Mad Max Minute - Chicken Run (2000)

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For the hens at the Tweedy Chicken Farm it’s lay eggs or face the chopping block, but Ginger is determined to escape and take every last chicken out with her. Despite the fences, barbed wire, and constant surveillance she devises one scheme after another until help comes from the most unlikely of places as an American rooster named Rocky literally falls into her lap. Reinvigorated by the idea of flying the coop, Ginger, Rocky, and the other chickens race against time to reach greener pastures before Mrs. Tweedy has the chance to make them all into pies.

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Mad Max Minute - Tommy (1975)

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In 1969 The Who released a rock opera about a boy who despite his psychosomatic deafness, blindness, and inability to speak rises to worldwide renown, somehow finds a cure for his ailments and becomes a religious sensation. In 1975, Ken Russell and Robert Stigwood gathered together some of the biggest names in rock music, including Tina Turner, and brought that rock opera to the big screen. With The Who frontman Roger Daltrey as the titular character, the film adaptation brings the album to life in a way that can never truly be duplicated.

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Mad Max Minute - For Love Alone (1986)

Helen Buday takes center stage in this romantic drama set in the 1930s. Theresa is a bold young woman, determined to follow her heart and win the affection of an arrogant young teacher played by Hugo Weaving. Her determination will lead her to leave her home in Australia and undertake the voyage, halfway around the world, to London. Along the way she will meet a charming banker, played by Sam Neill, whose own world view and interesting cadre of friends will change her life forever. From Sun-baked streets to smoke filled common houses, nothing will stop Theresa from living life on her terms and for love alone.

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Mad Max Minute - A Boy and His Dog (1975)

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We return to the proper post-apocalypse with the movie that is credited as the inspiration for The Road Warrior and Fallout series of video games. It is the year 2024, and worldwide nuclear war has buried what civilization below a layer of sand and ash. Survivors wander these wastes, scavenging for supplies and doing their best to fend off horrific creatures known as screamers, as well as other survivors. In the midst of all this is a young man named Vic and his telepathic dog, Blood. They are about to find out that there are still many surprises buried deep below ground.

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Mad Max Minute - 1990: The Bronx Warriors (1982)

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Guns, gasoline, and leather, three of the ingredients that make up the Mad Max Series are combined here to bring to life the vision of Director Enzo G. Castellari of a New York borough abandoned by polite society and left to the gangs. Sold as a heavy metal journey into an urban hell where everything was done wrong, The Bronx Warriors is the story of a young woman fleeing a life she does not want and the hard-riding gang leader willing to risk everything to protect her. It’s The Warriors meets Escape from New York with a bit of The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly thrown in for good measure.

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Mad Max Minute - Bush Christmas (1983)

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What better way to wrap up the year than with Henri Safran’s classic holiday tale of farm foreclosure, horse thieves, and the kids determined to set things right. When traveling Shysters, played by John Ewart and John “The People Eater” Howard, steal the prize racing horse from a small family farm, it’s up to Mark Spain, James Wingrove, and Nicole Kidman to work alongside the family’s horse trainer to track down the thieves and save the farm. It’s a solid 90 minutes of horse-riding, hiking through mountainous terrain, and all sorts of family-friendly hijinks.

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Beyond Thunderdome Minute 107 - Moving beyond Thunderdome

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This is it, we’re finally beyond Thunderdome. As such, we decided to have a little fun and play with some other podcast formats as part of this episode. We’ll share fun bits of Trivia that we may have missed in earlier episodes, Rick shares what he believes it would sound like if Aaron Menke, from the Lore podcast, were a waiting one, and we bring back, friend of the show, Cassadilla for a look at some of the crazy creatures one might find in a post-apocalypse in a send-up to Maggie Tokuda-Hall’s Drunk Safari podcast.

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Beyond Thunderdome Minute 106 - What do we do with our lives?

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After spending 105 minutes picking apart Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome one minute at a time it’s hard to determine if we’re missing the forest for the trees. So, for the penultimate episode of season 3, we’ve decided to take some time and re-watch the movie. We’ll recap the film scene by scene and try to determine if the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Along the way we’ll also talk about what we would change and our most, and least, favorite things.

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Beyond Thunderdome Minute 105 - All the children say

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We’re rounding out the week with a focus on the most controversial part of Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome: The Waiting Ones. This episode kicks things off with a quick aside about the movie’s theme song, which leads us right into a review of just how effective this element of the story was implemented. Along the way, we ask if Tomorrow-morrow land was worth the effort to get there and discuss any improvements that could have been made to this part of the story.

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Beyond Thunderdome Minute 104 - We don't need another hero

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Moving on from our main character, this episode is focused on Aunty, Master-Blaster, and the wretched hive of scum and villainy that is Bartertown. We take a moment to consider who is the real antagonist of this story between Aunty and Master. This leads into a discussion of whether either of those two learned anything from their run-in with Mad Max. Finally the conversation concludes with a bit of a look at how Aunty ran Bartertown, just for kicks.

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Beyond Thunderdome Minute 103 - Can’t make the same mistake this time

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It’s the beginning of end credits week as we highlight the main character of this story, Max Rockatansky. This discussion begins with an examination of Max’s personal arc over the course of the movie, specifically comparing who he is at the beginning of the story versus who he becomes by the end. The conversation also includes an examination of the first three Mad Max films as a single narrative, chronicling a long trip through Campbell’s Hero's Journey.

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Beyond Thunderdome Minute 102 - Him that came the salvage

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Savannah sits before the assembled crowd, holding a newborn child in her arms, as she tells them of the journey that brought them to this point in their history. As the scene shifts to a shot of the city, great signal fires can be seen in the buildings, as a way to beckon wanderers in from the wasteland, but as is also seen, there is one wanderer in particular who still walks the wastes. We can only assume their identity as the movie fades to black.

Special Guests: Crystal Beth & John Robert Wilson from Keep Calm and Game On

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Beyond Thunderdome Minute 101 - I's looking behind us now

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Savannah and the other lean out the side of the plane, taking in everything around them, amazed by the sheer scale of what still remains after nearly two decades of calamity. Savannah begins speaking in voice-over and the scene fades to some time later, as a group of the tribe who left gathers in a grand hall to listen to Savannah relay The Tell for that evening. The shot tracks along a group of people, children and adults, all sitting dutifully.

Special Guests: Crystal Beth & John Robert Wilson from Keep Calm and Game On

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Beyond Thunderdome Minute 100 - The land of tomorrow

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Jedediah diligently flies his Airturk with Mr. Skyfish hovering over his shoulder. The plane banks hard to the right and flies into a massive sandstorm. The thick clouds give way to a canyon, spanned by the remains of a massive bridge. At the canyon’s edge sits a mighty structure with great sweeping lines. Savannah and the others have reached their tomorrow-morrow land, the bombed out remains of Sydney. The buildings stand hollow and grey against the blowing sand.

Special Guests: Crystal Beth & John Robert Wilson from Keep Calm and Game On

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Beyond Thunderdome Minute 99 - Goodbye, soldier

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Aunty lets out a laugh and leaves Max to the desert, stopping only to look back at him and say goodbye before mounting her vehicle and driving away into the wasteland. Max rises to his feet and watches her go. He is left surrounded by wrecked vehicles and smoke as the scene wipes to the Airtruk, now far away from where they were. It flies along reliably, despite the massive sandstorm looming in the distance. The minute ends in the cockpit with Jedediah.

Special Guest: Brad Mull from The Lost World Minute

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Beyond Thunderdome Minute 98 - Ain't we a pair

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Despite having just jumped from a speeding vehicle, Max is able to lift himself enough to the see the plane fly overhead, and see one last glimpse of the people inside. Nearby, a charred and broken arm reaches from inside a wreckage towards a mask mounted to an iron bar, raising a defiant gesture before falling limp. As Max moves to stand, he is stopped by Aunty’s guards. She approaches him and smirks, saying “well, ain’t we a pair…”.

Special Guest: Brad Mull from The Lost World Minute

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Beyond Thunderdome Minute 97 - The way things are wont to go

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Max guns the engine and speeds ahead of the Airtruk, moving into position between it, and Aunty’s forces. She is unfazed by this development and as if sensing a challenge, Ironbar speeds ahead of the line, straight towards Max. But Max isn’t playing chicken today, and climbs out of the driver’s seat, leaping from the vehicle at the last moment, and sending his camel truck headlong into Ironbar. The plane leaves the ground and takes flight over the remaining vehicles.

Special Guest: Brad Mull from The Lost World Minute

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Beyond Thunderdome Minute 96 - There's not enough runway

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Noticing that Jedediah has cut the engine, Max climbs up the wing to ask him what’s going on. Jedediah is certain that there’s not enough runway between them and the might of Bartertown, but Max assures him that there will be. As Jedediah starts up the plane once more, Max reclaims his camel truck and the two begin rolling back the way they came. As they accelerate, Max maneuvers his vehicle alongside the plane and shares one last look with the people inside.

Special Guest: Jim O’Kane from Apollo 13 Minute

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Beyond Thunderdome Minute 95 - Cliffhanger

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As junk scatters across the runway, Aunty and her fleet thunder past Jedediah’s grotto, hot on the heels of the plane. Aunty is out in front, leading the charge, but another vehicle, driven by Ironbar, quickly comes from behind to lead the attack. However, the plane has come to the edge of a cliff, and without the necessary speed needed for flight, Jedediah is forced to stop and turn the plane around., which is fortunate for Scrooloose, who rejoins the party.

Special Guest: Jim O’Kane from The Rocketeer Minute

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Beyond Thunderdome Minute 94 - Ready for take off

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With the plane spinning up outside, Max insists that Jedediah’s plane is the one thing that may save his life that day. He understands well enough what Max is getting at, and soon He and the others run out of the dugout and board the plane as Jedediah Jr. begins to taxi away. They make it to the runway, but Jedediah tells Max that they’re overloaded, they won’t get off the ground. Undeterred, Max releases the cargo nets and drops Jedediah’s junk on the runway.

Special Guest: Jim O’Kane from Airport Minute

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