Shane Plays Geek Talk

Fellow movie buffs Chris Holmes and Stephen Clements join for an electrifying ambulation through the gothic corridors of over 30 Frankenstein movies, past and present. Chris and Shane disagree on the merits and content of the original Frankenstein novel. Shane has thoughts on spoilers and people expecting them to apply forever. There's Iconic, and then there's iconic. What Frankenstein movie was so bad that Stephen wished his heart would have stopped while watching it, and he begs all of humanity never to watch it? For you Mage: The Ascension fans out there, Dr. Frankenstein was a Son of Ether (and so were the Ghostbusters). Do Frankenstein movies play into our fear of being eaten? Stephen manages to invoke the old military urban legend of the Ether Bunny. Chris will sit through every second of a putrid, horrible movie that he despises at least twice. Chris saw a movie in the theater using Smell-O-Vision… in 2025. Stephen has super-strong (like, super-strong) opinions about Poor Things. Did we mention that Stephen has super-strong opinions about Poor Things? Shane Plays Geek Talk Episode #290 - 5/30/2026 Like what you hear? Support Shane Plays Geek Talk on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/shaneplays Listen to the Shane Plays Geek Talk podcast on YouTube, SoundCloud, iTunes, Google Play Music, Amazon Music, Podbean and Stitcher (and other fine, fine podcast directories). Hey, you! Yeah, you! Buy cool stuff, support Shane Plays Geek Talk with these affiliate links! Humble Bundle https://www.humblebundle.com?partner=shaneplays DriveThruRPG.com https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse.php?affiliate_id=488512 SHOW NOTES Stephen Clements on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@stephen.clements Frankenstein movies list we went into the podcast with: 1910 Frankenstein aka "Easy Bake Frankenstein" (according to Stephen :D ) 1931 Frankenstein 1935 Bride of Frankenstein 1939 Son of Frankenstein 1942 Ghost of Frankenstein 1944 House of Frankenstein 1957 I Was a Teenage Frankenstein 1957 The Curse of Frankenstein 1958 The Revenge of Frankenstein 1958 Frankenstein 1970 1962 The Brain That Wouldn't Die 1964 The Evil of Frankenstein 1965 Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter 1967 Frankenstein Created Woman 1968 The Astro-Zombies 1969 Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed 1969 The Horror of Frankenstein 1971 Lady Frankenstein 1972 Flesh for Frankenstein 1973 Frankenstein: The True Story 1973 Blackenstein 1974 Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell 1974 Young Frankenstein 1975 The Rocky Horror Picture Show 1981 Frankenstein Island 1984 The Bride 1985 Re-Animator 1990 Frankenstein Unbound 1990 Frankenhooker 1990 Bride of Re-Animator 1994 Mary Shelley's Frankenstein 2012 Frankenweenie 2015 Victor Frankenstein 2023 Poor Things 2025 Frankenstein 2025 Dead Lover Dungeons and Desktops: The History of Computer Role-Playing Games 2nd Edition Shane's book! Co-authored with Matt Barton of Matt Chat https://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Desktops-History-Computer-Role-Playing/dp/1138574643/

Shane, Chris Holmes, and Mike Stewart aka DM Mike (Save for Half podcast, Found in the Ruins podcast) shamble relentlessly through over 40 zombie and zombie-ish flicks in their inhuman hunger for horror. Plus a brief detour into the best on-screen Joker and multiple bad zombie jokes. True or false: Marcel Marceau starred in a zombie flick. What is Shane's most annoying zombie movie? What would you do if you were the last person on Earth and could do whatever you want? Shane offers a rare trigger warning. Shane Plays Geek Talk Episode #277 - 7/22/2024 Like what you hear? Support Shane Plays Geek Talk on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/shaneplays Listen to the Shane Plays Geek Talk podcast on YouTube, SoundCloud, iTunes, Google Play Music, Amazon Music, Podbean and Stitcher (and other fine, fine podcast directories). Hey, you! Yeah, you! Buy cool stuff, support Shane Plays Geek Talk with these affiliate links! Humble Bundle https://www.humblebundle.com?partner=shaneplays DriveThruRPG.com https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse.php?affiliate_id=488512 SHOW NOTES Found in the Ruins podcast https://saveforhalf.com/ (FITR releases on the SFH podcast feed) Found in the Ruins Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/1430189954589689 Return of the Ripper for DCC RPG with a cover by Jeff Dee and illustrations by Chris Holmes https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/michaeldavisphd/return-of-the-ripper-a-l1-horror-adventure-for-dcc-rpg Chris Holmes's Zombie Movie List (if an entry is numbered, Chris recommends it. If it's not numbered, he feels it's worth discussing but doesn't "rank" for his top 15) Last Man on Earth USA 1964 Dir. Sidney Salkow Based on I Am Legend Richard Matheson Stars Vincent Price Plague of the Zombies UK 1966 Dir. John Gilling Stars Andre Morell Hammer Film 1. Night of the Living Dead USA 1968 Dir. George Romero Writ. John Russo Stars Duane Jones Tombs of the Blind Dead Spain-Portugal 1972 Dir. And written Amado de Ossorio Stars are unimportant 2. Omega Man USA 1971 Dir. Boris Sagal Based on I Am Legend Stars Charlton Heston, Rosalind Cash Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things USA 1972 Dir. Bob Clark written and starring Bob Clark! Shanks USA 1974 Dir. William Castle probably written by him too Stars Marcel Marceau! 3. Dawn of the Dead USA 1978 Dir. And Writer George Romero Stars Ken Foree Stunts and makeup by Tom Savinni Zombi 2 Italy 1979 Dir. Lucio Fulci Writ. Dardeo Sacchetti Released in U.S. as Zombie Nightmare City Italy 1980 Dir.Umberto Lenzi Stars Hugo Stieglitz and many attractive women. Extremely silly. 4. The Evil Dead 1981 USA Dir. Sam Rami also written by him Stars Bruce Campbell First in a great Trilogy Dead and Buried 1981 USA Dir. Gary Sherman Writtten by Dan Obannon Stars James Farentino, Jack Albertson 5. Re-Animator 1985 USA Dir. Stuart Gordon written by him and Brian Yuzna Stars Jeffry Combs, Barbara Crampton 6. Return of the Living Dead 1985 USA Dir. Dan OBannon also written by him Stars James Karen, Clu Galagar, Linea Quigley, Day of the Dead 1985 USA Dir. George Romero also written by him Stars Lori Cardille A great disappointment Night of the Creeps 1986 USA Dir. Fred Dekkar also written by him Aliens create zombies 7. Evil Dead 2 1987 USA Dir. Sam Rami also written by him Stars Bruce Campell More fun and no tree rape Night of the Living Dead 1990 USA Tom Savini remake of original Stars Patricia Tallman 8. Dead Alive (Brain Dead) 1992 N.Z. Dir. Peter Jackson Writ. S. Sinclair Stars Timothy Balme, Diana Penalver Army of Darkness 1992 USA Dir. Sam Rami Written by Sam and Ivan Rami Stars Bruce Campbell, Embeth Davidtz 9. Cemetery Man 1994 Italy Dir. Michele Soavi Stars Rupert Everett, Franscois Lazaro, Anna Falchi 10. Bio Zombi 1998 Hong Kong Dir. Wilson Yip Stars Jordan Chan Very funny. 11. Stacy ( Attack of the School Girl Zombies) 2001 Japan Dir. Naoyuki Tomomatsu Possibly the weirdest Shawn of the Dead 2004 England Dir. Steven Wright Stars Simon Pegg, Mark Frost Dance of the Dead 2008 USA Dir. Greg Bishop Written Joe Ballarini D&D players die in this film Dead Snow 2009 Norway Dir. Tommy Wirkola Stars Charlotte Frogner 12. Wyrmwood (Road of the Dead) 2014 Australia Dir. Kiah Roache Turner Stars Bianca Bradey -Features car chases on the outback Scout's Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse 2015 USA Dir. and written Christopher Landon Stars Tye Sheridan 13. One Cut of the Dead (Zombie One Cut) 2017 Japan Shinichiro Ueda No spoilers please 14. Little Monsters 2019 Australia Dir. Abe Forsythe Stars Lupita Nyoung'o Heartwarming 15. Night Eats the World 2018 France Dir. Dominique Rocher Stars Anders Danielsen Bleak and realistic Shane's Additional Worth Mentioning List (for better or for worse) Train to Busan World War Z Assault on Precinct 13 The Crazies The Sadness Zombieland REC The Returned Demons Army of the Dead Land of the Dead Diary of the Dead Survival of the Dead The Living Dead at the Manchester Morgue Honorable Mention: Michael Jackson's "Thriller" music video Dungeons and Desktops: The History of Computer Role-Playing Games 2nd Edition Shane's book! Co-authored with Matt Barton of Matt Chat https://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Desktops-History-Computer-Role-Playing/dp/1138574643/

Wide-ranging geekout with David Finn of Signal of Doom!! Lots of comic book and MCU chat (like, a lot). Pi Day. Doctor Who, old and new. Google Gemini vs. ChatGPT. Judge Dredd satirizes fascism but can tell multi-layered stories. Godzilla finally wins an Oscar. Godzilla as a metaphor. The essence of the Punisher. It's been a while, but Shane rants a bit (and David loves it). The Krakoan X-Men scare Shane and David's ready for the era to move on. Current Beast makes David pine for Dark Beast. Three Jokers?? The 80s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles RPG and real-life urban ninja action. Shane's defining Han Solo moments. David recommends Dreamsnake by Vonda N. McIntyre. A key to being an adult is being able to separate the creator from the creation in terms of enjoying entertainment. What D&D-related incident made a young Shane cry? Shane and David love the old-school CRPGs. The Asanti Series is a continuing series of fantasy books by David. Shane Plays Geek Talk Episode #275 - 3/29/2024 Like what you hear? Support Shane Plays Geek Talk on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/shaneplays Listen to the Shane Plays Geek Talk podcast on YouTube, SoundCloud, iTunes, Google Play Music, Amazon Music, Podbean and Stitcher (and other fine, fine podcast directories). Hey, you! Yeah, you! Buy cool stuff, support Shane Plays Geek Talk with these affiliate links! Humble Bundle https://www.humblebundle.com?partner=shaneplays DriveThruRPG.com https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse.php?affiliate_id=488512 SHOW NOTES Signal of Doom Podcast https://signalofdoom.com/ Signal of Doom: Ed Greenwood Interview https://www.podbean.com/ew/dir-y7sfp-172b09fa Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Other Strangeness RPG https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teenage_Mutant_Ninja_Turtles_%26_Other_Strangeness 'Godzilla Minus One' Makes Franchise History With First Oscars Win https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/godzilla-minus-one-2024-oscars-win-1235848606/ Dreamsnake by Vonda N. McIntyre https://www.amazon.com/Dreamsnake-Vonda-N-McIntyre/dp/1504067460 Circle of Eight Modding Community - The Temple of Elemental Evil https://co8.org/community/ The Asanti Series (David's Books on Amazon) https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074CCVHS1?ref_=dbs_p_pwh_rwt_anx_b_lnk Dungeons and Desktops: The History of Computer Role-Playing Games 2nd Edition Shane's book! Co-authored with Matt Barton of Matt Chat https://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Desktops-History-Computer-Role-Playing/dp/1138574643/

Strat-O-Matic Baseball might be one of the biggest games you've never heard of, and three-time champion William "Bill" Meinhardt joins to share his passion for playing it. How long has the game been around, and how many people play it? What's the one mechanic Bill wishes was in this beloved game? Is there a link between Strat-O-Matic Baseball and Fantasy (Rotisserie) Baseball? Is there a link between Strat-O-Matic and tabletop roleplaying games? At its heart, what is the game of baseball? And for the really hard-hitting question, does Bill do the Chicken Dance?? Shane Plays Geek Talk Episode #273 - 1/31/2024 Like what you hear? Support Shane Plays Geek Talk on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/shaneplays Listen to the Shane Plays Geek Talk podcast on YouTube, SoundCloud, iTunes, Google Play Music, Amazon Music, Podbean and Stitcher (and other fine, fine podcast directories). Hey, you! Yeah, you! Buy cool stuff, support Shane Plays Geek Talk with these affiliate links! Humble Bundle https://www.humblebundle.com?partner=shaneplays DriveThruRPG.com https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse.php?affiliate_id=488512 SHOW NOTES Strat-O-Matic on Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strat-O-Matic Strat-O-Matic Baseball Review https://www.boardgamequest.com/strat-o-matic-baseball-review/ Strat-O-Matic: Dungeons & Dragons For The Rotisserie Set https://longislandweekly.com/strat-o-matic-dungeons-dragons-rotisserie-set/ Bill Meinhardt: World's Largest Fantasy RPG Collection! – Shane Plays Geek Talk Episode 206 – 12/21/2019 https://shaneplays.com/bill-meinhardt-fantasy-rpg-collection-podcast/ Dungeons and Desktops: The History of Computer Role-Playing Games 2nd Edition Shane's book! Co-authored with Matt Barton of Matt Chat https://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Desktops-History-Computer-Role-Playing/dp/1138574643/

Discover the real Stan Lee (not the public PR persona) and his story in Tom Scioli's amazing I Am Stan biographical graphic novel. Plus: Simple comic book character design versus convoluted and complicated design. Working for the big comics companies versus being an independent creator. The one time Tom got a taste of the editorial dark side of comics. The indefinable magic of the monthly comic. A comic with a lot of issues doesn't necessarily make money. The changing fiscal and distribution of the comics industry over time always keeps it the best of times and worst of times. Should the New Gods and the Eternals have been kept separate from the main continuity of their respective publishers? Shane doesn't buy DC's reason for Crisis on Infinite Earths (but loves the series). What is Shane's dream project for Tom? (hint: it's The Land of the Lost). Make sure to track down Tom's newest superhero comic Witchman. Shane Plays Geek Talk Episode #271 - 11/20/2023 Like what you hear? Support Shane Plays Geek Talk on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/shaneplays Listen to the Shane Plays Geek Talk podcast on YouTube, SoundCloud, iTunes, Google Play Music, Amazon Music, Podbean and Stitcher (and other fine, fine podcast directories). Hey, you! Yeah, you! Buy cool stuff, support Shane Plays Geek Talk with these affiliate links! Humble Bundle https://www.humblebundle.com?partner=shaneplays DriveThruRPG.com https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse.php?affiliate_id=488512 SHOW NOTES I Am Stan Graphic Novel https://www.amazon.com/Am-Stan-Graphic-Biography-Legendary/dp/1984862022 A Comic Book Creator's Journey: From 8-Opus to WITCHMAN with Tom Scioli https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yrG9B6Gy5g Tom Scioli's Patreon https://www.patreon.com/user?u=44878299 WITCHMAN: A New Superhero Comic Book https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/tomscioli/witchman-a-new-superhero-comic-book Zot! Online: "Hearts and Minds" https://www.scottmccloud.com/1-webcomics/zot/index.html Dungeons and Desktops: The History of Computer Role-Playing Games 2nd Edition Shane's book! Co-authored with Matt Barton of Matt Chat https://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Desktops-History-Computer-Role-Playing/dp/1138574643/

Johnny Havoc (John McDonald) and Newt (Rebekah McDonald) of Simple Tricks & Nonsense join to discuss their incredible cosplay. What does cosplay mean to them? The economics of cosplay, including material and labor. Cosplay includes the challenge of taking something two-dimensional and making it work practically in three dimensions. For people who create cosplay as art, cons are like their art galleries. It's very OK to ask cosplayers to take a pic with them, truly. What famous movie quote inspired ST&N's moniker? How big is the Masters of the Universe fandom? Newt has literally lived up to her nickname. We're hoping Johnny will Gorn it up someday. Cobra-La, yes or no? The Venture Bros. Kids locking themselves in the bathroom when their toys die. The startling connection between Robocop and a trash dumpster. Cartoon villain smack-talk contest. Shane Plays Geek Talk Episode #269 - 7/16/2023 Like what you hear? Support Shane Plays Geek Talk on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/shaneplays Listen to the Shane Plays Geek Talk podcast on YouTube, SoundCloud, iTunes, Google Play Music, Amazon Music, Podbean and Stitcher (and other fine, fine podcast directories). Hey, you! Yeah, you! Buy cool stuff, support Shane Plays Geek Talk with these affiliate links! Humble Bundle https://www.humblebundle.com?partner=shaneplays DriveThruRPG.com https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse.php?affiliate_id=488512 SHOW NOTES Simple Tricks & Nonsense on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/simple.tricks.n.nonsense/ Simple Tricks & Nonsense on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/simple_tricks_n_nonsense/ Simple Tricks & Nonsense on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/c/simpletricksnonsense Dungeons and Desktops: The History of Computer Role-Playing Games 2nd Edition Shane's book! Co-authored with Matt Barton of Matt Chat https://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Desktops-History-Computer-Role-Playing/dp/1138574643/

Chris Holmes has a unique historical perspective on fiction writer John Eric Holmes and Holmes Basic D&D, given that he's JEH's son. Chris is doing cool stuff in his own right, including his fantasy art and a day job where he gets to introduce kids to D&D. Chris's posthumous RPG project with his father called Things Better Left Alone. How much did JEH make for creating the first D&D Basic edition? Chris and Shane have different approaches to playing with alignment. What is Chris's favorite D&D edition (it's a trick answer). Edgar Rice Burroughs. Send in the Pinkertons! Tarzan's super power. Weresharks. Ask Cthulhu. Zombie movies, Rob Zombie, Dragula, and Sherlock Holmes. Shane Plays Geek Talk Episode #267 - 5/12/2023 Like what you hear? Support Shane Plays Geek Talk on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/shaneplays Listen to the Shane Plays Geek Talk podcast on YouTube, SoundCloud, iTunes, Google Play Music, Amazon Music, Podbean and Stitcher (and other fine, fine podcast directories). Hey, you! Yeah, you! Buy cool stuff, support Shane Plays Geek Talk with these affiliate links! Humble Bundle https://www.humblebundle.com?partner=shaneplays DriveThruRPG.com https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse.php?affiliate_id=488512 SHOW NOTES John Eric Holmes on Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Eric_Holmes Chris Holmes Website: http://www.holmeswest.com/ Things Better Left Alone module from Pacesetter Games based on J. Eric Holmes map from Holmes Basic D&D https://www.facebook.com/groups/310434204630/posts/10160416579069631/ -Chris Holmes contributes art, which Bill Barsh calls "Holmesian" --- Dungeons and Desktops: The History of Computer Role-Playing Games 2nd Edition Shane's book! Co-authored with Matt Barton of Matt Chat https://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Desktops-History-Computer-Role-Playing/dp/1138574643/