Hey hey! Micky Dolenz was a Monkee, and once he stopped Monkeeing around his career took him to some unusual places. Few stranger than this one-off BBC television drama, part of the Premiere strand of single plays. It's a bleak, eccentric snapshot of a now almost unrecognisable time when Hell's Angels patrolled the streets, single parenthood was a mark of shame and British television channels could afford to make shows.


In the first in a two-part look at Premiere's pop connections - which will conclude over on our Patreon - Mark Cunliffe joins us again to talk about the often grim lives of the film's cast, the strange niches they often got cast in, and their connections to everyone from Joan Collins to Saddam Hussein. We also discuss Cliff Twemlow, and Graham makes a confession that risks his career...


As noted above, we've got a sequel to this episode coming out which Rocky Horror fans won't want to miss - and you won't miss it if you join our Patreon [www.patreon.com/thegeekshow], where you'll also find weekly articles on Doctor Who, The X-Files and The Twilight Zone, plus an end-of-month podcast (Last Night...) that rounds up the wide variety of things we've been watching recently. Follow us on Instagram, BlueSky and Facebook to find out more.

The Monkees' Micky Dolenz with Premiere: Story without a Hero - Episode 143

We all understand the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics, so long as nobody has any follow-up questions. But did you know that the son of the guy who came up with it has several songs on the Shrek franchise soundtracks? This is Mark Oliver Everett, frontman of the band Eels, and this week's film, Parallel Worlds Parallel Lives, sees him untangle his strange quantum inheritance.


Join Graham and Jeff, long-term Eels fans both, as they discuss this movie's surprisingly accessible treatment of quantum mechanics, its links to Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer, and struggle to get to grips with the double-slit experiment. We also talk about the heartwrenchingly autobiographical qualities of Eels's music, share stories from their gigs and talk about the often subversive places where their music appears in popular culture. It's not just Shrek!


God damn right, we've got a beautiful Patreon [www.patreon.com/thegeekshow], and if you support us you can get a bonus episode of this show every month - this week Graham and Robyn are re-teaming for a second round with The Weeknd... There's also an end-of-month miscellany podcast Last Night..., as well as reviews of The Twilight Zone, The X-Files and many more features that aren't available anywhere else. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram to find out more.

Eels in Parallel Worlds, Parallel Lives - Pop Screen Episode 142 

You can't stop the music, although a lot of people wanted to when The Village People's 1980 movie musical came out. Released in the wake of the infamous "Disco Demolition Night" in which rock fans burned disco albums, its appeal to its natural constituency was blunted by its strange tone. A film that is extremely squeamish around sexuality yet far freer with the drugs and nudity than a PG-certificate film ought to be, it's as mismatched as the band's famously eclectic stage outfits, though much less successful.


Join Graham and Film Stories's Mark Harrison as they explore Can't Stop the Music's part in the creation of the Golden Raspberry awards, the surprisingly heavily contested origin of the 'YMCA' dance, Caitlyn Jenner's acting abilities and the Village People's post-fame afterlife from bar mitzvahs to - oh yes - Presidential Inaugurations. Plus, find out which controversial film was shooting at the same time as this, and why Mark's tangents need to have a Burial soundtrack.


If you'd like to help us help Steve Guttenberg make it in the music biz, you can donate to our Patreon [www.patreon.com/thegeekshow], where we're publishing regular reviews of The Twilight Zone and The X-Files, plus Outside the Blue Box, our series about what Doctor Who's cast and crew do in their time off. All this and a monthly bonus podcast! Find out more by following us on Instagram and Facebook.

The Village People in Can't Stop the Music - Pop Screen 141

What better time for a crossover than a comic book adaptation? This week, Graham is joined by Andrew and Mick, the two hosts of Behold!, to examine the 2024 remake of James O'Barr's cult comic The Crow. Famously the source for a 1994 film starring Brandon Lee, that star's on-set death sparked rumours that the property was cursed, rumours that can only have increased once people saw this.


Entering Pop Screen's airspace thanks to its decision to cast FKA Twigs as the hero's doomed love Shelly, the trio discuss her music and acting as well as the largely-ignored wider Crow mythology, the puzzlingly miscast films of Rupert Sanders, Bill Skarsgard's strengths and limitations as a leading man and the film's unexpected debts to Paddington 2. Also opera - the entire art form - catches some strays.


If you want to help us reach a state of eusexua, you can donate to our Patreon, where you'll get a bonus episode every month - there's one imminent right now, dealing with the great Miles Davis. Plus monthly reviews of classic Asian genre cinema in Fantastic Asia, weekly write-ups on classic TV science fiction and a nice everything-and-the-kitchen-sink podcast to round off each month in the form of Last Night... Follow us on Instagram and Facebook to find out more.

FKA Twigs in The Crow (2024) - Pop Screen Episode 140

Look at our [stuff]! Yes, it's time for Pop Screen to don its neon balaclava and tackle one of the most iconic and divisive pop movies of the 2010s - Harmony Korine's Spring Breakers. With Selena Gomez and Gucci Mane in the cast, Skrillex on the soundtrack and James Franco playing a character who is legally distinct from Riff Raff, it has more showbiz connections than you'd expect from a director whose previous movie was shot on VHS and involved people in latex masks having sex with garbage bags.


Join Graham and Robyn as they discuss the film's value as a time capsule, the past and future of its mostly Disney Channel-drawn stars, Korine's journey from Kids screenwriter to EDGLRD (yes, that is the name of his streaming service) and so much more. We also hear a joke about John Landis that genuinely appalls Graham, and the police show up. Not a moment too soon.



If you want to add to the tally we've got from robbing a convenience store, we have a Patreon [www.patreon.com/thegeekshow]where you can find an exclusive bonus episode of this very show every single month, plus weekly written pieces on Red Dwarf, The Twilight Zone and The X-Files, our Fantastic Asia column on classic Asian genre cinema, and much more. Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook to find out more.

Selena Gomez in Spring Breakers - Pop Screen 139

You know you're dealing with a slightly classier type of pop star movie when the director has a knighthood, and Sir Steve McQueen's Blitz is no exception. Despite getting no love at this year's Oscars - it's no Emilia Perez, eh, the Academy? - it's still an ambitious, multi-stranded tale of one boy's adventure through the underworld of World War II-era Britain. It tackles racial prejudice, community organising, McQueen's usual theme of the communal role of music and... wait, is that Paul Weller?
Maybe it was inevitable that the former frontman of the Style Council and the Jam would end up in a film where people do, indeed, end up down in the tube station at midnight. But there's more to it than that, as Weller superfan Mick points out. Rejoining the show after previously tackling the Style Council movie Jerusalem, he talks to Graham about the many near-misses of Weller's screen career, as well as the many palpable hits of McQueen's. And, since this podcast was recorded late last year we might as well say it here: RIP Rick Buckler.
If you want to help us make money without robbing the victims of the Luftwaffe, you can donate to our Patreon [www.patreon.com/thegeekshow]where you'll soon find the latest exclusive episode of this very show - one for fans of The Jesus Lizard, we'll say - plus exclusive regular articles on classic Asian genre cinema, The X-Files, Red Dwarf, The Twilight Zone and much more. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to find out more.

Paul Weller in Blitz - Episode 138

One year ago, a very good boi and a steel-drum cover of 50 Cent became the most unexpected Oscar-season obsessions this side of Karla Sofia Gascon's tweets. It's Anatomy of a Fall, of course, and if you're thinking "Where's the Pop Screen connection?", look closer - you've got former Savages frontwoman turned "personal album"-maker and prolific collaborator Jehnny Beth playing the nanny, the real hero of the film. Real hero? Well, yeah - she saves the dog.


Join a flu-riddled Graham as he reteams with Film Stories's Mark Harrison to discover, once and for all, whether she did it or not, talk about Sandra Huller's incredible 2023, uncover what was originally going to replace that immortal Fiddy needle-drop, and discuss this thoughtful, grown-up hit in the only way men of their generation can: through Simpsons references and repurposed gags from The Day Today.


Not everyone can afford a house like the one in this film on a writer's wages, so we'd be grateful if you could back our Patreon [www.patreon.comt/thegeekshow], where you'll get a bonus episode of this very show every month, plus regular written reviews of The Twilight Zone, classic Asian genre cinema, Red Dwarf and The X-Files, and a special chaotic bonus podcast at the end of every month. Follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook to find out more.

Savages in Anatomy of a Fall - Pop Screen 137

As soon as we heard the tragic news about David Lynch's death, we knew we had to do one of his films on Pop Screen. But which one? Most of Lynch's films feature some sort of musician cameo - and, to answer your next question, we've already done his version of Dune. But there's only one that caught the industrial, trip-hopping, nihilistic zeitgeist of the late '90s, and that's Lost Highway.


Join Graham and Rob as they discuss Lost Highway's iconic soundtrack, featuring Trent Reznor, Rammstein, David Bowie and Barry Adamson. We also talk about its on-screen cameos from Henry Rollins, Marilyn Manson - come back! - as well as the cut one from Scott Ian, and the movie's other cut scenes and multiple enigmas. Plus chat about Jack Nance, The Straight Story, and everything we'll miss about the unique Eagle Scout from Missoula, Montana. Like the Man From Another Place says, let's rock!


We recently failed to steal five hundred dollars from a sleazeball we accidentally killed with a glass coffee table, so we'd appreciate your support over on our Patreon [www.patreon.com/thegeekshow]. We're about to release an exclusive bonus episode on Masked and Anonymous, and we also post regular written reviews of The Twilight Zone, Red Dwarf, classic Asian genre cinema and The X-Files. Follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook for more.

The David Lynch Tribute Episode & Lost Highway - Pop Screen 136

It's suppertime! Yes, after our review of 2024 Pop Screen is back to its old tricks with a look back at 1986's Little Shop of Horrors, the horror-comedy-musical powered by an unforgettable voice performance from none other than The Four Tops's Levi Stubbs. As the "mean green. mother from outer space" Audrey II, Stubbs made Academy Awards history - but you'll have to listen to find out how...


Join Graham and Mike in their weird world as they discuss the songs and set-pieces both added to and taken from the stage musical, as well as the film's relationship with the Roger Corman film it's inspired by. We also unearth Little Shop of Horrors's unexpected connection to Kurt Vonnegut, its successfully unreal soundstage aesthetic, its cameos for everyone from John Candy to Miriam Margolyes... and THAT original ending.


If you want to keep us from being bought out by World Botanical Enterprises, you can join our Patreon where we're just about to drop an exclusive bonus episode about Better Man - yes, the Robbie Williams monkey film. You'll also find an end-of-month round-up podcast called Last Night..., Mike's Twilight Zone reviews, Graham's X-Files reviews, more written pieces about Red Dwarf and classic Asian genre cinema, and more. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for more.

The Four Tops & Little Shop of Horrors - Pop Screen Episode 135

You've heard the first half of our retrospective of 2024's cinema on The Uncut Network, now Pop Screen takes over for an even more epic second half - and that's just the bit where we all argue about The Substance. Join Graham, Robyn, Rob, Kat, Simon, Mike, Faye, Aidan, Andy and - in spirit if not in person - Ygraine as they run down their favourite UK releases from July to September. Which one reminds Aidan of Robert Altman? Which one does Kat think sums up modern motherhood? And which one features hundreds - possibly thousands - of beavers?


From Oscar frontrunners like Anora to instant cult favourites like Strange Darling, from multiplex smashes like The Wild Robot to British debuts like Sky Peals, from the guts and gore of Terrifier 3 to the guts and glitz of, er, Guts and Glitz, this is your definitive guide to everything that mattered at the movies in the back end of 2024. And, at the end, our festival-going contingent give you some tips for what to look out for in 2025...


And we've got more! Over on our Patreon [www.patreon.com/thegeekshow]we're putting out weekly written reviews of classic science fiction series including The X-Files, Red Dwarf and The Twilight Zone, our series on Asian genre cinema gems is about to relaunch, there's a freeform monthly podcast - Last Night... - where we catch up with anything we've been watching recently, and a monthly bonus episode of this very show - we're about to release one on the chimp-mendous Robbie Williams biopic Better Man. Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook to keep up.

Pop Screen's Best of 2024 (Part Two) July to December

Pop Screen is The Geek Show's new podcast tackling movies starring, about or by pop stars - and that's all genres, from rock to hip-hop, jazz to disco. Each week Graham and one of his stable of trusty co-hosts picks a pop movie and examines its history, its film-making and its music in-depth. It's an irreverent ride through an oft-misunderstood strain of cinema, from era-defining masterpieces to kitsch atrocities.