Episode 91: Planet 8's Top 10 Spaceships!

 

One of the staples of many science fiction movies and TV shows is the spaceship. Not merely a vehicle, the spaceship seems to take on a personality of its own through a combination of unique design and the way it is perceived by the characters around it. It can be home for some, or a fighting machine, but a character's spaceship often defines them. Your intrepid crew had so many ships to choose from, over the many decades of sci fi films and TV shows, we each made our own top ten lists, and then through arcane methods, pulled together a combined list from our many picks to create quite a varied group of ships. 

Who made the list? What ship is our number one pick? You're going to have to listen to find out!!

But - we will say that our oldest ship is from the 1950s, a number of ships are from non-American productions, and only one pick on our list was on all three of our individual lists! So give it a listen and let us know your thoughts. We will also go over our individual lists too.

Our Sensor Sweep focuses on a Bay Area legend, John Stanley, who took up hosting Creature Features from Bob Wilkins in 1979 and continued until 1984. During his tenure on the show, Stanley interviewed tons of celebrities, and he shares those interviews in his new book, The Career that Dripped with Horror. Stanley reminisces about his times hosting Creature Features and later appearances at conventions and other shows, and has transcripts of his interviews with folks like Carrie Fisher, Mark Hammill, Christopher Reeve, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Adam West, and tons more. Whether you're a fan of Creature Features, or never heard of it, the interviews alone are worth picking this one up!

All right cadets, that's it for this go round. Make sure you keep your engines energized and your defensive shields charged. 

Thanks for listening!

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Episode 88: Captivating Creatures

 

This episode, the Planet 8 crew talks about some of our favorite creature designs. Over the history of cinema, there have been many amazing fantasy, horror and science fiction creatures designed and put on film, and we will each cover one of our favorites. Each of these has significance as paving the way for future films, developing new techniques and pioneering new styles. 

We begin with the original Planet of the Apes, and the daunting task of developing realistic makeup for the talking chimps, gorillas and orangutans. If the makeup wasn't convincing, if it didn't allow the actors to act and emote, there was no way the film could be made. But talented artist John Chambers was able to develop amazing prosthetics that were flexible enough and convincing enough to meet the challenge. Chambers had a fascinating background that enabled him to make advancements in facial prosthetics. His work certainly was a huge influence on future monster makers.

Next we cross the ocean and look at a big star, King Ghidorah! Created by Akira Watanabe for the 1964 movie Ghidorah the Three Headed Monster, it was based on many other multi-headed dragons. The design was always three heads and two tails, but early production photos show different coloring. The suit was operated by an actor in the suit and puppeteers working the heads, wings and tails. This made for a kind of frenetic movement style, which was pretty cool when you saw it as a kid! Ghidorah was active til 1972, then brought back in a new suit in the 90s, but he lost his crazy frenetic motion. In the new Legendary series, there are three motion capture actors playing each head. The actors have to coordinate their movements, but this method allows each head to have its own personality.

Our last headliner is the one and only Eighth Wonder of the World, King Kong! Kong is a fascinating case, having been portrayed now by stop-motion, men in suits, and now CGI. We look at the original film, the Toho Kong, the 1976 Kong including both Rick Baker's Kong and the ludicrous robot Kong, moving into Peter Jackson's Kong, and the latest Legendary films Kong. And who could forget the King Kong at the Universal Studios tour? Yes, we discuss him too!

There are many other classic monster or creature designs, and so we have some honorable mentions we'll reveal towards the end of the episode. Can you guess what they might be?

For our Sensor Sweep, to get into the holiday spirit, Commander Larry shares a boffo new item, the Hallmark 2021 To The Batcave! Batman classic TV series ornament. Really, it's a bit ridiculous to call this an ornament. It's more of a display piece. On the top of the ornament, we see Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson in Wayne Manor, on the bat poles. Press the button and the batphone lights and beeps, the door closes up top, and a door opens in the batcave below, showing Batman and Robin descending on the batpoles. This spectacular item runs about $60 but may be hard to find. Good luck!

We hope you enjoyed this episode. What are some of your favorite creature designs? Let us know!

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We dig monsters!

Episode 74: Planet 8's Top Ten Sci Fi Films of All Time!

 

Welcome all to Planet 8's third anniversary episode! Yes, we have been doing this insanity for three years now. We thought the best way to celebrate would be to tackle the biggest question we could think of: what are the ten best science fiction films of all time?

Through an arcane process which we describe in the episode, we devised a list of ten great science fiction films. Now these are not necessarily our favorite films, but the films which we think are the most influential, most impactful, unique, and had artistic and/or technical achievements which set them apart. 

It was surprising to us which films we agreed upon, and which ones only one of us selected. But there were just so many great films to choose from. It was very difficult to cut some films, or choose between certain films in a series. 

We also noted that all of our selections fell between the 1950s and 1980s. Maybe it has to do with giving a film time to build a legacy. Or it could be we're just old farts who prefer older films!

If you want to be surprised by what films we chose, then skip over the section below. Otherwise, proceed! 

Planet 8's Top Ten Science Fiction Films of All Time

10.  Robocop

9. Tie - Predator and Empire Strikes Back 

8. War of the Worlds (1953)

7. 2001: A Space Odyssey

6. Forbidden Planet

5. The Thing (1982)

4. Alien

3. Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)

2. Planet of the Apes (1968)

1. Star Wars

 We're sure this list may inspire some debate -we know it did with us! While these are all fine films, you can make an argument for where they should be positioned in the list, or if other films should take their place in the top ten. For some more insight into our thought processes, here are our individual lists.

Bob's List

1. Forbidden Planet
2. War of the Worlds (1953)
3. Alien
4. Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
5. Star Wars
6. Planet of the Apes
7. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
8. The Thing (1982)
9. Blade Runner
10. Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Karen's List

1. 2001: A Space Odyssey
2. Star Wars
3. Empire Strikes Back
4. Planet of the Apes
5. Alien
6. The Thing (1982)
7. The Matrix
8. The Thing (1951)
9. Day The Earth Stood Still (1951)
10. Quatermass and the Pit

Larry's list

1. Star Wars
2. Planet of the Apes
3. Predator
4. Robocop
5. Day The Earth Stood Still (1951)
6. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
7. The Thing (1982)
8. Blade Runner
9. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)
10. Forbidden Planet

What about the films we left off? Hard choices had to be made. Of course, we love Logan's Run but had to admit it was not top ten material. And no Star Trek films on the list? Sadly, it's true. 

We would really like to hear from you about what you would put on your top ten - again, not your favorites, but what are the best? Send us your thoughts and we will follow up on them in a future episode.

We've covered a number of these films we're talking about. If you'd like to go back and listen to those episodes, check these out:

War of the Worlds

Alien

2001: A Space Odyssey

Planet of the Apes

The Thing

This makes us realize that there are many more films that we need to cover! No danger of running out of material here on Planet 8.

Seeing as it is our third anniversary, we want to send out a special thanks to all of you who have been following the show. We didn't know we were going to be doing this for three years, but they have just flown by! We're still having a blast, and most of that is due to you listening and contacting us. So we hope you'll stick with us and continue on along the journey!

You also have one week until Bay Area Film Event's Godzilla's Monster Bash at the Balboa Theater in San Francisco. On May 14-16 they will show ten classic Godzilla films, and there will be vendors and guests! It should be a great event, so if you're in the area, be sure to come out. You can get more info and tickets at  http://bayareafilmevents.com/godzillafest

This wraps up our episode. Let us know what you thought. Leave a comment on the site, or you can contact us at:

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Remember: Klaatu Barada Nikto!

Episode 33: Planet 8 Goes Ape!

Welcome to a special episode here on Planet 8! This is one we've been wanting to do for a long time, and with the help of our special guest, the incomparable Lord Blood-Rah, we finally explore the 1968 classic, Planet of the Apes.

This is is one of our all-time favorite genre films. Planet of the Apes, or POTA as we like to refer to it, was a milestone in cinematic history. A serious, allegorical science fiction film that was only made possible through John Chambers' ground-breaking make-up techniques, POTA blew audiences away, especially with its shocking twist ending.

We focus on the first film only (we plan to devote later episodes to the sequels), discussing  every aspect - the amazing make-up, including the early make-up tests; the script and the many changes it went through in the hands of Rod Serling, Michael Wilson, and others; the brilliant Jerry Goldsmith score; and the memorable scenes and dialog.

The crew plus Lord Blood-Rah also take a look at each of the main characters and their complexities. Taylor, Zira, Cornelius, and of course, Dr. Zaius, all have their own agendas and the actors who portrayed them -Charlton Heston, Kim Hunter, Roddy McDowall, and Maurice Evans -did an incredible job.

We might also dip into some other areas of POTA, like the TV show or the cartoon, the comics and novels, but just briefly. And we have questions! Like - who made the scarecrows in the Forbidden Zone? What happened to the Moon? What did Zaius know, and when did he know it? We're getting deep into apedom here people! Even so, POTA seems like an inexhaustible subject, and we'll be back at it soon with another episode.

This time around, for the Sensor Sweep, we have two fantastic events to tell you about: On August 23, 24, and 25th, if you're in the San Francisco Bay Area, head to the historic Balboa Theater for Godzillafest! 12 classic Godzilla movies will be on two screens all weekend. Plus, special guest Godzilla director Michael Dougherty will be there all three days. Lord Blood-Rah will host films on Friday and Saturday night, including two of his favorites, Frankenstein Conquers the World and War of the Gargantuas. Check out Bay Area Film Events for all the details.

On August 31st, enjoy an evening at the Chouinard Winery and take in Lord Blood-Rah's final 10th anniversary show! He'll have a great double feature: The Wolfman and Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman! Before the movies, you can enjoy wine tasting. Be sure to bring a picnic basket for the movie. More information can be found at Lord Blood-Rah's site.

That's all for us kids! We hope you enjoy the show. Just remember -the Forbidden Zone was once a paradise. Our breed made a desert of it!

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Thanks for Listening!

Episode 1: Infinity War spoiler-filled breakdown!

All right True Believers, Avengers: Infinity War is here, and it's huge! Join your hosts, Larry, Bob, and Karen, as we discuss and dissect this mega-blockbuster in a spoiler-filled podcast. After 10 years and 18 previous films, this is a massive effort - we'll talk about what worked for us, what wasn't as effective, what surprised us, and what we expect from Avengers 4. Please listen in and then share your thoughts here, and/or join us on Twitter and Facebook:

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In our Sensor Sweep, we examine the amazing new Planet of the Apes Lawgiver tiki mug from Mondo! That's right, now you can bless your abode with the stylized image of the legendary orangutan, the Lawgiver, available in four different glazes. Check out https://mondotees.com/collections/lawgiver-tiki-mugs to get your very own. Below are images of the Planet 8 crew's Lawgiver mugs in their crew quarters!

Thanks for listening, and if you enjoyed what you heard, please comment and subscribe!