Deep Discount

Deep Discount

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WEEK IN GEEK: It’s a new year and––guess what?––our hosts are still geeks that have weeks; with that in mind, our hosts share the open-world character action games that have been occupying their time lately: Andrew dives into the conspiracy of Assassin’s Creed: Origins while D. Bethel uses the force in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.

TOPICS:
(00:00) Intro – Teacher talk.
(02:48) Andrew’s Week in Geek: Assassin’s Creed: Origins
(14:39) D.’s Week in Geek: Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
(27:01) D.’s Extra Week in Geek: Starting Agatha All Along
(35:08) Outro – D. Bethel’s actual “Thing of 2024”: Godzilla Minus One Minus Color
(37:24) Outtakes

RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • “Reverent Irreverence” (17 May 2019): Where D. Bethel shares his time with Assassin’s Creed: Origins.
  • “The Full Kyrun” (2 February 2024): Where D. Bethel discusses the surprisingly affective experience of watching Godzilla Minus One Minus Color.
  • “Rogue Staple” (8 November 2024): Where Andrew walks through his thoughts of Agatha All Along.

INFO:

FEATURED MUSIC:

Splashing in the Shallow End

Splashing in the Shallow End

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2024’s THINGS OF THE YEAR: Reflecting on the 2024 that was, our hosts pick what defined the year for them. For Andrew, it’s how Star Trek: Lower Decks brought its excellent run to a close while D. Bethel can’t stop thinking about Amazon Prime’s Tales from the Loop (though it originally dropped in 2020). Andrew also talks a bit about the series finale to the Disney+ MCU animated series, What If…?

TOPICS:

(00:00) Intro – It’s a new year!
(02:29) Andrew’s 2024 Thing of the Year: The ending of Star Trek: Lower Decks
(12:51) D. Bethel’s 2024 Thing of the Year: Tales from the Loop
(19:45) Andrew talks about the ending to What If…?
(27:33) Outro – 2024 in a nutshell
(28:38) Outtakes

RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • “Kamen Themes” (30 December 2022): Where our hosts discuss their 2022 things of the year. Andrew lands on Andor while D. Bethel got lost in the world (as a cat) in Stray.
  • “Sausageria” (29 December 2023): Our hosts return to talk about their 2023 things of the year, which means Andrew reflected on the many ups and downs of Dungeons & Dragons while D. Bethel got sentimental watching Indiana Jones & the Dial of Destiny.

INFO:

FEATURED MUSIC:

The Miyagi Initiative

The Miyagi Initiative

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WEEK IN GEEK: Andrew watches the multifaceted musical/comedy documentary, Yacht Rock: The Dockumentary, while D. Bethel finds a new holiday-staple film in the esoteric but endearing animated film, Tokyo Godfathers, directed by the late Satoshi Kon.

KARATE KID AND THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS: Our hosts wrap up the episode by discussing the trailer and premise for the very bizarre upcoming film, Karate Kid: Legends, a film promising to stitch together the dominant realities that exist within the The Karate Kid franchise.

TOPICS:
(00:00) Intro – Introducing The Middle-Aged Man podcast
(03:55) Andrew learns a lot watching Yacht Rock: The Dockumentary
(19:42) D. Bethel finally watches Tokyo Godfathers, his first Satoshi Kon film
(29:46) Outro – What the heck is Karate Kid: Legends?
(35:45) Outtakes

RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • “A Mighty Oak” (5 December 2014): Where D. Bethel discusses reading the unfinished Satoshi Kon manga, Opus. (Starts at 4:01).
  • “Batting 100” (19 December 2014): D. Bethel dives deeper into Opus in one of his early segments called “Boasts of Bethel.” (Starts at 7:29.)

RELEVANT LINKS:

INFO:

FEATURED MUSIC:

The Beef Sleeps

The Beef Sleeps

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WEEK IN GEEK: This week, Andrew talks about the finale to the DC/WB show, Superman & Lois, and how it holds up not only as a finale for the show but as a finale for the entire DC/WB run of shows. D. Bethel, on the other hand, spends some time (digitally) in the North Sea on the very Scottish experiential horror game, Still Wakes the Deep.

TOPICS:

(00:00) Intro – Andrew ate too much beef
(02:27) Superman & Lois series finale
(24:17) Still Wakes the Deep in all its Scottishness
(40:07) Outro – Recasting Characters in the Alan Wake universe
(45:00) Outtakes

RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • “Chekhov’s Mud Pit” (19 August 2022): Where our hosts talk about the cultural respect found in the most recent Predator film, Prey.

RELEVANT LINKS:

INFO:

FEATURED MUSIC:

Yiker’s Island

Yiker’s Island

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THE DEEPEST CUT: Our hosts do a quick mid-season check-in on the final season of Star Trek: Lower Decks.

SWEETS TO THE SWEET: In honor of the great Tony Todd who played memorable roles from Star Trek to the titular Candyman, our hosts reflect on a great actor gone too soon.

TOPICS:
(00:00) Intro – Star Trek: Lower Decks
(11:20) RIP Tony Todd
(19:29) Outro – Teacher Talk
(20:51) Outtakes

INFO:

FEATURED MUSIC:

New Machine, New Problems

New Machine, New Problems

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TOM HANKSGIVING: Andrew bought a new Mac, so he decides to play No Man’s Sky while D. Bethel is Tom Hanksful for the delightful retro-stylings of the indie RPG, Beyond Galaxyland.

GRIPESGIVING: With all the thanks out of the way, our hosts decide to complete the holiday by complaining about things. Andrew is mad at the new season of Cobra Kai while D. Bethel becomes irrationally furious with the new Wicked movie.

TOPICS:
(00:00) Intro: It’s American Thanksgiving
(03:34) Andrew buys a Mac Mini and plays No Man’s Sky
(17:59) D. Bethel loves Beyond Galaxyland
(25:19) Outro: Gripesgiving #1 – Cobra Kai season 6 is interminable
(28:27) Gripesgiving #2 – the 3-hour Wicked adaptation is only PART ONE?!
(32:13) Outtakes

RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • “Chekhov’s Honk” (22 January 2021): Where our hosts discuss The Karate Kid, The Karate Kid Part 2, and The Karate Kid Part 3, briefly.
  • “Too Many Johnnies” (5 February 2021): Where our hosts dive into Cobra Kai.
  • “Nomanski” (24 November 2023): Where our hosts talk about No Man’s Sky.

INFO:

FEATURED MUSIC:

My Nude Wall

My Nude Wall

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STILL WALKING: Andrew updates us on his traversal through The Walking Dead, finding more surprises even when deep into season 4.

MODERN MARVELS: Three new MCU trailers dropped––Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts*, and What If…? Season 3––and they all look great! Does this, combined with the recent success of Agatha All Along, signal a new breath of life for Marvel Studios?

TOPICS:
(00:00) Intro – Andrew’s The Walking Dead update
(09:18) The State of the MCU
(12:32) The trailer for Captain America: Brave New World––strangely relevant?
(21:31) The trailer for Thunderbolts*––Marvel’s The Suicide Squad?
(28:38) The trailer for season 3 of What If…?––Apocalypse and Storm: Goddess of Thunder?!
(42:12) Outro – Is D. Bethel a villain?
(46:00) Outtakes

RELEVANT LINKS:

INFO:

FEATURED MUSIC:

Rogue Staple

Rogue Staple

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A CRUE TRIME STORY: Andrew sits down to talk about the glorious successes of the newest Marvel/Disney+ show, Agatha All Along (SPOILERS).

TOPICS:
(00:00) Intro – EVERYTHING IS FINE
(02:31) Agatha All Along – It mixes things up!
(05:04) The cast and premise of Agatha All Along
(14:08) Joe Locke and Representation in the MCU
(20:40) Agatha All Along and music
(59:41) Outro – Metal Gear Solid mysteries REVEALED
(01:46) Outtakes

RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • “The Nature of the Gutter” (12 March 2021): Where our hosts, with the help of On-the-ground-DC-correspondent, Taylor Katcher, discuss the ins and outs of the wild show that was WandaVision.

RELEVANT LINKS:

  • We realize that the current results of the election may be affecting our listeners, friends, and family with overwhelming stress and anxiety. Please, reach out to your trusted friends and family to make your voice heard. You are important. You are loved.

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Cowboy Energy

Cowboy Energy

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DEAD BY DAWN: Our hosts dissect the surprisingly complicated (but very long) second zombie movie from director George Romero, Dawn of the Dead.

TOPICS:
(0:00:00) Intro – It’s ACTUALLY Spookytober
(0:02:43) Discussion of Dawn of the Dead
(0:59:41) Outro – Star Trek: The Lower Decks, Season 5 premiers
(1:01:46) Outtakes

RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • “Brine and Brinstar” (31 October 2014): Where our hosts discuss the first film in Romero’s franchise, Night of the Living Dead.
  • “Do the Laugh” (27 January 2023): Where Andrew watches the first season of The Walking Dead.
  • “Second Wind” (24 February 2023): Where our hosts share their thoughts on the Max video game adaptation, The Last of Us.

INFO:

FEATURED MUSIC:

Awesome Barbecue. Awesome Pool.

Awesome Barbecue. Awesome Pool.

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LAST WEEK, PART 2: This week, our hosts return to what they rambled about last week. After watching the Netflix show, Heartstopper, Andrew checked out the original comics and was surprised at how closely the show sticks to them. D. Bethel checks out episodes 2 and 3 of Adult Swim’s Uzumaki and develops theories as to the significant shifts in animation quality throughout the episode. Then, Andrew returns to talk about something new: the Backerkit campaign for the classic tabletop RPG, Ars Magica, and how it’s promising to release this new edition in the Creative Commons.

THE TOUCH: D. Bethel also briefly discusses Transformers One, the newest fully animated Transformers movie since 1986’s The Transformers: The Movie.

TOPICS:

(00:00) Intro – Plans for Spookytober
(02:43) Andrew reads the Heartstopper comics
(12:08) D. Bethel watches episodes 2 & 3 of Uzumaki
(21:18) Andrew talks about the Ars Magica Backerkit campaign
(33:01) Outro – Transformers One is good!
(35:20) Outtakes

RELEVANT LINKS:

RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • “Extra Obnoxious Protocol” (29 September 2023): Where our hosts discuss writer Bill Willingham’s decision to put his DC Comics-published creator-owned comic, Fables, into the public domain.
  • “Meander in Geek” (11 October 2024): Where our hosts first talked about Heartstoppers and Uzumaki.

INFO:

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