The year 1999 was a big one for film. Star Wars returned to the big screen, The Matrix changed action movies forever, and notorious producer Jon Peters finally got his giant spider in a movie.

In our first episode of 2025, Nate and Adam revisit Peters’ and Barry Sonnenfeld’s notorious flop Wild Wild West (1999) and its eight-legged Simpsons parody in “The Sweetest Apu” (S13E19). Is this movie as bad as you remember, or has Hollywood lowered our standards to meet it halfway? Let’s find out.

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Also in this episode:

• One of the greatest Simpsons episodes of season 13
• Special effects and production design that have aged like fine wine
• Sexual politics that have aged like milk
• Is this the height of the ‘90s trend of end-credits raps that summarize the plot?
• Plus, check out our show notes for a complete list of Simpsons references, double feature suggestions, and further reading

Next time, Adam and Nate revisit the Simpsons-Critic crossover “A Star Is Burns” (S6E18) on its 30th anniversary and Mr. Burns’s rip-off of Ben-Hur (1959).

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