Baconsale: Hickory-smoked Pop Culture

Hey, all you cool cats and kittens! Hollywood may have stopped releasing feature films in theaters, but Netflix is bigger than ever with their latest seven-episode documentary, Tiger King. And in case you’ve been wondering what all the memes are about, Baconsale is here to review it. Kent, Joel, and Zack each watched it and are still trying to process everything they saw. If you haven’t seen it yet, don’t worry, the first half of this BaconBit is spoiler free. Don’t believe Carole Baskin’s lies about us! Press play to hear all about murder, mayhem and madness.

If you’ve got some time to kill—and many of us seem to have that problem these days—this is the episode for you! Today on Baconsale we’re talking about television shows that will help pass the hours, days, and even weeks, if necessary. These are shows that are available to stream online right now, so you can start enjoying our recommendations immediately. However, we must warn you that Kent embraces the dark, Joel gets in touch with his feminine side, and Jacob…well, Jacob has something important to tell you. Press play to hear the record for most Star Trek references on a single episode of Baconsale! (The previous record was one.)

Hold On to your cargo pants, listener! Baconsale is in The Middle of a 2000s alternative rock bracket, and we’re One Step Closer to crowning a Hero. The band matchups are now more Complicated, and we must keep going despite the Madness. Joel’s emotions are brought to Such Great Heights, Kent has a difficult time being Mr. Brightside, and Heads Will Roll as Jacob disagrees with some of the picks. It Ends Tonight, so press play, because we wouldn’t be Here Without You. Print your own advanced Baconsale 2000s Alt-Rock bracket at Baconsale.com

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a trio of men in possession of a good idea, must be in want of a podcast episode. Therefore, Kent, Joel, and Jacob are ready to talk, without pride or prejudice, about film adaptations of books. Joining us on this episode is Drew, an avid reader and patron of Baconsale. We’re discussing which pieces of literature lend themselves well to the silver screen, as well as which novels would have best been left on the shelf. Press play to hear the audiobook version of this episode...before the movie comes out.

Somebody Told Me that you have been Sitting, Waiting, Wishing for another Baconsale music tournament, and we have The Remedy! It’s Been Awhile since the 2000s, but we’re looking back to see who is, Hands Down, the best alternative rock band from that era. We won’t go In Too Deep this episode, only through the first round of match-ups—The Reason is because we don’t want this episode to be 100 Years long. But Someday we’ll finish the bracket and pick Only One band that deserves A Praise Chorus.   That’s What You Get when you press play!   Print your own 2000s alt-rock bracket at Baconsale.com to play along at home!

Buckle up, listener, it’s time for Baconsale to talk about driving etiquette. We’re declaring which rules other drivers should follow, discussing proper protocol when riding in someone else’s car, and we’re giving road trip tips. Along the way, we’ll take a few pit stops to tell personal stories about learning to drive, getting into accidents, and evading the police (wait, what?). We’re also sharing road rules you submitted to us, and deciding which ones get the green light. Check your mirrors. Use your blinker. Press play.

Kent saw The Invisible Man, and he’s ready to get transparent about how he feels about it. Could this movie be the second beginning of Universal Picture’s Dark Universe? Kent’s not sure, but he does resist the urge to get into spoilers, despite Joel’s persistent questions. He also talks about the underlying themes in the film as well as how believable the visual effects are and how scary this thriller is overall. Press play to see what we’re talking about.

Are you looking for the Baconsale episode where we rank Pepsi products? Well, then, you got the right one, baby! Today we’re discussing 27 popular soft drinks, such as Mountain Dew, Dr. Pepper, 7 Up, Hawaiian Punch, and A&W Root Beer. Each soda pop will get a tier 1, tier 2, or tier 3 ranking. Additionally, we’ll discuss perceived health benefits, Russian conspiracies, corporate sabotage, failed experiments, and weird jingles & slogans—including the song that inspires Kent to go “girlwatching.” I’m a listener! He’s a listener! She’s a listener! Wouldn’t you like to be a listener, too? Press play.

My, my, how the tables have turned. Joel took his kids to see Sonic the Hedgehog last weekend (which explains why it did so well at the box office), while Jacob went with some vague family members, and Kent is the one who hasn’t seen the movie yet. Joel and Jacob do their best to keep their reviews spoiler-free for the first part, then we race through the entire plot of this video game adaptation. Join us as we discuss character redesigns, product placement, and Jim Carrey’s performance as Doctor Robotnik. Hold down, repeatedly press A, then press play!

It’s-a me! Baconsale! And we’re joined by The Listener, Spencer, who is here to help us Pit popular heroes from video games against each other in Mortal Kombat. We’re going to try to fly through this Uncharted territory at Sonic speeds, so sometimes we’ll Crash and Contra-dict each other. However, at other times, we’ll find a Link and Ecco each other’s thoughts. But after the (Cloud) Strife, we’ll declare a winner as The Last of Us is left standing at the end of this tournament. Kick! Punch! I gotta believe you’ll press play! Print your own video game hero bracket at Baconsale.com to play along at home!

Kent would like to introduce Joel, who would like to introduce Jacob, who will introduce our topic for this BaconBit, which is the results of the 92nd Academy Awards! Once again (and it seems like we say this every time), this was the lowest-rated Oscars ever. But Baconsale is here to recap the winners, the losers, the overly long speeches & political rants, the timely musical numbers, and the surprise twist ending! Plus, we’ll also be announcing the winners of our Oscars ballot contest! Press play to hear our acceptance speech in Korean.

Alright, alright, alright. With Valentine’s Day approaching, Baconsale decided to pit two very different romantic comedies against each other: 10 Things I Hate About You (1999) & How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003). Why these two movies? Well, Kent and Joel sometimes get the titles confused. Also, they passionately disagree as to which one is better. The guys try to keep the debate structured as they discuss the writing, directing, critical reviews, box office performance, and legacy of both films, but—as tends to happen in these versus-style episodes—the discussion tends to devolve into an argument about who’s interrupting whom. I want you to press play. I need you to press play. I'd love you to press play.

Hey puddin’! It’s time for Baconsale to review Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn). Kent brought along a guest to the screening of this R-rated Suicide Squad sequel, but no, it wasn’t Jacob or Joel. Our friend Emily is here, as well, and she and Kent are going to try their best to not spoil the movie as they gush about the fight scenes and Margot Robbie‎’s performance. Press play, Mr. J (and everyone else)!

Now that Sundance is over, Kent is ready to talk about it. And he brought our good friend Emily with him to give us a recap of the Sundance movies that were bad, the films that were good, and how many times Emily fell asleep (spoiler alert: she slept a LOT). We also discuss when and where these films will be available for you to view, which will probably NOT be on Disney Plus. Press play to get indie with Baconsale!

Rise and shine, listener! The Academy is getting an early start on award season this year, and they’ve bumped up the Oscars up to February 9th. Therefore, we had to do our annual Baconsale prediction show earlier, as well. Jacob and Joel are mind twins this time, matching on far too many answers, while Kent forges his own path to glory (or utter failure). And with a date night on the line, the stakes have never been higher. Listen as we discuss which films are Oscar bait, memorialize the things we lost in 2019, and try to perfect our Joker laugh. Here’s your statue. Take a breath. Take a bow. Thank your agent. Then press play. Plus, you can make your own predictions for the 92nd Academy Awards for a chance to win a fabulous prize! Visit Baconsale.com or our social media pages to find the link to our official Google Form.

Pose for the paparazzi in your hipster coat, hat & sunglasses, because Baconsale is going to Sundance! Well, we’re not all going. Jacob isn’t that familiar with this indie film event and Joel thinks it’s too cold/crowded. However, Kent has gone for the last ten years and he’s ready to tell you all about it—including how to spot celebrities, where to go to see the movies you want, and why you should bring cash. We also discuss directors who got their big break there, what it means to be an independent film, and our favorite movies to come out of the Sundance Film Festival. Joseph Gordon-Levitt was here about 10 minutes ago, and he said to press play.

Oi, mate! Are you a fan of fast-talking gangsters with thick English accents? Well, then, you may enjoy Guy Ritchie’s latest movie, The Gentlemen. No, this isn’t a film adaptation of that terrifying episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, this is an action crime movie featuring Matthew McConaughey, Charlie Hunnam, Michelle Dockery, Colin Farrell, Hugh Grant and a lot of cursing. Kent went to a screening and he’s ready to give his review. We also spend a while discussing who Guy Ritchie is and why posters of his movies graced the walls of most college students in the early 2000s. Press play to see if Guy Ritchie is back in Kent’s good graces after Aladdin (2019).

Whether you call it clairvoyance, fortune telling, or ESPN, Baconsale is peering deep into the upcoming year and predicting pop culture occurrences for 2020. Jacob has a pretty bleak outlook of the future—and things do get a little dark as we talk about untimely demises, filthy dragons, and the blood of innocents—but Kent and Joel also prognosticate about healthy fast food options, TV show reboots and THREE TYPES of sporting events (#ChiefLife)! Plus, we end the episode talking about films we want to flop and our most anticipated movies of the year. The relative position of the planets and the stars indicate that you should press play.

Woo! It’s been 17 years since the last Bad Boys movie, but without Michael Bay at the helm, will Bad Boys for Life still feel the same? Kent has seen the movie and is ready to tell us all about it. There won’t be any spoilers, but Kent will let us know why he’s unhappy with the name (Joel will try and come up with a better one), and we’ll also look at how these three movies have done at the box office and with audiences. Ride or die, it’s time for a BaconBit review! Woo!

We’re back, baby! And we’re starting our sixth season of Baconsale with a recap of our favorite films of the past year. Kent selects movies that were released in 2019 and Joel picks ones he watched for the first time in 2019. Along the way, we find out what makes Kent smile (HINT: it has something to do with alligators), we discover that Joel can’t do a North Korean accent, and we learn how many cough drops Jacob can consume in a single episode. Press play to get your kicks with our beginning of season six!