The Front Row Network

A damaged ship falls through the jumpgate and brings with it the Soul Hunter. If you have just started watching Babylon 5, have no fear! Our newbies are right there with you. If you have watched the series before, and you want to take a deeper dive, stay until the end when we go beyond the rim and talk spoilers for the entire show! Be sure to join the conversation at https://twitter.com/Grey17Podc...

Holy freaking Feige! Marvel Studios once again brought the THUNDER at San Diego Comic Con bringing not only cast members of 5 of its upcoming shows and films but Papa Feige also saw fit to give us release dates and three brand new projects for all of Phase 5 AND give us the biggest announcement of all with two new Avengers films; Kang Dynasty and Secret Wars closing out Phase 6 IN THE SAME YEAR! T...

Front Row Classics takes a step into the world of Film Noir and melodrama this week with the 1945 potboiler, Mildred Pierce. Brandon and Eric are thrilled to welcome back ,author and film historian, Sloan De Forest to the podcast this week. Sloan considers Mildred Pierce to be among her top ten favorites films and brings excellent insight and enthusiasm. The hosts discuss the quintessential perfor...

Nick Dodson is an activist, an organizer, and seeks to make his part of the world better all of the time. He's also a member of The Junior Varsity, a band that was gaining in popularity, had an enormous following, and then found itself just done...for a while. We discuss rugged individualism, social justice, the life of a traveling performer, the history of labor in America, and a ton more.   The...

"He wanted to share the vision he had and make you a part of it…" Really excited to bring to the show this week our interview with artist Guy Gilchrist. Craig had the chance to meet Guy at Fan Expo St. Louis. Guy has drawn dozens of childhood favorites including The Muppets , Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles , Pink Panther and so many more. He speaks about his work with Jim Henson, and his experience...

Front Row Classics celebrates one of the most iconic films of the 1970s, Close Encounters of the Third Kind. The film marked Steven Spielberg's only entry as both director and writer. Steve Sykes, from View From the Back Row, joins Brandon and Eric for this look at one of the most beloved entries in the sci-fi genre.  The hosts look at the legendary moments and hopeful tone the movie exudes. We al...

The Centauri and Narn are at each others' throats just as we welcome some new crew to the station and the show. It's been a year since The Gathering, so change is definitely in the air. If you have just started watching Babylon 5, have no fear! Our newbies are right there with you. If you have watched the series before, and you want to take a deeper dive, stay until the end when we go beyond the r...

In the latest episode of ORIGINAL BROADWAY CAST, Gus welcomes another good friend of his that made his way to the Great White Way, Allen Kendall!   Allen made his Broadway debut in 2015 in Amazing Grace , a musical adaptation of the 2007 film telling the story of William Wilberforce, who led the struggle to abolish the slave trade in the British Empire, spurred on by his mentor the pastor John New...

Hello all you Lasso fans! Our favorite comedy brought home TWENTY nominations at this year's Emmy Awards. Jeremy and Craig discuss each of the nominations and give some insights into who may walk away with the ultimate prize in each category.   FEATURING: Craig McFarland & Jeremy Goeckner   Email the show at frontrowlasso@gmail.com Follow on Twitter at twitter.com/PBBFRN Join the Facebook group at...

Brandon welcome author & film historian, John DiLeo to Front Row Classics this week. John has recently written a new book called, "There Are No Small Parts: 100 Outstanding Film Performances with Screen Time of 10 Minutes or Less". The book shines a spotlight on pivotal performances from gifted actors who make their mark with limited screen time. The actors range from major stars to dependable cha...

And so, it begins! Join the Grey 17 crew of newbies and life-long fans as we take a look at the TV movie pilot to Babylon 5! B5 is the last best hope for peace, and it is in danger. Join us as we meet the station and all aboard for the first time all over again.  If you have just started watching Babylon 5, have no fear! Our newbies are right there with you. If you have watched the series before,...

"Sweet child of mine!" On this multi-show crossover we dive into the latest addition to the MCU, Thor: Love and Thunder . Craig, Jeremy and Brett share their thoughts on the film and attempt to predict the impact it may have on the rest of phase four. We start the episode with a spoiler-free first take, then dive into all the spoilers we can fit in your ears. Don't worry, we do give you a fair war...

We are thrilled to welcome back George Stevens Jr. to Front Row Classics this week. George joins Brandon to discuss the release of his autobiography, "My Place in the Sun: Life in the Golden Age of Hollywood and Washington". The book delves into his experiences growing up with a legendary film director father. He, then, forged his own path into becoming one of the true warriors for the performing...

Conan is orphaned by the violence of Thulsa Doom and goes from an enslaved boy to gladiator to a free man with the thirst for vengeance.  Join us as we look at the adventures of Conan in his first cinematic outing, where we discuss this cult classic that may tend to be dismissed as run of the mill 1980's fantasy. This movie is anything but that and its influence can be felt today, especially with...

Front Row Classics celebrates one of the greatest romantic comedies to ever come out of Hollywood, Roman Holiday. Jay Hoffman from Front Row Flashbacks joins us to dicuss this gem from Hollywood's Golden Age, directed by William Wyler. We discuss the astonishing American film debut of Audrey Hepburn, the generosity of Gregory Peck and the scene-stealing from Eddie Albert. The discussion also turns...

"You have to listen to people tell their story." Howard Berger is an Oscar winner and an Emmy winner for his work in make-up over a forty year career in Hollywood. One of his first projects was Aliens and since then had has become a fixture in special effects make-up especially in the area of creatures and monsters. Howard won his Academy Award for The Chronicles of Narnia: the Lion, the Witch and...

In the latest episode of ORIGINAL BROADWAY CAST, Gus welcomes a good friend of his from high school and an incredibly accomplished veteran of the Broadway Stage: Mr. Michael Gruber. Michael was born and raised in Cincinnati. Throughout his school years, Michael had a love for acting as he was constantly surrounded by acting and music. He was in various school plays such as Hello, Dolly! and Pippin...

"I liked you better as a rabbit, Charlie." We are excited to dive into the 1971 live action film, Bedknobs and Broomsticks . It wouldn't be right to talk about this classic film without inviting on Brandon Davis from Front Row Classics to give us a bit of credibility. In addition to Brandon, Anna joins us to give her perspective on Angela Lansbury and the film. It is difficult to watch this film a...

Today on the pod Jeremy is speaking with writer, director, producer and show-runner Liz Hannah. Liz is an incredibly accomplished person having wrote the 2017 Steven Spielberg film  The Post for which she was nomninated for a Golden Globe. More recently, she was a writer and executive producer on the Hulu series  The Dropout . But our conversation today primarily concerns her work co-creating, wri...

Front Row Classics kicks off summer with a film that truly embodies the word, "iconic". We celebrate James Dean's signature performance in Rebel Without a Cause. Brandon and Eric welcome Beyond the Mouse's Craig McFarland to discuss this 1955 classic directed by Nicholas Ray. The hosts pay tribute to the trailblazing performances of Dean, Natalie Wood and Sal Mineo. We also discuss how the movie r...

"We get to have a very unique Mexican-American superhero." Craig had an excellent opportunity to catch up with the showrunners behind the new Disney Channel series Ultra Violet and Black Scorpion , Leo Chu and Eric Garcia. This team has been creating together for a decade going back to their time developing Afro Samurai . They open up about their creative process and discuss the writing and creati...

Hello all you Marvel Crazies and welcome back to MCU HQ. The very first episode of Ms. Marvel has debut on Disney+ and we've got the full breakdown. All the easter eggs and theories you can handle as the MCU has officially been introduce to Kamala Kahn.   We also throw in a bonus at the beginning reacting to the recent news of the greenlight being given to the long-rumored Thunderbolts movie.   FE...

Hello all you Marvel Crazies and welcome to the very first episode of MCU HQ; the all things Marvel Cinematic Universe podcast from the Front Row Network on NPR Illinois! On this show we will discuss all things MCU from Disney+ after-show and feature film reviews to interviews with MCU creators and the odd STRANGE episode where we'll just GEEK OUT! In this intro episode, Front Row editors-in-chief...

Front Row Classics is pleased to welcome award-winning author, Alison Macor, to the podcast. Brandon and Front Row Flashbacks host, Jay Hoffman join Alison to dicsuss hew newest book, "Making the Best Years of Our Lives: The Hollywood Classic that Inspired a Nation".  Macor discusses the history of The Best Years of Our Lives along with its many themes that remain contemporary in 2022. We also get...

Look, this whole show is about celebrating differences, right? Well, Larry REALLY doesn't like The Wizard of Oz. Like, really doesn't like it, so he would like to find out why he's wrong about this. Joining him on the show are the incredible Brandon Davis, host of Front Row Classics, and the incomparable Anna McFarland, cohost of the network, Craig's wife, and The Wizard of Oz superfan. Fun episod...