Fri, 25 October 2019
WEEK IN GEEK: Taking a break from the news, Andrew and D. Bethel talk about the things that have been interesting to them over the last week or so. First, Andrew goes back to finish Unknown Worlds Entertainment's Subnautica. Then D. Bethel finds much to appreciate––and much to make him uncomfortable––in the recent film, Joker. Then, to round things out, Andrew also gets underwhelmed but intrigued by the possibility found in Lazy Bear Games' Graveyard Keeper.
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Fri, 18 October 2019
TO ME, MY LITIGATORS: Eyebrows raised recently when a Florida man sued Marvel, Fox, Saban Entertainment, and many other production companies saying that the generation-defining theme song of the '90s X-Men animated show actually plagiarized a strikingly similar theme of a popular Hungarian tv show from the 1980s. Nerd Law man, Andrew, and X-Men fanatic, D. Bethel, put their heads together to see if this case has any legs to stand on. (A big thanks to friend-of-the-show, André La Roche for his consultation on this topic.)
DISNEY PEMDAS: Last week, Disney made waves as it began an irresponsibly long Twitter thread announcing every title that would be available on its upcoming Disney+ service. D. Bethel and Andrew sort through the announcement, talking about how much this will shift the paradigm of entertainment consumption.
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Fri, 11 October 2019
A BLIZZARD OF CONTROVERSY: Activision Blizzard––makers of such hit games as World of Warcraft, Overwatch, and Hearthstone––have hit a geo-political wall as they take a stance over controversial statements made by the winner of a Hearthstone tournament about the protests in Hong Kong against the People's Republic of China. Andrew and D. Bethel investigate the complicated relationship between popular American entertainment and China.
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Fri, 4 October 2019
NOT FAR FROM HOME: It was announced that Sony and Disney/Marvel had once again struck a deal that will keep Tom Holland's Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, much to the joy of fans and to the benefit of both companies' bank accounts. Having discussed the initial breakup back when it happened in August, Andrew and D. Bethel have a surprisingly heated discussion of this generally happy news.
THE STRANGEST HANDSHAKE: British tabletop company, Games Workshop, announced that it will be licensing one of its beloved properties––Warhammer 40,000––to American comic book giant, Marvel Comics, to make a line of comic books. This is interesting because both of Games Workshop's original Warhammer line and especially its Warhammer 40,000 line have deep lore and continuities that has our hosts wondering how well it will translate to a comic book series.
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Fri, 27 September 2019
WEEK IN GEEK: This week, Andrew watches the trippy but artistic and engaging new Amazon Prime show, Undone starring Rosa Salazar, while D. Bethel––amidst all of his academic toil––finds time to be challenged and charmed by the actual roguelike deckbuilding phone game, Meteorfall: Journey by SlothWerks.
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Fri, 20 September 2019
A WHOLE [KIND OF] NEW WORLD: After waiting well past when the rest of the world saw it, our hosts decide to watch and discuss the 2019 live-action adaptation of the animated Disney classic, Aladdin.
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Fri, 13 September 2019
TWO MAN'S SKY: With No Man's Sky Beyond––the newest big 2.0 patch for the open world, sci-fi survival game, No Man's Sky––it kind of brings to a close the long, arduous, but ultimately heartwarming story of this unique game by the small team at Hello Games. Andrew and D. Bethel talk about the years-long journey of this game.
"I'M NOT LISTENING": Amid the stories about the varoius #[Insert Noun]Gates and #MeToo stories circulating through nerd culture, one of the bigger cases in the last year revolved around voice actor, Vic Mignogna, known for work in many anime, especially the Dragon Ball franchise. When allegations were made about his misconduct in the workplace, he started suing people and companies when they started dropping him from their employ. In the last few weeks––in an almost comical fashion––a few of Mignogna's cases were dismissed, casting his defense and seriousness about this fight in doubt despite crowdfunding nearly $250,000 to pay for his legal fees. Resident nerd lawyer, Andrew, talks Dan through this bizarre moment.
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Fri, 6 September 2019
LAST OF THE TIME LORDS: At the end of August 2019, the world lost a writer who is probably the most important figure to the BBC hit, Doctor Who, in Terrance Dicks. A prominent writer for the show in the late sixties through the eighties, he also served as the script editor (what we would call now a showrunner) for six years (1969-1974), supervising the transitioning in of the Third Doctor (Jon Pertwee) and revitalizing the show's popularity as it transitioned from black and white into color.
In addition introducing things like the Time Lords and Gallifrey into the continuity, he's probably most well-known for writing a voluminous amount of the show's novelizations. In light of his death, Andrew and D. Bethel spend some time talking up one the most important figures in a show they both hold so very dear.
ANDY AND THE PAX WEST OF 2019: Last weekend held the four-day gaming extravaganza called PAX West, which Andrew attended (as well as an associated indie-focused show called Seattle Indie Expo). He goes over the experience of attending the show yet again and how his attitudes about the show have changed over time. GAMES ANDREW MENTIONED:
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Fri, 30 August 2019
WEEK IN GEEK: The boys are back to video games as Andrew plays the 1.0 release of Klei Entertainment's sci-fi survival game, Oxygen Not Included, while D. Bethel can't believe he's enjoying the heck out of Final Fantasy XV, especially because it makes no sense.
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Fri, 23 August 2019
ANDREW IS OLDER: We start by celebrating Andrew's birthday a little bit. So, what did he do? He watched Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan again and also went to see Weird Al Yankovic in concert during his "Strings Attached" tour where Yankovic and his band toured with a 41-piece orchestra.
FARTHER FROM HOME: The news this week was kind of bad for Marvel Cinematic Universe fans as Sony and Disney apparently stepped away from the deal that brought them together in the first place. What this means (as it currently stands) is that future Spider-Man films can't interact with the MCU or Avengers-based films. Andrew and D. Bethel talk about what's going on here and what are the ups and downs of this news story.
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Fri, 16 August 2019
WEEK IN GEEK: Andrew plays Ultima (a.k.a. Ultima I: The First Age of Darkness) in the hopes of reverse engineering it so he can build his own browser game while D. Bethel is genuinely surprised by the depth and charm of Sabotage Studio's action/platformer/exploration game, The Messenger. RELEVANT LINKS:
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Fri, 9 August 2019
CRISIS OF INFINITE CASTING NEWS: Seemingly every day since SDCC has brought news of former DC actors being cast in the big DC/CW crossover event, "Crisis on Infinite Earths." Andrew and D. Bethel break down some of the headlines.
EPIC LETDOWN: In another look at gaming culture is a trash fire, D. and Andrew examine the extreme and toxic blowback that game developer, Glumberland, received from gamers when they announced that their upcoming game, Ooblets, would be exclusive on PC at the Epic Games Store. RELEVANT LINKS:
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Fri, 2 August 2019
WEEK IN GEEK: This week, Andrew continues his trend of trying things out years after their initial release by sitting down with 2014's Sims 4 while D. Bethel tries to wrap his head around the opaque––but good?––X-franchise reboot in House of X #1 and Powers of X #1, both written by Jonathan Hickman. SPOILERS for these two titles; you've been warned.
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Fri, 26 July 2019
CAN YOU SDCC ME NOW?: Though San Diego Comic Con is ostensibly about comic books, the biggest announcements that seem to come out of the show revolve around cinematic and televised properties. Andrew and D. Bethel focus on the announcements that not only ignited their excitement but also triggered their critical processes, from the Cats trailer to the next big DC/CW "Arrowverse" crossover event to the new Star Trek show to Marvel's Phase 4 lineup.
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Fri, 19 July 2019
STILL STRANGE: This week, Andrew and D. Bethel examine what impressed––and what impressed less––them about the recently released season 3 of the Netflix hit, Stranger Things.
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Fri, 12 July 2019
MISTER, I'LL MAKE AN EPIC OUT OF YOU: Andrew and D. Bethel briefly touch upon the interesting and promising live-action adaptation of the animated Disney classic, Mulan, even though this seems to be making considerable changes from the animated source material (seemingly to be more in-line with the folkloric source material). Here's the Twitter thread that Andrew mentioned, starting here with this tweet by Jenn Ravenna. OBLIVIOUS OBSIDIAN: After Chris Avellone's controversial interview where he makes argument about political content in video games, a former coworker of his at Obsidian––Leonard Boyarski––steps into the trap when discussing the politics of the upcoming Obsidian RPG, Outer Worlds, in an interview with PC Gamer. Andrew and Dan try to parse the differences with Avellone's comments and why this is such an issue (still).
REMAKE REDUX: Andrew briefly discusses his short but pleasant time with the recently released Resident Evil 2 remake.
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Fri, 5 July 2019
WEEK IN GEEK: Andrew takes a step further into Image & Form Games' Steamworld, uh, world with their newest entry, Steamworld Quest. D. Bethel dusts off his bushido and patience as he's both impressed and slightly confused by SNK's reboot of their classic franchise, Samurai Shodown [sic]. RELEVANT EPISODES:
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Fri, 28 June 2019
A RITUAL CIRCLE OF ARIAS OF THE NIGHT MOON: Mentioned last week, both Andrew and D. Bethel have put some time into the newest Igavania game––meaning a Metroidvania game specifically made by Koji Igarashi––Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night and they are enjoying the presence of both nostalgic throwback and interesting choices that move the genre forward.
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Fri, 21 June 2019
WEEK IN GEEK: This week, our hosts talk about new things involving their favorite things. For example, Andrew discusses his time playing the Modiphius tabletop RPG, Star Trek Adventures and how it adapts all aspects of the long-lasting franchise, and D. Bethel makes his defense for 20th Century Fox's Dark Phoenix. RELEVANT LINKS:
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Fri, 14 June 2019
E3 2019: This year's Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) has been a strange one with big players absent and new hardware on the horizon, but it's still bringing announcements and trailers to make our jaded hosts excited.
Games discussed: Cyberpunk 2077, Final Fantasy VII Remake, Fallout 76, Pokémon Sword/Shield, among others.
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Fri, 7 June 2019
APOLITICAL APOCALYPSE: A recent article at VG247.com interviewed (as part of the piece) games designer and writer, Chris Avellone––writer/designer of games such as Fallout 2, Fallout: New Vegas, and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II–––who argued not only that his writing was without any political inspiration nor had any political agenda (small "p"), but that he "[didn't] condone developers who [wanted] to do political games or make a statement" (McKeand). In fairness, the quote has since been edited by VG247.com, replacing "condone" with "condemn", softening Avellone's criticism a little bit, stating that Avellone wrote "doesn't condone" accidentally and his actual sentiment is more clearly presented with the correction. Still, this makes us think––are games (or any text in popular culture) apolitical, or can they be? Andrew and D. Bethel investigate how this is a problem. RELEVANT LINKS:
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Fri, 31 May 2019
FINAL FARCRY: Spurred on by his playthrough of Farcry Primal––a survival first-person shooter with "RPG Elements"––Andrew and D. Bethel examine what this phrase means and what it says about the ever-evolving definition of Role-Playing Games. RELEVANT LINKS:
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Fri, 24 May 2019
POLYGONS IN AN AQUARIUM: After years of doubt, SquareEnix released a trailer for Final Fantasy VII Remake that included some actual gameplay footage, which got Andrew and D. Bethel thinking about why a remake for Final Fantasy VII is necessary and why––it seems––the best way to keep PS1/Sega Saturn games viable in a modern market is to do full remakes rather than just porting them to modern machines.
Speaking of which, here's the trailer for Final Fantasy VII Remake.
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Fri, 17 May 2019
WEEK IN GEEK: With all that's been going on in the nerd world, our hosts take some time out for themselves this week. For Andrew, he attended the theatrical premiere of the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine documentary, What We Left Behind. D. Bethel stayed home to explore the digital recreation of classical Egypt while playing Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed Origins.
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Fri, 10 May 2019
ENDGAME POSTGAME: SPOILER WARNING FOR AVENGERS: ENDGAME Andrew and D. Bethel have now both seen Avengers: Endgame and, conveniently, the Russo brothers lifted the spoiler ban on Monday; so, our hosts dive right into the soup of scenes, moments, narrative threads, and surprises that make up this landmark movie event. RELEVANT LINKS:
For episode, music, and social media information, head to the page for this episode at ForAllIntents.net.
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Fri, 3 May 2019
THE NAME OF THE GAME: The first trailer for the upcoming live-action cinematic adaptation of Sonic the Hedgehog has––as can be expected––drawn a lot of conversation and criticism...including on your favorite nerdy-geeky podcast. Andrew and D. Bethel have a lot to say about the trailer and, in a larger scope, movie adaptations of video games and what works and what doesn't. But first, the trailer. RELEVANT LINKS:
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Fri, 26 April 2019
AVENGERS CODA: With the release Avengers: Endgame this week (this is SPOILER FREE since neither have seen the film yet), Andrew and D. Bethel decide to examine a few aspects of the MCU and, especially, what and how Avengers: Infinity War set up this big finale. They discuss an analysis of Thanos as a sympathetic villain, what they're looking forward to after this movie's release, and briefly discuss Andrew's attempted rewatch of 11 years of MCU entries. RELEVANT LINKS:
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*tracks are licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
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Fri, 19 April 2019
NOTRE-DAME THE TORPEDOES: We open this week talking about the tragic fire at the Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris, focusing on how its rebuilding efforts may be aided by the diligent work of Ubisoft (and the work they put into making Assassin's Creed: Unity. THIS SHOULDN'T WORK: Andrew and D. Bethel talk about a tv show they've been mildly reticent to discuss because they can't believe it's actually good: Seth MacFarlane's The Orville––an unabashed Star Trek and Star Trek: The Next Generation pastiche that is actually becoming some of the best Star Trek available. RELEVANT LINKS:
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FEATURED MUSIC: -"Disco Medusae" by Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)*
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Fri, 12 April 2019
CONSOLE WARS II: THE NEW CHALLENGERS: Things got shaken up in the world of video games––maybe––as Google announced its streaming-forward gaming platform––maybe––called Stadia while Apple announced its gaming-focused subscription platform––maybe––called Apple Arcade. Andrew and D. Bethel discuss the merits of these announcements and how they either apply, predict, or completely misread the gaming landscape.
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FEATURED MUSIC: -"Disco Medusae" by Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)*
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Fri, 5 April 2019
WEEK IN GEEK: Andrew dives into the storied No Man's Sky and kind-of-fights with Dan about games media coverage while D. Bethel relates his experience speaking about comics––and his webcomic, Long John, to a college graphic novels as literature class. RELEVANT LINKS:
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FEATURED MUSIC: -"Disco Medusae" by Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)*
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Fri, 29 March 2019
A MARVEL OF A MOVIE: Albeit a few weeks late, both Andrew and D. Bethel have finally seen Marvel Studios' newest entry into their cinematic universe with Captain Marvel, and they have a lot to say about it. This conversation does discuss SPOILERS for the film, so be wary of listening if you have not yet seen the film. RELEVANT EPISODES:
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*Tracks are licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
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Fri, 22 March 2019
WEEK IN GEEK: We start with Andrew getting a bit sick while trying to play multiple versions of Minecraft before D. Bethel gets charmed by the grimdark world of the 2017 NetherRealm hit, Injustice 2, and then rounding back to Andrew as he talks about Rodney Thompson's heist RPG in a box, Dusk City Outlaws. RELEVANT EPISODES:
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FEATURED MUSIC: -"Disco Medusae" by Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)*
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Fri, 15 March 2019
MARVELLOUS DEBUT: A quick check-in with the toxic male comics fandom to start the show. A few weeks ago, Andrew and D. Bethel talked about how proponents for ComicsGate and their robot army were trying to tank Captain Marvel well before it released into theaters with negative scores on Rotten Tomatoes. The hosts just wanted to recognize that Marvel Studios' newest movie debuted to record-breaking ticket sales, thoroughly debunking and neutering the latest efforts by those who try to gatekeep and, honestly, destroy comics fandom and its associated medium. A LOT OF GREY AREA: A new trailer for the live-action adaptation of the classic Disney animate feature, Aladdin, went live this week and while the first trailer made Andrew and D. cautiously optimistic, this new one got both of them fully on-board. They talk about adaptations again, specifically from medium to medium (like, in this case, animation to live-action) and why it's a good thing for adapters (is that the word?) to break with tradition and say something unique even with a beloved property. RELEVANT EPISODES:
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FEATURED MUSIC: -"Disco Medusae" by Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)*
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Fri, 8 March 2019
WEEK IN GEEK: This week, Andrew goes back to the wasteland for the first time as he plays Fantasy Flight's board game version of Fallout, while D. Bethel does a postmortem on the X-Men-based Fox television show, The Gifted, after its second (and final?) season finale [SPOILER ALERT].
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For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap. INFO:
FEATURED MUSIC: -"Disco Medusae" by Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)*
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Fri, 1 March 2019
HIGHER, FURTHER, FASTER (THAN THE TROLLS CAN FOLLOW): As with many nerdy movies lately that have been labeled as being damaging to the field, Marvel's upcoming tent-pole film, Captain Marvel (the first from Marvel Studios to have a woman in the lead role), aggregate review site Rotten Tomatoes have been targeted by these organized hate campaigns by getting "review bombed." This means people have taken the steps to make sure sites like Rotten Tomatoes––a site many people visit to see how upcoming movies are trending and reviewing––show a low anticipation or review score with the hope of scaring off potential viewers and condemning the film to low box office receipts. Star Wars: The Last Jedi was victim to this as was 2016's Ghostbusters reboot and, in possibly in a successful campaign, Solo: A Star Wars Story got hit hard. However, Captain Marvel is on track to break records with ticket presales and be a big smash at theaters. Andrew and D. Bethel investigate this continuing trend, how Rotten Tomatoes is actually, finally, doing something about this habit, and discuss how and why Captain Marvel seems to be beating the odds. AS MENTIONED:
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For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap. FEATURED MUSIC: -"Disco Medusae" by Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)*
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Fri, 22 February 2019
WEEK IN GEEK: Both Andrew and D. went to see new movies over the last few weeks, so they can enter the incredibly potent world of hot takes as Andrew discusses how The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part delivers on the promise of the first one and D. tries to figure out what he thinks of Alita: Battle Angel and if he can separate nostalgia and snobbery from cinematic compromise. RELEVANT LINKS:
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For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap. FEATURED MUSIC: -"Disco Medusae" by Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)*
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Fri, 15 February 2019
THE CLIPS EPISODE: Due to a distortion of the space-time continuum, Andrew ended up on his own to record an episode. Instead of 50 minutes of dead air, he decided to throw together a clips episode featuring past segments on Star Trek! RELEVANT EPISODES:
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For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap. FEATURED MUSIC: -"Disco Medusae" by Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)*
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Wed, 13 February 2019
The lauded limited podcast series returns with a new episode as well as a fan-favorite co-host, Kyrun Silva of Taurus Comics as he and D. Bethel (check out his webcomic, Long John, and his podcast, A Podcast [ , ] For All Intents and Purposes) pair up to take on the first StocktonCon Winter show. This episode focuses on the strange space that indie creators inhabit, that realm between fan and professional and how those waters can get muddied, especially when it comes to reading and respecting creators from your childhood (there is a lot of Rob Liefeld talk in these conversations) to meeting your heroes as a creator in your own right. CORRECTION: D. Bethel said that one of the Uncanny X-Men issues he had Jim Lee sign was #249; he meant to say it was #248. All apologies. OTHER EPISODES:
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–––––––––––––––––– Special thanks to Kyrun Silva for agreeing to being recorded and for driving us to and from the convention. FEATURED GUEST: -Kyrun Silva of Taurus Comics FEATURED RECORDING EQUIPMENT: -Tascam DR-40 FEATURED EXISTENTIAL WESTERN WEBCOMIC: FEATURED MUSIC: -“Road Music” by D. Bethel
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Fri, 8 February 2019
WEEK IN GEEK: This week, Andrew and D. finally return to video games for their Weeks in Geek. Andrew gets lost (in a good way) playing Subnautica by Unknown Worlds Entertainment while D. Bethel explores the mysterious labyrinthine world found in Team Cherry's Hollow Knight. RELEVANT EPISODES:
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For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap. FEATURED MUSIC: -"Disco Medusae" by Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)*
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Fri, 1 February 2019
MIRA DEL MAHER: Bill Maher redoubles his "complaints" against adult comic book fans on a recent episode of his show, Real Time with Bill Maher, in an editorial titled, "Grow Up" (from the "New Rules" segment he does at the end of his show). Andrew and D. examine less the content of his argument and more the ideas it intersects, discussing the need for fandom self-reflection, literature and literary history, the Western canon, and the invented division between "high" and "low" art. Though linked above, here is the segment in question. RELEVANT LINKS:
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For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap. FEATURED MUSIC: -"Disco Medusae" by Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)*
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Fri, 25 January 2019
WEEK IN GEEK: This week, Andrew takes dives into season three of Netflix's The Travelers and ponders how it continually plays with time travel in interesting ways while D. Bethel gets educated and affected by the Netflix documentary, Struggle: The Life and Lost Art of Szukalski––a documentary about artist Stanisław Szukalski and his time trying to create a national artistic identity for Poland, his brush with nationalism, his loss of everything due to Nazi occupation, and his rediscovery by a bunch of scraggly Los Angeles underground comix makers. Here's the trailer for Travelers, season 3. And here's the trailer for Struggle: The Life and Lost Art of Szukalski. RELEVANT EPISODES:
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For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap. FEATURED MUSIC: -"Disco Medusae" by Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)*
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Fri, 18 January 2019
NERD LAW, 2019: Two unrelated but intriguingly similar trademark cases have made the rounds in the news this last week. Chooseco, the owner of the Choose Your Own Adventure franchise has brought a lawsuit to Netflix over Black Mirror: Bandersnatch and the tenuous if not honorific connections that movie has to the classic children's book series. In the world of video games, the Pinkerton Consulting & Investigations has sued Take Two––owners of Rockstar Games––for the apparent vilification of the company in the developer's highly successful late-2018 release, Red Dead Redemption 2. Andrew and D. Bethel sound the Nerd Law alarm and discuss these two cases in depth.
Dan will be tabling at Stocktoncon Winter this Sunday, January 20, with Kyrun Silva of Taurus Comics yet again (which hints at a return of the Con Artists limited podcast series)! If you're in the area, please stop by. For more information, read this post at Long John or go straight to the source at Stocktoncon.com. Hope to see you there! RELEVANT EPISODES:
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For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap. FEATURED MUSIC: -"Disco Medusae" by Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)*
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Fri, 11 January 2019
WEEK IN GEEK: Andrew...watches? plays?...the Black Mirror interactive movie, Bandersnatch, while D. Bethel gets sentimental about Transformers again after watching Bumblebee. RELEVANT EPISODES:
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For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap. FEATURED MUSIC: -"Disco Medusae" by Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)*
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Fri, 4 January 2019
LOOKING FORWARD: With 2018 behind them, Andrew and D. Bethel discuss what they're looking forward to in 2019. Andrew is interested in the upcoming premium Disney streaming service, Disney+, as well as to Bethesda Game Studios adding more content to Fallout 76, while D. Bethel can't wait for It, Chapter 2 to hit theaters as well as playing the new game from Firewatch's Campo Santo, In the Valley of the Gods. What are you looking forward to in 2019? Let us know in the comments! RELEVANT EPISODES:
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For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap. FEATURED MUSIC: -"Disco Medusae" by Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)*
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Fri, 28 December 2018
THE YEAR THAT WAS: With the final week of the year barreling toward us, Andrew and D. Bethel decide to throw format out the window and just talk. Guided by the question, "What does 2018 make you think of?", they veer all over the place from Fallout (of course) and learning how to code to the many-tiered beast that was ComicsGate and the panacea to that garbage with things like the new Halloween and She-Ra. What do you think of when you think of the 2018 that was? How would you summarize this year? Let us know! RELEVANT EPISODES:
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For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap. FEATURED MUSIC: -"District Four" by Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)*
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Fri, 21 December 2018
WEEK IN GEEK: D. Bethel gets inspired by Tintin and Alph-Art, the final Tintin book started by creator Hergé before his death. The book is a collection of his layouts and notes and remains unfinished but showcases the process of one of the world's best comic book storytellers. After nearly a year, Andrew finally dives into Star Trek: Discovery (originally released on CBS All Access) and gives you a SPOILER-FILLED rundown and response to the newest Star Trek series. RELEVANT EPISODES:
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For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap. FEATURED MUSIC: -"District Four" by Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)*
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Fri, 14 December 2018
After (approximately) ten weeks of teasing, Andrew and D. Bethel finally talk about the newest series of Doctor Who, which not only introduces Jodie Whittaker as the new Doctor (as well as her substantial crew) but also new showrunner, Chris Chibnall, and his team to bring the world a fresh look at a 55 year-old character. RELEVANT EPISODES:
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For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap. FEATURED MUSIC: -"District Four" by Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)*
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Fri, 7 December 2018
A TAYLORED EXPERIENCE: With D. Bethel locked behind closed doors to grade the work of his beloved students, friend-of-the-show Taylor Katcher has graciously stepped in to help Andrew in his hour of need. Together, they run the gamut of nerdy topics, from Super Smash Bros. to Betrayal Legacy to Civilization VI on the iPhone to the most recent DC/CW crossover event, "Elseworlds." RELEVANT EPISODES:
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For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap. FEATURED MUSIC: -"District Four" by Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)*
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Fri, 30 November 2018
WEEK IN GEEK: For once, both D. and Andrew are playing new games at their release! Andrew shares his experience diving in to the buggy but compelling world of Bethesda's foray into MMO gaming with Fallout 76 while Dan finds a groove playing Rockstar Games' Red Dead Redemption 2 and finds himself getting lost in it. RELEVANT EPISODES:
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For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap. FEATURED MUSIC: -"District Four" by Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)*
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Fri, 23 November 2018
WEEK IN GEEK: Andrew plays Charterstone by Stonemeier Games, a new take on the "legacy" board game style while D. Bethel is moved by the new Halloween. Below is the image D. Bethel mentioned in the episode where Jamie Lee Curtis comforts her character from the new Halloween:
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For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap. FEATURED MUSIC: -"District Four" by Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)*
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Fri, 16 November 2018
POST-APOCALYPSE NOW: After D. Bethel talks a bit about the California fires (he's safe albeit drenched in smoke from the Camp Fire), Andrew discusses his hour or so playing Fallout 76. #IRONSHITES: Richard Meyer and the ComicsGate controversy has been covered many times before on the show, and the latest installment has Richard Meyer aka "Comics & Diversity" putting his money where his mouth is. His 120-page graphic novel, Iron Sights, (written by Meyer, art by Ibai Canales) has been released (it cost $20 for a copy of the book if you contributed to its Indiegogo campaign) was summarily criticized by Twitter user, Jafleece, in a spectacular and validating fashion. The 60+ thread starts here. Andrew and D. discuss not only what they saw from the thread, but what this says about the claims Meyer and ComicsGate have been levying toward the industry for awhile now. END BITS: Also, they spend some time at the end to discuss the death of Stan Lee, below is the clip that D. mentioned was his favorite Stan Lee cameo, from this year's Marvel's Spider-Man by Insomniac Games. And, for good measure, the Pokémon: Detective Pikachu trailer. RELEVANT LINKS:
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For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap. FEATURED MUSIC: -"District Four" by Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)*
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Fri, 9 November 2018
OPPORTUNITY DIABLOWN: At the end of the keynote presentation for this year's BlizzCon––a convention devoted to game developer, Blizzard, created by game developer, Blizzard––the wildly successful PC developer announced a new entry into its long-running and beloved Diablo franchise: Diablo: Immortal. While ostensibly a new Diablo game, Diablo: Immortal is a phone game made not by Blizzard but by Chinese mobile developer, NetEase, and it was decidedly not the game fans wanted news about: Diablo IV. In a backlash of epic proportions, Blizzard has tried to course-correct which only dug them in deeper, D. Bethel and Andrew investigate the aloofness of Blizzard, the entitlement of fandom, and the hazy trouble in-between. RELEVANT LINKS:
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For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap. FEATURED MUSIC: -"District Four" by Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)*
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Fri, 2 November 2018
WEEK IN GEEK: This week, Andrew starts things off by falling in love with the crafty goodness of using paper mini-figures for tabletop gaming. D. Bethel dives back into consuming the written word (about video games) with Boss Fight Books' Shovel Knight by David L. Craddock. Andrew wraps back around to dish a little about Stardew Valley on iOS and how its able to manage saves between platforms. RELEVANT EPISODES:
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For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap. FEATURED MUSIC: -"District Four" by Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)*
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Fri, 26 October 2018
WEEK IN GEEK: Andrew gets impressed with The Bard's Tale Trilogy remastered collection on Steam while D. Bethel watches Venom and, even though he enjoyed it, wonders why it's hitting such a strong chord with viewers. DOCTOR BOO!: With Spookytober drawing to a close, Andrew and D. couldn't not talk about Doctor Who, so they dove into the archive to talk about what they argue may be one of the series' scariest episodes yet, series 4's "Midnight." LINKS:
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For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap. FEATURED MUSIC: -"Disco Medusae" by Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)*
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Fri, 19 October 2018
WEEK IN GEEK: This week, it's a dive into the Fall tv shows that both our hosts were excited to see as Andrew watches the first episode of Alton Brown's Good Eats: Reloaded while D. Bethel reacts to the first three episodes of the second season of The Gifted. GAMES WORKERS UNITE: In the wake of massive layoffs by developers like Telltale Games and Riot Games, The Vulture published an article under the auspice of being a "behind the scenes" look at Red Dead Redemption 2's development at Rockstar Games. The article sparked a lot of controversy, specifically around the (walked back) claim of the team working 100-hour weeks multiple times during 2018 to make sure this game is top of the line in terms of quality. These incidents bring again a highlight to the labor practices of game development, through which D. and Andrew try to wade. RELEVANT EPISODES:
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For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap. FEATURED MUSIC: -"Disco Medusae" by Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)*
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Fri, 12 October 2018
HALLOWED HALLOWEEN: The Spookytober topic for this week is the forty-years later direct sequel to John Carpenter's breakthrough––and culturally important––hit, Halloween. This new movie, Halloween, sees the return of Jamie Lee Curtis to her role as Laurie Strode but instead of being the prey of Michael Meyers, it is he who becomes the hunted. Andrew and D. Bethel discuss the series and what they're expecting/hoping from this new movie. WEEK IN GEEK: Andrew gets his Metroidvania on with Chucklefish's Timespinner and how eerily Castlevania: Symphony of the Night it seems to be at times while D. Bethel becomes enthralled with the first five episodes of the podcast audio drama produced by a collaboration between Marvel Comics and Stitcher (the podcast streaming website), Wolverine: The Long Night. RELEVANT EPISODES:
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For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap. FEATURED MUSIC: -"Disco Medusae" by Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)*
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Fri, 5 October 2018
MEYERED IN CONTROVERSY: Richard Meyer and his "Diversity and Comics" YouTube Channel have been no stranger on this podcast with his leading the charge of the abhorrent ComicsGate dissention among comic book fandom. After gaining notoriety with his "Dark Roast" YouTube video (since deleted) that accused various popular industry creatives of committing sexual, devious, and illegal acts to get their way to the top, Mark Waid––among others––reached out to Antarctic Press to voice concerns with their decision to publish Meyer's comic, JAWBREAKERS. After hearing those concerns, Antarctic Press terminated their contract with Meyer and went to the internet to spew bile in response. At the end of September, Meyer sued Waid for "tortious interference with contract" and "defamation." D. Bethel and resident nerd lawyer, Andrew Asplund, dive back into this cesspool to navigate what exactly is going on throughout this new development. NOTE: No comment made by Andrew during this episode constitutes legal advice or establishes client-lawyer relations. TWILIGHT RETURNS: It was recently announced that the previously announced Jordan Peele-produced reboot of The Twilight Zone will actually star Mr. Peele himself as the host for the digital-only streaming service CBS All-Access. Andrew and D. talk about their excitement––and fears! (to make it spooky for Spookytober)––for the upcoming show. RELEVANT EPISODES:
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For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap. FEATURED MUSIC: -"Disco Medusae" by Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)*
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Fri, 28 September 2018
WEEK IN GEEK: It's a week of adventure as Andrew literally leaves the state while D. Bethel brings a journey to a close. Along the way, Andrew talks about playing Final Fantasy V on iOS while also dipping his toe into the meta-craziness that is The Stanley Parable while D. Bethel is actually having fun (?!) with season 2 of Netflix & Marvel's Jessica Jones. RELEVANT LINKS:
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For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap. FEATURED MUSIC: -"District Four" by Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)*
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Tue, 25 September 2018
In the final episode of this initial experimental run of Con Artists, the second and final day of StocktonCon has come to a close and rather than have an exhausted (which they were) drive home, Kyrun Silva of Taurus Comics and D. Bethel again probe into different aspects of reading, making, and selling comics. They probe the circumstances that would have to occur to go pro, the processes of writing and editing comics, the different facets of indie comics, and dive deep into nostalgia to close out the weekend. Creating this podcast ended up being a very enlightening process, shining light on angles of creativity previously hidden by ignorance, willful or otherwise. We hope you've enjoyed Con Artists and, with luck, there will be more in the future! OTHER EPISODES:
–––––––––––––––––– Special thanks to Kyrun Silva for agreeing to this experiment (and for driving us to and from the convention). Thanks to Ben Schwartz of Empire’s Comics Vault for hosting the table. FEATURED GUEST: -Kyrun Silva of Taurus Comics FEATURED RECORDING EQUIPMENT: -Tascam DR-40 FEATURED LOCAL COMIC SHOP: FEATURED EXISTENTIAL WESTERN WEBCOMIC: FEATURED MUSIC: -“Road Music” by D. Bethel
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Fri, 21 September 2018
FALL (TV IS) BACK: With the summer doldrums of tv coming to a close, Andrew and D. Bethel discuss the Fall tv they're looking forward to, including the debut of a new Doctor (and production team) with series 11 of Doctor Who, Andrew's circumspect approach to the reboot Magnum and quizzical anticipation for Alton Brown's Good Eats Reloaded, D. Bethel's blind eagerness for the new season of The Gifted and Outlander, and both hosts' skepticism of the new Riggs-less third season Lethal Weapon. It's nerdy Fall tv front to back. RELEVANT LINKS: RELEVANT EPISODES:
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For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap. FEATURED MUSIC: -"District Four" by Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)*
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Tue, 18 September 2018
With the first day of StocktonCon completed, Kyrun and D. Bethel begin the second day by getting in the car and driving down the 99 to Stockton. It's early, they're tired, they're going wherever the conversation takes them. While this morning conversation doesn't touch on conventions or marketing strategies, they dive deep into a major aspect of comics culture: continuity. It's at the heart of a lot of stories and in the hearts of a lot of fans, often to the point of taking despicable actions when a creative team makes changes that they don't like. They examine their own thoughts about the importance of continuity as well as why, it seems, so many people hold continuity with the highest possible value. Also, for some reason, the conversation dives deep into D. Bethel's own biases when it comes to mainstream comics and how––and if––he overcame those biases. LINKS:
–––––––––––––––––– Special thanks to Kyrun Silva for agreeing to this experiment (and for driving us to and from the convention). Thanks to Ben Schwartz of Empire’s Comics Vault for hosting the table. FEATURED GUEST: -Kyrun Silva of Taurus Comics FEATURED RECORDING EQUIPMENT: -Tascam DR-40 FEATURED LOCAL COMIC SHOP: FEATURED VEHICLE: -2003 Ford Expedition FEATURED HIGHWAY: -CA-99 FEATURED MUSIC: -“Road Music” by D. Bethel
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Fri, 14 September 2018
WEEK IN GEEK: This week, Andrew takes some dungeon mastering advice from Mike Shea aka "Sly Flourish" and his The Lazy Dungeon Master book while Dan becomes smitten by the new Marvel's Spider-Man game by Insomniac Games. RELEVANT LINKS:
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For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap. FEATURED MUSIC: -"District Four" by Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)*
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Tue, 11 September 2018
Welcome to the only briefly previously announced, limited series, side-podcast called Con Artists. Hosted by D. Bethel, what you'll hear over the next three weeks––posting on Tuesdays––is a conversation between D. and Kyrun Silva, another independent comic creator based in Sacramento known for founding the imprint, Big Tree Comics, before leaving and starting a more focused venture with Taurus Comics, as they drive to and from this year's StocktonCon where they shared a table in the Artist Alley. Starting on the drive home from the first day of the two-day event, the discussions of Con Artists are much less focused than that of the main show, A Podcast [ , ] For All Intents and Purposes, and instead follow the natural progression of the conversations as they occurred.
That being said, the conversations revolve around a clustered group of comics-focused topics: making comics, reading comics, and selling comics. In those topics, D. and Kyrun talk about their history of comicking, the books and characters they grew up loving, and the art of tabling and selling at a show like StocktonCon. It's two guys talking shop while driving down the freeway. Though it's an experiment disguised as a side project, [ , ] For All Intents and Purposes is proud to host the limited series and we hope those listening enjoy it. ––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Special thanks to Kyrun Silva for agreeing to this experiment (and for driving us to and from the convention). Thanks to Ben Schwartz of Empire's Comics Vault for hosting the table. FEATURED GUEST: -Kyrun Silva of Taurus Comics FEATURED RECORDING EQUIPMENT: -Tascam DR-40 FEATURED VEHICLE: -2003 Ford Expedition FEATURED HIGHWAY: -CA-99 FEATURED MUSIC: -"Road Music" by D. Bethel
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Fri, 7 September 2018
GAMES AT PAX WEST: We sent our man on the scene, Andrew, to PAX West while our Man in California, D. Bethel, watched on the internet. Now, they talk about the games they saw. Andrew muses over gameplay quirks in Stone Story RPG and Aground, while D. reacts to the strong sprites ethic in Get in the Car, Loser! and Star Renegades. Also, Andrew reflects on a series of panels he saw at the event, all of which focus on not just tabletop role-playing games, but specifically––and surprisingly––just Dungeons & Dragons. Also, D. Bethel will be exhibiting at the 2018 Crocker Con in Sacramento! It is on Thursday, September 13th, from 6-9:30pm at the Crocker Art Museum in Downtown Sacramento. For more info, click here, or check out the Facebook Event page. INFO:
For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap. FEATURED MUSIC: -"Disco Medusae" by Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)*
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Fri, 31 August 2018
STOP BEING MEAN: Of the many "-Gates" that exist in the nerd world right now, some ticks in the "good" column happened recently in the fight called "ComicsGate", an online harrassment campaign against diversity and representation in both the fiction and creation of mainstream comic books (meaning, mainly, books made by DC and Marvel). RELATED EPISODES:
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For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap. FEATURED MUSIC: -"District Four" by Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)*
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Fri, 24 August 2018
WEEK IN GEEK: It's an indie game kind of week as Andrew reports on the Zelda-like shop sim, Moonlighter, by Digital Sun while D. Bethel starts a conversation about everybody's current favorite rogue-like platformer (kind of a Metroidvania, kind of not; definitely not a "roguevania"), Dead Cells, by Motion Twin. RELATED EPISODES:
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For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap. FEATURED MUSIC: -"District Four" by Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)*
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Fri, 17 August 2018
It's the return of NERD LAW! A MARVELOUS MONSTER: After a long gestation and some delays, Disney has officially acquired 20th Century Fox assets, comprising of Fox's film and tv properties. This means everything from the Alien franchise to Bob's Burgers and even The Simpsons are now owned by Disney. Of course, for comic book fans and fans of comic book movies, the biggest part of this deal means that the X-Men and the Fantastic Four film rights are now under Disney/Marvel control. But it's a much bigger––and more complicated––deal than just the superhero franchises and make some people a little nervous. WHAT NINTENDON'T: Emulation software has been on the internet for at least twenty years at this point, allowing people to download and play often near-perfect versions of games from the NES, SNES, and many other classic consoles. While playing emulated games have always been legally murky, Nintendo's big legal smackdown of a few emulator and ROM sites in particular have really shaken the whole community in more ways than one. RELATED EPISODES:
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For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap. FEATURED MUSIC: -"Disco Medusae" by Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)*
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Fri, 10 August 2018
WEEK IN GEEK: Andrew finally plays Asmadi's One Deck Dungeon by playing Handelabra's One Deck Dungeon, a rogue-like solo/co-op card game that has been adapted into a video game version while D. Bethel follows Laura Kinney's continuing post-Wolverine adventures in X-23 by Mariko Tamaki and Juann Cabal. RELATED EPISODES:
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For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap. FEATURED MUSIC: -"District Four" by Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)*
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Fri, 3 August 2018
GOING BACK: Having played Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, D. Bethel has since gone back and played the first game in the Uncharted series and was rather frustrated by it. This experience got our hosts thinking about entering series (of games, movies, tv shows, etc.) mid-stream––what's the value of going back to the start? RELATED EPISODES:
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For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap. FEATURED MUSIC: -"District Four" by Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)*
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Fri, 27 July 2018
IT'S A PANDEMIC PARTY: Andrew and D. Bethel bring on friend-of-the-show and all-star contributor to the site, Taylor Katcher, to discuss Andrew and Taylor's full playthrough of Pandemic Legacy: Season 2 RELATED EPISODES:
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For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap. FEATURED MUSIC: -"District Four" by Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)*
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Fri, 20 July 2018
WEEK IN GEEK: Andrew braved populated movie theaters to see Ant-Man and the Wasp while D. Bethel eagerly went to the theaters to see Incredibles II. DISNEY FLOOD: This summer was a packed house in terms of big-budget blockbuster-intended films with Avengers: Infinity War, Solo: A Star Wars Story, Ant-Man and the Wasp, and Incredibles II. But with Solo and Ant-Man and the Wasp underperforming, it has Andrew and D. wondering, did we have too many big nerd movies this summer? RELATED LINKS:
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For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap. FEATURED MUSIC: -"Disco Medusae" by Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)*
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Fri, 13 July 2018
A BOOK CLUB [ , ] FOR ALL INTENTS AND PURPOSES: In a rare moment where Andrew and Dan's reading habits align, they spend this episode discussing Chris Kohler's addition to the Boss Fight Books line, focusing on Square Enix's (simply Squaresoft at the time of the game's initial publication) Final Fantasy V. The first half has the hosts discussing the game itself, while the second half talks about the BFB line and written gaming criticism. RELATED LINKS:
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For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap. FEATURED MUSIC: -"District Four" by Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)*
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Fri, 6 July 2018
WEEK IN GEEK: Andrew finds fitness inspiration in the modular experience of Zombies, Run! while D. Bethel can't stop thinking about Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon. INFO:
For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap. FEATURED MUSIC: -"District Four" by Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)*
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Fri, 29 June 2018
OBI-WAN KE-NOPE-Y: It was made known that Lucasfilm has put its anthology series, subtitled A Star Wars Story, on hold after the lower box office of The Last Jedi and, most recently, Solo. While the cause hasn't been confirmed, there are a few factors to look at, one of which could be the box office performance of these films. Another, more sinister, reason has to do with the cultural backlash to Rogue One, The Last Jedi, and Solo. A segment on the internet is convinced that Lucasfilm has a political agenda it wants to push and it's using the Star Wars series to do so. These dissenters have responded in a few interesting ways: some have banded together and made an official decree to "destroy" Lucasfilm, others have started a crowdfunding/social media campaign in order to remake The Last Jedi. Either way, it's a complicated issue that Andrew and D. Bethel try to find the knots of. WORKS CITED/REFERENCED:
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For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap. FEATURED MUSIC: -"District Four" by Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)*
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Fri, 22 June 2018
WEEK IN GEEK: Andrew sees the latest Star Wars Story, Solo, while D. Bethel gushes about the recent God of War reboot. RELATED EPISODES:
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For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap. FEATURED MUSIC: -"District Four" by Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)*
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Fri, 15 June 2018
E3 2018: This year's Electronic Entertainment Expo has wrapped up and has brought a lot of conversation around the games announced and/or shown at the show. Andrew and D. talk about E3 as an expo/convention and the target it seems to be aiming at for the future as well as games they saw and were intrigued or excited by (including Ghost of Tsushima, Death Stranding, Cyberpunk 2077, and, yes, Fallout 76). Let us know your thoughts about the games from this E3, if you'd like––we'd love to hear what you thought of this year's show. RELATED EPISODES:
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Fri, 8 June 2018
AN OPEN WORLD: With Bethesda's surprise announcement of the still ephemeral Fallout 76, video game-focused documentarians, NoClip, announced that they will be doing a series covering the development of this new game. They started, however, with a comprehensive look at the history of Bethesda studios. After watching the documentary (embedded below), both D. and Andrew realized how far the studio has come, how big it has gotten, and how much of an impact this quirky company has made on gaming as a whole. RELATED EPISODES:
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For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap. FEATURED MUSIC: -"District Four" by Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)*
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Fri, 1 June 2018
WEEK IN GEEK: Andrew goes back to his undergraduate roots and dives into programming with the Unity engine via the online programming courses taught through Udemy while D. Bethel updates his nostalgia with the Super NES as he plays around with Analogue's Super Nt system. RELATED EPISODES:
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For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap. FEATURED MUSIC: -"District Four" by Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)*
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Fri, 25 May 2018
THUNDERCATTY: Cartoon Network announced it was working on a new ThunderCats show, titled ThunderCats Roar, which looks and sounds quite a bit different from the ThunderCats from 1985. It got a lot of people upset and they let the internet know the depths of their disdain for the new look. Andrew and D. look at reboots (again), nostalgia, and the sense of ownership and entitlement a lot of fans have over these fan-favorite properties. WORKS CITED:
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For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap. FEATURED MUSIC: -"District Four" by Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)*
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Fri, 18 May 2018
THE SIDE OF THE FAMILY WE DON'T TALK ABOUT: While D. Bethel and Andrew went into recording with the idea they'd do a Week in Geek episode, D.'s offering (Sarah Gadephe's Shy Boys: IRL documentary) got them off on a wildly different tangent that discusses nerds, politics, sex, and entitlement in the wake of the Toronto attack and this strange comic book controversy involving Antarctic Press and a comic made by a group of less-than-friendly creators. RELEVANT LINKS: WORKS CITED:
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For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap. FEATURED MUSIC: -"District Four" by Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)*
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Fri, 11 May 2018
SNAP JUDGMENT: With the third Avengers movie becoming a new bank everybody is putting their money into, D. and Andrew finally sit down to talk about the latest Marvel Cinematic Universe capstone event. Be warned that this episode CONTAINS SPOILERS for the movie. RELATED EPISODES:
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For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap. FEATURED MUSIC: -"District Four" by Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)*
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Fri, 4 May 2018
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For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap. FEATURED MUSIC: -"District Four" by Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)*
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Fri, 27 April 2018
WEEK IN GEEK: With D. Bethel back in the saddle, our hosts settle back into routine. Andrew discusses playing the forgotten entry in the Assassin's Creed oeuvre, Assassin's Creed Rogue, and its strange and bold narrative through-line through more than a few other AC games. D. Bethel snuck in some mobile gaming while he was supposed to be grading and fell in love with the vocational routine of the giant robo sim, Last Colossus by Game Stew. What was your Week in Geek like this week? (Avengers: Infinity War, probably.) RELATED EPISODES:
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For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap. FEATURED MUSIC: -"District Four" by Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)*
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Fri, 20 April 2018
READY TAYLOR ONE: With D. Bethel out for the week so Shakespeare can get paid, Andrew recruits friend-of-the-show, Taylor Katcher, to talk about the recent Steven Spielberg sci-fi film, Ready Player One. RELATED EPISODES:
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For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap. FEATURED MUSIC: -"District Four" by Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)*
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Fri, 13 April 2018
READY PLAYER NOONE: Steven Spielberg said recently that movies made by internet-first companies like Netflix "deserve an Emmy, not an Oscar." Where is the line between tv and film anymore? Is the line even there? Andrew and D. Bethel talk about the malleability of the filmic medium, be it cinema or television. RELATED EPISODES:
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For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap. FEATURED MUSIC: -"District Four" by Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)*
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Fri, 6 April 2018
WEEK IN GEEK: Andrew dives into "the German Stranger Things" as he watches the first three episodes of the Netflix series, Dark, while D. Bethel gets lost in an RPG-tinged clicker game called Almost a Hero by Bee Square Games. RELEVANT LINKS:
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For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap. FEATURED MUSIC: -"District Four" by Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)*
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Fri, 30 March 2018
A DIFFERENT WAY TO GAME: Andrew has been playing through Fallout 4 on a survivalist mode, which dramatically changes the way he normally plays Fallout. This got him thinking about ways people have challenged themselves to play games differently––sometimes within the scope of what developers intend and sometimes not. RELATED EPISODES:
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For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap. FEATURED MUSIC: -"District Four" by Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)*
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Fri, 23 March 2018
RECYCLE, REDUCE, REUSE: This week, Andrew and D. discuss revisions that happen to works after they are released. From the canon-bending Star Wars re-releases from the late 1990s to the archival efforts of the Mega Man Legacy Collection, works are "preserved" in some form or another, but attention could (and should) be paid to the reasons for such preservation and re-release: is it in the interest of the creator? Of the owner? Of the audience? While they don't generate any answers, our hosts certainly probe the topic for its diversity of impetus, goals, and cultural impact. Well, they do decide that pop culture needs some sort of library, but that's about it. RELATED EPISODES:
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For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap. FEATURED MUSIC: -"District Four" by Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)*
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Fri, 16 March 2018
WEEK IN GEEK: After weeks away, Andrew and D. Bethel return to talking about the geeky stuff they've done in the last week. Andrew plays Pandemic Legacy: Season 2 and is much surprised considering his views on the first game. D. Bethel dives into a different kind of legacy by looking at the first volume of All-New Wolverine as Laura Kinney (formerly X-23) takes the mantle of "Wolverine" from her (at the time) deceased...uh...father? Brother? Twin? Whatever. #comics RELATED EPISODES:
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For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap. FEATURED MUSIC: -"District Four" by Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)*
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Fri, 9 March 2018
BLACK PANTHER: Andrew and D. have both finally seen the newest Marvel Cinematic entry, Black Panther, and dive into the aspects of the movie that stood out for them, especially with respect to nerd culture, pop culture, and culture at large. This conversation does discuss SPOILERS for the film, so consider yourself duly warned. WORKS CITED:
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For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap. FEATURED MUSIC: -"District Four" by Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)*
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Fri, 2 March 2018
THE LONG CON: After years of teasing the topic, Andrew and D. finally sit down to talk about continuity. It starts with the continuity issues surrounding Star Wars and Disney's purge of their Extended Universe, before it descends into talk about its benefits, its setbacks, and why it can be used as a weapon. RELATED LINKS:
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For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap. FEATURED MUSIC: -"District Four" by Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)*
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Fri, 23 February 2018
WEEK IN GEEK: Andrew plays Cellar Door Games' follow up to their previous hit, Rogue Legacy, with a multiplayer brawleRPG, Full Metal Furies, while D. zones out––and has a lot of fun doing it––with Grey Alien Games' new solitaire/visual novel/RPG, Shadowhand. RELATED EPISODES:
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For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap. FEATURED MUSIC: -"District Four" by Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)*
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Fri, 16 February 2018
WEEK IN GEEK: This week, Andrew and D. start with a little Black Panther talk––friend of the show, Kyrun Silva, went on Good Day Sacramento to talk about what the character has meant to him as an independent comic creator––before Andrew discusses the complex but fun fantasy board game, Gloomhaven, while Dan watches the short but effective AMC comic book documentary series, Robert Kirkman's Secret History of Comics. RELATED EPISODES:
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For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap. FEATURED MUSIC: -"District Four" by Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)*
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Fri, 9 February 2018
ANNOUNCEMENEWSBLASTCAST: Instead of focusing on their respective Weeks in Geek or having an extended conversation, Andrew and D. decide to cover a lot of news that dropped this week including the trailer to season 2 of Marvel/Netflix's Jessica Jones, 20th Century Fox's Deadpool 2 trailer, the reveal of the video-game-based-on-a-tabletop-game-based-on-a-tabletop-card-game, Sentinels of Freedom, the upcoming Dungeons & Dragons lorebook, Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes, and the passing of John Mahoney. RELATED EPISODES:
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For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap. FEATURED MUSIC: -"District Four" by Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)*
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Fri, 2 February 2018
WEEK IN GEEK: D. Bethel squabbles over the storylines left underdeveloped in Netflix's western limited series, Godless, while Andrew dabbles in the interesting RPG system found in Evil Hat Productions' Fate Core. RELATED EPISODES:
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For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap. FEATURED MUSIC: -"District Four" by Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)*
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Fri, 26 January 2018
WEEK IN GEEK - COMIC BOOK TV SHOW EDITION: Andrew tunes in to the CW's newest superhero premiere––Black Lightning––while D. Bethel looks back at the first season of Fox's The Gifted. SPOILER WARNING RELATED EPISODES:
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For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap. FEATURED MUSIC: -"District Four" by Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)*
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Fri, 19 January 2018
WEEK IN GEEK: Andrew plays the mashup tabletop game, Betrayal at Baldur's Gate while Dan goes for the yards in Supergiant Games' latest release, Pyre. THE RELATION BETWEEN TEXT AND AUDIENCE: Andrew, spurred on by his experiences playing Fallout 4's DLC, "Automatron," and Dan, inspired by his playing of Pyre, talk about how texts can have different impacts––and lead to very different experiences––for their audiences. Movies have spoilers and twist endings while video games of optional side-quests and branching paths of narrative. How much of a role does the audience have in telling the story? How much control do we, as an audience, want? RELEVANT EPISODES:
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For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap. FEATURED MUSIC: -"Disco Medusae" by Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)*
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Fri, 12 January 2018
A WEEK IN GEEK: Before things get started, D. talks about becoming mildly internet famous for about a day (the social media accounts of his favorite band, Twisted Sister, shared art he made of each band member). For those wondering, here's the scene from Pee-Wee's Big Adventure in which Twisted Sister appears. INDIE ACCOLADES: Andrew and D. talk about the world of independent creation––mostly games, mostly video games––and how it works in the face of the big corporate franchises discussed for the past few weeks. WEEKS IN INDIE GAMES: Andrew and D. mention a few indie games that they've been enjoying over the last month or so. Andrew discusses his love and frustration with Thomas Happ's metaroidvania Axiom Verge and Powerhoof's Crawl. D. keeps returning to the existential dread that is noio's Kingdom: Classic as well as to the hilarious existential horror of Kitfox Games' The Shrouded Isle. WORKS CITED:
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For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap. FEATURED MUSIC: -"Disco Medusae" by Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)*
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Fri, 5 January 2018
WEEK IN GEEK: Having missed last week's Week in Geek, Andrew and D. Bethel decide to...skip it again so they can spend as much time with–– THE STATE OF THE DCEUNION: Returning to the show is the resident DC expert, Taylor Katcher, to talk about 2017 in DC––movies, tv, and comics. RELATED EPISODES:
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For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap. FEATURED MUSIC: -"Disco Medusae" by Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)*
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Fri, 29 December 2017
WEEK IN GEEK: Both Andrew and D. Bethel saw Star Wars: The Last Jedi so–– THE LAST HOT TAKE: They bring in original Star Wars fan and friend of the show, Jason Tudor, to talk about Star Wars: The Last Jedi, the talk around the movie, and what it means for the franchise SPOILER ALERT––SIGNIFICANT PLOT POINTS ARE DISCUSSED; BE SURE TO WATCH THE MOVIE BEFORE LISTENING. RELATED EPISODES:
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For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap. FEATURED MUSIC: -"Disco Medusae" by Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)*
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