Author: Greg and Rob

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Episode 203

The Paunch Stevenson Show episode 203

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)

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Episode 202

The Paunch Stevenson Show episode 202

In this episode:

  • our review of The Expendables 2 (2012) starring Sylvester Stallone, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Chuck Norris, Jason Statham, Bruce Willis, and Arnold Schwarzenegger,
  • lots of guns and people getting shot,
  • even more blood and gore,
  • Dolph Lundgren’s chemical engineering degree coming in handy,
  • Chuck Norris facts,
  • Van Damme’s accent,
  • the high number of Indiana Jones references,
  • “classic” combat,
  • our ideas for the next sequel,
  • the trailer for Seven Psychopaths (2012) ripping off David Spade’s Lost and Found (1999),
  • a 100-year-old locked safe in Rob’s basement,
  • world champion safe cracker Jeff Sitar,
  • opening the safe on the air in a future episode,
  • Nintendo Power magazine ceasing publication (1988-2012),
  • Rob’s attempt to sell a huge crate of old issues,
  • being duped into buying bad video games by Nintendo Power previews and reviews,
  • Robs dog eating cat vomit,
  • celebrity deaths (William Windom, Tony Scott, Neil Armstrong, Phyllis Diller, and Michael Clarke Duncan),
  • Jesse Ventura’s “poisoned bottle water” conspiracy,
  • the origin of the expression “the whole nine yards”,
  • Greg meeting John Schneider of Dukes of Hazzard and Smallville,
  • problems getting a good picture with him,
  • deciding what items to get signed,
  • Greg’s home-made Dukes of Hazzard birthday cake from 1982,
  • and Wezzer’s rendition of the Dukes of Hazzard theme song.

1982 – Greg’s Dukes of Hazzard birthday cake.

2012 – Greg with John Schneider, imitating the DVD cover.

Pictures from the John Schneider Dodge Dealer Signings:
John Schneider signing, East Hanover, NJ, 8/17/2012
John Schneider signing, Sussex, NJ, 8/18/2012

Download this episode:
51 minute MP3 file – 23.5 MB (right-click to save)

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Episode 201

The Paunch Stevenson Show episode 201

Talking video games with our NJ friends….
Joe Santulli, co-founder of Digital Press, Classic Gaming Expo, and the Video Game History Museum.
Frankie V, member of the Digital Press Podcast.

In this episode:

  • celebrity deaths (Sally Ride, Leroy Neiman, Rodney King, Ernest Borgnine, Nora Ephron, Sherman Hemsley, and Sage Stallone),
  • Steve Martin and Steven Seagal doing bad Italian accents,
  • the lights turned out on Bruce Springsteen’s concert with Paul McCartney in London,
  • High Score (2006) documentary (watch on Hulu),
  • Missile Command,
  • was The King of Kong (starring Billy Mitchell and Steve Wiebe) a fraud?,
  • a YouTube video featuring accusations by video game record holder Dwayne Richard,
  • former and current Donkey Kong champs Tim Sczerby and Hank Chien,
  • the Twin Galaxies video game record board,
  • would a dog raise a human baby?,
  • What Ever Happened To? (Teri Hatcher, Lauren Graham, and Carlos Mencia),
  • Gallagher does a GEICO commercial (video),
  • Sugar Daddy and other bad hard candy,
  • annoying door-to-door cable television salespeople,
  • knowledgeable forum dslreports.com,
  • Dolph Lundgren is actually a chemical engineer,
  • Fred Willard may or may not have pulled a Pee-wee Herman,
  • Rob invented dine-in movie theaters,
  • poor presentation of a film at an AMC theater,
  • interview with founder of Digital Press Videogames Joe Santulli,
  • his decision to go from game collector to retailer,
  • what does his wife think of his collecting?,
  • Atari Airborne Avenger pinball wall art (photo),
  • what you’ll find in the Digital Press store in Clifton, NJ,
  • rare and unique items “in the wild” traded into the store,
  • video game grading services,
  • monthly NAVA (North Atlantic Videogame Aficionados) gatherings,
  • the concept behind the Video Game History Museum,
  • is the future of gaming fully downloadable content?,
  • promoting the community aspect of gaming,
  • our interview with Frankie V. of the Digital Press Video Game Podcast,
  • gory horror arcade game Chiller by Exidy,
  • Atari Lynx,
  • great Lynx games like Electrocop,
  • is Sony’s PlayStation Vita this generation’s Lynx?,
  • the open platform game system Ouya,
  • a return to hobby-developed gaming like in the 1980s,
  • Android and iOS gaming vs. traditional portable consoles,
  • and “crowdsourcing” via Kickstarter.

Visit dpvideogames.com for more information on the Digital Press store and the audio/video podcasts!

Pictures taken during the July 28, 2012, NAVA gathering at Digital Press in Clifton, NJ:
Flickr – Digital Press in Clifton, NJ 7/28/2012

Enjoying 3D Gaming

Download this episode:
96.5 minute MP3 file – 44.2 MB (right-click to save)

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Episode 200

The Paunch Stevenson Show episode 200

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)

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Please help Mike Masse’s son Noah

Mike Masse and Noah

We interviewed our favorite YouTube musician and cover song artist, Mike Masse, in episode 163 of The Paunch Stevenson Show. He was a great guest and we enjoyed discussing music, movies, and video games with him.

Yesterday, Mike posted his version of The Beatles song “Let It Be” on YouTube with this message:

“Dear Friends and Supporters,
On July 5th, 2012, my 11-month-old son Noah was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. Please consider making a donation of support as well as helping spread this link. The proceeds from your donation will go towards getting Noah the best care possible, as well as helping keep our family afloat while we focus on little Noah’s treatment and comfort. Anyone who donates will receive a downloadable MP3 version of this rendition. Here is the link:
http://covercows.com/let-it-be-a-fundraiser/
A special thanks to Jesse, and everyone else at Cover Cows, for suggesting I record a charity song for Noah, as well as offering to waive any of their proceeds from the donations received. And thanks to Jeff Hall for letting me borrow his video camera (identical to mine), so I could shoot the performance from two angles at once.
And thanks to all of you so much for your friendship, generosity, and support.
Love,
-Mike
P.S. If you prefer, you can also buy this song from iTunes (with Apple taking 30% of the purchase price, as is their policy). Here’s the iTunes link:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/let-it-be-single/id546401724”

So if you can, please help Mike out. We’re sure he and his family appreciate even the smallest donation. Thanks!

Greg and Rob