Our Favorite Series Finales

Hey, friends! Welcome back to HDYR! We reunited for this special episode to discuss one of the most requested titles we never got to during our original run... E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial! Topics include: the project's origins as a horror/thriller called Night Skies, all of the incredible tricks used to bring E.T. to life, deleted characters and subplots, the alternate ending, proposed sequels and other follow-ups, and much more! Merch | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Facebook | Instagram | X | RSS | E-mail Want to unlock all of the bonus episodes we originally recorded for Patreon? CLICK HERE

After eight years, it's time for Chris, Donna, and Carlos to say farewell. So on this episode, they're taking off the rose-tinted glasses for their own show and reminiscing about all of the ups and downs HDYR has experienced over the course of its run. They each highlight different episodes that stand out to them, share behind the scenes stories, and talk about how their own lives were changing as the show evolved. This chapter may be coming to an end, but if you'd like to stay connected with us or keep up to date on our future projects, here's where to find us: 27th Letter Productions: YouTube / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter Follow Chris: Instagram and Twitter Follow Carlos: Twitter Chris's podcast Rogues Gallery and his web series The Strange Case of Lucy Chandler   Theme Song: Missing You by Trash80 / CC BY-NC-ND 3.0   Closing Song: Hey, Do You Remember...? by Frankie + Rufus

The next episode of HDYR is going to be our last (for now), so we thought it would be fitting to take a look back at some of our favorite series finales and discuss what made them so satisfying. Merch | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Facebook | Instagram | X | RSS | E-mail About The Show

After complaints that Batman Returns had been too traumatizing for younger viewers, Warner Bros. set a clear mandate for the next film in their flagship franchise: lighter, brighter, and more fun. Desperate to move away from the gloomier aesthetic of Tim Burton’s first two entries, the studio turned to Joel Schumacher - a director whose pop sensibilities were more in line with pushing happy meals and action figures. Batman Forever was an absolutely massive hit at the box office in the summer of 1995, but it remains a divisive installment amongst fans. Join us as unpack its complicated legacy and also clear up some misconceptions about its development and production. Topics include: whether or not there was ever actually any version of “Tim Burton’s Batman 3", how late into pre-production Michael Keaton dropped out and what that meant for the film, the much different story Schumacher initially pitched, some insane stories of the tension behind the scenes, the mishandling of Harvey Dent/Two-Face, the challenge of bringing Robin into live-action, alternate casting choices, how we felt about this new approach to the series as kids, where it ranks for us now, and much more! Merch | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Facebook | Instagram | X | RSS | E-mai About The Show  

An important announcement from the HDYR gang.

Carpe Diem, friends! The three of us all remembered the iconic lines and moments peppered throughout Dead Poets Society, but not much else. It turns out there's a pretty good explanation for that.   Peter Weir's film is a stacked deck in terms of its cast (especially the Oscar-nominated performance of Robin Williams), but does it actually engage with any of the ideas it espouses in its numerous sentimental platitudes? And does that ultimately even matter if there are so many other aspects of this that work?   Topics include: the truly bizarre notes the studio had on how to improve the script, the type of career Robert Sean Leonard seemed destined for in the late 80s, the importance of establishing a clear audience identification character in a story like this, the response to Williams' performance at the time, actors who find out they've been cut from a film at the very last minute, and much more! Merch | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Facebook | Instagram | X | RSS | E-mail About The Show

We're having the time of our lives with one of the most requested titles in the history of this podcast. Yes, we swear - it's the truth! And we owe it all to you. Topics include: how the director wound up using the real life tension between stars Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey to the film's advantage, the adverse conditions the production faced and where that's reflected in the movie, how many elements of this the screenwriter pulled from her own life, some mixed feelings about the inclusion of 80s pop music in an otherwise period appropriate, the maligned prequel, how shocked we were to discover just how much further this franchise has expanded beyond that, and more! Check it out! You can now get HDYR merch exclusively through TeePublic! Patreon / iTunes / Stitcher / RSS / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram About The Show

It’s a holiday classic that’s become quintessential viewing every holiday season, but at the time Warner Bros. wasn’t even sure they wanted another Vacation movie. After the lukewarm response to European Vacation, the studio spent several years dragging their feet on the prospect of a second sequel. After they realized that 1989 had a surprising lack of holiday-themed movies from their competitors, they finally came around on the idea of getting the Griswold clan back together for Christmas Vacation. And what a lucrative decision that turned out to be! Not only did the film easily outgross its predecessor, it’s also now firmly entrenched in the pantheon of must-watch Christmas movies. Topics include: the friction with Chevy Chase that caused the original director to quit right before filming began, how we reckon with hearing stories like that about actors or celebrities we were fans of, the bittersweet quality certain aspects of this took on watching it under our current circumstances, a couple of otherwise great scenes that feel like they happen in the wrong order, the original ending to the first film that was repurposed for this entry and whether or not it works better here, where this lands in our ranking of the Vacation movies, and more! Check it out! You can now get HDYR merch exclusively through TeePublic! Patreon / iTunes / Stitcher / RSS / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram About The Show

It's time to dig into this year's cinematic turkey and you'd be hard-pressed to find a more deserving title than Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot. It wasn't just a commercial disappointment upon its initial release, it's also still widely regarded as one of the worst films ever made. So what exactly went wrong here? The film was certainly never going to be amazing, but it had all the ingredients to at least be fun and enjoyable. It has all the posturing of a broad studio comedy and plenty of solid set ups for jokes, but it's as if somewhere along the way they just forgot to include punchlines. Topics include: why Sylvester Stallone might be the film's harshest critic, the insane story of how Arnold Schwarzenneger tricked him into taking this role, why Estelle Getty was really the only one effected by the movie's poor reception, the irony that one of the writers went on to pen a very popular book on screenwriting, whether or not this is actually one of the worst movies ever made (is it even Stallone's worst movie?), and more! As mentioned on the show, the first episode of Chris and Kristen's web series The Strange Case of Lucy Chandler is out now! Watch it here: https://www.27thLetterProductions.com/lucychandler   Check it out! You can now get HDYR merch exclusively through TeePublic! Patreon / iTunes / Stitcher / RSS / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram About The Show

It should have been the next E.T. Instead, Explorers is a film that many of you have probably never even heard of. How is it that a sci-fi/adventure movie from the director of Gremlins and featuring the big screen debuts of Ethan Hawke and River Phoenix hasn't garnered more notoriety?   The answer unfortunately arrives once the film enters its final act. Explorers was taken away from Dante during post-production and as a result, nearly an hour's worth of material wasn't just excised... it was never even finished. You'll spend the first 2/3 wondering why this isn't a bonafide classic and the final 1/3 bemoaning all of that wasted potential. The studio's mismanagement of Explorers is heartbreaking, but despite all of the missed opportunities, this was a beloved staple of Chris's childhood and he thinks there's still enough about it that works to recommend more people check it out. Topics include: why it was actually the studio's faith in the film that caused all of its problems, the subplot we're most upset they were forced to ditch, how all of the loose threads were tied up in the original ending, Jerry Goldsmith's incredible score, recent plans for some type of remake, and more! As mentioned on the show, the first episode of Chris and Kristen's web series The Strange Case of Lucy Chandler is out now! Watch it here: https://www.27thLetterProductions.com/lucychandler   Check it out! You can now get HDYR merch exclusively through TeePublic! Patreon / iTunes / Stitcher / RSS / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram About The Show