Fox’s Melrose Place was intended to be an introspective drama about young adult life in 1990s L.A. But by Season 2, the show leaned into its soapy elements, with ever-shifting love triangles, backstabbing office rivalries, and more than a few iconic villains stealing babies, faking pregnancies, and even blowing up the apartment complex. At its height, the show reached nearly 15 million viewers, and its young and restless stars were EVERYWHERE. The show ended on a whimper in 1999, and had a mediocre CW revival in 2009. But for this Patreon-sponsored episode, we’re going to back Melrose, as the Great Pop Culture Debate seeks to determine the Best Melrose Place Character.

Characters discussed: Sydney Andrews, Lexi Sterling, Jane Mancini, Jo Reynolds, Dr. Michael Mancini, Billy Campbell, Megan Lewis, Taylor McBride, Amanda Woodward, Jennifer Mancini, Brooke Armstrong, Jake Taylor, Dr. Kimberly Shaw, Dr. Peter Burns, Matt Fielding, Alison Parker.

Join host Eric Rezsnyak, Patreon sponsor Bob Erlenback, and Special Guest Stars Courtney Fay and Todd Rezsnyak as they discuss 16 of the most notorious residents of 4616 Melrose Place.

For more exclusive content, including the warm-up in which we discuss the other Melrose Place lead cast members that didn’t make the bracket, become a Patreon supporter of the podcast today.

For more reasons why you should become a Patreon supporter, check out this Top 10.

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Then, vote in our Future Topic Polls to have a say in what episodes we tackle next.

Host: Eric Rezsnyak

Patreon Sponsor: Bob Erlenback

Special Guests: Courtney Fay, Todd Rezsnyak

Producer: Curtis Creekmore

Editor: Bob Erlenback

Theme Music: “Dance to My Tune” by Marc Torch

#melroseplace #soapopera #90stvshows #aaronspelling #1990s #90s #2000stv #2000sthrowbacks #heatherlocklear #90ssoaps #primetimesoaps #grantshow #courtneythornesmith #marciacross #lisarinna

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Great Pop Culture Debate host Eric Rezsnyak explains how we created the bracket for our Patreon-sponsored episode devoted to the Best "Melrose Place" Character, as well as walks you through the Round 1 match-ups. The main episode will release on Tuesday, January 21, wherever you listen to podcasts.

Make sure to subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss any upcoming episodes:

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CREDITS:

Intro/outro music: "Dance to My Tune" by Marc Torch

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Since 1927, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has awarded the Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role 97 times, to 86 actors – as of 2024, when we are recording this. The collective winners of the Best Actor Oscar are a Who’s Who of Hollywood, legendary performers who have defined what acting and arguably even manhood look like on screen. After debating the Best Film and Best Actress Oscar winners in previous episodes, for this Patreon-sponsored episode, the Great Pop Culture Debate now turns its attention to where the boys are, as we debate the Best Oscar Winners for Best Actor.

Performances discussed: Anthony Hopkins in Silence of the Lambs, Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man, Daniel Day-Lewis in There Will Be Blood, Marlon Brando in The Godfather, Gregory Peck in To Kill a Mockingbird, Sean Penn in Milk, Tom Hanks in Forrest Gump, Cillian Murphy in Oppenheimer, Tom Hanks in Philadelphia, F. Murray Abraham in Amadeus, Daniel Day-Lewis in Lincoln, James Stewart in The Philadelphia Story, Philip Seymour Hoffman in Capote, Robert De Niro in Raging Bull, Sidney Poitier in Lilies of the Field, Jack Nicholson in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.

Join host Eric Rezsnyak, Patreon sponsor Stephan Nikoloff, and GPCD panelists Karissa Kloss and Kevin Dillon as they discuss 16 of the most incredible performances in Oscars history.

Play along at home by finding the listener bracket here. Make a copy for yourself, fill it out, and see if your picks match up with ours!

For more exclusive content, including the warm-up in which we discuss additional Oscar-winning performances we were bummed didn’t make the bracket, and an extended version of the episode with 20+ more minutes of film conversation, become a Patreon supporter of the podcast today.

Subscribe to find out what’s new in pop culture each week right in your inbox!

Check out our Open Polls. Your votes determine our future debates!

Then, vote in our Future Topic Polls to have a say in what episodes we tackle next.

Host: Eric Rezsnyak

Panel: Karissa Kloss, Kevin Dillon

Patreon Sponsor: Stephan Nikoloff

Editor: Eric Rezsnyak

Theme Music: “Dance to My Tune” by Marc Torch

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Great Pop Culture Debate host Eric Rezsnyak explains how we created the bracket for our Patreon-sponsored episode devoted to the Best Oscar Winner for Best Actor, as well as walks you through the Round 1 match-ups. The main episode will release on Tuesday, January 14, wherever you listen to podcasts.

Make sure to subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss any upcoming episodes:

https://www.greatpopculturedebate.com/subscribe

And if you love pop culture, sign up for our weekly newsletter to keep up on all the new movies, music, and TV shows dropping every week!

CREDITS:

Intro/outro music: "Dance to My Tune" by Marc Torch

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The late 1970s were a fascinating time for music. Where else could you have country songs, heavy rock, disco, r'n'b, electro-pop, jazz, and even novelty songs top the charts? Only the 70s, baby! Now, as we hurtle toward 50 years after their release, the Great Pop Culture Debate wants to determine the Best Songs of 1978. Songs discussed: “I Will Survive” by Gloria Gaynor, “Le Freak” by CHIC, “Just the Way You Are” by Billy Joel, “Fat Bottomed Girls” by Queen, “I’m Every Woman” by Chaka Khan, “One Way Or Another” by Blondie, “I Wanna Be Sedated” by Ramones, “Roxanne” by The Police, “Stayin’ Alive” by Bee Gees, “Copacabana” by Barry Manilow, “Take a Chance On Me” by ABBA, “We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions” by Queen, “Heart of Glass” by Blondie, “Rock Lobster” by The B-52’s, “Big Shot” by Billy Joel, “September” by Earth, Wind & Fire.

Note that while some of these songs were released in 1977, they were all on the Billboard Top 100 for the 1978 end-of-year charts.

Join host Eric Rezsnyak, Patreon sponsor Derek Mekita, GPCD panelist Karissa Kloss, and special guest panelist Beth D’Imperio as they discuss 16 of the greatest songs from the late 1970s.

Play along at home by finding the listener bracket here. Make a copy for yourself, fill it out, and see if your picks match up with ours!

For more exclusive content, including the warm-up in which we discuss additional songs that were popular in 1978 we were bummed didn’t make the bracket, become a Patreon supporter of the podcast today.

Need more reasons to become a Patreon supporter? Check out our Top 10 reasons here!

Check out our Open Polls. Your votes determine our future debates!

Then, vote in our Future Topic Polls to have a say in what episodes we tackle next.

Host: Eric Rezsnyak

Panel: Derek Mekita, Karissa Kloss

Patreon Sponsor: Derek Mekita

Special Guest: Beth D’Imperio

Producer: Curtis Creekmore

Editor: Bob Erlenback

Theme Music: “Dance to My Tune” by Marc Torch

#70smusic #1970s #music #disco #rock #funk #queen #billyjoel #blondie #thecars #barrymanilow #beegees #abba

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Great Pop Culture Debate host Eric Rezsnyak explains how we created the bracket for our Patreon-sponsored episode devoted to the Best Song of 1978, as well as walks you through the Round 1 match-ups. The main episode will release on Tuesday, January 7, wherever you listen to podcasts.

Make sure to subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss any upcoming episodes:

https://www.greatpopculturedebate.com/subscribe

And if you love pop culture, sign up for our weekly newsletter to keep up on all the new movies, music, and TV shows dropping every week!

CREDITS:

Intro/outro music: "Dance to My Tune" by Marc Torch

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Most holiday pop songs tend to be joyful, energetic, or heartwarming, summoning nostalgia for the season and evoking what top scientists have defined as “feeling that gingerbread feeling.” But the holiday music canon is also peppered with bizarre little tunes that play up the ridiculous traditions we largely take for granted, or mock the treacly emotionalism of Christmas. While we have covered many of the more serious songs in the Christmas canon, this year the Great Pop Culture Debate is turning its attention to the intentionally absurd, the deliberately offputting as it debates the Best Novelty or Parody Holiday Song.

Songs discussed: “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas,” “The Chipmunk Song,” “The Chanukah Song,” “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer,” “Dominick the Donkey,” “The 12 Pains of Christmas,” “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus,” “Nuttin’ for Christmas,” “All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth,” “Christmas at Ground Zero,” “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch,” etc.

Join host Eric Rezsnyak and GPCD panelists Andrea Guerrero, Derek Mekita, and Jonny Minogue as they discuss 16 of the silliest holiday songs of all time.

Play along at home by finding the listener bracket here. Make a copy for yourself, fill it out, and see if your picks match up with ours!

For more exclusive content, including the warm-up in which we discuss additional parody and novelty songs we were bummed didn’t make the bracket, become a Patreon supporter of the podcast today.

Download the Listener Bracket and see if your picks match up with ours!

Subscribe to find out what’s new in pop culture each week right in your inbox!

Check out our Open Polls. Your votes determine our future debates!

Then, vote in our Future Topic Polls to have a say in what episodes we tackle next.

Host: Eric Rezsnyak

Panel: Andrea Guerrero, Derek Mekita, Jonny Minogue

Producer: Curtis Creekmore

Editor: Eric Rezsnyak

Theme Music: “Dance to My Tune” by Marc Torch

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Great Pop Culture Debate host Eric Rezsnyak explains how we created the bracket for our 2024 Holiday Special devoted to the best novelty or parody songs about the end-of-the-year holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas, Chanukah, etc.), as well as walk you through the Round 1 match-ups. The main episode will release on Tuesday, December 10, wherever you listen to podcasts.

Make sure to subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss any upcoming episodes:

https://www.greatpopculturedebate.com/subscribe

And if you love pop culture, sign up for our weekly newsletter to keep up on all the new movies, music, and TV shows dropping every week!

CREDITS:

Intro/outro music: "Dance to My Tune" by Marc Torch

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2024 marks the 35th Anniversary of National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, the third installment in Chevy Chase’s Lampoon films. While the film was initially met with mixed reviews when it was released in December 1989, it has gone on to be considered a holiday classic, delighting audiences from multiple generations. A big part of the appeal is the laugh-a-minute script by 80s cinema icon John Hughes, who managed to wring biting sarcasm and genuine emotion out of the Griswold family’s Christmas from hell. So join the Great Pop Culture Debate players as they refill their eggnog, take an imaginary dip in an inground pool, and bring out the rubber sheets and gerbils while reenacting the debating the Best Quote from National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.

Join host Eric Rezsnyak and GPCD panelists Karissa Kloss, Michael Schwarz, and Zack Derby as they check their shitters, and then debate 16 of the most iconic quotes from National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.

Play along at home by finding the listener bracket here. Make a copy for yourself, fill it out, and see if your picks match up with ours!

For more exclusive content, including warm-up in which we discuss the quotes the panelists think SHOULD have made the bracket, become a Patreon supporter of the podcast today.

Download the Listener Bracket and see if your picks match up with ours!

Subscribe to find out what’s new in pop culture each week right in your inbox!

Check out our Open Polls. Your votes determine our future debates!

Then, vote in our Future Topic Polls to have a say in what episodes we tackle next.

Host: Eric Rezsnyak

Panel: Karissa Kloss, Michael Schwarz, Zack Derby

Producer: Bob Erlenback

Editor: Bob Erlenback

Theme Music: “Dance to My Tune” by Marc Torch

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Great Pop Culture Debate host Eric Rezsnyak explains how we created the bracket for our 2024 Holiday Special devoted to the best quote from 1989's National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, and walks you through the Round 1 match-ups. The main episode will release on Tuesday, December 3, wherever you listen to podcasts.

Make sure to subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss any upcoming episodes:

https://www.greatpopculturedebate.com/subscribe

And if you love pop culture, sign up for our weekly newsletter to keep up on all the new movies, music, and TV shows dropping every week!

EPISODE CREDITS:

Intro Music: "Dance to My Tune" by Marc Torch

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