Culture on My Mind
Playing Remote Control
June 22, 2026
Once upon a time, MTV meant music on television. It was in the name: Music Television. In the late 1980s, however, MTV branched out with their first original non-musical program and game show. Thus, Remote Control was born.
The game show ran from 1987 to 1990 and showcased trivia questions based on movies, music, and television presented in skit format. The show hosted by Ken Ober playing a character who grew up on television and really wanted to host a game show, so he set up a makeshift studio in his basement.
On January 28th, Joe Crowe, Gary Mitchel, and Kyle McCraw played a live instance of the Remote Control board game to celebrate the legacy of this pop culture phenomenon.
These Classic Track Quarantine Panels are hosted by Gary Mitchel and Joe Crowe, the diabolical masterminds behind the Dragon Con American Sci-Fi Classics Track. If you want to play along at home, grab your internet-capable device of choice and navigate the world wide webs to the track’s YouTube channel and/or the group on Facebook. If you join in live, you can also leave comments and participate in the discussion using StreamYard connected through Facebook, YouTube, and Twitch.
Gary can also be found on A Podcask of Amontillado, a horror-themed podcast that he co-hosts with Erin McGourn.
If you want to connect with the track, Joe, and/or Gary on the socials, you can find them on Twitter (ClassicTrack, JoeCroweShow, and sneezythesquid) and Instagram (SciFiClassicTrack, JoeCroweShow, and Gary_Mitchel). And, of course, to celebrate more pop culture awesomeness, you can find Dragon Con all year round on the internet, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
You can find those discussions and more every other Thursday as the American Sci-Fi Classics Track explores the vast reaches of classic American science fiction.
The episode art each week is generously provided by the talented Sue Kisenwether. You can find her (among other places) on her website Subspace Sue.
Culture on My Mind is inspired by the weekly Can’t Let It Go segment on the NPR Politics Podcast where each host brings one thing to the table that they just can’t stop thinking about.
For more creativity with a critical eye, visit Creative Criticality.
Creative Criticality 