Halfway 2 Halloween~Tonight we Scream

fatsAlien Nation was a science fiction/crime drama hybrid that delt with lots of social themes. It was also pretty dang good. Of course we're here for Halloween and hey, this pretty good show had a Halloween episode! It's the spooky season as as the Newcomers are adapting to life on earth they're of course learning about our cultures and holidays. Halloween is pretty weird for people that don't celebrate it as is, but imagine being from another planet. It's a pretty big culture shock, not to mention dealing with jerks. Emily is looking forward to her first Halloween, but some of the kids are of course not to friendly towards somebody different. Did I mention the social themes? Yeah, they go pretty hard. The Francisco's are having an interesting spooky season.

It doesn't help that George is tracking a serial killer. Oh hey, a serial killer at Halloween! This episode hits all the major notes! The killer however is targeting Newcomers in a very specific way. In their old culture, there was Overseers and slaves. Now on Earth, they're all equals... but the former Overseers still think they're better than others... sound familiar? It gets pretty heavy. Well the killer is specifically targeting the former Overseers in the manner of a scary folk legend the Overseers would use to scare the slaves into obedience. Needless to say, this isn't your average show or Halloween special.

Originally Posted: 09/01/2023

Alien 1979

Meego to a Halloween party

If you need somebody to play a fish out of water, Bronson Pinchot is your man. Meego was a short lived sitcom from 1997 about an alien from space living with a family on Earth. Well, isn't that wacky. As every television show should, Meego had an Halloween episode. The kids are having a Halloween party where Harriet the Spy needs to find the identity of her secret admirer. Did I mention aliens and 1997? You bet your ass there's a ton of Men in Black jokes.

Tonight we Scream

Alien Nation was a science fiction/crime drama hybrid that delt with lots of social themes. It was also pretty dang good. Of course we're here for Halloween and hey, this pretty good show had a Halloween episode! It's the spooky season as as the Newcomers are adapting to life on earth they're of course learning about our cultures and holidays. Halloween is pretty weird for people that don't celebrate it as is, but imagine being from another planet. It's a pretty big culture shock, not to mention dealing with jerks. Emily is looking forward to her first Halloween, but some of the kids are of course not to friendly towards somebody different. Did I mention the social themes? Yeah, they go pretty hard. The Francisco's are having an interesting spooky season.

It doesn't help that George is tracking a serial killer. Oh hey, a serial killer at Halloween! This episode hits all the major notes! The killer however is targeting Newcomers in a very specific way. In their old culture, there was Overseers and slaves. Now on Earth, they're all equals... but the former Overseers still think they're better than others... sound familiar? It gets pretty heavy. Well the killer is specifically targeting the former Overseers in the manner of a scary folk legend the Overseers would use to scare the slaves into obedience. Needless to say, this isn't your average show or Halloween special.

Walton Vs Predator

Lanard has been really knocking it out of the park in recent years. I've been speaking nothing good of them here for a reason. Lanard has always made low priced toys, most notably their 'The Corps!' line which can be a lot of fun. However since 2017, they've been doing more licensed lines in addition to some really far out cool original ideas. 

Last year their 90's flavored Aliens line captured a lot of attention which lead to a more premium collectors aimed Aliens figure series. This year they've followed that up with The Predator and I'm pretty happy that they did. So far the line consists of a large 12" figure ($20) and three smaller 7" figures ($10 each). Like other Lanard toys here in the states, they're a Walmart exclusive.It's hard to complain about going into your local Walmart and finding cool toys like these for not a lot of money.

The figures a super nice with lots of accessories and plentiful articulation. They're well sculpted and have a lot of paint detail. The three 7" figures are each based off a different Predator from the different movies with very distinct differences. The masks on the 7" figures are not removable, but is on the 12" toy. The 12" toy also has a few extra play features like a light up laser for his shoulder mounted cannon as well as opening mouth. The mask thing is obviously a result of the lower prices as is the more sparse paint details on each figures backside. It's not super concerning to myself, though I'm sure some in the more premium figure crowd isn't going to like that. Personally, a great Predator figure for $10 is pretty awesome.

In Space, No One Will Hear You Hate Mondays

It's Monday and the start of a new week here on Planet Zone! There's an all new episode of Not as Brightly Lit for your earholes to enjoy. Easter was this past weekend and I had a good time with my family. The Mrs. even made me a super cool basket with all sorts of blind bag fun and even a Tiger Electronics Transformers LCD game! It's gonna be a weird week. I've got an appointment for my first covid-19 vaccination Tuesday and frankly I'm a little uneasy. I'm a lot of things and uncomfortable with injections is one of them. Oh well, at least I'll get my part in herd immunity out of it. Outside of trying to escape a global pandemic, I've got a fun week of content coming this week! Thanks for reading and as always, please share with your friends!

Hive Class Drone

The Kharn Drone Class is a basic grunt used for combat and labor operations. Not highly intelligent, but able to accomplish mission tasks.

As their name would imply, the Drone is the basic soldier of the Kharn army. I do like how so far all the Kharn is army builders. Just droves of attacking aliens that can be equipped differently with various accessory sets. The design of these guys is a cross between a Xenomorph and something out of Quake. That mixture of 80's and 90's aesthetics in Final Faction is a big part of what makes it such a fun little line. Like the other Kharn soldiers, I wish the Drone was available in a variety of colors. I could see a 'fire' or 'ice' version of this figure with corresponding included weapons.

Merry Christmas, From The Predator

Dang.

Transform Squadron 18: I don't want an HHH

Listen Now

This month: Rob talks Toylanta, Masters of the Universe and Transformers with a dash of Aliens and a few other select herbs and spices! Save the Earth and listen!

Kick Some Astyanax

Astyanax is one of those games that people tend to forget about. Not for any particular reason, it's pretty good, though admittedly 30 years after it's release I'm still trying to pronounce it's name correctly. Funnily enough, you don't play as the Greek Mythology character at all, you play as a guy named Roche. In the NES version you play as a kid named Astyanax, I have no clue why.

I'm sure most people are more familiar with the NES game, I was too until discovering the arcade version at my local Pizza Hut. It's one of those cases where a home version plays pretty similar to the arcade machine, but is practically a different game. So much so that it'll get it's own post sometime later. I'm talking about the arcade game today.

Neon Alien Syndrome

Great news, everyone. Earlier today news broke of upcoming Alien toys by Lanard! Lanard, best known as the makers of the Corps! line of action figures has been making some really great licensed toy lines. From Kong to Rampage, and now with Jumanji, Lanard has been really knocking it out of the park with their great toys at really low prices. This year I've been a big fan of their Primal Clash line of figures myself. They're just good toys at a great price despite the snorts of toy snobs online (how does that even happen?).

With this new Alien line, Lanard is following their formula of new sculpt monster packaged with reused Corps! figure molds. These toys are bright colored and neat looking. The sculpting of the Corps! figures with the colorful Aliens make me mentally think of various video games like Alien Syndrome by Sega or the Konami arcade game (among others). Not to mention by making the Xenomorphs colorful, they make me draw mental comparisons to recent Reaction figures and the classic Kenner line. I also like bright colors on toys and man just LOOK at that neon nightmare packaging.

So far details are scarce. They've been spotted on Smyths Toy Stores site and I sent Lanard an email this morning asking for any details they could give me. Usually Lanard action figures are exclusive to Walmart stores here in the US (for the past few years with a few exceptions here and there), so I already know where to look. I'm hoping they'll take the place of Jumanji toys and replace this years selection sometime after Christmas. As much as I loved Primal Clash, this would make one awesome replacement.

*edit* I just got a reply from Lanard,  the Alien toys will be in US Walmart stores shortly after Christmas with even more Alien product due halfway into the year.