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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 2:05:00 — 141.5MB)

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Sometimes, iconic characters from a movie become pop culture references that outlast and outshine the movie itself. Sometimes, you’d rent a movie at Blockbuster based on the cover alone. And sometimes, ambitious white women in ancient Egypt or “Hauptmann-Koenig” time travel and teleport into beautiful mannequins in a department store in Philly! In 1987 and 1991, that sometimes and those iconic characters were the namesakes of MANNEQUIN and MANNEQUIN TWO: ON THE MOVE.

Whether in the role played by Kim Cattrall in the first outing (playing an Egyptian character – in ancient Egypt) or by Kristy Swanson in the sequel, the female lead of this well-known franchise is a woman hopelessly trapped in a department store window mannequin until a hapless and bumbling (but secretly talented!) handsome guy named Jonathan or Jason arrives to become her instant true love and render the force of life into her immobile body. Cue the instantly-iconic Starship power ballad “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now” and the inevitable wedding bells!

In both movies, Meshach Taylor plays the indefatigable and fabulous Hollywood Montrose, an out and proud gay man who does window displays at the Prince and Company department store and who helps these men meet their mannequin matches. How moving are Mannequin’s representations of women and of “Hollywood” in 2022? Is the Mannequin still vibrant and vivacious – or have time or Egyptian gods or a cursed necklace turned her back into cold, expressionless, painted fiberglass? Also, why don’t more movies Have A Dog? Our podcast hosts surveyed every cranny and corridor of Prince and Company by hang glider to answer those questions and revisit these movies.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @WWWYshow, on Facebook at Facebook.com/WWWYShow and email episode suggestions to wwwyshow@gmail.com. Don’t forget to subscribe and review us on Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts (or wherever you get your podcasts) so more folks check out the show!

Help us defray the costs of creating this show, which include recording remotely, purchasing movies/shows/music to review, delivery food to eat our feelings, and producing & editing in-house at the MFP Studio in Los Angeles, California by donating to our Patreon account at patreon.com/WhenWeWereYoung

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:27:41 — 84.7MB)

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Do you feel the need? The need to speed back to the 80s and bro out with Iceman, Wolfman, Slider, Viper, Goose, and Maverick all over again? If so, you’ll love Part One of our cruise through the career of the galaxy’s biggest superstar (don’t tell Xenu), starting with the 1986 blockbuster that first catapulted him to worldwide fame – TOP GUN.

The name “Tom Cruise” may be synonymous with movie stardom now, but back in 1986, he was still best known for his undie-baring breakout in the teen sex comedy RISKY BUSINESS, so having him headline an action-packed military drama was a bit of a gamble. Of course, Top Gun ended up topping all expectations, becoming the year’s highest-grossing film, launching a killer soundtrack, winning an Academy Award for the soaring romantic ballad “Take My Breath Away,” and cementing its place in history as one of the most iconic 80s movies.

Now, as Top Gun approaches its 35th anniversary with a long-awaited sequel on the horizon, it’s time to find out whether these boys are still worth playing with after all these years – or if we’ve lost that loving feeling for this classic dad flick. So take a deep breath, get inverted, and select your wingman carefully, because we’re heading right into the danger zone of Reagan-era jingoism and mid-80s machismo – and we’re not stopping until we’re going Mach 2 with our hair on fire. (Whatever that means!) Will we take Top Gun to bed, or lose it forever?

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @WWWYshow, on Facebook at Facebook.com/WWWYShow and email episode suggestions to wwwyshow@gmail.com. Don’t forget to subscribe and review us on Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts so more folks check out the show!

Donate to help us defray the costs of creating this show, which include recording remotely, purchasing movies/shows/music to review, delivery food to eat our feelings, and producing & editing in-house at the MFP Studio in Los Angeles, California via our Patreon account at patreon.com/WhenWeWereYoung

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 2:19:14 — 125.8MB)

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In our latest episode, we answer the existential question that has plagued mankind for centuries:

Who you gonna call?

Join us as we take a look back at Ivan Reitman’s groundbreaking action-comedy GHOSTBUSTERS (1984) and its spooky, silly sequel GHOSTBUSTERS II (1988). The film that launched a thousand merchandise opportunities, “Ghostbusters” began as something VERY different in the mind of co-writer and co-star Dan Aykroyd and ended up being one of the most successful movie franchises of all time.

Nearly 40 years after the original film’s debut, does “Ghostbusters” stand proudly like the Statue of Liberty strolling through the streets of Manhattan? Or is it more like a river of slime? We’ve got some unfinished business with Peter, Ray, and Egon – and, unlike the movie, we don’t forget Winston.

We ain’t afraid of no ghosts… but we are a little anxious about incurring the wrath of Ghostbusters loyalists with our critique of these beloved films.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @WWWYshow, on Facebook at Facebook.com/WWWYShow and email episode suggestions to wwwyshow@gmail.com. Don’t forget to subscribe and review us on Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts so more folks check out the show!

Donate to help us defray the costs of creating this show, which include recording remotely, purchasing movies/shows/music to review, delivery food to eat our feelings, and producing & editing in-house at the MFP Studio in Los Angeles, California via our Patreon account at patreon.com/WhenWeWereYoung

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:42:17 — 89.4MB)

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In the days before YouTube and Spotify, most people discovered new music through a little device called the radio, and tracking the popularity of hit songs was much simpler. Back in the 80s, Billboard determined which songs charted through sales of physical singles on cassette tapes or CDs, and of course, airplay on the radio — which is how singles by artists like Blondie and Prince became inescapable at that moment in time.

In this episode, your When We Were Young co-hosts take Billboard’s #1 charting pop single from every year of the 80s out for a spin — and the results are mixed! If “80s music” makes you think of Madonna, Billy Joel, Van Halen, or even A-ha, you’re not alone — but none of these popular artists actually dominated the charts in any given year of the decade. (Believe it or not, neither did the King of Pop himself!)

While some tracks, like 1983’s chart-topper “Every Breath You Take,” are no-brainers, there are a few head-scratchers in the mix, too. The 80s were surprisingly big on ditties about Oscar-winning divas and the gaits of ancient peoples. So put on your best aerobics attire and join us as we whisper carelessly about the #1 Pop Singles of the 1980s —the ones we still have plenty of “Faith” in, those we’re desperate to “Look Away” from, and everything in between.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @WWWYshow, on Facebook at Facebook.com/WWWYShow and email episode suggestions to wwwyshow@gmail.com. Don’t forget to subscribe and review us on Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts so more folks check out the show!

Help us defray the costs of creating this show, which includes purchasing movies/shows/music to review, delivery food to eat our feelings, and producing & editing in-house at the MFP Studio in Los Angeles, California, by donating to our Patreon account at patreon.com/WhenWeWereYoung

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:07:37 — 55.4MB)

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Is this a podcast, or is it merely pretending to be? It’s 2020, so we’re celebrating the holidays a little differently this year. We’ve swapped twitching tentacles for twinkling lights, exploding wolfdogs for red-nosed reindeer, lighting killer space beasts aflame for roasting chestnuts, and a creeping existential dread for jolly good cheer. Ho, ho, ho!

The 1980s saw a revival of 50s sci-fi B-movies, with notable remakes offering similarly bizarre chills and thrills with one major upgrade — some of the most stomach-churning special effects ever put to the screen. John Carpenter’s THE THING (1982) is a horror staple now, but it wasn’t so warmly received when it opened for audiences who had just fallen in love with Spielberg’s cuddly alien pal E.T., and Carpenter’s career never fully recovered.

We discuss how late 20^th century horror masters took the traditions of drive-in camp classics and made them their own with gross-out gore and cringey body horror, then hunker down and contend with The Thing in all its goopy, arm-chomping glory. Did Carpenter’s classic deserve to be left out in the cold? Or was it a masterpiece merely imitating a box office bomb? Zip up your parka, secure your blood bags, and prepare for a not-so-silent night, because this is one story of immaculate reproduction that isn’t so blessed.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @WWWYshow, on Facebook at Facebook.com/WWWYShow and email episode suggestions to wwwyshow@gmail.com. Don’t forget to subscribe and review us on Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts so more folks check out the show!

Help us defray the costs of creating this show, which includes purchasing movies/shows/music to review, delivery food to eat our feelings, and producing & editing in-house at the MFP Studio in Los Angeles, California, by donating to our Patreon account at patreon.com/WhenWeWereYoung