The Occasionalists Podcast

Fright Fest 7: Horror-Comedy on TV

Our second installment of this year's Fright Fest examines two good (and GREAT!) examples of how horror comedies work on TV and one misguided attempt at blending the genres.
We start with a trip deep into millennial nostalgia with a look at two episodes of The X-Files. We start with "Jose Chung's 'From Outer Space'" and wrap up with "Bad Blood."
Then, we examine the first four episodes of the short-lived, a little too wonky, horror-comedy series Ghosted, and figure out why it came and went with little more than a whimper.
 
 

Fright Fest 7 - Horror Comedies 101

Welcome back to a new month and theme, the best month and theme of the year: IT'S FRIGHT FEST, BABY!
October is upon us, and we are going balls to the wall with our annual dive into all things horror. Last year was a landmark Fright Fest as we dissected Satan's place in the horror genre. This year, we are turning up the laughs, along with the screams, as we make our foray into the blended genre of Horror Comedies.
Before we get into any reviews or breakdowns of specific movies or shows, we'll start with an intro course on this unique genre's technical specs.
Pencils ready?

Sports Media: Film vs TV

Our final episode for Sports September has arrived, and we are discussing how a good sports movie and a good sports TV show differ in many ways.
Plus, the hierarchy of power in the sports entertainment universe is about to be ranked. (<--Deep cut jokes, if you're into that kinda stuff.) We introduce our definitive hierarchy of which sports are the best to make movies about. 
Finally, we end with a Top 5 Sports Stories That Should Be a Movie or TV Show.

Sports September Classic Replay: Over The Line - March 2022

No new episode this week. Sorry folks. HOWEVA! We are cranking up the wayback machine to an episode from 2022 in which the infamous sports talk radio duo Smoke and The Big Freeze brought their hosting flair to our humble podcast with the first-ever installment of Over The Line.
Enjoy it, loosahs!

Sports Trivia Challenge

We move into our next Sports September episode and are heading to the bullpen for a little help from a tall, lanky right-hander. That's right...Chemma is back!
We are experimenting with the format by seeing who is the most knowledgeable by playing extraordinarily random sports trivia.
May the best man win!

Sports September: Hot Take Cool Down

We are jumping feet first into Sports September by cranking the temperature DOWN on a few hot takes that have been making the rounds in the sports discourse.
Naturally, we had to have our own hot take, which you can also pick apart. You're welcome!

Game Show Movie Review: The Luckiest Man in America

Game Show Month is coming to an end with our final movie review, this time a look at the dramatization of the real-life Press Your Luck scandal, The Luckiest Man in America! We discuss how scheming, unemployed ice cream truck driver Michael Larson took the Press Your Luck producers and CBS executives for the largest single-day winnings haul in game show history in 1984.
We also investigate the real man and fictional portrayal behind the scandal and find that it's no surprise that Larson finally figured out a way to game the system, something he tried doing his whole life.
Quick question: Is it cheating if you know exactly how the game works?  

Game Show Movie Review: Quiz Lady

We are bouncing through Game Show Month like a Plinko chip and landing squarely on...our first movie review of the month!
We are heating up the trivia game with Awkwafina, Sandra Oh, Will Ferrell and more as we dive into the world of introverts and trivia game shows as we review Quiz Lady (2023). Honestly, this would be a perfect circle if it were a Venn Diagram.
Don't give your dog a stupid name and most importantly, don't shit in any holes!