Needless Things

Phantom Troublemaker talks to mysterious synth artist and musician VHS Glitch about the revival and nostalgic value of synthesizer-based music, digital marketing, the modern cult of personality surrounding music, and much more! VHS Glitch is a music composer for games and visual media and independent Synthwave artist. Little is known about the enigmatic and talented creator other than this brief b...

Phantom Troublemaker talks to Daniel Griffith of Ballyhoo Motion Pictures about his newest project, a documentary on Empire Pictures, the revolutionary movie studio that produced such genre classics as Re-Animator, Ghoulies, TerrorVision, Zone Troopers, and many more! On October 14th, Daniel launched a monstrous Kickstarter Campaign to complete the official feature documentary about the rise and f...

Phantom Troublemaker, Beth V, Richard Davis, and Arian talk about the greatest horror franchise of all time – The Evil Dead! In the newest 31 Days of Halloween edition of the Needless Things Podcast the crew talks about Sam Raimi’s greatest gift to the world – Ashley J. Williams and the ongoing Evil Dead franchise. From the original 1981 ultimate experience in grueling terror to the camp of Army o...

The Casket Creatures return to talk to Phantom Troublemaker about horror movies and the Halloween season! In the newest 31 Days of Halloween edition of the Needless Things Podcast Phantom sits down with Ryan Cadaver and Derek Obscura from horror punk band The Casket Creatures. The trio talk about their favorite horror movies and how often they're revisited, classic slasher franchises, and remakes....

Phantom Troublemaker, Sean Reid, and the one and only Johnny DANGAAAAAA discuss the biggest and spookiest gimmicks from the colorful history of the greatest sport of them all – professional wrestling! In the newest 31 Days of Halloween edition of the Needless Things Podcast the crew talks about the great horror-infused characters of the squared circle. From Vampiro to Luna Vachon to Kevin Sullivan...

Phantom Troublemaker and Mike Gordon talk about the horror-infused history of the Dark Knight Detective in the newest Needless Things Podcast! From the villainy of The Monk in Detective Comics #31 to Doug Moench and Kelley Jones’ landmark Red Rain to the unlikely popularity of the fan film Batman: Dead End (that inspired a line of licensed Predator figures from NECA!), elements of the supernatural...

Phantom Troublemaker and the Needless Things Irregulars talk about the career and impact of Master of Horror Wes Craven in the newest Needless Things Podcast! This week Phantom is joined by Beth V, R.T. Ewell, and Devlin in the very first all-contributor episode of the show. Wes Craven passed away on August 30th, 2015, but over the course of his life he accomplished something few do – he created a...

Phantom Troublemaker met the fine fellows of Unshaven Comics at Dragon Con this year and liked 'em so much he had to have them on the Needless Things Podcast! This week Phantom is joined by Marc – artist, writer, and co-owner of Unshaven Comics and co-creator of the flagship title, The Samurnauts. Unshaven Comics was forged in a mighty fire of lifelong friendship. What started out as pipe dreams d...

2015 Dragon Con coverage continues on the Needless Things Podcast as we look back at the events! In this week’s episode, Phantom takes part in the SCHWARZA-PANEL! The RevCast ’s Gary Mitchel moderates a conversation about the science fiction films of Arnold Schwarzenegger! Featured on the panel are Phantom Troublemaker, William Stout, The White Rocket Podcast ’s Van Allen Plexico, the ESO Network...

2015 Dragon Con coverage continues on the Needless Things Podcast as we look back at the events! In this week’s episode, Phantom hosts a live panel called Toy Stories! Everyone has a toy story. Join Phantom Troublemaker and a selection of special guests as they share reminiscences about the playthings they grew up with. Each speaker will present a tale attached to a specific toy from their life. M...

2015 Dragon Con coverage continues on the Needless Things Podcast! In this week’s episode, Phantom talks to his co-host, Mr. Beau Brown, who also happens to be the director of the Puppetry Track ! The Puppetry Track celebrates puppetry in pop culture and brings the magic of live puppetry to con goers! Featuring special guests Caroll Spinney who played Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch on “Sesame Stree...

2015 Dragon Con coverage continues on the Needless Things Podcast! In this week’s episode, Phantom talks to Mike Gordon and Mike Faber of the Earth Station One Podcasting Network ! A few years ago Mike and Mike invited Phantom onto the ESO Podcast to talk about the Doctor Who story “The Keeper of Traken”. You can listen to that here: Earth Station One Episode 98: Classic British Sci-Fi The next da...

2015 Dragon Con coverage continues on the Needless Things Podcast! In this week’s episode, Phantom talks to the men behind the magic of the American Sci-Fi Classics Track , Gary Mitchel and Joe Crowe! All media must submit to the Classics Track Countdown! Once a movie has aged or a TV show has been cancelled for a magical ten years, it becomes the domain of the Classics Track. At this point, the c...

2015 Dragon Con coverage continues on the Needless Things Podcast! In this week’s episode, Phantom and his co-host Mr. Beau Brown talk to one of the faces of Dragon Con TV, Chris “Crispy” Lloyd! Dragon Con TV has become an indispensable part of what makes Dragon Con so unique and fun every year. From original comedy sketches to short films to panels live from the Con, DCTV broadcasts to all five h...

2015 Dragon Con coverage starts today on the Needless Things Podcast! Sean Patton of SMP Designs and Sara Nicole Pope join Phantom Troublemaker to discuss costuming and cosplay! Costumes are one of the most important elements at Dragon Con or any other convention, but so much more goes into them than just wearing them. Sean and Sara have both been involved with costuming for many years and have un...

Chris DePetrillo from Figures Toy Company returns to the Needless Things Podcast! A lot has happened – and been announced – since the last time Chris was on the show , so Phantom invited Figures’ Chief Marketing Officer back for an update. Chris had big new about Ring of Honor and Legends of Professional Wrestling, Hanna-Barbera, DC Superfriends, and more. If you love retro-themed toys, this episo...

For the first time, Needless Things is going beyond our normal toy talk in our annual look at San Diego Comic Con! This year was so big it required two episodes – one for the toys and one for the various media happenings. Today’s Part 2 focuses on the big movie trailers and reveals that happened this year! Phantom Troublemaker, “Howdy” Mike Gordon, Chad J. Shonk, Nicole Gould, and Ryan Cadaver met...

It is time once again for Needless Things’ annual look at Sand Diego Comic Con! This year was so big it required two episodes – one for the toys and one for the various media happenings. Today’s Part 1 focuses on the toys that debuted this year. Phantom Troublemaker, Mr. Beau Brown, Ryan Schweck, The Belligerent Monkey , and Josh Wilson of The Oncoming Storm Podcast convened to discuss all of the...

On June 11th, 2015, the world lost a legend – wrestling superstar Dusty Rhodes, The American Dream, passed away. In this episode of the Needless Things Podcast, tribute is paid to the incomparable son of a plumber. Phantom Troublemaker, Revolution SF ’s Joe Crowe, Sean Reid, Johnny Danger, and Noel Wood of Dork Droppings remember the American Dream, from the NWA to Sapphire to WCW to NXT. The crew...

On June 23rd, 2015, Rocksteady’s final Batman game was unleashed upon the world – Batman: Arkham Knight. After a week of playing, Phantom Troublemaker gathered a group of Batmaniacs to talk about the game and the history of the franchise. Phantom is joined by Needless Things Irregulars Ryan Schweck and The Belligerent Monkey , as well as newcomers Mike Nelson and Chris “Crispy” Lloyd. The fellas r...

Batman fan and memorabilia collector Brad Ladner is attempting to get into the Guinness Book of World Records for having the world’s largest collection of Batman memorabilia. Obviously he needed Phantom Troublemaker’s help. Brad contacted Phantom after the NeedlessThings Toy Panel at Joelanta & the Great Atlanta Toy Convention . He had a massive Batman collection and needed an expert to verify it...

This episode is all about Phantom Troublemaker’s favorite band of all time – Faith No More! Join Phantom, Sean Reid, and Mr. Tibbs of The Mystery Men? as they discuss the history of the band and review the new album. Each of the guys shares his personal story of Faith No More fandom, as well as recollections about live shows, appearances by the band, and thoughts about FNM’s place in pop culture....

It’s a spontaneous episode of the Needless Things Podcast! After watching WWE’s excellent Elimination Chamber pay-per-view Phantom, Mike Gordon, and Jason Frazier engaged in a conversation about possibilities and modern media and pop culture versus what they grew up with in the 80s. It all started with a debate on whether or not any wrestling company could ever again challenge the WWE in the way t...

Tiki Zombie creator “Howdy” Mike Gordon returns to the Needless Things Podcast! Phantom and Mike talk about spoilers, the state of DC Comics’ television shows, Mad Max: Fury Road, and more.    Also, Phantom talks about finally getting to see one of his heroes perform live. Marc Maron did a set at the Variety Playhouse in Atlanta on May 16th and Phantom and Mrs. Troublemaker were there. Maron was o...

This episode was recorded LIVE at Joelanta & The Great Atlanta Toy Convention! Phantom Troublemaker is joined by rocker and toy aficionado Ricky Zero from Radio Cult for Needless Things’ first-ever Joelanta toy panel! The topic is licensed toys through the years.    Special thanks to Rudy Panucci of Pop Cult for not only recording video of the panel, but also being a fun and important part of the...