Now We Know

The boys are back with the fifth installment of their populist darling series, Commercials of the 80s and 90s. From rappin' Flintstones, to the sttely commands of the Bop-It!, to the unholy union of Michael Jordan and McDonald's, Kevin and Chris pour over 18 more memorable commercials from the annals of their youths.

(Programming note: If you're confused — "Volume 5!? Where's Volume 4?" you ask, hands shaking, sweat pouring down your face, feet rapidly turning cold as ice — that episode, released earlier this year, is on our subscriber feed! Check it out today, as well as all our other bonus content, at patreon.com/nowweknow)

There can be only two! Two hosts, that is! Also, two Highlander movies as of the year 1991. Departing boldly from the plot and canon of the original film, yet nonetheless featuring returning co-stars Christopher Lambert and Sean Connery, Highlander 2 sends our beloved sword-wielding boys from Earth, to the Planet Zeist, and back again! Remember your home... another galaxy!

As fast as a streaking comet—its majestic tail slowly fading into a dark, night sky—baseball season is already very nearly over. As such, Chris decided to trot out the last remaining baseball movie of his youth for Kevin to behold: 1994's Little Big League, starring Luke Edwards, a.k.a the wizard from The Wizard. Also featuring Timothy Busfield, Jason Robards, Dennis Farina, Chris "deux deux deuxs" Berman, and a particularly odious turn by Jonathan Silverman.

PROGRAMMING NOTE: This is NOT the movie where a kid pitches in the major leagues! That's 1993's Rookie Of The Year. In this one, the kid's the manager.

In remembrance of its recently deceased director, Wolfgang Petersen, Kevin and Chris revisit a towering classic of 80's childrens' cinema: The NeverEnding Story. The boys are joined by professor, podcaster, and bon vivant Dr. Ian Werkheiser to talk Bux, Atreyu, Artax, Bux's dad (and whether he should have been played by John Cleese), and a cast of thousands!

Callooh, callay, it's Felix The Cat day! Deep from the recesses of Chris' memory comes this late 80's theatrical revival of the beloved children's cartoon classic. Our favorite magic bag-wielding cat had been on hiatus for a while prior to this release—29 years, to be exact—so you can rest assured they put every ounce of their blood, sweat, and talent into this thing. Feat. Princess Oriana, The Duke of Zill, and Wack Lizardi.

Get ready, webslingers! It's time for a 1977 Spider-Man film—which also served as a feature-length pilot for the shortlived CBS live-action series—which Kevin has graciously brought before the Now We Know magisterium. How does it hold up? We couldn't possibly spoil the surprise.

Somehow, Gene Kelly returned. That's right, America's preeminent song and dance man finally got his big screen swansong in Xanadu, the 1980 Olivia Newton-John-as-a-muse musical that was a hell of a lot more successful as an album than a movie. Kevin and Chris are joined by first-time guest Hilary for a songful saunter to Kubla Khan's stately pleasure dome.

In the early 90's, with the golden era of The Simpsons in full swing, Fox's rival networks were desperate to devise counterprogramming to bridge a seemingly insurmountable ratings and cultural impact gap. They failed miserably with a pair of evening cartoons made for basically nobody, Fish Police and Capitol Critters. Plus: a side of Scorch, starring the titular dragon puppet Scorch, also featuring Seinfeld's J. Peterman himself, John O'Hurley.

Join Kevin and Chris on a trip into the annals of Canadian animation with Rock and Rule, a 1983 sci-fi dystopian flick featuring the vocal talents of Debbie Harry, Iggy Pop, Lou Reed, and Don Francks as deranged super rocker/demonic summoner Mok. This was Canada's first-ever English language animated feature, produced by Nelvana—you know, they of the stately polar bear—and it hauled in a whopping... $30,000 at the box office. Did it deserve better? Time to find out!