MiDDLiNG DeLiGHTS

Summer. Fun. Hot. Time. Episode 6 scorches its way to your heart in this very special Summer Solstice 'sode. #FreeBrittey Well, Dutch, you're in for a treat. Episode 6 sees the return of famed Saturday Morning-ologist Mark McCray and THE Captain Planet in the season ending cliffhanger conclusion. 00:00 COLD OPEN: A sonnet for Britton. 00:30 THEME SONG: "The Return of Lord Morgan Hall" 01:15 EPISODE INTRO: The post-penultimate show rundown by Open Mike. 03:40 GUEST INTERVIEW: Happy Summer Solstice and welcome back Mark. All your behind the scenes questions answered about Captain Planet by our knowledgeable guest. Dutch, don't miss the Scooby Doo easter egg, please. That egg has been in the sun way too long by now. 28:18 VSCS EXCLUSIVE: Matt re-welcomes the Captain for another planetary probe! Consult your doctor. #RideABike 35:45 WRAP UP: Sean comes clean about his relationship with Matt. ...aaaaand Britton. :( Thank you Drew, Sofiya, Susan, Mark, and Peter for being on the show. Thank you Chelsea, Lesley, Corbin, Puddles, Destiny, Dutch and Emil for listening. See you in the comments section :)

Emil, leave those fish alone! It's time to relax, settle in, and enjoy the penultimate edition of MiDDLiNG DeLiGHTS. 00:00 COLD OPEN: The "Don't Leave Britton" song makes its debut with the rap stylings of special guest MC Open Mic. 001:31 THEME SONG: Bask in the song stylings of Lord Morgan Hall Phillips for less than a minute. 02:12 Sean worries about Britton and relays the pager message about Babs Blight. 03:07 EPISODE INTRO: Show must go on! Quick re-cap of the Planeteers cast.  04:20 Mike runs down the penultimate show itinerary, introducing Mark McCray, author and podcast host of The Best Saturday of Our Lives. Mike also teases a secret guest on our Very Special Correspondent Segment. 05:55  Welcome to our new listener Emil Sandvik from Seldovia, Alaska. 06:20 Happy Administrative Professionals Day! These pencil shavings aren't cleaning themselves, Britton. And last Friday was Earth Day, oops! Next year. 7:25 GUEST INTERVIEW: Premiere cartoon historian Mark McCray joins the program to discuss the original series Captain Planet & the Planeteers. #DIC, #Tom_Cruise, #Levar_Burton, #Whoopi_Goldberg, #Ed_Asner, #Dean_Stockwell, #Martin_Sheen, #Meg_Ryan, #Sting, etc.  Mark discusses "Pro-Social" programming in Saturday animation. #Elizabeth_Taylor, #Neil_Patrick_Harris, #DanicaMcKeller  20:24 Mark picks the Episode 6 publish date: Summer Solistice, Tuesday, June 21st, and agrees to come back as guest to celebrate.  21:15 VERY SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT SEGMENT: Matt introduces and welcomes THE Captain Planet to the show. It's a horribly depressing listen, honestly. So remorseful and hopeless. You will probably want a bath and a nap afterward. Also, get the inside dish on Linka and Wheeler!!! 26:10 LISTENER TWEET: Captain Planet apologies personally to our listener Emil Sandvik. 27:30 Matt breaks off the interview with Captain Planet as things take an emotional turn. Tune into MiDDLiNG DeLiGHTS Episode 6 The New Adventures of Captain Planet for the equally despairing conclusion. 28:20 NEXT EPISODE TEASE 28:33 #DONTLEAVEBRITTON Stay safe Britton, you beautiful boy! 28:38 "Don't Leave Britton" Reprise with Matt's spoken intro. 30:07 END Photo: NATIONAL SECRETARY WEEK - DPLA - 54b459f97ca39dc9d8a8a107230b414e.jpg via Wikipedia:Public Domain.

Gobble, gobble, y'all. It's the thanks taking edition of MiDDLiNG DeLiGHTS.  ... You're welcome?  [00:00] Britton springs a surprise version of the "Sorry, Sucker!" game on Mike, but it's all straight talk with no apologies. But sorry about the confusion with the names anyway. [01:04] Bask in the splendor of the Mo Phillips' original MiDDLiNG DeLiGHTS theme song.  [01:47] Host Sean Hutchinson welcomes Britton Taylor, newly-minted Host-in-Training, and introduces the art of swearing.  [04:20] Mike Kane gives his show rundown: Guest - Susan Vaslev. Plus, Very Special Correspondent Matthew D. Hutchinson says hello. "Boo Crew" and "Open Mike" nicknames suggested.  [06:39] New Audience Member(s) welcomed: Destiny, Leslie, Puddles the Cat, Corbin, and Kelley, thank you for joining us. [09:47] Roger Tofte started working on Enchanted Forest, a family-run amusement park that resides alongside I-5 in Turner, Oregon in 1964. It opened in 1971. Today in 2021, the park celebrates its 50th year of existence. Susan Vaslev, Roger's daughter, composes all the music in the park, writes and directs the plays, and helps keep the independent park running along with her siblings. [14:45] Mike's making MiDDLiNG DeLiGHTS a Facebook page ... ? [Is this real?] [15:52] Interview with Susan Vaslev, Enchanted Forest Artistic Director [33:41] Sean invites Susan to swear. [34:19] Matt's Very Special Correspondent Segment: Big Timber Log Ride theme "Log Flume," original-lyrics version debut! [35:34] Safe word: Waterfall.  [38:30] Crew Business: Mike teases Episode 4, storyteller style. [40:47] Happy holidays to Chelsea, Leslie, Destiny, Puddles, Corbin & Kelley! [41:00] Britton promoted to full Host. [41:27] Matt does Big Timber Log Ride, spoken-word version. But first a Juvenile Sasquatch. [43:04] END Songs "Log Flume" and "Fantasy Fountains" used with permission. Thanks, Susan!

Well, we made it to Episode 2. Even got a great show open with music and voiceover and everything! Thanks to Singer/Songwriter Mo Phillips for lending his vocal talents. Unfortunately our producer Mike Kane was unable to attend this episode, so we went a little long and chaos generally reigned throughout. Mike also missed the playing of "Sorry, Sucker!" which combines forgiveness and passive aggression in an inventive melange of corporate buffoonery. As ever, the episode arrives packed with trivial fun bits including McDonaldland's landmark impact on copyright law, a deep dive on the straight-to-VHS series "The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald", and a shout out to some notable actors who donned the costumes during the tv commercial campaign's thirty year run. Multidisciplinary Artist and Little People America Inclusion Director, Sofiya Cheyenne joins Sean & Britton for a thoughtful review of modern day representation of dwarf actors and Little People in general. She's even kind enough to name our listener. We're hustling to post this episode at 11pm on Halloween Night, just under the buzzer for Little People Awareness month in October. Expect additional editing and updates. Also. Special Correspondent Matthew D. Hutchinson dutifully surveys the aftermarket landscape of buyers and sellers of McDonaldland Playground Equipment.  Check out these cool links! McDonaldland Early Commercial DDB Worldwide White Mile Rafting Tragedy Wacky Adventures Series Far Flung Forest Episode Set Makers Catalog Reel Frank Welker  We should probably have some hashtags too, but let me think on that for awhile, Chelsea.  Officer big mac playground.jpg by Jonathan McIntosh used under Creative Commons license CC BY-SA 3.0

You know, in hindsight we probably should have settled on a name for the podcast before recording. The dubs are pretty seamless though. And we really should have had the intro music and voiceover work done ahead of time too. No bother, dear listener, because you're going to otherwise enjoy what we've prepared for your ear holes. Host Sean Hutchinson (add: co-host Britton Taylor) takes you on a journey through time and space (/taste) to an amusement park like no other. Brothers Sid & Marty Krofft debuted their Saturday Morning TV-themed indoor amusement park, The World of Sid & Marty Krofft, in the Omni International Complex in downtown Atlanta on May 26, 1976 to much anticipation and fanfare. Sigmund and the Sea Monster were there. And so was Peggy Fleming! As producer Mike Kane reveals early in the episode (oops) the installment didn't do so great. Interview guest, urban planner Drew Kane, reveals some of the issues at play that doomed the park and sets the context for urban development and architectural proclivities in Atlanta in the mid-seventies. Let's not forget Matthew D. Hutchinson! Our special correspondent offers some entertaining inspired-by haikus. If you're wondering about nepotism ... that's a bit of cynical, isn't it?