298 | TV Sitcom Themes Sweet 16

Michael and Rob welcome Jeeg and Mike Westfall to help nominate 16 favorite TV sitcom theme songs, then vote on them until we determine the single greatest TV sitcom theme of all time. This was crazy hard with some impossible decisions, so let us know what we forgot and which themes should have advanced further in the tournament.

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297 | The American Ring Movies

Michael and Jess discuss their love for Samara Morgan in Gore Verbinski's 2002 US remake of Ringu (1998). They also talk about whether the sequels are any good: the short film Rings (2005), The Ring Two (2005), and the feature-length Rings (2017).

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296 | Licence to Kill (1989)

Michael, Rob, and Karen wrap up 1980s James Bond as well as Timothy Dalton's too short time on the series with Licence to Kill. It's one of Rob's favorites, but not so much one of Michael's. And it's Karen's first time seeing it. So there's a lot to unpack as always.

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295 | Paramount Superman Cartoons

Michael, Rob, and Pax are going to kill time between Fast and Furious episodes by watching some old superhero stuff. We're starting with the wildly influential Superman cartoons released by Paramount in the early 1940s. The first nine were produced by Fleischer Studios and their fingerprints are also all over the eight that followed by a renamed studio under different leadership. Because of that, all seventeen are usually referred to as the Fleischer Superman cartoons and we talk about the whole set: what worked, what didn't, and what went on to inspire not just future cartoons, but even the comics themselves.

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294 | I Read Movies: The Shadow

We continue our celebration of The Shadow's 30th anniversary with this special podcast crossover episode! Paxton Holley brings his I Read Movies podcast to After Lunch for a special look at James Luceno's Shadow novelization, based on the screenplay by David Koepp.

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293 | The Shadow (1994)

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Russell Mulcahy's The Shadow, Michael and Rob welcome superfans of the movie, Paxton Holley and Adam Pope. The conversation covers the ups, the downs, and the impressive cast featuring Alec Baldwin, Penelope Ann Miller, John Lone, Peter Boyle, Ian McKellen, Tim Curry, Jonathan Winters, James Hong, Al Leong, John Kapelos, Max Wright, Ethan Phillips, and Robert Trebor.

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292 | Rob's European Vacation

Rob talks with Michael and Pax about his recent visit to France and England with his wife to celebrate their 30th Wedding Anniversary. There's sightseeing in Paris and the French countryside, mealtime scheming on the cruise ship, and a trip to Highclere Castle (aka Downton Abbey)!

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291 | Movie Tie-In Glasses

Michael and Rob are joined by Carlin Trammel and Michael DiGiovanni to talk about collectible movie tie-in glasses. They discuss various ones they've collected over the years, including recent ones. But the highlight of the episode is when each panelist creates a whole line of four glasses for a movie that never got them. Carlin even created mock-ups of his line, which you can see below (click to enlarge).

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290 | CT Talks to Infinity Con

Carlin Trammel returns to the podcast feed for a special interview with David Heringer, organizer of the Infinity Con entertainment convention. They talk about the history of the show, why events like it are necessary, and the next one coming to Tallahassee, Florida on July 6 and 7.

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289 | The Fast and the Furious (2001)

Michael, Rob, and Pax begin a new series of episodes covering the Fast and Furious movies, starting of course with the introduction of Brian, Dom, Mia, and Letty (and alright, Vince) in Rob Cohen's The Fast and the Furious. And because it's just the way we are, we also talk a little about John Ireland and Edward Sampson's 1954 film of the same name that also stars Ireland and Dorothy Malone.

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288 | After Midnight – The Thing & Jacob's Ladder

Michael and Jess investigate a couple of movies on Mike Mignola's 20 Horror Movies I Can’t Live Without. A lot of the movies on Mignola's list have common themes - vampires, witches, ghosts, etc. - but The Thing (1982) and Jacob's Ladder (1990) were outliers, so we decided to start with them. 

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287 | The Living Daylights (1987)

Michael, Rob, and Karen welcome Timothy Dalton to the James Bond films in The Living Daylights. After the mostly over-the-top Roger Moore era, the series gets back to basics with Dalton's realistic, angry, but also charming take on 007.

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286 | Fithy Horrors Rerun – Ghost Stories

In this rerun from the old Filthy Horrors podcast, Michael, Jess, and Darla eat at a haunted restaurant and then talk about three of their favorite ghost movies: Poltergeist (1982), The Orphanage (2007), and The Woman in Black (2012). 

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285 | After Dinner Lounge – Not My Sigmund Freud

Michael, Pax, and Becky wrap up this month's Lounge talking about whether adapters of things need to be fans of the original material, X-Men movies, giant monster movies, John Hughes movies, Challengers and other sports movies, Monkey Man, Boy Kills World, The Fall Guy, Bridgerton, and more.

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284 | After Dinner Lounge – Sin River

With Rob out of the country, Becky Tyler joins Michael and Pax in the lounge to talk about LiveJournal, The Phantom Menace, Gold Diggers of 1933, Lisa Frankenstein, Abigail, The First Omen, Late Night with the Devil, Immaculate, old Nerd Lunch episodes, the Fast and Furious movies, Jed MacKay’s Moon Knight, Remo Williams, God of Fire by Helen Steadman, The Princess Bride by William Goldman, PG Wodehouse's Jeeves stories, and more.

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283 | Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024)

The After Lunch Planet of the Apes movie panel joins the After Lunch Planet of the Apes TV panel to talk about the all-new Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes! Michael, Rob, Pax, and Jacob Bean-Watson welcome the new trilogy of Planet of the Apes films with this first entry directed by Wes Ball and starring Owen Teague, Freya Allan, Peter Macon, and Kevin Durand.

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282 | Ultimate Villains Sour 16

After four episodes determining our favorite villains from literature, comics, TV, and movies, Michael and Rob welcome Joanna from Bloody Popcorn and Pax to help decide the ultimate villain from all media types. Rather than nominate candidates, the panel works together to seed the Final Fours from each of the previous match-ups (episodes 132, 209, 263, and 275, if you like) into brackets. And then, as usual, we vote on them until we reach the ultimate champion.

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281 | A View to a Kill (1985)

Michael, Rob, and Karen dance into the fire and board the iceberg submarine to talk about Roger Moore's final performance as James Bond in A View to a Kill. Also starring Grace Jones, Christopher Walken, Tanya Roberts, and Patrick Macnee.

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280 | After Midnight – Universal Mummies, Part 2

After discussing the horrors of car repair and the new Omen prequel, The First Omen, Michael and Jess finally wrap up their exploration of the Universal monster movies. They talk about the last two mummy movies (both from 1944): The Mummy's Ghost and The Mummy's Curse.

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279 | War for the Planet of the Apes (2017)

Michael, Rob, and Pax discuss the wrap up to the Planet of the Apes reboot trilogy.

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278 | After Dinner Lounge – Extreme Laundry

Michael, Rob, and Pax talk about more Harry Palmer, Matt Helm, and Mannix, The Marvels and the state of the MCU, lots of podcasts, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, the Mr and Mrs Smith TV series, Doctor Strange comics, John Byrne’s Superman, the Sherlock Holmes Expanded Universe, Predator Vs Wolverine, Jason Copland's Full Tilt, and ever so much more.

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277 | After Dinner Lounge – Sunday, Sunday, Sunday!

Michael, Rob, and Pax are back in the Lounge to talk about generational differences, local pro wrestling events, Darth Vader, the Godzilla x Kong novelization, Van Halen, Cinderella (2015), Bottoms (2023), the '70s Amazing Spider-Man TV series, MacGruber, Renegade Nell, Wilkie Collins, Road House (2024), Silo, Argylle (2024), and real estate.

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276 | Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024)

Michael and Rob catch up with kaiju fans writer Corinna Bechko (currently of The Space Between) and David May about the new entry in Legendary's MonsterVerse series, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. Godzilla vs. Kong's Adam Wingard returns to direct and brings along his The Guest star Dan Stevens to join returning MonsterVerse actors Kaylee Hottle, Rebecca Hall, and Brian Tyree Henry.

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275 | Movie Villains Sour 16

Michael and Rob welcome Shawn Robare and Jacob Bean-Watson to nominate 16 legendary movie villains, then match them against each other in a tournament to determine the greatest movie villain of all time. 

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274 | Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)

Michael, Rob, and Pax discuss director Matt Reeves' arrival on the Planet of the Apes with Dawn. The second movie in the reboot trilogy is set 10 years after Rise and stars Andy Serkis, Toby Kebbell, Jason Clarke, Keri Russell, Kodi Smit-McPhee, and Gary Oldman.

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273 | After Midnight – Universal's Invisible Man, Part 2

Michael and Jess finish Universal's Invisible Man series with Invisible Agent (1942), The Invisible Man's Revenge (1944), and Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man (1951). And Jess discusses the merits of Butterfly Kisses (2018).

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272 | Never Say Never Again (1983)

Michael, Rob, and Karen talk about the Johnny English prequel that also happens to feature Sean Connery's last performance as James Bond. It's Irvin Kershner's alternate reality 007 film, Never Say Never Again, also starring Kim Basinger, Barbara Carrera, Klaus Maria Brandauer, Bernie Casey, and Max von Sydow.

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271 | After Dinner Lounge – Batman's Speed Force

Michael, Rob, and Pax wrap up this month's Lounge talking about Bodyguard, The Brothers Sun, Poker Face, The Bear, Michael Caine's Harry Palmer movies, Mannix, Red Hood comics, the Disney Villains books by Serena Valentino, brand loyalty, Drive-Away Dolls, Death and Other Details, and 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

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270 | After Dinner Lounge – Three-Hour Downer

Michael, Rob, and Pax meet in the Lounge to talk about hot towels, plastic cups, Dune 2, Oppenheimer, Past Lives, Marvel's Midnight Suns video game, King Kong and Godzilla movies, Thin Man movies, The Beekeeper, Wonka, Napoleon, The Artful Dodger, the live-action Last Airbender series, the first Perry Mason novel, Kitty Pryde comics, and much more.

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269 | After Midnight – Universal Monster Mash

Michael and Jess watch House of Frankenstein (1944), House of Dracula (1945), and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948), the movies where Frankenstein's Monster, Dracula, and the Wolfman all share the story together. But first, we catch up on other horror movies we've been watching like Burnt Offerings (1976), Strangler of the Swamp (1945), and Lisa Frankenstein (2024).

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268 | Top 10 Years Later: 2014

Michael, Pax, Evan, and Noel reconvene the Top 10 Years Later panel to look back at their favorite movies from 2014. And, in some cases, re-evaluate if those films are still favorites.

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267 | Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)

Continuing our Planet of the Apes series and moving into the modern prequels, Michael, Rob, and Pax discuss Rupert Wyatt's Rise of the Planet of the Apes. It stars James Franco, Freida Pinto, David Oyelowo, John Lithgow, Brian Cox, Tom Felton, and Andy Serkis as Caesar.

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266 | Octopussy (1983)

The villain is a cliché, Bond is a clown, and the name of the movie is just embarrassing. Michael, Rob, and Karen talk about whether or not those factors affect the enjoyability of Roger Moore's penultimate Bond film. 

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265 | After Dinner Lounge – This Could Have Been an Email

Michael, Rob, and Pax finish this month's Lounge talking about the first book in Seanan McGuire's October Daye series, Gargoyles comics, Greek mythology novels, The Wind in the Willows meets Agatha Christie, more Narnia, Gray Man, and Dresden Files, the hardest foods to give up from each food group, Argylle, Lisa Frankenstein, Dune movies, Madame Webb, Hilda, and Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, and Pax's bad day.

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264 | After Dinner Lounge – I'm Not the Dinner Guest I Thought I Was

Michael, Rob, Pax, and Evan talk about important topics like backing into parking spaces, automatic windshield wipers and headlights, imaginary friends, The Holdovers, The Artful Dodger, jazz, Three Musketeers movies, Anti-Judaism: The Western Tradition by David Nirenberg, Moriarty: The Devil's Game, making time to write, and podcasts about JFK and Jack the Ripper.

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263 | Comics Villains Sour 16

Michael and Rob are joined by Adam Pope and William Bruce West from the Remember That Show? podcast to discuss and vote on comics' greatest villains, ultimately arriving at the Greatest Comics Villain of All Time. 

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262 | After Midnight – Universal's Dracula Family

Michael and Jess talk about Bela Lugosi as Dracula in Tod Browning's 1931 classic, but also the famous vampire's children: Gloria Holden as Dracula's Daughter and Lon Chaney Jr as Son of Dracula. 

But first, discussion of other horror (or horror-connected) movies: Gretel & Hansel (2020), The Midnight Meat Train (2008), The Sadness (2021), The Belko Experiment (2016), The Mean One (2022), and Poor Things (2023).

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261 | For Your Eyes Only (1981)

Having experienced the extravagance of Moonraker, Michael, Rob, and Karen are not upset at all when the Bond series goes back to basics in For Your Eyes Only. John Glen makes his directorial debut, Roger Moore returns as an age-appropriate Bond, and there are plenty of twists and turns with Carole Bouquet (sigh), Julian Glover, Topol, and... is that Charles Dance?

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260 | Planet of the Apes (2001)

Michael, Rob, and Pax revisit Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes reboot to see if it's as bad as conventional wisdom and our panel's own memories say that it is.

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259 | Return to the Planet of the Apes (1975)

Michael and Jacob Bean-Watson talk about Fox's final effort to get a Planet of the Apes TV series going, this time with a Saturday morning cartoon on NBC. (Michael probably says CBS in the discussion, but that was the live-action show. Fox partnered with a different network for the cartoon.) Return to the Planet of the Apes featured animation by Jonny Quest creator Doug Wildey and the voices of Austin Stoker (MacDonald in Battle for the Planet of the Apes) and Fred Flintstone himself, Henry Corden.

There are plenty of problems with the cartoon, but also lots of fun. Especially when Jacob and Michael spontaneously create their own Planet of the Apes sitcom.

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258 | After Dinner Lounge – Ken Burns' Hercules

Michael, Rob, Pax, and Evan wrap up this month's Lounge with talk about Red Dead Redemption 2, revisiting Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning, Gran Turismo, Meg 2, the Scream movies, more Elvis flicks, The Orange Years: The Nickelodeon Story, Season 2 of Reacher, Lupin, The Gilded Age, retirement plans, old technology, finishing the Philip Marlowe novels, Middlegame by Seanan McGuire, Star Trek: Memory Prime by Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens, Christmas heist movies, Noelle, The Mean One, Poor Things, manufactured backstories in movie series, May December, Knock at the Cabin, Apostle, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters and the Legendary MonsterVerse, Echo, Columbo villains, Hercules movies, the DC Cinematic Universe, and adaptations of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

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257 | After Dinner Lounge – Jean-Claude Van Dammes of the Poker World

Michael, Rob, Pax, and Evan - yes, Evan! - sit around talking about neckties, JFK, the Script Apart podcast on Midnight Mass and Mission: Impossible, the Planet of the Apes, Rob’s new car, ice cream, salad dressing, vampire hairstyles, an oral history of Nickelodeon, Meddling Kids, variations on A Christmas Carol, Godzilla Minus One, Little House on the Prairie, American Nightmare, Mickey7, The Dresden Files, Changing the Way We See Native America, Brambly Hedge, Miss Marple, and The Chronicles of Narnia.

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256 | Planet of the Apes TV series (1974)

Michael and Jacob Bean-Watson watch the short-lived, but (let's just spoil it) excellent live action Planet of the Apes TV series starring Roddy McDowall, Ron Harper, James Naughton, and Star Trek's Mark Lenard. 

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255 | Nerdstradamus 2024

Michael, Rob, Kay, and Robert Zerbe look back at their favorite movies, shows, and books of 2023, check in on their pop culture predictions and resolutions from the year, and make new ones for 2024.

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254 | Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973)

Michael, Rob, and Pax finish their exploration of the classic Planet of the Apes series with the fifth and final entry, Battle for the Planet of the Apes. There are budget issues and a confusing timeline to talk about, but also some great characters and cool dilemmas. 

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253 | Moonraker (1979)

Michael, Rob, and Karen Flieger kick off the new year with one of the most infamous Bond movies. James Bond goes to space and pigeons do double-takes in the over-the-top, Star Wars-inspired Moonraker. Is it fun? Is it garbage? Or is it both?

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252 | Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972)

Happy New Year! We took a little break from our Apesathon during the holidays, but we're back with the penultimate entry in the original series: Conquest of the Planet of the Apes. It's a bold, challenging movie with some things to say about power and the civil rights movement. It also has a couple of endings and some continuity issues. Which all means that there's plenty to talk about.

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