80's High

Double surprise! It's a SECOND bonus summer episode of 80's High! And this time, we brought a comb! As summer winds down into fall, we're walking the tracks back to 1986 to revisit the magical film by director Rob Reiner with its amazing cast, including Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, Jerry O'Connell, Kiefer Sutherland, John Cusack, and Richard Dreyfuss... wow!

Like last time, we're featuring a full episode from our dear friend at Ding Dong Darkness Time, Allison Dickson. Last summer, Allison, Chris, and fellow guest host Kate Jenkins revisited the nostalgia-packed Stand By Me and the short story The Body that inspired it. And to make this an 80's High experience, we've captured Ben's memories, favorite moments, and final assessment from his rewatch. So join us for this look back in time on childhood friendship, summer adventure, growing up, and standing up to the hardships of life.

Support the show by tossing us some lunch money at ko-fi.com/80shighpodcast. Write an 80's inspired note when you do, and we'll share it on the show!

-- Teacher's Pets -- 

• Check out Allison's show, Ding Dong Darkness Time, wherever you listen to podcasts

Surprise, it's a bonus summer episode of 80's High! And WE. MADE IT. FOR. YOUUUUU! As the summer heatwave hits, we're downshifting back to 1986 with the first and only film director credit for the man of macabre himself, Mr. Stephen King. It's big trucks, lawnmowers, steamrollers, the Green Goblin, lots of guns and explosions, and a whole lotta campy fun!

This time, we're featuring a full episode from our dear friend at Ding Dong Darkness Time, Allison Dickson. Last summer, Allison and Chris took a spin back to Maximum Overdrive, the short story Trucks that inspired it, and the little-known second movie adaptation for television also called Trucks. And they are three wildly different takes. Speaking of takes, this wouldn't be 80's High without both hosts chiming in, so Ben and Chris kick off the episode and then come back at the end to get Ben's earliest memories, favorite moments, and hot final takes you won't wanna miss. So buckle up and sit back, we're going into overdrive!

Support the show by tossing us some lunch money at ko-fi.com/80shighpodcast. Write an 80's inspired note when you do, and we'll share it on the show!

-- Teacher's Pets -- 

• Check out Allison's show, Ding Dong Darkness Time, wherever you listen to podcasts

In the summer of 1989, the world came down with a Joker-induced case of Batmania as visionary director Tim Burton and leading man Michael Keaton put the "dark" in our Nocturnal Knight for the first time on the big screen. An iconic score mixed with an incredible set, costume, sound, and lighting design - as well as amazing performances by Jack Nicholson, Kim Basinger, and Michael Gough - transformed our understanding of this hero from pop-color comic book pages and spandex-wearing Adam West into something we couldn't know at first if we should love or fear. Strap on your utility belt, fuel up your Batmobile, and tell Alfred not to hold up dinner for you because we are traveling back to that magical summer where the Batman we knew changed forever.

-- Can I Borrow Your Notes? -- 

• Batman Fandom Wiki

-- Teacher's Pets -- 

• Join the Class of 80's High: [email protected]

"It may be Chicago’s equivalent of King Tut’s Tomb... Nobody knows what’s in it. Some say money. Some say bodies. Some say it’s booby trapped, and we’re gonna open it.” In the spring of 1986, Geraldo Rivera hyped what was to be the greatest television event of the century: uncovering the mystery of Al Capone’s vaults beneath the Lexington Hotel in Chicago, live on primetime. But as the subterranean crews dug deeper and Rivera grew more frantic, we witnessed something entirely different unfold that night... was it some of the greatest career-saving courage ever made by a “newsman” or the birth of trash television and the 24-hour news-cycle? Classmate Allison Dickson returns as we unearth the origins of the primetime spectacle that glued more than 30 million viewers to their televisions, eager for an answer to, “what was inside Al Capone’s vaults?”

-- Can I Borrow Your Notes? -- 

• Andrea Doria Safe Opened (The Washington Post)

-- Teacher's Pets -- 

• Join the Class of 80's High: [email protected]

When Ben and Chris lift their microphones into the air and shout “By the Power of the 80’s!” they magically transform into the two most radical podcasters on the planet, with the power of nostalgia, sass, and puns! Follow us back in time to when toymaker Mattel made potentially the biggest mistake in its history, but was rescued by the brilliant mind and creativity of designer Roger Sweet, who invented the most swoll, barbarian-inspired, deus ex machina magic-enabled cast of heroes and villains ever: He-Man and the Masters of the Universe! Learn how the very first cartoon created to sell toys came to be as we dungeon-dive into the Castle Grayskull labyrinth of comics, cartoons, action figures, playsets, Dolf Lundgren's movie catastrophe, Kevin Smith's animated double-return, and more. And remember classmates, always be a Battle Cat, never a Cringer!

-- Can I Borrow Your Notes? -- 

• Masters of the Universe: He-Man & She-Ra YouTube channel

-- Teacher's Pets -- 

• Join the Class of 80's High: [email protected]

Who would have guessed that in 1985, Hollywood not only created a movie based on a board game, but that it may have been one of the best game-based movies of all time?! That’s right, we're driving through the pouring rain to the eerie mansion on the hill to rewatch the movie Clue! And we're keeping our friends close and our enemies closer, because we’ve invited Classmate Aaron to help us explore the origins, secret passageways, and endless wise cracks that make this movie so memorable. From the knock-out cast to the quotable lines, this episode will leave our fans screaming, “let us in, let us in!” and the haters seething with “flam - flames,  on the side of my face, breathing-breathl- heaving breaths…” Whoever knew podcasting was just a red herring!?

-- Can I Borrow Your Notes? -- 

• The Crazy Story of How "Clue" Went From Forgotten Flop to Cult Triumph (BuzzFeed)

-- Teacher's Pets -- 

• Join the Class of 80's High: [email protected]

Extra! Extra! Read all about it! Two 80's nostalgia podcasters take deep dive into the world's only reliable news! That's right listeners, we were lucky enough to snag an interview with Greg D'Alessandro, CEO and Editor-in-Chief of Weekly World News, to talk all things Elvis, Bat Boy, Manigator, Bigfoot Hooker, and the entire Marvel-esque cast of characters that bejeweled the supermarket checkout aisles of our childhoods with outrageous headlines and out of this world photos. Greg regales us with stories from WWN's past, present, and future as we thin-slice fact from fiction, uncover the paper's black and white origins, and have more fun than aliens skipping their saucer across Lake Erie. Tune into this episode because the more you listen, the more you get involved!

-- Can I Borrow Your Notes? -- 

• Weekly World News official site

-- Teacher's Pets -- 

• Join the Class of 80's High: [email protected]

Formed in 1983, Bon Jovi broke onto the rock scene with their debut album, producing a few modest hits, but not quite making a splash. Their second album also made some noise on the airwaves, but didn't bring the success they desired. The third time had to be the charm. And in August 1986, Slippery When Wet hit record store shelves, introducing INSTANT smash hits like "Livin' on a Prayer," "You Give Love a Bad Name," "Wanted Dead or Alive," and more. Spending an incredible 9 1/2 months in the top five on the Billboard 200, Slippery When Wet enjoyed two of those months at #1, was the best-selling album of 1987, and introduced 80's glam metal to the global stage. Tune in with Ben & Chris as we break down this iconic album and its addictive tracks, learn about the philtrum and Mixolydian mode, and even make connections to R2-D2 and the U.S.S.R.

-- Can I Borrow Your Notes? -- 

• Bon Jovi - Slippery When Wet : The Videos - Backstage & Interviews

-- Teacher's Pets -- 

• Join the Class of 80's High: [email protected]

We swore we'd never do a movie about Toons again, not after our tragic past with that falling piano. But fate had a way of showing up at our doorstep... and making us laugh our butts off! Because we've strapped a rocket to our backs and Acme-d to the golden age of Hollywood to visit our cartoon pals Roger, Jessica, Benny, Baby Herman, a litany of Disney and Warner Brother favorites, and our favorite IRL noir detective, Eddie Valiant, on their zany journey into the seedy world of pattycake, murder, and the dreaded DIP! Can they outwit Judge Doom and the Weasels? Can we ever stop gushing over the endless talent packed into this movie? Take a listen, and smile-darn ya-smile!

Support the show by tossing us some lunch money at ko-fi.com/80shighpodcast. Write an 80's inspired note when you do, and we'll share it on the show!

-- Can I Borrow Your Notes? -- 

• The Making of Who Framed Roger Rabbit

-- Teacher's Pets -- 

• Join the Class of 80's High: [email protected]

From Big Wheels to Power Wheels, tricycles to bicycles, getting your own set of wheels was a right of passage in childhood. Your new rims opened up a world of possibilities and autonomous freedom, rolling down the street to meet up with “the gang” in the woods, at a field, or at a friend’s house - a pile of bikes already strewn across the front yard. Ride back with us to the 1980s to explore the origins of some of the most popular children’s summer rides, and how these helped sculpt the summer culture of the most radically-rolling decade in history.

-- Can I Borrow Your Notes? -- 

• Who Invented the Greatest Toy in History?! (AKA Big Wheel)

-- Teacher's Pets -- 

• Join the Class of 80's High: [email protected]