A Very Special Episode

Ahoy mateys! We are back with our second superhunk episode in a row as Carolyn, David & Austin go on a not-quite-three-hour tour with Gilligan's Island ! Join us as we discuss island hemorrhoids, the hotness of Mary Anne, and the Harlem Globetrotters! And we get back to our SBTB Reviewed roots by comparing the castaways to the Golden Six! So be sure to pack a ton of raincoats, then download an...

Aloha! This week, Carolyn, David, and the returning Very Special Guest, Carolyn's newly-turned-40 fiance Aaron, grapple with mortality under the sunny skies of Hawaii along with Magnum P.I. and one of the finest examples of facial hair in TV history. And while staring death in the face, they also discuss sharks named Herman, dropping the N word in Vietnam, and a boss fly with a pussy face. So reme...

Howdy partners! This week, David, Carolyn & Austin travel back to the Old West to check out a show from what was once one of TV's dominant genres, the Western. Join us as we review an episode of Trackdown , in which Texaa Ranger Hoby Gilman arrives in town shortly after a conman who promises to help the townspeople stave off the end of the world (that only he says is coming) by building a wall...

"1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 Schlemiel! Schlimazel! Hasenpfeffer Incorporated!" This week, we're doing it our way, as we tackle a Very Special episode of Laverne & Shirley in commemoration of the passing of Penny Marshall, in which Laverne meets the love of her life in the form of Ted Danson's magnificent plume of hair, but Ted Danson meets tragedy in a genuinely heartbreaking episode. Join Ryan, C...

And now for something completely different! This week, we present a very special Very Special episode, as the Aluminum Four ring in the new year by discussing the highs and lows of pop culture in 2018, the TV shows, movies, books and more we enjoyed (and some we didn't enjoy) in the year that was. Join us as we discuss everything from Steven Universe to the Moviepass debacle to Mary Poppins Return...

Marley was dead, to begin our fourth & final Christmas episode of the season, as Sam leaps into a Christmas Caro l pastiche in a very special Quantum Leap Christmas episode! Join David, Ryan, Carolyn & Austin as we grapple with the mechanics of Quantum Leap , discuss the awesome redemptive power of sexual attraction, and try to dissect a complex plot involving Dickensian orphans meant to m...

By the power of Grayskull Christmas! This week, we return to the formative years of Austin's childhood as Christmas comes to Eternia in the form of a pair of Earth children accidentally kidnapped thanks to Orko's bungling, who proceed to teach Skeletor the true meaning of Christmas. Along the way, the Aluminum Four discuss frighteningly-negligent parents, winter coat-generating laser blasts, and,...

Oooga mooga, everyone! Our special run of weekly Christmas episodes continues with an episode from Small Wonder , in which the patriarch of the Lawson family/creator of small wonders is convinced to help organize a fundraiser for a caribou-themed lodge in the interest of furthering his career. If that doesn't sound very Christmas-y, well, that's because it's not. Turns out Ryan got tricked by the...

Merry Christmas! This week begins our annual marathon of Christmas-related episodes, and Carolyn kicks things off by leading us into a world populated by animated clay dinosaurs, pigs, and bells performing some of the all-time great Christmas songs, all under the watchful eye of famed animator Wil Vinton. Word through the grapevine is that even some West Coast-based cookie-ruiners might make an ap...

Gobble gobble everyone! For this year's Very Special Thanksgiving episode, the Aluminum Four gather round to discuss WKRP in Cincinnati 's "Turkeys Away", an episode featuring several old AVSE friends in which a radio promotion involving turkeys lands with (several) thuds. Along the way, we reveal our favorite meats, try to figure out who's doing what at the WKRP station, and talk a lot about...th...

Welcome back boils & ghouls to another spine-tingling Halloween installment of "A Very Special Episode". This week, the Aluminum Four return to TGIF mainstay Family Matters for "Stevil", in which Steve Urkel's ventriloquist dummy comes to life and proceeds to slaughter the Winslows in Freddie Krueger-esque, pun-based ways. Join Carol, Austin, David and a death-warmed-over (but ecstatic) Ryan a...

One, two, Freddie's coming for you... Hello, boils & ghouls, in this week's spoooky episode, we plunge into the dreamscape to review an episode from the horror anthology series Freddie's Nightmare , in which a babysitter with body image issues transforms into a pig monster & eats a kid, but then it turns out it's all just a little girl's dream, and then that's girl's dad gets stuck in some...

This week, we're reviewing Arthur - not the 1981 Dudley Moore/Liza Minelli film with the catchy theme song, but rather the PBS Kids animated series that has had an astonishingly long run. Specifically, we're discussing "Shelter from the Storm", in which Hurricane...Sadie...strikes whatever town it is Arthur lives in, upending the lives of the titular aardvark and his friends. Along the way, the Al...

Captain's Log: this week, the crew of the AVSE Podcast charts a new course with a Very Special episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation , in which Commander Riker brings the STD known as "mind-controlling, orgasm-inducing video game" back from his sex vacation, which quickly afflicts everyone except a visiting Wesley and a pre-fame Ashley Judd. Join Austin, Carolyn & David as we talk Trek of...

This week, we review  Diff'rent Strokes Season 5, Episode 22, "The Reporter", in which we finally (?) learn to "just say no", as Nancy Reagan fills Arnold in on what she's talkin' bout: the war on drugs. Relive the relatable experience of having one's own integrity validated by the first lady of the United States making a personal appearance in your classroom as we discuss one of the more ico...

Our summer "Bad Episode, Good Show" series concludes this week, as we check out one of the greatest sitcoms of all time (allegedly...) by discussing Seinfeld 's "The Puerto Rican Day", an episode so controversial it rarely gets aired in syndication. But is it, really? Join us as we ask, in our best Jerry Seinfeld voice, "what's the deal with the controversy in this episode?",  talk way too mu...

Fuggedaboudit! In our latest episode we're heading to Jersey to discuss a bad episode from the godfather of the Golden Age of TV Drama, The Sopranos , in which associates of the titular mob family run afoul of American Indian protesters on Columbus Day as stereotypes collide. So grab some orecchiette & broccoli rabe, then download and listen  here , rate & review us on  iTunes &n...

"Bad Episode, Good Show" hits paydirt this week, as the Aluminum Four return to an old and occasionally controversial favorite with "Sweet Dreams", a second season episode of Roseanne in which the titular character fantasizes about taking a bath, murdering her family, and starring in a Busby Berkeley-style musical. It's not just a bad episode of Roseanne , it's quite possibly the worst half hour o...

In our new episode, the Aluminum Four reunite to kick off our summer theme marathon, "Bad Episode, Good Show", with "Beer Bad", one of the more notoriously bad episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer , in which enchanted beer sends Buffy and a quartet of college douches back to the stone age, in a hamfisted and deeply mixed metaphor about the dangers of alcohol (at least, in theory). Along the way, w...

This week, we travel back to the heyday of Disney animation on TV to revisit the cult classic Gargoyles and learn an important lesson about literacy & the power of the written word, as expressed through magical Gargoyles who turn to stone in daylight and come alive at night. Along the way, David, Carolyn & Austin talk about the apparent omnipresence of medieval architecture in New York Cit...

With a song in our hearts and the divine on our lunches, we turn this week to Glee , season two episode three, "Grilled Cheesus", in which Jesus appears on Finn's grilled cheese, Kurt's dad falls into a coma, and everyone sings their feelings about religion! Join Carolyn, David, Austin and special guest, fellow Rivercity Podcaster and former Glee extra, Kyle McCormick, as we talk snazzy hats, Glee...

This week, we journey to Springfield, USA as we break the seal on one of the greatest TV shows of all time to review The Simpsons ' "Mother Simpson", in which Homer learns his long-dead mother is alive and well, albeit on the lam from the law. Special Guest Jess Tholmer joins Ryan and Austin as we talk favorite Simpsons quotes, the extent of Ryan's Simpsons hipsterism, and Glenn Close's greatest h...

Avengers Assemble! This week we throw pretense out the window in order to let four dorks talk about the biggest movie in the world for a couple hours! Join David, Ryan, Austin and special returning guest, the internet's foremost Spider-Man expert, Mark Ginocchio, as we talk annoying trailer tricks, Thanos' plan, and Spider-Man's thighs. And, of course, the Avengers! So cut a swath of destruction a...

All rise! This (night) court is now in session, as the Aluminum Four gather in memory of the recently departed Harry Anderson to discuss the conclusion to a four part, cross-season storyline on Night Court , which finds a job-less Harry interrupting a suicide as he attempts to hang glide over to the Statute of Liberty. Joins us as we talk belt loops, panting at women, and concussions. Guest starri...

Podcast, it's a podcast, 'bout the modern stone age family. From a-cross the country,  we're talking Fred & Barney & genies. That's right, we're going back in time to talk  The Flintstones , as Carolyn & David are joined by two Very Special guests, fellow Rivercity podcaster Randall Lawrence & Mark Russell, writer of DC's Flintstones comic book, to discuss the death gasps...