Insights Into Entertainment: Episode 137 “Hate the system, not the Genie”

[INTRO THEME]

[INTRODUCTIONS] (2-3 minutes)
Insights Into Entertainment: Episode 137 “Hate the system, not the Genie”
My loving and lovable co-host Michelle Whalen

[SHOW SUMMARY] (2-3 minutes)
Today in our Disney Detective, fans prefer Universal over the Genie and Tik Tok wants us to think Disney put a shop owner out of business
In our Tales from the Edge of the Galaxy, Happy Birthday to John Williams plus we finally get a release date for Obi-Wan Kenobi
And for our Entertainment News, Dolly is paying the bills and Mickey’s tribute to the Monkees
And as always we’ll finish up with our Insightful Picks of the week

[Show Plugs] (2-3 minutes)
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[TRANSITION]

[SEGMENT 1: Disney Detective] (8-12 minutes)

Guests “Hate” Disney Genie, Prefer Universal’s Costly Express Pass
https://insidethemagic.net/2022/01/disney-guests-prefer-universal-pass-ld1/?fbclid=IwAR1jItF3gcX6fjYAa4ZOjihMCUPrkIZCq7cM6f8wYbbJmx8VNzoB4Or8nAg
https://bit.ly/34QxCeH
As we have talked about many times, the Free FastPass System that Disney previously used is no more.
Disney revealed its new Disney Genie and Lightning Lane system into the Disney Parks last year to some criticism.
Disney Genie is free but for an extra charge, Guests can upgrade to Genie+ which allows them other access to reservation systems as well as the option to purchase individual Lightning Lanes for rides, essentially letting them pay to skip the stand-by ques.
This new system has been met with lots of frustration and criticism from new and long-time Disney Guests and fans.
A recent post in Reddit highlighted this issue, it also showed that most Disney Guests online would prefer a system more like Universal Studios.
The Question Posed in Reddit asked:
If you had a choice in Disney when it came to skipping lines would you prefer an express similar to Universal (pay a one time high fee but skip all the lines) or stick with Genie +?
One answer that seemed to be echoed by others:
I have been reading various reviews of Lightening Lane/Genie + and all the scheduling and planning that goes behind it and quite frankly I think I’d rather purchase an express pass like Universal.
I used to think Universal’s express pass was a lot of money but now compared to Genie + it seems worth it.
Another User commented:
I would absolutely pay for a universal express at Disney if it was available.
I dislike having to compete with others for the exact time and availability with Genie+ and fastpass.
I don’t want to plan my entire day at 7am or 60 days out.
It would be worth it to me to explore the park how I want and ride all the rides I want.
This user agreed, saying:
Universal.
Way fewer people would purchase thereby not affecting the standby line negatively.
Right now, so many people buy Genie+ that it kills the standby.
It’s a lose/lose to everyone except Disney.
Another user commented:
Universal.
I hated having to plan my day around when I had a lightning lane pass.
This user agreed as well, saying:
That universal express pass is a game changer.
My family did it once and now we can’t do it without it.
Even though you pay so much more the benefits save you so much time
Disney Genie+ and Lightning Lane were released last year to some criticism and frustration, leaving some Guests feeling confused by the service.
In theory, this paid service should enhance Guests’ experience at the Parks, but in practice, it seemed to just be an expensive itinerary planner for some, while others love it.
These paid services allow Guests to skip lines for a price, meaning Disney now has a financial incentive to have long lines.
At Disney World, for $15.00 per day per Guest, you can skip the long standby queue by making a Lightning Lane reservation (new FastPass) and returning at that time.
At each Park, however, there are two attractions that Guests would need to purchase a separate Lightning Lane ticket for if they wanted to skip those lines. Those attractions are:
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
Space Mountain
Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure
Frozen Ever After
Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance
Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway
Avatar Flight of Passage
Expedition Everest
Universal Studios Orlando has a similar pass but it works slightly different than Disney’s.
The Universal Express Pass starts at $79.99 and allows Guests to skip the lines on rides and attractions.
Guests have the option to upgrade to an Express Pass which allows unlimited skips for all participating rides and attractions starting at $109.99.
The Express Pass, however, can increase dramatically depending on the day, and time of year.
We have seen the pass cost over $200.00 for one single day use during the summer months.

‘Thanks Disney for putting me out of business’: Shop owner says they closed because film crew shut down New Orleans neighborhood in viral TikTok
https://www.dailydot.com/irl/tiktok-disney-film-store-closed/?fbclid=IwAR1H3nEfGxo9CgtjlZotXp2W4L0CF7cO5XbqJFKMAJROfFOj8QYi6fwKWs0
https://bit.ly/3JgR1of
In a viral TikTok, @michaelmanzella37 showed a storefront with a sign stating that the shop would be closing after 37 years of business due to filming in the French Quarter of New Orleans.
The sign states, “Thanks Disney and NOLA Film Office for putting me out of business after 37 years at this location.”
The sign continues, “I survived Katrina, the BP [Deepwater Horizon] oil spill, the building next door collapsing, mandatory COVID closure, to name just a few… Who would believe Mickey Mouse would take me down?”
During the recording, a person behind the camera reads the sign out loud.
Then, someone faintly says “F*&% Mickey” in the background.
It’s unclear who made the statement.
By Thursday, the video had more than 118,000 views.
Despite what the note said, people weren’t buying the story.
One user commented, “When film companies film in areas with stores or restaurants they normally pay them anywhere from $4,000 to $10,000 a day so that owner is lying.”
Another user said, “That’s total BS. Disney compensates businesses to close for the time they are filming.
Seems like this shop was already going downhill for a while.”
On the other hand, some felt that this might have been the best move if the store wasn’t receiving much business.
One user stated, “Sounds like they weren’t making money.”
Another user commented, “Judging by the clothes in the window, it’s not Mickey’s fault.”
In the video, there are several items such as reading glasses, a watch, and a few pieces of clothing including a straw hat and some shirts that one might consider outdated.
According to Nola.com, Disney is scheduled to film this year in New Orleans for a reboot of the horror-comedy film The Haunted Mansion, which debuted in 2003 and starred Eddie Murphy.
The new movie, with the working title, Joyride, was set to start filming Jan. 27.

[AD 1: SSE]

[SEGMENT 2: Tales from the Edge of the Galaxy] (8-12 minutes)

“IT’S PURE MAGIC”: CELEBRATING JOHN WILLIAMS AND HIS MUSIC
https://www.starwars.com/news/john-williams-birthday
https://bit.ly/3oFV8Cd
Star Wars, and many of the movies we love, would not be the same without John Williams.
With a body of work that includes the scores for the nine-film Star Wars saga, Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Indiana Jones, and Jurassic Park, to name but a few, Williams’ compositions are embedded in our memories and lives.
From a dorsal fin emerging out of beach waters, to Luke Skywalker gazing longingly at setting twin suns, to the goosebump-inducing sight of a towering brachiosaurus, his music connects us to characters and worlds in ways that touch us deep down.
It’s romantic, stirring, gorgeous — to imagine these scenes and films without his music is near impossible.
Celebrating the legendary composer’s 90th birthday, StarWars.com spoke with those who followed Williams in writing scores for Star Wars — Michael Giacchino, Ludwig Göransson, John Powell, and Kevin Kiner — about his influence on film and their lives.
Michael Giacchino (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story)
“To say that John Williams has been an inspiration to myself or any contemporary film composer would be the greatest understatement.
It is too difficult to put it into words how important his work has been to all of us in this business.
Listening to John’s music is not only a masterclass in film composing and storytelling, but John is an example of someone who has taken his talent and passion to transform other parts of the musical world, in particular his work in the classical arena that not only gave us pieces outside of film music, but his time at the Boston Pops has helped open the door for the acceptance of film music in the concert world, something for which I am very grateful.
Ludwig Göransson (The Mandalorian)
“The first time I heard John Williams, I was at home by the TV in our living room.
I must have been around seven when I begged my parents to let me watch Jaws with them.
During the more visceral scary parts of the movie, my dad would cover my eyes.
Not being able to see what was happening on the screen, I just listened to the sound.
That intense music had an extreme effect on me.
The Jaws I created in my head was way scarier than what was happening on screen.
Those fantasies stayed with me for a long time.
John Powell (Solo: A Star Wars Story)
“Truthfully, [my first exposure to John Williams] was probably Fiddler on the Roof!
It clearly cemented my love of giant Hollywood orchestration and probably made me aware of the power of music in storytelling.
But then, I also remember becoming abnormally fascinated by the title music to Time Tunnel.
I know these seem a little obscure compared with what we know him for, but it speaks volumes that he’s always been able to excite me: with that incredible rhythmic use of orchestra, the way I’m roused as it connects to the story, and how a plot seems to suddenly move forward when his music is under it.
And this is all before I was ever aware of ‘film composers.’
Kevin Kiner (Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels, and Star Wars: The Bad Batch)
“The first time I remember hearing a John Williams score was watching Star Wars in Westwood California where I was attending UCLA.
I remember thinking, ‘How does he make that sound?’
That and the Superman score started me on a life-long quest to unravel his secrets and find my own path to making my own mysteriously wonderful sound.

OBI-WAN KENOBI WILL DEBUT MAY 25 ON DISNEY+
https://www.starwars.com/news/obi-wan-kenobi-premiere-date
https://bit.ly/3HIsic5
One of the greatest Jedi ever is back for a new mission.
Obi-Wan Kenobi, the new limited series from Lucasfilm, will debut May 25, exclusively on Disney+.
The series stars Ewan McGregor, reprising his role as the iconic Jedi Master.
The story begins 10 years after the dramatic events of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, in which Obi-Wan Kenobi faced his greatest defeat — the downfall and corruption of his best friend and Jedi apprentice, Anakin Skywalker, who turned to the dark side and became the evil Sith Lord, Darth Vader.
The series also marks the return of Hayden Christensen in the role of Darth Vader.

[AD 2: TEENS]

[SEGMENT 3: Entertainment News] (8-12 minutes)

Dolly Parton’s theme park will soon pay for employees to go to college
https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/09/entertainment/dolly-parton-college-pay/index.html
https://cnn.it/3Jmb3xo
Leave it to Dolly Parton to deliver the good news of the day.
The legendary singer’s theme park, Dollywood, will begin paying full college tuition for all employees who choose to go.
The company will also cover miscellaneous fees and textbooks.
The education perk is available to employees starting on their very first day of work and will be available to all seasonal, part-time and full-time employees.
This tuition coverage starts on February 24.
Dollywood has a reputation for caring for employees.
Along with the new tuition benefit, employees receive access to the Dollywood Family Healthcare Center and are provided free meals for every working shift.
There are also apprentice and leadership training programs.
The park also pays a portion of child care costs for employees who need child care while they work.

Micky Dolenz to Honor Departed Monkees Bandmates With Special Tour
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/micky-dolenz-honor-monkees-bandmates-tour-1296103/?fbclid=IwAR3XFPmVq2WRlJhq63_99h9HQvTWyaN-koWc4gBmLs5TX1PzVkoyi8JHA-Q
https://bit.ly/34PzHHL
Micky Dolenz is going to honor his departed Monkees bandmates Michael Nesmith, Peter Tork, and Davy Jones with a special tour.
He’s billing it as Micky Dolenz Celebrates the Monkees, and it kicks off in April.
“I felt it was important to gather the fans and properly celebrate the lives of Davy, Mike and Peter,” Dolenz said in a statement.
“People have been contacting me, requesting that I honor them in a way where the extraordinary impact of the Monkees can be properly acknowledged.
We spent such a great deal of time together; they were like my brothers, and I want to share some of the great joy we had together.”
Dolenz will be backed by a seven-piece band for the show, and will play all the Monkees hits in addition to signature songs by all three of his former bandmates, including Nesmith’s “Different Drum” and “Papa Gene’s Blues,” Tork’s “For Pete’s Sake” and “Can You Dig It?”, and Jones’ “(Look Out) Here Comes Tomorrow” and “Valleri.”
He’ll also share stories from his time in the group, and show unseen images from his personal archives.
Dolenz is the voice behind many of the group’s most famous songs, including “Last Train to Clarksville,” “I’m a Believer,” and “Pleasant Valley Sunday.”
He is also the only Monkee to participate in every single reunion project the band ever attempted with the exception of a brief 1986 Austrian tour that featured just Jones and Tork.
“I never resented being known as a Monkee,” he told Rolling Stone last year.
“Your career is like a train that takes an enormous amount of inertia to get it going.
When it finally gets going, some people try to stop the train.
Those are the people that you see in concert and they go, ‘I’m not going to sing any of my old hits.
I’m going to change my entire image.’
They try and stop the train.
Very seldom does that happen.
It’s virtually impossible, and you just piss the fans off.”
Dolenz spent last year on an extensive Monkees farewell tour with Michael Nesmith that wrapped up just 26 days before Nesmith died from heart failure.
“I found out a couple days ago that he was going into hospice,” Dolenz told Rolling Stone just a few hours after the news broke.
“I knew what that meant.
I had my moment then and I let go.
It’s just good to know that he passed peacefully.”

[TRANSITION]

[SEGMENT 4: Insightful Picks of the Week] (8-12 minutes)

Michelle
Archive 81
https://www.netflix.com/title/80222802
https://bit.ly/3suLofn
An archivist takes a job restoring damaged videotapes and gets pulled into the vortex of a mystery involving the missing director and a demonic cult.
An intriguing blend of horror and noir, Archive 81 offers addictive supernatural thrills that are haunting in the best way.

Joe
Engineering Catastrophes
https://www.sciencechannel.com/show/engineering-catastrophes-science
https://bit.ly/3JkBZxO
Experts look at engineering blunders that have either caused catastrophes or are disasters waiting to happen.
They use cutting-edge technology to examine what went wrong and to figure out if it can be fixed.
Over the course of five seasons they explore bridge collapses, building collapses, catastrophic fires, railroad accidents, construction mishaps, natural disasters and more
Each episode is a lesson in engineering, science and planning
While some of these disasters are devastatingly fatal and certainly financially costly each of them contributed in some positive way to make engineering science safer in the long run
Most people watch shows like this for the wow factor of a building collapsing or a massive explosion
I watch these and gain an appreciation for just how difficult it is to make things in our modern world function
We tend to take for granted the bridges, highways, railways and other infrastructure that support our way of life until something disrupts it
I also enjoy seeing how engineers can sift through a pile of rubble, determine exactly what caused the issue and put measures in place to prevent disasters from happening again in the future.
It’s a real poignant way of illustrating that we learn more from our failures than our successes

[TRANSITION]

After Thoughts

Jersey Shore Comic Book Show – Nerd Fest
https://jerseyshorecomicbookshow.com/nerd-fest
https://bit.ly/3J0wlRk
This event will take place at the Holiday Inn Swedesboro 1 Pureland Drive, Swedesboro, NJ 08085 – February 27,2022
Nerd Fest will be in full swing from 10am to 4pm. Admission $5 Kids 12 and under Free with paying adult. Plenty of Free parking!
We’ll be featuring Artists, Vendors, Comics, Anime, Toys, Funko’s, Non-Sport Cards, Crafts, Pokemon, Cosplay, Face Painting, Interactive Activities, Collectibles, and much MORE!!!!!!!

ZOLOCON
https://zolocon.com/
https://bit.ly/2UfiDpk
Saturday MARCH 5, 2022 (10:00AM – 6:00PM)
SATURDAY GENERAL ADMISSION = $15.00 (Children $5.00)
Sunday MARCH 6, 2022 (9:00 AM – 4:30PM)
SUNDAY GENERAL ADMISSION = $10.00 (CHILDREN FREE!)
780 Falcon Circle . Warminster Pa. 18974

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http://www.toyshows.org/aboutme.html
https://bit.ly/33veum0
Delaware Train Show Aprilfools Toy Show
Saturday, April. 2nd Sunday, April. 3rd
Nur Shrine Center
198 S. DuPont Highway, New Castle, DE.

FanExpo (Formerly Wizard World
https://fanexpohq.com/fanexpophiladelphia/
https://bit.ly/32VSRen
Philadelphia Convention Center
Apri 8-10 2022

MID-STATE COMIC CON
https://jerseyshorecomicbookshow.com/mid-state-comic-con
Mid-State Comic Con is our newest adventure in the Comic Con Industry. This Comic Con will be held at the Delaware State Fairgrounds Dover Building a large INDOOR venue with plenty of room for our event.
Mid-State Comic Con will take place on Saturday, April 9, 2022 from 10am to 4pm at the
Delaware State Fairgrounds Dover Building 18500 S. Dupont Highway, Harrington, DE 19952
We will be featuring Special Guests, Artists, Vendors, Cosplay, in a family friendly atmosphere at an affordable price.
Our Vendors will have Comics, Manga, Anime, Non-Sport Cards, Pokemon, Funko Pops, Toys,
Steam Punk, Pop Culture, Crafts, Collectibles, and so much MORE!!!
Admission is $10 Kids 10 yrs and younger FREE with paying Adult. $1 off Admission if you are in Costume.
COVID PRECAUTIONS Being that the situation with Covid changes, we will update any precautions or restrictions closer to the show date as recommended by the CDC.

00:00:01:16 – 00:00:07:20
Michelle
Insightful podcasts. By informative host.

00:00:11:05 – 00:00:16:21
Michelle
For Insights Into Things.

00:00:17:29 – 00:00:47:26
Michelle
A podcast network. Welcome to Insights into Entertainment, a podcast series taking a deeper look into entertainment and media. Your hosts, Joseph and Michelle Whalen, a husband and wife team of pop culture fanatics are exploring all things from music and movies to television and fandom.

00:00:51:03 – 00:00:57:11
Joseph
Welcome to insights in entertainment. This is episode 137 hate the system, not the.

00:00:57:11 – 00:00:57:23
Joseph
Gene.

00:00:58:17 – 00:01:03:23
Joseph
I’m your host, Joseph Whalen, and my loving and lovable co-host Michelle Rhee.

00:01:04:05 – 00:01:04:26
Michelle
Oh.

00:01:05:06 – 00:01:06:02
Joseph
Well, sometimes it’s right.

00:01:06:05 – 00:01:08:14
Michelle
I was going to say, is that because of Valentine’s.

00:01:08:14 – 00:01:11:03
Joseph
Day, it’s our Valentine’s themed message. That’s it. We’re done.

00:01:11:16 – 00:01:15:06
Michelle
Have a good one. Good night. Try the veal. Tip your waiter.

00:01:15:17 – 00:01:16:23
Joseph
How are you doing today, dear?

00:01:17:14 – 00:01:19:12
Michelle
Um oh.

00:01:19:22 – 00:01:25:01
Joseph
Look that bad, huh? Hey, look on the bright side, it’s Thursday.

00:01:25:04 – 00:01:28:04
Michelle
Oh, thank goodness. Yay.

00:01:28:04 – 00:01:29:20
Joseph
Thursday, rough week.

00:01:30:19 – 00:01:31:15
Michelle
Aren’t they all?

00:01:31:24 – 00:01:56:05
Joseph
And nowadays, I guess they are. So this week on insights into entertainment, you know, our Disney detective fans prefer a universal over Jeannie, and Tock wants us to think Disney put a shop owner out of business. Then in our tales from the edge of the galaxy, happy birthday to John Williams.

00:01:56:23 – 00:02:15:00
Joseph
Plus, we finally get a release date for Obi-Wan Kenobi, and we’ll probably have some closing comments on the Book of Everyone with Boba. And for our entertainment news this week, Dolly’s paying the bills and Mickey’s tribute to The Monkees.

00:02:15:15 – 00:02:19:29
Joseph
And as always, we’ll finish up with our insightful picks of the week and a couple of after thoughts.

00:02:20:04 – 00:02:20:09
Joseph
Hmm.

00:02:20:24 – 00:02:42:23
Joseph
But before we do that, though, I would want to invite our listening and viewing audience to subscribe to the podcast. You can find audio versions of this podcast listed as insights into entertainment. VIDEO versions of all the network’s podcasts can be found listed as insights into things or available on page on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, Stitcher or

00:02:42:23 – 00:02:55:24
Joseph
on iHeartRadio. Pretty much anywhere you get a podcast these days, I would also invite you to write in, give us your feedback, let us know how we’re doing. Give us your own conventions that we can plug in our afterthoughts segment.

00:02:56:14 – 00:03:20:14
Joseph
You can email us at comments and insights into things dot com on Twitter and insights. Underscore things on Facebook at Facebook dot com slash Insights Into Things podcast on Instagram at instagram.com. Slash insights into things or add links to all those and much more are available on our official website and insights into things dot com.

00:03:20:15 – 00:03:21:09
Joseph
Are we ready?

00:03:21:10 – 00:03:21:28
Michelle
Sure.

00:03:22:02 – 00:03:30:17
Joseph
Here we go. Go for Disney Detective.

00:03:30:19 – 00:03:49:14
Michelle
So our first story comes from inside the Magic Dot net, and it was guests hate Disney Genie and actually prefer Universal’s costly express pass. So we’ve talked obviously many times about the free fast pass system that Disney previously used, which is no more.

00:03:49:26 – 00:04:17:07
Michelle
So Disney has removed. Disney revealed its new Disney Genie and Lightning Lane system into the Disney parks last year, which has come to some criticism. Disney Genie is free, but for the extra charge, guests can upgrade to Genie Plus, which allows them other access to reservation systems, as well as the option to purchase individual lightning lanes for

00:04:17:07 – 00:04:41:24
Michelle
rides, essentially letting them pay to skip the the standby queues. The new system has been met with a lot of frustration and criticism from new and longtime Disney guests and fans. A recent post in Reddit highlighted this issue, and it also showed that most Disney guests online would prefer a system more like Universal Studios.

00:04:42:07 – 00:05:00:29
Michelle
So the question posted in Reddit asked if you had a choice in Disney when it came to skipping lines, would you prefer an express similar to Universal’s pay one time higher fee, but skip all the lines or stick with Genie Plus?

00:05:01:14 – 00:05:16:18
Michelle
And one answer that seemed to be echoed by others was. I have been reading various reviews of Lightning Lane, Genie Plus and all the scheduling and planning that goes behind it. And quite frankly, I think I’d rather purchase an express pass like Universal.

00:05:17:10 – 00:05:31:05
Michelle
I used to think Universal’s Express Pass was a lot of money, but now compare to Genie, plus it seems worth it. Another user had commented, I would absolutely pay for a universal express at Disney if it was available.

00:05:31:15 – 00:05:49:08
Michelle
I dislike having to compete with others for the exact time and availability with Genie Plus and FastPass. I don’t want to plan my entire day at 7:00 a.m. or 60 days out. It would be worth it to me to explore the park, how I want and ride all the rides I want.

00:05:49:29 – 00:06:09:08
Michelle
This user agreed, saying universal way fewer people would purchase there. By not affecting the standby line negative negatively. Right now, so many people are buying Genie plus that it kills the standby. It’s a lose lose for everyone except Disney.

00:06:09:24 – 00:06:29:20
Michelle
And another user commented Universal. I hated planning my day around when I had a Lightning Lane pass, and this user agreed as well, saying that Universal Express Pass is a game changer. My family did it once and now we don’t do it without it, even though you pay so much more.

00:06:29:21 – 00:06:55:20
Michelle
The benefits save you so much time. Disney Plus and Lightning planes were released last year to some criticism and frustration, leaving some guests feeling confused by the service. In theory, this paid service should enhance guests experience at the parks, but in practice it seems to just be an expensive itinerary planner for some, while others love it.

00:06:56:05 – 00:07:18:09
Michelle
These paid services allow guests to skip lines for a price, meaning Disney now has a financial incentive to have longer lines at Disney World for $15 per day per guest. You can skip the long standby queue by making a Lightning Lane reservation, their new fast pass and return at that time.

00:07:18:20 – 00:07:38:27
Michelle
Each park, however, there are only two attractions that guests would need to purchase a separate Lightning Lane ticket for if they wanted to skip those lines. And that would be the seven Dwarfs Mine Train and Space Mountain in Magic Kingdom, Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure and Frozen Ever After in Epcot.

00:07:39:12 – 00:07:59:22
Michelle
Star Wars Rise of the Resistance and Mickey Adminis Runaway Railroad Railway in Hollywood Studios and then Avatar Flight of Passage and Expedition Everest in Animal Kingdom. Universal Studios Orlando has a similar past, but it works slightly different than Disney’s.

00:08:00:02 – 00:08:19:20
Michelle
The Universal Past starts at 7999 and allows guests to skip the lines on rides and attractions. Guests have the option to upgrade to an express pass, which allows unlimited skips for all participating rides and attractions, and that starts at $109.99.

00:08:20:05 – 00:08:37:03
Michelle
The Express Pass, however, can increase dramatically depending on the day and time of year, and the person that wrote the article had said they have seen it at some points during the summer months cost up to $200 for a single day.

00:08:37:25 – 00:08:51:10
Joseph
And they make a very interesting point in this article that Disney is now incentivized to have line because they can make money off. And that’s an angle we actually hadn’t really talked about right up until this point, right?

00:08:51:10 – 00:09:07:15
Michelle
Because we have always said, you don’t want to have a line if you are a theme park owner. Where are you making your extra money like, OK, you already got the money for them getting in the park. You already, you know, got that.

00:09:08:02 – 00:09:19:29
Michelle
But if they’re standing on line, waiting three hours for a ride, they’re not buying food. They’re not buying merchandise. They’re not buying snacks, right?

00:09:20:29 – 00:09:29:29
Joseph
Yeah. I mean, you lose out on concessions there, but this is only charging 15 bucks. It’s certainly not going to make that up, right? I mean, I think a soda costs $15, a Disney, you know?

00:09:30:01 – 00:09:30:13
Michelle
Yeah.

00:09:30:27 – 00:09:34:16
Michelle
A soda and a pretzel is probably like 15 bucks. So yeah, $15.

00:09:35:06 – 00:09:36:04
Joseph
You know, so.

00:09:36:06 – 00:09:37:05
Michelle
It isn’t really.

00:09:37:06 – 00:09:41:20
Joseph
So now, since they’ve already gone with Flex pricing for park tickets.

00:09:41:20 – 00:09:42:05
Michelle
Right.

00:09:42:08 – 00:09:55:17
Joseph
Based on usage in the park and volume in the park right, I could totally see them going. Universal’s method with this story. 15 your base entry? Well, we’re busy today, so it’s not going to be 30 or it’s going to be 50.

00:09:55:20 – 00:10:04:25
Michelle
Well, and that’s the thing is because the $15 is just to have Jeannie Plus, because regular genie is free now to have.

00:10:04:25 – 00:10:06:29
Joseph
A worthless, I mean, regular genie is just right.

00:10:07:03 – 00:10:08:22
Michelle
And that’s because I have in.

00:10:08:26 – 00:10:09:07
Joseph
Wait.

00:10:09:07 – 00:10:22:06
Michelle
Times, right? And I haven’t really heard anybody do a hey, I just went to the park with just regular genie. This is, you know, everybody’s doing all right. I pay my $15 and tried it out for for the day.

00:10:22:11 – 00:10:39:21
Michelle
And if you’re an annual pass holder, you still have to pay the $15 a day. It’s not even something where it’s a park and it’s included if you have an annual pass. Now granted, you can decide, you know, so if you’re going for four days, you can decide, Well, I only want Jeannie Plus for one day, you

00:10:39:21 – 00:10:43:06
Michelle
don’t have to do it for your entire stay.

00:10:43:06 – 00:10:43:18
Joseph
Which.

00:10:43:25 – 00:10:45:25
Joseph
Right, it’s not attached to your ticket.

00:10:45:26 – 00:10:57:08
Michelle
Right? So I guess in that respect, it’s not so bad, because then you could say, all right, we’re just going to splurge the one day and try it right, you know, and everything else is kind of a we’ll just see what we can get on type day.

00:10:57:18 – 00:11:09:27
Michelle
But then I don’t think you have to have Jeannie Plus in order to do the lightning lanes because I think that’s again, I’m not 100% sure because we haven’t been in a while and we haven’t really.

00:11:09:28 – 00:11:10:23
Joseph
Nor do we plan.

00:11:10:24 – 00:11:11:22
Michelle
On going through that.

00:11:11:22 – 00:11:22:09
Michelle
So I kind of feel bad when, like friends of mine have asked and I’m like, I don’t know, you got to Google it. I really don’t know. But with the Lightning Lane, it’s not a set price, right?

00:11:22:09 – 00:11:22:22
Joseph
The Lightning.

00:11:22:26 – 00:11:32:23
Michelle
Because. So that does go up. So you could be paying $20 to go on just one ride or, you know, anywhere from 15 to 25 or something.

00:11:33:00 – 00:11:47:25
Joseph
Bottom line here is there are a lot of people that are very unhappy about this. Absolutely, very unhappy with these changes. And just for from a personal standpoint, we haven’t been down. We’re not going down any time soon.

00:11:48:15 – 00:11:51:24
Joseph
And we’ve finalized the sale of our DVC membership to.

00:11:51:27 – 00:11:52:09
Michelle
Yeah.

00:11:52:23 – 00:12:05:14
Joseph
So and this is really coming from a diehard Disney family that, you know, I’ve been down there. I don’t know, we’ve been together eight years now.

00:12:07:27 – 00:12:09:12
Michelle
Has it been that long? Yeah.

00:12:09:22 – 00:12:11:27
Joseph
Not that long. I was a child.

00:12:12:12 – 00:12:13:19
Michelle
Well, she’s 15. Right?

00:12:13:21 – 00:12:19:25
Joseph
We were together for about three years before that. OK, so we’ve been thinking you’ve put up with me for 18 years now.

00:12:20:09 – 00:12:22:08
Michelle
Holy crap. Do I get a refund now?

00:12:22:09 – 00:12:24:02
Joseph
In those 18 years.

00:12:24:02 – 00:12:24:17
Michelle
We’ve gone.

00:12:24:19 – 00:12:31:22
Joseph
Into Disney. I’ve been the Disney, I think, 20 times now, 21 times because there was a number of times we went multiple.

00:12:31:22 – 00:12:36:16
Michelle
And there were a couple of years when we went twice. I think one time we went 33 times.

00:12:36:16 – 00:12:43:22
Joseph
Every time you maybe buy a season pass. We went three times. You get our money’s worth out of it, which I’m not really sure how the math works on that. But OK.

00:12:44:26 – 00:12:45:16
Michelle
Totally were.

00:12:45:16 – 00:12:58:03
Joseph
So. So we’re a family that in 18 years we’ve gone down over 20 times, right? And now we’re not going down because of this. That’s the story that Disney needs to hear and understand because and.

00:12:58:03 – 00:12:59:18
Michelle
I’m sure we’re not the only.

00:12:59:18 – 00:13:11:16
Joseph
one to us, right? There are thousands of people. So Disney needs to think how much money they’re losing now, nickel and diming people and pissing people off.

00:13:11:17 – 00:13:11:24
Joseph
Yeah.

00:13:12:17 – 00:13:21:01
Joseph
Because we would go down and it would cost us on average, three to five grand, depending on how much memorabilia, how much memory toys I bought down there. Right.

00:13:21:15 – 00:13:21:28
Michelle
Right.

00:13:22:17 – 00:13:37:25
Joseph
But anywhere from three to five grand. You know, you were easily two grand in for tickets and and hotel and whatever. And we weren’t using the DVC. Right? You multiply that times 20, and that’s that much money that Disney is losing on one family.

00:13:37:26 – 00:13:47:01
Joseph
Mm-Hmm. It’s stupid. It’s bad business. Yeah, bad business. Speaking of bad business, what else is Disney allegedly doing wrong?

00:13:47:06 – 00:14:10:26
Michelle
So from the daily dot.com thanks Disney for putting me out of business in a viral TikTok. Michael Manzella, 37, showed a storefront with a sign stating that the shop would be closing after 37 years of business due to filming in the French Quarter of New Orleans.

00:14:11:06 – 00:14:31:08
Michelle
The sign states thanks Disney and Nola Film Office for putting me out of business out of 37 years at this location. The sign continues I survived Katrina, the BP oil spill, the building next door, collapsing mandatory COVID closure to just name a few.

00:14:31:08 – 00:14:45:11
Michelle
And who would believe Mickey Mouse would take me down? Now, during the recording, a person behind the camera reads the sign out loud and then someone faintly says F Mickey in the background. So it’s unclear who made the statement.

00:14:45:17 – 00:15:08:07
Michelle
But by Thursday, the video had more than 180,000 views. Despite what the note said, people weren’t actually buying the story. one user commented When film companies film in an area with stores or restaurants, they normally pay them anywhere from 4000 to $10,000 a day, so that owner is lying.

00:15:08:18 – 00:15:27:29
Michelle
Another user said that is total B.S.. Disney compensates businesses to close for the time that they are filming, so it seems like the shop was already going downhill for a while, somebody said. On the other hand, some felt that this might have been the best move if the store wasn’t receiving much business.

00:15:28:11 – 00:15:45:14
Michelle
one user stated Sounds like they weren’t making any money. And another user commented, Judging by the clothes in the window, it’s not Mickey’s fault. In the video, there are several items such as reading glasses, a watch and a few pieces of don’t do need.

00:15:45:26 – 00:16:05:24
Michelle
I’m sorry clothing, including a straw hat that and some shirts that one might consider outdated. So, according to NOLA.com, Disney is scheduled to film this year in New Orleans for the reboot of the horror comedy film The Haunted Mansion, which debuted in 2003, and the original which starred Eddie Murphy.

00:16:06:04 – 00:16:12:15
Michelle
So the new movie with the working title Joyride started filming on January 27th.

00:16:14:10 – 00:16:17:27
Joseph
I’d love to know exactly why they’re going out of business.

00:16:18:03 – 00:16:19:01
Michelle
Right, and.

00:16:19:06 – 00:16:32:25
Joseph
Because of this is coming in the film, you know, at most, they’ll film for a couple of days on location, right where that story is going to have to be closed down for filming, right? And even if they’re not compensated, which, you know, they will be.

00:16:32:26 – 00:16:41:16
Joseph
Absolutely. What Stewart can’t afford to close down business for two or three days if the if you’ve gone through all the hardships that they say they’ve gone through, right?

00:16:42:05 – 00:16:49:11
Michelle
I think it was totally a ploy to, you know, get somebody to to feel bad, right?

00:16:49:12 – 00:16:49:22
Michelle
You know?

00:16:50:14 – 00:16:55:25
Joseph
Is this them trying to get locals there to to give them business because they’re.

00:16:56:08 – 00:16:57:07
Michelle
They’ve got they were in.

00:16:57:21 – 00:16:58:18
Joseph
Because they’re not doing very.

00:16:58:18 – 00:16:58:26
Joseph
Well.

00:16:59:13 – 00:17:05:10
Joseph
Is this them trying to set up to sue Disney? Like, yeah, I’d be curious to see where this one goes here.

00:17:05:11 – 00:17:06:01
Michelle
Yeah, it’s.

00:17:06:02 – 00:17:06:26
Joseph
It’s interesting to.

00:17:06:27 – 00:17:07:09
Joseph
See.

00:17:07:29 – 00:17:23:27
Joseph
As as much as I rag on Disney and justifiably so. Disney is not the cause of everybody’s woes, even if you want to make it out to be right. Exactly so. But that was all we had for our Disney detective this week.

00:17:24:08 – 00:17:36:04
Joseph
We will be back in a minute. She, I find my mouse. I don’t know where it went. I got too many screens. There it is. We’ll be back in a minute with our tales from the edge of the galaxy.

00:17:44:26 – 00:18:10:11
Joseph
For over seven years, the second Sith empire has been the Premiere Community Guild in the online game. Star Wars The Old Republic with hundreds of friendly and helpful active members, a weekly schedule of nightly events, annual guild meet and greets, and an active community both on the web and on Discord.

00:18:11:14 – 00:18:37:19
Joseph
The second of Empire is more than your typical gaming group. We’re family. Joining us on the star forward server for nightly events such as operations, flashpoints, world boss funds, Star Wars Trivia Guild Lottery and much more. Visit us on the Web today and W W W Dot the second sip.

00:18:37:19 – 00:18:49:20
Michelle
And fire dot com. So if you had if I had this thing over here.

00:18:50:12 – 00:19:04:05
Joseph
You need to run the board from now on, that’s all. OK. All right. Anyway, an hour downstream from the edge of the galaxy this week, it’s pure magic celebrating John Williams and his music again. I lost my mouse.

00:19:04:05 – 00:19:05:20
Joseph
Where did my mouse get there? It is.

00:19:07:29 – 00:19:09:09
Michelle
Do we need to get a cat in here?

00:19:09:12 – 00:19:11:00
Joseph
I need a bigger mouse icon.

00:19:11:01 – 00:19:14:10
Michelle
Oh, OK. Anyway, anyway.

00:19:14:10 – 00:19:30:29
Joseph
Star Wars and many of the movies we love would not be the same without John Williams with a body of work that includes the scores for the nine film Star Wars Saga, Jaws, Close Encounters of the third Kind, Indiana Jones and Jurassic Park, to name.

00:19:30:29 – 00:19:31:22
Joseph
But a few.

00:19:32:10 – 00:19:32:26
Joseph
Williams.

00:19:32:26 – 00:19:56:08
Joseph
Compositions are embedded in our memories and our lives, from a dorsal fin emerging out of beach waters to Luke Skywalker gazing longingly at setting twin twin sons. To the goose bump inducing sight of a towering Brachiosaurus. His music can access to characters and worlds in ways that touch us deep down.

00:19:57:12 – 00:20:18:07
Joseph
It’s romantic, stirring, gorgeous to imagine these scenes in films without his music is near impossible. Celebrating the legacy of composer of the composers. No, let’s try that one again. That’s a completely wrong line celebrating the legendary composer’s 90th birthday.

00:20:18:20 – 00:20:48:11
Joseph
StarWars.com spoke with those who followed Williams in writing scores for Star Wars. Michael Giacchino, Ludwig Goransson, John Powell and Kevin Kiner about his influence on film and their lives. Michael Giacchino, who composed the score for Rogue one A Star Wars Story, says to say that John Williams has been an inspiration to myself or any contemporary film composer

00:20:48:14 – 00:21:11:01
Joseph
would be the greatest understatement. It’s too difficult to put into words how important his work has been to all of us in this business. Listening to John’s music is not only a masterclass in film composing and storytelling, but John is an example of someone who has taken his talent and passion to transform other parts of the music

00:21:11:01 – 00:21:28:25
Joseph
world, in particular his work in the classical arena that not only gave us pieces outside of film music, but his time at the Boston Pops has helped open the door for the acceptance of film music in the concert world, something for which I’m very grateful.

00:21:30:13 – 00:21:46:23
Joseph
Ludwig Goransson, who composed the scores for The Mandalorian and the Book of Boba, says The first time I heard John Williams, I was at home by my TV in our living room. I must have been around seven when I begged my parents to let me watch jaws with them.

00:21:47:23 – 00:22:02:04
Joseph
During the more visceral, scary parts of the movie, my dad would cover my eyes. Not being able to see what was happening on the screen, I just listened to the sound. That intense music had an extreme effect on me.

00:22:03:06 – 00:22:21:23
Joseph
The jobs I created in my head was scarier than what was happening on screen. Those fantasies stayed with me for a long time. John Powell, who composed the score for Solo A Star Wars Story, says truthfully, my first exposure to John Williams was probably Fiddler on the Roof.

00:22:22:22 – 00:22:42:23
Joseph
It clearly cemented my love of giant Hollywood orchestration and probably made me aware of the power of music and storytelling. But then I also remember becoming abnormally fascinated by the title Music to time tunnel. He says, I know these seem a little obscure compared with what we know him for.

00:22:43:21 – 00:22:45:04
Joseph
But it speaks volumes.

00:22:45:23 – 00:22:45:28
Joseph
That.

00:22:45:28 – 00:23:05:01
Joseph
He’s always been able to excite me with that incredible rhythmic use of orchestra the way I’m roused as it connects to the story and how a plot seems to suddenly move forward when his music is under. And this is all before I ever I was ever aware of film composers.

00:23:05:29 – 00:23:22:26
Joseph
And finally, Kevin Kiner, who is composed most of the music for the animated series Clone Wars, Rebels and Bad Batch, says the first time I remember hearing John Williams score was watching Star Wars in Westwood, California, where I was attending UCLA.

00:23:23:24 – 00:23:46:21
Joseph
I remember thinking, How does he make that sound? That and the Superman score started me on a lifelong quest to unravel his secrets and find my own path to making my own mysteriously wonderful sound. And I have to say, as a kid, I did have access to.

00:23:47:26 – 00:24:05:09
Joseph
Videotape versions with the laser disc versions of the movies. All I had, and this was probably just when it was mostly a return of the Jedi. It was an audio recording. OK, that my cousin had made for me of the movie.

00:24:05:11 – 00:24:05:26
Michelle
OK.

00:24:06:06 – 00:24:12:09
Joseph
And I would sit there and listen to the audio recording, and it was the dialog in the music. Every book.

00:24:12:16 – 00:24:12:25
Michelle
OK.

00:24:13:11 – 00:24:15:06
Joseph
But you didn’t.

00:24:15:24 – 00:24:27:26
Joseph
Not seeing anything. You very quickly realize the music told the story. Mm hmm. The music. His music is like a narrator.

00:24:27:27 – 00:24:28:20
Michelle
Absolutely.

00:24:28:28 – 00:24:50:09
Joseph
It sets the pace for the movie. It tells you when a scene changes, it sets the the environment. I mean, you can feel. The four scenes, for instance. You didn’t need to see trees. You could hear it just in the square that he wrote for.

00:24:51:00 – 00:25:15:20
Joseph
It was. It was one of the most incredible experience. And even now, you know, we play some scores and various orchestral pieces on our our home smart speakers, and I can listen to the opening score of any of the Star Wars movies and within 30 seconds, because there are subtle differences in each of its the main score

00:25:15:21 – 00:25:16:01
Michelle
. Mm-Hmm.

00:25:16:09 – 00:25:31:03
Joseph
But there’s differences for movie the movie. I can tell you which movie it is, and as it progresses through the score, I can tell you what scene it is, where the dialog comes in, and it’s that’s how powerful his music is.

00:25:31:07 – 00:25:56:14
Michelle
And what’s also funny is that when we listen to those channels, not necessarily it being a Star Wars channel, 80% of the movie or 80% of the songs are John Williams songs, because not only has he done all of Star Wars and all of Indiana Jones and most of Harry Potter and you know, all of these iconic

00:25:56:20 – 00:26:19:04
Joseph
. He’s incredible Clifford, the impact that he’s had on pop culture and music across various young. Mm hmm. Yeah, yeah. It’s worth noting that, you know, I only read excerpts of the interviews. I would recommend going to the store Forbes.com website to actually the full interviews because there’s there, there’s a lot more to come.

00:26:20:27 – 00:26:24:15
Joseph
But happy birthday to the John Williams 90 years.

00:26:24:15 – 00:26:25:15
Michelle
90 years old.

00:26:25:16 – 00:26:26:05
Joseph
God bless.

00:26:26:05 – 00:26:26:25
Michelle
Him.

00:26:27:19 – 00:26:49:01
Joseph
Also this week in Star Wars news, Obi-Wan Kenobi gets a debut date. So one of the greatest Jedi ever is back for a new mission. Obi-Wan Kenobi, the new limited series from Lucasfilm, will debut May 25th exclusively on Disney Plus.

00:26:49:26 – 00:27:13:11
Joseph
The series stars Ewan McGregor reprising his role as the iconic Jedi Master. The story begins ten years after the dramatic events of Star Wars Revenge of the Sith, in which Obi-Wan Kenobi faced his greatest defeat, the downfall and corruption of his best friend and Jedi apprentice Anakin Skywalker, who turned to the dark side and became the evil

00:27:13:11 – 00:27:17:08
Joseph
Sith Lord Darth Vader. No spoilers, though. In case you haven’t.

00:27:17:08 – 00:27:19:05
Michelle
Seen it.

00:27:19:06 – 00:27:23:03
Michelle
You haven’t seen it now. You’re like 40 something years late.

00:27:23:13 – 00:27:39:15
Joseph
The series also marks the return of Hayden Christensen in the role of Darth Vader. Now, the other thing that’s worth noting is that we’ve only got the teaser trailer so far out of this, and it was less. Shots from the.

00:27:39:27 – 00:27:57:19
Joseph
It was a mix of. Art, a couple of shots from the series, an interview, so it didn’t really show you much of what was happening in the show, right? So everyone’s eagerly anticipating the teaser trailer. The actual full trailer does show up, right?

00:27:57:20 – 00:28:01:00
Joseph
Speculation is it’ll drop during the Super Bowl this weekend.

00:28:01:01 – 00:28:01:15
Michelle
OK.

00:28:02:04 – 00:28:06:25
Joseph
So one more reason to watch the Super Bowl? OK, I didn’t have enough already, so.

00:28:07:01 – 00:28:10:28
Michelle
Yeah, I didn’t really have any. Yeah, so no boxes.

00:28:12:18 – 00:28:22:02
Joseph
So anyway, that’s all we had for our tales from the edge of the galaxy. We’ll be back in a minute after a quick break with our entertainment news of the week.

00:28:29:24 – 00:28:54:04
Michelle
Insights into teens. A podcast series exploring the issues and challenges of today’s youth. Talking to real teens about real teen problems. Explore issues from braces to puberty, social anxiety to financial responsibility. Each week we talk about the topics concerning today’s youth.

00:28:54:22 – 00:29:19:06
Michelle
We look at how the issues affect teens, how to cope with these issues and how parents, friends and loved ones can help teens handle these challenges. Check out our video episodes on YouTube.com Backslash Insights Into Things. Catch our audio versions on podcast insights into teen XCOM.

00:29:21:11 – 00:29:24:23
Michelle
Or on the Web at insights into things dot com.

00:29:34:17 – 00:29:35:18
Joseph
Go for entertainment.

00:29:35:18 – 00:29:36:05
Michelle
News.

00:29:36:11 – 00:29:58:09
Michelle
So leave it to Dolly Parton to deliver the good news of the day from CNN CNN.com, it seems that the legendary singer’s theme park, Dollywood, will begin paying full college tuition for all employees who choose to go. The company will also cover miscellaneous fees and textbooks.

00:29:58:22 – 00:30:17:27
Michelle
The education perk is available to employees starting on their very first day of work and will be available to all seasonal part time and full time employees. The tuition coverage starts February 24th. Dollywood has a reputation for caring for its employees.

00:30:18:10 – 00:30:42:18
Michelle
Along with the new tuition benefit. Employees receive access to the Dollywood Family Health Care Center and provide free meals for every working shift. They also have an apprentice and leadership training program, and the park also pays a portion of child care costs for employees who need child care care while they’re at work.

00:30:44:24 – 00:30:46:10
Joseph
I think that is more good news.

00:30:46:11 – 00:30:50:21
Michelle
Absolutely. Well, she’s definitely become like a national treasure.

00:30:51:02 – 00:30:53:03
Joseph
And she’s taking over from Betty White at this.

00:30:53:04 – 00:31:10:20
Michelle
Yeah, yeah. You know, and even, you know, when COVID, you know, she was putting funding in, yeah, you know, for her vaccinations and stuff, and she has a whole book program for kids. And so this is just like another thing that she’s not.

00:31:11:07 – 00:31:28:12
Joseph
It’s not the first company to pay college tuition. Right, right. But on top of all the other things. And in light of the conditions that other amusement theme park employees are facing nowadays, it’s nice that she’s a shining example.

00:31:28:18 – 00:31:48:26
Michelle
Absolutely. Like, even when you know, when I worked in the theme park industry back in the day, I had to pay for my own lunch. I wasn’t given, you know, a free lunch every, you know, every time I worked, you know, granted, I wasn’t paying the same price as her guests were going to an employee.

00:31:49:02 – 00:31:55:00
Michelle
I was getting an employee discount. But still, you know, I saw the pay. So if I was working a five day workweek.

00:31:55:10 – 00:32:01:26
Joseph
And unlike some theme parks, I’m sure Dollywood doesn’t grow a chunk of their own food that they can serve to their employees.

00:32:03:20 – 00:32:11:18
Michelle
Yeah, that that would be a place I, though, that I would want to go to just to, you know, to say, I’ve been.

00:32:11:29 – 00:32:13:21
Joseph
That in the Holy Land experience.

00:32:13:21 – 00:32:18:25
Michelle
But they can’t do that. Well, that one closed. We missed that one. We had that opportunity, so we.

00:32:18:25 – 00:32:21:06
Joseph
Better get the Dollywood before they closed.

00:32:21:08 – 00:32:26:24
Michelle
I bite your tongue. They better not. Maybe that’s what we’ll do this summer. We’ll go to Dollywood.

00:32:27:06 – 00:32:34:06
Joseph
Well, one thing that is going to be closing out is a farewell tour for the monkeys.

00:32:34:09 – 00:32:52:17
Michelle
Yes. So from Rolling Stone dot com, it seems that Mickey Dolan’s is going to honor his departed monkeys bandmates with a special tour. So Mickey Dolan’s is going to honor bandmates Michael Nesmith, Peter Talk and Davy Jones with a special tour.

00:32:52:27 – 00:33:16:22
Michelle
He’s billing it as Mickey Dolan celebrates the monkey, and it kicks off in April. He said I felt it was very important to gather the fans properly and properly celebrate the lives of Davy, Mike and Peter. People have been contacting me, requesting that I honor them in a way where the extraordinary impact of the monkeys can be

00:33:16:22 – 00:33:36:26
Michelle
properly acknowledged. We sent such a great, we spent such a great deal of time together. They were like my brothers and I want to share some of the great joy we had together. Dolans will be backed by a seven piece band for the show and will play all of The Monkees hits in addition to signature songs by

00:33:36:26 – 00:34:00:04
Michelle
all three of his former band mates, including Nesmith, Different Drum and Papa Gene’s Blues talks. For Pete’s sake, and can you dig it? And Jones’s look out here. Here comes tomorrow and Valerie. He’s also going to share stories from his time in the group and show unseen images from his personal archives.

00:34:00:22 – 00:34:18:15
Michelle
Dolans is the voice behind many of the group’s most favorite songs include most famous songs, including Last Train to Clarksville. I’m a Believer and Pleasant Valley Sunday. He is also the only monkey to participate in every single reunion project the band ever attempted.

00:34:18:15 – 00:34:36:09
Michelle
With the exception of a brief 1986 Australian tour that featured Just Jones and talk. He said I never resented being known as a monkey. He had told Rolling Stone last year. Your career is like a train that takes an enormous amount of inertia to get it going.

00:34:36:09 – 00:34:50:18
Michelle
When it finally gets going, some people try to stop the train. There are the people that you see in concert and they go, I’m not going to sing any of my old hits. I’m going to change my entire image and then they try and they stop the train.

00:34:50:24 – 00:35:05:18
Michelle
Very seldom does that happen. It’s virtually impossible and you piss off the fans. Dolan spent last year and an extensive monkeys farewell tour with Michael Nesmith that wrapped up just 26 days before he had died from heart failure.

00:35:06:02 – 00:35:21:14
Michelle
He said I found out a couple of days ago that he was going into hospice. He had told Rolling Stone just a few hours after the news broke. That’s what I and I knew. That’s what it meant. I had my moment then and I let go.

00:35:21:27 – 00:35:24:24
Michelle
It’s just good to know that he passed peacefully.

00:35:25:19 – 00:35:35:18
Joseph
Yeah, I mean, it’s nice that he’s doing it in in memory of his mates. It’s it’s sad that he’s the last one and he’s kind of stuck with the job of doing that.

00:35:35:18 – 00:35:55:16
Michelle
Yeah, well, I did happen to look up some of the tour dates, so he’s actually on tour starting like next month up. Until the summer, but with different bands kind of scattered throughout, and then he kind of does a chunk in April where it’s just this monkeys tribute.

00:35:56:01 – 00:36:10:19
Michelle
So so he’s actually touring, you know, pretty much from, like I said, from now until June. He’s going to be in Red Bank, which is kind of close to here and then he’s going to be in Lancaster. That’s as close as he’s going to come to to our area.

00:36:11:20 – 00:36:22:21
Michelle
So I’m sure some of these other shows will be, you know, some of the the monkeys stuff, but not just specifically right, the the tribute show.

00:36:22:28 – 00:36:27:05
Joseph
So remembering a good good chunk of my childhood was was watching and listening to The Monkees.

00:36:27:05 – 00:36:28:06
Michelle
My mind, too.

00:36:28:06 – 00:36:42:10
Joseph
So soon. All right. Well, that was all we had for our entertainment news. You right back with our insightful picks of the week. Go for your insightful.

00:36:42:10 – 00:37:04:23
Michelle
Bit, so my insightful pick this week is a show that is on Netflix. It is called Archive 81, and it is about an archivist that takes a job restoring damaged videotapes and gets pulled into the vortex of a mystery involving the missing director and a demonic cult.

00:37:05:09 – 00:37:34:11
Michelle
It’s an intriguing blend of horror and noir and archive. Anyone’s offers an addictive supernatural thrill that are haunting in the best way. And it’s also Archive 81 happens to be based on a podcast that kind of talks about lost found footage of horror, things and whatnot, so they kind of loosely based it.

00:37:35:02 – 00:37:56:29
Michelle
So it’s kind of interesting because the story takes place partially in the present time frame and also back in 1995 in 94. And there’s all this, you know, back and forth and just very weird supernatural kind of stuff.

00:37:57:08 – 00:38:11:29
Michelle
Kind of reminded me a little bit of midnight mass with the freaky ness of things. I ended up bingeing it over a weekend, and I’m not usually one to binge stuff. Usually, I like to take my time because I know once I’m done, I’m done.

00:38:12:07 – 00:38:30:23
Michelle
But this was one where it was just kind of like, OK, where are they going with this? And they did kind of ended with a bit of a cliffhanger, so they definitely could do a second season. But if they don’t, you could just kind of see it as a Oh, OK, this is weird and freaky, and it

00:38:30:23 – 00:38:45:29
Michelle
has those little jump scares that you expect a horror show to do. But then there are certain things where you like. I didn’t see that coming. And yeah, so if you’re into that type of genre, very cool, you know, eight episode show to to watch.

00:38:46:13 – 00:38:47:11
Joseph
Very good pick.

00:38:47:12 – 00:38:47:24
Michelle
Thank you.

00:38:53:18 – 00:39:12:26
Joseph
So my pick this week is a documentary, I guess, is kind of a documentary engineering catastrophes. Experts, it airs on Science Channel, by the way. Expert experts look at engineering blunders that have either caused catastrophes or disasters waiting to happen.

00:39:13:21 – 00:39:31:20
Joseph
They use cutting edge technology to examine what went wrong and to figure out if it can be fixed. Over the course of five seasons, they explore bridge collapses, building collapses, catastrophic fires, railroad accidents, construction mishaps, natural disasters and more.

00:39:32:14 – 00:39:55:24
Joseph
Each episode is a lesson in engineering, science and planning. While some of these disasters are devastatingly fatal and certainly financially costly, each of them contributed in some positive way to make engineering science safer in the long run. Most people watch these show these types of shows for the wow factor of a building collapsing or a massive explosion

00:39:56:11 – 00:40:11:23
Joseph
. I tend to watch these to gain an appreciation for just how difficult it is to make things in our modern world function. We tend to take for granted the bridges, highways, railways and other infrastructure that support our way of life until something disrupts it.

00:40:12:18 – 00:40:30:12
Joseph
I also enjoy seeing how engineers can sift through a giant pile of rubble, determine exactly what caused the issue, and put measures in place to prevent disasters from happening again in the future. To me, it’s a real, poignant way of illustrating that we learn more from our failures than from our successes.

00:40:31:09 – 00:40:47:02
Joseph
That is engineering catastrophes on the science channel, and we’ll be right back with our after thoughts. So we’ve been talking about these, let’s plug them real quick.

00:40:47:12 – 00:41:05:18
Michelle
Sure. So we have Nerd Fest and got all of that, which is February 27th. It is at the Holiday Inn and Suites Burrow. It’s just the one day from ten to four. Admission is $5. Kids twelve and under are free with a paying adult.

00:41:06:00 – 00:41:07:23
Michelle
And then, of course, our favorite.

00:41:08:02 – 00:41:09:10
Joseph
Zollo card.

00:41:09:24 – 00:41:27:07
Michelle
That will be March fourth and I’m sorry, March fifth and sixth in Warminster, Pennsylvania. Admission on Saturday is $15. Kids are five and then on Sunday, general admission is $10 and kids are free.

00:41:27:09 – 00:41:47:08
Joseph
All righty. Before we go, I do want to once again implore our listening and viewing audience to subscribe to the podcast. You can find audio versions of this podcast listed as insights into entertainment. VIDEO versions of all of our podcasts can be found listed as insights into things.

00:41:48:16 – 00:42:07:16
Joseph
We’re available on Pandora, Castro, Stitcher, Pod Beam, Buzz Brown, any place you can get a podcast. I would also invite you to write in, give us your feedback, give us your conventions you’d like us to plug. You can email us at comments and insights into things dot com.

00:42:07:17 – 00:42:13:07
Michelle
You can find us on Twitter at twitter.com backslash. Insights underscore things.

00:42:13:18 – 00:42:19:08
Joseph
We do stream five days a week on Twitch at Twitch Dot TV slash insights into things.

00:42:19:09 – 00:42:25:09
Michelle
You can find us on Facebook at facebook.com Backslash Insights Into Things podcast.

00:42:25:10 – 00:42:30:20
Joseph
You can find all of our past shows on YouTube at YouTube.com. Slash Insights into things.

00:42:30:20 – 00:42:36:02
Michelle
You can find us on Instagram at instagram.com. Backslash insights into things.

00:42:36:03 – 00:42:45:20
Joseph
Or you can find all this and much more on our official website at WW W Dot Insights into things dot com. And that’s it. Another one in the books.

00:42:45:21 – 00:42:47:29
Michelle
Have a good week, everyone. Bye bye.