Video Store Podcast

Welcome to the Thanksgiving season here at the Video Store Podcast! I’ve got four special Thanksgiving episodes of classic television picked out for you this week. These are fun and funny, and generally good for just about anyone who may find themselves on your couch and around your table this Thanksgiving.
Sabrina the Teenage Witch 4x09 “Love Means Having to Say You’re Sorry”
First up is Sabrina the Teenage Witch, season 4 episode 9 “Love Means Having to Say You’re Sorry.” This episode is full of Thanksgiving shenanigans, gravy, real-life pilgrims, and heartfelt apologies. This classic series from the 90s makes a great choice for everyone in the family, from the adults to the kids table.
3rd Rock from the Sun 2x10 “Gobble, Gobble, Dick, Dick”
Next is the sci-fi sitcom, 3rd Rock from the Sun season 2 episode 10 “Gobble, Gobble, Dick, Dick.” This hilarious episode from this fish-out-of-water TV series is a great choice this Thanksgiving. It forces us to examine our Thanksgiving traditions and how wild they must appear to anyone who didn’t grow up celebrating the holiday. There’s great humor, and this features several background actors who would go on to larger careers of their own.
The Big Bang Theory 7x09 “The Thanksgiving Decoupling”
My third selection this week comes from The Big Bang Theory season 7 episode 9, “The Thanksgiving Decoupling.” Like most Thanksgiving family gatherings, this is an episode with there’s a lot of awkwardness, wildly inappropriate statements, but also some solid humor. It’s definitely one to watch, but brace yourself because Sheldon drops some REAL doozies in this episode that are bound to ruffle feathers, and not just on screen.
Cheers 5x09 “Thanksgiving Orphans”
My final selection for today is Cheers season 5 episode 9, “Thanksgiving Orphans.” In this episode, the gang has no Thanksgiving plans except for Diane, whose been invited to her professor’s house along with a few other students for a traditional Thanksgiving meal with his family. Everyone else ends up at Carla’s new place for a potluck Thanksgiving dinner. Just like any good Thanksgiving TV episode, dinner doesn’t go quite as well as expected. TV Guide ranked this the #7 Greatest TV episode of All Time in 1997, and it’s not without reason. You’ll really want to add this one to your Thanksgiving TV buffet line year after year.
A Second Helping
If you want more Thanksgiving recommendations, check out our back catalog. I picked out some “Thanksgiving Classics”, and looked back at some of Friends’ most iconic Thanksgiving episodes. Flack picked out some umm…family films…to help you prepare for your visiting relatives in his “We Are Family” episode and Pitfall Gary picked 4 films set around the Thanksgiving holiday in his “Tango and Turkey” episode.
Thanks for joining us here at the Video Store Podcast. We are thankful for you!
Thanks for reading Video Store Podcast! This post is public so feel free to share it.



This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.videostorepodcast.com

Hey, welcome to the store! My name is Mark, but my name tag says Colonel Gavdet. No, I wasn’t in the military. It’s an old video gamer tag. It’s almost November, and I’m not ready to give up on the amusement park season. If you want one more trip before the rides shut down, listen close. I’ve got four movies for you.
THE DEATH OF OCEAN VIEW PARK (1979)
Starring Mike Connors, Martin Landau, Diana Canova and Mare Winningham. Co-starring Perry Lang.
If you like those big 1970s disaster movies, this is the same kind of idea, but at an amusement park. A psychic has visions of the park exploding, a hurricane is bearing down, and the owner wants to close. The mayor wants it open for the Fourth of July. The real Ocean View Park in Norfolk, Virginia was headed for demolition, so the filmmakers blew it up for real. Fair warning, it’s a TV movie with a lot going on, but it’s a fun piece of history.
THE FUNHOUSE (1981)
Starring Elizabeth Berridge. Co-starring Cooper Huckabee, Largo Woodruff, Miles Chapin, and William Finley.
If you like THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE, you’ll get a kick out of this one. It comes from the same director, Tobe Hooper, and it’s also his follow-up to SALEM’S LOT. Two couples on a double date decide to spend the night in a carnival funhouse, and something else is already in there. Creepy mechanical dolls, a seedy carnival, and an opening you’ll swear you’ve seen before.
FUNLAND (1987)
Starring David L. Lander and William Windom. Co-starring Bruce Mahler.
Don’t let the cover fool you. A clown with a sniper rifle looks like straight horror, but this is a dark comedy. When the mob buys an amusement park, they fire the pizza-pushing clown mascot, played by David Lander (Squiggy from LAVERNE & SHIRLEY). With his job gone, he starts to lose his grip on reality. It’s weird, it’s dark, and it was filmed at Six Flags Over Georgia.
ADVENTURELAND (2009)
Starring Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart. Co-starring Martin Starr, Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig, and Ryan Reynolds.
If you liked SUPERBAD, this comes from the same director, Greg Mottola, but it’s sweeter and more nostalgic. It’s the summer of 1987, and a recent college grad’s plans fall apart, so he takes a job at a run-down amusement park. Mottola based it on his own summer job at a Long Island park. Add a great soundtrack and a cast full of familiar faces, and it’s a perfect way to end the season.
Thanks for stopping by the Video Store Podcast for some amusement park recommendations!

Thanks for reading Video Store Podcast! This post is public so feel free to share it.



This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.videostorepodcast.com

We’re going all the way back to the earliest days of feature film to uncover some forgotten gems.
The Sentimental Bloke (1919)
A silent comedy from 1919, this film is generally considered the greatest Australian silent film, and one of the best Australian movies of all time. Based on the 1915 verse novel The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke by C. J. Dennis, it follows the exploits of Bill, a Woolloomooloo larrikin, known to his mates as ‘The Kid’. After meeting and falling in love with Doreen he vows to abandon his life of fighting, gambling and drinking.
After a stint in jail Bill gives up drinking and hanging out with his mate, Ginger Mick, marries Doreen and becomes a family man. They settle down on Bill’s uncle’s orchard in the country, where he and Doreen raise their baby.
A major critical and commercial success in Australia, the film was also popular in New Zealand and Britain.
The General (1926)
Inspired by a true story from the American Civil War it follows Buster Keaton’s character Johnny who loses face with his girlfriend Annabelle when he is rejected by the Confederate Army. Believing he has not enlisted because he is a coward Annabelle vows she will not speak to him again until he is in uniform.
A year later Annabelle is travelling on The General to visit her wounded father when the train is stolen by Union Army spies with Annabelle still onboard. Johnnie gives chase, first on foot, then by handcar and boneshaker bicycle, before commandeering the locomotive the Texas. In the process he rescues Annabelle, regains control of The General and foils the Union army.
Battleship Potemkin (1925)
Also inspired by a true story, the film covers the 1905 mutiny of the crew of the Russian battleship Potemkin. It covers the poor conditions under which the sailors were expected to work, their subsequent mutiny, the brutal way in which the mutiny was brought down and the support they subsequently received from their fellow servicemen.
It is widely considered one of the greatest films ever made, and is among the favourite films of Orson Welles, Michael Mann and Billy Wilder.
Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927)
The first American film from celebrated German impressionist director F. W. Murnau, the film follows a married farmer who falls for a woman vacationing from the city. While he believes it is impossible for them to be together, she tries to convince him that if he can murder his wife, they can be together.
His conscience wins out, and he and his wife find a way to resurrect their marriage.
Four great films that have as much appeal today as they did when they were first released.



This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.videostorepodcast.com

Grab your Geiger counter and join us after closing time as we travel back to the 1950s, when radiation could turn almost anything into a monster, visitors from outer space were rarely friendly, and the Army was always just a phone call away. We’re revisiting four classics from the golden age of science-fiction cinema.
Them! (1954)
Atomic testing in the New Mexico desert has produced a terrifying new menace: giant ants! What begins as a mysterious police investigation escalates into an all-out military operation. It’s one of the finest giant-monster movies of the decade.
It Came from Outer Space (1953)
When a mysterious spacecraft crashes in the Arizona desert, an amateur astronomer discovers that the visitors aren’t quite what they seem. Based on a story by Ray Bradbury, this thoughtful sci-fi classic asks whether the unknown is necessarily something to fear.
The Giant Behemoth (1959)
A prehistoric sea monster, awakened and contaminated by radiation, threatens the British coastline before heading toward London. Featuring effects work by legendary animator Willis O’Brien, this atomic-age creature feature proves that giant monsters aren’t just an American problem.
Earth vs. the Flying Saucers (1956)
Hostile aliens descend upon Earth, and humanity’s only hope lies in science, military firepower, and a little ingenuity. Ray Harryhausen’s spectacular flying saucers steal the show as they unleash destruction on Washington, D.C.
Thanks for coming into the store today. Let me know what you think of my staff picks!



This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.videostorepodcast.com

Happy Spooky Month, Kids!
It’s that time of year again, when the leaves are golden, the air is crisp, the cider is fresh, and the vibe of the season is all things chilly, dark and spooky.
I’m proud to present to you some gems of fright and terror to haunt your Halloween festivities. These films are cult classics of obscurity both old and new, so if you’re looking for something to go with your annual favorite slashers or ghost stories, try these on for size…
CARNIVAL OF SOULS (1962)
A low-budget indie gem directed by Herk Harvey, where a woman named Mary (Candace Hilligoss) has her life disturbed by strange ghoulish visions after a car accident. What is real and what is not? It’s anyone’s guess in this cult drive-inn classic from the early ‘60s, which should delight anyone who appreciates the dark ambience of David Lynch, Ingmar Bergman, or surrealistic visions from French New Wave cinema.
TRILOGY OF TERROR (1975)
Made-for-television horror had a golden age in the 1970s, before the age of home video and audiences full of anxiety from the tumultuous ‘60s. Series like The Twilight Zone, Night Gallery and Dark Shadows set the tone for the brooding sense of dread these stories brought to the horror genre — and following in its wake was the scariest thing ever made for television. The final shot of this horror anthology which aired on ABC, Tuesday March 4th 1975, gave nightmares to a whole generation.
PUMPKINHEAD (1988)
The 1980s raised the bar for special effects and monsters in science-fiction, comedy and horror films — and among the best creature features of the decade was Stan Winston’s sleeper hit about a vengeance demon terrorizing a small rural American town. Lance Henriksen stars in his most tragic role as a father avenging the death of his son with unexpected and deadly consequences. A true folk horror fairy tale of darkness for a late October night.
We love PUMPKINHEAD here at the Video Store Podcast, so much that Pitfall Gary talked about last week as well! Check out his episode if you missed it. 🎃

ODDITY (2024)
One of the scariest films of the decade, this folk horror ghost story from Ireland is sure to chill and thrill you for your Halloween haunting spree. It’s a clever who-done-it, spooky psychological thriller and modern indie gem which deserves a larger audience. Strap yourself in for some perfect jump scares, vicious imagery, and ghostly sights and sounds.
“You wanna see something really scary?” audio clips are from TWILIGHT ZONE: THE MOVIE (1983)

Turn off the lights, lock the doors, and watch your back — these films will scare the pants off of you. Happy Halloween!
Thanks for reading Video Store Podcast! This post is public so feel free to share it.



This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.videostorepodcast.com