Short Takes #2 - In the Not-Too-Distant Future, In A Galaxy Far, Far Away...

I'm apologizing up-front for this one--it was recorded in my vehicle on my iPhone mic, so it takes a step back in sound quality, at least to my ear, and apart from the opening, there aren't any of the usual assortment of snarky clips.  It's been a crazy couple of months, so I'm (as usual!) behind schedule on Episode 9...I'm hoping to have it ready to drop in January...

Anyway, in this Short Take, I offer my thoughts on the upcoming release of Rogue One in theaters (although I know at this point some have already seen it), some nerdy observations on the vehicles in this film (at least as we understand them at this point) and ruminations about the impact they could have had in the Original Trilogy, then I switch into MSTie mode with thoughts on the Shout! Factory box sets as opposed to the good old days of Circulating The Tapes, and finish with a defense of the original Gamera series.  Enjoy!

Peace,
RDN

Short Takes #2 - In the Not-Too-Distant Future, in a Galaxy Far, Far Away...

Music:

"Battle of the Heroes/Imperial March" - John Williams, performed by Epica

"Mighty Science Theater 3000 (MST3K End Theme Accordion Cover)" - Charlie Erickson and Joel Hodgson, performed by Jackson Parodi (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=js8ETMwPTWo)

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

"Gamera Theme" - I don't have the foggiest clue...

"Tibby, Oh Tibby" - Written and arranged by Michael J. Nelson






http://archive.org/download/ASTShortTakes2/AST_Short_Takes_2.mp3

Episode #008 - The Tingler

This was the second of two podcasts I recorded while on my mountain vacation this past September; it took me a little longer to get around to editing this one.  We take a few moments to mourn the loss of one of the greatest genre cinema podcasters of all time, Vince Rotolo of the B-Movie Cast, who passed away this past April (yeah, I know, but better late than never when it comes to respecting a legend), and I make an announcement about a slight change to the show.  We then take our first steps into the wacky, gimmick-filled world of director William Castle, who never met a gag he didn't like, with a consideration of 1959's The Tingler, featuring the inimitable Vincent Price as a medical examiner obsessed with the nature of fear and its effects on the human body in an almost proto-Cronenbergian fashion.  While not Castle's first or most popular gimmick-based film, it's my personal favorite and gives a good cross-section of what to expect of a movie bearing his name.  So strap in, enjoy, and if you start to feel the tingle of fear, don't forget to SCREAM FOR YOUR LIFE!

Peace,
-RDN

Special thanks to Cort from Cinema PSYOPS for giving me some pointers to help make my show sound a little better.

Episode #008 - The Tingler


Music:

"Pippin the Hunchback" - Kevin MacLeod - www.incompetech.com

"Springtime for Hitler" - Mel Brooks & John Morris - The Producers Original Sountrack

"Tenebrous Brothers Carnival - Act One" - Kevin MacLeod - www.incompetech.com

"Spider Eyes" - Kevin MacLeod - www.incompetech.com










http://archive.org/download/EPISODE008THETINGLER/EPISODE_008_THE_TINGLER.mp3

Short Takes #1 - In Search Of Where No Man Has Gone Before

Finally I'm back with a little something to hold you over until Episode 8:  A new subset of minisodes I've dubbed "Short Takes" which will cover such things as DVD/Blu-Ray releases I've recently acquired or perhaps acquired a while ago and am just now getting to watch, entertainment news I feel the need to put my two cents in about, or just what may be troubling me.  They also serve the secondary purpose of tiding you fine folk over until the next proper episode of Abnormal State Theatre comes around.  Episode 8 has been recorded and is in the process of being edited...hopefully it'll drop a week or so after this does.  But a Short Take could pop up in the feed at any time.

This first Short Take covers a couple of box sets I partook of while on vacation up in the mountains:  The full-series DVD box set of the legendary pseudo-documentary series "In Search Of..." starring the late, equally-legendary Leonard Nimoy, and the full-series box set of the original "Star Trek"...I don't look so much at the series as I do the seven-plus hours of special features included in the set.  Once I started, I took to the extras like a Tribble to quadrotriticale.  Anyway, enjoy!

Peace
-RDG

Short Takes #1 - In Search Of Where No Man Has Gone Before

Music:

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

"Highly Illogical" - Leonard Nimoy - Mr. Spock's Music from Outer Space

"Main Title/Klingon Battle" - Jerry Goldsmith -  Star Trek: The Motion Picture Soundtrack

"Star Trek Theme" - Alexander Courage

"Rocket Man" - Written by Bernie Taupin, performed by William Shatner

http://archive.org/download/ASTShortTakes1/AST_Short_Takes_1.mp3

Hiatus...AGAIN! :(

Well, folks, as you can probably guess, circumstances have not been favorable in my life for podcasting lately..through the months of May and June my mom and brother both were stricken with nasty bouts of pneumonia, and I myself people picked up a nasty, protracted case of the flu.  In addition, I've been having some eye troubles that are just now starting to get resolved.  Long story short, Abnormal State Theatre can be considered as on hiatus until further notice.  If I can get a July episode up I will, but don't hold your breath.  The show may also undergo a massive re-tooling to make it easier to produce, but that remains to be seen.  I still intend to do the Cardiac Yak Track, but instead of being a completely separate podcast, it will be a subset of this one...and hopefully I can wrangle up some guests to do those episodes with me. Anyway, my apologies for being out of touch, and hopefully I'll be back on the pod waves soon...

Peace,
RDG

Episode #007 - The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

A few episodes ago, we explored the beginnings of modern science-fiction with a review of Fritz Lang's 1927 epic Metropolis.  This time we hop into the Wayback Machine for a trip to 1920 and Robert Wiene's Expressionist breakthrough film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, which did the same thing for the horror genre of film that Metropolis did for sci-fi. We'll also have some fun at the expense of the Nazi party and listen to me rant at length about the bargain-basement silent film DVD racket...


Episode #007 - The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

Music:

"The Mysterious House" - Russ Huddleston & Robert Smith - "Manos" The Soundtrack of Fate

"Into The Trap" - John Williams - Return of the Jedi Original Soundtrack

"The Other Side of the Door" - Kevin Macleod - www.incompetech.com

"Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit Bag" - Felix Powell

"Reeperbahn" - Tom Waits - Alice

"Springtime for Hitler" - Mel Brooks & John Morris - The Producers Original Sountrack

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

"Living Dead Girl" - Rob Zombie - Hellbilly Deluxe









http://archive.org/download/EPISODE007THECABINETOFDRCALIGARI/EPISODE_007_THE_CABINET_OF_DR_CALIGARI.mp3

Um...disregard my last transmission...

As my ill fortune (the key word being ILL) would have it, April was not a good month for podcasting...there was not a point during the month where at least two of the three people in my household weren't suffering from the flu, back pain, hip pain, knee pain, etc...I had April's Abnormal State Theatre recorded fairly early in the month, but was unable to get down to editing it until the last couple of days...It should be ready to drop tomorrow--er--well, I guess tomorrow's today now...in any case, by the evening of May 1 it should be up.

The Cardiac Yak Track is still under development, having also suffered setbacks due to the aforementioned circumstances...I'm regrouping for possibly a late spring/early summer launch.

To those precious few who call themselves fans of the show, I apologize sincerely and thank you for your continued patience.

Peace,
RDG
 

Update - March 21, 2015

Just touching base...I think I'm just going to post audio updates to my feed when there's a delay of some sort on the main podcast or if I feel the need to explain or elaborate on my situation.  Makes me feel productive to still sit down and edit something, even if it is just a blurb.

Update - March 21, 2015

Music:

Russ Huddleston & Robert Smith - "Perversion, Ignorance, and Apathy"; Manos, the Soundtrack of Fate

Russ Huddleston & Robert Smith - "Love Inside This Magic Circle"; Manos, the Soundtrack of Fate









http://archive.org/download/ASTUPDATE001/AST_UPDATE_001.mp3

Episode #006 - Starcrash

I LIIIIVE!!!!  So sorry for the long hiatus, but between my computer dying, everyone in the house being in a perpetual state of sick, and the three feet of snow dumped on us in January, I haven't been able to drop a decent update for three months.  But I'm back now with a new episode, dissecting one of my favorite 70's Italian space operas, Luigi Cozzi's 1979 cheesefest Starcrash!  Enter a universe where the Empire are the good guys, an ex-child preacher with the greatest white-guy 'fro this side of Bob Ross can see into the future, Caroline Munro picks up an American accent, and David Hassellhoff gets to swing a lightsaber! This film was a relatively late entry in the sci-fi boom touched off by the release of Star Wars in 1977, but it's far more than just another Star Wars ripoff.  Luigi Cozzi was a sci-fi fanboy before the word "fanboy" was even coined, and it shows in the many homages to classic sci-fi cinema that can be found here.  The low budget is painfully obvious in Starcrash, but so is a deep respect for the works that preceded it.  So strap in to your smuggling craft, and go for hyperspace!

Episode #006 - Starcrash

Music:

"Bump in the Night" - Kevin Macleod - www.incompetech.com

"Space Oddity"(instrumental) - David Bowie

"Jellyfish in Space" - Kevin Macleod - www.incompetech.com

"Intuit256" - Kevin Macleod - www.incompetech.com















http://archive.org/download/Episode006STARCRASH/Episode_006_STARCRASH.mp3

Bad news, folks...

Some things have come up that have disrupted my plans for this podcast and its sister cast, the Cardiac Yak Track.  Between a few household accidents that have required my attention, a nasty bout of the flu, and the demise of my PC (while the podcast has always been recorded on my iPhone, my PC is where I edit, mix, and post it), Abnormal State Theatre is going on a temporary hiatus.  Once my system is back up and running, I will post Episode 6 of AST, followed shortly by Episode 1 of the Cardiac Yak Track.  Apologies once again, and thank you for your patience.

-RDG