Episode #005 - Eegah

Only a day late this time--I'm improving!

This month I head into the screening chamber to tangle with the 1962 caveman musical Eegah, co-written, produced, and directed by Arch Hall, Sr. (under the pseudonym Nicholas Merriwether), and starring Arch Hall, Jr., Richard Kiel (best known for his turn as Jaws in a couple of 007 flicks), Marilyn Manning, and Arch Hall, Sr. (under the pseudonym William Watters).  So get ready for some surf rock, made-up caveman gibberish, actresses portraying characters half their age, dubbing that would make Godzilla himself stop in his tracks, and some really creepy family quality time.  You may have seen this movie with the aid of Joel and the Bots on MST3K (which is coming back!--you'll hear more in the News section), but can you take on Eegah raw, uncut, and unMSTed??
Watch out for snakes!

Episode #005 - Eegah

Music:

"Lost In Space Season 3 theme" - John Williams

"Mystery Science Theater Opening Theme" - Charlie Erickson and Joel Hodgson

"Love Theme from MST3K" - Charlie Erickson and Joel Hodgson

"Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie Main Title" - Billy Barber

"Airport Lounge" - Kevin Macleod - www.incompetech.com

"Riptide" - Kevin Macleod - www.incompetech.com

"Theme from Eegah" - Arch Hall, Jr. and the Archers

"Bruder des Schattens" - Popol Vuh

"Vicki" - Arch Hall, Jr. and the Archers

"Valerie" - Arch Hall, Jr. and the Archers

"I Ran" - A Flock of Seagulls







http://archive.org/download/ASTEPISODE005EEGAH/AST_EPISODE_005_EEGAH.mp3

Episode #004.5 - BONUS EPISODE - Robot Monster Audio Commentary Track

As promised, here is the bonus episode to make up for my tardiness in posting for the past couple of months.  This time around instead of my normal review, I recorded an audio commentary track for Phil Tucker's best-known film, 1953's Robot Monster.  If you've ever used Rifftrax in the past or listened to other audio commentary podcasts, you know the drill as far as syncing things up goes.  If not, I explain it all at the beginning.  This is my very first time recording an audio commentary track, and doing it solo was quite the challenge, but hopefully the end result doesn't suck too much.  Starting next month, I will be recording a second podcast under the Clockwork Cardiac banner devoted solely to B-movie audio commentary, The Cardiac Yak Track.  If all goes well, Abnormal State Theater will update around the end/beginning of each month, and The Cardiac Yak Track will update in the middle of the month.

Episode #004.5 - Robot Monster Audio Commentary






















http://archive.org/download/ASTEPISODE0045ROBOTMONSTERAUDIOCOMMENTARY/AST_EPISODE_004_5_ROBOT_MONSTER_AUDIO_COMMENTARY.mp3

Episode #004 - Metropolis

Sorry again for the late update - October was a crazy month for me.  This episode was recorded in October but every time I sat down to edit I was interrupted.  I have an idea for a new podcast to run parallel to this one, and I'm going to test it on the next episode, which will be VERY soon.

This time around, we explore the progenitor of the sci-fi genre as we know it, Fritz Lang's 1927 silent classic Metropolis.  I can think of no other film that has been so mistreated and maligned and yet also managed to make a triumphant comeback over 80 years after its original release.  We'll be comparing and contrasting two versions of the movie:  Giorgio Moroder's 1984 edition that was the first major step in bringing this film back to its original glory, and the definitive restoration released in 2010, which is likely the closest we'll ever get to seeing Metropolis as audiences saw it at its premiere.  This is a bit of a departure for a podcast that specializes in schlock, but without this film, sci-fi (and all of the cheesy films that fall within the genre) might have ended up being a completely different beast...

Episode #004 - Metropolis

Music:

"Big Bar Fight" - Greg Edmonson

"Star Wars - Main Title" - John Williams

"Back To The Future" - Alan Silvestri

"Isle of Innisfree" - Dick Farrelly

"Happy Days Theme" - Charles Fox & Norman Gimbel

"Buddy Holly" - Weezer

"Metaphysik" - Kevin Macleod - www.incompetech.com

"Metropolis Opening Titles" - Gottfried Huppertz

"Machines" - Giorgio Moroder

"Hand Balance Redux" - Kevin Macleod - www.incompetech.com

"Hyperfun" - Kevin MacLeod - www.incompetech.com

"Destruction" - Loverboy

"What's Going On?" - Adam Ant

"Love Kills" - Freddie Mercury

"Here She Comes" - Bonnie Tyler

"Rotwang" - Gottfried Huppertz

"The New Tower of Babel" - Gottfried Huppertz

"Cage of Freedom" - Jon Anderson

"Express Yourself" - Madonna

"Radio Ga Ga" Queen

"The Throne Room" - John Williams

"Star Wars" (disco version) - Meco








https://archive.org/download/ASTEPISODE004METROPOLIS/AST_EPISODE_004_METROPOLIS.mp3

Episode #003 - The Terror of Tiny Town

A thousand pardons for being away so long!  Real life intruded once again and threw me off my game, but I'm back with a brand new episode that was actually recorded around the middle of the month but couldn't be edited and released till now.  I'm shooting for mid-October for the next episode to drop.

In this episode, we get a hobbit's eye view of formula B-westerns with Jed Buell's 1938 novelty film The Terror of Tiny Town, a horse opera with an all midget cast...and not much else.


Episode #003 - The Terror of Tiny Town


Music:

"Star Wars - Main Title" - John Williams

"Nosferatu Opening Titles" - Hans Erdmann

"Lara's Theme" - Maurice Jarre

"The Green Hills of Tyrol" - Traditional Scottish March

"Batman" - Nelson Riddle

"A Nightmare on Elm Street - Theme Song (Prologue)" - Charles Bernstein

"The Love Bug Theme" - George Bruns

"Anamalie" - Kevin Macleod - www.incompetech.com

"Wagon Wheel" - Kevin Macleod - www.incompetech.com








http://archive.org/download/ASTEPISODE003THETERROROFTINYTOWN/AST_EPISODE_003_THE_TERROR_OF_TINY_TOWN.mp3

Apologies are in order...

I've been playing with an idea for the next episode that, while I still believe can work, ended up being far too time-consuming with all of the other stuff going on in my life (health issues, family, etc.).  The upshot of this is that I'm putting that episode on the back burner and the next episode will be for August AND September, and will post some time the first week of September.  At some point later this year I'll double up episodes for a month to get things caught up.  In the meantime, thanks so very much for your patience as I continue to find my rhythm.

Peace,

RDG

Episode #002 - Overlords of the UFO

Grab your hip waders--this month, we slog our way into the murky depths of 70's schlock documentary waters with a little nugget of paranoia from the Pacific Northwest called "Overlords of the UFO".  Supposedly banned and suppressed for decades (but now somehow available for free on YouTube), this film was the brainchild of reporter W. Gordon Allen, who struggles mightily with not only the conspiracies he perceives are working to keep the truth of "The UFO" away from the public, but also grammar, sentence structure, and basic logic as he pontificates through this film like a latter-day Criswell.  Also featuring an appearance by noted charlatan and spoon-bender Uri Geller.



Episode #002 - Overlords of the UFO


Music:

"Dracula" by James Bernard, performed by the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra

"Apollo 13 Main Title" by James Horner

"Lightless Dawn" by Kevin MacLeod - incompetech.com

"Alien Restaurant" by Kevin MacLeod - incompetech.com



https://archive.org/download/ASTEPISODE002OVERLORDSOFTHEUFO/AST_EPISODE_002_OVERLORDS%20OF%20THE%20UFO.mp3

Update...a bit of a rocky start

Well, I was hoping to make this a semi-monthly podcast, but it looks like until real life eases up on me a bit, I'll be doing this on a monthly basis, releasing each episode around the first of the month.  Hopefully, before the summer is over I'll have this blog whipped into shape as well, including a dedicated e-mail address where listeners can post their questions, comments, and/or snide remarks.  I'm working on getting a co-host as well...if I can get him talked into watching crappy movies and talking about them into a microphone, then I'll likely incorporate some changes to the format of the show, but that all remains to be seen.  If anyone who's reading this has listened to the first episode, you have my heartfelt thanks and my apologies for my stilted delivery and lack of mixing skill...it's been a while since I've done any podcasting, and it'll probably take me a few episodes to get my touch back.  This is basically a labor of love for me, and I hope to ultimately deliver the best podcast I can.

--RDG

Episode 001 - Plan 9 from Outer Space

Welcome to Abnormal State Theatre, the podcast where we evaluate the therapeutic value of bizarre and obscure cinema of past and present as a cure for the common movie!  With each episode, after some opening remarks and a rundown of the featured movie's history, cast, and crew, our host, Doctor R. D. Gearhardt (not a real doctor) will step into the Screening Chamber to subject himself to the film so you don't have to, and emerge to share his thoughts as to whether the movie has potential to be a cure for what ails you, or simply so much medical waste to be disposed of...

For our debut episode, Dr. Gearhardt will sit through one of the most famous (or notorious) bad movies known to man, Ed Wood's 1959 magnum opus Plan Nine From Outer Space...featuring Tor Johnson, Vampira, Gregory Walcott, Lyle Talbot, and random footage of Bela Lugosi!


Episode 001 - Plan 9 from Outer Space

Background music by Kevin MacLeod - incompetech.com

http://archive.org/download/ASTEPISODE001PLAN9FROMOUTERSPACE_201505/AST_EPISODE_001_PLAN_9_FROM_OUTER_SPACE.mp3