In the summer of 2008, Matthew Hurwitz (of DangerBurger and Video Fugue previously of Cinemachine) and I launched An Alan Smithee Podcast. Just under six years later, we released the final, one hundredth episode.
The podcast started as a general discussion of modern film, but soon became a targeted discussion of two films, one good, one bad. Only they were not necessarily films we thought good or bad. Good consensus, bad consensus. Sometimes the bad films were the ones we liked, sometimes not. Sometimes we didn’t like either of them. Only later did we even relent to the common sense of pairing the films thematically.
Until now, all of the episodes have been available on iTunes or through MP3 links on the Alan Smithee website. There has been some renewed interest in the podcast of late, with people finding the episodes linked from who knows where. Matt and I thought instead of letting people stumble onto the podcast, perhaps we should offer some structure.
That structure is The Best of An Alan Smithee Podcast, presented here on The Stop Button, every Monday for 30 weeks as we revisit 30 of our favorite episodes.
If you missed these the first time around, now begins your second chance to take a listen. And you should listen. Matt and I are smart fellas.
The Best of An Alan Smithee Podcast: Episode One
Audio Commentary: Halloween II (1981, Rick Rosenthal)
Originally posted: August 22, 2009
The Best of An Alan Smithee Podcast: Episode Two
The RoboCop Trilogy: Robocop (1987, Paul Verhoeven) / Robocop 2 (1990, Irvin Kershner) / Robocop 3 (1993, Fred Dekker)
Originally posted: January 9, 2010
The Best of An Alan Smithee Podcast: Episode Three
Psycho II (1983, Richard Franklin) / Psycho (1998, Gus Van Sant)
Originally posted: February 19, 2010
The Best of An Alan Smithee Podcast: Episode Four
Audio Commentary: Batman (1989, Tim Burton)
Originally posted: March 9, 2010
The Best of An Alan Smithee Podcast: Episode Five
Watchmen (2009, Zach Snyder), the ultimate cut
Originally posted: April 26, 2010
The Best of An Alan Smithee Podcast: Episode Six
The Darkman Trilogy (1990-96, Sam Raimi and Bradford May)
Originally posted: June 30, 2010
The Best of An Alan Smithee Podcast: Episode Seven
Piranha (1978, Joe Dante) / Piranha (1995, Scott P. Levy)
Originally posted: August 14, 2010
The Best of An Alan Smithee Podcast: Episode Seven
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974, Tobe Hooper) / Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation (1994, Kim Henkel)
Originally posted: November 10, 2010
The Best of An Alan Smithee Podcast: Episode Nine
An American Werewolf in London (1981, John Landis) / An American Werewolf in Paris (1997, Anthony Waller)
Originally posted: December 9, 2010
The Best of An Alan Smithee Podcast: Episode Ten
Flash Gordon (1980, Mike Hodges) / Popeye (1980, Robert Altman)
Originally posted: December 31, 2010
The Best of An Alan Smithee Podcast: Episode Eleven
Airplane (1980, Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, and Jerry Zucker) / Airplane II: The Sequel (1982, Ken Finkleman)
Originally posted: January 15, 2011
The Best of An Alan Smithee Podcast: Episode Twelve
Escape from New York (1981, John Carpenter) / 2019: After the Fall of New York (1983, Sergio Martino)
Originally posted: February 9, 2011
The Best of An Alan Smithee Podcast: Episode Thirteen
Revenge of the Nerds (1984, Jeff Kanew) / Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise (1987, Joe Roth)
Originally posted: March 27, 2011
The Best of An Alan Smithee Podcast: Episode Fourteen
Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983, John Landis, Steven Spielberg, Joe Dante, George Miller)
Originally posted: April 11, 2011
The Best of An Alan Smithee Podcast: Episode Fifteen
Mars Attacks! (1996, Tim Burton) / Sleepy Hollow (1999, Tim Burton)
Originally posted: May 4, 2011
The Best of An Alan Smithee Podcast: Episode Sixteen
Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988, Robert Zemeckis) / Cool World (1992, Ralph Bakshi)
Originally posted: November 16, 2011
The Best of An Alan Smithee Podcast: Episode Seventeen
Real Genius (1985, Martha Coolidge) / My Science Project (1985, Jonathan R. Beutel)
Originally posted: March 7, 2012
The Best of An Alan Smithee Podcast: Episode Eighteen
Audio Commentary: Supergirl (1984, Jeannot Szwarc)
Originally posted: April 22, 2012
The Best of An Alan Smithee Podcast: Episode Nineteen
I Married a Witch (1942, René Clair) / Bewitched (2005, Nora Ephron)
Originally posted: June 27, 2012
The Best of An Alan Smithee Podcast: Episode Twenty
The Blues Brothers (1980, John Landis) / Blues Brothers 2000 (1998, John Landis)
Originally posted: September 7, 2012
The Best of An Alan Smithee Podcast: Episode Twenty-one
Fletch (1985, Michael Ritchie) / Fletch Lives (1989, Michael Ritchie)
Originally posted: December 7, 2012
The Best of An Alan Smithee Podcast: Episode Twenty-two
The Little Shop of Horrors (1960, Roger Corman) / Please Don’t Eat My Mother (1973, Carl Monson)
Originally posted: January 3, 2013
The Best of An Alan Smithee Podcast: Episode Twenty-three
Judge Dredd (1995, Danny Cannon) / Dredd (2012, Pete Travis)
Originally posted: May 3, 2013
The Best of An Alan Smithee Podcast: Episode Twenty-four
Caddyshack (1980, Harold Ramis) / Caddyshack II (1988, Allan Arkush)
Originally posted: June 7, 2013
The Best of An Alan Smithee Podcast: Episode Twenty-five
Audio Commentary: The Return of the Living Dead (1985, Dan O’Bannon)
Originally posted: July 5, 2013
The Best of An Alan Smithee Podcast: Episode Twenty-six
Donnie Darko (2001, Richard Kelly) / S. Darko (2009, Chris Fisher)
Originally posted: September 6, 2013
The Best of An Alan Smithee Podcast: Episode Twenty-seven
Arthur (1981, Steve Gordon) / Arthur 2: On the Rocks (1987, Bud Yorkin)
Originally posted: January 3, 2014
The Best of An Alan Smithee Podcast: Episode Twenty-eight
The Fly (1986, David Cronenberg) / The Fly II (1989, Chris Walas)
Originally posted: February 7, 2014
The Best of An Alan Smithee Podcast: Episode Twenty-nine
KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park (1978, Gordon Hessler) / Detroit Rock City (1999, Adam Rifkin
Originally posted: April 8, 2014
