Episode 21 – Jingle All the Way (1996) with Kit Laika

Two Dads, One Toy, No Prisoners.

Put that cookie down! Now! Because, this month, Christmas is coming early! We’re getting into the holiday spirit with librarian Kit Laika, to unwrap Arnold’s holiday comedy Jingle All the Way!

Workaholic salesman Howard Langston hasn’t been the world’s greatest dad. Habitually breaking his promises to spend time with his young son, he vows to make it up to him with a coveted Turbo Man action figure for Christmas. The only problem is that Turbo Man is the hottest toy of all time, and Howard has waited until the last minute. Now, he must contend with an unhinged rival father, an amorous neighbor, stampeding shoppers, a gang of bootlegger Santas, and a vicious pet reindeer, in order to find the elusive toy in time for Christmas, and finally keep a promise to his son.

Episode 20 – Red Sonja (1985) with Tobiah Panshin

A woman and a warrior that became a legend.

This month, we’re back in the Hyborean Age to battle wizards and monsters with Tobiah Panshin of the House of Jack and Stan to test our mettle against the third and most poorly-received of Arnold’s fantasy epics: Red Sonja!

When her family is murdered and her body defiled by soldiers of the mad Queen Gedren, a vengeful Red Sonja is gifted with great power to take her revenge. Sonja’s help is sought by a dying priestess when Gedren steals an ancient Talisman with the power to make or destroy worlds. Now with the aid of the mighty Lord Kalidor of Hyrkania, Red Sonja must battle to the center of a kingdom of perpetual night to destroy the Talisman, and save the world!

Episode 19 – Sabotage (2014) with Joe Preti

Leave no loose ends.

This month, we get scorpion neck tattoos and stock up on Axe body spray with returning guest Joe Preti of the House of Jack and Stan, to work through the needlessly ugly and mean-spirited crime ensemble: Sabotage

John “Breacher” Wharton is the commander of a hard-drinking, corrupt DEA strike force, who after a bloody shootout, decides to steal 10 million dollars from a drug bust. Now, having barely escaped an internal investigation, Breacher and his crew find that their stolen money is missing, and they are being murdered, one by one.

Episode 18 – Eraser (1996) with Greg Hatcher

He will erase your past to protect your future.

This month, we burn our drivers’ licenses and take refuge in the City Zoo with returning guest Greg Hatcher of the Atomic Junk Shop blog, to dig into the mid-90s high tech action thriller: Eraser.

U.S. Marshall John Kruger is the world’s greatest witness protection specialist. He “erases” the people he protects, faking their deaths and hiding them until that they can testify in court. Kruger is assigned to protect Lee Cullen, an executive who has just discovered that the defense contractor she works for is illegally selling high-tech weapons to international criminals and terrorists. Now, with both her company and a high-ranking government official trying to kill her, only John Kruger stands between her and a murderous conspiracy that has even infected the agency he works for!

Episode 17 – Total Recall (1990) with Sam Mulvey

They stole his mind, now he wants it back.

It’s time to get our asses to Mars and regain our buried identities with returning guest Sam Mulvey of the Ask an Atheist radio show. This month, we’re plunging into the hyper-violent science fiction mind-bender: Total Recall.

Douglas Quaid is haunted by dreams of Mars. Becoming obsessed with traveling to the red planet, Quaid buys a virtual holiday with implanted memories from Rekall, Inc. For a little extra, he opts for the vacation package where he can live the life of a heroic secret agent. But when the procedure goes haywire, Quaid learns that he truly is a secret agent with buried memories. Now hunted by deadly assassins, he escapes to Mars to learn the truth and save the world… Or maybe he’s just been lobotomized and trapped in a dream world.

Episode 16 – Last Action Hero (1993) with Roz Townsend

This isn’t the movies anymore.

We’re back. This time we’re traveling to the world behind the silver screen with artist Roz Townsend to dissect the meta-fictional cult action/comedy movie that many at the time considered Arnold’s first box office flop, Last Action Hero.

Teenager Danny Madigan is the world’s biggest fan of the Schwarzenegger-helmed Jack Slater series of action movies. When a magic ticket literally transports him into Slater’s cinematic universe, he finds himself in an over-the-top world where a combination of bad puns and giant explosions can always save the day. But when one of the movie’s villains steals the ticket and discovers his own nature as a fictional character, Danny and Jack must follow him back into the real world, a place where, suddenly, the bad guys can win.

Episode 15 – Conan the Destroyer (1984) with Sean Duncan

The most powerful legend of all is back in a new adventure.

Know, o listener, that we return to an age undreamed of, to tread the jeweled thrones of the Earth under our sandalled feet with returning guest and musician, Sean Duncan, to talk about the much-maligned epic fantasy sequel, Conan the Destroyer.

Conan of Cimmeria, now living as a vagabond thief, is hired by the Queen Tamaris to escort her niece, Princess Jehnna, on a secret mission to obtain a magical jewel. Unbeknownst to Conan, the Queen has also tasked the princess’ bodyguard with killing Conan once the mission is complete, and plans to sacrifice her niece to awaken an slumbering elder god.

Episode 14 – Red Heat (1988) with Patrick Johnson

Moscow’s toughest detective. Chicago’s craziest cop. There’s only one thing worse than making them mad. Making them partners.

It’s time to feed our parakeet and reacquaint ourselves with Miranda laws — even if the Soviet method is more economical — because it’s time to go back to the decade where Schwarzenegger reigned supreme: the 1980s. We’re joined by our friend Patrick Johnson to dive into a Cold War buddy cop action/comedy: Red Heat.

Soviet supercop Ivan Danko lands in Chicago to extradite Viktor “Rosta” Rostavili, the Russian drug lord who killed his partner. But after a bloody escape, Danko must join forces with Detective Art Ridzik, a crude and reckless American cop, to bring down Viktor and avenge both of their partners.

Episode 13 – Terminator: Genisys (2015) with Sam Mulvey

The rules have been reset.

We close out Terminator Month with Week Four, where we jump into our homemade time displacement machine with Sam Mulvey of Ask an Atheist  to break our brains trying to sort out the continuity of the sequel…prequel…soft reboot(?) that recreates the franchise for a new generation: Terminator: Genisys.

When John Connor sends soldier Kyle Reese back to 1984 Los Angeles to protect his mother and safeguard the future, Reese finds himself in a different 1984 with a different Sarah Connor. The war across time between humans and machines has fractured the timeline. Now the only thing standing between the human race and utter destruction are Kyle, Sarah and an older, obsolete T-800 Terminator acting as their protector. Bring plenty of aspirin and a flow chart.

Episode 12 – Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003) with Dave Brouillette

Judgment Day is inevitable.

In Week Three of Terminator Month, we arrive in the post-James Cameron era of the franchise to rob a veterinary clinic and destroy downtown Los Angeles with Dave Brouillette of the Hands Free Football podcast. Our mission, to dig into the long-anticipated sequel that returned Arnold Schwarzenegger to the series that made him a star: Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines.

Now in his twenties, John Connor is living off the grid. Moving from town to town; job to job, running from his destiny as the would-be savior of the human race. And just when he thinks the future is safe, two more Terminators arrive from the future; one a killer and the other a protector. But this time, maybe nothing can stop worldwide nuclear doom.