In the Just The Thing 2024 Christmas Special, Joel and Chris are joined by Matt O'Dwyer and Peter Regan as they attempt to unwrap Tim Burton's Batman Returns and imagine what might happen if the shapeshifting creature from John Carpenter's The Thing crashed Gotham's most chaotic Christmas party.

Join us as we revisit this wildly dark "kids' movie" from the '90s, marvel at Danny DeVito's grotesque and tragic Penguin, and applaud Michelle Pfeiffer's iconic transformation into Catwoman. We also explore how Batman himself gets overshadowed in his own movie by the film's incredible villains. Did we mention that Christopher Walken is also in this movie?

Stay tuned for a Batman-themed Christmas quiz towards the end of the episode!

Music by Myuu

Music by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio

Joel and Chris are joined by Geraint D'Arcy, Associate Professor and Head of Media at UEA, where the three originally met as students in the late 90s. Geraint was also the star of Chris and Joel's short film, Bad Day, often referenced on the podcast. Together, they try to understand the 1989 sci-fi film, Slipstream, starring Bob Peck, Mark Hamill and Bill Paxton. Slipstream was a prestigious and much-hyped project, from the producer of Star Wars, Gary Kurtz, and the director of Tron, Steven Lisberger. With so much talent behind and in front of the camera, why is the film so incoherent? Help is at hand via a special appearance from actor Paul Reynolds, who shares his recollection of what it was like to actually work on Slipstream. Finally, Joel, Chris and Geraint attempt to answer the ultimate question - would Slipstream be better with The Thing in it?

Geraint D'Arcy on Instagram
Pages from Geraint's Slipstream Comic

Music by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio

It's a Just The Thing first as Joel and Chris finally welcome a guest who actually worked on the film they're talking about: John Jessup, Joel's father!
For most of his life John has been an award-winning advertising creative, but when he was younger he worked at the legendary Pinewood Studios and has lots of fascinating stories to tell! And then we put The Thing in The Devils!
If you like hearing exclusive insights into Ken Russell, Oliver Reed and Derek Jarman, plus many others, this is the episode for you!

Music by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio