Your Goosebuds Chad Quandt, Paul Ritchey, and Kevin Cole read through the 1985 CYOA book The Badlands of Hark, written by R.L. Stine! This is written before Goosebumps, Fear Street, or Horrorland; what sort of sci-fi fantasy world does a younger Stine have in his soul? Turns out it's one with an endless maze. A lot of death in this hellworld of R.L.'s. Can Paul and Kevin survive and find The Nonspecific Treasure?
OFF TOPICS: Phone Cord Twirling, Beet Feudalism, Picard's robot body, Robot Hands, RoboCop, Chad's First Cousins Once Removed
Adventure begins: 14:15
Your Goosebuds hosts Chad Quandt, Paul Ritchey, and Kevin Cole review R.L. Stine's Goosebumps Horrorland book Dr. Maniac vs Robby Schwartz where aspiring cartoonist Robby discovers his comic creations come alive to eat squirrels and torture local kids. But also none of this matters as Robby resets the narrative multiple times (it was all a joke, reader!) and it causes an emotional cataclysm for your Goosebuddies . To be honest, this episode really broke us. But don't CTRL+ALT+DEL on us; we'll keep pounding through Young Adult books because tackling R.L.'s legacy is our great purpose in life.
OFF TOPICS: Rocky, Bioshock/Judas, Ben Franklin, Code Lyoko vs Reboot
Book discussion begins: 16:40
Complete mental breakdown begins: 1:23:59
Beware of grues, Goosebuddies! Your hosts Chad Quandt, Paul Ritchey, and Kevin Cole check out another Choose Your Own Adventure book based off one of the first adventure games ever: Zork! This 'What-Do-I-Do-Now" Book is Zork #1: The Forces of Krill by S. Eric Meretzky. Is Krill the Ganon of this world? Would we be shaking in our +1 Boots at the mention of his lizard men if we had played the original game? It seems Krill just likes hiding in holes in the ground, which isn't that much different than Tears of the Kingdom. We also discuss how delicious 'dino damage' used to look on toys. Enjoy the episode and stay alive!
Book adventure begins: 12:00
OFF TOPICS: Daylight Savings Time, Bugs, Jurassic Park Battle Damage Toys, J. Kenji López-Alt, Bugs Part II
There's a terrifying affliction of fear going around; so we're enforcing a Haunted Mask mandate! Your Goosebuds hosts Chad Quandt, Paul Ritchey, and Kevin Cole read R.L. Stine's Goosebumps Horrorland book The Scream of the Haunted Mask. It's been a year since the original story and Carly Beth is worried she'll put the mask back on and become evil. She could just get rid of it, maybe try to destroy it, but it stays locked in her basement. Until it doesn't. But also: Ghost horses haunt the local children's center/farm! It's very tragic. This book that's really about spectral steeds should've been called Goosebumps: Horse Death.
Book discussion begins: 17:30
OFF TOPICS: Millenial Internet Faux Pas, Willy's Chocolate Experience, X-Men Movies
This episode is part of a balanced bookfast-! Your hosts Chad Quandt, Paul Ritchey, and Kevin Cole read the third of R.L Stine's Goosebumps Horrorland series: Monster Blood for Breakfast. The iconic green growth slime is back for a fifth time. And somehow this is the least-scary story!Protagonist Matt Daniels deals with the terrifying idea of... being taller and stronger and winning the swim meet? We also get the next chapter of the Horrorland narrative and meet monster revolutionary Byron. We also discuss toy belts with I.P. powers and the mystery of missing Skeeter.
Book discussion begins: 12:50
OFF TOPICS: Chad's beef with the Disney Imagination Belt, Where's Skeeter??
The corn state is in trouble, listeners! Small robotic drones designed like metal wasps are terrorizing the youth. They are not being used for war. Let us make that clear: this is not a metaphor about drone warfare at all. Your hosts Chad Quandt, Paul Ritchey, and Kevin Cole cover Johnathan Rand's American Chillers: Iron Insects Invade Indiana. And we're joined by the wonderful Payton Whaley (WTIU's Flyover Culture). Payton's an Indiana boy like Chad and the two bond about their lives in the 'Crossroads of America', working for public television, and enjoying a time when there weren't metal menaces filling the skies. It was a simpler time. Anyway, this is a good episode! Enjoy.
Book discussion begins: 4:30
Off Topics: MIMAL THE ELF, The Friday Zone
Check out Payton's show Flyover Culture: youtube.com/flyoverculture
We're back in Horrorland, Buddies! Your hosts Chad Quandt, Paul Ritchey, and Kevin Cole cover R.L. Stine's Goosebumps Horrorland book 'Creep from the Deep'. We're reunited with Billy and Sheena Deep and their uncle Dr. D. What sort of doctor is Deep? A water scientist? He does not have respect for the ocean like he should and his children suffer once again because of it. But this book has some pretty fun stuff including ghost pirates! Or pirate ghosts! And we learn more about the shared book story of Horrorland. What are the Horrors planning? Do they even have a plan? Note: despite the cover there are not Shrek Eels.
Book discussion begins: 14:45
OFF TOPICS: Episode 666, iconic Scabby and Stinko, Steamboat Willie, Chad pitches another Tontine