Retronauts Episode 513: Popeye
He ain't no physciscist, but he knows what matters
Honorable. Triumphant. Relentless. Take your pick of superlatives and apply them all to Popeye, a character approaching his 100th anniversary without losing his pop culture relevance. His best cartoons are decades old, his live action movie opened over 40 years ago, yet mention squinting or spinach to anybody and they'll probably think of the legendary sailor-man.
Befitting his status as a global icon, Popeye inspired video game developers around the world to try their hand at distilling his essence into an interactive experience. Nintendo's 1982 arcade interpretation is the most famous example, but far from the only attempt.
This week on the podcast, Stuart Gipp and Dave Bulmer apply their British sensibilities to the subject of Popeye, leading them on a mini-tangent about famed programmer and artist Don Priestley, as his work on the 1985 Popeye game for the ZX Spectrum proved quite memorable for both of them. Along the way, they also speculate about friction between Sweet Haven and Riverdale, and at one point Dave says the words "speed up your Speccy" which I suspect is a bawdy euphemism for something but I dare not speculate as to what.
Description: His hairline is fading, he talks about gaming, he's Stuart the podcast man! Let's dive into the mostly-forgotten world of Popeye games, once again accompanied by the hilarious and thoroughly wise Dave Bulmer.
Retronauts is a completely fan-funded operation. To support the show, and get exclusive episodes every month, please visit the official Retronauts Patreon.
MP3, 55 MB | 1:56:00 Direct download Retronauts on iTunes Retronauts at Audioboom
Artwork for this episode by Leeann Hamilton and editing thanks go to Greg Leahy.
