Remembering Kevin Conroy and Jason David Frank!

Ladies and gentlemen I wanted to come to you

before episode 309 of Geekcast radio to let you

know that we are paying tribute to Kevin Conroy

and Jason David Frank and sadly Jason David Frank

took his own life and I just wanted to come on

here really quickly to give this PSA of if you

need help please Talk to someone, call someone,

family member, text them, whatever you have to

do. If you want professional help, I do know

that the original suicide hotline number is 1

-800 -273 -8255. Please, if you're having any

kind of thoughts at all. Call them and get the

help that you need Also Apparently this is new

or at least it's new to me on any mobile phone

You can dial nine eight eight for the suicide

and crisis lifeline. You can also check out nine

eight eight lifeline org here in the US They

have other services in other countries and whatever

else, but that's at least here in the US Suicide

is not the answer, ladies and gentlemen. It just

isn't. So please, if you wanna talk to me, if

you wanna listen to the podcasts that we at the

GCRN create, whatever's gonna help you from not

going down that path, please take care of yourselves.

And now, here's the show. Hi, this is Kevin Conroy.

and you're listening to the Geekcast Radio Network.

Batman, dammit! Would you be interested? Well,

of course he would. Wouldn't you, honey? I mean

to work with someone as famous as Mr. Wayne.

Sure. I warn you, I can be a difficult taskmaster.

I accept nothing short of excellence from all

who work for me. I think I can handle it. Very

good then, Mr. McGinnis. Welcome to my world.

Hello and welcome to GeekCast Radio. This is

episode 309, and everyone knows already, we're

not breaking news here at the GCRN, but both

Kevin Conroy, voice of Batman, the one true voice

of Batman, and Jason David Frank died within

a week of each other. Sad but true. Yep, November

2022. It's a rough time to be a 90s kid, let

me tell you. Yeah, yeah, it is. I'm, of course,

TFU and Mike. Joining me is Steve Megatron. Hello,

sir. Hello. Also joining us is Mr. Jesse Raz.

Hello, sir. How are you? I'm in mourning. Yes.

Yeah. No crying. You're crying. No, you idiot.

We're all crying. Yeah. Stud tough tough to see

parts of your childhood go kind of Not to get

philosophical, but it kind of reminds you. Hey,

I'm getting old Yeah, add on top of that and

I'm not saying I'm just saying this is a fact

but the fact that I lost Karen last year Yeah,

it's a little well this hits me a little harder

now than it. I mean it always hit me hard, but

it Look, let's just start with Kevin Conroy and

My God, that man is just, was just, I can't say

is anymore because it's past tense now, just

an amazing human being, just in general. He was

always up for a handshake or a voice promo or,

you know, when people still hugged at conventions

from what I've seen, because I never met the

man in person, but we had a fun conversation

with him back in 2012. And damn, the one thing

for me with Kevin Conroy is he was 66 years old.

He never, I mean, yes, the last couple of months,

maybe he kind of was showing a little bit of

his age, but he never, to me, never looked or

acted his age. He was always so up and all the

time up and vibrant and ready for whatever. Yeah.

What was it? So I'm kind of jealous because I

never, I never got to meet Kevin nor did I ever

get to speak with him. So what was, I mean, what

was he like, you guys, when you all interviewed

him, how, how was that experience? Steve was

super down to earth and very kind, just very

genuine. Yup. Yeah. He always came across that

and I remember Ural's interview and I've heard

several and, and just Damn just such a good guy

which you know It's kind of what you want that

man to be yeah, yeah and he He was okay. Yes,

we all know and I know anyone listening to the

sound of my voice that I said earlier that he

is the one true Batman know what I really mean

is he's the one true voice of Batman because

Everyone would be like, ooh Adam West but the

dude just died Adam West died a couple years

ago and that's sad and it's depressing all deaths

are depressing but Like he was our Batman. Yeah,

you know, yeah our Batman and I think I heard

in an interview, Kevin said was kind of reiterating

something that Bruce Tim had told him on the

show. And he was like, you know, there's there's

there's a Batman for everyone. And, you know,

for a lot of us, he was our Batman. And well,

well, I will fight anybody that says there's

a better Batman out there. But that was ours.

Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. And I think of like every,

not every single line, but every line that I

have had an impact that he has said as Batman.

It's like, oh my God, oh my God. Like three nights,

no sleep, crashes into her, drives up to her

coffee shop, slaps the money down. Give me a

triple. There's the line where he is sacrificing

himself at one of the season finales of Justice

League, where he has to crash the tower into

Cadmus or whatever. And at the end, he's like,

gentlemen, it's been an honor. Lines like that

just hit you so hard. And then you have lines

that are just like... what he did in justice

league action where they've got dead shot dead

to rights and they're going to interrogate him

and superman goes in there and it's like superman's

going to play bad cop which means batman has

to play good cop so superman's trying to be tough

and failing at it and batman just comes in coffee

would you like a donut and it's Freaking Kevin

Conroy asking Deadshot who is I believe was voiced

by Will Scarlett Will Scarlett from Robin Hood

with with cost fuck What the fuck's his at Christian

Slater? God damn it. How did I forget that? Uh,

so it's Christian Slater, uh, uh, Tim Daly and

Kevin Conroy as these three characters. And it's

just so funny. He, he left such an indelible

mark over the last 30 to 40 years. I tell you

what, if you, well, there's, there's two things.

If you're bringing up blinds, one of my favorites

is also from Justice League where, um, I think

he, I think he uses the plane. you know, his

jet to blow up and then he comes out and he goes,

a little help here. I can't I can't fly. Not

even a little. Yeah. Yep. And and just the man

could sing. That's the that's the other part.

Oh, my God. You know, he just starts belting

out. Am I blue? Oh, ah. And what gets me slightly

yes, that is amazing and awesome and it is what

gets me though is the way that that lead like

What could Cersei really like how dark how what

is that one thing that Batman? Mmm fucking Batman

could never give but you know never get back

once given And then all of a sudden he's on stage

Yeah, no, I that was a great bit and he know

just some velvet just velvet pipes absolutely

Steve memories Well in addition to His his run

on the original animated series. I just love

I love his work as Future Batman or Bruce Wayne.

I love I love his work of just changing his voice

between Bruce Wayne and Batman Pretty much The

first movie I ever went and saw in theater was

mask of the phantasm. Oh Yeah, and so for me

that movie has a very special place for me and

Kevin Conrad when I read any fiction that is

Yup. My Batman. Absolutely. The only time, and

I completely agree with that, but the only time

that I hear a different voice is if any writer,

and it's happened recently, since 2017, any writer

draws Batman to look like Michael Keaton and

he does the word balloon of, you want to get

nuts? Let's get nuts. I hear Keaton in that one

instance, but everything else, absolutely. Conroy,

hands down. Oh, God. And I was telling Jesse

before the show, I finally got a chance to read

DC Pride 2022, which is their collection of stories,

which Kevin wrote a story in there called Finding

Batman. Oh, nice. God damn. I mean, it's like

between him and Paul Dini. Their connections

to Batman are such interesting stories. My buddy

Ryan and I covered Paul Dini's A Dark Night in

episode 350 of The Pullback. That is just one

story that just rips you open as soon as you

start reading it. Finding Batman is just like

a, I don't want to say it's a quick story, but

it's a story within a comic book. It's not like

a whole issue kind of thing. But it's enough

where you get his full story of of what happened

to him in his life and how. Something that. As

an 80s and 90s kid, I before the Internet, I

never cared, never cared. Like my caring was

for the voice in the character i didn't need

to know who is marrying who or who is divorcing

who and who had six kids with this i didn't need

to know anything like about the actors personal

lives. And kevin even told us in the in the twenty

twelve interview. You know, he said something

to me and I'm just paraphrasing here I'm trying

to remember it but he said something the effect

of that he kind of wishes it was still You know

the anonymity of voice acting was still there

because he prefers it that way I'm like, oh,

okay, and then you know come to find I never

didn't I didn't care but I never knew he was

gay Mm -hmm. I didn't know that until about six

months ago, honestly Yeah, I found out like a

year and a half or two, three years ago, something

like that, but it never like. That wasn't something

I cared about either, though. Yeah, it was voice

acting. Yeah, exactly. It was about the performances

that he gave. It was never about what's going

on in his personal life. Well, you know, so I

kind of look at Kevin in a different couple of

different ways. You know, obviously, there's

the Batman, the fandom that. It's huge, but I

went to school for television and film and voice

work. And so like from a VO perspective and him

as an artist and the simple fact that Batman

was his first. voiceover audition just freaking

blows my mind that you know that was that was

his he's like ah you know he went to Juilliard

he was a stage actor and then you know his first

vo he lands on a show with Andrea Romano and

has a 30 year 30 plus year stent as Batman it's

just it's crazy And what's crazier to me is that

when he was telling us his story in the interview

about, you know, about his life. Oh yeah. I went

to Juilliard. I was, I was either roommates with

or knew Christopher Reeve and Robin Williams.

And I'm just thinking to myself, fuck, they're

all now gone. God damn it. Ugh, it just hurts

so much, and I know some people out there are

gonna listen to this and gonna be like, why do

you guys put so much stock into - because they

affected our lives, that's why. That's why we

care about learning about certain - like if they

pass away, if a reason is given, fine. But if

it isn't given, fine. It's just sad that they

are no longer with us and - with somebody that

affects your life, how can you not pay attention

to it? Being on the radio for 10 years and having

to cover every time a celebrity would pass and

people's reactions and stuff, people would, you

know, well, I don't understand this person died,

but these people over here and you don't talk

about that. the thing I've kind of come to realize

is there is, there's no limitation on grief.

Like it's not, grief is not the spy night thing.

So it's like, you know, for instance, we're talking

about Kevin Conroy, but in a bit we'll shift

and talk about Jason David Frank. You know, you're

allowed to be sad about two things or three things

or multiple people. So, you know, People who

attack you for being sad about someone who brought

joy to your life, you know You maybe didn't meet

them, but they put they put things in the world,

you know grief Sadness, it's there's not a finite

amount of it You're you're allowed to be sad

about multiple things and yeah, so when people

lash out about people who mourn Something like

that. It just I I don't know. It's more about

them than I think it is about The person so,

you know, just my two cents on that Well, it's

just one of those things where, like I said,

it's all about who affects our lives. OK. Steve,

Steve, real quick, you said Mask of the Phantasm

was your first like movie experience. How old

were you? What year did it come out? Ninety three.

So you would have been eight or eight. Yeah.

Yeah. I mean, that's like. You know a non -tragic

version, you know, that's like Bruce Wayne going

to the theater with his parents, you know it's

kind of like that thing like it it leaves that

sort of thing leaves a mark on you and For better

or worse, I mean, that's that's pretty cool Well,

it's interesting how the times have changed where

all of that was like The breakout like the fact

that mask of the phantasm was in theaters and

then like a year and a half later It was on VHS

or whatever kind of like, you know, you don't

have those big things anymore. And I'm not just

talking about because of what's gone on in the

last couple of years. I'm saying we haven't had

a huge event in animation, really like a movie

theater. Like, yes, there are animated movies,

but that was an event. That was a thing that

was groundbreaking. It was just as groundbreaking

as syndication was in the eighties. So. The other

thing I'll add to Kevin as a human being. So

he was on cameo, as many celebrities are. And

one of my buddies, TJ, for his birthday, my other

buddy, Chad, got him a cameo from Conroy where

Kevin, you know, he does the normal sort of Batman

sort of lines. But he also took the added thing

that my friend Chad threw in there about getting

a cat and starts giving TJ's wife grief for not

letting him have a cat. And it is the most hilarious.

Also, like, holy crap, Batman is trying to get

this man a cat kind of moments. You know, I know

I know what cameo is it's you know You're paid

but just the fact that he I mean he was doing

those up until about two days before he passed

So, I mean, yeah, he cared he cared it was sweet.

It was funny and it was a thing that will live

on Mm -hmm forever for us. Yep Steve any any

other memories that you want to say about Kevin

anything else that you I feel like we haven't

give you given you enough Well, I just wish we

would have gotten the chance to talk to the man

again. Yeah. I tried reaching out to him because

what I wanted to do was I wanted to have you

and I and him and Lauren, I wanted to have Batman

and Robin on the same interview for an update

to check in with Ben. Lauren never got back to

me and obviously Kevin never got back to me,

which sucks. I mean, yeah, jeez. And those cameo

things, even though they are charging you, you're

able to say to them, this is what I would like

you to say. And some of them, if not most of

them, will throw in extra things or like you

said, he'll do the classic Batman. He would do

the classic Batman lines and then he would say

the message or whatever else. You will sorely

sorely be missed Kevin Conroy and Mm -hmm Yeah,

that was a good that was a good interview you

all did with him I I thoroughly I thoroughly

enjoyed that that was Not to make this about

YouTube, but you know, I guess you see it was

good I I enjoyed that and it sounded like he

enjoyed that Oh, he had a blast. Every, every,

even emails. I didn't email the guy a lot, but

even when I would email him to potentially scale,

like he was always just so jovial and so up and

just so. I'm sure there were times in his private

life where he would be just, you know, turn it

off kind of thing. But every time that anyone

asked him anything, even if it was just a guy

on the street, he was always up for. whatever.

Before we transition to Jason David Frank, I

am going to insert the best part of, at least

in my personal opinion. Real quick, Mike, before

we get to that, I just want to throw one thing

in that I'm very appreciative of. I don't know

how much you guys watch The Flash and any of

the CW shows. Oh, yeah, I still watch it. Yeah,

but I love that we got Kevin Conroy as a live

action Batman, or as close to it as we ever were

gonna get, and it was kind of that Batman Beyond,

kind of old grizzled Batman. I am so thankful

that we got that. That particular run was not

perfect, but getting that glimpse, Yeah, it's

a treasure. It's a treasure. So yeah, it you

know, he that was you know dream come true for

him and And it might not have been like you said

the best Version of what but what they get like

that was such That was not our but I mean that's

our Batman But that was not that character portrayal

in that. Oh man. Wow, that was dark It was, and

it was, but it was cool to see. It was, it was

something that, you know, we're so, we are so

spoiled as fans now because there is crap out

there, characters out there, actors out there

that are doing, that are allowed to do versions

of these heroes that we didn't even think we'd

ever get in an animated form. Yep. You know,

so we are so, you know, I have two kids and I'm

like, you guys don't get it. You have no idea.

You have two kids. Steve has two kids. So you

guys kind of have something in common there.

Yeah. But and the last thing I'll say before

I transition back is like, it's one of those

things where I can only imagine what Bruce Tim

is going through. Because, you know, he, you

know, he and Andrea and everything, you know,

and I is two things. I always remember. And I

don't remember if he did it in our interview

or not, but there was always this joke about

between Kevin and Romano. Oh, he would do this

really flamboyant like, oh, you know, whatever.

And then with Bruce Tim in the very beginning

of Batman Beyond. What do you think you're doing

old man? Where's the jokers? Sure you are Uh

-huh. Yeah, you don't tell old Bruce that you're

the jokers when he knows Who the joker is? All

right folks like I said earlier My personal favorite

part favorite story he ever told the the best

version of my personal opinion is the version

that we have It is Kevin Conroy's September 11,

2001 story. And I say this with a straight face

and all of that, because it is really a great

story. And it just shows you what kind of a man

that he was because most of like, like he will

say to us in this, most of the news reports back

then were not showing you the people running

back into the buildings to help. So we're going

to take a quick listen to that, and then we're

going to come back and talk about a ranger. Everyone

thinks about themselves as having a touch of

Batman in them. We've got our Batman, Kevin Conroy.

Vocally, there's a lot of difference between

the Batman persona and the Bruce Wayne persona,

even though it's the same person. It's got to

be one or the other. I can't have it both ways.

Miss Beaumont would be glad to know you feel

that way, Mr. Bruce. They have to be very, very

cleanly distinct and one is the mysterious and

the darker corners of a man. And I learned this

early on, Batman is not the disguise. Batman

is who he went to, is what he became because

of the tragedy of his childhood. It's where he

found safety. It's where he is most comfortable

in that cave. And the suit of armor he puts on,

the role he plays for the world, is Bruce Wayne.

That's the performance. And so once I found that

about the character, it really made sense to

me. It kept the Batman voice from sounding artificial,

and it kept Bruce Wayne from... it made him...

Such a different persona and then after you had

gone to Do some cooking duties after the 9 -eleven

tragedy to help out in New York? Sure It's got

a lot of foul language in it. Should I clean

it up? We are we are so so explicit here at the

geek cast radio network. Oh really? Yes. Okay.

Well, you know, I live in New York I live in

New York and after the attack, everyone wanted

to help. I mean, the thing that was amazing,

you always see those pictures of everyone running

away from the buildings as they were coming down

with the cover of soot. But what you don't see

any pictures of is everyone running back. As

soon as the dust cleared, people started running

back to try and help people. And so I called,

there was a number set up. Everyone was being

told to go to the Javits Convention Center, and

that's where they were coordinating the volunteers.

So I went to the Javits Center, and they already

had everybody they needed. They had such a huge

turnout. They said, look, we've got everyone

we need. We have all the tunnelers. We have all

the diggers. We have overwhelmed with volunteers.

We don't need anybody. So I was feeling so dejected.

I was on my way home thinking, what am I going

to do? I want to help. And I stopped off at a

coffee shop, and there was a guy there covered

with dust. who had just come from Ground Zero

and said, he was talking to the waitress about

how he was working in a kitchen there. And I

said, and I said to him, this total stranger,

I said, you know, I just came from the volunteer

place. They told me they didn't need anybody

anymore. He said, do you really want to volunteer?

I said, yeah. So he wrote down this phone number.

He said, call this number. They need people.

This is the kitchen at Ground Zero. So I called

them up and they said that they did need people.

And they said, do you have any restaurant experience?

I said, I'm an actor. Of course I have restaurant

experience. What do you need? You know, actors

can do anything in a restaurant. So we really

need cooks. I said, well, I worked in a short

order cook when I was going through Juilliard.

They said, are you free now? And I said, yeah,

I'm between jobs. They said, no, we mean right

now, like tonight. We need someone tonight. I

said, yeah, I'll be right there. So I ended up

doing the night shift. So it was like from 6

PM to about 6 AM. And it was a few blocks away

from the actual pit. But it was a big, big like

cafeteria that they had commandeered. It was

a restaurant I think called Nino's. It was a

big old restaurant. And they'd taken it over

and all the work crews would come in covered

with dust and soot, just exhausted. And it was

a very hot September. So it was really, it was

a very depressing atmosphere. And there were

these huge work lights set up all over Lower

Manhattan setting it up. It looked like a moonscape.

because it was a big a big search site and people

would come in there was just a sort of rumbling

kind of melancholy um mumble going on because

you know everyone was so overwhelmed by what

had happened and i was working this night shift

and this guy who was next to me one night goes

so i'm an architect during my day job what's

your day job i said well i'm an actor he said

you have a Do you do some special kind of acting?

He said, I thought I knew your name. I said,

well, I really work in animation. I do voices.

He said, I knew it. You're a Batman. How did

you know that? He said, everybody knows who's

Batman. I said, no, everyone does not know who's

Batman. He said, oh my God, the guys are gonna

go crazy if I tell them that. I said, no one's

gonna care. He said, are you crazy? He said,

watch. So he goes out in the dining room and

he goes, guys, guys, you're not gonna believe

who's been cooking your dinners. It's Batman!

And there was this long pause, and you hear it

from the back of the auditorium. Bullshit! And

then someone else says, someone else says, make

him prove it! So from back in the kitchen, right,

in this big echoey kitchen that I do, I am vengeance,

I am the knight, I am Batman! And then there's

this long, long pause, you hear it from the back

of the auditorium. Holy fuck, that is Batman!

They all started pouring back into the kitchen

and suddenly you hear this laughter. And this

guy's like, hey, you know that episode where

you and the Joker, you know, I watch that show

all the time with my kids. And you know, hey

man, what's that dated lady like? And everyone

wanted to know everything about the show. And

then the guy who had recognized me, the architect

says, what's it like to be Santa Claus? Because

that's what happened. Santa Claus just got here.

And it was true. It was like suddenly. People

wanted something else to think about, you know

Yeah, and so I emailed Andrea the next morning

at Warner Brothers and I told her what had happened

that night I wrote it all as a story and I said

at the end of it, you know, what we do is not

insignificant We're already contributing and

she said she circulated that all around Warner

Brothers. She said everybody at Warner Brothers

loved that story Yeah, it's just an amazing story

Because you know a lot of you know and that goes

to like you know You know sometimes we will ask

a question of you know do you get recognized?

You know on this kiss because a lot of times

voice actors You know in person don't get recognized

unless you know you're at a convention and the

big sign says hey This is Kevin Conroy voice

that you know I mean I assumed I assumed this

would be a completely anonymous job and for many

years it was You know in the early 90s. No one

knew what I was doing It was when the internet

developed and you could, you know, you could

just Google someone's name and then get the picture

and suddenly everyone knew who was Batman. You

know, it's really since the internet that people

know who's doing what and for many, many years

it was completely anonymous and I was used to

it that way. I kind of liked it that way actually.

This is Kevin Conroy. And I am the goddamn Batman.

This is Jason David Frank and you're listening

to the Geek Cash Radio Network. Dragon Zord!

All this will belong to Empress Rita once I and

my Zord put down the Power Rangers forever! Alright

folks, this has been a tribute to Kevin Conroy

and it is also a tribute to Jason David Frank.

Most of you hearing that name will know him as

Tommy Oliver the greatest Power Ranger that ever

lived and Yeah, I was 13 when Power Rangers came

on the scene and It was pretty like I had transitioned

out of it like I was still watching cartoons

But cartoons in the 90s weren't like cartoons

in the 80s like I needed something It's kind

of like Saturday morning when the cartoons end

and like, save by the bell, the new class came

on or something where you had to - Well, you

- Valley high. Oh, God. Don't get me started.

But it's one of those things where I transitioned

to watching more live action television than

the animated stuff. And Power Rangers was just

that thing that - hooked me because, and I will

say this now because I'm going to make this analogy

at some point or another, it was like, oh, hey,

look, a live action Voltron. It's like Lion Force

came back from 1984 and, and puked up green,

black, blue, pink, yellow, and red. Uh, so Steve,

what was your whole JDF? How do you want to remember

him? What do you want to say? Pretty much the

only reason I watched Power Rangers was because

of him. Anything he was in, I watched. I watched

from the very, very, very beginning of Power

Rangers. I used to play the video games. I watched

the movie. What were you going to say, Jesse?

No, I was going to I'm right there. I'm right

there with Steve. So so I I remember setting

my alarm clock for Saturday morning when like

when Power Rangers premiered, like I remember

I still remember getting up to watch that show

for the first time after seeing the commercials.

And. I remember one of my childhood best friend

and I, of course, we'd play Power Rangers. But,

you know, we would fight over who was the Red

Ranger. I mean, that was that that was what you

did until. Green with evil number one came up

and then we stopped fighting. I stayed Red Ranger,

but there was no no no longer any fighting because

that that Green Ranger popped in and I just rewatched

the five part. Green with evil. Yeah Introduction

which Saban has Saban now you can't even get

him to do a two -part much less a five -part

Yeah, I don't know about you guys but as a kid,

holy crap He terrified the way he just jumped

into the Megazord and ripped them out of their

seats like holy cow like his laugh I mean God

Yeah. I mean, it's one of those things where,

and it's not just when he's in the suit or when

he's in the Zord or whatever, just regular plain

old, you know, black jeans, green shirt, and

whatever weird plaid vest he was wearing, you

know, just regular, you know, normal clothes,

Tommy. Green mesh shirt for some apparent reason.

It was the 90s. Yeah, it's the 90s. I apparently

have been told multiple times in the past not

to talk about fashion on podcasts. So I'm not

going to go there, but it is what it's the nineties

fashion folks, but just seeing him appear at

school and you know, Kimberly comes up and whispers

to him and like, I, you know, I know Tommy, we

know Tommy. And then he just looks over and glares

at her. Well then pink ranger. I'm like, oh god,

like I don't know how many acting classes he

had before this because I know you I don't know

but I mean the man was 28 playing a high school

kid, but that's that's a that's a whole Hollywood

discussion for a different episode Yeah, I was

really by the way Power Rangers gave me a really

like False sense of what a teenager looked like.

I mean, I still don't look like them as teens.

Well to be fair most Uh, most shows even dating

back further, they don't, they don't look like

teenagers. Well, I mean, because most of the

time they do have to cast older because you can't,

you can't, I mean, unless you get, you know,

unless it's a case of like something like Boy

Meets World and you have Eric Matthews and granted

he was on his own back then, but you know, you

also have Corey with, with Ben Savage and Ben

was a kid and you have to go through parents

and wherever else, you know, but. I mean, yeah,

generally, you know, I just never knew he was

that like that. Like I knew he was older. I just

didn't know how much older from the point of

what he was playing. What were you going to say?

I was going to say, let's get this out of the

way now. Yeah. Favorite Ranger JDF played. I

mean, you have five to pick from. Steve, you

go first. White Ranger. That was my favorite.

I have a soft spot for the Green Ranger as well,

but my favorite was the White Ranger. it's number

one is white ranger number two is black dino

thunder and look i don't dislike the green ranger

the reason why i like the white ranger is because

we no longer had to be threatened by she can

take his power away at any time or his powers

could fade the white rangers powers were made

holy of goodness and this that and the other

thing and well i love the the tiger zord and

i loved uh his use of sabba And yeah, now granted,

later on after he's done Dino Thunder, I think

that's what it's called. Yeah. He he has this

this cameo where he comes back and has to fight

himself, essentially. Yeah, it's and like where

he morphs and he jumps between all of his different

versions, except for like the turbo, because

he kind of gave that up. But yeah, I mean, I

liked that. And then I liked where they had,

you know, the forever red and then where he came

back for the anniversary show and he was the

Green Ranger leading the charge. Yeah, that was

that was pretty if for a while there, I was getting

a little burnt out on on the Tommy Fest. But

like that what in Super Megaforce, the legendary

battle when it comes to like who should lead

that charge, it had to be him. It had to be him.

The fact that they kept having to go back to

the original well of the Mighty Morphin era,

because even current Power Rangers that's on

Netflix now brought Lord Zedd back. Yeah, which

is kind of bittersweet because we've lost. David

Axelrod has been gone. Yeah, Robert Axelrod has

been gone for years now. How do they do that?

Who the hell is that? It's very similar sounding,

but it's definitely different. It's certainly

better than what they did with Goldar Maximus.

Not to get too far off topic, but Austin St.

John came back in Beast Morphers and there was

a reunion with all the Dino Rangers and they

brought Goldar Maximus, which I understand that

suit is trash, so they had to recreate it. The

actor who voiced him is still around, so they

could have gotten him, or they could have gotten,

I don't know, anyone that even sound even more

remotely like it, because this person did not

even come close. So that was kind of a disappointment.

But my favorite, you never forget your first

man. I got to go with the Green Ranger. The White

Ranger was cool. But the green ranger that initial

feeling when he rolled on the seat the dragon

coin the dragon zord I mean, they're just so

badass Second would probably be I like Dino Thunder

and I like the black Dino Thunder Ranger But

I got a I got a soft spot for the zero era to

zero or five might might be my number two with

him I Yeah, I think he he had some he had some

good moments went in that as well, but I gotta

I gotta go green guys. Sorry, I The dragon dagger

no, I Completely agree. I I agree. I think it's

awesome. It's great I'm the only reason why I

choose white over. Oh god No, no, no, no, no,

no. It's not that. No, this is all Steve's fault.

I'm remembering, is it the green or is it the

red or is it the white from Ace Ventura? I never

know that. But it's just one of those things

where, like I said, it's mainly because of the

Fact that he could actually keep the powers.

There was no more every week threat of oh my

god Well, and I love the reintroduction to yeah,

yeah that that was epic him coming down from

on high and And Zordon's like we have someone

here to help you and then you know They're all

all is lost and then all of a sudden Tommy's

showing back up. Oh, yeah, that was you know,

that was interesting So they've done they did

that twice. And I think they did it pretty effectively

both times where they had a new Ranger coming

on. They teased you with it and you didn't know

who it was going to be. I mean, I feel bad for

the actor who played Richie. I mean, he just

basically got paid to be a red herring or, you

know, like nine episodes. And then they wait,

wait, wait, Richie. Richie, you don't remember

Richie? No. Richie was this random dude that

worked at the juice bar that Trini kind of had

a thing for. He was the McGuffin. He was the

McGuffin. Everyone's like, oh, the White Ranger

has to be Richie because, you know, JDM hasn't

been on the show in six episodes or whatever.

It's got to be Richie. Was that the guy that

came up to them as Bulk and Skull were almost

sitting on their sandwiches before Ernie said,

here you go, guys. They're right behind you.

It's a yeah, I think I know you're talking about

I mean he had like he had like seven lines I

mean looking back now you're like obviously that's

not it cuz you never see him fight. You never

see anything He's just kind of there and smiling

You know, so so there's that and then the second

time they did that was when they brought Jason

back to be the Gold Ranger They kind of they

kind of teased that I didn't I remember being

a kid going holy crap. No way I didn't see that

coming a mile away. So For a kids show, they've

pulled a couple over on us, but that white light,

man, that ascension, nobody ever had a better

entrance. Sorry, they just never did. Nope. And

he always got the best moves. Oh, yeah. I mean,

don't get me wrong. I like Jason for his, let's

say, quote unquote, traditional. martial arts

style. I like Zach for his funky, fresh kind

of dance martial arts style that he does. But

there ain't nothing like a ninjitty corkscrew

kick from the movie. Like, come on. No, no, no,

no. If you're going to if you're going to single

out a part of the movie, the coolest part of

the movie was when he gets out of that airplane

on a on a frickin like airborne. Yes, but I'm

saying like, as I know, absolutely the sky surfing,

I the funny thing is, I almost went skydiving

that year. Wow. Yeah, almost. Wow, that's impressive.

Yeah, one will never know. Yeah, I've been twice.

So, oh, boy. Yeah, when he when he came out,

when he came out on the on that board, I was

like, it's like done. He's cool. It's. Absolutely.

No love for Turbo, though. That's interesting.

That's interesting, his love for Turbo. Turbo

was kind of short -lived. It was kind of the

passing of the guard of the old crew. Yeah, it

wasn't really. It really didn't sit well with

me. Mm -hmm. I agree. So let me see if I remember

this correctly Obviously Mighty Morphin for all

three including alien rangers, whatever the hell

that ten episode season was that was terrible

And then it went did it go? In snow it went turbo

then zeo turbo then in space got it because TJ.

Yeah, okay. Okay, okay Cuz remember cuz remember

my biggest pet peeve of all time and what I want

from the comics is an explanation of how do you

go from the frickin zeo crystal to cars. Zeo

was cool though. Yes, Zeo was awesome. I mean,

I wasn't a big fan of their uniforms per se,

but... They grew on me. They grew on me. I didn't

like the Machine Empire though. They were hit

or miss. And how easily they were able to oust

Lord Zedd. Yeah, that was... Yeah, that was...

Because they built him up so much and... True

master of evil and everything else and all of

a sudden this this Miniature robot popped it

they were just like it's all over. Yep. Yep.

Yeah they in my head Mondo got lucky. He got

Well, he got sad on you know on a time when they

were down, you know, with the Power Rangers.

And, you know, and listen, as we found out in

Forever Red, if Lord Zedd could ever figure out

the whole power situation for Serpentara, it

would have been over. Oh, yeah, easily. Easily,

easily. Now, you all you all interviewed getting

to see David Frank. Yeah, Scotty and I did. Yeah,

I have not listened back to it. But did you guys

ever get to meet him in person? No, I don't know

if Scotty did. I never did. He was. He was cool.

I see. I see out of all of us, you've met him.

Yeah, I got to meet him. So. It was that it was

at a wizard world. I think it was the first one

that was in Louisville and I went. Went that

Friday just to kind of scope it out. I went early

and he was by himself at his boots So I just

went over and was like, hey, can I say hi? And

and he started talking to me and I told him I

work for radio says she goes when can I do an

interview? So I pulled my phone out and we just

Started talking. Yep. I was not prepared for

that Well Then so there was that day then I had

bought an experience with him on Sunday. And

he had a free thing. And so I'd gone in and said,

said hi. Well, in the the free panel that I sat

in on, he took his phone like he did hit me.

He was kind of the king of social media. And

he, you know, panned for the crowd. But it froze.

on me and my buddy TJ. And I have that screenshot

from his social media account. And that was almost

the coolest thing that happened until Sunday

when we had the paid sort of fan experience,

which he was really cool about. But he, you know,

we took our photos, but he posted my photo, the

photo of us on his and tagged me and even went

that extra length. And so I mean, Listen, I was

part of the media so you could make that argument

but just to go that extra step with fans When

you didn't have to I mean just such a cool down

-to -earth. Yep guy Which just yeah and Alright

folks, this is the next section of this is gonna

be rough so Either tune out or buckle up so It

was reported and it was, it was weird how it

was reported because some, it was kind of like

our Maurice LaMarche thing where some unknown

website - It just kind of started trickling out

everywhere. Yeah, but it wasn't even trickling

because for like the first five hours of the

news cycle, only the website from Ireland had

it. And then finally TMZ picked it up and he

killed himself and that - Suicide, I've said

for a year, I've said for almost 30 years now,

suicide is not the answer. I attempt, I was in

a really, really bad place at 14 years old in

1994 and I attempted to kill myself and I got

help and not necessarily got better, but ever

since then, it's more so like I am on this whole

suicide. Anytime anyone says anything to me about

suicide, it's like there are. other answers it's

not just check on your friends folks just you

know you never know what's going on in somebody's

life and that's the thing like we've been saying

over the last x number of 40 something minutes

for both and granted Kevin Conroy died of cancer

which sucks fuck cancer but with JDF killing

himself You never know what's going on in somebody's

life, you know We've talked about how he is always

been this upbeat up for anything Like always

on so nice to fans and everything else, but we

don't know what goes on When he goes home and

when he's with whatever and that's the way it

should be but the fact that this came out and

it was like, oh my like Number one. Nobody was

expecting this news Like this was sudden Maybe

there were signs of it. Maybe people I'd never

side. I always see the stories on Instagram I

always see this I always see that and I never

really saw a sign of Well, so so Mike let me

I will give a I will give a modicum of insight

here a little bit because I'm not famous. I've

never been famous I've had like two seconds of

going viral once or twice, but you know being

on the radio I was a public person Jason David

Frank always came across as very genuine to me

When we spoke through social media things like

that, and I've always tried to be very genuine,

but at the end of the day What he put out is

what he wanted you to see the sort of Achilles

heel when it comes to social media is. You can

try to be as real as genuine but nobody. Nobody

goes out of their way to broadcast the things

about themselves that they don't like their insecurities

how they're really feeling about things and.

Putting so much of yourself out there can be

taxing and i'm not i'm not speaking for him i

don't know that and i'm not saying that this

in any way plays any part but to me it. It's

a lesson in that. Even heroes need help. For

a lot of people he was a hero you know he played

one and for many people he was one but even heroes

need help you don't make assumptions about people.

You never know where someone is in their headspace

based on their social media, based on all of

that stuff. And I'm sad that he wasn't able to,

or felt that he wasn't able to get help. Because

he was very much loved, but... I'm not going

to get into my own personal demons, but even

when you're surrounded by people that love and

admire you and cheer for you and are fans of

yours, it doesn't always resonate as that to

people who might be dealing with depression,

might be dealing with anxiety, any number of

things. It's very hard to say and we don't know

what went on was going on with his personal life

And I don't want to speculate not to say I don't

care He's gone and that's that's the part that

hurts the manner which he was taken from me for

taken from us It hurt that that hurts and makes

it sadder, but that's where I don't need any

more information Yeah, I just I just wish the

best for his family and his friends and those

of us that He again, like Kevin Conroy made made

an impact in their lives, you know, I I called

my childhood best friend, which I don't I don't

talk to him very often, but to tell him the news

because Jason David Frank as Tommy played an

interval role in our childhoods together and

growing up like that. So he. He just he elevated.

Power Rangers to what it is today. If Jason David

Frank did not take embrace that part of his life

and start making the convention circuit. I mean,

now almost every single person who's played a

ranger will do a convention. But when he was

starting out, it was pretty much him. And so

if he hadn't done that, what, you know, my kids

watch Power Rangers and get excited. I don't

know that that would still be in pop culture

in the sort of ether with that. Well, the way

that it is. Yeah, it would. Yeah. And the thing

is, is I understand things have happened since

the end of 2019 and throughout 2020 and up until

today. But I have been waiting since the first

campaign launched and I wasn't able to back it.

I have been waiting for the legend of the white

dragon and I was able to back the second campaign

to get the digital version of it. And supposedly

it's supposed to be his last work and it's supposedly

supposed to be coming next year. Yeah. They,

they were even before this news break, they were,

they were teasing bits. So, um, yup. So I. The

the one last thing that I'll add because I don't

want to belabor Yeah, you know anything but you

know and I feel bad because I feel like now talking

over you and Steve but Again going back to what

I kind of said about Kevin We are so spoiled

and we are so lucky like there is no Other Ranger,

there's no other I think piece of my childhood

that has been sort of immortalized time after

time after time because this Before the show,

I was telling you guys, I went back, I watched

Green with Evil, The Green Candle, The Return

of a Friend, The White Light, you know, so that's

just on the show. And then he came back for Forever

Red, The Dimensions in Danger, The Legendary

Battle. He, as that character, we have been given

so much. Closure, I guess is it is a good way

of saying it, you know, even in the comic books.

We got soul of the dragon. Yep, and So we are

very fortunate in that We got all those things

often taught, you know Trini the the actress

we Saw it trying. Yeah trying, you know that

also was very sudden, you know the upcoming anniversary

is supposed to sort of be in honor of her, you

know? So we are very fortunate as fans that we

were able to get some of those things before

he passed. It doesn't change the fact that he's

not here, but as fans, we're very fortunate.

And I think we need to remember that. Oh, absolutely.

No, most definitely. Even if he was done with

it, even if he walked away from it, the man was

49 years old. And he was tatted up like crazy.

Well, yes, there is. That's that's a whole other

podcast, but not everyone like it's great. Like

everything you just said. The fact that he gave

us pretty much a 30 -year career as almost one

character the entire time and had so much impact

on all of us, whoever got into it because of

him or whoever got into it and then found his

character like we did, whatever it is, whomever

watched Power Rangers 30 years ago and whoever

is still watching his episodes today, he left

a mark on us just like Kevin Conroy as Batman

left a mark on us and... It sucks that they're

gone and it's sad and we can like you said earlier

There is no there is no timestamp on grief Grief

is is It's one of the things I wish wasn't infinite,

but it can be Steve any final thoughts Well,

I mean I think you guys kind of wrapped it up

really well touched on all the the major points

It's... For one, they say that they always go

in threes. Don't you dare! Don't you dare! I

thought he was number three though. I thought

there was somebody else. Not in the last month

or not to my knowledge. I could have swore there

was somebody else. The problem with that statement

is it's like, well, who do you quantify? I don't

want any of them to go, I'm just saying. It sucks

either way. Have you guys seen any of the tributes

and the posts from some of the previous Rangers?

Oh, I have. I follow Font. Oh, Amy, her frigging

singing. Oh my God, I can't even watch that.

Not that it's just her singing because she said

he always liked her singing. I could barely watch

that, but hers and Walters and Karen's and Blake

Foster did one. Yeah, I've seen almost all of

them. Oh, that's in the middle of it. I was about

ready to go to sleep because the news broke overnight

when it broke and I saw David Fielding's. Facebook

story of may the power protect you. And I'm just

thinking, Oh, it's David Fielding. He was Zordon.

He's just, I didn't hit me until I looked at

my phone at like 6 a .m. after I'd fallen asleep,

whatever. But yeah, no, like, yeah, just I've

seen almost all everybody's I've seen Catherine

Southerlands. Yeah, so yeah, it's I love that

they've all just kind of expressed it as they

should, just like we are here. I just love that

they've all kind of come together and we're like,

yep. Even Austin St. John put out something and

it's no secret. I think to quote him, they were

not beer drinking buddies. Yeah. And you want

to talk about a testament to acting. Forever

Red is a testament to both of their acting. It's

not the best, but I'm saying like, you know,

because of them not actually being the best of

buds by the time forever. Yeah. So anyway, and

what, uh, what Austin said at the end of that,

which is I'll probably throw it in the end of

this is once a ranger, always a ranger. You know,

I Yeah, so Alright folks. I don't know what's

coming next I honestly don't I know Steve and

I have talked about doing a year in review, but

we kind of done that with this tribute I mean,

there's still other things that we could do but

we still got a month Mike you shut your mouth

No, I'm saying like We used to do year -in -review

shows. At the end of every year, we would compile

the movies we watched or the TV shows we watched

or the cartoons we watched. We would also compile

the entire list of celebrity deaths and just

mourn them all at once. I think I'm tapped out

for 2022, folks. I think losing Batman and the

Green Ranger within a week of each other, I'm

hibernating until February. Real quick, I want

to end on this. So Batman and Green Ranger, who

wins in a fight? Well, I know what Steve's answer

is going to be. Batman. Mike. I mean, because

he is the Batman that he is, Batman. I mean,

sorry about your luck. I mean, Tommy gonna have

to do some really, really clever stabbing with

that dragon dagger. I don't know, bat in the

sun. I know. You know what? I can't have it be,

I can't have JDF not represented. So if you're

all gonna take that man, I'm gonna take the JDF

himself. That master morpher, he's got all five

powers ready to go. You know, he's only missing

one. Well, actually they made a the the prop

maker who made the master morpher that was then

used on the show actually made a turbo coin Yeah,

that's not what I'm talking about though The

master morpher if it really is a master morpher.

It needs to combine them all into the one true

Lord Like I said, I don't know what's coming

up next and my throat hurts now, so we will catch

you next time here on Geekcast Radio. People

ask me what color I am, and I think I just stick

to the old Green Ranger, White Ranger. That kind

of sums it up, you know? Yeah. I'll be there

a long time saying, well, I was the Green Ranger,

then I was the White Ranger, then I was the Red

Zeo Ranger, then I was the Turbo Ranger. It's

too long. Then I was the Black Ranger. You know,

just sum it up. I think people know the Green

Ranger's kind of old school, and, you know, Tommy

with the long hair. Oh, you're the guy with long

hair. Now I recognize you guys. Isn't the smallest

chance of victory enough of a reason for us to

keep on fighting? The world needs us, Rangers.

One day the great responsibility of being a great

Ranger will fall to you. Take the world from

evil. Stand by your allies. Never rock in the

battle. My mission is to bring you back! Ready!

Let's rock it! Silver! Back! We have to do it

together. Power down! Commander Hoover's hoping

you're the best he has ever had. Till we meet

again. Destroy them! But do we still have shields?

Rangers out! Activate! Ready! So many rangers.

So much potential. Squandered. For so long. My

lord, the generals are ready. They simply await

your command. What's important to me now? It's

my friendship with all of you. I don't ever want

that to change. It won't, Tommy. You'll always

be one of us. Then it's time to set things right.

We will invade their worlds. We will tear down

everything that might protect them. And then...

When it's too late, when they're powerless and

alone, they will realize the truth. They could

have been gods. Once again ladies and gentlemen

TF2 and Mike here at the end of this Kevin Conroy

and Jason David Frank tribute with myself Steve

Megatron and Jesse Raz I just want to reiterate

to everyone that There is help out there if you

need it Please take advantage of it once again

the classic suicide hotline is 1 -800 -273 -8255

Or if you're in the United States and you're

on a mobile phone, you can dial 988 for the Suicide

and Crisis Lifeline. You can also go to 988lifeline

.org. Suicide is not the answer. You matter.

What you do matters. What we all do matters,

or else what's the point of being here, right?

As I said in this episode, I attempted suicide

in 1994 when I was 14 years old. And I've tried

since then to be a conscious suicide preventionist?

Question mark? I don't know if that's the right

terminology or not, but if you need help, whether

it's reaching out to friends or family or if

it's reaching out for professional help. Please

do so. Thank you for listening. Have a great

day, have a great night, whenever you're listening

to this. And remember, we here at the Geekcast

Radio Network are always here to help unleash

the geek in you.