Xenorama, the Podcast of Heroes and Monsters

In which X7 lovingly reviews the great Shaw Brothers movie Marco Polo, AKA The Four Assassins , from 1975. There is really not much more to say about it, since it is just a fun, if very historically inaccurate, movie. Let's roll!

In which X7 is supposed to talk about 1959's Lil Abner , but seems to have been stupified by something. We are checking on him, but he did get the episode finished. It is a really funny movie, and most of the songs are great. It does qualify for the Friday Music theme! Let's roll!

In which X7 watches the first three episodes of the second season of Land of the Lost . It has been almost three decades since he has seen these, so it is like watching them again for the first time! Let's roll!

In which X7 reviews a great new book (for his collection) The Art and Science of the Crystal Palace Dinosaurs ! The book is available at your finer book purchasing establishments. Go get it! This is a basic overview, so don't expect anything in-depth. Let's dig in!

In which X7 looks at Tsuburaya's fine effort to rehabilitate Ultraman Taro, i.e. The Ultraman Story ! It does an admirable job of that, and also being quite entertaining. There are no human characters in this movie at all, for those people who only want heroes and monsters! Let's roll!

In which X7 reviews the final four episodes of The Adventures of Waldo Kitty , and we bid a... fond farewell to the series. Sorta. These are probably four of the better episodes, since the writers seem to have gotten a better handle on the characters. Apparently it was supposed to run 16 episodes, but NBC only funded these 13. As much as X7 like cats, he is probably gonna wait another 50 years bef...

In which X7 reviews the best giant bug movie of the 50s, The Black Scorpion ! This is mostly due to the wonderful stop-motion animation of Pete Peterson and Willis O'Brien! We also get to cheer some arthropods on when they try to eat Juanito. Alas, they don't succeed. Still a great movie, so let's roll!

In which X7 looks at Jimmy Wang Yu's epic movie, Beach of the War Gods ! The scope of this spectacle is hard to believe, and it is a very enjoyable movie. Sure, it is a remake of The Seven Samurai (1954) but it takes on a life of its own as well. Go watch it!

In which X7 looks at a very underrated KISS LP, 1980's Unmasked ! It is one of his favorites, and has a lot of great power-pop songs on it. Here are seven cuts! Let's rock and roll!

In which we and X7 bid a fond farewell to The Young Ones ! It is also a rather explosive goodbye, and fitting of the series. Twelve great episodes and it ends the only way it could!

IN which X7 looks how some of the 24 issues of the Charlton Gorgo comic book that continued the Gorgo story! It is a lot of fun, and had he been extant, X7 would have bought every issue he could find. Comic book distribution back then was spotty at best, though! Let's roll! Also, you can find these and many more great comic books at Comic Book Plus !

In which X7 compares and contrasts Gappa, The Triphibian Monster from a Prehistoric Planet (1967) to several other giant monster movies. We like it a lot, and are happy to have a wonderful edition for home video. This episode runs a bit longer than usual, but it is darn well worth it! Let's roll!

In which X7 reviews three more episodes of The Adventures of Waldo Kitty , and finds them moderately entertaining. The animals are all cute, even the bulldog, but the stories could have been better. A lot better. Especially Catzan. Let's roll and find out why!

In which X7 reviews the well-regarded British movie, Gorgo (1961)! It is a very enjoyable movie, but not quite the classic it could have been. Why so? You will have to listen to find out! We are diabolical, aren't we?

In which X7 talks about a movie he really wanted to like more than he does- Zu: Warriors of the Magic Mountain (1983). It is based on a very long novel, and according to other experts, it helps to know the source material. There is a lot to like about the movie, but alas, it doesn't gel until the final act. Let's roll!

In which X7 watches the movie Gay Purr-ee (1962) and posits the question: who the hell was this movie made for? It has an amazing cast, some great songs, and looks like nothing that had been made at the time. But it is too mature for kids, and too kiddie for adults... let us know in the comments what you think!

In which X7 watches and talks about the first three episodes of the second series of The Young Ones ! All three are great, but two of them smash it out of the park! Guess which those are!

In which X7 gives us two book reviews- both about dinosaurs and both a lot of fun! You'll just have to watch and find out which two books they are! Let's roll!

In which X7 reviews an industrial short from 1975 about conserving water. It was aired late night out here in Fossil Bed, and we were always happy to see it as a filler. We saw it enough times to remember most of it, which is good. We wonder how many such short films have been preserved.

In which we get to meet the final two heroes Waldo Kitty dreams up, then another episode of Catman! The episodes are fun, for the most part, though ever so predictable. The parodies are broad, which is a bit too much on occasion. Let's roll!

In which X7 reviews an interesting sci-fi political movie from 1968- The Bamboo Saucer ! It might be a tidge too long, but it is rather fun, and a fascinating look at political mores of the time. Let's fly into it!

In which X7 reviews Bruce Lee's second movie, Fist of Fury , AKA The Chinese Connection. This is a much better movie than The Big Boss , simply because it had more money and Bruce was more confident (like he needed to be, right?)! We like it a lot! Let's roll!

In which X7 enjoys a great rock and roll movie from when the sound was still in its infancy! It has a great cast, great sounds, and even some really funny comedy! This is The Girl Can't Help It ! There are loads of great musical acts in the film, which makes it almost worth the watching alone. Good thing is a funny movie as well! Let's rock and roll!

In which X7 reviews the final three episodes of The Young Ones Series One! Two are good, one is great! Watch and find out which one it is! Let's roll!

In which X7 shows us a book from the far ago year of 2000 CE, Godzilla & Company ! It is also from the land of the peplum, Italy. It is written by filmmaker, writer, and overall fan, Luigi Cozzi. Naturally it is all in Italian, but it is an artifact of that time. X7 has peppered the review with five trailers, so it is about the same length as the actual talking part. Let's dive in!