The Incomparable Mothership

There are a million stories in Kurt Busiek’s “Astro City”—and that’s why we love this comic-book anthology series. From alien invaders to creepy floating protectors to regular everyday people, the broad canvas of “Astro City” awards the reader with short stories and longer arcs. Plus: What are we reading?

Nope, Jason, John, Serenity, and Dan aren’t going to analyze the trailer for “Star Wars: Rogue One.” It’s not going to happen. It would take rebel podcasters, striking from a hidden studio, to bring this podcast to its knees…

Our Rocket Surgery series returns to the heady days of the ’90s, home of questionable cyberpunk movies, to watch Keanu Reeves in “Johnny Mnemonic.” How can a movie written by the godfather of cyberpunk, William Gibson, be such a disaster? We’ll fax you the answer.

Grab your Wrist Rockets and toast some Eggos—it’s time to talk Stranger Things! Even though only one of our panel was alive when the show takes place, we talk ’80s influences, our favorite characters, theories about Season 2, and much more. [Originally posted as TeeVee #187.]

We review “Star Trek Beyond,” the latest installment in the J.J. Abrams-produced “Star Trek” movie universe. What are the best cast pairings? Why was Idris Elba’s character in need of simplification? When does the spin-off about Jaylah in Starfleet Academy start filming? And what is this franchise’s best destiny?

Women instead of men! Slimer with a girlfriend! Dogs and hats living together! Mass hysteria! We review the 2016 version of “Ghostbusters.”

Strap in and prepare for the jump to lightspeed—it’s time for us to pick the very best (and weirdest) spaceships throughout film, TV, books, and more. Let’s hope this thing where we draft spaceships doesn’t get too nerdy!

We convene a panel to discuss the TV shows we’re watching and liking from the past year, and then take our traditional deep dive into the latest “Game of Thrones” season.

Our Rocket Surgery panel attempts to apply logic to “Cool Cat Saves the Kids,” an inexplicable educational film featuring a couple of people in animal suits, some music videos, parade footage, and many questionable lessons for children. But there are cameos by Erik Estrada and Vivica A. Fox! Anyway, our logic slides right off.

Professor Siracusa’s Anime class is back in session, as we watch two short films with similar themes, both by director Makoto Shinkai. First there’s “The Voices of a Distant Star,” which features a boy and a girl separated by light-years as she fights an alien scourge. Then there’s “5 Centimeters Per Second,” in which a boy and a girl are separated by… a long train journey. Both are beautiful expl...

Ride like the wind, Bullseye! Our survey of Pixar films continues with “Toy Story 2,” the movie that introduced us to that Pixar Moment. You know the one. (Bring tissues.) We also discuss the philosophy of the Toy Story movies, a bunch of amazing gags, the state of the art of computer animation in 1999, and a whole lot more.

We convene a panel of superhero TV experts to recap the past year’s superhero series, including “Arrow”, “The Flash”, “Gotham”, “Agents of SHIELD”, “Agent Carter”, “Daredevil”, “Supergirl”, “Legends of Tomorrow”, and “Jessica Jones.” (If you’re a complete spoiler-phobe, you may want to avoid some of these segments, though there is probably not a single character death or other twist that couldn’t...

We celebrate all of mutantkind with a broad discussion of Marvel’s Uncanny X-Men, especially the versions we grew up reading in comics. What makes their outsider status resonate? Where should new readers start? And we choose some of our favorite X-Men characters in a sequence of choices that is definitely not a draft.

Old Movie Club views two films produced—and some would say directed—by Howard Hawks. The fast-paced comedy “His Girl Friday” leads us off, followed by the original sci-fi horror film “The Thing from Another World.” Both feature snappy overlapping dialogue, but only one features a murderous alien carrot man.

It’s time for our annual survey of some of the best science fiction and fantasy novels of the year, as we read all seven of the nominees for the Nebula Award. If you’re looking for some new books to read, check out our discussion—we tread lightly on the spoilers.

After 300 episodes, we discuss how our media-consumption habits have changed because of the podcast. Then we shift gears for a couple of drafts, and we answer a bunch of questions from listeners.

Flash! Direct from theaters to this podcast, we convene a panel of recent viewers of the latest Marvel superhero epic, “Captain America: Civil War.” Do the rationales of the two sides hold together in the face of reality? Is Tony a bad dude for recruiting a kid to use against his opponents? How do the new faces, including Spider-Man and Black Panther, fare? And how well does this movie fit into th...

It’s a cult show that could’ve hit the zeitgeist if it had just happened a few years later. From angsty vampire-human romances to a butt-kicking lead in a nice dress, the first season of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” delivers. We break down our favorite episodes, marvel at the show’s great casting, and appreciate the unlikely nature of a smart, character-driven teen series emerging from the wasteland...

Our survey of director Hayao Miyazaki’s work continues with 1984’s “Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind,” in which a post-apocalyptic world (of the 1980s nuclear armageddon variety) is populated by princesses, bugs that can’t help but be buggin’, a bunch of flying vehicles, and a suspicious fall through quicksand.

You asked for it, and we delivered! Batman University is in session, as we dive into “Batman: The Animated Series.” Lifelong Batman fan Tony Sindelar has provided us with a 10-episode watch list, which served as a refresher for our panel and an introduction for our host. What makes many people call this version of Batman the definitive one? How does a show that’s for kids end up being so strikingl...

The first teaser trailer for “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” has dropped, and so in the spirit of our “Force Awakens” teaser breakdown, we’re back to provide frame-by-frame analysis of all 90 seconds. This is the first in a new series of “Star Wars” anthology movies, this one set before and around 1977’s original film. How do you make a period piece about a fictional period? What’s Felicity Jones’s...

Our survey of questionable science fiction films moves to the 1950s for “GOG,” a story featuring a secret nuclear base, a couple of “robuts,” a shifty Swiss scientist, a neglected Coke machine, a whole lot of science lectures, and then many dead scientists.

Comic Book Club returns with a discussion of Kieron Gillan and Jamie McKelvie’s “The Wicked + The Divine.” It’s a story about the temporary return of a pantheon of gods, and touches on issues of fame, youth culture, and—as Wikipedia informs us—pop music. Fortunately, there’s also a murder-mystery plot to drive everything forward. Plus: Lisa tells us what comics to read next!

The worst of the Next Generation “Star Trek” movies, “Insurrection” and “Nemesis”, are in our sights. Why don’t they work? What were the producers thinking? How tenuous was Star Trek’s life as a franchise that two bad movies in a row could kill it? You’ve got to laugh to keep from crying.

Our Book Club returns to read two recent, highly praised science fiction novels. From Kim Stanley Robinson comes “Aurora,” the story of a spaceship sent from Earth to a far-off star in a trip that will take generations. And from Ian McDonald comes “Luna: New Moon,” a sort of “Dallas” (or is it “The Godfather”?) set on and under the surface of the moon. Plus, what else are we reading?