Making every Monday night merry and bright since before many of you were even born, your friends in podcasting and broadcasting hope you are all enjoying a wonderful Christmas. Unless you don’t celebrate Christmas, in which case, Dean and Phil hope you are having an awesome Monday! Among the many topics to be enjoyed in this week’s audio stocking stuffer are an honor being bestowed upon one of the most important directors of “The X-Files”, the brilliance of actors Jamie Foxx and Mahershala Ali, two of the best Christmas films of all time (and both are brand new theatrical releases!), animated superhero movies, Netflix movies, a UK Northern Soul legend, a star of TV’s “Route 66”, and the Detroit art scene.

A cold open about the horror classic (?) Phantasm gets the ball rolling on a fascinating, funny, free-wheeling conversation between Dean and Phil about such topics as Dean’s forthcoming creative endeavors, Phil’s stressful experience judging a costume competition, the ongoing Los Angeles city council scandal and the difference between “representing” and “reflecting”. A message from someone very close to Dean about the most recent Palme d’Or winner at Cannes leads to a spirited appreciation of the comedy in Jean-Luc Godard’s Weekend and a message from a loyal listener like you (yes, YOU!) leads to hilarious stories about Werner Herzog’s Nosferatu the Vampyre and to a discussion of the very first episode of the new season of “Documentary Now” (a parody about Werner Herzog)! Kanye West’s ridiculous claims about Django Unchained and the onslaught of criticism directed at the new season of “The Crown” get examined before your friends in podcasting (and broadcasting) offer up a very lengthy, (and way too short!) celebration of the “Coal Miner’s Daughter”, Loretta Lynn.

Because Dean will be traveling to the UK, next week’s episode will be a special, pre-recorded, “theme” show. On this week’s show, Dean previews his trip. Phil shares an email from a loyal listener like you (YES, YOU!) about a rare and hard (impossible?) to find program from 30 years ago. That leads to a tribute to the late, great Robert Morse. Phil then pays tribute to a friend of his, a fixture of The Los Angeles Breakfast Club, who was as old as that 97 year-old club of hospitality and friendship when he died this past month. Phil also previews a speech he is giving this week at the club about Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Phil’s recently-acquired appreciation for the greatness of James Mason takes another turn and leads to an appreciation of the greatness of Paul Newman! Dean’s recent derision for all things Michael Mann gets explored and several of the most beloved AND a couple of the most under-appreciated crime films of the past 40 years get examined. Finally, Dean and Phil discuss the differences between disrespect and irreverence, the necessity of the latter and the unhealthy aspects of the former. Somehow this discussion involves both This is Spinal Tap and Elon Musk! From the heart-tugging to the thought-provoking, from the groan-inducing to the funny-bone tickling, it’s all on the menu!

Dean and Phil follow up on last week’s awesome show by discussing more about “Hollywood accounting” and how in show biz the “bottom line” is often NOT the bottom line! Last week, while discussing the box office struggles of the brand new In the Heights, Dean and Phil were inspired to look back at two dance films based on the same craze that opened on the same day many years ago, one of which boasted a music score from Phil’s frequent collaborator, Greg De Belles. Greg composed the score for Phil’s Karl Rove, I Love You and for Dean and Phil’s The Truth Is Out There and The Lady Killers. Greg died on Friday, and Dean and Phil speak of their immensely talented friend. Of course, the box office struggles continue, so Dean and Phil discuss how a Pixar movie might have been able to change everything. That leads into a deep dive into Disney +, the movie Soul, the miniseries “WandaVision” and the episodic series “The Mandalorian”. There is also a lot of talk about painting, from the advice given by the great Leigh McCloskey to the thematic approach of the Barbizon school of artists and the brilliance of Julian Schnabel’s Van Gogh film At Eternity’s Gate. Finally, Dean and Phil celebrate the careers of an Oscar-nominated character actor and a beloved sitcom actor and director.

This week’s installment of YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour is part 1 of a 2 part special episode as Suli McCullough and Marc Hershon return to the show to participate in a panel discussion with Dean, moderated by Phil! Dean, is, of course, known the world over for “The X-Files” and “The Lone Gunmen”. In addition to his many and varied pursuits, he is a veteran of the Vancouver Theatre Sports League, is a renowned improv comic, and has toured the world with his one man improv comedy shows. Marc is a teacher of improv comedy, he has run comedy clubs, he is the creator “Succotash”, the now long-running Comedy Soundcast Soundcast, he has reviewed comedy podcasts for both the Huffington Post and Splitsider, he is the writer of a trio of made-for-TV movies, he is the co-author of “I Hate People” (the guide for getting along in the workplace), and he’s the award-winning editorial cartoonist for the Half Moon Bay Review. Suli has been a stand-up comedian for more than 30 years. As an actor, he has appeared in such movies as the popular spoof Don’t Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood and on television in a recurring role on “The Jamie Foxx Show”. He has both written and produced for television, boasting such behind-the-scenes credits as “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno”, ESPN’s “ESPY” Awards, “Lopez Tonight”, the MTV Music Awards, the BET Awards, “Last Comic Standing” and “Def Comedy Jam”. He recently appeared discussing the legacy and influence of Garry Shandling in the Emmy winning documentary, “The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling” and he produced the documentary feature film about stand-up, Dying Laughing. In part 1, the three men field questions about, and compare notes on, pursuing careers in comedy. They discuss their influences, and reveal when it was that they knew comedy was the life for them!

It’s our final show before the start of Season 2! After a week off, your friends in podcasting will be moving to ODYSY Radio Network starting Monday December 2nd. Once there, shows will “air” live at 9 pm eastern (becoming available as podcast a few hours later)! On THIS week’s show, our last EVER to exceed one hour (!), Dean and Phil discuss a Veteran’s Day-themed “Live Event of the Week”, remember an actress who starred in a handful of cult classics and the puppeteer responsible for Topo Gigio in “Celebrity Deaths”, compare notes on their upcoming travels, and weigh in on six new, upcoming, or recent movies: The LIghthouse, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, Just Mercy, Judy, Tell Me Who I Am, Spider-Man: Far From Home.