Hello and welcome to another episode of Retrospection. In this episode we're almost seasonal with a Christmas movie. We take a sleigh ride with Rudolph, Dasha, Dancer and Trancer. That's right, it's our famous Christmas movie, Trancers from 1984.
Oh god. My name's Colin and if I catch you in LA again, I don't care if you're a kid, an old lady or a kitty cat, I'm going to kick your ass. You've said that a few times haven't you? Yeah, yeah.
Actually to a kid, an old lady and a kitty cat. And did you kick her ass? I felt better, aren't they? Yeah, I think I probably won.
I think that's probably why. Am I as Paul and dry hers for squids? I mean, we can safely say you're not a squid. Because can you be a squid if you've got no her?
Sometimes I'm wet. I don't want to know about your sex life, Paul. Do you have DBs, say? Future carp, Jack Deaf, hunting zombie like Trancers across time.
And that's all it says, it just goes dot dot dot. I don't know what happened. I don't know whether the guy fell asleep or I'll guide me out or what? Well, probably the movie was over before you finished anything.
Possibly, not a long flick is it? There's not a lot, there's not a lot here, no. No, it's not a sebooty old girl from the other side of the board. A long flick.
Wow. But he's come up with that. That is amazing. Now your mind works.
I'm still getting used to it after 40 years. It is worrying. Well, for you, not so much for me. Cast includes Tim Thompson as Jack Deaf, Helen Hunt as Lena, Michael Stefania's Whistler, Art Le Fleur's MacDolte, Telma Hopkins as Injudy of Raines and Richard Hurd as Chairman Spencer.
Sorry about Cast. Helen Hunt. Yeah, I know. I was surprised to see she's in the sequel.
Yeah. Did you get so pretty quick there? Oh, right. OK.
And Richard Hurd as we know is from... T.J. Hooker and V. Yep.
Yep. M.N.L.T. Right? The character of the V.L.T.
played by Art Le Fleur. That actor does it come across as an Art Le Fleur, doesn't he? No, he does not. No.
He seems like someone who would be hanging out in a Brooklyn bar somewhere, doesn't he? Yeah. It was a surprising credit, I thought. I haven't seen that guy before, does it?
Never knew that was his name, though. Yeah. Kind of this, it is. Unless that isn't his name.
He's got another name, and he just put that on this movie. So no one knew that he was in it. Well, we'd have to look through his credit list then to find out. Well, we're not doing that, are we?
No, no, no. Directed by Charles Band, who let's say he has a filmography. He does. We've encountered him before, am I on this show?
Yes, I'm sure we'll encounter him again. I'm sure we will. No, yeah. He's the founder of Forming Pictures.
Oh, well, that's why he's directed most of the films then, right? Pretty much. I think that Copymaster, Subspecies, Troll. One of my favourites, which I'm going to have to get you to do at some point for the podcast, he's his own troopers.
I've seen that. Yeah. It's a fun, you know, war movie with aliens in it. Oh, actually, that's the one I introduced you to.
I watched it before you. I think we've had this conversation. We have, yeah. I do keep denying it.
I keep blanking that bit out. Wasn't I watching it one evening, and I sent you a picture of what I was watching. This is a great movie. You should watch this colour.
And you replied, yeah, I told you about it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Now you've even forgotten that conversation. I don't know.
As soon as it's gone, it might have, it doesn't exist anymore. What do you think of Forming Pictures, by the way? Do you think of Forming Pictures at all? Not that much.
Not unless I have to do a podcast. You see Forming Pictures to me, they're kind of like a comic book brand. They make little movies, they're not too deep. And they all kind of link together, so they've got all these pop-up master movies, which has become this massive thing now.
And they're like comic books. So that's why you like them. Not all of them, but that's why you... And I'm a sucker for sort of cheap, kind of bad movies.
It's got to be something in it that grabs me. Right. And full moon grabs me. Hey, at least they're grabbing me, Colin.
That's true. That's true. The other way around. It's got you in trouble before.
I'm going to say, what do you mean by that? That's good, Colin. So this film spawned five direct-to-video sequels. Transces 2, the return of Jack Deaf.
Transces 3, Deaf Lives. Transces 4, Jack of Swords. Transces 5, Sudden Death. Transces 6.
No subtitle on that one. They gave up at that point. I have a few more titles for him. Go on.
Jack joins a thrash metal band that's a cover for Aliens called Transces Deaf Metal. That's good. That's good on that. One of the movies is a failed attempt at creating an Italian horror film in the Transcesverse.
It's called Transces Deaf in Venice. Very nice. Very nice. There's one that's a botch science experiment propels Jack's mind into the body of a female detective in Transces.
Deaf becomes her. I like that one. That's a good one. Yeah.
And finally, there's a film where our protagonist is retired and spends his time annoying his wife with his now outdated and racist opinions about transcers in Transces till Deaf or Stupert. No, that one I like. You've put some serious work into this episode. Oh, that's it.
The finished, I'm done. We're done. We're done. I'm talking for the next hour.
Yeah, yeah. You're gonna have to do details because I give up at this point. I have to say that this is a low-budget time travel film, right? It seems to me that in the mid-80s, this was the thing to make if you were going to do a low-budget film, whereas now it's horror films have replaced it.
Yeah, I'd say that's true. I mean, they always have a formula, don't they? You've got a little time in it, but at the beginning, it's set in the future. Would have had to build a set for.
Yeah. That's why it's only going to be used for 10 minutes because it's cheap and small. And then the rest of the movie just shoots it wherever you are. Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah, that was a lot of that. I mean, James Cameron did it to a bigger extent, but that's a terminator, isn't it, really? I suppose so, yeah.
In February 2025, a black and white version of this film was released. Why? I suppose it's Bill Noar. Oh, yeah.
That's the inspiration behind it, apparently. The producer likes some free boogat films. Okay. Did that sound?
I mean, I don't know. I mean, obviously, they're cashing in on the whole, like, Shin Godzilla and Fury Road, what in chrome versions, right? I suppose I suppose. I suppose.
Well, they just get all the make this black and white and make my money out of it. So they went, we'll do tragedy black. I can imagine if everybody does that. It's like, we got to carry out campaign.
Oh, no, no, no, watch. Yeah, you would. You would. You would.
You would. You would. You would. You would.
Black and white version of the campaign. You know what they should do? One. They should step, make it black and white version of all the do.
Doctor, who episodes? You would reverse what to do with the old ones and then edit them. So they're only five minutes long each. Who'd watch them?
Well, I'll say that to people who watch the ones now. That's true. That's true. You know, that last one that they did, the Patrick Trowned one, by the way.
Yeah. Still on watch day. Oh, I've watched it. It's been sitting on my DVR for the last sort of year since he was on it.
I've still not seen it. I'll be watching eventually, as long as I'm with the finale strangely world. Yeah, we're not talking about it. This is not what we see.
No, I know. Yeah. I checked out in transits too, by the way. I haven't watched any of the other ones.
Oh, I'm going to watch it at some point. You're going to do the what? I don't know if I have time in my life. Maybe if I have a debilitating disease that keeps me bedridden.
Well, I mean, they're on it like an hour each. That's true. That's true. You could whack them all over one day.
I could, yeah. One afternoon. I've got some vacation time coming. There you go.
Christmas is coming. What else are you going to do? Who's that present for? Not me.
Do you want the box there? Is that your way of trying to get me to buy you the box set for Christmas, Colin? No. Is that what you want?
No, it's DVD box set too, right? It's not even blue. I'm not buying you blue, right? I only just moved on blue, right?
I'm surprised that VHS. Well, you know, you don't get them in charity shops. That's where you frequent? Well, for your birthday presents and Christmas presents.
Yeah. Everyone's presents. No, I do own transfers on blue. Not to get away.
I do not. No, I won't shut me at all. Well, I'm going to be open mind. I'm not going to be biased just because I own the movie.
Well, that's fair because I think 98% of the movies you've claimed you've hated the film and the review during the podcast. That's totally fine. Well, you date that thing, isn't it? You know, you like something and then you have to sit down and look at it in detail for this.
You kind of think, oh, I've never seen this before. Yeah, you kind of feel like that, actually. Why did I buy this? Well, that's what happens when you watch film sober now.
I know. Do you have any more information? Yeah, so I actually found I didn't find how much this movie grossed, but I did find what the budget of the movie was. What do you reckon?
OK, 84. You know what? I'm going to say 2 million. That was way optimistic.
That's how I call it. I was being generous. You mean you'd be extremely generous there. Extremely generous.
$225,000. No, no, you'd be in, yeah, you're close. It was a budget of $400,000. Well, at least meant it well.
It doesn't look that bad, does it? We'll talk about it. I was being serious. I was saying, that was my sincere voice.
It's hard for me to tell. I know. I have to work on it. I don't get to use it that often.
No, no, no, I've noticed. It did perform badly in theaters when it was released, but it became one of those cult movies that were successful on video. Yeah, in fact, I was kind of thinking, did this come out at a city of the UK? I don't know.
But you know, I don't shop because it's released in the UK before it was released in America. Was it really? Yeah. Oh, right.
November, 2020, far in the UK, I think, that I said 2024. I meant 1984, obviously. You're Tom Traveled again. Oh, sorry about that.
You've got to go online. I'm using the term. Good. November, 1985.
I think in America, it's March 1985. Oh, OK. I wonder why that was, because they didn't know what to do with it, I guess. Maybe.
No. The first time I saw this movie was on BBC Two in the 80s on that Mark Cousins film series, which is called Movie Drum. Movie Drum, yeah. That was the first time I saw this movie.
That was an interesting choice, are you? I guess it likes it. I guess he does. I mean, it's kind of a quirky odd thing.
I mean, don't forget, when this film was released, it was before the foundation of Full Moon Pictures. It's only now come under the Full Moon brand. So the Full Moon logo, I saw it again. That was an unbefiled, that's been added since.
No, it's been added since, yeah. No, it's a Full Moon picture. And I'll be as equal to that. I'm disgusted now for that revisionist attitude to trousers.
Are you going to be campaigning for the original photo? I want the removal of that Full Moon logo. Well, you and those Snyder bots. I know, right?
Yeah, you're all the same. You're all the same. Interesting thing that I read is that the actual film, is it Maynard, Manard, who plays the hobo drunk guy, you know, that they have to find later in the movie? He was actually apparently drunk during the filming for the movie himself.
And he was so drunk that Tim Thomason had to manhandle him around because he didn't have a clue as to what he was meant to be doing most of the time. It's like a Thursday at the office for you. Why did I do? I do say that.
I did Ryan Brackett, so strangely familiar. So, you know, he's method. He was just a method actor. But only if it involves drink.
Well, you know, it's my kind of actor, isn't it? Yeah, he'd be good at that. I would. Yeah, every day.
Apparently, Betty Davis was considered for the part of the German Ash, but was unavailable. Yeah, I bet she was unavailable. I'll put you at this point. I was at 100.
You want me to play what? Speak up. Wait, where's she from this Betty Davis? That's what she said he liked, isn't it?
Oh, it was cracking. I thought she was in the room. Did you? Well, that was scary.
It would. You know, the actor Greg Connea. Heard of him. Yeah.
And he actually helped promote the movie. He did a very good job, did he? Apparently not, no. Which we gave it up and came an actor.
He also ended up starring with Helen Hunt in a movie, didn't he? It did, yes. He was later. Yeah.
Never seen it. I can't even remember his card. Is it comedy? This one like as good as it gets or something like that?
I don't know. That sounds like the one with Jack Nicholson, doesn't he? Is it? I don't know.
It's one of those titles where you see it and you instantly think I'm never going to watch it. Is it? What else titles would the male actress leaning against the female actor? The boss will start up on the side of the bus, usually.
Yeah. Right, right? How about I was in that for a long time? Yeah.
Mm-hmm. And there's not a lot of information about this movie. I'd be honest with you. I did watch the making of this on Blu-ray.
And even that didn't give away much. And most of the time, it was just one of those fluff pieces. Oh, right. Publicity.
Yeah, pretty much. I didn't work either, did it? Well, all right. With that, let's listen to the...
It's a bit long though. But with that, let's listen to the trailer. OK. I'm Jack Depp.
I'm Mr. Rupert in the 23rd Century. Jack Depp, English city PT, may be your status. For the murder of your section 7 and the female cult of the council, I'll write an advantage to your transfer suspension sandwich.
You can't give me a T.I.C. without a warrant. I guess you'll work out here now. OK.
I don't want you to know. Well, that's my job is hunting transfers. I've never been hired. Finding them?
Send you them. Go! Ah! Ah!
Of course, sometimes they find need first. Then it's a little more complicated. All right. But you know what's this location?
We've monitored a line disruption in Los Angeles December 1985. And Zant, Ash and I all had ancestors in the city there. If you think I'm bringing that scum up the line, you've got the wrong trooper. Unless you stop with everything the council has accomplished in the last four years will come for nothing.
OK, let's say I believe it. You're a cop in the future and you take him out of hyper. Whistler. This is not going to be very lit.
I think it is, yeah. Transing only works on squids. People with weak minds, easy controls. That's why there's buck cuss.
Back in the middle of the time, another world. I don't even know what you can believe for lunch. All right. OK, I got fried rice, egg rolls, and beef chow me in.
Beef. You want some of the cow? I thought it was rough in the 23rd century. Still going.
I didn't know how I was. This isn't a type of health. Yeah? Jack?
How's my turn? I was getting hotter all the time. Still going, pal? It's still going up.
I guess I just attract a certain element no matter what centramia. Why is that music sound like flash dance? I got it right now. Sorry, why?
That music sound like flash dance. Yeah, that's bad. Your sense of language is pain. Oh.
That was long, there's crystal. You do not have this conversation coming in. It's now. Then he's never even been here before.
Transers. There we go. Wow. What a trailer.
I did like the line in it. May I see your stats? We used to be your chat up line. And then when they were like, get away, you'd be like, hey, that's my penal code.
I thought you said used to. Oh, yeah, you stopped. Yeah, yeah, yeah. What a word anymore anyway?
No, it's no longer on the penal code. What? The penal code. Oh, it's a penal code.
So we open at a gas station and we get an old car with pipes stuck on it. So we must be in the future. Yeah, everything's kind of like this retro futuristic look, isn't it? Yeah.
And it is like you say just because they've got stuff and just stuck bits onto it to try and go, oh, that looks a bit futuristic. That's too out of it. Absolutely. We do get a voice over like a detective film from the 1950s, showing its influences.
Yeah, definitely. And I suppose even the futuristic look feels a bit sort of fifties, no matter what I was well. The car seemed like it was from that. And the diner, the diner as well.
Yes, yeah. What'd you get a music? Not much. Actually, the music of the trailer was more exciting than the music in the film.
I don't remember hearing that in the film. I thought the opening music over the credits was OK. It was kind of like budget synth, wasn't it? Yo, it sounded very John Capita-ish.
I think the whole film was riffing on John Capita as well. Right. Yeah. So we learned that Jack Deff is hunting down the last of Whistler's gang because it's killed Whistler.
And that these people have called translers. I mean, I'm going to ask you a question after this first scene, I think. About that. I'm going to save it for now.
There's a few questions, really. Doesn't he say he almost singed him out on one of the rim planets? Yeah. Yeah.
It's actually painful. It was an actor you have been charged with many a time. Singing the rim. Wasn't he the brother of the guy from Erwulf?
Singing the rim. So, like. As a coffee, the other day in town cost me $7. Let's say this is less of a fiction and more of a documentary.
We're living in the translers future. We are. Yeah. It's here.
It's here. Well, not the translers future because it's a time period. So it's all about future. Yeah.
Oh, isn't that future? Oh, yeah. You're confusing me. Don't do that.
Don't do that. I'll put you like his look though, right? I just got bad. I don't know what you mean by that.
Long co-slick back. I mean, it was a new roll back in the day. It was. Yeah.
I'm a long co-slick. I used to have. Yeah. It hit many.
What? Stuff it there. Yeah. Yeah.
You know this is being heard by people. Oh, yeah. No, no, I've seen Adam. But it's not unless you're there to download him, finally.
No, I haven't. No. Promise. He says there's a harass innocent man.
He's just sat that eating his food. Yeah. He just goes over to him and then pulls his gun out. I mean, I assume it's a gun.
I mean, it's not a pointed thing, isn't it? We know what he wants in his soft drink. Ice, ice, baby. Anyway, Jackie's had attacks by the waitress.
Yeah, she's a fighter. She is? She's a transfer, Paul. She's not called fighters.
They're very different fields. He's hunting down fighters. Everyone in this universe just has to nibble and swallow. That's the what?
Nibble and swallow. That was your lawyer's that tried to get you out that last predicament you were in. No, I was thinking I've seen a movie called nibbles and swallows, but... Oh, yeah.
Both of them. It was a sequel. Nibbles and swallows, too. Yeah.
Yeah. As he's... Where are we going? What's going on?
So now he shoots some of his laser, right? She then glows red and vaporizes. Okay, so at this point, I'm not really sure what the heck a transfer is. So Paul, you're going to tell me, right?
I was hoping you could tell me. I mean, are they... They're mind controlled, right? By the Whistler.
By Whistler. Who? I like to point out, does not whistle at any point during this film. Misopportunity.
He doesn't. He doesn't. That's true. And we also find out that he's already time-traveled.
So how is he controlling them still from the past? Or does he have to... Well, does he just set it up? Once you controlled, you're controlled.
So it's like an infection? Yes. Yeah. But they kind of zombie out, don't they?
Yes. Mm-hmm. In-opportunity. That's what happens, right?
I guess you speak from experience. No. We've not set it up session yet, Paul. Will you reveal what you're doing most parts?
That's what all these episodes are calling. Oh, they're just a very, very long psychoanalysis. Yes. I wonder where you're going with that.
Yeah, so I'm not sure how it works. Really, the light zombies, right? The light zombies, right? We just have a set.
The light zombies. Why do they vaporize? Does everybody vaporize? I assume not because he says all that person...
Why do they vaporize? Because he's a trancer. I assume it was the gun that was vaporizing them? No, I don't think people vaporize when they're shot by that gun.
Because it's like a laser gun, right? It does look like a laser gun, but I'm pretty sure he... When that person in the tanning salon is found, she sees it vanish, right? And she says to him like...
Yeah, and he shot himself in the head, doesn't he? Yeah, I know what he's saying about it. He vaporized and he goes, yeah, he's a trancer. I mean, basically what it comes down to is what we'll say, it wasn't very well thought out, right?
I was just checking it wasn't me. I thought it might have been me. I thought you could help me later on. No, I'm confused as well.
Well, I would like to say that he's not a very good at his job. Oh, no, he needs to get worse later. He does get worse, but this woman in this dino, she doesn't like... I mean, you could fire off Colin.
What are you saying? You know what I'm saying. I could, but I wouldn't. Hey, you've been my control day.
You get tranced. Oh, he needs a second. Would you tell him... In one second that lasts for ten, are two minutes.
What we're talking about that later? He's reminding me of the invaders when they burn up. The TV's... Yeah, because they did that.
They should check their fingers. Oh, yeah, they had a funny, croppy finger, didn't they? I thought they had an extra finger. Was it?
I thought it was a croppy finger. Maybe it's an extra... I've never seen it for a long time. No.
We should have brought it up now. Sorry. So the cops turn up, don't they? Yes, they do.
Because he's just leaving apparently. You have a fight, you harass an innocent man, then you vaporise a waitress, and then you can just leave. He's a bit of a fascist, isn't he? Yeah, but then it's the 80s.
No, no, it's what, two thousand... Oh, you know, whatever it is. Two thousand twenty-five. Is that...
Oh, hang on, when is this for you? What future is it? What about... What's my day?
It's just a podcast. It's over-super yet. Hey, super. I need a straw for that.
What year is it for future? Are we already set? No, I did. Do they ever say what year it is?
You may ask me to do research. No, no, no, no. No, no, no. We'll just say it's the future.
Yeah. It's about as pinpointed as this movie gets, really. I don't remember any on-screen. No, because he does voice over to the scene instead of having a pore.
He doesn't say it in the year, because that'd be weird. If you just beg your voice over to the year, twenty-five or twenty-seven. He's like, why are you trying to provide yourself with the year, mate? That's talking about yourself as a third person.
Yeah, Jack Deaf. The whole film should be like that, just narrated. Oh, someone needs to do a commentary. Yeah.
He's still on the run. I'm sure he'd do it. Yeah, I'm sure he would. You know, probably not work for a while.
I don't know. Maybe he does theatre. We don't know. We don't know.
Just because they're off the screen, doesn't mean they're off their lives. Oh, very deep. Yeah. You'd love actors, don't you?
Anyway, Jack doesn't seem to worry about police procedures and leaves. But he stops by, mip-naultsy, or as I like to call him, mip-cliche. Pretty much, yeah. Yeah.
And apparently, Jack's not taking his assignments. He's just going after trunkses all the time. He's trunkses mad. He's obsessed with trunkses.
He's a maverick. He is. He's told, do this job, or a quick beat or a carp. So Jack goes, fuh, throws his badge on the ground and gets out there to hunt trunkses.
Because he loves hunting trunkses. He does. It's always about it. It's about it as well that we have to say it looks like it came out of Christmas cracker.
It does, yes. That's like, we don't get too close on that badge. Oh my god. Jack's quit.
I don't worry, that's not his real badge. That's just a toy one. He's kept the real one. It looks like, it might as well have been the little warlord that I did that I used to have from the comic back in the 80s.
Oh, he had one of those? I did have one of those. I'll join that club. Did you?
I used to think it was really cool to actually flip it out. Excuse you if he didn't bring it to school and try that. That's why we're going bullied in there. I've tried everywhere.
Well, I did like the idea in a minute that we get to where he goes diving in the ruins of the city. Yeah. To pull out license plates? Like he doesn't know what they are as well.
Well, there's a few things that you like really. There's one big one in a minute that we'll get to that really annoying. To show that we don't have the budget to actually see him swim in in the city. Right.
Between the buildings, through the windows. Like you see him swim through the inside of a bottom window and then he comes out of the top window. Yeah, that would have been a cool moment. Yeah, it would be.
It's something. No. No. No.
We do see a painted effect that LA's on the water though. Yeah, I will say that Blu-ray does not make these effects look any better than they are. Right. I don't remember it looking as shaky as what this does.
But it's nice. It's all right. For the purpose of this movie, it's all right. That's what I'll say.
Yeah. For the purpose of this movie, effects are all right. Yeah. No, I forgot.
Sell many copies. We learned that a Trans-A-Kill Jack's wife had it was Skidsville from there on. Skidsville, yeah. Yeah.
It's not so mad. Have you? I've been there Skidsville, yeah. Oh, if I meant Trans-A-Mart?
Well, that too. You know what Trans-A-Siva do you? What? I'll just say, if I go anywhere, not leading you up the go.
I've got nothing against Trans-A-S. Yeah. Yeah. Nothing to me.
I've never been beaten by a Trans-A-S. Well, that's good. What's up you never will be? Can I just chat?
You know what Trans was in terms of this movie. You're not I. I was. No.
Just make sure. Don't get me in trouble Colin. Oh well. Oh well.
Okay. So, uh, so, uh, Nolte turns up and summons Jack back to work, right, because the council needs him. Well, he doesn't want to go. He's one of those guys.