We re-elected Reagan, and that's not even the scariest thing that happened this month. Freddy Krueger may cast a long shadow over the entire decade, but it all started here. You'll believe a spin-off can suck, Santa's gonna let you know you've been naughty, and Chuck Norris manages to rip Stallone off... from the future! We've got killer pigs, fake broken legs, and Nancy Allen singing and dancing. All this plus two Larry Cohen movies? What did we do to deserve November 1984?

Some of these bonus episodes are delightful, some are surprises, and then there's Diane Franklin's episode, which is consistently one delightful surprise after the other. Scott and Drew dig into her filmography, and the stories she shares about the making of all-time classics like The Last American Virgin, Better Off Dead and Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure are as charming as you'd expect... but it's the stories about Amadeus and Amityville that really go places.

October is a weird month every year so far in the '80s, and this year's no exception. We've got Linda Blair and a crossbow, stolen diaries and horny housewives, slashers and horny teens and... one of the greatest documentaries of the decade? Okay, didn't see that coming. We're going to England, to Alaska, to Israel, and to Encino. Paul McCartney shits the bed, JoBeth Williams shows up twice, and we've got at least three stone cold classics. All that and BODY DOUBLE? Let me wallow. It's October 1984.

One of the best things about the bonus episodes is the opportunities it allows both Scott and Drew to nerd out with some of their very favoritest people, and that very much includes Switchblade Sisters co-host, film critic, and Blumhouse's Black Christmas screenwriter April Wolfe, who shares some of her biggest influences, tells stories of how her horror fandom has changed her life, and digs into some of her most treasured '80s horror classics.

This month took a toll on Scott and Drew, and small wonder—Imamura lays the punishment on thick, while Mario Van Peebles just... plain lays it on thick. We've also got the best first 20 minutes to an exploitation film in a while, Karen Allen's smile, Lorenzo Lamas as Chilly, and horny Jeremy Irons... in French! Charlie Bronson kills some folks, as Charlie Bronson does, and Hollywood discovers farms! A Fast Times sequel that isn't! Kathleen Turner versus Anthony Perkins! Joe Morton's detachable eyeball! And Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, too? September 1984 is serious business!

The ICE... IS GONNA BREAK

For Christmas, Drew and Scott chose to give themselves the gift of a couple weeks off from the podcast grind—but they didn't wanna just leave you hanging over the holiday break, and so: The '80s All Over Holiday Special, the sort of "We left a VHS tape at Gramma's house because she's got satellite and she'll record all our favorite shows for us if we circle the good stuff in the TV Guide for her" compilation that many '80s kids lived on!

...Okay, yeah, it's a clip show. But that's also a very '80s sorta thing to do, right? And besides—if you're looking for a free little stocking stuffer for discerning podcast listeners who (somehow) have yet to discover the magic of Messrs. McWeeny and Weinberg's award-winning* bi-monthly forays into film history and cultural archaeology, this Holiday Special oughta do it!

Featuring a special 8-bit remix of the remix of the opening theme by Dya, celebrations of the decade's most dignified luminaries (including Dabney Coleman and Burt Young), a peek into the Patreon exclusive vaults, and almost two hours of reviews, running gags, fights, feelings, crack-ups, throwdowns, and more!

*The '80s All Over podcast hasn't actually won any awards, but if you're a culture editor/writer at a mainstream outlet feel absolutely free to contact the show about rectifying this situation.

Drew McWeeny has been many things in his life. Laserdisc slinger, Popcorn schlepper, cub reporter, theatre director, hopeless romantic, internet raconteur... but when he came to Los Angeles, it was in answer to the siren song of screenwriting. And this very special bonus episode digs deep into a lot of that history courtesy of today's special guest, filmmaker Rebecca Swan, Drew's writing partner on the Masters of Horror episodes Pro-Life and Cigarette Burns. They talk at length about their favorite films, shared obsessions, the way each informed the other's sensibilities, and much more.

The controversies just keep coming.

Maybe it was something in the air, but things were weird this month. Bo Derek made a movie so bad it broke Cannon’s distribution deal with MGM. A long-in-development property finally made it to the screen and no one noticed. John Cassavetes released his last major work, Sean Connery showed up wearing Cate Blanchett’s outfit from Thor: Ragnarok, and Jamie Lee Curtis lost a bet and had to play love scenes with C. Thomas Howell. You want Michael Landon making a Bible allegory about himself? Or naked Clint Eastwood slathered in baby oil? Or a flamingo attack to wrap up the jolliest naked-Tarzan riff ever made? Well, you’re getting it anyway, plus a fistful of PG-13 films and Dr. Emilio Lizardo. Join your regular hosts John FilmNerd 2.0 and John Phillycheesesteak for a trip into the 8th dimension for August of 1984.

Maybe one of the single most influential and impactful forces on the world of film in the 1980s wasn't a director, or a writer, or the alumni of one film school or another. It was a sketch comedy show that didn't start until 11:30pm at night, and frankly wasn't very good a lot of the time. But when it was good? Oh, it was change the world good, and Drew and Scott dive into the legend of Saturday Night Live and the way it became a legitimate star-making machine that greatly benefitted the films of the 1980s.