Guys Of A Certain Age

What do Planet of the Apes, Psycho, and The Empire Strikes Back all have in common?  Besides the prominence of the letter P?  We can’t reveal that.  It would spoil the ending of the podcast.  But now you know there’s a twist involved in these and so many more classic films, and heck - they’re decades old to begin with.   So be a guy (or lady) of a certain age, put on your big boy (or girl) pants (...

2020 is a year that will be remembered, though there may be time we just want to forget it.  Luckily, for Guys of a Certain Age, forgetting gets easier and easier.  Graduates in 2020 (including Robbie's eldest from high school and Jay's from college) have had an unexpected finish, and instead of prom and tossing those funny hats, they will reminisce about online classes, virtual graduation and Zoo...

For a trio of oldish curmudgeons, The Guys sure seem to have a lot of toys.  And we're not talking about the proverbial "grown-up" toys like jet skis, jetpacks, and jet...jets - we're talking about toy...toys.  Legos.  Action figures. (They're not dolls.) And ships to transport the not-dolls to galaxies far, far away.  Which ones have stood the test of time?  Which ones did we desperately want as...

Listeners may have noticed that The Guys watch a lot of TV.  Or they watch a lot of content on a lot of streaming services on a lot of screens, at the very least.  How many times have you heard two of our co-hosts exclaim in surprise to the third, "You haven't seen that?"  Truth be told, though, we all have shows that have large fanbases, great Nielsen ratings, coveted advertising slots - even nat...

It’s week something-or-other in shelter-at-home, and we’re not sure what day it is - but the Guys are here anyway to keep you informed, entertained, and occupied while figuring out if you’re essential or not.   In this week's episode, they mourn the loss of a mad cartoonist, explore the possibilities of yet another streaming service, and debate the value of spoilers.  Random?  Of course.  What els...

Just because the Guys can’t be in the same room together during stay-at-home orders, doesn’t mean they still can’t ramble on for half an hour anyway.  Thank you, technology.   And this week they give their takes on a handful of technological breakthroughs that have now, essentially, put on the brakes.  From lightsaber apps, to aux cords connected to cassette tape adapters, to Billy Bass, to Netfli...

With Jay out this week, Robbie and Art "engage" in a spoiler-filled discussion of Picard, the latest Star Trek series from CBS All Access.  Far from being a Next Next Generation, this darker, more adult series has been well-received by critics and viewers, but what do 2 out of 3 Guys think?   Continuing to go where no Jay has gone before, Robbie and Art weigh in on the best opening themes for the ...

This week the Guys continue to practice safe social distancing with Jay actually taking it to the extreme by separating himself by both time and space (like Doctor Who!). This doesn't prevent them from making you an offer you can't refuse as they share some of their all-time favorite movie lines. 5 was supposed to be the limit for each, but there are several extras thrown in. And even more that ar...

It’s a weird world we are living in, and it’s getting weirder.   We’re all doing lots of things online, we’ve given up watching actual live sporting events, and we’re spending a lot of time indoors away from other people.  In other words: normal life for many in the geek-nerd community.   Who better than the Guys to help you find fun things to do in quarantine?  This week they go really old school...

As the world deals with COVID-19, attempts to "flatten the curve" have led to the cancellation of concerts, conferences, and sporting events including a favorite rite of spring, March Madness aka the NCAA College Basketball Tournament. No strangers to self-quarantine, the Guys use their Geek of the Week segment to offer several alternatives to get you through the live sports and entertainment drou...

Tech devices: can’t live without ‘em, can’t shoot ‘em.  (We’re not all Elvis, after all.) This week the Guys talk about the gadgets that  have revolutionized their existence - or at least make their lives a lot more … lively.   With phones and RunPee off the table, the banter turns to smart speakers, reading aids, and chicken thermometers.  And in a classic moment of a certain age, they talk CPAP....

Coming to you from alternate dimensions, the Guys are back to discuss the recent CW crossover event Crisis on Infinite Earths. First up they pay tribute to the late Larry Tesler, who brought cut, copy and paste to our computing lives and offer up Pluto TV as a great way for cord-cutters to enjoy favorite TV episodes, especially geeky ones from the past. Can someone say Dr. Who? (well, of course, w...

"One podcast. One podcast only, please." This week the Guys bring out the intel on Jack Ryan, Tom Clancy's CIA analyst turned field agent turned President of the United States. (And no, we don't mean Alec Baldwin's current portrayal of Trump.) They take a look at the actors who have played Ryan on the big screen and in the new Amazon Prime series and, performing some analysis of their own, rate th...

This episode takes a deep dive into gaming - unfortunately, the Guys’ pool is pretty shallow.   Thankfully we have Chortlecast co-host Jake back in the studio to help us navigate these strange new computer-generated worlds.  If you’re like Jay, and think the Wii is still the latest and greatest out there, or you still keep your Palm Pilot charged so you can play Tetris, Jake has suggestions.  (And...

Climate change, impeachment, healthcare - all those subjects were covered.  But it wasn’t a presidential debate…it was the Oscars!  And we watched it anyway.  Well, Art and Jay watched it - but that didn’t stop Robbie from having opinions.   In this episode, The Guys go down the list of Oscar nominees, winners, and in some cases, non-nominated-but-should-have beens, and tell you all you need to kn...

Is football really over?  Could it be true?  Well, of course not - XFL play starts next week!   But the Big Game, the Superest of Bowls, happened yesterday, in all its advertising glory.  The Guys had big plans to talk about the relevance of championship games across sports in general, with how the Super Bowl fit into that, but mostly they just ended up talking about the commercials.  And they wer...

The Star Wars trilogy of trilogies may be complete, and current faves such as Jack Ryan and the Mandalorian may not be back till the fall, but that doesn't mean our screens won't be busy in 2020.    In this episode the Guys look forward to all sorts of cinematic wonders in the year to come.  Marvel?  Eternally covered.  DC?  It's a Wonder-ful world.  Bond?  Finally.  Maverick is back, with Kenny i...

The year is still kinda' newish, and that means it's time for The Guys to talk resolutions.  But first, Geeks of the Week take a turn toward the cinematic, with Robbie's raving about the Morbius trailer, Jay's defense of his right to see AND enjoy Cats, and Art's fascination with the unique photography used in the movie 1917. After explaining to Jay who Morbius is, they move on to New Year's Resol...

This week the Guys talk all things Mandalorian.  The Disney+ series was generally declared a winner (whoops, spoiler) among all the Guys - even Jay, who continues to be educated on what’s canon, what’s not, and what all those little details mean, thoroughly enjoyed the show.  How could someone not love Baby Yoda?  Those who haven’t watched it all the way through should be advised - they pretty muc...

DON'T LISTEN IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN "Star Wars - The Rise of Skywalker!"  There Be Spoilers Ahead! This week the Guys show their true dedication to the podcast.  As a group, with sons in tow, they all went to see The Rise of Skywalker (Jay saw all but 3 minutes of it), then hopped in their landspeeders and dashed directly to the studio to record their thoughts (aka rambles) on the final movie of the...

The holiday season is drawing to a close, and that means one thing: we have to get back to regular eating, whatever that may mean.   But not before Robbie and Jay bring in a genuine teen chef to talk about holiday meals.  While Art left so he could actually make it home in time for dinner, Mark Coblentz took his seat at the microphone to talk family food traditions.   Mark happens to be Robbie’s s...

The best Christmas gift we could ever give! It’s the golden anniversary, the Jubilee episode: Guys of a Certain Age is 50!   And what better to discuss on such an auspicious anniversary than a variety of random topics.  Skywalker is about to rise, Christmas TV episodes are showing, Threat Level Midnight makes its debut, and somehow we still work in Dr. Who (a brief mention) and Isaac Asimov.  Jay...

It seems The Guys just can’t tear themselves away from the screen.  It’s Christmas time - the time for getting together with family and friends and thinking about the deeper meaning behind the holiday - and there’s so much more TV to watch, too.   Even the Geeks of the Week are screen-related: Robbie talks about Crisis on Infinite Earths, Jay found a Netflix show about toys, and Art mentions the n...

It’s the Christmas season, but that doesn’t mean this episode isn’t evergreen.  This week The Guys share practical tips!  All of us are old married Guys and that means one thing this time of year: figuring out how to choose just the right gifts for our wives.  Some are traditions - that makes it easy.  But those extras?  The surprise gift that you hope will wow your woman?  Well, that’s more of a...

Technology.  We can't live with it, and we can't shoot it.  (Isn't that how the saying goes?)  Ironically, on the day the Guys decided to talk about tech fails, the podcast equipment went a little squirrelly  But they (and by "they" we mean Robbie) got it working again so they (and by "they" we mean all the Guys) could get their curmudgeon on and grip about the ups and downs of society's dependenc...