Tag: History

DNA Podcast 141 – Martial Arts in Popular Culture (of the 20th Century)

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The Department of Nerdly Affairs
The Department of Nerdly Affairs
DNA Podcast 141 - Martial Arts in Popular Culture (of the 20th Century)
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Original Poster for The Five Fingers of Death (aka King Boxer)

In this episode, Don and Rob are back exploring how movies and television took martial arts from being weird and forbidden arts practiced by a select few to the McDojos of the 1990s. Along the way, they discuss how the Shaw Brothers changed everything, how Bruce Lee never dies, and why American Ninja ruled the 80s. All this, and Don and Rob’s “Martial Arts Top 10s!” are waiting for you in this action-packed episode of The Department of Nerdly Affairs.

Closing Music:
Ode to Joy performed by Oliver Eckelt

Show Notes:

These Fists Break Bricks
Get Tough! by Major Fairbairn
The Manchurian Candidate
The Shaw Brothers
The One-Armed Swordsman
Wuxia
Bonnie and Clyde
The Legend of Billy Jack
Kung Fu TV Series
The Five Fingers of Death (aka King Boxer)
Enter the Dragon
Golden Harvest
Mystics in Bali
Drunken Master
Encounters of the Spooky Kind
The Bodyguards
Sonny Chiba
The Many Clones of Bruce Lee
The Karate Kid
American Ninja
Black Belt Theatre TV Package
Pat Morita
Ralph Macchio
Chuck Norris
Kill Bill
The Street Fighter Theme Song

Our Top 10 Lists:

Rob
10) The Karate Kid
9) Zatoichi series
8) Once Upon a Time in China series
7) Master of the Flying Guillotine (1976)
6) Police Story (Jackie Chan)
5) The Street Fighter (Sonny Chiba)
4) Kung Fu Cult Master
3) The 36th Chamber of Shaolin
2) Iron Monkey
1) Five Fingers of Death + Enter the Dragon

Don
10) The Death Master (1972)
9) Hai Karate Aftershave
8) D&D Monk Character Class (original)
7) They Call Me Bruce
6) Gymkata
5) Street Fighter II (game)
4) Miami Connection (watch MST3K live version!)
3) Hokuto no Ken (Fist of the North Star)
2) Kung Fu Hustle
1) Count Dante and the Black Dragon Society

DNA Podcast 140 – Marvel Product Tie-In Comics

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The Department of Nerdly Affairs
The Department of Nerdly Affairs
DNA Podcast 140 - Marvel Product Tie-In Comics
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Written by Bill Mantlo – of course!

In this episode, Rob, Don and Jack Ward take a trip back to the 1970s and 1980s, when a floundering Marvel Comics was saved by barbarians, vampires, giant robots and toys soldiers. It’s the story of product tie-ins brought life back to the dying comics company, and in the process reinvented the comics industry for the time. All that, and two of the greatest Marvel comics you’ve never read, is waiting for you in this episode of The Department of Nerdly Affairs.

Closing Music:
Ode to Joy performed by Oliver Eckelt

Things Discussed:

Roger Corman Fantastic Four
Oswald the Rabbit
The Reluctant Dragon
Willow: The Series
Dell Comics Disney Tie-Ins
Gold Key Star Trek
Marvel’s Conan
Roy Thomas
Kull the Conqueror Comic
Marvel Tomb of Dracula
Dracula Sovereign of the Damned Anime Movie
Doc Savage
Master of Kung Fu/Deadly Hands of Kung Fu
Planet of the Apes Comics
Logan’s Run
Wizard of Oz DC/Marvel
Superman vs. Muhammad Ali
Marvel Star Wars
Marvel Hanna Barbera Comics
Marvel Godzilla Comic
Battle Fever J
The Human Fly Comic 1977
Bill Mantlo
Herb Trimpe
KISS Marvel Comics
The Micronauts Comic
Peter B. Gillis
The Shogun Warriors Comic
Force Five
Voltron
Jimmy Woo
ROM: Space Knight
Dazzler
Dreadstar
GI JOE Marvel Comic
Starstruck
Amethyst: Princess of Gemworld
Crystar the Crystal Warrior Comic
Team America
U.S. ONE Comic
Transformers Marvel Comic
Simon Furman
Questprobe
Questprobe Afro
STAR Comics
Elfquest
The Congress (Movie, Robin Wright)

DNA Podcast 139 – Half-Hour Toy Commercials of the 80s

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The Department of Nerdly Affairs
DNA Podcast 139 - Half-Hour Toy Commercials of the 80s
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In this episode, Rob and Don revisit their childhoods as they talk about the time when capitalism and animation joined together to create one of the greatest marketing forces known to mankind – the half-hour animated toy commercials of the 1980s! Strawberry Shortcake! HE-MAN and the Masters of the Universe! GI JOE! The Transformers! JEM! It was a brief and truly outrageous time in North American animation history. But what forces led to this rise of these marketing behemoths? And, why did they die out almost as quickly as they appeared? Find out this, and what shows had the best theme songs, in this episode of The Department of Nerdly Affairs!

Closing Music:
Ode to Joy performed by Oliver Eckelt

Things Discussed:

GoBots
Gobots: Challenge of the Rock Lords
Popeye
Action for Children’s Television
Romper Room
Mister Rogers
Polka Dot Door
Hot Wheels Cartoon
Planet of the Apes Cartoon
Miss Twitch
Bunnicula
ABC Weekend Special (Anthology)
The Micronauts
Micronauts Marvel Comic
Strawberry Shortcake
Those Characters From Cleveland
ROM Space Knight Comic
The REAL Ghostbusters
SUNBOW Entertainment
Secret Galaxy YouTube Chanel
Todd (McFarlane) Toys
Daigata Defenders
Egg-Fu (character)
Microman Toys
Gaiking
Combatter V
Blackstar
The Bionic Six
The Inhumanoids
Jace and the Wheeled Warriors
The Galaxy Rangers
C.O.P.S.

DNA Podcast 138 – Family in Popular Culture

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The Department of Nerdly Affairs
DNA Podcast 138 - Family in Popular Culture
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Aka “Al” and “Peggy” Bundy

In this episode, Don and Rob do their best Vin Diesel impressions and spend the whole episode talking about family. They talk about what family really is, its place in society over time, and most importantly, its place in drama up until today. All this, and why “Punch and Judy” was the original socially destabilizing family comedy, is waiting for you in this episode of The Department of Nerdly Affairs.

Closing Music:
Ode to Joy performed by Oliver Eckelt

Things Discussed:

Dan Carlin: Suffer the Children
Aristotle’s “Poetics”
Punch and Judy
Bringing Up Father
The Gumps
Lil Abner
Blondie
I Love Lucy
Leave it to Beaver
Bewitched
I Dream of Jeannie
One Day at a Time
The Brady Bunch
Family Ties
The Cosby Show
Cousin Oliver
Married with Children
Roseanne or maybe….
Friends
Big Bang Theory

DNA Podcast 136 – Classic Doctor Who

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The Department of Nerdly Affairs
DNA Podcast 136 - Classic Doctor Who
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LONDON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 01: English actor Tom Baker in his role as the fourth incarnation of Doctor Who in the British science fiction television series of the same name, circa 1975. With him are two of his arch-enemies the Daleks. (Photo by Anwar Hussein/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

In this episode, Rob and Don are joined by Jack Ward to discuss the 20th century versions of the iconic staple of U.K. science fiction – Doctor Who. The trio discuss how they first met The Doctor, the various incarnations and evolutions of the series, and how it affected their lives. All this, and which Doctor is Don’s favorite, is waiting for you in this episode of The Department of Nerdly Affairs.

Closing Music:
Ode to Joy performed by Oliver Eckelt

Things Discussed:

Doctor Who
The Sonic Society
Magic Shadows Documentary
“Couch Jumping”
Professor Quatermass
ITV
Space: 1999
Professor Kitzel
Trickster God
Sixties Spy Craze
The Master
FASA DR.WHO RPG
Abslom Daak: Dalek Killer
Interview with Tom Baker from 1981
Hammer Horror
X-Men: Days of Future Past
Genesis of the Daleks

DNA Podcast 133 – Malls in Popular Culture

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The Department of Nerdly Affairs
DNA Podcast 133 - Malls in Popular Culture
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In this episode, Don and Rob head to the mall to discuss capitalism and the place of malls in popular culture for the past hundred years. Along the way, the duo discuss the history of shopping, the origins of malls, and how malls reshaped capitalism. All this, and why the 80s were the peak of mall culture, is waiting for you in this episode of The Department of Nerdly Affairs.

Closing Music:
Ode to Joy performed by Oliver Eckelt

Things Discussed:

Jesus and the Moneylenders
Shopping Centers Wikipedia
A History of Malls
The Medicis
Yoshiwara [“Prostitute Island”]
Shopping District
Sears
80s Mall TV Commercials
Arcology
Post WWII American Prosperity
The Golden Mile
White Flight
Dawn of the Dead (1978)
Tiffany (singer)
7 Totally Radical 1980s Mall Events
Fast Times in Ridgemont High
Masonville Mall, London ON
Chopping Mall movie
American FLAGG

DNA Podcast 131 – Samurai TV

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The Department of Nerdly Affairs
DNA Podcast 131 - Samurai TV
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In this episode, Rob and Don walk the path of meifumado and explore the golden age of Samurai television on Japanese TV during the 70s and 80s. Along this path to hell, Rob discusses what he learned after watching way too many Japanese jidaigeki period TV shows, why he loves them so much, the different types of samurai TV series, and why Sonny Chiba is the Japanese William Shatner. All this, and how Australia lost it’s mind for a Samurai TV series in the 60s, is waiting for you in this episode of The Department of Nerdly Affairs.

Closing Music:
Ode to Joy performed by Oliver Eckelt

Things Discussed:

James Bond Manga
Golgo 13
Kazuo Koike
Hirata Hiroshi
Desilu Productions
Keiretsu
Police Procedurals
Jitte
Zenigata Heiji
The Falcons of Edo TV series
Toshiro Mifune
Red Sun movie
Kirisute Gomen TV series (License to Kill)
Abarenbo Shogun TV series
Matsudaira Ken
Kiku TV
Toyama no Kinsan (Magistrate Toyama) TV series
Kage no Gundan (Shadow Warriors)
Sonny Chiba
Japan Action Club (JAC)
Tokugawa Buraicho TV series
Onimitsu Kenshin (Shintaro the Samurai) TV series
Nemuri Kyoshiro
The Yagyu Conspiracy TV series
Lone Wolf and Cub TV series
Zatoichi TV Series
Usagi Yojimbo
Taiga Drama
jp-film.com
Message from Space film (Japanese Star Wars knockoff)
Mirai Ninja (aka Cyber Ninja, which I mistakenly called Robo Ninja in the show) film

DNA Podcast 124 – Comic Book Horror Hosts

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The Department of Nerdly Affairs
DNA Podcast 124 - Comic Book Horror Hosts
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Hey guys and ghouls! In this episode, Don and Rob explore the dark and ghoulish history of horror hosts in comic books. From the EC classics like Tales from the Crypt to Judge Edwina Strange (from Judge Dredd’s own horror anthology) the pair talk about the role that “hosts” have played in the history of comics books and their place in the horror genre. All this, and why Sam Beckett from Quantum Leap is actually Jesus, is waiting for you in this episode of The Department of Nerdly Affairs.

Closing Music:
Ode to Joy performed by Oliver Eckelt

Things Discussed:

List of Comic Book Horror Hosts
TV Horror Hosts DNA Episode Part One and Part Two
EC Comics
The Cryptkeeper
Tales from the Crypt
The Space Museum
Detective Conan (Case Closed)
Carl Barks
The Shadow
Vampira (Horror Host)
Dynaman “Not the 60s!”
House of Mystery
House of Secrets
Marv Wolfman
Life Magazine invents Teenagers
Stan Lee Publishes First Drug Story
Vertigo Comics
Swamp Thing
Mister Monster
Quantum Leap
The Ice Cream Man (comic)
MISTY UK Comic
Star Lord UK Comic
V-Tubers

DNA Podcast 112 – Science in Popular Culture

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The Department of Nerdly Affairs
The Department of Nerdly Affairs
DNA Podcast 112 - Science in Popular Culture
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In this episode, Rob and Don explore the ways that science is presented in popular culture, for better and worse. Along the way they discuss what science is, how our views of it have shaped society (and how our society has shaped science), and the shifting view of science in the United States. All this, and statistics on who is more scientifically literate republicans or democrats (the answer may surprise you), is waiting for you in this episode of The Department of Nerdly Affairs.

Closing Music:
Ode to Joy performed by Oliver Eckelt

Things Discussed:

Edward Bernays (or this link.)
Terrorists Take Action Figure Hostage
The Movie Titanic Changed the Constellations
Startalk Podcast
Dr. Stone
Shonen JUMP
MacGyver
The Deadly London Fog
PEW Research Poll on the Public and Science
Granny Weatherwax

DNA Podcast 111 – The Secret Origin of Generation X

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The Department of Nerdly Affairs
DNA Podcast 111 - The Secret Origin of Generation X
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Generation X (1994) comic books
No! Not the Marvel comic! Technically, none of those kids are actually Gen-Xers, since they were born after 1980!

In this episode, Don and Rob are joined by Jack Ward to discuss the cultural foundations of the children born between 1965 and 1980 – Generation X! Like the mutant superheroes they share a name with, these young people were bridges between the old world and the new – the pre and post internet ages. From Saturday Morning TV to Dungeons and Dragons – this episode looks at the things that have shaped their choices as they’ve stepped out to take the reins of society. So, come join us as we explore, the secret origins of Generation X in this episode of The Departemnt of Nerdly Affairs.

Closing Music:
Ode to Joy performed by Oliver Eckelt

Things Discussed:

Gen X Notes
Generation X *(definition)
Generation Eccchh
Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture by Douglas Coupland
The Prime Time Access Rule 1972
Goofus and Gallant
Highlights Magazine
Weird Al’s UHF
William Shatner’s “Get a Life” Speech
Mazes and Monsters
Pirates of Silicon Valley (film)
Starsuckers Documentary (YouTube)
Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future
CNN’s first broadcast
Bubblegum Crisis