Episode 158 - THE SANTA CLAUSE

'Tis the ho-ho-holiday season, and we're kicking off our festivities with Tim Allen's turn as a smart aleck St. Nick in The Santa Clause. Is it a sarcastic and saccharine fruitcake of a movie featuring flatulent reindeer, child custody battles, ugly sweaters, and elves...with attitudes? Or is it an eggnog-laced body horror flick featuring a man powerless to prevent his flesh and blood from transforming into the ageless avatar of Christmas cheer?

Jolly old Saint Nate Tapp cartoonishly squeezes down our chimney to help us examine the fine print on this Santa succession story. Whether you were naughty or nice this year, we gift-wrapped this magical episode just for you!

The Santa Clause (1994)
Directed by John Pasquin
Produced by Robert Newmyer, Brian Reilly, and Jeffrey Silver
Written by Leo Benvenuti and Steve Rudnick
Starring Tim Allen, Eric Lloyd, Wendy Crewson, Judge Reinhold, Peter Boyle, and David Krumholtz

Episode 100 - TOY STORY

What Were We Watching has finally made it to episode 100, and we're celebrating with another kind of milestone: Pixar's revolutionary computer-animated feature Toy Story. Part of a groundbreaking series that grapples with the inevitability of change and the functions of nostalgia, this movie provides the perfect framework for self-reflection. Our special extra-long discussion is all about storytelling, imagination, and the life-changing power of podcasting.

A big thank you to all the listeners and guests who have accompanied us on our journey thus far. We hope you enjoy the next 100 episodes!

Toy Story (1995)
Directed by John Lasseter
Produced by Bonnie Arnold, Ralph Guggenheim, Ed Catmull, and Steve Jobs
Screenplay by Joss Whedon, Andrew Stanton, Joel Cohen, and Alec Sokolow
Story by John Lasseter, Pete Docter, Andrew Stanton, and Joe Ranft
Starring Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Don Rickles, Jim Varney, Wallace Shawn, John Ratzenberger, Annie Potts, R. Lee Ermey, John Morris, and Erik von Detten

Episode 97 - 'WEEN-A-THON 2017

Our Halloween "visual playlist" spooktacular returns! This year, our trick-or-treat bag is packed with a variety of ghoulish goodies: commercials, cartoons, and comedies that capture the spirit of the season. Muster up your courage for a not-so-grisly grotesquerie of our Halloween faves in our second annual 'Ween-A-Thon...if you dare!

Featured in this episode:

Clips and Shorts
Coca-Cola "Monsters of the Gridiron" commercials (1993-1994) - Spot 1, Spot 2, Spot 3
Walt Disney World Inside Out - "Twilight Zone Tower of Terror" (1994)

TV Episodes
South Park - "Pinkeye" (aired October 29, 1997)
Rugrats - "Candy Bar Creep Show/Monster in the Garage" (aired January 5, 1992)
The Adventures of Pete & Pete - "Halloweenie" (aired October 9, 1994)
Home Improvement - "I Was A Teenage Taylor" (aired October 29, 1996)

Episode 51 - GALAXY QUEST

On Christmas Day in 1999, at the height of anxiety over the "Y2K Problem" in which technology might finally have been our undoing, Galaxy Quest was released in theaters to remind audiences of a more optimistic vision of the future worthy of Gene Roddenberry. Not only did the film parody Star Trek the franchise, but Star Trek the phenomenon, lovingly sending up every element from the real-life drama between cast members to the culture of fandom the series helped create.

Trekspert Charles Benimoff returns to the podcast to lend us some context and to argue why Galaxy Quest deserves to be an honorary part of the Star Trek canon, if only to keep that pesky even-odd curse firmly intact... By Grabthar's hammer, what an episode!

Galaxy Quest (1999)
Directed by Dean Parisot
Produced by Mark Johnson and Charles Newirth
Written by David Howard and Robert Gordon
Starring Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman, Tony Shalhoub, Sam Rockwell, Daryl Mitchell, Enrico Colantoni, Missi Pyle, and Justin Long

Episode 29 - TV DADS

There are many different types of dads.

One type of dad might endure the constant bruising of his ego by pitting his flailing masculinity against ill-advised home repair projects, all while he struggles to relate to his strong-willed wife and three rambunctious sons.

Another type of dad might endure the constant bruising of his ego by pitting his flailing masculinity against various Sisyphean attempts to raise a family with dignity, all while he struggles to relate to his strong-willed wife and three rambunctious sons.

Just in time for Father's Day, we spend some time with two of our favorite sitcom dads - Tim Taylor of Home Improvement and Hal Wilkerson of Malcolm in the Middle - as we recount their lessons about life, love, failure, and how to act like you know what you're doing.

Home Improvement (1991-1999)
Created by Carmen Finestra, David McFadzean, and Matt Williams

"Super Bowl Fever"
Directed by Andy Cadiff
Written by Rosalind Moore and Howard J. Morris
Aired January 31, 1995

"The Feminine Mistake"
Directed by Peter Bonerz
Written by Laurie Gelman
Aired May 6, 1997


Malcolm in the Middle (2000-2006)
Created by Linwood Boomer

"Bowling"
Directed by Todd Holland
Written by Alex Reid
Aired April 1, 2001

"Hal Coaches"
Directed by Jeff Melman
Written by Ian Busch
Aired March 10, 2002

Episode 24 - JUNGLE 2 JUNGLE

If it had been released in a different era, Jungle 2 Jungle - a movie about a rich white man trying to prevent a kid raised in a remote Amazonian village from attempting to kill and consume every animal he sees in the big city - would have triggered a thinkpiece avalanche.

But this was 1997.  Nobody was going to question Tim Allen, a bona fide box office king thanks to his smart-alecky schtick and shit-eating grin.  The sitcom stalwart and Disney company man stars alongside a debuting Sam Huntington, who is asked to spend way more time in a loincloth than any 13-year-old should.

As desperate in its broadly telegraphed comedy as it is prescient about films with subplots about pushy reality TV crews, Jungle 2 Jungle is a prime example of one of our favorite genres: the dad-venture.  So please, put down your satellite phone and try to refrain from talking about the commodities market long enough to stop disappointing your estranged son.

Jungle 2 Jungle (1997)

Directed by John Pasquin

Produced by Richard Baker and Brad Krevoy

Written by Bruce A. Evans and Raynold Gideon

Based on the film Un indien dans la ville

Starring Tim Allen, Martin Short, JoBeth Williams, Lolita Davidovich, David Ogden Stiers, and Sam Huntington