In My Footsteps: A Gen-X Nostalgia Podcast

Episode 99: Crazy Nights at Cape Cod's Compass Lounge; Weird Movies Made Into Video Games; Favorite Holiday Songs; Manchester NH(12-29-2022)

• Christopher Setterlund • Season 1 • Episode 99

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Episode 99 puts a bow on 2022.  It starts off with a little look back at some of what made the year unique.
Next, it's time to look forward to the dawning of a new year. This is done by reminiscing about an icon of Cape Cod nightlife. The Compass Lounge of South Yarmouth saw some wild nights, including ringing in several new years.
A quintessential New England town inside a big city, Manchester, New Hampshire is the largest city in the state and one of the largest in New England. Find out why it feels much cozier than a typical city on this week's Road Trip.
Countless movies have been transformed into video games with varying degrees of success. However, there are some movies that don't exactly seem to need a video game version. We're going way Back In the Day to look at a few of the strangest choices for movies to be adapted into video games. Texas Chainsaw Massacre, anyone?
As 2022 ends it's time to wring the last drops of holiday spirit out of the season. The latest Top 5 will include some favorite Christmas songs. Your list will almost assuredly be different.
There will also be a brand new This Week In History and Time Capsule that explains the Christmas Truce of World War I.

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Intro
Hello, world, and welcome to the In My Footsteps podcast. I am Christopher Setterlund coming to you from the vacation destination known as Cape Cod, Massachusetts. This is episode 99. We're ending 2022 in style with a loaded show. We're gonna kick it off with a spot that likely rang in a lot of New Years for you long time Cape Codters, the legendary Compass Lounge of Yarmouth.
 
We're gonna take a road trip to one of my favorite spots in New England, the city of Manchester, New Hampshire. We're gonna go way, way back in the day and look at some of the craziest movies that were actually made into video games. You won't believe some of them. There'll be a brand new top five as we squeeze the last drops out of the holiday season with the top five Christmas songs, at least in my opinion. And there'll be a brand new This Week in History and Time Capsule, all coming up right now on episode 99 of the In My Footsteps podcast.
 
It's the final show of the year. It's that strange period between Christmas before New Year's where some people have to work, some people are off. I hope everybody has had just an amazing holiday season. We're winding down my favorite time of year. Like I've said, it starts at Labor Day weekend.
 
It goes all the way to the end of the year and what a year it's been. How was your 2022? In some ways, it was my most stable year since 2018. In other ways, it's been crazy like living in a movie. You've heard all about the Lady of the Dunes book.
 
The documentary premiered back in April. So much of my time and energy has gone into working on the book and now starting to work on the website, theladyofthedunes.com. But there was more. I had two other books that I finished up in 2022. Photographers America, Cape Cod, Beyond the Dunes, which is coming out this spring, and the ten-year anniversary revision of my very first book, the In My Footsteps at Cape Cod travel guide.
 
Those have both really flown under the radar with so much Lady of the Dune stuff going on, but you'll be hearing a lot about them in 2023. Maybe I'll even do some events. Who knows? And in stuff away from work, I was privileged enough to get to go to my oldest niece, Kaleigh's college graduation and get to be just a part of our huge proud family. To get to see her graduate and know that the future is bright for her.
 
I think that might have been my favorite moment of the year on top of all of my writing stuff. I think we're seeing Kaleigh graduate college, even if it did make me feel really old. As good as 2022 was, I feel 2023 is going to be the big breakout year. I know I'm doing all I can to chase my dreams. I hope you're doing the same for yourself, and we'll get deeper into this in the upcoming episodes as far as New Year's, New Year's resolutions, and such.
 
Episode 99 though, it's kind of fitting that 99 ends the year 2022, and then episode 100 will start 2023. And as I mentioned before, episode 100 is gonna be a supersized episode where I give you all I know, all I can share about the Lady of the Dunes, the case, the documentary, the book, the new revelations. I recorded four separate podcasts that are going to be on the ladyofthedunes.com website. But as a thank you to everyone who's been tuning in to this podcast, I decided to make that a special episode 100. So stay tuned for that next week.
 
But this year has been the best for the podcast, and I'm so grateful to all of you that have listened, that have shared, that have reviewed it, that have donated, bought me a coffee if you've wanted to. But we've still got so much to go. And so we're gonna look to kind of ring in the new year by kicking off episode 99 of the podcast with a look back at one of Cape Cod's greatest icons of nightlife of the twentieth century, the Compass Lounge of South Yarmouth, and we're gonna look at that story right now. 


The Compass Lounge

I find it fascinating as a long time Cape Codder to look at the landscape of Cape Cod and remember what used to be where when I was a kid. And looking at places that are kind of inconspicuous now, but that used to be raucous centers of entertainment that the youngest generation would have no idea about.
 
One such place for me is in South Yarmouth. It is now a CVS that sits in between Route 28 And Long Pond Drive to younger people and to newer Cape Codters. It's just a pharmacy. But to us long time Cape Codders, we know the real history of that plot of land. Located dead center in the middle of Cape Cod, the Compass Lounge's history is made up of several unique chapters.
 
It played a major part during the golden age of The Cape's nightlife. Still today, twenty-five years after it closed its doors for good, the name Compass Lounge holds a special place in the hearts of those who spent many a night there. The story of one of Cape Cod's most legendary night spots, however, began quite far removed from the loud music and dancing it would become known for. In 1957, the land on which the Compass Lounge would eventually stand was undeveloped. Wellington W Duke Holmes purchased the land from Hervey Small and petitioned the town of Yarmouth in October 1957 for the ability to build on the 3.26 acre parcel.
 
His plan was to create a 60 foot by 100 foot structure capable of holding upward of 600 people with the function of the building to be a public auction house. The auction house idea was approved. Although, ironically, some of the naysayers said at the time that they were worried that allowing something seemingly innocent could lead to the approval of something much more disruptive and noisy. The detractors would be proven right. By 1961, Holmes had a new idea for his auction house building.
 
He wanted to create a fun and unique restaurant and christen it the Compass Lounge. The new establishment would serve the traditional Cape Cod fair, items like steaks and seafood. Holmes would also put up a tent in the front of the Compass. This caused controversy with the town, although he said it was more of a marquee and only placed there to provide adequate seating for guests. The first real claim to fame of the Compass Lounge, besides the tent, was its singing wait staff.
 
Beginning in 1965, a special group of singing waiters and waitresses named the Funtastics performed at the Compass. The group of students, which included famed baritone David Evitz from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, performed on The Cape while also traveling around the Boston Metro Area and South Shore. The funtastics were a mainstay at the Compass Lounge until 1973. Shortly thereafter, the Compass Lounge underwent its most famous change. In 1976, Thomas Murphy purchased the establishment and transformed the run of the mill restaurant into a happening night spot.
 
He began to bring in tremendous musical acts to entice those who might not be in the mood simply for drinks. Revolutionary Boston rockers, The Cars, played a gig at the Compass when they were on their way up, while former Monkees members Davy Jones and Mickey Dolenz showed up in August 1977, years after their most successful period. Local bands like the Incredible Casuals made frequent appearances, while Boston based acts like the Stompers and the Fools made the trek to The Cape to entertain the masses. Murphy was able to bring in acts like Beaver Brown and Chubby Checker as well. The Compass Lounge rapidly became a kingpin in the booming nightlife scene of the Mid Cape in the 1970s and 1980s.
 
The music and dancing brought in a certain segment of the public, while cheap drinks brought in others. Tuesdays and Thursdays became 25¢ drink nights, which eventually jumped to 50¢ in the nineties, while Sundays, Mondays, and Wednesdays were known as two for one nights with drinks served in plastic glasses. The joint was always jumping inside and outside on the patio, even around back at the Sunset Club, specifically for the underage partygoers. To avoid any confusion, wristbands were given out to those old enough to drink to make it easy on the bartenders and obviously avoid any issues with law enforcement. The musical acts, cheap drink nights, ladies' nights, and more eventually led to an enlargement of the building.
 
Wellington Homes' original 6,000 square foot building, capable of holding 600 people grew to 9,700 square feet and was able to hold 1,000. The Compass Lounge laid claim to having the largest dance floor on Cape Cod and perhaps the South Shore after that. The huge popularity of Thomas Murphy's Compass Lounge had a price though. By the early 1980s, the tide was shifting. There were the beginnings of a crackdown on drunk driving with the Yarmouth Hyannis scene, including icons like the Mill Hill Club, Guido Murphy's, Rascals, Velvet Hammer, and more, it was a perfect location for a new initiation.
 
The Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission started operation last call, tracking the number of drunk driving incidents traced back to specific night spots. And the Compass Lounge, they ended up being at the top of the list. Although it was not immediate, the effects of the operation last call would have major consequences. In April 1989, the Compass Lounge underwent another change. This time, the establishment was taken over by Mehdi Hosseini and Alan Kasay, renamed Kasbar, complete with a Moroccan motif and a $2,000,000 sale price.
 
This new club attempted to add a touch of urban disco to Cape Cod in an attempt to give the area its first real nightclub, quote unquote. It did not work. In 1993, the Casbah was no more, and the Compass Lounge had been reborn. But this last run would see the iconic club running out of gas. The golden age was over, and things were changing on Cape Cod.
 
 By 1995, the venerable establishment had been put up for auction by Thomas Murphy. The Compass Lounge was officially shuttered in the fall of 1996. The property was torn down, and the now CVS pharmacy that I mentioned at the top of the segment was built there in 1998. As one of the truly legendary establishments of the golden age of Cape Cod nightlife, the Compass Lounge has earned the love that is still shared when people talk about their times there. It may have been nearly twenty-five years since the last beach ball drink, kamikaze night, or two for one, But the echoes of the live music off the dance floor can still be heard in the hearts and minds of the throngs of former patrons.
 
And you longtime Cape Codders out there, did you go to the Compass Lounge? Do you remember it? The funny thing about researching nightclubs is that there are few in the way of photos and a lot of people talk about hazy memories. Do you have hazy memories of the Compass Lounge? And if you're a fan of the golden age of Cape Cod nightlife, I've got so many more places besides the Compass Lounge in my fifth book, Cape Cod Nights.
 
You can find it through History Press at Arcadia Publishing or go to my website, ChristopherSederland.com. Pick up a copy for yourself and relive those good old days. 


Road Trip: Manchester, NH

Manchester, New Hampshire. Like I said at the beginning of the podcast, one of my favorite places in New England. And after 99 episodes of the podcast, those of you that have listened, you might notice some towns, some cities haven't been mentioned yet.
 
 And it's sort of a way that I parcel out my absolute favorite places. So for example, I have three absolute favorite towns in New England. I've only talked about one of them so far on the podcast. Manchester is not one of the top three, but it's in the top 10. So a fun fact, just after my nana passed away at the February, my plan was to move to Manchester, New Hampshire from Cape Cod.
 
 The restaurant where I worked was closed for the winter. I said I needed a change, so I had plans in place. I ended up changing my mind at the last minute. But for a while there, I was all about moving to Manchester, New Hampshire, and this segment here might give you an idea why. Manchester is a quintessential New England town wrapped in a big city feel.
 
 It sits just over 50 miles north of Boston. And as of 2021, it had a population of 115,462. So it's by all means a medium sized city. But those of you that have visited there, those of you that live there, you might agree that it doesn't feel like a big city. In my opinion, it just feels cozy, and the scenery up in New Hampshire lends itself to that quintessential New England feel.
 
 But maybe that's my opinion. What do you guys think? Manchester is the largest city in New Hampshire. It is in the top 10 largest cities in New England. It sits around the Merrimack River.
 
 So right there, you have naturally tons of beautiful river views. Now granted, Manchester has its own airport. Manchester has the Mall of New Hampshire, which is at 1500 South Willow Street, just in case you grew up a mall rat like me and you visit Manchester and wanna go to the mall. So I don't wanna pretend that it's not a big city, But I just have a different feeling when I visit Manchester compared to Boston, Hartford, New York City. For me, a trip to Manchester should start at Livingston Park.
 
 It's at 156 Hooksett Road. It's 31 acres of playground, soccer fields, baseball fields. There are ponds, so there's swimming. It's a beautiful slice of green, and that's the sort of thing that attracts me. If you couldn't tell by now, I'm not a big city guy.
 
 I love to visit Boston, but I also love when I'm able to leave it. I'm more of the small town New England guy. That's why I feel Manchester, New Hampshire is the best of both worlds. You can go from a beautiful slice of green like Livingston Park to then a cultural center like the Courier Museum of Art. It's located at 150 Ash Street and also courier.org.
 
 What I find particularly fascinating about the Courier Museum is the connection to Frank Lloyd Wright. He is considered by many to be the greatest American architect of all time. And on the grounds of the Courier Museum are the Zimmerman House and the Khalil House, both created by Frank Lloyd Wright in the nineteen fifties. The museum's open year round. Checking their site now, it says they're closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
 
 I don't know if that's just for winter or if that's year round. So I'd reach out to them ahead of time if you plan on going there. One thing that I will admit gives Manchester more of a city feel is its connection to the Toronto Blue Jays Major League Baseball team as they're the home of the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, which is the Blue Jays double a affiliate. The team plays at Delta Dental Stadium as Delta Dental is headquartered in New Hampshire. The stadium itself is at 1 Line Drive, which is a nice pun, Line Drive.
 
 It's a beautiful baseball field that the stadium can hold 6,500 people. It first opened in 2005, and a fun little bit of trivia is that in August 2006, the first concert ever was held there and it was Bob Dylan, just in case you ever have that come up on trivia night. Obviously, Delta Dental Stadium is only a place you go during the spring and summer in conjunction with the minor league baseball season. But a place that's open year round for entertainment that you can go to is Southern New Hampshire University Arena. They're at 555 Elm Street and snhuarena.com.
 
 It was originally opened in 2001 and holds anywhere from about 9,800 people for hockey games to close to 12,000 people for concerts. They showcase everything from Disney on Ice and Cirque du Soleil to the NCAA men's hockey tournament regionals. So if you're in the area, check them out. You never know. Circling all the way back to what I said at the beginning of this segment, I had intended to move to Manchester in early 2010.
 
 And working in the restaurant industry, what I did was start to look for reputable places to possibly ply my trade as a cook up there as my writing career was on the lowest lowest possible level. We're talking a few ebooks, and that was it. The place I honed in on, I actually contacted them about an interview, was the Red Arrow Diner, and I wanted to mention them because, obviously, that's a great place to go to eat. I actually did that. The Red Arrow Diner is celebrating its one hundredth anniversary this year, 2022, and they have four locations in New Hampshire.
 
 Manchester, Londonderry, Concord, and Nashua. The Manchester location is at 61 Lowell Street right in Downtown Manchester. They're open 24/7. It's a classic diner. Obviously, you don't survive a hundred years if you don't have good food, good atmosphere.
 
 You can visit redarrowdiner.com and get a better idea of what their menu is, but I wanna tell you about what really makes them unique, and that's their counter setup. When I was there, and I don't think I knew this before I got there, but they have little plaques at certain seats at the counter, and it tells you the names of famous people that have sat in those seats. When you go to their website, they have a section that's just on famous guests, and it's got photos. It's constantly updated up till right now, 2022. I made it a point to sit at Adam Sandler's seat, but I don't know if other famous people are there that you'd prefer to sit at their seats and you would just stand and wait until it was empty.
 
 Like, you might be able to absorb some of their talent if you sat there. But go there and find your own seat, get your own food, and make your own memories at Red Arrow Diner. They must be good. I wanted to work there if I was gonna move there. I highly recommend spending at least a couple days in Man Chester in the surrounding area because there's so much to see and do, so much more than I have time to share in this segment.
 
 And it's just meant to be a teaser to get you to go there. As far as hotels go, they have all the major chains that you would expect in a city, and they seem to congregate around the airport. If you're looking for something more quintessential New England, I'd recommend visiting Airbnb. There's tons of homes there that you can rent rooms or rent apartments and all that. Visit the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce at Manchester-Chamber.org.
 
 I always push you towards the Chamber of Commerce because they have the best look into what visitors will want to see and do. For years, I was a member of the Yarmouth, Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce, and I knew that our first and foremost, our job was to entice people to come here, give people a reason to visit. So that's why I always end these with telling you to check out the Chambers of Commerce. But as with all of these places, all of these road trips, the best thing to do is just go there, drive, or fly in, and find your own way. Manchester is a city that feels like a quintessential New England town.
 
 Far more cozy and inviting than most cities that I've been to. And you can't go wrong with any place that I mentioned during this segment or just going and finding your own way. Just over 50 miles north of Boston, pretty easy to get to from most places in New England. That's why I put Manchester, New Hampshire up near the top of my list of favorite places to visit in New England. And I'll return next year in 2023 with a brand new road trip featuring another one of the hundreds and hundreds of beautiful cities and towns that New England has to offer.
 

This Week In History
This week in history, we are going back 108 years ago to December 25 Christmas day 1914 and the famed Christmas truce of World War I. This is a famed, fascinating, and somewhat strange story of when the great war stopped on Christmas and soldiers from both sides congregated like they were old friends just for the day, which is weird when you're fighting someone in a bloody war. You had British soldiers on one side, German soldiers on the other, fighting in Belgium. And on Christmas Eve, they're in the trenches, and they're shivering in the muck and just nothing holiday about what they're doing. Late on Christmas Eve 1914, soldiers on the British side in the trenches wondered what the noise was coming from the German side, just loud making quite a ruckus over there.
 
What it turned out was the Germans were singing Christmas carols because it was Christmas Eve. Then seemingly out of nowhere, one of the German soldiers shouted across to the British, come over here. And one of the British sergeants yelled back, you come halfway, I'll come halfway. And then slowly on both sides, enemy soldiers, British and Germans, slowly started to climb out of the trenches, nervously made their way across the no man's land with the barbed wire. Normally, the soldiers would communicate with each other with a hail of bullets and death.
 
But now they met in the middle with handshakes, kind words, tobacco, wine. And those on the British side were stunned that here were the German soldiers without an ounce of hate, just a genuine holiday spirit celebrating Christmas. Since they couldn't be with their families, they decided to share it with the people they were trying to kill. And incredibly, it wasn't just the British and German soldiers that had these truces on the Western Front, the Eastern Front, French, German, British, Belgian Soldiers, all put aside their differences for Christmas. It's an incredible thing to imagine that thousands of men had died in that war already.
 
But yet when it came to Christmas and the holiday season, the peace and goodwill overcame the hatred in the hail of bullets. And it's a great message, a great thought to keep in your head all the way up till now. That if warring soldiers that are shooting and trying to kill each other can find common ground, then anybody can. And that strange, shocking, but true Christmas truce in World War one happened one hundred and eight years ago this week in history. And now it's time for a brand new time capsule.
 
We're going back 66 years ago this week to New Year's Eve 1956 as this was the anniversary of the very first New Year's Eve TV broadcast that was held on CBS. So let's see what was going on in the world of pop culture back on that New Year's Eve. The number one song was Singing the Blues by Guy Mitchell. The song was actually first recorded earlier in 1956 by a man named Marty Robbins, and this was back in that time where popular songs would be written and recorded by multiple artists seemingly at the same time. For Guy Mitchell, the song spent ten weeks at number one, and it's easily his most recognizable song.
 
Interestingly, in The UK, the song went to number one three different times, making it one of only four songs ever to rise to the top of the charts there on three different occasions. The number one movie was Baby Doll. It starred Karl Malden and Carol Baker. Basically, about an immature young woman that tries to hide an affair she's having from her husband. It's based on a screenplay written by Tennessee Williams.
 
It's 83% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes and might be just as famous for the claims of indecency that came from sections of the Catholic church saying it was immoral, which probably helped it make more money at the box office. But go see for yourself if it's really indecent or what indecency was seen as in 1956. The number one TV show was The Ed Sullivan Show. The Ed Sullivan Show is probably the most famous TV variety show ever. It ran for twenty three seasons, hosted by Ed Sullivan who started as a newspaper columnist, then had two radio shows, and then made it to TV.
 
Of course, perhaps the most famous Ed Sullivan show was the debut of The Beatles in February 1964, seen as one of the most important and impactful television moments in history. But other than that, there was more than a thousand episodes of The Ed Sullivan Show from 1948 to 1971. And Ed Sullivan, the man, and the show still to this day remain one of the most important in the history of television. And if you were around back then, New Year's Eve nineteen fifty six, maybe you were a little kid trying to stay up watching that first ever New Year's Eve broadcast on CBS, you need something to keep you occupied, to keep you awake. Well, if you were lucky and you had the hottest Christmas toy for 1956, you had Play-Doh created by a man named Joe McVicker as an alternative to modeling clay.
 
It didn't take long for this to become a grade school staple for art projects and just for fun with kids. Hell, my nieces and nephews still play with Play-Doh. And you could get four of those little jars of Play-Doh for 99¢ and make whatever you want with different colors or mix it all together and make it look terrible. That'll wrap up another time capsule, another this week in history. And now let's squeeze the last drops out of the holiday season with a brand new top five that are the top five Christmas songs, at least in my opinion.
 

Top 5 Favorite Christmas Songs
So let's get back into the spirit one more time this year. Well, this is it. We're squeezing the last drops out of the holiday season as I share my top five favorite holiday songs. As with all of these top fives and probably really likely with this one, your top five will differ from mine, and these are all in no particular order. So let's see how many of these you shake your head in agreement with and how many you shake your heads in disagreement with.
 
And of course, with these top fives, there are some honorable mentions to kinda get your mind going as to what's gonna be in the top five. So on my honorable mentions for top five favorite holiday songs, we have Happy Christmas by John Lennon, The Chipmunk Song by Alvin and the Chipmunks, Holly Jolly Christmas by Burl Ives, White Christmas by Bing Crosby, and Last Christmas by Wham. How many of those are at the top of your lists out there? Well, let's keep the festive times going as we start off with number one on my list of top five holiday songs, Baby Please Come Home, It's Christmas by U2. This song came out in 1987.
 
I think it's actually just called Christmas and Baby Please Come Home is in parentheses, but you all know how much I love U2. The song was originally recorded by Darlene Love in 1963, and I remember the video on MTV. And this was at the height of the Joshua Tree album, So U2 was, like, as big as they were going to get. It's a rocking, bouncing, festive song. I think I had it on an album called A Very Special Christmas.
 
This song was also covered by Mariah Carey and Michael Buble among others, and I think you'll find most of these holiday songs, even the honorable mentions, are covered to death because there's only so many. And I say that, and then surprisingly right after is an original with number two, Wonderful Christmas Time by Paul McCartney. This song was recorded in 1979 during the sessions for Paul McCartney's McCartney II album. It's known for that synthesized piano in it that gives it kind of a unique sound. Interestingly, when this was released, the song charted in The UK, but didn't chart in America and didn't make it on the official Billboard Hot 100 chart until December 2018.
 
But this, just like all these songs, they remind me of Christmas time when I was a kid. And you know how music combined with special times with special people, the music kinda seeps into your soul, and that's where all these come from. And that goes even more for number three, Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree by Brenda Lee. This song was recorded and released in 1958. So there's generations all the way through my parents that remember this song as kids.
 
This has been in so many holiday movies, and it's been covered by Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber, Amy Grant, and even Olivia Newton John and John Travolta, which I didn't know they had a Christmas album until right now. This song always reminds me of Home Alone, so I think that's another reason why it's on my list. And speaking of going back to childhood, that brings us to number four, Feliz Navidad by Jose Feliciano. Jose Feliciano first recorded this song in 1970. So obviously, that was before I was born.
 
But the reason that I have such fond memories of this is because of the inclusion of the song on the album, a treasury of classics from Avon. And that's Avon, literally the company, the perfume hair beauty products company. They had a Christmas album they put out in 1985, and my mother had it, and we would play it all the time during the Christmas season. And Feliz Navidad was on there. I'm sure if you have that original album, it's a collector's item now.
 
But, again, this is another upbeat song that just got you in the mood to celebrate the holiday season. I find it interesting that my top five are all the upbeat songs. Really none of the slower ones that you'd put on in the evening with the fire going and the lights out, but the Christmas tree lit up. I guess they all remind me of childhood, and as a kid, you have all the energy. So you want the songs that get you moving and dancing.
 
And that's the same as we wrap up the list with number five, Jingle Bell Rock by Bobby Helms. This song was recorded first in 1957, and it's been covered by so many people, including Brenda Lee who did Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree. Everyone from Holland Oates to Neil Diamond, Blake Shelton to Hilary Duff, they've all covered this song, and it's another bouncing upbeat festive Christmas time song. And even though Christmas, the actual day has passed and we're getting on towards the new year, it was nice to take one last look back at the holiday season with my top five favorite holiday songs. How many of these were on your list?
 
I would have done a top five New Year's songs, but there's literally only two I could think of, and those were the Auld Lang Syne song and New Year's Day by U2. So it would have been a short list. But I'll be back next year in 2023 with a brand new top five just as random, just as fun. So stay tuned. 


Weird Movies Made Into Video Games

When it comes to creating video games, it takes a lot of imagination, a lot of skill to come up with an actual good fun game.
 
 And I think the same goes for movies. It takes a lot of skill to write an actual script of a movie that will end up being a big hit and stand the test of time. But this week as we go way back in the day, we kind of find the common ground between video games and movies, but not in the best way. I'm going to share with you some of the weirdest movies that got video games made out of them. And when I mean weird, I mean these are just movies you wouldn't expect to be made into video games.
 
 And I'll preface this by saying all of these movies that I'm gonna mention, I actually like. There's no movies where I'm saying, oh, god. But video games out of them, I don't know. So as you'll recall, back in episode 68, I did a back-in-the-day segment about the Friday the 13th Nintendo game, but did you know that there was actually a Friday the 13th game before that for the computer for the PC? It was released in 1986, so this would have been after part five and maybe around the time that part six came out.
 
 And it's very similar to the Nintendo game where you have to find Jason, not get killed by him, and make sure that your friends, the other counselors don't get killed. But where this game differs from the Nintendo one is the fact that it's very gory, and this is in the early days of computer games. You can imagine just blood and gore. This game was not one that parents would wanna get for their kids. There was talk of doing a Friday the thirteenth part two game, but that never came to be.
 
 And some places refused to run the advertisements for the game because the cover is the Jason mask with a knife through one of the eye holes. So even the cover of the game was gory. And they said some of the packages game packages came with fake blood capsules too. So they went all in. The next one that you might remember if you're of my age was when Jaws was released for Nintendo.
 
 So the game was called Jaws, but it came out when Jaws the Revenge came out in 1987, which is one of the worst movies ever made. And because the game is based somewhat on the original jaws, that's why I keep saying that all these movies I liked, even though this game is based mostly on jaws of revenge. But you've got the boat, and you're on the open sea, and you've gotta dive and find stuff and fight hostile sea creatures while also trying to avoid Jaws killing you. The reviews weren't great, which kinda matched Jaws the Revenge. I remember playing it as a kid and just not having much luck trying to kill the shark.
 
 I had a hard enough time fighting crabs and turtles. So the first two games I mentioned haven't been that weird, but now we'll dive really into the weird ones. So did you know that the movie White Men Can't Jump had a game for the Atari Jaguar? The movie came out in 1992 and starred Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson, and it's a basketball movie. So naturally, that's what the game is too.
 
 It's an arcade-style basketball game, but it follows the streetball rules of white men can't jump. A basketball game is all well and good, and white men can't jump was a good movie. But I thought of it as how many characters do you have that you can then use as players in this basketball game. When I was researching this topic for the podcast, the fact that I saw that White Men Can't Jump was for the Atari Jaguar basically gave me the idea that this was not seen as a success. It got some pretty harsh reviews when it came out for bad graphics and gameplay.
 
 And in the years since, it has not been any better. Some games and movies become cult classics. White men can't jump is seen as one of the worst games ever made. Another one I can't believe they made a a video game about is Addams Family Values, which was on the Super Nintendo. Most people know The Addams Family, either the TV show or the movie, and this is based on the sequel.
 
 The game came out in 1994, and you follow Uncle Fester as he searches for his kidnapped nephew, Pubert e Adams. It's an action adventure game. I would put that in quotes, I think. It's got the other Adams family characters in it as well, but it's mostly Uncle Fester. I just don't see this as being a movie or a franchise that was in need of a video game, but what do I know?
 
 And at the time, the reviews were not bad, average to slightly above average. Do you remember the movie Little Nicky with Adam Sandler where he's basically like the son of Satan and he comes to Earth and he's very special. We'll just put it as that. Well, they made a game based on that for Game Boy Color. The game and the movie both came out in February.
 
 All I can find is it's a 15-level adventure game where you've gotta go through the streets and subways of New York City. Game Boy's graphics, you know, you get what you pay for, even the Game Boy Color. But seriously, when you think about movies that deserved video games, I don't think Little Nicky would be in your top 5,000. Some of these remind me of when I did the segment a few episodes ago about forgotten trading cards, and you had things like Howard the Duck or Alf getting their own trading cards. It's almost like video games became that where it was like, here, throw together anything to help promote the movie.
 
 But Little Nicky's reviews were average at best. Another movie that I'm talking about that I really enjoy that got a video game, I don't understand why, is Napoleon Dynamite, and this was for the PSP. Napoleon Dynamite came out in 2004, and it's just one of my favorite movies. So many fun quotes with the characters seeming like they're stuck in the 1980s despite being in the present-day. That being said, the game is not seen as favorably.
 
 In the PlayStation Portable version, there's 30 mini games, while the Nintendo DS, there's 25 mini games. Some reviews say the gameplay and the graphics are pretty good. Others say it's not good. So I guess it's who you believe. You might have to play it for yourself.
 
 But I would say only play Napoleon Dynamite's game if you can get it free. Don't spend your money on it. I got three more to talk about, and I think these three may be the tops of the list. That's why I saved them for now. Did you know in 1983, they released a Texas Chainsaw Massacre game for the Atari 2600?
 
 Give that a moment to sink in for those of you that know the movie. The game cover has Leatherface on it and then someone in the background with a rifle shooting at someone, like, silhouetted. This is one of the first horror movie based games, and the best part of it is you are Leatherface. So you're basically trying to kill people while having to avoid things like fences and cow skulls. It's a side scroller.
 
 It's an Atari game. You if you know the graphics of Atari, you can kind of imagine it. But as you can imagine, it's one of the first horror movie based games. A lot of places refused to carry it, so it didn't sell well. I hadn't even heard of it until I put this list together.
 
 I just think about me being five, six years old. I had the Atari twenty six hundred. And if I had known, if I had asked my mother, can I have Texas Chainsaw as the game? Boy, that would have gone over well. But speaking of one I can't believe got made into a video game, do you remember the movie My Girl?
 
 It's the 1991 movie with Macaulay Culkin, Anna Klumsky, Dan Aykroyd. That's when Macaulay Culkin dies at the end from all the bee stings. It's this heartwarming movie, young love and all that. Video game though? I don't think so.
 
 You basically play the game as Macaulay Culkin's character and just do what he did in the movie. There's a good article on BuzzFeednews.com about the game and it's got little GIF type clips of the gameplay and you literally are just Macaulay Culkin in this world of this movie. I think of all the games that I've mentioned, this one is the weirdest one. Because there's no point, there's no adventure to it unless you're trying to avoid the bees that kill you. But all the rest have some sort of point.
 
 Well, maybe not Napoleon Dynamite, but still. If any of you have played My Girl, let me know if you liked it or if you go track it down, and don't waste your money on it. But the last one I wanted to talk about, we're going all the way back to the Atari twenty six hundred. Does everyone remember the movie Porky's? Raunchy comedy, lot of gratuitous nudity and adult humor.
 
 That was made into a video game. The movie came out in 1981. The game is from 1983, and it's eight bit graphics. Basically, you play as the character Pee Wee, and you want to blow up Porky's bar, so you have to collect everything to build your bomb. As with all of these Atari games, they're basically all side scrollers.
 
 They kind of all look the same. With Porky's, there's a level up top. There's a subterranean level similar to Pitfall. But again, this movie just doesn't translate to a video game. Have any of you played any of these games?
 
 I would think of all of them, you may have played Jaws or younger people may have played Napoleon Dynamite since PSP is more recent. And if you ever want me to do deep dives into any of these, let me know. I'll be sad if you do, but I'll do it because I know it's of interest to some of the listeners. But there you go, a trip back in the day to some of the weirdest movies that got made into video games. And if I find any more, I'll make a part two.
 
 But right now, go find some of these games and play them and be sad. Or better yet, watch the movies and be happy. 


Closing

That wraps up episode 99 of the In My Footsteps podcast, the last one of twenty twenty two. Thank you so much to everyone that's been tuning in. I hope everybody has a happy new year.
 
 If you're gonna make resolutions, make them something that you really wanna stick to. I know coming up is gonna be a lot of people talking about getting in shape, back into shape, changing lifestyle habits. The only advice I can give is make your goals manageable and at least somewhat fun so that you can stick to them. Going from zero to a hundred doesn't get you to your goal faster. It just makes you lose control and crash.
 
 There's a good metaphor for you. Next week is episode 100, and I'm so excited for this first ever supersized episode. Everything I know and that I can share about the Lady of the Dunes case, documentary, book, the new revelations with the identification of Ruth Marie Terry. I hope you all enjoy it. Like I said, I was gonna put it just on theladyofthedunes.com, but because so many of you have done so much to help keep this podcast going and growing, I wanted to share it with you.
 
 And you can share the podcast with people you know. You can buy me a coffee. There's a link in the description of the podcast. Any donation goes to advertising the podcast. Cape Codders, you can help out by supporting local businesses, places that have sponsored the podcast in the past, the Cleat and Anchor restaurant in Dennisport, Pleasant Lake Pizza Shark in Brewster and Chatham, Cove Road Real Estate in Orleans, Barb's Bike Shop in Dennis, Cape Hook Designs.
 
 And, of course, you can go online to Kiwi's Kustoms, both spelled with k's for homemade, handcrafted Cape Cod jewelry accessories, clothing, cat and dog sweaters, baklava, so much more. Go to etsy.com or better yet, click the link in the description of the podcast and check out Kiwis Kustoms, both spelled with k's, at etsy.com. I wanted to take a minute to give a special birthday shout out to my uncle Bob as his birthday is right after Christmas. So I hope it's good. I hope you listen and hear this so you know I wished you one on the podcast as well as in reality.
 
 Find me all over social media. I'm still at Twitter, Instagram, the YouTube channel, YouTube videos, my homepage, ChristopherSetterlund.com. There's links to so many of these things in the description of the podcast just to make it easy on you. I hope everyone has a good 2023. Obviously, you're gonna hear from me a lot in the new year.
 
 I just wanted to kind of say it before the year starts that I hope all that you dream and wish and desire comes true for you. I'm hoping all the good vibes. I feel it for myself. There's all this momentum building and it's just a matter of just pushing forward. A big part of that is your own mindset, your own mental health.
 
 So be sure to lean into the things that make you happy, be good to yourself, go easy on yourself because now is the holiday season is gonna come to an end. Now it's the cold kind of sad and lonely short days of winter. And these can be the hardest to get through until March when spring comes around. So just focus on the things that make you happy. Positive things that can push you forward through these cold months because everything starts with your own mental health.
 
 And remember, in this life, don't walk in anyone else's footsteps. Create your own path and enjoy every moment you can because you never know what tomorrow brings. Thank you all for a great 2022. Stay tuned for 2023. Episode 100 is next week, the special supersized lady of the dunes episode.
 
 This has been the In My Footsteps podcast. I am Christopher Setterlund, and I will talk to you all again soon.

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