Discerning Geeks Portal

The wait is over. It's time to reveal our top 8 picks! Preston & Todd complete the Favorite Female TV Characters countdown, highlighting standout women from space opera, fantasy, gritty dramas, comedies, animation, and more.

The female characters in this episode include...

- 3 military officers from sci-fi shows

- 2 business owners from two very different kinds of shows

- 2 housewives from two very different kinds of shows

- 1 assassin

- 1 bounty hunter

- 1 cop

- 1 diplomat

- 1 lawyer

- 1 government official

- 1 time traveling doctor (but not The Doctor, with a capital D)

- And, 1 villain.

The shows they come from include...

- 3 space operas

- 3 very different fantasy shows (1 historical drama, 1 borderline-horror, 1 sword-&-sorcery)

- 3 animated shows

- 1 anthology drama

- 1 dramedy

- 1 lawyer show

- And, 1 political drama.

For just 15 characters spread out between two top 8 lists (Preston & Todd actually matched on one this time), that's a lot of variety.

But, exactly which characters did they choose, from which shows, and in what order? And, which female TV characters got a mention, even if they weren't in the ranked lists? Listen now for the thrilling conclusion to the long overdue special topic, Favorite Female TV Characters.

Between Parts 1 & 2, Preston & Todd ranked 39 female TV characters, and Todd listed a bunch of honorable mentions in post-show segments. But, we may have still missed some of your favorites. Do you have favorites of your own? Would you like us to follow up with a Part 3 to this topic? Let us know with an e-mail at [email protected] or in comments online via Facebook, BlueSky, Spotify, or the GoodPods app. And, if you like this topic or others from our 186 episodes (!?!), please leave us a review wherever you listen to podcasts.

Royalty-free music used in this episode came from Pixabay.com.

From brilliant scientists and fearless leaders to quirky oddballs and animated icons, television has given us some unforgettable female characters. In this episode, Preston & Todd kick off a two-part countdown of their all-time Favorite Female TV Characters, revealing ranks 20 through 09.

Way back in episodes #037 & #039, the Geeks listed their Favorite Sci-Fi TV Characters.  Many of our favorite shows are dominated by male characters, so we realized that too many excellent female characters were missing from the conversation.  An episode dedicated to amazing fictional women has been on the list for years, and our randomizer finally landed on it.

You’ll have to listen to know our exact picks, but here are a few stats from just this episode…

- 7 characters from spaceship-based shows

- 7 characters are doctors, scientists, mechanics, or androids

- 5 characters from animated shows

- 5 characters with a number, a day of the week, or the word “river” in their name

- 3 from DC live action or animated shows

- 3 from “The Munsters” and/or “The Addams Family”

- 2 from “Firefly”

- 2 from the “Stargate” franchise

- 2 are Batman villains

- 2 from time travel shows

- 2 from police procedurals

…And, that’s just the multiples, not including the one-offs.  Following the outro, Todd also lists over 20 of his honorable mentions.

Who made the lists?  Were there are any commonalities between Todd’s & Preston’s lists?  Why were these fictional women so amazing?  Listen now to find out.

And, with characters this great, who’s left for ranks 08 to 01?  For that, stay tuned for Part 2 coming soon.

Who would make your list of strong, smart, funny, quirky, resourceful, and lovable female TV characters?  You can send us an e-mail at [email protected] or find us on Facebook or BlueSky.

Royalty-free music used in this episode comes from Pixabay.com.

Continuing with the 2024 Year In Review, the Geeks list and rate their favorite TV seasons of 2024. There's also a little bit about music, wrestling, and books.

The TV shows covered in this episode include:

ABC / Hulu

 - 9-1-1  (seasons 7 & 8)

 - High Potential  (season 1)

 - The Rookie  (season 6)

Amazon Prime

 - Batman: Caped Crusader  (season 1)

 - Fallout  (season 1)

 - Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power  (season 2 of 5 - really?!?!?)

Apple TV+

 - Monarch: Legacy of Monsters  (season 1)

Disney+

 - Agatha All Along  (season 1???)

 - Doctor Who  (season 14 a.k.a. “1”)

 - Star Wars: Skeleton Crew  (season 1???)

 - Star Wars: The Acolyte  (only season)

 - What If…?  (season 3 - final)

 - X-Men ‘97  (season 1)

FX and/or FX on Hulu

 - Shogun  (season 1)

 - The Bear  (season 3)

HBO and/or Max

 - Creature Commandos  (season 1)

 - Hacks  (season 3)

 - The Penguin  (season 1)

Netflix

 - A Man On The Inside  (season 1)

 - The Diplomat  (season 2)

Paramount+

 - Star Trek: Discovery  (season 5 - final)

Shudder

 - The Last Drive-In With Joe Bob Briggs  (season 6)

Starz

 - Outlander  (season 7.5 of 8)

Syfy

 - Resident Alien  (season 3; upcoming season 4 moving to USA Network)

 - The Ark  (season 2)

The CW

 - Superman & Lois  (season 4 - final)

TLC / Hulu / Max

 - Sister Wives  (season 19!?!?!)

But, which ones were good, and which ones were disappointing? How many shows did both Todd & Preston watch? What were Todd's & Preston's top 2 or 3 favorite TV shows of the year, and was there any overlap? What did the Geeks have to say about music, wrestling, books, or any other entertainment in 2024?

Listen now for the answers to these and other discerning and reminiscing questions, as the Geeks finish up their 2024 Year In Review.

You can send us a message at [email protected] or a comment on Facebook, BlueSky, Spotify, or the Goodpods app. Please rate or review us wherever you listen to podcasts.

Royalty-free music used in this episode came from Pixabay.com.

Welcome to 2025, and thanks for returning to the Discerning Geeks Portal. In PART 1 of our two-part 2024 Year-In-Review, we take a look back at movies we've seen & even some movies we were only tempted to see & a few we were glad we did not see.

Throughout the discussion, the following movies get at least a mention, if not a deeper dive...

- Alien: Romulus

- Atlas

- Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

- Borderlands

- Challengers

- Civil War

- Deadpool & Wolverine

- Dear Santa

- Fly Me to the Moon

- Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire

- Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire

- IF

- Inside Out 2

- Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

- Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim

- Madame Web

- Megalopolis

- Moana 2

- Oddity

- Rare Exports

- Transformers One

- The Fall Guy

- The Heretic

- Twisters

- Wicked

- Will & Harper

Which ones did Preston or Todd see? Which ones did they both see? Which ones did they like? Which ones did they skip? Which ones that Preston watched would have given Todd nightmares?

Listen now for the answers to these and other cinematic questions as we look back at movies of 2024.

Stay tuned for PART 2 where we review 2024 TV and other entertainment.

You can e-mail us at [email protected] or join us on Bluesky. Please rate or review us wherever you listen to podcasts. Remember that you can rate individual episodes on Spotify and the Goodpods app, and you can leave comments per episode on Goodpods.

Royalty-free music in this episode comes from Pixabay.com.

Finishing off the holiday season, we review the Christmas episodes of the TV show "Grimm": 3.08 "Twelve Days of Krampus" and 4.07 "The Grimm That Stole Christmas." Technically, we also briefly mention 1.07 "Let Your Hair Down," but that episode would barely be about Christmas at all if not for one single scene.

- This episode starts with a tangent about the TV show "Farscape." What did the Geeks think about that show?

- And, even after starting to talk about "Grimm," how did Todd work in his obligatory "Babylon 5" reference?

- What extra lore was Preston able to provide about the Krampus mythology?

- In the Krampus episode, what were the good & bad things about Monroe's obsession with over-the-top Christmas decorating & Rosalee's hesitation to celebrate Christmas?

- What observation did both Geeks make about the holiday content vs. serial storytelling content in both these episodes?

- What stats did Todd & Joanna provide to prove that "Grimm" had an expansive & impressive mythology, built gradually over six seasons?

- What were some of the similarities & differences between season 3 & season 4 Christmas episodes?

- How did the Geeks work in a science lesson, complete with a "Mr. Wizard's World" reference?

- What head-canon did Preston help create to reconcile Todd's nitpick about the Kallikantzaroi behavior at the very beginning of the episode vs. the rest of the episode?

- What great things did the Geeks have to say about actress Elizabeth "Bitsie" Tulloch from "Grimm" and "Superman & Lois" vs. their issues with the direction of her "Grimm" character later in the series (left vague; no spoilers)? What did Bitsie say on Bluesky in response to Todd's comment about the "Superman & Lois" series finale?

- What culinary knowledge did Preston impart about making fruitcake properly -- despite the fact that we all know there's only one fruitcake in the world, and it just gets passed around from one person to another?

- Are these episodes truly Christmas episodes, or just episodes happening to take place at Christmas?

- And, can you tell the Geeks love the power couple of Monroe & Rosalee?

Listen now for the answers to these and other dark fairy tale questions as the Geeks investigate..."Grimm" Christmas episodes.

You can contact us at [email protected] or on Facebook, X, or Bluesky. Please rate or review us. You can rate individual episodes on Goodpods, and you can leave comments on individual episodes on Goodpods & Spotify.

The Discerning Geeks Portal Podcast wishes you a safe, healthy, and happy holiday season, a very Merry Christmas, and a joyful & prosperous New Year.

Royalty-free music used in the episode was obtained via Pixabay.com.

The movie doesn't have a sequel, but now the review does. We revisit the holiday classic, "The Muppet Christmas Carol." This time, Todd re-evaluates the movie with Preston, who wasn't with us the first time around, in episode #028 (check out that episode for the first version).

- What examples did the Geeks have of Muppets being comforting, diplomatic, the theme of the best ride at Disney World, great music video makers, and being made for adults as much as for kids?

- While still on tangents before diving into this movie, what did the guys think of the 2011 movie and 2015 TV show, both insufficiently titled "The Muppets"?

- What did the guys think about the performance choices of Michael Caine ("My Cocaine") as Ebenezer Scrooge?

- Did Todd have any nitpicks this time around? If not, is that the first time ever and possibly a sign of the apocalypse?

- What were some of Preston's favorite parts?

- While talking about Scrooge as a rich person, what calculation did Todd make about a billionaire's salary per minute (not per hour)? Is it ethical to be a billionaire? And, how did this lead to a joke-not-a-joke about Batman?

- Do the Geeks think the ghosts haunting Scrooge were real or just a dream or hallucination?

- What did the Geeks think about each individual song in the movie, and what were their favorite quotes?

Listen now for the answers to these and other melodic questions as the Geeks sing the praises of..."The Muppet Christmas Carol."

You can contact us by e-mail at [email protected] or by Facebook, X, and Bluesky. Please rate or review us. On the Goodpods app you can rate individual episodes, and you can leave comments on episodes at Spotify and on Goodpods.

Please check out our previous Christmas-themed episodes. You can hear the full list at the 1:16:47 mark. There's still one more coming in 2024 before/by Christmas.

The Discerning Geeks wishes everyone a safe, healthy, and happy holiday season.

Royalty-free music used in this episode was obtained via Pixabay.com.

Merry Christmas! Next up in our Christmas movie reviews is "The Nightmare Before Christmas."

- If the various holidays (each represented by a tree in this movie) each got their own movie and eventually crossed over to form the "Nightmare Before Holiday" Cinematic Universe, which holiday (or maybe day of the week) would be the antagonist?

- Does this movie contain any deeper meanings, and what could those be?

- How well developed (or not) is the relationship between Jack and Sally? What are the different theories online about Jack's emotions & motivations?

- How is Danny Elfman's band, Oingo Boingo, relevant to this movie, and did Todd really have to add a boing sound effect every time Oingo Boingo is mentioned?

- What information did Preston have about the re-release of this movie with a modern rock & heavy metal soundtrack?

- What were the opinions about the songs in the movie?

- What were the good & bad things about the antagonist, Oogie Boogie?

- How well did the visual techniques in this 33-year-old movie hold up to today, and was any appreciation for the techniques distinct from opinions about the visual style?

- How much trouble did Todd have giving this movie a score, and what were the mixed emotions involved?

- And, as we've been asking with all our Christmas reviews this year (and some from previous years), is this truly a Christmas movie...or not?

Listen now for the answers to these and other haunting questions as we contemplate..."The Nightmare Before Christmas."

You can contact us at [email protected]. We are on Bluesky and Facebook, and we'd love for you to rate or review us wherever you listen to podcasts. On the Goodpods app, you can rate individuals episodes, and you can leave comments on individual episodes on both Spotify and Goodpods.

Royalty-free music used in this episode comes from Pixabay.com.

Merry Christmas, and welcome to the last minute marathon of Christmas-related movie reviews for 2024. First up, we review "Iron Man 3." We reviewed "Iron Man" and "Iron Man 2" in episodes #011 & #099. This makes the 3rd trilogy that we've completed, having reviewed the "Back to the Future" trilogy in episodes #058, #065, and #088, and "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy in a two-parter, episodes #066 & #067.

- Are the Geeks caught up on their vaccines, and how it that relevant?

- What memories did the Geeks have about their times seeing "Iron Man 3" in the theater?

- That did the Geeks think about the topic of Tony Stark being Iron Man, even without the armored suits?

- What aspect of this movie was Todd probably too prudish about?

- What did the Geeks think about the various armored suits, House Party Protocol, and Clean Slate Protocol?

- Todd once heard a podcast where the hosts disliked the portrayal of Tony Stark's anxiety/PTSD in this movie. Did Todd or Preston agree or disagree?

- How much did the Geeks like the pre-teen character, Harley Keener?

- What quotes did the Geeks like in this movie, and what kind of trivia did they have to share?

- Is this truly a Christmas movie, or is it just coincidence that it is set at Christmas?

- The "twist" with the Mandarin is divisive. What did the Geeks think about it?

- This whole movie can be divisive. How kind (or not) were the Geeks in their final ratings & rankings?

- And, as a final tangent, how highly did Todd praise the final season & especially the very final episode of "Superman & Lois"?

Listen now for the answers to these & other robotic questions as we suit up for..."Iron Man 3."

You can send us a message at [email protected]. Check us out on Bluesky & Facebook (maybe X), and please give us a rating or review wherever you listen to podcasts. Remember, you can leave comments for individual episodes on Spotify and both 5-star ratings & comments on episodes via the Goodpods app.

Merry Christmas, and stay tuned for...hopefully...three more Christmas-themed episodes coming soon (because time is running out).

Royalty-free music in this episode comes from various artists at Pixabay.com.

We return to "The Simpsons," one of Preston's favorite shows, to review the "Treehouse of Horror" specials 05 to 08. Check out episodes #168 & #169 of our podcast for our two-part review of "Treehouse of Horror" 01 to 04. In this batch

The stories, spoofs, and themes covered in these four episodes include:  "The Shining," time travel, cannibalism, giants, "Nightmare on Elm Street," "The Thing," microscopic societies, alien bodysnatchers, nuclear holocaust, "The Fly," Salem Witchcraft Trials, and alternate dimensions where everything is 1990s CGI.

What did the Geeks think about the 12 stories across these four episodes? Which ones did they agree and disagree on. How much trivia did Preston have about the conceptualization and production of these episodes?

Listen now to find out the answers to these and other horrifying questions, as the Geeks climb the ladder to the 5th through 8th levels of...The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror.

You can contact us at [email protected]

Public domain music included in this episode come from Pixabay.com.

Just in time for listening while standing in line at the polls on Election Day, Todd & Preston discuss movies & TV shows of a political theme.

Political-Themed TV Shows Discussed

Political-Themed Movies Discussed

Listen now for these topics and more as Todd & Preston prepare for election day with a look into political movies & TV shows.

You can contact us at [email protected]. Please rate or review us wherever you listen to podcasts. You can leave comments per episode at Spotify and the Goodpods app.

Public domain music in this episode is performed by The United States Army Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps, via FreeMusicArchive.org.