The Franchise Lives

It's film criticism, city-style, when the boys stalk the streets of the Death Wish franchise. They discuss how to sustain a franchise that was born out of moral ambiguity and how to repeatedly bring back a character that suffered such great personal loss. They then act as judge, jury, and executioner for all four sequels, plus its remake, and have some surprising verdicts about which choices were...

Before the boys take on their next franchise, they discuss the history of the production company behind it, the iconoclastic 1980's studio, Cannon Films. They share which films and franchises were their favorites, as well as which films they think should have been made into franchises. Nolan unveils his Cannon Films concept generator, and they speculate whether something like Cannon could ever exi...

The boys analyze a movie that stayed clean of becoming a franchise for 20 years when they shoot up Trainspotting. They determine if the sequel had as much character as heroin, James Bond, or the original film, and if it properly balanced a dramatic ensemble-cast story, gave satisfactory character arcs, and answered the question as to "why now" all these years later. They debate over what the appro...

Inspired by the hit soundtrack from their forthcoming franchise discussion, the boys talk about some of their favorite soundtracks that they had in their collections and then suggest 5 songs each for what they would include on the official The Franchise Lives original podcast soundtrack!

It's the same show with a new twist when the boys try pitching a sequel to their first non-franchise film, Groundhog Day. They examine which traits of the beloved original need to be recaptured, and which ones will make it hardest for creating a sequel 30 years later, before jumping into the loop themselves to see if Groundhog Day 2 is an idea that needs to be relived!

The boys sink their teeth into a nostalgia-packed franchise that has thus far only spawned one sequel when they take on Gremlins. They discuss which rules the screenwriters broke, and which ones they adhered to, and speculate whether the novel tone of the existing movies hindered their ability to produce more sequels. They debate whether or not this franchise should hatch a new movie after 30 year...

Coming off the sugar rush that was the Halloween franchise, and prior to their unboxing of the Gremlins franchise, the boys share their criteria for what constitutes a holiday movie and explore if it's even possible to come up with a form of measurement that is objective. They then discuss which holidays they think are underrepresented on the silver screen, brainstorm plots for those holidays, and...

The boys stock up the candy bowl for one hell of a long night when they open the door on Halloween. They try to unmask which elements of the original helped establish a franchise and share some dissenting opinions on its effectiveness and if those missteps actually contributed to spawning such a long series. They then discuss the various plot twists in the franchise and check to see which sequels...

In preparation for the Halloween season, the boys dust off some old decorations when they go back and review two vintage Saturday Night Live episodes hosted by Jamie Lee Curtis. Like the movie franchise itself, the fun doesn't stop there when the boys unearth a complete performance of the infamous Halloween night episode hosted by Donald Pleasence, which was one treat that contained some razor bla...

The boys settle into the basement couch and reminisce about their experiences watching public access television, which was the inspiration for a short-lived franchise, when they tune in to Wayne's World. They discuss the pitfalls and potentials of using a Saturday Night Live sketch comedy bit as a jumping-off point for a feature length film and go over the right and wrong ways to use it in a three...

In the opening act for their take on the Wayne's World franchise, the boys discuss whether Alice Cooper and Aerosmith were the best musical choices and try to determine the rules for what makes for good and bad band cameos. They then share their favorite on-screen performances and offer their opinions on which movies should have had cameos, as well as which artists were worthy of appearances in fi...

The boys step into the ring with a franchise that has had some wild attempts at defending the title of its first Oscar-winning film when they go toe-to-toe with Rocky. They judge how its sequels measure up and decide if its legacy is one that is remembered accurately on the public's score-cards. They then drag the franchise out of retirement for one last round to see if the series has anything lef...

In the weigh-in for their upcoming bout with the Rocky franchise, Chad tells his tale of the night he spent with former welterweight champion Keith Thurman's posse, and then the boys reminisce about the time they ran into an unexpected celebrity who still knows how to throw his money around even when he's not in Vegas for fight night.

The boys investigate a franchise that captured the imaginations of a wide-ranging audience and has subsequently taken many different forms and sparked rumors of reappearing for decades. They explore which installments were blockbusters and which were simply busts, before mustering the energy needed to pitch a new sequel all while attempting to avoid the traps laid out by the previous Ghostbusters...

Heading into their next franchise discussion, the boys look back on some of the promotional product tie-ins for Ghostbusters and try to take a non-biased approach to deciding if Ecto-Cooler should be considered the best cross-promotion product of all time. They then reflect on some of their other favorite campaigns before sharing their own concepts for other franchises that missed their opportunit...

The boys review the rap sheet of one of the most cerebral action franchises and investigate if any of the sequels in the RoboCop lineup committed any crimes. They then question whether a remake of the original was warranted, before finally pitching their own creations for cleaning up the streets of the RoboCop franchise.

What makes a franchise well-suited for jumping to the video game platform? Our hosts reminisce about which movies made for the best, worst, and most memorable video-game adaptations, and share which movies they would have liked to play themselves, before finally settling on where the medium stands relative to the big screen.

The boys stay in to critique a holiday movie that has garnered a generation of fans and try to settle if that joy is real or just fabled. Then they put their heads together to decide if any of the Home Alone sequels recaptured the original spirit or if this is one series that has been pilfered from one too many times, before finally revealing their own schemes for infiltrating the Home Alone franc...

In preparation for their discussion on the Home Alone franchise, the boys consider the potential highs and lows of child acting and weigh in with their own experiences to answer the age-old question: is star quality wasted on the young, or by their parents?

The boys discuss the various chapters from one of the most original and influential cult classics when they face the Evil Dead franchise, and take one of the installments to the work shed before finally reciting their own passages for summoning an Evil Dead sequel!

The boys compare and contrast the experience gained from making home movies versus film school and then examine Sam Raimi's proto-Evil Dead short film, Within The Woods, and if there are any lessons to be learned that universities didn't provide.

The boys perform an autopsy on one franchise that's been dead since the early 90's and then attempt to resuscitate it when they pitch multiple ideas for a third Weekend At Bernie's!

In the lead up to their Weekend At Bernie's episode, Chad pitches a very alternative idea for a reboot, and then the boys discuss whether Bernie's is a cult franchise and what steps they would take to help it achieve cult status.

Come along for the perfect summer road-trip vehicle breakdown entertainment ride! The boys discuss the history of one franchise that traveled down a number of unmarked paths, and then pitch their ideas for The Hills Have Eyes 3!

The boys talk about the posters that adorned their bedrooms, and then talk about the poster that sparked a decades-long rivalry between two of cinema's most iconoclastic directors and debate over who came out on top in this promo episode for The Hills Have Eyes.