Ep900: Late Screening: WARGAMES (1983)

This month, Ian and Cole look back on 40 years of John Badham's brainy, ballistic blockbuster, Wargames!

The 1983 techno-thriller finds high school computer genius David Lightman (Matthew Broderick) on the run from the Feds after he mistakenly hacks into the Defense Department's new "War Operations Planned Response" system--which runs constant simulations of World War III. Can David, his friend, Jennifer (Ally Sheedy), and the WOPR's co-creator, Professor Falken (John Wood) shut down the "game" before the world's missile silos are emptied out?

This spirited and surprising discussion is not only the Kicking the Seat Podcast's 900th episode, it is also an essential look into what makes "Late Screening" one of our favorite series. Between the Gen Xer who grew up loving Wargames, and the Millennial who watched it for the first time in preparation for this show, the opinions are as revealing as they are audacious.

Thanks for watching, everyone, and here's to another 900!

Show Links

• Watch the Wargames trailer.

• Read Cole's Tor.com article, "Five Memorable Takes on Artificial Intelligence".

• And it's never too late to catch up with our full "Late Screening" Playlist.

• Subscribe to, like, and comment on the Kicking the Seat YouTube channel!