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PODCAST

Failure to Franchise

Trev & Chris 2020

A bi-weekly podcast devoted to infamous examples of failed film-franchise starters. In a Hollywood landscape dominated by giant tentpole movies, not all attempted franchises can succeed. Many intended first entries of a series fail to generate the planned sequels due to low box office, poor judgement, or, simply put... utter incompetence. This show is a celebration of (or perhaps a memorial for) those failures, as hosts Trev and Chris dissect what went wrong with these cinematic misfires. @F2Fpod

tv & film film history

All Episodes

01:24:22

Episode Seventy-One - The Seeker: The Dark is Rising...

Failure to Franchise ·

2023/06/06

June is here, so you (maybe) know what that means! That's right, it's time for the start of our annual "Summer Surprise," where we let an online randomizer choose which movies from our oh-so-long F2F list we'll be covering next. First up, it's back to the land of misguided YA adaptations trying to cash in on the Harry Potter phenomenon. But this time, the source material actually pre-dates JK Rowling's works, as we examine The Seeker: The Dark is Rising, the 2007 feature adaptation of Susan Cooper's

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01:16:37

Episode Seventy - The Love Guru (2008)

Failure to Franchise ·

2023/05/23

"Mike MAY-ers" concludes with our look at 2008's The Love Guru, Mike Myers' ill-fated attempt to kick-start another character-based franchise in the vein of Austin Powers. Instead, this movie essentially ended his days as a leading man. So just what the heck happened? Is the film's heart in the right place, or is it an insensitive, offensive trainwreck that everyone involved with should have known better than to participate in? We discuss all this, plus, we discover the randomly chosen films we'll

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01:20:33

Episode Sixty-Nine - The Cat in the Hat (2003)

Failure to Franchise ·

2023/05/09

We're kicking off "Mike May-ers," a month devoted to Canadian comic icon Mike Myers, with a look at his ill-fated Dr. Seuss adaptation, The Cat in the Hat. One of the more..., let's say, perplexing movies we've looked at, this one begs a lot of questions. Do adult jokes have a place in Seuss adaptations? Is the Cat in the Hat an inherently sinister character? What's the logic of the Cat's powers? And should Seuss's short, verse-focused books even be adapted to feature length in the first place? We

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01:27:29

Episode Sixty-Eight - The Phantom (1996)

Failure to Franchise ·

2023/04/25

We're closing out two month's of "Pulp Frustration" with a look at 1996's ill-fated adaptation of Lee Falk's classic comic-strip hero, The Phantom. Intended as a star vehicle for Billy Zane, The Phantom was shepherded by two mega-producers, and came complete with a script co-written by beloved genre icon Joe Dante. But when the writers aren't on the same page as, well, nearly everyone else involved, it can spell disaster. How does The Phantom stack up against the other pulp heroes we've seen so far

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01:27:04

Episode Sixty-Seven - The Shadow (1994)

Failure to Franchise ·

2023/04/11

"Pulp Frustration" continues, as we look at the movie based on arguably one of the greatest pulp heroes of them all, The Shadow! The Alec Baldwin star vehicle asks an intriguing question: When a character has a complicated, decades-long history, with various origins and abilities established across his different permutations in print, radio, and film, is it easy to make a definitive version of him onscreen? Well...nope! Still, in 1994, they gave it a try anyway. Join us as we discuss the film's odd

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01:44:44

Episode Sixty-Six - The Rocketeer (1991)

Failure to Franchise ·

2023/03/28

"Pulp Frustration" continues, as we look at another early-90s Disney action movie. But this time, it's not one of the original, beloved pulp characters from yesteryear, but rather an adaptation of a cult favorite 80s comic meant to pay homage to the classic serial heroes of old. Part superhero origin story, part historical pastiche, part Indiana Jones-esque adventure (complete with clubbering Nazi's), The Rocketeer seemed to be an easy recipe for success in a post Batman '89 world. And yet...here we

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01:47:52

Episode Sixty-Five - Dick Tracy (1990)

Failure to Franchise ·

2023/03/14

We kick off our two-month "Pulp Frustration" series, dedicated to the 90s obsession with adapting pulp heroes to the big screen, with the 1990 Warren Beatty vanity project, Dick Tracy! How long was a Tracy movie in development before finally happening? How did Beatty convince an all-star cast to appear in something so outrageous? Was the character still relevant enough to entice modern audiences of the time? Why did the movie forever change how Disney did business moving forward? What the heck was

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01:58:14

Episode Sixty-Four - Vampire Academy (2014) w/ GUEST!

Failure to Franchise ·

2023/02/28

"Will You Be My VAMPentine" concludes with a trip back to one of our most dreaded genres - the YA Lit adaptation! But this time, we weren't willing to do it alone. We're joined by our friend Jackie, an ardent fan of the Vampire Academy book series, to discuss its 2014 big screen adaptation. With the director of Mean Girls and the writer of Heathers(!!) in charge, what could have possibly gone wrong? Well...about that. We're taking a look at Vampire Academy's place in a post-Twilight world, a

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01:35:34

Success to Series #4 - Underworld

Failure to Franchise ·

2023/02/21

In this special bonus "Will You Be My VAMPentine"-themed episode of our "Success to Series" spin-off, we're squeezing into our tightest leathers, cranking the early 2000's nu-metal, and diving into the immortal war between vampires and werewolves...err, sorry, "lycans." That's right, it's a look at Underworld, the critically maligned but financially successful action/monster mash-up that we can't help but love...maybe even more than its own leading lady. What is it about this series that attracted

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01:33:41

Episode Sixty-Three - Vampirella (1996)

Failure to Franchise ·

2023/02/14

Travel back with us to a time when comic-book movies were less cool (and certainly less respectable), to examine how one of comic's most enduring cult heroines ended up with only one feature film to her name: a little-known, made-for-cable oddity from cult-movie king Roger Corman, and T&A/Schlock movie "maestro" Jim Wynorski. Between a leading lady the director didn't want, to the surprising casting of a famous rock star in the villain role, to a Vegas-based production fraught with

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01:30:19

Episode Sixty-Two - Charlie's Angels (2019)

Failure to Franchise ·

2023/01/31

When the latest big-screen reboot of the popular 70s TV series Charlie's Angels - this time written and directed by Elizabeth Banks - hit in 2019, the franchise had already proven its cinematic bankability (Banks-ability??). And yet, despite the much-buzzed-about excitement of seeing Kristen Stewart taking on a "fun" role in a big Hollywood action-blockbuster, and the intrigue of two potential new stars with Naomi Scott and Ella Balinska, Banks's film failed to connect with audiences. But was this

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01:37:03

Episode Sixty-One - Baywatch (2017)

Failure to Franchise ·

2023/01/17

Baywatch, the series, was once the most watched television show in the world. Baywatch, the movie, was...well...not the most watched movie of 2017, to put it lightly. So, what went wrong? Did they simply wait too long to make a Baywatch movie? Was it a bad idea to go the tongue-in-cheek parody route? Or could the problem perhaps lie with the lead actor, Dwayne Johnson, who - despite his oft-repeated "Franchise Viagra" reputation - failed to rescue this one from the choppy box office waters. We're

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01:25:50

Episode Sixty - The A-Team (2010)

Failure to Franchise ·

2023/01/03

Are you ready to "Ring in 2023 with the ABC's of TV?" That's right - we're kicking off the new year with three episodes dedicated to feature adaptations of beloved TV shows. First up, Joe Carnahan's adaptation of the classic 80s Mr. T action series, The A-Team. This movie version had a lot to accomplish - solidify Liam Neeson's new action-star career resurgence, make a movie star out of UFC fighter Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, prove Sharlto Copley's District 9 success wasn't a fluke, and show that

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01:52:23

Episode Fifty-Nine - Lost in Space (1998)

Failure to Franchise ·

2022/12/20

In the second installment of this year's "Failure to Franchise with Trev & Chris-tmas," it's a blast from Chris's past, as we're looking at the 90s reboot of a beloved 60s sci-fi series whose reruns were a childhood favorite of Chris's. But does the movie version live up to the show? How does it play for someone less familiar with the original series, like Trev? And why the heck did this thing seemingly kill Matt Leblanc's Hollywood leading man status just as it was beginning? We discuss all this,

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01:39:26

Episode Fifty-Eight - Batman: Mask of the Phantasm...

Failure to Franchise ·

2022/12/06

The second annual "Failure to Franchise with Trev and Chris-tmas" kicks off with a tribute to the recently departed Kevin Conroy, in the form of an episode dedicated to the one theatrical adventure spun off from Batman: The Animated Series. Long considered by many fans to be one of the finest Batman films ever produced, why did Mask of the Phantasm nonetheless fail at the box office? And, despite its financial failure, how does it succeed in so many elements that the live-action Batman films never

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01:32:03

Episode Fifty-Seven - The Last Witch Hunter (2015)

Failure to Franchise ·

2022/11/22

After Vin Diesel's full return to the Fast & Furious franchise in 2009 steered the series back on track (see what we did there?), he once again enjoyed the sort of clout he hadn't seen since early in his career. He utilized this clout to indulge in some of his "nerdier" sci-fi and fantasy interests. First, by bringing back his beloved Riddick character for a third film. And then, in 2015, by trying to start up a brand-new franchise loosely based on the original character he had created for his own

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01:47:29

Episode Fifty-Six - The Pacifier (2005)

Failure to Franchise ·

2022/11/08

It's a time-honored "rite of passage" tradition. The biggest action stars of Hollywood attempt to also show their softer side with a light family comedy. Schwarzenegger had Kindergarten Cop. Stallone had Stop, Or My Mom Will Shoot! Dwayne Johnson had The Tooth Fairy. John Cena had Playing With Fire. Dolph Lundgren had, uh, Kindergarten Cop 2. And in 2005, one of the industry's more recent rising action stars teamed with Disney to make his own attempt at this image evolution. The film was a big

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01:32:40

Success to Series #3 - The SAW Franchise

Failure to Franchise ·

2022/10/31

Do you want to play a game? It's Halloween, so we're dropping an extra-special surprise bonus episode. In the latest installment of our "Success to Series" spin-off, we're looking at one of our favorite horror franchises...Saw! That's right, the James Wan/Leigh Whannell created series that used to be synonymous with Halloween...and perhaps will be again soon? We discuss why we think the series is better than its critical reputation suggests, our favorite twists and traps of the various films, and

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01:36:01

Episode Fifty-Five - Shocker (1989)

Failure to Franchise ·

2022/10/25

In the 70s, Wes Craven shocked unsuspecting audiences with the unrelenting brutality of The Last House on the Left and The Hills Have Eyes. In the 80s, he redefined what the slasher-film could be with A Nightmare on Elm Street. In the 90s, he gave horror a thrilling meta-edge with both New Nightmare and Scream. But in 1989, he was, uh, a little less successful with Shocker. So what exactly went wrong with Craven's own attempt to out-do Freddy Krueger with the creation of a new supernatural slasher

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01:34:57

Episode Fifty-Four - Masters of the Universe (1987)

Failure to Franchise ·

2022/10/11

After multiple years as a best-selling toy-line and popular animated series, it seemed like a live-action movie was a can't-miss proposition for Mattel's Masters of the Universe property. But between an untested leading man, a notoriously cheap studio, and disagreements over what the movie should be between various involved parties, even the mighty He-Man was no match for the difficulties of Hollywood franchise filmmaking. "Fall Back to the 80s" continues as we take a look at the film that confused

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