Being a film critic is not that hard, but writing a script for a quality sequel is a real challenge. Join our hosts, Nolan and Chad, as they discuss cinema’s most beloved and hated franchises, analyzing each installment from a screenwriting perspective, before finally pitching their own original ideas as to how they would structure a new sequel based upon the lessons learned over the course of dissecting an entire franchise. Too many movie podcasts is not a good thing... but too many movie sequels doesn’t have to be!
The Franchise Lives
A Show About Sequels
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Episodes
Monday Oct 31, 2022
Monday Oct 31, 2022
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 and reboots were treats and which ones were the movie watching equivalent of having your property vandalized with eggs and toilet paper, before finally unwrapping their own takes on what they would do for a fourteenth entry in the Halloween franchise!
Chapters
00:00:00 Intro
00:10:41 Halloween
00:51:09 Halloween II
01:26:39 Halloween III
01:58:03 Halloween 4
02:17:26 Halloween 5
02:35:52 Halloween 6
02:47:47 H20
03:09:51 Resurrection
03:29:19 Halloween (2007)
03:39:50 Halloween II (2009)
03:58:56 Halloween (2018)
04:22:57 Halloween Kills
04:43:24 Halloween Ends
05:03:35 Rumors
05:14:31 Chad's Pitch
05:40:26 Nolan's Pitch
06:21:01 Wrap-up
Monday Oct 03, 2022
Monday Oct 03, 2022
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 blades for the SNL producers when the band FEAR took the stage!
Friday Aug 26, 2022
Friday Aug 26, 2022
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-act structure. They then examine the ratings to see if a sequel should have bee signed-off on, or if Wayne's World should have simply signed-off the airwaves. They wrap things up by pitching their ideas for what they would do with Wayne and Garth 30 years later and determine if Wayne's World 3 should party on or if that idea makes them want to hurl.
Monday Aug 01, 2022
Monday Aug 01, 2022
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 films, before finally pitching their ideas for bands they would conscript for their own original movies.
Friday Jul 01, 2022
Friday Jul 01, 2022
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 left in the tank when they pitch their own ideas for Rocky 7!
Friday May 27, 2022
Friday May 27, 2022
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.
Saturday Apr 30, 2022
Saturday Apr 30, 2022
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 movies.
Saturday Mar 26, 2022
Saturday Mar 26, 2022
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 opportunities.
Sunday Feb 27, 2022
Sunday Feb 27, 2022
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.
Monday Jan 31, 2022
Monday Jan 31, 2022
Inspired by their discussion on the RoboCop series, the boys reminisce about which movies made for the best, worst, and most memorable video-game adaptations. They then share their thoughts on what makes a franchise well-suited for jumping to the video-game platform, as well as which movies they would like to play themselves, before finally settling on where the medium stands relative to the big screen.