The ”Poltergeist” Franchise And TV Dinners

NOTE: This podcast was rebranded on 5/29/25 as "Horror Movie Franchises".  This week we're talking about a lesser known franchise-- it's "Poltergeist". There are 3 movies in the trilogy and a remake. The original 1982 movie was written by Steven Spielberg with Tobe Hooper ("Texas Chainsaw Massacre") directing. Despite it's age, the first movie holds up surprisingly well. Sure, tech has improved but the special effects are still fun (and all the corpses popping up are truly creepy). A number of catch phrases from the movie have also entered popular culture. Examples include: "They're here" and "Stay away from the light children". Everyone now knows it's a REALLY bad idea to build anything on top of an old cemetery. Clowns should also not be trusted-- especially those that drag you under your bed and try to strangle you.   And since the poltergeists/ghosts/whatever they are enter our dimension through the TV, I thought it would be fun to look at the origins of the TV dinner. They're still around today-- although we don't call them by that name. Today they're frozen dinners, ready made meals, etc,  I have a few in my freezer right now.  Photo Credit: here