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

Posted on April 26, 2015 by Mike Gillis

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.

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Episode 18 – James Bond

Posted on April 19, 2015 by Mike Gillis

“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”

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Mike is Back on the Fire and Water Podcast!

Posted on April 12, 2015 by Mike Gillis

Mike recently sat down and recorded a guest appearance on the Fire and Water Podcast with its co-host Rob Kelly – the graphic designer behind our cool panelist Bio pictures!

Their topic: the Aliens franchise — for a start. From there, they bled into a discussion about all sorts of things pop culture-y and nerdy.

Enjoy!

Episode 17.5 – He’s Kind of Just a Little Bit Weirdo Cultist

Posted on March 22, 2015 by Mike Gillis

In our latest bonus episode, Mike and Casey get ready to record our most recent episode and chat a bit about Orson Welles, great actors starring in shitty movies, and some of their favorite fictional cliches.

Later, we’re joined after recording the Spielberg episode with panelists Todd Maxfield-Matsumoto and Scott Kramer to talk about the upcoming Star Wars sequel, more of Steven Spielberg, and the many misuses and strengths of actor/cultist Tom Cruise.

Plus, a random cameo from Sam Mulvey!

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Episode 17 – Steven Spielberg

Posted on March 14, 2015 by Mike Gillis

Hold on to your butts!

Mike and Casey are stocking up on Reese’s Pieces and heading to Devil’s Tower to compare scars with sound engineer Scott Kramer (the Expendables, Transparent) and the composer of our show’s theme song, Todd Maxfield-Matsumoto! We’re talking about the filmmaker whose influence defined big budget cinema for an entire generation, Steven Spielberg!

From Jurassic Park to E.T., and Jaws to Raiders of the Lost Ark, few filmmakers have had the impact on movies as both an art and an industry like Spielberg. We discuss his evolution as a storyteller, director and producer. We debate his legacy among film purists, mainstream audiences and critics.

Music:

“End Credits” from E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial by John Williams

Previously titled: “A Childhood Sense of Wonder”

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Help the Hatchers!

Posted on March 10, 2015 by Mike Gillis

A member of the Radio vs. the Martians! family needs your help!

Greg and Julie Hatcher are two of our favorite people.

They don’t have a lot of money, but are heroically generous with their time and work. Greg has been an invaluable panelist and a wonderful columnist for Comic Book Resources. And his wife Julie is truly one of the nicest people we’ve ever met.

For a long time now, Greg has worked as a part-time writer and part-time Middle School art teacher, and Julie was recently laid off from her job, which provided their health insurance.

The good news is that even on unemployment, she could still get health insurance and they still kept their heads above water. And even better, Julie recently got two job offers. She accepted the best one, and had to turn down the second.

And then, the company that hired her — but hadn’t committed the job offer to paper — decided that they didn’t want to hire someone after all. And the second job that she’d turned down had already been filled.

Julie, who is physically incapable of lying, told this to the unemployment office — that she’d had to turn down a job. So her unemployment benefits have been dropped. They can no longer afford Julie’s medication and are in a lot of trouble.

The unemployment office is going to sort it out. But it’ll take a few weeks.

The problem is that real life isn’t going to wait for a few weeks. Greg and Julie have to pay for food and ultilities and medicine. And that simply cannot wait.

So, Greg and Julie need your help. Fellow CBR veteran Jim MacQuarrie has set up a GoFundMe site for Greg and Julie, and we’d like to ask you to help out.

They’re going to be auctioning off some really cool books and comics for donors, but either way, drop them a few bucks.

On our show, Greg has continued to share his time and experiences and stories as a panelist for free. And he needs your help.

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Episode 16.5 – What the Fuck is a Libyan?

Posted on February 16, 2015 by Mike Gillis

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!

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Episode 16 – Expanded Universes

Posted on February 5, 2015 by Mike Gillis

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”

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Radio vs. the Mailbag: You’re No Daryl Dixon!

Posted on January 30, 2015 by Mike Gillis

Throw a rock in any direction, and you’ll hit someone’s zombie apocalypse survival plan. It’s astounding how ubiquitous it’s become. Everyone these days seems to have an elaborate strategy worked out to stay alive and thrive in the event that civilization falls in the wake of plagues, zombies, robot uprisings, alien invasions, natural disasters, nuclear war or even dragons.

There are even now magazines dedicated to this topic, and I’m not entirely sure how serious they’re intended to be.

But the truth is, it doesn’t matter how high your level is in Fallout: New Vegas, or how many issues of the Walking Dead you’ve read, or how many times you’ve seen the Road Warrior. Most people in the post-apocalypse are kinda…y’know…dead.

That prompts this month’s Mailbag question:

“Be Honest. How would you really fare in a post-apocalyptic setting?”

Here’s what our hosts had to say…

Continue reading →

Episode 15 – Fighting Games

Posted on January 15, 2015 by Mike Gillis

HA-DOOOU-KEN!

Mike and Casey hit the arcade and stack their quarters, because this month we’re in head-to-head combat with Ask an Atheist‘s Sam Mulvey and Nathan Martin of the Seattle Retro Gaming Expo. This month we’re talking about the gaming equivalent of the O.K. Corral: Fighting Games!

We look at the genre’s roots with classics like Karate Champ, and the genre’s 1990s explosion with titles like Street Fighter II, Mortal Kombat, Tekken, King of Fighters, Clay Fighter, and countless clones. We explore the genre’s connections to side-scrolling beat ’em ups, and the competitive — and often intimidating — culture that’s sprouted up around these games.

Music:

“Ken’s Theme” from Street Fighter II by Yoko Shimomura

Previously titled: “Finish Him!”

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Radio vs. the Mailbag: Restoring Your Faith In Humanity (Just a Little Bit)

Posted on December 30, 2014 by Mike Gillis

In the modern world of the internet, it can be incredibly easy to see the ugly, embarrassing, and toxic side of fandom.

But this also makes the good stuff all the more welcoming. For this post, rather than only dwell on the bad, let’s take a moment to recognize the people and moments that remind you that people have often used their shared love of popular culture as a vehicle to be awesome.

Which prompts this month’s Mailbag question:

“What have you seen or experienced that’s left you feeling really proud of and happy about pop culture fandom?”

Here’s what our hosts had to say…

Continue reading →

Fun Size Episode 1 – Puppy Vengeance

Posted on December 25, 2014 by Mike Gillis

As Holiday scheduling conflicts made a full panel episode of the show impossible this month, Mike and Casey are back with what they’re calling a “Fun Size” episode. It’s an unstructured, free form discussion of stuff in pop culture not quite big enough for a full panel episode!

Join us as we dig into the new under-the-radar Keanu Reeves revenge film, John Wick. We explore the idea that perhaps it’s not a great thing to spend a year dissecting every scrap of news and trailer before seeing a movie. Let alone have years of film releases mapped out for us. And finally, we compare how our current lack of enthusiasm for the movie theater experience compares to the present state of the mediums of television and comic books.

We won’t be doing these episodes regularly, but please let us know what you think of Fun Size episodes! Thanks for listening and have a Happy Holiday!

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Radio vs. the Mailbag: Tapping Out!

Posted on November 30, 2014 by Mike Gillis

There are times when you just give up on a piece of fiction. You walk out of a movie theater before the show is over. You drop a television show from your DVR lists. You take a comic book series off of your monthly pull list. You hurl a book across the room in frustration.

Thought we both pride ourselves on our ability to finish what we start, sometimes…you just have to give up.

In short, you quit. You tap out. You’re just done with it.

That prompts this month’s question:

“Has a Movie, Book, Television Show or Piece of Media Ever Made you Tap Out?”

Here’s what our hosts had to say…

Continue reading →

Episode 14 – M. Night Shyamalan

Posted on November 20, 2014 by Mike Gillis

What if there are no coincidences?

Mike and Casey count their sick days, stock up on hotdogs, and run from gently swaying trees with returning panelist and artist, Roslyn Townsend and Ask an Atheist‘s Rebecca Friedman! This month, we’re diving into the meteoric rise, and precipitious fall of a promising filmmaker whose career trajectory still confuses us, M. Night Shyamalan.

We discuss his brief absolute dominance of both Hollywood and the box office with the Sixth Sense and Unbreakable. We explore his current status as the cinematic butt of many jokes with the Happening and After Earth. And we look at how the writer-director’s legacy remains a subject of debate, speculation, schadenfreude and commiseration.

Music:

“Mr. Glass” from Unbreakable by James Newton Howard

Previously titled: “Swing Away, M. Night”

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Meet Us at the Jet City Comic Show on November 8th!

Posted on October 25, 2014 by Mike Gillis

Hey folks, Radio vs. the Martians! is making its first convention appearance!

Mike Gillis and Casey Doran will be joined by fellow panelist Sam Mulvey at the Jet City Comics Show in scenic Downtown Tacoma, Washington on Saturday, November 8th from 10 am until 5pm.

We’re going to be chatting with attendees and getting the word out about the podcast! We’ll be sitting in Artist Alley at Table #J-05, which is right here.

So, please drop by, say hi, and check out our new banners! Remember! All sanity, free will and the fate of Crystal Pepsi rests on you stopping by!

See you there!