Nerd Lunch | The Final Star Wars Panel

I'd feel more sad about the final Nerd Lunch Star Wars panel if every member on it hadn't become such a valuable part of my life that I don't for a second imagine that this is any kind of parting of the ways.

But it is the last time we'll get together to talk about Star Wars in this format and that's a sad thing. In this episode, we clear away the table with a discussion of our favorite and least favorite contributions of the Disney Star Wars movies, both saga and anthology films, as well as where we expect / hope the series will go from here.

Nerd Lunch | Rise of Skywalker Drill Down

It was bittersweet to record the last Nerd Lunch drill-down about a Star Wars movie. The end of that show is becoming very real. And even though these friends of mine aren't going away, our time getting together in this particular format for these particular discussions is coming to a close.

I'm so pleased with how all of these episodes have gone. Five people of various ages and levels of fandom aren't always going to agree about what makes a good Star Wars movie and that's what's made these discussions so valuable to me. And not just the varying opinions, but the way in which those opinions have been expressed and accepted, even when we don't share them.

Happily, though this is the last Star Wars movie we're likely to discuss together in this format, it's not the last time we'll be getting together to talk about the galaxy far far away. But you can tune in to the episode to get those details.

Nerd Lunch | Kung Fu Theater: 5 Fingers of Death

The Nerd Lunch fellas asked if I would join them for a discussion of Five Fingers of Death (1972), the film that launched the '70s kung-fu craze in the US and directly inspired the creation of Marvel's Iron Fist character and a lot of Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill. I don't know a lot about kung fu cinema, but that didn't stop me from watching and talking about it.

It was a fun conversation and made me want to dig deeper not only into the martial arts genre, but other Asian cinema as well. In fact, with the help of some friends on Letterboxd, I created a long list of Asian Cinema To Dos for me to work through.

Nerd Lunch | Tim Burton Batman Movies

Four years ago, the Nerd Lunch gang invited me and Batman fan extraordinaire Jay Ryan to talk about all things Batman for the Caped Crusader's 75th anniversary. This week, the band got back together to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Batman '89 by focusing specifically on the two Tim Burton movies.

That's always a fun group to talk with and I had a great time revisiting both movies. Especially Batman Returns which I traditionally haven't liked, but found some new things to enjoy about it this time.

Nerd Lunch | Solo Drill Down

No, seriously. For real this time.

It was great getting together again with the Nerd Lunch Star Wars panel to talk about the Han Solo prequel, how it worked as a space adventure story, as a prequel, and whether it changed our perceptions and opinions on the whole concept of Star Wars anthology films.

Nerd Lunch | Movie Monsters Sweet 16

Because I love Halloween and horror, one of my favorite episodes of Nerd Lunch every year is their annual Halloween Special with recurring guest Jay Ryan (The Sexy Armpit, The Purple Stuff Podcast). So it was super fun to get to be on that episode this year with Jay and of course hosts Pax and Jeeg.

For this episode, we each brought lists of our favorite movie monsters, put them all into a Sweet Sixteen bracket, and then voted (with absent Nerd Lunch host CT breaking ties via text) to see who the ultimate movie monster is. It was a lot of fun and there are some fantastic matchups in there, so celebrate the season and see if you agree with our choices.

Nerd Lunch | Solo Drill Down

Everyone's talking about Solo, so the Nerd Lunch gang decided to check it out and record their thoughts. And they invited me to join them. Online opinions are apparently split on it, but we all pretty much agreed about its quality. Take a listen and see if you agree, too.

Nerd Lunch | An Extra-Helping of Black Panther

Last week on Nerd Lunch, Jeeg invited me, William Bruce West, and Liz Twachtman to talk about Black Panther. It was my second podcast talking about it; the first being N3rd World a couple of weeks ago. The N3rd World discussion is my initial reaction; Nerd Lunch is after I've had a chance to process it a little. I need to see the movie again though. There's so much to think about in there.

Anyway, it's always fun visiting with Jeeg and Will and it was a pleasure to meet and talk to Liz, too.

Nerd Lunch's Last Jedi Drill-Down

Last Jedi was a Top 5 movie for me last year, so it's no secret that I loved it, but if you're in the mood to hear me gush at length, then Nerd Lunch's latest episode is for you.

OR... maybe you're in the mood to hear a variety of opinions on the movie. If that's the case, you should also listen. I loved it, Carlin hated it, and everyone else is somewhere in between. Jeeg has the perspective of someone outside of the hardcore Star Wars fandom, Pax comes at it with a heavy love of Luke Skywalker, and Kay brings knowledge of and passion for the Extended Universe. It's five friends having a heart-felt, but rational discussion about the most divisive movie of the year. It's almost like we've brought balance to the Force.

New Hellbent, Orville, and Mystery Movie Night podcasts

It's been a super busy week, podcast-wise:

Hellbent for Letterbox | Day of Anger (1967)



Pax and I talk about the 1967 spaghetti western starring our favorite, Lee Van Cleef! And in "Whatchoo Been Westernin'?" we briefly discuss the graphic novel Abbadon, the Pinkertons TV series, and the 2012 Wesley Snipes film, GallowWalkers.



Once you're done with that episode, stay tuned for a special Hitchin' Post where we recast Day of Anger with modern actors.



Planetary Union Network and Nerd Lunch's Orville Extra Helping

If you like The Orville, there are a couple of podcast episodes you should listen to.

Early this week, the latest Planetary Union Network came out in which Joe and I talked with The Orville's costume designer Joseph A Porro. Like everyone from the show whom we've talked to, Joseph was super nice. We talked about the special fabric used on the crew's uniforms, the inspiration for the departmental colors, and the challenges of designing clothing for an alternate version of 21st Century Earth.

Then yesterday, Nerd Lunch released an Extra Helping where Jeeg, CT, and I talk about the first season as a whole: why we started watching, why we kept at it, our favorite characters and episodes, and what we'd like to see in Season 2.



Mystery Movie Night | The Third Man (1949), The Muppet Movie (1979), and Ed Wood (1994)



And finally, Erik, Dave, David and I wrapped up the Mystery Movie Night year talking about sewers, Sweetums, sweaters, and the secret connection between them.

00:01:39 - Review of The Third Man

00:18:09 - Review of The Muppet Movie

00:50:56 - Review of Ed Wood

01:12:15 - Guessing the Connection



That's a lot to listen to, but you have a long weekend, so enjoy! And Happy New Year!

Nerd Lunch World!

I got to be on the latest episode of Nerd Lunch to talk about two of my favorite things: theme parks and Thundarr! In order to create a Nerd Lunch theme parks, the fellas and I assigned each other individual lands to develop. So CT created Star Trek Land, Jeeg made Rock 'n' Wrestling Land, Pax invented Oz Land, and I designed Thundarr Land. It is super nerdy and super cool and you should listen to it.

Nerd Lunch | Star Wars Panel: Ewok Movie Drill Downs

Pax put the Star Wars panel back together this week to cover the two, made-for-TV Ewok movies. I'm glad he did for a couple of reasons. First, we hadn't gotten together since talking about Rogue One and I'm glad not to have to wait until Last Jedi for our next get-together. I love talking Star Wars with this crew.

But also, I'd never seen the Ewok movies and this was the push I needed to finally do that. As I explain on the episode, I missed them when they came out and would have been too old to enjoy them anyway. It was fun to finally see them; especially Battle for Endor, which I liked more than the rest of the group did. It's not a great movie, but I see its charm, especially for people who were kids when it came out. Caravan of Courage is a whole other story, though.

So we talk about that and weird fan theories and where these fall into continuity and Burl Ives and Wilford Brimley and all kinds of other stuff. It's a fun episode.

I want a podcast. Chicks dig the podcast.

A lot of podcasting going on this week.

On the most recent Mystery Movie Night, David, Dave, and I were joined by my wife Diane (also David's mom and Dave's sister), who also happens to be the creator of the Mystery Movie Night concept. You can listen to her tell that story as we reconsider a couple of maligned superhero movies and a family classic.



Then at Nerd Lunch, Evan Hanson and I talked with the fellas about "adult" snack cakes and Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2. It was an impromptu episode that turned out to be a blast.



So much of a blast that the outtakes made it into their own mini-episode.



Promotion for the Kill All Monsters Omnibus is ramping up, so I've been on a couple of podcasts to talk about that. First was Word Bros with the amazing Bob Frantz and Kevin Cuffe, a super fun and funny writing team with a ton of joy and enthusiasm for comics. I was grinning all the way through that conversation.



And finally (for now), Jason Copland and I were both on the Happy Haven podcast to talk about the book, our partnership, Renaissance Festivals, and Cassingles.

Greystoked and Down the Rabbit Hole

On the most recent Greystoked, Noel and I review the stories that influenced and were influenced by Tarzan up through 1929. Starting with Gilgamesh and ending with Tarzan the Tiger, we talk about Tarzan books, comics, and theater as well as connections to H Rider Haggard, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and Mickey Mouse.

Opening music from "Wild Cat" by Eddie Lang and Joe Venuti

Closing music from "Diga Diga Doo" by Duke Ellington





That's not the only podcast I was on this week, though. I also got to sit in on Nerd Lunch Presents Down the Rabbit Hole, an always entertaining exploration of various wikis. On this episode, I sat in for Pax and the guest was Dr. Andrea Letamendi from the Arkham Sessions podcast. In honor of the coming Wonder Woman movie, we dug into the DC Comics Database to see if we could get from Mr Mxyzptlk to both Arkham Asylum and Primal Force's Leyman.

FCCQ | Stranger Things

Here's something new I want to try. CT from Nerd Lunch recently gave the podcast's website a new look and one of the cool updates is the Fourth Chair Army page. You can search for episodes by particular guests (like me, for instance) and there's also a section at the bottom that randomizes a Fourth Chair Carryover Question (FCCQ). If you're not familiar with the show, that's the part where a guest one week leaves a question for the following week's guest to answer. It's super fun and there have been a lot of great discussion questions over the years.

So, with the blessing of the fellas, I'm going to occasionally pull up an FCCQ and answer it here. Starting now.



Way back on Episode 51, Rondal Scott of Strange Kids Club asked appropriately, "What's the strangest thing you remember doing as a kid?"

It's always tough for me to know what weird things I did as a kid that were unique to me and what was just me being a regular kid. For instance, I was narcissistic enough to imagine that I was starring in my own reality show and I didn't dream that other people fantasized about the same thing until The Truman Show brought us all out of the closet to talk about it.

I also know that I wasn't the only kid to cast myself in my own adventures and secretly roleplay my way through the day, but I don't know to what extent other kids did it. So I always suspected that the length and details of my imaginary adventures were a little strange.

They got especially involved anytime we went on vacation. Changes in scenery and new things to do were exciting, so I would try to create a story that tied the whole trip together. Growing up in Florida in the '70s and early '80s was a treat, because Disney World was close and not as expensive as it is today. And I had a recurring story that I would replay every time we went.

It was a simple story. I was some kind of space/time-traveling cop on the hunt for a criminal mastermind. But my time machine wasn't a slow, klunky TARDIS; it was a personal device that either fit in my pocket or I would wear on my wrist or something. And it would allow me to instantly transport from one time period or part of the world to another. So I'd chase him from Main Street's turn-of-the-century US to the jungles and seas of Adventureland and then I'd pop over to the American West in Frontierland to track him some more. Then through a haunted mansion and on to Medieval Europe in Fantasyland and finally we'd end up in the "present" of my story: Tomorrowland. Which of course culminated in a wild race through the stars via Space Mountain. Later, my man safely in custody, I'd chill back at my hotel while waiting for my next assignment.

You can tell me if that's strange. Maybe I was a normal kid after all. But please also tell me what's the strangest thing you remember doing as a kid?

Disney World map scan from MousePlanet.com.

Celebrating Wonder Woman and Giving Dead People Work at Nerd Lunch

Between 31 Days of Gothic Romance in October and Christmas Carol stuff in December (with my now-annual Non-Blogging November in between), I completely whiffed on mentioning a couple of episodes of Nerd Lunch that I was on.

In October, Stacey Rader and I joined CT and Pax to discuss Wonder Woman for her 75th birthday. I was also on the 75th anniversary discussions of Superman and Batman, so it made me really happy to complete the DC trinity. And really, Wonder Woman is the one I most looked forward to discussing. I love Superman and Batman, but they aren't that complex. Wonder Woman is. That's why I've written about her pretty extensively to try to figure her out. And we talk about that on the episode, too.

In November, I was back on again for my first shot at one of Nerd Lunch's recurring topics: "Give that Guy Some Work." That's usually where they pick some under-used actors and imagine the kinds of projects that they'd love to see those people work in together. This time, in the spirit of 2016, CT modified the topic to "Give that Dead Guy Some Work." I won't spoil the episode for you, but the image below suggests just one of the three amazing concepts that CT, Jeeg, Andrew Bloom, and I came up with.

Click on the links above to listen, or better yet, subscribe to Nerd Lunch on your favorite podcast listening platform.

Thy kind hath podcasted too far already

Last month, Nerd Lunch celebrated Star Trek's 50th anniversary with four episodes about the show. And they were nice enough to let me join one of them for a discussion of everyone's favorite, godlike child, Q from Next Generation. (And Deep Space Nine and Voyager, but we all agreed that he works best with the TNG crew.) We dissect what his role was on the show and which episodes made the best use of him.





Then over at Starmageddon, we did back-to-back episodes with our new pal Tristan, first talking about the introduction of Star Trek's first gay character and whether or not Sulu was the best choice for that milestone. Then a couple of days later, we also released our review of Star Trek Beyond. Lots of spoilers in the second one, so stay away until you've seen the film.

Down the Jaxxon Hole with Nerd Lunch

This week I got to do two of my favorite things: talk about Star Wars and be on Nerd Lunch. One of my favorite Nerd Lunch features is when they go "Down the Rabbit Hole," where people suggest a couple of topics, then the group tries to link one with the other through a series of Wikipedia pages. It's spontaneous and always fun. This week, it was the Star Wars version of that, so Kay and I got to join CT and professional Rabbit Hole spelunker Jeff Somogyi in trying to get from...

Well, I'll leave that for the episode.

This month was JanuMAYry at Nerd Lunch

I used the term "embarrassment of riches" at some point this month to describe my experience podcasting four weeks in a row with the Nerd Lunch crew, and that's pretty accurate. I love those guys and Kay and one of the many highlights of 2015 for me was getting to talk our way through the Star Wars movies. So starting off 2016 by joining the show four weeks in a row for various topics was indeed a rich blessing. I'm a little sheepish about taking up time that other guests could have been on, but regret nothing. That was crazy fun.

We wrapped up the Star Wars discussion (for now) with Pax, Kay, and I discussing the Star Wars EU books and comics and then the whole panel convening to cover The Force Awakens. But I'd also wondered out loud about the possibility of being on this year's Nerdstradamus episode, because I love annual predictions episodes (Pop Culture Happy Hour does that too, for example). And Jeeg was awesome and made that happen. As schedules would have it, that fell right after the Force Awakens episode, so the fellas decided to just go for it and have me on all month. Today, the final episode of the tetralogy dropped, in which I join CT, Pax, and one of my favorite Nerd Lunch guests, William Bruce West to talk about Undeserving TV Revivals.

I interpreted "undeserving" to indicate a lack of clamoring from the current public, but my pick was a show that was super popular in its day and I'd love to see it come back. CT went sort of that same route, while Pax and William went with shows that weren't all that loved even in their heyday. I'll leave it for you to discover in the episode what our choices were.

You can hear all four of the recent episodes in the links above or embedded below. Or on iTunes or wherever else you like to listen to podcasts.

Complete, these Nerd Lunch drill-downs are (for now)

The sixth and final (until December 18th) Nerd Lunch Star Wars drill-down came out on Tuesday with me, Kay, and the Nerd Lunch fellas talking about Revenge of the Sith. To no one's shock, it was everyone's favorite of the prequels, but I think we were all a little surprised at how much we enjoyed it. It still has big problems - and we talk about those - but I enjoy it more and more every time I watch it. There's some legitimately great stuff in there and we talk about that, too. Also: Clone Wars cartoons and a truly awesome Star Wars-related Carryover Question.