A Matter of Taste

By The Taste Testers

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· TV & Film

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FAQs about A Matter of Taste:

How many episodes does A Matter of Taste have?

The podcast currently has 27 episodes available.

A Matter of Taste episodes:

June 09, 2016092: Little Shop of Horrors (1986) - A Surprisingly Low Frequency of Plant Puns
Sometimes, when people set out to make nightmare fuel...they absolutely succeed.

SPOILERS FOR LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS & THE HUNGER GAMES.

In this episode:
The first episode in our Summer Musical Series!
We discuss the classic Alan Menken/Howard Ashman musical Little Shop of Horrors and its movie adaptation, including the original black-and-white movie, the stage musical, and the many strong points and flaws of the 1986 Frank Oz movie.
We get a bit into the broad tonal inconsistency that shows up in the film.
We talk a bit about the prevalence of improvisation, specifically in the comedy genre, and the sort of slapdash energy that the movie has.
Little Shop of Horrors as an oddly indelible part of the cultural landscape
The dutch angles and other interesting film choices in the case of Little Shop
Also the unique monster design of Audrey II, something you don’t see a lot of in horror films, though that could just be due to a lack of really cool plant monsters.
The danger of breaking the dream is much greater in the world of musicals than it is in other narratives.
The interesting stylistic choice of putting the general tone of the lyrics at odds with more traditional 50s musical styles.
Our actually interesting and worthwhile discussion of story vs presentation
That wasn’t sarcasm, by the way, I actually really dig this conversation. - Fio
Here's our official schedule for the Summer Musical Series:
Little Shop of Horrors: June 9th
Repo! The Genetic Opera: June 23rd
Evil Dead: The Musical: July 7th
Sweeney Todd: July 21st
Rocky Horror Picture Show: August 4th
THERE'S ALWAYS AN ADDENDUM:
We initially had some issues getting the episode uploaded, so keep an eye on our social media (Twitter, Tumblr, and Facebook) for podcast updates in case there's a delay or rescheduling.
Also, Ian's going to try to livetweet his rewatches of each musical movie, so keep an eye on those same places and his personal twitter (@idoherty451) to find out when that will be!
I'm just realizing that maybe the reason I (Ian) like "Suppertime" so much is because it sounds particularly Pink Floyd-y.
Notes from Fio:
The use of the doo-wop singers as a greek chorus is an interesting choice
Man, weird last-minute Hunger Games aside out of nowhere
Music:
"This is My Design" - Ian Doherty | SoundCloud | Bandcamp |
"Prologue (Little Shop of Horrors)" - Little Shop Of Horrors (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) | YouTube | Amazon |
"Suppertime" - Little Shop Of Horrors (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) | YouTube | Amazon |
http://archive.org/download/AMOT092/AMOT092.mp3
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April 29, 2016091: Penny Dreadful Seasons 1 & 2 - Sexy Werewolves
SPOILERS FOR PENNY DREADFUL SEASONS 1 & 2 (and minor spoilers for Season 3).

In this episode:
In anticipation of the new season, we discuss the first two seasons of Showtime's Gothic horror series Penny Dreadful, including the overall style of the show, the characters, the cast, and yes, werewolves, potentially of the sexy variety.
We (read: Ian) can't escape talking about this show without comparing it to a variety of other media, including NBC's Dracula, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, The Walking Dead, and yes, Hannibal, among others.
How unrelenting bleakness can become wearying
I think we should also clarify that this isn’t a blanket critique of all bleak narratives. I think we’re just inundated with them at the moment. There’s also a very troubling association in pop culture at the moment of bleakness with maturity, as though any story without a bleak philosophy is somehow childish, which I think is more what we’re criticizing here.
The snails return. The Snailening
Novel class returns. The Novelening. The Robertsoning.
We start digging into the way narratives that are attempting to tell different types of stories can show us two wildly different facets of a character with each interpretation being an equally valid expression of the character.
WEREWOLVES WEREWOLVES WEREWOLVES.
THERE'S ALWAYS AN ADDENDUM:
Just as an aside: We're approaching our 100th episode! We have ideas planned out for the next few episodes, but is there anything in particular you'd want to see/hear us do for the 100th episode? Let us know in the comments below or through one of our various forms of contact on Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook
Holy crap, we didn't even talk about how much I (Ian) love the music on this show. In particular: Dido's Lament ("When I am laid in earth") from Dido and Aeneas is my favorite aria I learned about in college, and THEY USED IT.
Highlights from Fio's notes:
I’m honestly curious how many times we reference Hannibal in episodes that are, like, explicitly not about Hannibal.
In the Era of Dystopian Future Literature and Apocalyptic Stuff should be a book of essays.
“I wouldn’t advise them,” so fucking magnanimous, Fio, of course the Penny Dreadful writing staff listens to this podcast.
At this point in the podcast I go silent because I’m looking up 40 Days and 40 Nights because I can’t remember if Shannyn Sossamon is in it or not. She is, by the way.
“I’m positive, actually” *proceeds to be wrong* “Fuck. Fuck me.”
Music:
"This is My Design" - Ian Doherty | SoundCloud | Bandcamp |
http://archive.org/download/AMOT091/AMOT091.mp3
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March 31, 2016090: 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016) - My Sociopathic Exterior
SPOILERS FOR 10 CLOVERFIELD LANE.

In this episode:
We discuss Dan Trachtenberg's 10 Cloverfield Lane, including excellent performances from the entire cast, the pacing, the cinematography, the music, and you guuuiiiisssse we kind of gush about this movie, it's pretty great.
Debut horror looking rill good this year
Pacing and the place of the long take in modern film
How the fourth act makes things fall apart a little, but we can’t help but enjoy it
What exactly was Michelle’s plan once she got to Houston?
Bear McCreary’s soundtrack and how Ian expected it to be weirder
Links:
Nerdist Podcast: J. J. Abrams and Dan Trachtenberg
Bear McCreary recording one of the themes from the movie
Portal: No Escape
Lights Out trailer
THERE'S ALWAYS AN ADDENDUM:
Sorry this isn't about The Witch! Blame car troubles.
There were some really weird volume issues in this episode, and I did my best to correct them, but please let me know if there are any parts where it's really difficult to hear what I'm saying or the background noise is really distracting.
Music:
"This is My Design" - Ian Doherty | SoundCloud | Bandcamp |
http://archive.org/download/AMOT090/AMOT090.mp3
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February 25, 2016089: The X-Files Season 10 - Why, Chris Carter, Why
Ooooo, i c wut u did thar, show.

SPOILERS FOR THE X-FILES SEASON 10 & 4x02 "HOME." Mild spoilers for the Gravity Falls finale.

In this episode:
We discuss all six episodes of The X-Files Season 10, including the good, the bad, and the "Babylon."
We talk about the tricky narrative territory that X-Files occupies somewhere at the intersection of Sci-Fi, Horror, and occasionally Fantasy.
How Clueless Is Chris Carter? We’re taking bets on that one.
The breathtakingly bewildering decision to try and cover everything they had to say this season in six episodes.
If anyone can get us into the writers’ room for the X-Files, please give us a call.
Next time: Fio and Ian give their thoughts on The Witch (2015)!
Links:
Nerdist.com: Review: THE X-FILES 5th Episode "Babylon" Said All the Wrong Things
AV Club: "See you next summer": Alex Hirsch says goodbye to Gravity Falls
The exact quote Fio references: "...the idea of Agent Cooper being the one to drive Dipper and Mabel home made me feel like, yeah, they’re going to be all right."
The Mall of Cthulhu, the novel Fio mentions
THERE'S ALWAYS AN ADDENDUM:
Home was Season 4, Episode 2, not 11. So close.
From Fio: I had not heard of the so-called “shit sandwich” critique before. Is this a thing? Indeed: The Shit Sandwich and Other Terrible Ways to Give Feedback
Music:
"This is My Design" - Ian Doherty | SoundCloud | Bandcamp |
http://archive.org/download/AMOT089/AMOT089.mp3
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January 24, 2016088: IT'S COMING! 2016! *hides*
Mild spoilers for Insidious (2010) and The Conjuring (2013).

In this episode:
We discuss horror movies, TV, and video games coming up in 2016.
MOVIES:
The Witch (or The VVitch)
The Conjuring 2
Ian provides his frank opinions on James Wan's movies.
Phantasm 5
James Wan-produced Lights Out film
The original short, Lights Out
TV:
Damien (sequel to The Omen)
The Frankenstein Chronicles
Fio points out via Guillermo del Toro on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RealGDT/status/687122355642994688
Lucifer (FOX)
The X-Files
Penny Dreadful (Season 3)
Also: the Hannibal Cookbook is coming out!
VIDEO GAMES:
Top Horror Games to Anticipate in 2016
Also, we don't mention this on the podcast, but What Remains of Edith Finch looks pretty cool.
THERE'S ALWAYS AN ADDENDUM:
We recorded this on the 12th, so there are plenty of things that have been announced since then that we didn't cover on this episode. Apologies for the delay.
Rose Byrne played the mother in Insidious, not Vera Farmiga. Again--these movies.
Although--let us apologize for dropping some serious shade on Insidious and The Conjuring during this cast.
From Fio: It’s not that I can’t tell Insidious and The Conjuring apart when watching them, it’s that when I think about them, I can’t remember which scenes are part of which movie.
Corroborative evidence: This is the Insidious scene I (Ian) was talking about, but boy, did I recall it wrong.
Skype did actually record the beginning of the podcast, despite my belief that it hadn't, so that's what you're hearing in the outtakes at the end.
More from Fio:
How did I not mention 1989 classic Warlock when we were talking about witch movies?
I’m going to apologize to our listeners for my lack of Phantasm expertise, but to be fair you kinda put me on the spot there, Ian. Hahaha.
Can we get back to releasing cool horror flicks around all hallows? That would be nice.
Natalie Dormer also plays her sister in that flick (The Forest), and from that sounds of it that’s the reason she took the job. Interviews make it sound like she was just checking something off a list where she plays against herself.
Sam Neill totally plays Damien in the 3rd Omen movie.
Music:
"This is My Design" - Ian Doherty | SoundCloud | Bandcamp |
http://archive.org/download/AMOT088/AMOT088.mp3
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December 11, 2015087: Hyper-Intelligent Shrews
In this episode:
We discuss writing horror, including our past experiences with it and what we've learned while writing it.
A lot of it ends up being more about writing in general.
We reminisce about previous stories and our early years of writing.
And we inevitably tangent.
A lot.
The Eban Schletter podcast I mentioned: Fantastical Musicorium.
It's Cold in this House on AMoT Podcast
In case this is our last podcast this year, happy holidays, and look for a new episode in the New Year!
THERE'S ALWAYS AN ADDENDUM:
Apologies for the lateness on this episode. We had trouble getting our schedule to work out with a guest, and then they ended up not being able to do it, but by the time we figured that out, it was Thanksgiving, and...yeah, you get the idea.
Music:
"This is My Design" - Ian Doherty | SoundCloud | Bandcamp |
"A Change of Heart (Sloppy WIP Version)" - Ian Doherty
http://archive.org/download/AMOT087/AMOT087.mp3
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October 30, 2015086: Crimson Peak (2015) - None More Gothic
This is currently my desktop background. O_O

SPOILERS FOR CRIMSON PEAK (2015). Also spoilers for The Ghost Brothers of Darkland County (YEAH IAN BRINGING IN THE OBSCURE REFERENCES) and Dark Floors (2008).

In this episode:
We give our thoughts on Guillermo del Toro's Gothic masterpiece, Crimson Peak!
...after everyone else has already done so.
Seriously, though, go listen to Cleolinda and our podcast buddies over at Anglo-Filles discuss the movie on their three-year anniversary episode (congrats!).
Charming Tom Hiddleston is all charming
The structure of the reveals is done quite well and the pacing of the reveals is effective
The opening section of the film is mad clunky, though and the ghost thing is heavy handed
The most Gothic mansion in Gothic fiction history
The pairing of Lucille vs Edith and the way that’s seeded throughout the early film
The confusion over various misdirects in the film re: whether the Sharpes were supernatural beings or not
How many Guillermo del Toro mainstays can we spot?
Poor adaptations and their difficulty making the boring milquetoast male lead interesting
The ridiculous amount of money spent on production design in this film
Links:
Cleo's Post on Crimson Peak
Our friend Audrey T. Carroll's author page on Facebook
Banished to Oz: The Vanishing Ladies of 'Supernatural'
THERE'S ALWAYS AN ADDENDUM:
Happy Halloween!
Is it still necessary to capitalize the word "Gothic"? I'm getting red underlines when I don't capitalize it.
Highlights from Fio's timestamps:
24:08 - “Like it seems like” real fuckin eloquent, Fio
29:36 - My “hrrrII hab no idea” is bullseye Hiddleston. Just sayin
34:06 - “I can’t remember the name of the movie…” Groundhog Day? Ian from the future: Figured it out. It was Dark Floors. Hit a lot of points for me aesthetically, but didn't quite bring it together in a satisfying way.
50:46 - I meant to say red blazer here, not red sportscoat, but whatevs. Also, I know Harker’s job involved real estate in some way, and he was helping arrange Dracula’s purchase of some land in London and stuff, but I don’t remember what his exact function in the process was.
I dunno, by the time I got to that Chastain line with “I’m not going to stop until I kill you or you kill me” I was firmly in the camp that there’s nothing supernatural about the Sharpes
Music:
"This is My Design" - Ian Doherty | SoundCloud | Bandcamp |
http://archive.org/download/AMOT086/AMOT086.mp3
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September 24, 2015085: Hannibal Retrospective - Everything Has to Happen…So Much
SPOILERS FOR ALL THREE SEASONS OF HANNIBAL, and potential spoilers for where they plan(ned) to take the series next.

In this episode:
Cleolinda Jones joins us once again! We discuss the Hannibal panels at Dragon Con 2015 and the way the Hannibal TV series wrapped up.
Cleo's Dragon Con experience was pretty awesome.
Our discussion of Dragon Con mixes with our discussion of the Hannibal Finale.
We get very deeply into discussions of the placement of Bedelia’s final scene, joking ways that Hannibal and Will could have survived, and the ramifications of the finale on all of Will’s emotional connections were the show to continue and he actually run off to Argentina with Hannibal.
At 1:25:52, we begin our discussion about Hannibal as a show in a broader context, including how Bryan Fuller handled the show and its community, the contrast between the first and second halves of Season 3 (and the reasons thereof), and how we feel about the show as a whole.
Links:
Part 1 and Part 2 of the now-infamous Hannibal panel where Scott Thompson and Aaron Abrams drove off storm troopers with finger-guns. (Header image screen-grabbed from Part 2.)
Blight club: Mr. Robot, Hannibal, and self-destructive TV
The Bait, by John Donne
Keep us in your podcast feed! We're moving to a monthly format, so stay tuned next month for a special, Halloween-themed episode.
THERE'S ALWAYS AND ADDENDUM:
Alternate titles for this episode:
God, Tennis Balls
Get Weird With The Lithuanian?
Playing Around With Tiny Flaming Homoerotic Birds
Highlights from Fio's timestamps:
36:38 - “Or something stupid like that” - Ian on American education. Ian from the future: “Critical Thinking,” that’s the homework question section I was thinking of.
The Sordid Activities of Scott Thompson and Aaron Abrams
“They should take it on the road” Yeah they should. Sorry, I’m terrible.
Cleo shouldn’t feel bad about not being able to talk to famous people, I totally clammed up while meeting Gail Simone in bmore.
“You can’t do that, people won’t be on board with that” - And the ratings told them that they were right, hahaha
Man, we could probably talk about The Satanic Verses and its intrusive narrator forever.
We get mad sappy about this show, dude.
Music:
"This is My Design" - Ian Doherty | SoundCloud | Bandcamp |
http://archive.org/download/AMOT085/AMOT085.mp3
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September 03, 2015084: Hannibal 3x13 "The Wrath of the Lamb" - Hannibal and the Wonderful, Fantastic, Murderous, Very Best Day Ever
None more artful. *sniff*

SPOILERS UP TO (and including) THE HANNIBAL SEASON 3 FINALE, as well as for the novels and movies Manhunter, Red Dragon, Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal.

In this episode:
Alright, wipe away your tears, time to start talkin’ bout, talkin’ bout the Hannibal finale
Vic joins us once again to discuss Hannibal 3x13 "The Wrath of the Lamb," including everything, and all of it happening so very, very much.
Running to the end of this season, we basically have a full exploration of Will’s character when it comes to the source material.
The article Fio references: Tracking Hannibal Lecter, from Manhunter to Red Dragon
Book purist reactions and the deviations from the source material that have been inherent in Fuller’s “remixing” strategy since the beginning.
Comparing and contrasting the various Dolarhyde stories, especially in reference to Reba’s story’s conclusion.
The problem of Jack becoming more of a side character this season as opposed to his more central role in previous seasons.
In her Aperitivo recap, Cleo actually gets deeper into the differing emotional ramifications of the show’s relationship between Hannibal and Crawford and the Book/Movie’s which we touch on only briefly here, but it’s good to mention.
Digesting the reaction to the Hannibal Finale (see what I did there?)
Is this really as close as we’re going to get to Hannigram Confirmed?
Stay tuned in a couple of weeks for our series retrospective episode with Cleolinda Jones!
THERE'S ALWAYS AN ADDENDUM:
I got nothin', so here are the highlights from Fio's timestamps:
Hashtags are just stupid and funny. I don’t know why, but they are.
I don’t agree with Vic’s reading of Red Dragon / Silence of the Lambs / Hannibal in regards to Will Graham vs Clarice, but I think we got away from it before I could interject. In Red Dragon, Hannibal completely fucking destroys Will so bad he becomes nothing more than a footnote in someone else’s narrative by the end of it, but in Hannibal he acknowledges that he can’t even predict how what he did would change Clarice, so I think my reading of the books is kind of the opposite of what he was proposing.
Yes you do want to say “fall under Hannibal’s spell” admit it. ADMIT IT IAN
Will absolutely will not go to jail after the jailbreak because Murder Wizardry > Real world experience in this show. Every damn time.
Music:
"This is My Design" - Ian Doherty | SoundCloud | Bandcamp |
http://archive.org/download/AMOT084/AMOT084.mp3
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August 27, 2015082: Hannibal 3x12 " The Number of the Beast is 666(...)" - If You Play Chicken With The Abyss...
(Cue fingersnaps and Dolarhyde getting ready to rumble with some Sharks)

SPOILERS UP TO (and including) HANNIBAL 3x12 and RED DRAGON (Book, Movie, whaddaya got), SILENT HILL (Movies and games), SPAWN (Todd MacFarlane gives good cape), SINISTER, SINISTER 2 (No real spoilers, just that it's terrible)

In this episode:
CHILTON'S LIPS FOR THE LOVE OF THE NINE BLOODPISSING HELLS
So, that happened.
Chilton has layers in this adaptation. Get out your Shrek jokes now.
All the love to Raul Esparza
Nah, but for real, we spend a lot of time talking about the Dolarhyde/Chilton scene so... you know... strap in for that.
Bedelia has moved into a very sinister, alien place in the Hannibal mythos
Also, I didn't think we were gonna compare Bedelia to Scully at all, but whatever, here we are, everything's Hannibal and everything Hurts.
We also talk about the origins of the Bedelia character as we know her.
Will's character progression and how his somewhat-regression-y-motions during this episode are super really important.
How certain are we that Will's responsible for Chilton's predicament and how conscious was he about this happening?
The fact that Armitage has managed to make his performance so distinct from Fiennes while walking a lot of the same ground is frankly astonishing.
Our (super-vague, unsatisfying) predictions for the way the finale is going to shake out.
How exactly do you read the last scene between Dolarhyde and Reba?
THERE'S ALWAYS AN ADDENDUM:
We're running lean this week this folks, so no real notes from timestamps to speak of, which is a shame, we know you love our sloppy excuse for wit.
Lots of thanks to @princess_starr for reminding us how cruel Bryan Fuller can be and to @munin_and_hugin for pointing out the staples (to me at least).
Ian delivers "I was lying... on yOUR BEHALF!" really well, if anybody's looking to audition voice actors, give him a ring.
Ian mentions Bedelia talking about being Hannibal's bride, but I'm pretty sure she's making a Bluebeard reference in that scene.
Just poking you with this one, Ian.
Music:
"This is My Design" - Ian Doherty | SoundCloud | Bandcamp |
http://archive.org/download/AMOT083/AMOT083.mp3
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FAQs about A Matter of Taste:

How many episodes does A Matter of Taste have?

The podcast currently has 27 episodes available.