Wallowing in the Shallows

Rebecca and Tori are joined by Christmas movie aficionado, Debra, in our first ever Scrooge-Off. We pit a couple of versions of "A Christmas Carol" in a head-to-head competition. Round 1 finds the 1938 Reginald Owens version against the 2019 Guy Pearce version. The 2019 version takes us to some unexpected, dark places. Merry Christmas? Music Apache Rock Instrumental by Sound Atelier licensed throu...

Rebecca and Tori are joined by Nancy and Jeff to watch and chat about the 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special. The first part of the podcast has some of our live reactions and the last part is our discussion. If you want to skip the reaction, the discussion starts at 22:00. 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special clips Star Wars Coffee | The Star Wars Holiday Special 1978 (Full) (No Commercials)| 9 Oct 2021 | Y...

Rebecca and Tori wrap up their chat about Marvel Zombies season 1. We discuss the animation style, character connections, and the intense themes of hope and despair. We love it. Music Apache Rock Instrumental by Sound Atelier licensed through Jamendo Music . The Epical Trailer: Music by Dmitrii Kolesnikov free on Pixabay Sound Effects Record Scratch: Sound Effect free on Pixabay Celebratory Music:...

Rebecca and Tori chat about Marvel Zombies, season 1, episodes 1 and 2. We mispronounce several names and get on a tangent about Mahershala Ali. We skim the major themes, ponder the various characters, discuss the animation design, and school ourselves on zombie lore. Music Apache Rock Instrumental by Sound Atelier licensed through Jamendo Music . The Epical Trailer: Music by Dmitrii Kolesnikov fr...

Rebecca and Tori chat about Spinal Tap II: The End Continues. We compare it to the original and talk about the scenes and cameos that we liked. We bring in some information from a number of interviews with the cast. WITS chats Mocktober | This Is Spinal Tap Music Apache Rock Instrumental | by Sound Atelier ; licensed from Jamendo Sources C. J. Vanston - Wikipedia Valerie Franco - Wikipedia Spinal...

Rebecca and Tori chat about the mockumentary, "What We Do in the Shadows." We discuss the origins of the movie, chose a word to describe each of the main characters, vampire tropes, and production style. Throughout the podcast we talk about what we loved about the production style and revel in the mundanity. Music Apache Rock Instrumental | by Sound Atelier ; licensed from Jamendo Sound Effects Fl...

Rebecca and Tori chat the 2003 mockumentary, 'Incident at Loch Ness.' We discuss cameos, characters, the funny, and we tangent. We land on "...it's a movie." Music Apache Rock Instrumental | by Sound Atelier ; licensed from Jamendo Sound Effect 'We Interrupt' by Otto from Pixabay News clip: Alaska’s New Source | The Winner of Fat Bear Week 2025 Has Been Chosen | Sep 30, 2025 | YouTube Sources Anal...

Rebecca and Tori continue Mocktober with a chat about the iconic mockumentary, 'This Is Spinal Tap.' We discuss each of the band members and highlight our favorite lines. We also manage a tangent about David Hasselhoff. In general, we laugh a lot. Music Apache Rock Instrumental | by Sound Atelier ; licensed from Jamendo Rob Reiner Talks This Is Spinal Tap as Film Returns to Theaters (Exclusive) Th...

WITS starts off Season 3 with Mocktober, a series of chats about mockumentaries. Rebecca and Tori begin with the classic 'Best in Show.' We take a wee dive into each of the main characters (including the dogs) and rave about Fred Willard's performance. Music Apache Rock Instrumental | by Sound Atelier ; licensed from Jamendo Sources Mockumentary - What Is It Actually? Characteristics & Films Phila...

Hello WITSy people, Rebecca and Tori have work and family obligations to take care of this week, so we are re-releasing our Richard III episode to wind up Shakespeare in September. In the second week of October, we'll be back with new episodes created especially for the month of October and in November and December, we'll be doing some Jane Austen and a few Christmas podcasts. We hope you'll join...

We're late posting our latest episode...life. What can we say. This week, Louise joins us again to chat about two productions of Shakespeare's 'Hamlet,' Grigori Kozintsev's 1964 and Gregory Doran's 2009 productions. We talk about the different approaches the directors and actors take, what our expectations are for productions of Hamlet, and relate Hamlet to 'Gilligan's Island' (iykyk). Music Apach...

Rebecca, Tori, and special guest, Louise, return to chat about the 1993 Kenneth Branaugh and 2013 Josh Whedon productions of Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing." We delve into some character analysis, performance comparisons, and Shakespearean themes. We discuss gender dynamics, visual aesthetics of the adaptations, and identify our spotlight scenes and shining stars. And, we have a lot of fun....

Rebecca, Tori, and special guest, Louise, chat about two different productions of Shakespeare's 'Julius Caesar,' the 1953 Joseph Mankiewicz classic film and the 2019 Phyllida Lloyd all-female cast based on the 2012 adaptation. We compare the two productions, touching on what we identify as high and low points in each, character relationships, and production. Music Apache Rock Instrumental | by Sou...

Rebecca and Tori continue their wallow in the Apple TV+ series, Chief of War. We chat about the politics, colonialism, cultural representation, and the various personal relationships. Rebecca continues to bring in the wisdom of the hosts of the podcast Feathers and Fire . Music Apache Rock Instrumental by Sound Atelier licensed through Jamendo Music . Sound Effects Shining Star Flourish: Sound Eff...

Rebecca and Tori finish Marvel's series, Ironheart, episodes 3-6. We discuss representation, moral choices, and the impact of father figures. We delve into our thoughts about criticism of the show, and we talk about Casey Kasem. Music Apache Rock Instrumental by Sound Atelier licensed through Jamendo Music . The Epical Trailer: Music by Dmitrii Kolesnikov free on Pixabay Sound Effects Record Scrat...

Rebecca and Tori chat about AppleTV's 'Chief of War.' We apologize for butchering the Hawai'ian names. We're going to practice. We talk some of the buzz about the series, work on getting the characters' relationships and story lines straight, and discuss what is historically accurate and inaccurate based on our own research and that of the podcast, Feathers and Fire . Music Apache Rock Instrumenta...

Rebecca and Tori chat about Marvel's Ironheart, season 1, episodes 1 and 2. We do make a bit of social commentary so if that's not your jam, we understand. We discuss casting, characters, along with strong and weak points. Overall, we both enjoyed the first two episodes. Music Apache Rock Instrumental by Sound Atelier licensed through Jamendo Music . The Epical Trailer: Music by Dmitrii Kolesnikov...

Rebecca and Tori chat about the newest Fantastic 4 flick, 'The Fantastic 4: First Steps.' We introduce a couple of new segments to the podcast (we experiment, what can we say). We do a little comparison with the older Fantastic 4 movies, discuss the character dynamics, and educate ourselves a little on the comics. Music Apache Rock Instrumental by Sound Atelier licensed through Jamendo . The Epica...

Rebecca and Tori wind up their wallow in Apple TV's Murderbot. We chat about how we feel about the final episode and spend some time doing a character arc review. We discuss what we hope to see in Season 2. Music Apache Rock Instrumental | by Sound Atelier ; licensed from Jamendo Sound Effect Crickets | Sound Effect by felix_quinol from Pixabay Sources All Systems Red Summary And Themes By Martha...

Rebecca and Tori chat episodes 8 and 9 of the Apple TV series, Murderbot. We discuss the differences between the two episodes and the novella and touch on what we consider the high points. We also try to figure out when Murderbot began to obtain his humanity. Music Apache Rock Instrumental | by Sound Atelier ; licensed from Jamendo

Tori is joined by Nancy and Jeff to chat about Rogue One post-Andor and wrap-up their discussion of Andor season 2. We go off the rails a couple of times, but manage to convey our thoughts about how Rogue One was different after the Andor series. Music Apache Rock Instrumental | by Sound Atelier ; licensed from Jamendo Star Wars Style March & Battle Music | Humanoide Media Music by Luis Humano...

Rebecca and Tori continue their wallow in the Apple+ series, Murderbot. We chat about differences between the series and the novella, especially Leebeebee. We dive into a discussion about Arada's and Ratthi's character development. Music Apache Rock Instrumental | by Sound Atelier ; licensed from Jamendo Sources Nerdy Show | 20June2025 | Murderbot Season 1Episode 7 Ending Explained | Murderbot vs....

Rebecca and Tori chat Murderbot season one, episodes 3 and 4. We discuss how the TV adaptation expands upon the original novella, adding depth to the characters and themes. We begin a discussion of the ethics of the fabrication of sentient units and broach the philosophical question about what it means to be human. Tori would like to mention that she is aware that "indentured servitudes" is not a...

Rebecca is back from vacation and we talk about Apple TV's MurderBot, starring Alexander Skarsgård. We discuss the series in comparison to Martha Wells' novella, All Systems Red , the source material for the series. We delve into some key character elements that are rarely seen on television: neurodivergence and polyamory. Music Apache Rock Instrumental | by Sound Atelier ; licensed from Jamendo S...

Tori, Nancy, and Jeff wrap up their chat about Andor. In this episode, we discuss the final episodes of Andor Season 2, focusing on the weight of choices and the impact of loss. We also get into discussions about loyalty, power dynamics, and the consequences of character actions and decisions. We chat about the use of humor, tension, and production choices that enhance the depth of the narrative,...