The Schoolyard | Ep #24

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Red rover, red rover; we're coming over to talk about playground performances, blacktop brawls, and whatever that game is where you throw a tennis ball at a wall. Meet you at the bike racks!   

Show Notes: 

04:00 Snipers and sneakers
06:28 John's secret garden
08:55 Dicken holds court 

13:05 Interlude: Paul Simon: "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard" 
13:45 Child's Delight

16:30 Drew's playground pipe

20:15 The confounding geodesic playground dome

26:18 Tussels and fisticuffs

31:40 Interlude: Gwen Stefani: "Hollaback Girl"

34:12 The Good Son

37:37 The purple scatter

39:30 Interlude: The Rules of Four Square

46:19 Mr. Savage, the four square tyrant

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The Schoolyard | Ep #24

Game Shows | Ep #21

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Pack your Plinko chips and pass the flag; it's the internet's most exciting hour of cash and prizes. Harvey, tell them what they've won!  

Show Notes: 

04:00 Teammate antagonism
09:00 Double Dare 
15:06 Interlude: Nickelodeon GUTS intro

15:31 Let's go to the leaderboard, Mo
18:00 The Aggro Crag controversy 

22:13 Nick Arcade

24:40 Finders Keepers

26:45 Legends of the Hidden Temple

29:35 Nick knock-offs (Fun House / I'm Telling)

31:45 Interlude: "I'll take the money!" (Let's Make a Deal)

33:12 The lost art

36:03 Let's Make a Deal
38:10 Wheel of Fish (UHF)

39:10 Match Game

40:20 Family Feud

41:30 Hollywood Squares

42:11 Press Your Luck

43:23 Michael Larson presses his luck

46:45 Interlude: Whammies

47:25 The Price is Right

59:20 Joy's ten chances

1:00:03 Internationally-inspired game shows (Ninja Warrior / Wipeout / Hole in the Wall)

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Game Shows | Ep #21

Video Rental | Ep #17

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Be kind and rewind with us back to the days of big VHS boxes, browsing shelves, and stolen Blockbuster pens. Don't forget to adjust your tracking.  

Show Notes: 

00:00 Let's rent a video
01:00 Summer rental
04:18 The side-step move
05:38 Top-loaders
08:50 Blockbusted

11:20 Horror movie VHS covers

13:00 The apparati

15:10 Designed to rewind

17:37 Interlude: The Aquabats: "Video Nite!" 

18:29 Game console rental: the biggest clamshell ever

19:56 Sega CD

21:20 DVD killed the video star Star Video

24:00 Behind the counter

29:15 Interlude: Randall and the Ruse (Clerks)

30:35 Browsing vs. streaming

44:25 Interlude: The Onion News Network: Blockbuster Video Living Museum

49:56 Redbox

54:23 Tracking: the enduring enigma

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Video Rental | Ep #17

Toy Stores | Ep #04

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To celebrate the most wonderful time of the year, we save up our allowance and set off in search of the great American toy store, with stops along the way to trade punches over Power Wheels and find out what happened to all of those postcards we sent in to Nickelodeon in 1989.

Show Notes:

04:05 The annual toy crop
07:00 Broken teeth and Cabbage Patch Kids(supply and demand)
09:22 Children’s Palace
13:14 The jingles (Drew is wrong)
14:30 A catalog page you can live in (the Toys ‘R Us legend)
27:02 May the (FAO) Schwarz be with you
37:20 Skeletor Live and In-Person (DJ Jazzy Dork)
41:25 Babies ruin everything
46:20 That’s not a toy store (hobby shops / flea markets / novelty stores)
52:47 The super toy run

Show Links:

Cabbage Patch Chaos

Children’s Palace

The Fisher Price Turtle

Kay Bee Toys
Toys ‘R Us
Pro-Play Home Arcade
Power Wheels
FAO Schwarz
Big Piano Scene
John's Favorite Novelty Stores (Caufield's / Spunky Monkey / Archie McPhee)
Nickelodeon's Super Toy Run

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Toy Stores | Ep #04