Pop Culture Affidavit – Two True Freaks

Remember being in school and the teacher wheeled the TV/VCR cart into the room? You knew that it was going to be the most amazing part of the school day. Well, this time around, I go back through my memories of watching educational films in school. Starting with kids movies and Afterschool Specials in elementary school and up through AIDS education films in high school, I go through the movies I remember the most.

It’s part two of a two-part crossover with Required Reading With Tom and Stella. In part one, we looked at Homer’s The Odyssey. Here, we take another look at The Odyssey, this time looking at the recently released blockbuster movie directed by Christopher Nolan. What did we think of the film? What did we think of the film as an adaptation of The Odyssey? Listen and find out!

Synchronize Swatches!

In 1990, Fox debuted Parker Lewis Can’t Lose, a show about a charming teenager who always seems to get his way.  Comparisons to Ferris Bueller abounded, but the show went beyond that and made the idea its own.  For three seasons, the antics of Parker and his Buds–Mikey and Jerry–along with Kubiak, Shelley, and Principal Musso were unlike any other sitcom.  Join me as a I take a walk through the show by talking about its history, its cast and characters, and some of my favorite moments.

90210, The X-Files, The Simpsons, In Living Color, 21 Jump Street, and … Herman’s Head? Join me this episode as I take a trip back into the late 1980s and the first decade of the Fox network. I go into the network’s origins as well as its early programming (some of which were hits and many of which were not), and then will talk about some of my favorite or most-remembered shows in various genres.

It’s the early ’90s.  It’s my adolesence.  And yes … it’s on Fox!

It’s the most rewritten and confusing backstory in the history of comics. No, not Hawkman. Not The Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver. Not even Jean Grey. It’s Donna Troy.

For this episode, I return to the topic of the Wonder Girl herself by taking a quick look at how her origin has been told and retold, and then do a deep dive into the 2025 Titans annual by Phil Jimenez, which reveals the identity of her father and lays to rest the question of who she really is.

For now, anyway.

In the 1990s and 2000s, VH-1 declared itself “Music First” and began airing original programming. It began with music-related shows and eventually went fully into reality television. But during that time, it was appointment television. For this episode, Amanda joins me to talk about those glory days of VH-1. From Pop Up Video to Behind the Music to Hindsight, we go through the shows we watched, what we remember, and why we miss true music television.

From the DC Vault, it’s the “What If” story that Batman fans had wondered about for years (even though What If is a Marvel book): What if Jason Todd had lived? Join me as I take a look at the alternate version of Batman #428 by Jim Starlin, Jim Aparo, and Mike DeCarlo, and then dive into the miniseries A Death in the Family: Robin Lives! by J.M. DeMatteis and Rick Leonardi.

In 1987, White Water Summer, starring Kevin Bacon and Sean Astin, was released. The movie did poorly in theaters but gained a following on cable and video, becoming a coming-of-age cult classic. This episode, I’m joined by Mark Ray, one of the film’s stuntmen. He talks to me about the movie and his experience filming it.

It’s time for the fifth annual Uncollecting episode.  This time around, I take a look at an episode of the A&E show Hoarders that features a couple named Claire and Vance, whose enormous book collection has taken over their house and their lives.  Then, I look at the “Where are they now” update episode from 13 years later.

At long last, I’m back! And it’s time for the annual coverage of the Baltimore Comic-Con! Join me as I talk about the con experience, meeting up with a number of geek friends, getting signatures from comics creators and actors, and take a walk down artists alley. Plus: listener feedback!