"Back to the Movies"

Gregg Turkington, starting even before the start of On Cinema at the Cinema, has bemoaned that the series has lost its focus on movies, instead spending more and more time on Tim Heidecker's interests and politics. He will frequently state that the show needs to get “back to the movies.” This fight over the direction of On Cinema as a program is the most fundamental of the series. Though the Star Trek debate originated very near the start of the podcast, and other minor disagreements cropped up, (such as Gregg's dismissal of documentaries, or Tim's disinterest in James Bond,) the two still were mostly cordial and in agreement over the course of the show. It is the disagreement over the direction of the show that changed On Cinema from a parody of know-nothing podcasters to a metatextual fight that would color nearly every interaction Tim and Gregg would have over the next decade.

After a summer hiatus in 2012, “season 2” of the podcast began with Podcast Episode 43: "Dirty Harry". Over the summer, Tim seemed relieved to no longer have to keep up with the pressure of constantly recording the show. At the same time, his interest in politics, which had simmered under the surface when he reviewed movies like The China Syndrome and Trinity & Beyond, had greatly expanded after reading an article about President Obama's deals with solar panel manufacturer Solyndra. He dedicated a significant portion of the show discussing his thoughts on the controversy, and then-presidential candidate Mitt Romney's response to it. The following episode, he continued to discuss Romney, and was dismissive of Love at First Bite, insulting the movie and stating that the podcast was not as successful as he wanted it to be, openly considering that a more political direction for the show, or an entirely new podcast, would be more successful. Here, Gregg pushes back, stating that the fans want more movie content, and that the political talk is detracting from the experience.