DISCLAIMER: Charles’ audio is particularly rough this week due to NYC radiators. He apologizes profusely! It’s week two of the Children of the Lamp, we’re reading the second book, The Blue Djinn of Babylon. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this book features another dramatic adventure that we just send a twelve year old on, because apparently that is acceptable. In a wild turn of events Phillippa is kidnapped by the twins’ grandmother, and John has to rescue her via a multinational expedition and solo...

What if ... Starfleet Didn't Have Shields? In the ever popular game of comparing sci-fi franchises to each other, one unique aspect of Star Trek compared to others, like "Battlestar Galactica" and, to an extent, "Star Wars," is the presence of shields on starships during combat. The trio imagines a Trek universe where shields don't exist (or are not as effective), and ships show a little more wear and tear after they log a few star miles (or kilometers). How would our favorite "hero" ships...

Decades after Thunderdome, Tom Hardy slipped into the role of Max Rockatansky, with Charlize Theron joining him as the original character Furiosa. A box office success and critical darling, we ask in retrospect: Is Fury Road worth following, or a victim of its own hype?

Dallas and Lee review Babylon and share their reaction to the Academy Award nominations that took place this week.

We continue our Aftersun interview series as Lee welcomes Harry Perdios to discuss his role as Toby in Charlotte Wells' acclaimed debut film as he shares his experiences shooting the film and career so far. ​In 'Aftersun' Sophie reflects on the shared joy and private melancholy of a holiday she took with her father twenty years earlier to Turkey where they meet Harry’s Toby as a young teen also on holiday who welcomes Sophie into their group. Check out our previous Aftersun interviews with...

The Bad Batch Commentary: Bounty Lost. Matt & John revisit The Bad Batch’s encounter with Cad Bane in episode nine from the first season, “Bounty Lost.” More question arise from the shadows as the Batch pursues Bane to a lost city in the clouds where a showdown with another familiar bounty hunter is unfolding. Host John Mills and Matthew Rushing Send us your feedback! Twitter: @TheJediMasters Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheNerdParty/ Email:...

It’s time for a new series, The Children of the Lamp! It’s week one, so we read the whole first book, The Akhenaten Adventure. We follow our fellow New Yorkers, John and Phillippa Gaunt as they discover that they are djinn or what we would consider genies. They can grant wishes and make all sorts of cool things happen with their subconscious. This week was a lot of exposition and then all of the sudden a bunch of action at the end, so it led to a weird podcast episode. But your hosts have a...

First time Missing Framer Alex Minovici joins Shawn for her first-ever watch of the beloved Michel Gondry/Charlie Kaufman masterpiece Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. At nearly 20 years old, this beautiful film has lost none of its power to charm, captivate, and break the hearts of its viewers - but how does it fare for someone who has never seen it before? Shawn and Alex discuss the film's brilliant concept, its performances, its visuals, and the moral implications of erasing a past...

Once again starring Mel Gibson and this time featuring Tina Turner - as well as a chart-topping, Golden Globe-and Grammy-nominated hit song - Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome stood as the final chapter in Max Rockatansky’s saga for decades. A modest success, is the film deserving of its cult status?

Hologram Rights Star Trek is often at its best when exploring philosophical debates about the very nature of existance. Holograms, especially the Doctor from "Voyager", litter the franchise - but what rights should they have? Are they "people" (whatever the means)? Are they more than they appear? Or does their very appearance make us believe they are more than these computer programs are? The trio goes through the holographic panthoeon of Trek and other artificial lifeforms, exploring how...

Dallas and Lee review a double bill of M3GAN and Tár

The Bad Batch Commentary: Reunion. John & Matt share a commentary track for The Bad Batch’s eighth episode from the first season, “Reunion.” Given the history of the Bad Batch, the word carries specific foreboding and intrigue as we hit the halfway point of the season and the characters start their journey toward bigger events on the horizon. Host John Mills and Matthew Rushing Send us your feedback! Twitter: @TheJediMasters Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheNerdParty/ Email:...

We are going to follow Stargirl on her journey to Pennsylvania. She writes the longest letter of all time to her ex, Leo, for the entirety of this week’s book: Love, Stargirl. We follow her as she goes through immense growth, gradually getting over Leo and finding a way to be accepted and enjoyed by her whole community. It really is a story of growth for our protagonist that makes it quite enjoyable to read. The book reads as an excellent sequel to the original Stargirl novel. Next week we...

Dallas and Lee reflect on the highs and lows of 2022 at the cinema.

George Miller returned to the apocalyptic landscape with The Road Warrior/Mad Max 2. Propelling Max Rockatansky further into a collapsed world fighting for resources and desperate for hope, did this 1981 flick kick it up a notch or benefit from home video audiences desperate for content?

Season 7 - Voyager "Star Trek: Voyager" was the third (and, to date, last) Trek series to enter its seventh and final season. The previous series had taken different approaches to "wrapping up" their time on television screens -"The Next Generation" continued its more episodic approach, with a finale that left our cast still exploring the final frontier; "Deep Space Nine" continued its more serialised approach, with a final few episodes that was dedicated to wrapping up the story of the...

The Bad Batch Commentary: Battle Scars. Matt & John share a commentary track for The Bad Batch’s seventh episode from the first season, “Battle Scars.” A beloved old character is reintroduced, the Batch learns what Order 66 really was, and questions of soldiers’ PTSD and its impact on family are explored. Host John Mills and Matthew Rushing Send us your feedback! Twitter: @TheJediMasters Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheNerdParty/ Email:...

It’s new series time for a cute duology, Jerry Spinelli’s Stargirl books. Back to quirky school time, and realistic fiction, Stargirl bursts onto the scene in suburban Arizona, and causes mayhem in the school district. Leo and the whole school struggle with their relationship to Stargirl’s antics, and this leads to a quite lively debate between the hosts that you cannot miss. There are arguments on both sides of the debate, so we definitely want to hear from our listeners as to how they feel...

The Franchyze Boyz kick off 2023 with a rewatch and ranking of the Predator film series. From McTiernan to Trachtenberg, Shawn, Brad, and Aaron ain’t got time to bleed as they get to the chopper that is these wacky and occasionally brilliant films. HOSTS Shawn Eastridge Brad Gullickson Aaron Prescott

Lee is joined by Aftersun’s Kayleigh Coleman to discuss her role as Jane in Charlotte Wells's acclaimed debut film as she shares her experiences shooting the film and life since. In 'Aftersun' Sophie reflects on the shared joy and private melancholy of a holiday she took with her father twenty years earlier to Turkey where they meet Kayleigh’s Jane as a young teen also on holiday.

George Miller exploded onto the scene with 1979’s Mad Max, which held a world record for box office success for 20 years. Starring the unknown Mel Gibson, what made this apocalyptic tale such a darling? Was it the script? The editing? The score? Or was it something else, and does it captivate today?

​Derek "December" Young and Darren "Packaging" Moser recap their three favorite new tools/cons/techniques from 2022. As well as cover some of their plans for 2023. Maybe a new streaming schedule as well.

It’s the last week in the Enchanted Forest Chronicles and we’re reading Talking to Dragons. This book follows Cimorene’s son, Daystar as he has to find his way back to his father’s castle and free him from the wizards’ enchantment. We discuss his journey and its similarities to his mother’s initial quest. We get deep into a discussion of reading order because this book was initially published first and re-released in chronological order after the first three books were written. This is quite...

Nearly 20 years after the disappointment of Rocky V, Stallone brought Rocky back for an unexpected sequel about an aging idol trapped by past fame and coming to terms with mortality. But does Rocky Balboa speak to our times, or is it just an early product of Hollywood’s desire for nostalgic reboots?