Episode 80 - Hercules in New York (1970)

Far in the dim past... when showbiz and bodybuilding merged into shoddybuilding... we got to have a Schwarzenegger love-fest with his first "major" movie in which he's learning English and playing one of the world's first superheroes, or certainly most prominent capital "H" heroes, with the 1970 bizarreness Hercules in New York.

How easy is it for a seasoned merchant crew to hand an OS rating to a random castaway? Is Arnold Stang just what you get if you took Woody Allen and removed the raw animal magnetism? Has there ever been a better wrestler than Biffer Benson? Why is Zeus totally negging Herc?

Come with us in restoring this movie to the Olympus that is the Schwarzenegger film canon!

Episode 71 - Beowulf (1999)

We're back to heroes of myth and legend with the epochal cornerstone of western literature, the Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf! But this ain't your daddy's Beowulf, oh no! It's a bizarre techno-feudalist medieval gas-powered low budget direct-to-VHS tour de force staring everyone's favorite Highlander, Christopher Lambert!

Who would win in a fight between Beowulf and Siegfried? Should Mortal Kombat be the template for further adaptations of classic literature? Why are we wasting the presence of Mac from Night Court? Was that Beowulf v Siegfried joke the most obscure reference we've done on the show?

Grendel's mom has got it going on, but she's no match for the power of techno-feudal natural gas! But really, who is?

Episode 67 - Hero (2002)

We (finally) get to Ainsley's Christmas wish with the gorgeous, epic masterpiece of wuxia cinema 2002's Hero, from director Zhang Yimou.

How different are cultural definitions of heroism (and superheroism) between the US and China?Has any superhero movie in the last two decades come close to this in a subtle exploration of what it means to be a hero? How much does this movie's ideas about heroism blatantly rip off Spock?

This episode includes shoutouts to the music of Rasa, Matthew Polly's American Shaolin, and the short film Deadhearts, so your media needs for the next week are basically filled.

Episode 45 - Robin Hood (1973)

We're welcoming Disney Animators Ross Blocher (Frozen, Big Hero 6, and also of Oh No Ross and Carrie) and Dale Baer (of The Rescuers, The Lord of the Rings, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, The Lion King, and oh yeah, today's movie to name a few) for our first foray into the heroes of myth and legend with Disney's 1973 classic Robin Hood!

Why is Little John played by Baloo? Why did Walt Disney hate 101 Dalmatians? What's the terrible secret of Prince John's mother? What's the deal with Don Bluth?

It's legends talking legends as we get deep into the history of Robin Hood movies, cartoons, and the Walt Disney Animation department, post Walt Disney.