The Paunch Stevenson Show

Other than Nintendo, Atari is the most widely used and associated name with
video gaming. Though the company, as many of us knew it, has been largely
out of business for 15 years, it still rules the roost in terms of classic
gaming. Like many, the Atari 2600 was the first video game system Rob and I had.

Here are some great web sites dedicated to the Atari family of home consoles
and computers:

• Atari Age is unquestionably the central hub for Atari enthusiasts, with its heavily used forum. All the news, finds, information, expertise, and game trading is there. It also has scans of cartridges, boxes, and manuals, plus screenshots, emulators, and ROMs for the Atari 2600, 5200, 7800, Lynx, and Jaguar.
• Atari Guide has a huge amount of game, box, and manual scans for Atari and the NES. It also has a master list of Atari 2600 games and pictures of the cartridges, all in one page.
• Atari Mania takes the visual archive to the utmost degree. There’s an enormous amount of scans of games, catalogs, you name it. All Atari systems are covered.
• Atari Protos has the most updated and thorough information and research on the many Atari prototypes and unreleased games that exist. Check it out and find out why games like The A-Team, Garfield, and Planet of the Apes never got released.
• Pitfall Jones has done the unthinkable! He has consolidated all of the scans of cartridges and screenshots of every Atari 5200, 7800, and 8-Bit Computer game! You can see what every cart looked like, all in one place.
• Atari Gaming Headquarters has a wealth of information for all the Atari consoles and computers, as well as Atari developed arcade machines. Marquees, artwork, advertisements, screenshots, and more.
• Atari 8-bit Forever is a tremendous source of information for the long line of Atari 8-bit computers.
• Atari 2600.com is an online store for a large number of hard-to-find classic console parts and games. It is very well maintained.
• Atari 7800.org has the most detailed technical information on the oft-forgotten Atari 7800 Pro System.
• Atari Museum is just what it says it is.
• 4 Jays has a ton of products to purchase for classic systems.
• Best Electronics has untold amounts of official Atari vintage products, especially for making repairs.
• The Video Game Critic is my favorite video game quick-review website. He’s got just one screenshot, a short paragraph or two, and a grade for each game. His opinion is unbiased and his web site is organized so much better than the overkill you get on sites like IGN.
• Digital Press Video Games has the tremendous game rarity and price guide. Of course, the forum is the hub for all classic and modern gaming discussion, no matter what console or computer.

There is one more website I’ve come across, the Atari 2600 Label Maker. The Atari 2600 had fantastic and unique artwork on the cartridge labels. Well, now you can make your own Atari game, so to speak! To that end, I’ve gone a step further (probably right off the cliff) and with the help of Photoshop…

Here are 140 fake labels of Atari 2600 games. Some are prototypes and unreleased games, but most are licensed titles that could have been made in the late 1970s and early 80s for the 2600: TV shows, cartoons, movies, etc. Some of these labels I found on the Atari Age forums and were done by members Marc Oberhäuser, Atariboy2600, and user42. I took some of their work and put it on scans of real cartridges. I created the majority of these labels, though.

In any case, I think this is the largest custom, faux, “what-if” Atari 2600 label archive in one place!

Popular 1970s and 80s TV Shows:

Magnum P.I., The Fonz, T.J. Hooker, Rockford Files, Knight Rider, Starsky & Hutch, Chips, Columbo, and Kojak

Space: 1999, Battlestar Galactica, Doctor Who, Charlie’s Angels, Bionic Woman, and The Six Million Dollar Man

Popular 1970s and 80s Children’s Shows:

Batman, Wonder Woman, The Hobbit, The Secret of Nimh, Scooby Doo, and Woody Woodpecker

Fraggle Rock, Inspector Gadget, Rainbow Brite, Voltron, Transformers, Thundercats, Dungeons & Dragons, Transformers, and Alf

Popular 1970s and 80s Sci-Fi Movies:

Diamonds are Forever, Moonraker, Close Encounters, Logan’s Run, Star Wars, The Black Hole, Escape From New York, The Island of Dr. Moreau, and Blade Runner

Popular 1970s and 80s Action Films:

First Blood, Rocky II, Death Wish, Escape from Alcatraz, Jaws, The Poseidon Adventure, Conan the Barbarian, The Beastmaster, and The Road Warrior

Popular 1970s and 80s Cult Movies:

Deliverance, Swamp Thing, Clash of the Titans, Death Race 2000, Evil Dead, Hercules, The Warriors, Gone in 60 Seconds, and Rollerball

Popular 1970s and 1980s Childrens Movies:

Grease, Annie, Herbie the Love Bug, Bad News Bears, The Muppet Movie, and Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure

Popular 1970s and 80s Comedy Movies:

Smokey and the Bandit, Caddyshack, Slap Shot, Cannonball Run, Revenge of the Nerds, 1941, Police Academy, Blues Brothers, and Daffy Duck’s Fantastic Island

Children’s Game Prototypes by Atari:

Dumbo’s Flying Circus, Donald Duck’s Speedboat, Snow White, Garfield, Good Luck Charlie Brown, Miss Piggy’s Wedding, Grover’s Music Maker, Bugs Bunny, and Sport Goofy

Licensed TV and Movie Game Prototypes:

Care Bears, Star Wars: Ewok Adventure, Incredible Hulk, Planet of the Apes, Dukes of Hazzard, The A-Team, Dune, The Pink Panther, and The Lord of the Rings

Other Game Prototypes by Atari:

Rubik’s Cube 3D, Elk Attack, Polo, Wizard, RealSports Basketball, Aquaventure, Boggle, and Combat Two

Other Game Prototypes by Third Party Developers:

Secret Agent, Meltdown, Pompeii, Wings, McDonald’s, and Save Mary

Ports of Popular Arcade Games of the Era:

Monaco GP, Le Mans, Galaxy Ranger, Space Ace, Dragon’s Lair, Mappy, Destruction Derby, Lode Runner, and Lady Bug

Goofy Games:

The Paunch Stevenson Show, Super Mario Bros., Alien vs. Predator, Jerry Hunt, Kiss: Destroyer, and Once Upon A Spy

Almost All of Mattel’s M Network Releases, Had They Featured the Intellivision Artwork and a Standard Cartridge:

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Tower of Doom, Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Treasure of Tarmin, Adventures of TRON, Anteater, Armor Ambush, Astroblast, Bump ‘n’ Jump, Burger Time, Dark Cavern, Frogs and Flies, Master of the Universe: The Power of He-Man, International Soccer, Kool-Aid Man, Lock ‘N’ Chase, Loco Motion, Rocky and Bullwinkle, Space Attack, Star Strike, Super Challenge Baseball, Super Challenge Football, and TRON Deadly Discs

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Somehow, don’t ask me how, I came across a celebrity impersonator/look-a-like agency in the United Kingdom called Fake Faces. Some of the stand-ins either look nothing like the real person, or are simply wearing the costume of the celebrity’s most famous character, yet bearing little resemblance otherwise.

However, many…in fact most…are very good indeed, almost having me do a triple take. Here’s a few spot-on impersonators of some of our favorite celebrities.

Eddie Murphy and Sean Connery:

It’s England, so they’ve gotta have The Beatles (George, Paul, John, and Ringo):

They have a group photo of the George, Paul, and Ringo impersonators with a guy who looks nothing like John Lennon at all. Again, these guys look like the older, modern day Beatles. Perhaps they are insinuating that John Lennon would be fat and wearing a French beret if he were still alive?

For fun, here’s a guy who is supposed to be Billy Connolly. He has the expression and the hair down, but he seems to be constantly dying his goatee different colors. Why?

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Gary Coleman, one of our first Hall of Lamers, decided to be yet another in the long list of celebrities trying their hand at perhaps the most difficult professional sport, baseball. Coleman was thrown out of the game before he even got to bat for the Madison Mallards up in Wisconsin.

Here’s the story from The Wisconsin State Journal:

Herbert determined the (pine tar) amount was illegal and — after Coleman offered to “wipe it off” — also found the bat to be corked. The umpire pulled out a piece of black rubber on the end of the bat and watched several “super balls” spill out of the bat.

“Looks like you’re going to have a short night,” Herbert joked as he threw Coleman out of the game.

Coleman took more offense with the short joke than he did his ejection, bumping the umpire to the delight of the 5,000-plus in attendance. Eventually, Coleman set up shop behind the third-base bleachers, signing autographs (at $20 a pop) and posing for photos (those were free).

So the whole thing was a joke? We’re not laughing. Billy Crystal earlier this year in spring training, did the same kind of stunt, with the Yankees, at age 60, getting one at bat. Garth Brooks spent a whole spring with the Padres in 1999 and the Mets in 2000, although he at least looked the part. Why do these celebrities try these things when they are old, fat, out of shape, and washed up?

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Several times during the history of The Paunch Stevenson Show, we’ve joked about Nicholas Cage’s goofy acting style and voice. As recently as episode 107, we goofed on how he has become this sort of cult joke, similar to Steven Seagal or Tom Cruise. How can even his serious films, let alone his horror films, be taken seriously?

Well, here are some photos and videos from two instances, Grindhouse (2007) and The Wicker Man (2006). In the Grindhouse double-feature, Rob Zombie contributed a mock trailer called Werewolf Women of the SS. At the end is a cameo from Mr. Cage, dressed as the infamous 1950s B movie character Dr. Fu Manchu. He starts screaming and yelling and doing this horrible laugh:

The Wicker Man: again, this was supposed to be a horror film? Cage is dressed in a bear costume, stung in the head by thousands of bees, keeps punching women in the face, and finally is set on fire and burned alive:

Here’s an absolutely terrific video remix of clips from The Wicker Man on YouTube, set to Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire:”

There’s also a “comedy” trailer created by a fan. Priceless!

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Callahan’s, a northern NJ institution in the realm of hot dog joints, has closed its last location this month, on Route 46 in Little Ferry. The small chain was begun by Artie Castrianni in 1950 in Fort Lee. That site and one in Hasbrouck Heights also closed. Really stinks for me, I used to get a burger and fries there for lunch. Leaves only places like the great Rutt’s Hutt in Clifton and a few Stewart’s locations and places similar as old time NJ eateries.

Callahan’s website while it lasts…. http://www.callahanshotdogs.com/main2.htm
Also reported on the Second Helpings blog http://njmg.typepad.com/foodblog/2008/06/bad-news-along.html

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As many may have picked up, or not, I Greg am quite the motorsports aficionado. One of my favorite days of the year is Sunday, Memorial Day Weekend. This year, while recovering from my 70 mile bicycle ride, I’ll be glued to the set for the 92nd Indianapolis 500. Well, while the action has been going on in Indiana for the last 2 plus weeks, you’d think to see it you’d have to fly out to Indy, right? No! On Monday, May 19, they flew the full field of 33 drivers (30 guys and 3 ladies) to New York City, right over the river from me. They all took part in a group photo op. next to the Charging Bull sculpture downtown on Broadway at the Canyon of Heroes.

The only problem was A) I didn’t find out until afterwards, and B) I was too busy at work to go anyway. But argggggghhhhh how annoying! Paunch Luck again. The next closest Indycar race is 4 hours away in Watkins Glen, NY. What other chance would I have to see the entire field of drivers though for the Indy 500 without being there? Rats! NASCAR does the same thing, having their actual cars ride through Manhattan in December. I’ve yet to see it, because I always forget when it is, so I can take off from work.

http://www.indycar.com/news/?story_id=11417

PS: The Dush (Eliza Dushku) has been in NY a lot lately promoting her new show Dollhouse I assume, but I never know where beforehand. Paunched!

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Is it an April Fools joke? Unfortunately no. Seems the old NKOTB are 20 years older (God has it been that long?). They also might be talking reunion. So we get a one night Zeppelin reunion, and now this?

New Kids Then….

New Kids Now….

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Many moons ago, we commented on Cartoon Network’s Transformers: Animated show. It debuted on December 26, 2007, although I’ve yet to see it because I’m still asleep at 10:30 Saturday morning. However, aside from it using the current animation style of Batman, Star Wars Clone Wars, and Justice League, it seems like a really good representation of the G1 show. There are many characters from the classic show, almost all with their same personality, color scheme, and vehicle mode. They include Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Ratchet, Prowl, Ultra Magnus, Jazz, Ironhide, Blurr, Arcee, Elita One, Grimlock, Snarl, Swoop, Megatron, Starscream, Soundwave, Shockwave, and more. They have the Ark (Autobot ship), the Nemesis (Decepticon ship), Cybertron, Teletraan I, the original transforming sound effect, the purplish neon energon cubes, and even the original Transformers theme song! Voice actors include Corey Burton, John Moschitta Jr., Weird Al Yankovic, Lance Henriksen, and Bill Fagerbakke (Dauber on Coach). I have yet to see an actual episode, but the videos on the websites below are interesting. It seems as if the flow and dialogue is very close to the original show.

Cartoon Network Official Site
Another Official Website

Corey Burton, the voice of G1 Shockwave, now plays Megatron. David Kaye, the voice of Beast Wars Megatron, is now Optimus Prime, who he also played in several of the recent TF cartoons. Welker said he nor Cullen were offered a role. I have to think that the reason is Cartoon Network preferred to use people it’s worked with extensively before.

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There is some sort of indie or fan film project underway, due out in 2009, seeking to flesh out and understand why there is such divisiveness among Star Wars fans. More specifically, their feelings towards the choices made by George Lucas following the original Trilogy. The structure will be based on several hot topics of debate. Seems as though they have been accepting fan submissions of videos. The writer/director is Alexandre Phillipe. I guess we should make a video?

www.peoplevsgeorge.com
www.myspace.com/peoplevsgeorge

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Yahoo! News - Roy Scheider of Jaws dies at 75

Sad news is that Roy Scheider died yesterday, at the age of 75. Roy is best known as Chief Martin Brody in Steven Spielberg’s Jaws and Jaws II. I also remember him from The French Connection, 2010 (sequel to 2001 Space Odyssey) and many years later, as Captain Nathan Bridger on SeaQuest DSV on NBC. Roy actually was born in Orange, NJ, and attended Columbia High School in Maplewood. Pretty much the Paunch Stevenson neck of the woods. The guy was a terrific actor and one of those who you instantly recognize on screen and who’s personality is very authentic and real. One of my favorites and will be missed.

Roy Scheider, November 10, 1932 - February 10, 2008

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