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Author: Invisible Editor

The Gold Toilet

The Gold Toilet

NAUGHTY AUTEUR: A story in Bloomberg revealed trouble behind the scenes at Ghost Story games, the studio created by Bioshock auteur, Ken Levine. Andrew and D. Bethel continue their discussion about auteurs and video games and how, perhaps, without a good team they do more harm than good.

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RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • Auteur Manager” (12 February 2021): Where our hosts talk about the benefits and dangers of auteur culture.

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All Threes

All Threes

WEEK IN GEEK: This week, Andrew dives into the quote-unquote reboot of CSI in Paramount+’s CSI: Vegas and is perplexed. D. Bethel reads another book about video games! This time it’s Super Mario Bros. 3 by Alyse Knorr as published by Boss Fight Books.

RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • Editing is Magic” (13 July 2018): Where our hosts discuss the Boss Fight Book, Final Fantasy V by Chris Kohler.
  • Little Paper People” (02 November 2018): Where D. Bethel discusses the Boss Fight Book, Shovel Knight by David L. Craddock.
  • Prime Time Crime” (05 March 2021): Where Andrew talked about another new procedural show, the CBS reboot of The Equalizer.
  • In the Reward Zone” (06 August 2021): Where D. Bethel discusses the Boss Fight Book, Final Fantasy VI by Sebastian Deken.
  • Doctor Ennui” (27 August 2021): Where D. Bethel discusses another new procedural show, Big Sky.
  • Unbridled Hedonism” (03 December 2021): Where our hosts discuss whether Disney+’s Hawkeye should be giving more credit to Hawkeye comic creators Matt Fraction and David Aja.

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Memory of a Landline

Memory of a Landline

WEEK IN GEEK: It’s a week of superhero adaptations with Andrew watching the recent slate of DC/CW tv shows and D. Bethel playing the opening hours of Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy by Eidos-Montréal.

RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • Business Exempt” (19 Oct. 2018): Where our hosts last discussed TellTale Games…when they laid off a bunch of employees.
  • #SaveGrifter” (14 Feb. 2020): Where our hosts plus the DC-on-the-ground reporter, Taylor, talk about the last big DC/CW crossover event, “Crisis on Infinite Earths.”
  • All Those Words” (19 March 2021): Where Andrew talked about the most recent addition to the DC/CW catalogue, Superman & Lois.

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Almond Molina

Almond Molina

THE DOCTOR IS IN…FLUX: With the most recent series of Doctor Who wrapping up––a six-episode event called Doctor Who: Flux––our hosts discuss its ups, downs, insides, and outs as the show leads to the exit of the current Doctor as played by Jodie Whittaker.

RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • Smash Talk” (14 Dec. 2018): Where D. Bethel and Andrew discuss Jodie Whittaker’s first season as the main character of Doctor Who.
  • Halloween Still” (01 Oct. 2021): Where Andrew and D. Bethel discuss the news that previous showrunner, Russell T. Davies, will be taking over Doctor Who after current showrunner, Chris Chibnall, steps down.

RELEVANT LINKS:

https://twitter.com/DRMovieNews1/status/1467333620025204739?s=20

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Unbridled Hedonism

Unbridled Hedonism

MISSING THE BULLSEYE: With the recent release of the Disney+/Marvel Studios show, Hawkeye, many saw similarities with the classic Hawkeye run by creators Matt Fraction and David Aja. It was soon revealed that, despite being a spiritual adaptation of the Fraction/Aja run, there was no compensation for those creators aside from mentions in the “Special Thanks” in the closing credits of the show. Andrew and D. Bethel investigate the questions this brings up.

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RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • Someone Said That” (25 Sep. 2015): Where D. Bethel and Andrew discuss DC’s decision to include Bill Finger as co-creator of Batman in the credits for Gotham and Superman v. Batman: Dawn of Justice.

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King Weyland-Yutani

King Weyland-Yutani

OLD MAN YELLS AT CLOUD: Acclaimed director, Ridley Scott, argues that it’s millennials––not people skittish about returning to movie theaters amid a pandemic––that is causing his newest film, The Last Duel, to do poorly at the box office. Our host discusses all of the factors involved with this strange accusation.

RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • Answer Sandwich” (24 October 2014): Where our hosts discuss Ridley Scott’s Alien.
  • Su Gana” (11 November 2016): Where our hosts discuss V For Vendetta and its modern applications.
  • Pure Chaos” (26 May 2017): Where our hosts are joined by Taylor to talk about Ridley Scott’s Alien: Covenant.

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Scary Gongs

Scary Gongs

KOTICK TOCK TIME’S UP: This week, after a scathing report, employees of Activision/Blizzard walked out calling for the expulsion of the company’s CEO, Bobby Kotick. Our hosts examine the situation and how it symptomizes larger aspects of video game culture.

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RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • Less-Impressive-Than-Expected No. 7” (01 July 2017): Where our hosts discuss the “interesting” game from a creator of Mega Man, Mighty No. 9.
  • Sword Club” (30 July 2021): Where Andrew and D. Bethel talked about Activision Blizzard being investigated by the state of California.

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An Accident of Flavor

An Accident of Flavor

DIAMOND ANNIVERSARY: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim turned 10 years old this week, celebrated with yet another re-release of the game across all gaming platforms. Andrew and D. Bethel talk about this milestone for a brief bit.

PLEASE STOP: NFTs continue to rear their ugly heads as major gaming publishers announce their interest in integrating blockchain weirdness into their games. After an explanation of the whole mess, D. Bethel and Andrew discuss NFTs’ possible impact on video games.

RIP DEAN STOCKWELL: After a long and storied career, actor and writer Dean Stockwell passed away this week. Nerds know him best as Al from Quantum Leap, but his strange choices and charismatic performances made him an actor everybody surely has a fond memory of in some way or another.

RELEVANT LINKS:

  • A screenshot from Reddit outlining the hit cryptocurrency may take after the institution of the recently passed legislation (via the Twitter account @CoinersTakingLs):
  • Tweets from @outstarwalker about how NFTs may not be the game changer some people think they are:

RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • Milkbloods” (09 April 2021): Where D. Bethel and Andrew first discuss the cultural pandemic called NFTs.
  • Meat Pops” (22 Oct. 2021): Where Andrew discusses the different ways Steam and the Epic Games store are approaching NFTs.

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Eloquent as Ever

Eloquent as Ever

WEEK IN GEEK: Andrew continues to get excited by recent Star Trek offerings, specifically the conclusion of season 2 of Star Trek: The Lower Decks and the premiere of the Paramount+/Nickelodeon joint, Star Trek: Prodigy. D. Bethel finally offers his thoughts on Metroid: Dread (aka Metroid 5) after completing it, uh, three times.

RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • I Am the State” (26 February 2021): Where D. Bethel rants about Nintendo not respecting Metroid on its 35th anniversary.
  • Butt Magic” (16 October 2021): Where Andrew discusses the first season of the animated comedy, Star Trek: The Lower Decks.
  • Con Artists #7: Return of the Con” (29 October 2021): The most recent episode of Con Artists where D. Bethel and Kyrun Silva of Taurus Comics talk about making and selling comics amidst a global pandemic.

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Con Artists #07 – Return of the Con

Con Artists #07 – Return of the Con

In the world of 2021, not much has changed. Hope and optimism dares to tread across the jamb as COVID vaccines get into the arms of people across the world and, for independent comickers, conventions start to return…kind of.

After attending only a few shows in 2021––their first in nearly two years––D. Bethel (of the webcomic, Long John) and Kyrun Silva (of Taurus Comics and the 4 Tales Podcast) reconvene to share their experiences, fears, and surprises with the fact that comic shows and conventions have become very different beasts from what they were before, and how difficult it may be to adapt.

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