Grab your ugly sweaters and a thermos of spiked eggnog, because we’re plunging headfirst into 18 Rankin/Bass Christmas specials—those gloriously weird, stop-motion nightmares that somehow became holiday icons (and childhood trauma)!

From Rudolph’s questionable red nose to penguins with more attitude than Santa’s elves on overtime, we unpack every yuletide oddity, including:

• Puppet designs so bizarre they’d make Tim Burton say, “Uh… maybe not.”
• Voice actors channeling pure holiday magic (or just desperately trying to get paid)
• Plot twists twisted tighter than Aunt Marge’s Christmas tinsel after three rounds of fruitcake
• Sequels that nobody asked for but we’ll review anyway, because holiday misery loves company
• Holiday clichés flipped on their heads harder than a reindeer on ice
• Santa Claus lore so weird you’ll wonder if Kris Kringle’s been hitting the nog a little too hard
• Sidekicks ranging from sassy penguins who should’ve gotten their own Netflix specials to talking donkeys who really need a career change

We’ll make you laugh, cringe, and maybe question your entire childhood—and possibly your taste in animation—while riding this sleigh through puppetry gone wild, song parodies that sound like Santa’s karaoke night, and moments so bizarre they belong in the North Pole’s secret vault of “What were they thinking?”

Warning: May cause sudden urges to rewatch Rudolph with a cocktail in hand and an eye twitch! Prepare for chaos, nostalgia, and enough holiday weirdness to jingle your bells off! Ho ho hold onto your candy canes—this is one jolly rollercoaster you don’t want to miss!

1. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

2. Cricket on the Hearth

3. The Little Drummer Boy

4. Frosty the Snowman

5. Santa Claus is Comin' To Town

6. 'Twas the Night Before Christmas

7. The Year Without a Santa Claus

8. The First Christmas

9. Frosty's Winter Wonderland

10. Rudolph's Shiny New Year

11. The Little Drummer Boy, Book II

12. Nestor, The Long-Eared Christmas Donkey

13. The Stingiest Man in Town

14. Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July

15. Jack Frost

16. Pinocchio's Christmas

17. The Leprechaun's Christmas Gold

18. The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus

Welcome back to The Penny Men, where “so bad it’s good” is just the start! In this sequel session, Ben, Gregory, and Tom keep the cinematic confessions rolling, from animated oddities to misunderstood blockbusters!

We’re talking:

• Flight of Dragons – Rankin/Bass wizard wars, dragon encyclopedias, and James Earl Jones as evil Magneto-in-a-robe
• Comedy sequel safety net – Wayne’s World 2, Ghostbusters II, Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey, Dumb & Dumber the cartoon, and the Home Alone multiverse
• Cult cartoon corner – Wish Kid, Eek! the Cat, Terrible Thunderlizards, Better Off Dead, Three Stooges pie-throw stats
• Underrated oddballs – The Shadow, Dick Tracy, Rocketeer, Mystery Men, Man Who Knew Too Little
• Animated treasures – Three Caballeros, Little Nemo in Slumberland, and Don Rosa’s duck diplomacy

Plus:

• Space opera spectacle with Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets
• The Phantom Menace defense (Jar Jar and all)
• The George Lucas / Dan Aykroyd “someone please edit me” theory
• Flintstones live-action, Jetsons wishcasting, and why Carpool is perfect ’90s chaos
• When cult status comes late (Dark Crystal, Willy Wonka, It’s a Wonderful Life)

If you like your nostalgia weird, your blockbusters messy, and your animation segments ending with “and then he wakes up,” this is your kind of bad!

Welcome back to The Penny Men, where the popcorn’s stale, the critics are wrong, and guilty pleasures get their day in court! This week, Ben, Gregory, and Tom champion the cinematic underdogs — the ones you love, the ones they hate, the ones you can’t quite explain!

We’re talking:

• Disney’s Black Hole – killer robots, middle-aged astronauts, and a trippy, cosmic ending no one saw coming
• Alien from L.A. – Kathy Ireland, squeaky voice, smoky dystopia, and a dad-lost-underground plot that somehow works
• Buckaroo Banzai – physicist, rock star, race car driver… spy? Why not?
• Matrix sequels – love ’em or hate ’em, they’re bursting with lore, AIs, and unexpected curveballs
• Cult comfort food – Night of the Comet, Blues Brothers 2000, Beverly Hills Teens, Gremlins 2, and more

Plus:

• NES nostalgia (River City Ransom, Empire Strikes Back)
• One-shot-kill video game challenges (Max Payne, Tomb Raider)
• Jack Kirby’s 2001: A Space Odyssey comic
• The Beverly Hills Teens intro on loop
• “Good, bad” vs. “bad, good” movie taxonomy

It’s part film court, part pop culture treasure hunt, and part “remember that one scene…?” If you’ve ever said, “It’s terrible — I love it,” welcome home!

Welcome to The Penny Men, where the fossils are fresh and the facts are foggy! This week, your three favorite non-paleontologists take a big bite out of dinosaur media! From the silent roars of Gertie the Dinosaur to the Cretaceous chaos of Jurassic Park, Gregory, Tom, and Ben chronicle the prehistoric parade of dinos on screen, in comics, and deep in the toy aisle!

We're talking stop-motion legends, lava-lamp lava pits, Land Before Time sequels (all 19?), dino-themed wrestlers, Power Rangers trivia, and that one William Katt movie nobody remembers! Whether it's puppets, pixels, or poorly dubbed pterodactyls, if it has a tail and teeth, it made it into this episode!

Plus:

• Dinobots
• Devil Dinosaur
• Dink the Little Dinosaur
• And a very confused discussion about Animorphs

It’s a prehistoric pop culture rampage—and it’s all off the top of our fossilized heads!

Still hungry? Sink your teeth into:

• The Dino Riders toy line (and its baffling backstory)
• A surprisingly in-depth ranking of every cinematic T. rex
• Hanna-Barbera’s Valley of the Dinosaurs vs. Denver the Last Dinosaur
• The era-defining chaos of Cadillacs and Dinosaurs
• Why Tom thinks dinosaurs should be allowed to vote

Episode sponsored by: Was (Not Was), the official band of The Penny Men!

Everybody walk the dinosaur!

Welcome back to The Penny Men, where the Moblins are multiplying and the timelines are diverging! This week, we’re pulling out our Master Swords and diving headfirst into Hyrule for an epic, full-length breakdown of The Legend of Zelda—the games, the lore, the cartoons, the CD-i disasters, and whether or not this thing could actually work as a movie!

Join Tom, Gregory, and Ben as they dodge Tektites, ride the Wind Fish, and debate the best game of all time (spoiler: it keeps changing)! Tom takes on the role of Zelda professor emeritus, guiding us through 40 years of rupees, masks, and alternate timelines! Gregory reveals his hidden past as the Crazy Door Opener, and Ben defends Majora’s Mask with all the strength of the Triforce of Opinions!

In this quest:

• 8-bit swordplay and Atari childhoods
• From top-down classics to open-world masterpieces
• Which Link reigns supreme?
• “Excuuuuuse me, princess!” – and other cartoons that shaped a generation
• Just how many Zeldas are there?
• And finally, our pitches for the inevitable Legend of Zelda movie (yes, we go there)

Whether you're a lifelong Hylian or just trying to find the next dungeon, this episode is your Cucco-dodging deep dive into Nintendo’s most mythic franchise! Ganon better watch his back!

It’s dangerous to go alone! Listen to this!

Welcome back to the Super Mario Memory Zone, where the pipes are leaky, the accents are dubious, and the opinions come flying faster than a blue shell on Rainbow Road! This time, it’s all about The Super Mario Bros. Movie—yes, the 2023 one—and the Penny Men have thoughts!

We’re talking Pratt, Peach, Bowser’s piano ballads, and whether or not the whole thing should’ve been live-action again (just kidding... maybe)! Gregory dissects the Mushroom Kingdom city planning, Ben wants to know why the penguins were so angry, and resident Mario scholar Tom brings out the big canon—decades of knowledge, deep cuts, and strong feelings about the Koopa family tree!

This episode contains:

• One sprawling Mario timeline
• A few tears for Captain Lou Albano
• Strong opinions on whether Yoshi should ever talk
• A heated debate over which Mario voice reigns supreme

Bonus: Is it a kids’ movie? A Nintendo commercial? A perfect cinematic artifact of our time? Yes! No! Maybe!

🍄 Featuring:

• 3 nostalgic hosts
• 1 Mario expert
• 0 Charles Martinet monologues

It’s-a us! And we have questions!

Welcome back to The Penny Men, where universes collide, timelines contradict, and the canon is… negotiable! In this high-velocity sequel to our shared-universe deep dive, Ben, Tom, and Gregory double down on the multiversal madness, chasing the tangled vines of the Donkey Kong–Mario–Banjo–Conker extended family tree until it loops back through Captain N, Saturday morning cartoons, and possibly your breakfast cereal!

We’re talking warp pipes as dimensional portals, New Donk City as Earth-Prime-with-bigger-hats, and why Larry Bird might be the keystone holding the whole Nintendo continuity together! From Mario Party cake lore to Yoshi Island time paradoxes, from Punch-Out referee gigs to Smash Bros “toybox” rules, it’s a chaotic flowchart of what’s canon, what’s “actor rules,” and what’s just a fever dream starring Inspector Gadget!

Continuity Conundrums Covered:

• New Donk City: Real city or Mushroom Kingdom backlot?
• Baby Mario paradox: native of the Mushroom Kingdom or Brooklyn transplant?
• The Game Boy Valiant comics: two Marios or just one portable gig?
• Captain N rules vs. Smash Bros rules vs. “Mickey Mouse actor” rules
• Does DK age in Earth time or Mushroom Kingdom time — and what does that do to Cranky Kong?

Crossovers & Connections We Absolutely Didn’t Make Up:

• Crash Bandicoot + Spyro + Skylanders + Donkey Kong + Bowser
• Sonic comics → Archie → Punisher → Predator → Kiss → Ramones
• Nicktoons fighting game: Spongebob + Avatar + Ninja Turtles + CatDog + Invader Zim
• Sky-high sports web: NBA Jam + ProStars + Bird vs. Jordan + Captain N Larry Bird
• Shonen Jump all-stars punching out of their own manga into someone else’s plot

One-Liners from the Multiverse Frontlines:

• “If Mike Tyson’s in your game, that’s not Mike Tyson — that’s Mr. Dream wearing a Mike Tyson mask.”
• “Banjo’s in one jungle, DK’s in another, Mario’s in a third… and they all require different warp technology.”
• “The Mario Party cake might be canon — but only if it’s also Peach’s birthday cake from Mario 64.”
• “Wario’s an in-universe backdoor pilot, Waluigi’s just a desperate casting choice.”
• “Every timeline works differently… but they all work, somehow.”

Hour two of Audible Death Glare is where the rabbit hole meets the warp pipe — and we may never climb out!

Welcome back to The Penny Men, where universes overlap, backdoor pilots sneak in, and the facts are fuzzier than a Yoshi after a sugar rush! This week, Ben, Tom, and Gregory peel back the curtain on shared universes and backdoor pilots — those sly spin-off setups hiding inside your favorite shows, games, and cartoons!

From Happy Days launching Mork & Mindy to Donkey Kong spawning Mario, we dive into the sprawling Nintendo multiverse! Mario, DK, Banjo, Conker, Wario, Yoshi — and even Sonic crashing the party at the Olympics! Cameos, crossovers, and confused timelines abound!

Whether it’s Smash Bros-level mashups or layered actor-versus-character realities, this episode is your backstage pass to pop culture’s most tangled webs!

Top Backdoor Pilots & Spin-Offs Explored:

• Happy Days → Laverne & Shirley → Mork & Mindy
• Perfect Strangers → Family Matters
• All in the Family → The Jeffersons → Maude → Good Times
• Donkey Kong → Mario Bros. → Wario Land → Yoshi’s Island
• Diddy Kong Racing → Banjo-Kazooie → Conker’s Bad Fur Day

Notable Shared Universe Cameos & Crossovers:

• Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (multiverse or neighborhood block party?)
• Super Mario Bros. Super Show meets WWF, Ghostbusters, Inspector Gadget
• Mario RPG cameo sleepover: Link & Samus snoozing awkwardly together
• Namco’s crossover webcomic shenanigans: Dig Dug, Tekken, Pac-Man all in the mix
• Capcom vs. SNK, Smash Bros., and the ultimate video game multiverse mashup

One-Liners to Drop at Your Next Game Night:

• “Mario wasn’t just jumping barrels, he was jumping into a whole new franchise!”
• “Donkey Kong gave us a backdoor pilot before backdoor pilots were cool.”
• “Smash Bros is less a crossover and more a family reunion gone wild.”
• “Sonic crashing the Mario Olympics? That’s one way to break the space-time continuum.”

Hop on the warp pipe and join us as we map the wild, weird, and wonderfully interconnected worlds of video game and TV spin-offs!

Welcome back to the only podcast where six means chaos and “sinister” means hilarious! In Part 2 of our Sinister Six spectacular, the rosters are finally revealed — and the results are a whiplash-inducing rollercoaster through Spider-Man’s best, worst, and “wait, who?” moments!

Alliances are forged, feuds are reignited, and poor Peter Parker is about to have the worst week of his life! We’re talking Aunt May kidnappings, Bugle headline disasters, symbiote slime trails, and at least one villain whose entire plan hinges on roller skates!

Highlights from the carnage include:

• Gregory’s Murderers’ Row: A precision mix of legacy villains, deep-cut absurdities, and one character whose only power is vaguely threatening posture
• Tom’s Chaos Machine: A line-up so structurally unstable it could only work if half the team betrays the other half before lunch
• Ben’s Symbiote Salad: Too many goo monsters, not enough paper towels
• Guest Wild Cards: The return of The Wall, a mid-tier goblin nobody remembers, and an appearance by Frog-Man that even he doesn’t understand!

And because no Penny Men episode is complete without unnecessary overkill, we’ve got:

• Goblin-on-goblin violence
• Two villains competing to see who can monologue the longest
• An unexpected musical number from Hypno-Hustler
• The tragic downfall of Big Wheel (again)
• One honest-to-goodness fight over the definition of “sinister”

By the end, only one roster will be crowned the Ultimate Sinister Six — but all of them will live forever in our hearts, our nightmares, and Spider-Man’s insurance premiums!

Welcome back to the show where the lineups get legendary, the ground rules get wobbly, and the Spidey canon gets absolutely ransacked! This week, the Penny Men are assembling their own Sinister Six — six members, one original, five wild cards!

It’s a buffet of bad guys: mad scientists, evil magicians, alien symbiotes, cybernetic bird-men, professional bowlers, and a guy who is literally just a wall! We’ve got Doc Ock duking it out with Doctor Bong, Hobgoblin sharing a glider with Hobgoblin 2099, Mysterio swapping helmet-cleaning tips with Fishbowl Jr., and Kraven the Hunter getting mad he didn’t make the cut!

Expect:

• Aunt May in peril
• J. Jonah Jameson’s blood pressure spiking
• Ben Reilly’s sweaters making a comeback
• At least three different people screaming “PARKER!” at the same time!

We’re pulling in deep cuts from comics, cartoons, video games, toy shelves, and fever dreams — Hydro-Man, Shocker, Hammerhead, The Kangaroo, Big Wheel, Stegron the Dinosaur Man, and, yes, The Hypno-Hustler!

And for the completists out there, here’s just a fraction of the roster chaos:

• Goblin Overload: Green Goblin, Hobgoblin, Demogoblin, Proto-Goblin, and that guy from the 90s cartoon who might have been a goblin but no one’s sure
• Animal Kingdom Rejects: Rhino, Vulture, Scorpion, Tarantula, Puma, Grizzly, and one very lost Howard the Duck
• The “Is This Even Canon?” Crew: The Wall, Typeface, Big Wheel, Spot, White Rabbit, and a guy who just throws pies
• Too Many Symbiotes: Venom, Carnage, Toxin, Riot, Lasher, Scream, and that one from the Lego set that doesn’t have a name
• Special Guest Villains: Kangaroo, Rocket Racer, Hypno-Hustler, Frog-Man (he’s technically not a villain, but try telling him that), and The Looter

Four rosters enter, but only one walks away with the coveted title of “Most Likely to Ruin Spider-Man’s Day”! It’s chaos, it’s crossover madness, and it’s the eternal question: how many goblins is too many goblins?