Happy Halloween from Zone Base

Halloween is finally here. Happy Halloween and hope you enjoy your night of trick or treating, costumes, horror marathons, and other spooky fun. It's weird. I spend all summer waiting for the first signs of Halloween to show up. Usually I get a peak in August, but this year it was June! Then spend all this time leading up to the day itself celebrating the season of ghosts and goblins.

Halloween itself is usually a pretty chill evening for me. The wife and I get pizza and random spooky desserts. Then spend the evening with the lights off, the blow molds and pumpkins lit, and Halloween specials all night. She usually falls asleep before I do, with me ending the night quietly watching more spooky stuff in our bedroom before falling asleep myself. Halloween is technically a day, but for us who love it, it's a season.

We relish every second of it with the day itself serving as the curtain call. Then we spend the rest of the year waiting until those pumpkins start showing up again in the summer (little earlier now than then, thankfully). Thing is, I like spooky stuff all year. I've made my love of it known here and even the site's tagline informs you that monsters be here. So maybe I had an idea. I'm not going to tell it, but maybe I had an idea for the site going forward. A little more so than before.

Spooky Songs- Dance Macabre by Ghost

Dracula be in a hurry!

It's the big day! OR IS IT? Guys, I'm not joking around anymore. Unless somebody can convince the Witch to fly over the moon tonight... Halloween is OVER!!!! 

Let's just hope Dracula and the gang can save Halloween!

Dang... is the Mummy ok? He fell like a million times.

It's Time!

THE BIG DAY IS HERE HAPPY HALLOWEEN YA'LL. OMG, WHO'S READY TO GO TRICK OR TREATING?

IT'S VERY IMPORTANT THAT WE BE VERY SAFE TODAY.

real talk: Anybody else notice Cory's trash can didn't have a bag in it?

Doritos Roulette of the Devil

Doritos Roulette isn't just a bag of spicy chips mixed with regular chips in a game of chance, oh no, it's the portal to hell. Or so this Halloween variety would have you believe. Though really, it's a long known fact that Doritos are the official chip of Halloween parties.

So... he went though all that just to bring two bags and two six packs of Pepsi? Overkill much?

Tune in to the Power Hour

Crate Creature farted on my Keurig

In a surprise turn of events, after reading my post on Boglins last week, Shawn put on his Superman cape and sent me a most surprising surprise. Inside a giant box was a Crate Creature, from the toy line Crate Creatures, who clearly take their inspiration from Boglins and a few other gross toys from the past. His name is Guano and this little shit is the best.

Unlike Boglins, Crate Creatures are not puppets. Instead they're fun figures full of play gimmicks. Guano here is from the Big Blowout series. Meaning he literally busts out of his crate and farts a whole lot. He farts, he burps, he talks, he screams in pain when you give him a wedgie, he even adorably giggles when you tickle him and snores when he's sleeping. Just like me.

Like other gross toy lines, Boglins inspired other weirdo monster toys in between various low key revivals. It's super awesome to see the spirit live on in new ways. Crate Creatures are pretty great on their own... and I'm pretty tempted to get a few more now. It's hard not to love little Guano, especially when he had a padlock remote to make him fart from 50ft away. Just like me.

Jerry Van Dyke joins a cult

I'll be honest, I've never seen or heard of this show before I found their Halloween episode. From what I gather, it was a sitcom from the late 60's that got canceled after one season. Probably because it's terrible, as most sitcoms about single parent roommates are. The show was based on an entertainer named Sandy raising his son with his manager, who was raising her daughter together at a farm. In this Halloween episode, Sandy's son want's to join a neighborhood club called the... junior gargoyles... whose leader looks like Anton LaVey... and dresses like the devil... So, Sandy's son wants to join the local satanic cult.

However joining the local satanic cult isn't easy, first you have to host a Halloween party. Fortunately Sandy works in showbiz in the 60's, so he was used to appeasing cults. So Sandy and Sue (the aforementioned manager) throw the kids a Halloween party that's just the worse. Not to mention Sandy ruins their trick or treating... or as they used to call it for no apparent reason on Halloween specials, tricks or treats. Basically, Sandy is a piece of garbage and you'll want to kick his ass before long. Thankfully Sue saves the party and Halloween and the cult accepts their new member!

I... don't think it's cursed...

Captain N-Return to Castlevania

Long before the Castlevania series on Netflix, we had to do with an episode of Captain N to bring the events of Castlevania 3 to animated form. Yea, they pretty much reinvented everything and got the characters wrong. But I do think Alucard is pretty great here and not only am a fan of Captain N, but DiC cartoons. Not to mention, it's Halloween crunch time. We've got to get our spooky shit all the way in before the next few months of singing that Snowman song.

New Botbots and Cyberverse revealed at MCM London Comic Con 2019!

 

TRANSFORMERS BOTBOTS - Series 4 Gumball Machine Surprise Unboxing

(Ages 5 and Up/ Approx. Retail Price: $19.99 / Available: 01/01/2020)

Energon hit a shopping mall and the ordinary objects inside came to life as little converting Transformers robots, called BOTBOTS! Collectable BOTBOTS figures are around one inch tall and convert between two fun modes— a robot and a random object—in three to five easy steps! Now, BOTBOTS tribes are competing in the Goldrush Games, a competition to see which tribes are the most mischievous! Winners earn one of the shiny gold trophy bots, including the Gold Blender for nutritiously all-natural mischief and the Gold Popcorn for cinematic and epic 5-star mischief, from the Winner's Circle tribe! The mad dash to grab the gold is on!

 

This Gumball Machine surprise unboxing pack includes five BOTBOTS figures, one rare, gold BOTBOT figure, and four stickers. Pull the tab to vend the ten surprises inside one at a time! Look for other BOTBOTS assortments (Also available in blind bags, 5-packs, and 8-packs. Each sold separately. Subject to availability) to build a collection of BOTBOTS toys to discover, play with, trade, and share. There are 190 BOTBOTS to collect in 2020. Convert and see what bot you got! Available at most major toy retailers nationwide on 1/1/2020.

more pics and news follows the break!

Ghostbusters-Shades of Dracula

Folks, we're in the home stretch. Last of the season. No more messing around, it's time to get seriously spooky. After Thursday (and clearance sales this weekend) thats it for Halloween until like what? June? We gotta cram it all in. Sure it's Halloween all year here... what... you saw nothing, but we got to really start cramming in the ooky spooky. Oh hey, I said something during the summer about Filmation's Ghostbusters didn't I?

The weather tonight will be spooky

When you're going trick or treating, it's a good idea to check the weather before heading out. Will it rain? Damn. Need somebody to drive me house to house. Is it cold? In the south, nope (it was in the 90's last week)... but for those of you to the north yes. Yeah, yeah... Superman doesn't wear a coat. Much like in like, the weather plays a part in your plans... but when your plans involve walking around in the street for hours... check the weather. 

Generations of The King

It's a damn shame the Dreamcast had such a short life.

Garfield is a Halloween Hypocrite

The closer we get to the big day, I feel it's my responsibility to pass along some good advice. Trick or treating is fun, but can be very dangerous. Fortunately Garfield is here with some safety tips that you can use for a fun and safe Halloween. Unfortunately... Garfield has turned my site into a HOUSE OF LIES.

Did you see that? Not one time did he follow any of his own advice.

Transformin Robots Ahoy!

Earlier today (or yesterday for you probably), new Transformers news stuff made the rounds. First surfacing on various fan groups was pictures was of upcoming Cyberverse toys that hadn't been seen yet. Pics of Hot Rod, Megatron, Whirl, Bludgeon, and Repugnus surfaced. Megatron and Hot Rod looked like they would be in the new higher end Generations assortments. The others maybe Turbo Changers or Warrior class. Honestly I'm focusing on the those as there's already toys of the first two and these are not only new... but more neat.

The Cyberverse design style looks great simplified and these new figures follow suit. I've droned on about why I like these simplified toys before, and these really fit into that old school super robot toy look. I'm both chomping at the bit for new Siege and Earthrise figures as well as these more simple retro-ish toys.

Bludgeon particularly looks like a leftover Brave toy. Whirl like a Gobot... and for that matter, Repugnus looks a little like a Monster Gobot. They look like a ton of fun and like I said, these retro styled toys are my jam. I'm pretty freaking excited for these. Oh hey, there's a new Diaclone video with Waruders. It's awesome.

Makudonarudo: Chōjin Masutāfōsu

Everybody always say's McBoo Pails when the words Halloween and McDonald's are combined. That and gift certificates for soft serve cones that they never redeemed. Though really, McDonald's has offered a plethora of Halloween fun way past simple trick or treat buckets. I'd also like to take a second to express my extreme jealousy of customers of McDonald's in Japan and their gold mine of Halloween themed special edition foods. Just Google it and see what you're missing out on.

Fortunately I was able to find both commercials edited together as it was a two part special event. Ronald didn't know what to be for Halloween, which played into the second part. Not only was 1995 two years until the milkshake machine worked last, but also the year of the 'costume' figures. Ronald, Grimace, Birdie, and Hamburgler (on parole) with removable Halloween costumes. Each pvc figurine had a removable costume that snapped over the figure. Also available apparently was some tapes. I guess the had some ZZ Top songs or something on them.

Ronald and the gang could in a second... wait no... you know where I'm going with this. Because you saw the picture and you already thought about it. You said McDonald's Pretenders. Because that's exactly what they were. McDonald's Pretenders.

Aside from the genius of McDonald's Pretenders, I've got to give the marketing department kudos for the mystery of Ronald's costume. The two part costume tied into the in store poster with Ronald not wearing his Pretender Shell... costume, but also asking what he was going to be. The surprise unveiled as you opened the Happy Meal box. What do you know? Ronald went trick or treating as Frankenstein! Though, we all know what Ronald was really up to on Halloween.

Yo Cyborg!

I've been wanting a Henshin Cyborg for a while. The chance to do so has come up a few times, but I never pulled the trigger. Nothing fancy, a reissue would suffice. I'd really love to get a Dokuro King as well, maybe a King Walder. I've had one in mind since last Toylanta. Wanted a Robotman/Biotron too. Saw a few actually for decent prices, but didn't pull that trigger either. Missing just enough parts to make me consider it longer than the con went on. A few parts is no big thing, but ones that ultimately affect the visual look of the toy is another. Same guy was some great Diaclone and Rock Lords stuff. Thinking right now to splurge on some of that stuff at the con. Of course like any Toylanta mental purchase list... card subject to change.

Thinking more about it, I think I need to get more of the space figures from Adventure People. The only reason I haven't before is a resounding 'I already got all those dudes back in the 80's'. Though, they're all in boxes in my Mom's garage. Getting another set as well as the ones I never got would be a lot more fruitful I imagine. I get plenty of the homages, wish I would have gotten that last Clawtron Battle Tribes did, but a OG set to maybe put on a nice shelf next to my mini consoles would be nice.

I wasn't allowed to have a Boglin

I'm probably too old to still be bitter about a toy I wasn't allowed to have. I mean... I have a ton of toys. Though one that has always escaped my grasp was a Boglin. While I'm sure you've probably guessed why I would have wanted one, my parents refused. Why? They felt it would give me nightmares. A fair concern for a parent to have. Though it's also code for "hell no, I'm not buying that thing". A parent would probably skew away from a tiny monster with moving eyes sure to scare the shit out of their child late at night... also waking them up. Which... you know... starting to think parents are full of crap when they say they don't want their kids to have nightmares.

There was even Halloween Boglins (goddammit spellcheck one more fucking red line), which of course was a perfect. Between Boglins and Masters of the Universe's toy line made from Halloween decorations. It was clearly Halloween all year round at Mattel in the 80's. Like this site. Wait what? Forget I said that last part.

You say Exogini like it's a bad thing

Exogini by GiG is an Italian keshi line made from Kinnikuman, Ninja Mites, Fistful of Aliens, and a few original molds. Exogini doesn't exactly roll off the tongue, though the line does obviously catch my attention with it's use of molds and blind bag nature. Honestly when I first discovered the series, I wrote it off as an Italian version of M.U.S.C.L.E and pretty much forgot about it. That is until I saw more of it and honestly wouldn't mind having some.

Innsmouth no Yakata in 3D

One game perfect for the Halloween season is Innsmouth no Yakata, a first person horror game inspired by HP Lovecraft's The Shadow over Innsmouth (and possibly tied to a TV movie based on the book). The game was for the Virtual Boy and only released in Japan. Unfortunately so as I'd have been all over it at the time. 

For the record, if you don't like Virtual Boy games or non- shooter first person games, you're probably not going to like it. These old first person games were my cup of tea at the time however. Not to mention, I love the Virtual Boy. Whenever a horror game was released before Resident Evil, you could expect it to be a bit janky. That just kinda came with the territory. So, I probably wouldn't have minded any of it's issues that game reviewers have.

If Innsmouth no Yakata was a bigger hit on a more popular console, I could easily see the monsters popping up as keshi and sofubi. Official or indie. I could really see them gracing the cover of some weird fanzine or fanblog. Other than this one that is. It's hard for me not to love the look of 'horror' games in the 8 and 16-bit era. Sure, the VB was technically a 32 bit system... but just look at it. 

Strap those VR Headsets on!

Star Wars episode 9: The Rise of Skywalker

WWWWOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

JR calls Transformers

SOUND ON 🔈 @JRsBBQ Calls Transformers 🤣 pic.twitter.com/iTNLodlF1o

— All Elite Wrestling on TNT (@AEWonTNT) October 21, 2019

Kabuto Mushi Halloween wave is up!

Order Here!

The Godbeast has updated his store with the new Reverse Hallow Wave! This new batch of his awesome Kabuto Mushi line has a great deco based on vintage Halloween blow molds!  I ordered the compete set and suggest you not to sit around if you want them as they're going fast!

The Tomb of Bunnicula

I've always liked scary stuff. Even when I was just a little kid, I loved monsters and of course couldn't wait for Halloween. I'm sure by now you're pretty aware of that. I also read a whole lot. Thanks to The ABC Weekend Special, I was exposed to a lot of books that I did eventually read. As Halloween came around, the show game me a cartoon based on the Bunnicula books. This one to be exact.

Special Exibition Tenku no Railroad Story

ライデンプロジェクト始動！

12/3(火)～ 全国の鉄道会社全面協力で実施される「特別展 天空ノ鉄道物語」にて、#トランスフォーマー ザ☆ヘッドマスターズで、６体の電車から合体する人気キャラ「ライデン」の当時品、そして新プロジェクトの展示が決定！

詳しくは↓↓https://t.co/hgcwf2Gfxq pic.twitter.com/c4Tkjsn4Cm

— トランスフォーマー情報局 (@TF_pr) October 18, 2019

Leiden project started! 12/3 (Tuesday)-"Special Exhibition Tenku no Railroad Story" will be held with full cooperation of railway companies nationwide. #トランスフォーマー The ☆ Headmasters has decided to display a new project of the popular character “Leiden” that combines from six trains and a new project! For more information ↓↓https://tentetsuten.com

 

 

Transformers Takes Europe & the U.K. at Comic-Con

Hasbro will be showcasing its Transformers and Power Rangers brands along with partner brands Star Wars and Marvel at Paris Comic Con, MCM Comic Con London, Lucca Comics & Games, Manga Barcelona (with German Comic Con Dortmund coming later in December).

Additionally, we will be selling multiple convention items, including figures available for sale first to fans at EU conventions before being available elsewhere around the world.

·         MARVEL LEGENDS 80TH ANNIVERSARY EXCLUSIVE INCREDIBLE HULK and MARVEL LEGENDS SERIES 80TH ANNIVERSARY X-FORCE DEADPOOL Figure 
Available at: Paris Comic Con, MCM Comic Con London, Manga Barcelona

·         STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES LUKE SKYWALKER (SKYWALKER STRIKES) figure
Available At: Paris Comic Con, MCM Comic Con London, Manga Barcelona and German Comic Con Dortmund 

panel info after the cut

Urbex in a haunted house

We've all watched true crime shows and have seen the reenactments of bodies just being found abandoned somewhere. Around college years, some friends and I snuck into a fenced off construction zone to snoop around. An old shopping center was being demolished to clear the land for newer developments. We all had vivid memories of the center when it was nice, and even more long after the area had went downhill. The entire time we looked around, all I could think about was finding a dead crackhead or worse. The guys in this video go looking in an infamous spot in their area and find more than they were looking for.

At Halloween, it's fun to go to a local haunted house and get jump scared by people in costumes. It's make believe and generally a good time. While I've never had the misfortune of being in a real situation like that, some people unfortunately have. The next time you drive past that old factory that's been closed for years and get the urge to look around. Just remember, before you do, there could literally be anything in there. Anything.

Skyquake in Germany, jack crap in Georgia

I'm pretty jealous of the countries that got Skyquake, Thunder Clash, and all the other Transformers from that era of that didn't get released here (the dark times). Though I'm pretty sure others are jealous of my super powers of finding old ass commercials. No? Well... just pretend you are. Because I'm not pretending, even though I later got these molds in other releases, I still wish I would have had the option of getting Skyquake at my local Walmart back then. This German commercial really shows off the robots and even has a touch of stop motion. I absolutely love the colors of this era, but love the all around look and build of Transformers of this time even more. Keep your overpriced MP, give me a early 90's robot any day.

The Devil's Tater Chips

I've talked cursed videos here before, I've talked spooky snacks here as well. This just might be the first time I've talked about a video containing a cursed spooky snack. That spooky snack of course would be Horror Show by San Carlo. The Italian snack maker in 1996 confused a potato chip recipe  with a spell in the necronomicon. Thus Horror Show was born, providing all those who dared to eat with hell on earth.

Playmobile The Real Ghostbusters!

I really am loving Playmobil's Ghostbuster toys. I'm hoping this video leads to actual Real Ghostbusters figures in the line (hey, they have part 2 versions). Either way it's pretty great. Though Winston's hands... Guess he has seen some shit.

Edit: the video went down sometime last night not long after I shared. When it goes back up I'll update this post. Guessing they're fixing the Winston hand error.

M.U.S.C.L.E Manly Men

The Japanese release of M.U.S.C.L.E (not counting Kinnikuman) was pretty focused on the fact that these were MEN. Muscle Men, to be precise.

Monster Eggs

What's more Halloween than dressing as a monster and later throwing eggs at that old lady who keep's giving out those gross peanut butter things house? Well, not much, but speaking of peanut butter, know how it's so special when Reese's mixes peanut butter and chocolate? Well Bandai put the egg and monster together for Tamagoras Egg-Monsters! Mixing classic monsters and kaiju into the egg robot formula for pure magic.

One fall day in my early 20's I accompanied my mother to the hospital for a light surgery. I had spent the night at her place and drove her to the hospital. Hanging around the hospital, and driving her back home... I was getting pretty bored. Fortunately a run to the local drug store to pick up her prescription gave me a much needed escape. While waiting for the pharmacist to open the bottle of pills behind the counter and carefully count them out, I was happily looking through the Halloween aisle.

There they were, hanging from one of those ... hangy things with clips that stores put things... on... the hell are those even called? Was glow in the dark skeleton eggs! I quickly bought one and a Pepsi before heading back to my Mom's house with her medicine. While waiting around her place a little longer before going home I transformed my egg into a skeleton. Overjoyed with my new toy I made a point to stop back by the store and grab another (and a Pepsi) before going home. Later on that evening I was looking up egg robot toys as they were fresh on my mind. Turns out I got a bootlegged Tamagora Egg-Monster! Turns out these were what Meteorbs were made from! Turns out I made a post about egg robots into two and tied one into Halloween!

Meteorbs and Tamagoras aren't just words that drive autocorrect crazy

I've briefly talked about Meteorbs here before... and dammit I'm gonna again. A cool and overlooked addition to Masters of the Universe, Meteorbs were comets that transformed into little robot and animal dudes to fight with or against He-man. Transforming comets were a thing on Eternia, so why not?

The toys were made from Bandai's Tamagora line of egg based robots. If you're into transforming toys, chances are you've come across your share of toys that transform into eggs. Bandai pretty much makes the best ones as evident in the more recent Hatch 'N Heroes toys.

Tamagora and other egg robot toys are often bootlegged, so if you can't find original versions of the toys, chances are a knock off is sitting on the rack at an odd discount store or gift shop.

 

While they may not be for everybody it's hard to deny their charm. Simple fun little toys full of charm. Even Takara got into the egg game in Microman. Those molds got used later in Transformers Beast Wars and Kiss...*shudder*.

While I'm not very wordy on how great egg robot toys are here, I think that's because it's a pretty simple concept. Egg turns into something, simple fun toy, neat. Though I absolutely have to show you this Tamagora commercial featuring the batch that got made into Meteorbs.

We are all a little better for seeing that. Even if just for the little peep peep at the end looking at the toy wondering if it's food. The toys are commonly found in gashapon machines and oddball (egg?) stores. Like I said, if you're into transforming robot toys, chances are you have a few or at least came across some. Honestly, I'd love for Bandai to sell these here in America.

Ain't nothin but a Monster Party

If you're like me, you like to play 'spooky' games all year. However, if you're also like me you celebrate Halloween all year. So basically, we're cooler than everyone else. Though Halloween time sure is a great time to enjoy some 'spooky' games and there's one slightly obscure game for the NES that's practically made for the season. Monster Party was released by Bandai 30 years ago this year and it's a damn shame it doesn't have a bigger legacy than it does. If you watch the video above you'll see not just the attract screen, but also the intro. Mark is recruited by Bert to help him save his world from evil monsters. Fortunately Mark was on his way home from a baseball game and was carrying his trusty baseball bat. Monster Party is a platform game (my favorite type) where Mark must save Bert's world from those evil monsters with additional aide from Bert by means of changing from one to the other. What's so Halloween about that? Well...

As you can see, it's a scary place. It's all sorts of nightmarish and gory. This would make the average person wonder how it got by Nintendo during a time when they censored such content. If you've ever played this game, you know that the first level is pretty tame until halfway through when suddenly all hell breaks loose. According the urban legend, the developers were banking on whomever at Nintendo was checking these games only looked at the game for a minute or two before approving it. Which pretty much lines up to the game play. One minute it's all happy and cheerful, then lightening flashes and the game just goes straight to hell.

The Japanese version of the game was called Parody World: Monster Party and featured more direct references to classic monsters. For whatever reason that was canceled and what we have as Monster Party was released in North America. Thanks to some crafty types out there, reconstructions of that original game are floating around the emulation scene. Believe it or not, it's even more gory. For awhile there was rumors of an unreleased sequel, but it looks like that was a prank unfortunately. I could really see a Monster Party sequel on the SEGA Genesis. They always played loose with gory stuff, I mean the system originally came with Altered Beast with bad guys exploding into chunks. Just for the record, Monster Party even ended pretty screwed up.

Starcom was pretty rad

Starcom was a pretty neat short lived line of toys with a matching short lived cartoon. If you read off the list of companies involved it sounds more like an itinerary of presenters at a merchandising expo. Toys by Coleco, cartoon by DiC and distributed by Coca-Cola Telecommunications (sometimes big companies own other big companies), and developed with the help of the Young Astronauts Council to get kids interested in NASA. Under all that was actually a really neat bunch of space toys.

Starcom would fight the ill intended Shadow Force in another epic struggle of good vs evil. Toys were smaller space themed (like the name would suggest) vehicles with small scale figures. The figures has cool little guns that your mom would tell you would get sucked up by the vacuum cleaner. The figures were pretty dang cool with the NASA inspired good guys vs the evil sci fi fantasy inspired bad guys. Because things you find entertaining are bad in the eyes of things you find boring.

The most dominant play gimmick was the 'Magna Lock'. If this was a fan wiki, I'd make a bad joke about that. This is a fan blog, so I'll make a bad reference. The Magna Lock was a series of magnet plates on the vehicles and play sets as well as on the feet of the action figures. This was meant to simulate the gravity boots of the space explores as they fight in zero gravity. What happened more often was the figures got stuck on the refrigerator.

Starcom had a pretty short life, according to Wikipedia the cartoon only had 13 episodes. Also according to Wikipedia the line only lasted around two years, though it did get a second life when Mattel released the toys in Europe and Southeast Asia and was apparently pretty popular there. From my own memory, I remember liking the cartoon quite a bit. I'm sure I could find a few episodes on DVD thanks to budget releases as seems to be the home for old cartoons. Which isn't a bad thing,  video racks at discount stores have long been a staple of my entertainment.

I had a few of the toys, bought on clearance at Kay-Bee toys. Like a lot of oddball sci fi toys of mine, they'd find their way in a weird homogenized city made of such toys. They were the perfect scale to interact with my Transformers and often found themselves operating under the command of Hi-Q. Hi-Q was a fair leader who made sure everybody got their 15 minute break every 3 hours.

Something Spooky at 5 past the hour

I'm from Georgia and I was raised in the suburban areas that surrounded Atlanta. Being a child in the 80's and a teenager in the 90's put's me in a very odd spot. You see, when I was a kid, TBS was a local channel. Yes, the same TBS you probably watch Conan O'Brien on now used to be local UHF television when I was a child. Back then, all it ever seemed to show was old syndicated reruns, local sports, WCW wrestling, old movies, and old cartoons. All starting 5 minutes after the hour, to give you time to flip from what you were watching before the show started.

While this may sound bogus, it wasn't, it was bad ass. They'd arrange the shows into odd blocks. Tom and Jerry's Funhouse on TBS was like a mix tape of Looney Tunes, Fleischer, and Tom and Jerry shorts with Kid's Beat news segments hosted by Josh and Audra. Most kids were pretty big fans of the show as it came on in the afternoon and in the morning with odd local news interlaced. Therefore you could watch cartoons before getting on the bus. IF anything I had to sit through five minutes of local news before it got flipped to TBS. The news was really just the weather because nothing ever happened back then. Except Jonestown.

The cartoon block was so popular that it sprung various specials. Which brings us here today. Above is the bumber segments from the Tom and Jerry Halloween Special. A special that came on approximately 900 million bazillion times all through October every year. The segments aired between various 'spooky' cartoons and... in the video preview up there I swear Josh is smoking a joint.

Even with the hokiness of local television productions, they really put some effort into the special. Josh and Audra have a different costume in each segment and they filmed it at The Rhodes Hall Haunted Castle. For the record, that's not a haunted attraction... we just have a haunted castle in Georgia for some reason. Georgia's pretty weird.

Age of Dehydration

One of the great things about the Transformers live action movies is the absolute TON of licensed merch from around the world. There's literally a Bumblebee on just about anything everywhere. I love this kind of stuff and it could be one of my favorite things when a new TF movie gets released. It's super fun to get a TF drink, burger, and buy some TF band-aids for the cut I got opening my new TF flash drive key chain. It's not just here in America either, it's all over the planet. In Indonesia for example, they got cool special bottles of Nu Green Tea for Age of Extinction. I drink a lot of green tea and if I had the option of getting Stinger on a bottle of it, I'd buy out the store.

DAMMIT SHEP

Shep is a simple dog who hates Halloween. Admittedly that mask was stupid and that damn kid needed to be taught a lesson. A Shep lesson. Did anyone else wonder where the Halloween parade actually was? I just saw a few kids skipping around in terrible costumes for what? To win a few balloons? At the end I though Shep was going full Cujo and was about to kill everybody in sight. Which... probably would have saved the movie. This was some sort of school educational film which is odd considering the lack of any kind of lesson. Well, other than don't mess with Shep. Shep will just ruin you.

Robocop loves fried chicken

Robocop is fucking awesome. This is a fact, there's no arguing that. Water is wet, green means go, Robocop is fucking awesome. I've never had Lotte ham fried chicken before, and honestly I didn't need Robocop to make me want some. That sounds amazing and next time I'm at H-Mart I'm gonna try to get some. Though, having Robocop sell me ham fried chicken by Lotte? Simply amazing, I'm there. Man... there's literally NOTHING that dude can't sling.

Grandpa Munster will fart for money

Al Lewis was a well known TV actor best known as Grandpa Munster. He was best known as Grandpa Munster as at some point he started doing literally ANYTHING as the character. Personally my favorite of this time was his stint on TBS's Super Scary Saturday hosting various horror and monster movies. Though in later years it got completely insane.

Who could blame him? Appear as his famous character and get paid. Easy money. This lead to various hotline commercials where he at some point started introducing himself as Grandpo regularly. After a while it got weird. The video above is a VHS release from 1989 where Grandpa hosts various trailers for Universal Monster movies dog shit drunk.

I rented the tape when I was a kid, hoping for more of that great TBS Saturday action... nope. What I got was Grandpa rambling to an off screen Igor, who was probably the guy with the camcorder, and tying it into the various trailers. There's a point where he clearly hits the wall and is just trying to stay awake. It's weird, it's bizarre, and yes I own it on DVD.

Korean GIJOE childrens sneakers

It sure has been a while since I delved into the world of Korean licensed children's shoe commercials. I don't know why either, each time I do it's completely amazing. Here in America, licensed characters on shoes hardly get a spot in a stores sales papers, let alone a TV commercial. These productions alone are worth the view and man this one is some kind of wonderful.

Our host is on an adventure for some sweet new kicks. Fortunately he's in the exact jungle that has a pair of velcro GIJOE sneaks that feature Falcon about to shoot a fool just lying around. I assume it's Falcon, could be Flint... soldier man in beret YO JOE! What's really notable is that dope hard plastic carrying case the shoes come in. It seems as if the shoes come with a sticker and the host implies we can put other stickers on the case... that just blew my mind. Though, what am I to wear while carrying my shoes in that carrying case?

Sell me Strider... or yell at me

I was just thinking about playing some Strider on my Genesis Mini when I get home from work. The Mega Drive commercial for Strider Hiryu doesn't exactly help with that. How in the hell did they sell a single copy with that?

Jiffy Pop: Season of the Witch

I think we've all come to understand that Jiffy Pop is damn near impossible to make correctly. You put it on the stove, follow the directions, and in exactly one second the popcorn is burned. Now I understand that's because it's actually witchcraft. So when you're settling down to watch the horror marathon of only Friday the 13th part 5 on AMC... maybe get a bag of pork rinds instead.

Transform Squadron 14 Trick X Treat

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On this glorious October edition of the show, Rob talks Halloween duh. Actually he briefly talks Rangerstop Atlanta 2020, Transformers Earthrise, and new Bandai Godzilla toys and then talks Halloween!

The House of Ghosts

There's something about old silent movies that's just unsettling on it's own. The janky film rate causes movements to seem unnatural, the limited grey tones play with the stage make up and costumes of the actors making even the most mundane character look directly out of a fever dream. That's not even describing the film's special effects fueled by pure nightmare imagery. Somehow they only looked like that in the old days. Someone could be fooled into thinking this is a cursed video or something from the dark web. What it is, is a one hundred and eleven year old french horror movie. Still, I dare you to watch it at 3am.

The House of Ghosts/The Haunted House/The Witch House/La maison ensorcelée is pretty impressive for all it's special effects in a time where they were still trying to figure out how to make movies. Stop motion, various super imposing, and other film techniques that I just don't know the name of portraying paranormal activity. That's not even describing the group of friends being terrorized by said paranormal activity. Their costumes and make up are just freaky. Sure, I know it was just a sign of the times, probably utilizing live stage actors at a time while movies were still being practically invented. Doesn't make them less terrifying in their own right. I mean, that stage make up was usually lead paint.

Halloween is a great time for scary stuff, pretty much the official time of year for it. Every store has a few spooky specials and horror movies on a special display. They know everyone is in for a good scare. Don't be too surprised to see a odd compilation DVD with a hundred old silent horror movies on it. You'd probably find today's video on that disk as well as a few choice others. While The Nun and Michael Myers may scare you, these old ones will sit in your subconscious. You'll see them when you close your eyes. Go ahead, I dare you to watch it at 3am. I'm sure it's not cursed... maybe. 

Listen to this badass Microman jam

I only posted this because of the music.

Magic Mummy

It's October, it's Halloween. A nice time to turn the lights off, light a few candles, and watch some old spooky crap. This here is Magic Mummy, a cartoon starring Tom and Jerry as cops chasing down some spooky shit. If grave robbers and dancing skeletons are your thing... I didn't think ahead how to follow that sentence. Uh.... part 5.

Lightening League 4 life

I was watching some indie toy drops earlier. Neat stuff, but decided to pass this time. Due to the modular nature of the lines I follow it occurred to me, I wonder why there hasn't been a Wheeled Warriors revival? I'd be up for it.

Happy Halloween... is that Cop-Tur?

I've never been to Terry's 5&10. In fact I've just heard of it. From all appearances, it looks like a charming small down general store. I know stores like that still exist, but none near me currently. Either way, holy crap Terry's has an amazing Halloween selection. Or had... not sure if they're still open or how old this commercial is. If you just glance at the commercial, you'll see the standards. Candy... decorations... masks and make-up kits... Collegeville costumes... wait... that wall of masks... what did I just ...

Man, check out that selection! Megatron, Man at Arms, Beastman, Spider-Man,  Leader-1 AND Cy-Kill! Merman! Some generic monsters... I think that's Batman... who's that next to Batman? Or under him? I feel like they're somebody, but the angle of the image and blurry colors of local TV quality video is just enough to make it hard to... DUDE IS THAT COP-TUR NEVT TO MERMAN? I WAS SO EXCITED I MISSPELLED NEXT!

What's amazing is... you realize some of that stuff was probably there every Halloween until it got sold. While I don't really have any small town local stores like Terry's 5&10 currently, I have in the past. Depending where I go, I still do. I've been in these types of stores a million times. I remember once on visit in the early 90's to see my Grandma and going in one of these stores. There was a Thunder Lips figure from Rocky 3 sitting on the spinner rack next to the water balloons. Probably should have grabbed that. Man... just thinking about strolling into that store and seeing those masks on the wall... Terry... want to make a deal?

Earthrise on a Select Cyberverse to play cards

CYBERVERSE

Each DELUXE CLASS figure comes with one build-a-figure piece. Combine all the pieces to build a figure of MACCADAM, the beloved character from the show. Kids can collect other DELUXE CLASS figures, each sold separately, to discover the signature attack moves of favorite characters from the G1 inspired CYBERVERSE series, as seen on Cartoon Network and YouTube --one of the best ways to introduce young kids and new fans to the exciting world of TRANSFORMERS!Available at most major toy retailers on 1/1/2020.

Transformers Cyberverse Deluxe Class Shockwave (Ages 6and Up/ Approx. Retail Price: $19.99/ Available: 1/1/2020)Inspired by the CYBERVERSE animated series, this DELUXE CLASS SHOCKWAVE figure stands at an impressive 5 inches in robot mode and converts to vehicle mode in 20 steps. The last step of conversion activates the figure’s Shock Blast attack in both robot and vehicle mode! Once converted, the fun attack move can be repeated through easy reactivation steps.

GENERATIONS WAR FOR CYBERTRON: EARTHRISE

This ecosystem of collectible figures allows fans to build out epic space battle scenes and connect figures together to expand and customize the battlefield!Every pack includes a piece of the TRANSFORMERS Universe Map and a red decoder to unlock the map's hidden paths! Collect other EARTHRISE figures to piece together the full map.

After the cut is the rest of the post, I've taken choice cuts from the press release to try and give a informative post for the new products shown at NYCC 2019 without overloading you all with a ton of pics and text. Of course you all know I love every bit of this news!

Pumpkin Kuttin

I've been on pins and needles about my pumpkin this year, it's an important part of the Halloween season. When I was a kid we'd use a kitchen knife to do our work, despite such amazing products as the Pumpkin Kutter readily available. They made a safe cutting... pardon me kutting tool, a scoop, and even a light to use in place of a candle. My parents didn't see a need for it, but these days I sure do use the crap out of these type of things. Though admittedly I'm a Pumpkin Masters man.

Pumpkin Kutter had a plethora of commercials slinging their wares. It's hard to deny the charm of them. It's that classic old school Halloween and just the overall vibe from them that I just can't get enough of. Not to miss out on a sale, Pumpkin Kutter even sold the Pumpkin Light as a safety lite while you trick or treat as opposed to a glow stick or flashlight.

Like I said above, I'm a Pumpkin Masters man. They're everywhere and produce some damn fine quality pumpkin carving kits and supplies. Though I did briefly wonder what happened to Pumpkin Kutter. Did they go out of business or something? Nope, they're still around producing the exact same tools they've always made. Literally.

It'd be super cool to score one of these kits, just to have a set. According to their site they're sold at Pumpkin Farms nationwide. I live in a nationwide and will be going to a Pumpkin Farm in a few weeks. It'd be great to score a set of the classic... pardon me, klassic tools.

Earthrise and Shine!

RISE FROM YOUR EARTH

So, I love Earthrise. Sure the name doesn't exactly ring in my head just yet as a natural follow up to Siege, kinda sounds like a coffee or muffin brand, but still it's hard for me not to love it. For the record I loved Siege from the start. Not just when Hasbro was looking, but honestly loved it. I've made that clear here.

This is a very natural progression from Siege, more Micromasters with even more integration. The larger figures turn into bases for them, something I loved from Titans Return and glad to see return. While I loved the sci fi looks of Siege, the Earth based modes are welcome as well. These are very clear modern representations of the classic characters and I dig it.

They look more like a premium product. Honestly I'm more impressed when a standard retail toy looks like a premium toy than an actual pricey premium toy. That was also something from Siege I liked that's going forward. Generations is intended to be the collector line so nicer toys from it are welcomed. Despite the complaints from people who got everything first, I welcomed the smaller size. I did this before in the Fall of Cybertron line back in 2012. I've said it before and I'll say it again. Often times Transformers are too big.

Titan class is one thing, but a standard deluxe is another. I find the details of the sculpting look better a little smaller. Think about it this way, open another tab and Google G1 Prowl. Then compare him to say Nightbeat. Prowl is a touch smaller but looks more detailed. That's what I'm talking about. The current economy is what it is and these things reflect in the toy market. Either we pay a fortune for a figure or they adjust it. I'm fine paying $20 for these, they're worth the higher cost to me.

Like I said, I'm VERY impressed with Earthrise so far and look forward to getting the toys. Transformers is one of those constant things in my life when they manage to completely satisfy me every time. I'm blown away by just how nice they look and get that weird form of excitement you get when you're a fan of something. Even if the name makes me want breakfast.