Discerning Geeks Portal

Preston & Todd review the first three episodes of "Pluribus," one of their favorite shows of the previous season. The world is hit with an alien virus that turns humanity into a hive mind. Fantasy romance author Carol Sturka is one of very few humans, barely over a dozen, in the whole world unaffected and still maintaining individuality and free thought. Episode 1, "We Is Us,&qu...

Preston & Todd are back to review great TV shows of 2026. Which shows are we recommending to each other and to you, the audience? Which shows are we both watching? Are they all great, or are there any disappointments so far? And, what are we looking forward to in the near future? In this episode, we cover the following packed list of shows...  - A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (season 1)   - Al...

This week we take a discerning look at "Project Hail Mary," a pleasant & uplifting story of a human and an alien working together to save their worlds. - Which Geek pointed out believability & humor as two of the main strengths of the movie? - Which Geek sited a charismatic & likable main character as a major positive of the movie? - Which Geek really enjoyed the German scien...

Welcome, Discerning Listeners, to our 200th episode! :) In this episode, Preston and Todd take a look back at some of the best of the previous 99 episodes. This podcast was started in the year 2000 as a way for friends to stay in touch during the pandemic. The pandemic is over, and after 200 episodes, we're still going. Along the way, enjoy clips from some of those best episodes. - Preston and...

We return to "The Simpsons" with a review of "Treehouse of Horror" installments 09 to 12. Themes in these special Halloween stories include a cursed toupée, cartoons brought to life, alien parentage determinations on "The Jerry Springer Show," murder cover-ups, "Xena: Warrior Princess," Y2K, Homer as a ghost, Grimm's fairy tales, ticked-off dolphins, a l...

A few weeks ago, Preston introduced Todd to his first big screen anime film, "Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle," a movie about warriors trained in magical martial arts taking on demons in a hell-adjacent lair known as the Infinity Castle. Note: The official name of the movie is "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle," but that's a mouthful, so we refer to...

It took a little while for both guys to see it and then to record about it, but Preston & Todd finally review the new "Superman" movie. - Did the Geeks think this movie got the tone for Superman correct, especially when compared to the Superman interpretation in the DCEU? - Do the Geeks feel like Perry White & Jimmy Olsen know that Clark Kent is Superman, or is the hint in the mo...

Preston & Todd review one of the most anticipated movies of the 2025 summer season, "Fantastic Four: First Steps." Was F4:FS a hit for dynamic duo of movie reviews? Did they both love it? Did one Geek like it more? Was Galactus done well? Did the Fantastic Four themselves have satisfying family chemistry? Were the visuals amazing? Listen now to find out. You can e-mail us at discerni...

Todd & Preston conclude their mid-year review focusing on the following TV shows from the 2nd half of 2025.  - 9-1-1  (ABC / Hulu)  - Am I the A-Hole (Smosh YouTube Channel)  - Andor  (Disney+)  - Common Side Effects  (Cartoon Network - Adult Swim)  - Daredevil: Born Again  (Disney+)  - Doc  (Fox / Hulu)  - Doctor Who  (Disney+)  - Ghosts  (CBS / Paramount+)  - Hacks  (HBO / Max)  - Harper’s I...

Join Preston & Todd as they recap the first half of 2025. In Part 1 of this two-parter, they cover movies they've seen from January to June of 2025. Granted, they didn't see a lot of new 2025 movies, so some of their picks are older movies that they just saw for the first time this year. In this episode, the Geeks cover...  - Captain America: Brave New World  - Minecraft  - Thunderbolt...

In this trip back to the 1990s, the Geeks investigate two "Batman: The Animated Series" episodes, "Almost Got 'Im" and "Baby-Doll." These are two episodes chosen by Preston for Todd to sample. - "Almost Got 'Im" is an episode where a handful of Gotham City's biggest villains play poker & reminisce about times that they almost defeated Batman....

This week, the Geeks review the original 1987 cybernetic law enforcement movie, "Robocop." I'd buy that for a dollar...but, you get to listen for free. - This was one of the picks still remaining from our dearly departed Dave Teague. When asked why he might have chosen this movie for the list, one Geek had an immediate answer. What did he say? - What did the Geeks have to say early i...

Better late than never. Right? Maybe? This special time-capsule episode is a Todd & Preston's Drive-Time Chat from October 2024 that was held back, first to make room for other time-sensitive episodes...and then forgotten. But, it's finally here. Take a trip back in time to hear Preston & Todd discuss the following movies & TV shows... - "Transformers One" - "Bor...

In this episode, we review "Real Genius" (1985), the 2nd feature film in the long career of Val Kilmer (b. 1959, d. 2025). Recorded on 22 June 2024, this is a "time capsule" episode. - Which Geek was the most excited about reviewing this movie? - Which Geek was the most...confounded(?)...by the movie? - Which science classes did the Geeks take in college? Which Geek(s) took onl...

We hope you enjoyed the "Thunderbolts*" review from episode #189. During that recording we also talked about summer movie trailers, classic episodes of this podcast, the 1980s horror-comedy "Killer Klowns From Outer Space," the Oscar-winning "Anora" (and what Todd thought about it; can you guess whether he liked it or not?), and more. The recording lasted over two hou...

The Geeks have their first review from summer 2025, the new MCU movie, "Thunderbolts*." - How do the Geeks feel about the use of prevalence of guns in a Marvel movie? - What real-life politician did Preston relate to Julia Louis-Dreyfus's character in the movie? - Was this movie too drab, and how much could that be the fault of the projector in the theater where the Geeks saw the mov...

We're back with a review of a classic movie, "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory." Sure, it's gotten another adaptation and a prequel, but this is the original 1971 version starring Gene Wilder. - Is Willy Wonka benevolent & eccentric or a psychotic child-murderer? Do the Geeks have an answer to the question, or is the movie successfully ambivalent on the matter? - What...

The wait is over. It's time to reveal our top 8 picks! Preston & Todd complete the Favorite Female TV Characters countdown, highlighting standout women from space opera, fantasy, gritty dramas, comedies, animation, and more. The female characters in this episode include... - 3 military officers from sci-fi shows - 2 business owners from two very different kinds of shows - 2 housewives from...

From brilliant scientists and fearless leaders to quirky oddballs and animated icons, television has given us some unforgettable female characters. In this episode, Preston & Todd kick off a two-part countdown of their all-time Favorite Female TV Characters, revealing ranks 20 through 09. Way back in episodes #037 & #039, the Geeks listed their Favorite Sci-Fi TV Characters.  Many of our f...

Continuing with the 2024 Year In Review, the Geeks list and rate their favorite TV seasons of 2024. There's also a little bit about music, wrestling, and books. The TV shows covered in this episode include: ABC / Hulu  - 9-1-1  (seasons 7 & 8)  - High Potential  (season 1)  - The Rookie  (season 6) Amazon Prime  - Batman: Caped Crusader  (season 1)  - Fallout  (season 1)  - Lord of the Rings:...

Welcome to 2025, and thanks for returning to the Discerning Geeks Portal. In PART 1 of our two-part 2024 Year-In-Review, we take a look back at movies we've seen & even some movies we were only tempted to see & a few we were glad we did not see. Throughout the discussion, the following movies get at least a mention, if not a deeper dive... - Alien: Romulus - Atlas - Beetlejuice Beetlej...

Finishing off the holiday season, we review the Christmas episodes of the TV show "Grimm": 3.08 "Twelve Days of Krampus" and 4.07 "The Grimm That Stole Christmas." Technically, we also briefly mention 1.07 "Let Your Hair Down," but that episode would barely be about Christmas at all if not for one single scene. - This episode starts with a tangent about the TV show "Farscape." What did the Geeks t...

The movie doesn't have a sequel, but now the review does. We revisit the holiday classic, "The Muppet Christmas Carol." This time, Todd re-evaluates the movie with Preston, who wasn't with us the first time around, in episode #028 (check out that episode for the first version). - What examples did the Geeks have of Muppets being comforting, diplomatic, the theme of the best ride at Disney World, g...

Merry Christmas! Next up in our Christmas movie reviews is "The Nightmare Before Christmas." - If the various holidays (each represented by a tree in this movie) each got their own movie and eventually crossed over to form the "Nightmare Before Holiday" Cinematic Universe, which holiday (or maybe day of the week) would be the antagonist? - Does this movie contain any deeper meanings, and what coul...

Merry Christmas, and welcome to the last minute marathon of Christmas-related movie reviews for 2024. First up, we review "Iron Man 3." We reviewed "Iron Man" and "Iron Man 2" in episodes #011 & #099. This makes the 3rd trilogy that we've completed, having reviewed the "Back to the Future" trilogy in episodes #058, #065, and #088, and "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy in a two-parter, episodes #...