Because Phil Leirness is in the nation’s capital, he and Dean Haglund, pre-recorded this week’s show and it is hilarious! The first half deals with Dean’s recent road trip across the frozen tundra of America, as he, his better half, his Doberman puppy, and his cat, faced arduous conditions as they traveled from L.A. to the Motor City. The second half deals with the all-important “season of self-congratulation” in Hollywood, which reaches fever pitch with this week’s announcement of the Academy Award nominations. Your friends in podcasting discuss the folly of taking the Golden Globes seriously, while also praising some of the winners. They also analyze whether the Oscars matter any more when it comes to how Best Picture winners are viewed by history. The open road and movies. This week, on YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour.

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! 

Next week, your friends in podcasting will be back doing what they do best, trying to make sense of the world through insight, inspiration and irreverence. Because they are both still on the road, however, THIS week’s episode is another aural pastiche …

Lily Holleman joins Phil to discuss Route 66, her new movie, the return of “Twin Peaks” and what it was like to befriend The Lone Gunmen in Dallas. And speaking of The Lone Gunmen (in Dallas), the 2nd half of the show is a panel discussion, where Dean, Tom and Bruce answer questions from a moderator and from an audience.

Vince Gilligan spent Sunday night at the Emmy Awards, where his Breaking Bad leading man, Bryan Cranston, won the award for Best Actor in a Drama Series (for the second year in a row!). Today, Vince Gilligan, creator of the series (as well as a hugely admired writer-producer of films like Hancock and television series like The X-Files), is back with Dean and Phil for part two of their conversation. Also, Phil shares with Dean an idea for a film-making symposium he would like to bring to fan conventions. Is this too much for one show? Nah. In fact, it’s as simple as (Chillpak Hollywood Hour) 1-2-3 …

Dean and Phil begin this week’s show by wrapping up DragonCon, sharing some of their more bizarre, amusing and inspiring experiences. They then welcome a very special guest for the first part of a two-part interview. Vince Gilligan was one of the most prolific and respected writers and producers on The X-Files (as well as its spin-off series, The Lone Gunmen). He wrote the motion pictures Wilder NapalmHome Fries and Hancock. Now, he’s earning great accolades for his work on the AMC original series Breaking Bad, which he created.

That’s a hell of a lot of show for one hour, but what do you expect? This IS your Chillpak Hollywood Hour, after all!