Episode 45: 1990 - Nineteen Eighty Ten

Fleeing from the modern day tyranny of Michael Bay our three heroes finally arrive in the year 1990 and set about unravelling the mystery of why the 90s sucked so bad when it came to films. And yet the year is heady with the sweet after scent of the 80s with only a vague murmur of the horrors to come later. Could the rumors be true? Is this really the fabled year Nineteen Eighty Ten?

Things start out with Leo, Justin and Ian squeezing into the delorean and driving by the horde of sequels at 88 mph. "Robocop 2", "Predator 2", "Back to the Future 3", "Exorcist 3", etc ... before finally getting their ass to "Total Recall" where our trio gush once more over Schwarzenegger and Verhoeven. Memories restored Leo fondly invokes "Darkman" and the fact half the script is the name 'Julie'. Justin retreats into timeless fairy tale land with the bleak but emotional "Edward Scissorhands", whom is highly praised for not running.

Meanwhile Ian puts on a shell suit and wags his nunchucks excitedly about to the puzzlement of all. Near Death follows with "Flatliners", followed by everyone clambering over the furniture to stay off the ground for a "Tremors" discussion and general strangeness breaks out for "Wild at Heart". But in the end theirs no avoiding "Ghost" ... will the guys bless it as it ascends in a column of light or will they cast it down into the horde of shifting, howling shadows? Listen and find out.

Incidental music "Hit Man" composed by Kevin Macleod of incompetech.com

Direct Link: https://archive.org/download/0451990NineteenEightyTen/045-1990-Nineteen-Eighty-Ten.mp3

Episode 42: Rebootcops

Did they have to? Well, they did! And it's up to the guys to worry about it all. We are of course talking about the much loved and dismissed Reboot of Robocop. Ian and Leo, having freshly consumed the NEW Robocop, sit down to digest and regurgitate it all, then flannels in hand they try picking over the fetid mess looking for where this meal went wrong.

Really it's hard not to declare "Even trying" and calling it a day but Leo is determined to find the film's silver penny and shining it up for us to think about. Then as if by magic Justin appeared and the discussions moved on to the whole issue of reboots and why they're just bad, except when they're not.

Leo has an epiphany about taking things too seriously, Ian wishes they'd called it "Drone Policeman" instead and Justin is shocked and dismayed we've got to do this all again next year with "The Terminator".

Direct Link: https://archive.org/download/042Rebootcops/042-Rebootcops.mp3

Episode 31: 1987 - The Beginning Of The End (Of The 80s)

It all starts off a bit masculine in this week's episode, how could it otherwise in a year that brought us Predator, The Running Man and Robocop? Before long though the discussion takes a distinct turn for the feminine as it behooves the present 80s Kids (Leo, Ian and Sue) to consider the wealth of female-oriented entertainment 1987 spewed out in bulk. And so goes the story of yet another proud 80s year.

There is a twist in the tale, however, for 1987 is where we first begin to detect the insidious presence of the 90s. 1987's failures were echoes of the cinematic wasteland to come. In addition we see the fading of such standards as the kiddie cast genre action movie in the sub-par Monster Squad (which is still a lot of fun but nowhere near the high point of the genre). Films such as Robocop and Wall Street told us our love affair with corporate excess and the free market was approaching its end and if Robocop signalled anything it was that the divorce would be messy.

On the other side of the coin the indie film-makers were sniffing around and the first signs of the massive indie explosion of the 90s were felt in titles like Hellraiser and Bad Taste. The winds of change had started to blow, but the 80s party is still far from over. Cling onto your neon lit, synthesizer scored rite-of-passage party, midnight is coming...

Direct Link: https://archive.org/download/0311987TheBeginningOfTheEndOfThe80s/031-1987-The-Beginning-Of-The-End-Of-The-80s.mp3

Episode 13: It's Beginning To Look A Bit Like Robo

Bit of an emergency podcast this week as sound files in Leo's hard drive go mysteriously astray. So we poke around in a couple of recent news items, SyFy's recent darker themed programming and trepidation surrounding the upcoming RoboCop reboot, before talking Verhoeven.

The Dutch director brought the late 80s and 1990s some defining cinematic moments from ED-209 to Arnie's head exploding on Mars, from Sharon Stone's calculated wardrobe malfunction to the sight of Doogie Howser SS.

The 80s kids ponder the violent imagery and deeper motivations of the man who made the 90s sexier and gorier than the previous decade.


Direct Link: https://archive.org/download/013ItsBeginningToLookABitLikeRobo/013-Its_Beginning_To_Look_A_Bit_Like_Robo.mp3