Now We Know

Your latest unlocked treasure from the Now We Know Patreon vault, first recorded and released in May of 2022: it's the Chip 'n Dale movie, starring Andy Samberg and John Mulaney, among others. I (Chris) honestly don't remember too much about this one, except that you only get like 30 seconds of Gadget as part of a rather distressing sight gag, but they did bring back Tress MacNeille for said 30 seconds! So maybe you can take some solace in that?

Fresh from the formerly paid-only Now We Know vault, originally released 02/24/23, it's our long traipse through the McGruff Smart Kids album, a cassette tape release with eight tracks of anti-drug jams across a swatch of genres, from the groovy, to the hard rocking, to electronic new wave, and perhaps the smoothest cut on the album, the Steely Dan-esque "Alcohol." Join us for a traipse through all eight of these tracks, expertly performed by McGruff creator/voice actor Jack Keil.

Your latest treasure unlocked from the Now We Know vault, originally released to the Patreon on 08/25/22 — our dive into the strange world of the long-lost live-action Sailor Moon pilot, produced by Toon Makers, with an eye towards American television. Oscillating between American-style animation and live-action sequences (somewhat similar to the Japanese action source footage paired with western high school TV drama featured in Power Rangers), this thing was, until relatively recently, a whispered-about relic, only screened once or twice at enthusiast festivals over the intervening decades. But now, you can watch it, like we did, and listen to us talk about it, like all decent folk should.

Originally released on the Now We Know Patreon feed on February 22, 2022 —yet no doubt new to so many of you — we look back at the ill-fated cartoon pilot Defenders of Dynatron City, which boasted the vocal talents of Whoopi Goldberg and Tim Curry, and almost Christopher Walken, until the producer absurdly decided he wanted a "more cartoonish" voice. Part of a cross-platform multimedia rollout, the pilot's release coincided with a very bad video game (atypical of the golden age of LucasArts games) and a six-episode comic series, making it... a proto-Shadows of the Empire, perhaps?

FROM THE VAULT... Leading off our foray into the Now We Know Patreon archives, new to so many of you... our first-ever subscriber feed episode, on 90's VHS obsession The Monuments of Mars: A Terrestrial Connection. Featuring guest Dave Prosper (who you may remember from our Robotech episode). Originally recorded on December 4th. 2021.

For our double-wide, jam-packed, loose and spitfire final regular episode, Now We Know's most prolific guests, Evan and Miranda, join to look back through the jaded eyes of adulthood at... something very familiar. It's the first ever (and presumably last ever) sequel to an existing episode! ONE SMALL HERO ONE MORE TIME BABY!!!!! Thank you all so much for your listenership and support through the years. Over the next year, our trove of bonus content from the Patreon feed, unheard to all but our previously paying subscribers, will be posted here on a weekly basis, meaning you've got many more months of fun to come. Cheers, and Happy New Year!

It's finally here! Easily the longest-awaited episode based on informal polling: The Chipmunk Adventure! Kevin brings his sibling Werky (because they would never forgive him otherwise) along with a couple of special guests and of course the steady stalwart Chris to revisit this amazing, perfect...oh...oh no...no no no don't do that.... Well... listen and see!

Thanks so much, all of you, for your support and loyal listenership as we cross a milestone which once seemed absurd, our 200th episode! And to celebrate, we're going long on the Lucasfilm multimedia project that effectively ended the late-80's to mid-90's wild west era of semi-canonical Star Wars tales, and ushered in the prequel era: Shadows of the Empire, an "everything but the movie" undertaking that spawned a full-length novel, a soundtrack, a best-selling video game, and a series of comics. Join Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa, Darth Vader, Prince Xizor, and a cast of thousands in dropping to one knee and humbly admitting... it's Dash Rendar's world, we're all just living in it.

The jangle of spurs, the neigh of the horse...these are the sounds the American TV viewer hates. Join Kevin and Chris as they revisit this lightly sci-fi attempt to revive the Western as a force in culture, based largely on the charms of a youthful Bruce Campbell.

Happy Halloween, everyone! And to celebrate the horrorful holidays, Chris looks back at a giallo slasher that he fatefully, accidentally saw the last ten minutes of when he was no older than nine, scarring him for decades: Dario Argento's TENEBRAE. Until last year, Chris didn't even know which movie containing the handful of harrowing images that haunted his youth. But now he does, and you get to join him in the torment.

Typically we just watch old things when they get a legacy sequel but this time we decided to take a look at the new Tron through the eyes of the old Trons! How does it stack up? Are any Trons actually good in the traditional sense? Or any sense? Listen and learn!

Under the looming shadow of the smash hit kids game show Double Dare, producers in 1987 bet on a new spin on the format: what if, instead of general knowledge and trivia interspersed with wacky physical challenges, we had kids circle “hidden” images in a poorly drawn doodle and then run through a model home at the behest of fading Land of the Lost star Wesley Eure? The result was Finders Keepers, which ran on Nickelodeon for some 130 episodes before being tossed into syndication. Chris actually liked this one *more* than Double Dare as a little kid. Just how deranged was he? Very! Watch the full video episode on YouTube: YouTube.com/@nowweknowpod

This week Kevin brings two episodes of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, a high-budget, big-name show that no one watched and fewer still remember. But Kevin saw and taped every episode he could, and rewatched a few of them countless times! Will Chris see the light and preach the good word? Or will he turn away from the blinding light, like Marion and Indy himself? Listen and see and You'll Know!

With Konami's first proper post-Kojima Metal Gear game hitting shelves (Metal Gear Solid Delta, with apologies to Metal Gear Survive), Chris and show brother Evan reach into the distant past, and grasp in their hands a true piece of cursed media: "Metal Gear" the book, part of the infamous World of Power novelization series. Starring such classic characters as Commander West, Commander South, Chuck Robinson, Bob "Eagle Man" O'Reilly, and of course, the legendary soldier, the man who makes the impossible possible, Marine Captain Justin Halley, sometimes known as "Solid Snake." In a Now We Know first, we're taking you ALL THE WAY THROUGH this one, front to back. It's our first audiobook episode, albeit with some occasional grunts and chortles of dismay. Cue up the Theme of Tara and let's get going. Watch this video episode, and all our video episodes, on our Youtube channel! Check out the subscriber feed and support the show at Patreon.com/nowweknow!

While Chris is on assignment in France, Kevin has brought fan favorite Natasha Vinik back to watch something that neither of them had seen: the reviled Garbage Pail Kids movie, based on the hit sticker cards of the same name! It was the butt of jokes for all of Kevin's childhood, but is it as bad as advertised? Peel slowly and see

This time Kevin brings Chris and returning brother Ian a seemingly forgotten entry in the canon of the recently departed Hulk Hogan / Hollywood Hulkster, not to mention Christopher Lloyd and Shelley Duvall: Suburban Commando! Terry plays a commando alien named Shep who's stuck in the Valley, Christopher Lloyd is the feckless architect who takes him in. It's a tale as old as time! Technical issues mean some of the audio is less than uh...hulkamaniacal, recommend listening on increased speed to minimize that.

With, you guessed it, a new legacy sequel right around the corner (starring the distressingly similarly named Liam Neeson), Kevin and Chris look back at this Leslie Nielsen spoof n' goof classic. Of course, as with all straight fastball comedies of yore, the question looms large: is it really as funny as you remembered? Is anything? Check out this full video episode on YouTube, and if you're curious for episodes on more contemporary stuff (including, soon to come, the new Naked Gun), support the show on Patreon.

Cheers everyone! With Kevin on assignment (he's joined the Black Parade), we're unlocking this popular and dizzying episode from the Patreon feed for this week: the Rare Blue Apes of Cannibal Isle, the utterly wild, once entirely lost children's film staring some humans, many swampies, Mr. Quack Quack, and those selfsame Rare Blue Apes. If you enjoy this off-the-wall content and want to support the show, head over to our Patreon for more: Patreon.com/nowweknow! Also, check out the video version of the episode, and all our recent episodes, over at YouTube!

It's that time again! Don't touch that dial and try and find a channel that isn't on commercial -- they're all commercials! Kevin brought Chris a slew of oldies (not all goldies) such as ads for ancient electronics with features we'd still kill for today and who can forget that loveable children's classic: The Bud Bowl, where beer bottles play football for some reason? You know, for kids! Call the number on your screen and order now!

Winter and spring have given way to summer, and where better to head than the south of France for a romantic interlude, no? This week, Chris and Kevin crack into French Kiss, the 1995 romantic comedy starring Kevin Kline and Meg Ryan against the backdrop of Paris and the southern vineyards. Is this a downturn in Meg's romcom trajectory? Or is it, secretly, one of her best?