What do ‘Adventure’, the Konami Code, Pixar’s A113, hidden DVD extras, ‘The Beast’, ‘I Love Bees’ and Marvel post-credit scenes all have in common?

They are all part of the long, strange history of the Easter egg.

In this special Easter episode of ‘Geekstorians’, Dave digs into how hidden messages, secret rooms, buried jokes and coded nods evolved from acts of quiet rebellion into a full-blown language between creators and audiences.

The story begins with Warren Robinett’s famous hidden room in ‘Adventure’ on the Atari 2600, before moving through the rise of the Konami Code, Microsoft’s increasingly odd software secrets, Pixar’s long-running A113 tradition, the golden age of hidden DVD extras, and the giant Alternate Reality Games that turned the hunt itself into the story.

It also looks at how modern blockbuster culture transformed Easter egg hunting into an industry of its own, with fans racing to spot, decode and catalogue every hidden reference packed into films, games and TV shows.

At heart, though, this is a story about something much simpler: somebody put something there, and somebody else found it.

The episode also arrives just ahead of ‘Geekstorians’ Season 2, which is coming very soon.

Geekstorians is the documentary-style podcast from Geektown, exploring the hidden histories, creative accidents and industrial chaos that shaped geek culture.

You can find more on Geekstorians, plus all the latest TV, film and gaming news, at Geektown.co.uk

Also, a quick but important plug, Geekstorians is currently nominated for a Webby Award in the Podcasts – History category, and voting for the People’s Voice Award closes on Thursday, 16th April.

Vote for Geekstorians here:

https://wbby.co/57464N

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Language doesn’t just describe culture.

Sometimes, it creates it.

In the Season One finale of Geekstorians, Dave explores the hidden history of geek language — how fans invented their own slang, references, in-jokes, and shorthand, and how that language quietly shaped modern geek culture and the internet itself.

From handwritten letters in the back pages of early science-fiction magazines, to fanzines, conventions, badges, and costumes… from Monty Python quotes and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, to arcade slang, tabletop role-playing games, online gaming, text-message shorthand, memes, and chat rooms. This episode traces how fandom learned to communicate long before social media existed.

Along the way, we explore how shared language helped fandom survive moral panics, cancelled shows, shifting technology, and changing formats, not through manifestos or rules, but through jokes, references, and community shorthand.

Geek culture didn’t just grow around stories.

It grew around conversations.

This episode marks the end of Season One of Geekstorians. All ten episodes, plus the Christmas special, are now available.

If you’ve enjoyed the series, please consider rating, reviewing, or subscribing. It really helps the show find new listeners. You can also share your thoughts on Season One over at Geektown.co.uk or on social media.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Toys were never just toys.

In this episode of Geekstorians, Dave traces the rise of the Plastic Empire — the moment when action figures, model kits, bricks, and collectibles stopped being side products and started becoming entire universes.

From the Star Wars Early Bird box that accidentally rewrote the rules of merchandising, to the 1980s cartoon-toy industrial complex, moral panics, and the birth of gender-segmented aisles, this is the story of how plastic shaped imagination, identity, and fandom itself.

Along the way, we explore LEGO’s uneasy relationship with licensed worlds, Gunpla’s transformation of fandom into craftsmanship, Warhammer’s hobbyist ecosystems, the rise of collector culture and shrine shelves, the collapse of toy superstores like Toys “R” Us, and how blind bags, loot-box logic, and digital skins quietly gamified collecting.

Finally, we look at the strangest evolution yet — a future where fans no longer wait for companies to make their toys at all, but design and print their own.

Because the Plastic Empire didn’t disappear.

It decentralised.

If you enjoyed this episode, make sure you’re subscribed or following Geekstorians wherever you listen, so you don’t miss future deep dives into the hidden history of geek culture.

You can find every episode at https://www.geektown.co.uk, along with Geektown Radio, our weekly show covering the latest TV, film, and gaming news.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.