This week we're talking all about the Predator matters. From comics to films and the lore that its steeped in - yes, even AVP - we dig into why this film that began with Jean-Claude Van Damme in a read monster suit jumping over logs became one of the cornerstones of action and science fiction in the 1980s, 90s, and today. Adrian leads us through the history of the franchise, its technical effects wonders, and more.
Friday the 13th turned 40 this year and now, we're going into why one of the founding fathers of slashers matters to horror and beyond. With the help of Mattshotcha , Lead Community Developer for Gun, we take through the history of the franchise, detail the genius of the first movie, and how sparked critic rage only to become a classic and maintain the status as the highest-grossing horror franchise until 2018 when another horror heavyweight Halloween dethroned it. We talk comic crossovers, disc...
Serial Box has been a leader in creating original content that offers subscribers the ability to listen to programs. Last month, the platform finished their first Marvel collaboration, Marvel's Thor: Metal Gods, and now this month they've begun a season of a new one: Marvel’s Black Widow: Bad Blood. This story is 14 episodes long and comes from an all-female writing team led by Lindsay Smith (Serial Box's Orphan Black: The Next Chapter ) , with writers Mikki Kendall ( Hood Feminism: Notes from t...
This week, we're celebrating a master horror: Junji Ito. In this episode, we dive into why Junji Ito matters to the horror genre, manga, and beyond. We go into a history of how he started as a mangaka, who he was inspired by, why he sees himself as an inheritor of horror and not an innovator, and of course how his journey into horror uses common fears. Plus, we do it all with booktuber, writer , and Ito fan, Cidnya! Keep up with Cidnya's work on Twitter , YouTube , and Instagram as @CidnyaReads ...
Red Heaven, an official SXSW 2020 selection, is a documentary film from filmmakers Lauren DeFilippo and Katherine Gorringe . the documentary follows six people who live for a year on "Mars," a secluded NASA experiment in Hawai'i made to simulate the isolation, terrain, and life that would be expected from a human on Mars . The goal of the experiment? To see what happens to humans when they are isolated from Earth. The subjects film themselves over the course of the mission and capture what happe...
Vida is entering its third and final season this weekend. The hit STARZ series focuses on two Mexican-American siblings from East Los Angeles who return home after the death of their mother. While their relationship is the focal point of the show, there is another pair of siblings that showcase different familial and cultural dynamics and are just as vital: Johny and Mari. Played by Carlos Miranda and Chelsea Rendon respectively, the pair have a bond that has been tested over the past two season...
It's the long-awaited episode about the one system that gets brought almost every episode: The Dreamcast. As Sega's last console, the Dreamcast had to dig the company out of the financial hole the Sega Saturn had put it in and it aimed to do so with the latest technology and incorporating the internet. As the first console of the sixth generation. In this episode, we talk about why this all mattered, how it created the foundation that Xbox Live was built on. And we do it all with the help of Cha...
This week, we're heading to Hyrule to talk all about why The Legend of Zelda matters. For more than 30 years, The Legend of Zelda has over 30 different games, selling over 75 million copies, and has become a pop culture staple. You may not have played the game, but we can bet you know what the triforce symbol is, or you've used a meme like "It's dangerous to go alone." In this episode we break down how the iconic franchise stands the test of time with its multiple timelines, timeless mechanics, ...
Published by Cerberus Interactive , Atlas Empires is a location-based multi-player strategy game that takes Augmented Reality (AR) gaming to the next level by fusing the classic strategy experience with location-based technology. Inspired by classics like Civilization, Atlas Empires expands on the beloved empire-building genre by carefully layering AR components. I got the chance to speak with Sami Khan, Cerberus' CEO and Co-Founder about the game, its innovations, and how his company aimed to a...
This week, we celebrate the release fo the Final Fantasy VII Remake by covering one of the most beloved RPG franchises in history: Final Fantasy. We break down how the original Final Fantasy VII shaped how we think about distribution, talk about best girls, and some of us make the claim that FF XIV is the best of the series. And we do it all with the help of Grant from Gilmore Ball Z.
In honor of the CBS All Access wrapping its first season of Star Trek: Picard, we decided to devote an entire episode to why Jean-Luc Picard matters. In this episode, Kate brings us through the creation of the character and all the red tape and stereotypes that went with it. We break down how the bald British classically trained actor, Sir Patrick Stewart, went from the person likely to play Data, to the man who defined a new kind of masculinity and leadership. To do this, we compare him to the ...
"Doom Matters" is sponsored by Podcorn* This week, we're celebrating the launch of Doom Eternal with a deep dive into the Doom Slayer, the franchise, the movies, and answer why Doom Matters all these years later. We discuss how id Software' s Doom paved the way for 3D shooters, inspired a wave of Doom-clones, and has succeeded with multiple relaunches of the series across time. *Want to sign up for podcorn? Head over to podcorn.com and start monetizing your podcast today!...
The Dead Lands is the Shudder Original co-production between the AMC genre streaming service and New Zealand's TVNZ. The series is an immersive fantasy grounded in Maori belief and culture. From traditional martial arts to rituals, The Dead Lands blends the horror, fantasy, and adventure genres by building this traditional hero narrative and Maori traditions. In this interview, I got the chance to sit down with showrunners Tainui Stephens and Glenn Standring and discuss the inspiration between t...
Most of the time an interview only has one host asking questions, but for this special occasion all of the But Why Tho? crew joined the conversation. After covering Guildhall Studios' Sea of Legends at PAX South 2020 , Kate, Adrian, and Matt couldn't wait to speak with the creative director of the studio, Ryan Schapals. If you're unfamiliar, Seas of Legends is a narrative-driven sandbox table-top where you get to play in a group as a pirate. For the gamers listening, it's Sea of Thieves as a boa...
In honor of Valve's VR game Half-Life: Alyx continuing the groundbreaking and iconic series, we're covering Half-Life . Find out why it matters, how it was developed, and how it came to define Valve as a company. Episode 132: Half-Life Matters...But Why Tho? is sponsored by Podcorn
IFC Film's Swallow hits limited theaters and VoD on March 6th. We got the chance to speak with the film's writer-director Carlo Maribella-Davis about the film. Maribella-Davis breaks down how he created the provocative and squirm-inducing psychological thriller , explaining his connection to the story and how he went about constructing an intimate story of a woman unraveling as she struggles to reclaim independence in the face of a patriarchal system. A story told in pastels and trauma, Swallow ...
This episode is sponsored by Podcorn* My Hero Academia has exploded quickly over the last four years. From the pages of Shonen Jump to the English translation from Viz Media and the distribution of simuldub episodes on FUNimation, this superhero manga and anime has taken over weeb hearts everywhere. In this episode, in honor of its second feature film My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising releasing today! In this episode, with the help of Dr. Emory (the man with the honor of being the only guests to h...
Dead End Kids , was one of the breakout indie hits of 2019 with the first issue alone when one to sell more than 7000 copies over two printings. From writer, Frank Gogol, the series was a coming-of-age story that resonated with many readers. Now, with his second miniseries, No Heroine, Gogol is exploring deep themes of addiction, responsibility, and ultimately the everyday struggles of recovery. But, he's making this exploration through the lens of a Buffy-inspired heroine's journey. Hit play on...
Eddie Martinez stars as Vic Soto in USA Network’s series, "The Sinner," as a former Marine and rising star detective who works alongside Ambrose (Bill Pullman) at the Dorchester Police Department. Martinez was originally born and raised in Colombia, but his family relocated to the United States when was nine years old and grew up in New York City. In this interview, Martinez talks about his began his acting career and he started acting in live theater. Martinez’s first break was getting a role o...
With the Star Wars animated series, The Clone Wars , saved and coming back for it's seventh season this Friday on Disney+, we thought it was time to dedicate an episode to the series. Set between the events of Episode II and Episode III, The Clone Wars began as an other series than the one we know today and a film. Now, it's one of the most beloved pieces of Star Wars media and has given us one of the most notable characters in the new canon: Ahsoka. For this episode, we're joined by Aaron from ...
In honor of Survivor's 40th season premiering tonight, we're celebrating and dissecting the pop culture phenomena that changed the face of reality TV. From tribes to challenges and controversies, here's our take on it all, led by Kate, our Survivor superfan.
We're back! It's been a nice hiatus but now it's time to talk about the little blue hedgehog with super-fast red shows: Sonic. With the new movie hitting theaters later this month, we thought it was best to discuss the character that built SEGA and led them to be the only console to top Nintendo in the 16-bit era. This episode we talk about platforming, characters, fan devotion, and of course the redesign for the movie that led to it being pushed back.
It's been three years since our paths crossed with the military gaming charity Stack-Up. Back then the podcast was still in it's first year, on its first episode, and they were recording in the middle of a hallway on the last day of PAX South 2017. Now, at PAX South 2020, the leading military gaming charity has been featured at The Game Awards , been included as a veteran resource in the national database, and have created a partnership with the CDC to help lower the high number of suicides amon...
Dungeon Defenders is a tower defense RPG that has been for nearly eight years. Now, from Kickstarter to PAX South 2020, it's time for Dungeon Defenders: Awaked. Developed by Chromatic Games, Dungeon Defenders: Awakened marks the epic return of the multimillion-selling co-op tower defense RPG series. We got the chance to speak with one of the game's producers Alec Saáre, while at PAX South 2020 about the title, the journey to the showroom floor, and just how the studio was able to complete the ga...
This week we celebrated a huge milestone: our very first live episode! In the LatinX Lounge at PAX South 2020, we got the chance to record a live episode on the podcast, tackling one of the most formative gaming experience we all have had, Halo. From co-op and Cortana to re-releases and all the different ways Master Chief has defined a generation of gamers, we talk about it all. PLUS, we even get some crowd interaction. We know there is a lot left to cover so look out closer to Halo: Infinite 's...
PAX has always put community first and has launched a variety of events within the cons to help empower gamers from marginalized communities. This is exactly what The gameHERs (pronounced "gamers;" stylized the*gameHERs) is doing, and with PAX South 2020 as their first convention, we got the chance to sit down with one of the founders, Heather Ouida, to discuss their cause and their platform which launches in March. The*gameHERs is a virtual and in-person community that connects all women gamers...
Horror is a genre that allows us to explore our fears, society's fears, and use it as an expression to bring out our struggles. This extends from cultural issues to personal issues like illness. in Dillon Gilbertson's Sweet Heart from Action Lab: Danger Zone, monsters are everywhere and no one is safe. As the ComixCentral’s 2018 People’s Choice award-winner, Sweet Heart is a new horror comic series created and written by Gilbertson, with art by Ghastly Award-winner, Francesco Laquinta, and color...
When it comes to new serialized stories, it isn't just television you should be looking to, but Serial Box. Earlier this year, the platform dropped the continuation of science fiction favorite Orphan Black , with Orphan Black: The Next Chapter. Now, the audio and reading experience that is perfect for hungry readers launches its first title in partnership with Marvel Comics- Thor: Metal Gods. Thor: Metal Gods, the first of several original serialized fiction and audiobook series based on Marvel ...
It's Christmas time!! To celebrate this time of year, we're diving into the importance of a Christmas classic; DIE HARD. We cover the production history, the sequels, and just how Bruce Willis redefined what it means to be an action here. We also talk about Die Hard in a school, Die Hard on a bus, Die Hard on a cliff, and ask: Where is Die Hard in space?
We haven't done one of these in a while but we figured we'd follow up our most downloaded episode, our spoiler review of The Last Jedi, and cover the end of the Skywalker Saga as we know it now - granted, Disney+ exists. We talk about our issues with the film, what we loved, and debate whether or not the sequel trilogy will hold up as a unified body of work. We discuss our faves, force sensitivity, and Rey's past. BE WARNED, spoilers there are. We also bring back Ritz, the owner of Comics Horizo...
