Episodes
Join Scott and Matt as they breakdown and review "Hunting Trip", a hilarious episode of one of the funniest sitcoms of the last decade: "Parks and Recreation"! Listen as they discuss the history of this show, from its original conception as a spinoff from The Office, to lasting seven seasons on NBC as a staple of its Thursday night comedy block. They'll talk about the long history of the Pawnee City Hall building (really located in Pasadena, California) and how its ridiculous size and cost...
Published 02/08/17
Join Scott, Kevin, and Hamish they breakdown and review "X, the Exterminator", the 9th episode of the hilarious Adult Swim animated series: "Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law"! Listen as they discuss the history of Birdman, from the 1960's Hanna-Barbera series "Birdman and the Galaxy Trio", to this mid 2000's continuation featuring Birdman (now known as Harvey Birdman) and his day to day life working at the law firm Sebben & Sebben. They'll detail the parallels between the story in this...
Published 02/01/17
Join Shawn and Scott as they continue their look at the work of Weird Al Yankovic and delve deep into his hilarious 1989 cult classic film, "UHF"! Listen as they breakdown this great film, including its many segments and commercials, such as "Spatula City", "Conan The Librarian", "Raul's Wild Kingdom", "Wheel of Fish", Weird Al's music video for his Dire Straits parody "Beverly Hillbillies"., and so much more! They'll discuss other famous actors and comedians that were considered for roles in...
Published 01/18/17
Join Scott and Shawn as they breakdown and review "Kevin Bacon Wears a Blue Button Down Shirt and Black Boots", the season five premiere of the hilarious absurdist talk show "Comedy Bang! Bang!" Listen as they detail the show's interesting history, from its beginnings as the Indie 103.1 radio show "Comedy Death Ray Radio", running concurrently with the Comedy Death Ray stage show, to being adapted into an amazingly creative talk show that ran for 110 episodes on the Independent Film Channel....
Published 01/11/17
Join Scott and his special guest, the very talented Scott Ross, (AKA Scotty Gee of Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch) for a fun episode about Scotty's journey from dancing in Boston to touring the world as a member of one of the most popular hip hop groups of the 90's. He'll talk about being called by Donny Wahlberg, working with Mark Wahlberg, signing with Interscope, filming the music video for their smash hit "Good Vibrations", performing on The Tonight Show and The Arsenio Hall Show, and...
Published 01/04/17
WARNING: SPOILERS AND MAJOR PLOT POINTS ARE DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE! MAKE SURE YOU SEE THE MOVIE BEFORE LISTENING!    Join Scott and special guests Hamish and Paul for this discussion and review of one of the most anticipated movies of the year: "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story"! Listen as they share their own viewing experiences, discuss details of the movie scene-by-scene, highlight the many nods to the the original trilogy, and compare the trailers to the final product they saw on the...
Published 12/28/16
Join Scott, Kevin, and Hamish for a very special 100th episode of Hitting Play where they take a look at some very special TV episodes that have aired over the decades. Listen as they discuss some TV episodes they've picked that stood out from the others in their respective series, for better or for worse...but, yeah, mostly worse. From thumb-stealing walnut aliens and dueling Jim Carey characters to sinking radio stations and an evil telekinetic brain in a jar, and so much more! Did time...
Published 12/22/16
Join Shawn and Scott as they breakdown and review "Smack in the Middle", the second episode of the iconic 1966 series "Batman"! Listen as they detail this story, which continues from the Batman pilot (covered in last week's episode of the podcast) in which the dastardly Riddler hatches a plot to separate the Dynamic Duo, kidnap Robin, and steal a small country's priceless treasure. They'll talk about Burt Ward's difficult performance, attempting to portray Jill St. John's character, Molly,...
Published 12/07/16
Join Shawn and Scott as they breakdown and review "Hi Diddle Riddle", the pilot episode of the iconic 1966 series "Batman"! Listen as they discuss the brilliance of Adam West, playing Batman as a serious detective despite the show's lighthearted campiness. They'll also discuss Batman and Robin's first adversary of the series, The Riddler, played masterfully by the great Frank Gorshin. From The Riddler's near-impossible (but always quickly solved) riddles and Batman's penchant for labeling...
Published 11/30/16
Join Scott as he takes a special look back at an interesting live television event that took place on the night of February 20, 1981. A late night sketch comedy show invited one of the most unique comedians of the time to host the episode. In the last sketch of the night, the host refused to act, resulting in a physical altercation on live television. Was this a real fight, started by a host with a reputation for his subversive behavior? Or was the whole thing planned ahead of time as a way...
Published 11/23/16
Join Scott and Shawn as they take a look back at the pilot episode of a hilarious 1980's series that spoofed "Dirty Harry", with all of the comedic timing and wit of "Get Smart": "Sledge Hammer!" Listen as they discuss the fascinating career of the show's creator, Alan Spencer, who began his show business life sneaking on to the set of "Young Frankenstein" and being befriended by Marty Feldman! They'll breakdown the many visual gags, the wonderfully insane title character played by David...
Published 11/16/16
Join Scott as he welcomes a very special guest to the show: an artist, illustrator and letterer for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, (and a guy described as the inspiration for the character Michelangelo), Steve Lavigne! Listen as Steve talks about the early days of the Turtles, from working with creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird out of his apartment, to seeing the underground comic book expand to include a popular toy line and animated series, all within a span of three years! He'll...
Published 11/09/16
Join Scott and his special guest, resident Star Wars expert Paul, as they break down and review the new "Official Trailer 2" for the latest offering of the Star Wars franchise: "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story"! Listen as they discuss each new scene, pointing out details you may have missed, and speculating on what we'll be able to expect when the movie premieres on December 16th! They'll talk about the possible connection of Galen Erso and Orson Krennic, what Saw Gerrera's fate might be, Darth...
Published 11/02/16
Join Scott and his special guests, Kevin and Hamish, as they breakdown and explain every little detail and reference from the Boston-themed episode of The Simpsons entitled "The Town"! Listen as Kevin and Scott give Hamish a full education in all things Massachusetts, from the founding of the Massachusetts Bay Colony all the way to Dunkin Donuts and Cumberland Farms! Hamish is still a little bitter from the treatment his native Australia received on The Simpsons years ago in the episode "Bart...
Published 10/26/16
Join Scott and his very special guests, hosts of the hilarious Canadian Comedy Award nominated radio show "Am I Right??", Jesse Pruden and Evan Wilson! Evan and Jesse are usually in Calgary, but for this conversation, they are strewn about Canada with Jesse angrily sitting on a park bench in Vancouver while Evan enjoys a coffee at the airport in Edmonton. Listen as they discuss some memorable moments from the long run of their radio show. From hilarious returning guests like Andy Kindler and...
Published 10/19/16
Join Scott for a look back at a failed pilot made by one of comedy's most enduring properties: MAD Magazine! Listen as he details the interesting history of MAD Magazine, starting out as a comic book in the 1950's, then making the switch to the magazine format to avoid conforming to the Comics Code after publisher William Gaines' testimony before congress. He'll talk about ABC's commissioning this pilot in 1974 and why it ultimately never aired. He'll also breakdown the many segments in this...
Published 10/12/16
Join Scott and Lily as they breakdown "Space Madness" and "The Boy Who Cried Rat", two hilarious stories from a classic episode of "The Ren & Stimpy Show"! Listen as they detail the tumultuous history of Ren and Stimpy, from the masterful early episodes with creator John K. at the helm, to Nickelodeon's split with John K., the banned episode, and even the much maligned Spike TV series "Ren and Stimpy: Adult Party Cartoon". They'll discuss the great moments of "Space Madness", including...
Published 10/05/16
Join Scott and Shawn as they breakdown and review a classic episode of a subversive animated talk show, hosted by a superhero and featuring his two imprisoned adversaries: "Space Ghost: Coast to Coast"! Listen as they discuss "Banjo", the highly rated episode featuring Space Ghost's monstrous pet sea monkey as well as celebrity guests Schooly D and Weird Al Yankovic! They'll talk about the history of the characters of Space Ghost, from the  1960's Hanna-Barbera cartoon "Space Ghost and...
Published 09/28/16
Join Scott and Shawn as they breakdown and review the pilot episode of DC Comics' hit series about Superman's cousin and her decision to devote her life to becoming a superhero: Supergirl! Listen as they detail the long history of the character of Supergirl, from a girl magically wished into existence by Jimmy Olsen in the 1950's (then crushed by a meteor), to Kara's death and resurrection, and a very poorly reviewed movie. They'll point out the many Easter eggs you may have missed, discuss...
Published 09/21/16
Join Scott, Shawn, and special guest, Shawn's son Jonah, as they continue their look at the early days of Nickelodeon and break down an episode of the early 90's video game-themed game show "Nick Arcade"! But they didn't choose just any episode. For this episode of Hitting Play, they watched Nick Arcade's Salute Your Shorts celebrity special! Listen as they discuss, not only Nickelodeon Arcade, but the classic Nick show Salute Your Shorts, as well! They'll talk about the history of Nick...
Published 09/14/16
Join Scott and Lily as they visit the strange world of Adult Swim's anti-comedy classic: "Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job!" Listen as they breakdown every surreal segment of "Cats", the third episode of season one, in which Tim transforms into a cat, leaving Eric to host the show alone. They'll discuss the big name celebrities appearing in the episode, like Michael Cera as a young man with strange powers, Paul Reubens as the singing moon, and Zach Galifianakis as actor/Gravy Robbers...
Published 09/07/16
Join Scott and his special guests Kevin and Matt as they take a look at Amazon's new pilot about a mysterious superhero and his young neurotic sidekick uncovering the mystery surrounding their lawless city: "The Tick"! Listen as they discuss the history of the character of the The Tick, from 18-year-old Ben Edlund's creation for New England Comics' newsletters, to a much-loved 1994 animated series, and a short-lived live action reboot in 2001. They'll talk about Peter Serafinowicz's amazing...
Published 08/31/16
Join Shawn and Scott as they take another look at the early messy days of Nickelodeon and discuss the quintessential kids game show: Double Dare! Listen as they review a hilarious episode from the show's first year, 1986, in which two teams of kids faced off for a chance to take on the hallowed, chocolate sauce covered Double Dare obstacle course and win a treasure trove of very 1980's prizes! (Including an answering machine and Rod Stewart VHS!) They'll review some of the questions asked to...
Published 08/24/16
Join Scott and his special guest, resident Star Wars expert Paul, as they break down and review the new "Official Trailer" for the highly anticipated, latest offering of the Star Wars franchise: "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story"! Listen as they discuss each new scene, pointing out details you may have missed, and speculating on the possible plot lines. They'll discuss notable changes due to reshoots, new information about the planet Jedha, our first looks at new ships and terrains, and theories...
Published 08/17/16
Join Lily, Scott, and special guest Kevin, as they revisit the hilarious cult classic Mystery Science Theater 3000 and watch two of its classic shorts "Mr. B. Natural" and "A Case of Spring Fever"! Listen as they breakdown each short, from the crazy creepiness of Mr. B to the annoying lessons of Coily the Spring Sprite. They'll also discuss the history behind these shorts, including what happened to those involved. One actually had a legendary career, while others never acted again. Kevin...
Published 08/10/16