Episode 171: Harryhausen’s Masterpiece: Jason and the Argonauts

2026-02-08

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We've often shared our admiration for Ray Harryhausen and his films, but we've never devoted an entire episode to just one of his films - until now. And it's not just one of his films, it's arguably his greatest film, Jason and the Argonauts! And though the crew is missing a man for the first time -Chief Engineer Bob is stuck in Sick Bay recovering from a case of Venusian Flu - we have a very special guest joining us: our good friend Billy D, host of the wonderful Magazines and Monsters podcast!

Jason and the Argonauts saw Harryhausen take on Greek mythology, and he was more than up to the task. The film transports us to a world where gods and men-and monsters - co-exist. The magic of Harryhausen "Dynamation" is just as potent today as it was in 1963. We'll discuss when we first saw the film, how it affected us, as well as behind the scenes info about the making of the film. It's truly amazing, both what's on the screen and what's behind it!

For our Sensor Sweep, Billy shares his fantastic work on Magazines and Monsters, where he talks about sci-fi and horror films and comics, stuff we all love! You can find his show on your favorite podcast apps. You can also follow Billy on X and BlueSky under his nom de plume, docstrange. Karen is still plugging away on her YouTube channel, Echoes from the Satellite. Most recently, Larry joined her to do an episode on a book covering Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. And Larry shares a Sideshow set of the skeletons from Jason and the Argonauts. And not Harryhausen, but Larry has a cyclops from the film Ship of Monsters (we got a whole explanation of that film, too!).

We hope you enjoy this episode. It's wonderful how all these years later, Harryhausen's work is still delighting us. Let us know when you first saw Jason, or your first Harryhausen film.