# SDTM Episode 83: A Very Greg & Zach Pinball Christmas

**Source:** Straight Down the Middle  
**Type:** video  
**Published:** 2018-12-24  
**Duration:** 51m 42s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrZ4Svr0BpI

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## Analysis

Zach Sharpe and Greg host a Christmas-themed SDTM episode featuring a top-10 list of favorite Christmas films paired with 'this or that' comparisons of pinball machines released in each film's year. They announce Emoto Harney as Greg's first team member, discuss pinball releases from 1983-1994, and employ a 'marry/fling/kill' game format for 1994 machines. Greg receives a wire-bending starter kit from Zach as a Christmas gift.

### Key Claims

- [MEDIUM] The Lord of the Rings is arguably the greatest pinball machine ever made — _Zach Sharpe's opinion during discussion of 2003 pinball machines_
- [MEDIUM] 1993 was a significantly better year for pinball releases than 1994 — _Both hosts agree 1993 had superior titles despite 1994 having more games_
- [HIGH] Emoto Harney is a world-famous pinball filmmaker and artist who runs a production company — _Direct statement by Zach Sharpe introducing Emoto as Greg's first team member_
- [LOW] A Christmas Story feels older than 1983 despite its release date — _Zach's subjective observation about the film's aesthetic_
- [HIGH] Bad Santa (2003) features a pinball machine debut in the film — _Zach's direct statement about the movie_
- [MEDIUM] Radical and Whirlwind are among the best System 11 pinball machines — _Greg's preference stated during 1990 pinball comparison_
- [MEDIUM] Demolition Man is a difficult game that becomes easier once multiball is achieved — _Greg's gameplay observation during 1994 game discussion_
- [MEDIUM] Elf (2003) became a household Christmas classic despite initial poor reception — _Zach's personal viewing experience and family viewing habit_

### Notable Quotes

> "The Lord of the Rings is probably, arguably, the greatest pinball machine ever made."
> — **Zach Sharpe**, ~06:45
> _Strong endorsement of LOTR as a pinnacle machine in the hobby_

> "I like my quantity over quality. And those are good enough pins that maybe."
> — **Greg**, ~07:30
> _Reveals Greg's preference for multiple mid-tier machines over one premium title_

> "I'm flinging with Tommy, having a little fling?"
> — **Zach Sharpe**, ~18:20
> _Playful moment during marry/fling/kill game for 1994 releases_

> "I don't want Funhouse sitting in my house."
> — **Greg**, ~32:00
> _Clear expression of dislike for the iconic System 11 title_

> "I just repetitively watch it. And I don't get sick of it. I don't know why."
> — **Zach Sharpe**, ~37:15
> _Personal anecdote about obsessive viewing of A Christmas Story_

> "You're the best and the worst all at the same time."
> — **Greg**, ~24:30
> _Playful response to Zach's Christmas gift of wire-bending kit_

> "'93, you could have an entire collection based on 1993 and it would blow shit out of the water."
> — **Zach Sharpe**, ~12:00
> _Enthusiastic assessment of 1993's exceptional pinball output_

> "He's an angry elf."
> — **Greg**, ~26:15
> _Humorous summary of Will Ferrell's character in Elf_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Zach Sharpe | person | Co-host of Straight Down the Middle podcast; pinball enthusiast and content creator |
| Greg | person | Co-host of Straight Down the Middle podcast; pinball enthusiast with preferences for quantity over quality in machine selection |
| Emoto Harney | person | Pinball filmmaker, artist, and production company operator; newly announced first team member of Greg |
| Christopher Franchi | person | Referenced as fan of original Grinch cartoon series; appears to have connection to pinball community |
| The Lord of the Rings | game | 2003 pinball machine; considered by Zach as arguably the greatest pinball machine ever made; Data East release |
| The Simpsons Pinball Party | game | 2003 pinball machine; Jeff Johnson-coded game with good depth; compared favorably to LOTR but less preferred |
| Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines | game | 2003 pinball machine; features red mode; considered good but overshadowed by LOTR |
| The Shadow | game | 1994 pinball machine; chosen by both hosts as 'marry' option in marry/fling/kill game |
| Demolition Man | game | 1994 pinball machine; chosen by Greg to 'kill' in marry/fling/kill game; noted as tough and tournament-viable |
| Tommy | game | 1994 pinball machine; Zach's chosen 'fling' option; described as having cool elements but not keeper material |
| Funhouse | game | System 11 (1990) pinball machine; disliked by Greg; chosen to exclude in value comparison |
| Radical | game | System 11 (1990) pinball machine; described as fantastic; Greg's preferred System 11 choice |
| Whirlwind | game | System 11 (1990) pinball machine; Greg planning restoration; chosen over four-machine bundle with Radical |
| Centaur 2 | game | 1983 pinball machine; sequel similar to Centaur 1; both hosts indicate preference for Centaur 2 |
| Firepower 2 | game | 1983 pinball machine; described as much different from Firepower 1; neither host has extensive experience |
| Straight Down the Middle | organization | Pinball podcast hosted by Zach Sharpe and Greg; episode 83 is Christmas special |
| Flip N Out Pinball | company | Pinball retailer offering machines from Jersey Jack, Stern, Chicago Gaming, and American Pinball |
| Fred Marco Specialties | company | Pinball parts supplier offering 50,000+ different parts; provides wire-bending starter kit |
| Bad Santa | game | 2003 film that debuted a pinball machine in the movie; anchors discussion of 2003 pinball releases |
| A Christmas Story | game | 1983 film; discussed as Zach's favorite Christmas film due to repetitive viewing habit |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Pinball machine releases by year (1983-1994), Christmas films and holiday entertainment, Marry/Fling/Kill game format for pinball machines
- **Secondary:** Community member recognition (Emoto Harney), Pinball machine gameplay quality and code, System 11 platform machines, Individual machine preferences and collecting strategy
- **Mentioned:** Pinball parts and customization (wire-bending kit gift)

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.82) — Upbeat Christmas special with enthusiastic discussion of favorite films and pinball machines. Strong camaraderie between hosts. Some disagreements on specific machines (e.g., Funhouse) but handled in good humor. Personal gift exchange adds warmth. Generally celebratory tone throughout.

### Signals

- **[community_signal]** Emoto Harney announced as first official team member of Greg, recognized as world-famous pinball filmmaker and artist with production company (confidence: high) — Direct announcement and description of Emoto's credentials and work quality by both hosts
- **[community_signal]** Shout-out to Fort Wayne Pinball Group indicates regional community recognition and participation (confidence: low) — Casual mention suggesting Fort Wayne is known pinball hub; connection to A Christmas Story filming location
- **[design_philosophy]** System 11 platform machines (Radical, Whirlwind) valued for gameplay depth over iconic earlier machines (Funhouse) by Greg (confidence: medium) — Greg explicitly rejects Funhouse and chooses Radical/Whirlwind despite lower monetary value, stating: 'I don't want Funhouse sitting in my house'
- **[market_signal]** 1993 represented exceptional year for pinball releases with multiple high-quality titles available simultaneously (confidence: medium) — Zach: '1993, you could have an entire collection based on 1993 and it would blow shit out of the water' with 9+ significant titles listed
- **[product_concern]** The Lord of the Rings acknowledged as potentially best machine ever made, establishing quality benchmark; contrasted with acceptable but inferior alternatives (confidence: high) — Zach's explicit claim: 'arguably, the greatest pinball machine ever made' with both hosts agreeing on LOTR superiority over Simpsons/Terminator 3
- **[sentiment_shift]** Elf (2003) shifted from initial poor reception to household Christmas classic through repeated viewing and family adoption (confidence: medium) — Zach's account: initially disliked film, but 'it literally has become in our household a Christmas classic'

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## Transcript

 Are you ready for your next pinball machine? Call Flip N Out Pinball now and choose from the newest and hottest pinball machines from Jersey Jack Pinball, Stern Pinball, Chicago Gaming Company, and American Pinball. Flip N Out Pinball also offers the Escalera Stair Climbing Hand Truck. Visit now at FlippinOutPinball.com. The wait is over. A revolution in LED lighting for your pinball is finally here. fully customizable full spectrum lighting from pin stadium light order yours now at pinstadium.com check out pin graphics for the latest and greatest in pinball enhancements power blades blade skins pin blades and even more visit pingraphics.com now to see what's available for your pinball machine all right let's kick this shit Happy Holidays to all the SDTM family. My name is Zach. And this right here is my Yuletide friend, Greg. Merry Christmas to you and to yours. Merry Christmas. This is our Christmas episode, buddy It is Okay, and we're going to do something a little different But before we do that Christmas came a little early for you, didn't it? You now have your first It's funny you say You have your first team member Yes Are you happy? I'm very happy Yeah, you were holding out your way I'm a right person Tell the people who's just joined Team Greg Emoto Yes, Emoto. What's her last name? I think it's... I don't want to butcher it because I got in trouble last time. No, go with Emoto. I don't know. I think it's Harney? Harney is correct. Is that right? It's Emoto Harney, the world famous pinball filmmaker and artist. Yes. Right? We love Emoto. Yeah, does great production. She's always bringing something. The chick stays so busy. She is always so busy and brings so much great content. Plugs and content too. Yeah, but I mean, it's just that like every kind of tournament, all kinds of arcades that she's at, and she just brings the greatest video. You know, her work is fantastic. She runs a production company, too. Yes, yes, yeah. So if you guys are not familiar with her, man, look her up on Facebook. She's got a ton of stuff on there. And we look up to her work, too. Oh, very much so. As we try to do the filmy stuff, we look up to that. Very much so. So welcome to Team Greg, Emoto. So you chose the wrong team, but, you know, I think she was just kind of throwing you a bone, if you will. I guess so. All right, so we're having our Christmas special, and we thought, well, how do we do this? Do we review Christmas-themed pinball machines? And we soon realized there was no Christmas-themed pinball machines. Is there, besides the homebrew Nightmare Before Christmas? Nightmare Before Christmas, no. So maybe that's our favorite? Kind of by default. That's our favorite. So we thought, well, let's do a top ten list. Now, let's do a this or that. We haven't done that in a while. Let's do. So we didn't know. So we are actually doing a Christmas special where we're combining the best of both SDT and worlds. We're going to give you a top ten of this or that together. And holy matrimony. Is this getting on your nerves? No. Sorry. All right. So here's what we're going to do. we are going to give you a top 10 list of our favorite Christmas films. Yes. Favorite, not best favorite. Yes. Because everybody's going to say wonderful life. Number one, miracle on 34th street. Number two, right? No, we're not going to do that. Uh, and here's what we're going to do. Here's how we're going to make it unique. When we list that top 10, number 10 being blah, blah, blah. Then we're going to do a, this or that based on the pins that came out the year of that film. Yeah, that's cool. It is. I like it. So you want to kick it off? I'm scared of some of those older ones. older what those older uh pins or movies older movies why because the older pins oh i don't know what's in there all right coming in at number 10 number 10 is a filthy little christmas film uh recent too it came out in 2003 let's see if you guys can guess it to give you a second and it actually does debut a pinball machine in the film you know which one I'm talking about? Bad Santa. Bad Santa, 2003. Who's the main actor on that? Billy Bob Thornton. Yeah, taters. French fry taters. Little bit different in this film. He's still ornery and raunchy and drunk most of the time. It reminds me of you during Christmas time. Are you down there thrusting the pinball machine? It's the only thing I'm allowed to thrust. Most likely it would be the pinball machine. So Bad Santa debuted in 2003. You know what pinball machines came out in 2003? I have no clue. Here's a couple. Lord of the Rings. Because it was kind of stale back then. Yeah. Lord of the Rings. The thinning. It was. The thinning. The thinning. The thinning. Talked about my hairline. The thinning. All right. Lord of the Rings. Simpsons Pinball Party. Okay. Terminator 3. So there was a handful. Yeah. Here's our this or that. This is going to be a tough one. Would you go this or that, Greg? Lord of the Rings or Simpsons Pinball Party and Terminator 3? Now, I know the price differential, you're going to get a little more bang for your buck for the two. But which one do you go? Wow. On the T3? You know, I think, okay, so this. You think Jingle All the Way made her list? Oh! Oh, my God! Jingle All The Way is a great... Let's stay on track. It is a freaking fantastic movie. Do you not like it? Turbo Man. Yeah. I'm not a povot. You're in my house eating my cookies. Oh, excuse me. But your wife's cookies are out of this world. Who told you you can eat my cookies? Oh, these cookies. I got to get the recipe from Les. Put that cookie down. Now. Man, since... The Steve Ritchie game. Yeah, I'd still have to go the two pins. Okay. There's not the depth to T3, obviously. No. Shootia! Shootia! They got that red mode that's pretty cool. Yeah, and Simpsons is still a really good game. It does play long. It's a Keith P. Johnson-coded game, so it's very thick. It's nowhere near as good as Lord of the Rings. Lord of the Rings being your homie-gomie. Yeah, yeah. Lord of the Rings is by far a better game, in my opinion. I know a lot of people just love Simpsons. And I really like Simpsons too, but just the two-for-one deal is... You're going two-for. Very sweet, yeah. Without a doubt, I'm going Lord of the Rings. It's probably, arguably, the greatest pinball machine ever made. Oh, shocker. So it doesn't, I mean... No shocker. Simpsons is fine. T3 is fine. But I tell you what, I'm going to get more tired of those two pins than I would that one pin. Well, you know what? I thought about that. I literally took that into consideration because I own Simpsons. And while I do love it, I just don't play it a lot. This thing is itchy. Itchy for the bitchy. I took that into consideration, but I still like my quantity over quality. And those are good enough pins that, you know, maybe. But I cannot argue against you. Okay. That's a good one. It is. That's a good one. Yeah. It's very fair. Our number nine favorite Christmas film is a classic. So classic that there were no really pinball machines at that time. It's a wonderful life. Right? I'm not a big fan of Wonderful Life. Yeah. Not. Really? Yeah. Just can't. See, I'm not a fan of Miracle on 34th Street. I'm not either. Yeah. I think it's Before Our Times. Yeah. Just a little bit. But, you know, I like a lot of older films, but just neither one of those just ever captivated me. Man. I like it every time a bell rings and Angel gets a swing. Yeah. Yeah. It's beautiful. Who's the main character in that? Which one? Wonderful Life. I have no idea. James Stewart. James Stewart. Jimmy Stewart. Jimmy. You don't know Jimmy? I know Jimmy. Jimmy Stewart. Yeah. He's the greatest, man. Because I can lose a lot of Jimmys. Now, that came out in 46, and the pinball machine's the debut in 46. That was pre-Flipper. Yeah. You're just wood rail. Knocking shit around on pegs. Okay, we'll do this or that. If you could live in 1946 or 1964, which would you live in? 46 or 64, both filled with conflict and racism and sexism. I have to go to 64. You're getting stoned, huh? Yeah, we got a little more modern. the music's getting 64 is you've got your mad men like yeah yeah you still got your combed over hair you still haven't hit the hippie movement quite yet yeah uh so you're going 64 46 that's really throwing it back isn't it we're out of the depression america's making a slight comeback okay yeah industrial yeah dumbest ass question i've ever heard that is the worst this or that in the entire freaking history i'm gonna go i'm gonna go uh 64 as well because i can get down you know what else came out in 1964 what the bills yeah yeah yeah so they came to america so i'll go with the beatles yeah speaking of that was a fun game but it's a fun game And you know what? I haven't actually heard bad about it other than pricing. When I see anything pop up on Beatles, people are enjoying it. Well, this or that. Beatles or Sea Witch plus $3,000 real quick. You know, I'm not a giant fan of Sea Witch. Really? I mean, I like it, but I like that Beatles. You'd go Beatles. I think so, too. It shoots better. Yeah, it does. It's just that nice, modern mix. Sounds better, lights better. It's kind of worth it. Coming in at number eight for our favorite Christmas film, or holiday film, would be The Nightmare Before Christmas. A favorite of ours, right? Is it a Halloween film? Tim Burton. Is it? It's definitely a Christmas film. It's The Nightmare Before Christmas. Debuted in 1993. A lot of pins came out in 1993. I'm going to read some of them. Tales from the Crypt. Oh, beautiful. Star Trek Next Generation. Wonderful. Dread. Judge Dread. Indiana Jones the pinball adventure last action hero ooh nice pin Jurassic Park thank you for the book nice pin Twilight Zone very good pin Bram Stoker's Drag Tour fantastic okay so here's the question wow yeah right 93 you could have a 93 collection you could just literally have an entire collection based on 1993 and it would blow shit out of the water and I didn't write down all of them what happened in 93 give those guys back their drugs that was fantastic alright so here's your this or that Greg are you going to go the data east tales from the crypt and last action hero or twilight zone or indiana jones so you get the the two data east or the single twilight zone or indiana jones so it's a three option one i would go with my two data east over Twilight Zone. Okay. And... Wow. Surprising. I'd probably have to go Indy instead of the two pins. That's tough, man, because Last Action is very underrated. There's a lot going on. You've got the magnets. It's a decent little code going on. And same thing with your Tales from the Crypt. It's a good shooting game. It's a board. So, I mean, it's fantastic. Indy. Indy. Yeah. And I know people feel that way about Twilight Zone. I like Twilight Zone, but it's still... Twilight Zone great too Here my rationale My thought is What do I want to own right now if I doing it this or that I owned indie for a while I played the hell out of it oh this is going I've played Twilight Zone a while right yeah but what haven't I played tell us from the crypt and last day in here we played last action hero and it's some shows and we enjoyed it we love it yeah so you know what give me the clunkers of the data east for now i'm gonna go everybody make note of this i need time stamp this episode and time stamp your bulbs are full slipping so i'm gonna yeah i'm gonna give me the two daddies i think i'm gonna have more fun with them in the short term than i would because everybody knows i don't keep pins coming in at number seven the greatest our favorite christmas films i like this one i don't know if you're a fan of this one this is a tim allen film back in 94 No, I love the Santa Claus. No way Santa's going anywhere without his sleigh. He would if he's trying to sell the total tank. Well, isn't that a pretty picture? Santa rolling down the block in a panzer. Well, kids, I certainly hope you've been good this year because it looks like Santa just took out the Pearson home. It's coming! Cool. I worked with Tim Allen before, back in the 80s. No, I'm joking. I was in a prison cell with him. He had a little bit of... Do you know he actually started in the comics? Or did he have an alcohol? No, he was cocaine. Okay. He snorted a lot of coke. Got it right. The snow. He started at what? The snow was falling for Tim Allen. I love Tim Allen, though. I hate... He's awesome. I sound like such a despicable person. I'm like, I love cokehead Tim Allen. I love the bigoted Mel Gibson. You're going to keep talking. I'm the fan of some of the worst human beings in Hollywood. Probably Gary Busey, too. Robert Blakeman is just like, I'm being... Where did you say he started out, Tim Allen? He didn't get started in comedy until he was like 27. That's not bad. That's fairly old to really take off, to be as successful as what he was. We're taking off in our 30s. We are. We're making... We're doing big things. It would be super popular over the hill. What? Hell, Sam Jackson didn't really start until his 40s. He doesn't age now, though. No, he doesn't. I look at Sam Jackson and I'm like, what? He's like 70 years old, and I look at him and I'm like, he's 50. All right, so 94 was an even bigger year for pinball. The 93? Oh, yeah. We had The Shadow, Freddy, Roadshow, Corvette, Guns N' Roses, Popeye, Demolition Man, Tommy, World Cup Soccer 94. I mean, those games are good, but that does not compare to 93. That's a lot of them, though. That's a lot of them. Yeah, but you just said better than 93. Ah, more fool. There is no way any of the... Okay, here we go. This or that. All the pins from 94 or all the pins from 93? You're right. 93. You're right. What we're going to do on this one, we're not going to do the traditional this or that. We're going to do Yeelow Bird's special, the mod couple special, entitled... Do you remember this one? Marry... Oh, shit. Or kill. Okay. So marry or fling. Fling. Marry, fling, or kill. In this, we have to choose one pen that we want to marry. Bolt to the floor. Yeah. One pen that we just want to have a good old fun time with for a while, but we're not committed. Yeah. And one that we just want to push off the roof. Right. What are you doing? That could go with the one you married. Okay. Stop. those could be one in the other interchangeable depends on the day sorry sweetheart wow i love you somebody's getting coal okay so marry frank or kill okay the shadow freddy roadshow corvette guns and roses pop i demo man tommy world cup soccer here's your list right here yeah i was gonna say i can't Okay, Shadow I would marry. Is that who you're marrying? That's who I'm marrying. I'm marrying Shadow too. Who are you going to have a fling with? My fling would probably be... I mean, I would see Demoman, but it's so pretty and it's nice. It can stay there. So I'd probably... No, I mean, you know, I like Tommy too. I like Guns N' Roses. Let's go with Let's go with I said it earlier this morning It's Tommy It is still earlier You flinging Tommy? I'm flinging with Tommy Having a little fling? Yeah Okay Actually let me fling Freddy Woo! Getting a Gottlieb in there I like Freddy But I just don't think he'd Yeah He's not going to stick around Yeah He's not going to Freddy's He might be gone He might be gone in the morning A toss off the roof Would honestly be Corv... Roadshow or Corvette roadshow i just can't get into roadshow wow yeah i know people like it but i love that i cannot get in a little weird wow fucking mannequin head things yeah red and dead baby i can't get into that shit that's why rudy i don't want it yeah i can't do it all right i'm going to marry the shadow yeah i'm going to fling around on pop i love pop i right yeah but it's okay yeah i fling around on it. I like it. And then Killing, I want to kill Demoman so bad. I just want to. Is that what I'm going to do? Freddy's the right choice for Killing. It's not that bad. I'll kill Demoman. I don't want it. There's no reason to have it. I'll never really own it unless I can make a buck off of it. No. Demoman's not bad. It's a good game. It's just very tough. It's just for me, I don't... It doesn't do anything for me. It's like one of those things, it's one of those pens that you work to get to demo time. Once you achieve demo time, it seems like you achieve it every other game. That is a good tourney game though because there's a lot of jackpots you can build them up. Oh yeah. Honestly, to score well, the jackpots can be tough. If you're a good shooter, you can trap those balls in your multiball. Then it is very lucrative and it's very challenging in that aspect. I'm just not. I can't. I'm not good. Not good with it? No. But I like the game. I like you. Next, number six. Our sixth favorite Christmas film. And you guys are going to have to tell us your favorite Christmas films. If ours are close or not. Number six is a newcomer too in 2003. Debuted also when Bad Santa debuted. This is a film where a little elf is adopted into the North Pole and set free into the world. And he loves syrup. And he loves all things. And he sleeps a couple minutes a day. it's Elf. Elf. Will Ferrell and Elf. I will have to say when I first went to the theater and I saw that movie I liked Will Ferrell. I liked goofy Will Ferrell. But when I saw Elf I was like this is pretty this is pretty fucking horrible. Really? Yeah. I did not like it when I first saw it. It didn't sit well the first sitting. It didn't. Okay. But it literally has become in our household a Christmas classic. It does. Like we watch it my kids love it and it's actually very well done. He's an angry elf. Yeah. Oh, my God. Yeah, Peter D. Call me elf. One more time. So I suggest you wipe that stupid smile off your face before I come over there and smack it off. You feeling strong, my friend? Call me elf one more time. Yeah, the whole sleigh breaking down in Central Park thing. Oh, I think that's kind of nice. It gets a little stale. He's an angry elf. Another net. Well, you're more to the conclusions than to the common. Look at you. with uh hours of slay with uh zoe deschanel yeah uh them singing oh it's beautiful oh it's great it's actually a very i prefer that rendition from her over anyone else i'm okay with it i do too now that debuted in 2003 and we do not have any films or we already did the 2003 um with the lord of the rings simpsons pinball party so we'll move on to number five sad year marco specialties same day shipping accessible website exceptional customer service and with over 50,000 different pinball parts in stock, Marco Specialties is a must for every pinball enthusiast and operator. Treat your pinball machine right by visiting marcospec.com now. Chromit, brass, black nickel, candy chromit, powder coated, the possibilities are endless at pinballplating.com. Your pinball machine deserves the best. At Comet Pinball, you'll find the best variety of LED products with the best quality LEDs and most importantly, at the best price. Your collection is begging for an upgrade. Order yours now at cometpinball.com And at number five, our favorite Christmas... And it's not Rudolph! It is actually Rudolph. I didn't even know! Oh, I'm so surprised you didn't know. It's Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Back in 64, the claymation special. Were you a big fan of this? I just want to help Santa. I was a huge fan. That makes me the dentist. What's his name? Oh, what's his name? Oh my god, it's something weird. He's really dysthymic all the time. Like Flossy or something. I don't know. What is his name? It's something. I don't know. Hermie. Hermie. That one came out in 1964. Greg and I have not been... That was 20 years before our birth. So there's no pinball that we know of. Moving on to number four. There was nothing. Did nothing really, like any kind of modern. Some wedge heads, I think. And that was it. Yeah, same with our next one. Number four. Our fourth favorite Christmas film is How the Grinch Stole Christmas. You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch. And speaking of Grinches over here. Speaking of these Grinches. Yeah. So, what are you doing? Grinchy. What is he doing? I got you a Christmas present. Oh, God. Come on. I really did. You just spring this on me right whenever I'm opening. Merry Christmas. To the Grinch. I didn't get you anything. I don't want anything. Can I open it? Yeah, you can open it. Look at this packaging, right? Is it a sausage? The first time he's seen something in that one. What is this? Yeah, it's nothing special, but you had shown some interest in it, and so I thought I'd pick it up for you. And you really can't talk about it. What the hell is it? Turn it around. Oh, good call! Look at that! See? Dun, dun, dun. This is a Marco Specialties wire bending starter kit. Yeah? Yeah. Look. Merry Christmas. Yeah, thank you, buddy. Yeah, yeah. I know you're kind of dicking around with things and stuff. And I was like, you've expressed some interest on Facebook on it. I thought this was the coolest thing that came out. Yeah, I thought it was freaking neat. Yeah. Nice. Thanks for making me look like a dick in front of all these people that I didn't get you. You're the best and the worst all at the same time. That's so fantastic. That's the kind of person I am. See, now I just want to mess with this. I don't want to mess with this. We're going to stop filming. I want to bend rails. Thanks, buddy. It means a lot to me. All right, so that was, where were we at? Grinchy. Did you grow up on Grinch? I did grow up on Grinch. Now, are you okay with the Jim Carrey version? I know our friend Christopher Franchi, he is very Grinch-like. No, it's hard, Chris. Depends on the day. But no, he's very into the original Grinch series. He did not like the Jim Carrey series. Now, I at times would prefer to watch the Jim Carrey because I thought it was remarkable. I love Jim Carrey, though. I'm very mixed. Honestly, I think that my problem is the darkness that Ron Howard brought on it. Darkness? It's just a muted, it's vibrant, but it's muted. I didn't get that at all. Oh, I did. It's just very, it's kind of dark. I thought Jim Carrey did it perfect. I honestly there is no one that I could ever imagine that if you were doing a live-action Grinch to fit Oh, yeah, assuming was fantastic. But yeah, I don't know man. I'm just I'm just the scene where he's sitting on his couch He is lonely and he yeah it echoing right Yeah he not like here to himself Stop he talking to himself because he so lonely and he like and he notices and he like you an idiot And he wants it to relay back, or, I'm an idiot! And then it relays back. But, it has one of the greatest Christmas songs, contemporary Christmas songs of all time, Cindy Lou Who's, right? Yeah, it's pretty cute. Where Are You Christmas? Yeah. Where are you Christmas? Yeah, it's very beautiful. No, I like it. I don't mind it. I do prefer the cartoon, though. I love this time of the year. I do too. It's pretty magical. So good. Now, the Grinch came out again in 67. Is anybody playing 67 pinball machines? No. There's one guy out there who's like, you sons of bitches. Yes, I am. I get it. I love it. Okay. I like my Ems too, but 60s Ems, a little early. Yeah. We're getting a little early. We're getting zipper flipper time now. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Zippers. All right. Moving on to our third. Ooh, we're getting down to the final beat here. Our third favorite Christmas film of all time is one that, it's the first for many people, right? Yeah. God, I love this film. I want to watch this right now. It debuted in 1990. Big year for pinball. 1990. The child star grew up to lead a very odd, eccentric life. And that star is Macaulay Culkin. And the film is Home Alone. Kevin! How beautiful is Home Alone? How does she forget him twice? And dad, they forget him twice in the second film. Like, come on, guys. Well, you know. I had one of those little leashes that you see in the mall on kids. Have you ever seen the meme that says, the older I've gotten, the more I wonder what Kevin's dad did to afford the house they lived in. And the trip were like nine people to Paris. Wow. It's like, I want that job. Yeah, absolutely. Did you see that that house did go up for sale in Chicago suburbs for a lot of money? Massive amount of money. But it's a gorgeous home. It's a huge home. When you had, what was the, do you remember the Sony, was it the Talkman? Yeah, the Talkman. That was huge back in the day when it did. That was, man. Talk about product placement. Oh, at its finest. Yeah. But it worked. It fit. What's your favorite part in Home Alone? I just love Joe Pesci. And is it Randy Quaid? No. Dennis Quaid. No, it's not. Stern. Randy Stern? No. I can't remember. But very good. Yeah, it's not one of the Quaid's. But anyway, just them stepping on nails. I kind of like the pizza scene. The filthy animal. Oh, do you? Yeah. I think it's so great. What's the uncle's like? You did it again, you jerk. They call him the jerk. You're going to sleep with what's-his-name? He's going to pee in the bed. Fuller. Fuller. Yeah. And Buzz. Fair Buzz. Woof. Buzz's girlfriend. It caught the family dynamic so well, too. Just like a big family. And the kid who's just kind of that outsider because he's just not an asshole. He's not sneaky enough like his brothers. Yeah. Oh, that was endearing. And the Home Alone, too, was fantastic, too. It was good, too. It was beautiful. With the doves in the park and the pigeons. The bird ladies. Yeah. Yeah. All right. That was 1990. You know what debuted in 1990 was Funhaus, Dr. Dude, Diner, Radical, Roller Games, Whirlwind, a lot of your System 11s. Wow, yeah. Still good games. So riddle me this. This is very uneven, but it's for a reason. Are you going to go Funhaus, Dr. Dude, Diner, and Roller Games, or Radical and Whirlwind? Oh, I'd go with all the others. So money wise, we're Funhouse, Doctor Dude, Diner, Roller Games is worth more than a Radical and a Whirlwind. But the reason I put it up there is because Radical and Whirlwind to me are... They're really good games. Radical is freaking fantastic. I'm taking Radical and Whirlwind because those are my two favorite System 11s, I think. There's so many other games. I don't care. I mean, I'm going to have more fun. Roller Games, I love, but it gets old after a little bit. Diner. I love Diner. I like Doctor Dude. I like Funhaus. The smart choice is the four, but... I can't believe it because of Funhaus. Funhaus, like... I like Funhaus. That's what I'm saying. I don't like Funhaus, but... I don't know, man. Maybe I'd change it up because Radical's pretty damn awesome. It is. And Whirlwind is fantastic, and I don't care much for Funhaus. I'm looking to restore Whirlwind. I want to restore Whirlwind. Nice. Man. So which one are you going for? I'd go with the two. I got two. Are you serious? Yeah, I got two. Wow! I wasn't expecting that. I don't want Funhaus sitting in my house. I did it really over-weighted too, just because I knew you would pick it. Yeah, I can't. I just can't do it. Debuting at number two, our number two favorite Christmas film of all time has a leg lamp in it and Fragile and dogs running through the house. Not to be confused with Emoto. That's right. Right? And you got Tongue Stuck to the pole. Emoto, you're my Fragile. Oh my God. Emo toe Alright you have You've got You'll shoot your eye out Kid with a Red Ryder BB Yes Right So and then you've got The fantasies You've got the Like I binge watch it My wife gets so mad Because what Like you know TBS or something A Christmas story Plays it for like 24 hours straight And I literally Our TV is not allowed To leave it It stays on And it does not leave That channel The entire day And I just repetitively Watch it And I don't get sick of it I don't know why On the decoder ring Yeah it's pretty intense And he has to put the bar so open. That's so terrible. But I didn't say fudge. Drink more Ovaltine. That's right. That Christmas Story debuted in 83. 83. It feels like an older film than in 83, too. They really pulled that Norman Rockwell feel to it, but a contemporary comedy. That was really good. And it took place in northern Indiana. I didn't know that. Yeah. I think that there's the house up there and everything still. Fort Wayne action. Yep. Near that. Yeah. Shout out to the Fort Wayne Pinball Group. Alright, so not a lot came out in 83. No. Of the ones of note, Centaur 2 and Firepower 2. The sequels. The year of the sequels. Firepower 2, much different than Firepower 1. But Centaur 2, very similar to Centaur 1. See, I've never played either one. But you saying that, I like Centaur. Centaur's good. So I'd go with Centaur 2 if it's fairly close to Centaur. I've always been intrigued by Firepower and Firepower 2. I've never even laid eyes on Firepower 2, I don't think. Dennis at Collected Gamers Podcast, he streams Firepower, the original. Yeah, it's a good game. Firepower is good. I'm going to go Centaur as well. I prefer the art. It's brutal. But it's very much like the original. So, Centaur 2. All right, that's a Christmas story. What's our... They're probably thinking, wait a minute, A Wonderful Life, Christmas Story, Home Alone. they're number one what is their number one their number one now before we sell them I comprise my top ten yeah you comprise your top ten and the one that we agreed on was the number one this is one of my favorite films of all time and it shocked me because Zach was shocked that it was my number one too and I took it for granted Zach was like oh my god you can't believe it and I was like well I expected it to be your number one like how is it not everybody's number one like this was one I kind of took for granted that maybe people don't like I don't know. It never leads. It's always in the list of favorite Christmas films. But it's none other than my boy Chevy Chase, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, debuted in 1989. I told Greg earlier, it's not only one of my favorite films, it's one of the best comedies ever. Oh, I think so too. Every joke hits on that. Well, and some of it's almost slapstick comedy in a way. It's Chevy Chase. But it's a very real world. Yeah. Yeah, just like them getting stuck underneath the semi, the squirrel in the tree. Just everything. The sled. The sled is so over the top. Like all that's over the top. The uncle's thing is on fire. Oh, is it? Yeah. It's just the hat. The cat. Yeah. Fries it. He had nine lives. He sure burned through all of them. That old grandma. Come on. I pledge allegiance to the flag. It's burning. one of the best parts when they said uh mary you want to say grace grace yeah she died years ago but you know it's so good not only is there the comedy but there's the warmth like like clark is just clark tries so hard he wants to impress his family he wants to be the patriarch of the he wants to be the man of the house yes and he just fails and we can relate right yes it's just So, so good. Just picture him stapling and then he's in his sleeve. Because the bad thing is that dumb shit happens to some of us. I resonate with that film so well. I loved it as a kid, but then you go from the comedy to being like, it's sort of like real life. And everybody in their family has an Uncle Eddie. Oh, my God. Everybody's got an Uncle Eddie. Shitter fool. That's right. He comes in. He's not invited. He overstays his welcome. He brings a dog, everybody bringing freaking animals. Oh my gosh. Hey Griswold, where do you think you're going to put a tree that big? Bend over and I'll show you. You've got a lot of nerve talking to me like that, Griswold. I wasn't talking to you. Merry Christmas. What? What happened? I guess it wouldn't be any... Wouldn't be the Christmas shopping season if the stores were any less hooter than they are. Harder than they are. It is warm in here. Well, you have your coat on. Yes. Oh, do I? How did that happen? Because it's cold out. Yes. Yes. It is a bit nipply out. I mean nippy-up. What did I say? Nipple? There is a nip in the air, though. Can I take something out for you? I was just... I was just looking at something for my wife. God rest her soul. Oh, God, I'm so sorry. Oh, no, no, she's not dead. Yeah, we're just divorced. She's history. And obviously she doesn't wear underwear. There are plenty of shopping days left until adultery's adulthood. Which is to say Christmas as in you'll log. Not a log, I don't have a log, but I mean, you know, if I had a log, not in the sense that you think I said I did. Good golly. Tis the season to be merry. Well, that's my name. Oh, shit. What the hell? What is wrong with me? Damn it! Damn it! God damn it! What are you looking at? Oh, the silent majesty of a winter's morn, the clean, cool chill of the holiday air, and an asshole in his bathrobe emptying a chemical toilet into my sewer. Shitter was full! Ah, yeah. You checked our shitters, honey? Clark, please. It's good, it's good It's good Hey If any of you are looking for any Last minute gift ideas for me I have one I like Frank Shirley, my boss Right here, tonight I want him brought from his happy holiday slumber over there on Melody Lane with all the other rich people And I want him brought right here With a big ribbon on his head And I want to look him straight in the eye And I want to tell him what a cheap, lying, no-good, rotten, four-flushing, low-life, snake-licking, dirt-eating, inbred, overstuffed, ignorant, blood-sucking, dog-kissing, brainless, dickless, hopeless, heartless, fat-ass, bug-eyed, stiff-legged, spotty-lipped, worm-headed, sack-o-dick monkey shit he is. Hallelujah. Holy shit. Where's the Tylenol? Go. Where do you think you're going? Nobody's leaving. Nobody's walking out on this fun, old-fashioned family Christmas. No, no. We're all in this together. This is a full-blown four-alarm holiday emergency here. We're going to press on, and we're going to have the hap-hap-happiest Christmas since Bing Crosby tap danced with Danny fucking K. And when Santa squeezes his fat white ass down that chimney tonight, he's going to find the jolliest bunch of assholes this side of the nuthouse. So in 1989, we had some good ones. We had a lot of System 11s again, as you would expect. Mousing Around, Bad Cats, Elvira and the Party Monsters, Black Knight 2000, and Earthshaker. Okay, so we've got those. Here's what I'm going to do. Would you rather have Elvira Elvira and the Party Monsters. I love it. Or for a similar value, maybe a little more, but similar value, the good duo of Mouses and Cats and Mousing Around and Bad Cats. Now, arguably the best game is Elvira there, but you get two of my favorite System 11s. Mousing Around is fun, and Bad Cats is fun, and I think Bad Cats is beautiful. I hate to say it, but when you read that, it's gorgeous. So I'm going those two. just like hands down like not just because of the quantity it's just i like the the pins and i love elvire i love that i love elvire and the party monsters but those games are there's enough going on with them yeah Barry Oursler games to offset that or games so i'm i'll go the two as well i think they look gorgeous together when you have a bad cats and a mouse and rats they're the same feel the same sounds agree and meow meow meow i mean come on yeah yeah it's bad cats uh so definitely to round us out. Now that was a good choice. Come on man. So that was our holiday special this or that. We got a couple quick ones before we leave. We always got those obscures. This or that Greg. Is it better to receive a gift or to give a gift? Are you going to cop out here and say give? Yeah but I'm honest. Oh here we go. Humble pie. I just had this conversation with my wife last night. I get somewhat uncomfortable receiving gifts sometimes because sometimes I feel people get them because you're present. I was talking about that. I hate going somewhere and you receive a gift from somebody because it's almost like I think a lot of people feel obligated that you're there. You're present at the party. So, well, I've got to get him a gift too. That's the most depressing thing I've ever heard. Yeah, I don't like that. So I like to give. We wonder why Greg doesn't like going places. You're worrying about stuff like that. Oh, yeah. My mind just doesn't stop. But I like to give, yeah. And especially something like what I got you. Like when I know somebody. Now I feel bad because I didn't have anything for you. No, and it absolutely bothers me in no way. I like to get somebody something that I know that they would enjoy or use or play with. I get excited. I would buy the guy on the street if I knew he liked pizza extremely much. I don't know him. I would want to buy him pizza. I get excited about that stuff. I would say prior to children, it would have been receive because I love shit. Yeah. But after children, like, man, there's just something about being able to give your kids something and then like it. Yeah. And then you want to strangle them if they're like, I don't like this. Or you're like, oh, the worst. When you're at a family event and your child opens up a gift, you guys know where I'm at. And they just look at it and they don't like it and they're rude little shits about it. And they're like, mom, I already have this. And you're like, shut up. Because then it's embarrassing when somebody else gives them a gift and you're just like, stop. Of course, Zach's kids are spoiled. That's something, right? Yeah, they probably are. All right. Beverage choice on Christmas. Do you go eggnog or cinnamony like fireball? Dude, eggnog. I like eggnog. What is it? What is eggnog? It's like egg, I don't know. I should have brought a recipe with me. Like I said, Chelsea's got a really good recipe. It's good. No, eggnog is horrible. Really? But I don't like fireball either. No, fireball's hideous. And so many people like it. See, I got shivers just thinking about it. I don't want to get fucked up. I want some fireball, y'all. You know what I'm picking? Rum. Because obviously I like that now. I'm going with rum on this one. I think you can put rum in your eggnog. Oh, God. Instead of some bourbon, put you some rum. All right, and last but not least, this or that. Okay. Real Christmas tree or artificial Christmas tree. I have a hard time with this. This is a tough one. I have a hard time. There's pros and cons to each. So I grew up with a real Christmas tree. I did as well. And I was. There's something about the smell, the freshness. And again, I think my head is twisted from movies because that was such a big movie. I loved the Clark Griswold type thing. So when I had kids, I was super stoked. Going to get your own tree. Yeah, going to get in the tree and stuff. And me and Chelsea had trees before the kids. And they were still live trees. But the kids made it even better. And they didn't give two shits. Little bastards are just running around the Christmas tree lot. They don't care what tree you come out with. It's got a bear spot, Clark. Last year was the first year that I'd ever bought an artificial Christmas tree. So last year and this year. Did you feel like you kind of failed as a dad? Yes. I did too. I felt like I had given up on life. That's right. Like that it was over with. But I hated stringing the lights. Yeah. And so Chelsea always strung the lights. And we would get divorced almost every time. Because I'd get the biggest damn tree I could. And she's like, get around the light. Take them around the back. You damn idiot. You're not spacing them right. It was just always the worst thing, especially when you get up high on it. And then, you know, taking it down, she'd be cussing, twirling the lights up. You stepped on the bombs. And the ornaments. And, oh, it's a thing. Watering it every damn day. Oh, yeah. Twice a day, yes. You got snots drinking out of the. It was just. But I miss it. I still miss it. I miss that pain. I miss that. Sap on your hands, though. Oh, my God. I can't get it off. Yeah. One year, couldn't get my chainsaw started. Couldn't find my handsaw. Just cut the bottom off of it. I got hung on the door. You do kind of have neighbors like that. Like Julia Richard Dreyfuss. Oh, my God. Yes. Like, oh. I don't know, Margo. When she shows up after that dog gets her. Attacks her. Squirrel. Knocks the hell out of her. I want to go artificial just because nowadays they make some really nice artificial trees. We got the same tree. Do we? Yeah, we got the exact same tree. Yeah. So it's not just the really cheap stuff anymore. Like the shredded green plastic. You put an ornament on it. No, these look like trees. It looks like a fir or something. It's still a fail. Yeah. But at the end of the day, I can store it. I don't have to worry about sap. I don't have to maybe one year I'll go do that but I got too many kids I can't can't be doing that yeah I miss it I do I just like you said the convenience what's your favorite Christmas song you have a favorite yeah I like Jingle Bell Rock really yeah it's just such a letdown hearing you say that it's just fun it's just always grabs me it's not the best song like I won't say I mean there's some Michael Jackson right I like always grabs you I like I like Little Mama Kissin' Santa Claus from Little Michael Little Michael he's like I figured you'd like Mariah Carey. Give me a little Bing Crosby. Yeah, I like some Bing Crosby. Those were the best. The crooners. The crooners were the best. Sinatra, Crosby. Christmas. What do these people need to know as I sing them out? Look at us on YouTube if you're not already doing it. Check us out on the good old Facebook. check out Chuck Wirt his streams are getting even more amazing on Twitch it is officially winter I should be streaming something maybe some good old Guardians or something that's staying for a while who knows what's coming buy a shirt we got a few larges left a few larges everything else we're sold out of so we have a couple larges left then we'll have a new one in the spring summer we're trying to do two a year we got two cornerstones two cornerstones can you have that oh Twippies are coming up oh how did you forget about the Twippies Twippies are coming up it's Christmas time right now but give it a week or so and you are going to have the Twippies awards polls will be open the polls will be open and you'll be able to vote vote for us vote for us what do they need to vote for us for best YouTube we're really we're really bringing that home we want to bring home best YouTube right I wouldn't mind Best Streaming, just for Chuck's sake. Chuck does fantastic. He does tutorials. So I wouldn't mind that. Podcast? We do have a podcast. Yeah, that's a podcast. Yeah, it's sort of there. And if you don't consider us a podcast, which is respectable, you've still got Twip. You've got Zachary here. Thank you. Just killing it on Twip Podcast. Bringing the news with a little extra flavor. We don't need interviews over there, right? We're just talking news, talking segments, talking fun. And like I said, sometimes you bring up shit that you're not reading yet on Twip. Sometimes it's late-breaking. and you get it before it's released on the website. Yeah, Twip releases half their content on Tuesday but I read it on Monday. Boom. And there's Dr. Phil too. Yeah. Alright, Greg, tell these people goodbye. Happy holidays. Happy New Year. Bye. Love somebody. Love somebody. Love somebody. Hug somebody today. You want me to hug you right now? It's Christmas Eve. Drink. Be merry. Love your family. Love everybody. Hug a stranger. Well, don't hug a stranger. hug strangers people people are weird nowadays so they might kick the shit out of you so don't hug a stranger that's i'm sorry about that you know what was really sad my wife uh we were out of town picking up at stars and a homeless guy was walking um and she said should we give him a dollar and he got a dollar from the three above us so we would have broke that street and he said nah we're good and she was like why wouldn't you give him a dollar i said he's too happy like he's just he's a little too happy. I like my homeless guys just a little more depressed. A little more, you know, like, life sucks kind of thing. He was smiling and walking with his little thing. I thought, meh, no, I'll pass. That's some shitty stuff right there. And on that note, Bah Humbug! That's right. I tried to cradle you with my flipper, it was all in vain, it was all in vain. God damn. Look at my eye. I saw mommy kissing Santa Claus. it's like christmas with robert de niro it's fucking hilarious it's amazing jeancy cat okay he's there right there jeancy cat this thing you got a swing to it so does mine Oh, is this how you are in the mornings? My cheeks are nice and rosy and comfy cozy are we. What is that?

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 7bde6233-15d7-454c-97fd-d85ae6d7d72f*