In light of Noah Hawley TV show Alien Earth, Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn and Al revisit the franchise through its seven canon films beginning with Ridley Scott's 1979 classic.
While there's plenty of sheer repetition (alien loose, killing people one by one) throughout these properties, the various filmmakers attempt to avoid sure repetition by shifting genres. On the new show, we get a pronounced shift to focusing on the synthetic humans; is that a good thing?
Get an ad-free experience, plus bonus talking for nearly every episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop for only the tiniest per-month financial pledge, or you can sign up directly with Apple Podcasts for a subscription for ad-free and bonus material for three of Mark's podcasts together on the Mark Lintertainment Podcasts Channel.
Sponsors: Get 50% off Claude AI Pro at Claude.ai/pmp. Get 15% off an annual membership at MasterClass.com/PRETTY.

It's a special two-hander where Mark and Lawrence reflect on the appeal of horror and how the new Monster: Ed Gein Netflix show has to contribute, given that it is not merely a (very loose) presentation of real events, and itself a horror drama, but also a commentary on the Hollywood properties influenced by the Ed Gein murders, including Psycho, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Silence of the Lambs. We bring this up to date by including discussion of the Terrifier films as well as the work of Rob Zombie.
Get an ad-free experience, plus bonus talking for nearly every episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop for only the tiniest per-month financial pledge, or you can sign up directly with Apple Podcasts for a subscription for ad-free and bonus material for three of Mark's podcasts together on the Mark Lintertainment Podcasts Channel.
Sponsors: Get 50% off Claude AI Pro at Claude.ai/pmp. Go to surfshark.com/pmp or use code pmp at checkout to get 4 extra monthsof Surfshark VPN.

Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al watched Spinal Tap and its new sequel, and we throw these into a mix with K-Pop Demon Hunters and other films and shows involving made-for-TV (and film) bands, including We Are Lady Parts, That Thing You Do, Fear of a Black Hat, CB4, Atlanta, The Blues Brothers, The Commitments, Almost Famous, The Rutles, and The Monkees.
Get an ad-free experience, plus bonus talking for this and nearly every episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop for only the tiniest per-month financial pledge, or you can sign up directly with Apple Podcasts for a subscription for ad-free and bonus material for three of Mark's podcasts together on the Mark Lintertainment Podcasts Channel.
Sponsors: Get 50% off Claude AI Pro at Claude.ai/pmp. Get 15% off an annual membership at MasterClass.com/PRETTY.

For our Emmys/back-to-school episode, we cover the pinnacle of the current network sitcom landscape: The six-time 2025 Emmy nominated Abbott Elementary, which is beginning its fifth season.
Mark, Lawrence, Al and West-Philly-resident Sarahlyn discuss the show's Philly-ness and how it integrates cringe humor with realistic depiction of how messed up it is for schools to be so underfunded. Is this a "black show"?
Get an ad-free experience, plus bonus talking for this and nearly every episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop for only the tiniest per-month financial pledge, or you can sign up directly with Apple Podcasts for a subscription for ad-free and bonus material for three of Mark's podcasts together on the Mark Lintertainment Podcasts Channel.
Sponsors: Get 50% off Claude AI Pro at Claude.ai/pmp. Try the Stuck in the '80s podcast at sit80s.com.

What do we expect out of a superhero film? Does it need overqualified dramatic actors? Does it even need a real budget?
Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al discuss the various films modeled after Marvel's Fantastic Four comics initiated by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in 1961. First Steps is clearly the best of them and surpassed our low expectations, with its delivery of a believable family dynamic and a fun retro-futurist production design.
Get an ad-free experience, plus bonus talking for this and nearly every episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop for only the tiniest per-month financial pledge, or you can sign up directly with Apple Podcasts for a subscription for ad-free and bonus material for three of Mark's podcasts together on the Mark Lintertainment Podcasts Channel.Sponsors: Get 15% off an annual membership at MasterClass.com/PRETTY. Check out the That Aged Well podcast.

What is the state of the stream-of-gags formula that used to stand tall in the films of the Zucker Brothers (mainly Airplane) and Mel Brooks? A new generation attempts to revive that with a new Naked Gun film. How does this new effort relate to the classic films?
Are these kinds of films particularly timeless? Rewatchable? Do young people appreciate this kind of thing? Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and (for the third or so) Al speculate wildly as usual.
Get an ad-free experience, plus bonus talking for this and nearly every episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop for only the tiniest per-month financial pledge, or you can sign up directly with Apple Podcasts for a subscription for ad-free and bonus material for three of Mark's podcasts together on the Mark Lintertainment Podcasts Channel.

In light of the new James Gunn film Superman, Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al talk about the character, his stories, and past films and shows.
Did Zack Snyder (Man of Steel) miss the point? Are the Richard Donner films (chiefly 1978's Superman: The Movie) as good as nostalgia would have us recall them? How does one write a convincing plot centered around a flawless, basically all-powerful hero? How should the Lex Luthor character fit in?
Get an ad-free experience, plus bonus talking for this and nearly every episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop for only the tiniest per-month financial pledge, or you can sign up directly with Apple Podcasts for a subscription for ad-free and bonus material for three of Mark's podcasts together on the Mark Lintertainment Podcasts Channel.

Purported the first summer blockbuster, Jaws has now hit 50 years, and so we discuss this wonderful early Spielberg film, its ill-conceived sequels, some of the making-of docs, and the legacy of shark/big carnivore films that it spawned.
Is the film as flawless as it's made out to be? Are the sequels as awful as typically described? Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al discuss!
Get an ad-free experience, plus bonus talking for this and nearly every episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop for only the tiniest per-month financial pledge, or you can sign up directly with Apple Podcasts for a subscription for ad-free and bonus material for three of Mark's podcasts together on the Mark Lintertainment Podcasts Channel.

In light of the new film Ballerina, we discuss the John Wick franchise that kicked off in 2014 with four films plus a (bad) Peacock TV show. We also watched the recent documentary Wick Is Pain.
Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn and Al are joined by Brian Casey to mostly talk about the main four films in the series: They have a formula, but is that bad?
Get an ad-free experience, plus bonus talking for this and nearly every episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop for only the tiniest per-month financial pledge, or you can sign up directly with Apple Podcasts for a subscription for ad-free and bonus material for three of Mark's podcasts together on the Mark Lintertainment Podcasts Channel.

In immediate reaction to the Apple TV+ Seth Rogan show The Studio, we talk about Hollywood's obsession with itself and how studio dynamics interfere with what exactly we all get to see. Also, what's with the fascination with old Hollywood? What's the appeal of Hollywood gossip?
Erica our first-season co-host returns to join Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al.
For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear this ad-free with bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.
If you enjoy our show, check out the All the Right Movies podcast.

On the eight-film action series that launched in 1996 (based on the 1966 TV series) in light of its apparently final film. Featuring Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn and Al.
Is this a coherent narrative as the last film would have you believe, or just an excuse for a series of Tom Cruise physically challenges? Maybe the latter is enough for us!
For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear this ad-free with bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.

Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al discuss Tony Gilroy's Star Wars Disney+ two-season TV show. Should this actually be a Star Wars show given how different in tone it was? The show adds meat (and banality!) to the evil of the Empire and the rough life of a rebel. We talk characters, themes, settings, and all that other literary stuff.
For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear this ad-free with bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.

Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al discuss The Pitt and other medical dramas like ER, Gray's Anatomy, ad nauseam. 
Doctors and patients grappling with life and death stakes seems a strong premise for drama, but how many of these shows do we need? We talk about the gore, the pacing, the characters, the politics, and the other considerations that make The Pitt a great show (at this point).
For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear this ad-free with bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.

Luvell Anderson (Philosophy prof. at U of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign) joins Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al to discuss Ryan Coogler's new vampire siege/black studies film starring Michael B. Jordan. We talk about the film's comments on black freedom, black music, the church, why the film needed twins, whether the vampires were even necessary, the film's humor and structure, and more.
For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear this ad-free with bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.

We discuss the HBO dramedy about rich people having existential crises at a luxury resort in light of its third season. What exactly made this latest season less satisfying than the others? Does the show have a sustainable formula? What is the show saying about enlightenment? Travel? Sexuality?
For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear this ad-free with bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.

We watched the 4-part British crime series that's become #1 in 80 countries, breaking Netflix's records for an original series. And man, was it a bummer. But important!
We reflect on the purpose of the show, its one-take-per-episode format, the choice of whose perspectives to show, the crazy good acting by such a young person, and we get a little education about incel culture. How have things changed since we were kids?
For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear this ad-free with bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.

Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn and Al here discuss the sci-fi/office dramedy in light of its second season. We might normally wait until the end of the show, but given that season 1 was 2022, and it took three years to get us season 2, who knows it it'll actually finish? And who knows if it will not be massively disappointing at that point? We strike while the show is culturally relevant!
But did even this season measure up to its phenomenal premise and first season? There are so many juicy plot and character elements on this show that we can't possibly fit them all in.
For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear this ad-free with bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.

We acknowledge this hugely popular form of "entertainment" recently embodied by The Baldwins, but popularized by shows like The Osbournes and The Kardashians, wherein some celebrity and/or family just shows off their life, Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn and Al are joined by returning guest Kayla Dryesse to talk about why this kind of show exists, its variations, and its redeeming value (if any). Is The Baldwins basically just a lengthy Instagram post?
For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear this ad-free with bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.

Are we taking for granted this unique, talent-filled weekly nationally televised live comedy event that's been around for 50 years? (as in "What do we think this show is? Chopped liver?") Does its format even make sense at this time given YouTube and streaming? What will its legacy be? Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al discuss the casts, highlights, and the recent anniversary specials.
For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear this ad-free with bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.

Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn and Al discuss the Coralie Fargeat/Demi Moore film The Substance in light of its Oscar nominations, along with related reflections on lost youth, e.g. Sunset Boulevard (1950), Death Becomes Her (1992), and Neon Demon (2016). We also touch on other cloning scenarios.
Is this film a serious meditation on aging in Hollywood, or just a particularly vivid but logically confused Twilight Zone episode? Is the message of this film already itself past its prime?
For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear this ad-free with bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.
Sponsor: Get 10% off your first month of online therapy at BetterHelp.com/pretty.