It Happened One Year

The General Cinema at the Viewmont Mall - the original multiplex in Northeastern Pennsylvania - closed for good on January 17th, 2000, after 27 years in operation. There was little fanfare, virtually no publicity, and a few months later the building was leveled to construct a new bookstore. But what was the final day of operations at the Viewmont Cinema actually like? The 7th scripted show from It Happened One Year examines a theater chain on the brink of bankruptcy, longtime employees and parttime youngsters considering their next career moves, nostalgic patrons returning for last showtimes, and a few surprises and Easter eggs from IHOY's past. 

Written & Directed by Joe Cetta

Cast

Clyde - Adam Carpenter

Ruth - Susie Cetta

Maddie - Alex Ferrer

Sonny - Matt Moran

Duane - Nick Perfetto

Heidi - Dina Piepoli Udomsak

Becky - Sarah

John - Joe

Bill - The Batman

Janice/Trailers - Nancy Cohen

James Bond fan - Bear Savo

Officer Mike Burns/Trailers - David Munchak

Officer Bob McCann - Brent Hutchins

Lisa - Sam McChuri

Paul - Evander Kelly

Annie - Abigail Perfetto

Zachary - Eamon Kelly

Diane - Amanda Kelly

Additional Voices/Trailers - Jon Deiner, Angie Buonincontro, Lana Cooper, Dave Gardon

Trailers - Eileen Linnabery, Brack Reed, Jennifer Nack

Additional Voices - Michael Buonincontro

Having already covered the NFL for this season last September, as well as the WNBA and golf along the way, It Happened One Year chose to tackle the rest of the sports calendar in 2000! And so, listen as Sarah & Joe tackle everything from the NBA to the Iditarod, MLB's Subway Series to the World Series of Poker, the America's Cup to the Kentucky Derby, and much much more! Then, our intrepid hosts make their yearly wacky picks for the upcoming NFL season, plus how the 2026 baseball playoffs are almost certainly just a Chicago affair. 

Ushering in the era of the multi-plex in Northeast Pennsylvania, the General Cinema at the Viewmont Mall was the premiere moviegoing experience for a generation. Three screens! And two more added before the end of the 1970s! But by 2000, the theater had become a forgotten relic, and the entire GC chain was on the verge of bankruptcy, ultimately leading to its closure on a frigid Martin Luther King Jr. day in January. The Mighty IHOY Players - that illustrious group of audio actors - bring turn-of-the-century NEPA to life in a tale full of nostalgia, whimsy, popcorn, romance, sex, drugs, and Rob Schneider. Tune back in on September 15th to hear the full story - The Last Viewmont Cinema Picture Show!

No bigger way to kick off another thousand years than to revisit the man behind all the calendar hijinks himself - Jesus, airing on CBS in May of 2000! From its wild casting choices to its place in the grand run of biblical TV films of the era, Sarah & Joe dive into a freewheeling dissection of the Italian-American co-production. Were we cheated out of a much bigger career for titular portrayer Jeremy Sisto? How in the world did they get Gary Oldman to appear in this thing? Is Jacqueline Bisset too historically hot to play Mary, the mother of God? Is Debra Messing's makeup the true MVP of the film? There is a lot to get into, and a lot to avoid, in any religious conversation between the hosts, and they don't always succeed. You should expect no less from an It Happened One Year discussion!

Recorded amidst the booms and bombast of the country's yearly bacchanalia, Sarah & Joe took time away from the hot dogs to discuss the Jackass franchise, which began its unlikely quarter-century run in October of 2000! From the relatively short-lived, hugely-popular TV show through the five film series with many random products and guest shots and spinoffs along the way, Jackass has been a consistent 21st century presence whether you like it or not - and some politicians and advocates have made their bones by being self-aggrandizingly opposed to the group's brand of comedy. All this and more discussed to exaggerated length in this rare foray into Ultra-Violent-Hilarity Corner! 

Welcome back to full tilt speculative corner here on It Happened One Year! This episode clearly should've been released much sooner, given how much has happened to the 2026 White Sox since this recording - while February 2nd, 2000 baby Munetaka Murakami's career on the South Side has had more ups than downs (even as he currently languishes on the DL). Listen as Sarah & Joe give late-April predictions on how this season will play out, a recap of Murakami's slugging prowess in Japanese baseball, who will still be on Chicago's South Side squad come the end of the year, favorite in-stadium baseball memories, and more! 

On November 2nd, 2000, human beings signed the lease and got their mail forwarded to 250 miles above the Earth's surface, and they've been up there ever since! Listen as Sarah & Joe stumble-bum their way through the facts and figures connected to the International Space Station - from the long history of post-lunar landing stations in orbit around the Earth to the onrushing plans to dump the entire ISS in the drink off the coast of Formosa! Much time is spent discussing the toilet habits of these intrepid pioneers south of the Van Allen belt, and speculation on the future of the domestic space program and what the astronauts get up to in their spare hours. Fun!

The year 2000 ushered in the end of the 20th century, and the end of one of the most popular comic strips in history, as the world bid farewell to Peanuts and its creator, Charles Schulz. Sarah & Joe take a trip through the comic's long history - from newspapers to movies to television specials to video games - discussing their scattershot memories, their beloved artifacts from the franchise (mostly the Christmas special and the Royal Guardsmen), and talk through a few lawsuits, the characters' enduring popularity, and the psychological makeup of the Peanuts world.

Golf corner! A rare one here on It Happened One Year! Listen as Sarah & Joe hack their way through the legendary 2000 U.S. Open held in Pebble Beach, when Tiger Woods hung a beating on the competition that has never been equaled! Side stories detail the Tiger Slam, the bizarre circumstances around Payne Stewart's death, a previous record set in 1862 by Old Tom Morris himself, and more. And then, the salacious, grandiose unraveling of Tiger Woods life and career, bringing us straight up to the present day! Mistresses! Bogeys! DUIs! Fran Tarkenton cameos! 

The #1 news story of 2000 not directly connected to the presidential election was the harrowing journey and legal struggles of six year old Elian Gonzalez, and It Happened One Year is there! Listen as Sarah & Joe navigate their way through the history of 20th century Cuban politics, the key figures in the custodial battle, the general buffoonery of the state of Florida, the outstanding SNL comedy that rode the story's coattails, and much more!