Radio vs. the Martians!

We continue our chat with Michael Warbington , as we look at the trajectory of big-budget franchises and the knee-jerk fan anger that Martin Scorsese’s criticisms of “theme park” movies vs. “cinema”….and maybe he has a good point? And maybe we should really stop complaining about the apparent theatrical monopoly of blockbusters and start championing smaller inde...

They picked the wrong man to clone. After more than a year, we’re back! We’re backing up our syncords and eating some nacho-flavored bananas with the Camp Director and President of Camp Quest NorthWest , Michael Warbington , because this month we’re talking about the near-future sci-fi thriller: The 6th Day ! After a case of mistaken identity, charter pilot Adam Gibson returns ho...

We’re joined again by Tobiah Panshin to dig into some movie talk. Is there really a hard divide between popcorn blockbusters and what Martin Scorsese calls “cinema”? Will the shadow of the pandemic change anything about movies going forward? And we talk about the oddity of Zack Snyder’s 4-hour cut of the Justice League film, and how it inexplicably exists beyond all probabi...

“Wonder Twin powers — Activate!” This month, we’re balancing teen angst and superheroics with returning guest Paul Hix of Waiting for Doom – the Doom Patrol Podcast to gush over over the hilarious satirical DC Comics maxi-series: Wonder Twins ! Exiled to Earth from the utopian planet Exxor, super-powered teens Zan and Jayna must now juggle high school with their after-schoo...

We continue to work the registers with Tobiah Panshin , going to places both weirdly metaphysical and painfully mundane. First, Mike thinks it might actually be preferable to live in a hypothetical computer simulation than a “real” universe. What is real, anyways? Does that make our programmers gods?  Is the act of creation inherently selfish — and if it is, does that even matter...

Adventure doesn’t come any bigger than this. We’re back in the studio and ready to cross swords with Tobiah Panshin , the author of The Game Master: A Guide to the Art and Theory of Roleplaying , and dive into George Lucas and Ron Howard’s high fantasy tale of magic and child endangerment: Willow ! When a diminutive farmer, Willow Ufgood, finds a baby princess prophesied to destr...

We’re continuing our talk with Patrick Johnson , and we’re waxing nostalgic. We look back at the sliding timeline of The Simpsons and try to count the anachronisms as they pile up . But nothing could prepare us for the existential crisis triggered as we realize that under current show continuity, Homer Simpson is now a Gen-Xer. We also reminisce about our brief time as public access TV...

“We’ve all been raised on television to believe that one day we’d all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars, but we won’t. We’re slowly learning that fact. And we’re very, very pissed off.” In the first Single Serving Selection in over a year, we are Jack’s complete lack of surprise. We’re stealing human fat from dumpsters and peeing...

We’re joined by Australia’s own Paul Hix from Waiting for Doom – the Doom Patrol Podcast , to dig into the latest and strangest conspiracy theory: Bird Trutherism ! Counterfeit avians? Feathered Cameras in the Sky!? Why does it feel like the desire to answer serious questions in the most unserious ways has gone frighteningly mainstream? Has the legalization of marijuana in many s...

After over a year, we’re back with a new Black Ops podcast, we join Joe Preti to continue our conversation from last month. We talk about Mike’s acquisition of a hardcover omnibus collection of the 1983’s Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe , a remarkable creation of a pre-internet age and a time capsule of a time gone by, and wax nostalgic for why obsolete continuity can be...

In our latest plot to lose any conservative listeners, we’re back! We’re chatting with Joe Preti , who offers his defense of the much-maligned and frequently buggy Cyberpunk 2077. We dig into the often unreasonable expectations of both gamers and game companies, and why the video game industry exploits their workers and releases unfinished, broken games. Is online gaming inevitably tox...

Broadcasting live through the smoking ruins of the ‘Quar, we’re back! Again! This month, we’re joined by Patrick Johnson to try and make sense of it all. We dig into everything from obscure – but real – DC Comics characters, to the limits to which Casey’s kids can make him rewatch the LEGO Batman Movie . And we look at the massive outpouring of parental joy and...

It’s a Captain Picard Day miracle! After a five-month hiatus, we’re back….ish. We’re broadcasting remotely with KTQA Radio ‘s Sam Mulvey and trying to shake some of the cobwebs out. Casey meets a wild Keanu and we wonder ponder again the magical unicorn nature of his celebrity namesake. And on the opposite end of the moral spectrum, we predict the inevitable airlock a...

[As we continue our show hiatus, it has been decided by the fine people who support us on Patreon that we are going to make public — or ‘declassify’ — one of our Patreon-exclusive Black Ops episodes every month. This month, our patrons have personally selected this episode to help fill the gap! Consider it a look back at the ‘Before Times’] Original Patreon release date: August 17, 2016 We finally...

[As we continue our show hiatus, it has been decided by the fine people who support us on Patreon that we are going to make public — or ‘declassify’ — one of our Patreon-exclusive Black Ops episodes every month. This month, our patrons have personally selected this episode to help fill the gap! Consider it a look back at the ‘Before Times’] Original Patreon release date: July 9, 2019 We chat a bit...

[As we continue our show hiatus, it has been decided by the fine people who support us on Patreon that we are going to make public — or ‘declassify’ — one of our Patreon-exclusive Black Ops episodes every month. This month, our patrons have personally selected this episode to help fill the gap! Consider it a look back at the ‘Before Times’] Original Patreon release date: July 1, 2016 Here is the v...

[As we continue our show hiatus, it has been decided by the fine people who support us on Patreon that we are going to make public — or ‘declassify’ — one of our Patreon-exclusive Black Ops episodes every month. This month, our patrons have personally selected this episode to help fill the gap! Consider it a look back at the ‘Before Times’] Original Patreon release date: July 26, 2018 In what is a...

[As we continue our show hiatus, it has been decided by the fine people who support us on Patreon that we are going to make public — or ‘declassify’ — one of our Patreon-exclusive Black Ops episodes every month. This month, our patrons have personally selected this episode to help fill the gap! Consider it a look back at the ‘Before Times’] Original Patreon rele...

In our double-sized fiftieth Fun Size episode, in the middle of a global pandemic and nationwide uprisings against systemic and racist police violence, we sit down with Sam Mulvey of KTQA radio in Tacoma, to….talk about something something… Did we mention that Zack Snyder broke the third seal by announcing the release his own — inevitably underwhelming — cut of a superhero...

We continue our remotely-recorded conversation with David Gutiérrez , and grapple with the seedy underside of professional wrestling, and the strange corporate strange-hold that Vince McMahon has on the industry, in the wake of his XFL’s second collapse. We also talk about the relative quality of children’s media franchises from the point of view of parents. Is refreshes itself much mo...

As time bends and brains melts in the heart of the “Quar,” we’re joined by longtime friend of the show and writer for Emmys.com , David Gutiérrez … and things get weird. We get into everything from circumcising our children to wanna-be movie theater comedians. We try to understand the confusing relationship of rockstar film critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and try to fi...

On this “very special episode,” we continue our remotely-recorded chat with Joe Preti , as we try — try , mind you — to talk about stuff that’s making us happy during the Time of “the Quar.” From the wholesome joys of the new Animal Crossing game for the Nintendo Switch, to the Aardman claymation goodness of Wallace & Gromit and Shaun the Sheep , we&#8...

We’re back! Sort of… In a special remotely-recorded quarantine edition of the show, we sit down with Joe Preti of the View from the Gutters comic book podcast to pine for long lost sources of food, like the cafeteria at Joe’s work and a couple of local sandwich shops. We ask: has the quality of McDonald’s food gotten worse since we were kids, or were we blinded by a child&#...

We continue our talk with Greg Hatcher and talk about how we’ve been falling out of love with modern pop culture franchises like Star Wars , Star Trek , and the Walking Dead , and why it’s totally healthy to just walk away. Plus, we talk very briefly about Star Wars: the Rise of Skywalker , and how a toxic fanbase can not only poison your enjoyment of a pop culture property, but it can...

He Spies! He Flies! He Death-Defies! In this month’s Single Serving Selection, we take to the skies above Monte Carlo with Greg Hatcher of the Atomic Junk Shop blog to swoop into Disney’s superhero/spy film that sank at the box office, only to rise again as a cult favorite: 1981’s Condorman ! When bumbling comic book artist Woody Wilkins is chosen for a simple courier mission  for the...