Friday Fun: Your Formative Geek Media

[Ryujin]

The things that I loved as a kid:

• Choose Your Own Adventure books - this was 100% my gateway drug into RPGs.
• Raiders of the Lost Ark
• Star Wars movies
• G.I. Joe and X-Men comics
• G.I. Joe and Transformers animated series
• Ray Harryhausen movies
• The Beastmaster
• The 1967 Spider-man animated series
• Dragon’s Lair - first arcade game that I played so much I finally beat it.

If you want to see something trippy, have a look for a cartoon called "Rocket Robin Hood" from 1966-. Ralph Bakshi (yes, that Ralph Bakshi) was writer/director/producer on it, and also on "Spider-Man." When the pressure to turn out new "Spider-man" episodes got too much for him he started reusing scripts from "Rocket Robin Hood", and even whole animation cells from it. Since RRH was a Canadian series, I guess he figured that no one in the US would have a clue about what he'd done.

 

[VashVet]

If you want to see something trippy, have a look for a cartoon called "Rocket Robin Hood" from 1966-. Ralph Bakshi (yes, that Ralph Bakshi) was writer/director/producer on it, and also on "Spider-Man." When the pressure to turn out new "Spider-man" episodes got too much for him he started reusing scripts from "Rocket Robin Hood", and even whole animation cells from it. Since RRH was a Canadian series, I guess he figured that no one in the US would have a clue about what he'd done.

I had no idea Bakshi was even on Spider-man, and definitely hadn’t heard of this one!

 

[VashVet]

Ugh, and I forgot Rankin/Bass The Hobbit!

We recorded it off of TV on Betamax and I watched it constantly as a kid.

 

[Ryujin]

I had no idea Bakshi was even on Spider-man, and definitely hadn’t heard of this one!

All of the episodes of "Rocket Robin Hood are available on Youtube.

One of the most obvious episodes that were reused for "Spider-Man" is season 3, episode 8 of RRH; "Dimentia Five." Spidey even says the exact same lines, at one point, that Robin did in the original.

 

[Scribe]

 

[Pale Violet Light]

The Hobbit -- my first memory is sitting on my dad's lap on a very 1970s couch and him reading me the first page

This was a big one for me, too. Though I guess it was my dad, not yours. I also recall playing a lot of Moria, a roguelike and precursor to Angband, I think because it was the only game my dad had on his PC. I also have strong memories of reading the 1e DMG, PHB, and Monster Manual at my elementary school library, though that must have been a few years later.

 

[jian]

The earliest and most formative are:

• Watching anime on TV as a 5yo (1980) in Seoul - Gatchaman (“Five Eagle Brothers*”) and Casshan.
• Reading the Roger Lancelyn Green versions of various myths and folktales (Robin Hood, Arthur, Greek myth, Norse myth) in the UK when I was 7 (1982).
• Reading my brother’s copy of Basic D&D when I was 7. Didn’t play D&D until I was 12.

*Yes, this is Jun/Princess misgendering.

 

[Voadam]

 

[Umbran]

Star Trek, Original Series reruns
Doctor Who, classic reruns on PBS
(Somehow, I think the fact that these were reruns made a difference)
Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
In Search Of...

Star Wars was cool, but I think less formative.

 

[Older Beholder]

Saturday morning cartoons: Astro Boy, Robotech, Battle of the Planets, The Mysterious Cities of Gold, Kimba the White Lion.

Comics: 2000 AD, The Savage Sword of Conan the Barbarian, Conan Saga