The opening scene introduces Hard Harry with fake masturbation bits and the "totally exhausted decade" monologue, plus the blonde superfan in the parking lot.
The second show strings together the poetry-lady letter, the Beastie Boys song and the Malcolm call, including the riff about a voice going somewhere uninvited like a virus.
The Malcolm call lands when he says "I'm all alone"; it follows a prank by two girls that had primed Mark to be skeptical of the letters.
His first show after Malcolm dies has the "being young seems worse than being dead" and "the real me is just as disturbed as the rest of you" lines, called catnip for 16-year-olds.
Other rewatchable scenes: Mark's parents nearly busting him when Nora pops up, Mark and Nora walking through school ("don't you see that you're the voice"), and the Jeep broadcast finale.
The pick is the Wave of Mutilation drop, called one of the favorite music drops in any movie; another voice says "me too".
The montage cuts between listeners, including Nora at her drafting table, and shots of suburbia being built in the desert, praised for direction and editing.
A further vote goes to the shirtless party dance that ends with Paige microwaving her belongings.

What’s Aged the Best?

Soundtrack; Samantha Mathis

In the discussion (8)

Approx. transcript time · 00:54:26Read transcript

Wave of Mutilation is named again.
The two-identities structure, with Mark as a basement nerd who becomes Hard Harry at 10 p.m., works like a superhero story and anticipates online personas; he even turns his back on Nora to speak as his alter ego.
Nora De Niro is added to every category possible.
The Malcolm character could have gone wrong but works, with his oblivious mother asking him to watch TV.
The gay caller scene stands out for its plainspokenness in a 1990 film, and the film is called in some ways braver and more direct than current teen entertainment.
Ellen Greene as the cool English teacher is proposed; another host had her under aged worst because it is ambiguous whether she knew Mark was Hard Harry.
Casting Greene, described as an off-Broadway legend who played Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors, is defended as a smart choice for the necessary cool-teacher role.
The declared answer is a tie between the soundtrack and Samantha Mathis.

What’s Aged the Worst?

Shep Shepard reporter; gay caller performance; short on-screen shows; bedroom posters; the man who works with gangs downtown; wraparound shades; eagerness to phone

In the discussion (8)

Approx. transcript time · 00:58:52Read transcript

The Shep Shepard TV reporter role could have been much funnier in better hands.
The actor in the gay caller scene underdelivers, as if a replacement was grabbed that day; the budget shows in some one-scene supporting parts.
A crossover is proposed in which Die Hard's Dick Thornberg washes up in Mesa hoping Hard Harry is his way back to network.
The shows seen on screen are too short to build an audience; the film should show one running until 2:30 a.m.
Bedroom posters in 1985-94 films were wrong, a missed chance for Nike basketball, hip-hop and alt-rock posters; Boogie Nights and my so-called life are praised for getting them right.
The man who works with gangs "downtown", raised earlier as the film's only Black character and deferred to this category along with the police-department banter, is recalled as "the gang leader" and called tough.
Slater is impeccably cool except when he dons wraparound shades to visit his PO box, looking like Max Headroom.
Mark's eagerness to cold-call people on his cordless phone is what made one host recoil in 2020.

The Joey Pants “That Guy” Award

Robert Schenkkan as the guidance counselor

In the discussion (3)

Approx. transcript time · 01:06:37Read transcript

Two actors from Teen Wolf appear: Mark's dad, who runs the play in Teen Wolf and was Professor Randall on 90210, and Teen Wolf's dad, who plays the FCC head with the bad rug at the end.
Lynn Shea is shouted out as a parent at the PTA meeting who later appears in the Insidious movies.
The pranked guidance counselor Devers is played by Robert Schenken, a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright of The Kentucky Cycle who wrote the LBJ play All the Way; the reply is that this has to win.

The Ruffalo / Hanna / Rubinek / Partridge Overacting Award

The high school principal

In the discussion (2)

Approx. transcript time · 01:08:05Read transcript

The principal is called a classic terrible actor, with the line "This isn't going to happen in our school."
Her after-hours scene sipping brandy from a snifter is called an incredible moment, and another voice agrees she was terrible.

The Dion Waiters Award for Best Heat Check Performance

Seth Green

In the discussion (4)

Approx. transcript time · 01:08:05Read transcript

The English teacher is called the odds-on favorite, and Seth Green, who has about two lines, is added for figuring out how to get the tape played over the school loudspeaker system.
Seth Green seemed the same age for 25 years, from Camp Imi Love as Patrick Dempsey's little brother onward.
The PA prank is called unrealistic, with a control board like something from early Star Trek that nobody can shut down.
Seth Green gets two votes; the host backing the English teacher says he is outvoted and on an island with Ellen Green, followed by a joke that her wine-drinking shots were all filmed in one day.

Apex Mountain

Christian Slater; Samantha Mathis; pirate radio movies; flipping switches; PO boxes; pre-Nevermind college radio era

In the discussion (8)

Approx. transcript time · 01:14:38Read transcript

Christian Slater gets a yes, with two agreeing voices; the next level was expected via Young Guns and Robin Hood but never happened, though True Romance briefly revived the belief.
Heathers and this film convinced everyone he was a leading man, given how many monologues he gets.
Samantha Mathis is at her Apex, with a joke to rename it Nora De Niro Mountain or put her face on it.
Pirate radio movies are at their Apex; the 2009 Pirate Radio with Philip Seymour Hoffman is called worse, and the agreement is "This was its best."
The Pixies are raised for Apex: one voice says this is a bigger Pixies drop than Where Is My Mind in Fight Club "just because it's so perfect", the counterargument that Fight Club can still be watched is called fair, and the case ends only with "I can see that argument."
Flipping switches is proposed because the switch sound design is so satisfying; the reply is "Great point."
Asked whether this is Apex Mountain for PO boxes, the answer is yes, adding the claim that the Unabomber killed PO boxes. — Bill Simmons
The last Apex is the pre-Nevermind alternative college-radio era, with 1990 called the peak before grunge; another voice agrees such a soundtrack could not be made a few years later.

Sequel, Prequel, Limited Series, or All-Black Remake

Grown-up Mark Hunter series

In the discussion (4)

Approx. transcript time · 01:24:22Read transcript

The hosts relay that Slater has had meetings about an updated version and quoted him on reexamining what happened to Mark Hunter.
A 10-episode Netflix reinvention is called pretty cool; another host says no reinvention is needed since no one can see the original.
Andy is urged to call his friend Sam, said to love the film, which was an inspiration for Mr. Robot and for casting Slater.
The pitch: a grown-up Mark who flamed out with a mid-90s cocaine problem, gets clean through UFC, and shaves his head.

Who Won the Movie?

Samantha Mathis

In the discussion (3)

Approx. transcript time · 01:29:51Read transcript

Samantha Mathis as Nora wins, where three people could have won; she is called a generation's Velvet Underground record.
Her brief nude scene is framed as a character-driven power move rather than a gratuitous 80s-style scene.
She is fully realized and sees herself as Mark's equal, answering his request for help with "it's about time"; another voice agrees.

Podcast choices

Speaker not identified: Samantha Mathis