Episode 42: Welcome 2020 - Looking Back with Perfect Vision

Happy New Year to all of you! It's hard to believe it's 2020 - where are the flying cars? Maybe our science fiction films and TV shows didn't get it all right, but at least in this era we are fortunate to have an abundance of science fiction and fantasy movies and TV shows to watch and enjoy (and sometimes criticize). In our first episode of Planet 8 for 2020, we will take a look back at our favorite movies and shows and celebrate the amazing variety of entertainment available to us. It's gotten to the point where it's basically impossible to watch everything genre-related that comes out! But between Commander Larry, Chief Engineer Bob, and Recon Officer Karen, your crew manages to cover quite a few offerings.

We'll start off discussing the great genre films of 2019, talking about our favorites, and a few disappointments. The Marvel films make a strong showing here, but a certain giant green lizard does pretty well too.

Next we move on to the small screen. There are so many shows on television now -depending on what streaming services you subscribe to! - and some folks like to binge a bunch of episodes over a weekend while others enjoy the suspense of seeing a show week after week. However you like to watch, there's a ton of programs to watch, and the crew discusses a bunch of them, including What We Do in the Shadows, Watchmen, Walking Dead, Lost in Space, Star Trek Discovery, and more.

As we end one year and usher in another, we also look back on those we lost in 2019. These include: actress Julie Adams from Creature from the Black Lagoon; Ron Sweed, The Ghoul; artist Monkeypunch; Chewbacca actor Peter Mayhew; actor David Hedison; and several people associated with Star Trek, including writer and producer Dorothy "DC" Fontana, Charlie X actor Robert Walker Jr., Odo actor Rene Auberjonois, and Nog actor Aron Eisenberg.

For our Sensor Sweep, Chief Engineer Bob wants to remind everyone about the super-cool designs we have at Tee Public for Planet 8 swag. You can get Planet 8 t-shirts, hats, stickers, bags, and more. We would really love to see a picture of you with your Planet 8 gear! Send them to us here or at Twitter or the Facebook page.

Finally, we got so busy as we were recording several episodes on the same day, we just completely forgot to say anything about what we were looking forward to in 2020! So quickly, here are the films the crew are most excited about for this year:

• Commander Larry: The New Mutants
• Chief Engineer Bob: Godzilla vs. King Kong
• Recon Officer Karen: Black Widow

That's all for us! Let's hear what you enjoyed most this year, and what you're looking forward to as we dive into 2020. Feel free to comment here, or hit us up at our other communication links:

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

Thanks for Listening!

Episode 26: One Year Later: We're in the Endgame Now

It's been one whole year since the Planet 8 crew started on our mission to explore the worlds of science fiction, fantasy, and horror, and we began our first episode with a look at a little film called Avengers: Infinity War. For our one year anniversary, we come full circle, as we share our thoughts on the conclusion to the Avengers saga, Avengers: Endgame!  Be warned, this is a SPOILER FILLED episode, so if you are one of the handful of people who still haven't seen Endgame, don't blame us if  you hear something you didn't want to know!!

Like Infinity War, Endgame is a huge, sprawling epic -and clocks in at a massive, bladder-busting three hours! But no fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe should miss this film, as it is truly the end of an era. Join with Larry, Bob, and Karen as they discuss not only Endgame, but their feelings on the MCU as a whole, as we wrap our minds around the amazing feat of 22 films from Marvel Studios in 11 years!

Each of the original six Avengers get their moments, and we discuss all of them (some more than others) and what we liked, and some things we might have liked to see go differently. One's thing for certain: we've had years to get to know these heroes, and like most of you, we've become very attached to them! Don't be shocked if you hear us get a little choked up...yeah, we're a bunch of softies!

After you've listened to us ramble on about Endgame, be sure to tell us what you thought. What were your high points? Anything you thought was out of step? And where does the MCU go now?

No Sensor Sweep this time around friends -as we were recording this episode, we found out about the passing of Peter Mayhew, better known to all of us as Chewbacca. Mr. Mayhew made such an impact on all of us first for imbuing the lovable Wookiee with such a recognizable personality, but then later, through his charming presence at conventions, and through his social media feeds. He was the epitome of a Gentle Giant - a sweet, funny, kind man. We will miss him greatly.

And that's a wrap on year one! Thanks to all of you who listen to, comment on, and support Planet 8! We truly appreciate your interest in the show, and hope to keep expanding and improving as we move into year two! Please feel free to comment here, or you can reach us at our other locations:

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

Thanks for Listening!

Episode 23: Captain Marvel Blasts into the Marvel Universe

Marvel's newest superstar has hit the big screen this month - Captain Marvel! Your Planet 8 crew is here to share their thoughts about the latest entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which takes us from the intergalactic Kree Empire all the way to 1990s Earth! Yes, you'll thrill to the sight of Blockbuster Video, giant cell phones, and a very young looking Samuel Jackson! Of course, this is a SPOILER-FILLED episode, so you may not want to listen until after you've seen the movie. 

Besides discussing Captain Marvel, we'll dip into myriad other topics, such as Captain Marvel in the comics, the Agents of SHIELD TV show, Thor Ragnarok, and, of course, Avengers: Endgame (and we'll be doing an entire episode on that film, so stay tuned!). It's a wide-ranging, perhaps even a bit rambling, discussion, but that's how we do things around here!

This time around, for the Sensor Sweep segment, we decided to shine a light not on a product but on the Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards, which were created by David Colton and Kerry Gammill in 2002 to allow fans to vote and honor various horror-related efforts,  in film, books, and so on. This is the 17th year of voting! You can go to the link above and vote by April 20th for your favorites. We would like to humbly make a few suggestions. 

• Best Book: You can't beat Where Monsters Walked by friends of Planet 8, Gail and Ray Orwig.
• Best Website: Chief Engineer Bob has another gig -for years he has been the co-producer of SciFi Japan, with Keith Aiken, the best resource for all things kaiju-related.
• Best Multimedia Site (podcasts, etc.): We have two (OK, really three) suggestions: Kaijucast, run by Kyle Yount, devoted to Godzilla,  and Monster Kid Radio, Derek Koch's show, about classic (and not so classic) monster films -both Kyle and Derek have been really helpful to the Planet 8 crew as we've been finding our way, and they're great guys, with fun shows! And if you feel like it, you could write in a little show called Planet 8...maybe some day we'll actually get on the ballot!
• Favorite Horror Host: For us, there's no choice except Lord Blood-Rah! He's just the best, and we've had him on two episodes so far (episodes 8 and 11), and he deserves to be honored.
• Best Convention: For our money, it's gotta be Monsterpalooza! 
• Best Soundtrack: Engineer Bob recommends the Valley of Gwangi soundtrack from Intrada!

OK friends, please let us know your thoughts. Did Captain Marvel blaze, or fizzle? You can comment here, or go to our other hangouts:

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

Thanks for Listening!