Episode 36 - STAR WARS EPISODE V: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK

It shouldn't be possible for the sequel to an instant classic to become even more unassailable than the original.  Yet there's certainly an argument to be made for The Empire Strikes Back and its deepening of everything people loved about Star Wars: the backstories, the relationships, the planet-hopping adventures, the arcane mythology of space mystics swinging laser swords.  Not bad for a movie all about the moodiness and failure of the good guys, and the inevitability of snapping back to the status quo.

We welcome back Episode III panel member (and WWWW's musician-in-residence) Daren Sprawls to discuss the Star Wars that provided a new kind of blueprint for maturity in nerdom.

Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Directed by Irvin Kershner
Produced by Gary Kurtz
Written by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan
Story by George Lucas
Starring Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, Frank Oz, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, Peter Mayhew, and James Earl Jones

Check out the rest of our series on the Star Wars saga:
Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Episode II: Attack of the Clones
Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
Episode IV: A New Hope
Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
Episode VII: The Force Awakens
Episode VIII: The Last Jedi

Solo: A Star Wars Story
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Star Wars: Clone Wars
Star Wars Holiday Special
Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire
Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure

Episode 35 - THE FLINTSTONES

Flintstones/Meet the Flintstones;
They're a famous pre-sold property.

From the/Mind of Spielberg;
And the Hanna-Barbera legacy.

Let's ride/With some wacky set design;
Bedrock/How you pictured in your mind.

I guess there's/Still a movie;
It's an ok time,
A convoluted time,
A nostalgic cash-in time!

The Flintstones (1994)
Directed by Brian Levant
Produced by Bruce Cohen
Written by Tom S. Parker & Jim Jennewein and Steven E. de Souza
Based on the cartoon created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera
Starring John Goodman, Rick Moranis, Elizabeth Perkins, Rosie O'Donnell, Kyle MacLachlan, Halle Berry, and Elizabeth Taylor

Episode 34 - BEAKMAN'S WORLD and BILL NYE THE SCIENCE GUY

Throughout the 1990s, countless kids were edutained by two of every substitute teacher's best friends: Beakman's World and Bill Nye the Science Guy.  For years these nutty professors brought the science fair into the living room, answering our burning questions about everything from astronomy to zoology and blowing our minds with the stunning versatility of paper towel tubes and empty milk cartons.

Grab a number two pencil and get ready to record some data as we let the dying embers of summer form the spark of knowledge in our back-to-school special!

Beakman's World (1992-1997)
Created by Jok Church

"Gravity, Beakmania, and Inertia"
Aired September 26, 1992

"Snow, Beakmania, and Natural Selection"
Aired December 9, 1995

Bill Nye the Science Guy (1993-1998)
Created by Bill Nye, James McKenna, and Erren Gottlieb

"Light Optics"
Aired September 10, 1994

"Pseudoscience"
Aired January 26, 1996

Episode 33 - ACE VENTURA: WHEN NATURE CALLS

Comedy sequels love taking the show on the road - think Vacation in Europe, The Hangover in Thailand, and The Bad News Bears in Japan - as a way to wring a few more laughs out of the same basic premise.  So, naturally, Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls features the world's greatest pet detective on a mission in an inexplicably colonial corner of Africa.

But make no mistake: this is a completely different and oddly more kid-friendly film than its predecessor, doubling down on the sight gags and relying even more heavily on the quotable hyperactivity of its main character.  Credit the zany spark of writer-director Steve Oedekerk, as well as what might be the most committed comedic performance of Jim Carrey's career.

Also, we're proud to welcome guest commentator Nate Tapp for his first appearance on the podcast.  Ready to start listening?  Alllllll righty then! 

Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (1995)
Written and directed by Steve Oedekerk
Produced by James G. Robinson
Based on characters created by Jack Bernstein
Starring Jim Carrey, Ian McNeice, Simon Callow, Maynard Eziashi, Bob Gunton, and Sophie Okenedo

Episode 32 - MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE II

The Mission: Impossible films constitute a rather curious franchise.  They are not meant to showcase a sprawling narrative, nor do they necessarily give us 20 years of insight on the evolution of a particular genre.  Instead, the series seems to exist solely as a bellwether for the career of its producer and star, Tom Cruise.

In this sense, Mission: Impossible II reflects the mind of a Hollywood demigod at his mid-career apex, matched perfectly to high-flying and unabashedly self-congratulatory vibe of American culture in the year 2000.  It's a nonstop smirkfest posted at the last mile marker of a decades-long highway of persona-driven action cinema, timed precisely to the moment when the comic book bubble began to emerge and starring the only actor who could afford to ignore the changing of the guard.

[Our apologies for the tinny audio quality this week.  A rogue nation was tapping our channel, so we had to initiate ghost protocol.  We'll be back to normal in the next episode.]

Mission: Impossible II (2000)
Directed by John Woo
Produced by Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner
Story by Ronald D. Moore and Brannon Braga
Screenplay by Robert Towne
Based on the TV series Mission: Impossible created by Bruce Geller
Starring Tom Cruise, Dougray Scott, Thandie Newton, Ving Rhames, Richard Roxburgh, Brendan Gleeson, and Anthony Hopkins

Episode 31 - STAR WARS EPISODE IV: A NEW HOPE

Two lines of blue text...a fade to black, then a blast of trumpets...a stylized title card swoops into view, comprised of two words that seem like they were always meant to be together.

This is how all Star Wars journeys begin.  Where it goes from there, however, depends on the viewer.  Episode IV: A New Hope paints a broad canvas of space fantasy, specific enough in its details - weird aliens, bickering robots, utility pouches for days - and yet vague enough - a terrifying black-masked enforcer, an unseen force that "surrounds us" - full of both the epic bombast and flimsy, obvious kitsch that make it the perfect testing ground for budding imaginations.

For our one-year anniversary show, we go back to where Star Wars began for the both of us, and consider its place now in a cultural universe that it conquered and remade in its own image.

Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)
Written and directed by George Lucas
Produced by Gary Kurtz
Starring Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Peter Cushing, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, Peter Mayhew, Alec Guinness, and James Earl Jones

Check out the rest of our series on the Star Wars saga:
Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Episode II: Attack of the Clones
Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
Episode IV: A New Hope
Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
Episode VII: The Force Awakens
Episode VIII: The Last Jedi

Solo: A Star Wars Story
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Star Wars: Clone Wars
Star Wars Holiday Special
Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire
Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure

Episode 30 - D2: THE MIGHTY DUCKS

Disney's Mighty Ducks franchise re-invented the moribund "ragtag youth sports" genre for the 1990s, sanding off the edges of the protean and profane Bad News Bears and kid-ifying the wild wooliness of adult entertainments like Slap Shot and Bull Durham.

But of the many lessons children learned from the most lovable peewee hockey team in Minnesota - believing in yourself, working hard, and being true to who you are - none of them could boast the incredible stakes introduced in the second film, which doused the series' inspirational fire with a can of jingoistic kerosene.

Just in time for the 4th of July, special guest Lindsay Marie Mead joins us to look back at how D2: The Mighty Ducks and Team USA imprinted our minds with formative images of national pride, ethnic and regional stereotypes, and amazing female goaltenders who only get to play for 30 seconds of an entire tournament.

D2: The Mighty Ducks (1994)
Directed by Sam Weisman
Produced by Jon Avnet and Jordan Kerner
Written by Steven Brill
Starring Emilio Estevez, Kathryn Erbe, Carsten Norgaard, Joshua Jackson, and Kenan Thompson