257 | Mark A. Altman (Greatest Geek Year Ever: 1982)

My Summer Lair Chapter #257: What’s Your Favorite 1982 Movie?

You’ll wanna #SetTheVCR for Greatest Geek Year Ever: 1982 a 4 part docuseries on how awesome 1982 was/is at the movies. It’s now streaming on The CW App.

I’ve seen the entire docuseries and I cannot fully convey just how fun it is.

We’re talking 1982 so…E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, Blade Runner, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khaaaaaan(!), Poltergeist, Tron, Night Shift, Conan the Barbarian, The Dark Crystal, Tootsie, Diner, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, The Thing, Creepshow, Rocky III…so much more. All blessed the cinemas in 1982.

Soak up that list. It’s not even exhaustive. You’ve probably seen most if not all of these movies. And for a spectrum of legitimate reasons they’re all beloved movies.

More? Eddie Murphy’s film debut in the hit 48 Hrs. This is still Saturday Night Live Eddie Murphy. Raw was 1987. (Nobody in 87 was prepared for Raw. Yo.)

To address all that awesome in Greatest Geek Year Ever is Cameron Crowe, Keith David, Nolan Bushnell, Bruce Campbell, Sean Young, Roger Corman, Amy Heckerling, Leonard Maltin, Ron Howard, Marc Guggenheim…William Shatner!!

(In the docuseries Shatner also talks about his other 1982 classic: Airplane II. The Airplane movies are terrible which makes them so good. Just comedy gold.)

About 10 years later when the X-Files debuted on TV on September 10, 1993 the show’s tagline was basically: “I want to believe.”

But in 1982 we did believe. This was a year of wild world building. Granted movies like E.T., Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Poltergeist were basically set in suburban homes and schools we were all familiar with yet they were dramatically off-kilter. Static buzzing TVs typically don’t suck up little girls and kids don’t use their bikes to fly.

1982 was magic.

So to navigate all that fantastic is The CW’s Greatest Geek Year Ever: 1982 which uncovers the secrets, stories and epic moments that shaped our geeky lives.

This isn’t using nostalgia as a time machine; Greatest Geek Year Ever is a recognition of how our vital geek history still impacts our present. And shaped us into the unique charmingly demented individuals we’ve all grown up to become.

One of those charming individuals is Mark A. Altman; the latest My Summer Lair guest. He’s Geek Year’s writer and producer and co-creator working with director Roger Lay, Jr. and producers like Berge Garabedian and Scott Mantz.

You may know Mark from his work on hit TV shows like Castle and The Librarians or perhaps you’ve read some of his Star Trek comic book adaptations or his oral history books on Battlestar Galactica and James Bond. He’s an accomplished writer, producer, and a deep diver of all things geeky.

As you’ll hear what’s super fun about Mark’s work is that he’s not afraid to get his hands all nerdy. He’s like a pop culture archaeologist, digging up hidden gems and bringing them back to life for a whole new generation of fans.

This attached My Summer Lair conversation is sparked by his experiences co-creating Greatest Geek Year Ever, as well as some delightful 80s related tangents…including one about Knight Rider.

Greatest Geek Year Ever: 1982 successfully demonstrates back then…pop culture was a surprise party and you…you were the guest of honour.

(1984 was also magic. I hope Greatest Geek Year Ever succeeds on The CW and prompts a 1984 follow up.)

Greatest Geek Year Ever! @ W • T • F

Host Sammy Younan

Recorded: Thursday June 29, 2023 at 2:00 pm

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