This week, we’re drafting some spies, secret agents, and con artists. Con artists? Why not? They all use similar skills—sometimes, it’s impossible to tell the difference. From fiction to spoof to inspired by real life, we’ve got it all. Also, is that Cate Blanchett or Tilda Swinton? Good luck, Jim. This episode will self destruct in five seconds. David J. Loehr with Tom McGrath, Chris Klimek and Nathan Alderman.
Put on your headset and get ready to jump into a polt, because we’re going to discuss “The Peripheral,” Prime Video’s adaptation of William Gibson’s novel. What makes its approach to certain famous sci-fi tropes unique? How interesting are the accents? Why is there an invisible car? We’ll answer those questions as soon as we flee to another stub. Jason Snell with Dan Moren, Erika Ensign, Lisa Schmeiser and Antony Johnston.
Store up some mana and watch out for maleficers and maw-mouths! We’re going to discuss Naomi Novik’s Scholomance trilogy, which takes the familiar story of a school for teenage magicians and does some very different things with it! Before the Spoiler Horn, we talk generally about the books and why you should read them. Then we dig into some of the details of how the series changes as it comes to its end. [Our next Book Club selection is “Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of ...
Our favorites from 2022, plus a few clips. Jason Snell with Moisés Chiullán, David J. Loehr, Dan Moren, Erika Ensign, Monty Ashley, Shelly Brisbin, Glenn Fleishman, Chip Sudderth, Tony Sindelar, Jean MacDonald, Cicero Holmes and Lisa Schmeiser.
The Knight before Christmas this year is David Lowery’s 2021 film “The Green Knight.” This year’s final Mothership episode is a game inside a gift inside a game, much like the movie. Is every episode featuring Glenn secretly (or not-so-secretly) about Zardoz? What secrets of the exotic West Midlands does Antony have to reveal? Find out as we champion diverging from the path as the most direct route to completing a quest. Moisés Chiullán with Antony Johnston and Glenn Fleishman.
Our annual Kilmas tradition leads us to watch the questionable 2000 sci-fi film “Red Planet,” in which Val Kimer is at his best, and several other actors are also present. Also, the main plot points of this film are so similar to “The Martian” that we’re now convinced Andy Weir must have seen this film and vowed to do it better. But if you’ve ever wanted to watch a dumber version of “The Martian,” have we found the movie for you. Jason Snell with Moisés Chiullán, Annette Wierstra, Erika Ensign a...
Star Wars gets serious with “Andor,” a show that gives us exactly what we needed (but didn’t know we wanted?) from the venerable franchise. We break down the plots, characters, and storytelling choices, live from John Siracusa’s living room! Jason Snell with Dan Moren, Tony Sindelar and John Siracusa.
At midnight on New Year’s Eve, the S. S. Poseidon, enroute from New York to Athens, met with disaster and was lost. A handful of podcasters follow the challenges faced by a handful of Oscar winners and other assorted stars from the 1970s to celebrate that 50th anniversary of this classic disaster flick. This is their story. Jean MacDonald with Steve Lutz, Shelly Brisbin and John Chidgey.
Are you calling us funny? Are we like a clown? Do we amuse you? More than thirty years later, “GoodFellas” still stands up. In honor of the late Ray Liotta, we break down Martin Scorsese’s classic film about street-level gangsters. Jason Snell with John Siracusa, Philip Michaels and Monty Ashley.
Put on a magic bangle and pick up your briefcase, because it’s time for us to discuss two Marvel Disney+ series that push the universe in some new and interesting directions, “Ms. Marvel” and “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.” Jason Snell with Erika Ensign, Cicero Holmes, Moisés Chiullán and Chip Sudderth.
“Weird” is the direct-to-Roku movie that accurately chronicles every aspect of Al Yankovic’s life. This podcast accurately chronicles every aspect of the movie. Lex Friedman with Quinn Rose, Kelly Guimont and Brian Hamilton.
We watched “Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” and “House of the Dragon” and have thoughts. Jason Snell with Moisés Chiullán, John Siracusa, Joe Rosensteel and Erika Ensign.
Put on a jacket and charge up your flamethrower, because it’s almost halloween, and that means it’s time for Old Spooky Club to discuss 1982’s “The Thing.” It’s foul and drippy and gooey—the Thing, that is, and not the movie. The movie’s not foul. It’s the other two, though. Jason Snell with Steve Lutz, Philip Michaels and Erika Ensign.
Our Old Movie Club sits down with a nice plate of fish and a large glass of water to watch 1972’s “Chinatown.” We discuss the merits of Jack Nicholson, the horror of John Huston’s character, and perhaps the perfect noir screenplay. Jason Snell with David J. Loehr, Shelly Brisbin, Dr. Drang, Steve Lutz and Philip Michaels.
Mystery and mayhem are on the menu as we draft favorite TV detectives. Thomas Magnum is off the board, but everyone else is fair game. Who will our panelists choose to figure out whodunit? Will it be the usual suspects? Surely Jim Rockford will be on the list, unless he didn’t get his voicemail… David J. Loehr with Shelly Brisbin, Nathan Alderman, Tom McGrath, Katie Siegel and Chris Klimek.
It’s time to reconvene our Book Club, not to talk about an awards shortlist but to recommend books from arbitrarily selected categories. So many books! And not many rocks, we promise. Antony Johnston with Erika Ensign, James Thomson and Jason Snell.
Grab your helm, pouch, and ruby and watch out for dream vortexes! The classic Vertigo comic “The Sandman” has been adapted to a new Netflix show. What do we love about this modern retelling of the story—and what are we unsure about? Tony Sindelar with Dan Moren, Glenn Fleishman, Sarah Hendrica Bickerton, Chip Sudderth and Shannon Sudderth.
Russell Crowe! Christian Bale! Natalie Portman! Are they starring in a prestige film that we’re sure to hear about when Oscar time comes around? No, it’s “Thor: Love and Thunder!” But while this movie might not be able to live up to “Thor: Ragnarok,” there are a lot of things we appreciated about it. And also some things we didn’t. It’s all about tone. Jason Snell with Kathy Campbell, Tony Sindelar and Chip Sudderth.
Mum, Dad, it’s evil, don’t touch it! The Summer of Time Travel reaches its end—or is it the beginning?—with 1981’s “Time Bandits,” a children’s fantasy written and directed and even featuring some Monty Pythons. Does it work for adults? Does the tone still work? We fall through a time hole and give our verdict. Jason Snell with Annette Wierstra, David J. Loehr, Monty Ashley and Shelly Brisbin.
What if H.G. Wells used a time machine to chase Jack the Ripper into the present day (of 1979)? It would look an awful lot like 1979’s “Time After Time,” we’re guessing. David Warner and Malcolm McDowell match wits! Mary Steenburgen is a modern lady looking for an old-fashioned man! Also Jason observes the film’s (pretty good) depiction of San Francisco geography and Jean confronts her young moviegoing trauma. Jason Snell with Jean MacDonald, Moisés Chiullán, Monty Ashley and David J. Loehr....
The Summer of Time Travel meets Rocket Surgery as we watch the very 90s, good-bad film “Timecop,” the movie that answers the question, “What would happen if you tried to kick time itself?” Jason Snell with Joe Rosensteel, Annette Wierstra and Monty Ashley.
We take a sideways break from the Summer of Time Travel by verse-jumping across realities to Everything Everywhere All At Once, the multiverse movie directed by The Daniels and starring Michelle Yeoh. Is empathy the superpower Doctor Strange needed all along? Too bad, because he isn’t in this movie! Moisés Chiullán with Brian Hamilton, Jean MacDonald and Sandra Wong.
The Summer of Time Travel begins/ends/continues (pick one) with 1989’s “Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure,” in which two dumb guys collect some of history’s greatest figures and take them to the mall. Party on, dudes! Jason Snell with Steve Lutz, Lisa Schmeiser, Kelly Guimont and Moisés Chiullán.
The days of appointment television are long gone, but what if you could create a streaming service broadcasting the best that TV had to offer in the 21st century? What shows would be on your marquee? We’ve got you covered, with our very first Peak TV draft (patent pending)! Will your favorite shows get drafted? Tune in to find out! Cicero Holmes with David J. Loehr, Jean MacDonald, Monty Ashley, Shareef Jackson and Moisés Chiullán.
The release of the super-meta “Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers” with John Mulaney and Andy Samberg on Disney+ put us in mind of a movie from which it borrowed a hunk of its DNA: “Who Framed Roger Rabbit”. We first toon, er, tune our dial to that classic, groundbreaking 1988 Robert Zemeckis-directed film, then look at its 2022 chip off the old block. Forget it, Dale, it’s Toontown. Glenn Fleishman with David J. Loehr, Shelly Brisbin and Moisés Chiullán.
Thirty-three episodes of new live-action “Star Trek” have now concluded, and we’re going to talk about all of it. We bring some tough love for “Discovery” and “Picard”, which disappointed us. But all is not lost—there’s a lot of unabashed love for “Strange New Worlds.” Jason Snell with Jean MacDonald, Joe Rosensteel, Tony Sindelar and David J. Loehr.
On the occasion of the publication of “The Nova Incident,” Jason asks Dan a bunch of questions from readers (and listeners) about his writing career, techniques, tools, and more. Jason Snell with Dan Moren.
Hello there! We discuss “Obi-Wan Kenobi” on Disney+, including Ewan MacGregor’s delight in the role, the return of Hayden Christensen, and balancing the needs of superfans with movies-only fans. Dan Moren with Kathy Campbell, Chip Sudderth, Tony Sindelar and James Thomson.
Put on your flying cloak and load up on pizza balls, because we’re here to talk about “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.” This is an interesting one, because most of us agree that the movie is fun and inventive in a lot of enjoyable ways—but also entirely mishandles its villain. Can you love a movie that also make you angry? We try! Some of us fail. Jason Snell with Sarah Hendrica Bickerton, Erika Ensign, Lisa Schmeiser, Monty Ashley and Glenn Fleishman.
Let’s face it, there’s not a lot of evidence to support the cause of adapting video games for movies or TV. And yet we tried the “Halo” TV series from Paramount+ and… liked it? We discuss making the Master Chief a real character with a strong supporting cast, why the UNSC is not trustworthy, the origin of Cortana, and the show’s connections to Star Wars, Firefly, and… 2001?! Jason Snell with Moisés Chiullán, James Thomson and Dan Moren.
