#282: Alf: The Animated Series - “Hooray for Mellywood”
Before Gordon Shumway smashed his spacecraft into the Tanner household, he lived on Melmac, and NBC had this grand idea to turn those years into an animated series in the late ‘80s.
Episode 227 - Utterly Unfamiliar and Downright Detestable
It’s episode 227 and time for an emergency backup episode! This episode is the audio version of “Utterly Unfamiliar and Downright Detestable” a presentation we gave for the 2022 Ontario Library Association’s RA in a Day event. There’s also a video version on our YouTube channel.
You can download the podcast directly, find it on Libsyn, or get it through Apple Podcasts or your favourite podcast delivery system.
Hello…. is it us you’re looking for? Patrick and Kat return to the world of music videos, and in doing so, stumble into the creepiest short form musical theater to ever invade the airwaves of MTV, and most likely VH1 at some point. And with that said… It’s Lionel Richie Day here at the podcast!
Patrick and Kat head to the movies, and all the way to 1988, to discuss the Bette Midler / Lily Tomlin film in which they portray two pairs of identical twins mismatched at birth. It’s a whole comedy of errors, and well, kind of a retro modern retelling of The Comedy of Errors.
Episode 1166: The 17-Year-Old Truth ~ The Far-Sighted Bishop
Based on volume 104, files 1106-1108
Plot in five keywords:
Amanda knows that Rum is looking for her and keeps Rachel save
Then, Rum confronts Amanda and she takes the APTX
Koji hides Rachel, but later gets poisoned as well
Kuroda finds Amanda’s and Koji’s dead bodies and the dying message
Rachel attacks Kuroda because he thinks he’s the culprit
Important plot development:
17 years ago, Rum still had both of his eyes
The BO knew all of Amanda’s bodyguard, eliminated all of them except the asian woman who’s always close to Amanda and the probably new hired tall man
When Rachel can’t reach any of the other bodyguards, Amanda knows something is about to happen and she tells Rachel to go to Koji’s room
We get to know that Rachel and Amanda had a mother-daughter-like relationship
Amanda and Rum met 50 years ago for the first time at a Japanese millionaire’s birthday party (Rum was still a child at this time but he was already called Rum). Later, we get to know that the person she was talking about was Renya Karasuma and she thinks that Rum’s working for him
Kuroda was on a secret mission and should have met a special person (Amanda Hughes)
Rum says that he will remember every person he has met once in his life. The key is his left eye. Earlier both of his eyes were capable of it. He also remembers characteristics of people he saw
Rum says that the BO has a new member - a female costume artist and voice imitator
The BO knows about Rachel and her dad and Amanda’s and her relationship
Amanda takes the pill herself and saves Rachel
The BO searches for Rachel because Amanda might have told her about the BO
Rum’s dad was also a BO member. He was also called Rum and he has inherited this codename
Koji tells Rachel to hide behind the books in his room when the BO was knocking on his door which has saved her life and he gives her his good luck charm, because she was worried that the BO will kill him, telling her that she will be able to strike back one day
Rachel seems to know about the BO
Rum noticed that Koji moved some of his books but before he can reach for a book, Koji mentions Renya Karasuma and that he gathered information about him on the Internet and that Karasuma and Rum have a connection
Kuroda finds Amanda’s dead body and her dying message. He tries to decipher it and thinks that Amanda expected that the culprit would return to the crime scene so he still might be in the hotel
Rum fights Koji, killing him with the APTX
Rum wants Chianti and Korn to shoot Rumi because he thinks that she has heard his voice 17 years ago
The BO had to leave because the police has already arrived and wanted to continue searching for Rachel later
Koji leaves a dying message
Kuroda sees how the BO members leave the hotel. Then, he finds Koji’s corpse and his dying message
Rachel leaves her hiding spot. Kuroda notices that she’s Amanda’s bodyguard and Rachel finds out that Koji’s dead. Rachel thinks that Kuroda has killed him and attacks him. She spots a photo on his phone which shows Amanda’s corpse
Kuroda knocks her unconscious. He wants to get her out of the hotel safely and thinks about a possibility to do so
Rating:
10/10 watches
Obviously, that’s a great episode. We finally get to see the flashback of the deaths of Amanda Hughes and Koji Haneda. You need to watch this.
It’s episode 226 and time for us to talk about our 2026 Reading Resolutions! We discuss reading books, not reading books, quitting reading books, throwing books in the garbage, and more! Plus: Oh no, the passage of time!
You can download the podcast directly, find it on Libsyn, or get it through Apple Podcasts or your favourite podcast delivery system.
Every month Book Club for Masochists: A Readers’ Advisory Podcast chooses a genre at random and we read and discuss books from that genre. We also put together book lists for each episode/genre that feature works by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, & People of Colour) authors. All of the lists can be found here.
Ruby by Cynthia Bond
House of Cotton by Monica Brashears
An Arcane Inheritance by Kamilah Cole
The Bondwoman’s Narrative by Hannah Crafts
The Reformatory by Tananarive Due
Mayra by Nicky Gonzalez
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones
The House of Erzulie by Kirsten Imani Kasai
A Visitation of Spirits by Randall Kenan
When the Reckoning Comes by LaTanya McQueen
Beloved by Toni Morrison
Cane by Jean Toomer
Bitter in the Mouth by Monique Truong
Sing Unburied Sing by Jesmyn Ward
We Are a Haunting by Tyriek White
Give us feedback!
Fill out the form to ask for a recommendation or suggest a genre or title for us to read!
Episode 1165: The 17-Year-Old Truth ~ The Perceptive Devil
Based on volume 104, files 1105-1106
Plot in five keywords:
Conan solves the case by deciphering the dying message
After the case, Kuroda shows Conan another unsolved dying message
Turns out it’s connected to the death of Amanda Hughes
The BO tries to kill Rumi
The flashback of what happened 17 years ago begins
Important plot development:
Rumi asks Ai how she became that smart if she’s just an elementary student
Rum spies on Rumi, but Rumi has noticed the cameras
Kuroda tells Conan about the case 17 years ago. He thinks Conan could be able to decipher the dying message as well but Conan says that Shinichi did it, but if Kuroda tells him more about it, he might be able to find it out himself. Kuroda tells him it’s the dying message of Amanda Hughes and that he stayed in the same hotel as her because he wanted to see an American friend take part in a chess tournament
Kuroda recognized Koji Haneda
Kuroda met Rumi (who was Amanda’s bodyguard) but he didn’t know Amanda
We get to know that Amanda Hughes wanted to candidate for president
Rumi is unconfortable of Kuroda, telling Amanda that they need to keep an eye on him but Amanda says it’s not necessary
Looks like Koji Haneda and Amanda Hughes met each other on a regular basis to play chess. Amanda was a fan of him and she can improve her Japanese when she’s with him. Rumi has helped her as well because Rumi’s mother is Japanese
Rumi’s actual name is Rachel Asaka
Rumi’s father has been Amanda’s bodyguard as well. He saved Amanda’s life but died himself and Rachel saw the culprit. Rachel took part of the witness protection program and got a new identity and then she asked Amanda for becoming her new bodyguard after her mother died as well
Amanda says that Rachel’s best at armed and unarmed combat and that she’s as good as her father
Koji says she likes woman like Rachel
Rachel has a problem with her right eye - Koji thinks it could be black star (which gets worse when the person is stressed)
In the real time, Rumi leaves earlier than the Detective Boys, Kobayashi and Agasa, breaking Kobayashi’s umbrella. She tells Kobayashi to take her umbrella instead
Korn and Chianti want to shoot Rumi, searching for a person with her umbrella
Rum remembers Rumi and wants to see her dead
Rating:
10/10 umbrellas
This is a must-see. The episode is very interesting and we finally get to see what happened 17 years ago.
A safe is found during renovations of a traditional inn
Inside the safe, there’s a very valuable coin
Two antique appraisers and a business man are invited, as well as Kogoro, Ran and Conan, to make sure that nobody tries to steal the coin
Later, a fire breaks out and the business man dies
They find out that he died because someone hit his head and that the coin is missing
Important plot development:
Nothing
Rating:
7/10 coins
Kogoro as a bodyguard again… The plot is quite interesting and there are some funny moments. The case is quite interesting and pretty nice. One of the better filler episodes. I also like the resolution of the case.
Before watching this episode, on a scale of 1-10, how much are you looking forward to seeing it again?
What nonsense will Takagi and Chiba have to put up with this time? ^^; 5.
Favorite screencap:
Ayumi: "Hey look! I found the plot of this episode!”
Chiba and Takagi: “Oh no, not again!”
[[MORE]]
Favorite Moment:
Sorry Chiba and Takagi. You’re stuck with this group again interfering with your job. ^^; But hey, at least they tend to solve the cases!
Least Favorite Moment:
Eh, this case just felt super mediocre. They didn’t do much with the redirection regarding the other security guard and it just overall has a feeling of “meh”.
What’s one thing you noticed/realized about this episode that you hadn’t before?
I don’t know for sure, but the way the ball caps have wings on them could be a reference to Arale from Dr. Slump.
Definitely a reference to Uber Eats.
On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate this episode?
This is a fairly solid season that feels a bit more consistent than the previous one and allows for some interesting experimentation with the series format. The season’s length keeps the variety of the second season and some of the more focused stories of the first. The two format bending episodes are a mixed bag, with Yellow being a great little war story while Deadline only being elevated by the cast and the direction. The Cryptkeeper gets some more elaborate bits here and most of them land while tying into the stories in some clever ways. There are some episodes that feature great ensemble casts that make great use of the series’ impressive guest cast. There are some excellent performances with highlights including Mariel Hemingway, David Hemmings, Kyle MacLauchlan, Beau Bridges, Jon Lovitz, John Astin, Bruce Boxleitner, Sandra Bernhard, James Remar, John Rhys-Davies, Whoopi Goldberg, Malcolm McDowell, George Wendt, Michael Berryman, Paul Gleason, Tim Roth, William Atherton, Ke Huy Quan, John Glover, Steven Weber, Richard Jordan, John Polito, Dan Aykroyd, a returning Lance Henriksen, and an excellent double act with Eric and Kirk Douglas. There is also some strong direction this season with Robert Zemeckis being the standout, along with good work from Steven E. de Souza, Stephen Hopkins, Tobe Hooper, Russell Mulcahy and Michael J. Fox. The series’ heightened visuals are in fine form with the variety of plot lines resulting in some memorable moments and great uses of color. The gore effects are creatively used and the variety of composers give some memorable themes. This continues the series quality while having some of the series’ most impactful moments.
“What is the one thing we crave most in life?” the speaker asked, pausing just long enough to own the silence. “Stability.”
The word echoed through the auditorium like it had weight. According to her, stability was built through passion, through emotional investment, through love. Nothing in this world, she said, survives…