075 – The Day After and Special Bulletin

Tim and Jen return to the fevered nuclear paranoia of the 80s! We look at one of the most important TV events of the era, The Day After. We also stick to the show mission statement by highlighting a lesser known nuclear horror telefilm: Special Bulletin.

Subscribe to HYST on Patreon to hear the full episode and get two bonus episodes every month!

You can watch Special Bulletin in its entirety here. We recommend it! Also: David Clennon, if you’re out there, come on the show, king.

Michael Madsen in a small role in Special Bulletin (1983)
Hey, this guy who has a bit part in Special Bulletin…does he have a sister?

Following the broadcast of The Day After, ABC aired a panel discussion moderated by Ted Koppel on nuclear proliferation. If you would like to see absolute ghouls like William F. Buckley Jr. and Henry Kissinger argue for “robust defense,” check it out. But really, we watched it for the much-missed Carl Sagan.

For discussion of a movie that makes The Day After look like an episode of Steven Universe, listen to our episode about landmark British telefilm Threads.

074 – Ring of Steel

Robert Chapin in Ring of Steel (1994)
bring this haircut back imo

Jen and Tim cheerlead for a movie about the dangers of joining illegal underground sword-fighting operations— Ring of Steel!

If you have a Roku, add the B-Movie TV channel right the fuck now.

For more about the kind of delightful nonsense they put on B-Movie TV, listen to our episode about shot-on-video horror.

073 – Crocodile Fury

Tim saves Jen’s bacon by explaining a Frankenstein’s monster of a thriller: Crocodile Fury! And this one was brought to you by cut-and-paste filmmaker Godfrey Ho. Explains a lot, doesn’t it?

Hear the whole episode at our Patreon and get access to more than 50 bonus episodes!

If you’re curious about the auteur, read the interview we mentioned in the episode, in which Mr. Ho/Hall/Chan/Cheung/Lee/Kingsbrook explains himself. 

For more head-scratching horror, listen to our episode about Canadian home-brew weirdness Things!

072 – Captain America (1979) with Bill Corbett

Jen and Tim welcome Mystery Science Theater 3000/Rifftrax alum Bill Corbett to the show! We talk about the Quaalude version of a Marvel superhero— a TV movie version of Marvel’s beloved Captain America. Reb Brown, most famously of Space Mutiny and Yor, the Hunter From the Future, stars, sort of.

Hear the whole episode at our Patreon and get access to more than 50 bonus episodes!

Bill has a Tolkien podcast with fellow Riffrax writer Sean Thomasen called Ringheads, and of course you can always find him at Rifftrax!

For more mellow 70s nonsense, try our episode on the very dumb Ben Murphy TV series Gemini Man!

071 – Threads

Threads (1984) title screen

Tim speaks cogently on the world’s most depressing nuclear apocalypse drama, Threads, from 1984. Jen tries not to fall into a well of despair.

We’re not kidding; Threads is possibly one of the bleakest films ever made, and everyone should see it at least once. Severin Films offers it on region-free DVD.

For a slightly lighter British horror telefilm, try our episode on the controversial faux documentary Ghostwatch.

070 – The Jesco White Saga

I Jesco nuts for gonzo documentaries

Jen welcomes Marvin K to discuss a triptych of documentaries about the dancin’-est outlaw alive, Jesco White, and his fractious extended family.

Hear the whole episode at our Patreon and get access to more than 50 bonus episodes!

We talked about Dancing Outlaw, Dancing Outlaw II: Jesco Goes to Hollywood, and The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia. Purchase them on DVD or in downloadable MP4 format here!

Visit the official Jesco White website! And get merch!

There’s really nothing else like the Jesco White saga. But for another film brought to us by a listener, there’s our episode on the inept 80s horror flick The Sleeping Car!

069 (nice) – Ken “Ace” Brewer of B-Movie TV

Tim and Jen welcome the founder of our fave streaming channel, B-Movie TV, for a conversation about curating the finest trash and dealing with small fish in small ponds.

B-Movie TV has everything: martial arts action, horror and slashers, vintage skin flicks, zombies (if you like that sort of thing), and some of the weirdest shit we’ve ever seen! Do have a Roku, and do you love trash cinema as much as we do? Add B-Movie TV to your lineup!

Hear the whole episode at our Patreon and get access to more than 50 bonus episodes!

068 – Breaking Glass

Tim and Jen argue about cult rock movie Breaking Glass in a surprisingly contentious episode!

Breaking Glass star Hazel O’Connor did a revealing interview with Music Republic Magazine in 2017. As it turns out, she earned nothing from her movie role, sadly.

For more cult 80s cinema, listen to our episode on Weird Al Yankovic’s lone feature, UHF.

067 – Fatal Attractions with Emma Bowers

Surprise! You get an extra bonus episode for April! Animal expert Emma Bowers returns to discuss the Tiger King before Tiger King: an Animal Planet reality series about ill-starred exotic pet owners called Fatal Attractions.

Hear the whole episode at our Patreon and get access to more than 50 bonus episodes!

Fatal Attractions is currently vieweable on Amazon Prime.

For more of the delightful Emma, listen to our episode on the truly ill-conceived lion-based thriller Roar.

066 – Ghostwatch

Jen and Tim discuss a program aired and then disappeared by the BBC for being too spooky. Ghostwatch is one of the most controversial television programs that ever appeared on British television, and it still has the power to creep audiences out.

Hear the entire episode at our Patreon and get access to all our other bonus content!

The good people at the Internet archive have preserved Ghostwatch, but if you prefer physical media and have a region-free player there’s also a DVD available from 101 Films.

If you want to hear about a British production that’s even scarier, why not sample our episode about the terrifying vision of nuclear apocalypse, Threads?