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!
