Robert Picardo joins us as we celebrate the 35th anniversary of Joe Dante's Explorers, the wistful and wild tale of three school friends who build a spaceship and set off for a close encounter of the Wak-y kind. Featuring the debuts of both Ethan Hawke and River Phoenix, this sci-fi adventure also includes not one but three memorable performances from Robert Picardo. He shares his memories of making this underrated cult classic, the challenges of working in Rob Bottin's elaborate make-up effects and his thoughts on the tonal differences between the film's two halves.
All this, plus our usual review of the film, which is one of Conrad's childhood favourites, but completely alien (pun intended) to Dan. Does it live up to Conrad's hype? Does it have the same effect without the filter of nostalgia goggles? 
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