The 42cast

For decades the Muppets have been entertaining audiences all over the world. More expressive than most puppets, the Muppets connect with audiences on a deeper level than many similar creations. Combined with talented muppet performers and fun character concepts, it's no wonder that the Muppets have entertained widely varying audiences for so long. In this episode we take a deep dive into the Muppe...

After the initial wave of Avengers film, people started wishing that Marvel had the Fantastic Four film rights, so that they could apply the same MCU formula to the first family in comics. Years later, Disney obtained those rights as part of their overall acquisition of 20th Century Fox. Fantastic Four: First Steps is the result. For this episode we dive deep into the story. We talk about the char...

We discussed the Gargoyles in episode 265, but there was such interest in this topic that we had to do it again. Many years ago someone told Nathan that men and women view Gargoyles differently, but would not explain to him how, so we decided to do an experiment. Last time the women told us what they thought of Gargoyles. This time the men speak. Along the way we discuss favorite characters, favor...

Star Trek: Discovery completed its course after a five-year mission spanning CBS All Access and Paramount Plus. It was the first of the "new" Trek series and spawned its share of controversies as well as accolades. In this episode we review the fifth and final season of the series. We talk about the quest plotline and how we feel about the payoff. We discuss the utilization of the characters and w...

In this episode we go to Chicago TARDIS 2024 to present you with an interview discussion with Jan Chappell and Brian Croucher who played Cally and Travis in the TV series, Blake's 7. The duo discuss convention memories, why they think that interest remains in the series, what they enjoyed about their characters, whether romances existed, thoughts on how their series relates to Doctor Who and so mu...

Phase Five of the MCU completed this year. The phase was unique in that it had more content than prior Marvel phases. In this episode we take a deep dive on Phase Five. We discuss our favorite parts of this portion of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. We debate the perceived drop in quality among fandom and whether we think that there’s any merit to those arguments. We also discuss where these argume...

Screen Reads is back to discuss another film and compare it to the comics that form its roots. In this installment we delve into the 2003 movie Daredevil and compare it to issues 173-184 of the Daredevil comic as well as the director’s cut of the film. We talk about the differences between the director’s cut and theatrical editions and what we thought worked better in each. We debate what elements...

Gargoyles debuted in 1994 as part of the Disney Afternoon – a programming block of Disney Animation aimed at children just getting out of school. The series provided complex multi-episode stories with complex characters that was rare for children’s animation. In this episode we take a look back at Gargoyles from a female perspective. We discuss the complexities of the stories and the most impactfu...

Ironheart was the final installment of Marvel’s Phase Five. Delayed and extended by Covid as well as the writer’s and actor’s strikes, Phase Five of Marvel felt like it took significantly longer to complete than the previous phases. In this episode we review the character of Ironheart. We talk about what we each knew about the character before this and how Black Panther: Wakanda Forever handled th...

Doctor Who continues to light up our television screens after sixty-two years. In all those years there have been periodic discussions within fandom over whether a particular story or time period within the series is sexist or even if Doctor Who as a whole has sexist undertones. In recent years, the charge has come that Doctor Who’s classic decades are much more sexist than its newer iteration. In...

The film, Spartacus, is an epic story released in 1960. Starring Kirk Douglas and directed by Stanley Kubrick, the film boasts a star-studded cast and beautifully filmed scenes in Super Technirama 70, which recorded 6K of resolution and making it ideal for display on the modern Ultra High Definition (4K) TV’s that we have today.... The post The 42cast Episode 262: I Am Spartacus appeared first on...

Fallout is a TV series on Amazon Prime based on the video game series of the same name. Taking place in a post-apocalyptic future, Fallout tells the story of the world after a nuclear war through the interactions of the characters left within the wasteland left behind, the cities that are left, and the residents of vaults, which protected certain people from the aftermath of the explosions. In thi...

Marvel’s Netflix series were extremely popular with the majority of the MCU fandom. Telling street level stories about characters more concerned with protecting everyday people they provided a window into a different angle of the MCU that other series were unable to provide. Due to the compound breakdown between Marvel and streamers due to the impending Disney+ service and Marvel Studios’ breakdow...

Mystery Science Theater 3000 was an experiment in entertainment that grew far beyond the wildest expectations of its creators. Featuring a host character and several puppeteered bots, the show purported to tell the story of an exiled spaceman forced to endure an experiment that tested the limits of the human mind subjected to the worst films of all time. The character endures by making fun of the...

Man in the High Castle is a dark tale of an alternate Earth where the Axis powers won World War II. In this reality the United States has been occupied by both forces and split down the middle with Japanese states and Reich states. Hope seems lost for those who resist these powers until they start discovering films of what appears to be other Earths where things happened differently. In this episo...

The What If..? series was a surprise hit from Marvel. Distinguishing Marvel Animation in a way that the company had not managed previously, the series boasted high quality animation and intriguing storylines that pushed the boundaries of the MCU. In this episode we explore the third season of the series. We discuss the individual episodes and what each meant to us. We talk about the characters and...

Travelers is a Netflix original series about time travelers from a bleak future coming back to improve our world. The series broke with several conventions of the time travel sub-genre while mixing together other elements from various time travel series to create a unique experience that resonated with many fans. In this episode we discuss this series. We talk about our favorite characters and why...

Avatar: The Last Airbender was a popular animated show on Nickolodeon in the mid-00’s. The series depicted a fantasy world based on a blend of European, Asian, and Native American influences inhabited by “benders” who could manipulate a single one of the four elements of earth, fire, water, and air. In every generation an Avatar is born who can bend all bend all four elements. In this episode we d...

The world was altered forever in 1987 when Star Trek: The Next Generation first hit the airwaves. Continuing the story of the original Star Trek, the show brought the series back for a new generation of viewers, updating the premises and effects and revitalizing Star Trek fandom into something that would last well into the 21st century. In this episode we discuss that series and how we feel its co...

Agatha Harkness took the MCU by storm with her debut in WandaVision. It wasn’t long before Marvel announced that there would be a series featuring the character in Marvel’s Phase Five. In this episode we talk about that series, Agatha All Along. We discuss the characters and themes and how well they are woven into the story. We opine on some of the creative choices in this series and how it connec...

This week has pod-ception on The 42cast as we release a podcast episode about a TV show about a true crime podcast about true crime podcast fans solving true crimes. Of course we are talking about the comedy murder-mystery hit, Only Murders in the Building. In this episode we talk about the trio of Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez and why we think that they work so well together. We di...

In the days before streaming, genre television was limited. However, Fox generated a lot of new content to supplement what was on the more traditional networks and cable began producing its own fair share in the 90’s. In this episode we take a look at the various genre TV series of the 90’s. We talk about our favorites and the ones that gained the attention of pop culture. We discuss what we liked...

Superman (2025) generated far too much discussion for us to contain it in a single episode. In part 2 we return to the series. We discuss the Justice Gang, what we think of the individual members, and why an unkind person doing good is a great thing to showcase. We also talk about the themes of winning versus saving and how that was modeled throughout the series. We also get into Jimmy weirdness,...

Superman is the first full entry into James Gunn’s DCU. Facing backlash from those who wished the DCEU to continue, the film had a lot riding on it to prove the narrative vision of this new version of the DC universe across multiples forms of media. In this episode we have part one of our examination of this film. We discuss how it works as an initial outting for the DCU. We talk about some of the...

Echo was a surprising addition to the Phase Five lineup. While the other characters in the MCU were characters with significant followings, Echo was a relatively minor character from the comics. However, due to a strong showing in the Hawkeye series, Alaqua Cox’s character was allowed to star in her own series with ramifications for Daredevil: Born Again. In this episode we review the Echo series....