The Worst of All Possible Worlds

164 UNLOCKED - God’s Not Dead 2

The lads dare to speak about Christ in the classroom and face the wrath of Ray Wise as they cover Harold Cronk’s 2016 evangelical propaganda film: God’s Not Dead 2. Topics include the horrendous filmmaking, the deeply-flawed rhetoric, and what we can learn about the future of America from a film that posits a world in which the masses will be subjugated by the most annoying people alive.

 

Media Referenced in this Episode:

• God’s Not Dead 2. Dir. Harold Cronk. 2016.
• God’s Not Dead (2014) - Financial Information
• God’s Not Dead 2 (2016) - Financial Information
• ‘God’s Not Dead’ Producer Pure Flix Launches Theatrical Distribution Arm
• God's Not Dead 2: The Escalation of Christian Propaganda | Big Joel

 

TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com

Interstitial: “Harold Cronk Presents: The Vagina Monologues” // Written by A.J. Ditty // Featuring Brian Alford as “Brian Alford” and A.J. Ditty as “Harold Cronk”

170 - 2024: A Year in Review

As has become tradition, we fielded a bunch of calls from you about what The Worst of All Possible Worlds meant to you in 2024 and stitched them together with highlights from the show. Merry Christmas and thanks for being part of our year.

We also put out an extra-special Whit's Endless Summer bobus to the premium feed; check it out over on Patreon.com/worstofall!

This episode includes clips from the following episodes, in order of appearance:

• 120 - 2 Left 2 Behind 2 Tribulation 2 Force

• 121 - Donkey Kong Country

• 122 - Far Cry 5 feat. November Kelly

• 124 - Alan Wake II

• 125 - Airplane feat. Bernie Wagenblast

• 128 - Supermarket Sweep

• 129 - Blackgaard Begins feat. Devon

• 130 - Heaven is for Real feat. Radio Free Tote Bag

• 134 - The Dutch Knight feat. Trevor Strunk

• 135 - The Boss Baby feat. Patrick Willems

• 142 - Gerbert feat. Traditional Scrench

• 145 - Dragon Ball Z feat. Alex Ptak

• 146 - Shrimp Jesus and the Death of Facebook

• 147 - Chrono Trigger feat. Anime Sickos

• 150 - The Worst of All Possible Parties (WAPP): The 150th Episode Spectacular LIVE from Colorado Springs!

• 151 - Moneyball

• 155 - Who Framed Roger Rabbit? feat. Mattie Lubchansky

• 156 - The Magic School Bus

• 157 - Blasphemous II feat. Tom O'Mahony

• 161 - Silent Hill 2 feat. Aysha U. Farah

• 162 - Skibidi Toilet

• 163 - Blair Witch

• 164 - God's Not Dead 2

• 168 - The Nostalgia Critic

• 169 - Frank Capra's It's A Wonderful Life

169 - Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life

The lads do battle with Mr. Potter for the heart of Bedford Falls as they cover Frank Capra’s 1946 Christmas classic: It’s a Wonderful Life. Topics include the pernicious myth of “Capra-corn”, the art of the Jimmy Stewart impression, and what it takes to be a George Bailey in a system designed to turn you into a Henry F. Potter.

 

REMINDER: SUBMISSIONS FOR OUR ANNUAL CALL-IN EPISODE ARE OPEN! Call +1 347 857 9523 and leave us a voicemail letting us know what the show meant to you this year and/or what your favorite moments were. We look forward to hearing from you!

 

Media Referenced in this Episode:

• It’s a Wonderful Life! Dir. Frank Capra. 1946.
• 'Young George Bailey' Took Some Hard Hits by Stephen Cox. Los Angeles Times. December 15th, 1996.
• What ‘It’s A Wonderful Life’ Shows Us About The Weird History Of Building & Loans by John Wake. Forbes. December 31st, 2021.

 

TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com

 

Interstitial: “Jimmy the Raven” // Written and Performed by A.J. Ditty. 

168 - The Nostalgia Critic

THIS IS A PREVIEW. FOR THE FULL EPISODE, GO TO Patreon.com/worstofall

 

Hellloooooo, we’re The Worst of All Possible Worlds, we remember it so you don’t have to! We all remember Doug Walker, you know, that guy with the glasses, the tie, and the plain white background because they clearly couldn’t afford a better set? Well, wouldn’t you know it, he created a character called the Nostalgia Critic, a loud, obnoxious, Looney Tunes-adjacent blowhard who got famous for being very mad about Batman having a credit card. But does he have anything to say about our current critical landscape or do his over-the-top antics make him look like a groundhog on meth? Let’s take a look at: The Nostalgia Critic.

 

Media Referenced in this Episode:

• Nostalgia Critic
  • Transformers
  • Batman and Robin
  • Quest for Camelot
  • The Review Must Go On - Demo Reel Finale
  • Nostalgia Critic’s The Wall
• Channel Awesome Indigogo Campaign
• “I Don’t Known James Rolfe” by Dan Olson
• “Recession breeds accidental Entrepreneur” by Chicago Tribune. Chicago Tribune July 21st, 2009.
• “The Nostalgia Critic and the Wall” by Dan Olson

 

TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com

 

Interstitial: “Foobies.com” // Written by A.J. Ditty // Featuring Brian Alford as “Sexy Brian” and Josh Boerman as “Phineas Foob” // Music: “Careful Shouting” by Highway Superstar

167 - Frank Capra’s “Why We Fight”

The lads get drafted and give Mussolini the ole One-Two as they once again remember Pearl Harbor by covering Frank Capra’s series of WWII propaganda films: Why We Fight. Topics include the language of propaganda, the shittiness of fascist art, and what it means to watch your country become the thing it once stridently vowed to fight.

Media Referenced in this Episode:

• Why We Fight. Dir. Frank Capra. 1942-1945.

TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com

Interstitial: “Too Big Roosevelt” // Written by A.J. Ditty // Feat. A.J. Ditty as “Olde Timey Announcer” and Josh Boerman as “Too Big Roosevelt

 

166 - Wicked

THIS IS A PREVIEW. FOR THE FULL EPISODE, GO TO Patreon.com/worstofall

The lads grab their broomsticks and defy gravity as they cover Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman’s megahit musical: Wicked. Topics include the twisted mind of Gregory Maguire, the highs and lows of Stephen Schwartz, and how to reckon with a show that is simultaneously trying to tackle the horrors of fascism and the inherent melodrama of wanting to kiss a hot Winkie.

Media Referenced in this Episode:

• Wicked. Book by Winnie Holzman, Music and Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz. Dir. Joe Montello. 2003.
• Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire. ReganBooks. 1995.
• Before 'Wicked' was a smash, it was stumbling in San Francisco by Jenny Singer. The San Francisco Standard. November 23rd, 2024.
• "Defying Gravity": Queer Conventions in the Musical "Wicked" by Stacy Wolf. Theatre Journal, Vol. 60, No. 1 (Mar., 2008). The John Hopkins University Press.
• “Gregory Maguire on Wickedness Post-Bush” by Erika Milvy. Clamour. February 27th, 2009.
• “John Bucchino and the Origins of Wicked the Broadway Musical”
• Still Popular: Chenoweth and Menzel Talk ‘Wicked’ by Jackson McHenry. Vulture. October 24th, 2023.
• “THEATER REVIEW; There’s Trouble in Emerald City” by Ben Brantley. NYTimes. October 31st, 2003.
• “‘They changed my ending, I felt aghast’: how we made Wicked” by Chris Wiegand. The Guardian. September 27th, 2021.
• “Wicked Review” by Charles Isherwood. Variety. October 30th, 2003.
• “Wicked Review” by David Finkle. Theatremania. October 30th, 2003.

TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com

Interstitial: “Baritone” // Music by Stephen Schwartz // Lyrics by Dr. Samuel Bultch, D.D.S. // Featuring Dr. Samuel Bultch, D.D.S. as “Dr. Samuel Bultch, D.D.S.” and David Armstrong as “Stephen Schwartz”.

165 - The Hunt for Red OctobWhittaker (feat. Tom Walker) [Whit’s Endless Summer 40]

Tom Walker (Tom Walker: Very, Very) joins the lads for his very first trip to Odyssey as they cover adventures in shock-jock DJing, international espionage, and the return of everybody’s favorite encyclopedia writing, ice-cream selling, NSA asset/God King of Odyssey: John Avery Whittaker. Topics include biblical trading cards, the logistics of owning a beef jerky co-op, and how to make propaganda that doesn’t inspire a life-long obsession with hunting down heretical texts.

 

Tom Walker: Bluesky // Instagram // Twitch // Youtube

 

Tom Walker: Very, Very: A love letter to mime (and to a coat) written by award-winning idiot Tom Walker, who keeps talking during what he insists is a mime show.

• Available to Stream on Amazon

 

Bigsofttitty.png: Demi Lardner and Tom Walker are doing this and no-one can stop them. This is a podcast for no cowards.

• Available on Spotify // Apple Podcasts

 

Media Referenced in this Episode:

• Adventures in Odyssey
  • #313: “Top This!”
  • #355-357: “The Search for Whit, Parts 1-3"

 

TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com

 

Interstitial: “A Series of Voicemails Left on Mary Mulligan’s Answering Machine by One Melvin Mulligan, Her Brother and Composer of Corporate Jingles” // Written by A.J. Ditty // Featuring Eleanor Philips as “Mary Mulligan” and A.J. Ditty as “Melvin Mulligan” // Piano Cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “The Chain” by Gleesinnpiano

164 - God’s Not Dead 2

THIS IS A PREVIEW. FOR THE FULL EPISODE, GO TO Patreon.com/worstofall

 

The lads dare to speak about Christ in the classroom and face the wrath of Ray Wise as they cover Harold Cronk’s 2016 evangelical propaganda film: God’s Not Dead 2. Topics include the horrendous filmmaking, the deeply-flawed rhetoric, and what we can learn about the future of America from a film that posits a world in which the masses will be subjugated by the most annoying people alive.

 

Media Referenced in this Episode:

• God’s Not Dead 2. Dir. Harold Cronk. 2016.
• God’s Not Dead (2014) - Financial Information
• God’s Not Dead 2 (2016) - Financial Information
• ‘God’s Not Dead’ Producer Pure Flix Launches Theatrical Distribution Arm
• God's Not Dead 2: The Escalation of Christian Propaganda | Big Joel

 

TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com

 

Interstitial: “Harold Cronk Presents: The Vagina Monologues” // Written by A.J. Ditty // Featuring Brian Alford as “Brian Alford” and A.J. Ditty as “Harold Cronk”

ESSAY: Standing

This past summer, Josh wrote an essay about the church and denomination he grew up in, but didn't end up publishing it. The results of the election gave him the push he needed to finish putting it all together. He hopes it helps.

163 - The Blair Witch Project (feat. Tim Sutton)

Tim Sutton (Marble Hornets) joins the lads for a bit of light camping and intense witch-hunting as they cover Eduardo Sánchez and Daniel Myrick’s 1999 horror phenomenon: The Blair Witch Project. Topics include the film’s DIY filmmaking, the unprecedented marketing, and what it means to reap the consequences of a nation’s wrongdoings when you’re just trying to make a dang student film.

 

Tim Sutton: Twitter // Instagram

 

Marble Hornets: Youtube 

 

Media Referenced in this Episode:

• The Blair Witch Project. Dir. Eduardo Sánchez and Daniel Myrick. Haxan Films. 1999
• Curse of the Blair Witch. Dir. Eduardo Sánchez and Daniel Myrick. Haxan Films. 1999.
• 8 Days in the Woods: The Making of The Blair Witch Project by Matt Blazi.
• “The Blair Thumb”. Dir. Steve Odekerk. 2002
• The Blair Witch Project: The Dossier by D.A. Stern. Onyx Publishing. 1999.
• The Blair Witch Project: An Oral History by Scott Meslow. The Week. January 13th, 2015.
• The Blair Witch Project’s Heather Donahue Is Alive and Well by Scott Meslow. GQ. September 16th, 2016.
• The Official Blair Witch Website
• The extended fan cut of The Blair Witch Project
• Old archived list of Blair Witch parody sites

 

TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com

 

Interstitial: “1:49 AM on November 3rd, 2024” // Written And Performed by A.J. Ditty // “Brothers on a Hotel Bed” Piano Cover by Stephen Guilbert