#84 | Muppet Pulp Fiction (feat. 2 Geeks 2 Movies )

**Listen to our Pulp Fiction episode on:**

Nearly a quarter of a century on, it seems strange to imagine that Pulp Fiction was far from a sure thing on release. Tarantino’s previous movie, Reservoir Dogs, had been well received by relatively little-seen, and of the now A-list cast, John Travolta and Bruce Willis were experiencing career lulls, while Samuel L Jackson and Uma Thurman were not yet household names. Studio execs were also nervous about the film’s extensive runtime and non-linear narrative style.

Needless to say, these fears were unfounded. Pulp Fiction went on to become one of the most profitable and iconic movies of the 90s, defining the Tarantino style and elevating him into the elite ranks of auteur directors who proved able to match big-budget commerce with critical plaudits. The film has become as endlessly referenced as Tarantino himself gleefully pilfers from his own favourite pop culture monuments, and while strong arguments could be made in favour of Reservoir Dogs, Kill Bill or Jackie Brown, in the grand scheme of things it’s most likely to go down in film history as the director’s signature achievement.

You could also make a strong argument for the benefits of keeping Pulp Fiction sequel-free. Unless you count the two-part Kill Bill release, Tarantino has never released a formal sequel to any of his movies, though he’s publicly mooted possibilities for several – including this one (it would have involved John Travolta and Michael Madsen as the Vega Brothers, enduring a series of misadventures in Amsterdam). However, with so many plot threads intentionally left dangling, it’s just too tempting a prospect for the purposes of this podcast…

We’re joined this week by our first ever three-time guest, Ross Burton of the podcast 2 Geeks 2 Movies – which he happens to co-host with our very own Harry Chappell. Between us, we discuss the mystery of Harvey Keitel’s morning Tuxedo, Samuel L Jackson’s intimidating wig work and Quentin Tarantino’s problematic cameo, before diving into sequel ideas featuring muppets, Tarantino crossovers, the return of random stoned Irish girl and much more.

Our Pulp Fiction episode is available now on all good Podcasting platforms – simply search for Beyond The Box Set or use the links at the top of this blog post. You can also contact us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. If you really enjoy the show please hit subscribe for a new episode every Friday morning, and leave us a nice review – it really helps us to attract new listeners. You can also access a wide range of bonus content for as little as $2 per month by joining our VIP listeners club on Patreon.

Next week, we’ll be kicking off our Halloween season with another guest episode and our very first foray into the world of Japanese anime. Until then, happy listening, and dance good!