Tales From SYL Ranch – 2017-04-02

The Old Fan's Commentary on Star Trek - The Motion Picture
The Old Fan’s Commentary on Star Trek – The Motion Picture

Sunday on Tales From SYL Ranch: part one of the Old Fan’s Commentary on Star Trek – The Motion Picture (the Director’s Edition).

Tales From SYL Ranch can be heard Sundays from 20:00-22:00 UTC at http://anonradio.net.

This week, we’ll be talking about what it was like as a teenaged Star Trek fan to see the film for the first time in 1979. We’ll also talk about fandom of that period and what it was like to live through it.

We’ll also have the usual episode of The Hitchhiker’s Guide To the Galaxy and a smattering of amusing bits throughout.

After all, you can’t listen to Bill talk for an hour without wanting to slit your wrists.

Tales From SYL Ranch can be heard Sundays from 20:00-22:00 UTC at http://anonradio.net. The station is listed on iTunes, TuneIn, and other streaming services.

Listen to Bill discuss the first Star Trek movie (the one people usually like to forget).

Tales From SYL Ranch can be heard Sundays from 20:00-22:00 UTC at http://anonradio.net.

(Feel free to pass around the poster.)

Tales From SYL Ranch – 2017-03-19

It’s all-comedy all-the-time on this Sunday’s Tales From SYL Ranch.

Tales From SYL Ranch can be heard Sundays from 20:00 – 22:00 UTC at // aNONrado.net //

(If you’re not in UTC, either do the math or ask Siri/Google.)

About three-fourths of the show is my informal “best of” “Weird Al” Yankovic. His career stretches back to the early 1980s. The task became narrowing it down to about an hour-and-a-half.

They’re all gems. In fact, I had to cut some I liked for time, so it’s really the best of Al’s best.

Update:  “Weird Al” dropped a new collection, Medium Rarities, this week.  The timing was entirely unintentional.  However, I’ve changed the playlist accordingly.

“It’s Still Billy Joel” has been downgraded from “rare” to “medium rare.”   “Chicken Pot Pie” is still “very rare” and is from my personal collection.

The Holy Grail of “Weird Al” fans, “Belvedere Cruising,” has downgraded all the way to “medium rare.”   It’s the song that got Al his break on the Doctor Demento show; which in turn propelled him to stardom.

The Hitchhiker's Guide To the Galaxy Radio Show
H2G2

Then I have a new, permanent addition to the podcast. Henceforth, I will be running The Hitchhiker’s Guide To the Galaxy radio program.

Younger listeners may not be aware of the Hitchhiker’s Guide strange history. It began as a BBC Radio series, then a couple of books, then more radio, then TV, then more books, then a movie, and then more radio.

I’ll be playing all five radio series, starting with series one, episode one on Sunday. I’ll be running them for about four years.

Tales From SYL Ranch can be heard Sundays from 20:00 – 22:00 UTC at // aNONrado.net //

And the following two weeks , you’ll hear my voice for the first time — and you will ultimately be grateful for the respite of The Hitchhiker’s Guide To the Galaxy.

I’m going to do a two-part “Old Fan’s Commentary” of Star Trek – The Motion Picture.

I’m doing this not because I have any great backstage knowledge.  I’ll talk about what I know, but that’s not the point.  This is a fan commentary.  I’m going to talk about Star Trek fandom in the 1970s, and how it was for a teen-aged Trekkkie to see the film for the first time.

I’ll be commenting on the Director’s Edition, so if you want to follow along, get out your DVDs, stream from your favorite service, or … well, you know.

Tales From SYL Ranch can be heard Sundays from 20:00 – 22:00 UTC at // aNONrado.net //

For reference, here’s the full playlist. With the exception of the Hitchhiker’s Guide, they’re all “Weird Al” Yankovic songs.

  1. Don’t Download This Song
  2. Belvedere Cruising
  3. Another One Rides The Bus
  4. I Love Rocky Road
  5. Ricky
  6. Eat It
  7. Nature Trail To Hell
  8. Chicken Pot Pie
  9. Like A Surgeon
  10. The Brady Bunch
  11. It’s Still Billy Joel To Me
  12. Theme From Rocky XIII: The Rye Or the Kaiser
  13. Amish Paradise
  14. I Lost On Jeopardy
  15. Gump
  16. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy 1: Primary Phase – Fit the First
  17. One More Minute
  18. Girls Just Want To Have Lunch
  19. Ebay
  20. Perform This Way
  21. Albuquerque
  22. Party In The CIA
  23. Ode To A Superhero
  24. Bohemian Polka

Tales From SYL Ranch – 2017-02-26

Star Trek Power Records
I think this is a Neal Adams cover!

It’s a serious trip to the groove-yard of forgotten favorites.

In the 1970s, Power Records produced a series of Star Trek audio dramas for children. The stories were released in several different combinations and sometimes included a comic book of the story.

In all, there were eleven episodes. They’re not great, but not horrible. Most were written by Alan Dean Foster. He has numerous novels to his credit. In the 1970s, he novelized the Star Trek animated series in greatly-expanded form. Most recently Foster wrote the Abrams film novelizations.

You have to overlook a few things. The first is the fact that none of the original cast were involved. Most of the actors at least try to sound like the original cast.

You also have to overlook that none of the sound effects nor music are from the original series. Sometimes it’s rather jarring.

These aren’t all the audio drama that Power Records produced. I’ve had to cut a couple for time and will play them in the future.

Sunday’s tracks, in order, are:

  • Passage to Moauve
  • In Vino Veritas
  • The Crier in Emptiness
  • The Time Stealer
  • To Starve a Fleaver
  • The Logistics Of Stampede
  • A Mirror For Futility
  • A Milo Yiannopoulos ZAP rant (I’m going to lose libertarian friends over this one)

I have also nicknamed the primary TTS voices on the show “Mike” and “Michelle.” Heinlein fans know why.

Tales From SYL Ranch – 2017-02-05

I think I have the lineup for this Sunday’s “Tales From SYL Ranch.”

I have an 18-minute libertarian rant by me (or rather one of my surrogate TTS voices — you’ll probably never hear me, and I have a plan for this).

A 26-minute Suite From Star Trek – The Motion Picture.

More libertarian rants. More Star Trek.

You’re going to have to want to listen to libertarian rants from now on. I eased listeners into it last week, now I hit ’em good and hard.

I expect my listenership to hit 0 about halfway through 18-minute rant.

The current playlist:

  • “When Twilight Falls On NGC 891” from Dark Star
    This will henceforth be the opening couple of minutes to give people time to tune in.
  • “Johnny Fever Takes Over” from WKRP In Cincinatti
    The standard show-opener
  • Main Titles from Star Trek: The Original Series
  • Original //aNONradio// station ID
  • A warning of the libertarian rants to come
  • Original program ID
  • “To Boldly Go – End Titles – With Ping” from Star Trek (2009)
  • “Epilogue and End Titles” from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
  • Original program ID
  • “Be Careful What You Wish For (Especially If It Is Hitler)” by Scott Adams
  • Original //aNONradio// station ID
  • Original The Hitchhiker’s Guide To the Galaxy entry
  • “Stealing the Enterprise from Star Trek III: The Search For Spock
  • “End Credits” from Star Trek: First Contact
  • “An Open Letter To Starbucks” by William Stone III
  • “Kirk Does It Again” from Star Trek: The Original Series: “The Doomsday Machine”
  • “Please Stop the Violence” by William Stone III
  • “Main Titles” from Star Trek: The Animated Series
  • “Pranking” by William Stone III
  • “The Star Wars Effect” by William Stone III
    B
    e aware that this track is 18:29.  It’s a long rant.
  • Original //aNONradio// station ID
  • “Suite From Star Trek – The Motion Picture
    Be advised that this track is just over 29 minutes long.
  • Original //aNONradio// station ID
  • “Vena’s Dance” from Star Trek: The Original Series: “The Cage”
  • Statement of the Zero Aggression Principle
  • Original //aNONradio station ID
  • The first ten minutes of The Star Wars Holiday Special
    This will henceforth be up to ten minutes, depending on how much filler I need.