The top 10 movies of 1984 are read in this order: Ghostbusters, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Gremlins, Beverly Hills Cop, The Karate Kid, Police Academy, Footloose, Star Trek 3, Romancing the Stone and Purple Rain. No ordinals or figures are stated.
The next five are given as Terms of Endearment, Splash, a film transcribed as 'Grand Canyon', Tightrope and The Natural.
Beyond the top fifteen the year also had Revenge of the Nerds, Bachelor Party, Friday the 13th Part 4 (called probably the best of that series), 16 Candles as the start of the John Hughes movies, and Scarface, released at the end of 1983 but really an '84 movie; it is called an incredible year.

Roger Ebert's review

In the discussion (1)

Approx. transcript time · 00:28:17Read transcript

The movie is described as really well reviewed; the hosts say Roger Ebert gave it four out of four stars and called it an exciting, sweet-tempered, heartwarming story with one of the most interesting friendships in a long time.

Robert Downey Jr. and Charlie Sheen for Daniel; a Seven Samurai actor for Miyagi; Crispin Glover for Johnny; Helen Hunt and Demi Moore for Ali; Valerie Harper for the mom; Sarah Jessica Parker for Ali's best friend

In the discussion (7)

Approx. transcript time · 01:11:08Read transcript

The hosts say the character was originally named Danny Weber and renamed LaRusso once Macchio was cast; Macchio auditioned for Johnny because he did not want to play another good guy.
Zabka is cited saying Robert Downey Jr. and Charlie Sheen were considered for Daniel; Downey might have made a better movie, but the counterpoint is that Macchio's odd combination is what makes it stand out, and a likable Downey would have muddied whether Johnny was the villain.
Sheen is not seen as Daniel and would have fit Johnny better.
Sean Penn, Emilio Estevez, Nicolas Cage, Anthony Edwards, Tom Cruise and Eric Stoltz are listed as only rumored; only Downey and Sheen are said to be confirmed.
The studio originally wanted a famous Japanese actor from Seven Samurai for Miyagi (name garbled in the transcript), but he did not speak English; Bill Cosby is also said to have been mentioned, which would have aged worst.
The hosts say Crispin Glover was considered for Johnny before Zabka, and Helen Hunt and Demi Moore for Ali before Shue, who reportedly got it partly from a Burger King commercial and took leave from Harvard.
The hosts say Valerie Harper was almost the mom before Randee Heller and Sarah Jessica Parker was supposed to play Ali's best friend, which would have added depth.

Recasting Couch

Sarah Jessica Parker or someone like her as Ali's best friend

In the discussion (1)

Approx. transcript time · 01:26:18Read transcript

Sarah Jessica Parker or somebody like her as Ali's best friend would have made more sense; Ali needed at least one friend Dutch could pursue.

Half-Assed Internet Research

Rocky-driven origin; Cruel Summer's chart resurgence; Macchio's yellow car; the saved drunk scene; the cut pie and water-fountain scenes; the fishing-wire fly; Pat Johnson's background; Zabka's training; Coca-Cola product placement; Shue's bathing-suit quote

In the discussion (13)

Approx. transcript time · 01:26:52Read transcript

The hosts say Robert Mark Kamen was approached by Columbia to rip off Rocky after it signed Avildsen, building on an optioned news story about a single mother's child earning a black belt against neighborhood bullies.
Writers do not just go off with those instructions—it is more complicated than that. — Ryen Russillo
Cruel Summer, a 1983 song, is said to have hit No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1984 after the movie; Macchio reportedly still has the yellow 1948 Ford Super Deluxe Club convertible, valued around $20,000 online.
How Miyagi owns so many cars is joked to suggest bootlegging.
The producers reportedly wanted to cut the drunk scene for length, and Avildsen fought to keep it.
In the oral history Chad McQueen is quoted saying he never really talked to Ralph and would have said something nasty if he had.
Two scenes said to have been shot and cut deepened the Daniel-Johnny feud: the blueberry-pie cafeteria fight and a water-fountain confrontation in which Daniel asks Johnny whether he might be wrong about his sensei; that is preferred to extra remodeling footage.
The hosts say the fly-catching used a crew member dangling a fake fly on fishing wire, and that Macchio thought the title corny and lost the fight to change it.
Pat Johnson, the referee and choreographer, is said to have trained since 1963, learned a Korean form of karate while in Korea with the Army and trained with Chuck Norris; Zabka is quoted saying they trained five days a week, four hours a day for the month before shooting.
Zabka reportedly had no martial arts background but was an accomplished wrestler, which makes his Vision Quest casting odd.
Zabka's footwork is compared to Barry Sanders, including a scissor kick in rehearsal that reaches head height.
The hosts say Columbia's Coca-Cola ownership meant product placement—orange juice at breakfast and a Sprite—that is said to annoy Macchio; Daniel's No. 89 jersey is described as a Chargers replica.
Shue is quoted from the oral history on feeling uncomfortable in the bathing suit, training for the beach scene and then slowly gaining weight across the shoot; Vidal is said to have doubled for Morita in the cool moves.

Picking Nits

Daniel's permanent soccer banishment; Mrs. LaRusso not fixing her car's starter; the arcade kiss

In the discussion (3)

Approx. transcript time · 01:34:55Read transcript

Daniel's banishment from the soccer team for the year is excessive; the counterpoint is that he already had a reputation.
Mrs. LaRusso never fixes the starter—cheap, and Miyagi is a car guy who heals bones.
Daniel's first kiss with Ali at the arcade turns into devouring her upper lip; the kids find it the funniest part and it suggests Macchio is a bad kisser unless it was a character choice.

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Colleges for Daniel, Johnny and Ali; Freddie Fernandez's arc; whether the hillside crash was attempted murder; Mrs. LaRusso's equity; crane-kick casualties; whether Miyagi could have saved Kevin Durant; Dutch's first name; Daniel taking Miyagi's best car

In the discussion (9)

Approx. transcript time · 01:39:04Read transcript

College guesses: Daniel at a smaller L.A. school such as Laverne or Cal State Fullerton near Miyagi, or junior college; Ali at USC, possibly after Wisconsin or Wheaton College; Johnny at Duke alongside Danny Ferry.
Freddie Fernandez disappears between the beach fight and the tournament; his arc is unexplored.
Running Daniel off the hill is asked about as attempted murder; there are no cops in the movie, and it is conceded as a moment where Cobra Kai was at fault.
Whether Mrs. LaRusso's Rocket Computer job included equity is raised, since moving from Newark to Reseda needs upside.
Thousands—more likely a couple of thousand—have been beaten trying the crane kick; Vidal is said to have called it bogus since charging an off-balance opponent beats it.
Miyagi's healing could have saved Kevin Durant in the 2019 playoffs; he is called the Alex Guerrero of the mid-80s.
Dutch's name appears alone on the tournament board where others show last names, suggesting Dutch was his last name, or a single name like Nene.
Daniel choosing Miyagi's best car, the yellow convertible, for his birthday is called a dick move; the counterargument is that he fixed up the property for free.
A present-day Daniel is joked to be jogging shirtless on the strand during the virus.