The Literary License Podcast

Season 6: Episode 296 - DOCTOR WHO: The Aztecs

The Aztecs
 
23 May – 13 June 1964
 
The Doctor, his granddaughter Susan  and teachers Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright arrive in Mexico during the Aztec empire. Barbara becomes mistaken for the goddess Yetaxa, and accepts the identity in hope of persuading the Aztecs to give up human sacrifice, despite the Doctor's warnings about changing history.
 
Opening Credits; Introduction (1.29); Plot Synopsis (6.25); Let's Discuss (10.23); Favourite Character (23.05 ); Let's Rate (25.32); Tune In Next Time (26.26); Closing Credits (28.38)
 
Opening Credits– Doctor Who Theme. composer Ron Grainer and realised by Delia Derbyshire at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. Copyright 1963 BBC World Music.
 
Closing Credits:  Human Sacrifice by Sweetbox.  Taken from the album Jade.  Copyright 2002 Avex Records.
​
Original Music copyrighted 2020 Dan Hughes Music and the Literary License Podcast. 
 
All rights reserved.  Used with Kind Permission.
 
All songs available through Amazon Music.
 

Season 6: Episode 295 - MAKE/REMAKE: DOA (1950)/DOA (1988)

DOA (1949)
​
D.O.A. is a 1950 American film noir directed by Rudolph Maté, starring Edmond O'Brien and Pamela Britton. It is considered a classic of the genre. A fatally poisoned man tries to find out who has poisoned him and why. It was the film debuts of Beverly Garland (as Beverly Campbell) and Laurette Luez.
​
DOA (1988)
 
D.O.A. is a 1988 American neo-noir mystery thriller film and a remake of the 1950 film noir of the same name. While it shares the same premise, it has a different story and characters. The film was directed by Rocky Morton and Annabel Jankel, and scripted by Charles Edward Pogue. The writers of the original film, Russell Rouse and Clarence Greene, share story credit with Pogue. It stars Dennis Quaid, Meg Ryan and Charlotte Rampling, and was filmed in Austin, Texas and San Marcos, Texas.
 
Opening Credits; Introduction (.38); Background History (18.29); DOA (1950) Film Trailer (19.44); The Original (22.11); Let's Rate (39.27); Amazing Design Advertisement (52.24); Introducing a Remake (53.36); DOA (1988) Film Trailer (54.14); The Remake (55.47); How Many Stars (1:25.07); End Credits (1:29.47); Closing Credits (1:31.26)
 
Opening Credits– Epidemic Sound – copyright 2021. All rights reserved
 
Closing Credits:  Dead On Arrival by Fall Out Boy.  Taken from the album Take This To Your Grave.  Copyright 2003 Fueled by Ramen
​
Original Music copyrighted 2020 Dan Hughes Music and the Literary License Podcast. 
 
All rights reserved. Used with Kind Permission.
 
All songs available through Amazon Music.

Season 6: Episode 294 - BATMAN: The Animated Series: The Clock King/An Appointment in Crime Alley/Mad As A Hatter/Dreams in Darkness

The Clock King
 
After his company goes bankrupt, Temple Fugate becomes the Clock King. Fugate sets out to seek his revenge against the man whom he blames for his misfortunes: Mayor Hamilton Hill. Fugate kidnaps Hill, intending to do away with him to accomplish his revenge. Batman must stop Fugate from carrying out his revenge and save the mayor's life.
 
Appointment in Crime Alley 
 
With the help of arsonists, Roland Daggett plans to destroy Crime Alley and use the land to expand his business empire. Batman must stop Daggett's men and also save a captured Leslie Thompkins (Who helped a young Bruce Wayne cope with the loss of his parents).
 
Mad As A Hatter 
 
Miserable Wayne Industries scientist Jervis Tetch is unable to pursue the girl he loves, Alice the secretary. When she splits up from her boyfriend, he makes an advance and develops a fast friendship with her, until her boyfriend reconciles with her and proposes to her. Enraged, Tetch decides to take matters into his own hands, and dons the mantle of the Mad Hatter, using his mind-control devices to force those who have wronged him all his life to become his mindless slaves.
 
Dreams in Darkness
 
Batman is incarcerated in Arkham Asylum after being exposed to the Scarecrow's fear-inducing gas. Batman knows that the Scarecrow has escaped for the second time and is planning to poison Gotham's water supply with the same fear-inducing gas, and he must bring himself to break the law and escape from Arkham before the Scarecrow brings Gotham to its knees.
 
Opening Credits; Introduction (1.29); Episode One: The Clock King (26.33); Episode Two:  Appointment in Crime Alley (35.33); Episode Three:  Mad As A Hatter (45.19); Episode Four:  Dreams in Darkness (56.19); Amazing Design Advertisement (1:04.09); Favourite Episode (1:05.21); Favourite Character (1:11.31);Same Bat Time, Same Bat Channel (1:21.00); Closing Credits (1:22.47)
 
Opening Credits– Batman Animated Theme by Danny Elfman.  Copyright 1992 Warner Music 
 
Closing Credits:  Play With Fire (Featuring Yacht Money) by Sam Tinnesz.  Taken from the album Babel.  Copyright 2017 Warner’s Music Group
​
Original Music copyrighted 2020 Dan Hughes Music and the Literary License Podcast. 
 
All rights reserved.  Used with Kind Permission.
 
All songs available through Amazon Music.

Season 6: Episode 293 - AMERICA GOES DARK: To Kill A Mockingbird (H. Lee/1963)

Book: To Kill A Mockingbird
   By Harper Lee
 
Film:   To Kill A Mockingbird (1962)
 
To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel by the American author Harper Lee. It was published in 1960 and was instantly successful. In the United States, it is widely read in high schools and middle schools. To Kill a Mockingbird has become a classic of modern American literature, winning the Pulitzer Prize. The plot and characters are loosely based on Lee's observations of her family, her neighbors and an event that occurred near her hometown of Monroeville, Alabama, in 1936, when she was ten.  Although the novel deals with rape and racial inequality, the book is told with warmth and humour.
 
The 1962 American drama film directed by Robert Mulligan. The screenplay by Horton Foote is based on Harper Lee's 1960 Pulitzer Prize–winning novel of the same name. The film stars Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch and Mary Badham as Scout. It marked the film debut of Robert Duvall, William Windom and Alice Ghostley.  It gained overwhelmingly positive reception from both the critics and the public; a box-office success, it earned more than six times its budget. The film won three Academy Awards, including Best Actor for Peck, and was nominated for eight, including Best Picture.  In 1995, the film was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
 
Opening Credits; Introduction (2.33); Background History (17.50); Plot Synopsis (20.57); Book Thoughts(24.52); Let's Rate (1:33.07); Amazing Design Advertisement (1:31.42); Introducing a Film (1:37.53); Film Trailer (1:39.16); Lights, Camera, Action (1:41.55); How Many Stars (1:32.44); End Credits (2:41.44); Closing Credits (2:43.49)
 
Opening Credits– Epidemic Sound – copyright 2021. All rights reserved
 
Closing Credits:  Not All Heroes Wear Capes by Owl City – taken from the album Cinematic.  Copyright 2018 Sky Harbor Studios
​
Original Music copyrighted 2020 Dan Hughes Music and the Literary License Podcast. 
 
All rights reserved.  Used with Kind Permission.
 
All songs available through Amazon Music.

Season 6: Episode 292 - DOCTOR WHO: Keys of Marinus

The Keys of Marinus
​
11 April – 16 May 1964
 
The First Doctor his granddaughter Susan Foreman and her teachers Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright search for four keys to restore the Conscience of Marinus, a computer which maintains law and order. The group travel to two cities, a jungle, and an icy wasteland in search of the keys.
 
Opening Credits; Introduction (1.29); Plot Synopsis (15.29); Let's Discuss (18.51); Favourite Moment (27.29); Let's Rate (49.06); Tune In Next Time (50.21); Closing Credits (53.43)
 
Opening Credits– Doctor Who Theme. composer Ron Grainer and realised by Delia Derbyshire at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. Copyright 1963 BBC World Music.
 
Closing Credits:  Keys To My Heart by Mr Dutch.  Copyright 2020 Nigerian Street Music – Afrobeats.
​
Original Music copyrighted 2020 Dan Hughes Music and the Literary License Podcast. 
 
All rights reserved.  Used with Kind Permission.
 
All songs available through Amazon Music.

Season 6: Episode 291 - M&M: M (1931)/Badlands (1973)

Opening Credits– Epidemic Sound – copyright 2021. All rights reserved
 
Closing Credits:  Amor De Los Muertos by LVCRFT featuring La Llorona & Devil Dahlia.  Taken from the album Dia De Los Muertos  
​
Original Music copyrighted 2020 Dan Hughes Music and the Literary License Podcast. 
 
All rights reserved.  Used by Kind Permission.
 
All songs available through Amazon Music.

Season 6: Episode 290 - MAKE/REMAKE: Scarface (1931)/Scarface (1983)

Scarface (1932)
​
Scarface (also known as Scarface: The Shame of the Nation and The Shame of a Nation) is a 1932 American pre-Code gangster film directed by Howard Hawks and produced by Hawks and Howard Hughes. The screenplay, by Ben Hecht, is based loosely on the 1929 novel by Armitage Trail which was inspired by Al Capone. The film stars Paul Muni as Italian immigrant gangster Antonio "Tony" Camonte, a gangster who violently rises through the Chicago gangland, with a supporting cast that includes George Raft and Boris Karloff. Camonte's rise to power dovetails with his relentless pursuit of his boss's mistress while his own sister pursues his best hitman. In an overt tie to the life of Capone, one scene depicts a version of the Saint Valentine's Day Massacre.  After Hughes purchased the rights to Trail's novel, Hughes quickly selected Hawks to direct and Hecht to write the film's screenplay. Beginning in January 1931, Hecht wrote the script over an eleven-day period. Scarface was produced before the introduction of the Production Code in 1934, which enforced regulations on film content. However, the Hays Code, a more lenient precursor, called for major alterations, including a prologue condemning gangsters, an alternate ending to more clearly reprehend Camonte, and the alternative title The Shame of a Nation. The censors believed the film glorified violence and crime. These changes delayed the film by a year, though some showings retained the original ending. Modern showings of the film have the original ending, though some DVD releases also include the alternate ending as a feature; these versions maintain the changes Hughes and Hawks were required to make for approval by the Hays Office. No completely unaltered version is known to exist.
​
Scarface (1983)
 
Scarface is a 1983 American crime drama film directed by Brian De Palma and written by Oliver Stone. Loosely based on the 1929 novel of the same name and serving as a loose remake of the 1932 film, it tells the story of Cuban refugee Tony Montana (Al Pacino), who arrives penniless in Miami during the Mariel boatlift and becomes a powerful and extremely homicidal drug lord. The film co-stars Steven Bauer, Michelle Pfeiffer, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio and Robert Loggia. De Palma dedicated this version of Scarface to the writers of the original film, Howard Hawks and Ben Hecht.  Pacino became interested in a remake of the 1932 version after seeing it, and he and producer Martin Bregman began to develop it. Sidney Lumet was initially hired to direct the film but was replaced by De Palma, who hired Stone to write the script. Filming took place from November 1982 to May 1983, in Los Angeles and Miami. The film's soundtrack was composed by Giorgio Moroder. Scarface premiered in New York City on December 1, 1983, and was released on December 9, 1983, by Universal Pictures. The film grossed $45 million at the domestic box office and $66 million worldwide. Initial critical reception was negative due to its excessive violence, profanity, and graphic drug usage. Some Cuban expatriates in Miami objected to the film's portrayal of Cubans as criminals
 
Opening Credits; Introduction (.37); Background History (31.40); Scarface (1932) Film Trailer (34.25); The Original (37.00); Let's Rate (1:18.47); Amazing Design Advertisement (1:23.06);  Introducing a Remake (1:24.18); Scarface (1983)  Film Trailer (1:26.21); The Remake (1:29.35); How Many Stars (2:32.14); End Credits (2:49.03); Closing Credits (2:50.36)
 
Opening Credits– Epidemic Sound – copyright 2021. All rights reserved
 
Closing Credits:  Gangsta Paradise by Coolio featuring LV.  Taken from the album Gangsta Paradise, I am LV.  Copyright 1995 Tommy Boy/Warner Brothers/MCA Records
​
Original Music copyrighted 2020 Dan Hughes Music and the Literary License Podcast. 
 
All rights reserved.  Used with Kind Permission.
 
All songs available through Amazon Music.

Season 6: Episode 289 - BATMAN: The Animated Series: Feat of Clay Part 1&2/Vendetta/Fear of Victory

Batman:  The Animated Series
Feat of Clay – Part 1
 
Bruce Wayne is framed for the attempted murder of Lucius Fox. The real perpetrator is an actor and master of disguise named Matt Hagen, who was disfigured in a car accident years ago. In order to keep his fame, he secretly started working for Roland Daggett, who provides him with a monthly supply of an addictive face cream known as Renuyu (a pun on "Renew You") that can temporarily reshape his face back to normal, and who wants to take Wayne Enterprises over for marketing expansion. For botching the murder due to Batman's interference, Hagen's supply is cut off, and when he breaks into Daggett's lab for more Renuyu, he pays the price dearly when Daggett's men drench his face in the formula and force him to swallow liters of it to avoid drowning. Meanwhile, Bruce Wayne is arrested and taken into custody, charged with the assault on Fox.
 
Feat of Clay – Part 2
 
Bruce Wayne is released from prison on bail. Hagen, as it turns out, survived the murder attempt on him, but at a high cost: the formula entered his body and soaked every single one of his cells, turning him into a shape-shifting mutant. With his newfound powers, Hagen, now calling himself Clayface, decides to take his revenge on Daggett and his men, and Batman must bring Daggett to justice and stop Clayface before innocent people are hurt.
 
Vendetta
​
Detective Bullock is arrested for kidnapping. Batman, who dislikes Bullock but nevertheless believes him to be a good man, investigates, and discovers the identity of the real criminal: Killer Croc, who harbors a vendetta against Bullock for capturing him once. Batman must clear Bullock's name before it is too late.
 
Fear of Victory 
 
The Scarecrow invents a fear chemical that is activated by adrenaline. Then, he uses it to affect the outcome of athletic events. Whenever a single person becomes agitated, the fear chemical kicks in, turning his excitement to fear. The Scarecrow bets against the sports stars' teams as part of his criminal scheme to scare up some quick cash, and Batman and Robin must foil his plot.
 
Opening Credits; Introduction (1.29); Episode One & Two:  Feat of Clay Part 1 & 2 (30.23); Episode Three:  Vendetta (50.50); Episode Four:  Fear of Victory (1:03.05); Amazing Design Advertisement (1:14.57); Favourite Character and Least Favourite Character and Favourite Episode (1:16.09);Same Bat Time, Same Bat Channel (1:33.15); Closing Credits (1:34.24)
 
Opening Credits– Batman Animated Theme by Danny Elfman.  Copyright 1992 Warner Music 
 
Closing Credits:  The Fear by Lily Allen.  Taken from the album It Not Me, It’s You.  Copyright 2007 Regal Records
​
Original Music copyrighted 2020 Dan Hughes Music and the Literary License Podcast. 
All rights reserved.  Used with Kind Permission.
 
All songs available through Amazon Music.

Season 6: Episode 288: AMERICA GOES DARK: The Color Purple (A. Walker)/Film (1985)

Book: The Color Purple
   By Alice Walker
​
Film:   The Color Purple (1985)
 
 
The Color Purple is a 1982 epistolary novel by American author Alice Walker which won the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Award for Fiction. It was later adapted into a film and musical of the same name. The novel has been the frequent target of censors and appears on the American Library Association list of the 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 2000–2009 at number seventeenth because of the sometimes explicit content, particularly in terms of violence.
 
The Color Purple is a 1985 American epic coming-of-age period drama film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Menno Meyjes, based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning 1982 novel of the same name by Alice Walker. It was Spielberg's eighth film as a director, and marked a turning point in his career, as it was a departure from the summer blockbusters for which he had become known. It was also the first feature film directed by Spielberg for which John Williams did not compose the music, instead featuring a score by Quincy Jones, who also produced. The cast stars Whoopi Goldberg in her breakthrough role, with Danny Glover, Oprah Winfrey, Margaret Avery, Rae Dawn Chong, Willard Pugh, and Adolph Caesar.  Filmed in Anson and Union counties in North Carolina, the film tells the story of a young African-American girl named Celie Harris and shows the problems African-American women experienced during the early 20th century, including domestic violence, incest, paedophilia, poverty, racism, and sexism. Celie is transformed as she finds her self-worth through the help of two strong female companions
 
Opening Credits; Introduction (2:34); Background History (17.09); The Color Purple Plot Synopsis (18.27); Book Thoughts (26.15); Let's Rate (1:27.30); Amazing Design Advertisement (1:27.55); Introducing a Film (1:37.07); The Color Purple Film Trailer (1:33.40); Lights, Camera, Action (1:34.57); How Many Stars (2:26.07); End Credits (2:31.47); Closing Credits (2:34.21)
 
Opening Credits– Epidemic Sound – copyright 2021. All rights reserved
 
Closing Credits:  The Color Purple by Jennifer Hudson and Cynthia Ervio.  Taken from the Broadway Cast Album.  The Color Purple.  Copyright 2016 TCP 2015 Broadway New Cast Recording. 
​
Original Music copyrighted 2020 Dan Hughes Music and the Literary License Podcast. 
 
All rights reserved.  Used by Kind Permission.
 
All songs available through Amazon Music.

Season 6: Episode 287 - M&M: The Little Girl Who Lived Down The Lane/Alice Sweet Alice

The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane (1976)
​
The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane is a 1976 cross-genre film directed by Nicolas Gessner and starring Jodie Foster, Martin Sheen, Alexis Smith, Mort Shuman, and Scott Jacoby. It was a co-production of Canada and France and written by Laird Koenig, based on his 1974 novel of the same title.  The plot focuses on 13-year-old Rynn Jacobs (Foster), a child whose absent poet father and secretive behaviours prod the suspicions of her conservative small-town Maine neighbours. The adaptation, originally intended as a play, was filmed in Quebec on a small budget. The production later became the subject of controversy over reports that Foster had conflicts with producers over the filming and inclusion of a nude scene, but a 21-year-old body double (Foster's sister) was used. After a screening at the 1976 Cannes Film Festival, a court challenge was launched regarding distribution, and a general release followed in 1977.
 
Alice Sweet Alice (1976)
 
Alice, Sweet Alice (originally titled Communion) is a 1976 American slasher film co-written and directed by Alfred Sole, and starring Linda Miller, Paula Sheppard, and Brooke Shields in her film debut. Set in 1961 New Jersey, the film focuses on a troubled adolescent girl who becomes a suspect in the brutal murder of her younger sister at her First Communion, as well as in a series of unsolved stabbings that follow.  Inspired by Nicolas Roeg's Don't Look Now (1973) and the films of Alfred Hitchcock, writer-director Sole devised the screenplay with Rosemary Ritvo, an English professor who was his neighbor. At the time, Sole had been working as an architect restoring historic buildings in his hometown of Paterson, New Jersey, and several properties he had worked on were used as shooting locations. Filming took place throughout the summer of 1975 in Paterson and Newark. The film premiered at the Chicago International Film Festival under its original title, Communion, in November 1976, and was released under this title in London in September 1977. After being acquired by Allied Artists, it was re-titled Alice, Sweet Alice, and released in the United States on November 18, 1977. Another theatrical re-release occurred in 1981 under the title Holy Terror, which marketed the popularity of Shields after her performance in Louis Malle's Pretty Baby (1978). While not prosecuted for obscenity, the film was seized and confiscated in the UK under Section 3 of the Obscene Publications Act 1959 during the video nasty panic, and was controversial in Ireland due to its apparent anti-Catholic themes.
 
Opening Credits; Introduction (1.06); Background History (33.19); The Little Girl Who Lived Down the Lane (1976) Film Trailer (36.06); The Original (37.02); Let's Rate (1:22.57); Amazing Design Advertisement (1:43.44); Introducing the Double Feature (1:44.27); Alice Sweet Alice (1976) Film Trailer (1:46.31); The Attraction (1:48.12); How Many Stars (3:01.15); End Credits (3:23.15); Closing Credits (3:24.19)
 
Opening Credits– Epidemic Sound – copyright 2021. All rights reserved
 
Closing Credits:  Thank Heaven For Little Girls by Maurice Chevalier.  Taken from the original Broadway production of GIGI.  Copyright 1958 MGM Records
​
Original Music copyrighted 2020 Dan Hughes Music and the Literary License Podcast. 
 
All rights reserved.
 
Used With Kind Permission.
 
All songs available through Amazon Music.

Season 6: Episode 286 - DOCTOR WHO: Marco Polo

MARCO POLO – (The Lost Story)
22 February – 4 April 1964
 
EPISODES:
​
The Roof of the World
The Singing Sands
Five Hundred Eyes
The Wall of Lives
Rider from Shang-Tu
Mighty Kublai Khan
Assassin at Peking
 
The story is set in Yuan-era China in the year 1289, where the Doctor , his granddaughter Susan Foreman and her teachers Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright meet the Italian merchant-explorer Marco Polo  and Mongolian Emperor Kublai Khan.
 
Opening Credits; Introduction (1.29); Plot Synopsis (1.53); Let's Discuss (3.24); Amazing Design Advertisement (41.44); Tune In Next Time (42.57); Closing Credits (43.47)
 
Opening Credits– Doctor Who Theme. composer Ron Grainer and realised by Delia Derbyshire at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. Copyright 1963 BBC World Music.
 
Closing Credits:  Marco Polo by Bow Wow featuring Soulja Boy.  Taken from the album New Jack City II.  Copyright 2009 LBW Entertainment – Columbia.
​
Original Music copyrighted 2020 Dan Hughes Music and the Literary License Podcast. 
 
All rights reserved. 
Used with Kind Permission.
 
All songs available through Amazon Music.
 

Season 6: Episode 285 - MAKE/REMAKE: Castle Freak (1995/2020)

Castle Freak (1995)
​
Castle Freak is a 1995 American direct-to-video horror film directed by Stuart Gordon. The film stars Jeffrey Combs as John Reilly, an American recovering alcoholic who inherits an Italian castle when a distant relative passes away. John travels to Italy with his estranged wife Susan (Barbara Crampton) and blind daughter Rebecca (Jessica Dollarhide). The three plan to stay at the castle, but unbeknownst to them, a freakish monster locked away in the basement of the castle is about to escape and commit a series of murders. The police place John as the prime suspect, leading him to confront his alcoholism, fight the demon and prove himself innocent. Castle Freak went into production in 1994 after Gordon noticed art for the film in producer Charles Band's office. Gordon agreed to develop the film on Band's condition that the film take place in a castle, contain a freak, and would be shot on a very low budget. Gordon obliged as he would be able to cast who he wanted in the film and would get the final cut. The film was shot in 1994 in a castle owned by Band in Italy, where Gordon had previously shot The Pit and the Pendulum.
 
Castle Freak (2020)
 
Castle Freak is a 2020 American direct-to-video horror film that was directed by Tate Steinsiek. It has been billed as a reboot of the 1995 Stuart Gordon film by the same name, which is a loose adaptation of the stories "The Outsider" and "The Dunwich Horror" by H.P. Lovecraft.
 
Opening Credits; Introduction (.40); Background History (29.18); Castle Freak (1995) Film Trailer (30.35); The Original (32.43); Let's Rate (1:10.15); Amazing Design Advertisement (1:30.27); Introducing a Remake (1:31.38); Castle Freak (2020) Film Trailer (1:32.06); The Remake (1:34.09); How Many Stars (2:18.31); End Credits (2:29.58); Closing Credits (2:31.48)
 
Opening Credits– Epidemic Sound – copyright 2021. All rights reserved
 
Closing Credits:  Freak Like Me by The Sugababes.  Taken from the album Angels With Dirty Faces.  Copyright 2002 Island/Universal Records.
​
Original Music copyrighted 2020 Dan Hughes Music and the Literary License Podcast. 
 
All rights reserved.  Used with Kind Permission.
 
All songs available through Amazon Music.

Season 6: Episode 284 - BATMAN: The Animated Series: See No Evil/Beware the Grey Ghost/Prophecy of Doom/Joker’s Favor

Batman: The Animated Series
 
See No Evil  
 
Lloyd "Eddie" Ventrix is on the verge of losing his daughter, Kimberly (Elisabeth Moss), to his ex-wife, Helen, due to his past as a con artist. Determined not to lose Kimberly, Ventrix dons a suit, stolen from where he used to work while on parole, which grants the user invisibility but also becomes highly toxic and drives him insane. He poses as Kimberly's imaginary friend, Mojo, and planning to abduct her from her mother, while in a crime spree as an invisible robber. Batman must solve the mystery crimes and stop Ventrix, despite the fact that he cannot even see him.
 
Beware the Gray Ghost
 
Simon Trent, an actor best known for his past role as "The Gray Ghost", is on the verge of bankruptcy thanks to his declining career. To save himself, he sells off all of his Gray Ghost merchandise. Immediately afterwards, a series of bombings related to the old show begin to occur. Batman, having himself been inspired partly by the show to become the crimefighter he now is, goes to Trent for help, and they team up to put an end to the crimes, and also revive Trent's career.
 
Prophecy of Doom 
 
Batman investigates a cult, called the Brotherhood, founded by the "mystic" Nostromos, after hearing about a number of stories from his colleagues about his ability to predict the future. Batman finds out that Nostromos is actually a con artist who was rigging near-fatal accidents to gain the confidence of Gotham's upper class citizens, and he must expose this ruse before it is too late.
 
Joker’s Favor
 
After a man named Charlie Collins curses at the Joker on the road for offensive driving, the Clown Prince of Crime corners him and intimidates him into doing him a "small favor". Two years pass, and the Joker finally decides how to use Charlie: to sneak a bomb into the Peregrinator's Club, where Commissioner Gordon is to give a speech at an award ceremony. Charlie, who merely has to open the door, is sceptical at first, but for the sake of his family, he reluctantly decides to obey.
 
We are joined by Mark Krawczyk, Host of The Spoiler Room podcast.  You can follow his show or himself by going to the following websites:
 
https://www.specialmarkproductions.com
https://anchor.fm/spoilerroompodcast
https://twitter.com/SpecialMarkPro
https://www.instagram.com/SpecialMarkProd
https://www.tiktok.com/@specialmarkproductions
 
 
Opening Credits; Introduction (1.29); Amazing Design Advertisement (32.25); Episode One See No Evil (33.37); Episode Two: Beware the Grey Ghost (47.24); Episode Three:  Prophecy of Doom (1:20.20); Episode Four: Joker’s Favor (1:45.57); Favourite and Least Favourite Character (2:34.15);Same Bat Time, Same Bat Channel (2:51.43); Closing Credits (2:54.37)
 
Opening Credits– Batman Animated Theme by Danny Elfman.  Copyright 1992 Warner Music 
 
Closing Credits:  My Hero by The Foo Fighters.  Taken from the album The Color and The Shape.  Copyright 1997 Roswell – Capitol Records.
​
Original Music copyrighted 2020 Dan Hughes Music and the Literary License Podcast. 
 
All rights reserved. Used with Kind Permission.
 
All songs available through Amazon Music.

Season 6: Episode 283 - AMERICA GOES DARK: We Need To Talk About Kevin (L. Shriver)/Film (2011)

Book:    We Need to Talk About Kevin
     By Lionel Shriver
​
Film:      We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011)
 
We Need to Talk About Kevin is a 2003 novel by Lionel Shriver, published by Serpent's Tail, about a fictional school massacre. It is written from the first person perspective of the teenage killer's mother, Eva Khatchadourian, and documents her attempt to come to terms with her psychopathic son Kevin and the murders he committed, as told in a series of letters from Eva to her husband. The novel, Shriver's seventh, won the 2005 Orange Prize, a UK-based prize for female authors of any country writing in English. In 2011 the novel was adapted into a film.
 
We Need to Talk About Kevin is a 2011 psychological thriller drama film directed by Lynne Ramsay from a screenplay she co-wrote with Rory Stewart Kinnear, based on the 2003 novel of the same name by Lionel Shriver. A long process of development and financing began in 2005, with filming commencing in April 2010.  Tilda Swinton stars as the mother of Kevin, struggling to come to terms with her psychopathic son and the horrors he has committed. The film premiered at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival and was released in the United Kingdom on 21 October 2011.
 
Opening Credits; Introduction (2.33); Amazing Design Advertisement (24.07); Background History (25.19); Plot Synopsis (26.24); Book Thoughts (32.24); Let's Rate (1:30.21); Introducing a Film (1:33.10); Film Trailer (1:34.34); Lights, Camera, Action (1:36.11); How Many Stars (2:36.00); End Credits (2:49.50); Closing Credits (2:51.34)
 
Opening Credits– Epidemic Sound – copyright 2021. All rights reserved
 
Closing Credits:  I Don’t Like Mondays by The Boomtown Rats. Taken from the album The Fine Art of Surfacing.  Copyright 1979 Ensign/Columbia Records
​
Original Music copyrighted 2020 Dan Hughes Music and the Literary License Podcast. 
 
All rights reserved.  Used with Kind Permission.
 
All songs available through Amazon Music.

Season 6: Episode 282 - M&M: Eating Raoul (1984)/Cannibal The Musical (1994)

Cannibal the Musical (1993)
​
Cannibal! The Musical (originally known as Alferd Packer: The Musical) is a 1993 American black comedy musical film directed, written, produced, co-scored by and starring Trey Parker in his directorial debut while studying at the University of Colorado at Boulder, before reaching fame with South Park alongside his friend Matt Stone who also stars in and produced the film. It is loosely based on the true story of Alferd Packer and the sordid details of the trip from Utah to Colorado that left his five fellow travelers dead and partially eaten. Trey Parker (credited as Juan Schwartz) stars as Alferd Packer, with frequent collaborators Stone, Dian Bachar, and others playing the supporting roles.  A live staged version was performed at Sierra College, in Rocklin, California, in May 1998. It was followed by Dad's Garage Theater, Atlanta Georgia, in the fall of 1998. The Dad's Garage version is highlighted in the special features of Troma's DVD release of the movie. The show has continued to find small theaters and audiences across America and beyond for many years. In 2001, a production was staged Off-Broadway at the Kraine Theater on East 4th Street in New York.  A large-scale stage production was produced by The Rival Theatre Company at the 2008 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. It featured West End performers. It was executive produced by Jason McHugh and directed by Frazer Brown
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Eating Raoul (1982)
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Eating Raoul is a 1982 American black comedy film written, directed by and starring Paul Bartel with Mary Woronov, Robert Beltran, Ed Begley Jr., Buck Henry, and Susan Saiger. It is about a prudish married couple (Bartel and Woronov) who resort to killing and robbing affluent swingers to earn money for their dream restaurant. The writers commissioned a single-issue comic book based on the film for promotion; it was created by underground comix creator Kim Deitch.  It would also become a hit off Broadway musical.
 
Opening Credits; Introduction (1.05); Amazing Design Advertisement (52.51); Background History (54.04); Eating Raoul Film Trailer (54.49); The Original (56.25); Let's Rate (1:42.42); Introducing the Double Feature (1:48.50); Cannibal – The Musical Film Trailer (1:51.11); The Attraction (1:52.53); How Many Stars (2:35.19); Over All Thought (2:36.09) End Credits (2:41.52; Closing Credits (2:43.21)
 
Opening Credits– Epidemic Sound – copyright 2021. All rights reserved
 
Closing Credits:  Eat Me – Demi Lovatto Featuring Ryan and Serpent. -. Taken from the forthcoming album ‘Holy Fvck’.  Copyright 2022 Island Records.
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Original Music copyrighted 2020 Dan Hughes Music and the Literary License Podcast. 
 
All rights reserved.  Used With Kind Permission.
 
All songs available through Amazon Music.
 

Season 6: Episode 281 - MAKE/REMAKE: West Side Story (1961/2021)

West Side Story (1961)
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West Side Story is a 1961 American musical romantic drama film directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins. With a screenplay by Ernest Lehman, the film is an adaptation of the 1957 Broadway musical of the same title, which in turn was inspired by Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet. It stars Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Russ Tamblyn, Rita Moreno, and George Chakiris, and was photographed by Daniel L. Fapp in Super Panavision 70. The music was composed by Leonard Bernstein, with lyrics by Stephen Sondheim.  Released on October 18, 1961, through United Artists, the film received high praise from critics and viewers, and became the highest-grossing film of 1961. It was nominated for 11 Academy Awards and won 10, including Best Picture (in addition to a special award for Robbins), becoming the record holder for the most wins for a musical.
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West Side Story (2021)
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West Side Story is a 2021 American musical romantic drama film directed and co-produced by Steven Spielberg from a screenplay by Tony Kushner. It is the second feature-length adaptation of the 1957 stage musical of the same name.It stars Ansel Elgort and Rachel Zegler in her film debut with Ariana DeBose, David Alvarez, Mike Faist, and Rita Moreno in supporting roles. Moreno, who starred in the 1961 film adaptation, also served as an executive producer alongside Kushner.[3] The film features music composed by Leonard Bernstein with lyrics by Stephen Sondheim.  The film entered development in 2014 at 20th Century Fox; Kushner began writing the screenplay in 2017. In January 2018, Spielberg was hired and casting began that September. Justin Peck choreographed the dance sequences. Principal photography occurred in New York and New Jersey; filming began in July 2019 and ran for two months.  The film was a box office bomb losing over $100million dollars at the box office.
 
Opening Credits; Introduction (.37); Background History (28.20); West Side Story (1961) Film Trailer (30.07); The Original (34.04); Let's Rate (1:55.39); Amazing Design Advertisement (2:06.54); Introducing a Remake (2:08.06); West Side Story (2021) Film Trailer (2:10.10); The Remake (2:12.25); How Many Stars (3:2128); End Credits (3:48.15); Closing Credits (3:50.01)
 
Opening Credits– Epidemic Sound – copyright 2021. All rights reserved
 
Closing Credits:  Welcome Christmas – performed by the MGM Chorus.  Taken from the 1966 How The Grinch Stole Christmas Television Soundtrack.  Copyright 1966 Leo The Lion Records
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Original Music copyrighted 2020 Dan Hughes Music and the Literary License Podcast. 
 
All rights reserved.
 
All songs available through Amazon Music.

Season 6: Episode 280 - DOCTOR WHO: The Edge of Destruction

The Edge of Destruction
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8 February – 15 February 1964
 
The Doctor, his granddaughter Susan and her teachers  are in the Doctor's time and space machine the TARDIS when it appears to be taken over by an outside force. The travellers begin acting strangely and turn against each other.
 
Opening Credits; Introduction (1.29); Plot Synopsis (8.39); Let's Discuss (10.51); Amazing Design Advertisement (25.15); Favourite and Least Favourite Character (26.26); Tune In Next Time (32.07); Closing Credits (34.07)
 
Opening Credits– Doctor Who Theme. composer Ron Grainer and realised by Delia Derbyshire at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. Copyright 1963 BBC World Music.
 
Closing Credits:  Elf’s Lament by Barenaked Ladies with Michael Buble.  Taken from the album Barenaked For The Holidays.  Copyright 2004 Desperation Records.
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Original Music copyrighted 2020 Dan Hughes Music and the Literary License Podcast. 
 
All rights reserved. 
 
Used with Kind Permission.
 
All songs available through Amazon Music.

Season 6: Episode 279 - BATMAN: The Animated Series: I Got Batman In My Basement /Heart of Ice/The Claw Part 1 &2

Batman: The Animated Series – I Got Batman In My Basement/Heart of Ice/Cat and the Claw Part 1 & 2
 
I’ve Got Batman In My Basement
 
During a fight with Batman over a stolen Fabergé egg, the Penguin incapacitates Batman with poison gas. The Dark Knight is rescued by a teenage amateur detective named Sherman Grant and his friend Roberta, who hide Batman in Sherman's basement long enough for him to recover before the Penguin finds them.
 
Heart of Ice
 
Bitter scientist Victor Fries, as Mr. Freeze, attacks several divisions of GothCorp, each time stealing a piece for a secret weapon he intends to build. Batman investigates the connections, and discovers that the start of Freeze's vendetta against GothCorp was a bitter falling out between Fries and GothCorp's CEO, Ferris Boyle (Mark Hamill), during which Boyle almost killed Fries (mutating him into Freeze) and presumably killed Fries' terminally ill wife, Nora. Batman must find a way to bring Boyle to justice before Freeze carries out his revenge.  This episode won the 1993 daytime Emmy for most Outstanding Script.
 
The Cat and the Claw Part 1
 
Batman encounters a new cat burglar calling herself Catwoman, and around the same time, meets a woman named Selina Kyle (as Bruce Wayne), to whom he is visibly attracted. When Selina runs into trouble with a terrorist group known as The Red Claw, who want the mountain lion sanctuary she was trying to protect, she decides to take matters into her own hands and investigate.
 
The Cat and the Claw Part 2
 
The leader of the Red Claw group (known herself only as Red Claw) attacks a military train and steals a viral plague, which she intends to release in Gotham if she isn't paid a ransom, and Batman and Catwoman must put aside their differences and work together to stop Red Claw before it is too late.
 
Opening Credits; Introduction (1.30); Amazing Design Advertisement (1:03.41)I Got Batman In My Basement (1:04.53); Heart of Ice (1:28.26); The Cat And The Claw Part 1 (2:02.09); The Cat and The Claw Part 2 (2:25.02); Favourite Episode (3:00.06); Favourite Character (3:03.19);Same Bat Time, Same Bat Channel (3:06.47); Closing Credits (3:08.13)
 
Opening Credits– Batman Animated Theme by Danny Elfman.  Copyright 1992 Warner Music 
 
Closing Credits:  God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman by Barenaked Ladies with Sarah McLaughlin.  Taken from the album Barenaked For The Holiday.  Copyright 2004 Concord Vangard Records.
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Original Music copyrighted 2020 Dan Hughes Music and the Literary License Podcast. 
 
All rights reserved. 
 
Used with Kind Permission.
 
All songs available through Amazon Music.

Season 6: Episode 278 - AMERICA GOES DARK: We Have Always Lived In A Castle (S. Jackson)/Film (2018)

Book:   We Have Always Lived in The Castle
     By Shirley Jackson
 
Film:   We Have Always Live in the Castle
   (2018)
 
We Have Always Lived in the Castle is a 1962 mystery novel by American author Shirley Jackson. It was Jackson's final work, and was published with a dedication to Pascal Covici, the publisher, three years before the author's death in 1965. The novel is written in the voice of eighteen-year-old Mary Katherine "Merricat" Blackwood, who lives with her sister and uncle on an estate in Vermont. Six years before the events of the novel, the Blackwood family experienced a tragedy that left the three survivors isolated from their small village.  The novel was first published in hardcover in North America by Viking Press, and has since been released in paperback and as an audiobook and e-book.[2] It has been described as Jackson's masterpiece.
 
We Have Always Lived in the Castle is a 2018 American mystery thriller film directed by Stacie Passon, written by Mark Kruger, and starring Taissa Farmiga, Alexandra Daddario, Crispin Glover, and Sebastian Stan. It was based on the 1962 novel of the same name by Shirley Jackson.
 
 
Opening Credits; Introduction (2:31); Amazing Design Advertisement ( 19.14); Background History (20.26); Plot Synopsis (21.26); Book Thoughts (25.32); Let's Rate (1:07.56); Introducing a Film (1:16.06); We Have Always Lived In The Castle Film Trailer (1:17.11); Lights, Camera, Action (1:19.02); How Many Stars (1:59.49); End Credits (2:04.39); Closing Credits (2:06.26)
 
Opening Credits– Epidemic Sound – copyright 2021. All rights reserved
 
Closing Credits:  I’ll Be Home For Christmas by Elvis Presley and Carrie Underwood.  Taken from the album Christmas Duets.  Copyright 2008 RCA Victor Records
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Original Music copyrighted 2020 Dan Hughes Music and the Literary License Podcast. 
 
All rights reserved.  Used with Kind Permission.
 
All songs available through Amazon Music.

Season 6: Episode 277 - M&M: Double Indemnity (1944)/Basic Instinct (1992)

Double Indemnity (1944)
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Double Indemnity is a 1944 American crime film noir directed by Billy Wilder, co-written by Wilder and Raymond Chandler, and produced by Buddy DeSylva and Joseph Sistrom. The screenplay was based on James M. Cain's 1943 novel of the same title, which appeared as an eight-part serial for the Liberty magazine in February 1936.  The film stars Fred MacMurray as an insurance salesman, Barbara Stanwyck as a provocative housewife who is accused of killing her husband, and Edward G. Robinson as a claims adjuster whose job is to find phony claims. The term "double indemnity" refers to a clause in certain life insurance policies that doubles the payout in cases when the death is accidental.  Praised by many critics when first released, the film was nominated for seven Academy Awards but did not win any. Widely regarded as a classic, it often is cited as having set the standard for film noir.
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Basic Instinct (1992)
 
Basic Instinct is a 1992 neo-noir erotic thriller film directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Joe Eszterhas. The film follows San Francisco police detective Nick Curran (Michael Douglas), who is investigating the brutal murder of a wealthy rock star. During the investigation, Curran becomes involved in a torrid and intense relationship with the prime suspect, Catherine Tramell (Sharon Stone), an enigmatic writer.  Eszterhas developed the script in the 1980s. It became a subject of a bidding war until Carolco Pictures acquired the rights to the film. From there, Verhoeven signed on to direct and Douglas and Stone joined the project, after many actresses were considered for the role of Tramell. Before its release, Basic Instinct generated controversy due to its overt sexuality and violence, including a rape scene. Gay rights activists criticized the film's depiction of homosexual relationships and the portrayal of a bisexual woman as a murderous psychopath. In one scene, Stone's vulva was filmed as she crossed her legs, which she claimed was done without her knowledge, a claim denied by the director.  There are several cuts available. 
 
Opening Credits; Introduction (1.05); Amazing Design Advertisement (20.54); Background History (22.06); Double Indemnity (1944) Film Trailer (23.41); The Original (25.54); Let's Rate (1:19.08); Introducing the Double Feature (1:36.27); Basic Instinct (1992) Film Trailer (1:39.07); The Attraction (1:41.16); How Many Stars (2:37.14); End Credits (2:41.56); Closing Credits (2:43.10)
 
Opening Credits– Epidemic Sound – copyright 2021. All rights reserved
 
Closing Credits:  Man Smart, Women Smarter – by Harry Belafonte. Taken from the album Calypso.  Copyright 1955 RCA Victor
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Original Music copyrighted 2020 Dan Hughes Music and the Literary License Podcast. 
 
All rights reserved.  Used by Kind Permission.
 
All songs available through Amazon Music.