Retro Ridoctopus

Crow's Nest: The SON of the BRIDE of THE DAY OF THE TENTACLE!

We played through the classic LucasArts point and click adventure DAY OF THE TENTACLE and now we're gonna talk about it!

Last season, 8-Bit Alchemy and Parasite Steve devoted some playtime and one whole episode to the classic Lucas Arts point and click adventure game, Maniac Mansion. Now they dive into the sequel!

Day of the Tentacle is a true classic of the genre, but these guys are playing it for the first time! So stock up on some exploding novelty cigars, hop into your Chrono-Johns, and prepare for a far out trip through time because we have to stop that purple MANIAC from enslaving humanity!

RETRO RIDOCTOPUS is -----------------------------------

"Parasite Steve"...... AKA Steve Van Samson (read)

"8-Bit Alchemy "...... AKA Tim Krikorian (listen)

"Coopster Gold"...... AKA Justin Cooper (subscribe)

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Retro Ridoctopus is a proud member of The Dorkening Podcast Network and is brought to you by Deadly Grounds Coffee. Podcast intro and all heavy metal interstitials by Enchanted Exile.

S8E3 - Ep 171: Fake Bands From Real Movies (w/ Ashes Von Nightmare)

Starting with Spinal Tap, we run down some of our favorite movies that feature fictional bands!

In what might be our longest episode ever, we welcome back one half of the Throwdown Thursday Podcast (the great Ashes Von Nightmare) to talk about some of our favorite movies that feature fictional bands!

After a STONEHENGE-sized presentation on the one that started it all, Rob Reiner's seminal classic THIS IS SPINAL TAP, we move onto 8 other films that are also GONNA ROCK YOU (tonight). We've got everything from outright comedies to hard-hitting Oscar-winning dramas. Some of these flicks have full soundtracks by their "fake bands" and others only a track or two. Does the cast sing and play their instruments? Who did the writing?

Make no mistake, while the bands are all made up... this ROCK AND ROLL is as real as it comes! \,,/

And if horror and indie films are your idea of a good time... check out the what Ashes came to promote, the Dead of Winter Festival coming to Worcester, Massachusetts Feb. 21st & 22nd 2026!

NOTE: This episode is dedicated to the wonderful Catherine O'Hara, who passed just hours after this recording. Our hearts were not ready and are thoroughly broken. #RIPCatherineOhara

#SpinalTap #ThisIsSpinalTap #ThatThingYouDo #Airheads #AMightyWind #AlmostFamous #2gether #StillCrazy #Rockstar #SteelDragon #Stillwater #StrangeFruit #TheFolksmen #MickeyandMitch #TheWonders

RETRO RIDOCTOPUS is -----------------------------------

"Parasite Steve"...... AKA Steve Van Samson (read)

"8-Bit Alchemy "...... AKA Tim Krikorian (listen)

"Coopster Gold"...... AKA Justin Cooper (subscribe)

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Retro Ridoctopus is a proud member of The Dorkening Podcast Network and is brought to you by Deadly Grounds Coffee. Podcast intro and all heavy metal interstitials by Enchanted Exile.

The Brig: Dawn of An Undead Glitch (w/ author Chris Philbrook)

Beloved ZOMPOC author Chris Philbrook returns to talk about his new smash hit LitRPG series!

Back in the BRIG is a 10-time Amazon/Audible best selling author of the long running post apocalyptic zombie mega hit series ADRIAN'S UNDEAD DIARY and much much more!

This time, Chris is here to chat about his brand new smash hit LitRPG novel AN UNDEAD GLITCH! This one takes the zombie apocalypse and makes it digital, via an incredibly well realized (sadly fictional) game environment. Think "Dungeon Crawler Carl" or "Ready Player One", but with ZOMBIES and tons of crude humor!

What's extra cool is that the audio book for An Undead Glitch is a Retro Ridoctopus co-production—featuring engineering and narration by Parasite Steve and original retro game style music and sound effects by 8-Bit Alchemy! Expect plenty of talk on all of that, plus a discussion of our favorite glitches in gaming.

Oh yeah... and WE HAD A CONTEST, which Chris graciously chooses the winners for!! SPOILER ALERT...(everyone is a winner).

SHUBIBIN!!

RETRO RIDOCTOPUS is -----------------------------------

"Parasite Steve"...... AKA Steve Van Samson (read)

"8-Bit Alchemy "...... AKA Tim Krikorian (listen)

"Coopster Gold"...... AKA Justin Cooper (subscribe)

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Retro Ridoctopus is a proud member of The Dorkening Podcast Network and is brought to you by Deadly Grounds Coffee. Podcast intro and all heavy metal interstitials by Enchanted Exile.

S8E2 - Ep 170: Shrieking About Horror Comics (w/ artist Derek Rook)

A discussion on horror comic books, characters and the artists who made them!

This week, things are gonna get a little MESSY, as we welcome back a true comic book expert. In the virtual studio is artist Derek Rook, (from Rough House Publishing) to talk about his newest book and horror comics as a whole!

After a excruciatingly cool expose on the (hot off the presses) GORE SHRIEK RESURRECTUS Vol. 3, we take a SCARY amount of pleasure spotlighting HORROR-CODED stuff from the 60s, 80s, 90s... all the way up to today! Expect some serious GUSHING about the characters, creators, titles and story lines that left their marks on us.

Get your copy of GORE SHRIEK RESURRECTUS Vol. 3 at the Rough House Publishing website!

#Hellboy #SwampThing #DeadWorld #JunjiIto #BlackestNight #HorrorComics

RETRO RIDOCTOPUS is -----------------------------------

"Parasite Steve"...... AKA Steve Van Samson (read)

"8-Bit Alchemy "...... AKA Tim Krikorian (listen)

"Coopster Gold"...... AKA Justin Cooper (subscribe)

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Retro Ridoctopus is a proud member of The Dorkening Podcast Network and is brought to you by Deadly Grounds Coffee. Podcast intro and all heavy metal interstitials by Enchanted Exile.

The Brig: Rampage in Peoria (w/ game designer Brian F. Colin)

Brian has created such classic arcade games as Rampage, Xenophobe, Arch Rivals and so many more!

Having worked for Bally Midway in the 1980s, game designer / artist / animator Brian F. Colin has created and worked on more classic arcade games than you can shake a giant mutant wolfman at!

RAMPAGE, XENOPHOBE, ARCH RIVALS, PIGSKIN 621ad, GENERAL CHAOS and RAMPAGE WORLD TOUR, just to name a few! Brian infused each of these games with the sardonic wit of MAD Magazine, while ensuring each of these games pushed the limits of what had been created. These were titles that broke new ground and resonated with audiences of the day and are remembered fondly by classic gamers!

Brian shares a metric ton of stories from his decades in the industry and dishes all about his upcoming Kickstarter: GENERAL CHAOS - MAJOR SNAFU! The Long-awaited Sequel to the hilarious Squad-based, RTS Sega Genesis Battlegame!

General Chaos - Major Snafu is in Pre-Launch now and you should definitely sign up to be notified when the campaign launches!

RETRO RIDOCTOPUS is -----------------------------------

"Parasite Steve"...... AKA Steve Van Samson (read)

"8-Bit Alchemy "...... AKA Tim Krikorian (listen)

"Coopster Gold"...... AKA Justin Cooper (subscribe)

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Retro Ridoctopus is a proud member of The Dorkening Podcast Network and is brought to you by Deadly Grounds Coffee. Podcast intro and all heavy metal interstitials by Enchanted Exile.

S8E1 - Ep 169: Rob Reiner Retrospective

We celebrate some of the incredible films directed by the legendary Rob Reiner.

2025 ended with a truly unthinkable tragedy that we are all still reeling from. Retro Ridoctopus could think of no better way to pay tribute to the great Rob Reiner, than by dedicating the first episode of season 8 to those films of his that have brought us so much joy for so many decades.

From tense courtrooms, to the Cliffs of Insanity and the thousand laughs and tears in between, we each picked two movies Rob directed and try our best to put into words what these true classics have meant to us over the years.

#afewgoodmen #theprincessbride #princessbride #ghostsofmississippi #robreiner #standbyme #asyouwish #youcanthandlethetruth

RETRO RIDOCTOPUS is -----------------------------------

"Parasite Steve"...... AKA Steve Van Samson (read)

"8-Bit Alchemy "...... AKA Tim Krikorian (listen)

"Coopster Gold"...... AKA Justin Cooper (subscribe)

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Retro Ridoctopus is a proud member of The Dorkening Podcast Network and is brought to you by Deadly Grounds Coffee. Podcast intro and all heavy metal interstitials by Enchanted Exile.

Ep 168: Season 7 Finale / First Time Viewing of Classic Films

This epic episode is packed with our favorite memories of season 7 and a half hour MEGA BLOCK of Retroid voicemails!


All tentacles are in the air as we reflect on and celebrate another successful season of the Retro Ridoctopus cephalopodcast!

After copious amounts of reminiscing over another amazing year, we dive into our annual final topic. Like every year, we asked you for voice mails, giving your quick reviews of a classic movie you watched for the first time this year. Every single year, this block gets longer and longer and season 7 was no exception. Thank you for coming out in droves to be a part of the show and for helping to make Retro Ridoctopus what it is.

But listener beware... for lurking within this finale is the startling HORCHATA SCARE OF 2025...

SHUBIBIN!!!

RETRO RIDOCTOPUS is -----------------------------------

"Parasite Steve"...... AKA Steve Van Samson (read)

"8-Bit Alchemy "...... AKA Tim Krikorian (listen)

"Coopster Gold"...... AKA Justin Cooper (subscribe)

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Retro Ridoctopus is a proud member of The Dorkening Podcast Network and is brought to you by Deadly Grounds Coffee. Podcast intro and all heavy metal interstitials by Enchanted Exile.

Crow's Nest: Maniac Mansion (A Breaking and Entering Adventure)

We played through and completed the classic point and click game Maniac Mansion (almost) all the ways!

If your purple tentacles are tingling, that might just be because our pal Nintenjoe joined us for NUMEROUS playthroughs of the classic LucasArts point and click adventure game Maniac Mansion! Seriously, this one has a ton of different ending and we got almost all of em!

So watch out for falling meteors and get that hamster in the microwave because things are about to get WEIRD.

RETRO RIDOCTOPUS is -----------------------------------

"Parasite Steve"...... AKA Steve Van Samson (read)

"8-Bit Alchemy "...... AKA Tim Krikorian (listen)

"Coopster Gold"...... AKA Justin Cooper (subscribe)

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Retro Ridoctopus is a proud member of The Dorkening Podcast Network. Intro and all heavy metal interstitials by Enchanted Exile.

Ep 167: A Big Box of Crayons

An episode all about crayons, colored pencils, markers and the childhood joy of coloring!

For our last regular episode of season 7, we are talking about a childhood experience everyone out there can relate to. Sitting down with a big box of crayons and a coloring book!

With the help of guest host Christine (AKA Mrs. Parasite), we'll share a bit of history on the Crayola company before diving into some colorful childhood memories revolving around crayons. Get ready for some personal coloring techniques and a run down of our favorite and least favorite #Crayola crayon colors of all time.

Then, after the Octoponder, we expand the discussion into numerous other ways we were able to play with color. Things like markers, colored pencils, water color paint and much much more!

RETRO RIDOCTOPUS is -----------------------------------

"Parasite Steve"...... AKA Steve Van Samson (read)

"8-Bit Alchemy "...... AKA Tim Krikorian (listen)

"Coopster Gold"...... AKA Justin Cooper (subscribe)

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Retro Ridoctopus is a proud member of The Dorkening Podcast Network. Intro and all heavy metal interstitials by Enchanted Exile.

The Brig: The Sound of the Dark (w/ Daniel Church AKA Simon Bestwick)

Acclaimed UK author Simon Bestwick returns to chat about his new horror novel, Doctor Who, and his favorite paperbacks from hell!

Tonight, in the BRIG, we are thrilled to welcome back an incredible guest from all the way across the pond!

Simon Bestwick is an accomplished as well as prolific British contemporary horror author, whose acclaimed work includes the novels Black Mountain, Hell’s Ditch, The Devil’s Highway and Wolf’s Hill as well as numerous short short collections such as 2020’s “And Cannot Come Again: Tales of Childhood, Regret, and Innocence Lost”.

Chalking up no less than 4 British Fantasy award nominations (so far), Simon’s work has been described as ‘Brilliant’ by the Guardian and ‘among the most important writers of contemporary British horror’ and he's here to chat about his newest book (as Daniel Church)... The Sound of the Dark!

Also expect plenty of chatter about Simon's love for Doctor Who and his favorite schlocky paperbacks and obscure 80s horror flicks. Prepare to walk away with some serious recommendations to check out!

Pick up the new Daniel Church book THE SOUND OF THE DARK, today!

RETRO RIDOCTOPUS is -----------------------------------

"Parasite Steve"...... AKA Steve Van Samson (read)

"8-Bit Alchemy "...... AKA Tim Krikorian (listen)

"Coopster Gold"...... AKA Justin Cooper (subscribe)

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Retro Ridoctopus is a proud member of The Dorkening Podcast Network. Intro and all heavy metal interstitials by Enchanted Exile.

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