Episodes

  • 773: One Dog Is Too Many

    773: One Dog Is Too Many
    Jul 4 2025
    The summer of submarines kicks off with 1995’s “Crimson Tide,” a taut character drama that pits a captain (Gene Hackman) against his XO (Denzel Washington) in a conflict that escalates as global tensions rise outside their nuclear submarine.

    Jason Snell with Philip Michaels, Lisa Schmeiser, Dan Moren, Casey Liss and Erika Ensign.
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    1 hr and 15 mins
  • 772: The Compulsion of Art

    772: The Compulsion of Art
    Jun 27 2025
    With the guiding hand of Prof. Siracusa choosing the curriculum, we watch select animated shorts from the Netflix series “Love, Death + Robots.” John’s quest to find the perfect photorealistic CGI animation continues. Tony does his companions a solid if he’s ever killed on a moon. The others debate if they represent love, death, or robots. We try to reconnect with our inner pool-polishing robots. It’s a real team effort.

    Jason Snell with John Siracusa, Annette Wierstra, Brian Hamilton and Tony Sindelar.
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    1 hr and 25 mins
  • 771: Nothing Can Kill Doctor Who

    771: Nothing Can Kill Doctor Who
    Jun 20 2025
    The second (and final?) season of the BBC/Disney+ collaboration era of “Doctor Who” is at an end, and so our crew of fans is here to pick up the pieces and ponder what went right and (unfortunately) what went wrong. Where does this franchise go from here?

    Jason Snell with Steven Schapansky, Erika Ensign, Chip Sudderth, Annette Wierstra and Heather Berberet.
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    2 hrs and 5 mins
  • 770: At the Time It Was Written

    770: At the Time It Was Written
    Jun 13 2025
    We conclude (for now?) our coverage of the TV adaptation of The Wheel of Time, which was just canceled by Amazon. Three seasons in, we cover whether we think it is still worth watching despite cancellation (we do) and how well the show’s third (and final?) season fulfills the promise of it coming into its power.

    Moisés Chiullán with Sarah Hendrica Bickerton, Heather Berberet, Bryan Guffey and Kathy Campbell.
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    2 hrs and 26 mins
  • 769: Wrestle a Book

    769: Wrestle a Book
    Jun 6 2025
    Our Awards Book Club continues its run through the roses with a tougher than expected review of Vajra Chandrasekera’s “Raksefall,” Adrian Tchaikovsky’s “Alien Clay,” and Kelly Link’s “The Book of Love.”

    Jason Snell with Scott McNulty, Aleen Simms and Erika Ensign.
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    1 hr and 16 mins
  • 768: Eternal Clockwork Bugs

    768: Eternal Clockwork Bugs
    May 30 2025
    Guillermo del Toro’s career started small, with the small-scale vampire (sort of) horror (sort of?) movie “Cronos,” in which an old man finds a mechanical object containing a magical bug that gives him eternal life in the bad way. Meanwhile, young Ron Perlman hates his evil uncle but continues to do his bidding! It’s a fun 1992 throwback that is still recognizeably del Toro.

    Jason Snell with Steve Lutz, Moisés Chiullán and Tony Sindelar.
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    1 hr and 12 mins
  • 767: On a Farm Planet Upstate

    767: On a Farm Planet Upstate
    May 23 2025
    From the skyscrapers of Coruscant to the pyramids of Yavin and with numerous stops in between, season two of “Andor” covers the rise of the rebellion and leads to the doorstep of “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.” What makes it special among Star Wars series? Did season two improve on the groundbreaking first season? It’s Star Wars, so we break it down in detail.

    Jason Snell with John Siracusa, Dan Moren, Tony Sindelar and Steven Schapansky.
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    1 hr and 51 mins
  • 766: That's 2K!

    766: That's 2K!
    May 16 2025
    We return once more to 1995, this time for a movie set at the turn of the century! It’s “Strange Days,” a cyberpunk movie with only a little bit of cyber but a lot of punk, along with grease and stink.

    Jason Snell with Erika Ensign, Tony Sindelar and Monty Ashley.
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    1 hr and 14 mins