Wacky Shenanigans!

'Wacky Shenanigans!' is an expression that is used early and often on the great podcast known as Slow Robot A Go-Go. If this name sounds familiar to you, this may be because earlier this year I had the distinct pleasure of chatting with one of the hosts mOw. (You can find mOw's interview under 'Podcasts, B Movies and Asian Influence-Oh My!' which ran on 2/13/13.)

Recently during a listen to Slow Robot A Go-Go, I felt compelled to write about them again only this time, I would be mostly concentrating on how much I love this show and why you need to check it out. Slow Robot A Go-Go is nothing like anything else I've heard and that's a good thing. Sure, there are a lot of podcasts and radio shows dedicated to the discussion of movies. I've heard a few great ones but for one reason or another, I cannot seem to get enough of this one and it's become my 'Go To'.

This show is manned by mOw and his cohort Dr. Morbius (from parts unknown). These two guys really sound like a couple of old friends just hanging out, shooting the breeze about movies and a whole lot of other interesting topics. The fact that they sound so unrehearsed and real makes the show even more appealing.

A few notes before I delve into this show review...You should have a pad and a pen ready to make a list of movies. The reason being is because once these two guys get going discussing movies, you might just be intrigued enough to find out more about or just to watch whatever they discuss. My Netflix queue has tripled in size due to a lot of the movies that mOw and Dr. Morbius have discussed on their show. Having an open mind is also a great idea. If you're looking for someone to discuss the latest thing at the box office, you may be disappointed. (Yes, at times, they DO discuss current movies but that's really not their stock in trade. More on that in a minute.)  My movie viewing horizons have been broadened due to listening to this show and I'm watching things that I might have passed on previously. Last but not least, if you're a lover of the old black and white films, really obscure stuff or just flat out love B movies, this podcast is for you.

The format of this show is that mOw and Dr. Morbius (from parts unknown) review and mull over B-Movies of all eras. Some of their movies are complete stinkers and others are beloved classics. The show will usually begin with information on where you can find and listen to this show. (I will include that info at the end of this review.) After that, the two then discuss what they've watched in the prior week. The things they watch are sometimes movies and at times, just documentaries or football shows among other things, often with hilarious commentary.

One of the current things that mOw has been spending a lot of time with is his 'Van Damme A-Thon' where he is watching every single Jean-Claude Van Damme movie from the first one to the most recent. He then discusses each movie and his thoughts about them.

The two hosts also will sprinkle a good bit of chatter about music in amongst their movie talk. Both mOw and Dr. Morbius have avid interest in music and really delve into the merits of a band, musician or musical style, often in great detail.

After they've gotten that out of the way, they settle into more of a formatted show. Some of their pre-mpvie reviewing patter includes a 'This or That' list which may or may not have to do with movies. An example would be 'Coke or Pepsi?' or 'Mustang or Camaro?'. Other times they have a Top Ten List(s), again movie related or not as this past show demonstrated where they both had their own lists of 'Favorite NFL Football Players of All Time'.

They also have a 'Versus' format to the show where they each pick a film and compare and contrast their opinions of the movies that they've chosen. Normally, however, they just choose one movie and break down the good, the bad and the ugly of the chosen movie. They're not always in love with everything that they've picked out for the week's show and they will lay out their reasoning in an amusing yet honest way.

Both mOw and Dr. Morbuis are fans of such things as Roger Corman movies or flicks that the great Ray Harryhausen worked on for example. I love the fact that they are willing to discuss more of the classic movies as opposed to the newer, flashy, CGI-laden products that one finds at any given theater. The show seems to harken back to the movies of older eras, where the action wasn't so ' in your face' and you could also use your imagination more. Due to listening to this show, I've gone back to watch a lot of older horror movies such as 'The Abominable Dr. Phibes' and 'The Island of Lost Souls' which came out in 1932. I've also rented such things as 'The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms' and the original version of 'The Fly' to name a few.

When it comes time to take their two breaks, you can bet that mOw and Dr. Morbius will run a trailer or two of some super obscure or Grade B movie from 'back in the day'. I do not know where they find these trailers but in my eyes, they are B Movie Gold.

This past show, the guys watched three versions of 'King Kong', the 1933, 1976 and 2005 versions. They compared and contrasted each one. I've seen all three of these and was wowed by how great the original was, knowing that back then we didn't have the technology that exists nowadays. Dr. Morbius' viewpoints on the 1933 version was that he liked this version the best and went on to say that this was 'one of the best movies ever made' and one of his 'all time favorites'. Both he and mOw then discussed the 1976 version noting that there was a lot that alluded to the 1970's culture within the plot and dialogue. mOw also shared that a 40 ft King Kong robot was created that ended up not working. (One of the best parts of listening to this podcast is all the trivia that the guys love to share with the listener. I eat that stuff up!) They had this to say about the 2005 version of the movie that Peter Jackson was very faithful to the source material and that the CG was well done and the movie well casted. After they rated the three films, they then threw out names of other movies where an ape/chimp/monkey dominated the plot, including 'Mighty Joe Young' and 'Son of Kong'. (You can bet I will be adding these to my Netflix queue.)

This show runs for an hour but I could easily listen longer. The patter between the two hosts never gets dull and I find myself learning something along the way. My rating for this podcast would be two thumbs up. (Or 5 stars.)

You can find out more about Slow Robot A Go-Go by going here-

slowrobotagogo.wordpress.com or bunchofdorks.com. You can find them on Facebook at the Slow Robot A Go-Go Facebook page or you can follow them on Twitter at @slowrobotagogo. You can listen from links on each of these places.

You can also hear them on Slice Radio as well as Stitcher Radio. (stitcher.com) and iTunes.

So, go ahead and check them out! If you like what you hear, feel free to hit them up on any one of those links above and tell them yourself. They will be happy with any new listeners that find them!