The Basement

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**The Basement**

A Ready Player One podcast for people who love things! The Basement is your companion to the Ready Player One novel. Join Albert and his cohosts each episode as they breakdown the novel and dive into the plethora of pop culture references through a series of homework assignments and challenges.

Latest Episodes:

Episode 0012: "MTFBWYA!" Aug 31, 2020

Show notes

Chapter 0011 Recap

Chapter 0012 Summary and Narrative

The Pop!

Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955)
Santa Claus (1733 - Present)
Gary Gygax, Don Kaye, and Mary Jo Powell
Leucosia
FidoNet (1984)
Wayne's World (1992)
MTFBWYA (A Long Time Ago In A Galaxy Far, Far Away - Present)
The Dark Crystal (1982)

3-2-1 Contact!

Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Twitch: @TheBasementRPO
Facebook: /TheBasementRPO
Patreon: www.patreon.com/TheBasementRPO
TeePublic: http://tee.pub/lic/mjtTM-nrguo

Episode 0011: "Shall We Play A Game?" Aug 19, 2020

Show notes

Ready Player Jason

Chapter 0010 Recap

Chapter 0011 Summary and Narrative

The Pop!

Galaga (1981)
Zaxxon (1982)
Dig Dug (1982)
Ferris Bueller (1986)
Ladyhawke (1985)
Real Genius (1985)
Better Off Dead (1985)
Ford Thunderbird (1955 - 1997, 2002-2005)
Risky Business (1983)
The Beepers (1983 as "The Beepers")
Wargames (1983)

Where To Find Us

Jason
Will
Albert

Episode 0010: "Yet Another Does Not Return!" Aug 12, 2020

Show notes

Introductions

Welcome, Will, and welcome back, Neal!

Chapter 0009 Recap

Chapter 00010 Summary and Narrative

The number of messages he had queued up
Middletown, Ohio
Art3mis moves into 2nd place with 9,000 points
There is quite a bit of description of Middletown and Halliday's house that was very relatable:
- Cars on cinder blocks
- Homes levels for a strip mall
- Wood-grain paneling
- Burt orange carpet
The magic of turning on computers in the 80's

The Pop!

Greyhound Bus line
The Sony Walkman (1979 - 2010)
Member's Only jacket and Rubik's cube
The Mohawk hairstyle
Riptide (1984 - 1986, 3 Seasons, 56 episodes)
John Cougar Mellencamp (1951 - Present)
Trans Am, Dodge Omni, iROC Z28 and K-car
Kmart (1899 - Present…maybe)
Zenith and Atari 2600 and Games
TRS80 (1977 - 1981)
Raaku-tu, Bedlam, Pyramid, and Madness of the Minotaur
Dungeons of Daggorath (1982)
Conan the Barbarian (1982)
2010: The Year We Make Contact (1984)
Footloose (1984)

The Hosts

Albert "Mustang" Padilla
Will "Indiana" Wilkins
Neal "Puma" Robison

3-2-1 Contact!

Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Twitch: @TheBasementRPO
Facebook: /TheBasementRPO
Patreon: www.patreon.com/TheBasementRPO
TeePublic: http://tee.pub/lic/mjtTM-nrguo

Episode 0009: "There Can Be Only One!" Aug 07, 2020

Show notes

Albert and Will are back in the Basement this week to breakdown Chapter 0009 of the Ready Player One novel and Art3mis and Parzival's first in-person encounter! By the honor of Grayskull, this is the smurfiest episode to date so come get to know us well, but remember: there can be only one!

Chapter 0008 Recap

Chapter 0009 Summary and Narrative

Parzival and Art3mis meeting for the first time
Non PVP Zones
Exchanging of Contact Cards
Parzival beats the lich on his first attempt and throughout the novel he does quite a bit without error or nearly to perfection
Interesting how each wants to spend their $240 billion winnings
What would we do with $240 billion?
Why did he help her?

The Pop!

Star Wars (1977)
The Road Warrior (1981)
Ray-Ban Shades (1956 - Present)
She-Ra: Princess of Power (1985 - 1987)
Howard Jones (1955 - Present)
Real Genius (1985)
Kenner Star Wars Action Figures (1978 - 1985)
Adventure (1980)
Rain Man (1988)
Bonanza (1959)
Ms. Pacman (1982)
Smurfs (1958)
Highlander (1986)
Game: Lambert and Connery Movie Showdown!

Hosts

Albert "Sánchez Villa-Lobos Ramírez" Padilla - @albertmpadilla
Will "Kowl" Wilkins - @drwill8bit

3-2-1 Contact!

Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Twitch: @TheBasementRPO
Facebook: /TheBasementRPO
Patreon: www.patreon.com/TheBasementRPO
TeePublic: http://tee.pub/lic/mjtTM-nrguo

Episode 0008: "Wonder Twin Powers…ACTIVATE!" Jul 31, 2020

Show notes

Introduction!

Thanks for the warm and overwhelming support on the return!

Chapter 007 Recap

Parzival has an epiphany that his home school planet of Ludus is actually the resting place of the Tomb of Horrors. After exploiting away to travel there without zero credits, he manages to find the entrance and makes his way in, ready for the perils that lie ahead.

Chapter 0008 Summary

With the help of a map from the Tomb of Horrors module, Parzival makes his way through the treacherous tomb avoiding traps and monsters and collecting a heavy amount of gold pieces along the way. He's eventually confronted by Acererak who challenges him to a best 2 out of 3 game of Joust, the classic arcade game. Parzival bests Acererak winning the copper key along with a clue to the first gate but before he's able to leave the Tomb of Horrors, he's stopped short of the entrance by a mysterious figure who making their way inside as well…

Chapter 0008 Narrative

Parzival uses his map to navigate through the ToH and avoid most of the traps and monsters
Levels up like a few types of classes; monster xp vs GP xp; gp xp converts to OASIS credits
He eventually makes his way to the Pillared Throne Room where he sees a throne and Acereak sitting there which is a break from the D&D module
The voices inside our heads here - what did you hear when you read the booK?
"Not horses," he replied, stepping away from his throne. "Birds."
The rules to win a copper key, best two out of three.
Of course, Parzival had honed his skills over time and credits Aech as it was his favorite (and former) game used to settle asinine pop culture disputes, but did you ever take issue with just how good Wade/Parzival was at everything? I've seen some of the negative criticism from people who didn't paritcularly like the novel and it's a go-to for a lot of those people.
Parzival gets his arse handed to him in match #1; but then asks to play on the other side in order to win games 2 and 3
After the second win, Acererak pounds on the side of the cabinet smashing into pixles and graciously congratulates Parzival before taking the form of Anorak.
Anaorak hands him the copper key, and Parzival notice two lines of text etched into the key reading, "What you seek lies hidden in the trash on the deepest level of Daggorath."
He immediately knows exactly what this hints refers to and has a hunch that he needs to travel to Middletown, a re-creation of Halliday's hometown as a boy. There, in Halliday's old home, he would find a "Dungeons of Daggorath" game and somehow that would lead him to the first gate to use the copper key on.
All he needed to do now was get out of the Tomb of Horrors and make his way immediately there, but just as he was leaving the tomb, he is confronted by the silhouette of another avatar…

The Pop!

Reference: "My flashlight reached into the darkness ahead, flickering off the damp stone walls. My surroundings made me feel like I was in a low-budget sword-and-sorcery flick, like Hawk the Slayer or The Beastmaster."

Hawk the Slayer (1980)
- Directed by Terry Marcel
- Starring Jack Palance, John Terry, Bernard Bresslaw
- Movie Synopsis
- Trivia

The Beastmaster (1982)
- Directed by Don Coscarelli
- Starring Marc Singer, Tanya Roberts, Rip Torn, and John Amos
- Movie Synopsis
- Trivia

Excalibur (1981)
- Reference: "When I put on the suit of magical armor, it shrank to fit my avatar perfectly. Its gleaming chrome appearance reminded me of the bad-ass armor worn by the knights in Excalibur."
- Directed by John Boorman
- Starring Nigel Terry, Helen Mirren, Nicholas Clay, Cherie Lunghi, a bunch of other guys, but more importantly Liam Neeson and Patrick Stewart!
- Movie Synopsis
- Trivia

Joust (1982)
- Reference: "He waved a skeletal hand at his throne. There was a brief flash of light, accompanied by a transformation sound effect (which I was pretty sure had been lifted from the old Super Friends cartoon). "
- Developed by Williams Electronics
- Designed by John Newcomer
- Game premise.
- Released on nearly every game system, ever.
- World record holder and meeting John Newcomer in 2018.

The All New Super Friends Hour (1977 - 1978)
- Reference: "He waved a skeletal hand at his throne. There was a brief flash of light, accompanied by a transformation sound effect (which I was pretty sure had been lifted from the old Super Friends cartoon). "
- Produced by Hanna-Barbera and aired on ABC
- Based on DC Characters
- Premise of the show and characters

Street Fighter 2 (1991)
- Reference: "The last time we'd played (Joust), I'd rubbed his nose in defeat so mercilessly that he'd flipped out and vowed never to play me again. Since then, we'd used Street Fighter II to settle our disputes."
- Developed by Capcom
- Produced by Yoshiki Okamoto
- Trivia

Reference: "It suddenly occurred to me just how absurd this scene was: a guy wearing a suit of armor, standing next to an undead king, both hunched over the controls of a classic arcade game. It was the sort of surreal image you'd expect to see on the cover of an old issue of Heavy Metal or Dragon magazine."
- Heavy Metal (1977 - 1992) (1992 - 2014) (2014 - Present)
- - Founder: Leonard Mogel
  - Premise
  - Trivia

- Dragon Magazine (1976 - 2007)
  - Created by TSR
  - Premise
  - Trivia

Star Wars: "The Throne Room and End Title" (1977)
- Reference: "I recognized the music. It was the last track from John Williams's original Star Wars score, used in the scene where Princess Leia gives Luke and Han their medals (and Chewbacca, as you may recall, gets the shaft)."
- Directed by George Lucas
- Stars Mark Hammill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Alec Guiness, Peter Cushing, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, Kenny Baker, James Earl Jones,
- Trivia

Dungeon and Dragons Cartoon (1982 - 1985)
- Reference: "And before I could ask what I was supposed to do next, or where I could find the first gate, his avatar vanished in a flash of light, accompanied by a teleportation sound effect I knew was lifted from the old '80s Dungeons & Dragons cartoon."
- Co-produced by Marvel Productions and TSR
- Voices of Willie Aames, Don Most, Katie Leigh, Adam Rich, Peter Cullen (Optimus Prime), Frank Welker (Megatron), and a number of others
- Premise
- Trivia

Lord of the Rings (elvish language - Quenya)
- Reference: "Dagorath was a word in Sindarin, the Elvish language J. R. R. Tolkien had created for The Lord of the Rings. The word dagorath meant "battle," but Tolkien had spelled the word with just one "g," not two."
- Started in 1910
- Primarily made up of Finnish, but has some Latin, Greek, Welsh, and older Germanic languages as well.
- Quenya, Sindarin, and the origins
- Trivia
- - "May It Be" - Enya, 2002

The Tomb of Horrors (1978)
- Written by Gary Gygax
- For characters level 10-14
- Premise
- The Traps
- - The Sphere of Annihilation
- Magic Items
- - +1 Flaming sword
  - A gem of seeing
  - +1 Ring of Protection
  - +3 Full Plate mail armor
  - Bag of Holding
- Areas of Interest
- - Chapel of Evil
  - Pillared Throne Room

The Scoreboard

iTunes Review:
- 5 stars!
- "Keep it coming. RP2 is on the way!" - JDR2000

Patreon:
- Danny P - Crystal Key Holder

3-2-1 Contact!

Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Twitch: @TheBasementRPO
Facebook: /TheBasementRPO

Patreon: www.patreon.com/TheBasementRPO
TeePublic: http://tee.pub/lic/mjtTM-nrguo

Episode 0007: "So Make Of This Whatever You Wish!" Jul 21, 2020

Show notes

Episode 0007: "So Make Of This Whatever You Wish!"

We're Back and Welcome!

Welcome back to an old friend
Show format going forward

Chapter 0006 Recap

Chapter 0007 Summary

Chapter 0007 Narrative

The Pop!

Schoolhouse Rock - Verb, That's What's Happenin'! (1974)
Harry Potter (1997 - 2007)
Capture the Flag
Doctor Who (1963 - Present, 861 with 97 "missing"???)
The "wave" cheer (1981)
Alice in Wonderland (1865, Lewis Carroll)
Lich and Lich Jokes to save your family

Shoutouts

TFLU44 - Really appreciate you, sir. Thank you.

Hosts

Albert "The Lich King" Padilla - @albertmpadilla (Twitter, Instagram)
Will "8 Bit" Wilkins - @drwill8bit (Twitter)

3-2-1 Contact!

Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Twitch: @TheBasementRPO
Facebook: /TheBasementRPO
Patreon: www.patreon.com/TheBasementRPO
TeePublic: http://tee.pub/lic/mjtTM-nrguo

Episode 0006, Part 7: The Game Wizards! Apr 09, 2019

Show notes

Episode 0006, Part 7: The Game Wizards!

Grab your player's handbook, pencils, paper, and lucky 20 sided die, because it's time to role for initiative! Join Albert Padilla and new guest Neal Robison as they finish out Chapter 0006 and discuss some of the more influential table top RPG's of the 70's and 80's! The guys wrap this one up with a look back on the quintessential pen and paper game, Advanced Dungeons and Dragons!

Introduction and Ready Player Neal

Chapter 0006…what's left?

The Limerick
Ready Player One Contest
EOD 88
Mike Mika

GURPS (1986)

Game mechanics
Steve Jackson Games vs. The United States Secret Service
The Cyberpunk Sourcebook

Champions (1981)

Game mechanics
Champions Online and City of Heroes

Car Wars (1980)

Gameplay and setup
More games in ziplock bags

Rolemaster (1985)

Origins
Tables and Calculations

Tomb of Horrors (1975)

S1
Reception and reviews
YOU ARE GOING TO DIE
Sequels and legacy

Advanced Dungeons and Dragons (1977)

The Holy Trinity
The AD&D Difference
The Basic Sets
Origin of the name
Game system highlights
Never trust Chaotic Neutral
"The Game Wizards"
Legacy and Pop Culture

Hosts

Albert "The Game Wizard" Padilla
Neal "Mr. Snack Hack" Robison
- Instagram and YouTube: Mr. Snack Hack

3-2-1 Contact!

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Twitter: @TheBasementRPO
Facebook: /TheBasementRPO
Patreon: www.patreon.com/TheBasementRPO
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Episode 0006, Part 6: Dedicated, Inseparable, Invincible Jan 16, 2019

Show notes

Episode 0006, Part 6: Dedicated, Inseparable, Invincible!

Lords of Light! It's the first show of the new year and Albert is joined by Jonesy from the Cantina Cast to wrap up the pop culture armada found in Chapter 0006! The guys cover Jeopardy, Space Giants, Battle of the Planets, Misfits of Science, Thundarr the Barbarian, Van Halen, Devo, and much more with a special take on the influence of George Lucas. C'mon you Demon Dogs, give this one a listen!

Terry Prachett (1948 - 2015)

DiscWorld
The Sega Saturn and Sony Playstation games

Robert A. Heinlein (Auth) (1907 - 1988)

Starship Troopers staring Doogie Howser, and Jester from Top Gun
Sons of the Lawless and Jake Busey
8 million sequels and the reboot

Michael Moorcock (1938 - present)

Moorcock Multiverse and the Eternal Champion
Similarities with avatars in The OASIS

Jeopardy (1964 - Present)

Alex Trebek and his mighty mustache
Favorite game show of the past
Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy April Fools
Jonesy plays a round of Jeopardy!

The Space Giants (Late 70's - I'm going to say it was around '78 or even '79)

Origins of the show and Rodak's shimmery smile
Albert walked home from school when he was 1
This shows grows on you, doesn't it?

Misfits of Science (1985 - 1986)

The prequel to ALF and Friends
Tim Kring is a patient man
Karen Lawrence is underrated
Leo from Grease and Mr. Hand are in this one
Thomas Dolby strikes again

Battle of the Planets (1978 - 1980)

Origins and US beginnings
"TRANSMUTE!"
Star Wars influences
Notable differences between the US and Japanese versions
7 Zark 7 is a creeper

Thundarr the Barbarian (1980 - 1983)

Cast and Crew
"Tarzan in space", and the Lords of Light special
Star Wars influences
Thundarr the ROCK BAND!
Vashar belongs in Eternia
Endor - wut??

Devo (Band) 1973 - Present

The definitive New Wave band
Band origin name
Top 3 songs
What is an Energy Dome?

Van Halen (1972 - Present)

Band and band name origins
Who really named the band?
Van Halen vs. Van Hagar
No one knows where Dave is anymore
Top 234 songs
It wasn't Gary Cherone's fault

Zaxxon (1982)

Game name origin
First arcade to have a commercial
After 37 years nothing has changed: Albert still SUCKS at Zaxxon

Akalabeth (1979)

Richard Garriott's first work
The alumni of Clear Creek High School in Houston TX
The sales strategies of Akalabeth and Anorak's Quest
A game of firsts

George Walton Lucas Jr. (1944)

George was better than we were at age 30...barely.
Favorite movies NOT starting with "Star Wars"
George's influences
George's legacy
What Star Wars means to us

Hosts

Albert "Lord of Light" Padilla
Jonesy "Demon Dog"

3-2-1 Contact!

Instagram: @TheBasementRPO
Twitter: @TheBasementRPO
Facebook: /TheBasementRPO
Patreon: www.patreon.com/TheBasementRPO
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Episode 0006, Part 5: By The Power Of Grayskull! Dec 20, 2018

Show notes

After our fair share of stuffing and pie, Albert is back with special guests Mike Rondeau and James Halliday, aka Morgan Marshall! We're talking Stephen King, The Simpsons, Schoolhouse Rock!, Gamera, Stanley Kubrick, They Might Be Giants, Bill Hicks, and of course, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe! Grab your pink vests, fire up "The Bartman", and get ready to get down with these friends of all children!

Stephen King (1947 - )

Favorite work
"I'm gonna scare the hell out of you!"

Joe Haldeman (1943 - )

The Forever War

Bruce Sterling (1954 - )

Neologisms quiz

The Simpsons (1989 - current)

Cast and guest stars
Opening Sequences
A look into the future?
"Do the Bartman", Michael Jackson and Brad Bird!
Greatest TV show of all time or nah?

Star Trek Enterprise (2001 – 2005)

So we had every intention of talking about ST:E until someone brought up Quantum Leap and then it turned into Ziggy. Sorry, not sorry.

Schoolhouse Rock! (1973 - 1996)

Education cartoon or just a singalong?
"Three Is A Magic Number", "Conjunction Junction", and "I'm Just a Bill"
Schoolhouse Rocks! Rocks (1996)

Gamera (1965)

The definitive tusked turtle and friend to all the children!
Gamera vs. Zigra
Gamera vs. Godzilla
Go watch the MST3K riffs...please.

Stanley Kubrick (1928 - 1999)

Favorite film
Full Metal Jack and our father's war

They Might Be Giants (1982 - Present)

Band and band name origin
Favorite songs
Flood is the one the greatest albums ever
Dial A Song: (718) 387-6962

Bill Hicks (1961 - 1994)

He really hated Ronald Regan and Billy Ray Cyrus!
Controversy and The David Letterman Show
Russell Crowe connection

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (1983 - 1985)

The good, the bad, and Filmation
Amazing voice talents
Faker is the worst
Title song
Episodes and PSA's
WHY SO SUGGESTIVE ALL THE TIME??
A cartoon about toys, or a cartoon to sell toys?
Master of the Universe (1987) staring Ivan Drago
Channing Tatum, Master of the Universe
The Man-E-Faces of the MOTU is OUT NOW!

Shoutouts and reviews!

Hosts

Albert "Comic Book Guy" Padilla
Mike "Man-E-Faces" Rondeau
Morgan "Ms. Tatum" Marshall (IG: @morganmcfly23)

3-2-1 Contact!

Instagram: @TheBasementRPO
Twitter: @TheBasementRPO
Facebook: /TheBasementRPO
Patreon: www.patreon.com/TheBasementRPO
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Episode 0006, Part 4: ...And Godzooky! Nov 13, 2018

Show notes

Fresh off the Halloween holiday, The Basement is back and Albert's enlisted the help of Ear Glue Media's very own Social Media Manager, Josh Crawford, aka Imperial Moonwalker! Join us in a shadowy flight into the dangerous world of Chapter 0006 as we discuss Altered Carbon, Fahrenheit 451, The Sandman, Knight Rider, Voyager, Fight Club, Clerks, The Clash, Midnight Oil, Godzilla...and Godzooky! We even found a way to cover Lio's "Banana Split"!

Ready Player Josh