Discerning Geeks Portal

Happy New Year! We welcome in 2024 with a slight departure from sci-fi and fantasy with the 1993 western, "Tombstone." - How many of the Geeks have a love for westerns, and how many of them were turned on to westerns by their dads? - What did the Geeks think about the huge, all-star cast? - Which deep or emotional aspects of the movie appeal to at least one of the Geeks? - Which line of...

Concluding our run of Christmas movies, we review the 1992 superhero sequel, "Batman Returns," which maybe should be renamed "The Penguin & Catwoman: Featuring Batman." - Did two of the Geeks possibly see this movie together during its 1992 theatrical run? - Which Geek, as a teenager, was on the local news for his out-of-the-theater reaction to the movie, and did he give ha...

This week, technically our season 4 premiere though awkwardly timed right in the middle of our Christmas run, we reviewed "The Santa Clause" the first of the movie & TV franchise that stars Tim Allen as the next Father Christmas. And, we had special guests: Dave's daughters, Evangalyne and Josephine. - Which reindeer was oddly missing from both this movie and the previous review...

Our 2nd Christmas movie review of 2023 is for the action-fantasy-heist film, "Violent Night," starring David Harbor, from "Stranger Things," as holiday legend and former warrior, Santa Claus. - How much were supporting cast members of this movie previously in Lifetime and Hallmark movies? - This is the type of movie that would normally be a tough sell for Todd and Dave. Did the...

Merry Christmas, everyone! And, welcome to the Discerning Geeks Portal's first Christmas movie review since 2021! This week, we are reviewing the 1989 Christmas classic, "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation." - How many National Lampoon's vacation movies are there, and did everyone know that number? - Which Geek said his review of this movie could pretty much be a rerun of...

We resume our Favorite Genre TV Seasons topic with our respective top 6s. If you missed our #10 through #07 picks and honorable mentions, listen to episode #147 first. The seasons discussed in this episode are from the following shows:  - Babylon 5  - Batman: The Animated Series  - Cowboy Bebop  - Dark Matter  - Doctor Who  - Fargo  - Fooly Cooly  - Firefly  - Fringe  - Game of Thrones  - Invincib...

This week, we begin a two-part discussion about our Favorite Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror/Superhero TV Seasons. Here in PART 1, we list our honorable mentions and the first 4 seasons in our ranked top 10 lists. Those honorable mentions and #10 to #07 ranks are represented by the following TV shows.  - Adult Swim Infomercial Series  - Alien Nation  - Babylon 5 - Battlestar Galactica (original)  - Buck Rog...

This week, we review the 2017 DCEU blockbuster, "Wonder Woman." - How tall is Gal Gadot? Is she undersized for playing an Amazonian? Does she fill out the costume well enough? - How did the Geeks feel about the casting of Gal Gadot, beyond the physical? - What did the Geeks feel about the adaptation of Wonder Woman, her costume & equipment, other characters, and the island of Themysc...

We return to the DCEU, for our 2nd review in that franchise, the 2019 moderate hit, "Shazam!" - Which support character received the earliest accolades in the review? - Which Geek had a semi-cryptic and half-hearted compliment as his first positive of the review? - Which Geek said this movie was on par with "Guardians of the Galaxy"? - Which Geek said he could relate to the Fre...

This week, we review the horror-comedy classic, "Ghostbusters," starring Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Leslie Jones, Kate--... Just kidding, it's the 1984 version, with Bill Murray, Dan Akroyd, Harold Ramis, Ernie Hudson, Sigourney Weaver, Rick Moranis, and Annie Potts. - How did Todd work in Babylon 5, London, and Dragon Con references into the first six minutes, and how annoying...

This week, we rank the movies of Phase 1 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. - Was there consensus among the Geeks on which MCU Phase 1 movie is at the bottom, or was the vote more split than expected? - Which Geek had a surprising & controversial pick for his #5 rank? - Which Geek had a surprising & controversial pick for his #3 rank? - Out of the six movies, how often did 3 out of 4 Geeks...

Todd & Preston's Drive-Time Chat #04 picks up where it left off with Part 2. In this continuation, the Geeks discuss... - The Star Wars "Ahsoka" series - Spooky season, something one Geek loves, the other maybe not as much - Dave Teague's Halloween parties - Preston's favorite rewatches around Halloween - Preston's love of the "The Last Drive-In With Joe-Bob Brig...

Welcome to Part 1 of Todd & Preston's Drive-Time Chat #04, where the car ride is imaginary, but the conversation is real. In this episode, Todd & Preston chat about... - Todd's trip to Dragon Con 2023 - Todd's first viewing of the cheesy 1980s movie, "Mac & Me," while at Dragon Con - Preston's review of the Agatha Christie-based Hercule Poirot film, “A Hauntin...

This week, we review the Mel Brooks horror comedy classic, "Young Frankenstein." It's been a while, but all four co-hosts, Dave, Todd, Andruw, and Preston, are here, and they have a wide range of opinions on this movie. - It might be called "Young Frankenstein," but is the movie older than all four co-hosts? - Which of the Geeks feels so strongly about this movie that he gi...

Picking up where the previous episode left off, Dave joined Preston and Todd in time to share Top 5 Single-Episode TV Stories. The Geeks' top choices came from the following shows. - Babylon 5 - Batman: The Animated Series - Dark Matter - Firefly - Fringe - Game of Thrones - Kolchak: The Night Stalker - Lost In Space (Netflix reboot) - The Orville - Star Trek: The Next Generation - Stranger Th...

We're finally covering our TV topics. First up, is Part 1 of our lists of Favorite Single-Episode TV Stories. In Part 1, we cover our honorable mentions, broken out by categories. Stay tuned for Part 2, which is all about our Top 5 lists. In this installment, our official (and unofficial) honorable mentions include episodes from the following TV shows: - Alien Nation - Are You Afraid of the Da...

Welcome back to Part 2 of Todd & Preston's Drive-Time #03, the imaginary car ride so long, we had to split it up. Here's what covered this time...  - Todd’s complete binge watch of Nathan Fillion cop show “The Rookie”  - Videos on TikTok and YouTube  - The premise of “House, M.D.” being, “What if Sherlock Holmes were a doctor”  - Babylon 5 animated movie “The Road Home” coming August 1...

This week, Todd & Preston improvise with part 1 of their third Drive-Time Chat episode, where the car ride is imaginary, but the conversation is real. Check out the topics covered by Todd & Preston in this installment...  - Reasons for the writer & actor strikes  - Examples of actors’ struggles from wrestling and “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”  - Movies & TV shows delayed by t...

Hello again, Discerning Listeners, and sorry for our unexpected hiatus, due to a combination of scheduling conflicts and some audio issues in this episode that required some extra editing. But, we are back -- whether you like it or not. (I see you, yeah you, the one guy in the corner who looks really disappointed that we're back; I see you, and Santa Claus sees you; you'll get coal in your...

This week, we reverse-engineer a review out of the 2003 movie, "Paycheck." This is a story of a Ben Affleck character having three years of his memory erased only to discover he has forfeited the huge paycheck for a job and has left himself 20 clues to stopping a major, future catastrophe. - Which Geek gets a bunch of jabs against the movie in early? - Which Geek considers this one of hi...

This week, the Portal takes an usually serious, scary, and mature turn as the Geeks review the 1982 supernatural horror film, "The Entity," a movie about a struggling single mother who is repeatedly assaulted & violated by a malevolent & unseen force. - Which genres & specific movies does Preston compare to this movie? - How well does this movie explore tough topics like trau...

This week we review the classic 1986 fantasy film, "Highlander." - In what ways does the opening scene of this movie have significance in 1980s wrestling, including the backstories of eventually-famous Hulk Hogan and Vince McMahon Jr.? And, which Geek is the one to know about it (this should be an easy one)? - Which Geek noticed something dirty in Connor MacLeod's apartment? - What d...

Welcome everyone to the 2nd installment of Todd & Preston's Drive-Time Chat #02, where the car ride is imaginary, but the conversation is real. In this episode, Todd & Preston covered the following topics... - “Grimm” - Peacock and Paramount Plus - “Obi-Wan Kenobi” - “Andor” - Streaming services in general - “Titans” - “Gotham” - “Doom Patrol” - “Peacemaker” - Clarification of previous...

Welcome back to the DGP ranking of the Star Wars movies! :) Here in Part 2, we pick up with each Geeks' top 3s of the 9 trilogy movies (a.k.a. The Skywalker Saga). Afterwards, the Geeks backtrack to fit in "Rogue One" and "Solo," rate the trilogies overall, and discuss the TV series. - All four Geeks have a different Star Wars movie ranked at #3. Which movie do you think ea...

Happy May the Fourth -- Star Wars Day! :) Listen now for Part 1 of The Discerning Geeks Portal's official ranking of the Star Wars movies. This is one of Andruw's topics, left waiting in the wings, but after some delay, we're finally debating our favorite and least favorite Star Wars movies. Andruw chose to have us only rank the nine movies of the trilogies, and we get to our bottom si...