Fanacek

You may not know their names, but you've definitely seen their work...and you were likely scared shitless!  These two fellas became famous for starring in Poltergeist and Friday the 13th respectively.  But what happened next?  What kind of careers did they have?  Well, I answer these questions and more as I dig into their lives and resumes while also chatting about prank calls and Bret "the Hitman...

I've heard her describes as "The Incomparable Morgan Fairchild".  But is she really incomparable?  We're gonna take a deep dive into her screen resume and figure that shit out.  We'll also chat about my abandoned Prisoner screenplay, missing Paul Reubens, and chatting with Eddie Deezen.  Enjoy.

My man Robbie Rist is THE original Cousin Oliver!  And, for that, he will always be held in high regard in the annals of pop culture history.  But what else did he do, you ask?  A ton and I take a nice, deep dive on his screen credits while also getting chatty about Friday the 13th Parts 4-6, the Having Babies franchise of the 1970s, Tony Bill & My Bodyguard, David Gordon Green's Halloween tri...

I get it.  You like Paul Sorvino.  I like Paul Sorvino.  We all like Paul Sorvino.  But he is a Hall of Famer?  Or is he just the guy from Goodfellas?  He had a long, career.  Some great, some not.  Now it's time to comb through that resume and determine if he belongs in the Hall!  Along the way, we'll chat about some other fun stuff like Robert Mitchum's drunken antics and the time I saw Jonathan...

What to expect from the exciting new season of Fanacek!

This is the last one, I swear!  No more TV adaptations of 80s movies ever again!  But let's end it with a bang as I chitchat about 1980's Fame, and as I wax poetic 1983's Blue Thunder, or as I contemplate 1988's Working Girl, all before I finally offer my in-depth thoughts on 1980's Stir Crazy.  Who else would do that for you?  And, as an added bonus, I'll offer up some opinions on Sam Peckinpah's...

You thought I was done with this topic, didn't you?  Well, I did some sleuthing and found a few more 80s shows that became short lived, unbelievably bad television shows.  And unbelievably bad television shows is kind of my thing!  We're gonna chat about Richard Pryor's Bustin' Loose which did not turn out to be a DYN-O-MITE series.  I'll also enlighten you regarding Down and Out in Beverly Hills,...

The 80s have finally come to a close, and the decade's final moments did not disappoint.  Join me as I discuss the envelope pushing antics of the Conner family on Roseanne, the "they're not lesbians, I promise" relationship between Kate & Allie, and the trauma we all experienced watching Life Goes On.  I'll also crack wise about the comedy stylings of Wes Craven, stars yelling at audiences, an...

We're closing in on the end of the 80s and things are getting crazy.  Spinoffs are dominating the airwaves as shows like Empty Nest and A Different World crack the Top 10.  Also, our televisions are being assaulted by continuations and reboots that we didn't want as Mission: Impossible, The Munsters Today, and War of the Worlds are brought to life via first run syndication.  The good news is that...

This is the 100th episode folks!  100 episodes of me yapping about stuff that most folks don't care about, but I love it and I'm grateful for everyone that listens.  Join me as I take a look at 1987 television as I experienced it.  We're gonna discuss Remington Steele and The Wonder Years.  We're gonna explore how 21 Jumpstreet made me want to be an undercover cop.  We're gonna chit chat about Ene...

1986.  It was a great year to be alive.  Sure, the space shuttle Challenger exploded killing everyone onboard and traumatizing the children who watching it on TV.  But, rather than dwell on that, I'd rather talk about Night Court.  And Amen.  And T.J. Hooker.  Hell, I'm even gonna educate you on Peter Boyle killing a house full of hippies why Whitman Mayo is a national treasure.  Was Rebecca Schae...

We're halfway through the decade and sitcoms are starting to rule the airwaves!  Audiences are losing interest in the rich folks of Dynasty, Dallas, and Falcon Crest as they fall in love with the likes of Tony Micelli, Alex P. Keaton, and America's favorite gynecologist, Dr. Huxtable.  This episode takes a closer look at classics like The Equalizer, Family Ties, and Alice while also having fun wit...

Forget about George Orwell's 1984.  That book is a downer.  Fanacek's 1984 will lift your spirits as we explore such shows as Crazy Like a Fox, One Day at a Time, and Murder, She Wrote.  We'll also crack wise about some forgotten television shows that included the murderous Delta Burke, monkeys with alien superpowers, and a gay dude in Philly.  It might be the greatest podcast episode of all time....

I'm back and this time I'm exploring shows from 1982 & 1983.  Luck you!  We'll touch on such classics as  Simon & Simon, Newhart, The Incredible Hulk, Cagney & Lacey, Webster, and M*A*S*H.  I'll also explore some interesting programs that are forgotten or that I wish were forgotten...shows that involve horny puppets and racism.  BTW, that was the name of my band in high school.  Horny...

Happy 2025!  A new year and a new season of your favorite (doubtful) podcast, Fanacek!  The next few episodes will deal with the programs that flooded our TV sets in the 80s.  I can't really title the episodes "THE Year in TV" or "YOUR Year in TV" because I often focus on some weird shit.  But rest assured, you'll enjoy learning about obscure TV shows and hearing my thoughts on your favorite class...

It's finally effing here!  The finale in my 9 part series comparing movie and television actors of the 1980s.  This fun filled episode has me discussing three different actors across two categories: Thank God They Left TV and Now You're Just Showing Off!  The former takes a deep dive into the careers of 2 actors who were the stars of their own television shows before throwing it away to become big...

This is a fun episode, folks.  It's also a little depressing.  But depressing can be fun, right?  Well, fun or not, we're about to take a deep dive on three actors whose fall from grace left television as their only option in the 80s.  George Peppard, George C. Scott, and Jan-Michael Vincent were once stars of the silver screen, bur after years of drinking, financial woes, and poor behavior, found...

It's time to kick off the holiday season Fanacek style.  You see, here at the Fanacek house, the holidays officially start with the annual viewing of Planes, Trains & Automobiles.  There's no better way to get ready for both Thanksgiving and Christmas than by watching the genius of Steve Martin and John Candy in this 1987 classic brought to us by Mr. John Hughes.  I'm joined by a guest and we...

There are some actors from the 80s (I'm not gonna name names) that should have abandoned their movie careers early on and make the switch to television.  It would have saved them years of decline and humiliation as the quality of their movies slowly sunk into the depth of the VHS bargain bins.  Again, I'm not gonna name names...Steve Guttenberg and Judge Reinhold!  To show I can also reward actors...

We've talked about 80s winners.  We've talked about 80s losers.  Now, it's time to talk about the "just okay" of the 80s.  Please join me as I discuss some 80s film and TV actors that were jack of all trades, bur masters of none.  Some, like Robert Hays and Kristy McNichol are no brainers, while my man, Don Johnson, is a hot take and will likely piss some of you off.  Regardless, it's time to kick...

There are still so many 80s actors I want to talk about!  In this episode, I ask the question, "Why the quick jump television"?  So far, I've focused on actors who had TV success and either crushed it in movies as well, crashed and burned in movies, or maybe just dabbled in feature films before heading back to television where they belonged.  Now, I'm gonna focus on actors who I think should have...

If you love the 80s, you're probably enjoying this season of Fanacek.  If you don't , well suck it up and let me educate you.  This week I'm discussing 80s actors who could have made a run at big screen stardom, but they knew damn well that television is where they belonged. What they lacked in feature film potential, they made up for in self awareness.  Follow me down this road as I wax poetic ab...

There's an old saying in Hollywood: "Never Quit the Hit".  Well, the TV actors we're gonna discuss today did not take heed of this wisdom.  Rather, they threw caution to the wind and chased movie stardom, only to land flat on their asses. We start with the Cautionary Tale Queen herself, Shelley Long, and then weave our way through the careers of Justine Bateman, Kirk Cameron, Lisa Bonet, Roseanne...

As a kid, I would love when my favorite shows would advertise an upcoming "very special" episode.  It often meant there was gonna be drug use, domestic violence, or the threat of pedophilia.  Sadly, this "very special" episode of Fanacek has none of those things, but it does have Eric Todd and Brad Crain from one of my favorite podcasts, This Week In Charles Bronson.  I was a guest on their show e...

"Never quit the hit".  That's what they say.  Hollywood history is filled with the cautionary tales of actors who, despite television success, were seduced by the glitz and glamour of big screen stardom.  Let's not forget, there used to be a very solid line drawn between movie stars and TV stars.  On this episode, we are going to look at actors we knew in the 80s who worked on screens both big and...