The Franchise Lives

Encino Man 2

The boys reacquaint themselves with a critically despised cult classic from the 90's when they unearth Encino Man. They try to determine why there was such a chasm between audiences and critics, and pinpoint the film's most crucial factor to its eventual success. They speculate over who the protagonist should have been, and offer potential ways to groom the story into something a little bit more presentable. Then they commiserate over the difficulty of how to write a new story for a caveman who has lived in modern times for the last 30 years, all while trying to recapture the tone of the original, and decide if this is a franchise that has more juice to wease, when they present their ideas for Encino Man 2!
Chapters:
00:00:00 Intro
00:11:01 Encino Man
00:54:51 Rumors
01:04:21 Chad's Pitch
01:25:18 Nolan's Pitch
01:48:57 Wrap-up

Caddyshack 3

The boys hit the links with a franchise that contains one of the most popular comedies of all time, and also one of the most hated sequels of all time, when they tee up Caddyshack. They attempt to locate exactly where this franchise was shanked into the rough and debate which elements were good enough to make the cut. Then they discuss whether this is a franchise better suited for a remake, and if any of its characters are even worth bringing back, before trying to make the best of a bad lie when they take their swings at pitching a Caddyshack 3!
Chapters:
00:00:00 Intro
00:14:48 Caddyshack
00:46:10 Caddyshack II
01:08:50 Rumors
01:18:10 Nolan's Pitch
01:40:57 Chad's Pitch
02:03:38 Wrap-up

The Cable Guy 2

The boys tune-in for a mid-90's dark comedy that starred and marked the turning point for one of Hollywood's biggest stars at the time, when they set their dials on The Cable Guy. They try to unravel the real reason as to why this was such a failure with critics and fans, discuss if it is possible to make the antagonist the star of the film, and question whether the screenwriting rules that were broken were intentional. They then take their best attempts at finding the sweet spot when they pitch their treatments for The Cable Guy 2!

Death Wish 6

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 justified and which ones were repeat offenses, before finally taking the franchise into their own hands when they pitch their ideas for Death Wish 6!

The Canon of Cannon

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 exist again and what it might take to make that happen.

Trainspotting 3

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 appropriate amount of time should have been for a sequel relapse, as well as how much content this franchise can produce before experiencing an overdose, and then cook up their own ideas for a Trainspotting 3!

Original Podcast Soundtrack

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!

Groundhog Day 2

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!

Gremlins 3

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 years of relative dormancy and expose the difficulties of writing a compelling new sequel when they pitch their ideas for Gremlins 3!

Holiday Movie Guide

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 reveal what they would make if they had the means to produce their own holiday movies!