This week, Sundance was back, the Oscars struggled to meet the moment, and the use of AI in film continued to raise questions.
Here's what NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour crew was paying attention to — and what you should check out this weekend.
Legends of the Hidden Temple
A nostalgic piece of '90s kids TV is the original Legends of the Hidden Temple, which aired on Nickelodeon when I was a kid. It was hosted by Kirk Fogg. This was a show where you had teams like the Purple Parrots and Blue Barracudas who would compete in trivia games and physical games for a chance to win prizes. Ater the teams were all winnowed down, the last team left had to make it through this maze, retrieve a pendant, and make it back out without getting caught by the temple guards. Of course, there was Olmec, the giant talking face who gave clues and guided the kids. It's just fun. I enjoy having a little bit of nostalgia. It's a show I haven't really thought about in a long time, and now it's streaming on Paramount+. — Aisha Harris
James Acaster: Hecklers Welcome
Comedian James Acaster's special, James Acaster: Hecklers Welcome, is from a tour that he did where, as suggested, heckling was allowed. There were rules, mostly for him, about how he would respond and the result is that all of the shows were different. He conducts himself physically in a really interesting way on stage. He carries the mic and paces around the stage in an unusual way. The special is edited really creatively. He is kind of wrestling with his relationship with audiences and how he started caring what they think and whether or not he really enjoys doing comedy. This is a great special and you can stream it on Max. — Linda Holmes
Lana by SZA
Last month, SZA released an expanded edition of her late 2022 album, SOS. This new edition is called Lana, and it expands a 23 song album into a 38 song album. It feels like its own album, but it also feels like an extension of SOS, which is already this gorgeous, unwieldy creature in its own right. To suddenly have 15 new SZA songs drop very unexpectedly, even though she had been teasing it for a really long time, has been a real treat. There's one surprisingly, really sunny, beautiful track on this record called "BMF." SZA broods so well, but it's nice to have this song that reminds you just how flexible and versatile she is. — Stephen Thompson
More recommendations from the Pop Culture Happy Hour newsletter
by Linda Holmes
I really enjoyed this look at Stick Nation, a community of stick-lovers (seriously, they love and talk about sticks, that's the whole deal) that thus far seems to be the sweet spot where passion for an offbeat hobby doesn't turn toxic or exclusionary.
Jesse Eisenberg's film A Real Pain feels very lived-in and thoughtful, and I'm so glad he chatted with Terry Gross on Fresh Air. There's something about interviews on Fresh Air or Bullseye that always gives me something new. (And A Real Pain is on Hulu — part of the new world where Oscar nominees are often already on streaming.)
We'll have more to say on this in the future, but I've been catching up with the very entertaining St. Denis Medical on Peacock. It's a mockumentary medical comedy co-created by the creator of Superstore. It boasts a terrific cast, including David Alan Grier, Wendi McLendon-Covey and the great Allison Tolman, who for my money is one of the most authentically appealing folks you can watch in anything (she led the first season of FX's Fargo).
Dhanika Pineda adapted the Pop Culture Happy Hour segment "What's Making Us Happy" for the Web. If you like these suggestions, consider signing up for our newsletter to get recommendations every week. And listen to Pop Culture Happy Hour on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
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