Now We Know

It's Monkeybone night in America. After granting returning guest Evan Tognotti the unprecedented privilege to pick a surprise topic, with no prior knowledge on the part of Kevin or Chris, your humble hosts were shocked and appalled to be ambushed with the reviled Monkeybone, starring Academy Award winner Brendan Fraser, Bridget Fonda, Dave Foley, John Turturro, and many more. Was this movie unfairly maligned in its time? No!

Per listener request, the Now We Know boys look back at the musical movie sensation Camelot, starring Richard Harris, Vanessa Redgrave, Franco Nero, and a cast of thousands! Traipse back into medieval times, with magic, mayhem, and yes, copious amounts of cuckoldry.

The quack attack is back, Jack! That's right, for the very first time (but far from the last) audiences in 1994 got to return to The Mighty Ducks cinematic universe. Charlie! Gordon Bombay! Goldberg! The female goalie who's much better than Goldberg but never gets to play, for reasons definitely unrelated to sexism! Join Kevin and Chris as they look back at the most climactic and incredible finish in the history of the, I want to say, Junior Goodwill Games?

"Better than the others, you'll be hooked on the brothers. UNH!" But in all seriousness folks, Super Mario is back in theaters this month, with Nintendo's big-budget return to the silver screen already hauling in cash in wheelbarrows. But it took a long, long time for the iconic video game company to ever attempt another theatrical release, in no small part thanks to SUPER MARIO BROS. (1993), the Bob Hoskins/John Leguizamo vehicle that was a commercial and critical failure, and torpedoed the careers of husband and wife directorial duo Rocky Morton and Annabel Jankel. Was the hate deserved, or is this a hidden gem? Kevin and Chris are joined by returning guest Sean Hurlburt to find out.

Chris was but four years old when he first saw—for the only time—the critically praised yet commercially unsuccessful Sesame Street theatrical movie, Follow That Bird. It's loomed large in his imagination for decades for subjecting our beloved Big Bird to undue, needless, harrowing cruelty. Is Chris' inner child right? Or does this one go down a little smoother when you've reached the Age of Reason?

At long last, to revisit one of the seminal experiences of an 80's childhood–watching decades-old shows because Nickelodeon had too much time to fill–CEO and managing partner of Now We Know Industries Jordan Banks stops by the pod. He, Kevin, and Chris watched a trio of classic Nick at Nite shows: Dragnet, Taxi, and Bewitched. So, late on a school night, why not cozy up in bed with a new episode to drift off to? You can finish it tomorrow when you wake up.

After 25 long years, James Cameron's romantic epic Titanic is back in theaters for a limited time, a delight for White Star Line-heads everywhere. So, Chris decided to reach back into the annals of his sixth-grade PC and pull out Titanic: Adventure Out of Time, an "interactive movie" video game which actually preceded the Cameron film by one year. Can you win a race against time to change the future and save countless lives, but definitely not the ones aboard Titanic?

You wanted more Burglekutt, and you got it. Kevin unveils the big Willow episode, in which we watch Willow, starring among others Warwick Davis and Val Kilmer. PROGRAMMING NOTE: If you want to also hear our foray into the the Disney+ Willow series, head to Patreon.com/nowweknow!

To Kevin's abject horror, Chris wrests control of the wheel and sets course for Funny Farm. The 1988 comedy—characterized as a "small miracle" by Roger Ebert, and directed by George Roy Hill (The Sting, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Slap Shot)—is now, according to a citation-free claim on Wikipedia, considered one of Chevy Chase's best films. Is that true? And, if so, would that definitionally mean it has to be good? Let's all find out, together.

Tiger tiger by the tail! Hold on, tiger tiger! (this show stinks)

Happy New Year, everyone! And to kick off Season Six, Kevin and Chris bring forth a consummate New Year's movie: 1995's Four Rooms, starring Tim Roth, Madonna, Ione Skye, Quentin Tarantino, Antonio Banderas, Bruce Willis (in an uncredited role), and many more. Rest assured, you won't find a better way to ring in 2023 than with your saintly friends and Now We Know.

Patreon.com/nowweknow Merry Christmas! Your present this year, from your humble hosts straight into your podcast feed: we've unlocked the final Patreon premium episode of the year, free of charge. Kevin and Chris are joined by Evan Tognotti to watch and discuss A CHRISTMAS STORY CHRISTMAS (2022), the legacy sequel to 1983's 24-hour TV marathon classic A CHRISTMAS STORY. If you like what you hear, you can access to all our bonus content—in addition to everything we've got cooking in the oven for next year—by subscribing to our Patreon feed! Hop on over to Patreon.com/nowweknow. Thanks all, we'll see you in the new year!

Christmas time is here again... again! Kevin and Chris dive even deeper into classic Xmas nostalgia with the 1978 PBS special, Christmas Eve on Sesame Street. Join Big Bird, Bert, Ernie, Oscar, Cookie Monster, and more—including a certain iconic star of small and big screen alike, who'd apparently rather sit out in the wintry New York cold than spend the holidays with his, ah, demanding girlfriend—for a heartwarming paean to good cheer, kindness, and community. And for you, yes you, wherever you are, please have a happy and safe winter holiday and New Year's! We'll be back in two weeks with season six of Now We Know!

Christmastime, christmastime, christmastime is here! And with it comes Kevin and Chris finally tackling one of the foundational works of the American Christmas canon, that which famously aired in 24 hour broadcast TV blocks on the big day it—A Christmas Story, the 1983 Bob Clark film based on the work of legendary radio humorist Jean Shepherd. This movie is very much not niche, and there's a great chance you know its ins and outs better than almost any other subject we've covered. But, the eternal question: is it any good?

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Kevin and Chris are back in the seasonal spirit with A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, the third Peanuts holiday special, released in 1973. Is it yet another stone cold classic like A Charlie Brown Christmas, or It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown? Not exactly, but it still boasts that Vince Guaraldi magic, and would bring home Emmy gold the following year. So, join us this Thanksgiving, as we join Charlie Brown, Linus, Peppermint Patty, Marcie, Franklin, Snoopy, and Woodstock for some heaping helpings of buttered toast, popcorn... pretzel sticks... and jelly beans. (Also features Lucy in a particular cruel football-themed cold open, although she apparently had better things to do than spend Thanksgiving proper with the gang.)

Episode 120 is finally here, and it's just another bread and butter Now We Know classic. This time around, your humble hosts Chris and Rachel look back at equal parts cynical and controversial 1994 kids flick Blank Check, featuring such luminaries as Miguel Ferrer, Karen Duffy, Michael Lerner, Tone Loc, and James Rebhorn. Come for the nostaglia, stay for Rachel's infamous buttermilk story!

Happy Halloween, everyone! On this dim, sanguinary Night of Fright, in the year of our gored 2022, Chris does the unthinkable and voluntarily hosts a vampire movie episode. But this isn't just any vampire movie—in fact, according to Wikipedia, it's "currently the latest film" directed by 96-year-old comedy icon Mel Brooks! That's right, it's Leslie Nielsen vehicle Dracula: Dead and Loving It, co-starring Peter MacNicol, Amy Yasbeck, Steven Weber, and Mel himself. Prepare yourselves, folks, because few things are as spooooooky as an unfunny comedy!

The Halloween season is upon us, and so Kevin has once again foisted his trademark vampire nonsense on poor, unsuspecting, saintly Chris. This time it's the early 90's Dracula TV show, in which some radical kids and their uncle (could he be... Van Helsing?) take on an 80's businessman Drac, and Kindred: The Embraced, a sexy, thick-with-passion blend of vampires and the mob set in the milieu of 90's San Francisco. Scary stuff ahead!

The boys are back with the fifth installment of their populist darling series, Commercials of the 80s and 90s. From rappin' Flintstones, to the sttely commands of the Bop-It!, to the unholy union of Michael Jordan and McDonald's, Kevin and Chris pour over 18 more memorable commercials from the annals of their youths. (Programming note: If you're confused — "Volume 5!? Where's Volume 4?" you ask, hands shaking, sweat pouring down your face, feet rapidly turning cold as ice — that episode, released earlier this year, is on our subscriber feed! Check it out today, as well as all our other bonus content, at patreon.com/nowweknow)

There can be only two! Two hosts, that is! Also, two Highlander movies as of the year 1991. Departing boldly from the plot and canon of the original film, yet nonetheless featuring returning co-stars Christopher Lambert and Sean Connery, Highlander 2 sends our beloved sword-wielding boys from Earth, to the Planet Zeist, and back again! Remember your home... another galaxy!