The Franchise Lives

The First Semi-Occasional Frankie Awards

The boys roll out the red carpet for their first ever awards show! They take a look back at the films and franchises they've covered over the course of the podcast and hand out some hardware for the characters and sequels that truly deserve some extra recognition. They pay respect to a few of the lesser known actors we've lost along the way, and compare their sequel pitches for The Evil Dead and Ghostbusters with the sequels put out by the Hollywood competition. They then nominate and select each other's best sequel pitch, and wrap up the festivities with advice on how to make award shows more meaningful with the lessons learned from producing the first ever semi-occasional Frankie awards!

They Live 2

The conspiracy theories run deep when trying to uncover why John Carpenter's 1988 sci-fi action-comedy, They Live, never got a sequel or a timely remake. The boys dust off their sunglasses and take a hard look at what allowed the original film to transcend into cult status, while also exposing some ugly truths about its character types and plot points. They then get to experience firsthand just how deceptively complicated it is to continue the story, and determine if this is one franchise that should be made public or stuffed in a top-secret drawer, when they unveil their own sequels for They Live 2!

Who Framed Roger Rabbit 2

The boys attempt to solve the greatest mystery of all when they try to figure out why there has never been a sequel for the 1988 hit, Who Framed Roger Rabbit. They investigate which elements would be most crucial for establishing a franchise blueprint and examine past sequel rumors for clues as to why productions went cold, before presenting their own solutions to the case, and offer up two modern possibilities for reopening the franchise, when they pitch their own ideas for Who Framed Roger Rabbit 2!

A Nightmare on Elm Street 9

An all-nighter is in store when the boys analyze the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise. They discuss the unique structure blueprint this has compared to other slashers from the same era, evaluate the strengths and deficiencies of the various protagonists, and toss and turn over which character developments improved or weakened Freddy Krueger's on-screen effectiveness. They take slashes at a new sequel, and determine whether the nightmare should be recurring or ended, when they dream up and pitch their own ideas for A Nightmare on Elm Street 9!

Short Circuit 3

All input is considered when the boys go over the short-lived Short Circuit franchise. They disassemble the two films to see which parts fit together the best, discuss the rumored reboots and reappearances of Johnny 5, and lament over the many missed opportunities of turning this into a real franchise, before finally trying to make lightning strike again when they pitch their own ideas to make Johnny 5 come alive for Short Circuit 3!

Saturday Morning Cinema

The boys take a deep dive into the world of Saturday morning cartoons based on feature films and franchises. They determine which feature film qualities are most necessary for making an adaptation to an animated series by examining the numerous hits and misses attempted by the networks. Finally, they take their checklist and apply its criteria to see if any of the films they think should have had their own cartoons would pass the test!

Spinal Tap 2

In a first for the show, the boys examine a soon-to-be franchise that defined the mockumentary blueprint when they plug-in to This Is Spinal Tap. They debate whether or not there was an appropriate amount of plot and stakes in the film, or if the memorable set-pieces were enough to carry the story, and assess whether or not the editors selected the correct storylines to keep from the reportedly 100 hours of footage. Then they revisit some of Spinal Tap's numerous odd appearances over the years and discuss if they effectively added to the characters' discography, before seeing if they have the chops to turn a sequel up to 11, when they pitch their ideas for Spinal Tap 2!

Documentary Sequels

The boys discuss the style of film-making that is hardest to make a worthwhile sequel to and try to figure out which elements are necessary for warranting more content by reviewing some of the best documentary sequels, and a few of the worst, and then use that checklist to determine if their favorite documentaries should have had sequels of their own.

The Shining 3

The boys check in to one of the more complicated franchises they've covered when they check out The Shining. They compare the differences between Stephen King's book and Stanley Kubrick's film, and analyze some of the many interpretations and themes that fans and critics have proposed. They discuss which aspects and characters are most deserving of a sequel, determine if Doctor Sleep recaptured the right ones, and review the unrealized content that still lives on in the rumor mill, before finally taking their swings as caretakers of this franchise when they pitch their ideas for The Shining 3!
Chapters:
00:00:00 Intro
00:10:26 The Shining
01:23:23 Doctor Sleep
02:01:45 Rumors
02:24:23 Nolan's Pitch
03:02:43 Chad's Pitch
03:35:16 Wrap-up

Pink Flamingos 2

The boys compete for the title of "filthiest podcast alive" when they get down and dirty with John Waters' 1972 cult-classic, Pink Flamingos. They discuss how significant the midnight-movie circuit and the era was to the film's success, and decide which elements are necessary to recapture in a sequel, and if it's even possible to do so. They then review John's unrealized sequel script, Flamingos Forever, and try to take the lessons learned from that attempt when they pitch their own cinema atrocities for Pink Flamingos 2!
Chapters:
00:00:00 Intro
00:18:15 Pink Flamingos
01:01:40 Flamingos Forever
01:35:42 Chad's Pitch
02:03:29 Nolan's Pitch
02:41:04 Wrap-up