Episode 241 - HEAVYWEIGHTS

An unlikely hotbed of comedic talent, the family-friendly (for the '90s) Heavyweights tickles the funny bone and tugs on the heartstrings as it deliriously subverts live-action Disney tropes.

Are you ready for the best damn podcast of your life? Jake Beal certainly is -- and he's here to help us become skinny winners as we master the Perkis System together.

Heavyweights (1995)
Directed by Steven Brill
Written by Judd Apatow and Steven Brill
Starring Aaron Schwartz, Tom McGowan, Shaun Weiss, Kenan Thompson, Paul Feig, Tom Hodges, Leah Lail, and Ben Stiller

Episode 143 - THE SANDLOT: Tequila! Edition

The wait for another commentary/drinking game episode has been killin' us (Smalls), but finally the time has come for The Sandlot: Tequila! Edition. We celebrate Eric's birthday with this ageless classic about friendship and the promise of the perfect summer. Nate Tapp joins us in the dugout to sip cold brews, swap childhood stories, and occasionally pay attention to the action unfolding before us. It's just like attending a baseball game!

Drinking game rules:

You're Killing Me, Smalls!
Take one drink whenever Smalls does something embarrassing. This will depend on your personal tolerance for L-7 weenies.

Unleash the Beast
Drink whenever the Beast is seen, heard, or mentioned: including flashbacks!

A Voice Is Telling Me To
Each time adult Smalls chimes in with voiceover narration, take a drink.

I'll Have What He's Having
Timmy loves to ape his brother Tommy. Let's all indulge in groupthink and take a sip whenever he sounds like a broken record.

The Seventh-Inning Quench
Podcast heroes get remembered, but podcast legends never die. Stand up and toast the Great Bambino when he appears in Benny's dream by finishing your current beverage.

Tequila!
Take a shot of your favorite tequila during the carnival ride scene. For best results, do not mix with chewing tobacco.

The Sandlot (1993)
Directed by David M. Evans
Produced by Dale De La Torre and William S. Gilmore
Written by David M. Evans and Robert Gunter
Starring Tom Guiry, Mike Vitar, Patrick Renna, Chauncey Leopardi, Marty York, Brandon Adams, Grant Gelt, Victor Di Mattia, Shane Obedzinski, Karen Allen, Denis Leary, Marley Shelton, Art LaFleur, and James Earl Jones

Episode 57 - TINY TOON ADVENTURES

They were tiny, they were toony, and--rumor has it--each of them were at least a little loony. More than just a remix of classic Looney Tunes characters and humor, Tiny Toon Adventures was a colorful comedic world unto itself and helped launch a golden age of Warner Bros. animated television series.

In this episode, special guest Sam Stovold contributes to our survey of all things Tiny Toons, from the pilot originally broadcast by CBS in prime time, to fondly-remembered segments from the TV show, to the feature-length VHS favorite Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation. Come and join the fun! (And now this post is done.)

Tiny Toon Adventures (1990-1995)
Created by Tom Ruegger
Executive produced by Steven Spielberg, Frank Marshall, and Kathleen Kennedy
Starring Charlie Adler, Tress MacNeille, Joe Alaskey, Don Messick, Cree Summer, Danny Cooksey, Kath Soucie, Maurice LaMarche, Gail Matthuis, Rob Paulsen, Candi Milo, and Frank Welker

Episodes/segments featured in this podcast:
"The Looney Beginning" (aired 9/14/1990)
Istanbul and Particle Man from "Tiny Toon Music Television" (aired 2/1/1991)
The Potty Years from "Henny Youngman Day" (aired 11/22/1991)
Going Up from "What Makes Toons Tick" (aired 9/17/1992)



Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation (1992)
Directed by Rich Arons, Ken Boyer, Kent Butterworth, Barry Caldwell, Alfred Gimeno, Art Leonardi, and Byron Vaughns

Produced by Tom Ruegger
Written by Paul Dini, Nicholas Hollander, Tom Ruegger, and Sherri Stoner
Starring the voice talents of Tiny Toon Adventures plus Jonathan Winters, Edie McClurg, and Sorrell Booke



Hear more of Sam Stovold on his Star Trek: Deep Space Nine podcast "Reopening the Wormhole"!

Episode 27 - CAMP NOWHERE

Camp Nowhere is a product of every kid's dream about that one perfect summer - that if we just had the time and resources, we could turn those three school-free months into something worth remembering forever.

In this case, it means taking over a former hippie commune and turning it into a playpen of Super Soakers, Jetskis, and electric guitar solos, all in the name of non-specific, PG-rated '90s rebellion.  Christopher Lloyd adds to the film's far-out vibe by re-imagining his iconic Taxi burnout Reverend Jim as a former flower child who doubles as a kind of camp counselor/enabler of unsupervised minors.

Also, Brian Rudloff returns to the show to share his own memories of cinematic summertime bliss, and to help us decide if Camp Nowhere is more than a typical wish fulfillment fantasy.

Camp Nowhere (1994)
Directed by Jonathan Prince
Produced by Michael Peyser
Written by Andrew Kurtzman and Eliot Wald
Starring Jonathan Jackson, Andrew Keegan, Marnette Patterson, Melody Kay, Wendy Makkena, M. Emmet Walsh, and Christopher Lloyd

Episode 20 - A GOOFY MOVIE

Almost the polar opposite of the operatic musical dramas that defined the output of Walt Disney Animation Studios during the 1990s, A Goofy Movie is a simple, sweet story about a single dad and his insecure teenage son trying to bond with each other on a summer road trip.

Loosely based on Goof Troop, a mid-90s weekday afternoon cartoon series featuring many of the same characters, A Goofy Movie mostly eschews spectacle for a handful of well-defined relationships, small scale drama, and classic Disney slapstick.  Even with the occasional cartoon mayhem and comic exaggeration, it's a surprisingly recognizable world, grounded in familiar emotions and elevated by a stellar soundtrack that's still influencing modern pop culture.



A Goofy Movie (1995)
Directed by Kevin Lima
Produced by Dan Rounds
Written by Jymn Magon, Chris Matheson, and Brian Pimental
Starring Bill Farmer, Jason Marsden, Rob Paulsen, Kellie Martin, Jim Cummings, and Pauly Shore

Episode 5 - NOW AND THEN

Is it possible to be nostalgic for an older form of nostalgia?

Watching Now and Then is like cracking open a dog-eared Judy Blume novel. This week Cam and Eric take a look at the 1970-centric film, a coming-of-age period piece from a time before #tbt, when historical texture went a little farther than golden oldies on the soundtrack and “the feels” were referred to as “emotions.”  And the stellar performances from several young actresses - as prelude for some rather idiosyncratic careers - only adds to the time capsule vibe.  Groovy.



Now and Then (1995)
Directed by Lesli Linka Glatter
Produced by Suzanne Todd and Demi Moore
Written by I. Marlene King
Starring Gaby Hoffman, Thora Birch, Christina Ricci, Ashleigh Aston Moore, Rosie O’Donnell, Melanie Griffith, Rita Wilson, and Demi Moore