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Rental Return: Tales From the Video Store

Rental Return: Tales From the Video Store

The Retro Network

Relive the days of video rental stores through the stories of former employees. You'll hear experiences from the infancy of rental stores in the 1980s, their dominance in the 1990s, and their demise in the 2000s. From VHS to DVD, from Blockbuster to 'Mom and Pop' stores, Rental Return celebrates this distinctive time in film history.
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Top 10 Rental Return: Tales From the Video Store Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Rental Return: Tales From the Video Store episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Rental Return: Tales From the Video Store for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Rental Return: Tales From the Video Store episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

Rental Return: Tales From the Video Store - S2: Video Land Maniacs

S2: Video Land Maniacs

Rental Return: Tales From the Video Store

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01/14/22 • 50 min

Season 2 of Rental Return - Tales From the Video Store continues with "Video Land Maniacs." This episode is all about the craziest customer interactions our Video Heroes had to deal with as well as regular customers that were quirky or they tried to avoid. Billy tells about the time Quentin Tarantino and Sophia Coppola visited the store. Alan and Joe talk about some customers they suspected were dubbing rental tapes. You'll also hear some of the most ridiculous things that customers would do or complain about like paying late fees. William remembers a customer who just wanted to find a copy of Bossin' Up starring Snoop Dogg. Finally, each of our heroes recollect particular days at the store that are just ingrained in their memories. Bob and Brandon remember how 9/11 impacted their jobs.
Our "Video Heroes" for Season 2 include Mark DeWitt (@Mark_DeWitt), Brian B. (@InnerDemonsGR), Joe Corey (@YourCanadianGF), Matthew Corey (@rollerdogNC), Bob O’Rourke (@constrictionpix), William Lanham (@deadly_dinosaur), Colin Fitzpatrick, Alan Smith, W. Axel Foley aka Billy Foley, and Brandon Meyers.

Follow @TRNsocial on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook for more from Rental Return visuals and VHS memories.

If you are a former rental store employee and would like to be interviewed for an upcoming season, please contact Adam @hojukoolander on Twitter or email [email protected]

Visit The Retro Network podcast page for every show on the network.

Thanks to our monthly supporters
  • Chad Droze
  • Ken Spaulding
  • retrodolls77
  • Tim Heasley
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
bookmark
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Rental Return: Tales From the Video Store - S1: Pushing Play

S1: Pushing Play

Rental Return: Tales From the Video Store

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02/11/21 • 35 min

The first season of Rental Return - Tales From the Video Store continues! In Episode 1, we introduced our Video Heroes including their first experiences with renting VHS tapes and what their local video stores were like. You also heard the interviewees thoughts on how cable television impacted their movie experience and what some of their favorite rentals were as kids.

Now in Episode 2, you'll get a deeper knowledge of why our Heroes wanted to work at a video rental store. You'll get to hear what the training process was like and in Zac's case, what it was like to setup a brand new Blockbuster store. Our heroes also tell us about their co-workers and supervisors they had and if they were just as enamored with movies or saw it as more of just a job. Amanda also explains a little bit about ordering new titles at her parents' store and even a special video store owners' convention in Las Vegas that she attended in 1996.

Our "Video Heroes" for Season 1 include Amanda Stefaniuk, Chris Tanski, Christian McGalliard, Gary Keffer, JP Vriess, Preston Burt, and Zac Shipley. Follow @TRNsocial on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook for more from Rental Return visuals and VHS memories.

If you are a former rental store employee and would like to be interviewed for an upcoming season, please contact Adam @hojukoolander on Twitter or email [email protected]

Thanks to our monthly supporters
  • Chad Droze
  • Ken Spaulding
  • retrodolls77
  • Tim Heasley
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
bookmark
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share episode
Rental Return: Tales From the Video Store - S1: Video Land Maniacs

S1: Video Land Maniacs

Rental Return: Tales From the Video Store

play

03/11/21 • 23 min

**Due to the adult nature of one of our stories and brief language in this episode, listener discretion is advised.**

The first season of Rental Return - Tales From the Video Store continues! In Episode 3, you got hear about the daily grind of our Video Heroes and some of the things they didn't anticipate while working for a video rental store.

Now in Episode 4, we'll take a trip on the wild side as you'll hear some of the crazy experiences our Video Heroes had while they were employed at the store. You won't believe what someone tossed into Amanda's store while she was working one night! You'll also hear some of the worst customers they had to deal with which in Preston's case was Lord Slug and some the most ridiculous things that customers would do which Gary will tell you was fighting over copies of The Bodyguard.

Our "Video Heroes" for Season 1 include Amanda Stefaniuk, Chris Tanski, Christian McGalliard, Gary Keffer, JP Vriess, Preston Burt, and Zac Shipley. Follow them on Twitter and @TRNsocial on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook for more from Rental Return visuals and VHS memories.

If you are a former rental store employee and would like to be interviewed for an upcoming season, please contact Adam @hojukoolander on Twitter or email [email protected]

Thanks to our monthly supporters
  • Chad Droze
  • Ken Spaulding
  • retrodolls77
  • Tim Heasley
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
bookmark
plus icon
share episode
Rental Return: Tales From the Video Store - S1: Rewind the Grind

S1: Rewind the Grind

Rental Return: Tales From the Video Store

play

02/23/21 • 32 min

The first season of Rental Return - Tales From the Video Store continues! In Episode 2, you got a deeper knowledge of why our Heroes wanted to work at a video rental store, what their training process was like and a little bit about the co-workers and supervisors they had.

Now in Episode 3, you'll hear what the daily grind was like for our Heroes at the video store including some of the mundane tasks they endured like rewinding tapes. To offset those tasks, some great perks were obtained like free rentals, free posters, and in Preston's case, first dibs on out-of-print tapes worth bank on eBay! Plus, Amanda tells how several of the store standees got a tour of their town. Finally, we ask about some of the things our Heroes didn't anticipated when initially taking the job like Gary's experience of finding returned tapes that were not owned by the store and then awkwardly phoning the customer about it.

Our "Video Heroes" for Season 1 include Amanda Stefaniuk, Chris Tanski, Christian McGalliard, Gary Keffer, JP Vriess, Preston Burt, and Zac Shipley. Follow @TRNsocial on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook for more from Rental Return visuals and VHS memories.

If you are a former rental store employee and would like to be interviewed for an upcoming season, please contact Adam @hojukoolander on Twitter or email [email protected]

Thanks to our monthly supporters
  • Chad Droze
  • Ken Spaulding
  • retrodolls77
  • Tim Heasley
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
bookmark
plus icon
share episode
Rental Return: Tales From the Video Store - S2: Secrets of the Staff

S2: Secrets of the Staff

Rental Return: Tales From the Video Store

play

01/28/22 • 51 min

Season 2 of Rental Return - Tales From the Video Store continues with "Secrets of the Staff." This episode features some wild stories of staff shenanigans during and after business hours. Here Brandon tell about an epic pen-throwing war that occurred after hours one night that ended with an exploding marker and a clean up that lasted until the wee hours of the morning. Our Heroes also take us behind-the-scenes with details about how the business of rental stores operated that most customers wouldn’t realize. William explains the unique job he had for awhile at Blockbuster going from store to store scanning tapes all night for inventory. Then find out if our Heroes' time working at rental stores resulted in some friendship that have lasted until this day. For Billy and his colleagues at World of Video, lifelong friendships were defintiely made.

Our "Video Heroes" for Season 2 include Mark DeWitt (@Mark_DeWitt), Brian B. (@InnerDemonsGR), Joe Corey (@YourCanadianGF), Matthew Corey (@rollerdogNC), Bob O’Rourke (@constrictionpix), William Lanham (@deadly_dinosaur), Colin Fitzpatrick, Alan Smith, W. Axel Foley aka Billy Foley, and Brandon Meyers.

Follow @TRNsocial on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook for more from Rental Return visuals and VHS memories.

If you are a former rental store employee and would like to be interviewed for an upcoming season, please contact Adam @hojukoolander on Twitter or email [email protected]

Visit The Retro Network podcast page for every show on the network.

Thanks to our monthly supporters
  • Chad Droze
  • Ken Spaulding
  • retrodolls77
  • Tim Heasley
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
bookmark
plus icon
share episode
Rental Return: Tales From the Video Store - Season 2 Rewind

Season 2 Rewind

Rental Return: Tales From the Video Store

play

03/04/22 • 61 min

With Season 2 of Rental Return in the books, Adam (@Hojukoolander), Chad (@HorrorMovieBBQ), and Jason (@RD80s) bookend the season by reflecting on what they learned through the experiences shared by the Video Heroes. They discuss some of the crazier stories, things they did not know about the video store business, and favorite moments overall. They also talk about some old newspaper stories that Jason dug up from the '80s about video rental stores, news about a video store closing recently in PA, and the trio's recent acquisitions in their collections.
Erol's Video Club Newspaper AdsRead the Newspaper stories on TheRetroNetwork.com

Follow @TRNsocial on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook for more from Rental Return visuals and VHS memories.

If you are a former rental store employee and would like to be interviewed for an upcoming season, please contact Adam @hojukoolander on Twitter or [email protected]

Thanks to our monthly supporters
  • Chad Droze
  • Ken Spaulding
  • retrodolls77
  • Tim Heasley
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
bookmark
plus icon
share episode
Rental Return: Tales From the Video Store - S2: Pushing Stop

S2: Pushing Stop

Rental Return: Tales From the Video Store

play

02/18/22 • 66 min

Season 2 of Rental Return - Tales From the Video Store comes to a close with "Pushing Stop." This episode features the final days of video stores from the perspective of our Video Heroes. You'll hear how DVD, Blu-Ray, and Netflix affected the operation of their stores. Then, listen how some of our Heroes ended their tenures and their perspective on other store closings in the area. With the perspective of hind sight, we then ask our Heroes what they miss most about working at a video store. And finally, we find out if our Heroes kept any mementos from the store as a badge of honor.

Our "Video Heroes" for Season 2 include Mark DeWitt (@Mark_DeWitt), Brian B. (@InnerDemonsGR), Joe Corey (@YourCanadianGF), Matthew Corey (@rollerdogNC), Bob O’Rourke (@constrictionpix), William Lanham (@deadly_dinosaur), Colin Fitzpatrick, Alan Smith, W. Axel Foley aka Billy Foley, and Brandon Meyers.

Follow @TRNsocial on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook for more from Rental Return visuals and VHS memories.

If you are a former rental store employee and would like to be interviewed for an upcoming season, please contact Adam @hojukoolander on Twitter or email [email protected]

Visit The Retro Network podcast page for every show on the network.

Thanks to our monthly supporters
  • Chad Droze
  • Ken Spaulding
  • retrodolls77
  • Tim Heasley
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
bookmark
plus icon
share episode
Rental Return: Tales From the Video Store - Interview with Ira Belfer of Captain Video

Interview with Ira Belfer of Captain Video

Rental Return: Tales From the Video Store

play

01/07/22 • 20 min

During the Rental Return Season 2 Preview episode, several video rental themed newspaper articles from the '80s were discussed which included the small chain of California based stores called Captain Video. A quick google search by Adam found one still in existence and planned a trip to visit the store and interview the owner of 37 years, Ira Belfer. Listen to the interview and watch the video version including a walk through of the store on TRN TV. You can also visit Captain Video on Facebook.

Thanks to our monthly supporters
  • Chad Droze
  • Ken Spaulding
  • retrodolls77
  • Tim Heasley
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
bookmark
plus icon
share episode
Rental Return: Tales From the Video Store - S2: Rewind the Grind

S2: Rewind the Grind

Rental Return: Tales From the Video Store

play

12/30/21 • 68 min

Season 2 of Rental Return - Tales From the Video Store continues with "Rewind the Grind!" In Episode 2, we asked our Video Heroes why they were motivated to work at a video store and how they got the job. Now in Episode 3, we get more into their daily routines at the store like what were their favorite parts of the job and on the flip side, what was their least favorite things to do. We'll also find out some of the perks that our Heroes received including Mark's unique position as an operator to score concert tickets from local radio stations when he purchased ad time. We'll also ask our heroes about some of the mundane tasks they had to perform like rewinding tapes and shrink-wrapping previous viewed movies for sale. You'll also hear some things they didn't anticipate having to do like when the store owner's put a cappuccino bar inside Matthew's store and he had to learn how to use a cappuccino machine.

Our "Video Heroes" for Season 2 include Mark DeWitt (@Mark_DeWitt), Brian B. (@InnerDemonsGR), Joe Corey (@YourCanadianGF), Matthew Corey (@rollerdogNC), Bob O’Rourke (@constrictionpix), William Lanham (@deadly_dinosaur), Colin Fitzpatrick, Alan Smith, W. Axel Foley aka Billy Foley, and Brandon Meyers.

Follow @TRNsocial on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook for more from Rental Return visuals and VHS memories.

If you are a former rental store employee and would like to be interviewed for an upcoming season, please contact Adam @hojukoolander on Twitter or email [email protected]

Visit The Retro Network podcast page for every show on the network.

Thanks to our monthly supporters
  • Chad Droze
  • Ken Spaulding
  • retrodolls77
  • Tim Heasley
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
bookmark
plus icon
share episode
Rental Return: Tales From the Video Store - S2: Pushing Play

S2: Pushing Play

Rental Return: Tales From the Video Store

play

12/17/21 • 65 min

Season 2 of Rental Return - Tales From the Video Store continues with "Pushing Play!" In Episode 1, we introduced our Video Heroes including their first experiences with renting VHS tapes and what their local video stores were like. Now in Episode 2, you'll get a deeper knowledge of why our Heroes wanted to work at a video rental store. You'll get to hear how they got the job which for Bryan was a lucky second call after his initial voicemail was deleted. You'll hear what their training process was like which Brandon says included a Blockbuster training video hosted by actress Andrea Barber who played Kimmy Gibbler on Full House. And then finally, hear what kind of co-workers they had to interact with which in Axel's case included an impressive crew who had encyclopedic knowledge of specific genres.

Our "Video Heroes" for Season 2 include Mark DeWitt (@Mark_DeWitt), Brian B. (@InnerDemonsGR), Joe Corey (@YourCanadianGF), Matthew Corey (@rollerdogNC), Bob O’Rourke (@constrictionpix), William Lanham (@deadly_dinosaur), Colin Fitzpatrick, Alan Smith, W. Axel Foley aka Billy Foley, and Brandon Meyers.

Follow @TRNsocial on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook for more from Rental Return visuals and VHS memories.

If you are a former rental store employee and would like to be interviewed for an upcoming season, please contact Adam @hojukoolander on Twitter or email [email protected]

Visit The Retro Network podcast page for every show on the network.

Thanks to our monthly supporters
  • Chad Droze
  • Ken Spaulding
  • retrodolls77
  • Tim Heasley
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
bookmark
plus icon
share episode

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FAQ

How many episodes does Rental Return: Tales From the Video Store have?

Rental Return: Tales From the Video Store currently has 35 episodes available.

What topics does Rental Return: Tales From the Video Store cover?

The podcast is about Society & Culture, Film History, Video, 90S, 80S, Interview, Personal Journals, Podcasts, Movies and Tv & Film.

What is the most popular episode on Rental Return: Tales From the Video Store?

The episode title 'S2: Pushing Stop' is the most popular.

What is the average episode length on Rental Return: Tales From the Video Store?

The average episode length on Rental Return: Tales From the Video Store is 36 minutes.

How often are episodes of Rental Return: Tales From the Video Store released?

Episodes of Rental Return: Tales From the Video Store are typically released every 13 days.

When was the first episode of Rental Return: Tales From the Video Store?

The first episode of Rental Return: Tales From the Video Store was released on Jan 3, 2021.

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Jason Gross

@rd80s

Aug 25

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