Cinematic Omniverse

"Have you ever killed a man, George?" Christopher Lee has -- at least in the omniverse, where he's portrayed seductive monks, cult leaders, and reanimated corpses, to say nothing of all those vampires. Marty and Scott invite Abbey Schwartz back for their Halloween episode. Try not to lose your head as we revivify the following spooky classics: The Curse of Frankenstein  (1957, Dir....

Bombs away! Marty and Scott hurl their opinions at Columbo's second "publishing industry" episode, Moonlighting's "daddy issues" episode, and Forever Knight's "stop flashing back, Nick, we're in a hostage crisis" episode. Blown to bits herein: Columbo  S3E5 "Publish or Perish" at 2:06 Moonlighting  S2E14 "Every Daughter's Father...

How many "Scarborough Fairs" is too many? What do Mormons put on their hot dogs? Would you rather be paid in nickels or merkins? Scott and Marty wrap up their two-part survey of a legendary director. Annunciated in this episode: The Graduate  at 4:00 Angels in America Part I: Millennium Approaches at 26:00 Angels in America Part II: Perestroika at 57:35 Continuity Boulevard at 1:11:46 Li...

Who's afraid of Mike Nichols? None of his actors! Nor Scott & Marty, who celebrate Nichols's filmography of heartfelt human stories by examining the director's first, last, worst, and... best? Next week's episode will decide! This week, we check out: Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?  (1966) at 4:07 Working Girl (1988) at 21:35 What Planet are You From? (2000) at 36:43 C...

Marty and Scott ( MURDER! ) take listeners into the dubiously factual world ( MAYHEM! ) of subliminal advertising ( VAMPIRES! ). Maddie and David invent spiritually inquisitive banter. And Captain Stonetree has his finest ( GIVE US MONEY!!! ) hour. Tune in! This episode, we suffer existentialist crises over: Columbo S03E04 "Double Exposure" at 1:56 Moonlighting S02E13 "In God We Str...

Columbo gets political! Agnes spins off for an ep! And Toronto's best vampire cop uncovers the confusing secrets of the beauty industry! Shows we shoot the shit about: Columbo S3E3 "Candidate for Crime" at 2:05 Moonlighting S2E12 "North by North DiPesto" at 15:38 Forever Knight S1E19 "If Looks Could Kill" at 26:46 Plus Continuity Boulevard (at 40:52) and the Ligh...

Calice tabernac! Marty and Scott receive a much-needed refresher in Quebecois cursing in this, their second ep dedicated to Canadian film, in all its weird and wonderful forms. This week, they are "drivin' the 'bone" straight into the following four films: Bon Cop Bad Cop (2006, Dir. Eric Canuel) at 2:07 The Grand Seduction  (2013, Dir. Don McKellar) at 17:56 Drinkwater (2021,...

Lord T'underin' Jaysus! Marty and Scott return from hiatus with an episode that's more Canadian than hot poutine poured into a Beaver Canoe bunnyhug. Be prepared for some polite yet VERY adult content as M&S consider these four homegrown classics: Goin' Down the Road (1970, Dir. Donald Shebib) at 6:30 The Canadian Conspiracy  (1985, Dir. Robert Boyd) at 23:23 Exotica  (1994...

Stardate 2025.111: Joint Captains Scott and Marty of the  USS Omniverse set course for a curious cluster of  Star Trek -adjacent systems. Sensors are detecting the following lifeforms: Dark Star  (1974, Dir. John Carpenter) at 2:19 Enemy Mine (1985, Dir. Wolfgang Petersen) at 19:59 Free Enterprise  (1998, Dir. Robert Meyer Burnett) at 35:23 Galaxy Quest (1998, Dir. Dean Parison) at 50:54 Plus soni...

It's a mystery-filled world, but lucky for Scott and Marty, there are dicks aplenty to make sure justice is done. Sleuthed in this episode: Columbo S3E2: "Any Old Port in a Storm" at 1:48 Moonlighting S2E6: "The Bride of Tupperman" at 19:38 Forever Knight S1E18: "Feeding the Beast" at 29:48 Plus Continuity Boulevard (43:38) and the Lightning Round (57:18) Follow...

Scott and Marty hop a train to one of the Big Apple's most cinematic locations: Grand Central Terminal. Amid the hustle of the daily commute, dreams and nightmares are born. But will these four films make their connections, or are they fated to go off the rails? Listen for these important announcements: Seconds (1966, Dir. John Frankenheimer) at 6:06 The French Connection (1971, Dir. William...

Can beauty kill? Is Christmas a time for crime? Can vampires have their own reality TV show? The answers await, festooned with Scott-and-Marty-flavoured fun! Columbo S03E01: "Lovely But Lethal" (at 1:25) Moonlighting S02E10: "'Twas the Episode Before Christmas..." (at 14:25) Forever Knight S01E17: "Unreality TV" (at 25:50) Follow us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Go...

Marty and Scott continue to survey and salute the Voice of Vader. This episode takes them through the nineties, a decade known for its Hollywood cannibals. What has James Earl been jonesing for..? Listen for answers!* If you build it, commentary on the following films will come: Field of Dreams  (1989, Dir. Phil Alden Robinson) at 2:36 The Hunt for Red October (1990, Dir. John McTiernan) at 24:38...

In one of our most contentious episodes yet, we travel to the fabled realms of Zamunda, Hyboria, and France in pursuit of James Earl Jones's early film roles. If you're not coming with us, you're either suffering from catatonia or else you're just a baboon. BABOON!! James Earl Joints: The Great White Hope (1970, Dir. Martin Ritt) at 3:08 End of the Road (1970, Dir. Aram Avakian...

Columbo does a cooking show! Maddie meets the head of Network 23! Nick Knight pouts like a jealous teen! Scott and Marty are here to help you through it all. Columbo S2E8 "Double Shock" at 2:18 Moonlighting S2E9 "Atlas Belched" at 17:58 Forever Knight S1E6 "Only the Lonely" at 29:30 Follow us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or Amazon Music. Visit us at sl...

In the Golden Age of Hollywood, there was one star so bright, they kept casting her in films with "STAR" in the title! Scott and Marty provide you with the necessary cinematic pinhole box required to view Janet Gaynor's career (without permanent vision loss)! Featuring these flashes of brilliance: Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans  (1927, Dir. F.W. Murnau) at 2:47 Lucky Star  (1929, Dir...

A good detective show is like a chess match... or maybe it's like a blonde bombshell obsessed with her own portrait... or else it's like, um... vampires at Woodstock? Scott and Marty take their best shot with these unconventional episodes: Columbo S2E5: "The Most Dangerous Match" at 2:10 Moonlighting S2E6: "Portrait of Maddie" at 14:55 Forever Knight S1E13: "Dyin...

After a dynamite run in the 1970s, working under luminaries like Altman, Kubrick, Allen, and Gilliam, Shelley Duvall's career went... other places. Here, Marty and Scott scour the back half of this great actor's filmography... mostly so that you don't have to. Films we pressed against our eyeballs this week: Roxanne (1987, Dir. Fred Schepisi) at 2:51 Suburban Commando (1991, Dir. Bu...

CINEMATIC OMNIVERSE is back, with one of our favourite leading ladies! How did Shelley Duvall first become an actor? Which 1930s starts inspired her performance as Olive Oyl? Why do Scott & Marty find the word "coerced" hilarious? You'll find the answers (such as they are) in this, the first of two Duvall retrospective episodes! We cover DuvALL the following: Brewster McCloud  (...

Words cannot describe how monumental this, our 100th Episode, truly is... but we can't figure out how to make a silent podcast, so we're sticking with the talkies as we wrap up our series on self-reflective cinema. Join Marty and Scott as they scope out these four funky films: Tropic Thunder (2008, Dir. Ben Stiller) at 6:39 The Artist  (2011, Dir. Michael Hazanavicius) at 24:17 Once Upon...

Marty and Scott's centuries-spanning survey of filmic navel-gazing reaches an especially gaze-worthy era: the 80s and 90s. How did the Dream Factory imagine itself? And how do you even know it's a dream, unless you put a dwarf in it? Don't look into the camera! Just join us. The cinematic octopi we wrestle this week: Cinema Paradiso (1988, Dir. Guiseppe Tornatore) at 2:39 The Player...

Scott and Marty continue their chronological deep dive into self-reflective filmmaking. Tune in as they brave monkey ghosts, talking mimes, and the occasional crotch muppet in their tireless quest to answer the question: When you gaze into the camera's lens, does the camera also look into you? Films we chase down on our motorized wheelchairs: Sullivan's Travels (1941, Dir. Preston Sturge...

Scott and Marty go back -- WAYYY BACK -- to the nudists, clock goblins, and rarebit fiends of silent cinema -- as they launch an unprecedented FOUR PART series on how FILM SEES ITSELF! It's so exciting, it requires ALL CAPS and LOTS of exclamation points!!! Covered this week (Holy Monkeyshines!): Meta-movies of the 19th century at 4:00 A Trip to the Moon (1902, Dir. George Méliès) at 30:09 Th...

He's the paragon of character actors, and the podcast's unofficial mascot: Harry Dean Stanton. It's a labour of love as Marty and Scott ramble through his long filmography. Check it out! The Wrong Man (1956, Dir. Alfred Hitchcock) at 4:18 Paris, Texas (1984, Dir. Wim Wenders) at 18:37 Man Trouble (1992, Dir. Bob Rafelson) at 36:04 Lucky (2017, Dir. John Carroll Lynch) at 50:56 Conti...

It takes all sorts of people to make an underworld. Like... Vulcans? Leprechauns?! Canadian mayoral campaign managers?!? Scott and Marty circulate amongst a very odd rogue's gallery, and return to share all the results with you. In this episode, our televisual exposes include: Columbo S2E6 "A Stitch in Crime" at 2:12 Moonlighting S2E7 "Somewhere Under the Rainbow" at 14:36...