Black Ops Episode 9 – You Are Not a Mistake [DECLASSIFIED!]

[As we continue our show hiatus, it has been decided by the fine people who support us on Patreon that we are going to make public — or ‘declassify’ — one of our Patreon-exclusive Black Ops episodes every month. This month, our patrons have personally selected this episode to help fill the gap! Consider it a look back at the ‘Before Times’]

Original Patreon release date: July 26, 2018

In what is an ultra-MEGA-sized two-and-a-half hour episode, we really run the gamut.

First, we talk about popular culture we loved as kids, but are afraid to revisit, because we fear it won’t survive adult scrutiny. In Mike’s case that means a series of epic fantasy novels that he suspects both really hold up in some way, and really really really don’t in other.

We then talk about the evolving nature of stand-up comedy and the divergent attitudes of comics like Jerry Seinfeld, and Hannah Gadsby — and how many older comedians seem to desire to be “above” politics or social commentary. Is that even possible or desirable?

Do genre stories like science fiction and superheroes have a responsibility to touch on questions of social and cultural importance? Why do the calls for political neutrality usually seem to mask a right-wing agenda?

We get into bad movie theater experiences that stretches Mike’s aversion to confrontation to the breaking point, and dive into the thorny issues of intellectual property and online piracy.

And finally, things get a bit emotional when we talk about how profoundly powerful and deeply intimate the new documentary about Mister Rogers is.

PATREON EXCLUSIVE: Vote for the Second Panel Episode Topic of 2020!

On our current episode schedule, we produce two full panel episodes of Radio vs. the Martians! every year. Casey moderates one of these discussions, and Mike moderates the other.

Last spring, Mike moderated a talk about Spider-Man. Later in the year, Casey did same for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine!

For our second panel episode of 2020, Casey will be moderating again. And we’re letting our supporters on Patreon choose what we’re going to talk about!

Our patrons will be able to choose from:

HANNIBAL UNIVERSE Centering on Thomas Harris’ classic ur-bad guy, Hannibal Lecter, the series stems from a quartet of novels about the infamous cannibal serial killer, and the FBI agents who pursue him. The series has spawned five films, a brilliant television adaptation and a 100 million terrible Anthony Hopkins impersonations.

 


ZATOICHI THE BLIND SWORDSMAN – A wandering masseuse in Japan’s feudal period, Zatoichi is a blind man with a big heart and extraordinary swordsmanship helping right what once went wrong among the exiles and outcasts. Zatoichi was played exclusively by a single actor through 26 films, 100 episodes of a TV series, in a career spanning almost twenty years. The Blind Swordsman became a familiar samurai trope and legendarily revered Japanese character.

SEGA – The notorious underdog in the console wars of the 1990s, Sega went head-to-head against the House of Mario for over two decades. From the early arcade days, to resurrection of console gaming in the mid-80s and into the new millennium, Sega’s inventiveness and sheer moxie won over millions of adolescents before quitting the console market. But, the legacy of Sega’s IP (Hey, kids, you remember Sonic the Hedgehog, right?), their classic hardware design and their bad boy attitude survive.

NINE INCH NAILS – A new experiment: talking about music! The band that launched Industrial into the mainstream, Nine Inch Nails. Evolving their sound from synth-drenched new wave through the grunge rock era and coming into its own highly experimental heavy pop in the mid-90s, they presaged the death of rock n roll. Constantly experimenting, the band would move to become award winning composers for film and TV.

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (2003) – The remake to end all remakes! Who could have guessed that adapting a middling Star Wars knockoff from the late 70s, weaving together a serialized story about a human diaspora fighting against a race of malevolent robots bent on human extinction and producing it for basic cable could have ever been so good? Borrowing from current events, it was the poster child for smart, engaging science fiction in long form. So say we all!


LOBO – DC Comics’ favorite bounty huntin’ bastich! A Villain-turned-comedic-anti-Hero, Lobo is the wise-crackin’, nigh invulnerable heavy with no time for bullshit. Traveling the galaxy on his flying motorbike, Lobo is a tracker who, once he has accepted a job, must see it through. And woe to the many, many worlds and would-be challengers that run afoul of this immovable object. Raunchy, yet heartwarming, foul yet funny, Lobo embodies a corner of the DC Universe that’s been largely untouched in the current wave of big screen  adaptations. (Thank Zod for that!)


DENIS VILLENEUVE – French-Canadian film director almost single-handedly holding up the big budget, art house sci-fi film genre. A storytelling “wizard,” his credits include Sicario, Prisoners, Arrival, and Blade Runner 2049, his upcoming project is a two-film adaptation of Frank Herbert’s Dune. With a unique talent for making critically lauded, idea-driven, R-rated movies, his success so far is both anomalous and inspiring.

It’s not too late to become one of our Patreon patrons and get in on this action! Join us! Even just a buck a month makes you eligible to vote!

Episode 35 – Highlander

“There can be only one.”

This month, we feel an irresistible pull towards a far away land to test our blades against those of Atomic Junk Shop‘s Greg Hatcher and David “Ace” Gutiérrez of Emmys.com. The field of battle, the Highlander franchise. It started as a 1986 cult fantasy film starring Christopher Lambert and Sean Connery, about a small group of sword-wielding Immortals, living in secret and battling each other across the centuries until only one remains to claim a vaguely-defined “Prize.”

It blossomed — or some say, decayed — into four critically-panned movie sequels, a long-running television show, an animated series, and even an anime film. We dig into topics of whether every film truly should be made into a franchise? Should there have, indeed, been only one?

We face these questions with…heart, faith and steel.

Music: 
“A Kind of Magic”  from Highlander (1986) by Queen

Black Ops Episode 9 – You Are Not a Mistake

In what is an ultra-MEGA-sized two-and-a-half hour episode, we really run the gamut.

First, we talk about  popular culture we loved as kids, but are afraid to revisit, because we fear it won’t survive adult scrutiny. In Mike’s case that means a series of epic fantasy novels that he suspects both really hold up in some way, and really really really don’t in other.

We then talk about the evolving nature of stand-up comedy and the divergent attitudes of comics like Jerry Seinfeld, and Hannah Gadsby — and how many older comedians seem to desire to be “above” politics or social commentary. Is that even possible or desirable?

Do genre stories like science fiction and superheroes have a responsibility to touch on questions of social and cultural importance? Why do the calls for political neutrality usually seem to mask a right-wing agenda?

We get into bad movie theater experiences that stretches Mike’s aversion to confrontation to the breaking point, and dive into the thorny issues of intellectual property and online piracy.

And finally, things get a bit emotional when we talk about how profoundly powerful and deeply intimate the new documentary about Mister Rogers is.

Fun Size Episode 10 – Jodorowsky’s Still Alive

feyd

Mike and Casey sit down with Kinsey Burke, Patrick Johnson, and Sam Mulvey to bat around a contentious and complicated topic: adaptations, reboots and remakes.

How faithful should a work be to its source material when it’s adapted from one storytelling medium to another? What happens when it deviates over time? What about when a beloved past work is rebooted in ways we cannot stand? Is it really worth getting worked up about, now that the floodgates are open?

And can a bad adaptation transcend the source material and become a wonderful hypnotic disaster? Is it time to make peace with changes to Game of Thrones, and the Ghostbusters remake?

Also, Mike fights — against all odds —  to protect a young friend from a 43 year-old movie spoiler.

Fun Size Episode 6 – Open Carry Nunchuck Movement

Nunchaku

In the wake of injury, scheduling issues, and technical problems, we will sadly not be able to give you our regularly scheduled panel episode. However, we can give you another Fun Sized dose of off-topic nonsense!

We sit down with Rebecca Friedman — again — for a talk about weird local insurance ads, superhero cartoons starring M.C. Hammer, and forthcoming return of Star Trek to television.

And seriously, don’t bring your ninja weapons on the White House tour, bro.

Mike Makes an Appearance on the “Give Me Those Star Wars” Podcast!

3-Lando

Mike made an appearance on Ryan Daly‘s Give Me Those Star Wars podcast to talk about his favorite Star Wars character, Lando Calrissian!

We get into the charming gambler’s appeal, how he brought a refreshing degree of moral ambiguity to a galaxy far, far, away, and why Mike says he’s the real hero of the Empire Strikes Back.

He’s one part Clark Gable, one part Bret Maverick, and one-hundred percent awesome.

Check it out!

Fun Size Episode 4 – A Discussion About Sam’s Feelings

madmax

In the first of two Fun Size discussions this month, we sit down with Rebecca Friedman and debate the merits and popularity of post-apocalyptic fiction and video games, and why absent panelist (and spouse) Sam Mulvey will probably never discuss it on the show.

Is the genre inevitably juvenile, and does its recent popularity speak ill of us as a society? Disagreement follows.

[NOTE: Some Fallout 4 spoilers]

Fun Size Episode 2 – The Future is Just…Brown

BattlestarClassic

In the first of a pair of Fun Sized episodes this month, we sit down in the studio with Roslyn Townsend to get extra meta-topical. We talk about the phenomenon of “misdirected fandom.” Why do some fans not seem to understand or even deny that characters like Breaking Bad‘s Walter White or Watchmen‘s Rorschach have ever crossed any ethical lines?

Are all interpretations of fiction and art valid? Can a property’s fans’ behavior make it hard to enjoy? Can an artist’s views or behavior overshadow their work?

We also dig into the world of 1970s science fiction where everyone wears a cape, all hair is big, and everything is brown.

Episode 13 – Blade Runner

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We’ve….seen things you people wouldn’t believe!

Mike and Casey fire up our Spinners, and blast off to great new lives in the Off World Colonies with Sci-Fest L.A.‘s Matt Goodman, and writer Micah Krabill! This month we’re talking about 1982’s Ridley Scott sci-fi classic: Blade Runner!

Join us as we discuss how a financially disastrous art film about a future cop hunting androids went on to become a major cult favorite, and one of the most culturally influential science fiction movies of all time. We talk about the nature of humanity and artificial life, the proper pronunciation of the word “robot,” the morality of Rutger Hauer’s Roy Batty, and which of the film’s multiple versions is its most definitive.

Music: 
Memories of Green/End Title Theme” from Blade Runner by Vangelis

Previously titled: “A Sandwich from the God of Biomechanics”