In the first half of this week’s show, Dean Haglund and Phil Leirness celebrate the lives of several show biz luminaries who shuffled off the mortal coil these past few weeks. They also analyze the list of the 10 best films of the decade according to the legendary Cahiers du Cinema, especially their top choice. Finally, Dean and Phil reveal a newfound opponent to the Department of Justice’s plan to end the Paramount Consent Decree. Then, after a commercial break, your friends in podcasting welcome to the program, lifelong broadcaster and educator Alex Lewczuk of the University of Lincoln in the UK, Siren FM, and Southside Broadcasting. He discusses the past and present of sci-fi, as well as the importance of futurism.

Phil was out late imbibing. Dean has been battling a bad late summer cold. Yet, somehow, they both come out guns blazing! This week’s show begins with several “Live Events of the Week”, ranging from immersive theatre to a Halloween X-Files improv show, from Leif Erikson Day to the first mixed cocktail! Then, it’s time for “Celebrity Deaths” wherein legendary journalists Cokie Roberts and Sander Vanocur, and performers Suzanne Whang, Aron Eisenberg and Sid Haig are remembered. From there, it’s on to the silver screen, where one of the all-time greats gets discussed in relationship to how we consume movies now, and a legendary “failure” gets re-appraised. In fact, the importance of “failuring” (Dean’s term) gets championed! Finally, the Emmy Awards were this weekend, and your friends in podcasting discuss “Fleabag”, Kirsten Dunst, “On Becoming a God in Central Florida”, and season 2 of “Big Little Lies” and the behind-the-scenes chicanery that may have been responsible for the season’s lack of focus.   

You will be hard-pressed to find another episode of this or any other show biz-centric podcast that covers as much ground thematically OR temporally as this installment of YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour! Silent film legends John Gilbert and Harold Lloyd both made transitions to the sound era and Dean and Phil, with the help of a loyal listener like you (yes, YOU) dig into this history. Dean’s live streaming sci-fi adventure series “Gravity Hole” is back and Dean will tell all! Last week, Phil waxed rhapsodic while singing the praises of two female performers of Asian-American descent. This week, he reveals a startling personal connection to one of them, while previewing a potential “Live Event of the Week” and celebrating another actor he believes is due great things. The actors’ union, SAG-AFTRA held a contentious (possibly contested) election and your friends in podcasting will try to make sense of it. In a jam-packed installment of “Celebrity Deaths” a multi-Emmy-winning TV star, a modern-day “robber baron”, the “king of puns”, a pioneering animator, a “Star Trek” actress, a comic book artist, and a counterculture icon of the late 60’s and 1970’s all get remembered. 

It’s Dean’s birthday and we have a special, action-packed show! It gets under way with a famous movie star singing “Happy Birthday” to everyone’s favorite Lone Gunman. In “Live Event of the Week”, the return of Dean’s one-man improv “X-Files” show gets celebrated. Phil updates everyone on his most recent eye surgery before climbing his soapbox in the wake of the mass shooting in Gilroy and the seemingly ongoing war on humanity’s joy. 12 years ago, the summer of 2007 was Dean and Phil’s summer of 007 and they were discussing James Bond. This week, they talk about how the Bond producers have missed out on a seemingly huge opportunity and in “Celebrity Deaths”, your friends in podcasting remember a man who was a friend of Phil’s and the answer to an awesome 007 trivia question. They also celebrate the legacy of Rutger Hauer, and of a man whose life was synonymous with space exploration. This leads into a brief discussion about Moon landing “truthers”. Dean and Phil tackle the various ways movie theaters are looking to cure the box office apocalypse. They discuss Netflix’s deal with the Screen Actors Guild. They continue their ongoing discussion comparing the late Krzysztof Kieślowski and Quentin Tarantino, and, oh yeah, they review Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (spoiler free) and preview the “Star Trek” movie he might direct. Happy Birthday to Dean, and Happy Chillpak Hollywood Hour Day to all of you!

This week’s installment of YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour is a 75 minute, globe-trotting, space-faring, time-traveling adventure. 12 years ago this week, your friends in podcasting were discussing San Diego Comic-Con and “Star Trek”. This week, they are STILL discussing Comic-Con and “Star Trek”!  They are also discussing the 50th anniversary of the Moon landing, great space movies, the Emmy nominations, great comedy shows, racism, freedom of speech and binge-watching. If you are going to be in Detroit this week, why not see Dean perform his live improv episode of “The X-Files”

Although this show is 85 minutes long, there’s no truth to the rumor that we will be changing our name to YOUR “Chillpak Hollywood Hour AND A HALF!” Celebrities just keep on dying and your friends in podcasting keep right on remembering them! On this week’s show, music legend João Gilberto, Disney star Cameron Boyce, “Laugh-In” comic Arte Johnson, and automotive icon Lee Iacocca have their lives and accomplishments celebrated. Then, Dean and Phil dig into the archives to sample what they were talking about 12 years ago this week. Roswell, UFOs and an ill-fated “sister” podcast all get discussed. After that, Dean and Phil share an email from a loyal listener like you (yes, YOU!) involving the best ways to ensure a television series’ quality during its entire run. This leads to a conversation about the best TV finales, the worst TV finales and how lucky we are when some awesome shows don’t even GET finales! Oh, yeah, and Phil has eye surgery and post-op procedure stories to share! 

Longtime listeners know that Dean Haglund and Phil Leirness care about your health and the health of society. This week’s episode gets started with a discussion of Phil’s eyesight loss, the NBA Finals, the catastrophic injuries that marred the NBA Finals, and the pressure everyone feels, not just athletes, to get back to work as quickly as possible, even if they are injured or if their health is compromised. Then, Dean discusses the latest about his streaming improv web series “Gravity Hole”, the conspiracy-themed live comedy performance he will be giving in July, before he and Phil dig into some of the great comedy series and how they reveal the truth. Finally, Phil brings up the recent implosions at the box office before singing the praises of a recent superhero release, a silent classic and a brand new Zombie comedy. The show closes with part 2 of Phil’s conversation with actress-singer-producer Chase Masterson and her profound efforts to build a healthier society through her anti-bullying Pop Culture Hero Coalition

Phil is back from Washington, D.C. with stories of the 75th anniversary of D-Day, Civil War Re-enactments, and high school baccalaureates. Dean is back from X-Fest 2, which was like a high school reunion for him, “X-Files” style. He has tales of being reunited with his fellow “Lone Gunmen” with “Spender”, with “Krycek” and with Frank Spotnitz. He also discusses Legos and his graphic novel as well as future plans to explore Chicago. Then, actress-singer-producer-activist Chase Masterson joins Phil for part 1 of their conversation.

On this week’s episode, Phil discusses the reason behind his sudden trip to the nation’s capital and Dean reveals details of his two forthcoming comedy X-Files conventions. Then, your friends in podcasting episode celebrate the lives of a whole lot of show business folk who have departed in recent weeks: Monkee Peter Tork, tough guy actor Jan-Michael Vincent, Prodigy front-man Keith Flint body-positive model and advocate Elly Mayday, actress Liza Sheridan, Talk Talk lead singer Mark Hollis, “Love Boat” creator Jeraldine Saunders, character actor Morgan Woodward, pioneering transgendered singer Jackie Shane, wrestling legend King Kong Bundy, bluegrass giant Mac Wiseman, former teen heartthrob Luke Perry, and the last great director from Hollywood’s golden era, Stanley Donen.

Dean is back in Detroit, Phil is back in the swing of things and your friends in podcasting connect via Skype to discuss the backlash over the recent Oscars, the death of “Star Trek” on the big screen (after the cancellation of the 4th film in the JJ Abrams “Kelvin” timeline), and the rebirth of Trek on the small screen (with the revelation of the story-line for the forthcoming “Picard” series). There is a “Lawsuit of the Week” involving the long-running series “Bones” and there are a bunch of “Celebrity Deaths”. Among those being celebrated are one of the all-time great comedic actresses, a legendary whistleblower, a World War II hero immortalized in a classic film, and a four-time Oscar-winning composer, arranger, conductor (and father-in-law of Woody Allen!).