Episode Details

The whole premise of Make Me a Nerd is that Mandy has never seen the thing. Matthew Fox arrives to honor the late Tim Curry with a movie he has attended dozens of times and, by their own count, watched all the way to the ending exactly twice (the back row of a midnight screening has other priorities), only to learn that Mandy was once in it, onstage in New Hampshire, as an emergency replacement Columbia with about four hours of rehearsal and a group of audience members who had prepared a special welcome for the new girl. She also ended up dating Riff Raff. Matthew's first thought is for Magenta.From there we present a generous conversation about a movie both of them freely admit is not good. Matthew explains why a big, hairy, bear-shaped Meat Loaf was the closest thing they had to a role model, and how a midnight crowd in fishnets helped them figure out who they were. Mandy tests the theory of camp she picked up on the Mommie Dearestepisode against Joel Schumacher's Batman movies (the ones with the nipples), and the two of them work through the parts of Rocky Horror, and of Richard O'Brien, that haven't aged well. Along the way, Susan Sarandon refuses to acknowledge the movie exists in front of Matthew's high school, and Mandy treats a mild remark about Steve Martin's looks as an act of treason. Press play.Guest SpotlightMatthew Fox, known online as The Ethical Panda, hosts Superhero Ethics and Star Wars Generations on TruStory FM. They are also one of this season's hosts of Marvel Movie Minute, which is working through Captain America: The Winter Soldier. They find the ethical dilemmas hiding in genre media, and he spent a good part of the '90s at midnight Rocky Horror screenings without seeing the ending. Star Wars Generations returns in January alongside Ahsoka season two. This is their fourth Make Me a Nerd appearance, after The Orville, The Penguin, and The Last of Us.

• Website: theethicalpanda.com
• Instagram: @theethicalpandapodcasts
• Bluesky: @theethicalpanda.bsky.social
• YouTube: @TheEthicalPandaPodcasts
• Facebook: The Ethical Panda

Reference LinksThe Film

• The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
• The Rocky Horror Show — the 1973 London stage musical it came from
• Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror (2025) — Linus O'Brien's documentary, the one that sent Mandy and Matthew back to the movie
• Strange Journey official site
• Dr. Frank-N-Furter

The Cast & Creators

• Tim Curry — Frank-N-Furter, who decided the doctor should sound