Episode 23.5 – Do We Need to Get Racist, Casey?

trump

In the afterglow of our Star Trek: the Next Generation panel, Mike and Casey continue their chat with Ryan Chaddock and Greg Hatcher for some off-topic conversation.

We dig into why Mike totally doesn’t have pink eye, the use (or non-use) of secondary Star Trek characters, our hopes and fears for Star Wars: the Force Awakens, the Blade Runner and Mad Max sequels, inter-fandom schadenfreude, and 1980s slasher movies.

And we ponder: why don’t we get any hate mail?

Episode 23 – Star Trek: the Next Generation

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Space…the final frontier…

Mike and Casey reserve a table in Ten Forward and share a pot of “tea, early grey, hot” with Greg Hatcher of Comic Book Resources’ Comics Should Be Good! blog and game designer Ryan Chaddock. Our continuing mission: to launch a class-5 probe into the Neutral Zone, and to discuss the classic science fiction series, Star Trek: the Next Generation.

We discuss how it added to the Trek mythos, the tug of war over the show’s themes and writing, and how the classic series stands the test of times as a piece of optimistic science fiction in a current age of popular dystopias and the “grim and gritty” storytelling in genre film and television.

Make it so!

Music: 
“End Credits” from Star Trek: First Contact by Jerry Goldsmith

Previously titled: “Oh, God. Not Another Troi Episode!”

Episode 18.5 – Somebody Destroyed One of Roger Moore’s Horcruxes

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In our latest collections of panel outtakes and off-topic discussion, Mike and Casey are joined by Greg Hatcher and Ryan Chaddock for a chat about the Logan’s Run television show and the formulaic nature of 1970s science fiction.

We compare the various Bond actors on their ability to dispense post-murder puns, and the pros and cons of grit versus camp. We try to get to the bottom of why Roger Moore continued to play 007 into his senior years, why bleeding heart liberals like us enjoy violent right-leaning vigilante fiction, and why the hell the spinoff Baywatch Nights even existed.

Episode 18 – James Bond

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 “No, Mr. Bond. I expect you to die!”

Mike and Casey are shaking (but not stirring) their martinis and hoping a plane to Montenegro to sit at the baccarat table and trade barbs with Greg Hatcher of Comic Book Resources’ Comics Should Be Good! blog and game designer Ryan Chaddock. Our mission: to discuss the origins, movies and the cultural phenomenon that is James Bond.

We dig into the nature of 007’s morality, celebrate his penchant for battling outlandish supervillains, and we delve into why this super spy never seems to go out of style.

Music: 
“James Bond Theme” from Dr. No  by John Barry

Previously titled: “Sex, Sadism, and Snobbery”

Episode 16.5 – What the Fuck is a Libyan?

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When we took a short break during our recording of this month’s episode on Expanded Universes, we ended up taking a long break. And much of it was really good material that was too good for the cutting room floor, but we couldn’t find a reasonable way to edit it into the main episode without killing the flow of it, or cutting out a lot of fun — but off-topic — discussion.

Herein, Mike and Casey are joined again by panelists Ryan Chaddock and Roslyn Townsend. We talk about Ryan’s reaction as a diehard fan to the death of the Star Wars Expanded Universe, Roslyn explains why she just can’t get into Star Wars and how the X-Files comic books taught her about trepanning. Mike tries to figure out why there were terrorists in the first Back to the Future movie, and what he thinks of the new Ghostbusters reboot. And finally, Casey exorcises some of his Star Wars schadenfreude demons.

Let us know what you think! We may make this a regular thing!

Episode 16 – Expanded Universes

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Read the Bantam Book!

This month, Mike and Casey look at the inevitable result of truly popular culture: that it can and will not be contained by it’s original medium. Star Wars, the Planet of the Apes, and even Murder She Wrote have escaped the confines of film and television to reward their fans with series of books, comics and video games that feed our appetites for more stories in the worlds we love.

We’re joined by veteran panelist Roslyn Townsend and game designer Ryan Chaddock to chat about the concept of the Expanded Universe! We debate canonicity and ask why we just can’t get enough of our favorite media franchises, no matter the format!

Music: 
“Luke and Leia” from the Return of the Jedi  by John Williams

Previously titled: “Ant-Man’s Lawyer”

Episode 7.5 – Unlicensed Nuclear Accelerators

Ghostbusters

In the latest mini-episode, Mike and Casey aim for the flat top as we puzzle over our last big question: Are drivers legally obligated to pull to the shoulder of the road for the Ghostbusters’ Ecto-1?

We read your responses, and ask panelists Ryan Chaddock and Chris Walker their thoughts on the matter.

Is the Ecto-1 a licensed emergency vehicle? Are they breaking the law when they flash blue lights and blare a siren? Do the Ghostbusters even care about the potential danger of wielding totally unregulated, dangerous technology in a major city?

And for the next Radio vs. the Mailbag!: “What was the turning point that pushed geek culture into the mainstream of popular culture?”

We want to hear from you!

Episode 7 – Dungeons & Dragons

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Roll for initiative and save vs. poison, because this month, Mike and Casey enter the Dread Lich’s tomb with game designer Ryan Chaddock, and Chris Walker of BJ Shea’s Geek Nation to unearth that oldest of fantasy role-playing games, Dungeons & Dragons!

We look into the game’s nearly forty year history, its current relevance, its many attempts to branch out in other media, and the laughable debunked claims that the game was responsible for murderous Satanic cults in the suburbs of the 1980s!

Music: 
“End Credits to the Dungeons & Dragons cartoon seriesby Johnny Douglas
“Theme to the Dungeons & Dragons movieby Justin Caine Burnett

Previously titled: “Nerd Karaoke”

Episode 4 – George Lucas

george-lucas-carbonita74-751182A podcast six months in the making!

Mike and Casey reserve a booth in the Mos Eisley cantina with the composer of our show’s theme song, Todd Maxfield-Matsumoto, and Ryan Chaddock, creator of the Pantheon live action role-playing game, to talk about the filmmaker who has both attained geek sainthood, and reviled as one of its most controversial villains.

We’re talking about George Lucas, the man who gave us Star Wars… and then kept messing with it. We’ll explore the impact that Lucas’ work has had on our lives, and the post-prequel backlash that he’s still enduring, even more than a decade later.

Does he deserve it? Did we over-react? Show us on the bantha doll where George Lucas touched your childhood!

Music: 
“Leia’s Theme” by John Williams
“Howard the Duck Theme” performed by Dolby’s Cube featuring Cherry Bomb

Previously titled: “Kids Love Trade Embargoes”