... but iTunes won’t let me do that. The film version of The Rocketeer has been a part of my life since I first saw a slightly-edited for TV version when it premiered on the Disney channel in 1992. It’s been my favorite film since. Like a lot of kids of that era, I grew up watching films like the Indiana Jones series and Star Wars. But for some reason, the Rocketeer was always my favorite. I think the subject matter (golden age aviation, the desire to fly without wings) was part of it, or perhaps because it was an encapsulated one-off that required no previous knowledge to appreciate. You also had to work to be a Rocketeer fan - besides the movie and a few other assorted books and magazines, there really wasn’t much else to expand upon the Rocketeer universe aside from the original comic book by Dave Stevens (but even that only had a handful of issues for the longest time and had some differences from the film). And that made it feel like my own, private thing.
That’s why this podcast is so extraordinary. I found it randomly, by total accident, about 2 months ago and binge listened to all the episodes. Jim and Hal researched so many things woven into the fabric of each minute that I feel like they could create a college level course on the late 1930s, aviation, and/or Americana. Somehow they took mundane subjects like vacuum cleaners, toothpicks, radio shows, and telephones and made them fascinating. I suppose it’s because they were doing it within the confines of the film, but isn’t that what good teachers are supposed to do - make their subjects applicable to their students? They also managed to create a fantastic lineup of guests to add richness to the episodes, including a number of members of the cast, crew, and creative force behind the film. Bill Campbell, the Rocketeer himself, is a recurring guest, and the penultimate episode to date is a 4-way conversation between Jim, Hal, Danny Bilson, one of the co-writers, and Joe Johnston, the director.
In full disclosure, I’m obviously biased since I was probably going to like anything about the Rocketeer (I mean, I sat through hours of the original, insufferable 8 bit NES game since, as bad as it was, it was at least something tied to my favorite movie). So you should listen and make up your own mind, but I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. And Disney, if by some odd twist of fate or rift in matrix, you are reading this, just because Jim and Hal did all the work in creating a DVD commentary track for you doesn’t mean you shouldn’t still make a Rocketeer disc with actual special features (subtitles don’t count) and commentaries about the film. You should. People like me, would, you know, pay you money for it. But please do yourself a favor and get these guys to help you - they will at least do it right!
