The 42cast

Last week we boldly went so far that we needed a whole other episode to come back. As a result this episode gives you the second part of our exploration of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. In this episode we tackle such questions as “does a legal procedural work in space?”, “how many times can you bust a series’ format before it’s too many?”, and “how many original series characters do you need to h...

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds continues to gain prominence among fandom. Telling stories about the crew of the Enterprise in the days when Pike was captain, the series evokes a retro feel while boasting modern effects. In this episode we provide the first half of our discussion of season two of the series. We discuss new characters like Pelia and what we think about her. We talk about the prevalen...

Superman month concludes this week, but we couldn’t leave without talking about the last iteration of The Man of Steel. In this episode we look at the entirety of the DCEU – from a franchise of franchises overseen by Zack Snyder to a disjointed dying gasp of poorly performing films and ones pulled before they could see the light of day – we go over the ins and outs of the series. We talk about the...

Superman is high in the public consciousness today, so we’re taking a step back and looking at the movie series that many still site as the quintessential version of the character. In this episode we discuss all four of the Superman movies that starred Christopher Reeve as well as Superman Returns, a movie intended to be a sequel to those earlier films. We talk about Reeves in the roles of both Cl...

Superman & Lois was the final DC series produced by the CW. Originally meant to be part of the Arrowverse, the series blazed its own path once it was determined that crossovers wouldn’t be possible with Covid production restrictions. In this episode we talk about the fourth and final season of the series. We discuss the comic origins of the series. We talk about the use of Lex Luthor and Dooms...

My Adventures with Superman is an animated take on the man of Steel that airs on the Cartoon Network and HBO Max. The series provides a slightly different take on Superman, following his adventures as a young intern at the Daily Planet and featuring an anime inspired style. In this episode we review about both seasons of the series. We talk about the characters and how the different lens of the se...

This episode is dedicated to the memory of Peter David. Crusade was a spinoff of the popular series, Babylon 5 that aired on TNT in 1999. Twenty years later several fans of the series and writer Peter David sat down at Dragoncon to discuss the series. We talk about favorite episodes, things that we liked about the setup for the series, production woes, and why we think that it was gone too soon. W...

Thunderbolts* was one of the risky ventures that Marvel puts out from time-to-time. Featuring a cast of supporting characters from previous films and series, the story catapults several characters to prominence while doing a fair amount of Marvel world-building and character development. In this episode we go over Thunderbolts*. We talk about the plot of the film and how well it works as a bridge...

The first season of What If…? was a surprise hit. Showcasing different paths that the MCU could have taken allowed the storytellers to reveal new aspects of familiar characters. In this episode we talk about the second season of the series. We discuss the various plot lines and what we think about them. We also compare it to the first season and what we think of the overall course of the season. W...

Resident Alien is a clever series that combines hilarious, off-beat comedy with an interesting science-fiction narrative. In this episode we delve into the series. We talk about the amazing cast that they’ve built up, and what we think about the characters and their situations. We discuss the plot lines and what we feel has worked and what hasn’t. We also get into the tone and why this series feel...

In this episode we talk about the most popular actor to play the Doctor with Tom Baker. We discuss his legacy and why he does rank so high in people’s estimation. We examine the controversies of his era such as whether there was too much violence and how he treated his costars. We also take a firm focus at the three different producers that he worked under and what effect they and their affiliated...

After a long hiatus due to the writer’s strike, the MCU returned last February with Captain America: Brave New World. While many fans of Falcon and the Winter Soldier had high hopes for this movie, there were concerns about the use of characters from 2008’s Incredible Hulk, the minimal involvement of Bucky Barnes, and the reshoots that resulted in inserting a completely new main character in the f...

The My Little Pony franchise has been around for a long time and has spawned many animated series. In this episode we discuss the Friendship is Magic installment, which lasted from 2010 to 2019. As arguably the most successful incarnation of My Little Pony we examine why that might be. We discuss the characters and why they create interesting hooks for the audience. We talk about the mythology of...

The first season of Loki was one of the most popular Marvel series on Disney+. It only made sense for Marvel to do a second season. In this episode we review the Loki series. We discuss the plot and whether all of the elements work. We talk about unusual performances and new characters. We also get into the Jonathan Majors controversy and how this may have effected this series as well as what we t...

In this episode we interview the man, the myth, the legend, the Maestro of the Marquis, the human gorilla, Mr. Mark Finn . Mark has been a regular on The 42cast, but this is our first time discussing his past in depth. Join us as Mark discusses his early forays into the world of comic books, pulp novels, and role playing games. Stick with us as Mark talks about early days in the theater, radio dra...

The 90’s was a time of great innovation in animation. The medium had been dominated by stand-alone episodes and simple storylines for decades. In the 90’s even the traditional networks’ programming pushed the envelope. More series with serialized storytelling were being told. An overall movement advanced to tell stories with more grown-up themes and utilizing plots and humor that would appeal acro...

The War of the Rohirrim was the first attempt by Warner Bros to extend the use of their Middle-Earth license to include stories beyond the written works of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. Set 180 years before the events of The Lord of the Rings, it tells the story of how Helm’s Deep got its name and showcases the daughter of Helm, Hera. Conceived as an anime, the script was written in English an...

Rogue One has gained a cult following within Star Wars fandom and has a wide appreciation from a large swathe of the fandom. Perhaps unsurprisingly, there was a desire within Lucasfilm to capitalize on that by creating a prequel series about one of the main protagonists of the film, Cassian Andor. The titular series follows Andor as he is slowly recruited into the rebellion against the galactic em...

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was the first of the Marvel TV series to tie in with the MCU and it was almost the last to air before the collapse of Marvel’s TV division. In this episode we look back at the final season of the series. Along the way we discuss whether the time-travel McGuffin and callbacks to previous episodes created a satisfying conclusion to the series. We’ll talk about the inc...

In this episode we go to Chicago TARDIS 2024 to present you with an interview discussion with Wendy Padbury, Frazer Hines, and Sophie Aldred who played Zoe, Jamie, and Ace respectively in Doctor Who. The trio discuss convention memories, what was special about their respective eras, writing asperations, Doctor Who characters they wish that they had worked with, and what they want young fans to app...

With the release of the second part of Denis Villeneuve’s Dune there are now three live action adaptations of the story. In this episode we examine the Lynch, Harrison, and Villeneuve adaptations. We discuss what we like about each one and talk about the things that we felt do not work in each. We compare notes on the various portrayals of characters and debate what worked and what didn’t in terms...

85 years ago, L. Frank Baum’s classic tale was adapted into the first film that used technicolor. That movie was The Wizard of Oz. In this episode we discuss that epic film. We talk about the acting, characters, and the sheer spectacle that must have left crowd’s awestruck. We discuss the themes of the source material and how well this film works as an adaptation. We get into the Disney sequel mad...

It was a title so good that we had to use it twice. In this episode we take a deep dive on Invincible. It’s a coming of age story about Mark Grayson, a teenager who has to navigate attaining super powers, his father’s secret, and getting into college. We discuss the phenomenal story and what makes it so unique at a time when we have so much superhero content. We also talk about the phenomenal voic...

Marvel’s Runaways adapted a relatively unknown but also fairly recent comic book concept for the small screen. The story followed the children of super villains who ran away from their parents and become heroes. In this episode we take a look at the final season of the series. We discuss the plotlines and how well this final season wrapped up the plot of the series. We talk about the depiction of...

The 42cast is proud to welcome Captain Power himself, Timothy Dunigan , to the show. In this episode Tim talks with us about his career starting with performing in high school plays to starring in his own TV series and beyond. Along the way he discusses being the original Faceman in The A-Team, guest starring in almost every TV series of the 80’s, working for Disney as Davy Crockett, and being Hol...