The Incomparable Mothership

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688: They're All Messed Up Oct 20, 2023

Show notes

Grab some kindling and prepare to board up a window! Old Movie Club gets in the spirit of the spooky season with the 1969 movie that started it all—and by “all” we mean what we now think of as zombies—“Night of the Living Dead.” For a low-budget movie that features mostly amateur actors and fell out of copyright, it’s a certifiable classic. We’re certifying it right now. If you don’t like it, go back down to the basement, because we’re the boss of the upstairs.

"Night of the Living Dead"

Host Jason Snell with Tiff Arment, Steve Lutz, Philip Michaels, and Erika Ensign.

Referenced Works

Night of the Living Dead (1969)

Show Notes & Links

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687: Resurrected Corpse Oct 13, 2023

Show notes

The Book Club closes the door on this year’s awards shortlist with some lively book ranking and a tour of the nominated short fiction.

Awards novel wrap and Hugo short fiction!

Host Jason Snell with Aleen Simms, Erika Ensign, Scott McNulty, and Heather Berberet.

Referenced Works

Legends & Lattes

[Amazon] [Apple]

Spear

[Amazon] [Apple]

Babel

[Amazon] [Apple]

Mountain in the Sea

[Amazon] [Apple]

Nettle & Bone

[Amazon] [Apple]

The Spare Man

[Amazon] [Apple]

The Daughter of Doctor Moreau

[Amazon] [Apple]

Nona the Ninth

[Amazon] [Apple]

The Kaiju Preservation Society

[Amazon] [Apple]

Show Notes & Links

Our collective Hugo & Nebula shortlist rankings:

Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree
Spear by Nicola Griffith
Babel by R. F. Kuang
The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler / Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher (tie)
The Spare Man by Mary Robinette Kowal
The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Nona the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi

Novellas

Even Though I Knew the End by C.L. Polk
Into the Riverlands by Nghi Vo
A Mirror Mended by Alix E. Harrow
Ogres by Adrian Tchaikovsky
What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher
Where the Drowned Girls Go by Seanan McGuire

Best Novelette

“The Difference Between Love and Time” by Catherynne M. Valente
“A Dream of Electric Mothers” by Wole Talabi
“If You Find Yourself Speaking to God, Address God with the Informal You” by John Chu
“Murder By Pixel: Crime and Responsibility in the Digital Darkness” by S.L. Huang
“The Space-Time Painter” by Hai Ya
“We Built This City” by Marie Vibbert

Best Short Story

(Our apologies that some of these stories aren’t available anywhere on the Internet in English… hopefully the attention given by the Hugo nominations will lead to them being available eventually.)

“D.I.Y.” by John Wiswell
“On the Razor’s Edge” by Jiang Bo
“Rabbit Test” by Samantha Mills
“Resurrection” by Ren Qing, translated by Blake Stone-Banks
“The White Cliff” by Lu Ban
“Zhurong on Mars” by Regina Kanyu Wang

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686: Selective Sequel Oct 06, 2023

Show notes

You will believe a man can fly… a seaplane! We take on the curious 2006 film “Superman Returns,” which is a sequel (sort of) to “Superman” and “Superman II” but most definitely not other movies. There’s a new cast and a new boyfriend for Lois, but Lex Luthor’s still obsessed with real estate. Also, this may be the last movie to feature a fax being sent from a yacht as a key plot point.

"Superman Returns"

Host Jason Snell with Erika Ensign, Shelly Brisbin, Cicero Holmes, Moisés Chiullán, and David J. Loehr.

Referenced Works

Superman Returns

Show Notes & Links

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685: The Execution Kills Me Sep 29, 2023

Show notes

You will believe a man can fly again! Super September continues with a discussion of “Superman II,” a troubled production that shows all the signs of being a superhero classic… but falls short of the mark more often than we expected.

"Superman II"

Host Jason Snell with Shelly Brisbin, Erika Ensign, and David J. Loehr.

Referenced Works

Superman II

[Amazon]

Show Notes & Links

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684: The Memory Cheats Sep 22, 2023

Show notes

We entered our viewing of 1978’s “Superman” with nostalgia and a sense of childlike wonder. We exited questioning everything about our fond memories of childhood.

"Superman" (1978)

Host Jason Snell with Erika Ensign, Shelly Brisbin, Steve Lutz, and Chip Sudderth.

Referenced Works

Superman (1978)

Show Notes & Links

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683: It Was Okay Sep 15, 2023

Show notes

Our Book Club concludes its reading of the Hugo and Nebula shortlist novels with “The Daughter of Doctor Moreau” by Silvia Moreno-Garcia and “The Spare Man” by Mary Robinette Kowal. One’s an homage to H.G. Wells (sort of?) and the other plays like “The Thin Man” in space. Plus: We debate the meaning of star-rating systems, and what else are we reading?

Host Jason Snell with Erika Ensign, Aleen Simms, and Scott McNulty.

Referenced Works

The Spare Man

[Amazon] [Apple]

The Daughter of Doctor Moreau

[Amazon] [Apple]

Show Notes & Links

What are we reading?

Scott McNulty

Saint Death’s Daughter by C.S.E. Cooney
Venomous Lumpsucker by Ned Beauman

Aleen Simms

The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer
Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher

Erika Ensign

The End of Everything (Astrophysically Speaking) by Katie Mack
The Music of the Siphorophenes by C.L. Polk
Can You Hear Me Now? by Catherynne M. Valente

Jason Snell:

Children of Memory by Adrian Tchaikovsky
The Long Earth series by Terry Pratchett and Steven Baxter

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682: Heroes I Never Heard Of Sep 08, 2023

Show notes

Perhaps the best expression of the DC Animated Universe was its swan song: Justice League Unlimited, which improved upon its predecessor (Justice League Unadorned) with snappier pacing, a conspiracy story arc that anticipated today’s morally ambiguous super-teams, and a jumbo variety pack of DC characters. YES, we’re going to talk about Shining Knight, Bat Lash, and the Question. YES, we’re going to talk about the best-but-most-misplaced epilogue to the DCAU. YES, we’re going to talk about what happens when a super genius and a super genius gorilla tangle in the workplace.

"Justice League Unlimited"

Host Chip Sudderth with Tony Sindelar, Cicero Holmes, Monty Ashley, and Shannon Sudderth.

Referenced Works

Justice League Unlimited

Show Notes & Links

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681: Do More Harm Sep 01, 2023

Show notes

Arrange an assortment of home-cooked Vulcan appetizers and warm up your singing voices, because it’s time to discuss season two of “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.” This season took some big swings, and some of them didn’t quite connect—but a whole lot of them did.

"Strange New Worlds" season 2

Host Jason Snell with Jean MacDonald, Erika Ensign, Dan Moren, and Joe Rosensteel.

Referenced Works

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

Star Trek (franchise)

Show Notes & Links

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680: A Better Lando Calrissian Aug 25, 2023

Show notes

Is there a movie everyone else thinks is bad, which you secretly love? Maybe more than one? Then this is the episode for you! Antony resurrects his old podcast and asks a panel of guests to draft and talk about movies which are… unjustly maligned.

Unjustly Maligned Movie Draft

Host Antony Johnston with Chip Sudderth, Jean MacDonald, Sarah Hendrica Bickerton, and Monty Ashley.

Show Notes & Links

Round 1

Chip: Eternals
Jean: Waterworld
Sarah: Jupiter Ascending
Monty: Babylon

Round 2

Chip: Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Jean: Spice World
Sarah: Solo: A Star Wars Story
Monty: Head

Round 3

Chip: Ghostbusters (2016)
Jean: Until the End of the World
Sarah: The Host
Monty: Hudson Hawk

Bring Out Your Dead

Chip: The Iron Giant, Citizen Kane, It’s a Wonderful Life, Fight Club
Jean: Twilight: New Moon
Sarah: Alita Battle Angel, Star Trek Nemesis, John Carter, Shawshank Redemption, Kingdom of Heaven, Children of Men, The Chronicles of Riddick, Green Lantern, The Man From UNCLE, Tenet, Terminator: Dark Fate, A Wrinkle in Time, Titan AE *Monty: The Mortal Engines, Popeye, Josie and the Pussycats, Bring It On

Unjustly Maligned podcast

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679: Fleshy and Gross Aug 18, 2023

Show notes

We travel the highways and byways of space, from gross flesh space stations to the weird suburbs of Counter-Earth, all with one quest in mind: talk about Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3!”

"Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3"

Host Jason Snell with Brian Warren, Kelly Guimont, and Chip Sudderth.

Referenced Works

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

Marvel Cinematic Universe

Show Notes & Links

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