Third Time's the Charm
The Science of Second Sequels
As is often the case for me, I’ll jokingly suggest a thing only to reflect on it and realize that it’s not a terrible idea. Such was the case, perhaps, with my idea of discussing the third movie in a film franchise as the subject of a podcast- a series I call “Third Time’s the Charm”, abbreviated to 3xtC. When I decided to finally jump into the world of podcasting, I was torn about pursuing the silly idea, but ultimately decided that the show I produced- The AP Strange Show- had room for both traditional interview style or conversational episodes as well as the 3xtC concept. After all, 3xtC seemed like an idea that was just dumb enough to *work*, but there exists also so many other great weird topics to discuss.
As I gradually build a listener base for the show, I thought it would be a good idea to highlight the episodes where this concept is explored, and the movies and guests featured in these chats. In several of them I joke about the science of third movies, that this is a serious study of cinema… but it’s all for shits and giggles. The shows have often taken surprising turns, often becoming conversations on the franchise in question or the genre- and sometimes well beyond those frames of reference. It’s been a lot of fun so far, and there’s no shortage of third movies to choose from in the future- more will assuredly be on the way!
Here’s a recap of movies covered so far!
Return of the Jedi
Talkin' Ghosts and Ewoks with Kay Gray
In the very first episode, Kay Gray and I did a combination of talking about her work with her podcast Haunted Mitten and a discussion about the original conclusion of the Star Wars trilogy.
King Kong vs Godzilla (1962)
Tenney vs King Kong vs Godzilla
The first full 3xtC episode! The inimitable John E. L. Tenney dropped in to discuss not only the third Godzilla movie, but the third King Kong movie- the battle of the behemoths!
RoboCop 3
Cruising in RoboCop's Pink Caddy with Blackwolf John Oates
RoboCop gets a jetpack and commandeers a pimp’s ride, and so much more. Blackwolf John Oates and I got into the nitty gritty of the RoboCop franchise- for science!
Halloween III: Season of the Witch
Battling the Mechano-Men of Stonehenge with Rev. StarDoG
The Most Reverend StarDoG, Steve Mills, and I discuss the Michael Myers-less Halloween sequel but quickly deviate to a conversation about Nigel Kneale, who wrote the original story and requested to not be listed in the credits due to the changes made. Also- did Gef the Mongoose play a hand in this tale? Listen to find out!
Superman III
Believing a Man Can Fly with Steve Berg
Steve an I discuss the third of the Christopher Reeve Superman movies- yes! The one with Richard Pryor. Despite being recorded the day after the 2024 election results, Steve and I pushed on and presented a fun and hopefully uplifting conversation.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife
Exploring the Afterlife with Peter C. Hine
Peter C. Hine of the Vayse podcast came on to discuss this successor to the 1980s sequel, Ghostbusters 2. It turned into a wide-ranging conversation about the franchise overall, and left plenty of room for nostalgia and geeking out.
Guardians of the Galaxy 3
Guarding the Galaxy with Alexx Bollen
This third movie is also the 32nd release from Marvel, and I discuss it and the whole cinematic universe with the original bad boy of podcasting Alexx Bollen. It was a hoot!
Jaws 3-D
Jumping the Shark with Fred Andersson
One of the movies I specifically had in mind when I conceived of 3xtC, this one certainly jumps the shark and is terrible in very amusing ways. It was great to discuss with Fred Andersson, who is always a pleasure to hear or talk to.
Day of the Dead
Teaching Zombies to Behave with Bryan White
The third of the big three Romero Zombie movies, following Night of… and Dawn of the Dead. Bryan White from Bring Me the Axe! brought the fun and the knowledge in discussing zombies, apocalypse, and figuring out who’s running this monkey farm.
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
Searching for Spock with Aaron Gulyas
This one gets extra geeky, as Aaron Gulyas from The Saucer Life comes on to discuss all things Trek with an attempt to focus on the movie in-between the better remembered Wrath of Khan and The Voyage Home. Blackwolf John Oates returns in a co-host role, acting as the Leonard “Bones” McCoy to my Captain James T. Kirk. A good time was had by all, even if it wasn’t terribly logical.
Leprechaun 3
Winning the Leprechanathon with Jeff Knox
On the subject of dumb ideas, I had once proposed the Leprechaunathon- an attempt to watch all of the Leprechaun movies in order. I never thought anyone would actually do it, but UFOlogist and friend of the show Jeff Knox did! So in addition to discussing this third movie, in which the Leprechaun goes to Vegas, we went over the absurdity of the franchise which included sequels and reboots I hadn’t even been aware of.
Paranormal Activity 3
Getting Paranormally Active with Icy Sedgwick
The most recent 3xtC at the time of this writing, it was a fun exploration of the world of found footage with folklorist, author, and podcaster Icy Sedgwick- a woman with a PhD in horror movies! She actually studied the Paranormal Activity series for her degree, and it led to a really interesting discussion about the genre, its pros and cons as storytelling goes, and even the folkloric roots of some of the ideas in the movies.
So there you have it- a list of the movies covered so far. More third movies will be forthcoming. If you haven’t checked out any of these so far, find one that interests you and give it a try! They all go in different directions and are a lot of fun to do.