'Dogface! I show you how Soviet dies!'

We loved the music and adored the movies. But you know what the real secret is to our enduring devotion to the 80s?

The creeping Red Menace of Communism, the perfect villain for a more simple time.

I miss those evil Ruskies with their "moose and squirrel" accents, always one step ahead of us with some delicious doomsday weapon or chemically enhanced Olympic athlete stealing the gold from our innocent freedom-loving Americans. (Because, "Oh no, U.S. athletes would NEVER use steroids!")

So with the help of a very special guest-host, this week's Stuck in the 80s podcast honors "The Red Scare Movies" that we loved so much in that golden decade. Click here to listen, or click here to get all our podcasts delivered to you for free via iTunes.

In the meantime, here's the obligatory list for you, Comrades!

FIVE MEMORABLE RED SCARE LINES:

5. "You know what they say, 'Men'she ty znaesh', lushche.' " (Spies Like Us)

4. "What you call yourself is of no concern to us. Here, you're just a criminal." (White Nights)

3. "You will not, of course, make it to wherever you are going. Goodbye, Mr. Gant!" (Firefox)

2. "Any country that can survive Stalin can certainly handle a little dope." (Red Heat)

1. "Dogface! I show you how Soviet dies!" (Red Dawn)

Comments

[surfdog]

hey spearsy
i didnt read anything bout vegas

but the headline of high $$$ food prices??
we lived on shrimp cocktails when we were there.....
didnt you catch all the "shrimp cocktail specials???

we researched this very carefully when we were there and found that the RIVIERA HOTEL had the best buy shrimp cocktail for $.99 !!

[Spears]

My man Surfdog!

Look below and you'll see a ton about Vegas. Well, what I was allowed to write about Vegas anyway.

so just TELL ME how were the shrimp cocktails?? ( ;

o.k. I'm all caught up----- no wonder ya dont know bout the awesome shrimp cocktails...too busy eatin funions

but Mickey's wide mouth!! you da man!

[Walter Cox]

So was the first line "Spies Like Us"?

I like Dolph Lundgren in Rocky IV: "I must break you."

[Spears]

I tried to find 5 more obscure ones.

[Bassnote]

I love this podcast, especially Jeff ripping on the stupidity of Top Gun.

[Michelle]

Jeff did such a great job as guest host.

[surfdog]

what was that movie where they were all in the great fozen tundra fighting the ruskies...

it was the movie made with not ONE FEMALE?

ice something

probably like 60's or 70' though

[Al]

Ice Station Zebra?

[surfdog]

yeah thats it.,..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_Station_Zebra_(film)

no female in that one (and Rock Hudson to boot)
maybe some lines in that one but from 1968 geez am i getting old :(

[Douglas Arthur]

maybe you were walking down the strip when for no reason at all someone says "plate" or "shrimp" or "plate of shrimp", out of the blue. I think maybe Vegas is like that.

[Marissa]

This is a great podcast! I loved having Jeff on board for this particular subject matter. What could be better than three extremely charming men rapping about Russians?

[specialk]

Great job as guest host Jeff! We've seen pictures of you, read your brilliant comments now we have a voice to go along with it all. As always it was a great podcast guys though I have to admit to not seeing half of the movies mentioned.

[Spears]

Hello Gen. McArthur ...

I did eat shrimp -- a plate of shrimp in fact -- at the Luxor.

And yes, the Luxor also sells 24-ounce cans of Mickey's Malt Liquor. And 101-proof Wild Turkey.

For those reasons alone, I dub it "Official Las Vegas Bureau of Stuck in the 80s."

[Rick]

Hey, Steve, I am with you. I think FIREFOX is the best Red scare movie. I remember feeling suffocated while Eastwood was in oppressive Russia.

P.S. Jeff, what kind of accent should Russians have besides heavy Russian ones?

Anyhoo, the podcast was great, Jeff did a great job, and I especially enjoyed Sean's poetic description of Bugle maggots. (I was wearing headphones while I listened and my wife and kids thought I had lost my mind.)

[Douglas Arthur]

I couldn't resist. I had just re-listened to the Repo Man podcast. I paraphrased of course, but I think I captured the "feel".

I haven't said it yet, but, yes, I too am feeling the tender pangs of regret for not having attended the great vegas get-together, perhaps next time. I think it would be a hoot to meet everyone! Plus I'd be just about the only sober one in the room, you know, in case of emergencies.

I am pushing hard to get Devo to play Florida just to take you up on your offer to co-host the podcast! Work and Wife be damned, you know I'll be there for that!

Chicagoians take note of the special concert hitting your town in the next few days. King Crimson is playing a 3 night stand at Park West as part of its extremely limited 40th anniversary tour. They are only playing in Nashville, Chicago, NYC, and Philly, so it is a tough ticket. This is a virtual reformation of the 80's version of the bad with Adrian Belew, Robert Fripp and Tony Levin. Bill Bruford left the band about 10 years ago to concentrate on Jazz music, but has been replaced by ex-Mr. Mister and Rembrandts drummer Pat Mastellotto. Adding more drumming to the percussive mix is Porcupine Tree's Gavin Harrison. The set lists I have seen from the Nashville shows look like they are playing quite a number of their 80's repertoire including Elephant Talk, Sleepless, and Three Of A Perfect Pair. There is some talk about a new album, their first since 2003's masterstroke, The Power to Believe.

[don in tulsa]

I can't believe nobody has mentioned Little Nikita from 1988. It starred Sidney Poitier and River Phoenix and meets all of the qualifications. River's parents are sleeper agents and there is a russian renegade agent and a russian agent sent to capture him. Plenty of communists. Then there is the scare, the renegade is killing people and you have sleeper agents! Finally the good guys win. River's parents want nothing more than to be good old American consumers after living here so long and the renegade is captured. It's been a while since I've seen this movie but it wasn't bad as I recall.

Since most of the WWII movies had Germans with British accents perhaps all Russians should be the same. Give it some symmetry.

Lastly, did my ears deceive me or did Jeff say that back then there was a credible fear that the Russians might try something? Ah yes, he did. Thanks for some personal vindication Jeff.

Great podcast guys. By the way, Red Dawn is my favorite as well.

[Bassnote]

Douglas I am kicking myself for not knowing King Crimson was coming to town. I just checked on tickets for all three nights, and none are available. AAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHH! I love Crimson, and am especially a fan of Tony Levin.

[Spears]

I enjoy "Little Nikita" but it involves some of the worst acting of the 80s.

Great storyline though.

[Lee]

What was the movie where the teenagers accidentally cross over into eastern europe in the middle of a snow-covered forest--and wind up getting the crap beat out of them by the Ruskies? They're considered spies.

[Eric62]

Jeez, that sounds a lot like Stripes, Lee.

"The name's Francis Sawyer, but everybody calls me Psycho. Any of you guys call me Francis, and I'll kill you.''

[Mark]

This was one of the best episodes ever. I thought Jeff was a great guest host and really added some great wit to the show.

Does anyone remember the ABC miniseries Amerika? I vaguely remember seeing it as a kid and I would love to see it again but there has never been a DVD release.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amerika_(TV_miniseries)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=og4UHIACEN0

[Dogran]

Great podcast guys. Have to agree that Jeff made a fine guest host, particularly as he mentioned one of my favorite 80s movies - Miracle Mile. I remember coming out of the cinema after seeing it and feeling completely shell-shocked. A forgotten gem methinks...