The 42cast

The 42cast goes bad this week as we take a look at the darker side of entertainment. In this episode we talk about villains. We discuss what makes a character an interesting villain and exactly what criteria you should use to determine if a villain is the “greatest”. Then, we talk about our favorite villains across all of media and why these we think they have a claim to the title of “greatest”. I...

After 42 years (naturally) the Star Wars saga finally came to an end with Episode 9, The Rise of Skywalker. In this episode we talk about The Rise of Skywalker as a conclusion to the Star Wars Saga. We discuss whether Skywalker Saga or Palpatine saga is a more fitting name. We discuss the narrative shifts between The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker. We also debate the Reylo relationship and ho...

The 42cast is proud to welcome John Peel for an interview. John is a prolific author with dozens of novels to his name. In this episode we sit down with John to talk about his history writing stories about Doctor Who and his association with Dalek creator Terry Nation. We cover the entire history from his first nonfiction book about Daleks to writing novelizations of Doctor Who TV stories to writi...

Stargirl took the geek world by storm at a time when people really needed something to take their minds off quarantine. It’s a series that celebrates the fun of silver age comics in a way that sets it apart from the other DC Comics series of the last few years, including those on the CW. In this episode we discuss Stargirl and what gives it its unique charm. We’ll also talk about the characters an...

The Librarians was an unusual series that celebrated obscure and esoteric knowledge. With accomplished actors playing quirky characters, the series had a healthy dose of fun while also ensuring that it had its fair share of adventure and interesting plotting. Although built on the foundation of the three Librarian movies starring Noah Wyle the series allowed for larger stories told with more chara...

K-9 has been delighting fans of Doctor Who for almost 45 years. With this new anniversary looming, we thought it would be a great idea to release a con panel from Chicago TARDIS 2016 about the character’s 40th anniversary. In this panel we discuss what makes K-9 so endearing. We discuss the writing, performances, audience identification and other factors. We also talk about reasons that people did...

Wonder Woman was a smash success at the box office. DC wanting to capitalize on the success of the film quickly greenlit a sequel that was soon named Wonder Woman 1984. The movie was due for release in June of 2020, but the Covid-19 pandemic pushed that release date back. Instead, Warner Media decided to make this the flagship of it’s new policy of releasing films straight to the HBO Max streaming...

Supergirl was the series most effected by Crisis on Infinite Earths in the 2019-2020 season. Kara’s entire world was rewritten to fit it into the Arrowverse, and Lex Luthor had a hand in altering his own status as well. In this episode we discuss the two halves of the season, first discussing Earth-38’s swan song and then discussing the new status quo of the combined Earth Prime. We talk about the...

Running at us from 2020, we have our review of The Flash Season 6. Sadly, this episode was delayed due to my herniated disc, but we are now able to release it so that you can hear all of our points. This week we discuss Bloodwork and Mirror Monarch and how their storylines stack against the hype. We also talk about whether the payoff to the newspaper plot was sufficient to all of the hype. We also...

The 42cast is proud to welcome Skyler Samuels for an interview. In this episode, Nathan sits down to talk with Skyler about her beginning in acting and the pressures and positives of being a child star. They discuss The Nine Lives of Chloe King , what Skyler enjoyed about the role, how she feels about the series now, and ask the all-important Team Brian or Team Alek question. They also do a deep d...

Eighty years ago a man named Martin Goodman founded Timely Comics, and the world would never be the same. We discuss the history of Marvel, starting with its founding in 1939 as Timely Comics. We discuss the name changes to Atlas and eventually Marvel. We talk about the major characters of the golden, silver, and bronze ages. We discuss our theories of what differentiates Marvel from its competiti...

Spider-Man is the latest film to come from the MCU. Giving us our first glimpse of the post-Endgame landscape, the movie teased the multiverse and a new hero, but was any of it what it seemed? In this episode we dive into Far From Home. We talk about Peter and his supporting cast. We discuss Iron Man’s legacy and how Peter factors into it. We’ll also dive into Mysterio, comparing him to his comic...

This episode we continue our celebration of 100 episodes of The 42cast. We recorded far too much material for our 100th episode that we just couldn’t fit it all in. In this episode as a bonus to you, you get the conversations that we couldn’t include! In this episode, Nathan sits down with three people who were instrumental in getting the podcast started – Ryan , Rachele , and Beth . They talk abo...

Batwoman debuted last year as the newest series in the CW’s Arrowverse. Ruby Rose’s casting sparked controversy, but it was clear that the CW was determined to promote the series – debuting the character in the prior year’s Elseworlds storyline, setting her up as an integral part of the Crisis on the Infinite Earths event. In this episode we discuss everything about season one from Rose’s performa...

The Gifted was one of Fox’s last adaptations of the X-Men mythos. Set in a nebulous time in the near future after the X-Men and Brotherhood have disappeared, The Gifted chronicled the story of every day mutants who have to deal with a world where they’re feared and hated. The second season of the series deals with the aftermath of the split of the mutant Underground as half the members choose to a...

The 42cast turns 100 as the cast celebrates a century of episodes. First up, Nathan answers your questions about himself and the show. After that, we pull in a cast comprised of some our most prolific guests as well as some of the people who inspired the show’s creation. Sam speaks to us about the definition of an archive and how archives and archivists are portrayed in media, Mike talks about nec...

The 42cast is proud to welcome Larry Houston for an interview. This interview was recorded back in 2019, but we are now able to bring you all the cool information we gleaned from talking with this industry legend. Larry Houston was the first person-of-color to work on storyboards for Saturday morning cartoons. Since then he has worked on many animated series as both a storyboard artist and a direc...

We continue our series of episodes discussing each Doctor. This time we talk about the character’s second incarnation, Patrick Troughton. We discuss the first regeneration and why it worked. We talk about whether he or William Hartnell created what we now think of as Doctor Who. We also discuss the various monsters that debuted in this era. We also focus on the Cybermen and why they have so many s...

Last year, Fox released the final installment in its X-Men series of films. In a way, it brought the series full circle, bringing the timeline to the decade before the original X-Men is set and incorporating elements of the Phoenix saga which had also been part of X-Men: The Last Stand. In this episode we look at the movie as an end to a franchise and discuss how it rates next to the others. We al...

Black Lightning returns to our television screens in February. In preparation we’ve taken a look back at season 3 to discuss everything that was going on with the series. We focus on how the show continues to address topical issues as we also discuss the series’ new, post-Crisis position in the Arrowverse. We talk about returning faces like Painkiller and also new ones such as Gravedigger. We don’...

After seven seasons, Oliver Queen finally saved Starling City, but as a Crisis loomed he once more stepped unto the breech to save all of reality from annihilation. In this episode we discuss Season 8 of Arrow. We talk about the familiar faces returning, how it works as a wrap-up, the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover, and what we thought of the Green Arrow and the Canaries backdoor pilot. We al...

The 42cast is proud to welcome Elliot Chapman for an interview. In Doctor Who circles, Chapman is best known for playing the role of companion Ben Jackson in Big Finish’s Companion Chronicles and Early Adventures. We talk with Chapman about his career prior to acting, getting started in the profession, and getting cast at Big Finish. We also discuss his opinions on Doctor Who (spoilers: He’s a fan...

The Mandalorian season 2 is coming fast, so this week we take a look back at season one. We discuss the series legacy from westerns and samurai films. We talk about the idea of a Star Wars story without Jedi or Sith. We debate the importance of Baby Yoda. We also mention our thoughts on Giancarlo Esposito and his performance as Moff Gideon. In addition we talk about the things that we always do –...

In 2008 Marvel released the movie, Iron Man, and the world would never be the same again. Now with their 22nd film, Marvel brings many of the story threads that they’ve been building for eleven years to a conclusion while leaving the door open for so many more stories. In this episode, we talk about Avengers: Endgame. We talk about the characters, discuss the plot, ponder time travel and parallel...

Despite the criticism of the hardcore fanbase, Star Trek: Discovery’s first season was a success. Building on that and attempting to woo more classic fans, Discovery added Pike, Spock, and Number One from the original Star Trek pilot to Discovery season 2. In this episode was talk about the dynamics of Discovery with new captain, Pike in the seat. We also discuss how faithful the portrayals of Pik...