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Don’t Pull Out Your Deck

Don’t Pull Out Your Deck

ANDY’S STEAM DECK ADVENTURES: Andrew shares what it was like to actually take his handheld PC-device on the road (and what games he’s been playing).

BOMBING THE BOX OFFICE: This summer has been marked with a series of movies that had really big budgets and very low returns, and it’s a trend that seems to only be continuing. Our hosts talk through possible causes and possible futures of this distressing trajectory.

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  • Space Man From Pluto” (30 June 2023): Where our hosts talk about studios’ use of AI as well as the financial struggles of streaming services.

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A Hoseiken Seiko Bat

A Hoseiken Seiko Bat

RIP DCCW: In a DC-heavy episode, our hosts bring our on-the-ground-DC-correspondent, Taylor, to talk about all things DC Comics. First, it’s sad news to fans of the tv-based DC universe as it was announced that only Flash and Superman & Lois return for another season, leaving fans of, especially Batwoman and Legends of Tomorrow to deal with their sorrow.

ACTUALLY DETECTIVING: Now that it has been out for awhile, our hosts and Taylor dive deep into Matt Reeves’ The Batman, analyzing not only its story and characters and actors, but also its influences and legacy.

TOO WEIRD: Before closing out the episode, our hosts and co-host take a moment to discuss the very strange trailer for Weird: The Al Yankovic Story.

RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • Don’t Stop Recording” (3 July 2015): Where D. Bethel discusses his impressions of Batman: Arkham Knight.
  • Keep Calm, You’re a Warrior Princess” (1 April 2016): Where Andrew and D. Bethel discuss Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice.
  • #CyclopsWasRight” (21 October 2016): Where D. Bethel discusses his time (at the time) playing the Batman video game by Telltale Games.
  • The Baggage of Expectation” (10 July 2020): Where our hosts discuss the departure of Ruby Rose from the role of Batwoman, and the announcement of Javicia Leslie as the new protagonist of the DC/CW show, Batwoman.

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Meat Pops

Meat Pops

NEWS CRUISE: Andrew and D. Bethel cover a lot of different news stories this week, including the acceptance of NFTs in video games by Steam and the Epic Games Store; the workers of tabletop game developer, Paizo, form a union; developers who worked on Metroid Dread not seeing their names in the credits; Ruby Rose speaking up about their treatment on the set of Batwoman‘s first season; and some announcements made by DC during the DC Fandome event.

UPDATE: Venerated Metroid fansite, Shinesparkers, reached out to Metroid Dread developers, MercurySteam, for clarification on what qualified for crediting in the game, specifically with regard to what constitutes the “25% game dev time” and “significant creative contributions,” stating:

“A significant contribution might mean A LOT of things: from designing a playable character, writing dialogues, lore.. anything substantially important to the game. On the 25% this is something based on our experience. Of course it can be seen differently elsewhere.”

FURTHER UPDATE: Union issues with Paizo and its workers came to an agreement on Thursday, October 21, with Paizo officially recognizing the workers’ union.

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RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • Business Exempt” (19 October 2018): Where D. Bethel and Andrew talk about the first major attempt to unionize video game workers.
  • A Casualty of the Rhyme” (22 May 2020): Where our hosts, along with Taylor, talk about Ruby Rose’s sudden departure from Batwoman.
  • Milkbloods” (09 April 2021): When Andrew and D. Bethel first discussed the strange culture of NFTs.

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The Call Boss

The Call Boss

THE TAYLOR CUT: With the Snyder cut of Justice League now upon us, co-host Andrew and friend-of-the-show, Taylor Katcher, approached the 4-hour opus with hesitation and excitement, respectively. With the Snyderverse fully complete (at this point), Andrew, D. Bethel, and Taylor gather ’round the microphones to talk about Zack Snyder’s Justice League and all the fervor around it. Prepare for hot takes!

RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • Episode 149 – We Are Not Here” (08 December 2017): Where D. Bethel talked about his experiencing watching Joss Whedon’s version of Justice League.
  • Episode 152 – My Own Finger” (05 January 2018): Where Taylor talked to Andrew and D. Bethel about the 2018 state of the DC-union.
  • A Casualty of the Rhyme” (22 May 2020): Where Andrew, D. Bethel, and Taylor discuss the news of the Snyder Cut becoming reality.
  • Auteur Manager” (12 February 2021): Where D. Bethel and Andrew discuss the news of the abhorrent treatment Ray Fisher alleges having experienced on the set of Joss Whedon’s Justice League and how much of Hollywood came out to support him, revealing an even darker truth about the once fan-favorite writer.

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FIrst-Person Whip

FIrst-Person Whip

RECYCLING OF THE DALEKS: This year’s Doctor Who New Year’s special, “Revolution of the Daleks”, continues the cliffhanger ending of series 12 and says goodbye to some companions while welcoming back Captain Jack Harkness to the show. Andrew and D. Bethel discuss the special while also discuss some of the important changes made to the series lore at the end of series 12.

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RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • The Worst Canoe” (27 November 2020): Where Andrew and D. discuss the news that Captain Jack Harkness was returning to Doctor Who for “Revolution of the Daleks” New Year’s special.
  • Rhythms of the Algo” (17 January 2020): Where D. Bethel and Andrew discuss the opening episodes of series 12 of Doctor Who.
  • Shortcast 77 – Smash Talk” (14 December 2018): Where Andrew and D. Bethel talk about Doctor Who series 11.
  • Episode 68 – The Foobelize” (16 October 2015): Where D. Bethel and Andrew discuss multimodal continuities, this time spurred on by The Transformers.

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High Five Super Friends

High Five Super Friends

THE INTERMINABLE CUT: Zack Snyder had already made it clear that his “Snyder Cut” of Justice League for HBO Max was going to be long, but recently made clear that it was going to be even longer than the 214 minutes he previously said it would be, meaning it will likely be close to four hours of film. Andrew and D. Bethel have some thoughts about long run times with nerdy and geeky movies.

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RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • Episode 149 – We Are Not Here” (08 December 2017): Where D. Bethel talks about watching the theatrical cut of Justice League.
  • A Casualty of the Rhyme” (22 May 2020): Where our hosts are joined by our DC correspondent, Taylor Katcher, to talk about the news of the Snyder Cut coming to HBO Max.

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Dulce Et Utile

Dulce Et Utile

THE DELONGATED MAN: Actor Hartley Sawyer has been fired from his role as Ralph Dibneyā€“ā€“the civilian name for The Elongated Manā€“ā€“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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  • “A Casualty of the Rhyme” (22 May 2020): Where Andrew and D. Bethelā€“ā€“guided by resident DC expert, Taylor Katcherā€“ā€“talk about the news of Ruby Rose leaving Batwoman after the first season.

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#SaveGrifter

#SaveGrifter

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.

RELEVANT LINKS:

  • Katcher, Taylor and Taylor Cassell. “2019: Nerd Endings.” A Website [ , ] For All Intents and Purposes. 13 January 2020.
    • Where the Taylors wrote about watching all of the nerd stuff during 2019.

RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • Guestcast 03 – Muted Police Action” (07 December 2018): Where D. Bethel took the week off so Andrew and Taylor could talk about another DCCW crossover event, “Elseworlds.”

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Universe of Nonsense

Universe of Nonsense

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.

The teaser trailer for Black Widow. Source: Marvel Studios/YouTube
The trailer for No Time to Die. Source: Universal/Paramount/YouTube
Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover trailer. Source: DC/CW/YouTube
Trailer for series 12 of Doctor Who. Source: BBC/YouTube

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I Can Segue

I Can Segue

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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