205: Mel Day

The show that has been years in the planning has finally arrived. Mel superfan Graham has been dropping hints for a long time that we should be putting together a tribute to the great man. The balance has always been trying to be objective alongside Graham’s excessive and sometimes frightening fandom. Then the idea struck us. Rather than look back, let’s look forward. What if we take two of Mel’s more recent films – films with merits but for some reason went direct to streaming? Having had agreement on that approach (initially reluctant from Graham), the next step was to find two films which were suitable for what was being called Mel Day. The choice was made, and a viewing day was chosen. First up was our morning’s entertainment – Force Of Nature. The Mel plays a retired cop refusing to leave his apartment home when a big storm strikes. The other problem is that the building is also under siege from vicious criminals. Graham relates to this as, after all, he lives in Cheltenham. But back to the film, Force Of Nature promises non stop action – did it deliver and how did the Mel perform? Check out the show to find out. How do we top that? The answer was an afternoon with the 80’s set political action film Panama. American involvement in a country being torn apart by unscrupulous leaders and on the edge of revolt (checks notes to make sure I am not talking about the UK). Listen to what we have to say to see if Panama captures those crazy times and if Mel is good in the movie. Obviously Graham is a man for whom the Mel can do no wrong, no balance there then. So, we had to bring in level-headed support for the day. Thank you, Niall, the man behind the amazing Movies In Focus (links below) with an almost encyclopaedic knowledge of Mel Gibson and this type of B movie, who came to our aid Recording this show was a blast. We only hope you have fun listening to it and that it encourages you to broaden your Mel viewing list (in fact Graham insists on it). We are already preparing Mel Day 2. See you there or At The Flicks.