Fri, 17 July 2020
WEEK IN GEEK: Andrew tunes into the new Apple TV alternate history drama created by Ronald D. Moore: For All Mankind. D. Bethel also watches some tv; however, it's animated and old––Disney XD's Gravity Falls.
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Fri, 10 July 2020
A NEW BAT IN THE BELFRY: With Ruby Rose's sudden departure as the lead in CW's Batwoman after the conclusion of its first season, the studio had a lot of interesting choices to make. This week, it was announced that Javicia Leslie would be taking over as the lead––not as Kate Kane, but as a brand new, original character, Ryan Wilder. Andrew & D. Bethel discuss the casting, legacy characters, and how a show can survive––and thrive––even when their lead actor has been replaced.
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Fri, 3 July 2020
WEEK IN GEEK: This week, Andrew finds half of a game to enjoy in Owlcat Games' Pathfinder: Kingmaker while D. Bethel expands his artistic repertoire by investing in an iPad Pro and finds a lot to like in it.
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Fri, 26 June 2020
PEOPLE ARE STILL TERRIBLE: The last few weeks have been heavy with news of important people in the various nerd industries––video games, tabletop, comics, etc.––getting called out as sexual predators who, for years, were protected by the companies they worked for. Andrew and D. Bethel don't dive into specific cases as much as why these people's predatory behavior had been "open secrets" for years and hadn't suffered for it.
Schrodinger's Coulson: To end on more fun news, Andrew and D. Bethel discuss the first few episodes of the new, final season of Marvel's Agents of SHIELD, which has the crew hopping through different time periods.
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Fri, 19 June 2020
WEEK IN GEEK: As is often the case with our hosts: everything old is new again. Andrew plans to take on the psychological strangeness of Atlus' Catherine in the recently released "definitive" version of the 2011 game called Catherine: Full Body. D. Bethel actually steps outside the realm of Xavier's School for the Gifted to try out a different Marvel hero, The Silver Surfer, in the 2019 limited series, Silver Surfer: Black, by Donny Cates, Tradd Moore, and Dave Stewart.
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Fri, 12 June 2020
THE DELONGATED MAN: Actor Hartley Sawyer has been fired from his role as Ralph Dibney––the civilian name for The Elongated Man––after racist and misogynist tweets he made years ago once again resurfaced. Andrew and D. Bethel discuss accountability in the world of social media and the permanence of internet publishing.
WotC RESHUFFLES: Magic: The Gathering publisher, Wizards of the Coast (WotC) announces it will be retiring old cards with clear racist imagery and implications from circulation.
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Fri, 5 June 2020
We're taking the week to go quiet and let the voices that need to be heard get amplified. Donate. Protest. Support. Listen. Vote. Stay safe.
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Fri, 29 May 2020
WEEK IN GEEK: This week, Andrew and D. Bethel let you in on the newest in modern entertainment. Andrew takes a dip into Nickelodeon's 2005 animated show, Avatar: The Last Airbender, while Dan finds himself charmed by the 2015 RPG by CD Projekt Red, The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt.
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Fri, 22 May 2020
#RELEASETHETAYLORCUT: With a bunch of DC Comics-related news dropping this week, we had to light the Taylor signal to bring in our resident DC expert and Senior Optimist Reporter, Taylor Katcher, to talk about the release of the infamous "Snyder Cut" of 2017's Justice League on the forthcoming streaming service, HBO Max. Also discussed is the shocking news that Ruby Rose would be stepping down from the lead role on Batwoman after the first season (and had already been renewed for a second). RELEVANT LINKS:
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Fri, 15 May 2020
NEWS BLAST (COVID-19 EDITION): A lot of stuff is going on amid the global pandemic, and Andrew and D. Bethel are here to talk about it (if Dan actually was able to record his audio this time). They talk about the AMC theater chain shunning Universal Pictures amid Trolls World Tour's success, Civilization VI's bold new plan for a year's worth of DLC and expansions, Marvel and DC Comics are shipping books again, The Flash has an abbreviated season (ending on somewhat of a downbeat), and New Mutants gets a theatrical release date...again.
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Fri, 8 May 2020
IT WOULD HAVE BEEN CALLED "THE NEW MIDNIGHT": There's no new episode this week due to some debilitating technical problems on one of the host's end (it was Dan). Check back next week for a new episode. INFO:
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Fri, 1 May 2020
#CAPITALISM: With Disney taking ownership of the 4th of May, Andrew and D. Bethel talk about the role of ownership in public discourse for a bit.
MUNDANE FANTASY: Looking at where the world is now, and with the meteoric landing of Animal Crossing: New Horizons, D. Bethel and Andrew wonder––why do we love playing games about working...and love them?
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Fri, 24 April 2020
WEEK IN GEEK: This week, after giving a brief update on the announcement of IMDb TV's revival of Leverage, Andrew talks about his experience playing Coldwild Games' delightful trading simulation game, Merchant of the Skies while D. Bethel finally got around to watching Netflix's The Witcher.
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Fri, 17 April 2020
WHAT MAKES A REMAKE: With the incredible success of games like Resident Evil 2 and Final Fantasy VII Remake, Andrew and D. Bethel discuss the legacy of these new games (and their original versions) while also discussing all of the iterations of "re-" that you can find in media (reboots, remakes, remasters).
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Fri, 10 April 2020
OUT OF GAS: Though this is on the feed, it's more of an apology for a lack of an episode to this. In the interest of full disclosure, both Andrew and D. Bethel couldn't muster the energy to get out of being generally exhausted and saddened by their quarantined lives. So, rather than force their way through uninspired conversation, they figured the best thing to do would be to call in a sick day and try again next week. INFO:
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Fri, 3 April 2020
WEEK IN GEEK: Andrew finds the retro-JRPG stylings of Square Enix's Octopath Traveler engaging and fun while D. Bethel has fun making the new pages from his webcomic, Long John, into short videos for Instagram, forcing him to look at his own work in new ways. RELEVANT LINKS:
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Fri, 27 March 2020
SHELTER AT HOME: With both hosts hometowns under a "shelter at home" quarantine, they discuss how they've had to adjust their behavior to continue their normal nerdy procedures. To that end, Andrew discusses playing tabletop RPGs online using the Roll20 website and the teleconferencing program, Zoom. D. Bethel, on the other hand, talks about comic book distribution and how the major (only?) comics distributor, Diamond Comics, decreed that it will cease ordering (and shipping) new comics immediately; Dan talks about how this affects him and, more importantly, how it affects local comic shops.
Here is a look at the virtual tabletop Andrew created for his game of Spectaculars:
Also, here is the video made by Sacramento comic shop proprietor, Ben Schwartz––owner of Empire's Comics Vault––laying out the dilemma of comic shop owners in the time of the quarantine (especially before Diamond stopped shipping). RELEVANT LINKS:
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Fri, 20 March 2020
WEEK IN GEEK: This week, our hosts push through the shelter at home monotony by playing video games albeit old video games. First, Andrew steps back into 2015's The Witcher III: The Wild Hunt now that he has more context after watching the hit Netflix show, while D. Bethel is intrigued at how hard the narrative payoff will fail in the otherwise really fun Shadow of the Tomb Raider.
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Fri, 13 March 2020
CORONA, I HARDLY KNEW YA: The coronavirus continues to wreak havoc on the nerd world with––since the last episode––the postponement of Emerald City Comic Con, the cancellation of this year's E3 and other cultural events like SXSW. Andrew & D. Bethel cover the COVID-19-related news since the last episode.
WEEK IN GEEK: This week, Andrew falls in love with Scratchpad Publishing's new RPG, Spectaculars, while D. Bethel is intrigued by the demo for Final Fantasy VII Remake on Playstation 4.
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Fri, 6 March 2020
DON'T DIE: With the rising threat of the coronavirus and its impact on nerd conventions––especially Emerald City Comic Con and the Game Developer's Conference––Andrew and D. Bethel investigate all the ways this pandemic can impact not only fans of nerdy things but makers of nerdy things.
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Fri, 28 February 2020
WEEK IN GEEK: This week, Andrew dives into the CBS All Access archives to get caught up on the surprisingly good––and suprisingly different––remake of the '80s action show, MacGyver, while D. Bethel dives into the surprisingly compelling Zelda clone/shopkeep simulator by Digital Sun, Moonlighter.
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Fri, 21 February 2020
GOTTA GO FAST: Sonic the Hedgehog destroys box office expectations Valentine's Day weekend. Andrew and Dan discuss the surprise success of this cinematic adaptation of the beloved video game franchise.
BIRDS OF PREY: OR, THE REINSTATEMENT OF INSTITUTIONALIZED SEXISM AGAINST WOMAN-LED SUPERHERO FILMS: Birds of Prey released last week and its box office performance left some upset. D. Bethel and Andrew talk about the relativity of box office success, how Marvel fandom may be tainting the pond, and how marketing is a strange magic.
DOOMED ANIMAL CROSSING: In a bit of light news, with Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Doom Eternal releasing on the same day, Twitter and Reddit have become very interesting places, and in mostly good ways.
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Fri, 14 February 2020
CRISIS ON INFINITE TAYLORS: With another, even bigger crossover of the DC/CW shows, we had to have friend-of-the-show and Senior Optimist Reporter, Taylor Katcher, come onto the show to talk with Andrew and D. Bethel about the glorious mess that was "Crisis on Infinite Earths" that saw Arrow, The Flash, Batwoman, Supergirl, and DC's Legends of Tomorrow fight to save the multiverse.
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Fri, 7 February 2020
THE PROBLEM WITH LOVECRAFT: A lot of controversy was had (mostly on Twitter) over the last few weeks with the release of Evil Hat Productions' Fate of Cthulhu, a new table-top RPG integrating the systems of Evil Hat's Fate Core and the Lovecraft mythos. Evil Hat proudly declared that it was bucking tropes of other Lovecraft-inspired games––mainly how it addresses Lovecraft's prejudices head-on and it doesn't include sanity meters for its players––and that, for some reason, made a lot of people upset. Andrew talks about the subsequent furor while D. Bethel shows up as our resident Lovecraft scholar. RELEVANT LINKS:
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Fri, 31 January 2020
WEEK IN GEEK: This week, Andrew talks about becoming enraptured by the first episode of the new CBS All Access series, Star Trek: Picard while D. Bethel enjoys the poignant but strange end to a creative team's long run on Batman with the DC Comics' Black Label series, Batman: Last Knight on Earth by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo.
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Fri, 24 January 2020
WEEK IN GEEK: This week, Andrew dives in to Hello Games' No Man's Sky after another patch while D. Bethel relays his experience going to see Kevin Smith present his newest film––Jay and Silent Bob Reboot––as part of a traveling tour for the movie when it came to Sacramento.
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Fri, 17 January 2020
NEW WHO: Series 12 of Doctor Who started up on New Year's Day. With three weeks gone and now three episodes in, our Who-loving hosts sit down to talk about it (mostly just the first two episodes SPOILER WARNING for "Spyfall, Part 1" and "Spyfall, Part 2").
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Fri, 10 January 2020
IS THE FORCE STILL WITH US?: This week, Andrew and D. Bethel talk not about Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker (although there are things that amount to SPOILERS for both The Rise of Skywalker and The Mandalorian in this episode, so be warned). Instead, they talk about what comes next. An article from NME, it was reported that the next Star Wars saga will be set during the "High Republic" era of the canon, predating all nine numbered movies by 400 years. Andrew and D. Bethel talk about this development––and about Star Wars in general––and even get into a fight about an IP that neither are particularly passionate about.
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Fri, 3 January 2020
WEEK IN GEEK: This week, Andrew and D. Bethel start the new year with some things they have only light knowledge of and experience with. Andrew starts watching Netflix's The Witcher and only briefly plays Haemimont Games' Surviving Mars. D. Bethel has fun playing detective in the disgusting Lovecraftian world of Frogwares' The Sunking City.
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Fri, 27 December 2019
THE FINAL COUNTDOWN: As 2019 hurries to a close, our hosts kick up their feet and just chat about the things they're doing to occupy their time until the new year rolls around. They talk about everything from the winter Steam sale, to finishing Outer Wilds (no spoilers!), to Lovecraftian tabletop games (Fate of Cthulhu), video games (The Sinking City), and novels (Winter Tide), to developing for web browsers, to––of course––Doctor Who and Star Wars.
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Fri, 20 December 2019
EXPECTING THE EXPECTED: On the day this podcast episode releases, so too does the newest cinematic installment of the main Star Wars series with Star Wars - Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker. But Andrew and D. aren't here to talk about the movie––they haven't seen it yet. Instead, they're here to talk about the talk about the movie, specifically the rather surprising amount of negative reviews coming from––not internet trolls––professional film reviewers. It leads to a multi-faceted conversation about expectations, fandom, and even the changing landscape of cinema narratives.
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Fri, 13 December 2019
WEEK IN GEEK (kind of): It turned out to be an accidental Week in Geek episode as D. Bethel talks about his disappointment with Valve Corporation's sidelining of Campo Santo's Firewatch followup, In the Valley of Gods. On the opposite side of breaking news, Andrew finally gets around to watching Star Trek: Discovery and kind of unabashedly loves it.
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Fri, 6 December 2019
TRAILER SEASON: With the year coming to an end, it's all about looking forward for nerdy and geeky entertainment. Lately, it seems a lot of trailers for new movies and television events have been dropping that are getting people talking. This week, Andrew and D. Bethel talk about the new trailers for Black Widow, No Time to Die, Crisis on Infinite Earths, and Doctor Who: Series 12. INFO:
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Fri, 29 November 2019
HAPPY GEEKSGIVING: Disguising a perfectly good Week in Geek episode, our hosts discuss the recent nerdy things in their lives that, like American Thanksgiving, seem to be all about bringing people together––directly or indirectly. Andrew relates his time with Hideo Kojima's recent game, Death Stranding while D. Bethel has spent the last half-year taking up the challenge of finding out whether he's actually a fan of the band Queen or not.
What nerdy and geeky things have brought you through the beginning of this winter holiday season? Let us know!
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Fri, 22 November 2019
WEEK IN GEEK: This week, our humble hosts are back playing games of all sorts. Andrew heads to the tile-covered table and is reasonably impressed playing yet another Legacy-branded game––Betrayal Legacy by Avalon Hill a multi-session version of the popular semi-cooperative horror game, Betrayal on Haunted Hill. D. Bethel finally had some time to step into the digital realm and got lost in the clockwork expanse of the very interesting and subtle Outer Wilds (no, not The Outer Worlds) by Mobius Digital (WARNING: mild spoilers for Outer Wilds are given in the episode).
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Fri, 15 November 2019
THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE MANDALORIAN: A brief check-in to the release of Disney+ this week as Andrew reacts to the first episode of their original, Star Wars show, The Mandalorian. He is surprised more at how much it pulls from Westerns than Star Wars.
A LONG TIME AGO, WE USED TO BE FRIENDS: Veronica Mars was always a show that hovered just below wide popularity, but its fans were devoted and supportive. From the original three seasons that aired on UPN/the CW to its Kickstarted movie, to Hulu's revival with a fourth season, Andrew and D. Bethel did a rewatch of the show and have some thoughts on what it has been, what it is now, and what it could be in the future.
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Fri, 8 November 2019
NEW TV NOT ON TV: Some interesting tv has not only been announced but is starting to get reviewed, but what makes it interesting is that a lot of this tv is not on "regular" tv. With services like Disney+ and Apple TV+ bringing some high profile shows to the scene, other services and broadcast tv is also starting to step up their offerings as well.
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Fri, 1 November 2019
THE LAST FIRST: Fallout 76 continues to accidentally grab headlines or, at least, grabs headlines it doesn't want. After a year of toiling in player complaints, bugs, and marketing schemes gone awry, the game seemed to have found a balance for those still enjoying the experience. Then Bethesda announced (and released) "Fallout First", a premium subscription for players that would get them a whole host of goodies. In true Fallout 76 fashion, it didn't take long for this to fall apart in big, bad ways.
Also, November 8-10, D. Bethel will be with his comic, Long John, at the Reno Pop Culture Convention! If you're in the area, it's looking to be a great show; so, be sure to stop by and say hi!
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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:
INFO:
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:
INFO:
For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap. FEATURED MUSIC: -"District Four" by Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)*
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