‘1982: Greatest Geek Year Ever’ — CW Event Series Exclusive Look

This Saturday night, July 8, the CW is launching a four-part series titled 1982: Greatest Geek Year Ever!, which is an inside look back at that seminal year with stars, directors, writers, producers, and pop culture historians sharing their insights about such legendary films as E.T. – The Extra-Terrestrial, Blade Runner, John Carpenter’s The Thing, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Poltergeist, Creepshow, The Dark Crystal, Tron, Conan The Barbarian, Paul Schrader’s Cat People, Fast Times at Ridgemont High and The Road Warrior.

But, in addition to honoring the classics, the film revisits such cult films as Megaforce, the mega bomb starring Barry Bostwick (“the good guys always win… even in the 80’s”); The Beastmaster, The Sword & The Sorcerer, a low budget Conan cash-in; and Liquid Sky, a film about miniature aliens in New York who thrive on heroin and sex.

‘1982: Greatest Geek Year Ever’

Called by Entertainment Weekly the Citizen Kane of teensploitation films, Fast Times at Ridgemont High certainly left its mark. “It’s a remarkable year for teensploitation, although I think it’s a disservice to call Fast Times at Ridgemont High a teensploitation movie,” suggests 1982‘s writer/producer Mark A. Altman. “It’s not Superbad or American Pie. Instead, it’s a really heartfelt look at growing up as a teenager in the ’80s told with heart and humor by the great director Amy Heckerling and writer Cameron Crowe, who both talk about the remarkable experience of making this film that the studio was terrified of. It’s so much better than a film like Zapped! and even Porky’s, which also came out that year, and while a huge success at the time is less well known now.”

Fans of comedies will enjoy the look back at My Favorite Year and Diner, which, says Altman, “are both a look at the 50’s, but with very different stories. In the case of My Favorite Year, it’s about discovering your idol has feet of clay. In this case it was Peter O’Toole as an Errol Flynn-like inspired character, while Diner tells the story of a group of friends who are growing up and coming to terms with their impending adulthood. It’s a great opportunity to showcase these amazing films which perhaps are not as well remembered as they should be these days.”

Two other comedies that get the behind-the-scenes treatment are Night Shift, directed by Ron Howard and starring Henry Winkler and Michael Keaton; and Dustin Hoffman’s Tootsie.

“I think one of the highlights of the series is our deep dive into Night Shift, the hysterical comedy in which Michael Keaton and Henry Winkler play ‘love brokers’ running a brothel out of the New York county morgue,” says Altman. “Ron Howard and Henry Winkler share amazing insights about making the film and Henry was kind enough to share his Super 8 home movies with us that we show during the documentary and are a fascinating time capsule of New York in the 80’s.

“And when you look back, it’s hard to understand how Tootsie didn’t win Best Picture for 1982. It’s such a smart, funny, heartfelt film, but comedies are rarely rewarded by the Academy. Although it’s equally vexing when you think neither Sidney Lumet’s The Verdict nor Costa-Garvas’ Missing nor Steven Spielberg’s E.T. won the gold statuette. Any guesses what did? If you guessed Gandhi, you’re right, but the Academy was so wrong.”

It’s not all laughs, with the series covering action classics like First Blood, Rocky III, and 48hrs. Filled with exclusive interviews, rare behind-the-scenes footage, and exclusive never-before-seen clips in a fun, lively, no holds barred celebration of the legendary moviegoing year of 1982, Greatest Geek Year Ever takes viewers behind-the-scenes at a time when fandom was in its infancy, featuring eye-opening interviews with genre superstars — from in front of and behind the camera — of the biggest and most influential movies ever made.

Among the iconic show business legends interviewed are Paul Schrader, John Sayles, Amy Heckerling, Sean Young, William Shatner, Joanna Cassidy, Keith David, Cameron Crowe, Michael Deeley, Lisa Henson, Dean Devlin, Bruce Campbell, Dee Wallace, Felicia Day, Susan Seidelman, Roger Corman, Barry Bostwick, Marc Singer, Bryan Fuller, Leonard Maltin, Mike Medavoy, and over 100 more stars, directors, writers, producers, critics, executives, and pop culture historians.

Episode one airs on the CW Saturday night July 8.