HBO PROJECT: Hotel Room (1993) | Perversions of Science (1997)

Come see us, little boys, as we scrape the very bottom of the HBO programming barrel. Hotel Room (1993) is David Lynch at his most pretentious--a terrifying thought. In "Tricks" Harry Dean Stanton may have a split personality, and may intend to kill a prostitute, but who the fuck can say for certain as this is nearly impenetrable garbage. "Getting Rid of Robert" features Deborah Unger, Mariska Hargitay, and Scott Bakula's wife as chatty gal pals, debating the merits of the titular Robert. "Blackout" is a slow, tedious march toward oblivion as Crispin Glover and Alicia Witt sit in the dark, ignoring their (probably delicious) Chinese food, until they're mercifully engulfed by the sun. (6:22-1:12:09) Meanwhile, HBO's first attempt at sci-fi is the anthology series Perversions of Science (1997), a show so bad it killed the CableACE Awards. Like Keith Carradine in "Dream of Doom" we feel trapped in a never-ending nightmare. William Shatner directs "Boxed In," and if you ever meet him at a convention be sure to ask him about the time Kevin Pollak got his dick stuck in a sexbot, because, yeah, that happened. (1:12:10-2:03:44) ... Also, a quick preview of the upcoming Amy Adams vehicle Sharp Objects, and Room 104, a comedic version of Hotel Room by the Duplass brothers. (0-6:21) | Send feedback to [email protected]. Find our recording schedule, show notes, discussion threads, and more at hooplecast.com. | Recorded January 29, 2017. Released January 31, 2017. [Warning: Explicit Language.]