Listener Feedback and the Return of KB Toys

Hello and welcome to Altered Geek I'm your host

Steve Megatron Phillips, and I'm flying solo

again Also due to the fact that like I mentioned

last week on Friday that The hosting situation

is a little in flux at the moment so that being

said I have a few things to address right off

the top of the show. One of them I apologize,

like no other, to the fans that have been commenting

on geekcastradio .com into the void. As a whole,

Geekcast Radio is having problems as far as the

widget. It does not currently display when something's

been commented in. That being said, the service

we use, Discus, that upgrades or modifies the

commenting section does this thing where it just

came out with a new version and they replaced

the original. So there have been comments that

have shown up on posts after I got the API working,

which I was unaware that it was not syncing to

the site. So I got that situated. So I do have

the past few weeks of feedback on the posts that

I was not aware of, like I mentioned before,

which I'll address in a little bit. Additionally,

the GCR awards are over. I have calculated the

totals. We didn't have all that many people submit.

I mean, we did have a decent chunk, but it wasn't...

marketed very well, in a sense, and that's my

fault. I've had a lot going on, so it's not been

on the top of my priority list. Plus, every time

I went to go get it set up, we've had problems,

so it's going to be released as soon as we nail

down a time to do that. And finally, I'll be

working with Birdman Dodd for the foreseeable

future on the podcast Booth Ninja has recently

acquired himself a new employment opportunity

and as such is putting this a little bit on the

back burner until he gets situated. So he will

be back. He hopefully is not gone a year like

before. But hopefully we get back to some regular

content with him in the near future. I do have

some topical shows. This episode is kind of a

look back and kind of a catching up, as it were,

along with a couple little fun news items that

I kind of thought were interesting. But yeah,

it's crazy. The show's hit over 250 episodes

to this point, and I don't see any reason to

slow down at this point either. I have a ton

of topics backlogged that I would like to cover

with hosts, preferably. I also have a ton of

different directions I want to go in over the

next year, and it's just nailing down how I'm

going to do it. I'm not going to bog down with

the how's or the why's or any of that kind of

information, but it's something I've been planning

for a while. I'm going to jump right in with

the listener comments. from the past few episodes

and kind of just recap those really quick. So

going back a couple of episodes to the favorite

strong women characters in media, Brad says,

uh, although it's not my favorite Mad Max film,

Furiosa owned Fury Road. The Tomb Raider and

Resident Evil films are a guilty pleasure and

love when fans have issues with video game movies

when there aren't a lot there to start with from

the games. Totally agree. Going over to the,

uh, the Star Trek storyline derailment. He also

says as an observer, with Trek being the more

science fact series, their handling of space

itself seems off. I'm sure the late Hawking or

Neil deGrasse Tyson. have already talked about

it but the ship or the way the ships swooper

fly is if they are in an atmosphere also the

use of the word quadrant if the solar system

segment section into four parts i'm sure it's

addressed in one of the series so if it was never

mind yeah it's they they segment them off with

earth kind of being the center in essence of

the alpha and beta quadrants the delta quadrant

is like on a weird plane of its own and Gamma

as well, kinda out there. They pretty much only

traverse the Alpha and Beta quadrants during

the shows with the exceptions of certain episodes

being in the Delta quadrant of obviously all

of Voyagers in Delta and then you get some of

the aspects of the Gamma in DS9. He says as far

as storytelling having the larger budget films

would help showing more destruction I hate when

the big red Reset button is pushed at the end

of an episode and as Michael said I do like when

an episode focuses on an issue At the start then

the rest of the up is spent solving the issue

or repairing damage Yeah, they do that quite

often, but a lot of the time the big reset button

gets hit by the end of the episode So yeah, it's

it's kind of a little bit interesting there This

one is from the website where it says that old

TV didn't take the chances of modern TV This

one is done by Epicurious Obsidian I Get what

you're saying about Star Trek knowing no one

important on a show will ever die does limit

the amount of tension you can have to go beyond

that How much TV news is out there now from spy

photos to contract negotiations unless you tune

it all out shows can be spoiled for you before

they even start which totally agree I have no

disagreement whatsoever there. That's kind of

the disappointing part of having social media

is the fact that you pretty much know who's going

to go through the entire season just by credits

or you can look up IMDB or you can find out from

the actors. I mean, there's a lot of media out

there just kind of spoiling everything and unfortunately

that's just kind of... Par for the course anymore.

I mean that's just the way it goes but I do like

how discovery did take chances other than something

they did in TNG with losing Yar in the first

season or Having like a swap out late in the

series of DS 9 for Dax or in Voyager where they

they had the swap out of Kes for seven of nine

They didn't really take that many chances, I

mean, most of the time everything was reset by

the end of the episode, so you never really lost

anyone. But I do like how Discovery, and that's

one thing I've gotta give them, even if I don't

100 % love the show, they've killed off their

doctor, they've killed off their captain, they've

killed off the security officer, they've backed

up security officer, they... It's gone through

a whirlwind with characters and that's kind of

nice because now next season we should get more

focus on the Secondary and tertiary characters

that were Kind of there got to say a couple lines,

but really weren't all that important So they

may come into their own and next season which

I'm really looking forward to seeing how that

plays out And then going to another one about

the Listener feedback episode, the last full

one we did. Epicurious also says, I hope Warner

Bros. DC gets their new streaming platform soon.

I believe it's supposed to happen in late 2018,

maybe early 2019. I know Disney's gonna have

theirs in 2019 as well. He says that he wants

his next season of Junk Justice and that Nightwing

show that was rumored. Would also be nice if

they had a service similar to Marvel Unlimited

for comics if I had DC Comics, WB shows, and

a classic Batman and... Justice League cartoons

with one service. I would never leave my house

You know that would honestly be the best thing

for DC at this point it's just have everything

on their app have everything on their own service

and Honestly, I I don't get the chance to go

out to movies that much anymore, and I rarely

go I I have to see movies in a variety of different

ways either wait until they come out or Somebody

sends me a link or something to that regard.

I really don't get to go to the theater so I'm

not really their key demographic in patronage

anymore for any movie, any series. So it would

honestly be nice if I could get a streaming service

that I could watch the films when they're new

in the theater from that specific company if

it's something I love. Like for instance if it's

Disney I would get Star Wars, Marvel. everything

under the sun there, and then if it's Warner

Brothers related or DC related, it would all

be on their app. So, that's gonna be the key

point for a lot of people as the future goes

on. And then going to the Geeky Guilty Pleasures

episode, Connor Murphy says, I realize I never

talk about how much I love lack. trash reality

tv like dumb stuff like judge duty and things

like that not a geek thing exactly but something

i would call a guilty pleasure i can kind of

see that there's certain shows like that that

uh that we would watch like my wife would watch

uh the biggest loser and things like that or

600 pound life i can't stand the 600 pound life

the biggest loser i i kind of get into it i kind

of like it a little bit when it was on uh the

unfortunate part was is when they got to the

weighing part and a lot of it was just played

out but I I was we had fun guessing what the

sponsor was gonna be for the season before it

would go and that kind of stuff You know, whether

it's yo play or something else A lot of those

shows are all formulaic played out even even

the house ones the we love watching the house

hunters or the The brothers were the the property

brothers where they fix up the house and they

they show them the three houses and you're like,

yeah I kind of guess what they're gonna go with

and then it's all played out I don't want to

fix her up or I don't want blah blah blah even

though you know they're gonna do it anyway so

it's I can see some of that kind of junk TV that's

fun to watch in that regard Haley Bailey says

I've been meaning to comment for a while but

haven't had the chance to wanted to say how great

it has been to hear Mike back on the show again

I am glad that he's been back on the show. It's

honestly been a lot more fun, a lot more dynamic

to sit and record. Not that I haven't enjoyed

recording on my own too, just schedule -wise,

but it's fun to have somebody to bounce ideas

off of and concepts and kind of just have fun

with it, rather than sitting here trying to figure

out, and I kind of got lost on my own. my own

method doing the we have to cover the 12 news

articles followed by the other 24 that interest

me this week and just dragging it out for an

hour. So I really love what he's brought to the

show by reformatting it to this 20 minute format.

It's made it a lot more digestible. Plus, if

I really get the time, I can record multiple

episodes. and have different ones focused on

different things and it just makes it more fun

and more cohesive rather than trying to see how

much I can jam in an hour and ramble through.

So I've really liked having Mike back on the

show for that aspect, but we'll have Birdman

Dodd back on for a while on a more regular capacity

just until Booth Ninja comes on. I'm gonna see

if some of the other guys on the GCRN want to

join me from time to time. In the near future

and maybe maybe some other people will just kind

of see how things go She says for me guilty pleasure

isn't something that I consider all that much

I am who I am and like what I like I tend not

to talk to my co -workers about anything really

as they are too Clickish and talk about things

like The Bachelor or whatever celeb is dating

who that I don't care about I wear my geeky shirts

with pride though I have no shame. That's awesome.

It really is I I don't have all that much geeky

stuff to kind of flaunt anymore. I did manage

to pick up all of the majority of the Star Trek

Con badges. I have the one from the Motion Picture,

the Wrath of Con, TNG, Voyager, Future Imperfect,

which is the name funny enough of my Star Trek

podcast, the one with the gold bars that go behind

the behind the emblem and behind the arrowhead

of the Starfleet. I also have the one for Star

Trek Online. I have the captain's pit that goes

on the shoulder for the Wrath of Khan. I'm currently

in the process of commissioning a Star Trek Online

uniform that I've been wanting. And it's kind

of like the the wrath of Khan mixed with TNG's

original not the original one, but the collared

outfit So it's it's one of those things that

I'm gonna be having fun flaunting once I get

it Being I haven't had a Star Trek uniform in

probably 20 years. It's it's gonna be exciting

because it'll be custom for me Exactly how I

want it to if I wasn't going to go commission

route. I would buy the TNG film uniform I would

buy the vest from generations that Kirk wears

as well as the The wrath of Khan uniform just

because those are all my favorites. I would wear

those honestly I would to everything But yeah

as far as geeky guilty pleasures, I have a lot

of them they're just there's things that I just

typically don't divulge too much into, but I

am one of those people that just kind of likes

what I like, and then it doesn't really change

all that much. I do periodically wear Star Trek

related stuff, like at TF2 and Mike's wedding,

I didn't tell them this, but I wore the Star

Trek com badge for Voyager underneath my jacket.

So it was kind of funny there. Moving to the

last bit of feedback. King of Kongs mentions

on the episode of what did you geek out to this

week on episode 245? He says I'm so geeking out

over the tick right now season two better than

the first honestly was thinking that what failed

Show of the past should get another shot Only

in today's world. I think a dread TV series would

be dope I think if they had Carl Urban and they

made that into a Netflix series. I think it would

be awesome Because I did like the movie with

him in it. It was it was very good I would love

to see I mean granted. We're gonna get a Star

Wars show at this point with live -action Probably

on Disney's service when it comes out, so I'll

be looking forward to that I don't know what

past show from the past I would want to get a

shot in today's world I there were a couple of

them where there was a lot of time travel One

that in particular it was Man, what was that

show called flash forward? I had a lot of fun

with that There was a couple of shows that were

done by Bryan Singer that not Bryan Singer What's

his name? I don't know the guy that Bryan Fuller

the guy that developed Discovery and did Hannibal

and he did a few shows back in the early 2000s

that I found pretty fun kind of dark comedies,

they were entertaining. So, I don't know, there's...

I think if we're gonna get a reboot of things

like Battle Line 5 or Battlestar or any of that

kind of stuff, I think now would be the time,

because we have more sci -fi TV, we have the

Orville, we have Discovery, and they're all doing

great, so I think there's only more room for

more of that sci -fi... methodology there. And

then in the previous episode, no more Toys R

Us kids. Blanchard says, ah nuts, I was hoping

you'd play the Big Bang Theory clip a bit longer

with Sheldon passes out from being wrong. That

was great, especially when Hawking's line was.

Great episode. After hearing the Batman White

Knight title, I looked into it as something we

should cover in the pull bag. Very interesting.

Poor Joffrey, that giraffe needs a new job. Rest

in peace, Toys R Us. Well, speaking of Toys R

Us... I did see a nice little meme with KB Toys,

Funko Land, Blockbuster, Circuit City, Showbiz,

Pizza Place, and Toys R Us all in this looking

like they're going to heaven that says, come

join us, Toys R Us. The funny thing is, is KB

Toys is actually coming back. And when I read

this, I was like, you've gotta be kidding me.

But it's... It's kind of great, actually. They

said that with Toys R Us closing down, they'll

have around 33 ,000 jobs lost in the United States.

But it seems that a lot of them will be able

to find employment with KB Toys returning. Elia

Cassoff, founder of Strategic Marks LLC, posted

on LinkedIn that they're bringing back KB Toys

in a way that can survive the modern market.

He says that many of you asked what our plans

will be and all they can say is we spent the

last six months working at Sustainable Model

and bringing back KB Toys the right way so it

can compete with not only the big box stores

but online as well. Which KB Toys started in

the 1920s and Toys R Us started in the 1940s.

KB closed in 2009. I guess they analyzed why

KB Toys went under and have this new plan that

they hope will correct the issue and become a

viable toy store again. And they're hoping to

to open their stores for the Christmas season

I don't know how they're gonna do this with having

I mean they already had small storefronts as

it was and They can't possibly take over the

Toys R Us locations That's a lot of real estate

and a lot of extra dough, but maybe they will

with the foreclosure of Toys R Us going on but

I I'm I'm kind of excited about KB Toys coming

back, just because I kind of grew up going to

that more than Toys R Us way back when. They've

registered their domain on GoDaddy, though. The

page is parked for free courtesy of GoDaddy.

That's what it says when you click on it. But

it kind of remains to be seen what they'll do

with it. I'm kind of hoping... that it goes well

for them only because it'll give people a job

that are losing them at the Toys R Us. And my

new Toys R Us has been a dump for the better

part of 15 years. Majority of their stores were

run down, old, dinky. You could hardly find an

employee in there. The stores were trashed out.

Majority of the stuff on the shelves had been

sitting there for a year or two, at least. It

just wasn't and they were overpriced KB toys

was overpriced too, but they weren't as bad as

Toys R Us But I grew up going to the KB toy stores

because there was one in the mall closest to

where my parents lived and I didn't live on the

side of town that had the Toys R Us so I'd never

been to Toys R Us until I was older and that

was only because my stepdad collect collected

Star Wars toys and would collect transformers

new in the box that we would get and open ourselves.

So it was kind of a different situation there.

What are some other stories that you guys had?

Good thoughts of good memories from when you

were younger that closed down and aren't around

today or aren't around in the same capacity today.

Which ones do you wish would come back? It's

kind of interesting when you think about it.

I've seen a lot of places come and go. as I've

grown older. It's just weird when you think about

how many places or where things used to be way

back when. But anyways, I'll have another episode

later this week. I'll be looking for listener

feedback as far as description of topic ideas.

If not, I do plan to go with one of my other

ones that... I have backlogged. So, rest assured,

this is the 252nd episode here of Altered Geek,

and rather than rambling on and finding another

topic, I'm gonna cut it off here, and hope you

guys have a great week, and see you on Friday.

So until next time, get altered, get geeky with

the Altered Geeks.