Gobbledygeek episode 284, “Motorcycle Ninjas on the Forbidden Planet,” is available for listening or download right here and on iTunes here.

The Geek Challenge. It’s a time-honored tradition: Paul makes Arlo watch some silly ’80s cheesefest, Arlo subjects Paul to a stuffy revered classic. Everyone loses. In the interest of restoring some spontaneity to this well-worn custom, this time Arlo forces upon Paul perhaps the cheesiest movie of the ’80s, Y.K. Kim’s 1987 cult “classic” Miami Connection, in which a group of power balladeers do battle with cocaine ninjas; while Paul finally makes Arlo watch 1956’s Forbidden Planet, a retro-futuristic take on Shakespeare’s The Tempest and a legitimate classic of the sci-fi genre. Once again, the boys try to get at what makes the other tick and just what makes a great movie anyway. Also, you’ll never guess the very tenuous connection between the two films. No, really. You won’t.

Next: there’s somethin’ strange in your neighborhood, and it’s Paul Feig’s distaff Ghostbusters reboot.

(Show notes for “Motorcycle Ninjas on the Forbidden Planet.”)