event called Thrillville, a B-movie cabaret hosted by Will "The Thrill" Viharo and his lovely wife, Monica "Tiki Goddess." Thrillville introduced us to many films we might never see any where else, such as Dolemite, as well as allowing us to see old favorites like Jason and the Argonauts back on the big screen with like-minded souls. Thrillville was more than a movie show - it was an event, with live music and entertainment, and of course, the musings of our host, Will the Thrill. Beyond that though, it was community - bringing together so many geeks, nerds and the like who might not have found each other without it.

On this episode we talk with Will Viharo about the birth of Thrillville, b-movies, his writing, and basically, anything else that popped into his mind! Will is a true raconteur, so get ready for a wild and hilarious ride as we journey through Thrillville!


You never knew exactly what to expect at Thrillville; sure, you might know what movie was going to be shown. But aside from that, everything else was different from show to show! There might be a band with a theremin, or a group of high-kicking, scantily-clad dancers. Or maybe a horror host or two helping out Will. And before the film, Will and Monica would spin the wheel and give out prizes- but only if you were polite, raised your hand, and didn't yell out the answer! Sometimes we'd get a short film or trailerspreceding the film. And then we'd get to the film itself. You got your money's worth!


For more information on Will, Thrillville, and his books, check out his site: http://thrillville.net/. Will has written a number of books which he might say cannot be put into any particular genre but the word "pulp" certainly comes to mind! Check out his author page at Amazon, where you can find (and buy!) any of his titles. Please note that these are definitely intended for persons 18 and older. You can also find more on Thrillville on Facebook at @Thrillvilletheater.

That's all for us this time. We'll be back on May 8th with a super-sized 50th episode! Please leave us any comments here at the site, or feel free to contact us at our other spots:
Thanks for listening!

Wednesday, April 8, 2020

Episode 48: Those Startling, Sensational Super-Heroes


art by George Perez


Super-heroes! How many of us ran around with a towel tied around our neck, pretending to fly as we jumped from the couch? Whether we read about them in comics, watched them on TV, or thrilled to them in the movie theater, we all have had our dreams of being a super-hero, fighting evil villains and saving the day. In this episode each of the Planet 8 crew will discuss their favorite super-heroes, and we have quite a variety!



Karen is up first, and she looks at two Marvel "outsiders" - The Vision and Adam Warlock. Both have convoluted backstories, and are not your typical hero in longjohns. What makes these two so interesting? Listen in and find out.



Next up is Bob with the lowdown on all things Ultraman! If you already like Ultraman, you'll appreciate Bob's deep knowledge on the topic. And if you're new to it, you'll learn a lot!


Finally, pulling it all together, Larry shares his love for the original super-hero, Superman! The Man of Steel, and in particular the Christopher Reeve films, are close to Larry's heart. He'll tell us all why.


For the Sensor Sweep, appropriately, Bob shares his latest acquisition, a fabulous Ultraman figure from MaxToyco! This vinyl figure stands about 4.5" high and is the 1st Ultraman figure licensed by Tsuburaya in the United States. Sculpted by Pico Pico and painted by Mark Nagata (owner of Maxtoyco), this is a limited edition figure. But expect to see more Ultraman figures soon!

Bonus announcement: we've added another way to get your Planet 8 fix: a YouTube channel! That's right, you can catch episodes on YouTube now. Currently we're just adding still images to the audio, but stay tuned, we have some other plans in store!

That's all for us this time. Let us know who your favorite supe-heroes are. You could use the bat-signal, but it might be easier to leave a comment on the site, or try us at our other spots:

Thanks for listening!