The week of May 2, 1977: Before the Dark Times, before the Empire – well, approximately three weeks before the Dark Times and before the Empire – television sci-fi is just doing its thing on both sides of the Atlantic, unaware that audience expectations are about to change drastically. Retrogram examines five shows that were on the air during one o…

Oh No, It’s The ’90s!: Ah, the ’90s – a decade that turned the broadcast industry upside-down. You know, just like every previous decade since broadcasting was invented. But Retrogram is about to start going there, so it seemed like a good time to talk about why so much ’90s genre TV was syndicated. And why the ’90s syndication landscape looks an a…

Raise your hand if you saw this coming: If you thought the O2/Videopac news was getting awfully quiet, think again – Philips is back on the scene, releasing new compilations of classic Videopac games through Steam. There are some cool things about this, and some not-ready-for-prime-time things about it, and this podcast discovers some of both in re…

The week of November 20, 1983: A world on the brink of what would likely be its last war. Instead of fighting that war, let’s dramatize it! Let’s also thwart evil plans to take over Earth by everything from cubes to evil warlords, and try to figure out if Doctor Who’s 20th anniversary had more intrigue on screen or behind the scenes. Hopefully this…

Reporting live from a quarter million miles out: Oof, it’s been a couple of minutes since I did one of these, hasn’t it? This is kind of a free-form ramble about everything – cats, life, more cats, a job I didn’t get, Marsquakes, shows, action figures, funky lights, and being in the same place all the time. Plus, the timeless wisdom of Apollo astro…

The week of December 27, 1971: It’s been over 50 years since these episodes premiered. Was the world a better place? Was genre TV a better place? What color does a Dalek really need to be? And where’s Joe Corvin with my money? (55:23) Right-click here and “save as” to download the podcast so you can listen to it in your hearse that happens to have …

One story, three times: Meet Cyril Kornbluth and his amazing Little Black Bag from the future – one of the best short stories in the history of science fiction, and a story that merited being told three times across three decades. (47:36) Right-click here and “save as” to download the podcast to your little black bag. Links: Feel free to help suppo…

Everything old is new again! The latest directly from the developers of the potential new member of the Odyssey family, a look at Odyssey Retro’s potential risks, potential greatness, and very cautious and frank analysis of the system’s chances of actually happening at all. And if the thought of the O2 making a comeback is a surprise, the other pie…

The week of October 14th, 1973: Wait, isn’t this the road we came in on? In honor of the late, great Dean Stockwell, it’s time for this short episode (previously a Patreon-only bonus show from the end of 2020) to get a wide release, taking a look at a Stockwell performance that has gone unseen by many for over 40 years. (14:55) Right-click here and…

You wanna retro that by me again? The shot heard ’round the Odyssey2/Videopac world. Is someone seriously trying to bring this hardware platform into the present, or allowing it to stubbornly stick to the past? There are so many questions yet to be answered…and this edition of the show is asking them. (21:48) Right-click and “save as” to download m…

1978-1981: With Britbox (and Forces TV in the UK) bringing Blake’s 7 back to everyone’s screens, Retrogram presents a unique, “focus episode” to provide the show’s historical context, its literary and pop culture inspirations, its influence on what came after it, and an even-handed look at the pros and cons of the show…all without spoiling all of t…

The week of July 26th, 2021: Commander Koenig and Dr. Russell sound completely different. Travis sounds the same (but which one?). Kolchak is about to be clearer than ever. Moonbase Alpha’s Eagles and little color TVs are getting smaller. It’s a very different kind of Retrogram. (35:58) Right-click here and “save as” to download the podcast to some…

The week of March 26th, 1979: Wales is finally exporting the works of one of its finest storytellers to the small screen. Britain is exporting interconnected space operas, complete with space Vikings. And the U.S.? It’s exporting superheroes and a rare appearance by a genuine comics legend…but it’s keeping the nuclear fear to itself. (50:16) Right-…

The week of June 20th, 1977: We’ve had Watergate, we’ve the Pentagon Papers, we’ve had a whole decade of conspiratorial thinking. And here in the middle of the summer of 1977, we have a whole week full of inexplicable disappearances – at least until Mark Harris and the plucky crew from Science Report show up. (42:04) Right-click here and “save as” …

The weeks of June 6th & 13th, 1977: Star Wars is in, Elvis is on his way out, and so are the intrepid adventurers on The Fantastic Journey. But never fear, Exo-Man is here! This, surely, heralds the arrival of a hero for the future and for all time, a television icon whose exploits we’ll be following for years to come! (43:32) Right-click here and …

Linking in from brown sector: Geeky ramblings are back, this time involving a show that’s making a minor – and well-deserved – comeback thanks to a much overdue facelift. And where this show is concerned, I was there, at the dawn of the nerd age of fankind… chronicling the show for myself with stuff that the studio sent out to the TV stations givin…

The week of January 12th, 1981: Hitchhikers, Hulk, Hawk, and Who, oh my! Buck Rogers returns with a new feathered friend, the Doctor has a new furry friend, and the stories from behind the scenes reveal what a miracle it was that any of these shows made it to our screens. (1:02:19) Right-click here and “save as” to download the K-9’s memory, which …

HGR2: You think I’m a pretty basic podcast host? Oh baby, I am totally a BASIC podcast host. It’s a memory core dump from the early days of Commodore PETs and the mighty Apple IIe-compatible Franklin ACE 1000, a journey back in time to the computers that made me fall in love with…well…computers. Also, the obligatory soundtrack, action figure, gamin…

The week of December 11th, 1983: Every so often, a TV producer/creator comes along, so prolific that his output spans two studios, every network, and a sizeable chunk of the prime time schedule. But are they actually the same show? And what’s going on with this other thing with the puppets? (1:08:30) Right-click here and “save as” to download the p…

The week of August 29th, 1976: Let’s say you’re heading for a landing on Mars, getting ready to do science stuff. You’re probably not thinking about the fact that you’re going to miss shows about alien men escaping the yoke of female oppression, treacherous shape-shifters, and big Helix energy. It’s a good thing Retrogram is here to help. (54:12) R…

Clothes maketh the game: The black background. The vanishing point logo with its very, very seventies font. The Helvetica lettering. Could anything ever replace the classic look of vintage Odyssey2 packaging? Should anyone even try to come up with a new look? Hear from someone who tried, but apparently didn’t stick the landing. (10:25) Right-click …

1969!?: An oft-unsung luminary of taking sci-fi seriously left us just before the end of 2020 – so Retrogram is turning back the clock further than usual to delve into the origins of one of his very few screen credits. The Immortal lives…again. (23:04) [player id=7204] Right-click here and “save as” to download this podcast. Show notes page: https:…

Cut and Print: In yet another testament to the very strange way in which your host’s brain works, enjoy this introduction to Showrunner!: The Home Game – also known as outlining a nonexistent season of TV without actually writing out the episodes, or window shopping at the idea store. Also: what I’ve been reading, some space news, the usual wafflin…

The week of December 29th, 1975: A heavy metal giant is born, a future pro golf legend is born…and airports and airplanes are becoming unusually dangerous places to be. Sitting in front of the TV is much safer – but just because the U.S. is hurtling toward the big 2-0-0 doesn’t mean it has a lock on the fantastic. (39:45) Right-click here and “save…

1970: The Doctor’s back. With a new face. In color! But his first story was being made by the last of the black & white era’s production team, and a new team would be taking over with an aim toward building social messages into their story. What were the expectations of the new Doctor and his new behind-the-scenes crew…and how were those expectatio…

Anyone wanna make games for this machine? Third-party games were – and remain – a real rarity for the Odyssey2 and Videopac. But who, aside from Parker Brothers and Imagic, should’ve stepped up to the plate? Another bite-sized edition of the internet’s only podcast with sync-sound action ponders who might have dared to create more games for the Ody…

Back In Action? Yes, Select Game is still here…and yes, Select Game still covers the Odyssey2. A bite-sized edition of the internet’s only podcast with sync-sound action is here to let Odyssey2 and Videopac (and Jopac and Radiola Jet…) fans know that there’s more to come. (10:21) Right-click and “save as” to download manually | Stitcher | Throwback…

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH: 2020, am I right? 2020. What I’ve been watching, listening to, and doing while trying to survive and stay sane in a year that was shaping up to be a bad one at the end of last year. Plus the usual waffling on about space missions and soundtracks and action figures and that sort of thing.(1:24:45) Right-click here and “save…

Where did Retrogram go? Into its chrysalis, to grow some sweet-ass butterfly wings. Please stand by. (7:19) Right-click here and “save as” to download this podcast. Links: Feel free to help support the show at Patreon or Ko-Fi! Music by Jahzzar If you like Retrogram, you’ll also enjoy Earl’s books about Doctor Who – VWORP!1 and VWORP!2 – and his fi…

The week of September 24th, 1990: The nineties are here. The world’s getting complicated. Someone’s de-sliming Slimer. Sam’s finally made that leap hope… sort of. And the Borg have Captain Picard. It’s not lookin’ good…or is it? (37:23) Right-click here and “save as” to download the podcast to Borg network. It’ll probably put ’em to sleep. Links: F…

The week of November 25, 1973: It’s Saturday morning! Grab a bowl of cereal, curl up on the shag carpet in front of the TV, and get ready for a Saturday morning spectacular with Kirk, Spock, Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Orson Welles, robots, extortionists, and…the guy from 2001, now with a moustache! (36:29) Right-click here and “save a…

The week of March 6th, 1988: Hollywood’s writers are about to hit the picket lines, leaving America’s couch potatoes with a much longer rerun season than usual. Just a page from the past, or a glimpse of our future? Ponder that as we revisit Alf, Captain Power, Probe, and The Highwayman, back in the spring of ’88 when these were going to be some of…

The week of November 22nd, 1971: Somewhere in the world, a media tycoon is turning murderous to cover his tracks, a teacher is learning one of her students has spectral needs, a man is dying to meet the woman of his dreams, and a whole new country is happening in orbit. But all of this might just take a back seat to a guy jumping out of an airplane…

Welcome aboard, Captain! Star Trek video games didn’t arise from the glory years of the franchise, but during its wilderness years. This audio version of a recent theLogBook.com livestream traces the development of both licensed and unlicensed Star Trek and computer games, and the beginning of the modern age of the franchise as a gaming IP. (1:02:2…

The week of April 14th, 1975: Pestilence, Cybermen, angry vegetation, and death – it was a week in 1975 that saw Doctor Who come up against a new show created by one of the writers most directly responsible for Doctor Who’s success, while a couple of genre shows for kids got pretty weird. Join us for a thoroughly British Retrogram…or avoid it like …

The week of December 28th, 1969: The last days of the 1960s. The first days of the 1970s. It’s been fifty years since these shows premiered. Did our sci-fi and our spy-fi predict the future? Was any of it actually ahead of its time, or was it still just amazing that all three of these shows were being broadcast in color? Let’s rewind half a century…

D’aaaaaaawwwwwww! Following up on the previous installment of This Tape, some ruminations on what’s been on TV lately, including Apple TV’s For All Mankind, The Mandalorian over on Disney+, and anticipation for the new season of Doctor Who and that Star Trek: Picard series. (This somewhat short show was recorded shortly after Thanksgiving, and so d…

Now with kung fu action grip! A seven-year-old playing with action figures? Totally normal. Same kid picking up the collecting bug at 17 and keeping it alive (budget permitting) at 47? That’s where people start demanding explanations. A quick stroll down toy-collecting memory lane, encompassing both Star Wars figures and many others I’ve collected …

The week of October 26th, 1986: 1986 A.T. (after “Thriller”) is upon us again, with spooky foes and even spookier friends, unearthly threats and the unexplained, and so many shows no one could complain. Join us now to watch aliens on the run, a shrinking family, Ewoks not having fun, travel through time, though time’s standing still, it might be Ha…

The weeks of July 25th and August 1st, 1971: As Apollo 15’s crew unfurls the first lunar rover on the surface of the moon, the opening story of the UK telefantasy series Ace Of Wands is being broadcast for the first – and maybe last – time. This Retrogram recaps and reviews these two “orphaned” episodes – the only genre shows that aired in their re…

The week of September 1st, 1974: A man prepares to fire himself across a quarter-mile-wide canyon in a rocket-powered motorcycle. A man and his children dodge dinosaurs. A man lies dying in sick bay, his only chance for survival hijacked by space pirates. A young man out joy-riding with friends in a stolen car could be driven to his death. One of t…

The week of December 30th, 1979: For a podcast that covers genre TV from 1970-1990, this is the exact midpoint: the first week of 1980. A week of classic space heroes, mistaken identities, and people in tights wearing bull heads…and maybe a tip-of-the-iceberg sighting of Hollywood’s propensity for recycling. (71:16) Right-click here and “save as”; …

The week of July 10th, 1988: The shuttle’s still grounded, the climate is changing, the needles are washing up on the Jersey shore, and the scares are syndicated. Retrogram delivers a double dose of televised terror from the blistering summer of 1988. Just don’t make a sound. Or smoke. (38:28) Right-click here and “save as”; and keep it down out th…

The week of December 10th, 1974: As the moon hangs over the horizon, and the crew of Apollo 17 hangs out at the moon – the last time humans would go there in the 20th century – gather around the TV campfire for three terrifying tales of levitating furniture, vicious dogs, and petrifying premonitions of things yet to come. As the final Apollo crew w…

The week of February 24th, 1974: Daleks, telekinesis, nukes, O. Henry, and overwrought mission controllers, oh my! There wasn’t a mission to the moon in progress during this week in 1974…but there were a lot of shows…and a few of them were good. There was also the first-ever attempt to dramatize the Apollo 13 mission for television…which was less g…

The week of July 18th, 1971: As the crew of Apollo 15 prepared to go to the moon, it was a dead week for American genre TV…but still a lively one across the pond. Meet a magician named Tarot, and an alien-fighter named Colonel Ed Straker. One will face a new foe whose magic may be even stronger than his…and the other will face “you-foes” who have a…

The week of July 5th, 1987: A week picked by followers of theLogBook.com’s Facebook page! A week of orbital law enforcement, lycanthropy, astro-archaeology, and maybe even the devil himself. Travel back in prime time with us to the summer of ’87. (75:43) This episode has dropped early so it’s available for your holiday weekend road trip! Right-clic…

Back In Action! Now with 100% less Dalek vocalization. Is the Odyssey2 up to the task of simulating the physics of pinball? And if it falls short…well, little multicolored dudes cracking electrical whips will do just fine, right? Sure they well! Also, we get to test-drive PackratVG.com’s amazing C7061 multicart to play Thunderball!, Pachinko!, and …

A Great Big Fan Love Letter To Paul Darrow: Breaking the normal “one week” format of the show already seemed like a thing that had to be done to bid a fond farewell to one of the stars of Blake’s 7, and a memorable presence in so many other genre shows. Whether you’re a longtime fan or have never heard of the man, raise a glass to the man (and his …

The week of March 13th, 1983: A quiet week of a busy year…so why all the time travelers? The Doctor drops in on King John, the Voyagers(!) drop in on “Wild Frank” Roosevelt, and Prince Erik Greystone drops into a whole haunted castle of trouble in the wrong month. Who’s the best time traveler? And who wound up in the best medieval castle? Do lutes …