Stay ConnectedThe good news: The internet has made it easier than ever to watch, read, play, or listen to just about anything ever made. The bad news: Same. It’s easy to get buried, even for two of the biggest pop culture geeks we know: Ourselves. Giant Geek vs. Mega n00b is what happens when we try to make each other — and everyone who wants to listen along — discover the good stuff. Join us!
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And now for the REAL story of Watergate.
This movie offers a bit of a lighter take on the scandal, as well as a guess at the identity of Woodward and Bernstein's infamous source, Deep Throat. Kirsten Dunst and Michelle Williams pay a pair of teenagers who couldn't be less interested in politics or world events - until they stumble into the middle of the biggest story of the century, befriend Richard "Dick" Nixon, and learn that you can't let Dick run your life.
You can rent or buy the movie from all the usual places: Amazon, iTunes, and Vudu.
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Tomorrow will be the 46th anniversary of one of the most important political events of the 20th century: The break-in and attempted bugging of the Democratic national headquarters in Washington, D.C., at the Watergate office complex.
That break-in and its historic aftermath have been rendered many times on film, most recently as a cameo in 2017's "The Post." But today, we're watching the best-known cinematic rendition of Watergate, "All the President's Men," a 1976 adaptation of journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein's 1974 book of the same name. Written by William Goldman, it stars Robert Redford as Woodward and Dustin Hoffman was Bernstein, with outstanding supporting performances from Hal Holbrook, Jane Alexander and — Eric's personal favorite — Jason Robards as the executive editor of the Washington Post, Ben Bradlee.
If you, like Emily, have never seen "All the President's Men," you can rent it on Amazon, Vudu or iTunes, or you can stream it on Filmstruck if you have a subscription there. Go watch the movie and then listen to our discussion!
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Hey, Upper East Siders (and, you know, all listeners). I've got the biggest episode EVER.
Ok, maybe not. But it is the second episode stemming from the Golden Globes bet we both lost. Today, it's time to torture Eric. And what better way than with the scandalous lives of Manhattan's elite?
For the uninitiated, Gossip Girl is an anonymous blogger who chronicles (and tortures) a bunch of extremely wealthy high school students. With tipsters all over the city - especially in the fancy private schools the kids all attend - no person or secret is safe from her gaze for long.
The real question, of course, is whether Eric could possibly hate this delicious show as much as I hated watching GTA V videos. It's doubtful.
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Way back in January, Emily and I made a bet: Whoever could predict the winners of the Golden Globes more accurately would subject the other to a Geek vs. n00b pick that they would definitely hate. And I'm just gonna say it up front: If watching a bunch of dudes play Grand Theft Auto V for two hours is not your idea of a good time, then this episode may not be for you.
Emily, however, had no choice.
We both lost the bet (because we tied), so this weekend we're both torturing each other, no ifs ands or buts. My pick for her: Three YouTube videos made by a group called Achievement Hunter, in which they pull off a series of robbery heists inside of GTA V. As longtime listeners know, Emily doesn't play video games so this should be especially bad for her ... unless maybe it backfires and she loves it???
... OK, there's no point in being coy. She hated it.
For easy reference, here are the three videos we watched, in order. If, unlike Emily, you enjoy these, you can find more on YouTube:
We'll have another new episode of Giant Geek vs. Mega n00b tomorrow, in which Emily makes me watch something that she had promised I would never have to watch, the TV show "Gossip Girl." In the meantime, tell someone you know about the podcast, and follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
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Surprise again! Although if you listened to yesterday's bonus episode, then this will not be surprising:
On this show, we talked about the new movie adaptation of "A Wrinkle in Time," directed by Ava DuVernay and starring Storm Reid, Oprah Winfrey, Mindy Kaling and Reese Witherspoon. Technically this is not an episode with a "geek" and a "n00b" like usual, but we still had plenty to say about it.
At the time of this episode's publication, you can probably still find "A Wrinkle in Time" at your local movie theater! So go watch it first, and then join us for this fun deep dive into how it compares to the book and whether it worked for us.
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Surprise! We're back with a bonus episode.
In honor of the movie coming out (more on that later), we're rereading A Wrinkle in Time. The book follows Meg Murry, her little brother Charles Wallace, and their friend Calvin on a trip through time and space to save the Murrys' missing father.
Be sure to read it, as we're about to spoil everything that happens!
Tomorrow, we'll be back with a follow-up episode on the new movie. Keep an eye on your favorite podcast place.
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We're closing out the season with a pick that's somewhat surprising for a show with this premise: The Sound of Music. Yes, there is (or was until recently) someone who'd never seen this movie before.
As you likely know, The Sound of Music is the Oscar-winning film adaptation of the Tony-winning Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, starring Julie Andrews as a wayward nun-in-training and Christopher Plummer as the father whose kids she's sent to care for as governess. Set in Salzburg, Austria before and during the Nazi occupation, it's both a personal love story and a dangerous resistance adventure, both told through classic music.
Be sure to watch before listening because, as always, we spoil the whole plot. You can do that in the usual places - Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, Google Play - or check your TV listings as this one pops up not infrequently on the small screen.
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- OK, so It's a movie about vampires.
- Oh I love it! And they're terrorizing Los Angeles?
- No, they just hang out in Wellington, New Zealand.
- You've lost me.
- They argue about household chores and have to deal with how to get dressed for a night on the town when you can't see yourself in the mirror.
- ...
- They also befriend a boring, pudgy man who works at a tech company.
- ...
- ... Thanks for your time.
--
"What We Do in the Shadows" isn't for everyone. But if you're the sort of person intrigued by the concept of a supremely goofy mockumentary starring vampires, werewolves and other violent demons of the night, then it is probably for you! And wouldn't you know it, it's the subject of today's podcast!
One of Eric's favorite theater-going experiences of all time, it's also the movie that put "Thor: Ragnarok" director Taika Waititi on the map. It stars Waititi, Jemaine Clement and Jonny Brugh as the three main vampires, but really the whole cast is amazing. Go watch the movie right now and then listen to our discussion!
You can find "What We Do in the Shadows" on Amazon (it's currently free to stream if you have a Prime account), as well as all the other usual places: iTunes, Vudu, Google Play, etc.
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Life in a sleepy small town is turned upside down when a teen girl - pretty, blonde, a good student, the prom queen - is found, brutally murdered. Before long, the secrets start tumbling out, and we learn she's not as innocent nor is the the town as quiet as it seemed.
It's the premise of, rough estimate here, seven million movies, books and TV series? Just a ballpark figure. And any of them made since the early 90s (and plenty of other TV shows besides) owe a TON to a defining classic of the oeuvre: Twin Peaks.
But we've never seen David Lynch's cult classic show, so we've enlisted help from Christopher McCammon, our Twin Peaks dream/spirit guide.
Before listening, be sure to watch season one, episodes one and three and season two, episode seven. You can find them on Netflix, Hulu, or CBS All Access, or rent from the usual places: Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, Google Play.
And since Christopher is a college professor, he's got some supplemental homework for us all. The assignments, should you choose to accept them: a video on the iconic music and an essay on the dead-girl trope.
Oh and if you really dig that essay? There's going to be a whole book soon.
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"The Court Jester" has everything: Medieval palace drama! Implausible hypnotism! Acrobatic dwarves!
... Oh, I'm being told that "The Court Jester" is not New York's hottest nightclub, but rather a 1955 musical comedy starring Danny Kaye. It's also the subject of this week's Giant Geek vs. Mega n00b, featuring guest geek Yoichi Shiga.
Loyal listeners may remember Yoichi from our Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone episode, where he was one of our Potter n00bs ... but what did we think of this movie, which he said was hugely influential on him as a child? Listen and find out!
You can rent or buy "The Court Jester" from all the usual places — Amazon, iTunes, Vudu and Google Play.
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This week, we're traveling back to the 90s, when the internet was relatively new and very slow and weird, for a dated thriller that feels oddly relevant today: The Net.
In it, Sandra Bullock plays an isolated computer programmer and Jeremy Northam a leader of the evil hacking syndicate that's out to get her, via some particularly vicious and invasive identity theft. And since neither of us has seen it, we've brought in Emily Cureton to be our guide.
Be sure to watch before listening, since as always, spoilers abound. You can watch free with ads on Crackle, or rent or buy from the usual suspects: Vudu, iTunes, Amazon, and Google Play.
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With the exception of that one episode about the Tour de France, we haven't done a lot of sports here on Giant Geek vs. Mega n00b. But a TV show about a SportsCenter-like show, written by "West Wing" creator Aaron Sorkin? Sign us up!
But wait, there's more: Joining us for our introduction to "Sports Night" is Sorkin superfan Walt Mossberg — although he may be better known as the former Personal Technology columnist for the Wall Street Journal who co-founded AllThingsD and Recode, where Eric now works.
For the purposes of this discussion, we watched five episodes of "Sports Night," chosen from across its two-year run on ABC. They are: S1E7, “Dear Louise”; S1E15, “Dana and the Deep Blue Sea”; S1E19, “Eli’s Coming”; S2E3, “Cliff Gardener”; and S2E11 “And the Cutman Cometh."
When we recorded this podcast, those were all available on Hulu, but unfortunately they seem to have been taken off! To watch those five episodes, you can rent them for $1-2 apiece from Amazon, iTunes, Vudu and Google Play.
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And now, it's time for round two of Star Trek: a foray into The Next Generation.
Set long after the original show, this popular series returns to the Trek universe for another set of adventures aboard a later iteration of the Enterprise. Its crew of beloved characters include Patrick Stewart's Captain Jean-Luc Picard, LeVar Burton's Geordi Laforge, and Brent Spiner's android Data. But since we've never actually watched it, dedicated TNG fangirl Sarah Weitman (who you might recall from our 30 Rock episode) is here as our navigator.
She's asked us to watch three episodes in a specific order: Data's Day from season four, The Chase from season six, and finally I, Borg from season five. Be sure to watch before listening, as the podcast has lots of spoilers.
Just like with the original series, you can find all of this on Netflix and CBS All Access, or you can rent episodes from the usual services - Amazon, iTunes, Google Play, Vudu.
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"Hurtling metal, meat and rubber through the concrete jungle at dangerous velocities." That's how, in 1998, Ken Li described New York's underground street racing scene.
His article for Vibe Magazine, "Racer X," inspired the incredibly successful "Fast and Furious" movie franchise. And today, we bring it all full circle. Li, now the executive editor at Newsweek, joined us on the latest episode of Giant Geek vs. Mega n00b to talk about the first "Fast and the Furious" movie, which neither Emily nor I had seen!
If you've also not seen the Fast and the Furious, don't worry: It's very easy to find! It's available to rent or buy in all the usual places — Amazon, iTunes, Google Play and Vudu — and at least at the time of this writing it's also available to stream on HBO Go if you have an HBO subscription.
However you choose to see it, go watch (or rewatch) the "Fast and the Furious" and then listen in on our very fun chat with the journalist whose article started it all!
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As we explained last week, this season we're shaking this up by bringing in guests to help fill in some gaps in our shared pop cultural knowledge.
This week's is a big gap: Star Trek.
Created by Gene Rodenberry and premiering in 1966, the seminal sci-fi series is famous for both its extensive cultural impact and its extremely dedicated fan base. We're lucky to have two of those fans with us to guide our voyage, Zach Powers and Josh Powers.
For this introduction, we're watching season one's Space Seed and season two's Amok Time and The Trouble with Tribbles.
You can watch these with a subscription to CBS All Access, Netflix, Amazon Prime, or Hulu, or rent the episodes from the usual spots - iTunes, Amazon, Vudu, Google Play. Be sure to watch before listening to our discussion!
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You've been waiting patiently for it for months, and now it's finally here: Season 6 of Giant Geek vs. Mega n00b.
This season, we're shaking things up by bringing in friends and colleagues to school us on the pop culture that Emily and I have both missed. And first out of the gate are the Kill Bill movies, brought to the podcast by my former schoolmate David Ruiz.
Directed by Quentin Tarantino and starring Uma Thurman as "The Bride," Kill Bill is the story of a "roaring rampage of revenge." But did it make us roar with enjoyment? Listen to the new show to find out!
Kill Bill Vol. 1 and Kill Bill Vol. 2 are both available to rent in all the usual places: Amazon, iTunes, Google Play and Vudu, for $2 to $4 each depending on your platform. And make sure to watch both movies before you listen past the spoiler warning in this episode. Enjoy!
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And now for the second part of our after-Christmas discussion of movies that are not exactly about Christmas. Much of this one, fittingly, takes place in the time between Christmas and New Year's Eve.
The movie is The Thin Man (1934), based on the Dashiell Hammett novel of the same name and starring William Powell and Myrna Loy in one of their many on-screen collaborations. It launched a whole series of Thin Man films, all focused on Powell and Loy as the delightful Nick and Nora Charles. Give it a watch or re-watch before you listen!
You can rent or buy the movie in the usual places: Amazon, YouTube, iTunes, Vudu, and Google Play. As it happens, Turner Classic Movies is running a New Year's Eve marathon as well.
Speaking of, if you dig this movie, it's worth checking out its first sequel, After the Thin Man (1936). It picks up right where this one leaves off, on New Year's Eve.
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After a slightly longer-than-expected break (several months instead of several weeks), we're back!
Last year — when we watched The Nightmare Before Christmas and Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town — we pitted two Christmas movies against each other. This year, we're doing the same thing.
Well, sort of.
This weekend, we're watching two not-quite-Christmas movies, the first of which is "Gremlins" (1984), which was directed by Joe Dante, written by Chris Columbus and stars Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates and Howie Mandel. Whether you're a total n00b who's never seen it, or the sort of geek who watches "Gremlins" every Christmas without fail, go watch it now and then listen to our discussion!
Gremlins is available to stream on Netflix, or you can rent it from all the usual places: iTunes, Amazon, Google Play and Vudu.
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It's no secret that we both love 30 Rock. A lot. Tina Fey's seven-season comedy for NBC is, in our opinion, one of the best ever, and we've both watched it countless times.
But that's no fun for this podcast! So we've brought in a guest n00b to the world of TGS, night cheese, and Dr. Spaceman: Georgia's own Sarah Weitman, who's only seen a handful of random episodes.
For our purposes, we're starting from the beginning and watching season one, episodes 1-3 and 5-7. Will Sarah like them? Will we manage to contain our unbridled enthusiasm for this show? Listen to find out!
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We're nearly at the end of the fifth season of Giant Geek vs. Mega n00b, but there's still a lot we haven't done (just you wait). This week, we talked about the super-zeitgeisty new TV show "This Is Us," and — unlike most weeks, when the n00b enters with very little knowledge — that zeitgeistiness put Emily and myself at odds from minute one.
In case you've missed the polarizing cultural discussion, "This Is Us" is a dramedy about the intersecting lives and families of four people with the same birthday. And that's all I'll say about it because, in my opinion, you should not read anything being written about the show. Just go watch it and decide for yourself!
For this episode, we watched the first three episodes of "This Is Us," which are called "Pilot," "The Big Three," and "Kyle." You can stream them from Hulu or buy them for $2 each from Amazon, iTunes, Vudu and Google Play. Or, at least at the time of this writing, you can also stream those episodes for free with advertisements from the NBC website.
If you like this, give Emily and me a follow on Twitter. Or, if Facebook is more your thing, like our FB page here! And if you haven’t already, make sure to subscribe to Giant Geek vs. Mega n00b on iTunes or Google Play Music.
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We all know what happens when Cinderella goes to the ball, and when Jack climbs the beanstalk, and when Little Red Riding Hood gets to Granny's house.
...but not in this version.
Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's Broadway musical Into the Woods turns all of these stories (and more) on their heads, then crashes a giant into them to upend things even more. It's a zany fairytale romp, but it's also a story about parents, children, relationships, and loss.
Eric has seen the 2014 movie version, which is a solid effort with an incredible cast but cuts several key things and isn't quite the same as seeing it on stage. And so, now we'll discuss the play.
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Technology doesn't materialize out of thin air; it's made by people. And those people aren't necessarily good people.
This week's movie, "The Social Network," is a heavily dramatized telling of how Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg disrupted Harvard University, then colleges everywhere and then the world. The only problem — at least as seen here with Aaron Sorkin's name on the screenplay — is that he also upended his personal relationships along the way.
You can stream "The Social Network" for $3 from Amazon, iTunes, Vudu or Google Play, or download it for $9-10 from all of those places.
If you like this, give Emily and me a follow on Twitter. Or, if Facebook is more your thing, like our FB page here! And if you haven’t already, make sure to subscribe to Giant Geek vs. Mega n00b on iTunes or Google Play Music.
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"Beauty and the Beast," the first animated movie ever to be nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars, is now ... a live-action movie, too! But how does it stack up to the original?
On this bonus episode of Giant Geek vs. Mega n00b, we did the same thing that we did with La La Land last month: Emily and I watched the movie on our own, and did not share any thoughts about it with each other until we started recording. Turns out, we both had a lot of thoughts to share.
You can find "Beauty and the Beast" at your local multiplex. I would be shocked if it's not playing near you, so go check it out and then listen to this podcast!
If you like this, give Emily and me a follow on Twitter. Or, if Facebook is more your thing, like our FB page here! And if you haven't already, make sure to subscribe to Giant Geek vs. Mega n00b on iTunes or Google Play Music.
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After exploring the line between public and private - and the notion of faking your death - with "Man on the Moon" last week, there was only one direction we could go in: "Velvet Goldmine."
This one isn't actually a biopic, but it DOES star Jonathan Rhys Myers as a glam rocker inspired by David Bowie, Ewan McGregor as another star based on Iggy Pop and Lou Reed, Christian Bale as a journalist writing about them, and Toni Collette as Myers's wife. They're all very pretty.
The opening titles really say it best: Although what you're about to see is a work of fiction, it should nevertheless be played at maximum volume.
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We've all been there: 40 million people love watching you perform, and you hate it, so you decide to start wrestling women.
OK, actually one person has been there: Andy Kaufman, the subject of the 1999 biopic "Man on the Moon," directed by Milos Forman and starring Jim Carrey as Kaufman. This week on Giant Geek vs. Mega n00b, we are diving deep into alternative comedy, engineered outrage and how well Lorne Michaels and David Letterman can act as themselves.
You can stream "Man on the Moon" for $3 from Amazon, iTunes, Vudu or Google Play, or download it for $10 from all of those places.
And once you've seen the movie and listened to the podcast, head over to geekvsn00b.com for video clips of some of the real Andy Kaufman incidents that were recreated here.
If you like this, give Emily and me a follow on Twitter. Or, if Facebook is more your thing, like our FB page here! And if you haven't already, make sure to subscribe to Giant Geek vs. Mega n00b on iTunes or Google Play Music.
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You've heard the term on the news, you've seen it thrown around on Twitter, and now it's time to go to the source.
We're talking about gaslighting, the practice of manipulating someone into doubting their own experience and sanity. It comes from a 1944 film starring Ingrid Bergman, Charles Boyer, and Joseph Cotten (and a very young Angela Lansbury in her first film role).
Many years after her aunt was killed, Bergman moves back into the house where it happened with her new husband (Boyer), and things start to go downhill quickly.
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This week, Emily and I played a video game with several great features, including offices, hallways, doors, a broom closet and existential dread.
And as if that's not enticing enough, then try this on for size: "The Stanley Parable" is a hilarious interactive ride that answers a question no one was asking, "What if Tom Stoppard wrote a video game?" In it, you play as Stanley, an office drone whose coworkers mysteriously vanish.
And I'm not kidding about the broom closet. Go in the broom closet.
You can play "The Stanley Parable" on a PC or Mac, buying it via the digital game store Steam, where it's currently $15.
Just remember: THE END IS NEVER THE END IS NEVER THE END IS NEVER
If you like this, give Emily and me a follow on Twitter. Or, if Facebook is more your thing, like our FB page here! And if you haven't already, make sure to subscribe to Giant Geek vs. Mega n00b on iTunes or Google Play Music.
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Two lovers, both alike in artistic yearning, in fair Los Angeles where we ... ok, you know what, I'm not going to try and do the Shakespeare thing. "La La Land" is a story about two white people in L.A. who want to be famous and/or artistically respected, and it tied the record for most Oscar nominations ever.
In this special bonus episode of Giant Geek vs. Mega n00b, recorded shortly before the Oscars, Eric and Emily offer their harsh critiques of a movie that has enchanted much of the country. We are also fun at parties.
You can't stream "La La Land" anywhere (legally) at the time of this writing, so check your local movie theater!
If you like this, give Emily and Eric a follow on Twitter. Or, if Facebook is more your thing, like our FB page here! And if you haven't already, make sure to subscribe to Giant Geek vs. Mega n00b on iTunes or Google Play Music.
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Does When Harry Met Sally really need an introduction? It isn't just a classic romantic comedy; it is THE romcom. Though far from the first, it's the ultimate and quintessential romcom, the movie that defines the genre, the movie that launched the romcom boom of the 1990s and 2000s, the movie that all others since aspire to.
Even those who somehow haven't seen it, which until recently included Eric, know the basics: Meg Ryan. Billy Crystal. Nora Ephron. Rob Reiner. Carrie Fisher. Classic lines. Hilarious moments. All the feelings.
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Imagine, if you will: A seemingly ordinary podcast suddenly re-emerges after more than a month of silence. Except this is no ordinary season premiere. The two hosts of this podcast have just made a life-changing visit ... to the Twilight Zone.
We're back! And to kick off Season 5, we watched five episodes from the seminal TV anthology, "The Twilight Zone." After the intro to this episode, we talk about them with spoilers in depth, so you should watch these episodes before you listen! They are:
Season 1, Episode 1: "Where Is Everybody?"
Season 1, Episode 22: "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street"
Season 1, Episode 34: "The After Hours"
Season 2, Episode 7: "Nick of Time"
Season 2, Episode 15: "The Invaders"
You can stream "The Twilight Zone" on Hulu, Netflix, Amazon Prime or (with ads) on CBS' website. Or, you can rent individual episodes from Amazon, iTunes or Vudu.
If you like this, give Emily and me a follow on Twitter. Or, if Facebook is more your thing, like our FB page here! And if you haven't already, make sure to subscribe to Giant Geek vs. Mega n00b on iTunes or Google Play Music.
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Instead of a beloved and critically-acclaimed feature, today we're watching a cheesy-as-hell TV special by Rankin and Bass. They're the same folks that brought us the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer we've all seen a million times - but this is better (in my humble opinion).
Santa Claus is Comin' to Town is a Santa origin story, tracing his life from orphaned baby to jolly old man delivering toys. Along the way, it answers all the burning questions you've always had about Santa (how do the reindeer fly?), but Eric has lived his whole life in the dark.
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What's this? Why, it's another bonus episode of Giant Geek vs. Mega n00b!
Most of the time, people who say "Happy Holidays" aren't thinking of Halloween, but that might change once you see "The Nightmare Before Christmas," a 1993 stop-motion classic directed by Henry Selick and inspired by a poem written by Tim Burton. Emily, despite being the more musical half of the podcast, has never seen it, so whether you're a n00b like her or a geek like Eric, join us!
If you're listening to this episode when it comes out, there's a pretty good chance you can find "Nightmare" on TV. But you can also rent it for $3 from Amazon, iTunes, Google Play or Vudu, or buy it for $10 from all of those places.
If you're new to Giant Geek vs. Mega n00b, please subscribe to the show on iTunes or Google Play Music. And you can follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
Merry Christmas, and see you tomorrow for Part 2! We'll be continuing with stop-motion holiday movies, but in a very different way, when we watch "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town."
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Surprise! Just in time for Thanksgiving, have an extra serving of Giant Geek vs. Mega n00b!
While you're recovering from your food coma this week, join us for six delightful episodes of turkey-flavored TV: Three from "Bob's Burgers," which Eric has seen relatively little of, and three from "WKRP in Cincinnati," which Emily hadn't even heard of.
The three Bob's Burgers episodes on tap are: S3E5, "An Indecent Thanksgiving Proposal"; S4E5, "Turkey in a Can"; and S5E4, "Dawn of the Peck." You can stream them all on Netflix, or rent them for $2 apiece from Amazon, iTunes, Vudu or Google Play.
Since we're starting from scratch on "WKRP," we watched the first two episodes (S1E1 "Pilot: Part 1" and S1E2 "Pilot: Part 2" — such clever names!) before jumping ahead to the main dish: S1E7, "Turkeys Away." You don't have to watch the first two, but if you're new to the show they teach you who all the characters are. You can stream all those on Hulu, or rent them for $1 apiece from Amazon or iTunes.
If you're new to Giant Geek vs. Mega n00b, please subscribe to the show on iTunes or Google Play Music. And you can follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
Happy Thanksgiving!
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How did a bastard orphan immigrant become one of America's founding fathers? How did the country forget about him? And how — and why? — did he become the subject of a wildly popular hip-hop musical 200 years after his death?
In trying to answer these tricky questions, we quickly struck a roadblock: Neither Emily nor Eric had seen or listened to the soundtrack of "Hamilton," Lin-Manuel Miranda's hit 2015 Broadway musical about the rise and fall of Alexander Hamilton. Enter Eric's friend and coworker Amy Keyishian, a "Hamilton" devotee and our first-ever guest geek.
None of the three of us have seen Hamilton, still, but we listened to the original Broadway cast recording twice: Once in isolation, and a second time with the annotated lyrics from Genius in front of us. And boy, did we have a lot to say about it!
You can find the "Hamilton" soundtrack pretty much anywhere you listen to music, in physical or digital formats. But if you're not sure about paying for it, and you don't subscribe to any music streaming services, you can still listen for free on YouTube. You can also play each track from its respective Genius lyrics page.
This is part two of our civics-minded pre-Election Day weekend, and it's also the end of Season 4 for Giant Geek vs. Mega n00b. If you missed yesterday's discussion of The West Wing, check it out right here! We'll be back for season 5 in 2017, but stay subscribed to this channel ... we'll be dropping a couple holiday-minded goodies in the interim.
What?! You're not subscribed? Do that here: iTunes or Google Play Music.
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Topic: The West Wing
Geek(s): Emily and Eric
We've got American politics on the brain (can't imagine why that would be), so it seems high time we get to a particularly stellar bit of political fantasy we're both more than a little obsessed with - the West Wing.
Since we need a n00b to enlighten/inflict this on, we're enlisting help from my dear friend Reilly Mesco, who has somehow never seen the show. A travesty, we agree, and one that must be corrected.
In case you're somehow also in the n00b category on this one, the West Wing is an Aaron Sorkin drama that premiered in 1999 and followed the senior staff of a fictional White House under the leadership of Martin Sheen's President Jed Bartlet. It's fantastic, but you'll have to listen to find out if Reilly agrees.
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What if you could put your finger in a machine and find out how you were going to die? What if that machine were always right?
And what if that machine was also kind of a jerk, dispensing cryptic predictions that often came true in cruelly ironic ways?
That is the delightful-slash-terrifying premise of "Machine of Death," an anthology of short stories collected and first published in 2010 by Ryan North, Matthew Bennardo and David Malki. And it's what we're talking about today on the podcast!
For this discussion, we're only reading the first half of "Machine of Death," which goes from the preface through the short story "Exhaustion From Having Sex With a Minor." Feel free to read more if you'd like, but that's as far as we read before turning on our recorders.
You can find "Machine of Death" on Amazon, TopatoCo or lots of other places where dead trees are sold and loaned. Like, say, a bookstore, or a library?
If you like this, give Emily and me a follow on Twitter. Or, if Facebook is more your thing, like our FB page here! And if you haven't already, make sure to subscribe to Giant Geek vs. Mega n00b on iTunes or Google Play Music.
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Topic: Steely Dan
Geek: Emily
Steely Dan is a 1970s band that gets knocked a lot for being stereotypical dad music. But have you ever really listened to them? Eric never has. But even if you think you know them, I'd encourage you to pay closer attention this time. There's a lot going on there, folks.
We're diving in to our close read with their 1976 album The Royal Scam. Give it a listen, then listen to this.
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On one of the first episodes of this podcast, I made Emily watch Doctor Who. On a later episode, which sadly never saw the light of day because we lost the audio, I made her watch Back to the Future.
Today, we complete the trifecta with "Rick and Morty," the irreverent animated Adult Swim show that synthesizes those series, Futurama, and like a million other sci-fi influences into a hilarious, chaotic and occasionally traumatizing experience.
Come on, it'll be fun!
If you've never seen Rick and Morty, don't worry, you don't have to watch the whole show. For today, we're just watching five episodes from season one: Episodes 1, 2, 5, 6 and 7. That's the pilot, plus "Lawnmower Dog," "Meeseeks and Destroy," "Rick Potion #9" and "Raising Gazorpazorp."
You can stream those episodes on Hulu Plus, or buy them for $2 apiece from Amazon, Vudu or Google Play.
If you like this, give Emily and me a follow on Twitter. Or, if Facebook is more your thing, like our FB page here! And if you haven't already, make sure to subscribe to Giant Geek vs. Mega n00b on iTunes or Google Play Music.
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Topic: Gilmore Girls
Geek: Emily
If you're out on the road, feeling lonely and so cold, all you have to do is call on Gilmore Girls and they'll be there on the next train.
I've tortured this so that it doesn't actually rhyme, but you see, this is more or less how I feel about this beloved TV show. And I'm not alone! There's so much love out there for Gilmore Girls that it's getting its very own Netflix revival. Huzzah for Stars Hollow, Connecticut!
Eric, however, has never seen it, and with the new episodes coming it seemed about time. Listen on to see how he fared.
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The last time we visited the zombie apocalypse, when we watched "The Walking Dead," most everything was bleak: People were fighting, some of them got killed, and there was little hope for the future.
What if, instead, we all decided to have fun? That's part of the appeal of this week's movie, "Zombieland," a roadtrip comedy that just happens to coincide with the world's destruction via flesh-hungry monsters.
And — as if you needed another reason to watch this movie with us — "Zombieland" has a pretty amazing cast, featuring Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, Woody Harrelson and Abigail Breslin.
Make sure you do watch if you haven't seen it before, as we spoil everything after the 5-minute mark, including one of the movie's biggest surprises. At the time of this writing, you can rent it from iTunes, Amazon, Google Play or Vudu for $3, or buy it from any of those places for $10.
If you like this, give Eric and Emily a follow on Twitter. Or, if Facebook is more your thing, like our FB page here! And if you haven't already, make sure to subscribe to Giant Geek vs. Mega n00b on iTunes or Google Play Music.
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Topic: The Tour de France
Geek: Emily
And now for a sport that's a bit off the beaten track (or well-ridden road, as the case may be): cycling. I've been watching the Tour de France religiously for many years, and back in July I made Eric take the Tour plunge - albeit on a somewhat limited basis.
For the purposes of our podcasts, we watched highlights of the first eight stages of the 2016 Tour with the help of some detailed planning and my NBC Sports Gold subscription. The full replays usually go up on YouTube eventually, but unfortunately that hasn't happened yet.
Not to worry, though! You can find recaps and highlights of those stages on the NBC Sports YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/user/2012NBCOlympics), as well as some of the bigger moments we discuss (like Chris Froome's crazy descent on stage eight!).
And now that you're caught up, find out what we've got to say.
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You might use Siri, or Cortana, or Alexa — but you would never think of them as real people.
But what if you did? What if you could have a conversation with an artificially intelligent person that felt real and human? And what if that person looked like a beautiful woman?
Those are just the surface-level questions of this week's movie, "Ex Machina."
DO NOT WATCH THE TRAILER FOR THIS MOVIE. It has spoilers, as does this podcast after the 3-minute mark.
So, skip the trailer and go watch "Ex Machina" on Amazon (free to stream for Amazon Prime members), iTunes, Vudu or Google Play. Then come back and listen to our very intense discussion!
If you liked this episode, then please subscribe to Giant Geek vs. Mega n00b on iTunes or Google Play Music, and make sure to like our page on Facebook. And if you're feeling really generous, tell a friend about this podcast!
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Topic: The Music Man
Geek: Emily
Welcome to season four! Let's watch a musical.
As you might recall, last season we watched Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and - spoiler alert - Eric loved it and immediately embarked on a binge. While this warms my little geek heart, it also poses a problem: CXG is packed with musical parodies, including one of my favorite number from one of my favorite musicals, and Eric has never seen it.
Enter the Music Man.
This musical has been a favorite since before I can even remember (I'm not exaggerating; my dad used to sing several of the songs to me and my brother when we were little), but how did Eric take to his first taste of Big Hollywood Musicals? Listen to find out.
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"Weird Al" Yankovic has been writing and performing song parodies since 1976. But he only made one feature-length movie — for good reason.
"UHF" did not do well at the box office when it was released in 1989. It made $6.1 million on a $5 million budget. But in the years since, it has become a must-watch for any kid discovering the joys of "Weird Al" and a cult classic for geeks of all ages around the world.
You should definitely watch "UHF" before you listen to the discussion portion of this week's episode; it's available to rent or buy on Amazon, iTunes, Vudu and Google Play.
This is the Season 3 finale of Giant Geek vs. Mega n00b, but we'll only be off for a month or so. Join us later in the summer as we kick off Season 4 with a discussion of "The Music Man." To make sure you don't miss it, subscribe on iTunes or Google Play Music and like our page on Facebook.
See you in a few weeks!
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Topic: Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
Geek: Emily
This week's topic hasn't been around for very long, but oh boy has it made a splash. It won a Golden Globe. Vulture named it best show on TV. I am madly in love with it.
We're talking, of course, about the CW's Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. It's an hour-long comedy from the brilliant mind of Rachel Bloom, who also stars alongside a refreshingly diverse and seriously talented cast. The plot follows Bloom's character as she moves across the country in an attempt to win back her ex - and this show is crazy good in large part because it's all about subverting every expectation its title and that summary just put in your head.
Oh, and it's also a musical. Every episode features two or three original songs, drawn from all different genres and corners of the pop and musical theater worlds. And it's - just brilliant. But will Eric agree? Find out!
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The Mario games are full of important life lessons for kids: Get regular exercise! Help your friends! Do mushrooms and kill turtles!
But will those messages resonate for someone (Emily) who has never played one of the official Mario games? Will that someone, who has barely played any video games, be able to clear the first level? On this week's Giant Geek vs. Mega n00b, we find out!
If you don't still have an old Nintendo console from the 80s or 90s, fear not — you can find Super Mario Bros. 3 on the Virtual Console for Nintendo's more recent Wii and Wii U. You can also find it in the eShop if you have a Nintendo 3DS, which is how both Emily and I played this game.
For more Giant Geek vs. Mega n00b, please subscribe to our show on iTunes or Google Play Music. And make sure to like our page on Facebook!
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Topic: Stick It
Geek: Emily
Today we venture into the world of elite gymnastics - but we're not going to take it too seriously. Stick It is part snarky teen comedy and part inspirational sports movie, part send-up of the gymnastics world and part homage to the sport.
I've been a fan of this beautiful little movie, complete with its high-profile gymnastics cameos, for quite a while. The balance of sarcastic humor and genuine heart is just too good to resist.
But can Eric warm to a movie about a sport he doesn't even like? We'll see.
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Sometimes, there's a podcast... And I'm talkin' about the Giant Geek versus the Mega n00b here... Sometimes there's a podcast and, well, it's the podcast for its time and place. It fits right in there.
OK, just imagine how much better this description would sound if Sam Elliott were reading it. And now stop imagining how wonderful his voice is, because it's time to go watch a movie with us: The Big Lebowski.
You can stream The Big Lebowski for free if you have an Amazon Prime subscription, or rent/buy it from Amazon, iTunes, Vudu and Google Play.
For more Giant Geek vs. Mega n00b, please subscribe to our show on iTunes or Google Play Music. And make sure to like our page on Facebook!
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Topic: The Big Sleep
Geek: Emily
Bogart is back on the podcast! This time with his real-life wife and frequent on-screen partner Lauren Bacall.
The Big Sleep is quintessential noir: a private eye, an array of untrustworthy dames and sketchy suits, and enough blackmail and dead bodies to turn a mobster's stomach. It has the added benefit of an almost hopelessly twisted plot you get to sort through every time almost like you're watching for the first time.
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Think about a Tom Cruise action movie. Okay, now forget everything you just thought of, because we're watching a Tom Cruise action movie where most of that won't apply.
That will make sense after you watch this week's film Edge of Tomorrow, later re-titled for marketing purposes as Live Die Repeat after it bombed at the box office. The less you know about this film going in, the better, so go watch it and then join our Giant Geek vs. Mega n00b discussion!
For more like this, check out the other offerings at geekvsn00b.com, or subscribe to us on iTunes and Google Play Music.
You can rent or buy Edge of Tomorrow from Amazon, iTunes, Vudu or Google Play.
And one more thing: You should like our Facebook page.
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(Normally, Emily would be writing this because it was her pick, but she's off having some super-cool weekend adventure. Whatever, I'm not jealous.)
Choose Life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose this new episode of Giant Geek vs. Mega n00b, in which we talk all about the critically-acclaimed 1996 Danny Boyle film Trainspotting.
For more like this, check out the other offerings at geekvsn00b.com, or subscribe to us on iTunes and Google Play Music.
You can stream Trainspotting on Netflix or Showtime Anytime. Or, you can rent(on) it for $3 from iTunes, Vudu or Google Play. You can also buy it from those three rental sites for $10, or for $13 as digital purchase on Amazon.
And one more thing: You should like our Facebook page.
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Hello and, again, welcome to the Giant Geek vs. Mega n00b Podcast Enjoyment Center. Your specimen has been processed and we are now ready to begin this week's episode.
On this week's episode, [MALE CO-HOST NAME HERE] challenged [FEMALE CO-HOST NAME HERE] to try playing Portal, a 2007 video game made by Valve Software.
For your own safety, and the safety of others, please subscribe to Giant Geek vs. Mega n00b on iTunes. The Enjoyment Center would also like to inform you that this podcast is also available on Google Play Music.
Portal is available for $10 on Steam.
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Topic: Clueless
Geek: Emily
We're back for season three!
And we're starting with a bang: the classic teen comedy Clueless. In case you're unfamiliar (somehow?) with this film, it stars lots of famous people and music and features a parade of classic outfits and phrases - and best of all, it's based on Jane Austen's "Emma."
Normally I'd launch into how I first watched this movie or why I fell in love with it, but I honestly can't remember the first time I watched it. It's just sort of part of my pop cultural DNA, and I love it to pieces. But did Eric? You'll have to listen.
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Topic: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Geek: Emily AND Eric
That's right, it's Harry Potter time!
Now, you might have noticed that Eric and I are both serious Harry Potter enthusiasts, and we have been since it all started. We read the books as they came out, pre-ordered each new one and devoured it immediately, the whole nine yards. In fact, we went to the midnight premiere of the last movie together.
As delightful as all of this is for us, it presents a podcast problem: since neither of us is a wizarding world n00b, we can't exactly do an episode of Giant Geek vs. Mega N00b about it on our own.
Until now!
We managed to round up a couple of guest n00bs - one our own age, one nine years old, both embarking on the world's most magical series for the very first time. Needless to say, we have a lot to discuss.
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Up-front caveat: If you haven't seen "The Room," go watch it. Then come back to this post.
In case you ignored that instruction and are still reading ignorantly, "The Room" is widely considered to be one of the worst movies ever made -- and it's wonderful. Also, insane. Even more wonderful was the fact that one of its stars, Greg Sestero, wrote a tell-all book in 2013 about everything that happened behind the scenes; "The Disaster Artist" shows that the insanity captured on the screen was only a glimmer of everything happening behind the scenes.
This week, Emily and I read "The Disaster Artist" and discussed what its revelations mean for our shared fandom of "The Room."
Can't listen right now because you're very busy right now and have to go? Then subscribe to Giant Geek vs. Mega n00b on iTunes!
You can buy "The Room" on DVD or Blu-Ray, and "The Disaster Artist" is available pretty much anywhere you'd find books.
To share your favorite Tommy Wiseau quotes or weigh in on anything else we discussed this week, email us at geekvsn00b@gmail.com. And you should follow us on Twitter and like our Facebook page.
We'll be back next week to talk about "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" with two special guest n00bs. See you then!
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Topic: In A Lonely Place
Geek: Emily
We're doing more film noir this week, with another of the greats of the genre: Humphrey Bogart.
I more or less stumbled on "In A Lonely Place" by accident. I was in the midst of a weekend-long Bogart marathon (a reasonable life choice that I strongly recommend), wandering around his IMDb credits, and this one's description intrigued me. Boy was I right.
Bogart plays a screenwriter who hasn't had a hit in years and ends up accused of murder. But did he do it? Unclear. It's a dark role, and he shines. You'll have to listen to find out if Eric liked it as much as I do.
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The zombies are coming! Grab a knife and a gun, get in your car, lock the doors and pray that your iPhone is charged so that you can listen to this podcast.
Is that a sound survival strategy? Nope. But really, most of us would not last a day in a real zombie apocalypse. That's why we love shows like this week's topic, "The Walking Dead."
And since the show is filmed in Emily's state of Georgia, she had to watch it.
Can't listen right now because you're too busy looking for a friend who has a crossbow? Then subscribe to Giant Geek vs. Mega n00b on iTunes!
You can stream "The Walking Dead" on Netflix, or buy episodes on iTunes, Amazon or Vudu. For this discussion, we watched only the first two episodes of season 1, which are called "Days Gone Bye" and "Guts."
To share your zombie survival plan or weigh in on anything else we discussed this week, email us at geekvsn00b@gmail.com. And you should follow us on Twitter and like our Facebook page.
We'll be back next week to talk about "In A Lonely Place." See you then!
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Topic: The Third Man
Geek: Emily
And now, we venture into noir. What better way to dive into the genre than with Joseph Cotten, Orson Welles, and World War Two-ravaged Vienna?
That's right folks, this week it's "The Third Man."
I probably first watched this movie on TCM, or in a fit of classic film VHS rentals, but I've returned over and over because there's just so much to love here. It's got intrigue, mysterious death, crosses and double crosses, and a perfect score to hold it all together. It was clearly past time for Eric to watch it.
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Hooray for trying new things. Unless those things are psychotropic drugs that permanently damage your brain.
On this episode of Giant Geek vs. Mega n00b, Emily and I tried the good type of new thing: For the first time, we discussed a music album. Specifically, we listened twice over to "Pet Sounds" by the Beach Boys, one of my all-time favorite albums to listen to all the way through, for reasons that will become clear as you listen to the podcast.
Don't want to listen right now? Then subscribe to Giant Geek vs. Mega n00b on iTunes!
You can find "Pet Sounds" on Spotify or Amazon Prime Music, and probably a bunch of other streaming services. Or you could, like, buy the album, wherever music is sold. I know, I know, crazy thought.
To weigh in on the Beach Boys or anything else we discussed this week, email us at geekvsn00b@gmail.com. And you should follow us on Twitter and like our Facebook page.
We'll be back next week to talk about "The Third Man." See you then!
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Topic: A Tale of two Cities (book three)
Geek: Emily
And now for the payoff I sold so, so hard last time: the grand conclusion of A Tale of Two Cities. All the threads - golden threads, if you will - finally come together in the exciting conclusion of this epic novel. At least, that's what I think of it. We'll just have to see if Eric enjoys it.
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I never really got into anime in the way that a lot of other geeky kids did. Dragonball Z? Did not care. Pokémon? I watched the first season or two of the anime, but the video games were always first in my heart. Digimon? Yeah, no.
So, I was surprised in college to really get into the Nickelodeon animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender, which borrows heavily from anime. It tells the story of an epic war fought by element-"bending" humans, a group of children who must save the planet, and some bizarrely cute hybrid animals.
On this episode of Giant Geek vs. Mega n00b, I tasked Emily with watching the first five episodes of season one of Avatar: "The Boy in the Iceberg" through "The King of Omashu." Join us!
If you have an Amazon Prime subscription, you can watch Avatar: The Last Airbender for free on Amazon Instant Video. You can also stream some episodes on Nickelodeon's website (not all of them, like we said in the episode). Or, you can buy individual episodes from iTunes or Amazon for $2 apiece.
Oh, and probably worth noting: As is our wont, we get off on a lot of tangents. If you haven't seen the Harry Potter movies or Buffy the Vampire Slayer (and you're someone who listens to this podcast?! Really?), then mild spoiler warning for those works.
To weigh in on Avatar or anything else we discussed this week, email us at geekvsn00b@gmail.com. And you should follow us on Twitter and like our Facebook page.
We'll be back next week to finish our discussion of A Tale of Two Cities.
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Topic: A Tale of Two Cities (books one and two)
Geek: Emily
This week embark on our lengthiest bit of culture yet: reading Dickens.
I'm not sure when or why I read A Tale of Two Cities the first time, but I was pretty quickly hooked - and immediately started rereading it. You must understand, I'm not a big re-reader, in general. There are very few things I read over and over (basically this, Harry Potter, and Sabriel), and this tops the list BY FAR. It's just so good! And frankly so complicated that you kind of have to go back over the details again once you finish it.
So needless to say, I was pretty pumped to see what Eric thought.
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WE'RE BACK!
Here's the first episode of Giant Geek vs. Mega n00b Season 2. In it, Eric challenges Emily to overcome years of video game evasion and play Hearthstone, a free digital card game made by Blizzard.
You can play Hearthstone on iOS and Android devices (just search for it in the App Store), or download a PC version of the game for your Windows or Mac computer at Battle.net.
For more Giant Geek vs. Mega n00b, visit GVNpodcast.com. And please leave a review for us on iTunes! We'll be back next week to talk about the first half of Charles Dickens' "A Tale of Two Cities."
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Christmas special! Eric's favorite Muppet Christmas movie is "A Muppet Family Christmas," a TV special originally released in 1987. Emily's is "The Muppet Christmas Carol," which was released theatrically in 1992. So, who is right?
Naturally, we watched both of them, and to get the most out of this episode, you should, too. "The Muppet Christmas Carol" is available to rent for $3 from Google, Vudu, Sony and Apple. And "A Muppet Family Christmas" is available to stream on YouTube at http://tiny.cc/muppetgeek.
Happy holidays to all of our listeners. Giant Geek vs. Mega n00b will be back in January for a new season of episodes. For more, visit http://geekvsn00b.com.
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Topic: A View to a Kill
Geek: Emily
For the second part of our super special double-whammy season finale we're circling back to where we started: James. Bond.
We're vaulting from one end of the Bond spectrum to the other, from the sublime(ly awesome) to the ridiculous(ly sublime). A View to a Kill is Roger Moore's last movie as the superspy, and he's got the world's best possible Bond villains opposite him: Christopher Walken as a psychotic genetic experiment and Grace Jones as his unspeakably great right-hand woman.
It rocks, you guys. It just rocks.
Just bask in the Duran Duran.
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Eric and Emily discuss the second half of Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
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Hello friends! We'll be back this week with another new episode, finally rectifying the fact that although he is obsessed with "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," Eric is oblivious to Sarah Michelle Gellar's other iconic teen starlet roles of the late 90s and early aughts.
Yes, that means we're watching Cruel Intentions.
As always, be sure to watch it before you listen! There will be many spoilers. Find it here: Amazon; Google Play; Vudu.
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Topic: Watchmen (first half)
Geek: Eric
This week, we finally get to something I've been wanting to discuss since before we started this podcast: The graphic novel Watchmen, by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons.
Even if you saw the mediocre 2009 film and didn't like it, don't close this tab. I saw it, too, and was confused more than anything else. It's only in the shadow of the far, far superior book that its problems come into clarity.
But we're not here to talk about a lousy movie (well, Emily and I talk about it a little bit). We're (mostly) here to talk about a great book, which was also my introduction point to the world of "grown-up" graphic novels.
Published in 12 installments between September 1986 and October 1987, Watchmen is both a story about superheroes and a story about superheroes, and the comics that depict them. Along with the seminal Batman miniseries The Dark Knight Returns*, it interrogated ideas long taken for granted, like if/how super-powered beings (or, variously, normal-powered vigilantes with a lot of time and/or money) would actually fit in contemporary society, and whether these people claiming to be heroes could really be trusted in the first place.
For this week's episode, Emily and I read the first half of Watchmen, which is six chapters long. Next week, we'll be breaking it up with one of her picks, and then we'll be back the week after with the back six chapters. So go pick up a copy of the book and join us!
*Zack Snyder, the same guy who directed that mediocre Watchmen movie, is currently in the process of adapting part of TDKR in the upcoming Batman vs. Superman film. Goody.
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It's time for another book! And that means another two-parter. This week, we're tackling the first half of Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons.
Watchmen is no ordinary book. It's what some folks call a "comic book," but those of us who know better call a "graphic novel." Unlike the innumerable serialized Superman or Spider-Man stories, it's a self-contained work, starring characters that don't appear elsewhere. It's also a goldmine of ideas to discuss.
Given that Watchmen is widely considered to be a crossover title to the broader literary world, it shouldn't be too hard to find Watchmen at your local bookstore, or (since those are becoming as rare as Coke in green glass bottles), at your local box-shaped corporate monolith. For those not inclined to leave the house, it's also available for $12 on Amazon.
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Topic: Four Weddings and a Funeral
Geek: Emily
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Hello again, fearless listeners, and sorry for the slight delay on this week's podcasting!
For our latest episode, Eric ventures into territory he's not super into while Emily gushes endlessly about Hugh Grant. Have you guessed it yet?
It's Four Weddings and a Funeral! This is also known as the best Hugh Grant movie of the very Hugh Grant-heavy 90s (disagree? I'll fight you.) And yes, sure, Andie McDowell is also in it, so huzzah for her if that's your thing.
In any case, you have no excuse not to watch this film, because it's a. delightful and b. now on Netflix. If you'd prefer, you can also find it on Amazon. So that's helpful.
Enjoy, and see you in a couple days for the full episode!
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Topic: The Cabin in the Woods
Geek: Eric
Believe it or not, that title doesn't refer to yours truly. At least not in this context.
To understand what it does refer to, please go watch The Cabin in the Woods before listening to this episode. We will spoil everything about it!
I saw this movie in theaters right after it came out in 2012, and loved it so much that I went back three days later. I enjoyed Cabin in the Woods even more on another viewing, but that second trip left me fuming mad.
(Rant incoming!)
After the movie, I eagerly asked the person sitting next to me what they had thought. They had to have loved it, right?
"I mean, it was good, but I'm not sure if it was 93 percent on Rotten Tomatoes good," this person said.
Why does this make me so mad? Because, and a lot of people don't realize this, that 93 percent is not a grade for the movie. It's the percentage of reviewers surveyed by Rotten Tomatoes who were "fresh" rather than "rotten" on it. It's how many people said "yes," not an average of their total grades.
For weird films like this one, in particular, I hate when people bring a lot of mental baggage into the theater with them. It's one thing to check a reviews site (or a review aggregator) to figure out whether you want to see something, but fixating on whether that movie deserved a certain score, or if that video game deserved a certain grade -- that sort of thing drives me up the wall. All that matters is what you thought of it.
(Rant over.)
So, see the movie, listen to Emily and I chat about it and maybe drop us a line at geekvsn00b at gmail dot com, to let us know what you thought!
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quae vigilate in silvis Cameram
Also, don't watch the trailer for this week's movie, The Cabin in the Woods. It's super-spoilery and we strongly recommend going in to this 2012 horror flick cold, knowing as little as possible about it.
That said, if you're anything like us you may care to know that it shares some creative DNA with Buffy the Vampire slayer; it was written by Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon, and directed by Goddard. For fans of the Whedonverse, there's also more than a few actors you'll recognize.
Here's where you can find The Cabin in the Woods online. Make sure to watch it before listening to the episode that comes out on Wednesday, because we will spoil everything.
See you on Wednesday!
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Topic: The Sopranos
Geek: Emily
Oh, the Sopranos. We (here defined as "the TV-obsessed population of the internet) are so caught up in the last set of Mad Men episodes at the moment, or the latest season of House of Cards, or how Breaking Bad ended, or whatever prestige show we're focusing on at the moment. It's easy to forget how much we used to focus all this energy on this one amazing show about the modern-day mafia in North Jersey.
Or maybe - if this week's hubbub about that infamous final scene is any indication - we don't forget at all; we're just waiting for it to come up again.
Anyway, I'm being melodramatic when the real point is: this was a damn great show. And Eric's relative ignorance about it is as good an excuse as any to revisit why.
The Sopranos was extremely present in my life well before I started watching it, because it was EVERYWHERE. But I didn't have HBO, so it was one of those things where you hear someone talk in great detail on Fresh Air about a club you're not a part of and you, yet again, wish you were as cool as Terry Gross and her brilliant guest and all the other listeners.
Then one time I was on vacation with my family, and the hotel DID have HBO, and we saw a rerun of the season five episode where Tony gets Finn a construction job and he sees...things happen no one was expecting to see (you know the things and you know the one - Unidentified Black Males). WE WERE HOOKED.
Thus began what must have been my first-ever bingewatch: in the three- and four-episode sprees allowed by Netflix DVDs, working around the insane schedules of two working adults and two over-committed high school kids trying hard to get into college, my family blazed through all of that glorious show.
Guys, it's so much easier to watch the whole thing now. We should all just do so immediately.
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All right, all right, so that's from The Godfather. But they idolize those movies SO MUCH on this show that it makes it ok to use the world's most overused mafia cliche, right?
Right.
So in case you haven't gotten this, we're watching The Sopranos this week. Specifically, we're watching Season 1 - Episodes 1, 2, and 5. It's ok, you can start nodding along with the theme song...now.
For the somehow uninitiated (do you exist?), this HBO series starring James Gandolfini, Lorraine Bracco, and basically anyone who's ever been in a mobster movie before or since premiered in 1999 and is widely credited with ushering in our current Golden Age of Television. Tony Soprano is also the TV antihero that spawned a million successors and imitators.
So get watching, or Paulie might come visit you.*
Where to find it:
*No one involved in this podcast is "connected" in any way and we are not actually threatening you. Geez.
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Topic: In The Loop
Geek: Eric
I went back and forth on whether or not to star-star-out the swears in that title, but I don't want to risk getting in trouble with iTunes. So, here we are: You win, Linton Barwick.
If you don't know that name or what it has to do with censoring swears, you should go watch In The Loop. That's the topic of this week's podcast discussion, and we do spoil several of the best jokes!
OK, enough nagging. Hat tip to the /Filmcast (which is an excellent podcast, by the by) for introducing me to this film back in 2009. I went into the theater not quite knowing what to expect and walked out with a new favorite political satire.
Any Kubrick fans reading this might be wondering after that last sentence if I've never seen Dr. Strangelove. Don't worry, I have, and I really enjoyed it. But movies like it and In the Loop are always more powerful when their audience has lived through the events they send up, and by the time I entered preschool the USSR had been dissolved.
To share what you thought of In The Loop, email us at geekvsn00b@gmail.com. And don't forget that it only costs $2 per month to support this podcast via a pledge at Patreon.com. Starting at $5 per month, you'll also get access to Patreon-exclusive mini-episodes; this week's minisode, which comes out on Friday, is about bizarro genre-flipping twists on our favorite pop culture.
See you next week!
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Although this podcast is rated "explicit" for our occasional swearing, most of what we watch here on Giant Geek vs. Mega n00b is relatively all-ages-appropriate. This week's movie, In The Loop, is very not family friendly, and gloriously so.
In The Loop has no nudity or violence (sorry), but achieves that "glorious" label entirely through words. To see what I mean, you really should watch the movie before you listen to our discussion, which comes out on Wednesday.
Here's how to find it:
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Topic: The Bourne Identity
Geek: Emily
What can I even tell you about the Bourne Identity? As I’ve said 1,000 times if I’ve said it once, what’s remarkable here isn’t that I think these movies are great; it’s that Eric has somehow avoided seeing them. They’re so ubiquitous. Seriously, turn on your TV. If you have cable, one of these movies is probablyplaying somewhere. They always are.
I think I saw all of them when they came out or shortly thereafter, and obviously immediately loved them – how could you not? They’re just so well-done, so engrossing, so AWESOME. For more of my gushing – and my one quibble with the franchise – just listen, already!
The only thing I’ll add, since our discussion is mostly limited to the first film, is that I love how strong this trilogy is. The sequels don’t feel like action movie sequels, churned out to capitalize on the first one’s success but quickly becoming shells – or mockeries – of what made the original great. They’re all excellent. They all work.Jason Bourne is the coolest, guys.
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For more, visit http://geekvsn00b.com
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It only took us seven weeks (not counting part one of Sabriel and another episode, the audio for which was exterminated by Daleks) to get back to Doctor Who -- and there's a good reason for that.
As we noted earlier this week, Emily binged on Doctor Who after our second episode, The Angels Have the Phone Box, and Eric wanted to make sure he had a chance to discuss two of his favorite episodes, The Day of the Doctor and The Time of the Doctor, with her in podcast form.
Dumb, dumb Eric.
What he/I didn't know then was that when both of us are already geeks about something, rather than having one person go in knowing nothing, we go on and on and on and on and on and on about it.
The unedited audio for this episode was about an hour and twenty minutes, but I've edited it down here to a much more listenable (and still pretty thorough!) 45 minutes, for your auditory consumption. So take a listen, let us know what you think by dropping us a line at geekvsn00b@gmail.com, and if you want to support the show, please back us on Patreon. If you do that last thing, you'll earn a spot on our nifty new thank you page, which has a very episode-appropriate gif for our Patreon friends.
Gallifrey stands!
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We recorded our first episodes of this podcast in August of last year, and Eric's first pick was one of his favorite shows, Doctor Who.
Spoiler alert for episode two, Emily really liked it -- so much so that she binged nearly 100 episodes of the show in the ensuing weeks. That took her up to the two end-of-2013 specials, The Day of the Doctor and The Time of the Doctor, which are also two of Eric's favorite episodes in the whole series. You can see where this is going.
Join us this week for a return to the TARDIS, which has changed a lot since we left it in series 3 of the show. And fair warning: If you haven't been binging like Emily, or at least haven't seen some of the big episodes in the intervening years, this geektastic episode might be a liiiiiiittttttle bit confusing.
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Thank you so much to everyone who has supported Giant Geek vs. Mega n00b in its first month-plus. You guys rock.
But did you know?!?!? For every single episode we release here, we've also recorded a bonus mini-episode, or "minisode," with at least 10-15 extra minutes of fun discussions.
Normally, these minisodes are only available to our friends who chip in at least $5 per month on Patreon. But this week, we're putting two of them out there for free, in the hopes that you'll check out our Patreon page if you like what you hear.
The first minisode here is about the incidental music of James Bond, something Emily adores about Thunderball but totally forgot to bring up in our first episode. In the second minisode, Eric tries to understand how someone could grow up without playing video games -- a big part of his childhood, and a helpful thing for understanding Scott Pilgrim vs. the World -- and learns what games Emily has played in her life.
So take a listen, support us if you feel like it, and even if you don't, let your friends know about the podcast!
We'll be back to our regularly scheduled geeking next week with a return to the world of Doctor Who.
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This week, we're doing something a bit different here at Giant Geek vs. Mega n00b: We're sharing two mini-episodes recorded specifically for our podcast subscribers over at Patreon.
If you don't know what Patreon is, it's sort of like Kickstarter, except instead of asking fans to fund one big project, we ask for small recurring donations. For $5 a month, you get access to "minisodes" for every weekly episode, which take us down fun and totally weird tangents.
It's really important to stress: This podcast will always be free. But Patreon helps us pay for things like hosting it online, and every little bit counts.
If you're not convinced, take a listen to the episode on Wednesday, which will combine two minisodes, from Thunderball and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. See you then!
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Topic: Sabriel by Garth Nix
Geek: Emily
Yeah, you knew there was going to be an episode by this title eventually.
Also, let me preface this by saying that half of our Sabriel discussion, originally a two-episode set, has vanished. We’re blaming it on Daleks and/or internet goblins even though it’s 100% my being an idiot. What follows is a combination of the usual introductory post and the main point you’re missing from that disappearing tape.
Sabriel is a Young Adult fantasy novel, and I first read it when I was (surprise surprise) a fantasy-obsessed young adult. I went through this phase from about ages 12-16 where I would go to the YA section of the bookstore and literally choose books by the font on the spine. The more gothic or ancient-looking the font – in other words, the more it said “there are probably dragons in here” – the more likely I was to read it. It was a pretty hit or miss decision-making process.
A big factor in the “miss” side of that was the fact that, although it’s getting better, a lot of the best of those books just don’t have many women. This is super depressing when you’re a 13-year-old girl obsessed with knights and armor and stuff. This book is a serious exception.
Now, before you climb all over me about the incredible female protagonists out there in YA, let me explain: Sabriel is not the only awesome (read: well-developed, human, and also pretty badass) heroine in the genre. I’m all about Tamora Pierce and Robin McKinley and anyone else who’s ever given a girl a sword.
Kel is a badass, as was Alanna the Lioness before her. But they both had to fight a patriarchal fantasy system.
But despite all their magic and dragons and whatnot, those authors’ fantasy worlds tend to look a hell of a lot like our own in terms of gender norms and societal power structures. Pierce, for instance, writes incredible heroines, but they’re still women in a man’s world. They’re always having to prove that they’re as strong and as tough as the boys, that being strong doesn’t make them any less women, and that having empathy and emotion doesn’t make them any less strong.
Not so in Sabriel’s world.
Well, ok, the country south of the wall, Ancelstierre, is basically Europe right before World War I and it’s kind of the worst, gender roles included. But the Old Kingdom? Merchants and mercenaries and royal guards and anyone else you can think of are both male and female, totally unremarkably. All those nameless background characters get their gendered pronouns thrown around willy-nilly, and no one cares because it’s just not an issue. There’s powerful magic tied up in blood, literally inherent in families’ blood, so there’s no nonsense about needing a son to inherit a throne or a title; it’s all about an heir who has the family blood. Sabriel has all kinds of obstacles to face as she grows into her role as Abhorsen, but her gender just. isn’t. one of them.
And this raises an important point fantasy authors seem all too often to forget: You’re making all of this up. If the gender politics are shitty, it’s because you made them that way.
I’m going to keep reading and watching Game of Thrones, and I’m going to reread Narnia and Tamora Pierce and all the other fantasy I love to pieces, and I obviously think you should too. But like, maybe let’s keep that last point in mind, you know? There’s no such thing as a fantasy world that just is the way it is. Somebody wrote it all, and there’s no reason more of them couldn’t write more worlds where the oppressions we deal with in real life simply don’t exist. The more we accept that all possible worlds simply are this way, the more we accept that our own world can’t change.
Aaaaand /rant.
Sorry folks. Your TL;DR here is that Sabriel rocks, more fantasy should work this way, and you should definitely read it and then listen to this episode. Enjoy!
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Last week in this space, we listed all the ways to find our movie of choice, Pacific Rim, online. This week, the job is a bit easier: We're reading a book!
I know, I'm as shocked as you.
Emily had to explain to me how all this worked, but if I understand it right: You can go to a physical store out in the real world to pick up a copy of Sabriel, which was written by Garth Nix and first published in 1995. This is the first book in a tetralogy (that's like a trilogy but for four books, yo!), so make sure you're picking up the right one.
If you don't want to leave the house -- and really, who does? -- Amazon has the paperback for about $9, the hardcover for $16 and the audiobook for $24. The paperback box set of the first three books in the series costs about $20. Barnes & Noble has the paperback for $10. If you prefer an eBook, you can get Sabriel on Kindle for $8, Nook for $9, or iBooks for $8.
For this week's episode, we're only reading the first half of Sabriel, so don't worry; you don't need to read the whole thing! See you tomorrow.
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Ancient dinosaurs that have been living under the ocean floor for millions of years (for some reason) are attacking! What do you do?
Correct answer: Build giant robots to beat the crap out of them.
Pacific Rim is not an intellectually challenging movie, but it is a lot of fun, and it's the topic of this week's episode. It stars Charlie Hunnam as robot pilot Raleigh Becket, Idris Elba as a shouty general, and Rinko Kikuchi as aspiring pilot Mako Mori.
In case you missed the promo post on Monday, here's where you can find Pacific Rim online:
For more, visit geekvsn00b.com.
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Pacific Rim is not currently available to stream for free anywhere (well, anywhere legal), but here are the links to places you can buy it:
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The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return... But, barring that, you can just listen to this podcast and learn a thing or two about Moulin Rouge!
The 2001 film, directed by Baz Luhrmann, centers on a love-obsessed poet played by Ewan McGregor, who falls in love with Satine, the star of the titular cabaret BUT THERE'S A TWIST... For some reason, everyone at the Moulin Rouge knows the lyrics of songs popularized by the likes of Nirvana and Marilyn Monroe, even though it's only 1900. Go figure.
Will Emily be able to convey her love for this movie? Will Eric also love it? And, follow-up to the second question, why not? You'll have to listen to find out!
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Emily has played very few video games in her life, but watches a lot of rom-coms. Eric has played way too many video games, and generally avoids rom-coms. What happens when they watch a rom-com that's all about games?
In this episode, your hosts Eric Johnson and Emily Jones discuss Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, a 2010 film starring Michael Cera and Mary Elizabeth Winstead. Also appearing: lots and lots of funny people, including Anna Kendrick, Aubrey Plaza, Chris Evans, Jason Schwartzman and Alison Pill.
LINKS:
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World on IMDb
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The IMDb description of the first thing we watched for this episode is: "The executives of several ceramics companies are being driven crazy or killed by fear."
And that's not even the craziest thing.
Yes, it's the 1960s British TV series The Avengers (no relation to the superheroes -- sorry, Iron Man fans), starring Patrick Macnee and Diana Rigg. In this episode, your hosts Emily Jones and Eric Johnson watched three episodes from season 5: "The Fear Merchants," "Escape in Time" and "The Living Dead."
Read more about why Emily loves this show so much at geekvsn00b.com.
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Ready for an adventure in space and time? How about THREE adventures? Well, allons-y!
In this episode, your hosts Eric Johnson and Emily Jones discuss three episodes of Doctor Who from the third series, which aired in 2007. The episodes are "Smith and Jones," "The Shakespeare Code" and "Blink."
Starring David Tennant as the 10th Doctor and Freema Agyeman as Martha Jones.
Read more about Doctor Who and how a late-night TV host turned Eric into a superfan at geekvsn00b.com.
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Look up! Look down! Look out! Here comes the very first episode of Giant Geek vs. Mega n00b, in which your hosts Emily Jones and Eric Johnson discuss the 1965 James Bond film THUNDERBALL.
The film's description, via IMDb:
"James Bond heads to The Bahamas to recover two nuclear warheads stolen by SPECTRE agent Emilio Largo in an international extortion scheme."
Directed by Terence Young
Starring Sean Connery, Claudine Auger and Adolfo Celi.
Read more about the film and how Emily got into it at geekvsn00b.com.
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