Pop Culture Historians

This week, the Pop Culture Historians dig deep into the original Superman film franchise with this attempt at a spinoff, 1984’s SUPERGIRL! This Helen Slater-led movie boasts an all-star cast including Peter O’Toole, Faye Dunaway and Brenda Vaccaro. But is it any good? Well, no. But does it pull of its interesting mix of superhero film, witch caper and college movie? Also no.

This week, the Pop Culture Historians finally break down SUPERMAN III, an early shorthand for franchise bloat. Gene Hackman is replaced by Robert Vaughn and Richard Pryor, Margot Kidder is sidelined for Annette O’Toole, and the charm of the first two SUPERMAN installments is junked for misplaced comedy. Besides that, it’s great!

This week, the Pop Culture Historians meet SWAMP THING! This 1982 Wes Craven film is many things, but…is it even technically a superhero film? This, plus much, much more gets discussed. The full movie is currently on YouTube if you want to watch along. The only way out is through!

This week, the Pop Culture Historians do a deep dive into 1981’s CONDORMAN. Beloved by some, forgotten by most, this Michael Crawford family vehicle represents a piece of Disney history not often reflected on. But is it any good? Listen this week and find out (no, it is not)!

This week, Superman returns for our first sequel, 1980’s SUPERMAN RETURNS. We dive back into the behind the scenes drama, discuss whether Richard Lester’s contributions help or hurt and determine this movie’s MVP. Will the Pop Culture Historians kneel before Zod? Listen this week and find out!

This week, there’s a HERO AT LARGE and he’s played by John Ritter! The Pop Culture Historians discuss this MGM family movie that sees a loser actor become a hero overnight. Is this less popular movie a forgotten classic, or best left forgotten? Can the Pop Culture Historians run out of things to say before the hour is done? Find out this week! The full movie can be found on YouTube.

This week, the Pop Culture Historians meet FLASH GORDON for the final time! Although its status as a superhero movie may be arguable, the amount of color and fun it provides isn’t, even if there is a crucial casting error at its core. DIIIIIVE into this week’s episode!

This week, the Pop Culture Historians cover the true beginning of the superhero genre, Richard Donner’s 1978 SUPERMAN! Marlon Brando and Christopher Reeve blow them away, but does the movie as a whole leave something on the table? Also, how was it possible the movie was good at all considering the considerable chaos behind the scenes? Ponder these super questions and more with the Pop Culture Hist...

The Pop Culture Historians welcome you to the next edition of the History of Superhero Films series! In this run of episodes, we take you “From Batman to Batman!” We start with BATMAN 1966, end with BATMAN 1989, and cover all the major releases in between! This week, we break down the 60’s camp classic BATMAN (1966), an extension of the beloved (if now misunderstood) TV series. We talk about how l...

It’s awards season time! The Pop Culture Historians cover the best moment from each Classic Doctor Who Season Two serial (plus the DR. WHO AND THE DALEKS movie!). As well, Best and Worst Cliffhanger, Best Individual Episode, Best Villain and MVP awards are all given out. All this, plus a sneak peek at what’s to come for the show, and MORE!

This week, the Pop Culture Historians break down the very first Doctor Who movie, 1965’s DR. WHO AND THE DALEKS (note the spelling of “Dr.”). Topics include: does Peter Cushing count as one of the official Doctors? Does adapting a seven-part TV serial into a 79 minute film actually make the story better? How cool is it to see the Daleks in color? And why did they change all of the characters’ pers...

This week, the Pop Culture Historians cover the final story in Classic Doctor Who Season Two, THE TIME MEDDLER. The world of Doctor Who gets expanded for the very first time with the arrival of The Monk. We welcome special guest star Peter Butterworth, we discuss the real-world educational value of this story concerning the Battle of Hastings and preview what’s next for Pop Culture Historians. The...

This week, the Pop Culture Historians break down THE CHASE, a unique and memorable William Hartnell-era Doctor Who serial. This six-part story has it all: Daleks, the introduction of Peter Purves, the loss of two major cast members, plus guest stars ranging from Shakespeare and Abraham Lincoln to Frankenstein and Count Dracula. This story is as balls-to-the-wall as it gets, and we go almost two ho...

This week, the Pop Culture Historians visit THE SPACE MUSEUM! Listen as we discuss how this First Doctor story gets off to such a great start, then falls apart almost immediately. Is it an intentional parody of Doctor Who tropes or just a muddled mess? Regardless, it contains maybe the single funniest William Hartnell moment in the show’s history. The entire serial can be found on BritBox!

This week, the Pop Culture Historians meet Shakespeare in the Park! Doctor Who, Vicki, Ian and Barbara find themselves in the middle of THE CRUSADE. Listen as we discuss the biggest guest star the show has had up to this point, Julian Glover, and ponder as we decide whether the fact that two of the four episodes are missing take away from an otherwise stellar First Doctor story. Both the existing...

This week, the Pop Culture Historians spend Memorial Day memorializing THE WEB PLANET. Not one of the most beloved William Hartnell serials, we nevertheless discuss the significant ambition behind this overlong story that ultimately falls well short of its intentions. We also talk about obnoxious beeping and silly character voices. All episodes of THE WEB PLANET can be found on BritBox!

This week, the Pop Culture Historians cover THE ROMANS, perhaps one of the finest William Hartnell Doctor Who serials of all time. Listen as we break down how this four episode run balances some very dark subject matter with some of the broadest comedy the show has done up to this point. The entire serial can be found on BritBox!

This week, the Pop Culture Historians welcome our first cast addition to Doctor Who in THE RESCUE! During this quick two-part story, we discuss our initial impressions of Maureen O’Brien’s Vicki. We also break down why this serial stood as the show’s highest rated until the 1970’s. All this and more this week!

This week, the Daleks return! A six-part serial, THE DALEK INVASION OF EARTH changes DOCTOR WHO forever, as the show seems to have its foundation altered going forward. The Pop Culture Historians analyze how far the Daleks have come as antagonists, as well as break down their feelings on our very first cast departure, someone who’s been with us since the very first scene. All six parts of this ser...

This week, the Doctor Returns! The Pop Culture Historians dive back into their Classic Who watch/rewatch with a quick three part serial where size truly does matter. As a bonus, we also review a lovingly reconstructed version of the original fourth episode. The serial can be found on BritBox, while the reconstructions can be found at https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2adecz and https://www.dailym...

This week, we take a look back at the serials we’ve reviewed in this run of episodes. We award best and worst cliffhangers, our favorite heroes and the biggest prizes of all: Best and Worst Serial! We also stumble upon a name for our end-of-season award show. Check it out!

This week, we’ve reached a real milestone! First, the Pop Culture Historians break down the two Superman movie serials. We marvel at how good 1948’s SUPERMAN really was, and remake on how 1950’s ATOM MAN VS SUPERMAN introduces arguably one of the biggest supervillains ever. Finally, we dig into 1952’s SUPERMAN VS. THE MOLE MEN, a theatrical pilot to the 50’s television show. It’s George Reeves’ de...

This week, the Pop Culture Historians are visited by one of the biggest superheroes of them all, Batman! Listen as we reel from the WWII propaganda in BATMAN (1943), laugh as we discuss the cliffhangers of BATMAN AND ROBIN (1949) and consider as we find the virtues and highlights of both serials despite it all. Both serials are on YouTube! Follow us on Twitter (@pchistorians) and Instagram (@popcu...

This week, the Pop Culture Historians meet a superhero legend, Captain America! In this version of the future leader of the Avengers, however, there’s no Steve Rogers. Instead, Cap is District Attorney Grant Gardner (Dick Purcell). The Historians pay their respects to Gail Richards (Lorna Gray), grimace at the bizarre and bleak ending, and marvel at an interesting special feature. The entire seria...

This week, the Pop Culture Historians meet THE PHANTOM! We dive into this incredibly popular character’s first and only film serial, which yielded mixed results. Meet the evil Dr. Bremmer! See Tom Tyler return to action! Hear about the insane pseudo-sequel serial Columbia made after losing the rights to the character! All this and more this week on Pop Culture Historians! This serial is available...