Goodbye Flag Points, Hello Toy Department

I’ve been fortunate enough for the past two years to be a regular part of the Flag Points podcast. Unfortunately, it came to an end last week with the release of Episode 45 Part 2. It was an epic, fun and positive end to a podcast that was a great experience for me. I appreciate Dave’s kindness in allowing me to be a part of the show, and for his continued support of JAD.

But endings lead to new beginnings, and last week also marked the premiere of a new podcast featuring myself, Dave and Page from Flag Points, as well as Andrew AKA Twitziller. It’s The Toy Department Podcast, and it’s all about the toys and action figures of the past. Of course, we’re covering a broader spectrum than we did with Flag Points and the annual JAD podcasts, but there’s a lot of depth that we can plumb in this new series. Like Flag Points, expect to hear about the history and marketing of our subjects as well as our own thoughts and memories. We’ll also cover the related ancillary media and product that many toy lines of the 70s and 80s generated.

How does this all relate to Joe? Well, our first episode focused on Fisher-Price’s Adventure People, the American progenitor of what would become the default format of action figure scales throughout the late 70s and 1980s. Its figure/vehicle interaction concept would influence Kenner’s Star Wars, which in turn would inform Hasbro’s revived GI Joe. I’m sure that somewhere along the line with this new series, we’ll discuss GI Joe in an episode or two. In fact, I guarantee it.

Check out the first episode via the link below. Yes, this is more work for me, as I hope to post a new show each month, but it won’t take me away from my duties here at JAD. I think this new show is filled with the same vibe that you came to expect on Flag Points, and if you’re a 70s/80s kid, or just a toy fan, you’ll find something to like.

The Toy Department – Episode 1 – Fisher-Price’s Adventure People

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