Episode 183 - MORPH MADNESS: THE TOKUSATSU TOURNAMENT

We're talkin' tokusatsu in our latest bracket, a tribute to the American shows that tried to ride the coattails of Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers -- and to the Japanese shows that originated these transforming teams and their giant vehicles. 

Our friend Gensho Tasaka returns to help us judge eight different franchises in a contest of sentai supremacy. Assemble your squad for this cross-cultural collision of masked action heroes. It's...Morph Madness!

Episodes included in this podcast:

Choriki Sentai Ohranger - "King Gallant's Entrance" (1995)
Power Rangers Zeo - "The Power of Gold" (1996)

vs.

Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation - "East Meets West, Part 3" (1997)

---

Kamen Rider Black RX - "Shadow Moon!" (1989)
Masked Rider - "Super Gold, Part 2" (1996)

vs.

B-Fighter Kabuto - "Vow!! Heated Stag Battle" (1996)
Beetleborgs Metallix - "Battle Station Alert" (1997)

---

Jikuu Senshi Spielban - "A Shocking Pair! The Crystallized Combination!" (1986)
VR Troopers - "The Battle Begins, Part 2" (1994)

vs. 

Gridman the Hyper Agent - "I Don't Like Sports and Such" (1993)
Superman Samurai Syber-Squad - "Samurize, Guys!" (1994)

---

Tattooed Teenage Alien Fighters from Beverly Hills - "In the Beginning..." (1994)

vs.

Mystic Knights of Tir Na Nog - "Tyrune Returns" (1998)

Episode 182 - BACK TO THE FUTURE

Great Scott! It's about darn time we talked about a pop culture giant like Back to the Future. And folks, this episode is heavy...with discussions of memories and memorabilia, characters and quotes, trivia and themes, all infused with the power of love.

Amy Ambler hops in our DeLorean for a trip back in time - and into a perennial cinematic comfort zone. Trust us, when this podcast hits 182 episodes, you're gonna hear some serious shit.

Back to the Future (1985)
Directed by Robert Zemeckis
Written by Bob Gale and Robert Zemeckis
Starring Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover, Thomas F. Wilson, James Tolkan, Claudia Wells, and Huey Lewis

Episode 181 - TWISTER

How many roads must an estranged couple walk down before you can call them groundbreaking tornado researchers? The answer, my friends, is blowin' in the high-concept thrills of Twister, a kinetic upscaling of classic Hollywood disaster flicks that's constantly driving forward like an unstoppable force of nature.

We go storm chasing with our good friend, the inimitable Jake Beal, who shares his Midwestern roots and teaches us all the right strategies for appreciating the well-crafted bombast of a prototypical '90s blockbuster. It's the wonder of nature, baby!

Twister (1996)
Directed by Jan de Bont
Written by Michael Crichton and Anne-Marie Martin
Starring Helen Hunt, Bill Paxton, Jami Gertz, Cary Elwes, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Alan Ruck, Jeremy Davies, Sean Whalen, Joey Slotnick, Todd Field, Scott Thomson, Wendle Josepher, Zach Grenier, and Lois Smith

Episode 180 - STARSHIP TROOPERS

One of the most misunderstood films of its time - and perhaps of all time - is Starship Troopers, a loud, brutish sci-fi/action blockbuster that slyly satirizes the genre's political and moral absolutism. Scratch at the layers of hyper-violent bombast (and Day-Glo bug guts), and it doesn't take long to find a scathing indictment of fascism, nationalism, and the military-industrial complex. 

We drop into a new year of 'casting with new recruit Alex Rodriguez, and savor our first encounter with action cinema's Dutch master, Paul Verhoeven. Would you like to know more? Then do your part and enlist with our loyal army of listeners!

Starship Troopers (1997)
Directed by Paul Verhoeven
Written by Ed Neumeier
Based on the novel by Robert A. Heinlein
Starring Casper Van Dien, Denise Richards, Dina Meyer, Neil Patrick Harris, Jake Busey, Patrick Muldoon, Clancy Brown, Seth Gilliam, and Michael Ironside

Episode 179 - THE RANKIN/BASS RANK-A-THON

We're making ranked lists...checking them twice...introducing our new thematic device: the Rank-A-Thon has come to our pod! We're doing a thorough breakdown of four vintage Rankin/Bass animated specials, and evaluating them in a wide array of aesthetic, narrative, and festive categories. And we couldn't do it without the help of our old Christmas confidant, Nate Tapp!

We conclude a banner year with this massive holiday extravaganza, and the crowning of a champion among classics. But don't you worry...we'll be back again someday.

Holiday specials included in this episode:

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964)
Frosty the Snowman (1969)
Santa Claus is Comin' to Town (1970)
The Year Without a Santa Claus (1974)

Episode 178 - THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS

What's this? A macabre and moving musical classic? A gracefully ghoulish gem of gobsmacking animation? The mother of all modern mashups? The Nightmare Before Christmas has been all this and more for nearly three decades, as it transcends labels to illustrate the importance of being true to yourself.

Kev Young brings us dual-holiday delight in this screamingly fun episode that'll speak to anyone who loves to get their creep on at Christmastime. 

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
Directed by Henry Selick
Screenplay by Caroline Thompson
Adaptation by Michael McDowell
Based on a story by Tim Burton
Starring Chris Sarandon, Catherine O’Hara, Ken Page, William Hickey, Glenn Shadix, Ed Ivory, and Danny Elfman 

Episode 177 - THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION

I wish I could tell you that The Shawshank Redemption was the greatest movie ever made, and just leave it at that. I wish I could tell you that...but podcasting is no fairy-tale world. A theatrical disappointment that found a second life on TV and home video, the film has earned its classic status with great storytelling and disarming sentimentality in depicting hope's hard-fought battle against despair.

We hope you enjoy the mononymous Barm (aka Tyler Neufeld) in his WWWW debut. We hope our love and gratitude fill this special Shanksgiving episode. We hope you have many reasons to give shanks, too. We hope.

The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
Written and directed by Frank Darabont
Produced by Niki Marvin
Based on the novella Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption by Stephen King
Starring Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Bob Gunton, William Sadler, Clancy Brown, Gil Bellows, and James Whitmore