“It’s So Tasty, Too!” (#81)

As much as I enjoyed discovering The Mary Tyler Moore Show in our Nick At Nite episode, there was a clear winner in the Classic TV Comedienne category, a clear consensus pick — and that’s Lucy. In my eyes, Lucille Ball is one of the greatest entertainers of all time, if not the greatest. And […]

“I Hate Spunk” (#80)

Hello, friends! In the latest episode of When We Were Young, we are sitting on the sofa, there’s a TV in the corner, we are watching Major Nelson… and Mary, Lucy, Samantha, Herman, Horshack, and Sergeant Joe Friday, too. Does the phrase “Bewitched Be-Wednesdays” ring a bell? If so, you may remember that the mid-90s […]

“We End Up In Bed Together” (#79)

Even back in the mid-90s, The X-Files opening credits sequence was terrible. It looked like something I could have put together myself on a PC. But it gets a pass because of Mark Snow’s ultra-iconic theme music, easily one of the best (and most recognizable) themes of all time. Nothing could possibly set the spooky, […]

“Nobody Down Here But The FBI’s Most Unwanted” (#78)

I have nothing against The X-Files. Trust me. I wanted to believe. I enjoyed the series when I first caught up with it in reruns on FX in the mid-90s. I kept up with it as new episodes aired on Fox for a season or two. I was a reasonably big fan of the 1998 […]

Trollin’ With My Homies: ‘The Hater’

What would Tom Ripley get up to in 2020? That question ran through my head multiple times while watching Jan Komasa’s latest film, starring Maciej Musialowski as a conniving social climber also named Tom — or rather, Tomasz. But in the end, The Hater‘s central sociopath sinks to lows even the amoral Ripley would steer […]

“I Learned That From A Rat” (#77)

If you thought this podcast was done discussing everyone’s favorite gang of pubescent crime fighting reptiles, we’ve got news for you! Less than a year after the first TMNT movie did some major league butt-kicking at the box office, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret Of The Ooze offered a second helping of Leonardo, […]

“They’re Heroes In A Half-Shell, And They’re Green” (#76)

The world’s most fearsome podcast team unleashes its most tubular episode yet, diving deep into the mythos of those lean, green phenoms of yore, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. First, we check out the comic book where it all began, discussing how a black-and-white spoof aimed at adults became one of the most popular children’s […]

“Sal’s Famous Pizzeria Is Here To Stay” (#75)

Riots. Fires. Police violence. Ruinous bigotry. A cacophony of voices calling for justice for Black Americans. These are all very present in today’s newspaper headlines and social media feeds, and also set the scene for Spike Lee’s seminal modern classic Do The Right Thing, which is no less urgent in 2020 than it was upon […]

‘King: A Filmed Record… Montgomery to Memphis’

Watched on the 52nd anniversary of Dr. King’s assassination. This is an expanded version of my Letterboxd review from April 4, 2020.

What’s Good: 12 Netflix Picks

There’s a lot of disagreement in the air these days, in case you haven’t noticed. The one thing everyone can agree on right now is that streaming entertainment is our lord and savior, a recently elevated equivalent to food, shelter, and oxygen in our current hierarchy of needs, and we need some goddamn more of […]

“There’s Something Very Familiar About All This” (#74)

The Back To the Future trilogy offers solid blockbuster entertainment, but it’s a dangerous discussion piece — because the more you think about it, the less it holds up. The characters are paper thin, the plotting is both overly complex and underthought, and the central relationship in the series (between Doc Brown and Marty) starts […]

“You’re Safe And Sound Now, Back In Good Old 1955” (#73)

The first Back To The Future is drenched in nostalgia — almost by design. Released in 1985, it captured filmmakers Robert Zemeckis and Steven Spielberg’s obvious appreciation for the 1950s, depicted in the film as simple and mostly sweet, a sharp contrast to the noise and consumerism of the 1980s. Back To The Future isn’t […]