This week we celebrate 250 episodes! Listen to the sordid tale as to how the Back to the Future month almost didn't happen! Listen to our super special guest! Listen as people tell us how awesome we are! Listen to us blather on about movies and TV shows and video games! Listen to us get older by the second!…

We finish out our Back to the Futures month with Back to the Future Part III, a welcome return to form for the franchise. Primarily a Western, the 1885 setting allows the film to calm down from the frenetic Part II. With the same cast and crew, with the addition of the amazing Mary Steenburgen, Back to the Future Part III sticks the landing.…

Today, we explore the sequel to the perfect movie, Back to the Future, Back to the Future Part II! It picks up right were the 1985 original film left off, but with a few slight changes to the cast. The creative team of Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale stay the same, along with the cast of Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, and Thomas F. W…

Back to the Future is a classic. A must-see for anyone that grew up in the Gen X era. The story of how Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale managed to the get movie made is incredible. Starring Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover, and Thomas F. Wilson. Back to the Future: the movie that shouldn't have been made!…

Join your ol' Stepdads as we explore one of the most underrated subgenres: horror comedies. You'll die laughing as we recap Student Bodies, House, April Fool's Day, and The 'Burbs! We'll also discuss some spooky movies we watched this month (including an insane film from 1983), TV shows we've been watching, and video games we've been playing.…

Is The 'Burbs a Halloween movie? We think so! Join us as explore the movie, The 'Burbs, with Tom Hanks. A microscopic look at the mundanity of the suburbs and how easy it is to imagine your neighbors are up to no good, even if they actually are. Directed by Joe Dante, with Bruce Dern, Carrie Fisher, Rick Ducommun, and Corey Feldman.…

No show this week. April Fool's! Today, we're covering a subversive dark comedy that may or may not be horror: April Fool's Day from 1986. Starring Thomas F. Wilson, Deborah Foreman, and Griffin O'Neal, it's a twisty-turny, what's-happening-next, slasher film.

Join us as we cover one of the forgotten horror movies of the 80s: House! The 1985 movie stars William Katt, George Wendt, Richard Moll, and Kay Lenz, with a story by Fred Dekker, screenplay by Ethan Wiley, and directed by Steve Miner, who directed Friday the 13th Part II! It's a great haunted house tale with some amazing practical effects.…

What do horse head bookends, a gangly super bendy Gumby-like dude, and heavy breathing have in common? They're all parts of Student Bodies, the the first horror spoof movie, in the nature of Friday the 13th and Airplane!. Released in 1981 and written and directed by Mickey Rose, childhood friend of Woody Allen, it does a good send-up of the young s…

Join your ol' Stepdads as we discuss the new movies, TV, and video games that have been entertaining us this month, including Alien Earth on FX, Brightburn on Peacock, Haunted Hotel on Netflix, and Gotham Knights, No Man's Sky, and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. We also have a very special guest to discuss Tron, Tron Legacy and Tron Ares!…

This week, we cover one of the most ill-advised, weirdest adaptations of any kind: Super Mario Bros.! Released in 1993, this movie was a travesty of an adaptation of the NES Super Mario Bros games. Based on Super Mario World, having been recently released on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, the movie barely resembles the bright, colorful wo…

Join us as explore a sadly underrated gem, The Last Starfighter. It's every video game kid's dream: get so good at a video game that an alien comes down and asks you to save the universe. It also featured a ton of early CGI sequences. Directed by Nick Castle, starring Lance Guest, Dan O'Herlihy, Catherine Mary Stewart, and Robert Preston.…

We dive head first into CompuKids month with our first entry: the original Tron from 1982! Starring Jeff Bridges, Bruce Boxleitner, David Warner, and Cindy Morgan. Written and directed by Steve Lisberger. Find out the history of Tron before Tron Ares hits the theaters.

We wrap up our When Animals Attack month and welcome in a special guest. We also discuss the movies we've seen (we went to the theater!), TV shows we've been watching, and games we've been playing.

NO, NOT THE BEES!!!! Sorry, wrong movie. But the sentiment stands. The '70s were fraught with Killer Bee Phobia and The Swarm was the movie that ended it all. And the disaster genre. At least for a while. All orchestrated by Irwin Allen, master of The Poseidon Adventure and The Towering Inferno. The Swarm is a good indicator of how one needs to gro…

Today, we explore a world of runaway spiders, mostly tarantulas, that are killing everyone in sight! It's the super-weird Kingdom of the Spiders, starring William Shatner, Tiffany Bolling, Woody Strode, Altovise Davis, and Marcy Lafferty.

How do you make cute little bunnies terrifying? You don't. Or at least, the makers of Night of the Lepus never figured it out. But hey, they're huge and in slow motion and completely adorable. It's the eco-horror movie that couldn't: Night of the Lepus. Starring Stuart Whitman, Janet Leigh, Rory Calhoun, and DeForest Kelley.…

For our first entry into When Animals Attack, we're featuring Frogs, a movie that doesn't have giant frogs nor frogs actually killing anyone. It's a great eco-horror film from 1972 starring Ray Milland, Sam Elliot (almost unrecognizable without his mustache), and Joan Van Ark.

Join your ol' Stepdads this week as we discuss kids in trouble, what movies we've been watching, TV shows we're excited to see, and what video games are worth playing.

For our third entry into Kids in Trouble, we're covering one of the best indie movies of the '80s: River's Edge. An amazing study on death, apathy, and friendship, this movie is a phenomenal look into what it is to be a kid and have to grow up, quickly. Written by Neal Jimenez, directed by Tim Hunter, with incredible performances from Crispin Glove…

This week, we explore some Bad Boys, including Sean Penn, Esai Morales, Eric Gurry, Alan Ruck, and Clancy Brown, with help from Ally Sheedy, Reni Santoni, Jim Moody, and John Zenda. It's the Hollywood version of bored high school kids and the consequences of their actions. It's gritty and tough and filled with good lookin' Hollywood actors, directe…

Join us as we start our Kids in Trouble month with Over the Edge, the 1979 masterpiece about a subdivision that didn't remember that kids made up 25% of their population, leading to a ton of kids in trouble. Written by Charles Haas and Tim Hunter, directed by Jonathan Kaplan, and starring Michael Kramer, Matt Dillon and Vincent Spano, along with a …

Join your ol' stepdads as we discuss how close we actually were to June Doom, along with the awful, not bad, and disappointing movies from this month. We chat a little about movies, a lot of really good TV (Netflix is killing it), and if video game subscriptions are worth it.

Join us as we dive into one of the most disappointing movies ever made: Nothing but Trouble. With Chevy Chase phoning it in (again), Demi Moore seeming completely out of her depth, John Candy (successfully) playing two completely different twins, and Dan Aykroyd playing two characters (both in heavy makeup!), directing, writing on set, and producin…

Join us as we cover the greatest movie about a talking horse giving a loser stock tips: Hot to Trot! Surprisingly, this movie is way way better than we were expecting (which isn't saying much). It was the only starring vehicle for Bobcat Goldthwait, but also stars Dabney Coleman, Virginia Madsen, and John Candy!…

Welcome to June Doom IV, our annual tradition of covering disaster movies. This month, we're covering movies that were literal disasters! First up is Under the Rainbow, the best example of creative artists making every wrong choice. It's an absolute mess of a movie that suffers from the worst cinema sin: it's boring as hell. Listen to the podcast s…

Crack open that High Life and join us as we discuss the brilliance of Monty Python, The Last of Us season 2, Mickey 17, and if video game DLCs are worth it.

For their final film outing, the Pythons went back to their roots: a sketch show that's loosely connected, but now with a bigger budget and no censors to tell them their material is too risky. The Meaning of Life is the perfect endcap to an incredible 14-year run for Monty Python. Written and Starring John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Terry Gilliam, Ter…

With the show behind them and plenty of time to focus on writing, the Pythons put together their most ambitious film yet: the story of the guy who lived next to Jesus. It's Monty Python's Life of Brian! The movie that was banned in a number of countries, yet is still considered to be one of the funniest films of all-time. Written by Terry Jones, Gr…

Monty Python and the Holy Grail was the first movie that the Pythons wrote to be an actual movie and is an absolute classic. Written by Eric Idle, John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Michael Palin, Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam, with direction from the Terrys. Also, we do deep dives into the life and histories of John Cleese and Graham Chapman, who wrote …

Welcome to Monty Python May! First up is the one that started it all: Monty Python's Flying Circus. From the genius minds of John Cleese, Terry Jones, Graham Chapman, Eric Idle, Michael Palin, and Terry Gilliam. The show was insanely groundbreaking and inspired an amazing amount of sketch comedy shows that followed.…

In this episode, we wrap up our McNerdy tribute to the early films of Patrick Dempsey, along with discussing a couple of movies, TV shows, and how it's a great time for the Gen Xer to get back into gaming!

For our third entry into McNerdy month, Patrick Dempsey must go on the run when he accidentally kills a mob boss's son. It's a thrill ride that made the director quit the movie business! Co-starring Kelly Preston.

For our second entry into McNerdy month, we bring you Loverboy, quite possibly the worst movie we've covered on the show. It's a weird, vapid mess. Starring Patrick Dempsey, Carrie Fisher, and Kirstie Alley.

We'll give you all we've got to give because we don't care too much for money, cuz money Can't Buy Me Love. It's the beginning of McNerdy month, as we dive into the early films of Patrick Dempsey, Dr. McDreamy (or McSteamy, or whatever he was called). First up is Can't Buy Me Love, co-starring the amazing Amanda Peterson and underutilized Courtney …

Join your ol' stepdads as we discuss Steve's Hot Carl, have a spirited debate about a movie we both watched (channeling the spirits of Siskel & Ebert), how replaying video games can be better than playing new games, and Jim's love of a show that NO ONE saw coming.

For our last foray into Steve's Hot Carl, we're presenting perhaps the best of the bunch: All of Me. Directed by Carl Reiner, written by Phil Alden Robinson and Henry Olek, and starring Steve Martin, Lily Tomlin, Richard Libertini, and Victoria Tennant. It's the last time that Martin and Reiner worked together, but is just possibly their best effot…

Steve Martin and Carl Reiner team up again for the third time in their spoof of classic sci-fi movies. Starring Martin, Kathleen Turner (in only her second feature film!), and David Warner (with an uncredited cameo from Sissy Spacek). It's everything you want from Steve's Hot Carl.

Take 1 Steve Martin, 1 Carl Reiner, add in a ton of old film noir stars in clips from some of their most famous movies, blend it up, and what do you get? Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid, a fun experiment of a film from Martin and Reiner to see if they could come up with a new story by inserting Martin into old clips. It not only works, it's funny as hell…

Join your ol' Stepdads as we discuss one of our greatest heroes, John Candy, what we've been watching and what we've been playing over the course of a short February month.

We finish out our Sweet Candy month with one of the best, most down-to-earth romantic comedies: Only the Lonely, written and directed by Chris Columbus. Starring John Candy, Maureen O'Hara as his overbearing mother, and Ally Sheedy as Candy's love interest, Only the Lonely shows just how good John Candy could be and what his amazing acting career c…

It's time to take a trip to The Great Outdoors! Written by John Hughes, directed by Howard Deutch, starring John Candy, Dan Aykroyd, Stephanie Faracy, Annette Bening, and Bart the Bear. It's a fun, down-to-earth comedy about dealing with family.

We kick off February in style, with the start of our Sweet Candy month, focusing on the softer, more down-to-earth side of the late, great John Candy. First up is Summer Rental, directed by Carl Reiner. It's a fun movie pitting Candy against a wonderfully mean Richard Crenna. There's boats and beaches and it's a fun summer!…

Pull up a stool and listen to your ol' Stepdads ramble on about the crazy adventures they've been on, the movies and TV shows they've been watching, and what video games they've been playing.

It's time to open your mind and let your imagination run wild, as we cover The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, the near-perfect film from Terry Gilliam, starring John Neville, Sarah Polley, Eric Idle, Winston Dennis, Charles McKeown, Jack Purvis, Jonathan Pryce, Uma Thurman, and the incredible Oliver Reed! (Oh, and a rather weird cameo from Robin W…

Adventure month continues as we delve into the mundane world of babysitting... unless you're Elizabeth Shue and have a crazy friend Brenda who tries to unsuccessfully run away from home. That's right, it's Adventures in Babysitting, the feature film debut of Chris Columbus, co-starring Keith Coogan, Anthony Rapp, Maia Brewton, Ron Canada, George Ne…

Orion Pictures wanted a 'red, white, and blue-collar Bond' in Remo Williams, but budget cuts didn't allow the movie to truly bloom. It's still a rollicking good time, even if you don't think it's as good as it was when you first saw it. Starring Fred Ward, Joel Grey, Wilford Brimley, J. A. Preston, and Kate Mulgrew.…

Welcome to Adventure month! First up the cult classic The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension! Written by Earl Mac Rauch, directed by W. D. Richter, and starring Peter Weller, John Lithgow, Ellen Barkin, Jeff Goldblum, Lewis Smith, Christopher Lloyd, Clancy Brown, Vincent Schiavelli, Dan Hedaya, Robert Ito, Pepe Serna, and Carl L…

Pull up a piece of carpet and take a secret sip of beer with your ol' stepdads as we discuss the Christmas movies we've covered this month, along with new TV, movies, and video games we've been playing.

While this is definitely a Christmas movie, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York should not have been made. It's a remake of Home Alone that came out 2 years before, but with worse pacing and less stakes. Written by John Hughes, directed by Chris Columbus, and starring Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern, John Heard, Tim Curry, Brenda Fricker, and C…