Episodes

What's up, dudes? Halloween is almost here, so we're looking to the skies for the weirdest trick-or-treaters ever to land in a small town. It's the 1991 Hanna-Barbera CBS special “The Last Halloween!” I've got Mike Westfall from Advent Calendar House, Chad Young from Horror Movie BBQ with me to talk all about it!

Mars is in big trouble: it's completely out of coobi. So four brave Martians (Romtu the Great, Gleep, Scoota and Bing) blast off, lock onto Earth and crash-land in the woods outside Crystal Falls on Halloween night. That's lucky timing, because coobi turns out to be CANDY ("You've come on the best coobi night of the whole year!"). Michael and Jeanie mistake them for kids in costumes and take them trick-or-treating. Jeanie gets promoted to Queen of Earth ("I'm not a queen, but I am a milk monitor"), and Bing decides she's his new mother. Meanwhile, Dad's candy factory is about to close because Crystal Lake is mysteriously drying up. The culprit? Crabby neighbor Mrs. Gizborne and her henchman Hans, who are draining the lake with a hydroionizer to chase the fountain of youth hiding in a bug that's survived since the dinosaurs ("After tonight, my beauty shall be eternal!"). Grandpa's skipping-stone wish, a chase through Gizborne's lair and one magic Martian stone later, Crystal Falls might just get another Halloween. It's directed by Savage Steve Holland (Better Off Dead!) and narrated by William Hanna himself, and it stars Carla from Cheers, Rhea Perlman, as Mrs. Gizborne and Bull from Night Court, Richard Moll, as Hans. Scooby-Doo himself, Don Messick, voices Romtu, Paul Williams is Gleep and Frank Welker voices Scoota and Bing. The CGI Martians came from ILM and Pacific Data Images, and they won an Emmy for visual effects!

"Yabba dabba doo"? Weird, but got it. A villain trying to get eternal youth from a bug? Yep. A lake refilled by skipping a stone three times? Totally rad! So grab your pillowcase, fire up your coobi meter, and touch down with us for “The Last Halloween!”

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What's up, dudes? Grab your pillowcase, your sincerity, and maybe a spare rock for the bag, because we're gonna have a watch-along party for the 1966 Peanuts classic "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown"! I've got Anthony Caruso from ‘Tis the Podcast, Jeff Loftin from Lost Christmas podcast, and Jeremy Phelps the Alamo City Santa with me to talk all about it!

Halloween's creeping up on the Peanuts neighborhood, and things get off to a rough start: Lucy carves up a pumpkin from the patch (Linus is horrified she "killed it"), then pulls the football away from Charlie Brown yet AGAIN. Linus pens a letter to the Great Pumpkin, the Santa Claus of gourds, and gets roasted by everybody except Sally, whose crush on Linus has her signing up for the pumpkin-patch faith. Charlie Brown, meanwhile, scores an actual invite to Violet's party and is living his best life... for about five minutes. While the gang hits the streets yelling "Tricks or treats! Money or eats!", everyone else rakes in candy bars, gum and a quarter, and poor Chuck goes 0-for-Halloween: "I got a rock." Then he gets to be Violet's jack-o'-lantern drawing board. Snoopy, being Snoopy, ditches the plot entirely, straps on his scarf and turns his doghouse into a Sopwith Camel to dogfight the Red Baron, crash-lands, sneaks across the French countryside, crashes the party's apple-bobbing tub and gets weepy to Schroeder's World War I medleys. Back in the patch, the Great Pumpkin finally rises... and it's a beagle. Sally goes full nuclear: "I was robbed!... You owe me restitution!" Linus slips and says "IF the Great Pumpkin comes" (rookie mistake), Lucy hauls her shivering brother home at 4 a.m., and the next day Linus is right back at it: "Just wait 'til next year, Charlie Brown!"

Fun voice-cast trivia: the kids were real kids, some trained actors and some straight from producer Lee Mendelson's neighborhood, with Peter Robbins as Charlie Brown, Christopher Shea as Linus and Sally Dryer as Lucy. Director Bill Melendez voiced Snoopy by recording nonsense words and speeding them up. And Cathy Steinberg (Sally) had a loose tooth, so she had to knock out all her lines in one night before it fell out and gave her a lisp. She couldn't nail "restitution," so Mendelson recorded it one syllable at a time and spliced it together. Totally rad!

A rock in the trick-or-treat bag? Check. A beagle flying a doghouse against the Red Baron? Yep. A little girl suing for restitution over missed candy? Oh, you better believe it! So grab your ghost sheet, but too many holes in it, and head to the most sincere pumpkin patch for "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown"! 

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WARNING!! PARENTAL DISCRETION IS ADVISED!

What’s up, dudes? We all know what fear is… but tonight fear has fur, silver bullets, and a live-TV transformation nobody at home believes. We’re talking Joe Dante’s 1981 werewolf classic “The Howling”! I’ve got Jeremy Phelps the Alamo City Santa with me!

News anchor Karen White walks into a sting for a killer named Eddie Quist and walks out with amnesia and a therapist who thinks a countryside retreat called the Colony is medicine. It is not medicine. It is a werewolf timeshare. Dee Wallace is Karen, Robert Picardo is the transformation showcase, Elisabeth Brooks is Marsha, Patrick Macnee is Doc, and Rob Bottin builds the air-bladder nightmare after Rick Baker left for the other werewolf movie that same year. John Sayles rewrote Gary Brandner’s novel into a satire, Pino Donaggio scored it, and the thing opened March 13, 1981, then howled all the way toward Dante getting the keys to Gremlins. Character names are classic horror directors hiding in plain sight, and the Colony burns so Karen can warn the world on television while the audience laughs it off as special effects.

Silver bullets? Check. Smiley-face calling cards? Yep. A werewolf ordering a rare hamburger at the bar? That’s the tag, dudes! So pack a silver round, skip the wellness retreat, and howl into this episode on “The Howling”!

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What’s up, dudes? Perhaps you can help… solve a mystery. Robert Stack has put on his holiday voice — which still sounds like a missing-persons bulletin wrapped in tinsel — and we’re diving into a special holiday edition of “Unsolved Mysteries”! I’ve got Joe Martinez from Now Watch This and CM Chuck from Just Another Friday Night here to unpack the miracles, the tip lines, and the tonal whiplash.

Stack promises stories that capture the spirit of the season, then delivers the full UM buffet: seven-year-old Chucky McGivern of Philly slides from chicken pox into a Reye’s syndrome coma right before Christmas 1982, while his parents pin a Saint John Neumann relic to his pillow and a mystery kid ghost-visits the ICU like the world’s most intense Candygram. Cue anointing of the sick, a dream full of presents, and a shrine portrait that makes Chucky point and say “that was my best friend.” Then — because this is still Unsolved Mysteries — we hard-cut to Odessa, Texas, a burned body in a trash fire, and a drifter named Bill who treats a stolen pickup like a Christmas list item. 

Then Gallup, New Mexico: nine-year-old Anthonette Cayedito vanishes, a year-later phone call gets cut off mid-name, a napkin under a plate says please help me, and a Navajo medicine ceremony becomes prime-time television. Finally the soft landing: a Florida couple shares sandwiches and five bucks with a hitchhiker who vanishes like fog, then spends the next five Christmases cashing anonymous $500 checks from “your Christian friends.” Miracle? Angel? Incredible luck? Stack shrugs in gravel: a rational explanation is hardly necessary.

Relic flipping on the pillow? Got it. Unknown kid who hangs around the hospital? He’s there too. Anonymous Christmas checks that keep landing like clockwork? Only to a kind elderly couple! So grab your cocoa, keep one eye on the tip line, and hit play with us on this episode all about “Unsolved Mysteries!”

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What’s up, dudes? Halloween is creeping up on us, so we’re checking into the spookiest resort on Saturday morning TV. It’s the 1980 Hanna-Barbera monster mash Drak Pack and the episode “Hideout Hotel”! I’ve got Joe Martinez from Now Watch This with me to talk all about it!

Drak Jr., Frankie, and Howler (the teenage descendants of Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster, and the Wolf Man, who fight crime to make up for their ancestors being total jerks for a few centuries) are stuck freezing in the snow back home while their great-great-uncle Big D is soaking up the Florida sun at the 300th-anniversary reunion of the Transylvania Retired Spooks, Spectres, and Spirits Society. Too bad Dr. Dred picked the same hotel. He sends Vampira in as a sea monster to clear the beach, kicks out every paying guest, and reopens the place as Dr. Dred’s Hideout Hotel, a luxury resort for the world’s worst criminals. It comes with a Wall of Crime, prison-bar doors, and a lobby where you check in with your fingerprints. The Drak Pack show up and immediately get buried up to their necks in the sand with high tide coming in (“Enjoying the view, Quack Pack?”). They bust out with a head-bonk Drak Whack and some werewolf sandblasting, then pick off O.G.R.E. one by one: Mummy Man gets wrapped up, Fly gets stuck in the shade, and Vampira’s seagull disguise goes straight into the drink. With hundreds of hoods pulling up in black limos, Frankie accidentally has the idea of the century. It’s a crooks’ convention? Well, Big D has a convention too! Cue skeletons in the closets, beds floating out the windows, and a dragon in the bathtub of Room 521 (“Do we allow pets?”). It’s all voiced by a total ’80s Saturday-morning dream team: Hans Conried (Captain Hook himself!) as Dr. Dred, Alan “Skeletor” Oppenheimer as Big D, Papa Smurf’s Don Messick as Toad and Fly, Duckworth’s Chuck McCann as Mummy Man, and Clumsy Smurf’s Bill Callaway pulling double duty as Frankie and Howler.

Wall of Crime? Check. Sand sculpture of Dr. Dred built by the world’s biggest suck-up? Yep. A dragon in the bathtub? Better call the front desk! So grab your beach towel, register your fingerprints, and check in to this episode on Drak Pack “Hideout Hotel”!

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PARENTAL WARNING: DO NOT LISTEN TO THIS EPISODE WITH CHILDREN PRESENT!

What’s up, dudes? Cue the piano, because we’re gonna have a watch-along party for the 1965 Peanuts classic “A Charlie Brown Christmas”! I’ve got Jeff Loftin from Lost Christmas podcast and Jeremy Phelps the Alamo City Santa  with me to provide commentary and enjoy the ride!

This is the special CBS was pretty sure they’d just made a mistake. Charles Schulz wrote it, Bill Melendez directed the animation, Lee Mendelson produced it, and Coca-Cola sponsored it after an ad guy asked if they had a Christmas show and Mendelson said yes before he asked Schulz. They built it in about six months on a $76,000 budget (and still went about $20,000 over), with real kids talking, no laugh track, and Vince Guaraldi playing jazz like it belonged next to the tinsel. Schulz got up and left the room when somebody assumed there’d be canned laughs. Mendelson scribbled the words to “Christmas Time Is Here” on the back of an envelope. The network watched a cut and called it slow. Then it aired on CBS on December 9, 1965, at 7:30 p.m. ET, in The Munsters’ Thursday slot, and 45% of the people watching television that night stayed with it. An estimated 15,490,000 homes. Number two, behind Bonanza. An Emmy for Outstanding Children’s Program and a Peabody showed up after that, which is a wild trophy case for a half-hour everybody in the room thought was too quiet.

So press play with us. We’re not gonna recap it like you’ve never seen it. We’re riding the ice, visiting Lucy’s five-cent psychiatric booth, clocking Snoopy’s doghouse light display, and taking Lucy’s very sincere pitch for a big shiny aluminum tree. Charlie Brown, being Charlie Brown, comes back with the little real one. When the rehearsal falls apart, Linus still has Luke 2 and a blanket he is willing to put down. Peter Robbins is Charlie Brown, Christopher Shea is Linus, and the kids recorded the whole thing in a day (Jefferson Airplane was next door and swung by for autographs, because of course they did). Hit play, keep the blanket nearby, and talk through it with us.

Aluminum tree? Check. Nickel therapy? Got it. Guaraldi plus a scripture reading network TV was not ready for? That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown! So grab the sad little sapling, drop a nickel in the booth, and skate on over to this episode on “A Charlie Brown Christmas”!

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What’s up, dudes? Grab your camp flashlight and whatever you do, don’t touch the plunger — we’re gonna talk Nickelodeon’s Salute Your Shorts classic “The Ghost Story / Zeke the Plumber!” I’ve got Mike Westfall from Advent Calendar House, Chad Young from Horror Movie BBQ, and Joe Fulton the Christmas Aficionado with me to provide commentary and enjoy the ride!

It’s Camp Anawanna, June 1991, and Budnick’s weaponizing bedtime. He spins the legend of Zeke — camp custodian, parrot-bit nose, couldn’t smell a gas leak, lit a match, and became what Budnick lovingly calls a human party-popper. All that’s left is a cursed plunger: touch it, and Zeke haunts your dreams, sucking secrets out of your head like a spectral toilet-snake. Telly and Michael take the bait, the whole bunkhouse wakes up traumatized, and the campers — with Ug’s help — challenge Budnick to spend the night on Zeke’s death ground. Pranks, spider webs, a fake noseless plumber who somehow still “smells” fear… then Budnick goes full Scooby-Doo, unmasks Ug, and still somehow loses the fear-off. Shorts saluted. Nightmares achieved.

Cursed plunger? Check. Missing-nose ghost janitor? Yep. Budnick vs. spiders? Camp Anawanna, baby! So put toothpaste around your bed, spit in your hand, and slap your forehead to this episode on “The Ghost Story / Zeke the Plumber!”

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What’s up, dudes? Grab your fold-out poster and your secret word, because we’re cracking open one of the most Christmas-adjacent kids’-mag crossovers of the late ’80s — Muppet Magazine #17, Winter 1987, the “Pee-Wee & Kermit: Playhouse Pals!” cover! I’ve got Tim Babb from Can’t Wait for Christmas  and Mike Westfall from Advent Calendar House with me to talk all about it!

It’s Volume 5, Number 1 of the Henson Company’s full-color quarterly, and the cover alone is peak Saturday-morning destiny: Kermit the Frog hanging with Pee-wee Herman right when Pee-wee’s Playhouse and Muppet Babies were sharing the CBS morning lineup. Inside, Frog-In-Chief Kermit drops by the Playhouse for a visit/interview (Fred Newman on the byline vibes), Miss Piggy goes jogging with Ari Meyers and Allison Smith, Rowlf sits down with Jonathan Silverman for “Barking Beach Memoirs,” and the Muppet Babies crash Clement C. Moore with Louise Gikow and Bruce McNally’s “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas.” Plus the pull-out that every ’80s kid fought over — “Hip Holidays from M-MTV!” featuring the Electric Mayhem — because nothing says Winter 1987 like a Muppet MTV Christmas parody and a mailbox full of Miss Piggy’s Advice.

Playhouse pals on the cover? Check. Muppet Babies night-before-Christmas comic? Got it. Fold-out Hip Holidays M-MTV poster? Definitely! So hang your Muppet Magazine on the fridge, whisper the secret word, and flip to this episode on “Muppet Magazine #17 Winter 1987!”

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What’s up, dudes? Grab your pillowcase and your leftover Halloween candy, because we’re gonna have a watch-along party for A Pup Named Scooby-Doo’s holiday-adjacent spookfest “Ghost Who’s Coming to Dinner!” I’ve got Jeff Loftin from Lost Christmas podcast with me to provide commentary and enjoy the ride!

Kid-sized Mystery Inc. is trick-or-treating when they stumble on the Johnsons’ ramshackle haunted house — the one Shaggy swears used to belong to pirate Boobeard. Inside: a kindly couple, a park full of trees somebody wants to bulldoze, and the one (1) Scooby-Doo ghost who is actually a ghost. Bartholomew Byfard Boo, a sweetheart of an ectoplasm roommate, will poof out of existence if the house comes down, so of course a nasty pirate spook shows up demanding they vacate. Velma’s got blueprints, Daphne still refuses to believe in ghosts while standing next to one, and the “Boobeard” terrorizing the neighborhood is Jack the handyman, flipping the Johnsons’ land for cash like it’s the most obvious real-estate Scooby scheme in Coolsville.

Friendly ghost roommate? Check. Pirate landlord with a demolition clause? Yep. Handyman named Jack in a bedsheet? Like, totally! So unmask that pirate, save Mr. Boo, and scooby-dooby-doo into this episode on “Ghost Who’s Coming to Dinner!”

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What’s up, dudes? I’m dreaming of a white Christmas… and also punk Christmas, pizza-place Christmas, power-metal Christmas, and New Kids on the Block Christmas! Today we’re diving into the ’80s versions of Irving Berlin’s classic “White Christmas!”

Before the neon snowstorm hits, a quick rewind: Berlin wrote it around 1940, Bing Crosby introduced it on radio at Christmas 1941, then recorded it May 29, 1942 for Holiday Inn. Wartime America lost its mind for that wistful fireplace fantasy — 11 weeks at No. 1, an Oscar for Best Original Song, the 1954 movie, a 1947 re-record that became the one everybody knows, and roughly 50 million copies as the best-selling physical single ever. So of course the ’80s had to get weird with it. Country legends, pop stars, punks, metalheads, jazz cats, claymation raisins, and yes — animatronic ShowBiz Pizza bears — all took a crack at dreaming of a white one.

Punked-up Yobs? Check. Animatronic Rock-afire Explosion? Got it. Helloween sneaking holiday chaos onto a metal EP? Absolutely radical! So dust off the vinyl, cue up the cassette (or that shiny new CD), and dream along with this episode on “’80s Versions of White Christmas!”

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PARENTAL WARNING: DO NOT LISTEN TO THIS EPISODE WITH CHILDREN PRESENT!

What’s up, dudes? We’re closer to Christmas, so we’re gonna have a watch-along party for the absolute classic “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”. I’ve got CJ Bélanger from Rose Suchak Ladder, Jeff Loftin from Lost Christmas podcast, and Jeremy Phelps the Alamo City Santa with me to provide commentary and enjoy the ride!

The story chronicles the seasonal psychosis of the Grinch, a green, cave-dwelling misanthrope whose undersized cardiovascular organ has left him irrationally enraged by the annual Christmas festivities of the Whos down in Whoville. Unable to tolerate another year of singing, feasting, and unsolicited noise pollution, the furry sociopath disguises himself as Santa Claus, turns his long-suffering dog Max into a discount reindeer, and launches a one-man Yuletide home-invasion spree. Throughout the night, the Grinch burglarizes an entire town, stealing everything from presents and stockings to Christmas trees, food, and apparently even the last can of Who-hash. His crime wave is briefly interrupted by Cindy-Lou Who, a dangerously trusting toddler whom he deceives with an easily disproven story about repairing her Christmas tree. After hauling the stolen merchandise to the top of Mount Crumpit for ceremonial disposal, the Grinch discovers that the Whos are somehow celebrating Christmas without any consumer goods whatsoever. This revelation causes his heart to spontaneously triple in size, granting him superhuman strength and presumably creating an immediate medical emergency. Newly rehabilitated, the Grinch returns the stolen property, receives absolutely no legal consequences for dozens of felony burglaries, and is inexplicably invited to Christmas dinner, where the former domestic terrorist is given the ceremonial honor of carving the roast beast.

Roast beast? Check. Loveable curmudgeon? Yep. Bassiest bass voice that ever bassed? It’s grrreeaat! So make your own Santa suit, hop on your ramshackle sleigh, and climb down the chimney to this episode on "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!"

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PARENTAL WARNING: DO NOT LISTEN TO THIS EPISODE WITH CHILDREN PRESENT!

What’s up, dudes? It’s one of the bleakest Christmas movies ever made—and Disney apparently decided dead parents, unemployment, bank robberies, and existential despair were exactly what kids needed for Christmas! Yes, it’s “One Magic Christmas!” I’ve got Santa Ambassador Matt Spaulding from North Pole Radio, and Jeremy Phelps the Alamo City Santa here to discuss it.

In this 1985 film, Ginny Grainger is a financially struggling mom who has completely lost her Christmas spirit. Her husband Jack is unemployed, the family has to move out of their company-owned house, and Ginny is working nights at the grocery store while her kids, Cal and Abbie, are still desperately trying to enjoy Christmas. Enter Gideon, a mysterious Christmas angel who apparently decides the best way to restore Ginny’s faith is through some good old-fashioned Yuletide psychological trauma. After Abbie mails a letter to Santa, a desperate bank robber shoots Jack during a robbery, kidnaps the kids, and drives them off a bridge. Merry Christmas from Walt Disney Pictures, everybody!

Luckily, Gideon gives Ginny the chance to travel to the North Pole, where she meets Santa Claus himself and retrieves Abbie’s letter. Ginny finally understands what Christmas—and her family—really mean to her, and some convenient Christmas magic rewinds the nightmare. Jack is alive, the kids are safe, Ginny embraces the season, and Santa even leaves Jack the bicycle he’d wanted when he was a kid.

Christmas angel orchestrating an elaborate supernatural intervention? Yup. Children plunging into an icy river? Got it. Harry Dean Stanton lurking around town with a harmonica like the Ghost of Christmas Existential Crisis? Absolutely! So mail your letter to Santa, hold your family close, and maybe keep Dad FAR away from the bank as we rediscover the Christmas spirit with “One Magic Christmas!”

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PARENTAL WARNING: DO NOT LISTEN TO THIS EPISODE WITH CHILDREN PRESENT!

What’s up, dudes? It's July, and it's ridiculously hot, so we’re gonna have a watch-along party for the Rankin Bass classic “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town”. I’ve got CJ Bélanger from Rose Suchak Ladder, Jeff Loftin from Lost Christmas podcast, and Jeremy Phelps the Alamo City Santa with me to provide commentary and enjoy the ride!

The story chronicles the rise of Kris Kringle, an abandoned ginger baby who grows up with a family of toy-making elves and eventually decides to deliver their wares to the miserable children of Sombertown. Unfortunately, the town is ruled by Burgermeister Meisterburger, a goose-stepping fun-hater who declares toys illegal after suffering a workplace-related yo-yo injury. Along the way, Kris befriends future Mrs. Claus Jessica, teaches the icy Winter Warlock the restorative power of choo-choos, and recruits a small army of flying reindeer for his increasingly elaborate toy-smuggling operation. After being jailed for spreading unauthorized merriment, Kris escapes, grows a beard, changes his name to Santa Claus, and relocates his entire operation to the North Pole like some sort of Yuletide witness-protection program. Eventually, the Burgermeister dynasty dies out, everyone realizes banning toys was incredibly stupid, and Santa becomes an immortal international trespasser celebrated for breaking into millions of homes every December.

Icy Sauron? Check. Megalomaniacal tyrant? Yep. Late ‘60s acid trip hippie song? Only with psychedelic background effects! So grab your magic feed corn, hop on your flying reindeer, and climb down the chimney to this episode on "Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town!"

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What's up, dudes? It's been a beast of a week. We lost two legends of their respective industries. Dolly Parton was one of the greatest people of our time. She was a musician, actress, and humanitarian. Her Christmas albums, all of which were accompanied by a tv special, have been staples of many a family's Christmas season. We've even covered some of her '80s Christmas endeavors on this show previously. 

Tim Curry was a genius in his own right. Had he not made it as an actor, he could've been a prolific musician as well. His role as Wadsworth has so much energy and wit! From Pennywise to Rooster to Darkness to the Concierge, he proved that the term "character actor" is not a bad thing.

Requiescat in pace. Amen.

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What's up, dudes? Remember standing in line for hours to get that one toy? Your parents probably did, especially after you sat down and circled all the toys you wanted in the Wishbook? Vinnie Brezinsky from Huey and Bax joins me to talk holiday shopping and wishbooks! Malls and shopping and commercials! Oh my! 

From Toys 'R' Us to Sears, from JC Penney to Kmart, we talk all about shopping and wishbooks. The Sears Wish Book began in 1933 as a special Christmas edition of the Sears, Roebuck and Co. catalog, packed with toys, games, dolls, bicycles, clothing, and other gifts that quickly made it a beloved holiday tradition for American families. Over the decades, the catalog grew into a massive annual showcase—often hundreds of pages long—where generations of children eagerly circled, dog-eared, and dreamed about the presents they hoped Santa might bring. As department-store catalogs declined and shopping shifted online, Sears discontinued the traditional Wish Book in the 1990s, briefly revived it in print and digital forms in later years, and left behind an enduring piece of Christmas nostalgia.

Toys? Check. Clothes? Yeah, they're in there too. Christmas decorations? Of course! So grab your red marker and circle all the things you want in this episode on 1980s holiday shopping and wishbooks!  

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What’s up, dudes? It’s Christmas in July, and apparently Santa is getting a serious head start on his deliveries! The Rainbow Panthers are seeing red—and white—when the big guy himself drops by in Pink Panther and Sons “Insanity Claus!” Yes, Panky believes in Santa, even when everyone else thinks he’s completely crackers! I’ve got Jeff Loftin from Lost Christmas and Alamo City Santa Jeremy Phelps with me to talk all about it!

Pinky, Panky, and the Rainbow Panthers are having a slumber party when a mysterious stranger comes down the chimney. It’s Santa Claus! There’s just one little problem: it’s July! Santa claims he’s getting an early start on Christmas, but the Panthers aren’t buying it. Everyone assumes the jolly old elf is actually a burglar in disguise—everyone, that is, except Panky!

Determined to protect Santa, Panky tries to hide him from his suspicious friends. Unfortunately, the would-be Kris Kringle is eventually discovered and hauled off to jail! Panky insists they’ve arrested the real Santa Claus, and despite everyone thinking he’s been duped, the little panther refuses to give up. Sure enough, the gang eventually discovers that Panky was right all along. Santa really was getting a jump on Christmas!

Christmas in July? Check. Santa breaking and entering? Got it. Kris Kringle in the clink? Only until Panky proves that sometimes you’ve just gotta believe! So grab your sleeping bag, keep an eye on the chimney, and don’t call the cops on Santa as we go completely Christmas crazy with Pink Panther and Sons “Insanity Claus!”

Lost Christmas Podcast
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Alamo City Santa                                                    IG: @alamocitysanta 

Etsy: North Pole General Store

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What’s up, dudes? What are you people? On dope?! I’ve got Michael May from After Lunch, Crestwood House, and Hellbent for Letterbox, Scott Leopold from Holly Jolly X'masu, and Tim Williams from 80’s Flick Flashback are with me to talk the Christmas-adjacent movie “Fast Times at Ridgemont High!”

Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982) follows a group of Southern California teenagers as they stumble through a school year filled with first jobs, romance, sex, friendship, and the everyday humiliations of being young. At the center is Stacy Hamilton, a shy sophomore who begins exploring dating and relationships with encouragement from her more experienced friend Linda Barrett. Meanwhile, Stacy’s older brother Brad watches his seemingly perfect life unravel after losing his job and his girlfriend, while Stacy’s awkward friend Mark “Rat” Ratner tries to work up the nerve to pursue her. Their stories unfold against the backdrop of Ridgemont High and the local mall, capturing teenage life with a mix of raunchy comedy and surprising sincerity.

The film’s most memorable character, however, is perpetually stoned surfer Jeff Spicoli, whose laid-back attitude puts him in constant conflict with stern history teacher Mr. Hand. While Spicoli dreams of surfing and Van Halen, the other students gradually discover that adulthood is arriving faster than they expected—and it comes with consequences. By the end, relationships have shifted, friendships have been tested, and several characters have grown up at least a little. Directed by Amy Heckerling and written by Cameron Crowe, “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” became a defining teen comedy of the 1980s, balancing outrageous moments and endlessly quotable humor with a remarkably grounded look at the uncertainty, mistakes, and small victories of adolescence.

Forgotten wallet? Check. Santa who got peed on? Poor kid. Most paused movie scene ever? You know you did! So grab your surfboard, put on your pirate costume, and scalp some tickets to this episode!

80’s Flick Flashback
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Holly Jolly X'masu
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After Lunch

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What’s up, dudes? Kevin Williams from ‘Tis the Soundtrack joins me to talk about Rainbow “Snowman!” Yes, the former Deep Purple guitarist took Howard Blake’s song from the 1982 classic and reworked it as an atmospheric synth and electric guitar anthem!

Rainbow was formed in 1975 by guitarist Ritchie Blackmore after he began to tire of Deep Purple and the band’s changing musical direction. Deep Purple had already replaced Ian Gillan and Roger Glover with David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes, but Blackmore remained unhappy with where the music was headed. What began as Blackmore recording a single with members of the band Elf ultimately grew into a full album and the creation of Rainbow. The band quickly became known for its larger-than-life live shows, whose centerpiece was a massive computer-controlled rainbow containing some 3,000 lightbulbs and stretching 40 feet across the stage. Rainbow also became notorious for its revolving door of musicians, with original vocalist Ronnie James Dio departing in 1978 over disagreements about the band’s increasingly commercial musical direction. After further lineup changes, Joe Lynn Turner eventually took over as lead singer, ushering in Rainbow’s more radio-friendly early-’80s era. That lineup would lead to Bent Out of Shape, released September 9, 1983, which featured the song in question as the album’s ninth track.

Rainbow’s instrumental “Snowman,” featured on their 1983 album Bent Out of Shape, is based on “Walking in the Air,” the haunting theme written by composer Howard Blake for the beloved 1982 animated film The Snowman, itself adapted from Raymond Briggs’ 1978 children’s book. Blake had actually composed the melody around 1970 before later adapting it for the television special, where it became the musical centerpiece of the story. The Snowman—which went on to become a seasonal television favorite in Britain and Finland—follows the fleeting adventure of a young boy and the snowman he brings to life. During their magical flight to the North Pole, “Walking in the Air” accompanies the pair as they soar through the night before attending a gathering of snowmen and meeting Santa Claus and his reindeer. In the original film, the song was performed by St. Paul’s Cathedral choirboy Peter Auty, whose recording was later reissued in 1985 and 1987. Ritchie Blackmore was captivated by the composition’s haunting, melodic beauty and, having long enjoyed adapting classical and traditional melodies into rock instrumentals, transformed Blake’s delicate vocal theme into “Snowman.” Rainbow’s version builds atmospheric tension around the familiar melody before giving Blackmore the opportunity to let loose with a soaring, emotional electric-guitar lead—turning one of animation’s most delicate Christmas themes into a distinctly Rainbow instrumental.

Synth flute? Check. Fuzzy guitar? Got it. Brad Fiedel The Terminator-style synth percussion? Definitely! So grab your guitar, stand behind that keyboard, and rock out to Rainbow “Snowman!”

‘Tis the Soundtrack
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What's up, dudes? It's another minisode! Today we're celebrating Halloween and Christmas with the John Barrett penned Ted E. Bear story "Christmas Comes to Monster Mountain!" It’s a the literary sequel to “The Bear Who Slept Through Christmas” and “The Great Bear Scare.”

John Barrett came up with the story to “The Bear Who Slept Through Christmas” and developed the teleplay for the special which was subsequently produced by DePatie-Freleng Enterprises in 1973. The special stars Ted E. Bear as a curious bear who yearns to discover and experience Christmastide, even as he endures ridicule from the entire bear community. Barrett also wrote several sequels to the special, including “The Great Bear Scare.” In this adventure, the bears of the city of Bearbank hear rumors that Count Dracula and the other monsters from Monster Mountain are going to invade and conquer Bearbank on Halloween. Teddy believes he has found a way to deter and repel the creatures, and indeed he does save the day. In fact, “The Great Bear Scare” was turned into a special layer in 1983, though the animation is stilted and incomplete. Dracula also has trouble turning into a bat for some reason.

That now brings us to “Christmas Comes to Monster Mountain.” Developed by the LeFave Company, it was published in 1981 by Children’s Press. The illustrations were done by Rick Reinert Productions in the style of the original special. 

Dracula, the leader of the monsters, is running for re-election, and needs a scheme so vile that it secures his victory. His diabolical plot: kidnap Santa. I wonder if Jack Skellington took notes from this book. He writes a letter to Santa pretending to be a young boy so that the good saint will visit him. Sure enough, on Christmas Eve, Santa comes down Dracula’s chimney and is caught in his trap. When Santa doesn’t come back up the chimney, his reindeer fly off to get help. Enter Ted E Bear! He agrees to help, and since he can’t rescue Santa from Dracula, he delivers all the presents in Santa’s stead. On Christmas morning, as Dracula revels in his success, Ted shows up and reveals that the ploy failed because he himself delivered the presents. Dracula is sure he will lose the election; however, Santa always brings extra gifts on his trip. Ted E Bear handed them out to all the monsters for Christmas. The monsters are so overcome with joy that Dracula wins in a landslide. He brought Christmas to Monster Mountain.

Scary monsters? Check. Undaunted protagonist? Got it. Learning to fly Santa’s sleigh in no time? For sure! So grab your flight map, hop on the sleigh, and deliver presents to this episode!

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What’s up, dudes? It’s the greatest store ever to an ‘80s kid! Yes, it’s Toys “R” Us, the category killer! Today we’re talking the Toys “R” Us Christmas Dream Book 1986!

Toys “R” Us goes all the way back to 1948, when Charles Lazarus opened a little Washington, D.C. shop called Children’s Bargain Town, selling baby furniture. Eventually he pivoted from cribs and strollers to playthings. In 1957, Lazarus opened the first store under the Toys “R” Us name, built like a supermarket for toys—long aisles, stacked shelves, self-service shopping, and wall-to-wall kids’ stuff. 

This book provides a huge variety of toys. From ThunderCats to Cabbage Patch Kids, there’s something for everyone. The Milton Bradley games provided hours of fun, and Cats Lair gave the ThunderCats a base and place of respite in between fighting mutants and berserkers. Of course, Robotech 3 3/4in figures were great to incorporate on your Joe team!

Electronic Battleship? Check. Lazer Tag? Rad! The Hart Family? Only if it's a surprise party playset! So grab your ThunderCats figures, throw them in your Sling ‘Em Fling ‘Em Wrestling Ring, and circle your favorites in this  Toys “R” Us Christmas Dream Book 1986!

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