Xenorama, the Podcast of Heroes and Monsters

In which X7 takes the listeners on a tour of Alfred Hitchcock's Monster Museum. This is an anthology book of twelve super scary stories by various authors. X7 read it at a tender age, and two of them scared him enough to put the book in the freezer. Which two? Listen to find out! He recently obtained a copy through mystic means. Good thing it is not a Book of the Dead! Welcome to his nightmare...

In which X7 discusses seeing Thunderbirds Are Go! for the first time, though the year he saw it is unclear. He was a young agent back them, you have to understand. The movie did make quite the impression on him, we will tell you what. He talks about the dream sequence and even a song inspired by the show. It is FAB!

In which X7 summons the Devilman from 1972! This anime series was based on a manga of the same name, but is q bit different, as these adaptations tend to be. Created by Go Nagai it ran 39 episodes. It is highly recommended, since where else are you going to see the mightiest warrior of the Demon Clan turn against his master and side with humans. Why does he do this? Listen to the episode!

In which X7 reminds everyone he is still salty about Bucky being alive, even though he quite enjoys the movies with the Winter Soldier in them. However, in 1977, Bucky was still D-E-D dead! Since this issue is one that actual takes place on Earth 616, it is really fun. Androids abound, and X7 does get to mention the Vision as well!

In which X7 talks about musclemen and monsters. Well, one muscleman and four monsters! That is a monster about every 20 minutes for this movie. It is pretty fun, if you don't take it seriously. X7 mentions the dub, which was changed Maciste to Maxxus for US television release. You can watch it here Fire Monsters Against the Son of Hercules , but it is a very beat up public domain print. X7 als...

In which X7 talks about the wonderful show Dino Boy in the Lost Valley . Todd gets thrown out of a crashing plane by his parents. He lands in a lost valley full of dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals. Fortunately he makes a friend of Ugh the Caveman and Bronty the young Brontosaurus. Hey, we didn't name the poor dinosaur! They never do find his parents, but X7 has a theory about that. Ever...

In which X7 talks about seven random songs. Rock and roll! There is a wide variety of songs, from 1968 to 2007 or so. He does his best not to sing along with any of them, but there is one he cannot take seriously and really isn't sure how it got into his iTunes. Perhaps the deadly Poser put it there, one never knows with her!

In which X7 takes a brief look at the mermaids of literature, movies, television, and various writings. He mainly focuses on the two most popular mermaids, Madison and Ariel. We highly suggest you read Hans Christian Anderson's original fairy tale for The Little Mermaid , though. It is an eye-opener! Mermaids are truly magical, we do believe that!

In which X7 takes a loving look at the first intercompany superhero team-up, Superman vs. the Amazing Spider-Man . It is also one of the best of these stories that DC and Marvel ever did. X7 discusses the plot and the creative crew. There is a look behind the scenes as well. Go read it if you can, and remember when comics were far less complex than they are these days.

In which X7 slightly reviews one of his favorite television shows. He also reveals one of his early musical influences, the great Dr. Johnny Fever! There are a few clips here to prove it, though we are pretty sure it has been apparent for years. Just don't mess with the Phone Cops! Link to the WKRP-Cast- https://www.buzzsprout.com/1274579/

In which X7 reveals how he was introduced to Jinzo Ningen Kikaida, and how he finally got to watch the complete series. It is one of his top 5 Japanese genre shows. Yes, it is that great! He talks about the history of the character, and the sequel, along with other adaptations that have shown up. Also, the series has been out on home video for 20 years! Switch on! 1-2-3! go go go!

In which X7 strolls down memory lane when he and his brother went to see a Science Fiction Double Feature in 1978. This time he talks about the sci-fi classic When Worlds Collide (1951) one of George Pal's epic movies. The movie works really well, and moves along quickly. There are a few questions about after the collision, but those will never be answered, except maybe in the book, After Worl...

In which X7 talks about his first science fiction double feature. We understand people never forget their first double features. The first movie is the astounding War of the Worlds , produced by George Pal in 1953. This was the first movie adaptation of H. G. Wells ' 1898 novel of the same name . It won an Oscar for Best Special Effects in the same year and certainly was worthy of it. Stay tun...

In which X7 talks about seven songs on a Friday (what a surprise... not!) and expounds on the various songs and artists presented. He also works on the sound levels, which is a work in progress. We think he gets a good level about halfway through. Let us know what you think!

In which X7 takes us on a tour of the Shaolin Temple , AKA Death Chamber . This movie from 1976 is close to a masterpiece, but it is a bit too expansive for its own good. Chang Cheh handles the direction, and has an all-star cast in this movie. It serves as a sequel to several other movies, in a very loose way. You can click on the link provided for even more information! Kung Fu Fighting by Carl...

In which X7 discusses Underdog, a great show from Total Total Television. They did shows like Tennessee Tuxedo and King Leonardo and His Short Subjects as well. X7 has a book, How Underdog Was Born , from 2005, which is a great snapshot of mid-60s television shows. Be that as it may, he also discusses the main actors of the series, as well as the 2007 movie. Hint: it did not do well in the theater...

In which X7 reviews the third issue of the 70s What If? series, where the Avengers only lasted two issues. Or did they? This is Earth 776, and there was a tragedy for the Avengers early on in their career here. I like to think they did carry on, though. Especially since Namor would probably still been annoyed and thrown that odd block of ice into the ocean. X7 talks about the creative team and onl...

In which X7 takes a loving look at a book about Prehistoric Playsets, as well as the original ones he had as a wee agent. Those early figures of dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals had a major impact on the young agent's mind, we think everyone can agree to that! Like many people, X7 played with these toys and sets until they returned to the very atoms from which they were made. Except for...

In which X7 takes a loving if slightly meandering look at the legendary Margaret Hamilton. It all started when he watched 13 Ghosts on Svengoolie last night. While the movie itself is relatively entertaining, Margaret shines as the "she may or may not be a witch" housekeeper. She never admits it, but of course, she portrayed the most famous witch in the world in 1939. We here at the Xeno...

In which X7 starts a new series, dedicated to talking about some of his favorite bands or musical acts. For our inaugural episode, we are looking at the New Zealand band Split Enz. They had a pretty long career until they got famous in the States. Go figure. The songs are so much fun, and memorable. In a fairer world, they would have had several hits worldwide!

In which X7 tries an experiment with the songs. He thinks it was pretty successful, though perhaps the sound levels need some adjusting. Next week. He also wants to start further into the songs as well. These are a good set of songs, including a novelty song or two, power pop, a boy band, punk rock, and more! Hey, ho, let's go!

In which X7 talks a lot about a rodent and a deer. We may know them better as Rocket J. Squirrel and Bullwinkle Moose. This great cartoon ran for five years and 163 episodes. That is a run that many current shows would love to have. The best part is that the show remained a quality series for all five years. We also talk about Boris Badenov, Natasha Fatale, Dudley Do-Right, Peabody and Sherman, an...

In which X7 discusses an interesting Italian superhero movie. Argoman, the Fantastic Superman was one of the dozen or so Italian movies made after the surprise success of the Batman series in 1966. Most are pretty fun, especially if seen in gorgeous prints and proper scope. He also briefly discusses a few other heroes from the same time frame. These heroes really needed a battle cry!

In which X7 does the highly irregular- reviews a movie he has never seen. However, the short clip has made him want to see 1987's Adventures in Babysitting for the first time. It is pretty easy to understand why this clip would work on him. However, none of the people who know him have told him about this character. This movie has been around for almost 40 years. Not a soul has mentioned Thor...

In which X7 tries not to sing the rockin' theme song of the superhero super spoof The Super 6 . Trust us, that song is an earworm, it's that good. He discusses the main six heroes in this rather neglected series and then talks about the Brothers Matzorily. There was even the threat of a lawsuit over one of the characters! It is a fun show about half a dozen super strong men, who are called...