THE MATLOCK OF STARGATES: After watching the entirety of Stargate Atlantis (on Bluray, no less), Andrew wondered what the best way to return to this property would be. This lead to a larger discussion about reboots, remakes, continuations, and how the wrong choice could be devastating for a long-running franchise.
TOPICS: (00:00) Intro – Of grading and outtakes (02:50) Andrew rewatches Stargate Atlantis (05:25) The state of bringing back shows (17:16) Andrew’s preferred way to bring back Stargate (28:07) D.’s (uninformed) approach to rebooting Stargate (31:34) Some shows that were properly brought back (34:22) The Buffy question (41:33) Outro – Crocker Con is THIS WEEKEND (44:45) Outtakes
RELEVANT EPISODES:
“Private Reasons” (29 September 2016): Where our hosts discuss the television reboot of Lethal Weapon.
“Madmacguffin” (20 January 2023): Where our hosts discuss the ups and downs of the Disney+ continuation of Willow.
SILKSONG OF SILENCE: The highly anticipated follow-up to the 2D Metroidvania, Hollow Knight, released on Thursday, September 4, and was so popular that all major digital storefronts collapsed under the demand for the game.
RETCON WHERE NO ONE HAS RETCONNED BEFORE: With Star Trek: Strange New Worlds dipping into the continuity of the original series, D. Bethel went even deeper and watched first-season episode of the original series, “The Menagerie, Part 1 & 2,” to see the original (or second original appearance?) of Captain Pike and finds a lot to like and even more to admire.
THE THING ABOUT THE THING: D. Bethel rounds out the episode talking about his experience reading the novella, Who Goes There?, by John W. Campbell, which served as the basis for one of his favorite films, John Carpenter’s The Thing, and was surprised at how faithful that adaptation was.
TOPICS: (0:00:00) Intro – Silksong breaks barriers (0:05:02) Star Trek, “The Menagerie, Parts 1 & 2,” and its long-reaching implications (0:54:41) Outro – D. Bethel reads Who Goes There?, the inspiration for John Carpenter’s The Thing. (1:01:37) No outtakes?! How can this be?!
Ashamedly, the creator of this incredible meme was not recorded, but it was referenced in the episode and is a good summary of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (James Kirk on the right, Chris Pike on the left):
RELEVANT EPISODES:
“It’s Always a Game” (08 February 2019): Where D. Bethel talks about playing Hollow Knight.
INFO:
Visit our website at forallintents.net and leave your thoughts as comments on the page for this episode.
WEEK IN GEEK: Andrew buys a Bluray player to watch Stargate: Atlantis, while D. Bethel stays current and sees both Superman and The Fantastic Four: First Steps (NO SPOILERS).
TOPICS: (00:00) Intro – Food News (07:36) Andrew’s WiG: Stargate: Atlantis (26:00) D. Bethel’s WiG #1: Superman (39:33) D. Bethel’s WiG #2: The Fantastic Four: First Steps (53:08) Outro – Audio Schiit (57:23) Outtakes
RELEVANT LINKS:
Chunchullo – The weird Argentinian food Andrew mentioned.
Bridgy Fed – How Andrew posts to Bluesky from Mastodon.
INFO:
Visit our website at forallintents.net and leave your thoughts as comments on the page for this episode.
It’s been nearly a month with lots of things happening, under our hosts’ control and not, but they check back in this week with some overview of life stuff as well as nerdy and geeky stuff.
WEEKS IN GEEK: Andrew finds a lot to like in the recent MCU-Disney+ show, Daredevil: Born Again, continuing the series from its run on Netflix. He also returns to survival gaming with Far From Home’s Forever Skies. D. Bethel dips into new old sci-fi with the well-regarded series, The Expanse, but has been occupying his gaming time with Machinegames’ Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.
LONG LIVE THE QUEEN: The show wraps with a short remembrance of Jean Marsh, an incredibly expressive actress whose career ran decades. Our hosts, of course, remember her fondly for her dips into Doctor Who across the years (she even used to be married to the Third Doctor, Jon Pertwee) as well as her turn as the unforgettable villain, Queen Bavmorda, in Willow.
TOPICS:
(00:00) Intro – Where we’ve been (02:06) D. Bethel’s Mister Rogersification (05:25) Andrew’s WiG #1: Daredevil: Born Again (13:44) Andrew’s WiG #2: Forever Skies (24:03) D.’S WiG #1: The Expanse (28:51) D.’s WiG #2: Indiana Jones & the Great Circle (42:03) Outro – RIP Jean Marsh (46:07) Outtakes
RELEVANT EPISODES:
“A Warm Heat” (23 June 2017): Where D. Bethel discusses the Machinegames’ reboot, Wolfenstein: The New Order.
“Whatever We Bring, We Bring It” (13 October 2017): Where D. Bethel discusses his time playing Machinegames’ Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus
“It’s Always a Game” (08 February 2019): Where Andrew relates his experience with the survival game, Subnautica.
“Earl British” (25 September 2020): Where our hosts discuss Microsoft’s acquisition of Bethesda Softworks.
“Bear is Watching” (21 May 2021): Where Andrew plays the Subnautica sequel, Subnautica: Below Zero.
“The Soundness” (01 September 2023): Where Green Hell becomes Andrew’s survival game of choice.
“Nomanski” (24 November 2023): Survival goes to space as Andrew and D. Bethel discuss No Man’s Sky.
INFO:
Visit our website at forallintents.net and leave your thoughts as comments on the page for this episode.
TALKIN’ ‘BOUT BI-GENERATION: Our hosts reconvene to talk about the final two David Tenant and Catherine Tate-led specials for Doctor Who––”Wild Blue Yonder” and “The Giggle”––which ultimately ends with Ncuti Gatwa taking over the lead role.
PAST BECOMES PRESENT: We have a quick Star Trek check-in as D. Bethel reflects on the harrowing Deep Space Nine two-parter, “Past Tense.”
TOPICS:
(00:00) Intro – Andrew’s “camping trip” (02:51) Doctor Who – “Wild Blue Yonder” & “The Giggle” (42:56) Outro – Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, “Past Tense” (45:17) Outtakes
RELEVANT EPISODES:
-“The Winter Donna” (8 December 2023): Where our hosts talk about “The Star Beast”, the first Doctor Who 60th anniversary special.
INFO:
Visit our website at forallintents.net and leave your thoughts as comments on the page for this episode.
STRANGE NEW WORLDS: Our hosts discuss the premiere episode of the brand new Star Trek show on Paramount+, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, a show that’s a throwback not only in continuity, but in its episodic approach to storytelling.
DOCTOR NEW: Last weekend brought the announcement of the actor who will replace Jodie Whittaker as the Doctor in the legacy BBC science-fiction show, Doctor Who. Our hosts discuss their excitement for the announcement of Ncuti Gatwa as the 14th Doctor.
WEEK IN GEEK: It’s an animated kind of week this week as Andrew gets his specific Star Wars fandom ignited with the premiere of the new Disney+ animated series, Star Wars: The Bad Batch, and D. Bethel nerds out on all the ingenious choices and animation tech found in the new Sony/Netflix film, The Mitchells vs. The Machines.
The Mitchells vs. the Machines director, Michael Rianda, tells the story of getting the billboard for the classic Michigan restaurant, Redamak’s, into the movie via this Twitter thread:
The story behind Redamaks in our movie: @Roweyourboatz loved it and it was a Michigan staple- where the Mitchells are from. We wanted to use real places so the world would feel more authentic.
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.
D. Bethel dives into his history with the Mass Effect series and why he found a lot to enjoy in Mass Effect: Andromeda.
Imposter Syndrome is a natural psychological consequence caused by breaking free from personal norms. Trying something new can be scary. For those already beset with anxiety issues, the Imposter Syndrome converts us to flagellants, knowing simultaneously that these thoughts are bogus while also knowing they motivate us to push through the arbitrary and unconscious barriers we set for ourselves.
In graduate school, I had a bad case of Imposter Syndrome––one of many manifestations of my anxiety. The anxiety caused me to eat and drink a lot; it tickled my health in various ways; I lost a lot of sleep. I often woke up at one or two or three in the morning, spinning my impending failure through all possible scenarios or, if it was a good day, trying to harvest and codify all the ideas bouncing off each other like balls in a bingo spinner.
Eventually, I trained myself to just get out of bed. Go do something. Distract yourself. In the case of distraction, I learned that video games did that best.
Most of these nights happened after Nicole and I moved into our second Sacramento townhouse, away from the social thrum of midtown, which left us with mostly quiet nights; so, what sleep I could get would be uninterrupted and pleasant. On the anxiety nights, however, I crept downstairs, headphones already on and listening to podcasts––some video game commentary, some comedy interviews, some political debate, some history––and I’d fire up my Xbox 360 for hours of distraction, getting a good chunk of game in before the world even woke up. When I look back at these nights, the games that I see most in my memories are the Mass Effect series, specifically the two sequels.
Scanning planets captured perfectly the strange, silent calm of what we understand of outer space. Unlike humans…there’s nothing fragile about the cosmos. It simply is, existing slowly toward some end that is neither frightening nor threatening.
Since I was playing with the sound off (so as to consume quality audio entertainment), I rarely worked through story missions during these insomnious sessions. Instead, I searched for the mundane in the games’ side missions: fetch quests, collection runs, delivery missions. The most calming task I could do, and what I did most often, was planet scanning.
I can feel myself calming down already. (Mass Effect: Andromeda screenshot courtesy of USgamer.)
