Episode 230 - THE SIMPSONS

Ay caramba! It's ten years to the day since we launched WWWW, and we're celebrating our milestone anniversary with a look back at the golden age of The Simpsons. We're diving into memories, music, merchandise, and all the things make us go "mmm" in our painstakingly-crafted lists of the top ten installments across the show's first ten seasons. It may just be our best...episode...ever. Woo hoo!

The Simpsons
Seasons 1-10 (1989 - 1999)
Created by Matt Groening

Episode 190 - BOY MEETS WORLD

The standard-bearer of ABC's famed TGIF lineup throughout the '90s, Boy Meets World served up a weekly dose of warmth, wackiness, and wholesome teen romance. But even then, we knew that the show's real love story wasn't Cory and Topanga - it was Cory and Shawn, a bestie bromance for the ages. Toss in the gang's textbook co-dependency with mentor figure Mr. Feeny, and this is a sitcom steeped in playful psychological shenanigans.

Manny Lozano helps us pick up on the obvious-in-retrospect signals as we spend quality time with this formative family sitcom, and find that its heart and humor still resonate more than two decades later.

Boy Meets World (1993-2000)
Created by Michael Jacobs and April Kelly
Starring Ben Savage, Rider Strong, Danielle Fishel, Will Friedle, Betsy Randle, William Russ, Lily Nicksay, Lindsay Ridgeway, Anthony Tyler Quinn, Trina McGee-Davis, Matthew Lawrence, Maitland Ward, and William Daniels

Episodes featured in this podcast:

"Teacher's Bet" (aired 11/19/1993)
"Chick Like Me" (aired 1/31/1997)
"Cult Fiction" (aired 4/25/1997)
"It's Not You...It's Me" (aired 10/17/1997)
"And Then There Was Shawn" (aired 2/27/1998)
"Brave New World" (aired 5/5/2000)

Episode 152 - ROCKO'S MODERN LIFE

Years before "adult" became a verb, Rocko's Modern Life tried to warn us what was in store outside the bubble of childhood. Younger viewers tuning in to laugh at funny talking animals were surreptitiously served a reality check in tidy 10-minute segments. The cartoon's surreal slapstick punctured the perceived glamour of the grown-up world, while also taking aim at the excesses and absurdities of...well, modern life.

Jake Beal returns in this episode of Conglom-O proportions, as we raise Heck in our raucous appreciation of a Nicktoon that was well ahead of its time. This'll be a hoot!

Rocko's Modern Life (1993-1996)
Created by Joe Murray

Episodes featured in this podcast:

"To Heck and Back" (aired 10/10/93)
"Rocko's Happy Sack" (aired 11/21/93)
"Kiss Me, I'm Foreign" (aired 12/4/94)
"Wacky Delly" (aired 1/26/96)
"Zanzibar" (aired 4/21/96)
"Closet Clown" (aired 7/16/96)

Episode 122 - SAVED BY THE BELL

Saved by the Bell was a high school sitcom that was never really intended for high schoolers. Each episode was a candy-coated PSA asking tweens to imagine that their teenage years would be full of wholesome hijinks, mild predicaments, and overly attentive principals. Today, it's a rich document for cultural archaeologists curious about the style, slang, and sexism of the American teenager circa 1990.

Kristal Bailey and Kevin Taylor join our clique for a reunion at Bayside High, as we examine some of the show's most indelible--and infamous--moments. Go Tigers!

Saved by the Bell (1989-1993)
Created by Sam Bobrick
Produced by Peter Engel
Starring Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Mario Lopez, Dustin Diamond, Tiffani-Amber Thiessen, Elizabeth Berkeley, Lark Voorhies, Leanna Creel, Ed Alonzo, and Dennis Haskins

Episodes featured in this podcast:
"The Mamas and the Papas" (aired 11/11/1989)
"Save the Max" (aired 9/22/1990)
"Jessie's Song" (aired 11/3/1990)
"Pipe Dreams" (aired 11/26/1991)
"Day of Detention" (aired 10/3/1992)

Episode 102 - WINTER WONDER-THON 2017

Much like a delicious holiday fruitcake, our second-annual Winter Wonder-Thon showcases a hodgepodge of festive treats that also benefit from an infusion of adult libations. This year, our selections focus on a wide range of traditions both cultural and commercial, and feature two separate attempts to besmirch the reputation of jolly old Saint Nick.

Pull on your favorite sweater and pour yourself some eggnog as we come a-wassailing into your ears with a very special holiday podcast!

Featured in this episode:

Clips and Shorts
Animaniacs - "Noel" (aired September 7, 1996)
Hess Toy Truck commercials (1993, 1997, 1999)

TV Episodes and Specials
Inspector Gadget Saves Christmas (aired December 4, 1992)
The Tick - "The Tick Loves Santa!" (aired November 25, 1995)
Power Rangers Zeo - "A Season to Remember" (aired November 27, 1996)
Seinfeld - "The Strike" (aired December 18, 1997)

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 53 - TV MOMS

The fifth commandment tells us: "Honor thy father and thy mother." Since we already gave the dads their due for Father's Day last year, it's only fitting that we show the same courtesy to the moms.

This episode is dedicated to two of our favorite TV matriarchs - Marge Simpson of The Simpsons and Kitty Forman of That '70s Show - and the exploration of sitcom motherhood in all of its husband-tolerating, offspring-embarrassing, and family-bonding facets. We're ready to declare ourselves full-fledged mama's boys with this Mother's Day special!

The Simpsons (1989- )
Created by Matt Groening

"The Springfield Connection"
Directed by Mark Kirkland
Written by John Collier
Aired May 7, 1995

"Marge Be Not Proud"
Directed by Steven Dean Moore
Written by Mike Scully
Aired December 17, 1995


That '70s Show (1998-2006)
Created by Bonnie & Terry Turner and Mark Brazill


"Hyde Moves In"
Directed by David Trainer
Written by Mark Hudis
Aired July 19, 1999

"Kitty and Eric's Night Out"
Directed by David Trainer
Written by Linda Wallem
Aired February 28, 2000

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