The X-Entertainment Blog!

04/09/2008: The Hundred Dollar Toys "R" Us Shopping Spree: Part 2!

I might be too tired to write this tonight, but since tomorrow boasts the only morning that I don't need to be somewhere by 9 AM, let's give it a shot. Please heed the caveat that my current level of exhaustion may be conveyed in the form of utter gibberish. I reserve the right to ninja edit when I wake up.

The stuff I covered in Part 1 was purchased more on the merits of whimsy than anything else. This batch reflects a truer sense of what I'd grab on a Toys "R" Us shopping spree if I was eight-years-old today. I'm not sure if that makes much sense, but since that will be a running theme in tonight's entry, I might as well establish it early on.

Animal Planet Foam Dragon - $0.01: I'm absolutely serious. This beautiful, silvery blue beast cost exactly one penny. I have no way to explain it. We figured that it was a pricing error, but a TRU employee confirmed that if it rung up for a penny, the store was obligated to sell it to us for that. Of course, after confirming this, she snatched up the remaining dragons to buy for herself. No clue what grand intentions this lady had for a series of devil-faced dino-demons; I was just pissed that we didn't have the chance to grab more of them.

Spending a penny on anything is a thrill, but when you spend it on something that you were prepared to pay full retail for, it's cause for the kind of in-store victory dance that only seems embarrassing in retrospect. It's not that I mind being pegged as the kind of guy who'd twist and shout over a cheap foam dragon; it's just that I dance like an asthmatic folding chair. You may cry foul over such a poorly conceived analogy, but you'd also have to concede that asthmatic folding chairs really can't dance all that well.

The fact that I swiped this foam dragon for an amount of money that I'd sooner vacuum than lean over to collect was only part of the glory. In truth, I really wanted this guy. I had a ton of similarly styled random dragon figures as a kid, and Animal Planet's version really seems like a throwback to those lost beauts. I tried to give you some sense of scale with the Dasani bottle, but if it isn't helping, Mr. Foam Dragon stands at about a foot tall, and rides a fine line between being soft enough to throw at someone without killing them and hard enough to do exactly that I know that Animal Planet didn't intend for us to throw dragons at people, but any item prefaced with the word "foam" must be construed that way.

Star Wars "Galactic Heroes" Two-Pack - $5.99: Hasbro really stumbled onto something brilliant with the "Galactic Heroes" collection, along with all of the like-styled lines that they make for Transformers, Marvel Comics and so forth. I've covered them before, but the figures are essentially super-deformed versions of the classic characters we love and adore, maintaining their typical weaponry and facial scowls, but in an oh-so-cute way.

With the Star Wars collection in particular, it's extra cool. Since the line was so successful, they've already blasted past the typical characters and moved into way more obscure territory. One two-pack features Ponda Baba and Snaggletooth, and the fact that only three of you know who I'm talking about just proves my point. If I had to pick one line to start collecting outright, it'd be this. The collection is large enough to really get into, but the figures are ironic enough to place around your cubicle without looking like too much of an asshole.

I picked the Luke Skywalker/Darth Vader set, for the very simple reason that Vader came with a removable mask. Darth Fester! To stay in tune with Return of the Jedi: The Special Edition Version 8.9, Hasbro portrayed Vader completely and totally without eyebrows. I can't decide what I miss more: Sebastian Shaw in the Jedi ghost scene, or Sebastian Shaw's fucking eyebrows in the unmasked Vader scene.

And now, SAD NEWS!

As happy as I was to see Toys "R" Us carrying the resurgent Madballs collection, I was appalled by their in-store placement: Hanging on the bottom rack in a pathetic aisle two hundred feet away from the normal action figure toys. If I didn't go into this shopping spree thing with the goal of perusing every square inch of the store, there's no way I would've seen them. I could understand their placement if Toys "R" Us had already given up on Madballs and had 'em on clearance, but this didn't seem to be the case. The toys are still new enough to be pushed as such, but they don't stand a chance when you can only find them under a pile of imported cowboy dress-up kits in Aisle 236.

Clearly, I had to buy one.

Madballs Sick Series "Skull Face" - $5.99: TRU's selection wasn't outrageously thorough, but I was pleased to find Skull Face among the survivors. I owned a Skull Face Halloween mask as a kid, which went on to become the pinnacle portion of my outfit whenever my older sister had a new friend over.

I've been curious about these "Sick Series" Madballs. Unlike the normal versions, they include a second ball stuffed inside the monster head, which can be squished-and-bubbled to reveal viscous red liquid and an assortment of rubber bugs.

To be honest, I prefer my Madballs a little less sick. This ball-of-blood-and-bugs thing has just become too synonymous with cheapo party store toys, and Madballs definitely doesn't deserve the distinction of being on the same level as a sixty cent party favor. Plus, having owned many of these bloodbugball things in the past, I know firsthand that they are not objects that last a lifetime. Eventually, they always pop or deflate. I don't want to say hello to a Madball and know that I'll have to say goodbye to it someday. I guess you could say that my relationship with Madballs is a delicate house of cards. If you take that last sentence literally and actually do say it, please record it and send me the audio file. I desperately need a new ringtone.

Silly Putty "Space Sludge" - $1.99: Just when I thought that I owned enough Silly Putty to last a lifetime, they go and come up with something that no self-respecting, soul-having person could pass up on. Actually, I can't honestly claim that "Space Sludge" Silly Putty is in any way a new product, because I remember seeing it back in the 1300's. Whatever. At two bucks, it was a great way to counterbalance the many items in my wagon that had six or more points-of-articulation.

I was mostly sold on the merits of owning something called "Space Sludge," but some credit must go to the awesome triple-eyed alien shown on the packaging. If I was ever challenged to watch 48 hours worth of bad sitcoms in one sitting, I'd want that guy next to me. He just seems like the type of triple-eyed alien who'd go with the flow and make the most of it. I also enjoy the idea of a tentacle underside that looks suspiciously like bubble wrap.

Oh, and the putty is…good. It's good putty. With a multicolored metallic sheen, it feels jussssst extraterrestrial enough to justify the moniker.

Boogaz Pick "N" Flick Launcher - $4.78: I know that I already wrote about Boogaz toys, but I never wrote about the special hand-shaped accessory that hurls them at the wall. And I'm not going to now, either. I only bought the thing to get at its included tub of obnoxious green ooze, and the promised glow-in-the-dark mystery figure lurking inside.

Eh, that's a pretty crappy one, all told. I was really hoping for a Santa Claus or Jason Voorhees-inspired Boogaz figure, but it looks like I'm forever cursed to get these sad nobodies that do nothing to improve my longstanding contention that toys should rarely if ever be based on snot.

Regardless, I stand by my belief that BOOGAZZZZ was pretty close to being an awesome toyline. Had they just done some tweaking and made the running theme toxic waste instead of snot, I doubt that the toys' migration to the clearance racks would've been so quick. Even if kids can rally behind a snot-based toy for its gross-out appeal, I just can't imagine that many children would actively collect different versions of it. Truth be told, I don't think it matters if you're six or sixty: You'll always feel like a big dope saying "Boogaz" out loud.

Look for Part 3 later in the week, including my most expensive purchase, along with a bunch of junk which in retrospect probably isn't as interesting as I thought it was when I bought it. Oh well. I'll just have to make it interesting, either through song or with lots and lots of curse words.

Oh, and a reminder: If you're an RSSsy type of person, click here to subscribe to the blog in however manner you see fit.

Mannn, you're so lucky to have that big Toys. Ours doesn't have Madballs or Boogaz. Just lots of old WWE figures and Pirates of the Caribbean stuff

Matt,when you said the Star Wars Character Wheel wasn't the cheapest thing you got, you weren't kidding!

I'm also glad to see you included Madballs in your selection. It sucks that they're hiding them, but it's just cool that they're back.

I am blown away by that dragon. If I were there I'd have snatched up every single one of 'em.
This article gets an A++

Galactic Heroes are awesome… but I've gotta say the Marvel toys are better. They occasionally have more than one point of articulation, and as much as I love Ponda Baba, the Max Reebo Band and Dengar (THEY MADE A DENGAR), I can't help but love being able to pose my own Secret Wars on my desk.

Darn it Matt, just when I decided I was going to get to bed before 2 I decide to check this and sure enough, like a diligent and loveable webmaster you post part two. This means I'll read the article when I finish brushing my teeth…

Annette, I'm glad I'm not the only one. I mean, there's obviously 5 fingers on that thing. But damn if they couldn't design it smarter. Hahaha.

Brian and Annette, same here. I was about to say something offensive to a picture on my monitor until I realized there were a few more fingers to my right.

Matt, I am perfectly willing to embarrass myself around complete strangers by recording that for you. I know your e-mail, but I would like to know if you want it in my regular old normal voice, patented Yoda voice, my old person voice, or my showpiece (hearpiece?), Dr. Claw from Inspector Gadget. Your call if you're interested.

Oh, and here's a typical conversation between me and my wife: "Why did you buy 12 foam dragons?"
"They were only a penny!"
"And?"
"And they were only a penny!!!
~Shakes head in disappointment~

The new madballs aren't nearly as cool as the originals. There, I said it. I feel better now.

I do love those Galactic Heroes figures. I've been tempted to get that Ponda Baba/Snaggletooth set so many times.
I can't believe you got that awesome dragon for a penny! Boo on that employee for bogarting the rest of them.

Matt, as always, awesome post. And I CAN'T BELIEVE that you can get ANYTHING in this world for a PENNY !! On top of that it's an awesome looking dragon. I wouldv'e bought ALL the other ones too if I was there. Can't wait for part 3. =) All the other stuff looks cool too.

Brian The finger on your far left is the thumb. The big "flicker" finger is the index finger.

Annette When I draw cartoon characters I draw them with 4 fingers. Like the Simpsons

I draw ears like the Simpsons too, just thought I'd throw that out there…

Wow that space sludge is pretty!! I have only owned silly putty once. I made a ball out of it and bounced it down the stairs. I did that a few times and it became very dirty.

I like the Galactic Heroes toys. They are pretty adorable. Any toy line is great if they have a smaller cuter version of it. I would enjoy seeing a small cute Shredder with a removable helmet. Or a Family guy line of toys in that style.

5 bucks is too much money for that boogaz toy. And I actually would be upset because that mystery toy would be in there. That means less slime!

I didn't have a madball growing up, the guts brains part looks cool but you couldn't really bounce it, it would just be for display. A regular madball would be great with your new nerf hoop. BTW a random fact about me, I wanted a basketball hoop growing up SO BAD growing up. I took a cardboard box and my Granddad stapled that up (with the bottom ripped out of it) that only worked for a while, and we tried so hard without getting an actual basketball hoop installed someplace. I just wanted to be a normal kid with a basketball hoop screwed into the front of our house. Normal. Sigh.

I honestly don't think I would get that Dragon for myself, maybe with the intentions to give it away as a gift. And I am trying to remember the cheapest I have bought something in a retail store and I don't remember. The last cheapest thing I remember is a quarter or free. I got about 3 years ago a year subscription to two magazines at one time. And I am a member of bzzagent.com which are campaigns to get free samples to keep some to yourself and to give to your friends to advertise for the products. Which is awesome, no catches my friends no catches indeed.

Toxikfoxx I had the AMP Traction grape energy drink in my hand tonight at Walmart but I couldn't afford the 2.19 +dep for it. Hopefully on Friday I'll get a can and try it out!!

In other news, I saw about 6 Wii's at Walmart tonight. I asked my best friend for 200 dollars. He said uh no. I whimpered and scurried away to another part of the store. And they didn't have Super Smash bros which I wouldn't get anyway because I am into the simple fun games not the complex serious modern games. Please do not argue I just feel that way. I think I would be happy with the sports package and the carnival games and that is it for a long time. Maybe Mario Galaxy.

matt, please, please, please, do an article on the disney special hosted by half the golden girls! you can't tease us with the knowledge of rose and dorothy cavorting around disney world and not let us have a taste.

I don't have a cubicle, but I will be damned if that thing isnt in my bathroom to scare the 4 vistors my house gets a year!!

Congrats on your first multi-part article in forever, Matt! So far, my favorite is the Silly Putty; you just can't go wrong with something like that.

Last weekend, my friend set her $40 pocketbook on top of a blob of Silly Putty that was left out on the table. She left in a hurry. My husband's comment after she left? "If someone comes into my house, they should expect to find Silly Putty lying around."

Wow, that's probably the first time anyone's bought anything for a penny since like 1942. Congratulations!

I have that same set of Galactic Heroes, and I purchased it for pretty much the same reason…well, I do like Jedi Luke as well.

If I ever encounter a grown man gleefully dancing around a toy store clutching a foam dinosaur, my heart will become engorged with happiness and I will cheer and throw my arms around him.

And because my local toys r us is in a rough part of town, his woman will come charging out of the Bratz department and try to break nail off in my face for touching her man. I dare her to try me when my heart is engorged. Seriously.

As a fellow Staten Islander, this is my life-long TRU as well. I remember the bike aisle, the costumes in the front, the video game asile with all the slips of paper you had to bring to the little glass booth by the counter, the "girls section" I would never venture into, and of course, the action figure asile. I spent many-a-day standing by that storage door waiting for a new box of Turtles, GI Joe, and Dick Tracy figures to emerge out of "the back"… Matt, I was probably the one battling you for that Mondo Gecko. Of course once they changed it, it was never the same… now its completely foreign to me… but in my heart and mind, it'll always be the brown building with multi colored beams, sitting next to Pergament. By the way Matt, did you ever go to The Close-Out Store in the K-Mart shopping plaza? That's where I used to find lots of crap toys and odds and ends- like Wheeled Warrior and GI Joe acessory packs.

Belmar: Fuck yes. Two things I remember getting there: A Star Wars "A-Wing" vehicle for my friend's birthday about a year after the line fizzled out. They had dozens of them, and little did I know that it was actually one of the rarest SW toys, with boxed versions later selling in the high hundreds.

The other thing was "Manglord Mountain," which I've written about here and there. I was thoroughly disappointed with it, but I want another one all the same.

And I still go to that Jade Island place three doors down from where that store used to be.

Hey Matt, do you know if they have that silly putty in a blue tint? There's not much I wouldn't do for some metallic blue silly putty!

Jade Island is Awesome!! From the octagon windows to the shady-ass bar, there's nothing in that place that isn't fantastic. All the Tiki mugs are great, but you gotta try the drink that comes in the giant pinapple. With the carnival on at the mall right now, it's a perfect one, two combo!

Golden's Deli is kinda cool too- for the plain sake that theres a friggin train inside the place.

I've only been there once, and it was for a funeral. My three inch heels sank deep into the perfect Staten Island ground. I was happy to beat a path out of there for sure, but I remember thinking as I sped away to my ghetto homeland how perfect and wonderful this place was. The grass was greener and the sun was brighter. And the drinks come in pineapples. And the dinosaurs cost only one cent of conspirace money. Shangri La.

I'll just have to make it interesting, either through song or with lots and lots of curse words.

1) Agreeing that the Foam Dragon was an awesome find
2) Know who Ponda Baba & Snaggletooth are
3) Anticipating the Disney World aricle with half of the golden girls.

I don't know how you possibly could have gotten that impression from S.I. I can't think of a worse place. Besides all the warm fuzzy nostalgic feelings of growing up, it could sink into the ocean for all I care. If your heels sank into anything, it was landfill.

Maybe it just compares favorably to my own home borough, but I don't think that was it. It was magical. Staten Island is exactly where I plan to go when the zombies strike.

Did you shape that Silly Putty into a rabbit on purpose, because it looks like one?

You definately got a bargain on that dragon. I used to work at a TRU a couple years back and we had a big bin of those Animal Planet things (mostly, dinosaurs, though) selling for about $10.

Never paid a penny for anything. The cheapest thing I've ever bought on clearence was a pillow shaped like Wolverine's head for a dollar at Target. They usually sold those for about $10. It was comfy, too.

Gotta show love for the Madballs. This past winter I happened to show up at my local Toys R Us when they must have just put out all their Madballs. I picked up the whole 1st series and felt odd walking through the store trying to hold them all while I was carrying a Battlegrounds board game. That was a very successful trip. Speaking of cheap toys, does any one remember "Child's World"? It was a cheap Toys R Us knock-off store that often had clearance toys.

You lucky duck. The Toys R Us in my city practically won't let you in unless you're armed with credit cards. "Clearance? What is this Clearance you speak of?!"
If I want incredibly cheap toys or anything, I have to make do with the Dollar Store. Wish I could find a cool dragon-thingy for a penny…Snivel…

Bill H - I know I'm not Matt, but I can tell you that yes they do make the silly putty in blue - and purple too! (I have the purple.)

Ooooooh you got lucky with the Dragon!

All the stuff that gets reduced down to a penny, we were initially supposed to "destroy" - yes, destroy. I don't know why, no one seemed to know why, but that's what they said to do with it - throw it away! Once in a while they would let us just have some of the stuff, but then I think they actually started donating the stuff to Toys for Tots or something. I remember giant Star Wars Pez dispensers coming in one time, and we all swarmed over them, only to find out they were to be set aside for donating… We were all internally bummed.

Matt,just letting you know,those old Dracula Dirt Pendant things from the old Warren magazines are on ebay complete with certificate of authenticity.

I've been reading the past couple of blogs, but, due to some family business, I haven't been able to post. Great haul, Matt. This is why time machines need to be invented, who wouldn't want to spend a hundred bucks in the TRU of their youth?

As for the family bit, I want to say, but I'll post my Little Brother's Myspace when he make the official announcement in a couple of days, because it's really his good news. I just get to bask in the good vibes from it.

You would be the king of Halloween, and still have about 9,500 dragons left to take over Christmas with.

Ryane — My life is now a little more complete. I'm sooo goin to TRU this evening after work, and the gym. BTW, how do you do the bold text again?

Last month I read an article about how the penny is obsolete and should be discontinued from circulation. All I have to say to that is Foam Dragons.

DANG! You got some good stuff. A PENNY!!! WOW!!! I had the strangest dream that I had a $100.00 TRU gift card… thanks. NOW YOU INFECTED MEEEEEEEEE!! lol. But seriously, a GREAT post as always, I might save 100 to go and on a shopping spree of my own. lol. RULE: nothing over 10.00. To sober me from video games and DVD's. But, after I by Mario Kart Wii

I used to work at TRU… the penny stuff is intended to be thrown away, never sold. You got lucky, Matt.

On www.kotaku.com, they just posted 2 full hours of mario kart wii footage. It shows them playing through every level. Pretty cool stuff. Mind you I only watched 7 minutes.

Annnnd I'm dumb. I just posted this in the Part 1 thread by accident, but I think "It's not that I mind being pegged as the kind of guy who'd twist and shout over a cheap foam dragon; it's just that I dance like an asthmatic folding chair." just won my award for sentence of the week in ot month. Great stuff!!

Um…so…I get about 150 next week for my birthday…I MAY go to TRU…we'll see.

last time I got anything at TRU on my birthday was 1988 or 89. Me and my mom and grandma and brother camped out for a few hours til they opened, to get Super Mario Bros. 2 and I think I also got a Game and Watch. It was broke and I took it back and forget what I got instead.

I just can't stop thinking about what the rest of that stuff might be. I really want to know what the most expensive thing Matt bought is.

I loved that A-Wing….. but I always sightly resented it for not being BATTERY POWERED!!!

i too have to agree that that AWESOME silly putty and that penny-dragon are my favoritest choices of yur selections. I do believem you have another drago up your sleeve, however- that dragon doesn't look like the one I was gushing over in an earlier post.

When I think of Toys R Us three things instantly come to mind: cheap, plastic Halloween costumes, Transformers action figures, and NES games (The World of Nintendo section!). Even though there was a lot of other shit to look at or buy the only three things I really ever bought at Toys R Us were Halloween costumes, Transformers, and video games. Matt, I really wish I still had my cheapy Freddy Krueger costume from 3rd grade. It was most definitely X-E review material! Bless it and its plastic goodness!
I was sad to see you had to dig for the Madballs. I remember during their original run they had a fair section of wall dedicated to Madballs products. I actually bought two Mad Balls rubber Halloween masks from TRU back in the day of Horn Head and Sreemin' Meemie which only recently were pitched by my mom. Reading these past two articles made me remember how awesome TRU was when I was much younger. Rock on Matt.

I would like to join randomcow in the request for the Golden Girls Disney thing. Random thought: if I was a Golden Girl I would be some sort of cross between Rose and Dorothy.

Poor Mad Balls. Apparently they are the "Rodney Dangerfield" of playthings at Toys "R" Us.

It's funny that the subject of a $100 spending spree at Toys "R" Us has come up. A few years ago, when making a New Years Eve inspired list of 'things-to-do' during the next year, I decided to do just that. For the first time since, I guess must have been around my 10th birthday, I was going to head to TRU and drop a crisp new Benjamin Franklin on whatever I damn well pleased. My only rule was 'no video games', the cash would have went too quick.

The plan sort of worked. I ended up not finding enough junk that was worth my coin, so I came up a bit short. Or maybe I just wasn't totally feeling my "inner child" that particular day. Still I ended up with a few cool items, one of which is my Transformers re-issue of the G1 Prowl. So that was good. (They didn't have Mad Balls on the shelves, mind you, or I might have actually surpassed the self-imposed $100 limit

)

Oh, almost forgot - how many here are planning on going out and picking up a copy of Mario Kart Wii? As much as I think I should - and will - grow to love SSBB, Mario Kart is my true love. It would be nice to develop a nice circle of racers here, similar to the Brawl code exchange. Anyone else in (besides the few above me that already mentioned it)?

If I had a Wii, I'd be all over that Mario Kart version. In my family, Mario Kart was the sport of kings. We had afternoon-long family tournaments devoted to Mario Kart.

Matt, I am jealous. That dragon is so cool, and you got it for cheaper than a less-detailed dollar-store toy. Wish I could have it to scare off the squirrels and obnoxious neighbors who let their dogs cause havoc in my landlady's yard.

"Star Wars" geek alert: Add me to that list of people who know who Ponda Baba and Snaggletooth are. I've looked at and almost bought those Galactic Heroes sets tons of times, but I've always pulled back. I don't know if I have the room for them.

The Silly Putty might be fun. I haven't had Silly Putty since I was a kid, but I like the alien.

Vader up there reminds me; is it bad that I bought the Star Wars DVDs that contained both the official new versions and the originals (finally) and threw away the edited ones? I almost snapped a rental in half when I first saw Hayden.. Haaden.. - whatever his name is, Darth Emo, whatever - When I first saw him replacing the TRUE ghost of Anakin.

Matt, I just want to say that I have had an absolutely brilliant time reading this one, and that means a lot since I'm not even British and so I don't even SAY that.

In yet another flashback to my childhood - I had something today that tasted almost exactly like the TMNT Pizza Chips (at least how I remembered them). Everyone should pick up Pringles Wheat Stix - Pizza Flavored. The flavoring tastes just like the TMNT flavoring from many years ago.

Hey, i worked at Toys R Us for years. When stuff rings up a penny, that means it has been marked as either return to vendor, or destroy in store, usually because of some kind of potential hazard. Maybe your dragon is made of Asbestos or something!

Wow. I can't believe that Dragon. One cent. I was expecting something like 7 cents… but one? Wow.

You know, despite the fact I like them, I just can't seem to convince myself to plop down the six bucks for a pack of the "Heros" Toys. Maybe it has something to do with the "cuteness" of it that makes me feel like I'm looking at one of those "spider-man and friends" figures where everyone smiles and is happy, even the Ben Grimm. Or maybe It's just that I don't like how some of the parings don't make sense…. Sure, I KNOW they put Optimus Prime and Megatron in separate packs because then you spend twice the money, but why pair Prime up with Ravage? I'd probably shoot for the Grimmlock/Shockwave pack… since I think those two actually have it out in some comics or something.

And if it makes you feel any better, Matt, the Madballs at my TRU are in the isle right behind the mainstream action figures, not crammed in the back corner >.>

Pringles Wheat Stix are pretty much American Pocky, only they're not coated in chocolate or other flavor. The honey ones weren't bad.

I am so so tempted to blow a hundred bucks right now with my employee discount at the bookstore.

So….jjwspider…are you talking about pizza crunchabungas? they were like round pizza flavored cheetos? Because i totally loved those things when i was little. my grandma gave out bags of them for trick or treat back in 91….I was a devil that year, but instead was just a girl wearing a red sweatsuit and horns because there was about a foot of snow on the ground on halloween. anywho, there weren't too many kids out, so my sister and i inherited an ENTIRE CASE of the little bites of heaven known as pizza crunchabungas…and then we proceeded to each eat about 3 bags and then puke all over the place about an hour later…..good times…..good times…..

I blame the cover art fot Boogaz not selling well: bright green with a bright orange font just screams tacky.

Also~ Do you (Matt) play any DS games? Just curious since Poke'mon Diamond/Pearl has been out for a while.

Leigha - Indeed, I would be referring to the crunchabungas. It's funny how taste can trigger memories. A friend of mine at work gave me a pack to try and it made me flash back to going through the commissary and picking up a bag of those bit sized bits of heaven. Good times, good times.

Matt - I'll see your one cent dragon and raise you a one cent Silver Surfer mini-statue. This is the Best Buy exclusive that came out around the time of the FF: Rise of the Silver Surfer movie. At release, they wanted $15 but they eventually started clearing them out for $.01. Not only did you get the statue but a DVD featuring a previously unfinished Stan Lee/Jack Kirby FF story and five Ultimate Extinction comics. I picked up three or four of them and the cashier just looked at me completely shocked when the total of $0.03 came up on the screen. Worst part was, the line I was in didn't take cash, so I had to use my Debit card to purchase my power cosmic laced goodness. Best Buy is a good place to check for cheap deals on a lot of their older exclusives - especially the sample discs they offer, as many will go to about $0.01 within a few months or so.

Nice find on the dragon blue thingy. No matter how many expensive toys my son is given, he still loves to drag out the molded plastic dinosaurs and make them all fight for hours. I would have gone crazy and bought them all.
I am totally loving these posts this week. I am in the last stretch of my (overloaded) semester and it's nice to have a blog break. Seriously, why am I going to school?

jjwspider I don't know how long you have been with X-E, but one time on a whim I searche dthe archives and found an article about the crunchabungas and other TMNT related foods….its one of my favorite articles http://www.x-entertainment.com/articles/0946/

Leigha - thanks for the link, I actually pulled it up at work to show the guy. Unfortunately, this only lead to looks of disbelief that I would be able to find a link to exactly the product I was telling him about. I'm slowly converting him to the ways of X-E, but he's a decade older, so he may never truly understand….

Woo! I finally got my hands on a Shadow Guard from the new Star Wars: The Force Unleashed release!

Now all I have to do is get a Seriously Fucked Up Darth Vader… or as those wussies at Hasbro call him "Battle Damaged." Please! If you manage to take off half of Vader's chestplate, one of his boots, and the top of his damn helmet, that isn't battle damage… that's fucked up right there.

Thanks Ultraman. Sorry I gotta go, but it was loads of fun to finally play you >.>

My birthday's in a few weeks, and I would LOVE to go to TRU with the money I'm getting.. But it's going to either a tattoo or a guitar. I haven't figured out which, as I want both equally.

And I SO want Mario Kart Wii. It's my dad's game system though (I'm the best daughter in the world, I bought my dad the Wii the year it came out). But to be Drunken Princess again!!

Come to think of it, I think the last time I was in TRU was about '98 or so. We bought an NES game for ten cents.

If you had told me anything these days could be priced at .01 I wouldn't believe you, as there's little difference between charging a penny and charging nothing. But I guess it exists. Huh!

A new NES cart for a penny would rule even though I have no NES! Which game was it? And what was it still doing at the TRU midway through the PS1 era??

Not only would that be one hell of a band name, I'm pretty sure it's the perfect band name.

Matt, you be one of the dancers!! come to think of it, Asthmatic Folding Chair ain't a bad band name either!!

Also, the new Grape AMP is completely awesome. After 3 cans over the past week I am convinced Pitch Black is reborn.

Kingklash, on the matter of Imagine if X-E ran a TRU. We could all have our own section, I've gotta wonder who'd be in charge of what aisles?

The last things I got for a penny apiece were a bunch of factory-sealed Christmas VHS tapes at a Dollar General store. I guess they had been sitting around for a year or two, and they all seemed to be Paramount/Nickelodeon titles. Everything from Eureeka's Castle to Dora to Blue's Clues to Gullah Gullah Island.

But when I tried to buy more at another store, the cashier refused to sell them to me for that price. I though about calling the corporate office and complaining, but did I really need another three copies of "Christmas With the Oz Kids"?

Yes Commander Awesome, you did need another 3 copies of "Christmas with the oz kids" ! =D I mean where's your X-E Spirit ?

I was just thinking the SAME thing!! Shame on you Commander! GO STAND IN THE CORNER AND THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU'VE SAID!

You're right, fellahs; I'm a sad excuse for an XE-er. But hey, I did wind up with 5 or 6 copies of "Rugrats' Kwanzaa" from another Dollar General store. No lie!

Well in that case I think I can forgive you. Youv'e redeemed yourself in my eyes. Now go, and continue being and X-Er. This I command !!

Mars: It was StarTropics. I had never heard of it before, but for .10, why not? I have no idea what it was doing there, it was in this big bin of clearance stuff near the front of the store.

I sucked at it though. I could never get past the first boss. I do have a (sort of) working NES though, so maybe I'll give it another try!

Toys R' Us used to be a big deal to me when I was a kid, because it was a long drive to get to one. The last one I went to was nothing special at all. They had too many clothes and not enough toys.

I hate it when a TRU has more clothes than toys! I mean the name of the store is TOYS r us. NOT CLOTHES r us.

Bluejay: Startropics for ten cents? That is a steal. Hell, I just paid five bucks for that game (on Virtual Console) a month or so ago. It is a classic. You should definitely break out the NES and give it another go.

When I started working at a KB Toys in Oct. of '98 or so, we had several copies of Star Tropics AND Star Tropics II for $2.99 apiece. Not nearly as good as 10 cents, but I was ecstatic to nab both for six bucks. Was there a secret Star Tropics warehouse discovered around that time or something?

Commander Awesome, when something like that happens, it's best NOT to question it. Just be happy that it happened. =) That's my philosophy anyway.

I hate it when a TRU has more clothes than toys! I mean the name of the store is TOYS r us. NOT CLOTHES r us.

Those useds to be Kids R Us, and when people didn't go…they all went out of business and I guess the clothing section went into the TRUs.

Yes, I am getting Mario Kart Wii. I'm getting annual hundred something dollars from my family for my bday. So that is gonna go toward that. Also I remember once in 1989…they had ET for Atari at Jamesway for 99 cents. The cheapest game I ever bought myself, was last year at Best Buy…Sprung(a decent and fun dating sim) for the DS it was 99 cents!

Curses!!! I blame YOU Matt! I HAD to go out and buy Silly Putty today. I haven't had Silly Putty in YEARS and I couldn't resist its stretchy siren's song. I couldn't find the kind you got but I got the kind that changes color in your hands.

I'll be there in just a sec Matt, i'm a little busy with Pokemon Battle Revolution right now. =)

I'm trying to connect right now but I keep getting an error

Haven't given up yet…

I challenge Matt to 1-on-1 when there's hardly any lag. I think it was because of the 4 of us brawling.

I remember when I lived in Los Angeles there was a chain of 99 cent stores that were simply amazing. Not only was every one of them jam packed with different stuff but in 1995 I was able to buy Star Wars Empire Strikes Back, new in box, for the Atari system. They had tons of the cartridge as well as a few others. I was also able to buy boxes of football cards for 99 cents a piece. Kind of wished I still had the Star Wars game, now that I think about it….

Not only is Brawl on the WiFi service, there's also all the other games being played on it simulataneously…unless its all a matter of frequency and a hell of a lot of brawlers are on at once, with some with ok connections who didn't forsee the addition of another computer in their house on a wifi adapter that was only bought so they could only use it to play brawl on said wifi.

But new topic: I got another one of my lists cooking up…What do you think are some of the best moments on the Mupet Show? I'm makin' a top 20 list and so far I have 14. I'd like suggesstions.

Oh, and Mahna Mahna is already on there, so I'll save everyone the hassle of suggesting it

Invader Norbert: How bout when Mark Hamill was on there ? Also nice brawlin with y'all. =)

OMG, that was so fun. I was going to suggest we catch one of the showings of Kong on TBS for FNT/SNT but now I don't even want to do anything but Brawl.
Norb, for some reason the first random thing that comes to mind besides the Mark Hamill appearance is the Stallone "tomato/tomahto" number. I also have a certain fondness for the "Gladys Knight" gags, but then I have a weakness for horrible puns.

Invader: How about when various Sesame Street characters made a surprise cameo in the Marty Feldman episode. Also, Big Bird sorta co-hosted the Muppet show with Leslie Uggums one time.

It would be nice to know what was already on your list so we can think of suggestions for you.

Invader Norbert: How bout when Mark Hamill was on there ? Also nice brawlin with y'all. =)

-Mahna Mahna
-Alice Cooper "School's Out For Summer"
-Crocodile Rock - Elton John
-Galleo Whoop Whoop (aka the Koozebanian Mating Ritual)
-Star Wars ep, mostly the ending on Koozebane
-Buddy Rich vs Animal
-Pigs in Space: Long John Silverstein
-Swedish Chef: Chicken in Basket (well, any could've been here, this was just my favorite)
-Muppet Labs: Banana Sharpener (see Swedish Chef)
-Jabberwocky - Alice in Wonderland ep
-While My Guitar Gently Weeps performed by Floyd
-Cigarettes, Whiskey & Wild, Wild Women - Peter Sellers ep
-Beaker sings "Feelings"
-Banana Boat song - Harry Belafonte
-Vincient Price ep, don't know which clip I'll use
-Dirty Ol' Egg Sucking Dog - Johnny Cash

but now I don't even want to do anything but Brawl.

…may be my most favorite comment on XE ever.

I would definately add the sketch where some human muppet with a hammer pounds on some small furry round muppets who say "OW" everytime they're hit. I think he sings "Witch Doctor" also.

You should add the Paul Williams episode to that list. I love the two songs he sings and the joke at the end.

There's a song called "Time in a Bottle" that's sung by a misc old scientist Muppet who keeps getting younger.

The Loretta Switt episode where Kermit fires Miss Piggy and Switt has to play all of Piggy's parts.

Ethel Merman singing that song she's famous for at the end with a group of Muppets. As you can see I'm a big fan Muppet group singalong

I absolutely ADORE the Muppet Show. I remember about five years ago how I wanted to get the figures for Statler & Waldorf, create a little balcony for them, and attach them to my work desk. I thought it would make the day a little more joyous to imagine the sarcastic comments they would make at my expense as I dealt with the every day pressures of working in the ever so much fun mortgage industry. I never did get around to it though. Still, it WAS a good idea.

I bought season one when it came out and will soon buy season two, and eventually all of the DVD sets they put out. I am very much looking forward to parenthood (in the next couple of years, fingers crossed) and would like to have those DVDs for my children. Every kid deserves to grow up watching the muppets.

By they way JLAJRC, any idea what episode (or season) it was that Rolfe sang "What a Wonderful World" (to a real puppy)? That is my ladies favorite song, and as such, that has the potential to be absolutely the cutest thing she might ever see. I didn't know it existed… and now I know that I can't rest until I show her. Any info. would be appreciated.

The idea behind my list is that I want to choose some of the more memborable individual sketches and moments. Like, where does your mind go to first when you think of the Muppet Show? Hell, just a list of top episodes is a great list in itself.

From the Vincient Price episode. I like that one, but I was thinking of including one of the sketches that has VP in it (maybe the omitted-from-Season 1 DVD "You've Got a Friend")

Ethel Merman singing that song she's famous for at the end with a group of Muppets. As you can see I'm a big fan Muppet group singalong

Robin the frog singing "Halfway Down the Stairs" Sentimental favorite of mine.

Also one of Jim Henson's. Some of his other favorites are Groucho Marx's "Lydia The Tattooed Lady" and "One More Person To Believe in You" from "Snoopy: The Musical"

Now, I'm showing my age a bit as I'm admitting I had (and still) no idea who Joel Grey is, and apparently, him singing that song was one hint of irony that never got to me. Granted, great song, love the performance, but I think that angle was lost on me.

OK, I think I've discovered that Rowlf's "What a Wonderful World" is in the first episode of season two, starring Don Knotts. I guess now I only need help if I am wrong.

Still, thanks for bringing that up. I am going to track down a copy of that immediately.

Oh man i'm suddenly remembering a bunch of stuff about the muppet show. =) Ive always loved kermits little thing he does when he introduces a guest or skit. That thing where he goes "yaaaayyyyy" and then scurrys off while waving his arms around wildy like he's havin a seizure. lol.

OMG!! The Muppet Show!!! One of my absoulute favorites. To the sketches listed, I'd have to add the "Beautiful Day" sketch where there is a very opomistic little girl and a pessimistic monster who tries to ruin her beautiful day, but she defeats him (very funny…if you haven't seen it, look it up), the "Java" sketch which I believe is from the first season, and the "Hugga-Wugga" sketch. Really, any Muppet Show material is gold!

I always like the babies…they were these little muppets that looked like babies and they had a road manager or something…they would sing with the guest stars once in awhile.

I would definately include the "You Got a Friend" Vincent Price one. I was so disappointed that was left off the first season as that is my favorite rendition of that song.

Bernadette Peters/Mupeets singing "If just one person" to Robin. This would also be sung during the Jim Henson Tribute after he died.

There's a Muppet News Sketch where the entire premise was that inanimate objects were becoming monsters and eating people.

Dom Deluise as an astronaut on Koosbane who gets annoyed by the aliens there. It's the ending that makes it a classic.

Janice and the band singing "Rock in the Treetops" while sitting in a tree with birds tweeting.

Another one where a bunch of birds jump on eletrical wires singing "You can count on me."

There's an episode where Kermit has to deal with his wind-up robot duplicate for some reason.

There's a sketch where Rolfe tries to read a poem called "Silence" but keeps getting interrupted by noise.

Harvey Korman as circus ringmaster who tries to boss around that cute giant blue monster.

I had a dream last night that part 3 would be posted very soon. X-E is in my dreams.

Ooh, I've been Netflixing The Muppet Show for the past month or so. We made it through the first season, which was awesome, and we're about to get the last disc of the second season, which, in my opinion, hasn't been as good as the first one was.

Oh, JLAJRC, I think you mean Simon Smith and His Amazing Dancing Bear. That song is so fun.

A few years ago when someone first told me about this site, I spent about six hours straight reading old articles. That night I had a dream about the site, that it was run by Garrett Morris and we met under an electric sign in central park.

So it is not unheard of, to dream of this excellent site. In fact, truly the most extraordinary people have these nocturnal hallucinations, and so you must really be an ultra man.

Rev.BackItOnUp Iv'e always suspected that there was something strange about me. I guess I was right.

I would say i'm abnormal and I love that about myself. =) My family loves that about me too, so I consider myself very lucky.

While yes, all 3 sketches are great…They were all on the Ed Sullivan Show years before the Muppet Show started! Well, so did Mahna Mahna & The Koozebanian Mating Ritual.

Interesting fact about the muppets is that many of the muppets described in those sketches are simply named after the sketches they appeared in.

The main monster in "Hugga Wugga" is named Hugga Wugga, the muppet that sings "Mahna Mahna" is named…Mahna Mahna (despite the Sesame Street version being named Bip Boppadotta, but they're both different from each other, albeit similar), and the monster that ruins the girls beautiful day is called "The Beautiful Day Monster."

I honestly thought that Season 2 was better than Season 1. There were only a few misses in that season (and realizing that the show was created when everyone had longer attention spans), but my only problem with season 2 was the lack of the Muppet Morsels feature. It was said that the only reason it wasn't there was because the production company for the DVDs changed between seasons 1 & 2.

Mandy made me think of this-
How many of you still play Atari 2600? I still play on it once every couple months. Enough to keep it set up at least. River Raid and Yar's Revenge are probably my favorite games on there,since the Centipede 2600 version isn't all that hot.

One of my deepest dreams is going to a Toys R Us store. What will be my reaction? falling unconscious? starting to cry? shouting out loud "I'm in heaven"? ending up robbing the store?

I miss my Atari. All those hours playing Q-Bert, Asteroids, Combat & Ms. Pacman. Those were the days.

kb, I'm happy to have provided the amusement

Funnily enough it turns out I actually am watching King Kong right now. I still love the movie, but watching it with commercials does nothing to distract from the fact that it takes way too fucking long for them to get to Skull Island. An hour in and it's still a good twenty minutes from any giant bugs

Yars Revenge and Tank vs Tank - most awesome games ever for the Atari system! I also remember a really cheesy Spider-Man game and Superman game for the Atari as well. And GI Joe - although I don't think I ever got to play that one.

I can't tell you why but I had a dream about the dragon poking out the shopping bag in Matt's teaser. If it holds true, the rest of the body is a wiener dog.

Bill: Did you eat anything wierd before you went to bed ? if so then that might be the reason you had such a wierd/cool dream.

Someone told me the other day that if you eat cheese before sleeping you're much more likely to have nightmares. I replied by saying I'd have to cut back on the amount of cheese milkshakes I consume before bed.

The Atari 2600. That sure is somewhat of a sore subject for me. I have very fond memories of playing my family's 2600 in the early to mid '80s. Thankfully with two older brothers our game library was fairly well stocked with the "must have" games of the era such as Donkey Kong, Asteroids, Pit Fall, Pac Man, Defender, etc.

A few years down the road - around 1987 to be precise - my family upgraded to a Sega Master System. Since you have to be wondering, the NES came a little later during the Christmas of 1988. After the glorious 8-bit systems were unveiled I gave little thought to the ol' wood paneled grandpa of a video system and packed it away.

About a decade later I dug it out of storage and decided to hook it up to see of it still worked. Sadly, it did not. After that the games and the accessories sort of got misplaced in different storage areas in my parent's home. I assume we still have most of it. After all, what would have been the point of trying to sell Atari games in a garage/rummage sale in 1998? Nobody would have paid more than a buck or so (if you were lucky) per game. I know I would have just kept them under those terms.

Over the past couple of years I have been fairly motivated to go and dig up the system again and make sure that it really is dead, and it wasn't just a matter of me not checking it out carefully enough. If nothing else I want to gather up all the games we still have, along with the joysticks and paddle controllers. and snag a refurbished 2600. I haven't actually played one in so long.

So if all of us embrace being "abnormal" doesn't that in turn make "abnormal" normal? I'm just saying, abnormal is all a frame of mind…..unless of course you make meat suits and rattle off random civil war facts on top of your cardboard box abode….

Bill I'm on bass in "One Penny Dragon". Pumpernipple will surely be opening for us.

My favorite episode of the Muppet show would have to be with the Mumenshantz. They were a performance artist group who came out with clay faces that they rearranged, or they had toilet paper faces or water jug faces.

Mummenschanz, Muppet Show, The Atari 2600 VCS? Some favorite elements of my childhood. I have both a Atari 7800 and the recent Flashback 2.0 console. If you can get a FB 2.0 and a friend that tinkers in electronics, a cartridge port can be kludged onto it and the world of big pixel old school 2K gaming is yours to peruse. If you do have the paddles handy, do this on the left joystick of the Flashback 2.0: Up 1, down 9, up 7, down 2. Two paddle games will be ready to play. Plug 'em in and go man, go!

Hey Matt, are we doing a SNT? I'm sick in bed and bored to death!!
(btw, check out my new website, it sucks!)

Almost 10 years now and still going strong. My neighbors and I watched the 80's commercials for an hour last night and laughed our asses off… May have just been the weed though…

I have a question. I bought a few issues of Spectacular Spider-Man off Mile High Comics a while back and I was reading one of them today. This issue was from 1996 and it had a free Island Twist Slammin' Strawberry Kiwi Kool-Aid packet in it. Matt, my question is since this is a 12 year old pack of Kool-Aid, do you think it's still any good? I know you've done all of those Kool-Aid reviews before in the past, most of them being packets from over 10 years ago, and I know you've tasted them. Were they any good to drink still? Thanks in advance for any answer you or anyone else may have for me.

Oh, plus do they still make this flavor? It sounds like something I might have seen in the recent past but I'm not sure.

Bob: First off, I must know which issue included this promotion, so I can track it down. Secondly, yes, I believe you'd be safe to make-and-drink. Many of the ones I reviewed were far older, and so long as the packet is sealed, there's really nothing to worry about.

I'm not sure if they still make the flavor, but if they do, it wouldn't have the same exact name, and probably wouldn't have the same exact formula.

The issue in question is "The Spectacular Spider-Man" #236. I just did a search on Mile High Comics for it and they have a copy for as low as $1.75 right now. You can search for it by typing Peter Parker and click the Peter Parker(1976) link because before it was just "The Spectacular Spider-Man", it used to go by "Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man". Hope if you do buy it, it has the pack in it for you.

Bob: Is there any kind of advertisement with it? Like a page spread or something? I'm curious if they used more than one flavor for the promo.

Matt - Being an avid comic collector, I have quite a few issues that had free Kool Aid packets in them. I'll see if I can find a few and let you know if there were different ones available. Also, did you know there was a Cola flavor available in Mexico and Eerie Orange Halloween flavor available in Canada? Not sure if they still are, but it could be something worth looking for.

I once paid a penny for a "goat log". That's a log of goats cheese, I'll have you know. I gots me a ten dollar goat cheese log for a frickin penny.
I'll never forget that day, not as long as I live.

Matt-There was a two page spread for it but it was just mainly advertising the new Slammin' Strawberry Kiwi flavor and had a contest on how you can win some great prizes. However, in the fine print for the contest, it does mention the other 3 flavors including Kickin' Kiwi-Lime, Oh-Yeah Orange-Pineapple and Man-O-Mango-Berry,

Now someone's probably mentioned the one-penny dragon thing but I ain't skimming posts for an impulsive entry!

I worked at Zellers (think of it as a Canadian Target) for about two years, and when something rang up at a penny it meant that there was a pricing error and it needed to be removed from the floor so some lady I never met could change the price to what it was supposed to be.

Newbies are great when they have no idea about it and give you the mad dealz though.

I think I'm going to have to go to Toys R Us and try to get my own penny dragon.

I am inspired by the Madballs find. And, as always, love how the photos and layout complement your articles.

Add A New Comment!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 9th, 2008 at 2:07 am and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.