Just in time for Halloween week, Old Spooky Club returns for 1985’s “Fright Night.” It’s an entirely ’80s comedy-horror movie with zero cynicism and only a single layer of meta. Chris Sarandon is the perfect vampire, even when he’s villanously chowin’ down on a topless lady as he exchanges intense stares with the neighbor kid. If you’ve never experienced it, you don’t know what you’re missing. Jason Snell with Steve Lutz, Annette Wierstra, Erika Ensign and Kelly Guimont.
Oct 28, 2024•1 hr 31 min
This episode has many omissions, and contains much that is apocryphal, or at least wildly inaccurate. Jacob Haller tries to make sense of Douglas Adams’s The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (1979). John McCoy with Jacob Haller.
Oct 25, 2024•58 min
Do you like gladiator movies, Joey? It’s 1980’s “Airplane!”—the comedy version of “Zero Hour!”—with serious actors playing ridiculous parts more or less straight. How does the comedy hold up? What’s unique about the approach? Why was it such a huge hit? We put the ZAZ boys under the microscope. Surely we’ll all have a good time! (Don’t call us Shirley.) Jason Snell with Shelly Brisbin, Philip Michaels, Dr. Drang and Steve Lutz.
Oct 25, 2024•1 hr 7 min
Jeremy gets “the call”. Hospitalization ensues. And the “will they or won’t they” storyline between Casey and Dana kicks into high gear — a gear it may never leave. We don’t love everything, but we do love the character development for Will and Isaac. And you. We also love you. Lex Friedman and Brian Warren.
Oct 24, 2024•23 min
An entertainer from the rural south rises to become a political demagogue. And he’s played by Andy Griffith. This is all kinds of messed up! It’s actually a great film, with A LOT to say to us in the 21st Century. It’s directed by Elia Kazan, and also stars Patricia Neal. Shelly Brisbin with Micheline Maynard, Brandon Rottinghaus and Monty Ashley.
Oct 24, 2024•55 min
Just before he was the dad in “A Christmas Story,” Darren McGavin took a trip to Hawaii to play pulp novelist Buck Gibson, a daredevil friend of Robin Masters. Do his misadventures teach us important lessons about how we appreciate our lives? What’s in a Bazooka? And we have several head-canon explanations for an anecdote about Magnum’s dad. Jason Snell, Philip Michaels and David J. Loehr.
Oct 24, 2024•46 min
This time on Random Pursuit, we learn who’s a loss leader, whose gut is death, and who you should toss your questions to. Erika Ensign and Steven Schapansky with Dan Moren, Heather Berberet, Jay Miller, Kathy Campbell and Mikah Sargent.
Oct 23, 2024•1 hr 34 min
After a year-long sabbatical, it’s Shocktober once again for Ch’omasa, L’nell, Daffné, and Thald, as they deal with skulls, gems, and a bone-chilling fear of keys in the triumphant return of Tomb of Horrors! Scott McNulty with Annette Wierstra, Mikah Sargent, Monty Ashley and Nick Scott.
Oct 22, 2024•48 min
I can see clearly now. John Siracusa and Jason Snell.
Oct 21, 2024•3 min
Buckle up for a big episode! We jump a few years back and learn a little about the boy named Billy / Teen. It is a rare episode of any show that makes what has come before it better. Dan Moren, John Moltz and Guy English.
Oct 21, 2024•1 hr 15 min
It’s our 1st anniversary, the spawn have launched and the Squee is back! We packed so much into this episode! Stacy and Heather talk all things X-Men, from the 90s animated show to the films to voice talent in the new X-Men 97 series. Heather loves on and laughs at Jesse Martin’s new show, The Irrational, and we Squee our way through the highlights of Comic Con 2024. But wait, there’s more! Our Books on Tape Segment is back, with trans teens and gothic horror (we talk WITCHES friends), and a Mid...
Oct 19, 2024•52 min
Fill the tornado with indominus rexes. Joe Rosensteel and Dan Sturm.
Oct 19, 2024•1 hr 6 min
Back from our checks scores fifth-inning stretch, our baseball season continues! This time, rookie freshman Lex Friedman is taken under the wing of (very!) veteran Dan Moren in 2016’s Everybody Wants Some!! Hot topics include repercussions (or the lack thereof), how this differs from our college experiences, and whether this movie is even really a baseball movie. Programming Note: In addition to this capsule episode, which contains our discussion before and after the film, members can watch alon...
Oct 18, 2024•22 min
Don’t order the fish! Old Movie Club celebrates Aviatober with 1939’s “Only Angels Have Wings” and 1957’s “Zero Hour!” One bears a striking resemblance to forgettable 1980s TV series “Tales of the Gold Monkey,” and the other is undeniably the inspiration for the more notable 1980 movie “Airplane!” (That’s foreshadowing.) Jason Snell with Shelly Brisbin, Philip Michaels, Monty Ashley, David J. Loehr and Micheline Maynard.
Oct 18, 2024•1 hr 35 min
We are back for Season 6 in time for the dark moody vibes of fall with a series of episodes on Gothic Romances. We begin with an episode about Kat Dunn’s sapphic witchy romance set in the most gothic of castles: Bitterthorn. Our agents get lost on side topics a few times as they wander through the woods to discuss other books and video games. In the end, they make it through just in the nick of time. Our Agents start with a non-spoiler pitch to convince you to read Bitterthorn, and then they go ...
Oct 18, 2024•1 hr
We owe you an apology. Whoops, our mistake: We owe you a podcast about the Sports Night episode called “The Apology.” Dan must apologize after voicing his support for a group advocating the legalization of marijuana. The episode is as strong as that premise is dated. Except for Josh Malina’s storyline. But that’s okay. Lex Friedman and Brian Warren.
Oct 17, 2024•26 min
In 1970, Arthur Hailey’s blockbuster book, Airport, became the first film in that decade’s disaster movie cycle. It also led to three more Airport films, and the adaptation of Zero Hour (also a Hailey story) into Airplane!. This second installment, Airport 1975, celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. It straddles the line between big budget, all-star A picture (the original), and implausible 70s schlock, as observed in the final two Airport films. Here, we’re also treated to appearances by c...
Oct 17, 2024•46 min
They’re always after his Lucky Charms! Higgins’s Northern Irish half-brother arrives in Oahu and it’s all light comedy despite what’s going on back home. Meanwhile, Magnum investigates an unfaithful wife and, wow, does the tone of this episode shift dramatically from moment to moment. Jason Snell, Philip Michaels and David J. Loehr.
Oct 17, 2024•46 min
Our heroes delve deep underground, commit numerous HR violations, and make questionable hiring decisions as they interrogate quietly quitting cultists and more, in the grand finale of this Shocktober (lost soul moaning) adventure! Dan Moren and Tony Sindelar with Aleen Simms, Brian Hamilton, Lincoln Hayes, Monty Ashley and Tiff Arment.
Oct 15, 2024•1 hr 3 min
Grab your brooms and come fly with us across the the blood red moon as we discuss Episode 5 of Agatha All Along. At the midpoint of the season we pivot abruptly as Agatha is haunted by her childhood after playing a little Ouija. Dan Moren, John Moltz and Guy English.
Oct 15, 2024•1 hr 17 min
It was the late ’80s and comic writer Grant Morrison was fast becoming Grant Morrison. Come back with us to look at his run on Animal Man, issues 1-26, in which a has-been/never-was superhero becomes an outspoken animal rights activist, witnesses the near-undoing of the Crisis on Infinite Earths, and meets his own maker—who looks strangely like Grant Morrison. Before Deadpool and She-Hulk broke the fourth wall, this was Peak Meta. Chip Sudderth with Lisa Schmeiser and Tony Sindelar.
Oct 11, 2024•1 hr 26 min
It’s season one, episode one. We’re watching Sports Night for this season of Sorkin’ In It. We meet a slew of characters. We deal with that grating laugh track. And we wonder if Casey’s gonna quit the show halfway into the Sports Night pilot. (Spoiler alert: He doesn’t.) Will Brian or Lex quit the podcast in this first episode of our new season? Only one way to find out. Lex Friedman and Brian Warren.
Oct 11, 2024•19 min
Friendly Competition is back! Will this be the episode where Silent Carl finally finds the winners podium? Or will Silent Carl fail to find favor with the host (who is also Silent Carl)? Lex Friedman and Dan Moren with Glenn Fleishman, Jean MacDonald, Shelly Brisbin and Tony Sindelar.
Oct 09, 2024•1 hr 4 min
Having escaped the sewers, our quasi-deputized heroes take on cultists with eyes in their hands and hate in their hearts, as we continue Shocktober’s (piercing screams) descent into subterranean madness! Dan Moren and Tony Sindelar with Aleen Simms, Brian Hamilton, Lincoln Hayes, Monty Ashley and Tiff Arment.
Oct 08, 2024•55 min
Put on your deepst v-neck shirt and prepare to rock’n’roll because this week our witches are in the studio laying down one firey track. We discuss the visual style adopted by the show and how well it fits the narrative. Then we dip into some dark Conspiracy Corner as we try to devine some true identities. Dan Moren, John Moltz and Guy English.
Oct 07, 2024•57 min
As so often happens with us, discussions of evil henchman end up becoming discussions of legal employment status. John Siracusa and Jason Snell.
Oct 07, 2024•6 min
Dan Moren’s “The Armageddon Protocol” is now on sale. He joins Jason to discuss how to wrap up a long-running series (while leaving doors open for future adventures), juggling an increasingly complex home life with a two-book contract, the broader publishing options available to fiction writers, and (of course) sandwiches. Jason Snell with Dan Moren.
Oct 04, 2024•1 hr 7 min
We’re kicking off a brand new season of Sorkin’ In It. And this time, we’re watching Sorkin’s first series: Sports Night. So stick around. Lex Friedman and Brian Warren.
Oct 04, 2024•13 min
A pitched sewer battle against oozing creatures devolves into a business pitch and Arch laying hands on himself with alarming frequency as Shocktober (zombie growl) continues! Dan Moren and Tony Sindelar with Aleen Simms, Brian Hamilton, Lincoln Hayes, Monty Ashley and Tiff Arment.
Oct 01, 2024•59 min
Agatha’s coven of chaos faces their first trial along The Road and it’s an escape room at a beautiful beach house. Join us as we follow our less-than-merry gang through their darkest visions and preppy sartorial choices. In a brief Sweep segment we discuss the new trailer for the very fun looking Thunderbolts*. Dan Moren, John Moltz and Guy English.
Sep 30, 2024•1 hr 3 min
