The heartfelt and the hilarious are both in abundant supply this week. For Phil Leirness and Dean Haglund, one of the best things about co-hosting YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour these past (almost) 14 years has been the friendships they have enjoyed because of the show. And these friendships are very much on their minds. Sure, there is the latest show biz-related Covid-19 news, a great joke about people’s reaction this past week to Dr. Seuss books, reviews of movies both recent and classic, fun with movie ads from the year 1986, “Celebrity Deaths” featuring two great reggae artists, and the return of “What We’re Reading”, but there will also be special birthday wishes, the celebration of a good friend’s new music, tales from a friend’s memoir, lessons learned from a friend’s work as a podcaster, and more. Dean will also discuss the show he did this past week with his good friend Gary Jones, and Phil will preview the two new podcast series he will be producing!

We hope you are enjoying a wonderful holiday season. This week, Dean Haglund and Phil Leirness make merry by discussing the very best in episodic television as they count down their Top Ten Television Series of the Decade! And trust us, it’s a truly globe-trotting adventure!

It’s the penultimate episode of the Australian Era of YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour and your friends in podcasting are offering something for everyone on this particularly nourishing and personal installment. First Dean Haglund shares a bit about what he will miss about being “Down Under” and regales with descriptions of some of his favorite places in Australia. Then, Phil Leirness shares an email from a loyal listener like you (yes, YOU) about editing techniques, a continuation of a discussion about how editing affects actors’ performances that began on last week’s show. Somehow both fascism and democracy get discussed in the context of film editing! From there, Phil celebrates the 25th Anniversary of “The X-Files” by asking Dean about his favorite episodes and who his favorite character is (other than “Langley”, of course). Dean’s answers might just delight you! Then, Dean and Phil weigh in on how the show’s influence is still being felt on television today in shows as disparate as Vince Gilligan’s “Better Call Saul” and NBC’s sitcom “The Good Place”. The final “Lawsuit of the Week” of the intercontinental era is a re-visitation of Shari Redstone’s efforts to re-merge CBS with Paramount and what the failure to do so means for the companies and for their flagship franchise, “Star Trek”. The show concludes with a fascinating discussion of prolific television writer, producer and show-runner Gregory Berlanti’s hit feature film Love, Simon. The film’s themes are celebrated, and what the film’s style says about the state of, and future of, big-screen storytelling is questioned.

This week, we promise that Dean will NOT spend half the show working on home construction while on the microphone! He will regale us with tales of his final iprov comedy performance in Sydney prior to his move back to the USA. Then, your friends in podcasting discuss “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee”, NBC’s “The Good Place”, Patrick Stewart’s return to “Star Trek”, Q Anon (no, not the villain in “Star Trek: The Next Generation” – at least we think not) before turning their attention to movies. Such releases as Marvel’s Ant-Man and the Wasp the elephant documentary Love & Bananas, the coming-of-age Eighth Grade, the sci-fi mind-bender The Endless, the award hopeful Leave No Trace and the early Denis Villeneuve films Incendies and Enemy all get discussed.