Film Junk Premium Podcast #19: The Superman Franchise

Posted by on June 11th, 2013   Filed under: Featured, Film Junk Podcast, Premium Podcast

BUM DADA DUM, DA DUM DADA DUM DUM!!!! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s bipolar Margot Kidder camped out in your backyard! No…it’s the latest edition of the Film Junk Premium Podcast!! Just in time for the release of Zak Snyder’s ‘Man of Steel’ Sean, Frank and Jay decided to sit down and discuss the Superman franchise! To clarify, we talk Superman 1 through 4, Superman Returns, and of course, Supergirl. As usual, we cover lots of ground here, including Margot Kidder’s untraditional beauty, Superman’s willingness to throw away his powers for a quick fuck, the peach factor of Superman III, and the retention of the superhero gene within Superman’s sperm. Also, is Helen Slater better as a blonde or brunette? You’ll have to tune in to find out! So sit back and take a ‘squirt, squirt’ and rest assured that you’ll get used to the taste. And remember, in the immortal words of Daily Planet editor-in-chief Perry White, “There’s only one p in rapist!”

P.S. Be sure to check out the promo above in which Reed Farrington acts out one of his most perverse Superman fantasies!

» Download It Now!

This series of premium podcasts was created to help support the regular weekly Film Junk Podcast. Head on over to Bandcamp and download full episodes for a minimum donation of just 99 cents. As always, let us know if you experience any technical difficulties or if you have any other suggestions for future specials. Thanks for your support!



  • HeroSupreme

    I must admit, Reed has been in rare form lately. Can he read my mind?

  • iammattz

    I only see death and despair in the eyes of Super-Reed.

  • tt

    is reed on this premium?

  • Sean

    No, Reed is not on the actual podcast. Only the promo.

  • bard

    Reed is one of my favorite people on the planet.

  • tt

    oh ok, thanks

  • JEM

    The promo video is sooooooo very, very… special! Thanks a lot!!

  • Isildur_of_Numenor

    Thanks!

  • Leigh

    I can’t wait to listen to this. That video is pure gold too. Gotta love that Reed.

  • Ripplesdip

    Thanks, Guys. Can’t wait to get this later tonight.

  • kyri

    Damn it, I haven’t manage to finish part VI yet.. hang in there guys I ll be right back.. I can’t wait to find out what Frank and Sean have to say about entering two bilateral coordinates at the same time..

  • Reed, you are one magnificent bastard.

  • Indianamcclain

    Good podcast guys. I really feel like I’m the only person that thought Superman Returns was pretty good.

  • Sam

    Finished watching all these movies just in time for the premium….well done with premium as well guys. Solid as usual.

    Though I can’t agree with Jay’s love of Superman III though I didn’t hate the movie either. Side more with Sean that I understand Richard Lester and Jacques Tati’s style, just I didn’t find much of it funny or successful in Superman III.

  • piggystardust

    Hahaha Reed looks freaking evil

  • MovieViewerMan

    I’ll side with Jay on Superman 3. Everything he said about the film is how I feel about it. Too many times sequels are just more of the same as the first and people complain about it. Richard Lester did a great job of going with a different tone and put the ‘comic’ back in comic book movie.

    Reed is definitely Bizarro Superman.

  • kyri

    am I the only one who thinks that superman 3 opening scene has a weird creepy racist undertone in it?

    the “black guy” who choses to live on state benefits? (hacking the system) ..when he can literarily get a job just by looking on a matchbox ad? “BE A PROGRAMER NOW!”

    And to make things worst, that scene didn’t connect to anything in the rest of the film. So why it even had to be in it? Why go so far out of your way just to put that particular scene in when it hurts the logic of the film and destroys any believability of his hacking skills. Why not just have Richard Pryor be a legit programmer and start the film by him sitting in his cubical etc..
    But then again it wouldn’t be believable that a “black guy” went to college..

  • Derek

    Downloading now. Can’t wait to listen.

    I have a suggestion for a premium. Have you guys ever considered the Saw franchise? I mention it because it’s something you never reviewed on the show and I would be curious to hear Franks take on the series cred. I realize you guys may have no interest in it. Even as a fan I can admit it gets a little redundant, but it would be interesting to hear your takes.

  • Jay1

    I’d like Reed to be on the premiums. I enjoy his numerous objections. I hope some time is spent on the Splitting in Two scene. On youtube there is loads of talk about it, perhaps the deepest moment in the entire series (maybe the acting between Supes and his dad in the FOS though). I’ll be buying this of course, plus the Star Wars one as well. No choice.

  • David Sarnecki

    Oh my God, that Reed video has me rolling on the ground.

  • Kenneth Serenyi

    Superman took so long starting to fight crime for several reasons: He didn’t know his full powers until he spent 10 years tripping-out in the Fortress of Solitude. He probably had to practice his Clark Kent persona before he re-integrated into society (pa-Kent training). I thought Superman not being tough and his terrible fighting style in Superman 2 were actually very realistic. He wouldn’t have a clue how to fight because he has never faced anyone who also had super-powers. In the bar, he’s not used to experiencing pain and weakness at all so of course he comes off as a complete wimp. He’s experiencing how it is to be human for the first time, he finds it unpleasant, and he panics back to the North Pole. He also realizes that he turned his back on all his responsibilities just to get laid ;) .

  • Sam

    While I would love Reed to be on all premiums, I think most of them would just consist of him watching just a random 10 minute stretch of each film, which would be entertaining as well.

    Yeah, I agree…bring Reed on more premiums.

  • Xidor

    There is some fish out of water for Clark after he leaves the fortress. He uses words like “golly and swell” because he hasn’t talked to anyone in over a decade.

  • Sean

    Interesting, I hadn’t really thought about it that way. I just assumed it was because he was from Smallville or something.

  • devolutionary

    Jay’s right in the sense that it’s a lot easier to get behind Superman 3 if you embrace it in its own world separate from the first 2. While there’s a lot of semi-funny (dated humour) and quite hilarious unintentional comedy in the movie, I’d still rather watch the first 2 if given the choice. To me, it’s biggest offense, is having rather uninspired antagonists. A “bizarro” Superman element that was fully fleshed out may have been a more interesting scenario than the double-indentity mechanism used but, like Sean, I still quite enjoyed the Kent/Superman junkyard fight. It definitely draws from a strong singular vision without any production issues that plagued the previous films though. However, as an adult, Superman 4 is still pretty hard to get through.

  • Kasper F. Nielsen

    Helen Slater was extremely hot back in the 80’s. The Legend of Billie Jean? HOT MAMA, WOOOoo!

  • Ripplesdip

    “He also realizes that he turned his back on all his responsibilities just to get laid ;) ”

    Well, we’ve all been there…right Lads? ;)

  • Xidor

    I’m surprised that John Williams score didn’t make a top five list, but you were probably sick of it after all of those movies. I thought that his music made the list for star wars podcast.

  • James Starkie

    Cheers for aligning the start of each chapter with the discussion of each film. Makes it much easier.

  • Lord Humungus

    This argument is unvalid you puppy! He realized enough to know that he had the powers he had in the first film — which were enought to fight crime.

  • Kenneth Serenyi

    Say huh?

  • scoobydelite

    Think it is said on the commentary that Tom Mankiewicz (co-writer of some Bond films) completely rewrote the final script because Donner thought the script was pretty goofy, so basically hardly anything Mario Puzo wrote is in Superman I & II.
    The Donner Cut of Superman II fixes the losing his powers portion of the story. In his version, Superman & Lois get in on when he still has his powers and then he decides he wants to settle down with Lois. After Superman decides he made a mistake giving up the powers, Jor-El tells Superman he anticipated this possibly happening and is therefore able to give Superman his powers back one final time, which thematically nicely ties back to the line from the 1st movie “The son becomes the father, and the father becomes the sun.”
    The Donner Cut also cuts out the teleporting stuff and the giant S-net Superman throws at the end.