How Did This Get Made? – "Double Dragon LIVE! (HDTGM Matinee)"

Hosts: Paul Scheer, June Diane Raphael, Jason Mantzoukas
Date: February 17, 2026
Location: Live in Philadelphia
Movie Discussed: Double Dragon (1994)

Episode Overview

In this riotous live episode, Paul, June, and Jason—joined by a raucous Philly audience—dive into 1994’s Double Dragon, a bizarre martial-arts/sci-fi/action film adaptation of the classic video game. They revel in the film’s convoluted logic, wild aesthetic choices, and the utter lack of connection to its source material, while debating burning questions like: Why does Alyssa Milano wear the world’s most confusing pants? What the hell are the Power Corps? And is the entire film just a fever dream of 90s video-game-adaptation nonsense?

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Movie’s Place in Bad Cinema History [02:26]

• Paul: The movie “might be one of the most insane films that we have ever done. It’s a little bit of Demolition Man, a little bit of Escape from LA. It’s a lot of Street Fighter in the sense it makes no f*cking sense. And it also feels like it could be a spiritual sequel to Super Mario Brothers."
• The hosts compare Double Dragon to other infamous flops, noting its strange mishmash of dystopian tropes and ‘90s aesthetics.

2. Connections (and Disconnects) to the Video Game [04:13, 07:29]

• Neither Jason nor June was familiar with the Double Dragon game before watching the movie; June didn’t even realize the film was based on a game.
• Paul: "While based on the game Double Dragon, it has literally no similarities to the game."
• They marvel at how the game’s basic premise (two martial artists fighting to save their mutual love interest) is mangled, asking whether the film even captures the spirit of beat-'em-ups.

3. What Is Going On With the Plot? (Pendants, Powers, and Robert Patrick) [09:03, 20:18]

• The “double dragon” concept is reduced to two medallions—“it looks like a best friends necklace. One of them’s got ‘be-fry’ and the other’s got ‘st-ends.’” - Jason [20:18]
• Robert Patrick plays an inexplicable villain who wants “total domination of one major American city” [30:33], despite seemingly already possessing it.

4. Post-Apocalyptic Los Angeles (and Its World-Building Failures) [13:00–15:08]

• The earthquake apocalypse is contained only to LA: “Just move,” Jason exclaims. “Move to Arizona. It seems [fine].” [14:27]
• Comedic riffing on the shaky logic: the city continues with karate tournaments, trash-fueled cars, and a bizarrely intact infrastructure despite the “dystopia.”

5. Alyssa Milano’s Character, Costume, and Hair [27:32, 37:54, 47:07]

• Alyssa Milano as Marion Lee—a “leader of a kid rebellion,” but with a baffling wardrobe:
• Jason, on the titular pants segment: "We’ve got to talk about these pants!" [56:05]
  The team (with audience help) painstakingly examines whether her wardrobe consists of shorts, chaps, jeans, garters, or all of the above (see Memorable Moments).
• The group also analyzes her infamous “blonde punk haircut.”
  June: “This hairdo will not look good on anyone. Not a single person.” [47:15]

6. The Power Corps Confusion [38:54, 48:40]

• Even after extensive debate, the hosts can't agree what Alyssa Milano's "Power Corps" faction actually does.
  Jason: “Alyssa Milano has all of New Angeles’s orphaned children who she is using as slave labor to power the city electrically.” [49:16]
• An audience member finally clarifies they’re vigilante anti-gangs, but even then, the hosts are unconvinced.

7. Unraveling the Film’s Wildest Scenes [26:42, 54:18]

• The group revels in the film’s fever-dream oddities:
  • Andy Dick as a post-apocalypse weatherman.
  • Trash cars fueled by Easy Cheese.
  • "Jack City" infomercials about earthquake-proofing buildings.
  • Outlandishly themed gangs, including mailmen and Mickey Mouse-gloved clowns.

8. Dissection of Video Game vs. Movie Finale [75:28]

• Paul plays through the original Double Dragon end scene for June and Jason: Billy and Jimmy, after defeating the gang, fight each other to the death for the woman’s affection, watched by a mysterious cat. Jason: “Doesn’t double dragon sound like a sexual position where brothers f*ck the same woman? Why can’t they just double dragon her at the end?” [78:19]
• They joke about the cat as the true boss, a running visual gag.

9. Audience Q&A and Second Opinions [62:35, 81:59]

• Philly audience members raise questions about the logic of the plot, the origin of "Jack City," the true nature of the medallion’s powers, and more.
• Paul shares "Second Opinions"—mostly mystified five-star Amazon reviews praising the film for reasons ranging from nostalgia to “costumes are spectacle to watch on an 84 centimeter television.”

Memorable Quotes & Classic Bits

• Paul: “It really scratches the itch of pretty much every bad movie we've ever done. I mean, it hits all the tropes kind of perfectly.” [05:24]
• Jason: “It is so close to a breakdancing movie. It's so close to being Breakin’ 3.” [05:04]
• June: "I didn't know there was source material. I just thought this was a story about double dragons." [07:00]
• Jason, on the medallion: “It looks like a best friends necklace. One of them's got 'be-fry' and the other's got 'st-ends.'” [20:18]
• Paul, on the villain’s plan: “I just want total domination of one major American city. Is that too much to ask for?" [30:33]
• June, on Alyssa’s wig: “How out of touch is her father that he doesn't know she's wearing a wig?...Kisses the top of her head. It's a wig.” [39:22]
• Jason, about Alyssa Milano's pants: “It's like a thigh-high boot made of denim.” [57:59]
• June and Jason, on the video game plot: “Brothers fight to the death—then she just kisses the winner while a cat watches.” [76:26]
• June, on the cat from the game: "There's something about the position of that cat." [79:38]

Detailed Highlights and Timestamps

[03:48] – Jason’s Introduction and Philly Banter

• Jason greets the crowd: “What’s up, jerks? How you doin’, Billy? That’s right. Double Dragon, Double D. Philly’s own Double Dragon, Double D—as Paul said, got those huge titties on the screen.”

[07:00] – June’s “No Video Game” Revelation

• June admits she had no idea Double Dragon was based on a game: “I thought this was a story about double dragons…I know Oregon Trail and that’s like it.”

[09:03 & 30:33] – What’s the Plot Again?

• Paul explains the game plot: brothers fight street gangs to rescue a love interest, only to battle each other at the end.
• Jason riffs: “They must rescue her and fuck her together as brothers and then kill themselves.” [09:29]

[13:00–15:08] – LA’s Bad Worldbuilding

• The hosts analyze the “post-apocalyptic LA” setting, noting that only LA is affected and everyone else should have just moved.
• “Why are they still having karate tournaments?”

[27:32–37:16] – Andy Dick, Jack City, and Trash Cars

• Andy Dick is a weatherman. “Vanna White. I think it’s an upgrade. George Hamilton. I think it’s…lateral.” [24:09]
• Easy Cheese car fuel and “Jack City” get lampooned as bizarre one-off bits.

[47:07–61:38] – Alyssa Milano’s Pants DEEP DIVE

• The group obsesses over her infamous “jean-garter-chap-shorts,” using screenshot searches and audience input.
• Jason: “It’s some sort of garter connecting the bottom jean to the top jean. I think.”
• Audience debate rages over the precise design and function.

[48:40–53:37] – Power Corps, Orphans, and Daycare

• No one can explain the actual mission or impact of Power Corps.
• Audience clarification: they’re anti-gang vigilantes, misunderstood by the police, but “seem like a rec center…and not a threat at all” (Jason).

[75:28–81:00] – The Absurd Video Game Playthrough

• Paul streams the end of the real Double Dragon NES game; June and Jason react in horror/amazement. The supposed “hero” wins the woman by literally killing his brother, under the nonplussed gaze of an inexplicable pixel cat.

[81:59] – Second Opinions Song

• A Philly audience member, Molly, performs a custom parody set to the Double Dragon plot.

[83:09] – Amazon Review Recap

• Paul and Jason share unintentionally hilarious five-star reviews, including one person who leaves their full San Diego address in the comment section in hopes of getting Bruce Lee DVDs sent to their house.

[85:40–88:24] – The Verdict: Would They Recommend?

• June: Despite thinking “I, of course, did not like the movie,” she admits it wasn’t a struggle to watch.
• Jason: “I would watch this. It’s like when you take Ambien and don’t remember you made a turkey sandwich.”
• Paul: “I think this movie is so fun and so bizarre and so weird…It has every trope of the movies that we watch on this show, but they're all together and it's shorter and less tedious than all those other ones.”

Notable Audience Interactions

• The crowd gets heavily involved, especially in the Pants Symposium and questions about Jack City (revealed to be actual local Philly public-access personalities!). [71:24]

Takeaways & Tone

• The tone is pure HDTGM: energetic, filthy, irreverent, enthusiastic, and self-aware.
• The cast relishes the film’s failures, cheerily dissecting every plot hole and wardrobe disaster, with constant callback jokes (Alyssa Milano’s pants, the confused cat from the NES ending, jacking metaphors, etc.).
• Double Dragon is held up as an exemplar of the “best-of-the-worst”—a movie so nonsensical, colorful, and trope-laden that even without understanding it, you somehow enjoy yourself.

Best Way to Listen

• Great for anyone who’s seen Double Dragon or enjoys HDTGM’s gleeful eviscerations of bad cinema.
• A classic episode, especially for its audience energy and the infamous “pants” rabbit hole.

Top 5 Most Memorable Quotations

• Paul: "It’s a little bit of Demolition Man, a little bit of Escape from LA. It’s a lot of Street Fighter in the sense it makes no fucking sense."
• Jason: "It looks like a best friends necklace. One of them’s got ‘be-fry’ and the other’s got ‘st-ends.’"
• June: “This hairdo will not look good on anyone. Not a single person.”
• Jason: “Doesn’t double dragon sound like a sexual position where brothers fuck the same woman? Why can’t they just double dragon her at the end?”
• June, on the video game cat: "There's something about the position of that cat."

For the Uninitiated…

You do not need to watch Double Dragon to enjoy this episode—HDTGM does what they do best: delight in confusion, spotlight the strangest moments, and bring the crowd in on every running joke. The episode is an ode to D-list cinema and the glorious nonsense of 90s pop culture.