Crossing Streams

Ken Gartin returns to join Craig and Chris and review the middle portion (episodes 3-6) of FX's Alien:Earth. The guys thought it would be a shorter episode, but nope! Too much fun breaking down all the plot twists and possibilities for the endgame. 

SHOW NOTES/TIME CODES

:30 Intro, show set-up
1:45 initial thoughts from everyone on where Alien:Earth stands right now
5:30 getting into episode 3
10:00 Sydney’s brand-new power of Alien language
15:00 The Eye is the smartest character on the show?
18:00 Episode 4, the Nibs situation—and the question of humanity
24:00 Episode 5, Noah Hawley’s take on the OG Alien movie
36:00 Episode 6, key plot points, who will the Eye jump into next?
40:00 the endgame of season one kicks off in episode 6’s final act
44:30 what is Kirsh up to and why is he letting things happen?
47:30 Is this Alien:Earth, or Alien:Island? There are too few people
54:30 Craig’s guess on how the show will end
1:08:30 What’s Ken Watching?

Craig and Chris have two episodes to bring you on the Crossing Streams feed this week! First up, a look at two comedies in full swing, Platonic (season two now on AppleTV+) and The Paper (all episodes streaming on Peacock). Chris appears on episode 6 of Platonic season two and tells the story of his day on set, plus much more! 

TIME CUES

:30 Intro
3:00 housekeeping/show set-up
5:30 Platonic—premise of the show
6:30 Opening thoughts on Platonic
13:30 season two storylines
19:00 Chris’ story of his day on Platonic (S2E6)
21:30 Did it make sense for Will to back out of his marriage to Jenna?
26:15 the very-funny Jeopardy arc, and great guest casting
31:30 The Paper, why dropped as a binge model?
34:00 Playing off & recycling the model of The Office
39:00 Do we like The Paper so far?
42:30 Thoughts on Domhnall Gleeson and Sabrina Impacciatore
48:00 is the mockumentary format overplayed?
52:45 What We’re Watching

Ken Gartin makes his triumphant return to the Crossing Streams feed to lead our discussion of the brand-new FX series, "Alien: Earth". Chris Reed had NEVER watched any Alien content, so he's in for a spooky surprise! Later in the show, Craig and Chris go through the explosive finale of Smoke (on AppleTV+) and talk about how the show has gone under the radar of a lot of fans and reviewers. 

SHOW NOTES

• :30 Intro, welcome Ken Gartin
• 2:00 Chris is an Alien newbie, Ken’s seen it all
• 6:15 Broad thoughts on Alien Earth so far
• 12:30 Alien Earth plot overview as set-up
• 19:30 Noah Hawley puts his stamp on iconic IP, does it work? 
• 25:00 Performance of Sydney Chandler as Wendy
• 29:30 Quibbles: plot armor and a Xenomorph problem
• 37:00 Morrow is a badass, and the rest of main characters
• 41:30 Where do we see Alien Earth going the rest of the season
• 47:45 Smoke Finale opening thoughts: this show should be better-rated than it is
• 52:15 Jurnee Smollett’s performance as Detective Calderone
• 55:30 Calderone breaking bad
• 1:00:00 This was a REALLY satisfying season finale
• 1:09:45 What We’re Watching

Craig Elsten and Chris Reed review and compare a couple of summer mystery series: "Untamed" from Netflix, and "Smoke" on AppleTV+. The guys do non-spoiler reviews and recommendations before doing brief spoiler sections for both shows. They wrap up with "What We're Watching" with some more recommendations and a setup for episode #250

TIME CODES

:30  Intro
5:30 Untamed non-spoiler review
26:00 Untamed mini-spoiler section
40:00 Smoke non-spoiler review
49:00  Smoke mini-spoiler section (only spoiling through three episodes)
57:30 What We’re Watching, next episode preview

SHOW NOTES

:30--intro
2:00--housekeeping/listener e-mail
5:00--the decades-long history of The Eternaut in Argentina
10:00--The Eternaut NON-SPOILER review begins
18:00--the excellent Ricardo Darín in the lead role
26:45--SPOILER review

SHOW NOTES/TIME CODES

• :30--Intro
• 3:00--listener e-mails ([email protected])
• 9:20--Murderbot Season Finale talk (spoilers)
• 14:30--Poker Face Season 2 final overview
• 17:00--favorite episodes and guest stars
• 23:30--do we like putting Charlie back on the road?
• 27:30--welcome Raphie Cantor
• 29:00--getting involved with Poker Face, working with Rian Johnson
• 43:00--how does the writers room match senses of humor and style?
• 50:00--creating the Alex/Iguana arc
• 58:30--getting promoted to staff writer, creating the concepts for episode 10
• 1:04:15--Guest star interactions on set
• 1:08:00--What We're Watching

Craig Elsten and Chris Reed are back with one of the longer episodes in show history, because they've got a LOT to say about Squid Game Season 3! 

SHOW NOTES

Welcome/housekeeping/email/5-star reviews

SQUID GAME 3

• Why is Squid Game the most popular IP in Netflix history? (8:30)
• From original to franchise to game/video game, Squid Game loses its meaning as a thing of horror
• What did we like about Squid Game 2/3?
• Was the final season (split in two) too long of a slog? (29:00)
• Specific show critiques of Season 3 (42:00)
• Setting up a US spin-off of Squid Game, do we need this? (56:30)

DUSTER CANCELED AFTER ONE SEASON (1:07:30)

• Finale thoughts
• Canceled by HBO Max…(it might have been for the best)

WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

• A recommendation of Netflix's Argentinian sci-fi show The Eternaut (1:19:00)

Craig and Chris turn the stove all the way up for a complete Season 4 review of The Bear on FX! First, the guys do a non-spoiler look at the season and the series as a whole, including the news of a fifth season on order. Then (32:30), a spoiler-filled look at the fourth season, standout episodes and performances, whether or not we buy the conclusion as presented, and what the show could still do with a fifth season. 

Write the show! Our email address is [email protected]

Craig Elsten and Chris Reed get together for a full review of Netflix's breakout detective hit, Dept Q. The guys begin with a fulsome no-spoilers review and recommendation segment, then get into the meat of the story with full spoilers (31:45). Later (56:15). they look back at Season Three of The Bear and early impressions of what's coming in Season Four, ahead of next week's full season review. 

You can email the podcast with your thoughts: [email protected]

Craig Elsten and Chris Reed start the show with listener email, then get into a review of the AppleTV+ platform and the kinds of shows found on the app. Then, they offer reviews of two of the current AppleTV shows, Murderbot and Stick. Lastly, the boys offer a sincere recommendation of a sports show they think is much better than Stick, "Shorsey" on Hulu.