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At first glance Paper Dolls, the 1982 TV movie which spawned a short-lived primetime soap, looks like glittering 80's camp wearing neon pink blush, wrapped in a gold lamé Nolan Miller dress. But the movie reveals itself to be a smart, sensitive examination of the modeling industry––how it uses and sexualizes teenage girls, and the price those girls pay. Darryl Hannah, excellent in an early starring role, plays a barely disguised version of Brooke Shields, hounded by her stage mother (Joan Hackett). Alexandra Hall plays a suburban teenager, new to modeling, with no idea what's in store for her. Glamorous Joan Collins is the jaded modeling agent who makes it all happen. Directed by Oscar-winner Edward Zwick (Courage Under Fire, Legends of the Fall), Paper Dolls is an amazing mix of high-camp 80's fashion and genuinely moving performances and filmmaking.

For Valentines Day, we're covering the 1989 TV movie "A Cry For Help: The Tracey Thurman Story," based on a true story, starring Nancy McKeon and Dale Midkiff. You'll be relieved you're single! Tracey Thurman tried to escape her abusive husband Buck, but he followed and relentlessly stalked her. No matter how many time she reported him to the police, they refused to help her. Then one day, Buck stabbed Tracey 13 times in broad daylight, in front of a cop! When she recovered, Tracey sued the police department and helped put a new law in place protecting victims of abuse. Your hosts filmmaker Katie Madonna Lee and writer Louis Jordan, with special guest Autumn Welker, discuss the effect Tracey Thurman's case on changing laws and raising awareness about spousal abuse. We also discuss Lisa Bianco, whose tragic death at the hands of her husband helped spark change, and talk about why portrayals of abuse in TV movies get it right more often than theatrical movies.

For our Christmas Episode, we're covering A Smoky Mountain Christmas, Dolly Parton's 1986 TV Movie that retells Snow White with an Appalachian twist, co-starring Lee Majors, Anita Morris and John Ritter and directed by Henry Winkler (!). Dolly stumbles upon seven orphans in a cabin, and then must fight off an evil mountain witch and sexually harassing, false-arresting crooked cops to save the kids from the orphanage. A Smoky Mountain is so genuinely sweet and so over-the-top camp, it's a perfect Christmas movie. Katie and Louis talk about the tragic events in Dolly Parton's life that may have inspired the movie, scream about Anita Morris as the witch Jezebel, and discuss how the one flaw in Dolly's performance is the same thing that has allowed her to be so beloved for so many years. Happy Holidays everyone! Have a holly Dolly Christmas!

Sophia Coppola's 2023 biopic "Priscilla," starring Cailee Spaeny and Jacob Elordi, wasn't the first film about Priscilla Presley! The two-part 1988 TV movie "Elvis and Me," also based on Priscilla Presley's memoir, starred Susan Walters and Dale Midkiff. "Elvis and Me" went deeper and darker than "Priscilla," showing a version of Elvis Presley who was more abusive and cruel than Jacob Elordi's portrayal of the star as an overgrown manchild. Katie and Louis dive into why Sophia Coppola softened the story's edges, and how society's view of Elvis and Priscilla's relationship has slowly shifted from "grand romance" to "grooming."

During the late 80's, Ryan White was the public face of AIDS. Ryan was a heterosexual teenage boy from Kokomo, Indiana who got HIV from infected blood products used to treat his hemophilia. His legal battle to be able to attend school after being diagnosed became a national sensation, and his case won the hearts and minds of middle Americans who had seen AIDS as a gay disease. This 1989 TV movie was a major part of Ryan White's legacy and shows just how culturally important TV Movies can be. Louis talks with his co-host Katie about her memories of growing up in Indiana during the peak years of Ryan White's fame. We look at how the city of Kokomo was negatively affected by this TV movie, how the real life story was actually worse than how its presented onscreen, Ryan's friendships with Elton John and Michael Jackson, his media narrative as an "innocent victim" of AIDS, and Ryan's lasting influence on HIV treatment.

She's a mom..and she ROCKS. She's Rock n' Roll Mom! This heartwarming, campy 1988 TV Movie from the Wonderful World of Disney stars Dyan Cannon as Annie, a small-town single mom who's a singer/songwriter in her spare time. When she's accidentally discovered by a major label, a stylist (Fran Drescher) transforms Annie into Mystere, a mysterious rock star who's 13 years younger than Annie, with no kids. But just as she's topping the charts, jealous pop diva Darcy X (Heather Locklear) reveals Mystere's true identity to the public. Can Annie stay true to herself and her kids and still be a Rock n' Roll Mom? Writer Louis Jordan and filmmaker Katie Madonna Lee discuss all this, as well as motherhood, sexism, showbiz and Waddy Watchel.

MMP gets topical with Roe vs. Wade, the 1989 NBC TV Movie about the landmark legal case that made abortion legal—at least for a while. The film stars Holly Hunter in an Emmy-winning performance as “Jane Roe,” and Amy Madigan, who won a Golden Globe as the lawyer who argued the case. Katie and Louis talk about abortion, religion, feminism and the batshit life of Norma McCorvey, the real life Jane Roe.

In 2023, between fitness influencers, Ozempic injections and BBL's, it can feel like there's never been more pressure to have a perfect body. But the fitness craze, plastic surgery and health food all went mainstream back in the 1980's. In the 1988 ABC TV movie Perfect People, supermodel Lauren Hutton and hunky Perry King don wigs and stomach padding to play Kenneth and Barbara, a schlumpy middle-aged couple who've lost their spark. Barbara tries to get the couple in shape for their upcoming European vacation, but becomes obsessed with looking perfect and ends up spending their vacation money on head-to-toe plastic surgery makeover, transforming herself into—Lauren Hutton! Co-starring sassy Priscilla Barnes from Three's Company and sleazy David Leisure, Perfect People is a light, fun satire with a heartfelt message about self-acceptance that's as relevant now as it was in 1988. Support our show, buy us a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/tvmoviepodc

In honor of Brendan Fraser's comeback in Darren Aronofsky's The Whale, we're covering his 1997 Showtime TV Movie, Twilight of the Golds, co-starring Faye Dunaway, Jennifer Beals, Rosie O'Donnell and Gary Marshall. Based on the Broadway play, Twilight of the Golds explores the hidden intolerance in a supposedly liberal family, the Golds. When Suzanne becomes pregnant, she takes an experimental genetic test and discovers that her unborn child will grow up to be gay. Suzanne's gay brother David watches with horror as the homophobia that has simmered beneath the surface of his family raises to a boil. Will Suzanne learn to love her gay fetus? Will David repair his relationship with his parents? Will Faye Dunaway tone down that over-the-top Yiddish accent? Find out when writer Louis Jordan and filmmaker Katie Madonna Lee discuss this hot-button issue TV Movie and swoon over Brendan Fraser at peak hotness. Buy us a coffee and support our show: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/tvmoviepodc

It's time! We're finally covering our podcast's namesake, the 1991 ABC made-for-TV movie "Wife, Mother, Murderer." Judith Light, of Who's the Boss fame, stars in a true crime story with big plot twists and bigger shoulder pads! When Marie Hilley's husband dies of a mysterious illness and she collects the life insurance, no one asks questions. But when her own daughter then becomes sick, and the police discover that Marie was behind it all. She goes on the run from the law, fakes her own death, then comes back as her blond identical twin! Writer Louis Jordan and filmmaker Katie Madonna Lee (and her identical twin sister Sadie Madonna Lee) discuss what makes this made-for-TV classic so much fun, and how the real story was somehow even more bizarre. Support us by buying us a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/tvmoviepodc