If you were to be stranded on a desert island, away from all contact with civilization, forever and ever – which ten albums would you bring? Certifiable music maniac JANINE WHITE DUFFY joins host Dan Fisher to discuss just that – their TOP TEN DESERT ISLAND ALBUMS. Listeners are encouraged to “play along”, by considering which ten albums they would each bring to that proverbial desert island. Our answers might be surprising -- it’s a tricky list – there’s so much classic stuff out there to choos...
Jun 03, 2024•58 min
Dan fulfilled a bucket-list item by spending time with one of childhood heroes, the truly legendary DICK DEBARTOLO, “MAD’s Maddest Writer” and one of MAD magazine’s original “Usual Gang of Idiots”. Besides going through their lists, Dan and Dick talked a LOT about MAD and its founder William M. Gaines, as well as Dick’s memories of the fantastic artists and writers who worked for MAD -- Al Jaffe, Don Martin, Nick Meglin, and many more. They also discussed the classic game show “Match Game”, for ...
May 20, 2024•55 min
Stand-up comedian and stage performer CAROLYN CASTIGLIA joins Dan to talk about some of their favorite comedic actresses in movies and TV -- as well as some of the most brilliant women working in stand-up today. Contrary to what Jerry Lewis once said, women can be very, very funny. PLUS: Dan tells Jerry Lewis to f--- off. Support the show
May 07, 2024•54 min
Dan has a fun and fascinating conversation with Ron Friedman who, since 1965, has written over 700 houurs of broadcast television -- starting with The Danny Kaye show, then going on to write for pretty much every show you watched growing up: The Andy Griffith Show, Get Smart, Bewitched, The Partridge Family, All in the Family, The Odd Couple, Charlie’s Angels, Chico and the Man, Starsky and Hutch, the animated G.I. Joe series – plus, believe it or not, dozens more. He also wrote the animated Tra...
Apr 22, 2024•1 hr 3 min
Author THOM SHUBILLA joins Dan for a wide-ranging discussion of the James Bond series -- from Connery to Craig -- and its many spin-offs, knock-offs, and children's toys it inspired, focusing especially on the 1960's and Bond's influence on popular culture (and possibly U.S. foreign policy). Support the show
Apr 08, 2024•54 min
A change-of-pace episode, Dan talks with comedy historian Jeff Abraham and writer-filmmaker Burt Kearns about their book THE SHOW WON'T GO ON, which chronicles the unfortunate final moments of actors, singers, comedians, circus performers, and more -- as they expired in front of their audiences, mid-performance. From the famous (Dick Shawn, Tiny Tim, Karl Wallenda) to the talented but lesser-known (Jane Little, Amazing Joe Burrus), the stories are often touching, other times ghoulishly ridiculou...
Mar 11, 2024•47 min
Who doesn't love the classic songs of Motown? Dan sure does, and he found the perfect guest to talk about favorites. Andy Skurow is a recording industry producer who has overseen the reissues of over 150 classic albums, compilations, and box sets -- mostly on the legendary Motown label. In 2015, he received the prestigious Heroes and Legends "Cornerstone" award for his life's work as a Motown historian. He has worked with, interviewed, and befriended legends...and he's got stories to share. Get ...
Feb 26, 2024•52 min
The first-ever guest on "Let's Talk Ten", H.E. (HELENE) FISHER returns for a discussion of favorite COUPLES IN MOVIES AND TV, with her husband, LT10 host Dan Fisher. Though they've been married for over 30 years, Helene's and Dan's tastes can be quite different -- which only adds to the fun when they talk about movies and television. Dan tends to like older, classic Hollywood stuff. Helene's more into shows that are out there right now, on streaming. But they've watched a lot of it together, and...
Feb 12, 2024•55 min
Career character actor CHRIS MCGINN and Dan got together to talk about their favorite CHARACTER ACTORS in movies and television. From those who seem to specialize in very specific roles like Romcom Best Friend or Intractable Authority Figure...to the masters of versatility...we salute actors and the onscreen characters we've come to love. Support the show
Jan 29, 2024•53 min
COME ON DOWN to join Dan and his guest Adam Nedeff -- as they talk about their all-time favorite television game shows. Adam's not just a fan -- game shows have been his lifetime's obsession. Currently an archivist and researcher for the National Archives of Game Show History -- and a published author of eleven books on the subject – his encyclopedic command of their histories, strategies, and trivia is truly dazzling. Wheels spin and lights flash throughout a conversation that covers the behind...
Jan 15, 2024•57 min
Dan is joined by some auld acquaintances -- Terry Beatty, Michele Mantynen, Mat Lefler-Schulman, Robyn Kincaid, Kevin Ladson, Adam Long, Phoebe Fisher, Josh Chambers, David Komerofsky, H.E. Fisher, Sam Pancake, and George Schlatter -- to reminisce about our pop cultural FIRSTS -- First movie in a theater? First records purchased with our own money? First Saturday morning cartoons? First movie that scared the shit out of us? First songs we remember hearing on the radio? First TV commercials that ...
Jan 01, 2024•1 hr 3 min
For this "mini" dropping on Christmas morning -- though suitable for year-round listening -- Dan talks about the history of "TOYS!" and toy commercials...plus the toys he grew up loving and the ones his kids loved -- as well as the importance of playing. It's a sweet, fun little episode, crammed with lots of trivia, fond memories, and interesting clips from all eras. It may not be a Red Ryder B.B. gun with a compass in the stock, but you'll certainly enjoy it more than pink bunny pajamas. Suppor...
Dec 25, 2023•24 min
Just in time for Christmas! It’s the “LET’S TALK TEN HOLIDAY SPECIAL!”, with special guest WILL HARRIS – pop culture journalist (AVClub, Entertainment Weekly) and interviewer for the current best-seller “Surely You Can’t Be Serious: The True Story of ‘Airplane!’”. All they want for Christmas is you…to listen to them talk about their Top Ten Christmas-centered movies, TV show and specials, songs, commercials…. They'll cover many of everybody’s long-time favorites, of course -- with a few deep-div...
Dec 18, 2023•51 min
RABBI DAVID KOMEROFSKY (from Gilbert Gottfried’s Amazing Podcast) is Dan's special guest for a celebration and discussion of HANUKKAH, the Festival of Lights -- from a pop cultural as well as rabbinical perspective. Topics include: Adam Sandler’s perennial “Hanukkah Song”, Neil Diamond’s flop film version of The Jazz Singer, very special episodes of “The Golden Girls” and “Friends”, the Rabbi’s fondness for Christmas movies…and which grocery chain carries the best frozen latkes. Plus, did you kn...
Dec 11, 2023•31 min
Dan welcomes two very special guests -- his twenty-something children APRIL FISHER and PHOEBE FISHER to compare musical notes on SONGS THAT MAKE ME WANNA DANCE. Though there are some inevitable Boomer/Gen X versus Gen Z/Millenial comparisons, many of their choices just might surprise you. Let's just say that Dan wasn't the one who picked a Kool and the Gang song. He went with Bruno Mars, instead. This is an episode jam-packed with "bops" -- as the kids say -- and more than a few laughs. Consider...
Dec 04, 2023•1 hr 1 min
Show-business legend GEORGE SCHLATTER – multiple-Emmy-winning creator of “Laugh-In” and “Real People” -- and producer of memorable TV shows and specials for everybody from Judy Garland to Smokey Robinson to Muhammad Ali to Frank, Dean, and Sammy… …Joined Dan for an exclusive and absolutely delightful conversation about some of the stories from George’s newly-published memoirs, “STILL LAUGHING: A LIFE IN COMEDY.” You should not miss this one. And be prepared to laugh. Support the show...
Nov 27, 2023•53 min
JOSH CHAMBERS is not only a key member of the social media team for Gilbert Gottfried's Amazing Colossal Podcast and a full-time high school English and Communications teacher -- he's also something of a car fanatic. He joined Dan to talk about their favorite motor vehicles from motion pictures and television shows. Cars, trucks, vans, motorcycles -- anything with wheels and a motor qualified. And since Dan grew up in the 70's while Josh was a total 80's kid, thee weren't many overlaps in their ...
Nov 20, 2023•54 min
It's second part of our mini-episode on THE MUPPETS! Muppets historian and author CRAIG SHEMIN, with pop culture fanatic/huge Muppets fan ANDREW LAPOSHA, join Dan Fisher for a panel discussion on the history and enduring legacy of Jim Henson’s innovative and revolutionary little creations. For PART TWO, we go in-depth and behind-the-scenes with THE MUPPET SHOW -- including memorable moments from Elton John, Linda Rondstadt, and Steve Martin -- leading into the Muppet movies...then on to Henson's...
Nov 13, 2023•35 min
The first of a TWO-PART mini-episode on THE MUPPETS! Muppets historian and author CRAIG SHEMIN plus pop culture fanatic/huge Muppets fan ANDREW LAPOSHA join Dan Fisher for a panel discussion on the history and legacy of Jim Henson’s fuzzy ping-pong-eyed creations and why love ‘em. PART ONE starts from the very beginning -- from the five-minute local “Sam and Friends” spots through the guest spots on 1960's variety shows, to the phenomenon of Sesame Street, one of the greatest and most influentia...
Nov 06, 2023•37 min
Writer FELICE NEALS joins Dan to talk about their favorite spooky cinematic fare. From old black-and-white classics to some of the current "art-house horror", from gory slasher flicks to tense thrillers, Dan and Felice can't help but ponder: * Why are we compelled to watch stuff that's probably going to scare the crap out of us? * Why does Felice love The Blair Witch Project while Dan is decidedly not a fan? * Does Dan relate everything he watches back to his West Virginia childhood? * Midsommar...
Oct 31, 2023•48 min
Dan is joined by SAM PANCAKE – veteran actor (“A Million Little Things”, “Samboyant! A Gay Hollywood Memoir”), podcast host ("Sam Pancake Presents the Monday Afternoon Movie"), and master raconteur -- for a hilarious, Me-Decade-tastic conversation about their favorite “MADE-FOR-TV MOVIES OF THE 1970'S”. Everybody remembers “Trilogy of Terror” – especially that psychotic little Zuni doll. But how about “Satan’s School for Girls”? Or our national obsession with the Bermuda Triangle? Dan and Sam su...
Oct 23, 2023•55 min
In 1966, The Beatles, Bob Dylan, The Beach Boys, and many other musical greats released albums that would define the 1960's and inspire listeners for decades to come. So who'd the Recording Academy choose to award its Album of the Year Grammy? For the third time (!) that decade, Frank Sinatra -- for a warmed-over "greatest hits" package -- where Ol' Blue Eyes spent nearly as much time talking about himself as he did singing. Before writing the whole thing off as just another terrible choice from...
Oct 16, 2023•29 min
Once again, host Dan Fisher looks back on the Oscars -- and whether or not the Academy got things "right" in their choices. This time, the year is 1982. The Academy would give Best Picture that evening to the three-and-a-half-hour epic biopic Gandhi -- but was that really the best motion picture in a year that brought us E.T. the Extraterrestrial, Tootsie, The Verdict, Sophie's Choice, My Favorite Year, and many other terrific films? Should Ben Kingsley have beaten out Dustin Hoffman, Jack Lemmo...
Oct 09, 2023•23 min
Film writer/critic and podcaster ADAM LONG joins Dan Fisher for a free-wheeling conversation about their favorite "CULT MOVIES" -- films that were overlooked, or sometimes outright flops, on their initial releases but that found their (sometimes fanatical) audiences eventually. No spoilers, but some of their favorites might be familiar, others a bit more obscure -- but if you're a real movie maniac, you might consider Dan and Adam's Top Tens a browsing list for when you're in the mood for someth...
Oct 02, 2023•55 min
Another "mini" episode that's not particularly mini -- there's just too much great stuff to edit out. Renowned cartoonists MIMI POND (National Lampoon, The Village Voice) and TERRY BEATTY (Batman & Robin Adventures, Rex Morgan M.D.) join Dan Fisher for a panel discussion on their shared love of MAD magazine -- its history, their favorite features and artists, and the influence that MAD had on their lives -- as well as on modern humor and our culture. The conversation includes remembrances of...
Sep 25, 2023•41 min
A great debut album won't just change the lives of the musicians who made it. It can change yours too, just by hearing it for that first time. Dan Fisher and Baltimore-based producer/mixer/sound mixer Mat Leffler-Schulman talk about the debut albums -- some well-known, others not so much -- that made differences in their lives, that changed their perceptions of what music was and what it could be. For Mat, much of it would hold a strong influence as to what he would do for the rest of his life. ...
Sep 18, 2023•50 min
When is a "mini" not really a mini? When you get three pop culture fanatics together to have them talk about one of the greatest TV shows of all time, "THE TWILIGHT ZONE". The conversation was simply too much fun to limit to the usual "mini" length. MICHELE MANTYNEN and JOSH CHAMBERS, social media caretakers for "Gilbert Gottfried's Amazing Colossal Podcast", are both certified "Twilight Zone" fanatics, while host Dan Fisher is more of a casual fan. Breaking with the usual Top Ten format of the ...
Sep 11, 2023•48 min
Like, ZOINKS! To talk about Top Ten favorite television shows for children, Dan Fisher reached out to an old pal and former star of kids TV himself -- Michael Maronna of Nickelodeon's "The Adventures of Pete and Pete". Because Dan grew up in the 1970's while Michael was a 1980's/1990's kid, they have a lot of fun comparing the programs they each watched in their respective childhoods -- with a few mentions of shows they've watched with their own children. From the "educational" stuff to brain-de...
Sep 04, 2023•54 min
Following up on the previous mini episode, "The Grammy Experiment: 1994", host Dan Fisher looks back on the Academy Awards honoring the movies of that year, as well. Having created an imaginary "Parallel Universe" where he can control time and its chain of events, will Dan "right" Oscar's "wrongs" of that night? Will Tom Hanks take home his second consecutive Best Actor award? Will Jessica Lange still be honored for her little-seen "Blue Sky"? Will it be "Gump"'s night all over again? Most urgen...
Aug 28, 2023•22 min
Property Master KEVIN LADSON ("Malcolm X", "Creed", "30 Rock") joins Dan for a nostalgic and often hilarious discussion of their parallel lives as movie-obsessed kids growing up in the 1960's and 70's -- though Dan hailed from a tiny West Virginia town with no movie theater while Kevin was a city kid from Queens. Among many other things, they talk about their love for stop-motion animation, Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine, and movie soundtracks. They also make each other laugh -- a lot. You...
Aug 21, 2023•54 min
