Crossover Appeal

Turn up the Duffstep and turn that frown right-side up, because we’re heading in the Aca-Upside-Down! This week, we’re crossing over musical comedy Pitch Perfect and ‘80′s throwback sci-fi tv show Stranger Things. Join us for a conversation about Steve’s a cappella audition song, the limits of nostalgia, actual human a cappella concerts that are definitely not aliens luring humans into a false sense of security, and the true purpose of rickrolling. We will decide who is the Duff, the Duffer, and the Duffest!

In every generation, there is a chosen one – and obviously that chosen one is Cheddar the dog. This week, we’re celebrating butt-kicking shows Annie loves by crossing over supernatural teen drama Buffy the Vampire Slayer and super-awesome cop sitcom Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Good is taking down evil in all forms as we discuss Scrappy Do’s legal background, what a magnet is, things that unlikely celebrity couples talk about, and how hipsters are indistinguishable from vampires. Join us for a deep dive into Rosa Diaz and Buffy Summers comparing weapons stashes.

Winter is coming, and so is the Zamboni! This week, we mix happy sparkly sports romantic comedy with grim dark high fantasy epic, as Yuri!!! on Ice crosses over with Game of Thrones. Join us for a discussion on the limited time frame of athletic careers, dragon baby’s day out, and how talons are nature’s ice skates. Also, in our version, Oberyn Martell ends up just fine.

Join us for the first annual Carnegie Deli Award ceremony, as we explore international crises and essays we wrote in high school. This week, we’re crossing over YA literary masterpiece Code Name Verity and comic book powerhouse Black Panther. Join us for a discussion of the depictions of masculinity and felinity in the spy genre, emotional gut punches, badass lady warriors, and Chadwick Bosemen’s phenomenal accent work. No squirrels were harmed in the making of this episode.

Journey with us into the wonders of the natural world and horrors of the unnatural world, as we cross over 90s Nicktoon "The Wild Thornberrys" and Victorian monster mash drama "Penny Dreadful." What ensues is a discussion about microwaving hearts, making sure you’re casting the right Josh for the job, narratives dealing with colonialism, and snack food depravities.

Nothing says Christmas quite like lying to your family or fighting with your partner at a holiday party! Which means it’s the perfect time of year to cross over 90s high concept rom com While You Were Sleeping and 80s action blockbuster Die Hard. Join us for a discussion about breakout roles, going full Gallagher, toxic masculinity, and the Steve McQueen School of Acting for Children.

Lightning never strikes twice, except when all of time is happening all at once in the valleys of California. Literary fiction meets pop culture nostalgia as we cross over Steinbeck’s East of Eden with Michael J. Fox’s Back to the Future. Join us for a conversation about trying to escape your family’s legacy, the sexuality of moms, brain-eating Christmas trees (as Annie forgets her anniversary and Walt fails to land a Hamilton joke), and literary uses for Yakety Sax.

You’re ten thousand bunnies in the wind with this week’s crossover! We’re bringing together the deep Lapine mythology of Watership Down and the wacky optimism of Parks and Recreation. Come join us at the waffle counter for our thoughts on inclusivity making a community stronger, the only worthwhile movie Zack Snyder has ever made, respect for nature, and our proposal for the Cones of Bunshire.

Looked at my kingdom, I was finally there, to sit on my throne as the Matriarch of Abrasax! 90s neon classic sitcom/hip-hop style meet intergalactic space opera in this week’s crossover of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Jupiter Ascending. Join us for a conversation about self-centered siblings, animal-human hybrids, colonialism and consumerism, Channing Tatum breakdancing in rocket shoes, and scheming naked penguin butlers with their Bee Man boyfriends.

It’s our second Halloween Spooktacular episode, featuring a (PG maximum) foray into seasonal and delightful fare of funny frights. Door-slamming farce leads to portal-opening trench-digging when the old-lady murdering of Arsenic & Old Lace crosses streams with the Christmas-culturally-appropriating Burton-ness of The Nightmare Before Christmas. A Quick Heads-Up: We had some audio issues at the end of this track, so we trimmed off the last minute or so and put in a bit of a placeholder ending. You missed a good story from Annie about a little girl who's afraid of 'Monster Mash,' which she will hopefully share on the Facebook page.

Join us in the nuclear waste bubble that is The City, where the dinosaurs are adorable and the humans are monstrosities! This week, we’re mashing up the Don Bluth animated classic, The Land Before Time, and comic strip-inspired Warren Beatty passion project, Dick Tracy. Listen for a discussion of dinosaurs having two brains, crushing villains, the darkness of 90s movies for kids, and how Mad Max: Fury Road is the nexus point of all crossovers.

Ready your fidget spinners and alert the Justice Bears, because Walt and Annie are finding the happy medium between the contemplative, optimistic sci-fi of Contact and the grim, gritty Idris Elba-ness of Luther. Episode 30 features thrills, chills, and a shocking second-in-a-row appearance from Matthew McConaughey, who this time around we can all agree is just the worst.

There can be only one in this deadly match-up of the hottest hunks in a crossover world! In episode 29, we’re mashing up the intense drama of male stripping in Magic Mike with the 1980s bananas supernatural fight film Highlander. Join us for our thoughts on hyper-masculine communities, when to leave your found family, and why the real money for hunky guys is in the high-end furniture industry.

Witness us as we fuse the universes of "Mad Max: Fury Road" and "Steven Universe!" Season 2 of Crossover Appeal kicks off with two of our favorite fandoms in the last couple of years–basically, we could have talked about this for even longer than we actually did. Check us out as we talk about matriarchal societies, body autonomy, Toast in the Pizza Car, and Mr. Universe, the electric doof warrior. Also–Tom Hardy, Bodo is waiting for your cuddles.

It’s Crossover Appeal’s one-year anniversary, so pull the magic democracy plug and come join the dance of Mister Snake Miser! Walt and Annie talk corporate intrigue and fix all Damon Lindelof’s problems, by mashing up not one, not two, but FOUR special blast-from-the-past properties. Angelica Schuyler’s time travel causes even more problems than before, but not even the unholy union of Ben and Lucille can solve the problem that is Tobias. Plus: our favorite recommendations from the last year, for all your reading and watching needs. Thanks for sticking with us this far, folks, and here’s to another great year!

When classical ballet meets Old English sagas, it’s a great Wishbone episode with hardcore butts. In ep 26, we explore the competitive worlds of monster fighting and professional ballet with monster moms and dance moms. Come join our conversation about toxic masculinity, Peter Gallagher’s exquisite eyebrows, and storytelling in all its performative forms.

Strap on your foot-blades and get your hand-blades ready, because this week, we’re joining the Tortall varsity hockey team! Ducks and knights fly together in episode 25, in which we cross over The Song of the Lioness, Tamora Pierce’s classic YA fantasy series, and The Mighty Ducks, Disney’s classic sports movie that spawned a 90s-worth of copycats. Join us for a thrilling discussion about redistricting, the dark epilogue to Freaky Friday, hot moms, and things Freddy Mercury could have liked.

Stretch your calf muscles and get your power loader suits ready, because we’re going to the alien finals! It’s game over, man, for this week’s episode, in which we cross over rom/fam/sports-com Bend It Like Beckham and sci-fi/action adventure Aliens. Join our conversation about how community helps us succeed, great 90s boy band names, Helen Hunt’s autobiography, and whether the ghost from Three Men and a Baby carried a cardboard cut out of Ted Danson through an airport.

What’s that coming over the hill? It’s Anthony Hopkins in a pair of giant mechanical trousers! This week, we look at the most British-y of British stories, with the beautifully written and emotionally stunning "The Remains of the Day," and the slapstick and wit of "Wallace and Gromit." Join us for a conversation about sad road trips, maniacal penguins, Anthony Hopkins on a skateboard, and lots of suggestions for things you definitely should not Google. #buttlife, etc.

Who's ready for some hot Men on Men crossover action? And by "hot" we mean "existentially empty and full of crippling despair." Walt and Annie begin the first ever Transitive Chain of Crossovers by discussing youngling segues, Walt's distressingly warmed heart, and a sequel to "Blue's Clues" that is maybe a bit too heavy on the body-horror. Plus, the first-ever Readers Advisory Blacklist!