Class of '84: Turtles, Transformers and Toys Takeover TV
Imaginary Worlds28 Feb 2024

Class of '84: Turtles, Transformers and Toys Takeover TV

In the final episode of our mini-series Class of '84, we look at two iconic franchises that launched in 1984: Transformers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. They came from opposite ends of the business spectrum. Transformers was a top-down marketing synergy between American and Japanese toy companies along with Marvel Comics to compete against He-Man -- another TV toy behemoth. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle would eventually rival them in cultural dominance, but it began with two indie comic book creators making a black and white comic as a lark. But Turtles and Transformers both ended up wrestling with similar questions around what happens when you put the cart before the horse in creating content to sell products. Documentary filmmaker Isaac Elliot-Fisher and Cartoon Art Museum curator Andrew Farago talk about the incredible rags to riches story of the Turtles creators, and how success changed them. And I talk with Bob Budiansky, who created many of the original Transformers characters for Hasbro and Marvel Comics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Episoder(300)

Fanfiction (Special Edition)

Fanfiction (Special Edition)

Last year, I interviewed Francesca Coppa for my episode Fanfiction (Don't Judge.) She's the author of the book "The Fanfiction Reader," and one of the founders of the fanfic site Archive of Our Own. F...

9 Aug 201834min

Do You Speak Conlang?

Do You Speak Conlang?

Sci-fi fantasy worlds often use constructed languages (or conlangs for short) as a worldbuilding tool that can make us believe the characters come from an ancient or alien culture. But art can take on...

26 Jul 201829min

Imaginary Deaths

Imaginary Deaths

Have you ever mourned the loss of a fictional character? It can be tough to get over, and difficult to convince people not caught up in that fictional world that your sense of mourning is valid. I tal...

12 Jul 201831min

Fahrenheit 451 Still Burns

Fahrenheit 451 Still Burns

The writer Neil Gaiman first became entranced with Fahrenheit 451 as a kid, but he says the novel is the kind of masterpiece that seems like a different story every time you read it depending on where...

27 Jun 201829min

Gathering the Magic

Gathering the Magic

At its core, Magic: The Gathering is a card game and your goal is to knock your opponent down to zero points. But Magic: The Gathering also has a deep mythology about an infinite number of parallel wo...

14 Jun 201828min

The First Three Lives of Catherine Webb

The First Three Lives of Catherine Webb

You may know her as Claire North, author of the best-selling novel "The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August." You might also know her as Kate Griffin, author of the urban fantasy series about modern d...

31 Mai 201838min

The Westworld Experience

The Westworld Experience

To promote season 2 of Westworld, HBO recreated the fictional Wild West town from the TV show just outside Austin at the SXSW festival, and they hired actors to play androids who think they're living ...

17 Mai 201835min

Jack Kirby's Marvels

Jack Kirby's Marvels

Avengers: Infinity War brought together characters from across the Marvel universe, but many of them already shared a common bond -- their creator Jack Kirby. While Kirby is best known for his intense...

3 Mai 201833min

Populært innen Samfunn

rss-spartsklubben
giver-og-gjengen-vg
aftenpodden
konspirasjonspodden
aftenpodden-usa
alt-fortalt
rss-nesten-hele-uka-med-lepperod
popradet
rss-henlagt-andy-larsgaard
wolfgang-wee-uncut
grenselos
synnve-og-vanessa
fladseth
rss-dannet-uten-piano
frokostshowet-pa-p5
min-barneoppdragelse
rss-dette-ma-aldri-skje-igjen
rss-frekvens-med-anine-olsen
relasjonspodden-med-dora-thorhallsdottir-kjersti-idem
lydartikler-fra-aftenposten