Enjoy Stuff: The Absent-Minded Pro-Father

It's almost Father's Day! The TechnoRetro Dads look at some of the (scientifically minded) father figures that influenced them in movies and TV. Jay and Shua celebrate Dad-dom on Enjoy Stuff   Not all scientists are trying to reanimate the dead. Dr. Frankenstein may not have been a good father figure, but there were plenty of good influences in movies and TV. This week we remember some of the father figures we Enjoy classic movie dads.    News Big Hero 6 will soon come to Disney+ The prankster kid from Jaws is now a police chief on the island where the movie was filmed Did you get the limited edition mashup of Peanut Butter Ritz and Oreos?  Season 2 of the Godzilla animated series is being released for the first time since it was on TV Check out this sweet ET Atari T-shirt given to the crew that excavated the Alamogordo landfill What we’re Enjoying So much great stuff to enjoy this week! Shua can’t say enough great stuff about the Disney+ series Obi-Wan Kenobi. Such a phenomenal story. Jay likes that too, and is also watching Stranger Things and Love, Death, and Robots. So much great stuff to catch up on and Enjoy!   Sci-Fi Saturdays/MCU Location Scout Be sure to check out Jay’s articles on Retrozap.com. In the last few weeks he has covered the Kurt Russell film that started a TV franchise, Stargate; the first Trek movie with Picard as the captain, Star Trek Generations; and Godzilla vs Space Godzilla. And make sure to check out MCULocationScout.com for some Ms Marvel locations.    Enjoy Fathers! Did you have a positive father figure in your life? We hope so. Even though both Jay and Shua had supportive and teacherly dads, they still were influenced by other dads in movies and TV. Back in the 60s, Fred MacMurray brought his Absent Minded Professor to life when he helped the students at Medfield College achieve greatness through flubber.   For the next generation, Robin Williams did the same thing in the remake, Flubber. While neither of these scientists had children, they were good role models to young people and made sure the bad guy got what was coming to him too.   Rick Moranis played a father named Wayne Szalinski, who accidentally shrunk his kids in Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. He may not be responsible when it comes to safely securing his equipment, he would do anything to protect his kids.    Another Disney Dad that taught valuable lessons was Cornelius Robinson in Meet the Robinsons. Though there was a complex path for Lewis to get Cornelius’s advice, it was still a great message.   Doc Brown didn’t have kids of his own, but I bet he felt like he was raising young Marty McFly through all of their time traveling adventures.  In the end he had a great message that Marty could pass down to all his children that Doc probably visited too.    And we have some honorable mention ‘dads’ too. These TV scientist help us learn the value of lighting things on fire in our kitchen along with many other lessons.   Who can you honor this week during Father’s Day? What valuable lesson, science or otherwise, did that person teach you? First person that emails me with the subject line, “Science rules!” will get a special mention on the show.  Let us know. Come talk to us in the Discord channel or send us an email to [email protected]