It Happened One Year

Despite being a classic of the American theater and winning a rare Pulitzer along the way, Sarah & Joe were largely unfamiliar with Sondheim's Sunday in the Park with George, but that has all changed! It Happened One Year once again wanders into the rare live theater corner and kicks around the musical painting biopic for good and all. Along the way there's some discussion of what makes a good musical, what are particularly bad musical-to-movie adaptation, and not nearly as much singing as you'd expect!

101 episodes and nearly three years later, It Happened One Year is finally talking Muppets again! Given the rousing success of Season One's breakdown of 1994's felt properties, it was only natural that Sarah & Joe would tackle that beloved classic from '84 - The Muppets Take Manhattan! From its sorrowful place as the final, big screen Jim Henson Muppet outing to the singularity of its setting and vibe in the franchise canon, from the outstanding bunch of cameos to the solid batch of songs, all corners of Manhattan Melodies and the gang's tribulations in dragging their college show to Broadway are discussed!

Despite the Paris games wrapping up, Olympic fever still grips It Happened One Year, as it's time to cover the glittering Los Angeles Summer Games of 1984! Sarah & Joe tackle some of the biggest stories and stars of those contests, including the rise of women's American gymnastics, fronted by Mary Lou Retton, the record-setting run (and jumps) of Carl Lewis, the controversial collision of Mary Decker and Zola Budd, the amazing streak of Edwin Moses, and much more! Then, as season three of the show has now stretched across multiple sports' years, the hosts again tackle predictions for the onrushing NFL season - with particular emphasis on the hometown Bears burgeoning chances!

Recorded on the day Joe Biden decided to drop out of the presidential race, Sarah & Joe take a pretty unhinged tact in attempting to discuss the cult classic film pitting Buckaroo Banzai and the Hong Kong Cavaliers against Dr. Emilio Lizardo aka John Whorfin and his gang of aliens! Kamala Harris's chances as the potential first female president, the greatness of Ellen Barkin, Donald Bigbooté, rankings of all significant northeast Pennsylvania figures, the future Joe Biden Presidential Library, lamenting the Buckaroo Banzai sequel that never was, Perfect Tommy, Liz Cheney, the Syracuse University history department, and much more fills this wild evening's show. Listen as a pizza is made live on tape!

Originally intended as the wrap-up to Episode 27's discussion of 1984 and Joe Biden's floundering campaign, this follow-up recording went completely off the rails with the hours-old assassination attempt on candidate Donald Trump, and so - in order to not overwhelm the creaky narrative of that show - here is the rest of Sarah & Joe's conversation from that day. Enjoy?

It's true, the classic novel was published in 1949, but it's quite obviously relevant to this season, and to the modern day, and thus - It Happened One Year is going all-in on George Orwell's 1984! Sarah & Joe discuss the history of the novel and their reactions from recent reads. Then, the greatest marketing tie-in of all time - Michael Radford's 1984 starring John Hurt and Richard Burton, filmed during the timeframe of the novel's setting, and released in that title year! Suck it, 2012 (2009) and Blues Brothers 2000 (1998)! Finally, some little discussion of our current verging-of-dystopia here in America - the impending (possible) Biden v. Trump rematch. 

(This all leads directly into the bonus episode, also available right now!)

Just in time for the All-Star Game, baseball is back on the show! Prior to 2016, the one Chicago Cubs team that lived in local memory as the best chance to break the World Series drought was the squad from 1984, and It Happened One Year is there! Sarah & Joe recount the basics of the '84 team's run to the NLCS, how No Lights at Wrigley played a part in the overall discourse, the progression of the franchise from that point until the eventual first championship in 108 years, and their personal connections with the team. Along the way, much discussion is had about the current ownership group, and why that has so negatively affected their interactions with the north side team. 

Back-to-back game show episodes?! Well, sort of! Recorded an absurdly long time ago, Sarah & Joe go into all things Jeopardy - from the original Art Fleming show straight through to this year's wild three-rounded Celebrity Jeopardy, with all the Ken Jennings and Becky Lynch trivia along the way! What is the eerie fate that befell both longtime show hosts? How does Pluto offering a Jeopardy channel affect the IHOY hosts' lives? What other programs did Alex Trebek helm before (and during) his record setting run reading the answers? Also - as this show was recorded on a significant commemorative holiday for the hosts - Sarah & Joe take a weird trip down memory lane, with many references to people and places you've never heard of. Enjoy!

Serial get-rich-quick fanatic Michael Larson was almost out of schemes to earn the elusive buck. Bills piling up, kids needing school clothes, ice cream truck season ending - obstacles were plentiful. So when he filled the living room with a dozen television sets to allow the universe to deliver his next great idea for success, the family was understandably skeptical. But the events that followed would go down in television history, as Larson hopped a bus to Los Angeles and tackled the newest game show sensation - Press Your Luck...

It Happened One Year presents its fourth fully scripted, full cast episode, covering the incredible story of Larson and family, the nail-biting recording session for the famed contest, and its manic aftermath. Come along and commemorate the fortieth anniversary of this historic event, in vintage IHOY style!

Written by Nick Perfetto

Directed by Joe Cetta

Cast

Teresa Harrington - Alex Ferrer

Michael Larson - Nick Perfetto

Bill Carruthers - David Munchak

Bobbi Richmond - Lana Cooper

Marge Brockman - Sarah

Agent Davis - Becky Schmidt

Agent Richie - Joe

Jim - Dave Gardon

Judy - Clare Kalemba

Peter Tomarken - Brett Benge

Darlene - Lauren Morgan

Paul - Jon Deiner

Howard E. Cheetum - John Kozempel

Pam - Kristen Gaydos

Phil - Kevin Donlin

Nancy - Sara Stefanski

Adrienne - Sarah Dichkewich

Ed Jenkins - Duke Tumbleweed

Janie Lester - Eileen Linnabery

Jennifer - Abigail Perfetto

Julie - Susie Cetta

Eugene - Danielle Harris

Additional Voices - Brack Reed, Jerron

DJ Frankie Wango - Scott Fata

1984 wasn't just the Presidential election and the Olympics and bustin' ghosts - there were also amazing tales of crimefighting parrots and the raffle for a century-old lobster, where nothing turns out the way you'd expect! This landmark It Happened One Year episode sees Sarah & Joe finally tackle the existence of God, while batting around some of the greatest animal stories in podcast history. And afterward - stick around for a preview of the new scripted episode - Big Bucks, No Whammies - coming June 8th!