David Huntsberger

The year was 1982, and John Carpenter was white hot. Coming off a string of successes like Halloween and Escape From New York, Universal Studios approached him to direct a remake of Howard Hawkes’ The Thing From Another World. The result was The Thing, a landmark sci-fi horror film that set the bar for practical special effects, creature design, and tin-can tension. And everyone hated it.

This week, Tom is joined by Cracked’s David Christopher Bell and comedian David Huntsberger as they discuss the construction of the incredible special effects for The Thing, the lengths Carpenter went to create a constant feeling of paranoia in the film, and how fantastically little of a shit Wilford Brimley gave about the whole operation.

Actor, comedian, and director of “Fist Fight” Richie Keen joins Randy and Jason for this week’s Sklarbro Country! We hear about Jerry Lawler’s crime reminder and an Alberta man stockpiling missiles before the Sklars talk to Richie about his ten-year directing career and his Rage Against the Machine story. During Quick Hits, they discuss a severe bowling uniform infraction and Jose Abreu’s smuggling testimony, and Dick Vitale stops by to give his assessment of this year’s March Madness.

This episode is sponsored by ZipRecruiter (www.ziprecruiter.com/happy) and Casper Mattresses (www.casper.com/sklar).

Comedian Kurt Braunohler joins Randy and Jason this week to catch some Country waves! We hear about a naked track team drop-in and an NHL player who tussles with teens before the Sklars dive in deep with Kurt. They chat about his shift from alt-comedy to a more traditional style, upcoming prospects of parenthood, Kurt’s passion for surf, and his new comedy special “Trust Me.” During Quick Hits, they get into James Winston’s elementary school pep talk and a case of mistaken bus identity, and finally, the clone of Nicole Cage pops by to offer clarification on the Best Picture mix-up.

This episode is sponsored by Blue Apron (www.blueapron.com/sklar).

Comedian David Huntsberger co-hosts this week with Randy and Jason to welcome long-time showfriend Beth Hoyt back to the County. They discuss the benefits of a one-way Mars trip before getting into Stories. David brings tales of a long-distance sandwich seeker and a drug smuggling cop, and finally, the Sklars listen to an ethereal voice message from Tilda Swinton.

This episode is sponsored by Texture (www.texture.com/sklar).

In a way, science-fiction has not only predicted the future but created it as well. The works of Jules Verne inspired the first submarines and Star Trek’s communicators and tablets clearly inspired the smart phones and computers and voice-activated assistants we use today. But there’s still so much we don’t have yet.

Space colonies, faster-than-light travel, teleportation, genetic manipulation — there’s so much cool stuff we see in movies and TV that still seem decades if not centuries away. Sex bots! There are sex bots in everything, but look around– there are no sex bots to be found. A real tragedy.

So this week we’re going to play pretend and talk about the tropes and imagery from sci-fi that we wish were a reality. Jack O’Brien and co-host Adam Tod Brown are joined by Cracked’s Tom Reimann and Josh Sargent as well as comedians David Huntsberger, Caitlin Gill and Lizzy Cooperman to talk robots, generation ships, babies with grasshopper legs and more in this exploration of the sci-fi stuff we really want but probably can’t have. 

This episode is sponsored by Wiener-Dog from IFC Films, Spotify, Harry’s, and The Bouqs.

Footnotes:

– ‘This Perfect Day’ by Ira Levin: https://goo.gl/r6UaVB

– i09: How the L5 Society Tried to Use a Quirk of Physics to Colonize Space: http://goo.gl/0jgQSW

– Cracked: 6 Disasters With Details So Awful, History Left Them Out: http://goo.gl/Kdw3WS

– Tor: 5 Books About Generation Ships: http://goo.gl/sTLLnX

– Mystery Science Theater 3000 – Space Mutiny: https://goo.gl/hC5BVB

– Mystery Science Theater 3000 – Blood Waters of Dr. Z: https://goo.gl/CluthX

– National Geographic: ‘Evacuate Earth’: https://goo.gl/EA3IJz

– Star Wars Holiday Special: https://goo.gl/2Lk51E

New Zealand actor Rhys Darby of Flight of the Conchords and Wrecked visits the calming shores of Sklarbro Country! Rhys, Randy, and Jason talk about What We Do in the Shadows, the evolution of Flight of the Conchords, playing Psycho Sam in the New Zealand film Hunt for the Wilderpeople, and Netflix’s Voltron: Legendary Defender. Then, 13-year old Jairam Hathwar and 11-year old Nihar Janga join Randy to chat about the road to becoming the 2016 Scripps National Spelling Bee co-champions. Finally, the Sklars call up Dick Vitale to ask about his recent tennis challenge against Roger Federer.

This episode is sponsored by Squarespace, Bonobos, Touchofmodern.com, and Warby Parker.