Could there be a better way to countdown the end of a banner year for Hate Expectations (new equipment and four full episodes!) than to bring two of our favorite masterminds into the chamber, only to connect over a book with, not one, but two blockbuster adaptations? To tell the truth, no. That's our jam! Helping us on the chase through Richard Bachman's The Running Man (1982), its 1987 movie (dir. Paul Michael Glaser), and the still-in-the-theater (at the time of recording) 2025 movie (dir. Edgar Wright), are the Regis and Meredith of returning guests: Chris Lemon and Jane Hutchins! It's also common knowledge that Chris is a titan of game show minutiae. So we all get a chance to hear about Richard Dawson and about which of the terrifying over-the-top game shows from the book actually got made in real life. Do you have the concentration to learn everything you ever wanted to know about The Running Man? We double dare you to join us and judge for yourself.

G'day, mates! For this episode, Hate Expectations brings you a ripper of a yarn from deep in the blowie ridden heart of the Australian outback. We've loaded up our eskies with coldies and tucker, and we've pointed our ute straight on toward Woop Woop. Welcome to Woop Woop, that is, the 1997 movie by Stephan Elliot, as well as The Dead Heart, the 1994 novel by Douglas Kennedy that is the basis of the movie. We have a real bonzer chinwag about this underappreciated flick, one we think is a actually a real beaut (even if it's also kind of festy). But first, a warning: this episode is not for the ankle biters. It is chock-a-block with swearing and references to rooting and all kinds of mean and nasty things. For your average bloke, however, it should be a real bottler. Cheers!

We at Hate Expectations love when our friends bring episode ideas to us. Indeed, when our many time returning guest, Jane Hutchins, suggested The African Queen, we leapt at the chance to plunge into the classic C.S. Forester novel (1935) and its beloved John Huston directed film (1951). Who could resist nautical adventure through the heart of the jungles of Africa? Or Bogart and Hepburn heating up the screen? Seems like a no-brainer. You'll have to listen in to see how we felt: whether we ultimately were swept away by its charms or wanted to torpedo it. Either way, I can promise we enjoyed the journey of discussing it all with Jane.

Yeah, yeah. It's April Fool's Day today...technically. And yes, we've pulled our japes in the past. You're right to be on your guard. But we promise, this is just a normal episode. Ok, maybe not normal normal. It's a pretty great episode, actually! Joining Lizzy and Nate in Spielenwald's basement studio are frequent guests, Z and Rich Johnson. They've come to talk about, spoil, examine, dissect, illuminate, and swear copiously about The Martian, Andy Weir's 2011 novel and Ridley Scott's 2015 adaptation of the same name. Both versions are pretty well out of sight, and there's a lot about both to dig. Even still, when we do run into the occasional speed bump you can be certain we'll talk our way through whatever it is. We're here for the vibes. Ayyy!

Erratum: as far can be determined, Andy Weir does nor or has not lived in the PNW. We'll not hold it against him. Several good people don't.

For such a slender volume, Ursula K. Le Guin's world changing novel, The Lathe of Heaven (1971), had enough going on to splinter off two different adaptations over time. Nate and Lizzy are joined by return guest Jonathan Franklin, and the trio chisels away at the layers of the book and the TV movies from 1980 (dir. David Loxton and Fred Barzyk) and 2002 (dir. Philip Haas). Join them as they spin out theories on dreams, taoism, art, and the illusion of control.

For just the second time in history the Hate Expectations team has raced into their local theater to take on a subject that is still new enough to make waves: director George Clooney's The Boys in the Boat (2023), based on the 2013 novel by Daniel James Brown. Nothing gets their hearts pumping and their breath ragged like even a light amount of exercise, except maybe a well written adventure. The story of the 1936 University of Washington crew team swatting away Nazis and the depression with both fists surely is that: the stuff of legends. But does the movie keep pace? Will Lizzy and Nate be swept away all over again? And how does one pronounce Poughkeepsie, anyway? You'll have to listen to this episode to know what's going on inside their skulls. Now, can you give them ten big ones?

There's a fin in the water and fun in the air! From Jaws, Peter Benchley's incredibly popular 1974 novel, to Jaws, Steven Spielberg's even more popular 1975 film, Lizzy and Nate sink their teeth into the adaptation, rip into the differences, and digest the repercussions of both on the future of cinema and entertainment. Armed with the fleshed out story in the book, their discussion undulates between Ellen's pearl necklace to screenwriter Carl Gottlieb's tell-all book to Mayor Vaughn's re-election and appearance as mayor in Jaws 2. Actually, strike that last point--even the fearsome Hate Expectations crew can't figure that one out.

You know, they say books are the reason we have such beautiful movies. They also say that adaptation are the reason we have such beautiful episodes of Hate Expectations. Listen to this episode to at least find out if Lizzy and Nate agree with that first truism, at least with regard to Get Shorty, the 1990 Elmore Leonard novel and the 1995 film directed by Barry Sonnenfeld. The latter "fact" is one you'll have to judge for yourself. We promise most of the commas are in the right spots, at least. Listen to us. Listen to us.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! We're a little late getting this episode on the movie A Christmas Story (1983, d. Bob Clark) out to you. That's perfect in keeping with the source material, however, since the book it was based on, In God We Trust...All Others Pay Cash (1966, w. Jean Shepherd), places most of its stories throughout the year. Protagonist Ralphie's encounter with bully Grover Dill took place on "on a hot, shimmering day", for instance. Shepherd would forgive us for being a few weeks late. Being a radio man, on the other hand, he might not forgive us for the sound quality, which is an eternal struggle. Someday that will all come together.

Please note, we tried to keep this a family friendly episode, which just means beeping out Lizzy every time she swears. We feel absolutely certain that The Old Man would understand her inability to hold back.

The golden orb has streaked its path across the sky many times since Hate Expectations last palavered on a digital recording medium. We've been most delinquent in getting our house in order. In Lizzy and Nate's case that means finally recording and releasing the long delayed episode on Stella Gibbons' classic novel, Cold Comfort Farm (1932), and the several adaptations of it. Happily, we were aided and abetted in this by Melissa Tyler, our hilarious friend who first introduced us to this world of higher common sense and dairy free afterlives. We're not sure Robert Poste's child would approve of our untidy approach to analysis--you'll find there's something nasty in our method. But she would likely be overjoyed at the extra grueling month of post production that went into fixing the audio levels. (Sidenote: our audio engineer was last seen face down in the furrows in Nettleflitch Field, weeping into the sukebind.) We hope you enjoy the effort, as we mun entertain.

It's that special time of year again -- spring! We at Hate Expectations like to to put out an episode like this in early April to celebrate the joys of the season. This time we take on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famous consulting detective, Sherlock Holmes, along with some of the myriad adaptations the literary giant appears in. But how to make sense of it all? For a case this large and confusing we felt like we needed a little help. So we called on our friends Humphrey and Bogart for assistance. Much as we all tried to us sift through the evidence and piece together a cohesive narrative, it's not clear that, even collectively, we really solved anything. Perhaps the answer we were looking for was more elementary, and what we really needed was the help of you, dear listener. Can you eliminate the impossible to find the truth?

*Note: Great Britain is actually about the same size as Idaho, as it turns out. No apologies needed.