The Brandon Peters Show

Hollywood legend Beverly Garland graces the ape makeup and steps in for this rather interesting episode of Planet of the Apes. The interrogation portion is the sell of this episode, but the meat of it really comes in introducing us to Galen’s family and the continued excelling in social commentary that it brings. Russell McGee from the Big Finish Productions & WTIU-TV is the Companion fo...

June 11-13, 1982: We arrive at the summer’s highest profile success story as well as its highest profile bomb. Steven Spielberg’s E.T. – The Extraterrestrial captured the hearts and imagination of the nation. And Grease 2 dropped off the planet almost instantly upon arrival. But, has it been unfairly maligned after 40 years in the doghouse? Listen in! We’ll also be discussi...

Jessica’s second turn at bat comes with the valiant effort by Rick Springfield. His lead single to his album to follow up his mega success with “Jessie’s Girl” just could not reach #1 despite it being in its grasp. “Don’t Talk To Strangers” hung around at #2 for consecutive weeks, unable to dethrone “Ebony & Ivory”. The video for the song i...

This Planet of the Apes episode provides some old west spectacle and brings in a pretty experienced director and stars of the time to get it done. While not a lot happens in this one, there’s more to it than meets the eye. Russell McGee from the Big Finish Productions & WTIU-TV is the Companion for The Planet of the Apes. The Brandon Peters Show will return Friday (6/3) with special gues...

We headed into the “danger zone” with the release of Top Gun: Maverick. Taking a look back at the original Tony Scott phenomenon, TOP GUN! We talk the era, the legacy, the rides, soundtrack and everything to do with Tom Cruise’s biggest staple. In addition to myself, this commentary features Aaron Neuwirth (Out Now host, We Live Entertainment),Scott Mendelson (Forbes) Peter Paras...

June 4-6, 1982: The opening weekend box office record is broken by Star Trek II: The Wrath of KHANNNN! But it’s an opening weekend of two ’82 powerhouse films as Tobe Hooper’s Poltergeist jumps in on the summer movie season. Sidney Poitier directs the real life meet cute of Gene Wilder and Gilda Radner in Hanky Panky. We’ll also be discussing the box office report, notable...

Troy Brownfield completes your roster for the Summer of ’82 at 40 music video series guests. And funny enough, like his first appearance on the show, we are talking about a music video that is very inspired by the Universal Classic Monsters. Ray Parker Jr has a legacy of being known only for the Ghostbusters theme song and his subsequent lawsuit with Huey Lewis and the News. However, the guy...

Planet of the Apes seems to be starting to put it all together here with another dynamite episode. This one goes after the KKK in its own Ape way and tells a pretty gripping story revolving around racism and hate crime related violence. Buckle up. This one is a doozy! Russell McGee from the Big Finish Productions & WTIU-TV is the Companion for The Planet of the Apes. The Brandon Peters Show wi...

May 28-30, 1982: A stacked week that sees possibly our biggest release yet as Sylvester Stallone drops Rocky III upon us featuring Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger” that would climb the charts later in the summer. William Shatner and Lee Grant try not to be killed by slasher Michael Ironside in Visiting Hours. Raul Julia and Desi Arnez play father and son in The Escape Artist. And Jo...

Jennifer Wreyford is guest #3 for the Summer of ’82 at 40 music video series! I’m excited to have her return, and it’s been far too long. Nonetheless, she’s good at these music video episodes and I’m happy to spend a few Fridays over these coming months talking about 80s ones with her. Our first is a happy accident – I SWEAR! She’s a Jennifer and I somehow...

Russel and I hit a gem of an episode. Planet of the Apes takes the hospital procedural type tv genre and really spins it into something all its own. It’s not just a tired retread as we have seen in episodes past. Russell McGee from the Big Finish Productions & WTIU-TV is the Companion for The Planet of the Apes. The Brandon Peters Show will return Friday (5/20) with special guest Jennife...

May 21-23, 1982: Our third week sees us covering a film that was very tough to find; the Tom Skerritt Death Wish inspired Fighting Back. Steven Martin and Carl Reiner experiment a bit with the goofy and charming Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid. And, one of the most beloved films from the summer, action classic The Road Warrior gets our showering praise. We’ll also be discussing the box offic...

Of course The Summer of ’82 at 40 wouldn’t be without the great Mike Vanderbilt! He’s the 2nd of our 4 rotating guests for the music video series and I’m elated to have him on board for the whole summer! Well, the show is finally tackling some Beatles territory. “Ebony and Ivory” was a humongous hit for Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder in the summer of 1982. It...

Russell and I admire the nice change of scenery to the episode. We discuss this fishing slavery village our heroes infiltrate. Russell also has a bit of a theory of the potential genesis of the shark props used in this episode as well… Russell McGee from the Big Finish Productions & WTIU-TV is the Companion for The Planet of the Apes. The Brandon Peters Show will return Friday (5/13) to close...

May 14-16, 1982: The second week finally sees something resembling a “big summer blockbuster” in the form of Conan: The Barbarian starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. Another big star joins by way of political satire with Sean Connery in Right Is Wrong. There were also two horror films this weekend, slasher Death Screams and The House Where Evil Dwells starring Susan George. We’ll als...

The Summer of 82 at 40 will also dominate the music video series as we take this pop culture journey. It’ll include familiar faces from the show as we talk about a song from the Casey Kasem top 10 discussed on the show earlier in the week. Jessica Alsman, to the surprise of no one, is one of those guests. We kicked the door down on this with Joan Jett & The Blackhearts cover of “I...

This episode finally starts trucking some things along and making this series stand out. Not only does it have a young Jackie Earle Haley guest star, but it kind of re-pilots the show with a bit more interesting mission. Russell and I dig into this one with much optimism. Russell McGee from the Big Finish Productions & WTIU-TV is the Companion for The Planet of the Apes. The Brandon Peters Sho...

The Summer of ’82 at 40 is a weekly retrospective journey through American pop culture during May, June, July and August of 1982. Brandon Peters and Forbes’ Scott Mendelson take a weekend by weekend look at the films released during the summer as well as the news stories, television and music that rounded out the public’s lives as they lined the pockets of the box office to see t...

“The Good Seeds” finds Galen and his astronaut pals down on an ape farm. Well, a farm run by apes. See as they help around the land while hiding out, yet have to deal with the adversary of mythic superstition. Russell McGee from the Big Finish Productions & WTIU-TV is the Companion for The Planet of the Apes. The Brandon Peters Show will return Monday (5/2) for the debut of The Sum...

With the release of Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent this month, we are taking a look back at a stone-cold Cage classic. Face/Off was at the height of powers for Nic Cage, John Travolta and John Woo. A fine, big spectacle, high concept, high emotion thrill ride that is one of the most balls to the wall fun R-rated action pics the decade would offer. In addition to myself, this commentary featur...

I had always planned to get to Pearl Jam as they are one of my favorite bands. But, I’d imagined it would be something like “Jeremy”, “Alive” or “Love Boat Captain”. Seeing as things came together with Jonathan Graves being a big animation guy and Pearl Jam having one of the most glorious fully animated music videos…”Do the Evolution” it is! An...

What happens when ape and man are trapped under the rubble of a desecrated city with no feasible way out? Do they get along? Do they fight to the death? Do we get another that’s not a common science fiction television show trope? Who knows, but Russell McGee and I are here to dissect it! Also – WOMEN! They are in the episode AND say words! Russell McGee from the Big Finish Productions...

Another seminal film in the history of the medium turned 50 years old this year as well and isn’t really getting the recognition some others are. Peter Bogdanovich’s What’s Up, Doc? starring Babra Streisand and Ryan O’Neal was the 3rd highest grossing film of 1972. It trailed only The Godfather and The Poseidon Adventure in ticket sales. The film is a screwball comedy throw...

We get our first notable guest star here in the form of a young Marc Singer who would go on to break out in The Beastmaster 8 years later. This is a pretty typical generic science fiction TV show plot, but is it any different (or better) when you paint it on the Planet of the Apes canvas? Russell and I dug in to find out. Russell McGee from the Big Finish Productions & WTIU-TV is the Companion...

No episode this week, but I’m finally ready to announce the big project I’ve been working on this year. So without further adieu, let me unveil… THE SUMMER OF ’82 AT 40 One of the biggest summer movie seasons of all time turns the same age I did this year and I wanted to take a big dive back into that pop culture time capsule. Joining me for this journey all summer long is Scott...