Season 5 Episode Guide

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Episode 093: Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!

Cold Open:
Crying at movies
It’s a Wonderful Life and Schindler’s List

Gift:
Rory’s Story Cubes

Craig’s Background LP:
The Cramps “Smell of Female”

Show notes:
• New credits sequence
• For the second season in a row we watch a Russ Meyer film
• Craig creates a bizarre incoherent story with the story cubes
• A real life pussycat makes his presence known during the intro to the film
• Craig shouts out Hall of Fame member: Screaming
• There is a montage of choice quotes from the film
• “Large Breasts and Curious Angles” – what should have been the title of Russ Meyer’s autobiography
• “This movie murders Tab Hunter and terrorizes Gidget”
• Matt introduces the new show: Welcome to the Basement: Unboxing”

Seen It:
“Romance”
West Side Story
Black Orpheus
The Apartment
Annie Hall

Closing Credits:
Matt and Craig riff on the Mission Impossible theme song

Ernesto Stinger:
“You’re bagged out with sauce!”

Episode 094: The Notebook

Cold Open:
Oscars 2016
Leonardo Dicaprio and The Revenant, Amy Winehouse and a cat named Cecil.

Gift:
Chocolates

Craig’s Background LP:
David Bowie “Hunky Dory”

Show notes:
• Craig mentions Nicholas Sparks in the cold open, not knowing we will be watching a movie based on one of his novels.
• Matt refuses to use the term “Chick Flick,” so he makes Craig say it whenever necessary. Craig: “I will patronize women for the show”
• Several references are made to Ryan Gosling’s “ugliness”
• Matt fakes Craig out by making him think that his gift is a notebook, when in fact it is a box of chocolates.
• “Russ Meyer presents: “Dog Patch! Kill! Kill!”
• “Zorro, the Gay Blade” is continually referenced throughout the episode
• “Skyrockets not in flight! Afternoon nap! O-oh, afternoon nap!”
• A Bill Cosby reference makes Craig sad.
• “Lumber-sluts.”
• Stu makes an appearance as a past lover of the mother.
• Craig rewrites the ending of the movie.
• Craig accidentally uses the word “horror” instead of “romance.” Matt delves. Craig tells his “Notebook Story.”
• Matt acts out a scene from “The Danish Girl”
• Craig and Matt disagree on “The Big Short”

Seen It:
“Oscars 2016”
The Martian
Ex Machina
The Danish Girl
The Big Short

Closing Credits:
The Tale of “Flat Stanley”

Ernesto Stinger:
“I’ve succeeded as gloriously as anyone who ever lived”

Episode 095: Marty

Cold Open:
Oscar “predictions” (Guaranteed 100% accurate)
Matt and Craig take non-committal stabs at the winners (with helpful graphics from the future)

Gift:
Yo-Yo

Craig’s Background LP:
Iggy Pop “The Idiot”

Show notes:
• Our first Best Picture Oscar winner on the show
• Ray Milland and his bat make another appearance
• Paddy Chayevsky’s third appearance on our show (Previously in Paint Your Wagon and Altered States)
• Stu is mentioned but does not appear
• Doc Brown makes a brief appearance, telling Marty that he needs to go back in time to accept his Oscar
• Craig makes a very tasteless “milk” joke – for which he immediately apologizes
• Marty’s sordid past as the goat-faced leader of a Satanic cult is mentioned (The Devil’s Rain, Episode 086)
• Marty quotes new-wave artist Gary Numan
• Craig threatens to kill Marty
• “He goes running through the street, like a Gene Kelly who doesn’t know how to dance”
• Seen It “2015 Also-rans” accidentally features an Oscar winner (Spectre)
• Matt questions the need for more James Bond movies
• Matt challenges Craig to “give” him a movie for the next episode. It must contain at least three things that would personally appeal to Matt

Seen It:
2015 Also-rans
The End of the Tour
Spectre
The Wolfpack
Love and Mercy

Closing Credits:
Craig demonstrates yo-yo skills

Ernesto Stinger:
“Hey Marty! Hey Marty!”

Episode 096: Roar

Cold Open:
Matt recounts a dream that features Craig and composer Paul Williams
Craig’s dream interpretation involves Camus’ “The Plague”

Gift:
The movie

Craig’s Background LP:
Michael Jackson “Thriller”

Show notes:
• Craig brings Matt a movie as a birthday present. The three things about it that appeal to Matt: It has cats, no animal cruelty and it’s “absolutely bonkers”
• Craig quotes Katy Perry
• “I can haz human cheezburger?”
• Craig and Matt both struggle with big cat terminology
• Tiger attacks prompt Life of Pi and Frosted Flakes references
• “Doom closets”
• The Thriller gatefold is opened for the discussion, showing the little tiger cub inside
• Craig has a cold
• Seen it Abroad was recorded while Craig was vacationing in Costa Rica and Matt was in Hawaii. It features movies about traveling
• Matt mixes up Time After Time with the Christopher Reeve film Somewhere in Time
• Craig demonstrates his admiration of character actor Charles Martin Smith, or “Big CMS” as he puts it

Seen It:
(Abroad – with music and title screen)
Lost in Translation
Up In The Air
Time After Time
Starman

Closing Credits:
Matt and Craig sing Reggae (poorly)

Ernesto Stinger:
“These stupid lions are frightening me!”

Episode 097: Left Behind

Cold Open:
Matt’s brush with fame: Jason Sudeikis
“The bubbler”

Gift:
Joshua (Bible Spirit Warriors Action Figure)

Craig’s Background LP:
Johnny Cash “Hymns”

Show notes:
• The first movie featuring “real life crazy person” Nicolas Cage
• Buck Williams: Investigative Journalist
• Matt terribly impersonates Nicolas Cage multiple times
• Cecil makes an unexpected appearance with a gift
• The cheesy sound effect from the movie is used throughout the summary
• “It’s simply rapture-licious”

Seen It:
“Tearjerkers”
Field of Dreams
The Straight Story
Braveheart
The Green Mile

Closing Credits:
The Left Behind slow jam

Ernesto Stinger:
“You want to know how I drive? How I reach the urinal?”

Episode 098: The Conqueror

Cold Open:
Christian concerns about Left Behind
Why you shouldn’t skip our show if you are not interested in the movie

Gift:
“Mongolian” battle fork

Craig’s Background LP:
Black Sabbath: “Paranoid”

Show notes:
• Matt dedicates the episode to his Dad, a big John Wayne fan
• Craig dares to call John Wayne by his given name
• “You can’t make a movie about Genghis Khan without addressing the rapacious elephant in the room”
• A black panther is killed and Cecil the cat is traumatized
• “Jamuga-Jamuga-Jamuga!”
• Craig takes unbrage with the word “perfidy” – even denying its existence
• Craig and Matt solicit the audience to ask about the film The Assassin for a future Seen It
• Matt misidentifies the band that does the Repo Man cover of “Pablo Picasso”

Seen It:
(80s Cable Roundup)
Repo Man
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
Running Scared
Short Circuit

Closing Credits:
“Vulture Morsels”

Ernesto Stinger:
“I greet you, my mother!”

Episode 099: Slap Shot

Cold Open:
Which actor would you bring back from the dead to make one more movie?
John Belushi’s Patch Adams

Gift:
Award Trophy

Craig’s Background LP:
Merle Haggard “Mama Tried”

Show notes:
• Matt figures out the theme of April: Oscar-winning leading men. Nicolas Cage, John Wayne and Paul Newman
• M. Emmet Walsh is still not dead
• Craig decides to adorn his award with the words “You did it”
• “The Chiefs are losing to the Presidents, just like during the Trail of Tears”
• “Chekhov’s Oggie”
• Craig takes a cynical view of sports competition
• Craig busts out a competent Richard Nixon impersonation (and Dan Hedaya shout-out)
• Craig threatens to do a striptease but then chickens out
• Matt decides to let the audience choose the movie for Episode #100

Seen It:
(Seen It, Read It)
The Fantastic Mr. Fox
Ironweed
Of Mice and Men
Noah

Closing Credits:
Matt persistently quotes an obscure Beatles B-side

Ernesto Stinger:
“I’m listening to the f**in’ song!”

Episode 100: Akira Kurosawa’s Dreams

Cold Open:
Matt goes to the film festival
The no-budget British film “Aaaaaaaaah!”

Gift:
Magic 8-ball

Craig’s Background LP:
Prince “Purple Rain”

Show notes:
• Our one hundredth episode! As we did for the 50th episode, we chose the movie based on an audience suggestion. The movie was chosen by viewer Kenneth Rountree
• Matt recalls a few films that he put on his first “to watch” movie list back in 1990 (including Dreams). He still has not watched any of them
• Craig gets meta with a magic 8-ball
• “Warner Brosephs”
• Craig attempts a rendition of Roy Orbison’s “In Dreams” but Matt cuts him off
• Matt recounts a nightmare where he died in the dream. He questions the very existence of Welcome To The Basement
• We do a little unscheduled unboxing to demonstrate how unboxing is done. The resulting gift is The Soft Boys’ “Underwater Moonlight.”
• Matt and Craig don’t take audience suggestions for Seen It, rather they choose movies that they’ve seen and hated.
• Matt imagines a screening of Martin and Orloff, involving a strongman and a sack of flour
• At the end of the episode, Matt and Craig’s professional relationship nearly cracks under the strain

Seen It:
“Seen It, Hate It” (that old bilious favorite)
(Matt and Craig choose the Seen Its”
The Congress
Away We Go
Martin and Orloff
Jean-Luc Godard’s King Lear

Closing Credits:
Scenes from a funeral

Ernesto Stinger:
“The sun! It compels me to paint!”

Episode 101: The Battleship Potemkin

Cold Open:
Truth vs. fiction in films
“The degree to which a movie is good is the degree to which it makes you not notice or not care how fake it is”

Gift:
“Craigo” belt buckle

Craig’s Background LP:
The Ramones “Rocket to Russia”

Show notes:
• Matt’s basement is littered with detritus
• “Dash cam videos are the only true form of cinema”
• The first Russian movie to be screened in the basement
• Matt reveals that Tarkovsky’s Stalker will not be watched on this show because it is too long
• Craig’s porn title: “Butts and Hips Potemkin”
• Channing Tatum makes an unexpected appearance in this 1925 film. He is determined to be a vampire or some other kind of immortal
• Isaac Hayes “The Battleship Funk-temkin” (courtesy of Wayne Dorrington)
• Craig tries to raise a mutiny in the basement, Ernesto is not interested
• Matt and Craig talk about The Assassin, a Seen It they solicited from the audience a few episodes back
• Matt reads a review of 1941 that he wrote on his Myspace blog back in 2006
• Matt announces that June will feature two animated films and that Craig will pick both of them

Seen It:
(At the Theatre)
The Assassin
Hail Caesar
1941
Life is Beautiful

Closing Credits:
The dramatic film score causes Matt and Craig to transform into donkeys

Ernesto Stinger:
(Orchestral flourish)

Episode 102: Batman: Mask of the Phantasm

Cold Open:
Movie titles that are bad
Craig’s favorite movie title

Gift:
Book: “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight”

Craig’s Background LP:
Tom Waits: “Nighthawks at the Diner”

Show notes:
• Viewer Nick D’Angelo dubs animation month “Cartoon June”
• Craig and Matt don’t like running
• Our 5th movie with an actor who played Alfred Pennyworth (Alan Napier, Michael Gough, Jeremy Irons, Michael Caine and Efram Zimbalist, Jr) but only the 1st appearance of the actual character Alfred Pennyworth.
• Matt continually mis-identifies the Phantasm as “The Phantom.” Craig corrects him
• Stu makes an appearance as a mafia goon
• Matt has trouble reading his notes
• Craig describes cartoon sex in alternately amusing and disturbing detail
• Matt mentions “The poo-poo water” for the second time since Episode 077: Dungeons and Dragons
• Matt shows off some treasures from his Batman comics collection
• Matt and Craig have differing takes on what happens after “The Batmobile lost its wheel.”
• There is a short debate on the possible existence of the male version of “Barista”
• Craig eulogizes his deceased pooch, Angel

Seen It:
(“Craig Hasn’t Seen It”)
Inherent Vice
Jimi: All Is By My Side
I Want Someone To Eat Cheese With
The Interview

Closing Credits:
Craig is tortured by smooth jazz

Ernesto Stinger:
“Is my shirt too big or is that my flesh crawling?”

Episode 103: My Neighbor Totoro

Cold Open:
Hamburgers vs. Movies (The Lifetime movie Ring of Fire)
Craig’s greasy burger: Summer School

Gift:
Japanese Candy

Craig’s Background LP:
The Beatles” “Magical Mystery Tour”

Show notes:
• Craig performs more terrible vocal warm-ups. He also flubs the introduction of the movie
• Craig pays tribute to Jessica H. who sent us a beautiful piece of art from the Ghibli museum the previous month
• “Who lives in a huge rabbit hole? A huge rat!”
• Craig dubs cartoons to be the greatest form of art
• Matt makes Craig an additional gift out of a toothpick
• Matt presents Craig with the selections for Sci-fi July and makes him pick one immediately. They are three films featuring WTTB Hall-of-famer Ray Milland: Panic in Year Zero, X: The Man With X-ray Eyes and The Thing With Two Heads.
• The Lost Weekend Bat scene is featured
• The choice for the next episode is not revealed

Seen It:
(Animation)
The Adventures of Tintin
Frozen
Waking Life
Grave of the Fireflies

Closing Credits:
Frank Welker is someone!

Ernesto Stinger:
Totoro roar

Episode 104: Panic in Year Zero!

Cold Open:
Directors you want to hang out with, part 2
Chris Rock, William Friedkin, John Huston, D.W. Griffith

Gift:
Royal Dessert recipes mini-cookbook

Craig’s Background LP:
Les Baxter “Ritual of the Savage”

Show notes:
• The first episode of Sci-fi July 2016 (with appropriate music and title card)
• The Top Secret envelope is not used for this episode
• We flash back to the previous episode where Craig reveals his choice of Ray Milland movie for this episode
• Les Baxter is the composer of this film (and the subject of the background LP)
• Craig provides a short biography of Ray Milland
• The Lost Weekend bat makes three appearances
• There is no DVD case transition from intro to movie
• Craig and Matt spontaneously impersonate Jean Hagen’s character from Singin’ in the Rain.
• “What about the women?”
• Eegah is mentioned again
• Matt and Craig wonder if this is actually a sci-fi movie.
• The American International Pictures movie line bingo wheel is revealed
• Ernesto makes an appearance

Seen It:
Kiss Me Deadly
Submarine
Once Upon a Time in the West
Christine

Closing Credits:
Matt performs the rarely heard vocals from the theme song to Panic in Year Zero

Ernesto Stinger:
“What about the women?”

Episode 105: Logan’s Run

Cold Open:
An outdoor viewing of West Side Story
“What’s more passionate than fighting, dancing and loving”

Gift:
Glow in the dark sphere kit

Craig’s Background LP:
Alan Parsons Project “I, Robot”

Show notes:
• Our second film of Sci-fi July
• Our longest regular season episode to date (26:30)
• The return of “The Billy Zane of the 60s and 70s”: Michael York
• “Cirque Du Flambe”
• We discover that in the future, people have sex in a weird way
• Matt challenges Craig to choose the next movie based on two cards from the Cineplexity game: “Title starts with M through S” and “Science Fiction” (thereby extending Sci-fi July into August)

Seen It:
True Stories
Brick
The Darjeeling Limited
The Great Dictator

Closing Credits:
Futuristic Hokey-Pokey

Ernesto Stinger:
“Fish! And Plankton!”

Episode 106: Splice

Cold Open:
Literary film adaptations that are better than the book
Glengarry Glen Ross

Gift:
Frankenstein voodoo doll

Craig’s Background LP:
Joni Mitchell “The Hissing of Summer Lawns”

Show notes:
• The first film of “A Look Back in August”
• Matt is faked out by the green color of the LP into thinking the movie would be Soylent Green (Craig picked it because it, like Splice, is Canadian)
• Adrian Brody gets lambasted for his continual mumbling
• “Flesh husk”
• The guys do a rendition of the little known Ramones tune “Teenage Amniotomy”
• For the second episode in a row, someone says “Are you my Pop-pop?”
• Stu makes an appearance singing a children’s song
• “Laboratory Porn”: something that scientists don’t even get off on
• For the first time, there are two themes for Seen It

Seen It:
(Seen It, Own It) (Bill and Bill)
Network
Double Indemnity
Sunset Boulevard
Stalag 17

Closing Credits:
More talk of “synthesizing the protein”

Ernesto Stinger:
Dren squeals

Episode 107: Beethoven

Cold Open:
Book to movie adaptations
A Room With a View and The Hunger Games

Gift:
Volcano in a box

Craig’s Background LP:
David Bowie “Diamond Dogs”

Show notes:
• The second installment of “A Look Back in August.” We hearken back to season 1 and Beethoven’s Christmas Adventure and we watch the first of the Beethoven series
• Charles Grodin makes a third appearance on the show
• Another WTTB alumnus makes his big screen debut in this movie: Joseph Gordon-Levitt (“Jo-Go”)
• Stu makes an appearance as a garbage man
• Beethoven watch a clip from The Wolfman, which we watched in Episode 061
• Jeff Goldblum and Rick Moranis: potential Beethoven stars

Seen It:
Chariots of Fire
Blue Ruin
The Lobster
Night Shift

Closing Credits:
Dueling Charles Grodins

Ernesto Stinger:
“I need puppies!”

Episode 108: Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice

Cold Open:
Our lowest-viewed episode of this season: Marty
The appeal (or lack thereof) of movies whose titles are men’s first names (“Alfie”)

Gift:
Dean Martin CD “Italian Love Songs”

Craig’s Background LP:
Ohio Players “Honey”

Show notes:
• September’s theme is “Sex, Drugs and Rock n Roll.” This episode respresents “Sex.”
• Due to camera troubles, Tona was forced to use an iphone in the intro and so Craig’s shot looks terrible (as one fan observed “was it filmed with a potato?”)
• Our second appearance by Paul Mazursky, who appeared as an actor in Episode 064 “Fear and Desire” (in this he directs).
• Matt does an impromptu rendition of Dean Martin performing the Beatles tune “Norwegian Wood”
• “And they crack open each other’s skulls”
• Craig admits that the movie has really “cracked him open”
• Craig makes a surprise naked appearance during Seen It, prompting Matt to question his sanity and throw away his glass of wine
• Matt enthuses about an unpopular REM album
• Craig makes a strange series of clicking noises to express his appreciation of Gina Gershon

Seen It:
The King of Comedy
Mean Streets
Showgirls
The Man Who Laughs

Closing Credits:
Very egregious white man dancing

Ernesto Stinger:
“Orgy! Have an orgy, orgy, orgy!”

Episode 109: The Cocaine Fiends

Cold Open:
R.I.P. Gene Wilder
Memories of Milwaukee’s Washington High School, Matt and Gene’s alma mater

Gift:
Drinking Games from Around the World

Craig’s Background LP:
Queen “Sheer Heart Attack”

Show notes:
• The “drugs” portion of September’s “Sex, Drugs and Rock n Roll” theme
• This movie sat on Matt’s DVD shelf for years and he is finally watching it
• Matt converts 1935 money to 2016 money
• Craig does a “hot jazz” version of U2’s “All I Want is You”
• Craig describes opium as “new fangled”
• Matt once again quotes the guard scene from Monty Python and the Holy Grail
• “Rocket rides” vs. “Mustache rides”
• Craig’s assessment of the plague lacks nuance
• The exploitation film: “A cautionary tale that revels in its own luridness”
• Featuring a fake movie poster by graphic designer Wayne Dorrington: John Ford’s “How White Was My Yeyo”
• Matt talks about one of his favorite cocaine songs: “Cocaine Blues” by Luke Jordan
• Craig talks about the slippery slope that leads to becoming a rolling monthly donor on welcometothebasementshow.com

Seen It:
(Gene Wilder)
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
See No Evil, Hear No Evil
The Producers
Bonnie and Clyde

Closing Credits:
Matt heckles a bad crooner

Ernesto Stinger:
“I gotta have dope! I’m a hop-head!”

Episode 110: The Girl Can’t Help It

Cold Open:
Matt and Craig go camping
They stage a real life fox wedding and village funeral

Gift:
Metal kazoo

Craig’s Background LP:
Elvis Presley (Self-titled)

Show notes:
• The “Rock and Roll” portion of September’s “Sex, Drugs and Rock n Roll” theme
• The second appearance of Edmund O’Brien on the show
• Craig incorrectly guesses that we will be watching an Elvis movie from the background LP
• Craig plays the 20th Century Fox fanfare on kazoo
• Cecil makes several unscheduled appearances on the couch, lurks in the background during the discussion and disrupts things with a mighty leap
• Craig shows up in Seen It inexplicably wearing a police patch on his jacket. The mystery would be solved in the following week’s episode of Unboxing
• Matt implements a new warning system to alert viewers of unexpected spoilers in Seen It
• Craig mis-identifies Monica Vitti as “Carla Bruni”

Seen It:
A Fish Called Wanda
Sling Blade
Do The Right Thing
L’Avventura

Closing Credits:
Craig does a kazoo rendition of “Blueberry Hill.” Matt attempts to confiscate the kazoo.

Ernesto Stinger:
Jerri Jordan’s siren wail

Episode 111: Scream Blacula Scream

Cold Open:
The Great Debate: Which is the better Little Shop of Horrors?
Matt fantasizes about being cast one of the musical’s key roles

Gift:
“Curious Jo Bonz” skeleton-building kit

Craig’s Background LP:
David Bowie “Scary Monsters and Super Creeps”

Show notes:
• The first horror movie of October (with appropriate Halloween music and title card)
• The second Blacksploitation film to appear on the show (unless you count Car Wash as a third)
• There is a disagreement about “the scariest vampire”
• Matt engages in some “biting” social commentary
• Craig seems to think that he can be related to others by first name
• The first few scenes of the movie make Matt’s choice of a gift strangely prescient
• Craig confuses himself with a shark metaphor
• Blacula attacks Ray Milland: yet another appearance by the Lost Weekend bat
• Matt is disappointed by the number of Blacula screams in the movie
• Craig T. Nelson (in the role of “Sarge”) was never spotted in the movie (Much like Jo-Go a few episodes ago in Beethoven. The idea is floated for him to change his name to Craig Sarge Nelson
• Craig does not find vampires “scary.” Craig and Matt attempt to define “scary”
• Stu makes a brief appearance in Customer Comments

Seen It:
(Theme: Horror)
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
Grindhouse
Seconds
Angel Heart

Closing Credits:
A speech by Blacula that is very similar to a “motivational speech” Matt considered giving Craig back in Episode 1.

Ernesto Stinger:
“The name…is BLACULAA!”

Episode 112: Suspiria

Cold Open:
Costumes: Matt dresses up as Dr. Varnick from Beethoven, Craig dresses up as Jessica from Logan’s Run.
Matt has another nightmare. This one features a bat, and so a very familiar bat makes an appearance

Gift:
Magic Wand

Craig’s Background LP:
Miles Davis “Bitches Brew”

Show notes:
• Our Halloween episode and second scary movie for October. This movie was put up for possible viewing all the way back in Season 1 (it lost out to Scanners). It was placed in a random drawing for Halloween in Season 3 and lost out to The Wolfman
• The second appearance of Jessica Harper (Phantom of the Paradise) and Alida Valli (Eyes Without a Face). The fourth appearance of WTTB Hall of Famer Udo Kier (but not his voice)
• The obscure B-movie “Eeegahh” is once again referenced
• Matt incorrectly predicts a “creepy thing in the transom”
• Prompted by a bat in the movie, the Lost Weekend bat strikes again
• “Suspiria. It’s the Suspiriest!”
• Craig’s one word question triggers an impromptu rendition of the Ice-T rap “Colors” from Matt
• Ernesto interrupts a discussion of the acting ability of Arnold Schwarzeneggar
• Craig saw “Gremlins” and “Ghostbusters” within a week of each other at the theater in 1984

Seen It:
(Theme: “Ghosts and Goblins)
Ghostbusters
The Innocents
Maggie
Gremlins

Closing Credits:
Matt demonstrates “all the notes”

Ernesto Stinger:
“WITCH!”

Episode 113: Bedtime For Bonzo

Cold Open:
Favorite character actors part 2
John Carroll Lynch, Oliver Platt, Dianne Wiest, Elisha Cook Jr. (who Craig would like to “push over”)

Gift:
Halloween-themed noisemaker

Craig’s Background LP:
Neil Young “Hawks and Doves”

Show notes:
• Matt does a non-verbal Dianne Wiest impersonation
• Craig has a defeatest attitude about wrapping up the cold open
• In anticipation of the upcoming presidential election, we watch a movie featuring not-yet president Ronald Reagan
• Craig accentally wore one of his late father-in-law’s jackets (instead of his own), which is why his sleeves are too short
• Craig has an attack of “the palsy”
• Matt delivers a brief comedy lesson to “armchair primatologists”
• Matt “gets Craig’s hopes down” about the quality and appropriateness of the gift
• Matt confesses a desire to dress a chimp up in “little outfits”
• Matt doesn’t like that Andrew Garfield
• Craig has not seen Castaway, though he can discuss it at length
• Matt picks one of the random genre cards for the next movie. He chooses “Espionage” and reveals that it will be a James Bond film

Seen It:
The Panic in Needle Park
True Romance
Castaway
99 Homes

Closing Credits:
A genetic twist on a classic lullaby

Ernesto Stinger:
(chimp noises)

Episode 114: You Only Live Twice

Cold Open:
What makes for a good James Bond theme song?
“Hug-dancing” at the junior prom

Gift:
Novelty squirting calculator

Craig’s Background LP:
James Bond Greatest Hits

Show notes:
• This is the only feature in an abbreviated “Glaring Omissions” month
• Our first James Bond film
• Matt confesses to a teenage obsession with Mr. Bond
• This is Craig’s first time seeing a Sean Connery Bond film
• A giggling Tona makes a rare on-camera appearance (dealing with a mis-behaving Cecil)
• There is a clinical trial of the squirting calculator on the old leather couch which goes poorly to say the least
• Stu makes an appearance as an astronaut (with his buddy Chris)
• Cecil reluctantly plays the cat to Matt’s Blofeld in a brief couch sketch
• Matt names Blofeld’s cat “Princess Nancy”
• Craig wrongly describes the way the Japanese kiss
• Craig does not like James Bond movies. He loves the word “iconography.”
• “Fun facts” are his favorite facts”
• Matt does not like the word “Meh”
• Craig delves into the symbolism of A Serious Man
• Craig ends the episode with a bad poem (“deal with it”)
• The Princess Nancy bit over the ending credits was inspired by actual events involving actual cats and actual crackers

Seen It:
Midnight Special
A Serious Man
Hard Eight
Sicario

Closing Credits:
Blofeld chastises Princess Nancy for licking his cracker

Ernesto Stinger:
“I am Ernst Stavro Blofeld”

Episode 115: Miracle on 34th St.

Cold Open:
Suicide as comedy
The inner turmoil of Donald Duck

Gift:
Hamilton lapel pin

Craig’s Background LP:
The Phil Spector Christmas Album

Show notes:
• Christmas episode (with seasonal theme song and title screen)
• Matt forgot to take off his wrist brace at the beginning of the show
• This film has been in 2 previous 3 Film Monty drawings (one of them all the way back in season 1) and was never picked
• This is the second appearance of Edmund Gwenn and Natalie Wood on our show
• Matt discusses his recent viewing of Hamilton in Chicago
• Matt makes his first Harry Potter reference to the surprise and delight of Craig
• Craig tries to encourage a little audience participation
• Craig gushes over character actress Thelma Ritter
• Craig mis-identifies William Frawley as William Finley (The Phantom of the Paradise)
• Seen It focuses on movies that were mailed in to the show by viewers
• “Our cockles were muzzled”

Seen It:
(Theme: “Gifts”)
The Flying Deuces
Winnebago Man
Darkman
Running on Empty

Closing Credits:
A bitter divorced woman and her Macy’s employee discount

Ernesto Stinger:
(a rendition of “Jingle Bells”)

Episode 116: THX-1138 / Bottle Rocket

Cold Open:
Michael Shannon on the WTF podcast
The worst band names in the world

Gift:
Plush Totoro

Craig’s Background LP:
Sonic Youth “Daydream Nation”

Show notes:
• Our big end of the year celebration
• Favorite movies of the year: My Neighbor Totoro, Marty, Roar. Least favorite: The Conqueror and Left Behind
• Craig invents a time-saving portmanteau name for Sean Connery: “Seannery”
• Matt has some “fun with inflation.” Matt becomes obsessed with adjusting monetary amounts for inflation, doing it again during Bottle Rocket
• Cecil leaps onto the desk during a discussion of money
• Craig does an impersonation of a dumb fish
• Matt comes up with a new show meme (similar to the Lost Weekend Bat), an instance of terrible acting from Logan’s Run that Matt plans on inserting after corny or lame comments. He demonstrates this with a clip from the previous episode
• Matt and Craig each provided one short film for the episode. Matt unwittingly predicts Craig’s film in his show intro by using Bottle Rocket as an example of a short that later became a feature. Craig kept his cool
• In what has now become a year-end tradition, Matt and Craig share the old leather couch during the film synopses
• Craig reveals his fondness for foot chases and his nervousness about bottle rockets
• Matt correctly uses the word “nascent”
• New Hall of Fame inductees: Jessica Harper, Russ Meyer, Charles Grodin, Paddy Chayevsky and Natalie Wood. In the non-human category: Punching (along with punching montage)
• In another year-end tradition, for the final Seen It of the year we critique a beloved classic. This year it was The Godfather
• The Lost Weekend bat sneaks in one more appearance

Seen It:
Kelly’s Heroes
Straight to Hell
The Lost Weekend
The Godfather

Closing Credits:
“Air Guaraldi”

Ernesto Stinger:
“Incredible”

4 Responses to “Season 5 Episode Guide”

  1. Bobby Wertz

    Have you guys seen “State of Emergency”? It came out in 2011 and is my all time favorite zombie film. Even though there are very few zombies in the film it has become a top 5 movie on my list of all time favorites.This includes all genres.
    When I first discovered It, I decided to purchase it. When I first watched it I was so impressed that I watched it 2 more times with no breaks in between viewings.

    Reply
  2. Jeff

    Hi Matt and Craig,

    I’ve only recently discovered your show, and I’ve been watching all your episodes in order while on my lunch breaks at the hospital. (I’ve gotten some weird looks in the break room.) Absolutely great stuff, and I can’t wait to check out your RiffTrax.

    Have you guys seen City of Ember? It’s a sci-fi film that I’ve only partially seen on cable, and it reminds me of one of my favorites: Logan’s Run. I’d love to hear your take on either of them.

    P.S. City of Ember has bonus Bill Murray!

    Reply
  3. antezguides.com

    Craig, a profound architecture fan, makes his grievances with Tinseltown known whenever a film features the destruction of his beloved Grand Central Station.

    Reply
  4. Samuel C Glass Jr

    I don’t know that I’ll get around to seeing whether or not you mention this, while catching up on past episodes, but any chance you guys have ever seen the Avery Crounse “lost gem”, EYES OF FIRE? It came out back in 1983, but it was so out-there for that time period, I never forgot it. It was the reason why when THE VVITCH came out, I was so underwhelmed by how much the trailer reminded me of EYES OF FIRE, that I never bothered to watch it. Was I wrong? You tell ME!

    Reply

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