The discussion explicitly says Roger Ebert did not review the film.
On the television program, Ebert reportedly said Rocky had lost his humor and charm.
The panel rejects that view and argues that Rocky remains funny and charming.

Casting What-Ifs

Joe Frazier and Ernie Shavers were considered for Clubber; Billy Graham for Thunderlips; Morgan Freeman for Clubber’s trainer; and several actors or wrestlers are proposed as alternatives.

This discussion recalls a choice from an earlier episode.

In the discussion (6)

Approx. transcript time · 00:57:20Read transcript

Joe Frazier and Ernie Shavers were considered for Clubber, but a stutter and a high voice were seen as liabilities.
Mr. T was discovered through America’s Best Bouncer.
Superstar Billy Graham was considered too old for Thunderlips.
Morgan Freeman unsuccessfully auditioned to be Clubber’s trainer.
John Amos is considered as a known actor alternative, though his age and familiarity would reduce Clubber’s mystery.
Andre, Ernie Ladd, Big John Stud, Bundy, and Paul Orndorf are discussed as wrestling alternatives for Thunderlips.

Recasting Couch

Morgan Freeman is placed as Clubber’s trainer, Kevin Harlan as a fight announcer, and a young Mel Gibson is jokingly proposed for the rabbi.

In the discussion (3)

Approx. transcript time · 01:02:53Read transcript

Morgan Freeman is proposed as Clubber’s trainer despite the need to deliver instructions quickly.
Kevin Harlan is proposed for the second fight’s play-by-play.
A young Mel Gibson is jokingly proposed as the rabbi at Mickey’s funeral.

Half-Assed Internet Research

Research covers Stallone’s extreme diet, the Rocky statue, Mr. T’s mother, a discarded death plan, Ali’s house, and the film’s demo version of Eye of the Tiger.

In the discussion (6)

Approx. transcript time · 01:03:43Read transcript

Stallone claimed 2.6 percent body fat, a 155-pound weight, ten egg whites and toast, fruit every third day, and several kinds of daily training.
Three Rocky statues were made, and Philadelphia officials moved one away from the museum steps after deciding it was a movie prop rather than art.
Mr. T claimed his mother walked out of the movie after criticizing the way Clubber spoke to Adrian.
Stallone told Roger Ebert in 1979 that a possible third film would stage a Coliseum fight and might end with Rocky’s death.
The movie’s exterior house is reported to have belonged to the boxer in Chicago.
The film uses an unreleased demo of Eye of the Tiger rather than the later commercial version.

Picking Nits

The panel questions Thunderlips’s size and police assault, the selected opponents, the trainer’s medical care, missing Clubber material, fight logistics, and several training or timing details.

In the discussion (13)

Approx. transcript time · 01:09:43Read transcript

Joe Sack and Big Yank Ball are singled out as opponent names that do not make sense.
Thunderlips’s stated 390-pound weight seems implausible for his visible size.
The panel asks whether Thunderlips would be arrested for striking six apparent police officers.
Rocky should suspect the selected opponents are weak during ten easy title defenses.
Doctors say the trainer needs a hospital immediately but allow the fighter to delay while he dies.
The movie misses opportunities to show Clubber as champion through talk-show or celebrity scenes.
A third Rocky-Clubber fight would have been commercially and competitively plausible after the rematch.
Rocky’s go-for-it answer at the second stare-down is judged a weak comeback even if period-appropriate.
The final round may run longer than three minutes, although another timing produces two minutes fifty-eight seconds.
Rocky’s sudden beach-race victory appears from nowhere after struggling throughout training.
The trainer predicts seven or eight rounds despite Rocky being unable to skip, punch, swim, or enter the ring properly.
The speeding limousine behaves as if Rocky is driving even though a chauffeur emerges to open Adrian’s door.
Apollo persuades Rocky to return too easily given that Mickey’s death is the whole source of his resistance.

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Questions cover Clubber’s responsibility for Mickey, Mickey’s age, fight betting lines and location, Mickey’s last perception, the Rocky-Apollo friendship, performance-enhancing drugs, and the unseen private fight.

In the discussion (9)

Approx. transcript time · 01:12:49Read transcript

The panel asks whether Clubber killed the trainer and predicts an involuntary-manslaughter case would fail because he already had heart problems.
The trainer says he is seventy-six in the first film and remains seventy-six on a tombstone three years later.
The first Clubber fight is estimated around Rocky minus 550 to minus 700 because public money would favor the established champion.
The rematch is estimated around Clubber minus 500 to minus 330, with Rocky’s popularity potentially shortening the line.
The second fight’s location is left ambiguous: the panel asks whether it is Vegas, Philly, L.A., Qatar, or Saudi Arabia.
A participant asks whether the dying trainer saw the beaten fighter’s face during his last brief opening of the eyes.
Rocky and Apollo are compared with famous friendships and partnerships, but the next film’s selfish Apollo behavior weakens the bromance case.
The panel asks whether Rocky used performance-enhancing drugs while rapidly adding ten knockouts during the early steroid era.
The result of the private Rocky-Apollo fight remains one of the story’s lasting unanswered questions.

Mentions across The Rewatchables

Recorded movie reference

Rocky II

The Rewatchables · aired December 2, 2025

Rocky III is listed in the sourced research for this episode. The precise discussion has not been linked yet.

Transcript time unavailableRead transcript

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