That's Pretty Dark: An '80s & '90s Nostalgia Podcast

By Kalyn Andrews & Christian Baxter Mott | Para PodsTV & Film Society & Culture TV Reviews History

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Typical duration
103 min
per episode

Based on Podcast App listening data

That's Pretty Dark: An '80s & '90s Nostalgia Podcast episodes

October 05 Episode 130 | It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (w/ The Halloween Podcast)
Halloween How-To's, spicy pumpkins, and relentless hope… Oh lawd, it's about to get pretty dark! Join these ‘80s AND ‘90s kids as they wait in the pumpkin patch and share everything from the childhood and career of Charles Schulz to the origin of Peanuts, to a breakdown of America’s first bonafide “Halloween Special.” Intwining their own Halloween memories, this October dream team is characteristically wistful about keeping the spirit of the holiday alive… just like Linus.
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2 hr 24 min
September 18 Episode 129 | AYAOTD S3E1 — The Tale of the Midnight Ride
Headless Horsemen, undying legends, and glowstick Jack-o’-lanterns… Oh lawd, it's about to get pretty dark! Join these ‘90s kids as they discuss their own ghostly happenings, yearn for Halloween dances gone by, and get “a-head” of Spooky Season with one of the oldest and most prevalent American ghost stories – The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. From early Dutch settler lore to revolutionary-era imprints of tragedy, Washington Irving’s Headless Horseman, imparted to us here by the Midnight Society, has held a chilling place in our collective hearts for over two centuries, and seems like the perfect introduction to our sixth Halloween together.
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2 hr 6 min
September 01 Episode 128 | Movie Night — The Sandlot — Part II
Romantic friendships, flashlit faces, and perpetual comings-of-age… Oh lawd, it's about to get pretty dark! Join these ‘90s kids as they round all the bases on this beloved staple. Together, they’ll do s’more reflecting on the “mature themes” and childlike wonder that combined forces to make this film such a classic, take a closer look at the scenes that made multiple generations cheer, shudder, and smile, and get just a lil emotional about the finite nature of life (and baseball). If this Existential Summer is reminding us of one thing, it’s that life goes by way too fast – and we should take chances when they spit on our shoes.
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2 hr 51 min
August 07 Episode 127 | Movie Night — The Sandlot — Part I
Achy Americana, baseball slang, and Benny the Disappearing Jet… Oh lawd, it's about to get pretty dark! Join these ‘90s kids as they wring out whatever magic is left in Existential Summer and step up to the plate at the Sandlot. Writer and director David Mickey Evans hit a home run in nostalgia, and this peek behind the scenes highlights his quest to reframe his own experiences as the new kid on the block. Come bask in 30-year cycles, prime schoolyard insults, and the timelessness of a pre-tech childhood with your Ghost Hosts!
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1 hr 35 min
July 24 Episode 126 | Movie Night — The Land Before Time — Part II
Ducky-isms, banana teeth, and emotional extinction events… Oh lawd, it's about to get pretty dark! Join these ‘90s kids as they take one for the millennial team and journey toward their own Pretty Dark Great Valley, full of dino-racism, prickly tears, and the death of Littlefoot’s mother. This film shaped a generation’s view of life, grief, and loss in ways that most of us are still unpacking… but luckily, we can do it together, armed with dino-facts and thoughts of Norman Bates (don’t ask).
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2 hr 28 min
July 05 Episode 125 | Movie Night — The Land Before Time — Part I
Dinosaur infodumps, paleontological accuracy, and Bambi's Late Jurassic ancestor… Oh lawd, it's about to get pretty dark! Join these ‘90s kids as they tackle the production story behind one of the most emotionally heavy-hitting films they can recall – and learn how it almost hit even heavier. From Spielberg’s original vision, to James Horner’s unmistakable musical imprint, to the late 19th century Bone Wars and their dinosaur naming conventions, there’s more than a century of Lore Before Time to excavate together.
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2 hr 13 min
June 21 Episode 124 | WTF — "Worthless" (from The Brave Little Toaster)
Blue collar blues, nursing homes, and the crushing conveyer belt of existence… Oh lawd, it's about to get pretty dark! Join these ‘90s kids as they flash back to the Brave Little Toaster franchise to break down a song they couldn’t squeeze into their earlier coverage. One of the most existentially charged tracks from their childhoods, they’ve spent years carrying the confusion of the complex, adult references and haunting obsolescence. They’re ready to make it all make sense with and for their Darkling friends, one lyric at a time.
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1 hr 50 min
June 07 Episode 123 | Rugrats — History & ‘What the Big People Do’
Fiery bosses, paper pushers, and infinite Reptar cereal… Oh lawd, it's about to get pretty dark! Join these ‘90s kids as they rewind to the dawn of the Nicktoon and learn how these toddlers were created – and how they managed to teach a generation about growing up. As one of Nickelodeon’s longest running programs, and one of the earliest to reach your Ghost Hosts, Rugrats had a unique opportunity to shape our collective psyche in ways we wouldn’t appreciate for decades. This first trip into the catalog showcases that developmental shift as the kids share a hellish fantasy about the perils of adulthood.
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2 hr 3 min
May 23 Episode 122 | Movie Night — The Ring — Part II (w/ And That’s Why We Drink)
Psychic Photography, vengeful spirits, and Phoebe Bridgers… Oh lawd, it's about to get pretty dark! Join these four ‘90s ParaPods kids (including Em Schulz and Christine Schiefer!) as they wade deeper into the curses and tragedies that made Samara spiral in the first place. Walk with them through the original Japanese cursed videos and novels, compare and contrast their American counterparts, and explore the misogynistic shadows of the Japanese spiritualist movement. Historical context makes The Ring’s trademark echo of hate, revenge, and destruction all the more haunting… and all we know is, society better do a quick 180, lest these patterns ripple and repeat.
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1 hr 56 min
May 09 Episode 121 | Movie Night — The Ring (w/ And That’s Why We Drink)
Sleepwalking parents, Japanese folklore, and viral marketing campaigns… Oh lawd, it's about to get pretty dark! Join these ‘90s kids and two of their podcastin’ heroes as they turn up the horror dial with a millennial classic that shaped the genre as we now know it. Em Schulz brings the FASCINATING history of chain letters, Christine Schiefer shares childhood nightmares that prevent her from watching horror movies to this day, and your Ghost Hosts guide you through the film’s production history and cyclical Japanese ghost stories that inspired it. Though it wasn’t made for children, many of us caught The Ring early in life…. and if you want to heal that “TV trauma,” listen and forward this episode to 10 friends! Or else.
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1 hr 54 min

About That's Pretty Dark: An '80s & '90s Nostalgia Podcast

From the publisher's feed

Here for the '80s & '90s kids who still long for the safe, spooky glow of the TV screen in a dark room, Kalyn Andrews and Christian Baxter Mott take a nostalgic look at the grittier side of the children's entertainment that ruled our adolescence and moulded our generation.