Thanks to Bob Budiansky, acclaimed comic book writer, editor, and artist, for joining us!

In this episode:

• confusion about Peter Cullen’s age on Wikipedia,
• the Star Wars Detours animated show from the Robot Chicken team,
• our interview with Bob Budiansky,
• his experience working with Hasbro,
• early expectations for the Transformers toy line,
• how Bob got involved with the comic book,
• rushing to develop the original 26 Transformers characters in 1983,
• limited coloring techniques in 1980s comics,
• “knocking out” background characters,
• the inspiration behind Bob’s Sleepwalker Marvel comic series,
• former Marvel editor-in-chief Jim Shooter,
• the anti-Super Man,
• work atmosphere at Marvel Comics,
• receiving a fan letter for Transformers from Stan Lee,
• getting to work with Stan Lee,
• Marvel Universe trading cards by Impel,
• Bob’s life after leaving Marvel,
• changes in the comic book industry,
• the overuse of comic book gimmicks in the early 1990s,
• Rob’s movie review of Mr. Holland’s Opus (1995) starring Richard Dreyfuss,
• the new musical chairs-themed game show Oh Sit!,
• Greg’s movie review of Underworld: Awakening (2012), starring Kate Beckinsale,
• Shia LaBeouf inspired to act by Steven Seagal,
• Nicolas Cage being sued for not returning rental DVDs,
• a stupid style redux (short-shorts with pockets hanging out),
• Tom Green’s stand-up comedy,
• a Transformers collector on Pawn Stars,
• and The Burn hosted by a disheveled Jeffrey Ross.

UPDATE!!! Greg actually ran into Bob Budiansky at the New York Comic Con!

Download this episode:
59 minute MP3 file – 27.0 MB (right-click to save)

Listen to this episode:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

In this episode:

• longtime listener Esteban in Florida returns!,
• difficulties keeping track of listeners,
• nicknames for Paunch listeners,
• where do our topics come from?,
• Rob’s pop culture deficiencies,
• our Stan Lee impersonation,
• a 1977 Stan Lee interview on video,
• our old recording secrets,
• Paunch in Time (Cuban Missile Crisis),
• the genesis of Esteban’s Roboplastic Apocalypse podcast,
• Esteban meeting legendary cartoon voice actors at conventions,
• Gregg Berger (Grimlock from The Transformers) disrespected by cosplayers,
• the location of Botcon conventions,
• old age of Peter Cullen, Frank Welker, and Michael Bell,
• will they turn grey when they die?,
• our thoughts about meeting and interviewing quasi-celebrities,
• tidbits about our Ted Danson and Ed Begley Jr. interviews,
• the Paunch Show archive,
• the Target Deli,
• the backstory of Rob meeting Britta Phillips in 2003,
• the Old Jingles of the Episode (“Galaxy Glue” song from The Incredible Shrinking Woman and the theme to Zoobilee Zoo),
• Esteban seeking out Optimus Prime’s creator,
• Transformers model kits by Revell,
• the reason certain robots in Transformers catalogs never appeared in the cartoon,
• our review of the Transformers: Prime animated show (slow pacing, Frank Welker’s Megatron voice, lack of robots, etc.),
• Hasbro’s poor handling of the Transformers franchise,
• our review of the new ThunderCats series on Cartoon Network (art and music quality, non-talking Snarf, strong backstories, etc.),
• Esteban meeting and aggravating Larry Kenney (original voice of Lion-O),
• people not posting their photos of celebrity encounters online for the public to see,
• the Beardo,
• our brief review of the new Tron: Uprising cartoon,
• newly released “classic” yet low quality Voltron toys,
• the complicated origins of the original Voltron cartoon,
• the Transformers Generation 1 re-released toys,
• and other 1980s robot toys that deserve credit (Gobots, Robo Force, Zoids, and Starriors).

200th Episode Bonuses from the Achrive!

Finally, it’s the video of Greg and Rob interviewing Ed Begley Jr. in 2008, from Episode 101!

Our long unseen video commentary of the disappointing WBHS Belleville NJ public access TV station’s 25th anniversary celebration in 2006, from Episode 41!

Download this episode:
156 minute MP3 file – 71.5 MB (right-click to save)

Listen to this episode:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

In this episode:

• our giant movie review of Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011) in 3D, starring Shia LaBeouf and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley,
• the ridiculous length of the movie,
• the end of the shaky camera fad,
• a list of movies and TV shows Michael Bay ripped off (The Transformers, Superman, The Watchmen, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, and Jackie Chan’s Who Am I?),
• illogical Duracell battery pricing at Staples,
• our roll call of robots in the movie (Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Ironhide, Ratchet, Sentinal Prime, Starscream, Megatron, Shockwave, Soundwave, and dozens of unnamed robots),
• Sentinal Prime’s face modeled after Sean Connery,
• Bay’s horrendous computer animated version of John F. Kennedy,
• Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) constantly screaming and crying,
• Bay’s terrible Barack Obama impersonator,
• Sam spending an hour going on job interviews,
• Leonard Nimoy as the voice of Sentinal Prime and Galvatron,
• various plot holes,
• Optimus Prime actually wondering where his trailer went in the movie,
• robots who were killed in the movie (the unnamed Scottish Autobot, Ironhide, Megatron, Starscream, the unnamed Decepticon bird, etc.),
• our welcoming of the inevitable Transformers movie reboot,
• Transformers spitting,
• Michael Bay turning Optimus Prime into a ruthless murderer,
• Peter Cullen and Frank Welker’s voice acting,
• Shia LaBeouf’s recent acting career (Eagle Eye and Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps),
• Bay’s constant use of slow motion,
• billions of dollars worth of damage in action movies with no consequences,
• hacking into objects,
• Bay’s ignorance of science,
• the lack of rules and continuity in Bay’s Transformers movies,
• What Ever Happened To? (Bugle Boy jeans, Z. Cavaricci genie pants, Zubaz, IOU sweatshirts, B.U.M. Equipment, etc.),
• Roseanne Barr’s reality show Roseanne’s Nuts on Lifetime,
• a Transformers: Dark of the Moon cameo by Scott Krinsky from Chuck,
• Bay’s completely wasted use of 3D,
• fans feeling obligated to watch bad movies,
• Glynn Turman appearing in Super 8 (2011) and Gremlins (1984),
• Sean Connery’s brother Neil Connery starring in bad movies: OK Connery (1967) and The Body Stealers (1969),
• celebrity deaths (Peter Falk and Sherwood Schwartz),
• Paul Reiser and The Paunch Stevenson Show episode 2,
• and a new stupid style (extremely short cutoff shorts with dangling pockets).

Download this episode:
84 minute MP3 file – 38.6 MB (right-click to save)

Listen to this episode:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

In this episode:

• the Transformers: Prime computer animated series starring Peter Cullen and Frank Welker,
• Michael Bell in an episode of G.I. Joe: Renegades,
• Cobra’s battle cry,
• the upcoming video game Duke Nukem Forever,
• the ThunderCats computer animated movie trailer,
• Liam Neeson as the voice of Qui-Gon Jinn in the computer animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars,
• the upcoming movie Terminator 5 starring Arnold Schwarzenegger,
• the biggest Lame Idiot of 2010 (BP),
• the 2011 Razzie Awards for bad movies,
• our review of Black Swan (2010) starring Natalie Portman,
• our review of The Dilemma (2011) starring Vince Vaughn and Kevin James,
• and the Emergency Broadcast System.

Download this episode:
54 minute MP3 file – 24.7 MB (right-click to save)

Listen to this episode:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

In this episode:

• What Ever Happened To? (H. Ross Perot),
• the upcoming movie Yogi Bear (2010) starring Dan Aykroyd and Justin Timberlake (video),
• the upcoming cartoon show Transformers: Prime starring Peter Cullen and Frank Welker (video),
• the upcoming cartoon show G.I. Joe: Renegades,
• Steve Carell leaving The Office,
• Extras starring Ricky Gervais,
• the razor blade scam,
• counterfeit money detection pens,
• celebrity deaths (George Steinbrenner and James Gammon),
• the Major League movies,
• our movie review of Whatever Works (2009) starring Larry David,
• our hatred of Woody Allen,
• The Jerky Boys,
• and Greg’s problem selling things on the Amazon Marketplace.

Download this episode:
37 minute MP3 file – 17.1 MB (right-click to save)

Listen to this episode:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.