Ep 187: Getting Back To Nature

This year we're extending the spooky season to chat about some of our favorite 80s monsters and the movies that spawned them! Just don't expect the usual suspects like the Alien, Predator or any of those Slasher types. This time, we are shining the searchlight on the obscure, the underappreciated... those cinematic monsters who may not have been featured in a horror classic per say, but who we love anyway! Let's put it this way, if you know at least one of the acronyms for C.H.U.D. ... you're in the right place! RETRO RIDOCTOPUS is ----------------------------------- "Parasite Steve"...... AKA Steve Van Samson (read) "8-Bit Alchemy "...... AKA Tim Krikorian (listen) "Coopster Gold"...... AKA Justin Cooper (subscribe) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Show your RETROID PRIDE! Get your official GEAR right here!

In honor of the spooky season and the release of Castlevania Belmont's Curse (the first mainline title for the series in 18 years), we present a tribute to (our newest hero) Rose Belmont, and to all the gorgeous vampire-killin' women of Castlevania! Though we primarily sink our teeth into the series' most notable female protagonists... certain other, more sinister characters may be lurking in the shadows of Dracula's castle. So grab your crosses, whips and spell books and down a shot of holy water because it's going to be a bumpy night (not to mention a terrible one to have a curse). #castlevania #belmontscurse #rondoofblood #symphonyofthenight #draculascurse RETRO RIDOCTOPUS is ----------------------------------- "Parasite Steve"...... AKA Steve Van Samson (read) "8-Bit Alchemy "...... AKA Tim Krikorian (listen) "Coopster Gold"...... AKA Justin Cooper (subscribe) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Show your RETROID PRIDE! Get your official GEAR right here!

Tonight in the BRIG, we welcome author, editor, director, producer, screenwriter and winner of many awards including the Bram Stoker and Elgin Awards... Jamal Hodge! He’s here to chat about his new book of poetry “I’m Not a Good Person, I’m A New Yorker”. It's a dazzling, unflinching, "warts and all" portrait of the most famous city in the world, all told in line and verse. For this episode, we are treated to not only a wonderful discussion, but a pair of short readings from each of the book's four themed sections, as Jamal takes us on a guided tour of the city he has always called home. Check out Jamal's official website.https://www.writerhodge.com/ And get your copy of "I'm Not A Good Person, I'm A New Yorker" at your local book shop or our favorite! RETRO RIDOCTOPUS is ----------------------------------- "Parasite Steve"...... AKA Steve Van Samson (read) "8-Bit Alchemy "...... AKA Tim Krikorian (listen) "Coopster Gold"...... AKA Justin Cooper (subscribe) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Show your RETROID PRIDE! Get your official GEAR right here!

With the help of our awesome Curry-lovin' guest host Greenie (The Green Witch of the Shire), we celebrate our favorite motion pictures that star the late, and undeniably great Tim Curry. We've each chosen two films and will be presenting them in chronological order, from obvious cult classics like Rocky Horror and Legend, to some of Tim's lesser talked about films that we just happen to love. And jammed in the middle, we will even talk about the actor's animated appearances in this week's OCTOPONDER THIS! RETRO RIDOCTOPUS is ----------------------------------- "Parasite Steve"...... AKA Steve Van Samson (read) "8-Bit Alchemy "...... AKA Tim Krikorian (listen) "Coopster Gold"...... AKA Justin Cooper (subscribe) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Show your RETROID PRIDE! Get your official GEAR right here!

Sydney Arcane is beyond talented. She's the writer/artist of the snarky vampire-centric comic book series BloodDreams (under the name Angi Shearstone) but for her brand new novel, she transports into the world of Science Ficton! The Time Traveler's Final Mission features a very reliable take on the unreliable narrator. One that freely and frequently admits that time travel does a number on your brain, making even remembering your own mission very difficult indeed. Snag your copy of THE TIME TRAVELER'S FINAL MISSION today! RETRO RIDOCTOPUS is ----------------------------------- "Parasite Steve"...... AKA Steve Van Samson (read) "8-Bit Alchemy "...... AKA Tim Krikorian (listen) "Coopster Gold"...... AKA Justin Cooper (subscribe) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Show your RETROID PRIDE! Get your official GEAR right here!

This week, we decide to touch some grass and recharge our souls with a taste of the great outdoors. Your Octo-hosts take you on a wander down various winding paths--over hill and stream, greeting all the creatures in between. Coopster Gold leads the way and recites a selection of poems, pared perfectly with each of our tales. Watch out for snakes and minks and an unforgettable voicemail from our favorite Icelandic pal. RETRO RIDOCTOPUS is ----------------------------------- "Parasite Steve"...... AKA Steve Van Samson (read) "8-Bit Alchemy "...... AKA Tim Krikorian (listen) "Coopster Gold"...... AKA Justin Cooper (subscribe) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Show your RETROID PRIDE! Get your official GEAR right here!

Tonight in the BRIG, we welcome our first ever married couple! Two writers from the wilds of Maine (and other places prior). Poet, writer Emma Gibbon is the author of the critically acclaimed short story collection "Dark Blood Comes From The Feet", and Steven T. Gibbon is an artist, game designer and he just released one of the most unique and weirdly wonderful books ever. Lipsnitch Snilly is an absurdist fantasy romp that is so original, it's genuinely hard to categorize. Think Terry Pratchett's Discworld but by way of John Dies At The End... but with goat people... and a crow named Gary. Along for the ride, we have a crow of our own in the co-hosting chair, Miss Kari Sanders from Splash Pages! So fasten your seat belts... it's gonna be a bumpy night! Snag you copies of Dark Blood Comes From The Feet and Lipsnitch Snilly at your local bookseller or click our links for our favorite! RETRO RIDOCTOPUS is ----------------------------------- "Parasite Steve"...... AKA Steve Van Samson (read) "8-Bit Alchemy "...... AKA Tim Krikorian (listen) "Coopster Gold"...... AKA Justin Cooper (subscribe) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Show your RETROID PRIDE! Get your official GEAR right here!

Video games now known as Collect-A-Thons (short for "Collection Marathons") came about in the late 1990s with the advent of 3-D polygonal platformers with and fully exploreable game worlds. By giving players a ton of items to hunt down and "collect", these games developed a very unique identity and today are considered a distinct sub-genre. For this episode, we'll do our thing, spotlighting 6 great video games that help build the genre into one that's worth celebrating! RETRO RIDOCTOPUS is ----------------------------------- "Parasite Steve"...... AKA Steve Van Samson (read) "8-Bit Alchemy "...... AKA Tim Krikorian (listen) "Coopster Gold"...... AKA Justin Cooper (subscribe) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Show your RETROID PRIDE! Get your official GEAR right here!

Jennifer Anne Gordon is the award winning author of the novel Pretty/Ugly and co-host of the awesome Vox Vomitus podcast Tonight, she's here to chat about her new mystery thriller "Perfect Wives, Perfect Lies". We'll talk about what it's like to write in a new genre, as well as to stock it full of fun references of all the things you loved growing up (like The Princess Bride, Marilyn Monroe and yes, even the Trash Heap from Fraggle Rock). But to be real, this episode listens less like a professional-type interview and more like two overworked goofball friends just hanging out... which is technically exactly what it is! Get your copy of "Perfect Wife, Perfect Lies" from your local bookstore, or from our favorite! And check out the official website of our fabulous guest, Jennifer Anne Gordon! RETRO RIDOCTOPUS is ----------------------------------- "Parasite Steve"...... AKA Steve Van Samson (read) "8-Bit Alchemy "...... AKA Tim Krikorian (listen) "Coopster Gold"...... AKA Justin Cooper (subscribe) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Show your RETROID PRIDE! Get your official GEAR right here!

One of the heaviest hitters of the Fifth Generation of video game consoles, the Sony Playstation (AKA PS1) rocketed onto store shelves in 1995, signifying the true end of the 16bit era. Cartridges and passwords were OUT, game discs and memory cards were IN and the world was about to be WOWED by 3-D environments, 24 channels of sound and some very charming (if crunchy) polygons! For this episode, we welcome our delightful friend and Retroid Paloma Serena (@thepalomafiles on Insta) to shout out some of our favorite Playstation 1 games! Some of these are bonafied classics of the gaming landscape, while others are simply not talked about enough. As usual, we're aiming to fix that! #crashbandicoot #residentevil #spyrothedragon #valkyrieprofile #vagrantstory #playstation1 #ps1 #psone #sonyplaystation RETRO RIDOCTOPUS is ----------------------------------- "Parasite Steve"...... AKA Steve Van Samson (read) "8-Bit Alchemy "...... AKA Tim Krikorian (listen) "Coopster Gold"...... AKA Justin Cooper (subscribe) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Show your RETROID PRIDE! Get your official GEAR right here!