Every now and then, we will have bonus episodes that may or may not relate to an existing season. Some of the content might range from interviews to movie reviews to episodes related to nostalgic look-backs in time or special promotional epsidoes. As we grow, we want to have a place for listeners to find and listen to these bonus episodes.
Interviews
Brian Scott Mednick
Our first bonus episode was our interview with Gene Wilder biographer, Brian Scott Mednick, discussing his book, “Gene Wilder: Funny and Sad.” It was great to spend an hour with someone who spent over 15 years compiling the notes that went into creating his book. We enjoyed hearing some of the behind-the-scenes stories Brian had researched. If you enjoy the films of Gene Wilder and want to learn more about the man behind the Hollywood sheen, you can find his book at Amazon.com.
Beverly D’Angleo
Our second full-length interview took place during our bonus coverage of National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. We had a chance to interview Beverly D’Angelo, the actress who played Ellen Griswold in the Vacation franchise. If you enjoy the interview, you may also enjoy listening to our special bonus shows covering Christmas Vacation on our Patreon page.
Burton Gilliam
Gearing up for season two, we had the opportunity to conduct a phone interview with actor Burton Gilliam. We had an expectation of an hour of his time. However, as we rolled along, talking about his career, his friendships and his work in Blazing Saddles, we ended up with an over two-hour interview! It was amazing to share in Burton’s reminiscences and to even add our own commentary and thoughts. By the end, we had at least three more topics we promised we’d have to include in a follow-on interview.
Promos and Bonus episodes
Poltergeist (1982)
Our first Patreon show was a detailed breakdown of the 1982 ghost story classic, Poltergeist. We wanted to use the same formula we employed during season one of our podcast, going through the film in sequential order. Since our show was still relatively new, we decided to release the first episode for free. Not only did we post it on our Patreon page, but also on our website and podcast as a bonus episode. Our hope was to convince our listeners we were worth their entertainment dollars.
Our first promo to help drive listeners to join our Patreon page is an snippet of our discussion of the 1982 ghost story classic, Poltergeist. In it, we suddenly find ourselves wondering how the A-Team would handle a mission to rid a home of ghosts. Give it a listen and you may find yourself wanting to listen to all five (5) episodes on our Patreon page. Simply sign up at the Cheers! With the Waco Kid level or higher and you will have access to all of our special content and bonus material.
National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation
Our listeners spoke out via our Facebook Listeners Group and so we began our second Patreon show, breaking down the holiday classic, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. In our first episode, we discover how “The Griswold Effect” is able to make even the best of us behave like total idiots. In the opening credits, we can see how even Santa Claus falls victim to this effect. Once again, episode 1 was made free so listeners can decide whether or not to become a Patron and get the remaining episodes.
The Boob Effect
Our second promo came during our bonus episodes of Christmas Vacation. Right after we covered the scene at the lingerie counter, we decided to put out a short snippet of our discussion about how almost all men turn into 14 year old boys when it comes to the topic of women’s boobs. After you listen, you may find yourself wanting to check out all 7 episodes on our Patreon page. Simply sign up at the Cheers! With the Waco Kid level or higher and you will have access to all of our special content and bonus material.
Mr. Burns promotes season two – Blazing Saddles
Our second regular season of The Wilder Ride was already getting pretty wild with our selection of Blazing Saddles. Having some fun with the voice of Mr. Burns, host Alan Sanders created a piece to share online to spread the word about the show and to engage new subscribers. It was fun to use a screen grab of an episode of the Simpson’s where Mr. Burns was in a radio studio as Homer was looking through the window. We added some of our episode stickers on the wall and the desk, just to make it look more like how our own podcasts studio looks.
The Big Lebowski
Having completed our second regular season, we decided it was time to jump back into creating Patreon content for our existing patrons. We have created several goals on our Patreon page to encourage listeners to subscribe. Once we hit the first goal, we will ask our patrons to select the next movie we give the “Wilder Ride” treatment to. To get us started for our 2nd Patreon season, we opted to cover the Cohen Brothers comedy classic, The Big Lebowski. Just like last season, the first episode is available to everyone for free. Additionally, we changed up the format a bit, bringing in a couple of guests and allowing the conversation to move wherever they guests chose.
The Tell-Tale Heart
For many years, one of the traditions Alan brings to his radio show each Halloween, is a dramatic reading of Edgar Allan Poe’s The Tell-Tale Heart. The story is very short and simple. It is only a few pages long. In it, an unnamed narrator is recounting his tale to some unknown audience. He opens asking why would anyone think he is mad? In the narrator’s mind, because he can vividly remember the details of his activity and his crime, it should make him sane. He goes so far as to say his senses were all acute, especially his hearing.