The Point Radio: Super Heroes In The Real World

Don’t the name fool you. FREAKS OF NATURE is a reality show that introduces viewers to extraordinary people who possess the power to control, manipulate or conquer nature, performing feats that could harm or kill the average human. Sounds like super-heroes to us! We talk to show host Tyler Harcott (JUNKYARD WARS) about the amazing people he’ll showcase on the new Weather Channel series. Plus THE KILLING is back – again – and some big bucks for BRAVE & BOLD #28. THE POINT covers it 24/7! Take us ANYWHERE! The Point Radio App is now in the iTunes App store – and it’s FREE! Just search under “pop culture The Point”. The Point Radio – 24 hours a day of pop culture fun for FREE. GO HERE and LISTEN FREE on any computer or on any other mobile device with the Tune In Radio app – and follow us on Twitter @ThePointRadio.

Transcript

The Point Radio Hey it's Mike Raub, a show like Freaks of Nature could go a lot of different ways, but this one is a reality show involving folks with, well shall we say, powers far beyond those of mortal men. Well explain coming up, plus that killing is back, and some big bucks for Bravenbolt 28. Let's get to the point. This is The Point, The Point Radio, get The Point Radio The Weather Channel series Freaks of Nature has a title that could go a bunch of different ways, but to find out what it's really about, I went to the show host, Tyler Harkai.

Freaks of Nature is a show where we take people who have found a way to harness the forces of nature to kind of do the things that they do that are extraordinary. It kind of makes them a little bit different than the rest of us, us mere mortals. A great example is it's Wim Hof. He's well known throughout the world as the Ice Man. And boy, could he not be more appropriately named, because this guy just does not feel cold, and it just doesn't matter what you do to him. He doesn't feel it, you know, and we delve into that. Why doesn't he feel it? We want to know what is special about him, that he can basically change his body chemistry so he doesn't feel cold.

Maybe it's just the world that we live in, but to me it seems like this is a reality show about, well, real life superheroes. Yeah, I think that's a fair comparison. I mean, we don't – do we have superheroes? Yeah. We've got a lot of superheroes in our lives. You know, they're our moms and dads and that kind of thing. But these people have – yeah, they have those things that you kind of sit there and just think, that's beyond the human condition. You shouldn't be able to do that, you know. But you are doing it, and you're doing it right before my eyes.

So, you know, and I'm not snowing anybody. I mean, I can see with my own eyes, I see that it's real. So, you know, these people really do – they make me more mortal than I am, because I try to do something similar in each episode that they're doing. Just to give perspective and context to the folks at home so that they get a sense of what this is like. You know, the Iceman episode is a great example, jumping into freezing cold water or going into, you know, full-on hypothermia, you know, to a point where it's dangerous. And, you know, I was actually in fear for my life. I mean, that – and it doesn't take long. It didn't take long for those things to happen.

Here's a guy that doesn't just take it to the next level. He takes it to the 10th level. He takes it well beyond where it should go. And then he, you know, he can walk away from these things. One of the cool twists in the show is that Tyler attempts to emulate some of the things that these folks do. I think for a show like this, I would be remiss if I didn't – if I didn't do Go the Extra Mile for the viewers, you know. And, yeah, do I – do I owe them my life? No. But I think to give a sense of what this is like for them –

I don't want you to go through full-on hypothermia. But I'm willing to go there because it's going to – you're going to have a takeaway from this. You're going to take away the fact that the next time I leave the house and I know I've got to go on a car ride, but I don't bring my jacket and it's cold outside, and the car breaks down or something like that or you're running through the, you know, going for a run and you're not fully properly dressed and you twist an ankle and you're stuck in the middle of the woods or, you know, somewhere where nobody's coming to get you and the temperature drops, you know, what do you do? How do you handle that? This is the kind of thing that can show you how dangerous it is in less than a half an hour. It can be dead. And that's no joke.

Now, these guys, they take it beyond that. They show you that what us mere mortals go through is obviously deadly. They take it to the next level. They show you how extraordinary their gifts are, not in a braggadocia way, but in a very – they have a humility. They have a respect for nature. That is quite something. So which ones are the most fascinating? All of our freaks of nature have – are extraordinary. I mean, they've done things that, you know, that shocked me.

You know, I think one that really sticks out more than anything is our human submarine, Will Truby. He's a freediver, a pure freediver, which means he doesn't use any kind of apparatus to get himself to the bottom, you know, down in the water. He basically self-propells himself. He's a world record holder. I watched him dive over 300 feet on one breath of air all the way down and all the way back up. And that, you know, watching that, I think I held my breath the entire time, too, you know, because you just – you can't imagine what you're seeing because when you see him go, you think, this may be the last time I ever see this person. Because if there's one mistake, one improperly put exhalation, you know, anything goes wrong on the way down – you'll never see that person again because they're not coming back because they are so deep. It's not – you know, and that – there's a – you know, it's black and white. There's no gray area. It is absolutely life or death every time they do these things, and especially Will Truby's case.

That stopped me in my tracks. After all this, and then a background that includes shows like Junkyard Wars and Miss America Countdown to the Crown, as well as The Bachelor Canada, I asked Tyler what's next on his resume. Well, you know, I'm always looking for bigger and better. I mean, I – you know, just like these guys have their passions, you know, my passion is to entertain, you know. So for me, it's – you know, hopefully, you know, if things work out, we do another season of Freaks of Nature. Gosh knows there are plenty of them out there and a lot more stories to tell, and I want to hear them. I mean, gosh, I really enjoyed, you know, hearing these stories and doing these things, but, you know, sky's the limit for me right now.

I'm open to everything. I say no to nothing right now. It's – you've got to – you know, just like these are Freaks of Nature. They are – they are open to pushing it just a little farther, and that's what makes them so extraordinary. So I'm not putting myself in that category, but I can certainly glean from them that it is important to just be open and push and stretch yourself. And so for me, for the future, I don't know, but I hope it includes lots of dollar signs. That's all I'm going to say. Freaks of Nature runs with new episodes every Sunday on The Weather Channel. You can always see more, of course, with some really cool clips right now at WeatherChannel.com.

Coming back from the weekend, let's jump into the latest in pop culture. AMC has ordered a pilot of the DC Vertigo series Preacher, and hopefully will bring it to a regular series on the network. However, here's where it gets interesting. Over the same time that that was announced, actor Seth Rogen dropped a number of tweets that involved Preacher as well, giving the idea that maybe he might be involved in the development of this project. No official word on that, though, as yet. Well, we've already made the joke last year about how it just won't go away, so all we'll say now is the killing is back. Six more episodes is what's going to turn up on Netflix. The episodes planned to wrap up the series they say once and for all, and we're putting quotes around that one.

All the cast will return to the episodes, which will be exclusive to Netflix, of course, and available sometime next year. A copy of Brave and Bold 28, the first appearance of the Justice League of America, has brought in some big bucks. Pedigree Comics has sold a CGC graded copy of the book. It was graded at 9.2, and it went for $120,000. According to CGC, there's only been two 9.4s and two 9.2s certified at this particular point in time, and only seven more, by the way, in the 9.0 range as well. The 120Gs is a record for Brave and Bold 28, doubling the last recorded sale of a 9.4 copy in April of 2004 of just over $60,000.

While everybody's arguing about DVRs and ratings this season, The Simpsons quietly sits in a corner and makes tons of terrific deals and sets a lot of records as well. The network series will now be available for the first time for online streaming and on a cable network as well. The deal will sign with FX, FXX Network. They'll make the show available on their new FX Now mobile app and for video on demand too, and they'll also have access to broadcast at least 530 episodes of the series exclusively on their cable network. The deal, which by the way, carries a price tag, reportedly, of somewhere in the neighborhood of $900 million, will hit in 2014. The How I Met Your Mother spinoff seems to be coming closer to being reality. Creators Craig Thomas and Carter Bays are now definitely involved, along with Emily Spivey, who did Up All Night for NBC a couple of seasons back.

Right now, the working title still is How I Met Your Dad, and there's no word yet on when we'll meet these characters, although we would assume it'll be sometime during the current and final season of How I Met Your Mother. The point, the force, is what's cool. It's out right now, you must easily probably grab the first two. Also from Dark Horse, Fifth Beetle, The Brian Epstein Story, this is getting a lot of buzz in the music industry, and a lot of folks who aren't necessarily comic fans have an eye on this, so if you got somebody like that on your holiday list, might be a good idea to grab this. It comes in three different versions. A limited edition for just under $100, a collector's edition for just under $50, and a much more affordable hardcover that's just under $20 as well.

Over to DC for year zero, there's a Birds of Prey number 25 that covers that, and it's a great week for Fables fans too, Fables number 135 out this week. Ferris and All the Land the Hardcover is out, and a Vertigo Essentials version of Fables number one for just a dollar. Also from DC, a book without a small amount of controversy so far, Jimmy Palmieri and Amanda Connor begin their run on Harley Quinn with issue zero this week. From IDW, Ben 10 gets a series with a first issue out this week. Maybe there's somebody on your holiday list or in your family that is not necessarily a comic fan, but perhaps like the show, this would be a good way to rope them in. From Image this week, first issue of A Voice in the Dark, it talks about a late night radio talk show host who also has urges that delete her to become a serial killer.

Velvet number one gets a second printing this week, also Death Sentence number one gets one as well, and JMS's Imagine Agents gets a second printing for the first issue, and the second issue is out this week as well. All these treasures and more waiting for you at a comic store near you, there's a number of ways to check those out. There's always new ones moving around. You can do it, of course, with the Comic Book Locator Service at 1-888-COMIC-BOOK or with the comicbooklocatorservice.com, or you can do it on our website comicmigs.com. There's a nice little link in the front there, or also a website called findmycomicshop.com. That does it for the podcast. What's next? Well, you never know. Pop culture happens 24-7, and we cover it for you on gettheboydradio.com.

Listen on your laptop or your desktop there, or on iNet radio, you can take us along on any Android or Apple device. And we have an app as well that's free in the iTunes app store. Just look it up under Pop Culture and The Point. The podcast is heard twice every week on great websites like ComicMigs.com and MichaelDavisWorld.com, and in the iTunes podcast directory as well. And, of course, find out the latest of what we're up to on social media. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter under The Point Radio. See you right back here in a few days.