Surprisingly, Cabbage Patch Kids have turned up on SYSK almost as much as the Nazis or Seinfeld. It’s finally time to dive all the way into CPKs, from their controversial origins to the Christmas craze of ‘83 to their alter egos, Garbage Pail Kids.
AI Summary
This episode dives into the fascinating and surprisingly controversial history of Cabbage Patch Kids, those adorable yet oddly-faced dolls that sparked absolute chaos during the 1983 Christmas season. Josh and Chuck trace the dolls' journey from hand-sewn folk art creations to a massive global phenomenon, exploring how Xavier Roberts' partnership with toy giant Coleco turned a regional craft into a $2 billion empire—while also uncovering the lesser-known true story of the woman whose work he actually based the dolls on. Get ready for wild tales of shopping mall mobs, baseball-bat-wielding store managers, and DJ pranks involving B-26 bombers, all tied up in one of pop culture's most memorable toy crazes.
Drop Dead Gorgeous
1999
PG-13
1h 38m
★ 6.5
"I've seen Drop Dead Gorgeous, I know the rules, but this is different. — Chuck references Drop Dead Gorgeous when discussing the documentary filmmaker's rule of non-interference, suggesting that rule applies to that movie."
— Chuck
Enola Holmes
2020
PG-13
2h 3m
★ 7.2
"I did watch Enola Holmes on your recommendation. Yes, what'd you think? I liked it a lot, it was good. — Chuck watched Enola Holmes based on Josh's recommendation and praised the film and Millie Bobby Brown's performance."
— Chuck
My Octopus Teacher
2020
1h 25m
★ 7.9
"And actually, I think that guy is terrible. I think he's a terrible human being for not rescuing his companion friend for on two different occasions. — Chuck criticizes the documentarian in My Octopus Teacher for not intervening when the octopus was attacked, despite their friendship."
— Chuck
"He was featured on the TV show Real People, which I watched a lot as a kid — Xavier Roberts and his Little People dolls were featured on the television show Real People, which helped generate publicity for the dolls."
— Josh
Rocky IV
1985
1h 31m
★ 7.1
"Oh boy, it is really good. I mean, it's a high caliber documentary to begin with, but then the emotionality that it manages to dredge up is really, it's a really well done documentary in every way — Josh recommends a documentary about the Challenger space shuttle disaster, mentioning it's on Netflix and produced by JJ Abrams' Bad Robot production company."
— Josh
Toy Story
1995
1h 21m
★ 8.0
"Like all toys and all dolls, we've all seen Toy Story, we know what happens in the end. — Josh references Toy Story when discussing how toy popularity eventually fades, similar to what happened with Cabbage Patch Kids."
— Josh
WKRP in Cincinnati
1978
★ 7.5
"This was not WKRP in Cincinnati, but it was very much in that rich tradition of DJs, kind of conning people into acting like fools. — Josh references WKRP in Cincinnati when discussing a Milwaukee DJ prank involving fake Cabbage Patch Kid giveaway at a baseball stadium."
— Josh
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